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please tell me if this is a good start to a book!!! i really want to write one! |
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A warm summer wind blew as Carmen strolled leisurely along the edge of a small waterfall, twirling her mid-shoulder long, white hair between her dainty fingers. The cold water splashed off the rocks, gently landing on her exposed skin and dampening her long, flowing, lavender, silk dress. Carmen picked up the length of her dress; pulling it up to her knees, she dipped her bare foot into the stream of flowing, spring water. She walked farther into the water, making sure not to slip on the mossy rocks beneath her feet. The wind blew softly as the water flowed across her feet creating, the stress free illusion of a perfect moment. Carmen could almost forget the fact that she had duties awaiting her back at her village. Taking in a breath of fresh, summer air, she could faintly smell the scent of the frequent wild flowers, popular in her area. Birds chirped happily in the distance; she could hear the sound of small animals skittering through the woods surrounding the waterfall. This place was her home away from home. She loved being able to get away from her work, enjoying her rare days off. Today was one of those days, thankfully for her. She hadn’t received a day off in about a month, and she was happy to get out of the village and enjoy herself. Today was a special day for her and her father. It was her mother’s birthday. Her mother had died on a mission to a neighboring village 4 years prior to this day. It had been such a terrible accident, and neither she nor her father fully recovered from it. Every year, on her beloved mother’s birthday, they would take the entire day off to enjoy themselves. Carmen’s mother had always done so. She would always pester them until they agreed to take some time off for leisurely activities. Tears stung the back of Carmen’s eyes as she remembered her mother. She missed her mother so much. Her mother used to be so caring for everyone, rich or poor. She had not an ounce of selfishness in her. Carmen remembered all the times when her mother would scold her for being selfish. Even the bad moments were so precious to Carmen at this point. It was still a memory, whether it was a bad one or not. Carmen cherished the memories she had of her dear mother. She couldn’t believe it had been 4 years. Thinking back on the memories, she felt a warm tear slide down her cheek. Whipping it away quickly, she shook her head, shaking the memories from haunting her. “Why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave me at merely 12 years old? I still had a lot to learn from you, mother! I miss you so much”, she whispered, looking down at her feet as the water slid across them. She sighed, fighting the tears that still threatened to pool out onto her soft cheeks. She blinked a few times, looking up at the sky, she gasped. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it is this late! I have to get home”, she exclaimed, hoisting up her dress and running out of the water. As soon as her feet hit the soft grass surrounding the spring of water, she transformed into a white tiger, sprinting towards her village. The warm, June air whipped her face as she ran. She dodged trees, jumped over toppled trunks, and ducked under branches as she pushed forward. The woods were dark and eerie; much different than the previous location. Bursting through the line of trees, Carmen emerged from the dark, somber woods into a bright, lush meadow. She pushed forward, not taking any time to stop and enjoy the scenery like she usually would. Running harder, she could faintly make out the shape of the village gate, and soon, the guards that were posted outside of it. She ran faster up the dirt pathway that leads to the village. Skidding to a stop, she finally arrived at the gate, transforming back into her human self; her clothes returned to her body as if they were never gone. Carmen walked through the gates, waving a simple, yet meaningful ‘hello’ to the guards. Walking briskly down the road, she walked into the town square. She was relieved that she had not missed her father’s arrival. He had been gone on a visit to the other villages the clan owned. He, being the clan leader, had to make sure everything was running swimmingly in his other villages. By the look on his usually cheery face, things were not going well. Running up to her father, Carmen embraced him in a tight hug. “Welcome home, father!”, she said, squeezing him harder. She let go of him after he had returned the embrace, looking at him with a worried expression on her face. “What is wrong with the other villages? What happened”, she asked, pushing her hair behind her ears; a nervous habit she had yet to rid herself of. “Calm down, Carmen. I am sure everything will be alright. We just have to strengthen our defenses to rid ourselves of that blasted Puma clan.” He patted Carmen on the shoulder, before turning his attention to the crowd of villagers before him. His short brown hair and red cape were askew; a sign that he was stressed out. He always made sure his appearance was presentable, and he never let himself get sloppy. Carmen looked up at him, waiting for him to speak. “The Puma clan has attacked our villages! We must sent troops over there to protect our remaining villages! We have to stop the Puma clan; I will not risk losing ore innocent people!” He shouted to the crowed. Women gasped as the pulled their children closer to them. Carmen flinched as the news sunk into her mind. She couldn’t believe the Puma clan had attacked and killed innocent people like that. They were snakes, slithering around something and sneaking up on it from behind. She despised the Puma clan. They were the ones who killed her mother. She scowled at the ground bellow her. She could feel her temper rising. She needed to take action. “Father, don’t you think it would be a better idea if we were to bring the survivors here? We need to fortify ourselves if we are going to defeat the Puma Clan. We would be too spread out and they would pick us off village by village!” She exclaimed, a hard, angry look on her face. “What are you going to do, Lucas?” one of the guards asked Carmen’s father. “My daughter is right. We should fortify our defenses. I want our troops to go and recover all the survivors from the remaining villages. You are to be back with all of them in 3 days sharp!” he shouted. “Move out!” With that, all the troops sprinted off to prepare for the voyage. Carmen looked up at her father, waiting for him to speak. “Carmen, I want you to go back to the house and pack. If anything were to happen, I want you to get out of the village and go to stay with Akima for a while. She can help keep you safe.” Carmen gapped. “But father! If anything were to happen, I want to fight! I don’t want to leave the village to perish!” “No Carmen. I’m sorry, but I don’t want you getting hurt. I couldn’t bear to loose you, too.” With that being said, he turned and left. Carmen was left there to sulk. Turning towards her home, Carmen began to trudge back to her house, pouting. “I can’t believe he won’t let me fight. I am 16 years old! I can fight for myself. I don’t like having to turn a blind eye while my village is being attacked!” she mumbled to herself, walking back in a huff. She walked up to the door, pushing inside and forcefully pushed the door closed behind her. She walked up the large, wooden stairway, down a hall, and to her room. Carmen had a very large, open room. She had a large bed to the left of her; it had red satin sheets covering it. Next to the bed was a wooden night stand with a stack of books laying on it. She had large windows on either side of her bed, and a few more windows lining the walls. On her right, in front of a large window, was a bird cage, hanging from the window frame. Inside it was a blue jay, chirping happily to her arrival. The light wooden floor was cold beneath Carmen’s bare feet. She walked over to her bed, sitting on the edge. She buried her face in her hands and let of an exasperated sigh. Getting back up, she remembered the task at hand. She had to pack. Walking over to the wardrobe opposite her bed, she grabbed her side bag, stuffing it with clothes and other items. She stepped into view of the full length mirror to the left of the wardrobe. She gazed at herself; her nearly flawless skin, her unnaturally bright green eyes, her pierced ears. She lifted her hand up to play with the little colored rings in her ears. Each color represented a title. In her right ear was a green ring; in her left, a blue, and a silver. The green earring represented shape shifting. Not all members of her clan could shape shift. She was a lucky one. Some of the shape shifters have to wait their whole childhood until they gained that power. Some didn’t even get it at all. She had obtained it at birth. Her white hair signified that. She was a prodigy to the clan. Only those who are born with a natural power have white hair. She toyed with the blue ring. This was a sign of healing ability. She was also a natural healer. She was one of the most advanced healers in the village. She could cure almost any injury, illness, et cetera. The silver ring represented authority. Only a handful of clan members possessed this ring. Those people being her father, military generals, and herself. Pulling herself out of her day dream, Carmen finished packing everything she needed. She set her bag on the floor next to her bed, walking over to her window, opening it. Gazing at the chirping bird, she opened the door to the cage, letting the bird fly freely out the window. It chirped happily, flying to a near by tree, landing on a branch. She sighed, leaning down to rest her elbow on the window sill and her head in her hand. She admired the bird as it cleaned its feathers. Carmen began to doze off, when all of the sudden, her father’s messenger came crashing through the door. “Carmen! You are need down at the clinic! Our scouts have recovered a boy, about your age, who is badly injured! You need to get down there and help!” he exclaimed, taking a long, exasperated breath afterward. “I’m on it!” Carmen said before dashing out the door. She ran down the hall, jumped half a flight of stairs, burst through the doors and transformed into a white tiger, running as fast as she could to the village’s clinic. She dodged pedestrians; her fur was slicked back from the rushing of the wind. She navigated the streets, skidding to a stop when she reached the clinic. Transforming back, she pushed inside. “Where is the new patient?” she asked, strutting down the halls. “Room 43A!” called the door woman. Carmen rushed through the halls, finally coming across room 43A. She pushed inside, walking briskly over to the boy. His brow was damp, his medium length brown hair stuck to his face from sweat. He was cringing as the medics cleaned his wounds. Carmen stepped in front of them as they backed away, giving her room to heal him. Her hands hovered over his wounds. He had gashes in his legs, stomach, chest, and arms, and a very love scar across his cheek. She placed one hand over the other, concentrating as she struggled to heal him. It took a great deal of energy to heal someone. Half the amount of damage is dealt unto the healer, making it extremely tiring to heal someone. Carmen was an exception. She only felt drowsy after healing a patient. It usually let her to naps, which was a small price to pay. The period of time she sleeps depends on the fatality of the wounds. Once before, she had healed a patient from deathly wounds; afterward, she had slept for three days without stopping. A blue light erupted from her hands. Her hair was pushed up, as if a brisk wind was keeping it up. The length of her dress began to flutter; her eyes screwed shut in concentration. A strange marking appeared on her forehead, glowing like her hands. It looked as if it were some strange, Elvin writing. The wounds began to close up, leaving little to no sign of them ever being there. She repeated this for each wound, healing him completely. After she finished, she collapsed in the chair next to the door, leaning her head on her shoulder in exhaustion. She laid back, sleep threatening to overcome her. “Go ahead and rest, Carmen. You have done well”, she heard her father say, before falling asleep completely. Carmen woke about an hour later, seeing her father and the others weren’t there. She looked over at the table to her right. A note lay on the table, addressed to her. She picked it up, automatically recognizing her father’s hand writing. It read: Dear Carmen, Thank you for healing that boy. He woke up while you were asleep. We got a bit of information about him, but not much. We need you to find out more about him and how he was injured when he, or you, awake. His name is Mathias, and he is a year alder than you. He is not apart of any clan, so he says, but he is a Bengal Tiger shape shifter. Keep a close eye on him. Good luck, Lucas Carmen closed the letter, looking up at the sleeping man. He looked exhausted, but better than he did when she had last seen him. He was no longer sweating, so his medium length, auburn hair came down a bit past his eyes. She tip-toed closer, curiosity getting the better of her. Reaching up, she softly pushed the soft, auburn hair out of his eyes. His eyes began to flutter open, and her bright, green eyes staring deep into his pale blue ones. He flinched in shock, before scooting away from her. He cringed a bit as his sore muscles adjusted to the movement. “Your name is Mathias, right? I am Carmen; I healed your wounds.” Carmen said, extending her hand to him. He took it, with a bit of hesitation first, and shook it slightly. “Yes, I am Mathias. Thank you for healing my wounds. I would have never survived if you hadn’t. I am in your debt.” He said, moving closer now that he was comfortable with her. “Don’t worry about it. It is my job.” She said, waving her hand lightly as she sat back down in her chair. “But, I am obligated to ask you a few questions concerning your injuries.” “Yeah, I will tell you anything you need to know”, he said, shuffling over to the sink to get a glass of water. “Perfect. First thing’s first. How did you get those wounds? Were you attacked?”, Carmen asked, sitting up in her chair, resting her elbows on her legs. “Yes, it was the Puma Clan. They attacked me while I was walking through the forest. I don’t know where they came from, seeing as how they don’t live anywhere near here. My only guess is that they came to attack the village. I guess I was right”, he shrugged, taking a big gulp of his water. It slipped out of the side of his mouth, dripping down his chin as he finished it off. He let out a long breath of refreshment, setting the glass down on the table next to Carmen. “Those bastards! How dare they attack us”, Carmen fumed, tightening her grip on her leg. They sat there in silence for a moment; an awkward air filled the room. Mathias was the first to break it. “So, Carmen; who, exactly, are you?” he asked, leaning back on the bed. “I am the leader’s daughter. I am the master medic, and a prodigy shape shifter. And you are?” she said, nonchalantly. “That isn’t what I meant. I can see that by your attire, your hair color, and your earrings. My question is, who are you?” he asked, a mysterious air lingered with his words. Carmen didn’t seem to understand. She was about to ask him what he meant, when all of a sudden, a loud boom was heard from the opposite side of the clinic. It shook the entire building, sending Mathias to his knees. “What the hell was that?!” they both exclaimed, regaining their balance. Mathias rose, offering his hand to Carmen. He lifted her up with a small ‘thanks’. As soon as they were up, her father came crashing through the door. “The Puma clan is attacking! We have to get you two out of here! Hurry!” he shouted, rushing them out of the door. “But father! I want to fight! I can do it! Really, please, let me help!” Carmen pleaded. “No, Carmen! I told you, I don’t want you getting hurt! Now you are going, come on! There is a passage way down that hall that leads to the woods right out the village’s view.” He pushed them down the hall, turning down a corridor, and coming up to a locked door. He pulled some keys out of his pocket, grabbing a small silver one. He unlocked the door with a small click. Just as the door swung open, a Puma soldier came running up from behind them. Lucas turned back, getting into a defensive stance. “Go! Now!” he shouted, transforming into a giant white tiger. The soldier transformed into a tan mountain lion, getting ready for battle. Lucas roared, making the soldier back up a bit. The soldier attacked, and the two cats collided in a battle of fangs and claws. Carmen pushed Mathias into the passage way, taking one last look at her father. Their eyes met, and she shouted a silent ‘good-bye’ before closing the door behind her. “Father, be safe.” |
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