The Gladiator Girl

Before

       The air was so thick you could almost taste it. The was room smelt of souring clothes and mildew; a smell all too familiar to Andria, a maid/nanny to the Chaucer's of Ferrold. They resided in a stone castle with vines creeping
their way up causing cracks, it was withering, but still functional. Andria admired it's beauty everyday. She wondered whom built it, how long ago was it built and countless other questions. Andria cherished her moments of solitude, well not total solitude of course, there was always Helewys.

    Helewys was Andria's mentor and best friend, scratch that, she was Andria's mother figure. Andria didn't know her parents and was dropped off in the door way of Lord Chaucer's castle. She was raised there, never left the grounds, and probably never will. Although Lady Chaucer was kind enough to bring her into her home, her husband Benedikt Chaucer was not as welcoming; he saw Andria as more of a burden then anything. Of course he got used to her by the time she was ten as he realized he was dependent on her daily. She helped with Lord and Lady Chaucer's children as she was older then all of them.

There was Leif, 17, Leofrick, 15, Ayleth, 12, Merek, 9, Josef, 7, and the youngest Ysmay who is 5. Andria, who is 5 years older then Leif, had the responsibility, with the help of Helewys, to watch Merek, Josef, and Ysmay daily. Andria grew up with these children and is pretty much considered one of the children herself. Of course Leif and Leofrick were old enough to watch themselves and Ayleth had a maiden of her own to watch over her.

At the time Andria was found she was three weeks old, it is a gift from heaven, her life, because at the time Andria was brought to the Chaucer's, she was still breast feeding. Without her mother's nutrients she could have died and she was very close to it. Helewys was the one who nursed her back to health, she stayed by Andria's side day in and day out. It has been like that even after Andria was healthy. Helewys and Andria are rarely seen apart, every chore that is done, is done together. For Helewys has no children and Andria has no parents.

The kingdom of Ferrold is know for the Chaucer's fairness, forgiveness, and kindness; but that is not to say they are beloved by everyone. The neighboring house, Dillionn, has been in a long time conflict with the Chaucer's. For hundreds of years there has been rising tension between these two but they have never faced each other on the battlefields and the only thing keeping them apart is a half a mile wide river named the Klois. There has been such a long conflict between these two houses that no one even remembers the reason for all this feuding. The rumor is that it was a betrothal gone sour. That the eldest daughter of the Chaucer's was going to marry the eldest son of the Dillionns but her heart belonged to another. So on the night before the wedding she ran off with another and one of the Dillionn's guards found them and killed them. But that was what they said.

     Who knows what really happened those many years ago. Thought Andria. She didn't know why anyone would keep a grudge at all. She forgave her parents for leaving her, surely these two houses should forgive each other too. That was when Helewys walked in. "Oh my heavens!" Exclaimed Helewys. This caught the attention of Adrina. She spun around nearly drenching herself in the soapy water the bucket she held contained.

"What's wrong Helewys?" She inquired. Helewys's face grew concerned.

"You don't know-" Andria shook her head,"of course you don't you've been slaving down here all day long." It was a very true statement Andria hadn't sat down all day. "The Dillionns are coming in a weeks time!" Helewys looked delighted.

"What? Why! Are they finally going to play it out on the battlefield?" Andria asked. Helewys laughed, she was practically prancing around the room.

"Silly girl, Ayleth is getting engaged to Destrian Dillionn!" Andria's eyes grew wide. As she said a silent prayer for Ayleth, the girl she practically raised.

"Ayleth isn't going to be happy about this." Helewys wasn't concerned for Ayleth, as an avid drinker Helewys was concerned for the booze at the wedding, and for that reason Helewys loved weddings.

"Who cares, there is going to be a wedding! More food and booze to fill up that big ole blasted river." She paused," I think I'll go check on the menu and see what kinda ale they'll be serving." And with that she floated out the door and towards the kitchen to bother the cooks. What Helewys didn't realize is that she was not technically invited so the whole of the wedding she will be working. Andria couldn't wait to see the expression on Helewys's face when she figures out she won't be having a sip of ale that whole night!

*Hey guys, as my fist public piece of writing I give you the first part of the Before chapter of "The Gladiator Girl." I am not a very chatty person so there won't be that many authors notes. I don't really share anything personal about me because I feel my writing is more me then anything I could tell you. I like to let the writing do the talking. But what I will tell you is that uploads will be not as frequent as I would like because of my schedule and school. But look out for the second chapter because it WILL be here in the near future. So that all for now, there will be authors notes but only like every five chapters and comments and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is appreciated. K bye- Writersanon