NaNoWriMo – Day 11

Finally cracked 10000 words today! I am quite behind (I should be at about 18000 right now) but I am hoping to catch up on the weekends. That said, yesterday I wrote 2383 words and if I can match that another few times this week I will be very happy! I don’t have a name for the story yet but it concerns a young woman named Kellyn who is half-elven and a friend to Centaurs, who refuses to be a pawn in her Uncle’s plans. Until I think of something better, it has the working title of Centaur Rescue. I’ll add an excerpt below.

***

Lady Kellyn of Rycroft ran along the corridor, her boots slapping the ancient stone. Men from the palace guard were milling around, armed with bow, sword and shield. They nodded to her as she passed and she returned the gesture.

She had been in the fields helping to gather the harvest when the bell had rung to signal an attack and she had only just managed to make it into the citadel before the gates closed. The gate guards had told her the attackers were on the southern side of the fortress but that another three squads of fighters were moving in from the Southwest.

Reaching the family quarters, she slowed. Her mother was in the nursery with her two younger brothers. Rhett and Rylan were in the crib they shared, watching as Niara donned her armour.

“The gate guards estimated there were almost two hundred men in the first wave of soldiers and that there were more waiting in the trees,” she told her mother. “They said we need more people on the walls. Please, Mama, I should be out there helping them.”

“Kellyn, we’ve had this discussion before. You’re twelve, not twenty. You’re not joining the fighting. In fact, I forbid it.”

“Let me help the Mages, then – I may only be an apprentice but Father says my skills are progressing.”

“Your gift for magic is strong, Kellyn but it is still largely untrained. Besides, the majority of spells that you have learnt are basic ones that any skilled War Mage could counter.”

“I could work with the healers, then – you know they could use another set of hands to help settle the wounded.”

“I want you to watch Rhett and Rylan.”

“But we’re outnumbered! You and father will need my help.”

“We’re almost always outnumbered and still our forces triumph.” Niara sighed and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Stay with your brothers and guard them well, my darling. Perhaps you can fight next time, hmm?”

She watched her mother leave. It wasn’t fair. Her brother was only a year older than she was and her father had permitted him to enter the fighting, so long as he was under the close supervision of one of the trusted Watch Captains. She had spent just as long training under the supervision of the Watch Commander and her skills were just as good as Lachlan’s were, if not better.

Disgruntled, she sat on the toy chest and waited.

***

As the light grew dimmer in the nursery, Kellyn stirred. She moved to the window and looked outside. The battle raged far below, her father’s men still far outnumbered by the forces that were swelling out of the forest. She glanced at the crib. Rhett and Rylan were asleep, worn out by the magic show that she had put on to keep them settled through the afternoon.

She was sorely tempted to seal the room with her magic and run downstairs to help in the battle but she knew her parents would never forgive her for abandoning her brothers and her post. More than that, she knew that she would never forgive herself if something happened to the twins while she was absent.

The fighting was getting closer.

She heard a shout outside and the metallic sound of sword clashing against sword. Frightened, Kellyn gathered the twins and placed them in the far corner, before drawing her own weapon from its sheath. She waited, fear making her feel ill. If the invaders had entered the castle, what had happened to her parents? Surely her mother wouldn’t have left her completely unguarded, even with her bold assertions that she was prepared to fight.

The door opened and Kellyn tensed as two men entered the room. One was fair haired, while the other had brown-hair.

They were not her Father’s men.

She lifted her sword. “Stay there,” she warned. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Lady Kellyn, I presume?” The brown-haired man asked.

“Perhaps.” She eyed his sword, hoping he was a bad fighter. His muscle would likely see him triumph if they fought. “Who asks?”

“My name is not your concern.” He smiled at her. “Put the sword down and I give my word that you and your brothers will not be harmed. You will not win if you choose to fight.”