Bladeless Revenge

Chapter 1

BLADELESS REVENGE

CHAPTER 1

I am most certain that you all have heard the stories that begin as "Once upon a time in a land far away..." so I will not bother to bore you with such rubbish. Instead, I will try something else more geared to liking. I am now going to take you into the world of a woman who found herself becoming a Goddess among strangers. The journey she took to lands she had not known... and in that journey, she found truth behind lies, peace in her heart, true love... and finally her Bladeless Revenge.

Helena dumped her small cauldron of gathered rainwater on a now smoldering fire. Hissing smoke billowed out from the wet wood to sting her morning fresh eyes. It was barely dawn, yet she still had a way to go before she reached her destination. Knots tied Helena's stomach as her hunger began to set in. The last time she ate was two days before when she broke upon a pair of tree hares. A different taste to her palette, she ate what she could of them and fed the last of the oats to her mare.

She quickly began to break her camp and prepare to move on. As she reached for her bedroll, she calculated how many kilometers she had left to travel; Less than 10 from what she remembered seeing on the map the night before. As Helena packed her mare's saddlebags, she whispered in the mare's ear gently,

"Don't worry my little Phoenix, today you eat and rest; and then you shall truly rise

from your ashes."

Dusty and mud covered, Helena mounted the horse and clicked her tongue, digging her boots into the mare's flanks. Still weary from their quick ascent through England, she commanded only a trot out of Phoenix for the last part of the journey. She needed some time to gather her wits about her before being in the presence of humans again. Helena closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. It was about to rain, she could taste it in the Spring air.

The castle Helena sought was seated atop a small mountain surrounded by rolling hills spilling into a valley. As Helena emerged from the edge of the forest, she observed the area before riding into the valley below. As she sat on the top of the forest's rise, she could see the walls surrounding the ever spreading villages. Each of the three walls present had been built when the village behind it no longer fit behind the previous wall's safety. Even now, stone huts were being sheltered in the shadows of the outermost wall.

A light Spring rain fell and Helena covered her head with her over sized, hooded cloak, pulling it close to keep dry. She covered all of herself save for the tips of her fingers and her muddy boots. Her hood covered most of her face and when she looked up, all that could be seen was from the tip of her nose to the brooch clip under her chin. If someone should come upon her, they would not know she was a woman by a mere glance at her appearance. Helena liked it that way and played it to her advantage in her travels. Men were widely more respected hunters and were paid higher bounties for their catch and kills. Helena learned of it very well since she stepped foot on English soil not more than a year before.

Though she spent a little time there already, Helena was quite cautious of the English. Actually, she was cautious of everyone. Although she shared their Celtic blood, their ways were much different than hers. She was originally a mainland Celt from the East. Here, they had adaptations she hadn't quite yet mastered and wasn't sure if she really wanted to. Helena reminded herself of this as she spotted a safe way off the rise to the main road. The sun had risen some now and was causing steamy fog to lay about the green fields. She urged her mare into another slow trot and headed for the road. As she made her way slowly toward the front gates, she saw a few villagers scurrying about the grass like field mice.