Viden's Barony, One Year Ago...
"Give it back! It's not yours!"
Susie Rainfeather dashed down the jade-paved pathway, fists clenched tightly. Just ahead of her were a pair of girls her age, both of whom were laughing. "It is
now!" one of them jeered. "It's winners-keepers, Rainfeather!"
"Yeah!" the other chimed in. "Don't play keep-away with us if you're not prepared to lose!"
"Y-you didn't
say we were playing for keepsies!" Susie protested as she struggled to keep up. "You just said we were gonna play hackysack!"
The girls only laughed harder at this, to Susie's dismay. Then her eyes widened as she saw one of them suddenly split off the main pathway, running towards...
"The river? No, wait! Wait!"
But it was too late. The girl had thrown the hackysack into the water, where it slowly sank to the bottom. Susie immediately jumped in after it, not even stopping to take off her socks and shoes. "She went in!" one of the girls shrieked gleefully. "She actually went in!"
"Rainfeather, more like
Frog-feather!" the other laughed. "Frog-feather, Frog-feather~!"
Susie poked her head above the water, hackysack in hand. The water thankfully hadn't been too deep, and the current wasn't quite strong enough to carry the toy away. She watched quietly as the two bullies left, giggling as they headed back towards the road. With a sniffle, the girl waded out of the water. She may have been crying, but since she was already soaked it was hard to tell. "It's not fair..." she murmured as she began to wring out her hair. "They always do this..."
"Then why didn't you stop them?"
Susie froze. It wasn't a voice she recognized, and the thought of a stranger having seen what just happened made her anxiety flare up. Slowly she turned around to see who had spoken, stammering in embarressment. "W-what? Do I...?"
A pale young woman was leaning against a tree near the riverbank, gazing at Susie with peircing yellow eyes. Her robes were a deep shade of azure, with a moving pattern that seemed to ebb and flow like water in a creek. Her hair was stark white, as if it'd been robbed of all color. An odd feeling of dread overcame the Susie, and she instinctively took a step back.
"You..." she whispered, breathing sharply.
"Are you from that family?"The woman ignored her. "Well? Why didn't you stop them?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side. "You could have, if you wanted to."
Susie blinked, then looked at her feet. "...I don't mean to disappoint you Miss, but..." she said as she gripped her arm, shifting her weight. "I... I couldn't. That's why."
The stranger hummed softly. "Ahhh. I see, I see." She straightened up, taking a few steps towards the younger girl. "So, you don't how yet?"
Susie hesitated, then took another step back. She wanted to run away, but something kept the girl rooted in place. Curiosity? She began to fidget with the hackysack in her hand nervously. "Um... h-how to what?"
The woman smiled, looking rather like a cat who'd just discovered a mousehole to sit in front of. "How
to." she said simply. She walked towards the girl, stopping just in front of her. She offered the girl her hand, a hungry gleam in her eyes. "Come on, let me show you!"
Susie looked at the strange woman, uncertainty glazed over her face. Her clothes were still drippng wet, and the water in her shoes were beginning to make her socks itch. The girl had always been pushed around by the other kids her age, and it'd always seemed like it'd remain that way forever. Was it really something that she had the power to change? She touched the empty pendant she wore around her neck. Was it something she was
allowed to change?
Quivering, Susie reached for the woman's hand...
