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@anne_the_noob14

Oooh! 😀

Haha, that’s actually really funny, because I wrote a short story about Kiet related to that. Here’s the snippet that starts off chapter one (not the finished version, but it’s the edition that’s in the works)(sorry, it’s kinda long):

My first thought when the bandits attacked was, I should have had a plan for this.

The flat maple and oak forests of Aimoni, just beginning to show hints of autumn, had transitioned to the pine-covered hills and mountains of Cresba long ago. Mr. Worth, the driver, judged we were nearing the end of our journey. I let myself relax then. I should have known better.

We were passing between a fir forest and a high hill piled with boulders when they jumped out. Three men shrouded in dark cloaks. Three of us, too—but Mama was little good in a fight. If only Papa were here, I thought. Then I shook my head. If Papa were still alive, we wouldn’t be here in the first place.

Our horse whinnied and danced back as the men approached, drawing blades from their belts as they did so. Mr. Worth pulled his short dagger and held it out stiffly.

“Who goes there?” he demanded, his voice shaking. The men continued walking silently. Without taking his eyes off them, he said, “Grace, Mrs. Hammond, get in the back.”

I didn’t see what good it would do, but I took Mama’s trembling hand and pulled her back with me. She pulled a blanket tightly over herself and cowered against the side of the wagon.

I dug around in our things in hopes of finding a blade of some sort but met with no such luck. I glanced back to the front. Mr. Worth wasn’t faring well. Within moments, they overpowered him and had him bound by the side of the road.
There was little use in fighting, I realized. If I tried to do anything, the best I would get was an injury. Probably worse.

I lifted my chin and swung over the side of the wagon. “Take what you want and let us go on our way,” I said.

The leader shook his head and snorted. “We’ll do what we want, girl.”

Before long, Mama and I joined Mr. Worth by the roadside as the bandits rifled through what little lay in the wagon. A dog barked in the distance. Mama moaned softly and rocked back and forth.

The blood rushed up to my cheeks. They had to go and make her even worse.

After a few minutes, the leader turned away in disgust with a small sack bulging over his shoulder.

“What do we do with them?” one of the other bandits asked.

The leader grunted. “With this kind of spoil, do you really think we’ll get any kind of ransom off them? Kill them.”

Mama let out a shriek as the two men approached with blades drawn. I pushed in front of her and gave the men a burning glare. They ignored me. One grabbed my neck and forced my chin up as he brought his knife close.

Suddenly, he lost his grip on me with a shout. I glanced down sharply just in time to see a rock the size of my fist hit the ground. The bandit groaned and rubbed the side of his head fiercely, then darted his gaze around in search of the culprit. As soon as he looked to the left, a hand shot out from the right and snatched the blade from his hand.

“Looking for this?” A boy with a shock of reddish-blond hair stood to the side, his head cocked as he displayed the blade. The bandit growled and lunged after him, but he stuck the knife into the belt over his tunic and raced back up the hillside behind me with a laugh.

Meanwhile, another boy with a mess of blond hair like mine sprang from the boulders and went after the second man. A dog the size of a pony bounded out toward the leader. The red-haired boy swung back around and sawed rapidly through the rope around Mr. Worth’s wrists in the seconds before the bandit caught up with him.

“Stand your ground!” the leader barked, jumping up onto the wagon out of reach of the dog’s jaws. “Are you going to let a couple of foolish boys stop you? Kill them!”

Suddenly, just as the bandit that tried to kill me neared the knife thief, another figure leapt out of the shadows and landed on his huge shoulders. The man cried out in surprise and tried to throw him off, but he held firm.

This third boy directed vivid green eyes shaped almost like a cat’s at the leader. The man suddenly went pale.

“Sirakani,” he murmured. Then he raised his voice as he vaulted himself over the other side of the wagon into the forest. “Run!”

The man the blond boy was fighting took one look at the boy on his comrade’s shoulders and took off. The last bandit finally managed to throw the slightly built boy, who landed, crouching, on his feet. After sighting his assailant, the man turned tail and followed his fellow bandits into the pine forest .

With the bandits gone, I glanced at the three boys. There was no telling if their intentions were good or if they were simply hoping to take a theft into their own hands. The blond boy mopped his forehead with his long sleeve while the redhead rose with a grin. The third one caught my attention most, though. He drew himself up and pushed his black hair out of his eyes. Walking over to me, he took the knife from the first boy and bent down beside me. I flinched, but he simply cut through the ropes on my wrists and helped me up.

“Mijawa kowa?” he asked.

“Oh—I don’t speak Aboreil,” I said. Mama had never bothered to teach me the native language of Cresba.

“I’m sorry!” the boy said, blushing. He had an accent like a pile of leaves—thick, but light in its nature. “I asked if you were all right.”

“Ah. Yes. Thank you.”

The boy cut Mama free, then grinned as the dog came up behind him and licked him on the cheek. He scratched it behind the ear. “Good girl, Kalani,” he said.

He seemed suddenly far less threatening than he had a second ago. The blond boy turned to him.

“Nice shot with that rock, Kiet,” he said.

The boy blushed again. “I’m not as good at that as I used to be.”

“Hey, it was great!” the redhead said, strutting up. “Completely threw him off. Now, personally, I’m pretty happy with that knife maneuver.”

“Yes, Tai, you were magnificent,” the blond said dryly. He smiled at us. “Anyway, I’m Dari. Don’t mind this one. He’s a chore to look after.”

“Hey!” Tai pounced on him.

Before things got too out of hand, I interrupted. “Dari—Kioko?”

“Yes. And I’m guessing you two are Grace and Aunt Elisa?”