A Fate Unchanged: A Fable Story

A/N: Some of you may think that this sounds very familiar. And it probably is because I've rewritten it. And obviously, 'The Hero of Oakvale' is not a boy. I hope that everyone enjoys.

Jetta awoke to a putrid smell and her body covered in an unnatural sweat. Avo, it was hot, and just what was that stench? She slowly rolled over in her bed, intent on going over to her small window and cracking it. There was no way for her to expect just what she had seen. Flames were burning brightly outside the window, with giant pedicels of ash floating by.

"What in the world?" Jetta leapt from her bed and ran to the window. Outside everything was on fire. All the stores and her neighbors houses. Something snapped loudly above her. Apparently, hers was as well. She had to get out. It wasn't safe in here. Where was her mother?

Running for the stairs, she came to a halt only a few steps down. Someone had screamed. Not just anyone. "Mom!" Jetta screamed after her rushing down the rest of the stairs to find her mother lying limply on the floor. "Mom? Mom! Wake up we have to leave, the house is burning down!" Her mom wouldn't move though. She just looked up at her daughter.

"Jetta, I can't go with you. I'm too hurt. Please run, sweetheart, you have to save yourself," she spoke fighting back coughs and tears. Jetta wouldn't take it. She just pulled her mothers body closer towards her sobbing. When she first saw her, it had only appeared that she was thrown across the floor. Now Jetta could see that her arm and legs were broken. Just what the hell was going on?

"No mom, we have to go I'll carry you. We'll get to safety." Jetta laid her down softly. "I'm going to grab a sheet, and I'll get you out of here." She darted towards the stairs. Half way up, she heard her mother scream again. In terror.

"Leave my baby alone you mon..." She was cut short. Jetta's heart stopped in her chest. Slowly she turned around and looked back to where she left her mother. There was someone standing there blocking her from view. All she could see was the growing puddle of blood coming from behind him. Finally, understanding hit her. This was not just a fire. It was a raid.

"What did you do to my mother, you beast?!" She yelled, exuding much more confidence that what she actually felt. Her heart was beating so hard it felt as though it would burst from outside her chest any moment. The burly man raised his head back, letting out a harsh laugh. He started towards her, and the sound of heavy metal being pulled across the wooden floor.

"Don't worry babe, I'll take care of ya'." Her heart stopped. That voice. There was no way. No, it was impossible. He had been killed by bandits years ago, when Jetta was just a child. Her mother had told her so. Tears stung at her eyes as she willed them away, but it wasn't working as her face was drenched. There in front of the now lifeless body of her mother was the man that she had hoped that she would never see again.

"Father?" He smirked, his feet now at the bottom of the staircase.

"Aww, isn't that sweet. You remember your dear old father, do you?" One foot made its way up, followed by the other. He smiled, the few teeth that he had left showing. Whether they were missing from lack of care, or from fighting she didn't care.

Jetta's eyes darted back towards her mother's figure, she could now clearly see where her neck had be slit open, a harsh and quick slice that showed the insides of her neck. Her stomach curled. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you kill her?" She looked back to the man that she now knew was her begetter, not realizing just how close he was.

"Don't worry about that." Their eyes were now level, and he leaned over placing his lips next to her cheek. "She's gone and no one's left to safe you." He threw his fist into Jetta's stomach causing her to double over, and expel the contents of her stomach. Her form tried to fall down the stairs, but the man wouldn't have it.

He picked her up by her hair and threw her to the top of the stairs, where she landed with a sickening crack as her head hit the floor. Her vision had started to recede as he made his way towards her again. "Oh, I'm not done with you yet." He pulled his leg back and swung it hard into her stomach. She could feel as his boots picked her body up almost completely off the floor, and cracked her ribs. From downstairs someone called out. "Hey Baron, you almost done? They've got some Hero's comin' our way. We got to go!" He sneered at the man at the bottom of the staircase.

"I'm not scared of some weak stupid Hero's. Bring them on!" Baron turned back towards his daughter, only to see her making her way out the window. "No you don't!" He made a dive to try to grab her, but he was too late. She was already on the ground, trying to escape. "Jetta, don't you know better than to run from your Daddy! Come here you little shit."

Jetta was in excruciating pain. She had broken her forearm jumping out the window, and her ribs were stabbing her chest every time she drew her breath. Standing, she ran out of the alleyway and into what was left of her town. For the first time she was able to take in all the damage that had happened to her village. There were bodies everywhere. Men had died for trying to protect their families. Even mothers and children did not escape the fate of the sword. Blood had now stained the streets red.

She looked at the direction towards the beach and saw that most of the bandits were making their way from the town, probably hearing that Hero's would be arriving soon. The door of her house slammed against the outside, and fell off its hinges. His eyes were furious.

"There you are you," He said, starting towards her. Jetta knew that she wouldn't be able to make it far, but she had to do something. So she ran. Not even sure where she would go, she just willed her legs to go faster. She ran towards the bridge, not even looking behind her to see if her father was still after her. Her breath was knocked from her as her body slammed into the ground again. Baron had grabbed a hold of her and pulled her to the ground.

"Come here you little bitch," He grabbed a handful of Jetta's hair forcing her back to bend trying to stop the tension. "Thought you could get away from me, huh? Stupid little cunt. Just like your mother." Jetta's face once again meet the ground as he punched the back of her head. "What made you think you could escape? Since the moment you was born, you've belonged to me." He said, and pulled her to where she was now laying on her back, making her look directly at him.

She just looked up at him, defiance in her face. "What are you going to that would mean anything to me? You've already killed the one person that I cared for, you fucking pig." Using the last bit of energy that she had, she spit what was in her mouth straight into his face. It was mostly blood.

Growling, he used the back of his hand to wipe of the spit. "You're going to pay for that. I was going to go ahead and just kill you, but now," he sneered at her, "Now, I'm going to drag this out." He wrapped both hands around her throat, pushing his thumbs right into her throat.

Jetta was reduced to tears, trying her hardest to struggle. It was impossible with her broken bones. Why? Why would he be doing this to her? She just couldn't understand. One again, her vision was fading to black. The pain was becoming unbearable. "Stop," she tried to say, but it didn't sound like anything other than a grunt. She tried to ignore the pain in her arm and ribs as she started to claw at his hands, trying her hardest to pull them away. Miraculously, she managed to loosen his hands.

"No!" She screamed, putting her hands to his chest and finally managed to get him off her, if only slightly. Her father seemed shocked. His eyebrows knitted together.

"I don't know how you managed to do that, but it's not going to happen again," he threatened, pulling a dagger from his boot.

Jetta crawled backwards some as she looked at him, fire reflecting in her eyes. "I will not be killed by the likes of you." He just laughed.

"Oh, you think you can beat me? Ha! You're nothin' but a little bitch, just like your whore of a mother." He smirked, "Do you even know why I left your ungrateful asses?" She didn't care, she didn't even want to listen to him speak. He continued anyway.

"Your mother, that harlot, fucked every guy around town. So I killed one of the guys, big fuckin' deal. That bitch had me kicked out, said I was makin' up stories and goin' crazy. She was the crazy one. The only reason that she even fucked those guys was 'cause of you!" At this point he had saddled her middle, pinning her down again. He threw another punch to her face. "You had to fucking snitch about me and that fucking bar maid," another hit. "If you hadn't told we could still be," another, "one big," another, "happy," broken nose, "family!"

Jetta couldn't help herself. "Then maybe you shouldn't have done it." His eyes flashed in rage again. Then he smirked.

"Your mother wouldn't let me hurt you back then," he grabbed her face harshly, making the tender skin hurt even more. "But now, she's dead and she can't do a damn thing to protect you. I even have a punishment in mind," he laughed. "It was your fault that your mother became a slut." He leaned in his face right in front of hers. "Now, I'm going to make you one." He grabbed her arms in one hand and pinned them above her head.

"NO!" Jetta screamed, "You monster. Stop it!" Her plea was ignored as he used his other hand to work on her pants. She knew that he wasn't going to stop now. She had to do something, she couldn't let this happen!

"STOP!" She screamed again. Something happened and she felt the pressure in the air change dramatically. His weight was no longer on top of her. Crying out, she looked to find her fathers body laying limp on the ground, a good four meters away.

Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks, happy that it was over. The stress on her body finally caught up to her, and her eyes started to close. Right before she fell into the bliss of darkness, she could see a shadowy figure walking towards her. Her guardian angel.

When Jetta came to, all she could hear was a slow, repetitive thump. It was thundering in her ears, and with each one she could feel her body move. A pulse. Her pulse. So, she had survived. They thought almost made her laugh when she was hit with a sudden pain in her chest. It made her cough, further hurting her already aching body. After a minute, the pain subsided to a bearable amount.

Slowly, Jetta opened her eyes. Moving her head slowly to the side, her neck was ridiculously stiff, she noticed that was inside a small room. Nearby, there was a shelf holding potions and such. She could also see other beds, but no one resided in them. The only window that she could see was covered by some thick cloth, making it indiscernible as to what time it was. Thoughts came to her mind, and her heart bean to beat rapidly. Where where in Avo's name was she?

Just as she was about to force herself to sit up and investigate further, she could hear the sound of footsteps right outside the room. Quickly, she closed her eyes and forced herself to take shallow breaths, hoping that whoever it was, would believe that she was still asleep. Listening more closely, she could hear two voices.

"Really Maze, I don' see why you find ta gurl so intersetin'." The voice that spoke was deep, and his accent was one that she had never heard before. She heard the bed to the left of her creak. One of them had sat down.

Someone standing at the end of her bed sighed. That must be Maze. "Thunder," that would be the name of the other, "if you had seen what i did, you would be ... intrigued as well. Honestly, I have never seen anything like it before. At least not from one so young and untrained." He looked at the fragile girl. How was it that someone who looked so weak and broken, could have done what she did?

Very carefully, Jetta peeked through her eyelashes just enough to look at whom was talking. In front of her was a man, much bigger than any she had ever seen, even bigger than her father. His body was adorned with blue glowing swirls that seemed to form an actually pattern, but she couldn't tell just what they were at the moment. Looking at his face, she could see them there as well. His hair was almost pure white, and was slicked back to stay out of his face. His eyes were no longer on her, so she braved the chance to look at the other man.

The man on her left was even larger than the first. He wore strange armor, and his skin was so dark, she would think that it was burnt. She could see at least six weapons just from where she was.

Thunder let out a small sound of indignation. "Well, why don' ya' just tell me what she did, an' I'll be the judge of 'at," The giant of a man stood up and walked over towards the other. So, Maze knew what happened to her?

"I've already told you. I want to speak to the Guild Master about it first. Beside, Maze said his tone lightening up, "If our guest would stop acting as though she were asleep, she might tell you herself." She opened her eyes fully then knowing that she had been caught, and sent a glare towards him.

"Yes, I believe that would be best. Wouldn't you agree Thunder?" A new voice appeared from the doorway. It was an elderly man, much smaller than the two at the foot of her bed. "Hello. I'm sure that there are quite a few questions roaming about your head right now, am I correct?" Jetta didn't move, but continued staring, her eyes still showing distrust for the men in front of her. She was still unsure of their intentions. The man's face saddened a bit, but he quickly caught himself and replaced it with a gentle smile. "Well, you are at the Hero's Guild," he started and Jetta's eyes widened. The Hero's Guild? Why would she be here of all places? "And I am the Guild Master," he said still smiling, trying to coax the girl into relaxing. "Could you tell us your name?"

She eyed the men warily. They hadn't done anything to hurt her, and if she was where he said, then they couldn't be too bad. Opening her mouth, when she tried to say her name to them, she gasped again in pain. Never before had it hurt so much to talk. Placing a hand to her throat, she could feel the tenderness that was on the inside of her throat, from when her father had his fat fingers wrapped around it. Then that she noticed that her arm was no longer broken. She looked down at it in shock. Her fingers went to her ribs. They appeared to be healed as well.

Everyone looked at her, waiting and puzzled, except for Maze, but it was Thunder who talked first. "Come on gurl, speak up an' tell us yur' name." She looked down sheepishly. To the side of her was a quill and parchment. That would work. Jetta grabbed both of them and started to spell out her name. It seemed to surprise the group.

"You know how to write?" Maze questioned. Jetta only nodded. It wasn't common for most people to know how to read or write, even less common for a young women. She handed the paper to the closest person, who so happened to be the Guild Master.

"Jetta, is it?" She nodded. "Well Jetta, if you would excuse us for a few minutes, I need to talk to these two. Don't worry though," his tone calming and plea sent, "We will return shortly." Without having to say anything else, the two others followed him out of the room.

"You say that like it's a good thang'," mumbled Thunder. Maze just shook his head, smacking his friend on the arm, leaving Jetta to her thoughts

That probably wasn't the best thing to happen at the moment, but she needed to go over what had happed. The last thing that she could remember, was that monster being removed from her body. How could he do that to someone that he gave life to? Someone that he was supposed to love and protect. His years with the bandits clearly warped his mind into something foul.

What was she going to do with her life now? She obviously couldn't go home, there was no home left. Her eyes started to sting at the memories of what she had lost. Her friends and neighbors. She doubted that any of them were even still alive. Her heart wretched at the thought of her mother, lying on the floor, motionless. She would never see her again. No doubt that the house had burned to the ground with her inside. Just what would she do now? One thing was for certain, she was going to kill that bandit leader that lead the attack. Even if she died doing so.

She forced herself to lie back in bed, trying to calm back down before her emotions got the best of her. Once she was fully healed, if they let her stay that long, she would get everything figured out then. For now, she needed to rest.

"Jetta? Are you awake my dear?" The voice was gentle, but it was enough to make her sit straight up in alarm. It was the Guild Master was standing beside her, arms raised to show that he poised her no danger. "Don't worry dear, you are safe here. How are you feeling now? Better I hope." She gave a small nod in agreement. "Well that good to hear.

"Jetta, Maze just told me of what he witnessed. Do you remember what happened?" His eyes had turned sad, thinking back to their conversation. Slowly she nodded her head. "Well, then I suppose that you would like to know how your father came to be removed from yourself. If what we believe is correct, it's actually quite exciting." She just raised an eyebrow, and looked at the man. Exciting? Someone dragged him off her, didn't they?

"It was you, Jetta. According to Maze, it was something that you did completely on your own." Jetta looked unbelievingly towards Maze. Surely he had imagined it.

She was ready to state her disbelief vocally, when it started another coughing fit. This time there was even a slight amount of blood.

"Oh dear."

The Guild Master motioned for Maze to come over. "I'm sorry that we didn't heal this part earlier Jetta. It's just very tricky to do while the patient is unconscious. Maze here, is going to cast a will spell on your throat that will help heal it. Is that alright?" Jetta nodded her head, starting to trust them more than when she they had first meet. "Great! Now Maze, if you would?"

Maze stood right next to Jetta and had her lie down on her bed. Placing her head on her pillow she exposed her neck to give him better room to work with, and trying to relax. It made her uneasy to have a pair of strange hands on her neck when someone had just tried to kill her the same way. Thankfully his hands only hovered above her throat instead of having to actually touch it. She could see a bright yellow light incasing his hands, and felt a pleasant tingle that started at his hands, and soon was working over her whole body. All her previous aches and pains were gone. As suddenly as the tingling started, it stopped.

"There we are. You should be able to speak now." Jetta looked into the ice blue eyes of the man who helped her.

"Thank you."

"Did you know that you can do the same thing?" said the Guild Master. She just raised an eyebrow again. Sure she could.

"Oh it's true," this time it was from Maze. "Do you remember when your father was thrown off you?"

"Sort of, everything was already getting blurry at that point"

"Well, as the Guild Master has said, it was not me who did that, though I was the one who brought you back here. You did something that we know as a Force Push. It makes an invisible shield that can throw and cause damage anyone close enough to you, that you see as a threat. Usually it is a very difficult spell, very hard to master. There are some Hero's who never even manage to do it. You, however, did one so strong that his neck was snapped before he even hit the ground." As sadistic as it was, Jetta grinned. Served that disgusting bastard right. The Guild Master cleared his throat.

"Maze and I have talked about your situation, and we would like for you to join us here, at the Guild and train We think you have just what it takes to become a Hero, Jetta." She stayed silent in thought. It would work perfectly. She could train to avenge her village, not to mention, becoming a Hero was every ones dream.

"Thank you sir, for the generous offer sir. I will gladly accept."

Maze butted in, "That is, of course, if you can handle it. Apparently, I am a scary teacher." He and the Guild Master laughed. Thunder snorted.

"You, scary? Bah! You're 'bout as scary as a dung beetle!" Maze glared at him, before they both shared a hearty laugh.

"Wonderful! We'll start your training as soon as we know for sure that you're healed properly." The Guild Master started to tell her about all the adventures that she would have. The Arena was always a favorite. Despite everything that had been happening in her life, Jetta let go a small smile.