"It's really a great day, today, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it has never been so sunny here!"

"I think that I'll go for a walk today, care to join me?"

"I don't know..."

"Oh, come on, Doireann! With this sun, the kids will probably play for the entire day, you don't have anything to worry abo-"

"Shhhh, Dearbhla..." The other woman suddenly silenced her.

"What, Doireann?"

"Look at Nuala..." The woman pointed at a blond woman coming towards them. "That dress..."

"It's amazing! I have never seen something so beautiful!" The two women immediately rushed at her with excitement. "Nuala! Where did you get this dress? It's amazing!"

"Yeah, what is it made of? Linen? Wool? Come on, tell us!"

"Dearbhla, Doireann, please calm down... this is a dress that my husband brought home from the war frontier with the Romans..."

"Oh, so lucky! All our husbands bring back from war is riches for themselves! They never ever think about us! While yours risked his life just to bring back a traditional roman dress for yo-"

"It's not a traditional roman dress!" An acute voice coming from behind the blond woman exclaimed, instantly interrupting the excitement of the two other women. "It's a traditional greek chiton! You probably don't know it because you two are ignorant woman that only know about and wear dirty bog dresses! You're nowhere like my beautiful mother!"

"Artair!" Hearing those words and recognizing the voice, the blond woman instantly shouted, angry, turning behind and picking up the little boy that had just exclaimed by his short tunic. "What the hell do you think you are doing?! I didn't taught you to be so disrespectful! Apologize to Dearbhla and Doireann right now!"

"Mother... please calm down... you're not as beautiful as always if you get this angry!"

"You little rascal!" The blond woman instantly made to hit the little boy, but this quickly slipped out of his tunic and ran away.

"Haha, mother, you are too slow! You can't hit me!" The little kid, now shirtless, continued to run away, occasionally turning his head behind just to look at his mother's angry expression and to stick his tongue out at her.

"You... at least wear your tunic or you'll catch a cold!"

"No, I don't want to, haha!" And just like that, he disappeared into the busy and lively streets of the village.

"Sigh... this boy! Will he ever learn education for Brigid's sake?!"

"Nuala, calm down... he's just a kid after all..." One of the two other women returned to speak, trying to calm the blond woman down.

"He has yet to undergo the ritual, right?" The other woman then suddenly asked.

"Yes... he has..." The blond woman replied, looking somewhat more calm than before, but strangely even a little bit worried now. "But by how he is behaving, I fear that he's not going to get blessed by any god..."

"You worry too much, Nuala!"

"Yeah, your husband was as much of a scoundrel as little Artair, and look at who blessed him! Smertrios, a major god of war!"

"Yeah... maybe you two are right... I shouldn't worry so much..."

...

In the evening, inside a small wooden roundhouse...

"Achoo!"

"Sigh... Artair... I told you that you would catch a cold! Why do you never listen to me?!" The blond woman said, quite angry, but despite this, still attending with love to his now-sick son.

"Yeah, mom... achoo!" The little Artair sneezed, "I-I'll listen to y-you from now on..."

"You've said that a lot of times already..." The mother smiled, then putting a wet cloth on his forehead.

"Sigh... I wonder if you'll ever grow up..."

"Mom... I am already big..."

"Yeah... yeah... want me to read you the Hyperborea tale?"

"Yes!"

"See, you're still just a little kid!" The mother chuckled at his word and now excited expression, "Wanting me to read you fairy tales even at such an age!"

"Mom! I... achoo... am not... a-a-a-achoo... a little kid!"

"Just lay down on the bed, Artair... don't get up! Your cold is getting worse... I'll start reading you the Hyperborea tale now!"

"Yes!"

"Okay... so..." The mother took the book on the near wooden table and opened it: "Once upon a time..."

"There was a young man named Fionn..."

"He was the king of the Hyperboreans, a civilisation that lived in peace in the outmost north of the world."

"One day, while he was taking one of his usual walks just outside of his castle, he heard a strange sound, something that seemed like a squealing, coming from the bushes of the surrounding white forest..."

"Startled, with great courage, he went to look at what that was, only to find a girl being attacked by a thur!"

"Fionn, fearing for the girl's life, immediately unseathed the regal sword on his waist and swifly killed the monster."

"-Are you all right?- Fionn, after killing the monster, instantly asked to the girl."

"But, strangely, she didn't respond."

"Fionn found this quite strange, but didn't think much about it, it could have been that she was still scared from the encounter with the thur, he thought."

"But there was something else that he found strange apart from her not saying anything, and this time, he couldn't not think about it. Her skin... it wasn't white as snow like his or the rest of the Hyperboreans... it was... pink. He had never seen someone like her in his entire life."

"-Ehm... I know that I might sound a little bit unappropriate, but can I at least ask you where are you from? Because you don't look from here...- Fionn asked to her, this time hoping to get some answers, but, again, nothing..."

"-Wait! Could it be that you don't understand what I am saying?- Fionn suddenly realized. -So you are from somewhere else... but where? Isn't there only sea outside Hyperborea?-"

"-Could it be that she's from one of the other Nine Worl- Fionn's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the girl getting up and walking towards him."

"She- Oh!"

~Ronf~

~Ronf~

~Ronf~

"Looks like Artair is already asleep..."

"He must have played a lot today... I usually read him more of the story before he falls asleep..."

The mother kissed Artair in the forehead. "Good night, my little Artair..."

Then, she got up from Artair's bed, turned off the torch illuminating his room and left this.

"I hope at least you will be able to live without having to experience war..."

...to be continued.

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Hi, I'm the author, how was the first chapter of my first novel? Hope you liked it.

Please give me your feedback, I want to improve as much as possible (Also, english is not my first language).