A cliffhanger

Has anybody heard the phrase "To err is human; to arr is pirate?"
You might wonder, what in the world does that have to do with this?
Nothing.

Why did I put that joke there? Because I'm crAAAAZYYY!! Heh. But anyway, I put up a post about two days ago or so about a new story I was doing. In that post I said I'm not going to be revealing anything about it until it's finished, but I thought it'd hardly be fair to keep you guys hanging, so here's the first two chapters to make you hang even more.

Let me know if I should change something: after all, to err is human. Arr.

FRIEND OF A STRANGER (Title might be changed later on, but who knows)

Chapter 1:

No! Don't leave me! Her small hands reached in vain at the ghostly figure of her slender mother. Don't leave me here! Don't go!

The vision blurred and faded, leaving her hands groping at blackness. Fire engulfed them, burning them to shriveled pieces of flesh, yet she felt nothing. An echo of laughter sounded in her ears – cruel, high, and cold.

Dead. The strong form of her father passed before her eyes, his eyes dark and menacing. Her mother appeared to join him, her slender, lithe figure embracing that of her father's. A wreath of smoke enveloped them.

Gone.

Tanya jerked awake, tears running down her face, streaking the dirt that was already there. Mom. Dad. She gazed at her hands, feeling the fire that had burned them to ash. Fourteen years ago, her parents had perished. Murdered. She had been five years old. She barely remembered the reassuring face of her father, as he carried her out of the blazing inferno that had been their home.

“Stay here, Tanya. I'm going to get your mother. Stay here.”

He had ran back into the house. He never came back out.

She fingered the ragged, dirty dress she wore. Barely enough to cover her body, it was next to no protection against the cold, bitter winter nights.

Muslo sat right on a main trade route that ran across the border from Spain to France. As a result, hardly a day went by when it wasn't bustling with activity. At the foothills of the Pyrenees, it was a final rest stop before the long journey through the mountains; thus, the main business of the town revolved around taverns and inns.

Worse for Tanya was the fact that she was, in a word, beautiful. Her hair was a dark black from her father, but her skin a pale white from her mother. Her features were slim and delicate and her frame was thin but lithe. Her ears were also a slightly different shape than most people's, giving the contour of her face an amusing but attractive tweak.

As a result of her physical beauty, however, she tended to get much attention from the traders. Many hadn't seen a woman in weeks, and some were extremely rude in showing it. She tried to avoid the tavern areas and keep more to that of the inns and shops, but it was inevitable that she be noticed.

“Ah, señorita! Where have you been hiding all this time? Come out and say hello!”

She looked up to see a group of five men, probably guards by their outfit, beckoning to her. She winced and stood up, moving away.

“Hey, wait! Adonde vas, señorita? Are we not good enough for you?” The guards laughed and moved on.

Tanya moved on, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible but inevitably failing.

“Señorita? I will give you this coat in exchange for your company tonight!”

“Señorita, you are too pretty to be keeping the streets warm!”

“Señorita, to where are you going so fast? Help a man with his troubles!”

She shied away from all the comments directed at her, making her way to a stall whose owner often gave her scraps of food from his leftovers.

“Hello, Bjorn.” She said.

The stocky shopkeeper looked up from arranging his wares and smiled. “Ah, Tanya! Here for what I can spare?”

She nodded.

“Not much today, I'm afraid.” Bjorn handed her a small bundle. “A bit of bread and cheese is all I can give you.”

“Thank you.” Tanya took the small sack and retreated into an alleyway to enjoy her scant meal.

Left to fend for herself after her parent's death, Tanya had grown up in the streets of Muslo. She had been fortunate, however, in that her physical beauty gained her much sympathy with other people, who often gave her little gifts. An apple here, a piece of bread there. She knew nothing of the world outside, however, and only one thought kept her from laying down to die in the freezing winter nights.

I will find who killed my parents. I will find them. And they will regret what they did.

Chapter 2:

Tanya settled down in her preferred bed – a pile of rotting cloth sacks. While the sacks didn't do much against the cold wind, they did keep her from lying directly on the ground, which would have sucked the life out of her within hours had she indeed tried that. The sun was setting now, shooting rays of orange light over the rooftops like fiery beams. Tanya watched it, entranced.

What drives men to do what they do? Her mind wandered as the light began to grow fainter. What makes them kill, steal, murder, and rape? Why is there so much evil?

Her eyes grew heavy. She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard a voice nearby.

“Well boys, lookee here!” She jerked awake, sitting up. Three men were standing over her. Their breath reeked of alcohol. Wide grins were on all of their faces.

“The eeearly bird gets the worm, eh?” laughed the middle man. The other two men laughed with him.

“Except, Jose, it's late!” giggled the man on the left.

“Eh, you're hilarious, Pablo!”

“So,” said the middle one, leaning down to Tanya, “Why don't you join us tonight? I guarantee it'll be warmer than out here.” He gave her a yellow-toothed grin.

“Please no, sirs, I can't.” Tanya tried to paste herself against the wall. She had always been able to avoid situations like this in the past, but these men had caught her napping. She was trapped.

“Aw, c'mon, don't be stubborn now.” said the man, still grinning. “It'll be fun-”

He was cut off in mid-sentence by a exclamation from his companion. Tanya looked over to see a man standing in the entrance to the alley. The last rays of sunlight beamed over his shoulder, shadowing his figure.

“I would let her go,” said a soft, lilting voice, “if I were you.”

“Eh, we found 'er first,” said the one called Pablo. “Go get yer own wench.”

The stranger didn't reply, but began advancing down the alley towards them.

“'Ey, I said get yer own!” said Pablo, drawing a dagger from inside his shirt and making a stumbling rush at the approaching figure.

The stranger made no hesitation in his stride, backhanding the oncoming drunk in the face. The man was slammed against the opposite building, cracks running up the wall from the impact. He slid down, completely unconscious and minus practically all of his teeth.

Such power, in just his slap!? Tanya stared at the man openmouthed. Who is this man?

The two remaining men were now completely sober. “Hey, there was no call to do that!” The one standing over Laurel growled. “We were just having fun, and you had to ruin it!” They both rushed at the oncoming man, drawing their daggers.

The stranger seemed to move with incredible speed, dodging the first and seizing his wrist. There was an audible crack and the man's dagger went flying from his now-limp hand. The stranger open-palmed the second man in the chin, sending him flying several meters back and to his final destination, a solid stone wall that formed the back of the alley. Still holding on to the first man's wrist, the stranger hooked his foot in front of the man's right leg and tripped him, shoving him at the same time. The man's momentum propelled him forward and down, and he kissed the pavement. Hard.

Tanya stared in shock at the easy grace in which the stranger dismantled the traders. “H – how?”

The last rays of sunlight disappeared over the rooftops, revealing the man. He was tall and lithe, clothed in a dark gray shirt and pants that had rough fir lining. A hood obscured his face and he wore two leather gauntlets on his forearms that had three curious, hooked projections coming out of each. A long but slender sword hung at his side.

“What is your name?”

Tanya jerked out of her semi-trance. “T-Tanya.”

“And your parents?”

She hesitated. “Dead.”

The man was silent for a minute. “Come with me.” He finally said.

Tanya hesitated. “I will not hurt you.” He said softly.

She got up. The man turned and headed out of the alley. She tentatively followed. He led her down the street to a quiet inn near the northern gate. They ascended to the second floor and entered a small room. Two small beds, on opposite sides of the room, were there placed. A small window looked out onto the street.

“Take these.” the man said. He handed Tanya a bundle of clothes and gestured to a curtained section of the room. “Put them on.”

Tanya took them and walked over to the enclosed section. “Do you have a name?” She asked before entering it.

“Tosen.” Replied the man.

When Tanya finished dressing, she felt much more comfortable. The man – Tosen – had given her a pair of loose brown leggings and light leather boots. She wore a dark green shirt with a slim leather vest over it, and over all of that was hung a short brown cape with a hood.

“That bed is yours.” Tanya looked over to see Tosen pointing at the small bed nearest the window.

“Um...thank you.” Tanya walked over to it. A simple affair – just a straw mattress with blanket and small pillow, it was nonetheless luxurious to her. She sat down, marveling at how soft it felt in comparison to her rough bed in the alley.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

Tosen, who was sorting through a pack, looked up. He hesitated, then put the bag down.

“People of the same kin should help each other whenever possible.” he replied.

“I don't know you. I've never met you before in my life. How would you know me?” Tanya asked.

“When did your parents die?” Tosen said.

Tanya paused, put off by the random question. “When I was five.”

“And what did you know then?”

Tanya wasn't exactly sure where this conversation was leading. “What do five year olds normally know? All I remember is my mother telling me fairy tales to put me to sleep at night.”

“What kind of fairy tales?”

Tanya was starting to get a little confused. “Er, about leprechauns and rainbows, elves and dwarves, demons and spirits and the like.”

Tosen reached up and removed his hood. Tanya couldn't help but stare at the face that was revealed.

He had white hair that fell down to his shoulders. His features were slim and handsome. His eyes were black, and his ears...were slender and pointed.

Tanya felt her hand reach up to her own slightly pointed ears.

“You and I are of the same race.” Tosen said. “We are elves.”