Huntress in the Castle: Chapter One (special preview)

Once upon a  time, my Granny told me my fate rested in the forest. It was where I would find an evil meant for me. Now, every family had a different story they told their wee ones on why they should never ever go into the forest. Unlike those tales though, my Granny’s story turned out to be true. My Granny, you see, was an oracle. She could see into the future. She could see the things that other people couldn't.

She told me, many a time, that I should never ever go into the woods, that was, until I turned seventeen. She would tell me, “then, and only then will you be ready for what the forest holds. Because it is there, my precious child, that your destiny lies.” She smiled comfortingly, her gold tooth glinting in the light of the fire.

My mother would of liked to slap my Granny every time she told me this story. But it was too late to go back now. I knew what I had to do, and when to do it to boot. My Granny would tell me, yes, the evil in the woods was great and extremely powerful, but it was meant for me.

Now, as a wee tot this did sound a might scary. An evil meant for me? It was certainly something that gave me the shakes as a wee girl. But Granny had her reasons, and I never dared question her about it.

As I grew up, I knew I’d have to be ready to face this destiny of mine. So, with my brothers, I began learning how to use a knife, a bow, and several other weapons. Pretty soon, I became the best marksman in the village. And on my thirteenth birthday I killed a ten-point buck, got him right in the eye!

It was then my eldest brother fashioned me a sword. A short, stump of a sword, but the blade was thick and it was sharper than anything. I named it Grand Tooth, because that’s what it sort of looked like.

When I showed it to Granny, she smiled and nodded. “Ah! Now I recognize this.” And she said nothing else on the matter, no matter how hard I pressed.

Now, following Granny’s wishes, I never went beyond the giant oak if I ever went hunting in the woods. Any farther, I risked my destiny. But one evening, when I was fifteen, I sat in the high branches of the old oak. From there, I could see most of my brothers out hunting. I could give any one of them a good fright with one of my arrows if I wanted. As I was carving into the tree I heard a strange noise. Not an animal. Not anything I had ever heard before. It was quite possibly the saddest sound I‘d ever heard. A long low, painful cry, neither human or animal. I felt it in my bones, deep down inside of me, all the way to the root of my soul. Whatever it was, it’s heart was breaking.

“Fianna!”

I feel my breath leave me for a moment before I realized my brother is calling me.

“Ay?” I called back, somewhat breathlessly. My knuckles were white on a branch.

Niall waved at me from the bottom of the oak. “We’re heading home now. C’mon down.”

I wait for a moment, wondering if I could hear that sound again, but my brothers moving and coming out from their hiding drowns it all out. I climb down from the oak and trail behind my brothers. They think it is because we didn't kill anything that evening. It is only until we leave the woods, that I hear that mournful sound again.

It was waiting on me. It was calling me to hurry.

“Soon.” I whispered. “Just two years. Wait for me.”

“Fianna!” Niall shouts back to me. “Stop pouting and hurry up.”

I turn. “Coming, Niall.” I run after them, Niall catching me under his arm and roughing up my hair.

As soon as we reached home, I ran to Granny’s room and sat down at her feet, telling her about the mournful sound I heard.

“You might be right, child, it has been waiting on you for a very long time.” She was stitching up one of the twins’ shirts as she talked to me.

“Granny, what is it I am supposed to do when I go into the woods?” I asked, folding my arms under my chin on her lap. “Am I supposed to hunt? Or am I supposed to be merciful?”

She put her hand among my curls. “I cannot tell you, child.” She lifted my head up so that I sat straight. “That is up to this.” She then touched her finger to my chest, over my heart. “Only you know where your destiny lies. But like the rest of us, you don’t know what it is and what shape it will take. It is the discovery.”