To Kill a Mage

1

It was early morning when Miri woke up. The summer had been warm up on Mount Linder. But now a few leaves were starting to turn orange. She hefted her small self from her mat on the floor of her family's small house. It had only three rooms, one for her parents, one for Miri and her two year old brother Claus, and the largest room was the kitchen, it had a beaten up wooden table and equally beaten stools.

Miri let Claus sleep. She carefully lifted Claus on his mat and put him on top of her mat, then slid the two mats in the corner of their impossibly small room.

Miri went outside, and gave her father a hug goodbye before he went off to the quarry. Then she swooped up the only tin bucket they had and went off to the river. She went to and came back from the river three times. The first bucket of water went into the basin in her mother and father's room. The second went to her and Claus's basin in their room. The third, and last, went to the kitchen's deep basin.

Miri went back outside to tend to the goats. She milked all the nanny goats, then led the three nanny goats and three billy goats to an open field to graze. She sat there with a tall, smooth wooden stick she found in the river a few months ago and kept. Miri watched the goats graze and feed on the bright green grass.

A bush rustled, and Miri's attention sharpened. There were wolves on Mount Linder. There are wolves here. Miri thought. She had only had to face wolves one other time, but that was when she had her Pa with her.

Miri stood, tense and watching. The bush rustled again, and a wolf's head poked out. Dark gray and menacing. Miri narrowed her golden copper eyes, she swung the tall, sturdy wooden stick like a sword and got the wolf's attention away from the goats. 

The wolf was now preying on her. It sprung up and tried to crunch it's sharp, yellow teeth into Miri's shoulder. Miri dodged and caught a glimpse of the last goat running into the village, bleating in fright, someone will come when they see the goats. Miri thought franticly. She dodged another launch attack form the black-gray wolf.

Miri swung her wooden sword and slammed the wolf's left hind leg. But it only howled in anger and growled low. The wolf crawled towards Miri, and Miri backed away. Soon Miri was cornered against a large, natural wall of rock. Miri had nowhere to leap to once the wolf attacked again.

The menacingly evil wolf wolf leapt with it's mouth wide open, it's plan to sink its fangs into Miri's neck.

Miri jumped instinctively. But she knew she couldn't escape the claws of the devil-wolf. But Miri's feet never made contact with the ground again. Did I die yet? Is a wolf dragging me into a dark cave, waiting to devour me? No. Miri opened her eyes, there was no wolf, but there was the ground. Miri was suspended in the air. How? Miri looked behind her, and discovered wings. Beautiful white wings with silvery feathers. Miri landed in the field and felt them, they were soft. Miri retracted her wings in awe. A chill came down her back. Her wings ripped her shirt. Miri spent some time folding her wings in and out of her back. It was amazing, Miri's wings folded right between her shoulder blades, and out of sight.

-

Miri went into the village and searched for her goats. She found all of them hiding in the village. Once all of the goats were under her care again, she led them back to the pen on the side of her house. She got a few questions as to why there were holes in her shirt. "There was a wolf that tried to attack my goats, I took care of it but it ripped these holes in my shirt." Miri would reply. A wolf attack happened about once a month, and the universe decided it was Miri's turn for the wolf attack.

When Miri told her mother about the wolf attack, she fussed and worried over her.

"Are you hurt? Any broken bones? Are you bleeding? You must be tired, go back into your room and sleep! Do you want some soup?"

"Ma, I'm fine!" Miri said above her mother's frantic pats and mumbles to herself. "I am hungry though, did you make breakfast?"

"Yes, yes." Miri's ma replied. She handed Miri a small bowl of oatmeal, which she ate in three minutes.

"I'm going to wash up, Ma!" Miri said to her ma as she went into her bedroom. Miri took off her shirt so her mother could stitch it up, and scrubbed her face, armpits, and hair. Then put on her other pair of clean everyday clothes. Then she set off to her friend Timon's house.

-

Timon was outside petting the billy goats when Miri showed up. "Hello Miri!" Timon greeted.

"Timon, I need to show you something." Miri said. Excitement heavily covering her words. She led Timon to the river, together they hiked about two minutes upstream.

-

"Okay, so what is this amazing thing you have to show me?" Timon said levitating a nearby rock about the size of his head.

"This." Miri said with a flourish of her wings, ripping holes in her shirt again. Miri's white and silvery wings flapped chilly air into Timon's face. "I have a power!" Miri flew up into the sky and did a few flips and barrel rolls. When she landed, Timon was flabbergasted.

"You can fly!" He said running up to Miri. He felt her wings, "They're so... soft." He whispered. "Your wings are soft, but they look as strong and powerful as linder." Timon finished.

"I know, huh? Hey, you wanna ride?" Miri asked. She flew up over Timon and grabbed his shirt collar. "I won't take you very high." She promised.

"Okay," Timon said without hesitation. "Lift me up!"

-

Miri flew Timon all the way back to the village, where Timon and Miri announced that Miri has found that she is one of few on Mount Linder, that has a power.

Miri put Timon down in front of thw quarry so he could finish up his work in the quarry that he has to do every afternoon.

At lunch, Miri showed Ma and Claus her wings. Claus wanted to touch her wings and ride on her back outside. So after lunch, Miri gave Claus a ride on her back, staying two feet above the ground.

-

At dinner, Pa was fascinated with Miri's wings. And when she went to sleep, she wrapped herself in her wings as a blanket and let Claus use her blanket so he could have two.

Miri's soft, silvery wings wrapped around her, comforting her. It was not long before Miri fell asleep, dreaming of flying up to the clouds and finding a whole kingdom up in the sky, inhabited by people just like her.