Forestsong’s Beginning

By: Mayara Snow
Chapter One 
Twas a harsh and cold winter at Stormhold. The wind whipped and whistled through the battlements on the walltops of the grim stone fortress, crying and wailing like a grieving banshee while snow swept through the surrounding forest, bending the pines till they creaked and groaned under the strain. It was the coldest winter any of the creatures living at Stormhold could ever remember. In all of the great tomes in the records of the fortress, there had never been one so severe. Constructed on a rocky peninsula and overlooking the Great Northern Sea, it sat, a silent sentinel guarding the North from attacks whether by land or by sea. To the East lay the Jade Forest, blanketed by winter’s snow, and many miles from any town or village. Stormhold was the smallest of the six kingdoms, but there was a reason it hadn’t been overrun. It was protected on three sides by frigid water and only a thin stretch of land connected it to the mainland, well guarded at all times. The peninsula also bore farmland below the fortress, worked by slaves who lived in the shadow of the grim stony giant in quarters fenced in on all sides. Ivyleaf the squirrel, and Sage the mouse lived alone in their small hut, since Sage’s mother had died several years before, leaving Ivy and her older brother Thorn to take care of her younger friend. Ivy had known Sage for as long as she could remember, but she had never met her own parents, having been brought to Stormhold when she was a very young kit. The squirrelmaid was 15 seasons old, her brother 5 Years older, while Sage was 13.  Both worked, however indirectly for Stormhold’s ruler, Lady Amaryllis, who had ascended the throne eight years ago under rather mysterious circumstances. She was the daughter of the previous Lord, Lord Verhel, and alone he had raised her since her mother, Lady Verania, had died when she was very young. Amaryllis’s younger sister, did not hold a title, being that her birth was most certainly not a source of pride for her father. Amaryllis was not so much cruel as she was distant, content to let Calliope make most of the decisions. In truth, though, Amaryllis was little more than a child herself, having become ruler at the tender age of 8. Since Calliope was by several years her elder, she had ruled as regent until Amaryllis had been crowned, about two years ago. 
Ivy, the squirrel in question had recently been reassigned to the fortress in order to work in the kitchens. Calliope and her retinue’s staying at the fortress had placed undue strain upon the kitchens, so more help was needed. Usually, Calliope would stay at her post as Lady of Sirenes, but since Amaryllis’s annual fest was only in a week or so, she had decided to pay her a visit. This was the feast of the northern peace, celebrating the so-called civilization on the northern tribes 40 years prior by Amaryllis’s father. For years now, she had been attempting to rename it the feast of coasts, as it was more about celebrating the kingdom’s glorious rulers then the northern tribes, but the old name had stuck. Perhaps peace just sounded better to a land so devastated in centuries past by war. 
Sage, the younger mouse maid, had worked with Ivy previously, at the Tavern-at-Snow-pine, the aptly named tavern located on the far eastern stretch of the peninsula, closest to the Bridgetrail. (the narrow stretch of land that connected Stormhold to the Jade Forest and the mainland) Sage, however, stayed where she was. She knew that the reason she hadn’t been called too was because she was not so good a cook as Ivy, whose culinary skills had won her the praise of soldier and traveler alike. 
    Aye, the Tavern-at-Snowpine, was probably the only place a traveler would find a proper welcome at too. If one wanted to stay at the fortress, they were usually given the worst rooms, for the simple reason that Amaryllis didn’t have enough servants to keep all of them clean and well stocked with firewood at the same time. Taking advantage of this, the tavern offered rooms for up to two weeks at a decent price. Though there were few who visited Stormhold by choice, if they were anything less then royalty, the tavern was where they had stayed. 
Sage chuckled as she went about her work that day. Her job was generally to keep the rooms tidy, that is, dust, sweep, clean the windows, among other things, in the rooming section of the tavern. Even though Ivy had left a few days ago for the fortress, her brother, Thorn, had stayed behind to take her place. (Generally workers weren’t traded out like this, as Thorn had worked as a carpenter before, but Calliope’s visit had messed many things up) Thorn was a terrible, cook, unlike his sister, and even when put to the simplest tasks in the kitchen, managed with great talent, to bungle them, earning more than one unpleasant look from the cook. He was meant to be working with wood, he had complained to Sage, not food! (Sage was pretty sure he could have burned snow if he’d tried) Finally, he’d just been out on firewood duty instead, chopping up the grand pile behind the woodshed a bit at a time to provide wood for the tavern. He was also in charge of gathering new wood. The frigid temperatures of the peninsula made this a necessity, so it was a full time job. Sage never looked forward to the long walk from the warm tavern to the cold barracks every night. They lived nearly on the far side of the island so it seemed, even though in reality it was not that far at all. The mousemaid Sage was dressed in her typical garb of trousers and layered tunics, Thorn’s cast offs from when he was a kit. She had been brought up this way, in boys clothes, mostly because it made it easier to move around the snow. Ivy still stuck stubbornly to skirts, maintaining that it wasn’t proper any other way. 
Sometimes Sage wished she could leave the peninsula and make a life elsewhere, somewhere where the winters weren’t quite so fierce and food so scarce. But this was all she’d ever known. Also, there was the issue that technically all three of them were bound to the castle until they worked their parents debt off to Lady Amaryllis. And it would be a long time until that happened. 
Author’s note: this story was postponed so I could work on other things. However, I might go back and work on it when I have more time. There is a lot more, though it’s on paper and needs typing out.