untitled ch. 1

It's amazing how your life can be changed in one moment. Alin's life was normal, or as normal as it could get, when Chance walked into it. Or rather galloped into it. He was stealing Alin's masters horse. But in that one second that it took Chance to steal the horse Alin's life was changed. Forever.

"Alin!" Mat called racing up to him. "Alin!"
Alin stoped her work on the stump. Her master had ordered her to remove this stump in the garden. Usually he would get one of the boys to do it but Alin had disobeyed him somehow. "What?"
"Someone...is stealing one of...the masters horses." Mat said trying to catch his breath.
"What!?" Alin yelled. "Where?"
"He's heading across the field toward the woods." Mat said pointing to the field behind him.
Alin turned around. Sure enough the thief was riding Alin's master's horse and not just any horse, his favorite horse. This horse, Star, was pure white save for a black star on her forehead. That was her masters pride and joy. She could not let this idiot take her. Though Alin did not care much for her master's feelings she did care that Mat would be punished if the horse got stolen.
"Go back to the stables and stay there." Alin told Mat as she picked up her hoe. She ran to the field.
"What are you going to do?" Mat yelled after her.
"I'm going to get back the horse." Alin yelled back.
Alin ran as fast as she could. She didn't look like it but she could run pretty fast. It also helped that she didn't ware dress so she wouldn't trip and fall if she had to get away from something. As Alin ran she prayed what ever Gods there where to let her catch up with this thief.
The Gods must have been in her favor because Star was starting to slow down. She could hear the thief cursing at her. "Come on, you stupid beast."
Alin ran up behind Star and hit the thief in the back with his hoe. The thief fell off Star with a muffled grunt. In spite of the hard fall the thief got up quickly. Alin stood her ground and waited for what ever may come, holding her hoe across her chest. The thief lifted the hood off his face and drew his sword.
It was the first time Alin saw his face. She was a little shocked to say the least. This thief was the most handsome person she had ever seen. He had brown hair that, it seemed, had not seen a brush in a while and had the most radiant green eyes. Instead of making him look ugly it made him look wild.
His green eyes seemed hard, cold, and uncaring. That's what brought Alin out of her daze. She remembered why she had nocked him off Star.
"What do you think your doing stealing that horse?" Alin asked in a hard voice.
"That's not your business to know," the thief growled back pointing his sword at her.
Alin stood her ground. Mat was not getting into trouble because this lunatic decided to go for a joy ride. Over her very dead body would she let that happen.
"On the contrary," Alin spat out. "That horse is my business."
"Then you should have been watching it more carefully." He countered.
Alin was getting tired of this game. "Give back the horse!" She yelled through gritted teeth.
"Why should I?" He asked gripping the sword with both hands.
"Because a boy will be punished for your theft." She had no clue why she told the thief that. It just popped out before she had a chance to stop it.
"That's not my problem."
She took a step forward gripping her hoe harder. "It will be."
He was on his guard, instantly, ready for an attack should it come. His sword pointed at Alin's neck should she even make that slightest move. The sword was so close to her neck that should she swallow it would pierce her throat.
"Alin!"
"Mat!" She called back her voice hard. "I thought I told you to stay in the stables."
"The masters looking for you." He said looking from the thief to Alin and back again. "He came into the stables wanting to ride Star and found that she wasn't in her stall."
"What did you tell him?" She asked. She ignored to sword at her neck and the boy holding it there. It was important that she know what Mat told the master.
"That you took her out to graze." He said bowing his head. "I'm sorry, Alin. I didn't know what else to say."
Alin turned her attention back to the thief. "Will you give back the horse?" She asked staring into his hard eyes.
He thought for a moment. "I can't."
"Why not?" Alin wanted to know. If she was going to get into trouble for the theft of Star she wanted to know what this thief wanted her for.
"I just can't," He growled.
"Fine." She took a step back. "Take her. You better take damn good care of her."
"Your...your letting me take her?" He said letting his guard down a little. Just a little. It was apparent that he thought Alin was going to attack him. "With out a fight?"
"What good would me fighting you do?" Alin asked him evenly. "You have a sword and I have this." She justerd to her hoe. "It wouldn't be a fare fight. Besides it's not worth it. I"ll just tell my master that she got away."
The thief just stared at her not really believing what she said. His eyes searched her face for false intention but Alin's face wore no expression and rarely did. The thief put his sword away and got back on Star. He nodded Alin's was and rode off toward the woods.
"Why did you let him go?" Mat asked. "You could have taken him. Sword or no sword."
"It's not worth it."
"How can you say that?" he said. "How can you stand there and tell me that it wasn't worth it?"
"I just can," she growled.
They started walking back to the masters house. The truth was that she didn't know why she had done that. She had no clue what so ever what was going through her mind when she told him to take the horse.
"Sometimes I just don't understand you, Alin." Mat said shaking his head.
"Sometimes I don't even understand my self," Alin told him. She glanced behind her in time to see Star and the thief to ride into the woods. "Not one bit."

"What took you so long," Alin's master asked. "I'v been calling for you for the last five minutes."
"I'm sorry, Master I..." her sentence was cut off by a baby's cry.
Alin turned her head to look at the masters wife. She was holding a baby girl. Her baby girl. The husband that the master had made her marry had gotten her with child and she had given birth to the baby 7 months ago. The master had taken the baby the second that Alin had her in her arms and gave her to his wife to raise as their own. Alin's husband had died a few day's after. The doctor said that it was from a heart attack. Alin believed that it was from heart break.
"Why are you looking at -my- daughter instead of bowing, slave." She said.
"I'm sorry, Mistress," Alin said going to one knee. "I didn't mean any disrespect."
"I wanted to go riding," her master said. He stood and walked toward Alin. "I went to Star's stall and doi you know what I found?"
"That she wasn't there, My Lord," she said keeping her eyes on the ground. Raising them would only get her hit sooner.
"Right. And do you know -why- she wasn't in her stall," he said.
"Because I took her out to graze, My Lord," Alin said in a whisper. No one took Star without the masters permission. It was a death wish to do so.
"Did you have my permission to do so, slave," he said, his voice hard. "Did I not tell you to remove the stump in the garden." Her master walked over to the window that over looked the garden. "As far as my eyes can tell the stump is still these. I will deal with punishing you later. I wish to go riding." He started walking toward the door.
Alin took a deep breath. "You can't master."
"What do you mean I can't." Her master yelled pushing her to the ground. Alin didn't move to get up knowing that it would just enrage him more. "You are trying my patients, Alin!"
"I'm sorry, Master, but she pulled free and ran off. I could not catch her, My Lord. I can not run faster than a horse." Alin didn't flinch as he was kicked in the ribs.
"You, boy." The master pointed to Mat, who was standing in the doorway. "Fetch my whip."
Mat looked at Alin not sure what to do. Alin nodded to him and ran off to fetch the masters whip.
"As for you," he said grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "It's the whipping cross for you." He proceeded to drag Alin out of the house and into the garden.
The whipping cross was at the edge of the garden near the woods. The whipping cross was only used on rare occasions. In the 12 years the she has been here five people have been sent to the whipping cross. Four of those people are dead. Alin was the 5th and had no desire to feel the whip again.
"Master," she cried. "Master, please, I'm sorry. Please don't do this, please."
He ignored Alin's plea as he began to tie her hands to opposite sides of the cross. All the slaves had gathered around the whipping cross behind her. Mat must have told everybody. Her back was to them so at least she didn't have to see their faces. But that didn't stop their words.
"Wonder what she did this time."
"He'll most likely kill her this time."
"Do you think she'll survive."
"She probably deserves it."
"Quite!" her master, yelled. "Alin you will be receiving 20 strokes. Do you understand?" His voice was as cold as ice. Every slave behind Alin gasped.
"Yes, My Lord." Alin said monotones. She knew that she would die. No one had ever survived 20 strokes before. She took a deep breath and held it preparing herself for what was to come.
The first stroke hit her in the middle of her back. Tore her shirt and broke the skin. "1," Her master said. He hit her again and again. Alin tried hard not to cry out. She didn't want to give her master the satisfaction that he made her cry. Each time the whip hit it drew blood. It was getting harder and harder not to cry out.
By the 10th stroke she was flinching everytime the whip hit. Her mind was asking, begging her master to stop, to leave her alone.But not a word excaped her lips. By the 14th stroke white lighting was dominating her eyes when the whip hit. She could feel her blood hot and sticky running down her back. By the 17th stroke she could barely lift her head.
"18, crack, 19, crack, 20."
She wasn't aware that her master had come up to him. He checked to see if she was still alive.
"Still alive," he said pulling back his hand. Her master turned around and started to walk back to his house. Most of the slaves had returned to their duties. To the few remaining he said, You take her down and you will be the next one up there. You are not to tend to her wounds or give her food. Understand?"
"Yes, Master," They said.
He went back inside and the rest went on with their business. Mat lagged behind to whisper an apology. "I'm so sorry, Alin. If I had known he was going to act that way I would never have got you involved."
"It's...okay." Alin mouthed.
Mat walked away going back to the stables never knowing that Alin accepted his apology.
Her eyes were starting to get heavy when she saw it. There was a figure standing at the edge of the woods. The figure had a hold of something big and white. A few more figures appeared beside him.
Her world went black.

She woke to someone undoing her bounds. Everything hurt. She didn't want them to move her. Didn't they hear what the master said.
"Stop..." She couldn't keep the whimper out of her voice. "Please...Don't hurt me."
"That's not likely to happen, kid. It would not be right." Alin didn't know this voice. She didn't know this person. She tried to struggle but she could barely move her head to the side. She whimpered as her body protested against movements.
"Shh. It's alright. We're going to help you. Just relax. We're not going to hurt you." said a woman's voice. She felt someone put a hand on her forehead.
"My Master..." She whispered feeling tired again. "He'll... hurt you."
"Let him try." It was that boy's voice.
His was the last voice Alin heard before darkness claimed her once again.