1 Beginnings

Overlooking the Mallenia Wall and out at the campsite, I swung my leg over the edge. It dangled above the rocky side of the hill. The drop would break either one or both my legs if I let go of the stone wall. My grip lessened just to test how it would feel to slowly fall to my death. As I was nearing the absolute end of my balance, I gripped the wall once more. I pulled myself up.

A gust of cold wind flew over me. My jacket was ripped open and I closed it with my left hand. My right hand held tight to the stones. The rocky surface bit into my nails. If I pressed any harder, I might break my already bitten tips. It was a problem Alis had tried beating out of me when I was younger. Though he didn't care that I was a girl nor the fact that I didn't want to look pretty like a wench as he might say, he hated seeing my bloody bitten nails.

The fire at the center of our camp burned brighter as Meeko poured more fuel onto the logs. He tossed a couple in and fanned the fire so the flames would rise higher. There were many of the Brotherhood sitting around, drinking, and making loud comments to one another. It was the type of loud that could only occur when the Brotherhood had successfully raided a village or city. Otherwise, it would be dead quiet as they busied themselves planning a new attack.

I wasn't allowed to go with the raids. Nor was I allowed to take missions by myself. I'd been trained to distract, pickpocket, or climb where Alis could not. We would venture outside the group whenever he had the free time so he could teach me, but he's grown older. He won't admit it to me or anyone else in the group. We all know he's too proud to say that he's weaker.

Looking down at them all, a family I would have never thought I would be grateful for, I had a sense that something would go wrong in the coming days. I don't know why I feel this or why I would suddenly have such dark thoughts. This life, working for the Brotherhood and being raised by a rally of men, it was never going to be easy for me. It's not easy for any of us.

I purse my lips and drag my fingers over the corner of my mouth.

Squinting, I focus in on what is being hauled out of Alis's tent. It seems to be a large box of some sort.

Without even thinking, I jump up from where I've been sitting for the last hour and a half. I run down the edge of the wall and jump when the height is only five feet high. My feet slam into the ground.

A few of the men sitting around the fire glance back at me, but they turn back to their mugs of beer and their heaping plates of food.

As I walk towards the camp, the buckles on my pants clank together. I cross my arms, pulling my jacket further around me. My hood hides most of my face from view and the sun doesn't hinder my sight. I sweep a lock of my short brown hair behind my ear.

Alis comes out of his tent then. His hair is a mess around his shoulder. The disarray of gray fits him too well. Like a wise man, he's always been the center heart of this group. It goes without saying that he's what keeps everyone in line. He's always making sure there are no personal problems arising or inside fights that might hinder the Brotherhood.

If it wasn't for him, I would have been dead years ago when I was just a toddler. When I was two, he'd been the one to take me in. With his own winnings, he'd fed, clothed, and taught me everything he knew.

If father wasn't such a swear word in our tiny world that would have been what I'd called him. But like most of the men here, I was an orphan. An outcast that had no home but these men.

"Hey, girly." One of the troublemakers of the group, Reno, fell from the broken log a few of the brothers dragged from the forest.

I wrinkled my nose as he belched in front of me.

There was no use messing with Reno when he was like this. He couldn't do anything but make a fool of himself. Letting him get it out of his system was better than dealing with the hassle of trying to teach him a lesson.

I stepped around him, but as I did, he grabbed my leg.

On reflex alone, I kicked him in the chin.

"Li'le cunt!" He cussed out in his thick accent.

The brothers around the fire laughed.

Before he could get up, I scurried away towards Alis's tent.

He was the only one that knew about the 'feelings' I got. Usually, when I got them it meant we were on the right path or we were about to get caught up in trouble. These little feelings had been with me all my life. I didn't trust anyone else in the Brotherhood to know about my powers. Alis had believed the same. He'd drilled it in my head since I knew I was different that I should keep it a secret.

Secrets were kinda his thing anyway.

If my gender hadn't been known since the beginning, he would have lied and told everyone I was a boy.

To be fair, most of those who didn't know me already assumed I was. My short hair, clothing, and my figure looked nothing like a woman's. It was a good thing too. Many of the men here wouldn't have cared enough if I was one of them.

A woman was a woman. They would have raped me if I didn't look like a boy.

I grimaced.

Some might have enjoyed that. There were disgusting men in the brotherhood who wouldn't even let age deter their lust.

If my face and figure didn't turn them away, I had my skills.

Alis didn't raise a fool.