Pending name...

Emilee

Time:
Morning, Thursday
Harvest Season
Two weeks before the start of it all...

Location:
The Pyrate Hunter training city of
Aelston

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The sun was slowly heating up the red and yellow earth around Aelston. It was fall time and many different colors of leaves from the mountains and forest around the town fluttered across the dirt covered roads. Emilee swung her legs calmly bobbing her head to a bar tune she heard earlier that morning. She sat comfortably on the wooden fence almost directly in front of the large gates that protected the town. She looked up to see a slight spark of the field that protected the town from any invaders or monsters that could come inside. She remembered hearing once that no one really knew what the field was entirely made of. It remained here even before the foundation of the town. Some said it was magic, others said it was aliens who left it here. Who ever invented the protective field Emilee couldn't help but feel grateful.

Her long light brown hair tickled across her face as the wind brushed her hair across her face. She wished that she wore a coat that morning. The temperature was slowly starting to drop and winter was just around the corner. It was harvest season and all the farmers in town were getting ready to sell their produce. This meant that many new quests were to show up soon. Which also meant that her older brother Jer would be gone more. He was coming back any hour now.

Emilee sighed and held onto the wooden fence tightly as she dipped her back backwards. She saw the upside down school training building. The pride and joy of the town and currently closed for the harvest season. It would reopen in a few weeks after all the harvesting was done and all its students would return to only leave on their winter wilderness studies classes. Emilee smiled wanting to go so bad to the classes. When Jer was still in training only earlier this year she would sneak in and “shadow” him during the classes he took. The teachers didn't like this telling him that she was too young and wasn't being fare to the people who didn't get into the programs. Since Jer was the top of his class they let it slide, but being there excited her.

Who ever knew that a simple farmer's elder son would be the top hunter in all the city. Well, technically he was tied for top with his friend and rival, but it was still a great honor.

“One more year,” Emilee said to the building sitting up to stare at it, “then I can finally get in.”

She had to be sixteen to enter the Pyrate Hunters school programs. Since she missed the cut off date for her age, stupid fall birthdays, she had to wait another year before taking the entrance exams. It didn't matter though, Jer's prepared her and she's studied his books. She will be the top of the class just like her big brother!

“That smile of yours looks weird, stop it.”

Emilee was looking at the ground and saw a shoe with a brace attached to it. She looked up smelling a familiar smoky smell and a ticked off face.

“Griffin!”

He dropped his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it with his shoe. He had bandages on his face and bare chest. Emilee blushed slightly looking away. Griffin. The forever rival and friend of Jer and the person Emilee has had a crush on for years. His dark hair was pulled into a half pony tail and didn't seem to care that he was barely wearing anything. He was jogging with that bad leg of his and stopped for a smoke. Pain had no word in Griffin's dictionary. He will continue to fight till the enemy is dead even if he had a broken leg and his arms chopped off. He had the heart of a true warrior, but was very stubborn and head strong. The head master of the school, also the leader of the town, forced Griffin to stay home and heal. Griffin was obviously ignoring that command.

He joined her on the wooden fence. Emilee couldn't help but notice that his feet were touching the ground while hers were dangling. He had grown so tall over the years. Griffin was four years older than Emilee, the same age as Jer. She still remembered him when he was school before all the pyrate hunting classes. She was still in grade school but she was taller than him for a few years before he joined the Pyrate Hunting school. She smiled remembering that when he left for a weekend she would have sworn that he grew almost a foot. The short little kid quickly grew into a handsome young man.

They were alone.

The town was slowly starting to wake up on that thursday getting ready to get to work, but for now they were alone. Emilee had been praying for a moment like this for a long time. Just a moment where there was no family, no Jer, no one else around so that she could tell Griffin how she felt. She could almost hear her friends voices in their heads urging her to tell him. She inhaled turning over to him.

“Griffin I-”

He was already standing up. He flicked her forehead lightly.

“They're not going to be back for another five hours, go home and finish your chores that you didn't do.”

How'd he know that she didn't do her chores? She touched her head slightly where he flicked her and saw him jog off with his pony tail slightly bobbing at each step. Emilee's eyes lowered apologizing to the school behind her that she was a coward. A large cart moving hay moved by as Emilee noticed more and more people out. She stood up and hopped onto the back of the cart and rested her back on the scratchy hay. The church's bells rang telling the town that it was eight and stores started opening their doors as the cart slowly rolled by them.

The school was on the edge of town right off of the down town area. The gates separated the two allowing soldiers to get to where they need to be and where ever goods or travelers need to go. The dirt covered roads turned into a nice stone as they grew more into the down town area. The shops were opening, people were waking to go off to their jobs and everything looked alive compared to the lonely school. The town wasn't as nice as their neighbors at Brookend, but what would you expect at a farming community? They passed by the down town wishing fountain but the cart continued on out of the downtown to the dirt paths of the country road.

Emilee took one last look at the gates to see no change. Griffin was right, she did have to finish her chores. She hopped off the cart as it turned down a different road and Emilee jogged down the same road all the way to the end to her family's small farm home. Mom was outside doing laundry. She looked up pushing a few strands of hair out of her face.

“Don't worry! I'm going to go brush the horses!” Emilee said jogging into the house.

Emilee saw her mom smile and go back to scrubbing laundry.

“No Jer yet?” a small voice called from the dining room table.

A small seven year old boy with light hair and syrup all over his mouth was finishing up his breakfast. He looked as if Mom just got him out of bed. Emilee patted his messy hair and shook her head no.

“Jer's just waiting for us to get our chores done! So the faster we finish them the faster he will come!”

“Really? Then why are we in here?” he hopped up from his seat and raced towards the door.

Emilee smiled and grabbed her work boots by the door. She could tell that today was going to be a good day...