But to Love...

Chapter 1

It's easy to feel the serenade of Summer's sweet song when it's breeze caresses my long hair, taking it through the motions of dance I can only dream of. My heart sings with its passion. Its warmth reminds me of a love long lost. Yet, I feel the unease as the darkness creeps along the shadows, beckoning me towards itself, promising wishes of dismay.

The sun creeps lower as the long days draw to a close. After a fulfilling day with my cherished friend Penelope, I find myself wishing once more that I could feel the nearness of someone. Though I don't live alone in this beautiful town of Cornicipus, my kept company is hardly handy with conversation. After all, my father is a hardworking blacksmith.

Cornicipus is a rich town in the outskirts of the Tahoria Kingdom. Named from the Cornucopia-a promise of wealth and prosperity, our town truly shines that promise. Merchants often take their stead here, enjoying the riches that the ever-growing province has to offer. Our lush farms and rich forests give heed to bountiful trade deals. We also host the only diamond mine in the whole western expanse. From sun up, to sun down, our miners work to meet great demand of the regions near and far, but it is satisfactory knowing that they, themselves and their families will never go hungry.

As I walk down the cobblestone path towards my home at the end of Market Street, I feel it once more. Eyes. They don't feel hungry, yet they watch me all the same. I've never told a soul, aside from my dad when I was younger, but I've always felt a following. Since my father had not believed me when I shared that tidbit of worry, I've kept it to myself. It's easy enough to be labeled as ill or crazy without mentioning that an invisible being watches you.

Rather than look, I bunch up the skirts of my green dress, before hastily making my way to the end of the road. As I draw near, I smell the smoke of my home, and know my father is hard at work. The small cottage looms into view, it's beautiful stone architecture greeting me. Without a glance behind, I walk the path to our front door, a beautiful mahogany piece built by my father himself, and let myself in. As soon as the door is closed, the feeling of eyes disappears. A wave of relief washes over me, and I allow the exhale of breath I hadn't known I held.

"Father, I'm home!" I shout beyond, but know that I shall receive no response. He's out back, tending to the forge. As always, I tend to our little home. First I start on the old, cast-iron pot, filling it with buckets of water I had retrieved earlier in the morn. Adding spices and herbs, I allow the fire lit beneath to bring the water to a boil. While I wait, I tend to the floors, taking the broom and gathering the dirt and soot that had been brought from outside. Without haste, I open the front door and push the debris into the evening.

I look upon our home and find a picture of my mother. Her warm eyes break through the portrait, green as the grass that grows in the meadow. Her golden hair that I share, travels in waves along her face, traveling to the mid of her back. She's smiling up at my father, as he smiles down at her. My mother was but a servant of the Tahoria Palace. Successfully completing in her duties, she by chance met my father, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Or so you'd think.

My mind floods to the night long ago, 14 years to my youth when I was barely making my way around this world. A shatter in the night had awoken us. My father had been away to sell his wares at a neighboring port.

My mother, sensing danger, ushered me under the bed, instructing me to stay silent up in our loft. A crash downstairs signified that the intruders were looking for something. I barely could see my mother as she awaited the clunk on the latter, awaited the next moment in which she would have to defend us both.

*Clunk* *Clunk* *Clun-creeeek"

Slowly, the intruder made their way, and as soon as they cleared the floor-level of our loft, my mom quickly pushed them off. An angered yell reverberated through the cottage, and with a loud *thud*, there was silence. Meanwhile, shouts in different parts of the house alerted us that we were not alone. The assailants quickly emerged, finding my mother at the top of the ladder. Her back had been to me, so I was saved from the expression on her face when a whizzing sound was met with torn flesh. Her piercing shriek still haunts me, and it took everything within me not to scream when she plummeted off of the loft down into the room below.

"Grab her!" a gruff-sounding man shouted. I bit my hand, trying my best to remain motionless. The scuffles and footfalls started ebbing away, before nothing but silence greeted me.

When I was sure I was alone, I ran. I flung myself down along the ladder before quickly rushing outside. The neighboring house had not been far away, and whilst I was too young to go after them, I was always told to seek my neighbors help if my parents couldn't.

The assailants-whoever they had been, were never caught. They never did find my mother either. Not in the neighboring regions. Not in the most remote towns. After years, she had been presumed dead. Myself and my father had quickly moved from that life, escaping to the town of Cornicipus. We made our life here once again, and it has been peaceful. But oh, how I miss her...

The smell of steam and the sound of boiling water alerts me to the kitchen, where the cast-iron pot awaits the entry of food. I quickly grab thick, fat-encased steaks, before tossing them within the bubbling surface of the water. I then cut carrots, onions, potatoes, and a variety of greens, adding it to the blend, filling the house with an earthly aroma. With just a hint of garlic, and a bit of salt to enhance the flavoring, the meal is ready to simmer to completion.

Cooking in the pot takes a long while, so I resign myself to my quarters. Our cottage sits at one-level, making the trek to my room fairly easy. Taking off my brown, leather boots, I settle into the softness of my bed, before the lull of the setting sun streaming in through my window sends me to a restful sleep.