The heat and smoke from the fire stung my eyes as I added more kindling. "Careful!" The gruff voice of my father warned when I got too close. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought." I replied, closing the stove door and standing up. The village was preparing for the return of its men from the war. We had very little, but it did not stop us all from feasting on a night of celebration. The pot on the stove was releasing the smell of a good night, and honestly I was super happy for the return of my elder sister.

Normally women don't go to war, but Cecile was different. She was strong and kind, although she took after our mom much more than I did. Her hair was straight and jet black while mine was somewhere between blonde and brown, her nose was slightly crooked from breaking it in a fight with boys as a child. I remembered her coming home all bloodied, her emerald eyes seemed to almost burn with her victory over him. She always compared me to a deer, and I always compared her to a panther. My large brown eyes and frizzy hair always reminded me more of a squirrel, but I did keep a little deer charm she carved for me always tied around my neck.

Needless to say, my sister was my hero, and after my mother left to work in the large city nearby, she did most of the raising of me. I hurried off to wash up before her arrival and before my father could ask anything else of me. I loved him, but he is a very nervous man, and lost his legs in a horrible accident years ago, so he relies on the help of me, and his familiar, Nalya. 

I rushed out the front door of our little shop and up the stairs leading up to the small apartment above it. Truly there were two apartments, but we used the other one as a rental space for people who stay longer than would be normal for a visit to the inn. Our current renter was a mysterious man who I've only seen once. Father invites him to dinner, but he always refuses. We never hear any weird noises from the rental apartment though, so I suppose thats good.

When I reached my room, which was truly a closet with a small matress and a few shelves for my clothes, I grabbed my best dress and rushed to the bathroom. This dress was sent back to me from my mother in the city, and it was specifically for tonight, she said that she couldn't come home, for she was needed dearly at her client's home. She, like my father, wields magic, and her magic is known all around the area to be healing, her familiar is an old grump of a tortoise and has been passed down in our family since her grandmother was a child. 

I pulled on the beautiful dress, having the end of it's skirt hit midcalf. It was a lovely lilac shade, and had beautiful embroidery of flowers and vines all along the top. It was downright the most beautiful thing I owned, and had a charm on it that altered its fit to suit me perfectly, no doubt added by a skillful seemsteress. I pulled my tangled hair out of it's braid, and brushed through it, But no matter how I tried to style it, it never looked good enough, so I just huffed and rebraided it, adding a pretty purple ribbon to tie it. 

"Edith!" yelled a familiar raspy voice, I looked over to the window to see the annoyed eyes of Nalya staring at me, her feathers were all bushed up and she looked like she had been put to work at the stove where I had previously been. "Yes?" I answered shakily. "It's almost time for the soldiers to come back, now you can either help your father into his best clothes or you can go with all the other young ladies and set up the floating flowers." 

I detested charming flowers to float, I actually detested killing any plant, see, they spoke to me, and flowers were the worst. Flowers always asked to please not chop their heads off. "I'll help dress father!" I said quickly, rushing up and grabbing his best clothes from the drawer next to his bed. His best clothes, like mine, were a gift from my mother, the shirt was starch white and the vest was made out of the same cloth as my dress, even the pants were perfect, made of a darker violet color, and stopping right above the knee to not get caught in the gears of his prosthetics. 

In my  hurry to rush back down to the shop I bumped into our mysterious renter. He'd       always keep his face blank and expressionless, but when I bumped into him his golden eyes met mine with a look of surprise. He looked like he had grown up in the desert, his skin was tan and his hair was brown with sun-bleached blonde ends curling under his ears and into the collar of his worn looking shirt. "Sorry, just bringing these to my father." I offered sheerfully, hoping to start a conversation. Unlike my sister, who naturally attracted people to her, I always approached people, not having as large a presence as her.

"Ah, no worries." he responded, despite his rough appearance his voice was smooth, like a singer's almost. "Great! How are you enjoying your stay?" I asked. He looked almost uncomfortable when I asked. "Oh no, is something not working right?" Becoming worried, I quickly nodded my head in apology. "No, no problem at all, I was actually going to leave tomorrow and wanted to know where the rent went." he said, speaking probably the most words that I will ever hear from him.

"Just knock on our door before you leave and pay, we'll return your identification papers." The look of relief on his face made me wonder "Are you uncomfortable without your papers?" I asked. "Well, I grew up in a place that was not well documented, so I like to keep mine with me." he responded, scratching the top of his ear, looking closer they were slightly pointed, and he had several piercings made of bone lined up to the tip from his lobe. "Oh, well if you want to pay us now I can get you your papers?" Before he had time to respond, Nalya swooped into the window of the small hallway and glared at me. "Edith! Your father!" she yelled, her beak was practically flinging the words at me. she then adjusted her stance, and bowed at the renter. "Well, I need to get these to my father and prepare for the party tonight, My name's Edith if you need anything" I told him, He smiled politely and only said: "Dune" before nodding at me and entering the apartment.