Tempest

Chapter One

“VIVIEN!!!” my big sister screamed from her room across the hall and I looked up disinterestedly from my sketchbook, pencil frozen in mid-draw. “Get in here!” she yelled and I sighed before throwing my pencil on my bed and rolling off, trotting to her room to see what she wanted. She was crouched on her bed fearfully, pointing at the floor with a shaking finger. “Your awful rats escaped and are in my room! They’re under my desk! Get them before they start eating the wood!” Raine shouted, curling up.

I rolled my eyes exasperatedly. Raine was scared of everything, from my two pet mice to her own shadow. The only things I think that she wasn’t scared of were a needle and thread, because she was always sitting at her desk, sewing away for hours on end. I bent down by her desk and stuck my head under it, frowning slightly. I had locked the cage, but they always seemed to get out. Sure enough, a black mouse and a white mouse were huddled under the desk, noses in the air and whiskers twitching. I scooped them up in my hand and crawled out from under the desk. “They weren’t doing anything to you,” I snapped at Raine, annoyed. One mouse actually used to be hers, but she would jump two feet in the air every time it squeaked so she finally gave it to me. Raine puffed up her cheeks, an expression that usually means annoyance. I think she was more annoyed at herself than at me, so I walked out of the room without taunting her more. Raine doesn’t mean to be scared, she’s just so high-strung and it drives me insane! All I hear every day is ‘Vivien, help!’.

I placed my two mice back in their cage and refilled their water, making sure to lock the door tight this time, and tramped downstairs, hoping to get some food. I grinned when I saw my mom was preparing a chicken for dinner tonight. I love chicken. She saw me and gave me a small smile. Mom’s been really tired lately, without Dad to help her. Dad went away to the rebellion a while ago, to see what we can do about the government. The government, I thought darkly. About three years ago, a group of sorcerers that specialized in the using of dark magic, killing magic, had stormed the castle, the source of power in our kingdom. There weren’t that many of them, but their powers had quickly overcame the troops and taken control of the castle. The princess, her name escapes me, I think was sent to the mines, and no one knows what happened to the king. The captain of the guards, the first female captain, had disappeared. Some said she was killed. Some say she ran away. Some say she’s still out there, waiting for a chance for revenge. I think she ran away. I know if a bunch of guys had threatened me, I would’ve ran.

But the sorcerers took control of the kingdom, taxed us to kingdom come, and made new laws. Laws like curfew, no weapons training, anything that might benefit them in some way. They did raids on towns and villages for their own benefit, including mine. The rebellion wants to attack the sorcerers, throw them off the throne, and get the rightful leader back up there. My mom waved a hand in front of my face. “You daydreaming again?” she asked me, amused and nearly laughing. I grinned. I’m a known daydreamer. Then she turned back to the chicken, paused, and pulled off one of her gloves, digging in the pocket on her apron for something. She handed me a few gold coins and smiled. “Would you mind going to the market for me? I need some butter for tonight,” she asked me, tilting her head slightly and I scooped the coins out of her hand.

“Sure,” I told her happily. With luck, my mom would give me some money when I got home for doing one of her chores. My mom made a good deal of money these days, being the town doctor nurse person. People always came to her for remedies and medicines, if someone had something wrong with them; my mom was the lady to call.

Then her face turned concerned. “You sure you’ll be okay? It’s getting late, maybe I should just myself…” she murmured, glancing out the window to the setting sun.

I waved her off. “I’m fine. I’m fifteen, remember? I can take care of myself,” I told her and she smiled, reassured, as I bounded out the door. Mom knew by now that she couldn’t ask Raine, Raine would just have a freak attack at anybody who looked a little suspicious.