Title: My Hero

Hasn't been edited a lick, its choppy, it stinks, but several people requested I share it, so here you go! Enjoy : )

Prologue:
Tristan’s triceps stained as he crossed his broadswords over his head. He inhaled and watched the dust settle around his feet.
“Are you man enough to fight a youth of sixteen?” jeered a spectator.
“Sixteen? The dirty whelp looks fifteen,” Tristan’s opponent laughed.
Tristan arched an eyebrow, surprised that neither knew that he was thirteen.
The dust churned again as the older man aimed his sword at Tristan's heart and lunged. “I’ll show him for a fight!”

Yes, this chapter has been a long time in coming, but for a while I lost interest, not to mention that I just got Nano done. That, along with my other current projects have made this story fall behind on the to-do list.

            He took a bus to downtown Raleigh, where he hurried into a quiet diner.

            Miss Wilson, the owner of the diner, looked up from where she was wiping a counter. “Hello, jim,” she said cordially. “How are you doing today?”

            “Very well, Ana. And you?” Jack inquired nonchalantly.

Kerry lay in her bed, thinking about her visit from Jackie West.

            “She’s an odd character,” she said to herself. I don’t know if I trust her.”

            “Trust who?”

            Macie was speaking to her.

            “No one,” Kerry murmured.

            There was a rustling as Macie rolled over in her bed.

            “Have you been meeting someone without us knowing?”

Estelle woke up in the same ornate bedroom she always woke up in, ever since she woke there for the first time. David, the boy, Came in and laid some clothes on the back of a chair, then turned to Estelle.

“Are you well enough to get up today?”

Estelle smiled and nodded.

“Yes, thank you.”

The rain plummets from the sky, to caress my face. I spread my arms and smile upward, it's my perfect day, just for me. Most people hate these days, not me. I'm just off work, only a hour left to board, but I will make every second count. The ride up is wet and glorious, raindrops drench my hair, but my coat keeps me warm, as does the 40 degree weather.  At last, at the top, the rain thickens, but I abandon my goggles. I strap in, and look down at my love, the mountian. A deep, happy breath, and I'm off. The snow is perfect,  the rain not affecting it at all.

Rynere woke up the next morning to a lightly falling rain. From what she could see through the mist, Karoy was standing guard, and Danid was sitting under a tree, wrapped in a cloak, occasionally sending a glare Karoy's direction.

Her awakening was followed by several minutes of stiff silence. Someone -probably Karoy -had covered her with a second blanket, and she used that to cover her head as she waited for someone to do something. No one did.

Rynere finally got to her feet.

"What is going on and why aren't we moving?"

(I must admit, the bits without Tass are my least favorite to write. X)

"What is going on?" Rynere demanded as Karoy took her firmly by the arm and led her through a maze of corridors to the outside. "Let -tell me what's happening! Danid!" she turned to the prince, who was determinedly looking straight ahead. "Danid! Tell me what's going on! Tass is going to get killed in there! Aren't you even going to try and help him?"

"Jixi can handle himself," Karoy said flatly.

"But he made a promise that he would let them hold him for six months!"