okay i give in

So I know I mentioned a story a couple days ago. One that I had started, I mean. That I wasn't going to post until it was done.

Well, I give up. I really want to post it, so I'm going to. So here it is.



There once was a girl whose name was Makenna. Yes, that's me. Anyway, I was raised on the outskirts of a town, near a forest. I had no friends. I learned my letters and numbers from my dad, because girls weren't allowed to go school. My mom died when I was a kid, but my older sister helped with all the girly stuff when I needed it. She's twelve years older than me. There are four brothers in between us. We're not that close-I'm closer to my brothers than her, so I picked up tactics from them.

I was a very determined explorer when I was a kid, according to my dad. He always had to let Shana, my sister, do the cooking and cleaning because I would only listen to him telling me not to run off, and I would only actually stay put if he kept both eyes on me at all times.

I grew up playacting constantly. When I wasn't pretending to be a Damsel in Distress for my brothers, I was reading about the heroes my brothers portrayed from the many books my mother had left behind. One day, I got fed up with the damsel act and having to wail, "Help! The dragon will eat me!!" for the millionth time, so I picked up a stick shaped like the ones the boys were using as swords, and I jabbed at Kedak, who was the dragon, banged Purcil in the stomach-he was the wizard- and pranced back to the cottage without Prince Jacane and his noble steed Aquan, laughing as I went, with the cries begging for my return in my ears, which I ignored.

That was all years ago.

Now I am sixteen, Kedak is 18, Purcil is 20, Jacane and Aquan, the twins, are both 24, and Shana is 28. I have to help her with the cooking and cleaning, though I hated it. Shana had to threaten me with curses in order to get me to even clean my own room.

But one day, I woke up and everyone- Shana, the twins, Purcil, Kedak, even my dad- they were all gone.

I wandered into the kitchen, but there was no note, no sign, nothing pointing to where they had gone. Just as I had returned from changing into some proper clothes, with every intent to go and rescue my family, I found a note on the table in clean white parchment that definitely hadn't been there before.

*you can't read this part-it's in the Dwarfish Runes. I'm typing it up anyway*

Dear Makenna:

I have your family in the forest. You will come and find them within seven days or risk their death. You will find them in the big castle in the middle of the forest. Do not try to fool me; I know of your powers. I look forward to seeing you.

Tamge the Wizard

I stared at the note. Obviously I couldn't read it, but somehow I knew they were in the forest. I grabbed as much food as my bag could carry and walked out, sturdy boots on my feet. Although I'd never been allowed to enter the forest, I was sure I could handle whatever it threw at me. Somehow, as soon as I entered, it felt like home.

That first morning was when I met one of my travel companions. We walked right into each other, frankly speaking. As I stumbled back, I glared at the tall, handsome stranger. Dark curls were cropped close to his head, and he was glaring down the four-inch gap between our heights with slanted, disdainful yellow-brown eyes.

"Watch where you're going," he barked. "I'm in a hurry.

Growing up with four brothers had taught me the hard way that you could only counter a bark in two ways: another bark, or a snarl. I picked a snarl. It usually took boys off guard to see that a girl could fight.

"Well, so am I," I snapped. "So maybe YOU should look where YOU'RE going. Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?"

"No, and you wouldn't count if I had," he retorted. I noticed he had pointy ears- he was an elf. "You're too poorly dressed to be counted as a noble in any place other than your imagination. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a family to rescue." He began to storm away.
"Well, so do I," I hollered at his retreating back. The elf hesitated, then turned.
"When were they taken?" he demanded urgently.
"Last night, I presume," I said. "They weren't here this morning and they were definitely all there last night. Even the twins.”
"Strange," he muttered.
"Why?" I wondered. "Was that when your family was taken?"
"Yes," he replied. "And did you get a note written in the runes?"
"I don't know what it was written in, but it wasn't normal writing," I said, and showed him the note I'd gotten.
Glancing at it, the elf said, "Yeah, that's just like mine. We have seven days to get our families back."
"So do you want to team up?" I asked. "What is your name, anyway? Or do elves not have names?" I added, with a touch of irritation.
"Chance," he told me gruffly.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. "And you're Makenna. I saw it on the note," he added, before I could ask how he'd learned my name.
"So do you want to team up?" I repeated. "You probably know the forest better than I do."
"You were born in the forest," Chance said. "You know it as well as me."
"I wasn't," I contradicted him. "And I was never allowed in here until now." I didn't add that the woods had felt like home the second I'd entered.
"You were," Chance retorted. "Your eyes are slanted and purple. Only fairies have purple eyes, and only forest-born people have slanted eyes. Fairies can only be born in the forest. The human-sized kind, anyway. The kind who-"
"Don't have wings and only have minimal magic, I know," I rattled off. I had seen it in one of my mom's old books. "But I'm not a fairy."
"Yes, you are," Chance argued. "you just haven't shown your powers yet. Most don't until they're about sixteen."
"Right," I said disbelievingly. "But that's off the point. Two heads are better than one, especially in my case. I understand the forest about as well as the reasons why I got my first monthly."
"Excuse me?" Chance said.
"Never mind," said hastily, embarrassed about my slip up. "So what do you say?"
"I work alone," Chance said.
"Well, fine then," I said and began to storm off.
"Oh, all right," Chance sighed, his voice calling me back like I had called him a few moments before. "Just don't get us both killed, all right?"
"Okay," I agreed cheerfully.

So began our journey. Chance seemed to know where everything was, although whenever I tried to start a conversation with him, he remained obstinately close-lipped. On the second morning, the morning after we'd met, my powers began to show. I was woken by the fast-paced chattering of a squirrel.

"Makenna, Makenna, Makenna, Makenna," it said in one breath. As I opened my eyes, it said, "Oh, good. You're awake. You two-legs always sleep like boulders." I stared at the creature in sleepiness, trying to make sense of my surroundings. "Anyway," it jabbered on, "your boyfriend wants me to tell you that he's gone to get food."
"Chance isn't my boyfriend," I told the squirrel.
"Of course he is," the squirrel chattered. "We ARE talking about the same bloke, right? Dark hair, tall, pointy ears? Thought so. Anyway, if you see a female two-legs walking around with a male two-legs, you can guarantee that they’re in love. Always. It's a fact of life, you know."
"How would YOU know?" I demanded. "You're a squirrel!" Then something struck me. "And I've gone mad for understanding what you're saying," I muttered to myself.
The extremely gregarious squirrel had heard, but he didn't seem to mind.
"'Course you're not," it told me. "Plenty of two-legs can. All of 'em have either pointy ears or pointy eyes. Your boy can, for example, and his ears are pointy. Your eyes are pointy, and here you and I are, having a very good conversation. So there you have it."
"He's not my boyfriend," I snapped, and reached for my bag. I guess Chance was right about the whole fairy thing. I didn't like it when someone else was right, unless they were thinking something along the lines of what I was thinking. I liked it less when it was Chance who was the one being right.
"Suit yourself," the squirrel muttered. "You'll fall for him eventually, you mark my words. They always do. That's another fact of life, you know." I rolled my eyes and ignored the squirrel. Obviously, this creature didn't know what real facts of life were.

Then I heard a rustle in the bushes. I glanced up and froze. It was a wolf- big, grey-brown, and snarling at me, its hackles raised and its teeth bared.