Bird Omens

On the bushy hills of Tagon-shire，a red-haired maiden sat with a letter in her hands. The first thing anyone would notice about her is her beauty. Indeed，Katelyn Windsby was the fairest young lady in the whole of Tagon-shire， some say even beyond. She was often praised for her eyes. They were large and bright， like two twinkling stars， and perfectly brown. The pair of eyes most young men of Tagon-shire would die for， however， were gazing upon the the yellowing pages of the letter with all the love and affection you can find in a young woman.

‘Kat! There you are! Goodness, I looked everywhere!’

Katelyn looked up from the letter, and saw her little sister Beatrice’s head bob up from the edge of the hill. She was tall for a ten-year-old, sun-tanned,skinny, freckled, her curly red hair cut short--a terrible suggestion made by her swordsmaster. Unlike Katelyn, Beatrice was no beauty. She was even boy-like at first sight. But she has no need for prettiness, thought Katelyn, her path is differnt from the other daughters of the Windsby house.

‘What’ve you got there?’ Beatrice pointed her chin at the letter.

‘None of your buisness.’ Katelyn snapped, stuffing the letter into her pocket.

‘Well, my buisness is to tell you to get back home, the quicker the better.’ Beatrice lowered her voice,‘The duke’s here.’

Beatrice blew a loud whistle, and a large double-headed bird came bounding out of nowhere.

’Bea! How many times have I told you to get rid of that thing!What will people think of you if !′ Katelyn took a step back, watching the bird bury both of its dark red heads into Beatrice’s arms.

‘Beaker’s not a thing.’ Beatrice gave Katelyn a hard stare, then added,‘And he’s perfectly tame.’

‘Tame?’ Katelyn snorted, pointing at the scratch marks and teeth prints all over Beatrice,‘You call that tame?’

‘Well, for a double-headed falcon, he is.’ Beatrice mounted on the bird,‘You coming or not?’

‘I’m not riding that thing.’

’Suit yourself then.’And off she flew.

Katelyn watched her little sister disappear into the woods, and started to walk down the hill. She had tied her pony to a tree at the edge of the forest.

‘Hi, Mist.’ Katelyn patted her dapple grey mare before jumping onto it’s back.

Katelyn loved the ride through the forest. There were no beasts or any other danger--well, apart from the falcon Beatrice found and brought home two summers ago. All was very quiet and peaceful, sunlight shattered by the leaves, providing just the right shade of coolness and light. Sometimes she would stumble upon berry bushes, and she would pick the ripe ones to bring home to their cook. Then they could eat berry pie for dessert at night. Mushrooms were everywhere, but she dare not pick them. Her cousin, Kelly Frening, had died from mushroom posion. Maybe she will spot a deer today. Deers bring good luck.

The Windsby’s tiny castle stood at the other edge of the forest, next to the town of Tagon-shire. Katelyn’s father was a baron, the nephew of an unmarried knight who died in service of the late king. But of course, he had no real power, and most of his belongings, including the castle, belonged to the king. In fact, all he actually ownedwas just a library of romance and a terrible desire for wine and opium. Due to this, they were poor. Very, very poor.

Katelyn straightened her dress, and pushed the doors open.

The duke Edmund Prancer, brother of the king George Ⅴ himself, was smoking on a cushioned wooden chair. He smiled as he saw Katelyn, not pausing on his speech to her father. They seemed to be talking about The Great Hunger. Katelyn heard the duke assure the baron that this would all be over soon. Then they would all be able to tax the farmers again.If the duke had taught her anything, it was that money and power was all a man desired. As for love and mercy, they are what we call the softer feelings, he had said. Then he chuckled, scratched his half-bald head, and admitted that he indeed was too soft. There was something in his eyes as he said those words, something Katelyn didn’t quite understand.

And Katelyn was also confued with how her father was treating the duke. He was already banished to the coastal areas of Elgard, so they say, not likely to ever regain his full powers. Why was her father still so flattery towards him?

After Katelyn bathed and dressed , she went down for dinner. The duke sat next to her as usual. Katelyn ate as fast and as quiet as she could, trying to ignore the loud sniggers her elder sister Estella hadn’t bothered to hide. She and Estella looked alike, both famous for their beauty and long curly red hair, but Estella had higher cheek bones and always wore a haughty expression.

After they had eaten, the baron called Katelyn to his study.

‘The duke fancies you, you know.’ Baron Marcus Windsby said to Katelyn as he lit a pipe.

Katelyn didn’t speak. She didn’t know if this was one of the situations in which it was better to remain silent. Maybe her father had paused just for the sake of pausing.

‘Do you know why the duke is banished?’ The old man asked again in a wheezy voice. Her father seemed to have grown old far quicker than Katelyn had expected, for at the age of forty-five he was nearing the looks of a seventy year old. Or maybe it was the drugs.

′ No.′ She answered.

‘I’ll tell you.’ The baron paused again, this time a shorter pause, then went on,‘Because of water. Now, as you may or may not know, Avestonia, as the country of deserts, lacks nothing but water. They have a saying,water has something that gold cannot buy-life. So water is extremly expensive, especially in parts of the deep desert. Apart from their own greenlands Eun-Kra and Telka, the only source of water is their neighbor, Elgard. Us. ’

Avestonia. Of course Katelyn knew of Avestonia, better than her father had imagined. But this is her secret, and if the duke insists on his fancing of her, it will become one she must carry into her grave.

’And that’s what the duke is in charge of, selling water to the birdies.’The baron noticed Katelyn’s flinch as he said the word ‘birdie’,‘What’s the matter?’

‘Nothing.’

‘So, the duke, kind man as he is, reckoned that he should cut down the water prices in these hard times. You know, the whole world suffers from The Great Hunger, star above guide us.Because of that, the king cannot tax the poor farmers too hard for fear of rebellion, and the only way the royals can make some real money is by selling water. So, when our duke cuts down the water prices, well, the king gets angry. So the duke gets banished.’

Katelyn nodded, not sure why her father had said so much. Our duke, she thought. The duke’s a good one at talking and winning hearts. My father’s not a man easily bought. I wonder what the duke promised him?