The Huntsman's Daughter

Chapter 1

“HA! She beat you again, Nathan!”  Richard laughed with too much excitement.

Nathan’s hand tightened around his bow until his knuckles turned white.  “Ha ha.  Very funny,” Nathan replied with sarcasm.  “Okay, Sasha, once more.”  

“Only this time let’s make a wager,” Richard chimed in as I took aim.

“You’ve been to my house,” I replied, lowering my bow.  “You know I have nothing to wager.”

Even though they never seemed to care that my family had nothing, I was slightly embarrassed by this fact.  It would have been nice if they had never known, but they had asked one evening to visit my home.  After being unable to persuade them not to, they followed me to my less than glamorous home and met my loving family.  After that first evening of observing my home life, it wasn’t hard to see that they didn’t care that I came from a simple home.  In fact they had enjoyed my mother and father’s company so much so that they came often.   My mother and father, although anxious at first, loved when they came to visit too.  

My parents may not have liked the idea of their daughter hanging out with the princes, but they did love their company.  My father and Nathan got along almost too well, and Richard was such a gentleman that he always made my mother blush.  My parents could not deny that when Richard and Nathan were over, everyone always had a great time.  

Recently, there has been tension between my parents and me about me going out to meet up with the two princes.  My mother didn’t love the idea that I was meeting up with Richard and Nathan often in the woods, my father didn’t like that we had become great friends over the last year, and neither of them liked that I was only fourteen while Richard was fifteen and Nathan was almost eighteen.  My parents were at their wits end when they realized that there was nothing they could do to prevent me from meeting up with them. 

My father had warned me of the dangers of the forest, which I already knew from going hunting with him.  He warned me not to go for the sake of my reputation, but only my parents knew that I was not out hunting alone.  My father reminded me that Nathan was almost of age, and I laughed at him.  Unfortunately, this concerned my mother also.  She attempted to have a talk with me, but I had no interest in where she took the conversation - men and women and what happens when you become of age.  It took everything I had to not roll my eyes at her.  Richard, Nathan, and I were friends.  I had argued over the last few months with my parents that I hung out with them for the sole reason that the princes loved to hunt too.

Well, Nathan did.  He was very talented with a bow.  Honestly, he was unnaturally skillful with every weapon I had seen him use.   I was confident that my archery skills were the only reason Nathan even talked to me.  Not only was Nathan a prince and almost eighteen, he was dreamy.  Dark green eyes, dark brown hair that laid messily around his head, a strong jaw line, broad shoulders, and muscular…everything.  He was four years older than me - not to mention way out of my league - and I understood this.  I knew that he would come of age before the year was over, and logically it made no sense to even think beyond that.  By the time I was of age, he would have found a beautiful woman to take as his own.  So I adopted him as my big brother, if for no other reason than the focus he showed while shooting his bow rivaled mine.  Besides, he wasn’t perfect.  His attitude was a bit much.  He tended to be quite arrogant, and he had no problem with reminding me that he was so much better than I.

Richard was not for me either, but I couldn’t stop myself from fantasizing about the idea.  He too was handsome.  He had sandy blonde hair and his eyes were a brilliant blue.  He was not built quite like his brother, but his physique was not lacking.  Richard was overly kind for the most part, but he was unfocused and his humor was sometimes cruel, causing me to forget that he was older than me.  Richard did not care for archery, or any aspect of hunting, but he did love to annoy his brother.  Richard had flirted with me on and off, which always kept me thinking.  Not that it really mattered at the end of the day, because they were the sons of King Andrew and I was the daughter of a simple huntsman.

 “How about we make a wager on your next arrow?” Richard repeated, and I cautiously glanced over at him.

“Wager?” I inquired as I swallowed.

“Why not?  Unless you don’t think you’re better than me,” Nathan remarked as he turned a shrewd expression at me.

“We both know that I am,” I haughtily replied.  “You, with your four extra years of experience, better bow and arrows, were unable to out shoot me seven times in a row.”

“Six,” he corrected.

“If it makes you feel better, six.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “Well with that then, I guess we will wager.”

I tried not to show that I didn’t like that idea, because I suddenly got the feeling that he might have been letting me out shoot him.

“I don’t have anything to wager,” I slowly said.  

“Sure you do,” Richard assured me.  

I knew instantly by his tone that I would not like what he was going to say.  Joke or no joke, I wasn’t going to like it.

“Yea?  What do I have to wager?” I replied, trying to sound arrogant.

“A kiss.”

“What?!” both Nathan and I said incredulously.

“Just on the cheek,” Richard clarified.

“Umm…”

“If you win, I get the kiss.  And if Nathan wins, he gets the kiss.” 

“I don’t think that…” I began, really not liking the idea.  

“It’s not like anyone will ever know.  It’s just the three of us, and who would any of us tell?” Richard smiled.  

I guess I should have known that this would eventually come up.  My father had been saying it would.  I didn’t think so, but apparently my father did know boys better than me.

“You kiss your father and mother on the cheek,” Richard slyly said. 

I stared at him.  This was nothing like kissing my mother and father, this was something else entirely.  Nathan hadn’t said anything, and I was curious what he thought about this.  As I shifted my attention to his face, he turned a serious expression from his brother to look at me with indifference.  

“What?” he asked.  “According to you, I won’t win anyways.”

I smiled at his reply, knowing he was going to allow me to win.  “It seems that you both have the opportunity to win something, but I…”

“You get to kiss a future king,” Richard interrupted.

I laughed.  “I guess so.  How many girls will be able to say that… not that I will be able to tell anyone.”

Richard smiled.  “Yea, this will be a once in a lifetime dream for you… well, if you win.  If Nathan wins, it will be your worst nightmare.”

I laughed even harder.

“Oh, it would be that awful to kiss me,” Nathan said, pretending that I hurt his feelings.

I glimpsed back over at Nathan smiling, and he winked at me.  “Okay,” I said.  “I accept the wager.”

“Okay,” Richard began, “the arrow closest to the center of that old tree, there on the hill.”

I turned to look where he was pointing, and my heart skipped a beat.  “That’s too…”

“No, it’s not,” Nathan interrupted.  “You go first.”

I eyed him suspiciously, and he smiled innocently.

“Just remember what I told you last week.”  

I nodded as I remembered.  I took a deep breath, grabbed my last arrow, and set my sights on the lone tree.  My arrow had to fly past several trees before it moved through the clearing and hit the tree.  I side stepped until I found a path for my arrow to fly through.  I pulled my arrow back and then a little further.  I focused on winning - I just needed to send my arrow into the center of that tree.  I waited until my mind was totally clear and I could visualize the center of the tree, until the distance of the tree was no longer relevant.  I released the arrow.  The arrow impaled itself into the tree, but I wouldn’t know if I won until after Nathan fired his arrow, and at this distance we’d have to walk over there to find out.

“Looks like Nathan’s reputation is set upon this arrow.  If he fails, he’ll forever be the boy who couldn’t out shoot a little girl.”  

My heart stopped for a moment as I watched Nathan focus on the tree.  He might have thought about letting me win this, but now with his ego on the line…

Nathan side stepped until he found the spot he was going to shoot from.  He was standing about three feet away from me.  I watched the tension in his bow and knew he was easily going to hit the tree.  All I could do was hope that my arrow hit the center most spot.  Nathan waited an unnaturally long time to release the arrow.  After what felt like forever, I watched the arrow fly from his perfect bow.  When he finally moved, his shoulders slumped and Richard immediately cheered.  

I won?!  I kept staring at Nathan, waiting for him to turn with a snide remark.  However, he continued to stare in the direction he shot the arrow.  Of course he lost.  He wouldn’t want a kiss from a fourteen year old nobody, he was the future king.  I stared at him for a moment longer before I forced a smile.  

“Eight,” I said.

He glanced over at me with irritation.  “Seven.”

Before I could argue that it was eight, Richard stood in front of me, blocking my view.  I immediately refocused on his handsome, smiling face.

“You win!  That means you get to give me a kiss.”

I giggled at how silly all this was.  I stepped on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.  His hand slid onto my side and he turned to look at me.  I quickly backed away as his lips moved too close to mine.  

“I…I need to go get my arrow,” I hastily said.   “My father will be angry if I don’t bring any back.  It’s my last.”

He smiled at me, and waved me on my way.  I smiled back, trying to hide my discomfort before I ran towards the tree.  Somehow all the humor was lost in what just happened.  Kisses were not to be handed out lightly, every girl knew that.  Every kiss between a man and woman had meaning, and although a kiss on the cheek held the least importance, it usually led to other things.  A kiss on the top of the hand was given by a man when he adored you, a kiss on the head meant he respected you, a kiss on the lips was forbidden, except for the one you sought passion from - for the rest of your life.  Passion was what connected a woman and a man.  A kiss on the lips was supposed to be given to the man that evoked your desire.  

Two days ago my mother and father explained to me how a mark had appeared on the underside of their forearm when my father and mother had been intimate, causing their passion to soar through her.  They explained the best they could how this had forever bound them together.  They stressed that it was a woman’s responsibility to not allow a man to kiss her lips, or she could end up in a life of misery because the man didn’t really want her.  Some men were selfish, and they would make a woman feel like he desired her, leaving her to be bound to him while he would feel nothing for her.  

My parents had made it clear that just because I wasn’t of age did not mean that a man could not ignite my desire, and how important it was that I never kiss a boy or man until I was certain that I knew his intentions - until I was certain that I wanted to only be with him.  I didn’t want to hear about any of this, and laughed at them as I walked out of the room.  I wasn’t interested in a man and the rest of my life.  I only wanted to run in the woods and shoot arrows, but my parents would not leave me alone until I agreed that I understood the vitality of the information they were giving me.

As I reached the tree that my arrow was lodged in, my mouth went dry.  My arrow was almost center, but Nathan’s had cut through mine and was exactly center.  

“How did you get here so quickly?” Nathan asked a few feet from me.  I turned to look at him, trying not to show that he had startled me.  “I thought you would still be enjoying my brother’s company.”

“I didn’t want to…  I’m not…  I ran… my arrow.   We’ve broken all my other ones,” I finally said.  He stared at me as though he were going to laugh at my stumbling words, which made me angry.  “Why did you pretend to lose?”

“What do you mean?”

“You obviously knew that you won.”

“What?”

“Did you not want a kiss from me?”

“Yes.  I mean no.  I…”

I smiled at how uncomfortable he had suddenly become.  “You could have opted out.  I am much too young to be giving kisses.”

“Yes, you are.  However, it seems that someone has a small crush on you.”

“Well, he shouldn’t.  As much as I enjoy hanging out with you two, I know my place.”

“Do you?  Ms. I-won-eight-times?” 

“Seven,” I corrected.

“Six,” he said as he stepped closer.

“You pretended I won, so that Richard would get what he wanted?”

“He is a spoiled brat,” he softly said.

“Well, since you won, do I still owe you a kiss?” I nervously asked, suddenly feeling like his prey.

He smiled and took another step closer.  Why did I even ask that?!  He didn’t want the kiss, so why was I asking.  He was almost eighteen.  I quickly turned to grab my broken arrow before he was too close to me.  I couldn’t believe his arrow broke mine, I was never going to get the arrowhead out.  Father was going to be angry.  We didn’t have the money for new arrows. The shafts were easy to make, but the metal for the arrow heads was rather expensive.  I ran my fingers through my hair, suddenly dreading going home.

“You can have my arrow,” Nathan said as he yanked his from the tree.  

My body tensed at the realization that he was standing right behind me.  I could feel his body behind mine, and I fought the urge to turn around.  What had gotten into these boys?  

“I cannot accept that.  I deserve the broken arrow.  I…”

“No. I only broke it because I went second.  It’s my fault for thinking you wouldn’t hit the tree.”

His comment made me angry and I turned to glare at him, confident that he would move away for his protection.  However he didn’t, he was still standing too close.  I tried to step back, but the tree was in the way.  He took half a step away, which was not nearly far enough to ease how uncomfortable I was.  I shifted my eyes to his broad shoulders as I found my logical reasoning of why he was my big brother rapidly disappearing.

“So, about that kiss,” he said.  

My eyes immediately shifted up to his dark green eyes.  They were such a dark green that they should have looked black, but they were vividly green.  It was easy to understand why he had a reputation among the girls.  His eyes were captivating, add that with the fact that he was a handsome prince, and…  I shook my head as I finally understood what he had said.

“What?”  He wanted a kiss from me?!  “But I thought…”

“I couldn’t accept a kiss from you in front of Richard.  He would have made my life miserable, but he’s not here.  Since you beat me to the tree, I imagine he’s off sulking because you didn’t give him what he really wanted.”  Nathan smiled at the thought.  He glanced down at his arrow for a moment before looking at me.  “And now you have seen that I did actually win.”

“What?!  You want me to… You won and now I…I mean that is nice of you to…  ” 

Nathan smiled as I babbled my way through this uncomfortable situation.  I knew he was enjoying every moment of my confusion, of the should-or-shouldn’t-I debate that was going through my head.   Nathan knew that every girl drooled over both him and his brother, and I knew that they both loved every minute of it.  But for him to insinuate that I...

“Come on, Sasha.  Every girl has dreamt about something like this…even you.”

“Ha ha… you wish,” I quickly said, trying to hide the fact that of course I wanted to kiss him.  But I was a nobody, and he…

“You didn’t give Richard a hard time about the kiss,” he pointed out, and I wasn’t sure if he was faking insult.

Of course I didn’t.  Richard was closer to my age and…  “You said I won.  It was part of the wager,” I reminded him.

“But you didn’t win, and you know that you didn’t,” he said as he motioned toward my broken arrow.

“You’re seventeen, almost eighteen.”

“And you are the best archer I have ever seen.”

“I don’t understand,” I said.  Was he serious?  I was the best archer that he’s ever seen? How was that grounds for him to want me to kiss him?

He took a step away, and I relaxed a little.

“Consider giving me a kiss on the cheek as an award for your amazing skill.”

“Nathan, I…”  How could he want a kiss from me?  This kind of conversation shouldn’t be happening.  We had hung out for more than a year.  There’s never been this type of tension.  Why…

Nathan smiled real big and shrugged.  “Okay, your loss.  You could have bragged to your friends on how you kissed the princes.”

“True, but now I can brag about how Prince Nathan has a crush on me.”

“What?!”

“You, prince of all the land, wants a kiss from me.”

He laughed out loud.  “Fine, tell whatever story you want.”

“No one will believe me anyways,” I slowly stated as I realized the truth of it.  And even if they believed me, the king would have me banned from the land - or more likely, killed.  I glanced back at Nathan and smiled at how he had made an awkward situation into a pleasant one.

“Exactly,” Nathan agreed.  “So, take my arrow.  It’s the least I can do to help you feel better about losing to me.”

I scowled up at him before I laughed.  “Again, you have four years on me, and you only beat me by a little,” I stated.

“Take the arrow,” he said, offering it to me.

“I can’t,” I replied.  “And not because I don’t want to, but…”

“You’re worried about word getting back to my father.”

I nodded my head, and he stared down at the arrow he was holding.  

They came to the house often, but they always kept themselves hidden from the village.  And they always made sure to leave no evidence that they had been over, just in case.  King Andrew had made it clear that the princes were not to associate with the common folks, and anyone who approached the princes would pay dearly - we were given no reason why.

“Well, you can always dream about the kiss,” he said with an arrogant smirk as his eyes met mine.

“You are incorrigible,” I laughed, and he slid the arrow into his quiver.

“I know.  I’m just going to have to listen to Richard for, well, ever.”

“Serves you right for lying.”

He chuckled with a nod and started to walk away, but stopped in his tracks and turned to face me.  

“You know, your parents are very lucky to have such a skillful and courageous daughter.”

I laughed at him, but he didn’t smile.   I tilted my head with curiosity.

“I mean it.  I can’t say that I ever gave much thought to what you go through every day when you meet us out here, despite the warnings of my father to the people.”

“You and Richard are amazing,” I replied. “I know my place, and I also know that thanks to you I’ve become an excellent hunter.  In a few years I will put this whole village to shame.  I’ll be able to feed and protect those that I love, and that is worth the idle threats.”

“Yea, but if you had been caught…”

“Are you going to tell on me for not giving you that kiss?” I joked.

“I’m serious.  My father and Luis were talking about the people and how they’re losing sight of where their place is.  He would hold you, not us, responsible for us meeting up.”

“The only way anyone will ever know is if you or Richard say something.”

He nodded, but he didn’t seem as confident as I felt.  “The blind faith of the innocent.  One of the many things that will make you a remarkable woman when you get older.”

My cheeks warmed and I immediately looked at the ground.  “I should get home,” I said quietly.  “Father warned me of your father this morning as well.”

“That’s sort of the thing…about the wager,” he began and I glanced up at him.  “Richard and I won’t be coming to these woods anymore… at least not alone.  My father is tightening his grip again, and we’ve decided that this will be our last time out here.  It’s the only way to keep you safe.”

I nodded my head, saddened by the news, but I was taken aback by how apologetic his face was.  

I stared down at my feet.  There was nothing to say, there was nothing I could do to change what his father dictated.  I started to walk past him, pausing when I was next to him.  I glimpsed at Nathan’s serious face for a moment.  A girl has to live her dreams, right?  And knowing that I would never see him again did lend me courage.  

I hastily moved up on my tippy toes and kissed his cheek, but I wobbled from the last second decision.  His hand immediately slid onto my waist to help me with my balance as my hand flattened against his chest.  As he turned his head, his lips were a breath from mine.  I knew I should have backed away, but I just stood there allowing his breath to caress my skin.  I closed my eyes to focus myself to move away, but his lips skimmed across mine and my mind went blank.  

His lips slid away from mine and I kept my eyes closed for a moment longer.  I was trying to find myself in the wake of an emotion I didn’t understand.  It suddenly dawned on me that my hand had slid into his hair and both of his hands were holding my body close to his.

“I’m sorry,” I said in a whisper, waiting for him to laugh.  

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have done that,” he softly said, not moving away.  “I have just broken the trust you have in me.”

“No,” I smiled.  “You brought this girl’s dream to life.  I won’t be able to tell anyone, but I’ll always have it.”

His hand caressed my face, and I opened my eyes.  His beautiful green eyes searched my face and my rational brain kicked in.

“I have to go,” I quickly said and moved away from him, not believing that he had kissed me - on the lips.  I started to turn to head home, scolding myself, but his hand grabbed my wrist.   I instantly turned back towards him.

“I know you have to hurry home, but will you meet me back here tomorrow morning?”

“Here?”

“Yes.  In the morning.  At this tree.”

“I…I don’t know…I shouldn’t.  You just said…”

“Please,” he quietly begged.  “Bring your bow.”

“But…”

“I’ll figure out a way to get here alone.”

“Alone?  What about Richard?”

“He’s too noisy.  I want to know that you’ll be taken care of, I’ll teach you myself.  We’ll hunt, that’s all.  I promise.”

“I’m out of arrows.”

“I’ll bring plenty.”

I smiled at the expression on his face, an expression that made me feel beautiful.  “Okay, in the morning.”

“Before sunrise.”

“Okay.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it, causing sheer giddiness to swallow me, but I held my composure until I knew that I was far from him.  I leaned against a tree laughing.  I had no idea what to make of any of it, but it didn’t matter.  Nathan was going to hunt with me tomorrow, just me!

***

“NO!” my father growled quietly, so that he wouldn’t wake my mother.

“No one else knows,” I assured him.

“You’re only fourteen.   You do not need to be out with a boy who is coming of age, especially that boy.”

“We hunt and talk.  He’s teaching me how to use a blade, how to clean a kill, how to cook it, how to wield a dagger…”

“And why?  I can teach you these things.”

“I don’t know.  So that I will be able to take care of myself.”

“By putting you in danger to begin with?  Why has he taken such an interest in you?”

“It’s not like I haven’t hung around him before.”

“Yes, but Richard was there.”

“So?”

“So, they balanced each other out.  I didn’t have to worry then because they would protect you from each other.”

“What does that mean?”

“Has Nathan kissed you?”

“What?!”

“I know that he has.”

“Father, Nathan…”

“Where?” he growled.

“My hand, which means…”

“Which side?”

“The top.”  

I watched my father breathe a little easier.  “That’s it?”

“Yes.”  Nathan had only kissed me the one time on the lips, but my father didn’t need to know that, no one did.  Every day since then, every day for the last two weeks, Nathan had only kissed the top of my hand, showing me that he adored me.

“You are not leaving, not this morning.”

“He’ll be waiting.”

“Let him wait.”

“No…”

“There has been talk about King Andrew visiting the villages of his land to remind us that he still exists.”

“He’ll worry, and then he’ll come to check up on me.  And we don’t need that right now.”

“He won’t check up on you, Sasha.  Nathan attracts the girls, gets bored, and leaves them crying.  He has a reputation already.  He is King Andrew’s son, and I...”

“Father, he hasn’t attracted me,” I assured him, but he gave me a look that told me he did not agree.  “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Exactly.”

“I was late meeting up with him once, and he told me that he was about to come and make sure everything was okay.”

“No!  You’re not going!”

“Please,” I begged.  “Let me go today.  I will tell him I can’t go hunting with him in the morning anymore.”

My father thought about this.  “Promise.”

“Yes.  I promise I will tell Nathan that I can no longer meet up with him in the morning to hunt.”  We were going to have to stop soon anyways, winter was coming.

He eyed me suspiciously before he nodded with a smile.

“Thank you, Father,” I said cheerfully and gave him a hug.  His arms embraced me as he kissed the top of my head.

“Tell him I am sorry, but I have to look after my only daughter.”

“I love you, Father,” I softly said before I grabbed my bow and quietly left the house. 

I couldn’t believe that we hadn’t wakened Mother, but perhaps she was leaving this in Father’s hands.  Did she not agree with Father on this?  I shook my head, she probably did, but knew I wasn’t going to heed their warning anyways. 

I ran as fast as I could through the forest to the tree that Nathan was always waiting for me under.  Only when I got there he wasn’t waiting with his sarcastic smile, he wasn’t there at all.

I shrugged my shoulders, deciding that he was running late.  As I waited, I began to worry that I was too late.  By mid-morning, I knew he wasn’t coming.  If he had gone to check up on me he would have been here by now.  I would have gone hunting without him, but I still didn’t have any arrows.  I also hadn’t given up on the notion that he was going to show.   By lunch time I forced myself to accept that he wasn’t coming.  My father would never let me out tomorrow.  If I told him that Nathan hadn’t shown up, he would just tell me that Nathan must have become bored with me and found a new girl.

I slowly walked home, wondering why Nathan hadn’t met with me today.  My first thought was that he had been caught sneaking out.  I hoped not.  His father was cruel, very cruel.  All of the common folk had lived through his tyranny, and had learned to do what they were told or he would tighten his hold and people would die.  

As I neared the village, I saw a small plume of smoke and wondered if Danny was attempting to roast an oversized kill again - the last time he almost burned the village down.  I smiled to myself and hurried to see what was happening.  However, as I entered the village, I noticed that the king’s men were there questioning people.  I immediately feared that Nathan had come to check up on me, that we missed each other in the woods.   My heart stopped as I turned down my street.  

The smoke was coming from my house?!   My mother was struggling against a guard on each arm in front of the doorway pleading until an arrow silenced her.  The king’s men pushed her lifeless body into the burning house.  I shifted my eyes in shock to see Nathan lowering his bow with an emotionless face.  He aimed another arrow, and shot it in the window, a few moments later my house exploded.

I was about to run to the fire that use to be my house when a hand came over my mouth and pulled me back towards the forest.  I tried to fight my way free, but the man was too strong.  Once we were a good distance from the village he threw me over his shoulder and ran.  He carried me kicking and screaming into a small house before he set me down at a table.  One look at him told me that he was Vern, one of the men my father hunted with in the winter.  

“Is everything o…”

“They killed Tom and Sara,” the man said to the woman who had just entered.  

Tears raced from my eyes as I shook my head in denial.

“The poor dear,” she said in a gasp.  She immediately came over to me, pulling me close to her.  “Did they give a reason?  They were such kind people.  Why would King...”

“I overheard someone saying that Tom was conspiring against the king, but no one believes it, not for a moment.”

“Is she going to stay with us?”

“Yes, there is nowhere for her to go.  Knowing King Andrew, he will have some sort of reward for her.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know about her,” the woman replied.

“He knows.  John told me that King Andrew was questioning Tom about a daughter.”

“Oh, honey, I am so sorry,” the woman said, and held me even tighter.

“After she is done mourning, she will hunt with me and Edmund.  Tom always bragged about her skills.  If we can get a surplus of kills, then we can sell the meat and furs, and finally see the future I always wanted for you.  If he was lying, she can help you with the housework.”

“Of course,” the woman agreed.  “Come with me dear, we have a spare room in the back.”

She tucked me into the bed and after a few minutes of trying to talk to me, she left the room.  In the dark I could hear my mother’s screams, see Nathan taking aim and killing my mother.  His father was cruel, I just had no idea that he would be too.


(This book is under going revisions thanks to feedback from my readers.  It will be out again soon for you to read.  Sorry about the inconvenience.)