With out thinking I jumped up and grabbed onto the branch above my head quickly hoisting myself up and making myself hidden in the leaves. He was now facing me and had a look in his eyes that scared me, the look of hatred. He walked over to the tree as I was fighting to breathe silently and even, but my heart was racing and I thought that he could hear it below me. He looked up and a squirrel jumped out of its hole in the tree and ran across the branch. The man sighed and turned away going back to his hunting, when I could no longer hear his foot falls near me but off in the distance I let lose a sigh and breath of relief and silently thanked the squirrel. I jumped down and raced back home and once inside the safety of my room I began to laugh and laughed so hard I fell on the bed crying. I began sobbing as I thought about my sister's courtier, who had nearly caught me, there was something about him that was familiar, and that made me think back to my unknown father.

 I knew his name and his lineage, so I wasn't a bastard daughter but I was lonely, I wanted to know a fathers praise such as I had seen all my old friends receive, I wanted him to tell me I was beautiful, I wanted to talk to him and have him teach me the ways of war and fighting, I wanted to see and know him so much it hurt, and left an empty shell of my heart. I thought with a smirk, if I were an elf I would have died of grief long ago. And for that I was thankful for my lineage, I had seen my mother suffer enough with out being an elf, and I was scared of dying, but that was long ago, before I accepted my fate when my dreams first began.

My mother had died when she was hit with fever years back, she was riding with Melinar, her best friend, to Lorien to seek help for the fever was worsening and the village was worried for her health, when a few hours away from the village her horse reared before jumping a gap across a river and she could no longer hold her seat and fell into the river and drowned under the rapids. Melinar came back depressed and sent men to fetch my mothers body, she herself told my sister and I and felt as if it were her fault, both of us understood and forgave her saying that Valor took her when she was needed. Melinar vowed to help our family in any way she could, teaching Anadren the rest of her skills and me she could not teach so instead wrote to a friend, Mitherandar, I believe was his name. He in turn sent me the scrolls, which I kept hidden in a large dark tree near my clearing.

My sobs finally died down and I went to wash my face when I noticed darkness spreading over the village as I looked out the window. It was then I noticed a dark band of creatures running down the hill that over shadowed our village. I ran to my bed and grabbed to sword hidden under there and ran out side yelling, "attack". The villagers looked at me as I ran into the center of the village and unsheathed my sword, which I had clipped to my side while I ran. They looked up at the large band of orcs nearing the first row of houses and all chaos broke out.

            "Women and children quick to the winery." I yelled naming our underground safe spot, they all looked at me and paused "NOW!" I yelled as the orcs began to reach the square. The women and their children fled as their husbands ran out with their swords drawn. I sliced across the first orcs stomach, noticing the white hand on his face and not flinching as his black blood splattered onto my clothing. The men had grown used to seeing my fight since the last attack, as well as me wearing leggings and a tunic so I could fight quicker, since in the last attack my drab dress had slowed me down considerably and nearly beheaded me because of it. But the men agreed that thought its likes were only heard of in tales, they liked the shock of my fighting that was given to the attackers.

I beheaded a few more before I was grabbed from behind…