Fableweaver
 
Chapter 1: The Stranger
 
            Through the golden mist of morning, the gently sloping emerald hills were dotted with snowy sheep. Old ewes lay quietly beneath the cool shade of an ancient branching oak, while lambs frisked in the warm sunshine. The birds’ trilling melodies soared in a symphony of natural beauty, their song broken only by the distant ring of town bells.
            Merry sea breezes frolicked around the countryside and jade-green grass swayed like the waters of the vast ocean that could be seen from the hills. Inhaling the fresh and thrilling scent of a new day, daisies lifted their golden faces skyward. Even the ancient oak seemed to sway to the rhythm of springtime’s song.
            A man stood in the shade, his wrinkled and tanned face tranquil. The shepherd tossed his staff from hand to hand and hummed quietly as he cast his eyes over his peaceful flock. A young lamb, wobbly on its spindly legs, bumped against the shepherd’s knee, and the man, chuckling, set it upright.
            It was a lovely morning. From the languid hare that lay sprawled across the path, to the insects buzzing busily among the grasses, all this, yes, everything was perfect. The shepherd yawned and stretched, his eyes never leaving the sheep. Then he frowned. His eyes narrowed. Straightening, he cupped a hand behind his ear. That sound… what could it possibly be? He had never heard anything like it before. Was it of a beast or human?
            He took his leather sack and flung it over his shoulder, then, taking his staff firmly in his hand, he loped down the mountainside. Like an eagle soaring through the sky, so did the shepherd glide through the jade-green fields in search of the strange call.
            Then all at once, the man came to an abrupt halt. Ahead of him, hidden behind a veil of fragrant wildflowers, someone stirred. Very cautiously the man drew closer, then stopped once more, and his breath left him in a gasp.
             The young woman rose from the grass, brilliant wildflowers peeking from her cloud of midnight black hair. Her limpid, rich dark eyes were wide with surprise, and a faint flush lingered on her cheeks. Seeing the shepherd, she smiled, and like little white pearls, her teeth shone in the sunlight. She tossed back an armful of shining black hair and then bowed deeply, her slender hands folded upward.
            The old shepherd doffed his cap and smiled good-naturedly. “Good morning, Miss. Didn’t mean to disturb ye none. I’ll go back up to me hills and mind me own business. Take care, Miss, on yer way down the mountain and back to town. It ain’t proper for a pretty young lady like yerself to come up here alone.” He began to turn and begin his hike up the hill slopes, when that queer sound arrested his attention once more.
            He swung about. The young woman still stood there, but a questioning look shone in her eyes, and her head tilted on one side. Her lips parted, and an unintelligible string of words—beautiful, and yet very strange, poured from them like a string of jewels. She spoke them imperiously, flourishing a hand with command as she stepped towards him.
            Until that moment, the shepherd had never noticed what the young woman wore, but now, he saw that her complexion and dress were strange and very different than what he, an uneducated man of the fields, was used to. Her hair was of a darker shade than the people of his country and her eyes were wide and slightly slanted, with a dark fringe of long lashes.
            And her speech—so musical and so queer...
            The poor man stood stock still for many long moments as his brain worked furiously. This was startling—and the emotion of surprise was something he was unaccustomed to. Sheep were the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The seasons passed regularly upon his mountaintop. Summer, fall, winter, spring… They came and went, and came and went. But this! This was something different.
            Excitement dizzied the old shepherd and, as inspiration struck him, he took the startled young woman suddenly by the hand and began to race down the mountainside towards the town to the west.
            “Aye, aye! That’s what she is, I tell ee. Aye! That’s what she is... a foreigner!”
 
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*drum roll, please* I introduce to you.... our main character! No, and it's not the shepherd! Hehehe... I am so tickled right now. Ah. Chapter 1 completed and no writer's block. :) Very good.