Okay, for those of you who managed to stick with me through the first part,
I finally finished the "exposition" chapter of the story. This is the
beginning of the adventure up to the point of the prologue. As always, I
hope you enjoy it, MST it if you must, and all non-flame comments go to
cristina@netdoor.com.
Final Note: Everything ties in to my prologue, so don't delete it yet! ;P

"The Redwing Dilemma"

Chapter Two
The Orphan

The girl woke, cold and dirty, in a small building she was staying in to
shelter herself from the sheets of drenching icy rain currently pouring
down outside. This was her life, this was what she had been reduced to: 
living without home, family, or friends of any kind. Yet Shayla Redwing was
not unhappy, being the customarily bright, cheerful girl she was; she made
the best of any situation. Her parents had died in a housefire, when she
was only nine. Shayla had known no way to get in contact with any of her
parents' relatives, so she decided to go out on her own. Now she was ten.
Not much had changed since a year ago, but she had learned something more
valuable to her than any material posessions could ever be. When she grew
up, she had realized, she would be an adventuress, traveling the world over
for treasure and excitement! She would need no place to call home; just the
wind in her hair and the clothes on her body! Somehow, she decided, she
would apprentice herself, or get a job at an adventurers' guild. As she
started a fire over which she would cook her breakfast, she thought of
places she could go to try and learn to be a warrioress or mage. Then her
thoughts, wandering to far-off dreams, came back to her as she realized
something. She was out of food!
     "Great... not again! Guess it's nuts and berries this morning, huh? Oh
well... better wait until that rain stops, or I'll catch my death..." She
organized her few belongings, the stones she used to start fires with, the
dagger she used to slice things with, and her thermos of water, then she
put them in her pack, and placed it aside. To pass the time, (oh, the
boredom of life!) she polished her father's glaive -too big for her to use
yet- with the hem of her shirt, giving the shiny, flawless blade the most
caring of cleansings.
     Finally, when the rain stopped, she put out the fire that warmed her
through the storm, slung the pack over her back, picked up her father's
weapon, and stepped out into the open, muddy street. A shadow fell over
her, and Shayla, startled, jumped back into the building's shadow and
warily glared at the stranger who approached her. "W-what is it?!"
     The stranger, a silver-haired boy of about sixteen, gazed down at her
curiously. He was about six feet tall, obviously very slim, even wearing
his heavy navy cloak. He was a mercenary by his appearance; the three foot
long sword he wore across his back could have given that one away. As he
had been going down the street, minding his own affairs, he had seen a
little girl, dressed in rags, step out into the street from out of an old,
abandoned stone building, carrying with her a weapon of exceptional quality
even to his untrained eyes. He could tell at a glance that this girl was
special, without even knowing her name.
     "Who are you, that walks in rags, but carries such a fine weapon?" The
girl was completely baffled by the question. 
     "Shayla Redwing's my name. Who are you? Why do you want to know who I
am?" Her open face hid nothing. He looked at her again, and guessed that
she was an orphan without a home, judging from the smoldering fire in the
building. If he left her now, she would continue as she had before; never
knowing where she came from, never knowing where she was going next or
where her next meal would come from. Yet he felt that she was someone
special, someone who bore extra watching. He couldn't let potential like
what he saw just go to waste! He made his decision.
     "I'm Kerin Siethe. I assume you don't have a home?"
     "Yeah, what if I don't? If you want to buy my dad's glaive, sorry,
it's not for sale."
     "No, I wouldn't dream of taking it."
     "What do you want to know my name for, then?" Shayla was used to
dealing with mercenaries that wanted her glaive and some who even tried to
steal it or take it by force, or pretend to be her friend to try and get
it.  She wasn't used to people who spoke to her so respectfully, and she
wasn't sure how to handle the situation.
     "You look hungry. Do you have any money?"
     "That's not your business..." She turned away to hide the blush on her
face, being forced to look so poor in front of such a nice man. She didn't
want his pity- anything but that! The man turned away so as not to look at
the tears of indignity brimming in her eyes. Any other person would have
offered her food by now, but he knew better than to show such pity to a
proud, strong young lady like this one. He put a hand on her shoulder. She
turned her face up to look straight into his. "I can find my own meals,
okay?"
     "Fine. I've got a better idea, though; you can travel with me, and
help me out, and in return, I'll share all my money and meals with you.
Would you like to do that, Miss Redwing?"
     *Miss Redwing! He called me Miss Redwing! Traveling with a guy who
treats me like an adult sounds better, at least, than what I'm doing now...
and I get food and money... he doesn't look like a guy who would take
advantage of me either... Okay, I'll bite!* Shayla nodded slowly. "I think
that sounds good, where are you headed?"
     "Wherever the wind takes me... or did you want to go somewhere?"
     *Going with the wind... that sounds so cool!* "Wind's fine! Got
anything to eat?"
     "Yeah..." Kerin rummaged through his own pack, silently reminding
himself that she was only ten, and couldn't be expected to act any
differently. He wasn't regretting the offer immediately; that was a good
sign. He took out some cold buns, gave two to her, and ate the last one
himself. *Maybe I could... nah. Maybe she would like... nah... I know!*
"You want to learn how to use that glaive?"
     "You'd teach me?!"
     "I could try... I don't know enough to make you really good at it, but
I can at least teach you the basic stuff to know..." Shayla looked up at
him with newfound admiration. This guy with silver hair must have been sent
by the gods to guide her!
     "I would love that!" She favored him with a grin, and he returned it
with his own soft smile.

~*End of Chapter Two*~

Notes: Stuff in ** is thoughts, and of course stuff in "" is spoken words. 
Kerin Siethe is NOT Kellin Siethe.
This chapter takes place five years before the prologue, where Shayla is
fifteen. 
I hope you all enjoyed it, if you're still reading it ^_^