3 - varagane behind the gate

  “No,” Enmiel told me, brown eyes flashing like they always did when she was indignant. “It's not safe out there. You know that.”

  I rolled my eyes and looked away, clenching my fists. “But I'm almost done with my training!” I said in exasperation. I was sick of my older sister always trying to shelter me. I wasn't a baby anymore – I had nearly come of age. “You're not going to be able to tell me what to do forever, you know.”

  She glanced at me as we walked. The expression on her face seemed amused. “Well, maybe not. But for the time being, you're not allowed to go past the gate because I don't want you to.”

  “Fine,” I spat. I turned on my heel and ran back in the direction I had come from, my feet slamming into the ground as I dodged among the people crowding the village. I avoided any familiar faces, not wanting to talk to anyone. I was heading home, and that was that.

  “Hey! Varagane! Are you coming?” Called a voice. I stopped abruptly, and my best friend, Darren, slammed into me. He laughed and stepped back. “I'm sorry. What did your sister say?”

  “I'm not allowed,” I growled, anger pulsing through me. “What else is new?”

An apologetic look flashed across his face. “Oh. Well, I'm sorry, Varagane,” he said softly. His dark red hair was sticking up in all directions, and he brushed a gloved hand through it absentmindedly.      “Maybe next time you can come with us.”

   “Yeah, sure,” I snapped, a sinking feeling resolving itself in my chest. “Go on with out me. Whatever.”

  Darren bit his lip as if he were about to say something. Then he turned and disappeared into the crowd, running off to join his other friends.

  I ran away. I didn't know where I was going; just away. I was so tired of being left behind because my sister was an overprotective jerk. I was also tired of my friends going off without me, as if it was okay for me to be left alone and bored and upset. I wish for once that they would just stay with me. They knew that I had never been allowed to go past the gate. It wasn't like that was going to change soon.

   I scaled the familiar old tree that led to our home, the treehouse where I had lived for as long as I could remember. Instead of entering it, I crawled along a thick branch that extended into the sky, perching myself at the end. There, I sulked. There was nothing else to do, anyways. Soon the sky darkened and the stars came out. I could feel the adventures they were having without me.