Okay, the adventure really begins! I'm really really really excited to be back writing again. I've missed Farris so much and am extremely happy to be creating him once more! Just to let y'all know, the main character in this will most likely be Fin. AK is most likely going to be a much better planned affair compared to AtT because I have the plot outlined but not finalized and I know most of the charcters already, even those who haven't yet appeared. I have many characters to introduce this book.
Thanks to Yabberli, FreakyLongHairedGirl, Simplegrl07, Philipina and Nina (not a username) for reviewing. I hope to see some more reviews next week, but five is pretty good for a first chapter!
"You can't be serious," Farris's muffled voice filtered through the thin wall separating Finneus's room from the hallway. "You've given me less than ten minutes of notice. The owner of this house gave birth just two days ago and you're expecting me to leave this instant?"
"We have a lead and we can't let it go. If we wait then he may escape us," another man said. Fin lay in his bed, paralyzed, terrified that the slightest ruffle would reveal his being awake. The boy heard the sound of a foot quickly tapping the floor, a nervous habit of Farris's.
"Give me until tomorrow morning," Farris bargained, his voice pleading.
"I already told you, we can't wait that long. He has some means of transportation that is much faster than foot and we don't know where he could appear next."
"Thirty minutes?" Fin's godfather finally negotiated.
"Make it twenty and we have a deal," the voice haggled.
"Fine. Come in while I prepare myself and pack a bit of food. You'll find anything we can take in the cupboard to the left of the door next to the stove."
"Alright. The cart's outside, you can load your provisions into the back," the man instructed. Footsteps fell, finally turning in opposite directions, the heavier set heading in the direction of the kitchen, the lighter set, presumably Farris's, making their way into Leala's room, where Fin heard whisperings too muffled to make out, then making their way into Farris's room in the back.
Finneus didn't move a muscle, listening to his twin's faint breathing on the bunk above him and Quinna's across the room. A moment of hesitation, and the teen finally pushed himself up and off the mattress, wide awake. He snatched a well worn leather knapsack hanging on a hook in the wall and crept across the room, carefully sliding open the closet door. Curtains on the windows shielded the room from light. In fear of waking one of his siblings, Fin neglected to light a candle, instead groping blindly and stuffing scraps of sewn fabric into his pack.
The teen paused at the door, surveying his room one last time. His eyes scanned the room, finally laying to rest on his twin sister, Kayl. Her namesake suddenly struck him. Closing his eyes to hold back the tears, Fin whispered under his breath, "I'll miss you Kayl, but please don't be angry at my departure. I'll make your namesake proud."
Quinna stirred in her sleep, kicking the covers down until they no longer covered her body. Fin closed the door, careful not to let it thump and quickly made his way down the hall, lest he be found out before his escape.
Stepping into the fresh night air, Fin breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of freedom for the first time in the boy's young life exhilarated him.
The cart which the mysterious voice mentioned was parked crookedly in front of Fin's home, three mules harnessed to the front. In the back of the wagon was a heaping pile of hay.
Perfect, Fin thought, jogging towards the cart and throwing himself upon it. The livestock only glanced back at him as the teen scrambled up the cart, burrowing under the hay until he was completely covered and stationed towards the mule end of the cart as to shield him self from discovery.
The pointed ends scratched at Finneus's face, irritating him to no end. Finally, Fin thrust his hand into his sack, grasping at various clothing items inside until he found a shirt, which he pulled over his head, protecting himself from the reeds. The decision was none too soon, for just moments after he resettled himself, the sound of the front door opening reached Fin's ears.
"I have enough to last us for at least a week, maybe more," the unrecognizable voice explained. "That should enough for us to reach headquarters."
"How do you know Namir is headed that way?" Farris asked.
"We don't. I'm hoping we can chase him towards it by mentioning fellows like me and you coming through certain towns he's heading for. Our men will be partaking in that, of course."
"That sounds unstable. Why don't we simply follow him and instruct our men to provide us with necessities?" Fin's Godfather protested. There was the sound of somebody turning angrily.
"Listen, you aren't in charge here. You aren't even trained for this kind of work. I know even know why their majesties allowed you on the team, much less my team. This is for the elite, the elite, do you understand me?" Fin flinched at the sudden anger, obviously pent up from previous occurrences. "I am in charge here and you will listen – and obey – my commands without objection."
"Dhiren, please. I'm not attempting to overtake your power; I'm but making suggestions which I find helpful to the mission."
"Regardless, next time, you remember not to question my authority," the man – Dhiren – warned.
"Yessir," Farris replied grudgingly.
"Good," Dhiren approved. "Throw these things in the back of the wagon." Farris muttered something under his breath that Fin didn't catch, although the fury in Farris's voice was clear.
After a fair bit of banging and bumping as Farris heaved the luggage into the wagon while Fin lay curled in a tight, stiff ball, praying that he wouldn't be found out.
At long last, the wagon gave a tremendous rock as Farris presumably swung himself into the front. Fin heard the crack of a whip, the cart jerked forward and all at once, Finneus's daring journey had begun.
Just to clear things up, Jarrett is, sadly, not going to be a big part of the story, which is sad, because I looked forward to writing him. I may integrate him into the book later on, or maybe in the next Avenging novel I write. I'm thinking this will turn out to be a trilogy, but I have so much fun writing all these characters, I don't think I could stand to let them go, so it may end up being longer.
For those of y'all who are curious, I'm also going to continue with a Vivara's past (R.I.P. Viv), although I don't like Unfortunate Ends, but I have a better picture of Vivara's past now, so after this, I may take a break from Farris/Namir/Fin/etc. and skip back to Viv. I'm also thinking of another prequel: the takeover of Lilbeth's throne.
Thanks to any of y'all who review, and to y'all who don't, you are a bad muffin! foams at mouth Ahem. I must learn to restrain that…