Kapitel 3: Chapter 1
The breeze feels cool against my hot and sweaty face. I bring my sword down hard against the dummy that is in front of me. Stopping to catch my breath, I hear a noise behind me. I swivel around and there is my father, watching me and holding a letter in his hand. When I see it, I immediately know what it is. I run to him with anticipation. I tear open the letter that he handed to me and read:
I could not believe my luck. In all of history, a girl has never been able to fight for the king. I was determined to prove myself. My father holds me tightly when I tell him the news. "I'm so proud of you," he whispers in my ear.
Throughout my life, my father and I have been extremely close. He always helps me get up when I fall down. Most things that I know how to do were taught to me by him. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother just as much, but I have a stronger bond with my father.
As I reread the letter, I notice something.
"Why do I have to prove myself worthy?" I ask my father. "Any other man who wishes to become a knight can."
"I do not know," he replies, also confused. "But I do know something else. You are stronger than any man out there."
Encouraged by his words, I work even harder on my sword and archery skills all that afternoon.
As I lay in my bed, I can't fall asleep. I'm still in shock from the news. I get up and throw on my clothes from the day before. As I jump out the window, I suddenly stop as I see a figure in the forest. Being as quiet as I can, I head in that direction to investigate. The smell of pine is in the air as I run silently through the dark forest. When I get closer to the area that I thought I saw something, I surprised that nothing is there. I turn in a circle knowing that I saw something earlier. Confused, I begin heading back.
Suddenly, a hand grabs me from behind and covers my mouth as I try to scream. My fighting instincts then kick in. I can tell that my kidnapper is a male because of his bulk and muscle. I stop struggling for a second and then turn in a quick motion. Catching him by surprise, I kick him in his crotch. He grunts in pain and drops me. Behind me, I can hear him as he falls to the ground in pain. I turn around to face him and I immediate drop down next to him. "Caleb!" I say with surprise. "I'm so sorry!"
"I'm... Fine," he manages to say.
Helping him up I reply, "How did you know I was going to be here?"
"I figured you wouldn't be able to sleep so I thought that maybe you would want some company."
Caleb and I have been best friends for as long as we can remember. He lives in a nice house that has a farm just down the road from us. Our parents are convinced that someday we'll marry and live to be old together. I think differently. I promised myself that I would never let love get in the way of my dreams.
"I also brought you something," Caleb says.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. I open it carefully and pull out a necklace. There is a little silver arrow attached to a thin chain. I look closely at it and see my name engraved in the arrow. I finger the delicate chain and gasp in surprise.
"This is beautiful," I whisper.
"Just like you," I hear him say.
At this I turn towards him and start to say in a warning voice, "Caleb-,"
"I know," He cuts me off. "You will never fall in love and marry. But just think about how great we would be together-"
"No," I reply firmly. "You can't think like this Caleb."
He sighs and gives me a quick hug before saying, "Go and show them who you are. Be strong and fierce like the Iris I know. I'm proud of you." With this he turned and walked away.
Tears start running down my face as I finally break. I sit down and lean against the trunk of a tree. Finally able to control myself, I get up and head back to the house. Once I'm back in bed, I fall asleep quickly.
The next day, I begin to pack up my belongings. In only a day, I'll be leaving. My mother sits next to me, silent as she helps me.
"I'm scared," I suddenly say without thinking.
She stops what she's doing and takes my hands into hers. "You are a strong and brave girl. Nothing has ever gotten in your way before so don't let this. I believe in you and your abilities."
Suddenly, the tears start again. My mother holds me and comforts me for a while. I really need to learn to control my emotions. There is no way that I'm going to prove the prince that he's right.
That afternoon, I head outside to go train. When I get there, Caleb is standing already ready to fight with me. I grab my sword and as he makes the first move, I respond quickly. Letting the my instincts take over, I duck and step with the sound of swords clashing together. When I manage to get his sword and pin him, he raises his arms in surrender. "Okay okay," he says. "You win." Grinning I hand him his sword and step back.
"I'm going to miss you," I say.
"Me too," he replies.
We sit there in silence for a few moments.
"Where's your necklace?" He all of a sudden asks.
"It's in my room. Why?"
"Go get it."
Once I've retrieved the beautiful piece of jewelry, he takes it from me and clasps it around my neck. I can't help but shiver as his fingers graze my neck.
"Always wear this. I want you to always remember me. Goodbye Iris."
I hug him and whisper in his ear, "Goodbye Caleb." Then before the tears begin to flow again, I leave him.
On my way, I bump into father. He's sitting on a wooden bench that I helped him make, deep in thought. I sit down next to him and lean my head on his shoulder. Together we look at the beauty of the forest around us. The only sounds are the birds chirping and the flow of a five in the distance. We sit there for what seems like hours.
Finally, as he gets up to leave, he kisses my head and whispers, "Be strong, be brave."
Then he turns and leaves me to my own thoughts.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein