Chapter 1 : The first kiss of death

"How much for the apple?"

"Two copper pieces."

Aria dug into her little satchel and took out a silver piece which she handed to the merchant. The red head grabbed the juiciest looking apple she could see and took a bite.

"Mmh delicious." Aria cooed "keep the change."

The merchant looked at the girl walk away, his mouth agape. A whole silver coin for one messily apple? This woman was either very wealthy or incredibly stupid.

"Thank you so much!" The merchant called out to his generous customer. "May the gods bless you!"

Aria scoffed as she took another bite of her apple.

[gods? Pssh fuck the gods] she thought to herself. [they're the ones who placed me in this miserable existence to begin with]

Aria was a beautiful ginger with bright blue eyes and beautiful bronze skin. She was in her mid twenties and had a delicate feminine figure with a sweet face, but she had the agility and skill of a soldier and a heart as cold as ice.

Aria had lived in this little town for over seven years now. Her life was simple and quiet, she kept to herself and only interacted with others when it involved food or coin.

To anyone else, it seemed like a rather sad existence, but to Aria, it was just perfect. She was grateful for every single day she saw the sunrise in this wretched little town

"I wonder if that snobby lord will have another job for me today." Aria spoke to herself. "I could use a brand new pair of boots, treat myself a little bit."

The red head made a living off doing odd jobs in the town, and eventually her sword skills and archery soon caught the attention of the lord of their little land. The man was pompous and arrogant but he payed well so Aria was glad to do some work for him.

The jobs would range from training his sons to hunting down wanted criminals. In as much as Aria was a woman, she was more skilled in battle and hand to hand combat than any man in their little town.

Aria smiled to herself as she imagined how nice it would feel to have a brand new pair of boots on her feet. Maybe she'd go a little over board and get herself a nice new sword or something. Ah yes, a new sword sounded lovely.

"Hey watch out!"

Aria's daze was broken by sound of a man calling out behind her. The woman turned her body to see what the commotion was about when she felt a bolt of pain in her chest.

Aria lowered her eyes and saw a metal rode protruding from the center of her chest, blood gushing out from the wound and spewing from her mouth.

Panic broke out in the market square.

Apparently, a blacksmith had been transporting old metal by cart up the little road towards his shop, when he lost grip of the curt, sending it hurdling down the road.

Unfortunately, that was the very moment Aria had been crossing the road. And now she was a human shish kabob.

"Oh my God someone send help!" A woman screamed.

A man rushed to Aria's side , who was now laying on the paved road drenched in her own blood.

"She's loosing a lot of blood please hurry!" The man screamed.

He turned to Aria, desperately trying to keep her conscious. "Don't worry you'll be fine, just stay with me. The gods will help you."

The man's voice sounded distant to Aria, and its like the more he spoke, the less audible he was becoming.

Before Aria completely lost consciousness, she heard the man telling her 'the gods would help her.'

[tch. The gods? Fuck the gods, they're the ones who placed me in this miserable existence in the first place]

*

The high pitched crying of a new born could be heard echoing through out the little cottage.

"Congratulations m'lady it's a girl."

The midwife handed the small little infant to its new mother who reached out to her child excitedly.

"Oh she's so beautiful." The woman cooed as she looked at her newborn.

"Such beautiful blue eyes." The midwife commented.

The woman was in absolute bliss holding her baby girl, she had been praying for a child for many years and now, in her late forties, she'd given birth to her first child.

On the other end of the room stood a man who was glaring daggers at the new born. He was a tall slender man in his fifties with black hair, pale skin and brown eyes.

Richard Strongbow was the husband of Gezelle Strongbow, the new mother.

The woman was fair skinned with deep dark eyes and long wavy brown hair, so one could understand why her husband was not particularly happy with their child.

The girl had bright blue eyes and traces of reddish- orange hair. Clearly she hadn't taken after Richard nor her mother, or any member of both their families as far as Richard knew.

Was it possible that his wife had had an affair and conceived the child for another man? And if that was the case, did it mean that his wife was a potent vessel all along? Was Richard the one with the problem?

The woman looked up at her husband and smiled at him. "Honey do you want to hold her?"

The man was hesitant, he could see the love in his wife's eyes for this child. How could a woman so sweet bare a child of another? No it wasn't possible, Richard and Gezelle had been married over twenty years and not once had she ever shown signs of infidelity.

Even though childless, the couple's love for one another never wavered. He felt a bit ashamed for doubting his dear sweet wife, she was an angel.

An angel? Thats right! This child was probably a gift from the gods, blessing the couple after years of praying for an offspring. That would explain why the child looked so different. She was a product of divine intervention.

"Honey?"

Richard batted his lashes and looked up at his wife. "Of course darling, I'd love to hold her."

The man stepped forward and took the tiny infant in his arms. The baby opened her little eyes and looked up at the man

[what is this? Where the hell am I?! And who the fuck is this creepy old man?! Let go of me you creep!]

The baby stretched its little hand towards Richard's face and made some noises.

[what the hell?! Baby hands?! Oh no, not this again. Did I die again?]

The baby in Richard's arms seemed to be getting frustrated. She was wiggling around and moving her little arms in a tiny fit.

[why is this happening to me?! Why can't I just die!]

Richard panicked when he heard the baby let out a frustrated squeak, he reached for her little arms and immediately, the little girl grabbed his finger and seemed to calm down.

[sigh. It seems we're doing this again, might as well get it over with]

"She's so small and cute." Richard spoke to his wife excitedly.

"It looks like she likes you." Gezelle responded. "What shall we name her?"

Richard looked down at the little infant in his arms. "We'll name her Guinevere, after my mother... Guinevere Strongbow."

"It's a lovely name honey."

[I hate it!]

"Hello little Guine." Richard cooed the baby. "We're going to take good care of you. Oh thank the gods."

[enough with the gods already!]