Welcome to Book One of the Cold Fire Chronicles!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Land Before Time franchise and will not make any money off this fanfiction.

POLISHED DRAFT

Finished: 2020-03-27

Chapter One: A Gift of a Bow and Arrows

A teenage girl sat at the dining room table, a small pile of 'thank you' notes in front of her. Her honey-brown eyes were narrowed at the words she had just written, and her free hand was tangled in her wavy dark brown hair. With a loud sigh, she sat back, pushing the card and pencil away from her. "Done. That should be good enough for Uncle Jacob and Aunt Kathryn."

The eighteen-year-old stretched her arms above her head with a groan. "I'm glad I got all those done today. Now, I can just relax for the rest of the afternoon." She stood and pushed in the chair before meandering to the living room where she flopped onto the light grey suede couch. "I can't believe I graduated high school almost three months ago. Though, I'm just glad all my friends made it to my party last week." She ran a hand through her hair before letting it fall just an inch past her shoulders. "I don't know when I'll see them again. Everyone is spending their last week with their families and packing up for college." She rolled to her side, a soft sigh escaping her. "College…"

She stared at the remote that had previously been flung to the floor. Before she could pick it up, a squawky meow sounded. A white feline with grey tabby points rubbed his face against her hand, purring like a miniature engine. He paused to stare up at her, bright blue eyes crossed ever so slightly, and the tips of his canines poking out from his mouth.

"Hello there, my goofy Ghost." The girl picked up the feline and rolled over, placing him on her stomach. "I would really miss you if I went off to college somewhere far away." She tapped him on the nose, which in turn he headbutted her hand before he curled up on her chest. His paws kneaded her collarbone while his grey striped tail flicked with content.

"My little sabretooth." The girl poked one of the fangs peeking out of Ghost's mouth, ignoring the claws digging into her fair skin. Her honey-brown gaze drifted to the shelves that lined the living room, one of the many things that had been placed on them catching her eye. She smiled at it, giving a slight laugh.

The object was a little card with her name written on it 'Remy.' It was a gift to her by all the children from the summer camp she had worked at for the first half of the summer. She loved all the young campers dearly and enjoyed most of the work and earning money as a camp counselor wasn't half bad either.

For the rest of the summer, Remy had spent as much time as she could with her small friend group. Her graduation party had taken place last week, and it had been a blast. Nearly all her friends and family had been able to make it, and she had received so many congratulation cards and money. But now there was only a week or so until her friends had to head off to their selected colleges, leaving Remy at home to figure out herself. Unlike her friends, Remy was currently taking a gap year in an attempt to gather herself and find out what she really wanted to do with her life.

"Remy! I'm home!" a woman's voice shouted from the kitchen, followed by the slam of a door.

The girl placed Ghost on the ground before standing up to greet her mother. "I finished all the thank-you cards, Mom."

"Good." Her mother set her bag onto the dining room table. "Give me a moment to change clothes. I have one last gift for you. It's from your Uncle Yar. I just received it from the friend of his who always visits on their way through town."

"Uncle Yar!" Remy grinned. "He always has great gifts. I just wish he could give them in person."

Her mother smiled. "You know Yar doesn't have the opportunity to come home. He lives far away and works in a remote area without much technology. That's why his friend visits every so often. They have family near the area, and their job is a little less hectic than Yar's."

"I know. I know." Remy leaned over a dining room chair, staring at the pile of 'thank you' notes. Somewhere in that pile, she had addressed a letter to her beloved uncle, telling him about her graduation from high school, the recent party, and wishing she could meet him in person at some point, among other things.

While Remy waited for her mother to change and retrieve her uncle's gift, she gazed on her collection of track and archery trophies. Her eyes locked on her newest and last trophy in archery. She had gotten third overall in regionals. However, before she could go deeper into memory lane, her mother cleared her throat.

"From Uncle Yar. Congrats on graduating, Remy." Her mother set down a quiver of arrows and a longbow, along with a leather arm guard and archery glove that she gracefully draped over the bow.

"Oh my gosh!" Remy held a hand to her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief. "Did he really make this for me?" She nearly collapsed next to the new equipment. Slipping on the leather glove, she marveled at the strange symbols burned into it. They were no bigger than her thumb, each of them unique. Some curled like ivy vines while others were more ridged and zigzagged like lightning. More of the same symbols were carved along the length of her bow and shafts of the arrows. "I love the markings Uncle Yar always puts on his gifts. He must be inspired by the ingenious people he works with."

Her mother smiled warmly. "Your uncle thought you were in need of an upgrade, especially after hearing that you lost to Quintin during your last ever archery match."

"Yeah. If I had this bow, I would have definitely won regionals and beat Quintin's butt." Even as Remy said this, a sad smile played on her lips. "I don't know when I'll see him again. Maybe I should see how his summer is going and if he would like to have a little shooting competition before he leaves for college, if he hasn't left already."

"I'm sure you'll see him again soon. You two might have gone to different high schools, but you have a knack for running into each other." Her mother chuckled, her own honey-brown gaze shifting from her daughter's newest gift to the trophies lining the wall. "Sometimes, I see more of Yar in you than myself."

"What was that, Mom?"

"Nothing. I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. Being a single mother isn't the easiest thing to do, but that's the life I chose for myself. I wanted a child but couldn't find the perfect man. But that's okay, because in the end I was able to have you, and you've grown into a wonderful young lady, Remy."

"Thanks, Mom. I love you too."

Her mother gingerly picked up one of the arrows, examining the symbols carved into the wooden shaft. "I'm glad everything seems to fit. I kept all those measurements from last time I bought you archery equipment so Yar could make the perfect bow for you."

"I better break it in then." Remy slung the quiver over her shoulder and picked up her new bow. "Then I can add more stuff to the letter I already wrote to Uncle Yar and tell him how great it is."

Remy practice with her new bow until sunset. All the equipment fit her well with only minor adjustments needing to be made. It was great to be shooting again. Her aim was as good as always and the new bow was a refreshing change. Still, the girl couldn't help but feel a twinge of sorrow, knowing that she would never shoot for her high school team again. Then again, there were archery tournaments everywhere, she just had to look, and invite her friends to shoot with her.

By nightfall, Remy and her mother were seated at the dining table, eating a simple meal of baked chicken and steamed vegetables. Ghost sat beside Remy on his own stool, gnawing at his diced chicken chunks. The mother and daughter duo chatted about what Remy's future plans were, her mother reminding Remy that there was no rush. She reassured her daughter that it was fine to relax for the last few weeks or so of summer, having worked hard her senior year of high school along with taking a job as a camp counselor for half the summer.

After supper, Remy and her mother cleaned their dishes and continued to chat into the night. Ghost lay curled up beside Remy, and the TV was on low volume to provide ambiance when conversation slowed. Since her mother would be at work tomorrow, Remy decided she would continue to practice with her new bow, and maybe message Quintin about her latest gift, just to give the boy something to be jealous about. If it wasn't too much of a hassle, perhaps she would even invite him over for a friendly shooting competition.

Gasp! Another Land Before Time fanfiction inspired by Elise Lowing's Land Before Time Retold series!

Yes, yes, I know. There's a handful of fics like this out there in the LBT fandom, but I couldn't resist. I've been following Elise's series since the beginning. I adore it, so I thought, 'why not try my hand at it?'

I'll do my best to keep this series different from Elise's Retold series. One massive change you will discover in the next few chapters is that I've aged up all the young dinosaur characters. This is mostly a personal preference (I'm not a fan of writing with main-character children). This, in turn, changes a LOT of plot that happens in the movies.

Another important note is that I have a plan to make this into an original, so some ideas/plot will be influenced by it. All I'll say about the original version is that it does NOT involve dinosaurs. This LBT fanfic series will also be more fantasy/magic-based than scientific.

Anywho, feel free to ask questions and give suggestions. Overall, don't be shy to comment.

P.S. I'm posting another LBT retelling series called Shattering Peace, which is a humanized fantasy version of the movies. It's what I usually write as a dark fantasy writer, so, forewarning, it gets rather bloody and dark.

Thanks for reading!