Chapter One:
Enter, Adralyn
A fourteen year old girl sat on the side of the road as Lady Salímine and her husband, Lord Echardt of Grenston, rode down the wide main street on two large, beautiful Ostrich Horses. The crowd cheered, all but the apparent beggar-girl, who sat silently against a building.
She listened.
The girl's trained ears searched for any sign of danger, any reason she should tense up. And, lo and behold, she found it.
The click of a crossbow being loaded sounded like a gong in the girl's ears. Immediately she jumped up from her seat. "Bingo." She whispered. The young woman, with great speed (considering the packed sidewalks), made towards the Lord and Lady.
"Watch It!" "Hey!" and "We were here first!" 's came from the annoyed on-lookers.
The girl only responded with a gruff reply of "Move it," as she pushed on. The Order, could these people be any slower? She wondered furiously to herself.
Finally, the girl made it to the guards. "I must get through." She said anxiously.
"No-can-do, beggar." One of the guardsmen, an inexperienced and nervous man of about twenty two growled.
"Listen, Mister, you don't know who you are talking to. And you don't understand anything. So step aside before I make you." The girl growled, a new aura of defiance and strength glowing around her.
"Nope. Strict orders from the higher-ups. And you, quite obviously, are in the very, very lower-downs." The guard chuckled at his own joke.
"I have no time for this!" She muttered under her breath. Shoving the guard, who protested, she made her way into the road.
The guard, furious, pulled out his sword. But the girl, with lightning quick reflexes, pulled out her sword from a sheath hidden under a ragged cloak. In the same movement, she butted the hilt of the sword into the guard's unprotected body.
The regular townsfolk stared in awe, but the guards sprang into action. They began drawing swords, daggers, spears, staves: anything they could find. But the girl ran not for the Lord and Lady of Grenston, but into the other side of the crowd.
The guards, confused, just watched as the crowd parted before this cloaked beggar-who-knows-arms, and confusion ensued. But one man just grinned a big, toothy (if you could call it that; half his teeth were rotted out) grin, and aimed his crossbow at the Lord.
"Too late, peasant girly. You're dealing with Rech the Betrayer here." The man said with glee in his voice. He let his arrow fly. Lord Echartd's eyes widened tenfold, and the lady screamed.
"No! Echardt!"
But the peasant was too fast. She sent a shuriken flying, and it hit its mark: the weapon drove the arrow into a wall: it hurt no one on its way.
The man narrowed his eyes. Then, in a hoarse whisper so that only he and she could hear, he said, "You're fast. But I'm near the top – only a regular Ralyn could beat me!"
"I've heard of you, Betrayer. I hear you're real strong!" The girl whimpered, though a fake tone was in the desperation. "No way a beggar could ever hope of defeating you!"
The guards had only seen an arrow flying, and a shuriken cutting it off. The man, who called himself Rech, whispered back: "Of course not. So just give yourself up now."
The girl gave him a puzzled look.
But when the guards came near, the man cried, "Oh, guards, help me! This girl, she shot the arrow! And now's she's come for me!"
The three guards – one with a sword, and two with spears – came to his 'rescue'. "Kid, get on over here. Don't make you're life more miserable."
The girl shook her head. It was obvious that she would be blamed, so she could only hope that she could 'convince' Rech the Betrayer to commit.
"I didn't do it, for the record." She said, before aiming a swing at Rech.
"Girl, put down your weapon or we'll be forced to act!" One of the spear-guards cried.
Rech narrowed his eyes once more. He threw down the crossbow he had held behind his back. He pulled out a dagger and aimed for the girl's throat. That should stop'er. He thought.
But the girl blocked. Darnit! She's good… One of the guards reached in to grab her, and got her hair.
"Get over…" he tugged, "Here!"
The girl stepped backwards with a wince, but then grinned. "Fine. Have it your way." She said.
How is she not screaming in pain, with the guards tugging on her locks? Rech wondered, blocking a random blow from the girl's sword.
Then the girl stepped forward and shrugged of her hair – her wig, more or less. Underneath were short locks, no longer than the nape of her neck. But on the side of her face were two longer strands, down to her shoulders.
"My god…" the guards and the assassin whispered in unison.
The girl grinned, and landed a smarting rap of the sword hilt on Rech's stomach. "Ra…Ralyn…Ralyn the Feirce!" cried the Betrayer, followed by hushed gasps from the crowd and guardsmen, as well as the terrified Lord and Lady.
Ralyn, the supposed 'beggar girl', laid a hard thwack on the assassin's head, knocking him out. "Now, take him away."
"But…but…" One of the spear-guards stammered.
"But, I told you. Didn't do it." Ralyn replied. Great. Now I'll have to leave town, get a new disguise, and find another wig-maker. They're so hard to come by this side of the Great Divide! She thought with a mental sigh.
With that, Ralyn went up to and bowed to the nobles. "My Lord Lord Echardt, Lady Salímine, I am sorry for my rude interruption of your procession."
"No, not at all! It is we who are in debt to you. You saved my life!" The Duke replied.
"Now, I must be off." Ralyn replied. With that, she turned on her heal and walked out into the distance, leaving a trail of fire up until she reached the woods.