Eva cursed herself yet again for wearing skirts into the forest. It was stupid of her; they kept catching on brambles and thorns every few steps she took. Finally Eva just stopped, took out her dagger, and cut off a strip of cloth on the bottom of her skirt that was already torn beyond repair. Eva straightened up and was about to continue walking along the path when she heard a sound.
It wasn't unfamiliar, she had heard it once before almost in this exact same spot. She had come with her father and her eldest brother, Ramador, on a hunting expedition when food was scarce. They had been desperately hungry that year, only extreme hunger could drive them into entering the forest. Unfortunately they didn't get much, for they had run into a pack of wolves.
Eva held up her dagger and backed towards a tree behind her. If she was lucky, she might be able to scramble up the tree before the wolves reached her. Judging by the rustling in the undergrowth, she was already surrounded and any hopes of fighting her way through were long gone. Eva tensed, getting ready to turn and bolt for the tree, but she never got the chance. The lead wolf of the pack charged out of a bush on her right, and leapt straight for Eva's throat!
Without thinking, Eva used her Gift to shield herself. A wall of pale green light about three feet across appeared, and the lead wolf slammed its head directly into it. Eva gasped, the force needed to stop the wolf's momentum was great, and it was already sapping Eva's strength at an alarming rate.
Snarling furiously, the wolf circled around Eva, trying to fight a weak spot in her shield. Eva moved her shield with the wolf's movements, trying not to let him get past her. That was a big mistake. Three smaller wolves finally revealed themselves, and each took up a position around Eva. The light from her shield was fading, and it was only a matter of time before it broke entirely. One of the smaller wolves was just crouching down to make its first pounce, when it suddenly fell to the ground, an arrow protruding through its chest.
Eva's shock from seeing the arrow was enough to break her shield. Luckily she didn't need it anymore. When she looked up the lead wolf had fallen, an arrow embedded in its skull. The other two turned tail and ran for all they were worth. A few moments passed, Eva's hands were shaking and her heart was pounding so quickly that she was sure that she would pass out if she had to wait any longer. Finally, three girls jogged onto the path and stopped right in front of Eva.
"What do we have here, a young girl traveling through the woods all by herself? That's just about begging the Gods for death, that is," one of the girls chuckled. She was tall, with tan skin and wide hazel eyes. Eva couldn't be sure of what her hair color was, for all of the girls were wearing shawls that hid their hair completely.
"You… you saved me," Eva stammered in disbelief, looking at the longbows that each of them held loosely by their sides.
"Yeah, that's kind of what we do. Where are you headed?" another girl spoke up. This one had dark skin like Eva's, and it was obvious even through her clothes that she had a lot of muscle.
"What's it to you?" Eva asked defensively. Her head was starting to clear again, her heart slowing down at last. Even though these girls had just saved her life, she wasn't sure if she could trust them.
"Are you running away?" The first girl asked, eyeing Eva's dagger carefully.
"No, I'm heading to Corus. I'd like to try and become a knight," Eva informed them, holding her head high. But the girls didn't laugh. Instead, they exchanged a whispered conversation in a language that Eva couldn't identify. It struck Eva that they might be sizing her up, wondering how easy it would be to take her down and steal what few coins she had on her. Before Eva could prepare herself for another fight, all three girls laid their longbows down on the ground and stepped closer to her.
"My name is Wersa of Fowler's Point. This is Kathryn, and that's Bethany of Alsdurry. We'd like to show you our camp if you'll follow us a ways," the tan girl called Wersa invited politely. But Eva wasn't convinced.
"You have a camp here in the forest? Why don't you just go to Omilder?" Eva asked curiously. The girl called Bethany sighed.
"Because we don't want our presence here known yet. The Falcon Blades act discreetly without anyone knowing what we're up to until we've gone," Bethany, a pale skinned girl with light blue eyes explained patiently. Eva was speechless. The Falcon Blades sounded like a group of outlaws to her. She was about to refuse when the girl named Kathryn took her arm in a solid grip.
"Let's just show you, eh? Maybe that will answer some of your questions," Kathryn suggested firmly. Wersa and Bethany went back to pick up their bows, and then they stepped off the path with Kathryn dragging the reluctant Eva by the arm.
"Careful you don't break her Kathryn!" Wersa jested brightly as they weaved in and out of the trees. "We don't want Rebekkah to think the poor girl's done something wrong!"
"I still don't know if this is a good idea. We just took in Zelaine and I don't know if Rebekkah wants another fledgling on her hands," Bethany grumbled. There was a moment of silence as they all skirted a patch of brambles. Eva felt like a prisoner. She had no idea what these girls were talking about, and she had no way of fighting them. They outnumbered her at three to one, and these girls clearly knew a thing or two about fighting. At least they didn't seem to want to hurt her. Maybe Eva could find a way to get away once they reached the "camp".
"I'd be willing to teach her," Wersa told Bethany. "It seems like she has the Gift, even if she's no idea how to use it." Wersa chortled heartily. Bethany still didn't seem convinced, but apparently the decision wasn't hers to make. At this point even if Eva could escape, she had absolutely no idea where they were anymore. They were long gone from the path, and for all Eva knew they were headed straight to nowhere.
Eva gave up listening to her captors; it was all she could do to focus on not tripping over the tangle of roots in her way. She wished that they'd slow down a bit, but she didn't dare ask. Eva was just starting to lose the feeling in her arm when they all arrived in a clearing. What she saw didn't quite register in her brain.
There were about twelve girls in the clearing, all of them bustling about doing chores such as gathering firewood and setting up tents. One girl in particular seemed to be in charge. She was giving orders in the calm, composed manner of a leader. Wersa, Bethany, and Kathryn came up to this girl and Kathryn finally let go of Eva. It didn't matter anymore, Eva wasn't going anywhere.
"Ah, Wersa you can't keep bringing me every girl you happen across who's by herself. I don't think we can support another one," the girl was saying. She had light skin and sharp brown eyes that seemed to take everything in with a mere glance.
"But Rebekkah, she has the Gift! She can be my fledgling; I see potential in her, don't you?" Wersa beseeched. Rebekkah turned her gaze to Eva. Eva tried not to show how frightened she felt and met Rebekkah's eyes. She felt like Rebekkah was seeing right through her and into the depths of her soul. Eva didn't know why, but she sensed that it was important that she impressed Rebekkah. So she let Rebekkah examine her and hoped that she passed the test. Rebekkah gave a small nod.
"She does show promise. What's your name, girl?" Rebekkah asked bluntly.
"I am Eva of Gather's Bridge. I was planning on going to Corus to try for knighthood," Eva didn't know why she was telling Rebekkah this. It's not like Rebekkah would care anyway.
"Are you a noble? Can you afford being a knight?" Kathryn inquired. Eva didn't have an answer to that.
"Well, Rebekkah?" Wersa begged. There was a tense moment of silence while Rebekkah thought about it. Eva was silently fuming. Who did these girls think they were? They were hardly older than her and they were standing around deciding if they'd let her join their precious Falcon Blades. Who said she even wanted to join?
"Fine, show her around. If she wants to she can join us as your fledgling, Wersa." Rebekkah announced. With that the group broke up until it was just Wersa and Eva.
"What does she mean, fledging? Will someone please explain what's going on!" Eva exclaimed, thoroughly exasperated. Wersa put an arm around Eva's shoulder and led her through the camp.
"Gladly."