Note: The first post of this said five brothers, I had to change that so it's fixed now.

Disclaimer: This is the say what disclaimers usually say. The characters and places that are in the subject matter at which the fanfic is written for is not my own and so on and so forth. Thank you for reading the disclaimer and have a lovely day! :)

The Beginning

The sun made his way to the top of the line of mountains in the distance. A young girl made her way towards a sparkling stream at the edge of her village. Rays of light danced through the clouds, dissolving them with their yellow tongues. The young girl smiled as she watched the sun come up. Dawn was always her favorite time of day. It was a new beginning, a new life to start, a new story waiting to be unfolded. She filled her buckets with water as the sun fought his way through the dark clouds that had been residing in the sky for days like a thick blanket. It had been raining for days and finally the sun won its battle.

The girl's buckets were soon filled and she reluctantly went back to her hut. She wished she could spend all day out in the open air, but her mother would scold her for being lazy again. Placing one bucket by the door, she took the other into the house. Not a soul stirred. Quietly, she crept around the sleeping bodies of her brothers and poured the water into a pot. She placed the pot over the fire in the hearth and began to make breakfast. It was unfair that she always had to do everything, but she could not argue to fact. She was the lowly daughter, nothing compared to a valued son, and she was not entitled to an opinion.

Breakfast was ready by the time her brothers woke up. She had four brothers ranging from the age of fifteen to eight. They all had red hair, green eyes and dark skin like their mother, while she was cursed with black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin like their father. Their father was born a foreigner and the features of black hair, blue eyes and pale skin were rare among their people. Even though their people accepted the marriage of their mother and father, they were not very friendly to him. Foreigners were considered demons best left alone unless unavoidable. Bearing her father's foreign looks, the girl was alienated by the villagers.

Her brothers came to the table and waited for her to serve them. The eldest, Liam, sat down first and said, "Where's our food Kida?" He winked at her, he always pretended to be mean when their brothers were close, but he didn't really mean it. Her other brothers chorused in agreement for they were wondering the same thing,

"It's coming. Patience," Kida replied as she scooped the grainy meal into hollowed-bone bowls. She placed a bowl before each of her brothers, picked up another bowl and left them to their meal. She went to the other side of the hut where her father and mother slept. She knelt beside her father and gently shook him. "Pada, I brought you food." The sleeping form of her father stirred and slowly sat up.

"Thank you Kida," her father said gently and took the bowl from her hands. Kida sat beside her father until he ate every bit of food in his bowl then went back to the other side of the hut where her brothers were fighting over the last piece of bread. Silently, she cleaned up the table and put the bowls away. There was no point in eating now; there was nothing left for her to eat. She took the last bowl she had saved for herself to her mother who sat in her chair by the door; she only sat there when she was upset about something.

"Mira," she gently said. "Here is some food." She placed the bowl in her mother's lap and left her to her thoughts.

Mira sat in her chair. Today would be the day. Today her sons would be taken away from her. Her precious sons, the glorification of her existence, would be torn from her arms and turned into killers. How she wished her daughter had been the one required for service not her sons, but the Romans wanted Sarmatian warriors not concubines.

It tore at her heart to think of losing her boys. It was all her father's fault. If it weren't for him and his compromise with the Roman demons, they would not be taking her sons away to die in foreign lands. Her husband was useless. He would not even try to negotiate with the Romans for her sons' lives.

Mira rocked back in forth. They would be coming for the three eldest soon, Liam, Coram, and Andre. At the ages of fifteen, thirteen, and twelve, they were plenty old enough to start their training as indentured knights for the Roman Empire. Mira watched the horizon, waiting for the shadowy forms of the men that would take her life away in one fell swoop.

Liam noticed his mother's odd behavior over the last few days. She had become like a ghost. There was only one thing that could have such an affect on his mother. The time had come for him to fulfill his part in the compromise with the Roman conquerors. He would be taken by the Romans to be a knight. He and his brothers would now live what they had dreamt of as boys. They would do great deeds and fight unimaginable foes. Liam thought things over in his head. He would be sad to leave his mother behind, and feared what would happen to Kida when he left, but he was excited to see what the world was like outside of their valley.

Excitedly, Liam went to his corner and gathered up his few belongings. If the Romans were coming for him he would be ready to leave. Coram and Andre found him packing. Without words they knew what Liam was doing and followed his example.

Kida watched from the shadows as her three eldest brothers packed their few belongings. No words were needed to know what they were preparing for. There had always been the foreboding feeling in the village, for it was known that the day would come when the Romans came back to claim their sons. That was what was wrong with her mother. She knew what was coming and dreaded it.

Kida left the hut and went to the river. The clouds were gone and the sun shone brightly. She scanned the horizon for some sign of anything, a shadow, a bird, anything. There was nothing, not even a bird in sight. She turned around completely looking but finding nothing. She hoped and prayed that the Romans would not come for Liam. Liam was her best friend and the only person that understood her; what would she do without him she couldn't even imagine it. As she finished turning a full circle she looked out again and saw that which she had not wished to see…

Sounds of horses pierced the silence of the valley. Mira looked out the door and saw them that would take her life away. She began to cry as the Roman soldiers rode into their valley to take away her sons.

Liam, Coram, and Andre watched their mother has she collapsed in hysterics. They knew that could only mean that the Romans had come to fetch them. Quickly, they grabbed their bag and went to get their horses.

The Romans rode into the center of the village. Kida ran after them. She heard many cries of grief as boys were torn from their mothers' arms and thrust upon horses. Kida scanned the group for her brothers; they were in the center of the mass of boys. She saw her mother crying at their door and her father standing back behind her watching as the Romans organized their future knights and herded them out of the village. Kida ran after them calling her farewells to her brothers; to Liam. He was gone, gone for good. She was all alone now. He would never come back, they all knew that. A single tear slid down her cheek as Liam faded out of her life forever.