Chapters of Fate, Book One: Alec

Prologue

She fell to one knee, breathing heavily.

In front of her, her swordsmaster, an older man with black hair streaked with gray, stepped back and lowered his own blade, frowning. "What's the matter, Eden?" he asked. "Had enough for one day?"

Still winded, Eden staggered to her feet. "No," she gasped. "I can keep going."

The swordsmaster laughed. "Ah, you're a wild spirit, no doubt about that," he praised. "That being said, we've been practicing for most of the day now. The sun is setting, and if I make you late for dinner again, both your mother and Lillia will both start complaining." He shook his head. "Never have I heard the name Sam used with such frustration as when Lillia is fighting me, saying I work you too hard."

Eden glanced across the underground storage area, where they trained. Sam was right; bright orange light from the setting sun was spilling down the steps. Secretly relieved, Eden sheathed her blade, an unadorned piece of copper hammered into a flat blade. Eden found it clumsy, but it was what she had to work with. She tried not to be envious of the swordmaster's own blade, a narrower piece made of gleaming steel. Eventually, Eden would have a better sword. It had been promised to her.

Sam was moving towards the staircase. The storehouse where they trained was made entirely of dark stone, designed to keep cool and preserved the village harvests, alongside the fish that came from the river that ran through the village. There was almost never meat- no one was willing to leave the village to hunt or trade with other settlements, and the right to leave had been denied to Eden on the grounds of age. "Time enough for that," her mother always said, "when you're a woman grown."

Shaking her head slightly to dispel the thought, Eden made her way across the storehouse and climbed the steps, her muscles aching in protest. As she emerged, light from the setting sun was flooding the small village, isolated in the hills, giving everything an orange-red hue. She paused under the vine-laced trellis erected over the steps, and gazed quietly over her home.

Truthfully, it wasn't a large home, at least according to Emen, the Innkeeper. To Eden, at least, it was a decent size, given it was the only place she had ever lived. THere were three buildings, made of a mixture of wood and sod torn from the ground, to clear space for patches of land, plowed to produce crops. They didn't need to be big; Eden could count the number of residents in Alstad on both hands. One building served as Eden's house, where she lived with her parents. The second building housed Lillia and her grandfather, with a small added room that served as quarters for Sam. The third building was the inn, where Emen and his brother stayed. There was no worry about space; no one ever visited Alstad. In the back of the village, the river snaked through invisible openings in the stone cliffs of the hills, separating the storehouse from the rest of the village. A wooden bridge connected the two.

It was not an exciting village, but it was home. And for now, that was enough.

"Daydreaming again?"

Standing on the other side of the bridge, Lillia was watching Eden with a smile. She was always smiling, and why shouldn't she? Her life was near perfect.

"I wondered if I would have to drag you from practice so that you could go home and eat dinner," she teased. Lillia didn't approve of all the time Eden was made to spend training at the sword.

Eden laughed, crossing the bridge to stand with her friend. "I'm going now," she said. Despite the fact that Eden was undoubtedly sweaty from her training, Lillia didn't hesitate to link arms as they strolled across the grass, pausing to wave at Emen's brother, Ivan. When they reached the point between their respective houses, they parted with a quick hug and a promise to meet the next day for some relaxation.

As she moved to the door of her house, Eden allowed herself a small smile. While the village was small and uninteresting, it was a peaceful place, something that Eden was grateful for. With a satisfied sigh, she pushed open the door.

"Mother, father, I'm home!"