"AAAARRRGGGHHHHYYY!!! HELP!!! PLEASE  SA…!" Came numerous groans from the mounted pile of flailing corpses that wrangled themselves like a deranged human knot. My eyes jutted wide with unyielding fear as I crouched behind the wreckage of the bunt wall watching the nearby bandits enclosing the downed peoples and with a laugh all of the groans, yells, screams and causes came to halt followed by the hearty chuckling of the rogue group. My nails pierced my skin as I watched my father get flayed like cattle and my younger sister and mother dragged by chains with the rest of the women.

My whole body tensed up, fighting my tears so as to not give away my position to the bandits that had found enjoyment in killing all of the other men. I could cry and complain all I wanted to but I knew that this was how the world worked… how nature worked.

.*.*.*.

The birds outside whistled with grace as my eyelids fluttered open, hearing the noise of wood being run on thumped in my mind as my little sister who had only now learnt to speak creaked open my bedroom door with her usual happiness displayed across her childish face. 

Raising myself up I asked, "Did mother tell you to wake me up?"

My sister giggled in response, "Mama tell me!" and with that closed the door and ran off as the sounds of thumps diminished. Lifting myself from my bed I yawned, stretched and clothed myself in my casual tunic that my dad had bought for me on my 9th birthday which had been a few weeks ago. It meant everything to me. Then I opened my door and began walking through the small hall which led to our small kitchen. My mother was standing up against the stone stove eating porridge with bread. Looking at the table I saw my younger sister ravaging every last bit of porridge. Then following her lead I sat down on the only chair remaining and began to finish up my porridge.

  Whilst in the moment of taking my 7th bite my mom's voice rang out, "You'll have to take out the sheep today my dear, Your father is the proctor for the hunter exam and will have no time to take the sheep out."

"Alright" I begrudged.

  I should've expected it, although already used to doing stuff like this it was simply annoying as I couldn't stand doing the same exact thing the whole day, my mind would crave anything more than having to watch over the sheep and hope with all my heart that one sheep wouldn't go missing. As if one went missing; mother would nag me till death. Placing my empty bowl inside I trudged to get my shoes on and opened the door after saying bye to my mother and little sister. The warmness of the sun seared over me as the cool winds leveled the temperature. Stepping fully out of the house I walked towards the big pen  we had to the side of our house, grabbing the only herding stick we had. After so I waked over and unlatched the gate and whacked my wooden stick against the ground alerting the calm sheep to get a move on. 

Conducting them towards one of the good grazing spots near the village I sat against a nearby tree while keeping my eyes on the grazing sheep enjoying their short lived freedom for the day. 

Glancing down at the village from the grassy hill I had conducted the sheep to, I could see the people moving about the dirt roads. Some traveled the village on horses whilst some on foot. And others entering small shops or food stands. Everyone around the village knew each other somewhat, it's something that happens when one lives in a small village; the community strengthens.

After a few hours of counting the sheep every 10 minutes, cloud watching and playing around with nearby sticks I found on the ground I looked up to the sky and noticed that it was time to go back home (The sun was halfway through the sky which shows midday). After counting the sheep just in case one accidentally left after rounding them up I guided them back down the hill that over viewed the whole village and back into their pen. Latching the wooden pen with all of the fed sheep inside I walked towards the house and placed the herding stick against it. Then I opened the door and stepped into the house looking out for my sister that would run towards me like a stampeding bull, but I wasn't ready for that as I was already tired from sitting down in the heat for half of the day that I'd rather go rest and read.

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Snatching myself some remaining fruit from the table I went to my room and sat down on my new crafted chair my dad had spent some time making. Then I opened up my leather bound journal and began flipping through the pages looking at all of the information displayed. Different animal and plant names flashed with sketches underneath them. I had filled this out on my own in hopes of becoming a hunter. My dad had told me that as soon as I filled out the journal with all of the information needed for hunting he'd begin to train me. I couldn't wait as I could join the rest of the village kids hunting as well. I had seen them hunting from a distance whilst outside with the sheep these past few days and lamented that I had not filled out my journal. Their roars of laughter as one of them shot a bird out of the sky by pure luck with their bow and seeing such a thing had only enticed me more. Sighing, I closed my book after writing some information on a poisonous plant I had investigated during my free time yesterday. Then I left for the outdoors, Father had said that going outside was good for you so knowing my father to be correct I wandered the village saying hi to the others who all ran the stalls and walked the streets. 

I wish that Jones was free to play around outside. Alas, he was helping his father with the fields, they needed to get a good crop this year because they are already near complete poorness. Boredom clouded my mind as my thoughts wandered to go on a mini adventure around the village. They were fun to do and even more fun with Jones. Quickly running home I ran inside and leaned over the wooden chair whilst huffing and puffing.

"Mommmm!" my exhausted voice rang out.

"Yes?" My mother's confused voice sounded from upstairs.

"Can I go on an adventure? It'll be around the village." then waiting a moment for my reply to set in I continued "I'll be extra safe and return my dinner!"

"Alright but don't go out too far. You wouldn't want to be eaten by a wild animal now would you?"

"Yes mother!" I enthusiastically replied.

With a vigorous enthusiasm I ran out the door, weaving the village stalls and homes until I reached its outskirts. Catching my breath I looked up at the sun. It seemed to be a few hours past midday but I'd be fine. I then left towards the forest path that would bring me towards the ocean where I'd explore the beach, swim or build something out of sand. Although it would be fun; having Jones here would be better. The path was of gravel and dirt whilst the trees were multiple ranges of sizes, on my way I randomly picked up a stick that looked like a sword and played around with it until I smelled the open ocean winds and the shrill cries of the birds overhead enjoying the cool breeze.

Throwing the sword shaped stick aside I ran towards the leafy opening to where I could see the beginnings of the beach from the small sand grains that trickled onto the moist soil. Letting out a small laugh I quickly ran out into the open ocean drenching myself fully clothed. Laughing at my predicament I quickly ran back onto the beach to hang all of my clothes out on an overhanging tree which after so I ran into the wave lapped ocean completely bare of any clothes. 

The salty water sprayed and splashed around me as I submerged myself. Struggling to keep my eyes open underwater because of the salt in it I resurfaced and in the process accidentally splashed water right in front of me sending a blinding splash of salt water that zoomed into my upper eyelid stealing my vision for a decent while. Whilst walking back onto the beach for a small break I managed to regain my vision and went back into the water swimming with a hum trying to stay as close to shore as possible. As I stopped my playful splashing around I coincidentally heard a small rustle in the trees behind the sand in the direction of the forest. My heart pumped up with a ridiculous speed. Silently, I stood in motion with only the sounds of waves crashing against the nearby rocks to hear any rustling sounds but there were no more. And as I was about to give up something out of the ordinary had managed to catch my eye.