Disclaimer: As much as I wish this belonged to me, it doesn't. It's all Tamora Pierce and Random house.
A/N: whohoo! I'm ALIVE! I actually STILL EXIST! Yeah, sry for abandoning this and everything else for so long…. I just wasn't in the mood. Ok… sry, bad excuse. Don't hurt me… PLEASE? Edit: still pretty-fying my language and whatnot
Chapter 4 - The Beginning
Everything started on my thirteenth birthday. Of course, nobody knew that at the time. And it wasn't until much later that I found out I was the cause of it.
I remember that day so clearly. It had been the best day of my short life, with me finally stealing a kiss from George and Father giving me the most exquisite dagger I'd ever set eyes on in my life.
Andy woke me up that morning by tackling me and throwing me out of bed. "Andy!"
"Happy birthday dearest sister of mine."
"Wassa matter wiv you? Sun's noddeven up," and with that, I crawled back under the covers.
He gasped in mock surprise, "Arielle's being lazy! I thought I'd never see the day."
"Shuddup."
"You're slurring."
I threw my pillow at him.
He grinned.
I threw my blanket at him.
He grinned even wider.
I realized I couldn't possibly go back to sleep without a pillow and a blanket, especially since a thin frost had covered the earth overnight. Since my nose had already gone numb and my toes felt like they were about to freeze off, I got up and stalked over to our washbasin, which was already filled with steaming hot water. I glanced at Andy and debated with myself, trying to decide if I should dump the whole thing over his head or thank him for thinking of me. In the end, I stuck my frozen hands into the delightfully hot water and cracked a smile at my twin. "Say 'thank you' Ariel."
"Thank you, Andy. You're the best," I dunked my face into the hot water and felt my nose come back to life.
"I know," he tossed my blanket at me and I wiped my face with it. He then ushered me down the rickety old ladder and into the kitchen, where I was nearly deafened by the noise that greeted me. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARIEL!"
Apparently, my whole family had decided to get up at some unholy hour and had started a nice, warm fire crackling in the kitchen. Someone, presumably George, who had dropped by last night with a mysterious package, had gotten a hold of a delicious drink which I later learned was called hot chocolate and it was simmering on the fire. Not only that, but there were packages on the table and a cake was creating wonderous smells from inside the oven.
"You're thirteen now, dearest, and old enough to take on some more responsibilities around the house."
I interrupted my father with a groan.
He put an arm around my shoulders and grinned at me, "But that doesn't mean that you can't have some fun first. Go on, open your presents."
I squealed with delight and attacked the table as my family watched on. Presents were a luxury in our house and here was a whole table full of them, just for me.
My mother had given me a pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn, implying that I was now needed to help make clothes for the family. Andy got me a tiny glass falcon with a little loop at the top. Later, I found a chain for it and it now rests at the little hollow at the base of my neck, a place it hasn't moved from since. Elspeth had given me surprise, surprise, a roll of parchment and a quill, all my own. It must have cost her a fortune because parchment was expensive, so I thanked her profusely and was touched by her generosity. Rissa bought me two hair ribbons, one pink and one purple. I winced inwardly, but announced that I would be willing to share them with her, which I think was the reason she gave them to me in the first place. Lily just gave me one of her powerful hugs, and I knew that I needed nothing more from her. Lynne had sketched me a picture of myself riding a horse and brandishing a sword, something which I still keep wrapped in oiled paper and carry with me. And Val, being only six, hadn't thought of getting me anything, so Mother allowed her to carry the cake over to the table and she presented it to me with a flourish. And, of course, there was the Raven Armory dagger from my father.
That dagger caused an uproar in our house when I ripped off the brown paper and opened the box inside to reveal a dagger with a curved blade the length of my thumb. The blade had the silver-blue sheen of the best quality metal and the ebony handle held the stylized enamel raven that was the sign of Raven Armory. I held in my hands a fortune in metal and wasn't about to give it up, even when Mother lashed out at my father with screams and slaps loud enough to wake all of Corus. I swear on the Goddess that King Roald heard her in his bed in the Royal Palace, she was that loud.
That got everyone else in the house started. Andy protested that it wasn't fair that I got such an expensive gift while Elspeth and Rissa both shrieked and demanded that I not come close to them with that thing. Lily just gaped whilst Lynne and Val followed their older sisters' example and yelled at the top of their lungs.
This caused half our street to wake up and nearly knock our poor door off its hinges, trying to figure out who was dying in the house.
I managed to escape the hubbub by creeping back up the ladder and shimmying out the window, nearly breaking my neck in the process, as a result of the frost, which was colder than I had anticipated. The early December air bit at my face as I landed on the frozen ground. I'd also just realized I'd forgotten shoes. Brilliant. About to go back, I changed my mind as I rounded the corner, seeing as how the neighbors were still trying to break down our door.
Instead, I trotted towards the Dancing Dove, hoping Solom would be there to give me a mug of warm cider and a chair by the fire.
After having warmed up by the fire and drunk my fill of warm cider, I wandered out of the Dancing Dove into the fine powder that had begun to fall from the sky as soon as the sun came up. A rather large amount of snow had accumulated on the ground and I was grateful for the pair of boots Solom had lent me even though they were about three times too big. I shivered as I made my way back home, I'd been wearing nothing but a huge shirt and the pair of soft breeches that I usually wear to bed, having not had the chance to change since I'd been so rudely awakened by Andy candlemarks before.
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George caught me on the way to my house and demanded to know where I'd been the whole morning.
I shrugged him off and kept walking, intent on getting back to a warm fire before my nose and the rest of my limbs froze off.
"Ariel!" he called in a scolding tone.
I hated being scolded, "What?"
"Your whole family has been looking for you since dawn. Where on earth have you been?" He jogged over and caught my arm in a firm grip, making me stop in my tracks.
This hadn't occurred to me before. Of course they'd be looking for me, it was my birthday after all. I groaned, feeling like a complete idiot. "Oh."
"Good job. Why don't I walk you back home, just to make sure you don't make yourself disappear again. Where did you run off to anyways?"
I shivered involuntarily, and George, having noticed, handed me his cloak. "I was at the Dancing Dove. Why didn't Andy think to look for me there? And you can keep your cloak, I'm not all that cold anyway," my chattering teeth betrayed me, and George placed his cloak around my shoulders, despite my protests.
"You little liar," he grinned down at me, already taller by more than a head. "Nobody thought you'd walk that far, not without shoes in weather this cold. Why'd you leave the house in the first place?"
"Let's just say a herd of madmen tried to pound down the door while my family was trying very hard to be heard by the whole city," I explained.
"I see," he said, and asked no more as we walked towards my house in a comfortable silence.
The temperature was dropping very rapidly and it began to snow even harder as swirling gray clouds covered the pale winter sun. The wind picked up and I could feel George's body shake and draped half of his cloak over his shoulders when his teeth began to chatter. Being as short as I was, I had a bit of trouble getting the cloth over his shoulder and he laughed at me as I jumped to complete the task. "I would think you'd get taller as you got older. Apparently not," he teased.
"Go shove it, George," my height was a sensitive topic and he knew it.
"How rude."
I attempted to throw a snowball at him, but failed miserably since the snow was too fluffy to pack. The wind had picked up by then and the snow blew back into my face as the snowball fell apart. He laughed and pulled the edge of the cloak around his shoulder, where it was starting to slip off. The tightening of the cloth pulled us closer to each other and I flushed as George slipped his arm around my waist, drawing us even closer. I didn't slap his arm away because the warmth of his body was beginning to warm me up a little and because I rather enjoyed the feel if his long, lanky arm wrapped securely around my waist. But mainly, it was because I was too cold to protest.
"Ariel," he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck.
I looked up into his hazel eyes, "Yeah?" I whispered, just as quietly as he had.
And then his face was inches from mine, not even because our noses were touching, and the next thing I knew, I felt the soft, warm brush of his lips on my own.
It was not a very good kiss, because our teeth clicked together and our noses somehow managed to get into the most inconvenient places, but it was a kiss from George, and when we broke apart, I was smiling like an idiot. So maybe it was more because I liked having his arm around my waist, but Ganiel would have to pull me though the underworld and out before I would admit that.
"Happy birthday, Ariel," he whispered again. He'd better watch out, or this whispering might become a habit. And then he walked me the rest of the way home, guiding me though the alleys with a sure arm. When we reached the door, he gave me a quick peck on the cheek before pushing me into a kitchen full of my scowling family and the delicious smell of hot chocolate still coming from the fire.
A/N: ahhhh…. So not completely ideal… but I've gotten past the description part. Aight. So whoever wants to give me suggestions knock yourself out. And if you feel the need to knock me out with a hammer and stick my head down the toilet, I'll understand. Although I honestly hope you won't. Thanks to all who reviewed!