1 Storms of Poison

A lone dragon descended upon a solitary island and landed outside a large house.

From the house, a woman with dirty blonde hair and striking emerald eyes ran to the rider jumping down from the dragons back.

The rider in question was wearing a suit of armour made out of her respective dragon's scales.

She had two swords strapped to her back and a leather satchel slung over her shoulders.

" Gift, you came !" the rider was knocked over and hugged to death by the woman.

" Ah, hey Myra it's good to see you too." The women stopped laughing and got up of the ground just as two children ran to greet the visitor.

" Auntie Gift, you're here!" The two children wrapped their little arms around the visitor's legs and squeezed tight.

" Of course I came, I wouldn't miss my favourite niece and nephews sixth birthday for the world." The group made their way inside with the dragon following close behind.

" Gift how are you?" A man with jet black hair and tanned skin asked from the door.

" Hello Balan, I'm good." She answered as she hugged him.

" Your late as usual," Myra told her sister opening the door for their guest to enter.

" When am I ever early Myra?" Gift retorted back as she made her way in.

The dragon snorted at Myra who proceeded to pat him.

" Good to see you to Antidote." The dragon smiled and pranced inside sitting down on a stone slab.

" So Gift, how we're the northern markets?" Balan asked her as she sat down on the fur rug.

" Same as usual, people trying to scam you and sell you things you don't need." She said pulling out two boxes wrapped in brown paper and tied up with an ornate cord.

" You got us presents!" The children ran over to their aunt,  jumping up and down on the floor.

" Oh, these aren't for you, therefor my other niece and nephew." The two children looked at her weirdly and huffed.

" I'm kidding, of course, I got you two presents." The children smiled and preceded go open them.

Upon opening the boxes, the two kids gasped, inside each was an ivory white figure carved made to look like the deep purple Deathgripper now snoring on the stone slab.

" Oh my, where did you get those?" Myra questioned Gift.

" I know a highly respected ivory trader who specialises in carving mini-figures."The children inspected the figures with wide grins.

" They look like Antidote," Eris said.

Eris was the spitting image of her father, dark hair with lightly tanned skin.

Eric was more like his mother, dirty blonde hair and fair skin.

" That's how I wanted them, so whenever I leave here you two would always have something of me here." The children surged forward and higher their aunt.

" Aunty Gift how did you meet Antidote?" Eric asked the woman.

" Why don't you stay on Gendar very long either?" Eris questioned her further.

" I met Antidote when I was sixteen, oh what an adventure that was." Eris plonked down into her aunt's lap and looked up at her with pleading eyes.

" I don't stay in one place very long because bad guys might come to find me." Gift ruffled Eric's hair and sighed.

" What kind of bad guys?" Gift looked over at Myra, who nodded.

" Well, I have to fight bad guys to sell my things." Eris and Eric looked up at her with wide eyes.

" Will you tell us the story of how you met antidote?" Gift looked at her sister who just nodded.

The children were six now and ready to know why their aunt didn't stay in one place for too long.

" Ok, I guess you two deserve to know but are you sure the story I am about to tell you does have some scary bits." The two children nodded and sat down in front of her ready to listen.

" Ok now if you want to hear the full story, then we need to start at the beginning the very beginning." Gift leaned on her knees and began to tell the children her life story.

The wind and rain battered down on the small island a few hours south of the Viking archipelago borders.

It was the worst storm the island had ever seen, having a baby was the last thing on anyone's mind.

In an over cramped healers hut, the Chief of the island sat waiting with his palms sweating.

His wife was eight months pregnant and had only just gone into labour four hours earlier.

The chief was scared, his wife was already in her early forties and many had warned her having a child at this age would be dangerous.

" Why would it be dangerous?" Eris asked her aunt.

" At that age Eris, a woman's body starts changing, when your older your mum will explain." The girl nodded.

" Now where was I?" Gift contained with the story.

The couple had tried having children before, but each time the baby died.

This was their last chance and he hoped that both his wife and the baby would come out of it alive.

The sudden scream of his wife in pain jolted him back to reality and he rushed over to her side, holding her hand.

" I'm here, I'm here honey." He stroked her hand whispering in her ear.

" Darling, I need to tell you something." The women told her husband shakily.

" What is it, honey?" He asked her leaning closer and moving her fringe away from her eyes.

" I want you to, Ah!" The Chieftess screamed as blood poured from her, the healer ran to grab more towels.

" She's losing blood fast, Chieftess when the next contraction comes I want you to push hard." The healer told the women upon returning with the extra towels.

The Cheif looked at his wife, feeling completely helpless and broken.

The cries of an infant soon filed the hut and the chief rushed to his wife's side.

" You did it, honey, we have a baby." The chief looked down at his wife and noticed her breathing was uneven.

" Darling, I love you." The weak women's grasp loosened on her husband's hand and her hand fell to her side.

" What happened, did she pass out?" The Chief asked the healer who lowered her head.

" She's, she's gone, I am sorry sir I did everything to stop the blood." The Chief didn't hear a word of what she said.

He looked over at the screaming infant wrapped in towels.

" It was not your fault woman!" The healer was taken aback by his harsh tone.

" I'm sorry sir." she began to say, but the Chief cut her off.

" SHUT UP, WE ALL KNOW WHO KILLED MY WIFE!" his voice boomed off the walls

" IT WAS THAT CHILD, SHE POISONED MY LOVE!" The healer gasped, the child had done nothing but come into the world.

" Sir, with all due respect, the child." The chief slapped the woman across the face and she landed on the floor clutching her cheek.

" YOU WILL NOT QUESTION ME, THAT CHID IS POISON AND WILL BE NAMED SO!" The chief last the healer's hut and returned to his own.

" Granpa blamed you?" Eric asked her.

Gift nodded and ruffed up his hair, Myra nodded as well.

" Yes he did, your Granpa wasn't a nice man, but he loved my mother with all his heart." The twins smiled and waited for her to continue.

The whole village came to the naming ceremony of the Chief's firstborn daughter, they had waited years for it and now it was finally happening.

The Chief walked to the front with the healer carrying the child behind him.

He held his hands up to silence the crowd, the town elders came forward ready to name the child, but the Chief stopped them.

" People of Gendar, my wife and I had been praying for a child for many years now." The Cheif announced to the people.

" Last week our prayers were answered, but only the child came out alive." He gritted his teeth when he mentioned his baby.

" That child poisoned my wife in birth and she is now dead because of the deed!" The crowd began to mutter, how could a baby kill someone.

" Do not question my authority, elders I have already chosen a name for the girl." The elders gasped, when a chief has already chosen a name it means that the child was either cursed or deceased.

" For the crimes, she has done and for poisoning my beloved, her name shall be!" The Chief signed the seal and left the hall.

The child had no idea what had just transpired, her father had called her a murder at one week old.

Gift Jente was now been labelled an outcast and would never experience the love from anyone except herself.

" What does your name mean?" The twins said in unison.

" My name means poison girl." The twins hugged their aunt.

" We like your name, it means more to us than poison." Gift let a single tear fall down her cheek.

To hear that from the two children she cared most about was priceless.

" It's spelt like Gift and you gave us great gifts." Eris smiled up at her aunt.

" You don't know how much that means to me, but let's continue." Gift told the twins.