Chapter 1

It is the Dark Ages. The Roman Empire has fallen to the Huns centuries ago. After all the power of Rome dissolved there was a mad scramble by warriors to set up their own serfs and establish their own little kingdoms. Battles broke out over the small lands with the strongest winning. Within one hundred years these serfs had large stone walled castles mostly with moats surrounding them. These kings took advantage of the serfs heavily taxing them to the point they were left with a mere pittance to barely survive for another year. Then men with higher ambitions started swallowing up the smaller less fortified resulting these men to attempt to unite as much land and people under one central governing authority. A few resisted to be over run as larger armies began to take from in their conquests.

Alexis stood in a downpour practicing her archery. Her leather outfit became very heavy as water soaked in. She had a cloth hood protecting her long flaming redhair from the elements as she sent arrow after arrow into the intended target. She was tall, six foot. Slim with small but lush breats, green eyes, beautiful face and long well muscled but shapely legs. Her body was gorgeous and hard in a feminine way. More than once she had been called for her midway meal by her mother but Alexis persisted in perfecting her craft.

Her mother was disappointed in her. Alexis was eighteen. Old enough to have married, and giving birth to a child. Though she resisted all the men who pursued her. Finally her father, Isaiah, came to the door. "Alexis, get your ass in here," he shouted. "You better or you won't have your midday meal and go hungry until tonight." "Yes, Father," she launched her last arrow into her target. She left them there as she toted her bow to the house. Once inside, she shed the cloth from her head and got another to dry her hair. "Can't you ever listen to your mother?" Isaiah lashed out at her as she sat at the table. "I promise I'll listen the next time, Father," she bit hungerily into the large bird she had shot from the sky just the other day.

Her mother Ruth put a chalice of wine at the side of her plate so she could have something to drink with her meal. "I don't see why you wish to be shooting arrows all day long," Ruth sounded frustrated with her. "Why can't you find a nice man to marry. There are plenty of males in this area who would leap at the chance at having you for a wife and mother of his children." "Motherhood and children will come later, Mother," Alexis answered. "Until that man comes across my path, I am content to wait." "Wait and you'll be too old!" Ruth commented. "You baked this bird quite well," Alexis stated. "You are the world's most wonderful cook." "Now don't you try and get on my good side," Ruth shook a wooden spoon at her. "It's only the truth," she said as her father let out a long loud burp from deep within his stomach. "That was a good one," Alexis smiled at him. "It's the ale," Ruth complained. "He drinks so much of it he's always doing it. Even in his sleep he'll either belch or fart." "That's the way of old men," Alexis continued her smile. "Who's old?" Isaiah complained. "You are, Father. Let me go back out into the yard and I'll out shoot you in archery, or with sword or dueling sticks." "Let the young men play those games with you. It's raining and there's little to do until the cow needs milking. I think I'll lay down for a nap." "You are indeed lazy, Father." "Amen," Ruth followed.

After eating and helping her mother clean the table, Alexis went back outside. Other than eating and sleeping she found their house too confining longing for the freedom to be in nature. She pulled the arrows from the target and walked double the distance from where she previously stood. "All right, lets see what we can do from here," she told her bow as she placed a small vial of sand onto a stump. The sand at the top would fill the bottom in a minute so she got ready to fire twenty arrows hitting the target everytime. She put one to her bow then reached down to turn the vial. She shot one after the other in rapid succession at the target. She managed to shoot off eighteen by the time the sand emptied into the base. Disappointed Alexis retrieved her arrows. Seventeen of the eighteen had hit some portion of the target shaped like a Hun. She returned to try once more. Adjusting the leather guard on her left forearm, she repeated the rapid fire again. This time it was only seventeen. All hit the Hun but she was still upset because she still had three in her quiver.