A Bloodline Of Hope

~Amelia~

I was laughing. A light feathered giggle that always brought delight to the rest of my family. Chasing my younger brother down a long winding stream outside our pint-sized cottage while our parents watched, pleased that we were getting along. Grateful that we were acting like children.

We lived in the countryside alone about two miles from Nadir, a small village which we only utilised when necessary. We lived in the middle of a variety in place of different assortments of trees: Oak, pine, and Willow. I used to list the names of them when I was bored.

I was fourteen at the time. I had a petite frame; smaller than other children I have encountered. Lesser than my younger brother who was ten. My Auburn ginger hair only just reached past my shoulders but looked significantly shorter as my curls bounced in undulation.

My younger brother, Klaus. Had a considerable frame for his age. Which partly made reason as he is a male. But he was more courageous than me. He always climbed trees, always jumped in the little stream nearby. While I usually sat and kept a firm eye on him which wasn't even my responsibility.

Klaus had similar hair to me but shorter; thick waves that only just reached above his shoulders. And similar sharp pointed-out-ears which could easily pass us as elves. I used to show them off and tell other kid's absurd stories about how I was captured due to being magical even if we all knew elves were just old anecdotes.

We weren't a wealthy family, but we Aren't inadequate either. We had a content life and never complained about what we maintained because so many people were in a more difficult position.

This time I decided to use my imagination and join my brother in playing a game. We pretended to be warriors battling the dangerous monsters on the other side of the stream. We constantly got told that our kind was wrong and nasty, so we always made sure that the monsters were the humans. I found it more amusing at the idea of fighting Klaus with a stick and pretending he was a murderer than the whole use of playing pretend. Klaus had the kindest soul. He was a gentleman and always apologised for anything. So, it was funny seeing him carefully poke me with a stick, anxious that he was going to hurt me, apologising every second he "hit" me.

Momentarily enough it was supper- we inhaled our food like it was our last meal as we always had done. Klaus and I had venison with potatoes we grew ourselves. Our parents had a stew because of the sufficient number of deer to feed all of us today. We settled down next to the fireplace with our blankets and listened to our mother tell us stories which no one had heard of before. She had numerous, unlike sorts of books about powerful sorcerers, fairies, dragons and even Dwarfs and their love towards riches. One time I found this story which appeared like a guide regarding how to use magic which baffled me since only witches and sorcerers required that, and they were not real. I never understood why people would make up stories this accurate just for other people to visualise what it would be like. I found the whole fantasy thing sadder as

these specialities weren't true. Either way, I closed my eyes and listened to her faded words as I drifted into a deep slumber.

As dawn approached; I was already awake. I shrouded myself in multiple layers of cloak; the only colour in my outfit that wasn't dull was my amber eyes. I had kept a small pocketknife in my boot. "Just in case I needed it" Mother had always told me. Today I had to go to Nadir with Klaus to collect some herbs and food as we were running low. I tied my thick curly hair into a high ponytail to make sure it didn't get in my eyes during my travel then helped my brother with his shoelaces. I usually didn't allow Klaus to come with me often when it involved shopping because of the potential threats. But Nadir wasn't a busy village; we knew most people there. So, my parents allowed it this time.