Prologue of A Caged Phoenix(finally decided on official name SQUEAL)
A pint sized auburn haired girl sat on a wooden stool, storm blue eyes squinting against the sunlight that streamed into the room through a dusty window. Out in Jedia, where the the foliage seemed to cover the sky like a hand covered a hole in the dirt, sunlight was a rare and precious thing. The girl's mother stood behind her, the pair of them soaking up the sunlight in a blessed moment of silence. The moment was short lived however, as a teakettle let out a shriek form another room and a shroud of grey passed in front of the break in the trees. The girl's heart sunk as she watched through cloudy glass, and was quick to tear her gaze away.
"Momma, why don't we live in the village with everyone else? I bet it's super sunny there all the time." The little girl wiggled her way off the creaking stool, white dress catching on small splinters. The brunette that towered over the girl sighed, green eyes still staring out the window.
"Because, Avalon, if we did your daddy might not be able to find us." Avalon nodded, her four year old mind easily accepting this explanation. Just the way it had for the last year. Avalon's mother finally turned away from the window, and after picking up the stool, followed her daughter across the threshold and into the kitchen. The stool was returned to it's place in the corner, a pot of mint soon settled on it's warped surface. Avalon let her mother tend to the teakettle on the large black wood burning stove, content to sit and pet the stray cat they had recently taken in. A gift of sorts for a girl who's mother couldn't afford to do much else than feed it and give it a name.
"Would you like some tea, lijep?" Avalon glanced up, her nose already drawing in air to guess the flavor of the tea. A strong whiff of raspberry and mint came to her, and the little girl nodded vigorously, using both hands to brush off the cat hair from her dress as she scrambled to her feet. It was rare that her mother let her drink anything sugary, because Avalon was a night owl as it was.
"Thank you Momma." The little girl smiled and took the steaming mug that the brunette offered her. Over the duration of the next few hours, as the sky darkened beyond it's usual drab color, Avalon slowly drained the cup. Since tea was a rarity, why not savor every drop? Also, the flavored drink provided a wonderful distraction after the auburn haired child spotted her mother sitting alone in her parent's bedroom, her father's favorite shirt clutched to her chest and her mouth open in a silent, agonized cry. Even after the moon's feeble glow filtered in through the trees, and Avalon had long given up on her mother coming in to say goodnight, she couldn't get the image out of her head. Especially once the cries were voiced, a heartbroken wail echoing through the house, the woods, the world. Avalon herself bit her lip and turned over in bed, letting her mother voice her grief for the first time since her father had left for the last time.
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Chapter One~Just lettin you guys know this isn't the whole chapter. Just what my tired and overworked brain can come up with
The crisp autumn breeze blew in bursts against Avalon's face, bringing with it the smell of the changing season. Dying leaves fluttered from their trees, various shades of red, orange, and yellow creating a colorful kaleidoscope. The young woman made her way down the worn dirt path leading into an equally warn looking village. A sack full of herbs native to the forest and pelts from the game the auburn haired girl hunted hung over her shoulder, bouncing against her leather vest with every step. Normally Avalon wouldn't dare step foot out of her home on days like this, when karhurs and mackas roamed without fear of being hunted down, their great pelts thick with the promise of a cold winter, beady black eyes devouring all they saw along with the flesh of their victims. Even the honey smeared on trees far away from Avalon's house hadn't kept the lumbering karhurs from investigating the durability of the windows in the cottage. However, she and her mother couldn't risk enduring the coming winter with what little food and other supplies they currently had. So here Avalon was, making the trek down to the village and the market within. As dirt changed to worn cobblestone, the teen let out a breath of relief. Not spending much time wondering how in the world she was going to make it back to the house without an encounter with one of the beasts, the auburn haired girl hoisted her bag a little higher up on her back and continued on her way. The shouts of merchants displaying their wares and the smell of warm food greeted Avalon as she entered the market, a swarm of people both taller and smaller than her milling about. Children half Avalon's size darted to and fro, pick pocketing as they went. A blind beggar sat on the lip of the fountain on the center dais, a tattered black hat half full of scuffed coins in his lap. The cane next to him seemed to be the only thing keeping the pick pocketers away from the money. Heading up to a familiar rickety stall with sheets of cloth on display, Avalon pasted on a smile. A rather plump man, old enough to be the girl's father, turned away from a departing customer with arms full of a purple wool to face Avalon.
"Ah! Avalon! Fancy seeing ya here. How are ya? How's ya motha? Tell meh!" The man's thick Jessian accent sent shudders down Avalon's neck. She was not a fan of Nei Jescits, they were known for their oily hair and even oilier way of doing business. If it had been anyone else, the man's son would have already stolen most of the objects in Avalon's sack by now.
"I'm good Vincan. My mum's alright too. The weather's got her glued to the fireplace though, hasn't done much since the beginning of Sept." Vincan snorted, rubbing his pudgy hands together.
"I don't blame ha. It's ratha cold out...So! What can I getcha?" Vincan clapped once and leaned forward, a smirk on his face. Avalon tried not to lean back.
"Yah. It's cold. I need two sheets of white cotton and one sheet of black fleece. Also do you have any lisica pelt? The lining of my boots is starting to look kinda shabby." Reaching back with one hand, Avalon dug into her pack, hands wrapping around a bundle of dried herbs. Yanking them out, she dropped them onto the table, watching with careful eyes in case Vincan tried to snatch any before Avalon got what she wanted. The small bundle of fully white herbs identified as život were an extremely rare herb of the forest, found at the edge of Isey river. Home to a tribe of mackas, getting within five yards of the river usually meant certain doom or death. Avalon had barely made it out with the handful that now lay on the counter, and now needed a new dagger as well. These plants, život, meant life, in both the literal and healing sense. There was barely anything that the tiny white petals couldn't heal, and they were of high demand everywhere. They also meant Avalon got pretty much everything she wanted just because of a convenient location. The middle aged man before her gaped at the život, his pudgy hand pushing through thinning carrot colored hair.
"Elysia's arrow, woman! I dunno how yah managed to get this, but I'm glad yah managed to get it at all..." Scrambling up form the rickety wooden stool that struggled to hold Vincan's weight, the man rushed to the back of his stall, grabbing what Avalon had ordered as fast as he could, as if the život would simply disappear if he took too long. And if Avalon decided that the fabric wasn't up to her standards, that might just become the case. Much sooner than it would have been had Avalon been anyone else, a stack of cloth landed right next to the život. Picking up each piece, Avalon examined one after another with a practiced eye, scrutinizing every stitch, every hair, every everything. After a moment, the girl frowned, grimaced, and took back half of the bundle of život before backing away from the stall.
"Next time you decide to give me hole-filled sheets I might take more than half." The auburn haired woman sneered, already shuddering mentally at the thought of having to spend hours bent over the sheet with needle and thread, more than likely staining the white with crimson blood. Normally she would have asked her mother to do it, but lately Tayla hadn't been feeling very well, most likely the coming cold was getting at her, and Avalon didn't want to burden her mother with any work, no matter how little it was. As Avalon's boots scattered the loose gravel in the cracks of the stone beneath her feet, the girl took note of the apothecary's stall, wondering if the elderly woman would have any tonics or potions or even spells- though it was rather unlikely, that would do more than the wild herbs of Jedia had been for Avalon's ailing mother. Hefting her pack further up her shoulder, the girl was about to wander over to the apothecary's stall and ask just that when instead of securing her pack, it was dragged down. Avalon stopped, immediately on high alert. The person who was attempting to rob the young woman was clearly amateur, as they were still trying to take Avalon's pack despite her having noticed. Whipping around, a dagger sliding into the auburn haired girl's hand, Avalon glared down at the small boy that now had tattered pack in hand.
"Give. That. Back." Avalon all but snarled the last word, grey-blue eyes swirling like storm clouds before they erupted into thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. The boy's own hazel eyes widened in fear, but instead of giving into the obviously much stronger woman, he turned and ran. Bad idea. As the child made to retreat into an alleyway, Avalon burst forward, years of training in the woods by herself and stalking her prey kicking in at once. He had no chance. Avalon knew this place like the knife she held in her hand, despite only visiting once a week or so.
