Kahlima's Secret

Chapter 1 Part 1

Hey everyone!  Thanks for showing interest in this story!  

It is being written for my Niece, who loves fantasy, magic, and a little bit of violence, as a fun little side project while I continue to work on my novel.  I'm not sure how long it will be in the end, but I'm hoping to come out with new parts once a week.

Please give me feedback and let me know what you think!  I'd also love some suggestions on a title, since I couldn't think of a good one prior to putting the first part up!

Now, lets dive into a story of magic and mystery...

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Kahlima took a deep breath and tried to slow her heartbeat. It was so loud! It sounded like it was going to pop out of her chest, or at the very least give away her hiding spot. She peaked out from behind the alley full of trash and smelling of death only for a second. What she saw made her gasp, the group of men chasing her had grown to more than a dozen and was headed straight for her.

She didn’t hesitate, knowing that the only chance she had was to run and hope she could get away. She was faster than most people, especially these men who were old and fat. She took off in the opposite direction, hoping, preying that it wasn’t a dead end.

“There she is! Don’t let her get away!” the voices yelled behind her.

She clutched the stolen loaf of bread in her hands as a tear escaped. She was only trying to survive, why did they hate her so much? Why couldn’t they understand without taking the little food that she does, her family wouldn’t survive? She never took more than was needed to feed her brother and mother. If only they understood, if only-

When she rounded the corner, her heart sunk. At the end of the alley was nothing except a cobblestone wall and garbage piled high, long forgotten. She almost gave up, but then thought of her mother who had always taken care of her until her fathers death, after that she was never the same. She lost her job and soon after the will to live. If it wasn’t for Kahlima stepping up, who knows if any of them would have survived.

She raced down towards the dead end, hoping for an open door or sewer entrance or…anything! But there was nothing, no hope of getting away, no hope of surviving. She ducked down behind a rather large pile of decomposing waste and waited.

“She went this way. It’s a dead end, she has to be here somewhere. First man to bring her to me, dead or alive, gets free meat for a week!”

The rest of the men grunted and cheered. The sense of absolute disgust ran through her. What type of people took joy in killing young girls? She fed on this feelings of hatred and unsheathed her fathers dagger, although in her tiny hands it was almost like a sword.

She could see two of the men searching through the garbage not too far from her and knew it would only take a glance in her direction for them to find her.

She stood firm and faced them, dagger held with shaking hands in front of her.

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Thank you for reading!  

This story is being written for my Niece, who loves fantasy, magic, and a little bit of violence.  It's a fun little side project I am working on while I continue to edit my novel.  I'm not sure how long it will be in the end, but I'm hoping to come out with new parts once a week.

Please give me feedback and let me know what you think!  I'd also love some suggestions on a title, since I couldn't think of a good one prior to putting the first part up!