Chances of A Sword

== A Short Story ==
=== Part 1 ===
Brooklene sat in her bed, up in the attic. She loved her room. But despite it being so close to the stars, she could still hear her family downstairs. 
"Mother, why won't you make the night end? It is getting dreadful outside!" Rory, Brooklene's older brother complained.
"Because, sometimes even I must be patient. And you are of night, you should know better than to wish for day." Her mother replied, quite calmly.
Her father spoke then. "Has anyone seen Brooklene?"
A sweet, precise voice replied. Sarra. "Father, you know that she is probably in her room. She likes to be near the sky on nights like this." Brooke smiled at this response. It was true, she loved the nights when they were wild. Thunder rumbled overhead, in beat to some unknown melody. Her friend Clarenna liked stormy nights even more than she, most likely because her Great-Great Grandfather was the God of Night Storms. Brooke heard that the conversation downstairs had started again. 
"Father, have you seen the scrolls yet? I am quite certain that I won them over after that last speech."
"No I haven't Sarra. But I am certain you did amazing." He responded, though he sounded deep in thought. Brooklene sighed. She had seen the scrolls. They mostly depicted her sisters talent and beauty. She was proud of her sister...but it was all the more reason for her to be overshadowed. Again. She stood up when she heard the knock on her door. It was probably her youngest sister, Ashelia. Ash always came up here. But when she opened the door, a beautiful girl with Jet-black hair and striking blue eyes stood there. 
"Hello Sarra." Brooke said, quite calmly. But inwardly she was very surprised. Her sister never came up here. Sarra glanced around the small room,noting the rickety bed made out of a willow tree, and the shelves full of well read books. 
"I came up here to ask you a favor" Her sister said, still looking a bit disgusted at Brooke's meager room. 
"What do you need?" Brooke asked. 
"I was wondering if..maybe you could do my official portrait..What with you being so good at art and everything." Brooke struggled to stop herself from laughing. 
This was all about a painting? She thought to herself.
"Of course I will sister." Brooke replied.
Noticing the look on Brooke's face, her sister flashed her a grin and said.
"Don't worry Brooke. One day you will do exactly what you were meant to do."
=== Part 2 ===
When Brooklene awoke the next morning, the storm from the night before was replaced by warm golden sunlight. Looking out the window, Brooklene saw that her family was having breakfast outside. She quickly pulled on a pale blue dress and some plain brown boots. In a few minutes she was walking down to the beach, her hair braided.
"Lene! You finally woke up! Come over here, your mother decided to give us a long morning to enjoy!" Sarra practically shouted when she saw Brooke.
Inwardly Brooke groaned. Great.
Brooke lifted her skirt and walked over the sand. She sat down at the table and looked out at the waves. Everyone ate in silence until Ash broke it.
"Mother, since tomorrow is my first day at The Night, I was wondering if I could wear my new dress?" She asked, a smile brightening her face.
"Of course darling." Mother murmured, "Just don't stain it with Magic. It took me long enough to get all the magic out of Sarra's her first year!" Sarra blushed and added in.
"I didn't stain it too badly!"
"Yours was practically silver, Sarra." Mother smiled. Brooke looked down at the ground. It made her uncomfortable for them to talk about magic when she didn't have any. She stood up.
"I'm going to go get ready for school." she said, before leaving. Her mother nodded, and her father gave her a smile. Brooke decided to take the long route. She grabbed her satchel from inside, made sure her art materials were tucked in securely, and ran towards the woods. In the woods, pretty birds flitted around Brooke, singing and chirping. Brooke smiled at them and pulled out a handful of crumbs from her pocket. She scattered it on the ground and hurried on. Gasping and out of breath, Brooke stopped in her favourite place: A garden, long forgotten. A ivy covered stone wall surrounded the perimeter of it, with an iron gate as the only entrance. Since the gate was locked, the only glimpses Brooke got of the garden were scarce. A rose, a fountain, a tree, sometimes a bird. She longed to go in there someday. A rustling sound broke Brooke away from her daydreaming.
"Who's there?" Brooklene asked cautiously. No one responded, so she stepped closer to the source of the sound. And closer. And closer. She pushed back the debris and gasped. It was a fox, midnight blue, with its eyes closed. It was about the size of a cat, but Brooke knew it was fully grown because of the dark swirling patterns on its forehead.
She gently laid her hand over its chest and was glad to hear it was still breathing.
"Okay Boy..Or girl..I'll just help you out here, okay?" Brooke said to the unconscious creature. She looked at the sky and noted that she had probably missed the start of class already. She carefully lifted up the animal and placed it in her bag, knowing that the school would likely have something to help the fox. She put the satchel on and ran towards school. 
Category:Short Story