Hayden and Rill had reunited almost five hours ago. They had already exited the forest and had been walking for miles over plains with the valley Palinthar was located in. The sun was close to setting.

            “Race ya!” shouted Rill as he ran forward. Hayden punched it and proved his title as the fastest in Palinthar. Racing past Rill was simple. He sprinted ahead and reached the village first, pausing as he was only slightly out of breath. Rill finally caught up, panting heavily and placing his hands on his knees.

            “Your fast…” panted Rill. After Rill caught his breath, they began walking towards the center of town. The noises of the town were very comforting to Hayden. He listened to the blacksmith’s hammer smash down on heated metal and the hammering of a nail as a man worked on shingling his roof. As Rill and he walked along they began to talk.

            “So, who are you gonna ask to the big celebration?” asked Rill, still breathing heavily.

            “I don’t know, I forgot all about it,” replied Hayden, feeling like a fool, forgetting about the biggest celebration in Palinthar. There would be a feast, music, and dancing. The thing Hayden liked the most was the bon-fire that was always made.

            “Forgot?! You forgot?! How can you forget about it?!” said Rill in bewilderment, “Well, Lori has been giving you a few winks hasn’t she?”

            “Who hasn’t though?” inquired Hayden with a broad grin.

            “Good point, every girl winks at you…lucky,” replied Rill, though the last part was under his breath. Hayden laughed at that last bit and stopped walking; they stood in front of Rill’s home.

            “I’ll see you tomorrow Rill,” said Hayden to Rill.

            “As always, bye Hayden,” replied Rill, entering his house. Hayden continued walking, noticing there was a bit of excitement in the center of Palinthar. As he reached the center of town he noticed several people talking to a man, woman, and girl gathered around a caravan. One of his other friends was watching from a distance with a smile.

            “Thomas, what’s going on?” asked Hayden of Thomas.

            “These people are moving into Palinthar, that girl is a looker too Hayden” replied Thomas quietly. Hayden gave Thomas a strange look then took another look at the girl near her parents. Thomas was right, she was beautiful, and her face was perfectly shaped and framed by long and beautiful dark brown hair. She wore a common dress but it did not seem to suit her. She stood tall with her arms crossed, seeming to command with her very presence. Hayden caught her eye and smiled, she stared a moment then looked away. Hayden took the initiative and approached her.

            “Hello milady!” said Hayden as he approached the girl. She took on an alarmed look and pose.

            “Hello,” she said quietly when he stopped in front of her, “Any…reason you called me milady?” she asked, still looking slightly alarmed.

“Many girls find it very charming,” Hayden said bluntly. Her stance became relaxed once more and her eyes became cold.

“Fascinating,” she replied coldly.

            “Can I take you for a look around the town?” asked Hayden, his chest swelling with hope.

            “I believe I have something to do,” replied the girl.

“I didn’t happen to catch your name,” Hayden said with a smile.

“It’s…Rin,” she replied quietly, then stepped towards the caravan.

“I’m Hayden,” he said quite loudly, hoping she heard. He found it strange; most girls fell to his charm. He would have to work a bit at this one. He decided it was a good time to head home. Saying his goodbyes to Thomas he began to walk towards the edge of town. His home was located a bit away from the town, it was a farm actually. By the time he reached the farm the sun had set. He found his brother, Reil, and his mother, Evelyn, eating a dinner of deer meat. Reil was a tall stout fellow while Evelyn was slim, tall, and beautiful.

            “There’s the mighty hunter! How goes it deer slayer?” laughed Reil. He was mocking Hayden for refusing to kill his dinner. Hayden wandered around the kitchen beginning to make a salad of sorts.

            “Cut it out Reil, I just can’t stand killing,” replied Hayden, a look of disgust on his face.

            “I understand, I feel the same,” said Evelyn serenely.

            “Eh, I had to go get dinner last week and I’ll probably do it again this week…” said Reil, staring at Hayden. Hayden finished making his salad and sat down. He ate quickly and left for bed. His room didn’t have much decoration, a bed, a chest at the foot of his bed, a cupboard used to store clothes and items of value. After he stripped down to nothing but his small-clothes he laid down in bed and immediately drifted off to sleep.

            Hayden awoke with the rise of the sun; he dressed quickly and had a breakfast of bread and fresh milk, Reil joined him shortly and ate with him quietly. While he and Reil bickered with each other, it did not defeat the fact that they had a brotherly love. Then he and Reil went outside as they had chores to attend to. Hayden entered the barn, milked their only cow, Bessie, took their only horse, Ingar, out and worked him a little while Reil worked in the fields. Hayden then attended to feeding Ingar and Bessie. Afterwards he began to toil in the fields with Reil. After a few hours of hard work and sweat they both felt tired and finally headed in. The day had gone from being cool and breezy in the morning to hot and dry. Hayden was used to this system, it happened almost every day except in winter, where it was necessary to chop wood….