Amelia

Chapter 1

My maiden story! I began work on this about 4 years ago and starting writing it about 2 1/2 years ago. I already have much of it done but have lost interest in all my works lately. Any type of feedback will help me get back on track. Enjoy!

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                I am Amelia, maybe someone’s daughter, maybe someone’s sister, and perhaps someone’s friend. The only thing I’m sure of is that whoever was in charge of me as a small child felt it was best to leave me here, in this cottage, in the middle of nowhere.

               About a mile away from my home I laid in the tall wheat grass so the stalks surrounded me like walls and for a moment I could finally get some peace. There were so many girls here, brought to the cottage like me, that it was hard to escape the immature drama.

               Since our mistress, Svetlana, had become bedridden, the job of keeping order has been left to the older of us. Sylvia, eldest of the bunch, had taken up most of the responsibilities. This was a great relief as Svetlana was a cruel caretaker. She kept a strict schedule that saw us awake hours before dawn; cooking, cleaning, and taking lessons until sundown when we were herded indoors for the night. We’ve learned many things from Svetlana, like cooking dinner, cleaning, and mending the farm tool’s we’d use to grow the wheat. But above all, we were here to learn magic.

               Svetlana is fabled to be the most powerful sorceress ever to have lived. When we were all very small our families willingly gave us away to her in hopes of us becoming great spell caster’s ourselves. To this day, having spent almost two decades at the cottage, I’ve seen none of us learn more magic than it would take to heal a bruise or protect us from wild animals. We all wondered how any one of us could possibly succeed her with such humble powers, especially now that she’s grown so old.

               She hasn’t become bedridden for any particular sickness, for she could easily remedy any ailment, inflicted or infected. No, she’s simply grown too old. The little girls are so frightened by it they can’t even look at her, having been with us for such a short time. I’m sure there is no one older than Svetlana. She has enough wrinkles for five old ladies and her skin is hardly the color of a human’s anymore. I don’t blame the little ones for being scared. She frightened me when she was up and walking and she frightens me now as an invalid.

               Speaking of the little ones, I heard tiny footsteps approaching me from the direction of the cottage.

               “Ameeee! Ameeee!” I knew the voice as belonging to Fiona, our youngest girl. I didn’t bother to get up; she was probably just frightened of a bug, or upset because one of the older girls pulled her hair. She had a habit of choosing me to run to for things like that. She’s only been here a year and as some of the girls tended to pair up with the closest their age, we became oddballs by sticking together regardless of being so far in years. It was actually kind of lonely here before she came.

               “What is it? A bug ?” I asked.

               “No...” She whimpered.

               “Has Emma spilled the mop bucket in your room again?”

               “No, Amee...”

               “What is it then?” I got up at last and saw her through the wheat stalks. She was pointing west, toward the road. Only after standing could I see them. At least two dozen horses and riders were heading down the road towards the cottage. They were all men adorned with matching armor and weapons that shone in the light of the setting sun. I was shocked that anyone beyond Svetlana and her few outside contacts even knew how to reach us. She claims to have placed a magic barrier around the property of her cottage. These men must have been welcome in order pass through.