Chapter 1
The sunset quietly behind the horizon as night fell into its place, lulling the world under
it into a peaceful slumber. The stars sparkled throughout the black void as the world below
them grew more silent through the hours. Only a few were awake at the growing hours of the
night, but five stood out amongst the rest. They lived in the small village of Nodakai, a place
of merchants and traders, where everyone was welcome. On this beautiful night, filled with
stars and dreams, the group was stargazing, per the advice of one of the five. The chill air
kept them awake, but was comforting and relaxing at the same time, their eyes passed over the
vast sky, taking in the beauty that was floating above them.
"This is the life," the one of blue said quietly. A few nods and grunts agreed with the blue
haired man.
"Rowen, do you see that star up there? It looks....strange," the one with raven hair asked,
suddenly a little concerned.
Rowen, the one of blue, looked to the area Ryo, the raven haired one, was pointing to.
His eyes widened at the sight. Above, in the sky for all to see, a star was beginning
it's decent, only this star was spiraling, like a bird whose wing had been broken. The star
suddenly exploded into a thousand pieces of dust halfway from it's starting point. The five
gasped, "Well, you don't see that everyday."
"Kento! Don't joke about things like that! I have a very bad feeling," Cye, the auburn
haired one said as he scowled at Kento, the big, bluish-gray haired man.
"Calm down Cye. I'm sure it isn't anything that should concern anyone in this world.
It is probably a signal from one good spirit to another," the blonde man said, finally
speaking up. Rowen looked at the sky again and then turned to the others," Sage is probably
right. I've heard that the spirits communicate to eachother in strange ways. This happening
at night proves that even more. Darkness is when the spirits come out to check on their loved
ones or to bring some of their loved ones to the other world with them. Don't look into the
star too much Cye."
"Alright, alright, but I still have a very bad feeling about that star...." Cye started and
then lost his train of speech when four more stars fell after the first, and exploded in the
exact same spot as the first. Cye looked at Rowen, brow furrowed in confusion and eyes wide
in astonishment.
Rowen blinked, hard, " Alright, alright, let's go back to the house. We shouldn't be out here
at this hour anyway."
The others nodded in agreement and headed for their house. Ryo looked back at the sky and an
intense premonition of danger rushed through him, he looked around, but could see nothing in
the darkness. He pushed past the feeling and ran to catch up with his friends.
As they walked along the forest path back to their village, which was a pretty good distance
off, Sage stopped walking and squinted his eyes.
"What's up S-" Rowen started but was cut off by Sage's quiet, 'sh'. The others looked in the
direction Sage pointed. They all turned and saw white every now and then appear from behind
the brush. Sage pulled Ryo down and the others followed, there they sat and watched as the
white suddenly began to form into a dress, and then they could see a girl walking quickly
through the forest, pushing through branches and bushes, pulling vines out of her pathway and
stepping over holes.
Rowen stood up and shrugged, " So what, it's a girl. Ya know, they are allowed to go wherever
they want."
Sage pulled Rowen back down quickly and pointed alittle ways behind the walking girl. Rowen
squinted, his eyes trying to adjust to the darker spots behind the brush. Cye gasped and pointed
to a tree about 15 feet behind the girl. A group of four big men were following quietly behind
her, clad in black armor, with blood-red trim and a symbol of a gold star with a dagger through
the middle on their chests. The moonlight glinted off of their unsheathed swords and cast an
eeriness about them that scent a shiver up Cye's spine.
"Maybe they are her bodyguards, she might be someone important," Ryo said quietly as he watched
the girl push through a thornbush.
"Then why are they so far behind her? Anyone could grab her right now and kill her and they
wouldn't be able to help her. I have a feeling those weapons are for her and only her."
"Rowen, what are you talking about?" Kento said, aggrivation dripping from his words, he hated
it when Rowen talked like that. Rowen looked back at the girl and frowned, " She's running from
them, they are assassins. They're here to kill her."
Sage nodded and pointed to the path, " If we can beat her to the end of the path, we can get
her away from those guys by using the back route. She'd be better of with us than by herself."
Ryo nodded, " Alright, but we need to hurry, she's getting closer to the end of the path. Be
quiet on the way, we don't want those four to see or hear us. Let's go."
The others nodded and they all started to run toward the end of the path, every now and then
they would check to see where the girl was, she was getting closer. If they missed her she would
head straight for the open field, where no one could hear her scream. With a little luck they
made it to the spot before her and caught their breath. They all stood up straighter when they
heard her push through another bush. They looked over to hershe was standing, wide-eyed and
shocked in front of them. She looked around quickly, trying to find an escape, but saw none.
Sage approached her slowly, she backed up a step. Seeing this, he stopped and held out a hand
in greeting, " My name is Sage Date. My friends and I noticed you in the forest, you looked a
bit lost."
She looked at his hand then looked at his friends, they seemed nice enough to her, so she took
the offered hand. She heard a twig snap somewhere in the distance and turned to the noise. She
knew they were still behind her, but she didn't have enough energy to stop them, so she had
kept going. Now she had bumped into these five and knew they were in danger, but she didn't have
enough strength to help them if they were caught.
"They are getting closer Sage, we need to go now if your plan is going to work," Rowen said
quietly as he looked into the forest. The girl looked at Sage, confusion clearly written on her
pale face. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and stopped near her small waist. Her dew-wet
white dress clung to her perfect frame and gave her a ghost-like appearance. She quickly
stepped away from the edge of the path and moved toward the others, a feeling of safety came
over her once she was by them, especially the one called Sage.
"Listen, there are some men following you, we think they are assassins," Cye said in a hushed
tone as he looked into the forest. She looked at him, " How many?"
"Four of them."
She visibly paled, and looked at Sage, his violet eyes penetrating her soul. She thought he
might be able to see everything she hid inside of her heart. "Do you wish to help me?" she asked
as she looked back at the forest.
"Yes, we have a plan, but in order for it to work you have to be very quiet and stay as close
to us as possible," Ryo whispered.
She nodded her head and asked them to lead the way. Sage started in the front followed by her
then Rowen. Cye, Kento and finally Ryo brought up the rear. They started down the path a ways
and then Sage took a hold of her hand and pulled her onto another path, one that wasn't very
used and, to the untrained eye, was hidden behind some bushes. They walked for a time, in
complete silence, except for the occassional hoots of the owls and cries of the crickets.
She looked around, this really is a beautiful forest, she thought to herself before she was
stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Rowen pointed over her shoulder to the stream in front of
them and then to the rocks that peeked out from the water. Sage stepped onto one of the stones
and took hold of her hand, they started across the water, stepping as quickly and quietly as
possible on the slippery stones. The others followed colsely behind, being careful as to not
fall into the water and alert their followers. Kento was now in the rear and being careful to
cover any tracks they had made.
The group finally made it to a hill, with a path running up and over it, leading to the
southern part of the city. Tall rocks lined the path and led ,off to the right,a person to a
sort of cliff that dropped above the lake that was connected to the stream. Jagged rocks sat
below the calm waters and proved an interesting fall, should one go off the edge. Tall trees
were situated near the horizon of the hill, so that you wouldn't be able to see what was on the
other side until you actually got to the very top. As they climbed the path, the girl couldn't
help but look over the edge of the cliff, it looked to be about 50 feet and deadly at the bottom
of the fall. She didn't want to think about it anymore, she was escaping, and with help from
five guys who just happened to see her in the forest. The good spirits must be looking out for
her.
The sound of leaves blowing in a sudden gust of wind caused her to shiver, although it felt
more like a warning, she figured it as just being cold. They were too far for the assassins to
ever catch up, at least she hoped so. She looked up at a noise in the tree nearest her and
let out a small cry as one of the four assassins jumped down toward her. Sage pulled her back
from the blade of the enemy just in time. She looked around in shock, they caught up with them,
all of them. Rowen and Cye pushed her back from two more assasins who had just appeared from
behind a bush. Kento and Ryo took up an almost long since forgotten fighting position as all
five of them enclosed her in a human circle.
She was in shock, there was no way they could have caught up to them, was there? She felt more
powerful than she was, and knew she could touch at least one of them. That was all she had to do,
touch one of them.No one could stand against the touch of a Confessor, she had the power to
take someone, mentally and turn them into her slave. That was her power, but since coming to
this land, no one had known who or what she was, which was very different from back in her
native land. There, in the Midlands, everyone knew who a Confessor was, their long hair and
clothing was the biggest sign. She being the one in white, the Mother Confessor, was the highest
power in all of the Midlands. She knew she wasn't the strongest, offensively, but one touch
could cause a person to lose their soul to her and devote their lives, willingly, to her.
She looked at the five surrounding her, she couldn't use her power, not with them this close.
She'd have to wait for an opening, just until she could get them out of danger. One of the men
in black jumped to attack, Sage dodged to the left and brought his knee up to connect with
the man's middle, it barely had an effect. The other assasins attacked then and the five were
trying their best to keep the girl out of harms way. Sage was backed up against a rock, a sword
coming straight for him, he dogded to the left and tried to miss a fist, but ended up getting
slammed into the rock. Spots danced before his eyes, he fought to keep consciousness and pushed
himself off the rock. He looked at the others and saw that they were having a hard time stopping
these monsters, too. He looked around and saw the girl, an assasin was coming for her and she
didn't see him. He yelled to her and she spun around, just in time to dodge the sword from
splitting her in two. He tried to get to her but the assasin he was fighting had other ideas.
With one swift hit he knocked the wind out of Sage and slammed him into a nearby tree. The
assasins tall frame blocked his view of the girl, he hadn't heard her scream or make any sounds,
he hoped she was alright.
Now is my chance, the girl thought as she saw that the five were far enough away and completely
distracted. She looked at the assasin, his hate filled gray eyes stared evilly back at her, she
smirked, she wouldn't have a hard time with this one, he was blinded by hatred. The assasin
charged her, she dodged his sword and grabbed his neck, he looked at her in hatred for a split
second and then she let her power free. His eyes widened in shock and then the hatred and shock
turned to obsession. Thunder with out sound impacted in the air. Sage looked up to the sky,
his body had filled with pain just now, but the assasin hadn't hit him. Rowen looked to the
others, something had just happened, and it had hurt like hell, but he didn't know what it was.
"Mistress, Can I please you?" he said passionately as he kneeled before her. She looked around
and saw the assasin above Sage lifting his sword, readying for his deathblow. "Kill him," she
said in a flat voice and pointed to the assasin about to kill Sage, she then added, "hurry."
The assasin-turned-slave sprung from his spot and charged the unsuspecting assasin. Sage looked
up, eyes widening, the assasin had just been killed by his partner. The sword dropped from the
assasins hand as the limp body fell to the ground next to Sage. The assasin-turned-slave attacked
the other two assasin, he sliced the middle of one of the assasins but was speared through
the heart by the other, he fell to the ground with a muffled thud.
Sage looked at the last assasin, who was approaching the girl, the others quickly tried to get
to her but were too far away. Sage ran as fast as he could to get to her before him, she looked
drained of all her energy. He was almost there, but the assasin was too fast. The girl
looked up in shock at seeing the assasin right above her, sword raised and blood dripping from
the blade. Sage lept at the assasin and slammed into him, the assasin lost his balance and
tripped over the girl, falling over the side of the cliff and landing in the lake on the jagged
rocks. The water turned a sickly shade of red as the body of the assasin lay motionless on the
rocks. Sage heaved a sigh and collapsed next to the girl, he looked over at her. She was even
paler than before and looked almost sick, he wasn't sure what had happened to her that had made
her so weak, but it didn't matter at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that everybody
was safe now and injuries weren't too serious.
"Are you alright Sage? That was a heck of a hit you gave that guy," Kento asked as he and the
others got closer to Sage and the girl.
"Yeah I'm fine. What about you guys?" Sage asked as he looked at the four in front of him,
they were bruised and had a few cuts, but other than that they were ok. They all shrugged,
saying they were fine, just a little achy. Sage looked at the girl, she was sitting with her
legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, she looked cold.
"Are you alright?" Sage asked quietly. She looked up and smiled, " I am now, thanks to the five
of you."
"You look very weak, are you sure you are ok?" Cye asked in concern. She looked up at him and
smiled a sad smile.
"I just haven't had the best of weeks, it is catching up with me."
"Oh...well...maybe you should come back to the village with us, we can get you a room and some
food," Ryo offered. He looked at the girl again, she was way to weak to be out in the forest
alone, and after an ordeal like the one that had just happened, he didn't want to her to come to
anymore harm.
"I don't want to impose," she started but was cut off by Rowen , " You aren't imposing, you're
a friend, you're always welcome to our house. Besides you look like you need about three days
rest."
She smiled, " You mean it?" Rowen looked confused, " Mean what?That you can come over...of
course!"
"No..that you are my friends."
"After and ordeal like this! I wouldn't be surprised if we know eachother for the rest of
our lives. People just don't walk away from events like this and forget the people involved with
it," Rowen laughed.
She stood up quietly, alittle wobbly, but other wise alright and held out her hand to Sage. He
took it and with her help, stood up next to her. She turned to him and again held out her hand,
" My name is Aurora Kannell."
----Authors' Note:----
This story is based on the continuing saga written by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth Saga.
All characters belong to rightful owners. Thanks for reading and please R&R! Next Chapter will
be up soon.
Lady Xara and Lady Tamiko
The sunset quietly behind the horizon as night fell into its place, lulling the world under
it into a peaceful slumber. The stars sparkled throughout the black void as the world below
them grew more silent through the hours. Only a few were awake at the growing hours of the
night, but five stood out amongst the rest. They lived in the small village of Nodakai, a place
of merchants and traders, where everyone was welcome. On this beautiful night, filled with
stars and dreams, the group was stargazing, per the advice of one of the five. The chill air
kept them awake, but was comforting and relaxing at the same time, their eyes passed over the
vast sky, taking in the beauty that was floating above them.
"This is the life," the one of blue said quietly. A few nods and grunts agreed with the blue
haired man.
"Rowen, do you see that star up there? It looks....strange," the one with raven hair asked,
suddenly a little concerned.
Rowen, the one of blue, looked to the area Ryo, the raven haired one, was pointing to.
His eyes widened at the sight. Above, in the sky for all to see, a star was beginning
it's decent, only this star was spiraling, like a bird whose wing had been broken. The star
suddenly exploded into a thousand pieces of dust halfway from it's starting point. The five
gasped, "Well, you don't see that everyday."
"Kento! Don't joke about things like that! I have a very bad feeling," Cye, the auburn
haired one said as he scowled at Kento, the big, bluish-gray haired man.
"Calm down Cye. I'm sure it isn't anything that should concern anyone in this world.
It is probably a signal from one good spirit to another," the blonde man said, finally
speaking up. Rowen looked at the sky again and then turned to the others," Sage is probably
right. I've heard that the spirits communicate to eachother in strange ways. This happening
at night proves that even more. Darkness is when the spirits come out to check on their loved
ones or to bring some of their loved ones to the other world with them. Don't look into the
star too much Cye."
"Alright, alright, but I still have a very bad feeling about that star...." Cye started and
then lost his train of speech when four more stars fell after the first, and exploded in the
exact same spot as the first. Cye looked at Rowen, brow furrowed in confusion and eyes wide
in astonishment.
Rowen blinked, hard, " Alright, alright, let's go back to the house. We shouldn't be out here
at this hour anyway."
The others nodded in agreement and headed for their house. Ryo looked back at the sky and an
intense premonition of danger rushed through him, he looked around, but could see nothing in
the darkness. He pushed past the feeling and ran to catch up with his friends.
As they walked along the forest path back to their village, which was a pretty good distance
off, Sage stopped walking and squinted his eyes.
"What's up S-" Rowen started but was cut off by Sage's quiet, 'sh'. The others looked in the
direction Sage pointed. They all turned and saw white every now and then appear from behind
the brush. Sage pulled Ryo down and the others followed, there they sat and watched as the
white suddenly began to form into a dress, and then they could see a girl walking quickly
through the forest, pushing through branches and bushes, pulling vines out of her pathway and
stepping over holes.
Rowen stood up and shrugged, " So what, it's a girl. Ya know, they are allowed to go wherever
they want."
Sage pulled Rowen back down quickly and pointed alittle ways behind the walking girl. Rowen
squinted, his eyes trying to adjust to the darker spots behind the brush. Cye gasped and pointed
to a tree about 15 feet behind the girl. A group of four big men were following quietly behind
her, clad in black armor, with blood-red trim and a symbol of a gold star with a dagger through
the middle on their chests. The moonlight glinted off of their unsheathed swords and cast an
eeriness about them that scent a shiver up Cye's spine.
"Maybe they are her bodyguards, she might be someone important," Ryo said quietly as he watched
the girl push through a thornbush.
"Then why are they so far behind her? Anyone could grab her right now and kill her and they
wouldn't be able to help her. I have a feeling those weapons are for her and only her."
"Rowen, what are you talking about?" Kento said, aggrivation dripping from his words, he hated
it when Rowen talked like that. Rowen looked back at the girl and frowned, " She's running from
them, they are assassins. They're here to kill her."
Sage nodded and pointed to the path, " If we can beat her to the end of the path, we can get
her away from those guys by using the back route. She'd be better of with us than by herself."
Ryo nodded, " Alright, but we need to hurry, she's getting closer to the end of the path. Be
quiet on the way, we don't want those four to see or hear us. Let's go."
The others nodded and they all started to run toward the end of the path, every now and then
they would check to see where the girl was, she was getting closer. If they missed her she would
head straight for the open field, where no one could hear her scream. With a little luck they
made it to the spot before her and caught their breath. They all stood up straighter when they
heard her push through another bush. They looked over to hershe was standing, wide-eyed and
shocked in front of them. She looked around quickly, trying to find an escape, but saw none.
Sage approached her slowly, she backed up a step. Seeing this, he stopped and held out a hand
in greeting, " My name is Sage Date. My friends and I noticed you in the forest, you looked a
bit lost."
She looked at his hand then looked at his friends, they seemed nice enough to her, so she took
the offered hand. She heard a twig snap somewhere in the distance and turned to the noise. She
knew they were still behind her, but she didn't have enough energy to stop them, so she had
kept going. Now she had bumped into these five and knew they were in danger, but she didn't have
enough strength to help them if they were caught.
"They are getting closer Sage, we need to go now if your plan is going to work," Rowen said
quietly as he looked into the forest. The girl looked at Sage, confusion clearly written on her
pale face. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and stopped near her small waist. Her dew-wet
white dress clung to her perfect frame and gave her a ghost-like appearance. She quickly
stepped away from the edge of the path and moved toward the others, a feeling of safety came
over her once she was by them, especially the one called Sage.
"Listen, there are some men following you, we think they are assassins," Cye said in a hushed
tone as he looked into the forest. She looked at him, " How many?"
"Four of them."
She visibly paled, and looked at Sage, his violet eyes penetrating her soul. She thought he
might be able to see everything she hid inside of her heart. "Do you wish to help me?" she asked
as she looked back at the forest.
"Yes, we have a plan, but in order for it to work you have to be very quiet and stay as close
to us as possible," Ryo whispered.
She nodded her head and asked them to lead the way. Sage started in the front followed by her
then Rowen. Cye, Kento and finally Ryo brought up the rear. They started down the path a ways
and then Sage took a hold of her hand and pulled her onto another path, one that wasn't very
used and, to the untrained eye, was hidden behind some bushes. They walked for a time, in
complete silence, except for the occassional hoots of the owls and cries of the crickets.
She looked around, this really is a beautiful forest, she thought to herself before she was
stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Rowen pointed over her shoulder to the stream in front of
them and then to the rocks that peeked out from the water. Sage stepped onto one of the stones
and took hold of her hand, they started across the water, stepping as quickly and quietly as
possible on the slippery stones. The others followed colsely behind, being careful as to not
fall into the water and alert their followers. Kento was now in the rear and being careful to
cover any tracks they had made.
The group finally made it to a hill, with a path running up and over it, leading to the
southern part of the city. Tall rocks lined the path and led ,off to the right,a person to a
sort of cliff that dropped above the lake that was connected to the stream. Jagged rocks sat
below the calm waters and proved an interesting fall, should one go off the edge. Tall trees
were situated near the horizon of the hill, so that you wouldn't be able to see what was on the
other side until you actually got to the very top. As they climbed the path, the girl couldn't
help but look over the edge of the cliff, it looked to be about 50 feet and deadly at the bottom
of the fall. She didn't want to think about it anymore, she was escaping, and with help from
five guys who just happened to see her in the forest. The good spirits must be looking out for
her.
The sound of leaves blowing in a sudden gust of wind caused her to shiver, although it felt
more like a warning, she figured it as just being cold. They were too far for the assassins to
ever catch up, at least she hoped so. She looked up at a noise in the tree nearest her and
let out a small cry as one of the four assassins jumped down toward her. Sage pulled her back
from the blade of the enemy just in time. She looked around in shock, they caught up with them,
all of them. Rowen and Cye pushed her back from two more assasins who had just appeared from
behind a bush. Kento and Ryo took up an almost long since forgotten fighting position as all
five of them enclosed her in a human circle.
She was in shock, there was no way they could have caught up to them, was there? She felt more
powerful than she was, and knew she could touch at least one of them. That was all she had to do,
touch one of them.No one could stand against the touch of a Confessor, she had the power to
take someone, mentally and turn them into her slave. That was her power, but since coming to
this land, no one had known who or what she was, which was very different from back in her
native land. There, in the Midlands, everyone knew who a Confessor was, their long hair and
clothing was the biggest sign. She being the one in white, the Mother Confessor, was the highest
power in all of the Midlands. She knew she wasn't the strongest, offensively, but one touch
could cause a person to lose their soul to her and devote their lives, willingly, to her.
She looked at the five surrounding her, she couldn't use her power, not with them this close.
She'd have to wait for an opening, just until she could get them out of danger. One of the men
in black jumped to attack, Sage dodged to the left and brought his knee up to connect with
the man's middle, it barely had an effect. The other assasins attacked then and the five were
trying their best to keep the girl out of harms way. Sage was backed up against a rock, a sword
coming straight for him, he dogded to the left and tried to miss a fist, but ended up getting
slammed into the rock. Spots danced before his eyes, he fought to keep consciousness and pushed
himself off the rock. He looked at the others and saw that they were having a hard time stopping
these monsters, too. He looked around and saw the girl, an assasin was coming for her and she
didn't see him. He yelled to her and she spun around, just in time to dodge the sword from
splitting her in two. He tried to get to her but the assasin he was fighting had other ideas.
With one swift hit he knocked the wind out of Sage and slammed him into a nearby tree. The
assasins tall frame blocked his view of the girl, he hadn't heard her scream or make any sounds,
he hoped she was alright.
Now is my chance, the girl thought as she saw that the five were far enough away and completely
distracted. She looked at the assasin, his hate filled gray eyes stared evilly back at her, she
smirked, she wouldn't have a hard time with this one, he was blinded by hatred. The assasin
charged her, she dodged his sword and grabbed his neck, he looked at her in hatred for a split
second and then she let her power free. His eyes widened in shock and then the hatred and shock
turned to obsession. Thunder with out sound impacted in the air. Sage looked up to the sky,
his body had filled with pain just now, but the assasin hadn't hit him. Rowen looked to the
others, something had just happened, and it had hurt like hell, but he didn't know what it was.
"Mistress, Can I please you?" he said passionately as he kneeled before her. She looked around
and saw the assasin above Sage lifting his sword, readying for his deathblow. "Kill him," she
said in a flat voice and pointed to the assasin about to kill Sage, she then added, "hurry."
The assasin-turned-slave sprung from his spot and charged the unsuspecting assasin. Sage looked
up, eyes widening, the assasin had just been killed by his partner. The sword dropped from the
assasins hand as the limp body fell to the ground next to Sage. The assasin-turned-slave attacked
the other two assasin, he sliced the middle of one of the assasins but was speared through
the heart by the other, he fell to the ground with a muffled thud.
Sage looked at the last assasin, who was approaching the girl, the others quickly tried to get
to her but were too far away. Sage ran as fast as he could to get to her before him, she looked
drained of all her energy. He was almost there, but the assasin was too fast. The girl
looked up in shock at seeing the assasin right above her, sword raised and blood dripping from
the blade. Sage lept at the assasin and slammed into him, the assasin lost his balance and
tripped over the girl, falling over the side of the cliff and landing in the lake on the jagged
rocks. The water turned a sickly shade of red as the body of the assasin lay motionless on the
rocks. Sage heaved a sigh and collapsed next to the girl, he looked over at her. She was even
paler than before and looked almost sick, he wasn't sure what had happened to her that had made
her so weak, but it didn't matter at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that everybody
was safe now and injuries weren't too serious.
"Are you alright Sage? That was a heck of a hit you gave that guy," Kento asked as he and the
others got closer to Sage and the girl.
"Yeah I'm fine. What about you guys?" Sage asked as he looked at the four in front of him,
they were bruised and had a few cuts, but other than that they were ok. They all shrugged,
saying they were fine, just a little achy. Sage looked at the girl, she was sitting with her
legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, she looked cold.
"Are you alright?" Sage asked quietly. She looked up and smiled, " I am now, thanks to the five
of you."
"You look very weak, are you sure you are ok?" Cye asked in concern. She looked up at him and
smiled a sad smile.
"I just haven't had the best of weeks, it is catching up with me."
"Oh...well...maybe you should come back to the village with us, we can get you a room and some
food," Ryo offered. He looked at the girl again, she was way to weak to be out in the forest
alone, and after an ordeal like the one that had just happened, he didn't want to her to come to
anymore harm.
"I don't want to impose," she started but was cut off by Rowen , " You aren't imposing, you're
a friend, you're always welcome to our house. Besides you look like you need about three days
rest."
She smiled, " You mean it?" Rowen looked confused, " Mean what?That you can come over...of
course!"
"No..that you are my friends."
"After and ordeal like this! I wouldn't be surprised if we know eachother for the rest of
our lives. People just don't walk away from events like this and forget the people involved with
it," Rowen laughed.
She stood up quietly, alittle wobbly, but other wise alright and held out her hand to Sage. He
took it and with her help, stood up next to her. She turned to him and again held out her hand,
" My name is Aurora Kannell."
----Authors' Note:----
This story is based on the continuing saga written by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth Saga.
All characters belong to rightful owners. Thanks for reading and please R&R! Next Chapter will
be up soon.
Lady Xara and Lady Tamiko