Not Gonna Die (A Skybrine Fanfic)

|Prologue| Angry remarks

The village was small, with no wall protecting it from the wild animals who often prowled the plain on which it sat. The wheel was not a relatively new phenomenon but no one had yet thought to tame the large four-legged creatures who roamed the plains and those who had the skill to carve wood made their own handcarts, pulling them laden with wares behind them to the small marketplace that was held daily in the middle of the village. Many of the villagers were there, trading woven cloth or home-grown vegetables for milk or yarn.

She was there as well, with her mother. Both were relatively young but that was the custom at the time. They strolled through the markets, trading their carved wooden items for food, clothing and raw wood. She had learnt the skill from her mother but she was quickly becoming the master and her carved objects were well sought after.

The two women, one about half-way through her life and the other only just emerging from her youth, spoke to a young man selling fresh apples. His hair was sandy blond and tied back in a ponytail, leaving his brown eyes unimpeded. His movements were quick but smooth and he was intelligent as well. She found that she quite liked him, but before names could be exchanged, something dropped from the sky and landed with a low boom in the middle of their village. The man who had fallen from the sky slowly looked up, a sadistic smile on his face as his hand drew a long blade.

He was recognised in an instant and the people screamed and fled as fire poured from his hands, devouring the wooden carts and the precious wares displayed. She felt her mother grab her arm but as her mother ran away, her arm slipped out of her grip. She was stuck where she was, staring at the man. She saw the fire, the insane grin on his face, the laughter that echoed as he saw the fleeing people.

But she didn't feel fear. Curiosity, maybe, and a strange love for the curve of the flame as it swallowed up the wood. She stood tall, watching, entranced. He saw her and he stopped his slow walk forward, his long blade still in his hand. She recognised it as a large version of her own carving knife, one that had cost her a large thick leather coat, very expensive. Yet this blade was of a much higher quality it seemed, the blade reflecting the light of the fire.

He tilted his head, perhaps wondering why she didn't run, perhaps admiring her courage or perhaps curious himself. She couldn't read his pupil-less eyes and his expression was blank, but she still didn't fear him. The fire had stopped pouring out of his hand but she felt the heat of the fire already raging as it raced along the carts towards her. She stumbled away from the cart selling the apples as the heat of the flames burned her skin, breaking the spell that had held them both captive.

Shouting came from somewhere behind him and he turned, his smile returning as he saw the haphazardly armed villagers running towards them, fear easily visible and their hands shaking around their primitive spears. They threw them in his direction, some of them well aimed but he simply side-stepped them, his blade moving to flick them away from him. His other hand moved forward in a sweeping motion and the fire raged again, cutting them off from him. A wooden handcart crashed behind him and the splinters went flying but he barely flinched as they dug into his skin. She, however, did flinch and an involuntary cry came from her mouth.

He looked at her again, the fire only making his eyes more terrifying. Now, a shiver of fear ran through her and she took one step back, then another, then she turned and sprinted away, the primitive 'fight or flight' mindset coursing through her. The fire roaring on either side of her suddenly leapt forward, cutting her off from the rest of the village people she could see huddled well-away from the blaze. She slid to a stop, the gravel slipping beneath her and she lost her footing, scrabbling backwards on her hands and feet from the blaze.

She felt a hard hand grab her wrist and heave her upwards, pulling her away from the wall of flame. She twisted her head, the fear shrieking louder in her chest as she saw that he was the one pulling her, hauling her away from her home and her mother. In an instant, the fear turned to rage and she squirmed her hand around in his grip and with her free hand, slapped his face.

His hand instinctively released hers and she held it close to her chest, rubbing the wrist and glaring at him. His expression quickly changed from shock to anger and he snarled, a red mark already developing on his cheek.

Before he could take a step forward, she exploded. "What the heck do you think you're doing?" she asked angrily. "You can't just take me like I'm property! What right do you have to take me away from my home?

He blinked, his snarl fading for a moment before coming back in full force. "Do you not know who I am, child?" he snapped.

"That doesn't change anything!" she said, her voice cold and fierce. "Just because you're big and scary and you can throw fire doesn't mean that you can just take me somewhere because you feel like it!" The fear was still whimpering inside her but she found that while she was scared of what he could do and how dangerous he was, but she wasn't scared of him, if that made sense. It didn't to her.

She glared at him, almost daring him to try and take her away again. He met her gaze; his snarl had faded during her speech and now he was looking at her with a strange expression. As far as she could see, it was a mixture of anger, shock, confusion and... and a few other things too, things she couldn't quite pick. His eyes flicked from hers to over her shoulder, presumably to her fellow village people huddled on the other side of the fire but she didn't dare to turn around. He still held his long blade. She had cut her finger once with her own carving knife and the last thing she wanted was to feel that same pain again.

His gaze switched back to her and he growled, marching up to her. She cowered a little but stood her ground as he stopped only just in front of her. Had she moved her hand away from her chest, she would have easily touched his shoulder, but she didn't move.

"I'll let you go this time, girl," he sneered. "But the next time we meet, I won't be nearly so lenient."

He took a step back and then was gone, dust flying up from the ground where his feet had been and making her cough. The fire that had cut her off from her mother disappeared but the carts still burned, the fire spreading to the houses nearby. The villagers rushed forward to save their homes and what might be left of their wares while her mother ran up to her, tears streaming from her eyes. Her wrist still hurt from where he had grabbed it and she couldn't help but glance one more time at where he had disappeared.

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WELCOME
TO
NOT GONNA DIE

This is my first proper Skybrine fanfic (I am not counting Relations Torn as one) but I will warn you, it's very different to the others that you have no doubt read. If you haven't read one yet, you're in for a treat.

Before you panic, no, this is not a romance book. I apologise if that's what you were hoping for.

Ummmmm..... if you wanna read something completed, I've got some other books you can check out while you're waiting for updates on this one (every fourth day).

But yeah, I hope you enjoy this!

Bai!

[P.S. You should all check out missmatched123's books, she's awesome.]

[P.P.S. I say that cause I got the chapter title layout from her books cause they're awesome]