I, Willow Wolf, rouge extraordinaire hail from parts far, far away. Some may think that rouges are only produced by the slick streets of the big city, but I probably had what would be considered as normal childhood. My father had a decent farm several miles from town, mostly wheat, some vegetables and raised some sheep and chickens. My mother made sure that I could read and write. I heard my parents speaking about some far-off city sometimes when they thought I wasn't listening and sometimes I think they knew and still talked about it; like they wanted me to know that I wasn't just a farmer's daughter that there was something more. My father would take me hunting. He taught me how to use a blowgun to get rabbit and quail. He also taught me how to handle the long sword he kept under the bed. Mother didn't know about these lessons; until one day she walked in on us. She and father had a long fight that night, but the next day my father and I had our lesson. My mother wasn't happy, but she didn't say anything after that. About the same time reports of bandits raiding the country side started circulating. As the reports of activity got closer, my father stopped going into town. One night, the few guard dogs we had started barking and growling. My father grabbed his sword and told my mother to take me to town and wait for him. There was something else out there that night. I could feel it as my mother and I rode off into the darkness. The mistress of the inn in town allowed us to stay the night with the understanding that she would receive some chickens for her trouble. I snuggled up in an armchair while my mother stood waiting at the only window in the common room watching for any sign of my father. At a point during the night, I awoke to mother having a heated argument with the inn's mistress. My mother wanted to go back. The mistress tried to convince my mother to wait until morning; when the men could send someone to check on the farm. She wouldn't listen; said duty drove her to my father's side. The set of my mother's jaw told me she couldn't be swayed from her decision. I closed my eyes and trried not to let her see me cry. I felt her hand on my shoulder and as gently shook me awake, so she thought.
"I'm going to check on your father. Whatever happens I want you to know that I love you and so does your father. Here, I want you to have this," she handed me a gold medallion, "there are people who will recognize this and when they find you they will help you realize your destiny," then she left. I didn't sleep any more that night.
A little before dawn, the mistress went up to bed leaving me alone in the common room. I waited until she was sleeping, before I snuck out and went back to the farm. Day was breaking as I gazed at what was left of my home. All the sheep and chickens were gone, the fields were burned, and my father and mother were nowhere to be seen. The house looked like it had been ransacked, but I knew my father's secret hiding place; a loose broad hiding under the bed. I pushed the bed over enough to lift the broad and reached my hand in. I pulled out a bundle of rolled up cloth. I unrolled it and discovered several picks and straight pieces of metal. I had seen these before when my father used them to unlock the barn. I had lost the key to open it. I reached my hand back feeling for whatever else was in the hole. I was surprised to find the long sword back in its place. I was surprised to find the large chest my patents kept at the end of the bed untouched. I tried the lock on the chest and it wouldn't budge. I looked from the tools to the chest and took the two I thought I had seen my father use. I stuck them in the keyhole on the lock. I don't know how long I jiggled them inside the lock, before I heard the lock click. When I opened the lid I found a pouch of coins, a gleaming suit of metal armor, a golden dress that looked like it belonged in the court of some queen and a suit of light leather armor. I quickly changed into the leather. I heard voices calling for my father and mother; it must have been the men from town. I didn't stay to find out. I snuck out the back and into the woods. I knew of an old trail that bypassed the town and led to the next city.