I had been sitting in my bed when the group of people my Uncle hired came in. I heard them downstairs stomping around, and any other time I would have chuckled to myself about how disrespectful they were being. But, my leg hurt like crazy.

  I should probably start over. My name is Rosy. No last name, just Rosy. I’ve been training to become a guard for the past few years; my passion has always been swordplay, and I’ve gotten pretty skilled. My Uncle, the Elder of Rune Hearth, took me in after my parents died on a hunting trip. I was pretty young, so I don’t really remember them. They were outsiders, coming from a place where your last name was only known to family, a sacred word that gives you strength. I wasn’t old enough to know mine yet, so I just don’t have a last name. Doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. My parents had stayed at Rune Hearth quite a bit, so they were well known and well trusted. It was a bit of a shock to everyone when they died on that hunt.

  Enough about those old windbags though. Time to talk about the monsters, and the reason I’m stuck in bed (or supposed to be). Yesterday, a group of my friends had trekked out on their own into the forest. Already quite ill-advised, but they ended up past the relatively safe areas of the forest and made their way to the edge of the woods. Right at the edge of the deep woods. Sure enough, they found trouble.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Breaking through into a clearing, I came across three of my friends cornered against a tree, a lion-like beast with a roughly human head cackling in a low voice that sounded as if it hadn’t been used in some time. I burst through the trees. The sun reflected off of my blade, a masterpiece I had bought from a merchant, so that it seemed almost icy.

  In the early morning cold, frost seemed to have formed on the trees, adding razor-sharp ice everywhere. I made it to the creature in an instant, swinging my blade clean through the monster’s wing. Oh did I mention it has wings? And spines? It knocked me back before I could plunge my blade into its chest. I took the opportunity and grabbed my friends, dragging them off.

  It was only once we were halfway to town that my rage against the monster that DARED to attack my friends had cooled. I was downright icy. So much so that I hadn’t realized I had a giant spine embedded in my leg. I only actually noticed once my friends started urgently telling me to look down.

  It didn’t hurt that much actually, so I just decided to power through until we reached Rune Hearth. You know, now that I think about it, I might have been cursed. My nerves should probably tell me when I’ve been stabbed clean through my leg, but meh. I decided to deal with it later. Of course, everybody flocked toward me and tried to carry me away to the medical tent. They took my sword and my armor, now with a large thigh-length hole.

  So, by now, my leg was starting to really hurt. With my request, I was taken back to my Uncle’s house. A few days later, here we are.

  “Can you help me slay the beast?”

  “Sure.”

  “ABSO-FREAKEN-LUTELY!”

  “Ok.”

  “…”

  “Yes!”

  With that settled, my only source of entertainment left the house, leaving me to hobble back to my bed before I got berated for being up.