Chapter One

As the story ended, I gathered up the few items I had brought with me: a bundle of fire wood, my dark brown cloak, and of course a small basket of food.

The campfire crackled and spit flames as a child threw in wet leaves. Her mother chastised her lightly before taking her hand and dragging her gently home.

"But I don't want to leave yet," the girl whined, looking back at the campfire and the elders sitting around, just beginning their assortment of stories. Her

eyes glanced at me for the briefest of seconds, making my face pale. The girls' eyes were a strange color in our village. Unlike the usual brown and blue eyed

town folk, the girls' eyes shone bright violet.

The ironic thing was; she was just as different as I was. Green eyes were unusual as well, and I was singled out because of them. Clutching the basket in

one arm and the fire wood in the other, I went on my way back to my cottage.

My cloak offered some comfort in the chilled night. I was half way to the cottage when running feet alerted me. I paused and glanced behind me, smiling as

one of my closest friends approached.

"Onari, what are you doing here?" I asked, letting the basket and fire wood down onto the frozen ground.

"I thought you should know what's going on." She glanced around quickly before meeting my eyes. "Can we speak in private?"

"Sure, can you help me with these?" I motioned to the firewood and she obliged. We walked to my cottage in silence, letting the night hide our secrets.

Once we made it to the cottage, however, I went straight to the fireplace and began making a fire. Onari sat on a hard back chair and let her head sink into

her hands.

Turning, I studied her quietly. "Onari, what did you need to tell me?"

Looking up, she tried to hide her troubled expression. "There is word that Aden has returned. But no one knows where he is staying," she stared me dead in

the eye. "They say he is with Delia."

By then my hands were shaking. The small bundle of sticks in my hand fell at my feet. I was too shocked to move. Onari was silent, knowing the effect her

words had on me.

Slowly, the room slipped out of my grasp and all I could see was Aden: strong, beautiful, quick witted Aden. His golden eyes had pierced my own as we ran

along the length of the river as children.

"Ha ha ha! C'mon, don't slow down!" Aden called to me.

"Oh, no you don't." I screamed back. "I'm gonna catch up to you!" I laughed so hard I had to catch myself from slipping to the grassy bank.

Aden laughed seeing my pinched face as I tried to avoid sliding on the wet grass. "Hey."

Before long he had stopped, letting me catch up. I teasingly punched his arm and waited as he studied the sky. "Clouds are comin' in." he frowned. "There's

gonna be a storm."

"Awe, why: we have to go back." I said disappointed.

"Don't worry; we should make it back in time."

He had been wrong. The storm had hit quicker and harder than we had expected. We were still miles out from our village and the rain fell so hard it stung.

The river looked glassy, yet gray as we ran into the cover of the trees.

"Try to keep up!" He yelled over the loud pelting rain and thunder.

I slipped and scraped my knee on some low lying rocks. "Ow!" I cried out as I fumbled to catch myself. Aden's hand caught my arm and he hoisted me up.

Our eyes locked and I realized I was trembling from the cold.

"We need to get you somewhere warm," he said turning about. We knew the land like our playground. And no one knew it better than Aden. "There's a cave

not far from here."

"But Aden, the mountain pass is dangerous!" Thunder cut me off. I shivered as the wind picked up, blowing the cold rain harder on my bare skin. It was just

my luck I was in a dress and sandals. It had been too warm out to wear a cloak, so I had left thinking nothing would cause me to need it.

"Hurry," he encouraged me as we saw the mountain pass ahead. After reaching the base of the mountain, it would take us an hour to get through the pass,

but luckily, we didn't have to go that far. Aden knew a cave that was a ten minute walk from the pass entrance. How he knew about this "hidden" cave I

wasn't sure, I just had to trust him.

We reached the cave twenty minutes later. By that time, I was not only soaked and freezing, but numb as well. I could hardly move. Aden had to half drag;

half carry me into the cool dry cave. He helped me sit down and leaned me against the cave wall. Sighing, I clutched my sides, trying to warm my numbed

body.

Aden had disappeared in the back of the cave and returned with dry fire wood and some food. Putting a blanket over me, he brushed my hair out of my face

and got me to look him in the eye.

"Listen," Aden said gently. "You need to stay awake. Do you hear me?" he gently shook my shoulder. "You need to stay conscious."

My eyes briefly met his as an unsettling feeling gripped my body. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, not knowing what I was sorry for.

"Don't be," he whispered. "This wasn't your fault, not your fault at all."

I nodded, waiting for him to say something else when a loud burst of light shattered the cave's entrance. I cringed as a scream split the air. I covered my

ears as it rang louder. It was then that I realized Aden was shaking me and the scream was my own.

Closing my mouth I grabbed a hold of him, tears spilling over in waves. "I'm such a coward . . . to think mere lightning scares me . . . where's my family's

honor . . . what will they do when they find out . . ."

On and on I mumbled, never ceasing to hold my grip on Aden's shirt. After my tears were spent, I found myself falling into a daze. I was exhausted and worn

from crying. Aden held me, a serious, thoughtful look on his face.

I stared into the flames as my imagination roamed. It felt so nice to be held, to lie in his arms . . . . If only he would feel some inkling of emotion for me as I

did for him. I had come to realize I viewed Aden as more than a friend when Onari, one of my best girl friends, had told me that she liked him. I had felt

jealousy from the start, something that shocked me when the emotion emerged.

Now, seeing as I was always around him, and not Onari, I no longer felt apt to be jealous of her crush. He would never take an interest in her. If he did, he

would have already taken an interest of her in the village. But instead, he was always spending his time with me.

Snuggling closer, I sensed Aden's uneasiness. Leaning away from him, I locked our gazes and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I heard something outside." His eyes narrowed. "Stay here. I'm going to go check it out."

He grabbed his short knife he always had on him and went towards the caves' entrance. Shaking, I waited as I heard him stumble back to where I sat.

"What was it?"

"It was nothing. A deer and his doe were passing through. The storm's almost passed." He took hold of my hands and helped me on my feet. Smiling, I

hugged him. When we pulled apart, he cupped my chin and I felt the intensity of his eyes, making my heart race.

"Sita," he paused.

"Yes?"

He leaned in and I tensed as our lips met. Never in my life had I thought he would feel the same way about me as I had for him. Never had I thought he

would kiss me. Never had I thought he would acknowledge his feelings for me.

But, I was wrong. He felt strong emotions toward me, and that was all I could think about as he held me in his arms and kissed my cheeks. Before long we

fell asleep listening to the pitter patter of rain drops outside the cave, putting my mind and heart at ease.