Under One Banner

Chapter 1

Aryanna stepped out her door, strapping on her daggers around her arms and one on her leg. She looked down the gloomy dirt path that served as a main road. There weren’t many people around, a couple young children squabbling in the mud. The mother ignored them and continued with their digging in one of their plots. Aryanna looked back inside. 

“Come Kalya, we need to leave soon if we want to see James before it gets late!” she called. A few moments later a dirty little face appeared beside her.

“We can go see James now?” the little girl asked excitedly. Aryanna smiled down at her and nodded. 

“We have been working all week, I did extra yesterday so we can take today to go and see him,” she said. Kalya clapped her hands softly in excitement. 

“We can leave now then?” she asked looking at Aryanna pleadingly. Aryanna put a hand on her sisters head and nodded. 

“Yes, let’s go,” Aryanna said as she closed the door to their little house.  It was just her and her little sister living there, her father had gone to a war and not returned, and their mother had died shortly after hearing the news. Aryanna stood for a moment, looking at the door, lost in thought. She came back to reality by Kalya tugging on her hand. 

“Come on Arya! I want to see James!” the little girl said persistantly. Aryanna nodded. 

“Alright, come on!” she said and went out into the road, holding Kalya’s hand. Aryanna led down the road quickly, wanting to get out of their little run down village. She ignored the hostile glances thrown at her and her sister as they moved quickly. None of the villagers got along. Everything was a fight to stay alive and come out on top. Aryanna hated it there. She and Kalya made it away from the village with out any one stopping them. Aryanna breathe freer away from that place. She loved these woods, but hated where she lived. 

“Aryanna can I stop holding your hand now? I want to run ahead a bit,” Kalya  said. Aryanna hesitated then let go. 

“Don’t run too far ahead, I want to be able to see you,” she said. Kalya nodded and ran a head a few paces to look at a tree then when Aryanna caught up she ran a head a few more, chattering to herself. Aryanna shook her head, smiling at the antics of the girl. Aryanna kicked a stone in her path becoming angry as her thoughts went many different places. 

“Arya, why do you look angry? You should be happy! We are seeing James soon! What is wrong?” 

Aryanna looked down as her sisters voice broke through her thoughts for the second time that day. “I’m sorry, nothing is wrong, I was just thinking,” she explained. 

Kalya looked at her, her dark eyes wide and concerned. “You don’t get angry about nothing, maybe you should stop thinking about the things that make you angry, like our mother dying, and the people in our village being mean,” the little girl paused. “You should think about happy things, like James, and,” she paused again, thinking. 

Aryanna frowned slightly. “How do you know about the things that make me angry?” she asked. Kalya shrugged. “Sometimes you talk in your sleep, and about the mean people, they make me angry also. But I don’t want to talk about them! I want today to be happy, please?” Kalya asked. 

Aryanna nodded. “I’m sorry, I will try not to think about it any longer, I promise.”

Kalya smiled and held Aryanna’s hand while they continued walking. 

“What are we going to do today with James? Will he even be there? Is he going to play with me? Or is he just going to talk with you?” Kalya asked rapid fire. Aryanna laughed. 

“I don’t know what we are going to do, I hope he will be there and I don’t know if he will play with you. He usually does though. He finds time to be with both of us,” she said with a smile. Kalya looked at her with a smile. 

“I love him,” Kalya stated and ran off. Aryanna stopped and looked after her with mild surprise, a smile on her face. She shook her head and started walking again. They reached the end of the Woodlands later than Aryanna had anticipated. They could see the small village, where James and many others lived in small huts, a long ways off across a vast field. Kalya waited for Aryanna to catch up to her and looked up in excitement.

“There it is! There is where James is!” she said gleefully. Every time they made the walk to visit James, Kalya always got gleeful at the edge of the woods. She never got tired of walking the distance and was always excited to see his village a long ways off. 

 Aryanna nodded with grin, some of her sisters excitement rubbing off on her. 

“Arya, can I run more ahead of you? You can see me from a longer distance now! Please?”  Kalya asked looking at her sister with a smile. Aryanna shook her head. 

“Not any further than you have been, out here is not safe, not even for a child, the Nobles are greedy, you know that, if you go much further ahead I could not help you if you were suddenly in trouble,” Aryanna answered. 

“But you can see anyone coming from a long distance out here! It’s safe isn’t it?” she asked. 

Aryanna shook her head. “No, not any further than you have been going. People set traps for the Woodlanders coming out, it has happened before and it will not happen to you while I am around, do not roam further than you have been,” Aryanna said firmly, not allowing her sisters pleading look to sway her. Kalya looked disappointed but nodded and skipped further ahead than Aryanna. Aryanna kept a sharp look out. Not willing to be caught by surprise by anything. Kalya skipped back and forth between Aryanna and her boundaries, showing Aryanna some flower that she found, or a rock, or a particularly interesting rock.