I sure hope original stuff is allowed here... I just thought I'd get some
comments from the people who know what they're talking about when it comes
to storywriting :)

"The Redwing Dilemma" 

An Original Work of Fiction by Christina Rose

Please send all comments and *constructive* criticism to
cristina@netdoor.com; Pointless silly flames are deleted and ignored.
Chapter one is a teaser, a prologue to the prologue I'll be releasing
shortly. I wouldn't mind an MST if anyone felt like doing one, but I hope
you enjoy it enough so that it's not really necessary!

Chapter One

Shayla Redwing was not a happy person at the moment. Not that that was
unusual for the past few weeks, but those who knew her knew to give her a
wide berth when she was like this. 
	"What do you MEAN you're out of rooms tonight?!" She almost shouted at an
innkeeper behind his desk.
	"W-well, the festivities going on have brought thousands of travelers to
Kuraga, and the inn's just full to capacity tonight! The only place left
for travelers to sleep here is the basement, and I'm sure you wouldn't..."
	"No, I wouldn't. Fine, thanks anyway." With a considerable amount of
control, Shayla walked out of the inn, and as she stepped out, drops of
rain began to fall. The drops soon became a torrent, and before she knew
it, she was walking down the road, alone, drenched to the bone, under the
driving sheets of rain pouring down on her. "Great... just great... what
else could go wrong?!" She grumbled to herself. The only thing she was
wearing was a battle-dress whose skirt reached about halfway to her knees,
almost transparent against the shean of her skin. The few other men brave
enough to go out in the storm found the view worth the small cost... Shayla
saw two guys gawking at her soaked figure, and, blushing furiously, cried
out, "What're YOU staring at?!" 
	To discourage further, ah, admiration, she brandished her polearm and
struck a combative stance. The two men wisely continued about their
business. A hand clasping her shoulder from behind startled her into
turning and striking out fiercely. "Aiee! Huh?! Daphne, is that you?!" An
elven girl lay faceplanted in the ground where Shayla bashed her in. 
	"Geez, Shayla... do you treat all your friends this way, or just me?"
	"Oh! Sorry, Daphne, there were these guys looking at me, and I got kind of
nervous..."
	"By Sylpha's light, you never cease to amaze me with your backward ways! A
few guys openly admire your figure, and you get so nervous you hit the next
person that touches you over the head with that staff-thing of yours!"
Daphne rubbed the bump on her head irritably. "What's with you today?"
	"Nothing is right... first, I lose my map, then when I finally find the
place, everyone's gone, and then, I don't even have a place to stay since
the festival of Kuraga's overcrowding all the inns in the town!"
	"Too bad... I got a room I could share, though. You interested?"
	"Really?!" Shayla gets that hopeful, bubbly-eyed look on her face.

~*Six Hours Later...*~

	Shayla turned over on the stone floor, more irritated than ever now. Leave
it to Daphne to get the cursed basement suite! Glancing over at Daphne's
sleeping figure, she envied the sorceress her freedom and couldn't help
wishing things had turned out far differently than they had. She looked
back on the past few weeks, the days that had changed her life and
irrevocably shattered a part of her she would never see again. Her
irritation slowly melted away, leaving in its wake a low, mournful feeling
that would remain with her for a long time to come...

	Meanwhile...
	The snoring clerk was startled awake by the loud squeek of the front
door's rusty hinges, as a man soaked from the midnight rainstorm walked
into the lobby. Lightning illuminated his dark silhouette.
	"Excuse me, sorry to come in this late," The man apoligized without
smiling, "But could I trouble you for some information I need?"
	"We're clear out of rooms... wha..?" The late-shift clerk blinked his eyes
groggily, attempting to clear out the sleep from them. "Say again?"
	"I'm looking for two girls, one samll, with pale blonde hair and a polearm
she likes to carry around, the other an elf, tall, with a crimson cape and
silver shoulder-guards. I heard they were staying here, can you help me?"
	The clerk remembered who he was talking about after a minute. *Oh yeah,
those were the two that took the "basement suite!" If I go around telling
anyone who asks, where our customers are sleeping, though, I'm gonna get it
from the boss...* "Sorry, I can't help you. Maybe you could try again
tomorrow?"
	"Thanks, but I already have a feeling I know where they are." The silver
(metallic silver!) haired man walked right past the front reception desk
and headed straight for the basement staircase in the next room.
	"Hey! You can't do... stop!" Ignoring the clerk's command to stop, the man
proceeded down the basement stairs.
	*Soon, I'll have the revenge I deserve! Shayla Redwing, be ready!* He had
spent a long three weeks tracking her, and he wasn't about to let that work
go to waste! That girl had taken the opportunity of a lifetime out of his
grasp, a treasure to crown all others, a promise he would never again have
a chance to be granted... As he walked out of the stairwell, he saw
Shayla's short, proud figure standing defiantly in the center of the room,
facing him.
	"Kellin Siethe... took you long enough to find me! You really think you
can sneak up on ME, of all people?!"
	"I won't even ask how you heard me coming. Things are different now, and
I'm going to defeat you and take your prize once and for all!" As he gave
her an imperious glare, he saw something in her had gone. What was it? What
was missing from her angry, radiant countenance? *Shayla Redwing... what's
happened to you? You're like you were almost a month ago today, and yet...
so different...* The fighter held her polearm in front of her, ready for
him to attack. Kellin, though, did not move from his contemplation of her.
"Tell me what did this," he demanded.
	"What?"
	"You heard me! Tell me why you're so changed! What did this to you?!"
	"Changed? Changed?! You don't know me! How could you know if I change or
not?! Not that it's any of your business anyway! Just fight me and get it
over with!"
	"No." Kellin turned his back to her.
	"No?" Shayla repeated with disbelief, "No?!"
	"You're not the same Shayla Redwing that fought with me for a prize to top
all others, and won. You're someone completely alike, and yet completely
different. I can't fight you; you're not the same person." He turned and
walked away without another word. Shayla watched him part in silence.
Slowly, she put down her polearm and lay back down on the cold, dark stone
floor.
	"What was -that- all about?" Daphne murmered sleepily from under the
crimson cape she was using as a sheet.
	"That was so weird! I knew he was coming, but when he finally managed to
find me, he said he wouldn't fight me because I wasn't the same person!"
	"That Kellin guy? Wow, I'd have thought he'd relish any chance he got to
defeat you in one-on-one combat! Don't know what he means about not being
the same person, though... guess he noticed the same thing I did..."
	"What is it about me that the people that know me notice so much nowadays?
Tell me, Daphne!"
	"You know very well that something's missing. Can't you feel it in your
soul?! I don't know what that missing thing is, but whatever it is, it's
essential to your personality and behavior..."
	"Some guys just don't make any sense..." Shayla murmured to herself,
before finally falling asleep for the last time that night.


~*End of Chapter One*~

Notes: I have anime-style pics of all my characters, except for the
innkeeper, and if you want copies, all you have to do is send me money,
then I can buy a scanner and send you all the pics you want! :P 

Thank you, all the people who read this, and all comments are welcome,
except, as stated earlier, flames I have no time for. If you would like to
preread future parts, or any of my other fanfics, feel free to drop me a
line!