“Kate! Kate, are you awake?” My mom barges into my room.
“Mmm….what time is it?” I mumbled rolling over.
“After sunrise, come on, Kate. Get up!” My mom rolled up the fabric we use as shades. We live in the middle of a forest. I know, exciting, right? Yeah, our little kingdom was destroyed by...well I never heard the whole story. I was just a newborn. My parents say the kingdom was attacked, so we had to leave and we were lucky to get out with our lives. I would always ask when I was younger who attacked our kingdom, but my parents would always change the subject, and if I tried to pry, they would shut me down. Then they would be in bad moods for the rest of the day.
I got out of bed and got dressed.
I ate my breakfast (fruit, yay) and went outside.
I looked at the little huts sprinkled around us. Our village, which consists of about a hundred or so residents, and about 40 huts sits in a clearing right next to this stone wall. Well, it’s a cliff, but it is so just flat and vertical, it looks like a wall.
I looked at the sun. It was a little after sunrise, but I wouldn’t know the actual time because we have nothing high-tech here. Or even middle-tech. We grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables and hunt deer and some birds. We raise livestock, like pigs, and cows, and get our clothes from the sheep. We also fish in the river next to our clearing. It’s kind of a river, a little thinner than a normal river though. We call our hut-clearing-village-area thing Daoine Foraoise, which means Forest People. I don’t know who named it that, because I think it makes us sound like people who are like made of trees or something.
Our village leader, Unther, was directing some people hanging up a banner between two trees. It read, Year 13 of Daoine Foraoise! We have this annual party thing where we celebrate how many years we have lived here unnoticed. Too long for me. I have never been out of this area. I haven’t gone into the thicker forest area because I’m “too young”. I do go to the river to fish though. Because the river is right next to Daoine Foraoise. I usually just sit during the party if I am not talking to my friends anyway.
Anne and Eloise. My best friends. Well, Eloise is still kinda mad at me and Anne. We all got into this argument about this game, Speak or Do. It’s where you are asked to say something truthful or do something the questioner asks you to. I asked Anne to step one foot into the thicker forest area on the east side. Eloise said we shouldn't, and well, one thing led to another, Anne did it, Eloise got mad, and kind of scared I think, too. I miss hanging out with her but she is still upset. That was two weeks ago. So it’s just me and Anne.
“Kate! Happy 13 years of Daoine Foraoise!”
I turned to see Anne running toward me ignoring her mom yelling at her to eat breakfast.
“Hi, Anne! You didn’t eat?”
Anne laughed and whispered, “I already ate, early this morning. I snuck out again.”
Anne has been sneaking out to the jewelry maker’s shop lately. The best one, Marksmurk’s. He has this whole variety of necklaces and earrings and whatnot. He used to make jewelry for the queen before...well before she and the king were killed by the invaders 13 years ago.
“Anne! You’re going to get caught sooner or later!” I exclaimed.
“Shhh! If my mom finds out-” Anne led her finger across her throat. I sighed and shook my head.
“Kate, you know you want some too. You can’t deny it.” Anne grinned.
I glared at her, but not a mad glare. We both know we don’t have enough to trade to get jewelry. We both knew we could never have enough to get jewelry.