Prettyinpinkgal: Thanks for the reviews so far! I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it. :)

Disclaimer: "Sharewood Academy" is based slightly off of the movie "Game Over" or whatever the title is. I think watching that movie spurred on my nightmare.

SHAREWOOD ACADEMY

CHAPTER ONE

I shall begin my tale with the classic line, "Once upon a time." I cannot rightly say that this occured in a kingdom far, far away, as I do not know how far away you are. Although to you, Reader, it may very well be far from where you are reading this.

Our country Minsole is a very powerful kingdom indeed. Minsole did not receive its high status by battling, but rather by its fine diplomacy. A war in Minsole is unheard of; the last war was the war that allowed Minsole to come into being. King Urah, our first ruler, had fought a hard battle to claim the land. That was one thousand years ago. Now, Minsole is a prospering nation with fine allies.

Although the king currently ruling is indeed very kind, not all of our people take after his example. Many merchants concern themselves only with their own greed. Oftentimes, they would make sure to pick the most beautiful bride they can find to make other merchants jealous. It was the same way with my father, Grenor. He picked my mother, Yolana, to be his bride. When she died in childbirth giving birth to my younger brother Frean, he used her death as an excuse to get a more beautiful wife. He chose Elea, a woman whose great beauty was the only thing great about her. Her wits were slow, and she only did what my father told her.

I was five at the time of my mother's death. While I wept for Mother, I took care of my brother. I tried remembering all the things Mother did for me, which helped me learn how to sew clothes and change his undergarments. When Elea came into our lives, only six months after Mother's death, I asked her to teach me how to cook and clean, how to sew more clothes and how to help people when they're sick. While she could teach me the household chores, knowing which medicine worked for which disease was not something she herself could do, let alone teach.

This came to haunt me when I was but seven. Father caught an awful illness from his travels, and I knew not how to cure him. I tried to fetch for the doctor (my stepmother had left the room as to not come down with the disease herself), but he was helping a woman in childbirth. Remembering my own mother, I had no wish to pull him away from his work, so I went back to Father. I tried to cool his burning forehead, to give him sips of water, to watch anxiously as he flailed about as if in water. The next day, when the apothecary came, he managed to give us medicine to cure him. Within a week, my father set out again to travel. Before he left, he leaned down and pat my head. "You were a brave girl, Alenamra." That was the first and last time I ever heard him show affection towards me.

After my father's brush with death, I visited the apothecary often. Seeing my interest in learning, he taught me which medicines should be used with which disease. One day, I asked, "What if I cannot get the medicine?"

He smiled and then taught me about herbs and the like. I digested the information, but I was always hungry for more.

I should have been taught by my stepmother academics around this time, but she, never being schooled herself, told me to ask Mistress Worlan. Mistress Worlan was two and seventy and I soon ceased my visits altogether, claiming she was an old biddy. "Mistress Worlan gets her B's and D's mixed up all the time!" I explained passionately to Elea. She boxed my ears, although not too hard, and told me to respect my elders.

She commanded me to go to Mistress Worlan, but I secretly never attended. In its stead, I would visit the apothecary. He would hand me books and taught me how to read and write. He taught mathematics, with problems such as, "If I have two patients, and one more comes to me, how many total patients do I have?" He laughed when he watched me work with such grave seriousness, even when he would make silly word problems. He would give me a few pieces of candy once a week for my work, which I usually shared with my brother.

"You're smart," said Frean one day as he sucked on his candy, taking no notice to the drool dribbling from his mouth.

I laughed and wiped his mouth with my handkerchief. "I wish I were."

"You are," Frean replied. "When I'm bigger, will you teach me?"

I smiled at him. "Of course, Frean." I did not mention that he would go to a school for boys so that he would be an educated merchant like our father, not be taught by me.Being only four, he would be very upset to think of leaving me. It would be better if he didn't know at the moment.

When we arrived home that day, a servant opened the door, looking at Frean and me with saddened eyes. "Your stepmother would like to have a word with you both," she said quietly.

My stomach became tangled into a knot of nervousness, and Frean spoke my fears. "Are we in trouble?"

"No, no, sweet! Your—well, the mistress will speak to you about it. Run along, now," she said, nudging us into our mansion.

Our home was very large, even for a merchant's home. Silver chandeliers dangled from the ceiling in every room, even in the servants' quarters. My home had a warm, homey feeling thanks to Elea. She was an excellent decorator, if nothing else.

Please don't misunderstand; I always liked my stepmother. However, although she seemed to like Frean and I well enough, she wasn't what you would define as "motherly". She was more like an older sister, in a way.

My stepmother was on a chair in her apartments. She had her head in her hands. When she saw the two of us standing awkwardly by the door, she waved her hand for us to come in, and the servant shut the door.

"Hello, my dears," she said in a near-whisper, embracing us. "Come, come. Have a seat." She ushered us to the soft bed, sitting between us. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news."

My breath caught in my chest. Father, I thought. Father must be in some type of trouble.

"Your father...had an accident. He's...with your mother now."

I could hear Frean ask innocently, "Will they be coming back?"

And I could hear Elea reply in a choking sort of voice, "No, but we shall see them again one day."

I then felt her arms wrap around me tightly, and I realized I was crying.

Elea began learning how to be a seamstress in order to support our broken little family. I tried to work at odd jobs here and there, but it is difficult for a small girl to find an occupation. I tried begging the apothecary to let me be an apprentice, or at least help him in some small way, but he regretfully told me that girls of my status aren't supposed to work. I defied him, telling him stubbornly that I wasn't exactly like other girls who were my so-called equals. Still, he turned me down, explaining, "I'll get in trouble if I let a little girl work here."

So I was forced to give up my search for a job. If my friend would not give me a job, who would?

Slowly, I began noticing that various objects around my home were disappearing. It wasn't until I saw Elea one day selling a vase that I knew we were growing poor. Her income alone was not enough to sustain our vast estate. In order to keep from poverty, we would have to sell any unnecessary items.

Over the next few years, things continued to grow worse and worse. We were forced to move to a smaller house, and all the servants except for Frean's nurse stayed. Eventually, even Nurse was let go, once Frean was old enough. It was a dreadful day, and for the first time, I acknowledged the fact that I would never be able to go back to my old life.

I had continued my lessons with the apothecary, until I knew ever herb, medicine, ailment, etc. The apothecary, not precisely the most educated man except when it comes to medicines, was unable to teach me much once I passed what we deemed would be equal to eighth grade.

Reader, you may perhaps be wondering why I had not been sent to a school for young ladies when my father was alive. This is due to the fact that my father, when it came to education, was rather a cheapskate. He could have at least employed a governess, but he thought it was a waste of money. Thus, he left the education department to my stepmother, who then left it to Mistress Worlan, one of the world's biggest imbicile, which I have told you before.

But I digress.

Meanwhile, during the latter half of my fifteenth year, news approached our ears of the disappearance of the prince of our fair kingdom. Prince Valor, barely two years older than I, had been returning from the neighboring kingdom and ally Sanim. With the recent ailment of our king, he had traveled on his own, save a few dozen guards and a handful of advisors. On his way back, the prince had excused himself for a moment to be by himself. The guards granted him a minute, nothing more. However, when they sought him out again, he was gone.

No one knew of any enemies who could have done such a thing. The party had searched high and low to find some sign of the prince, but to no avail. They had been forced to return to the capital city by themselves to get a larger search party.

This whole affair, while troubling, had nothing to do with me. However, it was a bit of fascinating gossip. It wasn't every day that the eldest son of the king vanished. Of course, I'm not heartless; I was concerned for him and hoped he would be in good health and safe, but I had never even seen the king or his sons, so it was almost as if I was hearing a story from a book, not an actual fact.

Besides, I had other things to think about. When I was fourteen, my little brother had been sent to school. Some friends who had stayed with us even in our dark times had gotten enough money together to pay for his tuition. I admit, I was a bit envious that my brother was allowed to go to school, but I was more heartbroken to be seperated from him than anything. "I'm scared, Namra," he whimpered as he hugged me tightly. He was already nine years of age, but he still used his childhood pet name for me.

"I know," I whispered back, "but you'll be fine. You're bright, and I've already taught you much of the basics. And you'll be with many other boys your age."

"But I want to stay and be with you and Elea."

I felt a lump in my throat, and I struggled to swallow it. "I know," I repeated. "I love you, Frean."

"I love you, too, Namra." He then went to hug our stepmother, who was having as hard as I letting go of our little Frean.

And then he was gone.

My family shrunk again, this time including only Elea and myself. Frean's letters came but once a quarter of the year. He seemed to have many friends, something I was relieved to hear. He had always followed me and played with me, never wanting to play with the other boys his age. He was such a quiet little thing, he was much too shy to even approach the other little boys in our town. Hearing that, for once, he was befriending other children his age outside of our family was a great joy to me, as it was one of the things I was the most concerned about when we sent Frean off to school.

As I am a woman, it was not a priority to send me to school. My prospects of finding a husband was greatly decreased from how they were before my father's death, and marriage was the most important thing for a young woman. It appeared that I would end up an old maid, something that didn't completely devastate me, but was still a slight disappointment all the same.

"Elea," I said one day when I was sewing with her. I had joined her seamstress business, and we were now getting more money. "Do you think..." I trailed off and flushed, feeling I was acting a bit selfishly.

"Do I think what, Alenamra?"

"Well, do you think it's possible that I may go to a school for girls someday? Maybe not now, but maybe next year?"

She sighed, setting down the dress she was working on. "I wish I could send you, sweet. But we don't have the money. And we can't just ask the neighbors again."

"Oh, I wouldn't ask the neighbors. Please don't worry about it; I'm sorry I brought it up." I hastened to get back to work, but I felt Elea's sympathetic look.

Elea's work became more and more well known as she improved. Shortly after our discussion about my schooling, Elea was sent for to work at the castle as a Royal Seamstress. We were both overjoyed; we would surely be free from poverty if she took the job offer. Our joy subsided, however, when we realized the request made no mention of me. Her quarters would be small, and there would not be enough room for a now-sixteen-year-old. I was forced to stay behind.

The neighbors looked after me, but I felt like such a bother to them. My own business as a seamstress was failing, and I couldn't help out enough.

For weeks after, I was forced to give up my occupation as a seamstress, and I did all I could to help my neighbors with the cleaning, cooking, looking after their children, etc. I soon grew bored and restless, however.

My days of unhappiness ended when I received a letter from Elea. It said the following:

"My dear Alenamra,

My work here is challenging, but it brings in quite a lot of money. Already, I have made enough money to send you to school! There's a school for girls in ---, and if you would like to go, send me notice and I'll begin the preperations!

Much love,

Elea."

I squealed with delight, jumping around with ecstasy. "I'm going to school!" I cried to Lady Rayla, the lady of the household in which I was staying. "I'm going to school!"

She laughed, hugging me. "I'm happy for you, Alenamra. I'm sure you'll have a marvelous time."

And that, Reader, is how my story begins.