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Exceptionally Extraordinary
Book 1
Dragon Keeper

Enter a world of dragons, fairies, and adventures!

There's only one way to learn something, and this is to be taught.  Natasha is young, but she longs for adventure, and finding it in her home won't do.  She gets the chance, however, to see the world at large.  After a short while, her best friend Garnet suddenly leaves their home in the Diamond Stone Abbey, and Natasha is impelled by nature to follow, and it changes her life forever.  Now, many things are taught to Natasha and Garnet as they find precious life that has long-since been supposedly gone forever.  This life is gravely threatened, and its existence itself is hanging by a thread.  But will it change Natasha's view on things, or will she stubbornly believe that all this sudden good luck is only a dream?  Will she remain strong when new lives need her more than she knows?

Natasha first-person narrates this exciting tale, and she has to overcome injuries, a stubborn faith, and evil forces, but can she do it all?

Page of Contents

Chapter 1- Striving after Wind
Chapter 2- Farven
Chapter 3- Reading and Learning
Chapter 4- Unexpected Turns in the Road
Chapter 5- Restless
Chapter 6- Fate
Chapter 7- Slow Progress, Much Progress, Home
Chapter 8- The Same Old Routine
Chapter 9- A Spark of Magic
Chapter 10- Queen Flamalista
Chapter 11- The Siren
Chapter 12- Silvia
Chapter 13- "We are What?"
Chapter 14- Coleck Malathai
Chapter 15- A Citrine Blade
Chapter 16- Just Right
Chapter 17- More Reading, More Learning
Chapter 18- Lineage and Hatred
Chapter 19- Insults Beyond Measure
Chapter 20-A Haven for Our Hearts
Chapter 21- Ember
Chapter 22- The Way of the Dragon
Chapter 23- Trial and Error
Chapter 24- The Forbidden Cave's Secrets
Chapter 25- Waking in a Dream
Chapter 26- Weighty Decisions
Chapter 27- Gone
Chapter 28- Tales of Smiling Beasts
Chapter 29- Alicia's Chimes
Chapter 30-Crystal Clear in the Night
Chapter 31-"Of Course"
Chapter 32-A Very Old Man
Chapter 33- The Impossible Truth
Chapter 34- "Father to Me"
Chapter 35- Free
Chapter 36- A Big Mistake
Chapter 37- Saved?
Chapter 38- Something to Consider
Chapter 39- The Lord
Chapter 40- Ice for Fire
Chapter 41- Stolen
Chapter 42- Prophecy and Crypten
Chapter 43- "Another of Your Bright Ideas"
Epilogue

Chapter 1
Striving after Wind

I HELD THE POOL OF WATER THERE IN THE AIR, sucking in deep breaths and concentrating harder than I ever had before.  Valli stood to my right, my little brother Alexander on my left.  Relia and Olist stood in front of me, all four of them watching me.  My arms strained to control it.  I would have liked to move the water around, let it fall to the ground and pull it out of the grass like a snake, but I held my concentration.
I finally dropped the water and tiredly rubbed my arms, smiling at my students.  Well, they weren't really my students, but I considered them so anyway.  Valli, Relia, and Olist were all around Alexander's age, ranging from eight to nine years old.  They returned my smile and I instructed them to do the same movements.
I sat down cross-legged before them, and watched with interest.  I lived in a beautiful place called the Diamond Stone Abbey.  It wasn't an abbey any longer, but still held the formal name.  Abbot Ominno was our "leader," though he just kept the peace and signed all the papers.  The abbey itself wasn't very tall, but large and more than enough room for all those who lived there.  Most rooms were big enough for just two people, while there were some areas made up of two or three little rooms.  My family lived in such a home.  Around the abbey and courtyard was a red brick wall about a hundred feet high that protected the abbey, though what from I had no idea.  It was a peaceful place, the abbey I lived in, and the rest of my family loved it there.
Alexander, my little brother, was nine years old and a twin to Alexandria.  They were quite the pair, always causing trouble and begging and pleading for what they wanted.  I remembered the time when they were born and I became the middle child, even though I loved them as they grew.  They two of them were about the same height, and Alexandria's hair seemed to be growing lighter, while Alexander's hair became dirty blonde.  They both had similar hazel eyes.  Alexandria was the older of the two, and she always took advantage of it.
I didn't look much like my younger siblings.  I was unusually tall for my age of 15, especially considering I had turned so around a month ago.  I had grown out my dark hair, and it was growing blacker with every year.  My eyes were equally dark brown, but they had curious flecks of gold in them, like an owl's eyes.  Alexander always seemed to notice when my eyes glowed, and when that happened strange things occurred.  I was usually in deep thought whenever he noticed the gold in my eyes.  I often thought much about them, and sometimes wondered if they were even more special than the eyes of the elves.
My older brother was a young man I looked up to.  His name was Samuel, but we all called him Sam.  He had dirty blonde hair, just like the twins, and his eyes were bright green.  He was now 21 years old, and when he turned 20, my dad promised him he'd earn his own blacksmith shop in the market, because he loved tinkering with hammers and tools and fashioned his own knife when he was younger.  He made tools for others and even some swords and knives, and it was plain to see that it was what he loved doing.
I watched my four students closely as they held the water in the air.  Bending water in such forms was a common interest in Besun, the kingdom we all lived in.  It was a special form of art that most everyone used to express themselves, but it also made cause for trouble, as some used the power to hurt rather than heal.  Many found it as an enjoyable pastime, others as an advantage in combat.  For me, the bending was a way to escape what was around me and have an adventure, even if it was only playing in the courtyard fountain.
After all the students successfully held the water there, I said, "Good job for today.  We'll continue later."  Just then, the bell rang and everyone working or lounging in the courtyard streamed toward the abbey.  It was time for the midday meal.
Alexander ran ahead of me with Olist, and they talked about their progress, while Valli and Relia, the two girls, strayed behind and waited for their parents.  I sighed to myself and strolled toward the abbey.  Every day the bell rang three times.  Each time it sounded, a meal was to begin.  The whole abbey ate together in the large dining room that lay on the bottom floor of the abbey.  When I stepped inside, my eyes adjusted to the dimmed light, and I looked around me.
Garnet ran up from her seat beside her parents.  Well, they weren't really her parents.  She was considered to be adopted.  "How was your lesson?" she asked.
"Good," I replied, smiling at her and returning her hug.  Garnet was shorter than me, but what she lacked in height she made up for in spirit.  She was the strongest, most courageous girl I knew, and that was why she was my friend.  She had fair blonde hair and startlingly clear blue eyes.  She was 15, just like me, and we had been best friends for the longest time.  She was the one who had inspired the love for water-bending in me.
I went and sat down beside my parents.  My mother was talking to Ruth Young, her light brown hair braided down her back.  Her blue eyes searched around the table for the rest of the family as she spoke.  Her voice was soft, but Ruth's was even softer.  She put her hand on my lap when I sat down.
For as much as my mother was small and soft-spoken, my father was just as loud and tall.  He towered above Abbot Ominno and other men of the abbey; his hands were large and calloused, his eyes round and caring.  He usually donned a rough beard that was dark like his thinning hair but acquiring a tinge of gray.  He was the most loving father I could possibly ask for, while my mother was too loving and worrisome.  That was the biggest reason why adventure was short-sighted for me.
Garnet sat by me and we shared laughter as we did every day during our meals.  Lunchtime was the most bustling and busy part of the day at the abbey, because in the morning people were too groggy and tired to talk much, and at night the feasts were either quiet and subdued or loud and excited rather than busy.
The fields surrounding the Diamond Stone Abbey's walls were nurtured and cared for, producing more than enough food each year for all of the inhabitants.  Several families also had herds of sheep that grazed in the pastures close to the Dark Forest, about two leagues south of the abbey.  I would occasionally go out with the shepherds when their wives or daughters accompanied them.  It was the farthest I had ever been from home, and I always wished that the next day that would come would bring about change, but the cycle continued.
So, that night I went up into the large room I shared with the rest of my family.  Alone, I settled into bed and practiced my reading, as there was no school in the abbey.  My mother tried to teach us to read the official and most common runes in Besun.  I read for about an hour, until my vision blurred and the lines swirled around on the page, and then fell asleep, exhausted.  A typical day.

                                                                  

It was Garnet who woke me.  I lifted my head and blinked as sunlight struck my eyes.
"C'mon, Natasha.  Wake up," she murmured, smiling at me as I buried my head in my pillow.  She jerked the sheets away and pulled on my arm, and I groaned, finally complying and sitting up.
"What?" I mumbled, wiping my eyes.
"I wanted to tell you something."  I looked around.  No one was in our little home, not even the twins.  Everyone had made their beds and left to their chores or to play.
"You had to wake me up to do it?"  She nodded and began to speak as I found my brush in the small dresser beside my bed.  In it were all of my belongings.
"I couldn't let anyone else hear.  I have a… proposition for you."  I gave her a look and brushed the knots out of my hair.  She continued without waiting for a response.  "I know you want an adventure." I froze and stared at her, licking my lips as if in anticipation.  "Well, so do I.  Let's do it.  Let's go."
"Go where?" I asked with a scoff.  "Into the Dark Forest for a night?  We'll climb trees and evade the black bears.  We wouldn't get very far.  My mother's afraid of a lot, but she'd chase me to the ends of the earth to make sure I was safe."
Garnet scowled at my interruption, then continued.  "No.  We can leave tonight.  We can take what we need, some money, some food, and we can travel north to some of the cities.  We can just take a little… vacation, as it were.  Maybe a few weeks learning and exploring."  I looked down, my hand tight around the brush handle.  This was my opportunity; my chance to get away was here.  Garnet had a plan, and Garnet's plans never failed.  I looked up at her and bit my lip.  I couldn't just leave.  My family wouldn't know what happened to me.
"Garnet, we can't just lie to them."
"We won't," she protested, and then explained her plan.  As it continued, my hopes began to soar.  Maybe I wasn't striving after wind constantly after all.  Maybe this time I'd grasp something real, something tangible, something that wouldn't evade me so easily.  Still reluctant, but not as much as before, I agreed with Garnet to carry out the plan that night.
It led me through my whole day.  Breakfast was a bore, so I tried to remain silent and not look too curiously interested in my thoughts, but my mother still cast me several confused looks.  Garnet and I ate together for our midday meal in her family's room, writing the letters to our parents that we would leave with them that night.  The whole while, my heart thudded in my chest and my throat went dry like an old well.  Something felt wrong about what I was doing, but the thrill that came over me clouded any judgment I had.
That night, I went up to bed early as I had the previous night.  As I was reading my lesson, Mother came upstairs and into the room, startling me.  I sat up and smiled at her.  The candle I had lit beside me illuminated her face alone.  She sat down beside me.
"Are you okay?" she asked me nervously.
I smiled and nodded.  "Yes, of course."
"You've been a little… elusive.  You didn't come to lunch today, and you left supper early tonight for the second time."  She put a hand to my forehead.  Her fingers were cold.  "Are you sick, Natasha?"
"No," I replied.  "Why would I be?  I ate with Garnet today, and I've just been tired these past few days.  That's why I came up here to read."  She looked down at the book I had in my hand, as if for the first time.  She nodded slowly, still unsure.  Could I really leave her with nothing more than a letter?
"Okay.  I'll go back downstairs."  She kissed me on the forehead.  "Good night, Natasha."
"Good night," I murmured.  She was gone within a minute, so I got out of bed and dressed.  I wore boy's breeches, which was common in small villages and towns in Besun.  They were leather pants that provided much comfort and warmth, so nearly everyone wore them but the women.  I pulled a leather vest over a shirt with long sleeves and tied the laces on it.  That was when I noticed my hands were shaking, and I had so much trouble trying to tie the string that I gave up and turned to my boots.  They were the only pair of shoes I had besides a pair of sandals that didn't do as well for walking.
I had to bunch up the sheets by my feet so no one noticed I was wearing my boots.  I blew out the candle beside me and turned to the window.  A glow of soft white light fell on the floor.  The moon was waning, but still bright.
I didn't have a fear of falling asleep, because I was too afraid of everything else to think about it.  I went over Garnet's plan in my mind multiple times, wondering how my family would eventually react.  I also wondered how Garnet was dealing with things.  She was probably lying there smiling, proud of her plan, because Garnet's plans never failed.
When the rest of my family came in, I immediately froze, then remembered that I was supposed to be asleep, and I took normal breaths, closing my eyes and listening.
"You cannot!" Alexandria was saying.
"Of course I can," Sam replied with a hint of amusement.  "You haven't already seen the beautiful things I've made?"
"All you make is swords," she replied, following the words with a harrumph.  My mother shushed them.
"She's asleep," my father whispered.
Alexander yawned, and then I heard them all dressing for bed.  It was so hard for me to have such self-control, and my heart began to beat faster with every passing moment.  Finally, not another sound drifted across the air.  I waited for another half hour or so, just to be sure that everyone was asleep.  I turned and looked across the dark room, trying to look at all their faces and guess, but I couldn't see any of them in the shadows.
I slowly pulled my legs out from under the blanket and stood up on the side of my bed by the window.  My bed was farthest from all the others.  With trembling hands, I reached over and picked up my leather bag, which had all the money I had saved up, a knife Sam had given me, some extra clothes, and a loaf of bread.
Beside my bag was a folded piece of paper.  I walked over to my parents' bed, which was closest to the door, and placed the letter right on the small nightstand, beneath the candle and holder that my mother picked up every morning and lit.  She would surely find the letter.
Though I was having second thoughts, I took a hard look at everyone sleeping before me and touched a single finger to my lips, drawing it out toward them.  It was a common way in Besun of symbolizing love for your family.
I silently opened the door into the dim hallway and closed it behind me, taking a shaky, deep breath.  I nearly shouted as Garnet seemingly materialized beside me.  She put a hand on my arm and her eyes widened.
"Ready?" she asked.  I hesitated, then nodded quickly.
"Let's go," I whispered.  We crept over to the steps and tip-toed down them.  It was so strange looking down at the empty dining room.  Usually, there were many people there, even between mealtimes, so the emptiness gave the room a ghostly feel.
We stopped in the kitchen and found some food, which we packed away into our leather bags.  We left feeling guilty, so I stopped and dropped some copper coins on the counter.
Outside Garnet hurried toward the wall, but I stopped her and pointed to the sentries above.  There were four of them in our sight.  I stepped back until I felt the brick of the abbey against me and pulled Garnet around to the side of the abbey where the market was.  It was completely empty; not a soul was in sight.
Partly out of sight aided by the moonlight, and partly by instinct and the areas I was aware of, I was able to navigate over to Sam's blacksmith shop.  He didn't lock the wooden doors, for there was no fear of thievery at the Diamond Stone Abbey.  I pushed at the door with my shoulder and it creaked inward.  Garnet tried to get my attention.  "What are you doing?" she whispered frantically.
I reached blindly out into the darkness and groped for the torch that I knew was on the wall in a sconce.  My hands went through several cobwebs, but I finally found it and motioned to Garnet in triumph.  "We have to light this," I told her.
Before I could find anything to light it with, the familiar flicking sound erupted from somewhere behind me, and the ground before me was illuminated, the light curving around my shadow.  I turned as Garnet ignited the torch, and suddenly the area around me was displayed by a bright, unnatural firelight.
I stepped forward near the center of the small room.  I tried to not cry out as my boot hit the stone of the forge.  Garnet grabbed my arm just in case I fell, and she held on as I led her around the forge to the shelves where Sam kept his tools and some weapons he had made.  Garnet took the torch from me and watched the entrance as I looked over the array of weaponry.
Sam was very skilled with sword making so far, considering he had only been in the trade for a year or so.  He had made a variety of swords, including dwarfish blades that were short and thick, with grips just right for their rough hands.
I also noticed several elfish swords.  I picked one up to find that it was lightweight.  They were commonly thin and long, just a bit longer than a hand and a half sword.  The grip was wrapped in wire for more comfort.  Looking once more over the array before me, I handed the elfish sword to Garnet and found a second one, quite similar in appearance.  They both lay next to scabbards, so we grabbed them and ran to the door.  There was no time to place the swords on our belts, so we stuffed them into our bags and forced the torch into the dirt, snuffing it out.  Garnet placed it back in its holder, and she followed me outside into the moonlight.  We pulled shut the doors as quietly as possible and ran to the other side of the wall.
However strange it was, the abbey gates faced south, toward the Dark Forest.  This was because the abbey itself was on a rise, sitting higher than the courtyard and grassy areas around the stone walkway.  When the wall was built years later, it had to include the gardens and courtyard as well, so it faced south.
We headed toward the western wall, trying to avoid being noticed by the sentries, who by this point had chosen seats and were blinking sleep away.  We stared up and estimated the length between the nearest two sentries, and Garnet took a rope from her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.  We began to climb the ladder that led up to the walls.  It was made of two long lengths of rope and pieces of wood laid between them.
Climbing was hardest for me.  Not that I was a bad climber, but I was so nervous that my hands shook uncontrollably and it was hard to avoid hitting my shoulder on the wall, as Garnet did a great deal to shake the ladder as well.
In a moment I was pulling myself up onto the wall.  I wasn't amazed that I had made it so sneakily, for I was known to be a quiet girl, no matter what it was I was doing.  We stood low and I watched the sentries, my gut twisting and my teeth chattering.  Garnet sat cross-legged and wrapped the rope around something I couldn't make out, tying it and murmuring ever so softly to herself.  I leaned closer to listen better and heard her reciting how her adoptive father had told her to tie the strongest knot.  Once she finished she gave the rope a good tug.
"I'm going first," she whispered to me, moving swiftly and falling over the wall before I could move.  We had brought gloves for this moment and put them on along the way.
Why didn't we go out the gate, you might ask?  It would have been far too obvious to all the sentries that someone was coming in or going out, and if it was the chance that someone was coming in, they wouldn't hesitate to figure out what was going on.
I watched the rope intently now.  Garnet said she would make it move obviously like a snake the moment she landed on the ground.  Sure enough, a few moments later, I saw it thrash and grabbed hold of it, swiveling on my heel and tightening my grip.  My bag swung over my shoulder, I began to climb down.  But not before I heard a shout of alarm.
I caught a glimpse of action somewhere to my right, and then on my left.  Two of the sentries that were closest to us came running toward the rope.  Suddenly, fear gripped me, and I was sure they would cut the rope and I would fall to my death.  They didn't know I was trying to leave, not enter and attack.
They first looked down at me.  I figured that they recognized the common knot, and wondered who had put it there.  One man had a crossbow, the other a sword, and they both appeared to have recognized me, even though I didn't recognize them.
Worried only for my safety, I bounced along the wall at a snail's pace, afraid to go any faster and burn through my gloves, but still afraid to go too slow and fall once they cut the rope.  They wouldn't do that if they had recognized me, though, right?
The faces disappeared after a moment, so I breathed a sigh of relief.  A few seconds later my foot hit the ground, so Garnet grabbed me by the arm and we ran.  We dashed north up the hill, which was tall and long, making the work laborious and tiring.  "Come on," Garnet continued to say, though it was so dark we couldn't see our hands in front of us, let alone any rabbit holes or tree stumps to avoid.  I tripped several times, as did Garnet, and by the time we reached the top of the hill, escape was useless.
We had heard the peal of the two warning rings of the bell above the abbey, knowing that everyone was now awake and alert.  Three or four horses chased us through the gloom, and soon we were surrounded.  At that moment, I felt like I was being caged in my own home, unable to escape at any cost.  It was my jail cell.  I didn't want to feel like I had to escape to have an adventure.
I was even more ashamed to look up and catch a glimpse of a single face on a white horse.  It was Judah, a young warrior of the abbey that was a year older than me.  He was holding a lantern close, so as not to startle his horse, and was watching me with an expression I couldn't read.  I looked down and felt tears sting my cheeks.  Why did it have to be him that chased after us?
A number of others from the abbey followed the horses on foot, and I felt my father's rough grip on my shoulder as he turned me and kneeled down.  "What do you think you're doing?" he muttered, waving the familiar letter in front of me.
"Going on an adventure," I murmured weakly.  The moment I said it, I sounded like a child.  What on earth was I doing?  Garnet was the only other one that heard me, though I'm sure she was paying attention to her parents.  My mother was beside me in an instant.
"Natasha, what is going on?" she stammered, shaking as much as I was.  My father tried to explain, and then I heard a rustle in the grass beside me as a pair of boots came into view.  Judah's lantern illuminated my family.
"I saw these two on the wall," he said softly, his voice flowing across the wind.  For some odd reason, the sound comforted me, and I looked up, trying to adjust to the bright light in the darkness.
"I just want freedom," I replied to my mother's startled look.  She didn't respond, only folded her arms in confusion as she tried to make sense of everything.  My father put a hand on each of my shoulders.
"Let's go back inside," he said roughly, and I knew that there was no escaping his grip.  I strained to retaliate, to stop and fight, but there would be no use, so why bring more shame to myself?  It wasn't me who then said those gracious words, but Judah.  He began to talk and my heart froze in place.  I couldn't bring myself to even turn and look at him.
"Why stop them?  Why not let them try their hands at the world?  I would give my left hand to see a few cities myself." My father stopped and my mother looked at him, but I wouldn't bring my eyes to where he was standing by his horse with his lantern.  When he stopped speaking and waited for an answer, I glanced over.
His eyes were crystal blue, like frozen ice over a beautiful lake.  They were soft and round and full of empathy.  His dirty blonde hair, which looked much like Sam's, was lying in cascades around his ears.  He was taller than me, even though I was pretty tall, and he had such a smile that struck me whenever he used it, even though he had never yet used it on me.  I wasn't sure that Judah even knew who I was.
"The world is a dangerous place," someone finally muttered from in the darkness, and a buzz of whispers and words rose up.
"Farven isn't," Judah suddenly shouted over the din.  Everyone was quiet.  "And neither is Turk.  These cities lie several miles to the north.  Why can't they visit them?"
"It's not your place to decide, boy.  Besides, freedom isn't all it's thought to be," my father murmured beside me.  Startled, I looked up at him.  He looked away.
"Without any freedom at all, though, this place is a jail cell," I said loudly, suddenly more sure of myself than I had been when Garnet proposed her plan to me.  That's what I told everyone.  "Garnet made an escape plan, and we shouldn't have the burning desire to escape a place like this.  It's beautiful and peaceful here, but the farthest I've been from the walls was two or three leagues, on the border of the Dark Forest with some of the shepherds."  My father's hands fell away from my shoulders limply as I continued, now eager to share what I felt with the abbey-goers.  "Am I supposed to live my whole life like this?  All of you have been to at least another city or village on your own."
"We want the same opportunity," Garnet interrupted, aiding me.  I nodded at her and smiled.
"Why not wait?" someone asked from the crowd.
"Why wait?" I replied boldly, and everyone was quiet.  "Someday, I want to see Ashlanka and its wonders.  People say that it's a second to heaven, and I want to find that out for myself.  I want to go to Jolilia Valley and the Wahs Desert.  I want to see the ocean."  Beside me, my mother was silent, and the rest of the crowd watched intently.  I couldn't see most of them, but the feel of their eyes on me was too much to ignore.  I was no longer afraid of relieving my dreams for the future upon all these people I barely knew.
Hands fell upon my shoulders again, and I turned to see Sam's face behind me.  "That you went into my forge and picked the best blades for yourselves speaks volumes to me," he said with a sly smile.  "I've always wanted to see the ocean," he then whispered in my ear.  "I want you to go and see it.  Do it, Natasha.  Maybe one day we can do it together."  I turned and hugged him, my eyes brimming with tears.
"Just let her go," a noticeably old voice said.  We turned.  Holding a lamp and standing leaning on his cane was the old man Thomas Fitzner.  He wasn't very little, but he was very old, and had a full head of gray hair and sparkling green eyes, which always gave me the impression he was excited, which was usually true.  He owned a little cart of fruits and vegetables in the market and was there every day.  Everyone in the abbey knew him to be a talker.  "Exploring the world isn't a crime.  Many of us have had that opportunity."  Before he continued he lit his pipe.
Next to him materialized a second old man, Jin-sang.  He was the abbey's official recorder and loved to be part of whatever was going on.  Unlike Thomas Fitzner, he needed no cane or support.  His back, however, was slightly hunched, his eyes were lit with the same flame of curiosity, and his hair was thinning to the point that he was nearly bald.  "We're humans, not elves.  They stay put, and we were made from pure curiosity, with a hint of love and feeling.  Let the girls go.  What trouble can they possibly stir up?"
I turned with a renewed vigor toward my parents.  My mother, surprisingly, had become less tense.  She and Jin-sang talked often, and his opinion mattered to everyone.  She looked hard at me in the darkness.  "I don't want to be held back," I told her softly.
She nodded and looked down, whispering, "It would only make you stronger, and you'd pull the chains apart." I could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes when she looked up.  "Go, and take my blessing with you." I smiled and ran and hugged her, then my father, then Sam and the twins, who had been silent the entire time.  My brothers and my sister wanted me to go; my parents did not.
I turned as I heard a horse behind me.  Judah stood there with the reins in his hand, a gelding sandy bay gnawing on the bit at the other end.  He was a young horse, no more than three years old, with a mane and tail of darker hair.  When he handed me the leather reins, watching me the entire time.  "Thank you," I said quietly.  He nodded and smiled at me for the first time.  I returned it and pulled myself up onto the strong young horse, only thinking of his smile.
"He hasn't been named," said Abbot Ominno, who had just appeared by my side.  He handed me a soft cloth bag, inside of which I heard a familiar jingle.  He was a large man, round about the waist and balding.  Around his chubby fingers were several rings, which glinted in the moonlight.  "I hope you'll be able to find a name suitable for him.  He's a strong young horse, and should be able to carry both of you far."  I nodded and thanked him as Garnet swung into the saddle behind me.
I patted the horse on the side of the neck.  I had never had a horse before.  Maybe this one would be mine.  I led him at a trot to the rise of the hill, where my father placed his hand on my knee.  My mother would have hugged me again if I wasn't so much higher than her, but she smiled and blinked back tears.  "Be safe," she said.  I nodded.
As I led the gelding away, I stopped and turned.  With a determined air about me, I lifted my first finger to my lips and held it out at the entire crowd of people.  Most of them could see my motion, and I saw hundreds of hands go up in the air in return.  Smiling, I turned the horse and kicked my heel into his flank, and thus began the rest of my life.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Exceptionally Extraordinary
Book 1
Dragon Keeper

Enter a world of dragons, fairies, and adventures!

There's only one way to learn something, and this is to be taught.  Natasha is young, but she longs for adventure, and finding it in her home won't do.  She gets the chance, however, to see the world at large.  After a short while, her best friend Garnet suddenly leaves their home in the Diamond Stone Abbey, and Natasha is impelled by nature to follow, and it changes her life forever.  Now, many things are taught to Natasha and Garnet as they find precious life that has long-since been supposedly gone forever.  This life is gravely threatened, and its existence itself is hanging by a thread.  But will it change Natasha's view on things, or will she stubbornly believe that all this sudden good luck is only a dream?  Will she remain strong when new lives need her more than she knows?

Natasha first-person narrates this exciting tale, and she has to overcome injuries, a stubborn faith, and evil forces, but can she do it all?

Page of Contents

Chapter 1- Striving after Wind
Chapter 2- Farven
Chapter 3- Reading and Learning
Chapter 4- Unexpected Turns in the Road
Chapter 5- Restless
Chapter 6- Fate
Chapter 7- Slow Progress, Much Progress, Home
Chapter 8- The Same Old Routine
Chapter 9- A Spark of Magic
Chapter 10- Queen Flamalista
Chapter 11- The Siren
Chapter 12- Silvia
Chapter 13- "We are What?"
Chapter 14- Coleck Malathai
Chapter 15- A Citrine Blade
Chapter 16- Just Right
Chapter 17- More Reading, More Learning
Chapter 18- Lineage and Hatred
Chapter 19- Insults Beyond Measure
Chapter 20-A Haven for Our Hearts
Chapter 21- Ember
Chapter 22- The Way of the Dragon
Chapter 23- Trial and Error
Chapter 24- The Forbidden Cave's Secrets
Chapter 25- Waking in a Dream
Chapter 26- Weighty Decisions
Chapter 27- Gone
Chapter 28- Tales of Smiling Beasts
Chapter 29- Alicia's Chimes
Chapter 30-Crystal Clear in the Night
Chapter 31-"Of Course"
Chapter 32-A Very Old Man
Chapter 33- The Impossible Truth
Chapter 34- "Father to Me"
Chapter 35- Free
Chapter 36- A Big Mistake
Chapter 37- Saved?
Chapter 38- Something to Consider
Chapter 39- The Lord
Chapter 40- Ice for Fire
Chapter 41- Stolen
Chapter 42- Prophecy and Crypten
Chapter 43- "Another of Your Bright Ideas"
Epilogue

Chapter 1
Striving after Wind

I HELD THE POOL OF WATER THERE IN THE AIR, sucking in deep breaths and concentrating harder than I ever had before.  Valli stood to my right, my little brother Alexander on my left.  Relia and Olist stood in front of me, all four of them watching me.  My arms strained to control it.  I would have liked to move the water around, let it fall to the ground and pull it out of the grass like a snake, but I held my concentration.
I finally dropped the water and tiredly rubbed my arms, smiling at my students.  Well, they weren't really my students, but I considered them so anyway.  Valli, Relia, and Olist were all around Alexander's age, ranging from eight to nine years old.  They returned my smile and I instructed them to do the same movements.
I sat down cross-legged before them, and watched with interest.  I lived in a beautiful place called the Diamond Stone Abbey.  It wasn't an abbey any longer, but still held the formal name.  Abbot Ominno was our "leader," though he just kept the peace and signed all the papers.  The abbey itself wasn't very tall, but large and more than enough room for all those who lived there.  Most rooms were big enough for just two people, while there were some areas made up of two or three little rooms.  My family lived in such a home.  Around the abbey and courtyard was a red brick wall about a hundred feet high that protected the abbey, though what from I had no idea.  It was a peaceful place, the abbey I lived in, and the rest of my family loved it there.
Alexander, my little brother, was nine years old and a twin to Alexandria.  They were quite the pair, always causing trouble and begging and pleading for what they wanted.  I remembered the time when they were born and I became the middle child, even though I loved them as they grew.  They two of them were about the same height, and Alexandria's hair seemed to be growing lighter, while Alexander's hair became dirty blonde.  They both had similar hazel eyes.  Alexandria was the older of the two, and she always took advantage of it.
I didn't look much like my younger siblings.  I was unusually tall for my age of 15, especially considering I had turned so around a month ago.  I had grown out my dark hair, and it was growing blacker with every year.  My eyes were equally dark brown, but they had curious flecks of gold in them, like an owl's eyes.  Alexander always seemed to notice when my eyes glowed, and when that happened strange things occurred.  I was usually in deep thought whenever he noticed the gold in my eyes.  I often thought much about them, and sometimes wondered if they were even more special than the eyes of the elves.
My older brother was a young man I looked up to.  His name was Samuel, but we all called him Sam.  He had dirty blonde hair, just like the twins, and his eyes were bright green.  He was now 21 years old, and when he turned 20, my dad promised him he'd earn his own blacksmith shop in the market, because he loved tinkering with hammers and tools and fashioned his own knife when he was younger.  He made tools for others and even some swords and knives, and it was plain to see that it was what he loved doing.
I watched my four students closely as they held the water in the air.  Bending water in such forms was a common interest in Besun, the kingdom we all lived in.  It was a special form of art that most everyone used to express themselves, but it also made cause for trouble, as some used the power to hurt rather than heal.  Many found it as an enjoyable pastime, others as an advantage in combat.  For me, the bending was a way to escape what was around me and have an adventure, even if it was only playing in the courtyard fountain.
After all the students successfully held the water there, I said, "Good job for today.  We'll continue later."  Just then, the bell rang and everyone working or lounging in the courtyard streamed toward the abbey.  It was time for the midday meal.
Alexander ran ahead of me with Olist, and they talked about their progress, while Valli and Relia, the two girls, strayed behind and waited for their parents.  I sighed to myself and strolled toward the abbey.  Every day the bell rang three times.  Each time it sounded, a meal was to begin.  The whole abbey ate together in the large dining room that lay on the bottom floor of the abbey.  When I stepped inside, my eyes adjusted to the dimmed light, and I looked around me.
Garnet ran up from her seat beside her parents.  Well, they weren't really her parents.  She was considered to be adopted.  "How was your lesson?" she asked.
"Good," I replied, smiling at her and returning her hug.  Garnet was shorter than me, but what she lacked in height she made up for in spirit.  She was the strongest, most courageous girl I knew, and that was why she was my friend.  She had fair blonde hair and startlingly clear blue eyes.  She was 15, just like me, and we had been best friends for the longest time.  She was the one who had inspired the love for water-bending in me.
I went and sat down beside my parents.  My mother was talking to Ruth Young, her light brown hair braided down her back.  Her blue eyes searched around the table for the rest of the family as she spoke.  Her voice was soft, but Ruth's was even softer.  She put her hand on my lap when I sat down.
For as much as my mother was small and soft-spoken, my father was just as loud and tall.  He towered above Abbot Ominno and other men of the abbey; his hands were large and calloused, his eyes round and caring.  He usually donned a rough beard that was dark like his thinning hair but acquiring a tinge of gray.  He was the most loving father I could possibly ask for, while my mother was too loving and worrisome.  That was the biggest reason why adventure was short-sighted for me.
Garnet sat by me and we shared laughter as we did every day during our meals.  Lunchtime was the most bustling and busy part of the day at the abbey, because in the morning people were too groggy and tired to talk much, and at night the feasts were either quiet and subdued or loud and excited rather than busy.
The fields surrounding the Diamond Stone Abbey's walls were nurtured and cared for, producing more than enough food each year for all of the inhabitants.  Several families also had herds of sheep that grazed in the pastures close to the Dark Forest, about two leagues south of the abbey.  I would occasionally go out with the shepherds when their wives or daughters accompanied them.  It was the farthest I had ever been from home, and I always wished that the next day that would come would bring about change, but the cycle continued.
So, that night I went up into the large room I shared with the rest of my family.  Alone, I settled into bed and practiced my reading, as there was no school in the abbey.  My mother tried to teach us to read the official and most common runes in Besun.  I read for about an hour, until my vision blurred and the lines swirled around on the page, and then fell asleep, exhausted.  A typical day.

                                                                  

It was Garnet who woke me.  I lifted my head and blinked as sunlight struck my eyes.
"C'mon, Natasha.  Wake up," she murmured, smiling at me as I buried my head in my pillow.  She jerked the sheets away and pulled on my arm, and I groaned, finally complying and sitting up.
"What?" I mumbled, wiping my eyes.
"I wanted to tell you something."  I looked around.  No one was in our little home, not even the twins.  Everyone had made their beds and left to their chores or to play.
"You had to wake me up to do it?"  She nodded and began to speak as I found my brush in the small dresser beside my bed.  In it were all of my belongings.
"I couldn't let anyone else hear.  I have a… proposition for you."  I gave her a look and brushed the knots out of my hair.  She continued without waiting for a response.  "I know you want an adventure." I froze and stared at her, licking my lips as if in anticipation.  "Well, so do I.  Let's do it.  Let's go."
"Go where?" I asked with a scoff.  "Into the Dark Forest for a night?  We'll climb trees and evade the black bears.  We wouldn't get very far.  My mother's afraid of a lot, but she'd chase me to the ends of the earth to make sure I was safe."
Garnet scowled at my interruption, then continued.  "No.  We can leave tonight.  We can take what we need, some money, some food, and we can travel north to some of the cities.  We can just take a little… vacation, as it were.  Maybe a few weeks learning and exploring."  I looked down, my hand tight around the brush handle.  This was my opportunity; my chance to get away was here.  Garnet had a plan, and Garnet's plans never failed.  I looked up at her and bit my lip.  I couldn't just leave.  My family wouldn't know what happened to me.
"Garnet, we can't just lie to them."
"We won't," she protested, and then explained her plan.  As it continued, my hopes began to soar.  Maybe I wasn't striving after wind constantly after all.  Maybe this time I'd grasp something real, something tangible, something that wouldn't evade me so easily.  Still reluctant, but not as much as before, I agreed with Garnet to carry out the plan that night.
It led me through my whole day.  Breakfast was a bore, so I tried to remain silent and not look too curiously interested in my thoughts, but my mother still cast me several confused looks.  Garnet and I ate together for our midday meal in her family's room, writing the letters to our parents that we would leave with them that night.  The whole while, my heart thudded in my chest and my throat went dry like an old well.  Something felt wrong about what I was doing, but the thrill that came over me clouded any judgment I had.
That night, I went up to bed early as I had the previous night.  As I was reading my lesson, Mother came upstairs and into the room, startling me.  I sat up and smiled at her.  The candle I had lit beside me illuminated her face alone.  She sat down beside me.
"Are you okay?" she asked me nervously.
I smiled and nodded.  "Yes, of course."
"You've been a little… elusive.  You didn't come to lunch today, and you left supper early tonight for the second time."  She put a hand to my forehead.  Her fingers were cold.  "Are you sick, Natasha?"
"No," I replied.  "Why would I be?  I ate with Garnet today, and I've just been tired these past few days.  That's why I came up here to read."  She looked down at the book I had in my hand, as if for the first time.  She nodded slowly, still unsure.  Could I really leave her with nothing more than a letter?
"Okay.  I'll go back downstairs."  She kissed me on the forehead.  "Good night, Natasha."
"Good night," I murmured.  She was gone within a minute, so I got out of bed and dressed.  I wore boy's breeches, which was common in small villages and towns in Besun.  They were leather pants that provided much comfort and warmth, so nearly everyone wore them but the women.  I pulled a leather vest over a shirt with long sleeves and tied the laces on it.  That was when I noticed my hands were shaking, and I had so much trouble trying to tie the string that I gave up and turned to my boots.  They were the only pair of shoes I had besides a pair of sandals that didn't do as well for walking.
I had to bunch up the sheets by my feet so no one noticed I was wearing my boots.  I blew out the candle beside me and turned to the window.  A glow of soft white light fell on the floor.  The moon was waning, but still bright.
I didn't have a fear of falling asleep, because I was too afraid of everything else to think about it.  I went over Garnet's plan in my mind multiple times, wondering how my family would eventually react.  I also wondered how Garnet was dealing with things.  She was probably lying there smiling, proud of her plan, because Garnet's plans never failed.
When the rest of my family came in, I immediately froze, then remembered that I was supposed to be asleep, and I took normal breaths, closing my eyes and listening.
"You cannot!" Alexandria was saying.
"Of course I can," Sam replied with a hint of amusement.  "You haven't already seen the beautiful things I've made?"
"All you make is swords," she replied, following the words with a harrumph.  My mother shushed them.
"She's asleep," my father whispered.
Alexander yawned, and then I heard them all dressing for bed.  It was so hard for me to have such self-control, and my heart began to beat faster with every passing moment.  Finally, not another sound drifted across the air.  I waited for another half hour or so, just to be sure that everyone was asleep.  I turned and looked across the dark room, trying to look at all their faces and guess, but I couldn't see any of them in the shadows.
I slowly pulled my legs out from under the blanket and stood up on the side of my bed by the window.  My bed was farthest from all the others.  With trembling hands, I reached over and picked up my leather bag, which had all the money I had saved up, a knife Sam had given me, some extra clothes, and a loaf of bread.
Beside my bag was a folded piece of paper.  I walked over to my parents' bed, which was closest to the door, and placed the letter right on the small nightstand, beneath the candle and holder that my mother picked up every morning and lit.  She would surely find the letter.
Though I was having second thoughts, I took a hard look at everyone sleeping before me and touched a single finger to my lips, drawing it out toward them.  It was a common way in Besun of symbolizing love for your family.
I silently opened the door into the dim hallway and closed it behind me, taking a shaky, deep breath.  I nearly shouted as Garnet seemingly materialized beside me.  She put a hand on my arm and her eyes widened.
"Ready?" she asked.  I hesitated, then nodded quickly.
"Let's go," I whispered.  We crept over to the steps and tip-toed down them.  It was so strange looking down at the empty dining room.  Usually, there were many people there, even between mealtimes, so the emptiness gave the room a ghostly feel.
We stopped in the kitchen and found some food, which we packed away into our leather bags.  We left feeling guilty, so I stopped and dropped some copper coins on the counter.
Outside Garnet hurried toward the wall, but I stopped her and pointed to the sentries above.  There were four of them in our sight.  I stepped back until I felt the brick of the abbey against me and pulled Garnet around to the side of the abbey where the market was.  It was completely empty; not a soul was in sight.
Partly out of sight aided by the moonlight, and partly by instinct and the areas I was aware of, I was able to navigate over to Sam's blacksmith shop.  He didn't lock the wooden doors, for there was no fear of thievery at the Diamond Stone Abbey.  I pushed at the door with my shoulder and it creaked inward.  Garnet tried to get my attention.  "What are you doing?" she whispered frantically.
I reached blindly out into the darkness and groped for the torch that I knew was on the wall in a sconce.  My hands went through several cobwebs, but I finally found it and motioned to Garnet in triumph.  "We have to light this," I told her.
Before I could find anything to light it with, the familiar flicking sound erupted from somewhere behind me, and the ground before me was illuminated, the light curving around my shadow.  I turned as Garnet ignited the torch, and suddenly the area around me was displayed by a bright, unnatural firelight.
I stepped forward near the center of the small room.  I tried to not cry out as my boot hit the stone of the forge.  Garnet grabbed my arm just in case I fell, and she held on as I led her around the forge to the shelves where Sam kept his tools and some weapons he had made.  Garnet took the torch from me and watched the entrance as I looked over the array of weaponry.
Sam was very skilled with sword making so far, considering he had only been in the trade for a year or so.  He had made a variety of swords, including dwarfish blades that were short and thick, with grips just right for their rough hands.
I also noticed several elfish swords.  I picked one up to find that it was lightweight.  They were commonly thin and long, just a bit longer than a hand and a half sword.  The grip was wrapped in wire for more comfort.  Looking once more over the array before me, I handed the elfish sword to Garnet and found a second one, quite similar in appearance.  They both lay next to scabbards, so we grabbed them and ran to the door.  There was no time to place the swords on our belts, so we stuffed them into our bags and forced the torch into the dirt, snuffing it out.  Garnet placed it back in its holder, and she followed me outside into the moonlight.  We pulled shut the doors as quietly as possible and ran to the other side of the wall.
However strange it was, the abbey gates faced south, toward the Dark Forest.  This was because the abbey itself was on a rise, sitting higher than the courtyard and grassy areas around the stone walkway.  When the wall was built years later, it had to include the gardens and courtyard as well, so it faced south.
We headed toward the western wall, trying to avoid being noticed by the sentries, who by this point had chosen seats and were blinking sleep away.  We stared up and estimated the length between the nearest two sentries, and Garnet took a rope from her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.  We began to climb the ladder that led up to the walls.  It was made of two long lengths of rope and pieces of wood laid between them.
Climbing was hardest for me.  Not that I was a bad climber, but I was so nervous that my hands shook uncontrollably and it was hard to avoid hitting my shoulder on the wall, as Garnet did a great deal to shake the ladder as well.
In a moment I was pulling myself up onto the wall.  I wasn't amazed that I had made it so sneakily, for I was known to be a quiet girl, no matter what it was I was doing.  We stood low and I watched the sentries, my gut twisting and my teeth chattering.  Garnet sat cross-legged and wrapped the rope around something I couldn't make out, tying it and murmuring ever so softly to herself.  I leaned closer to listen better and heard her reciting how her adoptive father had told her to tie the strongest knot.  Once she finished she gave the rope a good tug.
"I'm going first," she whispered to me, moving swiftly and falling over the wall before I could move.  We had brought gloves for this moment and put them on along the way.
Why didn't we go out the gate, you might ask?  It would have been far too obvious to all the sentries that someone was coming in or going out, and if it was the chance that someone was coming in, they wouldn't hesitate to figure out what was going on.
I watched the rope intently now.  Garnet said she would make it move obviously like a snake the moment she landed on the ground.  Sure enough, a few moments later, I saw it thrash and grabbed hold of it, swiveling on my heel and tightening my grip.  My bag swung over my shoulder, I began to climb down.  But not before I heard a shout of alarm.
I caught a glimpse of action somewhere to my right, and then on my left.  Two of the sentries that were closest to us came running toward the rope.  Suddenly, fear gripped me, and I was sure they would cut the rope and I would fall to my death.  They didn't know I was trying to leave, not enter and attack.
They first looked down at me.  I figured that they recognized the common knot, and wondered who had put it there.  One man had a crossbow, the other a sword, and they both appeared to have recognized me, even though I didn't recognize them.
Worried only for my safety, I bounced along the wall at a snail's pace, afraid to go any faster and burn through my gloves, but still afraid to go too slow and fall once they cut the rope.  They wouldn't do that if they had recognized me, though, right?
The faces disappeared after a moment, so I breathed a sigh of relief.  A few seconds later my foot hit the ground, so Garnet grabbed me by the arm and we ran.  We dashed north up the hill, which was tall and long, making the work laborious and tiring.  "Come on," Garnet continued to say, though it was so dark we couldn't see our hands in front of us, let alone any rabbit holes or tree stumps to avoid.  I tripped several times, as did Garnet, and by the time we reached the top of the hill, escape was useless.
We had heard the peal of the two warning rings of the bell above the abbey, knowing that everyone was now awake and alert.  Three or four horses chased us through the gloom, and soon we were surrounded.  At that moment, I felt like I was being caged in my own home, unable to escape at any cost.  It was my jail cell.  I didn't want to feel like I had to escape to have an adventure.
I was even more ashamed to look up and catch a glimpse of a single face on a white horse.  It was Judah, a young warrior of the abbey that was a year older than me.  He was holding a lantern close, so as not to startle his horse, and was watching me with an expression I couldn't read.  I looked down and felt tears sting my cheeks.  Why did it have to be him that chased after us?
A number of others from the abbey followed the horses on foot, and I felt my father's rough grip on my shoulder as he turned me and kneeled down.  "What do you think you're doing?" he muttered, waving the familiar letter in front of me.
"Going on an adventure," I murmured weakly.  The moment I said it, I sounded like a child.  What on earth was I doing?  Garnet was the only other one that heard me, though I'm sure she was paying attention to her parents.  My mother was beside me in an instant.
"Natasha, what is going on?" she stammered, shaking as much as I was.  My father tried to explain, and then I heard a rustle in the grass beside me as a pair of boots came into view.  Judah's lantern illuminated my family.
"I saw these two on the wall," he said softly, his voice flowing across the wind.  For some odd reason, the sound comforted me, and I looked up, trying to adjust to the bright light in the darkness.
"I just want freedom," I replied to my mother's startled look.  She didn't respond, only folded her arms in confusion as she tried to make sense of everything.  My father put a hand on each of my shoulders.
"Let's go back inside," he said roughly, and I knew that there was no escaping his grip.  I strained to retaliate, to stop and fight, but there would be no use, so why bring more shame to myself?  It wasn't me who then said those gracious words, but Judah.  He began to talk and my heart froze in place.  I couldn't bring myself to even turn and look at him.
"Why stop them?  Why not let them try their hands at the world?  I would give my left hand to see a few cities myself." My father stopped and my mother looked at him, but I wouldn't bring my eyes to where he was standing by his horse with his lantern.  When he stopped speaking and waited for an answer, I glanced over.
His eyes were crystal blue, like frozen ice over a beautiful lake.  They were soft and round and full of empathy.  His dirty blonde hair, which looked much like Sam's, was lying in cascades around his ears.  He was taller than me, even though I was pretty tall, and he had such a smile that struck me whenever he used it, even though he had never yet used it on me.  I wasn't sure that Judah even knew who I was.
"The world is a dangerous place," someone finally muttered from in the darkness, and a buzz of whispers and words rose up.
"Farven isn't," Judah suddenly shouted over the din.  Everyone was quiet.  "And neither is Turk.  These cities lie several miles to the north.  Why can't they visit them?"
"It's not your place to decide, boy.  Besides, freedom isn't all it's thought to be," my father murmured beside me.  Startled, I looked up at him.  He looked away.
"Without any freedom at all, though, this place is a jail cell," I said loudly, suddenly more sure of myself than I had been when Garnet proposed her plan to me.  That's what I told everyone.  "Garnet made an escape plan, and we shouldn't have the burning desire to escape a place like this.  It's beautiful and peaceful here, but the farthest I've been from the walls was two or three leagues, on the border of the Dark Forest with some of the shepherds."  My father's hands fell away from my shoulders limply as I continued, now eager to share what I felt with the abbey-goers.  "Am I supposed to live my whole life like this?  All of you have been to at least another city or village on your own."
"We want the same opportunity," Garnet interrupted, aiding me.  I nodded at her and smiled.
"Why not wait?" someone asked from the crowd.
"Why wait?" I replied boldly, and everyone was quiet.  "Someday, I want to see Ashlanka and its wonders.  People say that it's a second to heaven, and I want to find that out for myself.  I want to go to Jolilia Valley and the Wahs Desert.  I want to see the ocean."  Beside me, my mother was silent, and the rest of the crowd watched intently.  I couldn't see most of them, but the feel of their eyes on me was too much to ignore.  I was no longer afraid of relieving my dreams for the future upon all these people I barely knew.
Hands fell upon my shoulders again, and I turned to see Sam's face behind me.  "That you went into my forge and picked the best blades for yourselves speaks volumes to me," he said with a sly smile.  "I've always wanted to see the ocean," he then whispered in my ear.  "I want you to go and see it.  Do it, Natasha.  Maybe one day we can do it together."  I turned and hugged him, my eyes brimming with tears.
"Just let her go," a noticeably old voice said.  We turned.  Holding a lamp and standing leaning on his cane was the old man Thomas Fitzner.  He wasn't very little, but he was very old, and had a full head of gray hair and sparkling green eyes, which always gave me the impression he was excited, which was usually true.  He owned a little cart of fruits and vegetables in the market and was there every day.  Everyone in the abbey knew him to be a talker.  "Exploring the world isn't a crime.  Many of us have had that opportunity."  Before he continued he lit his pipe.
Next to him materialized a second old man, Jin-sang.  He was the abbey's official recorder and loved to be part of whatever was going on.  Unlike Thomas Fitzner, he needed no cane or support.  His back, however, was slightly hunched, his eyes were lit with the same flame of curiosity, and his hair was thinning to the point that he was nearly bald.  "We're humans, not elves.  They stay put, and we were made from pure curiosity, with a hint of love and feeling.  Let the girls go.  What trouble can they possibly stir up?"
I turned with a renewed vigor toward my parents.  My mother, surprisingly, had become less tense.  She and Jin-sang talked often, and his opinion mattered to everyone.  She looked hard at me in the darkness.  "I don't want to be held back," I told her softly.
She nodded and looked down, whispering, "It would only make you stronger, and you'd pull the chains apart." I could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes when she looked up.  "Go, and take my blessing with you." I smiled and ran and hugged her, then my father, then Sam and the twins, who had been silent the entire time.  My brothers and my sister wanted me to go; my parents did not.
I turned as I heard a horse behind me.  Judah stood there with the reins in his hand, a gelding sandy bay gnawing on the bit at the other end.  He was a young horse, no more than three years old, with a mane and tail of darker hair.  When he handed me the leather reins, watching me the entire time.  "Thank you," I said quietly.  He nodded and smiled at me for the first time.  I returned it and pulled myself up onto the strong young horse, only thinking of his smile.
"He hasn't been named," said Abbot Ominno, who had just appeared by my side.  He handed me a soft cloth bag, inside of which I heard a familiar jingle.  He was a large man, round about the waist and balding.  Around his chubby fingers were several rings, which glinted in the moonlight.  "I hope you'll be able to find a name suitable for him.  He's a strong young horse, and should be able to carry both of you far."  I nodded and thanked him as Garnet swung into the saddle behind me.
I patted the horse on the side of the neck.  I had never had a horse before.  Maybe this one would be mine.  I led him at a trot to the rise of the hill, where my father placed his hand on my knee.  My mother would have hugged me again if I wasn't so much higher than her, but she smiled and blinked back tears.  "Be safe," she said.  I nodded.
As I led the gelding away, I stopped and turned.  With a determined air about me, I lifted my first finger to my lips and held it out at the entire crowd of people.  Most of them could see my motion, and I saw hundreds of hands go up in the air in return.  Smiling, I turned the horse and kicked my heel into his flank, and thus began the rest of my life.