Imperfect Revenge

Chapter One.

     Miserably, she glared at the bright, angry star blazing in the sky with such resentment, she half expected it to fall out of the sky with the force of her wrath. When no such thing occurred, she cursed and kicked the loose dirt at her feet. Her stomach ached with the too-familiar feel of biting hunger and she resisted the urge to scream out her frustrations into the cement city beneath her perch.

     Currently, she stood on a colossal hill a half league from the capital city Ribroar with a peek view of the gates and all that lay beyond. The hill, large and tall as it was, was more of a grassy mountain. It had been used as a battlefield in some war or another; she didn't care for such things. The very top of the hill was her current home. A threadbare blanket she had stolen years ago along with a dreadfully old tunic tightly bundled in the shape of a haphazard pillow was her makeshift bedding. Her position provided her with some advantages: she could see all who left the city, was aware of any who attempted to climb up the hill, and although the sun was unbearably searing at times, it wasn't a half-bad place to sleep. From her vantage point, she could even make out the towering royal castle in all its Blackstone glory with towers that seemed to live in the clouds themselves.

     She had just returned from scavenging the wildlife behind the hill and had come up with a meager breakfast of a few berries and water from the hidden stream within the forest. Although this was usually a filling way to break her fast, she had not eaten well for days and all the berries provided was a deep longing for real food.

     Mumbling, she threw herself down and reached for her only prized possession. An old, but well made black satchel with gold-colored trimming. Inside, all she needed to survive were placed carefully to avoid jostling. Today, she reached for a story scroll, the only new object in her bag. It wasn't hers but she liked to pretend it was. She unfurled it, and reached for the stick she had discarded the night before, began etching the runes of the foreign language in the dirt as she made a habit of doing every morning until she had finished the story. The story was lengthy and this morn was her third hunched over it.
After what seemed to be an entire dayspan, judging by the sky, had only been a single hourspan. She straightened, her back creaking in protest after so long curved, she looked over the days worth of writing, concluded at last. She would be pleased to tell Vyrna upon her return- if she ever came back, that was- that she had finished copying her fifth scroll.

     As if answering her thoughts, a loud voice rang out from behind her. "Desmira!" She heard Vyrna shout her name from behind her. She turned, sighting her most trusted friend running up the backside of the hill, expensive skirts billowing. Internally, she chided herself for not sighting her come up the hill.

     In Vyrna's arms was a large basket that Desmira took to be food and her heart and stomach both soared with an appreciation for the girl. She watched her hurried approach with careful eyes but Vyrna just seemed excited, not worried so Desmira forced herself to relax.

     She finally came to a halt, panting with the exertion of her run, sweat beading on both her nose and sides of her forehead. Her quivering hands held out the basket and when Desmira took it off her hands with a grunt at the unexpected weight, the girl sank to the floor. Sprawled with her arms and legs outstretched most unladylike, she grinned up at Desmira, chest still heaving.

     "Come, sit." She urged. "I forewent a heavy breakfast so we could eat together. There's enough for us both in there."

     Heeding her, she sat cross-legged to the right of Vyrna's head and placed the basket at her side. Vyrna was staring up at the sun, the sweat glistening on her unblemished well-tanned skin and, not for the first time, Desmira thought her most beautiful girl in the world.

     Their companionship was only known to the two; Vyrna being of noble birth. She wasn't a particularly high noble but her mother was the Baroness of Forestine, which made her both rich and influential. Their meeting had been completely on accident.