The Chosen by K. J. Nessly Page A

tree, screeching in his ear before diving over the cliff’s edge. Shaking his head to dispel the ringing, David ran to the edge and watched the two. “Is she climbing or falling?” he asked himself as she sped down the cliff at an impossible speed.
    He waited until she reached the bottom and started running back to the school before he too turned and headed back that way, he was halfway back before he realized that he hadn’t asked her name. He mentally shook his head. The only reason he’d want to know her name was so that he could avoid her when he returned to school.
    David ran hard, pushing himself to the limit once again. By the time he got back to his room it was nearly time for breakfast. He took a quick shower, grabbed some fruit and jerky, and then went for a walk in the gardens.
    Pausing to look at a waterfall he heard someone call his name. Turning, he saw Lord Jasse hurrying towards him. He slowed his pace so that the older man wouldn’t have to continue jogging to catch up to him.
    “Hello David,” Lord Jasse said as he came closer.
    “Good morning, sir.” David noticed Lord Jasse’s uncharacteristic anxiety and wondered what this was about.
    “You disappeared too quickly earlier,” Lord Jasse explained, obviously aware as to his appearance. “I have some information for you that you need to be familiar with before the meeting.” He led David to a secluded bench and sat down.
    “What do I need to know?” David asked, taking a seat beside him.
    “I need to talk to you about someone who will be a part of your family.”
    David frowned. “I thought we all meet at the same time.”
    “That still holds true,” Lord Jasse agreed. “But this is a special case and I feel you warrant some advice before the meeting.”
    That didn’t sound good. “May I ask who it is?”
    Lord Jasse paused. “I’m not sure you know her—
    “Her?” David asked, then realizing that he had interrupted apologized.
    “That’s quite alright David.” The Council member assured him. “Yes, she’s a sixteen-year-old girl.”
    David’s thoughts turned to the disagreeable girl from earlier that morning. Quickly he pushed them aside. She was not someone he would want in his family. In fact, he pitied the family that she was placed into. “What do I need to know? “
    Lord Jasse spoke slowly, as if revealing an ancient secret that could turn the tide in a devastating war. “She’s an orphan who became a slave and was abused horribly. She doesn’t trust others easily.”
    David’s brow furrowed. “I thought slavery had been outlawed.”
    “It was,” Lord Jasse affirmed. “She was a servant in name, but a slave in reality.”
    “How did she find her way here?” David wondered.
    Jasse hesitated. “A friend of mine found her and rescued her when she was ten years old. I brought her to school a year later.”
    “I thought you couldn’t be any older than six to start here,” David said curiously.
    Jasse nodded. “In most cases yes, but both my friend and Lord Mora felt there was something different about this girl and they were right.”
    Now David was interested. “What was different about her? Does she possess an unknown gift?” That was the only reason he could think of for late admittance, then as another thought came to him asked, “What’s her name?”
    Again Lord Jasse hesitated. “Her name is Kathryn. When I first met her, this girl trusted no one and feared everyone. Even after she had been rescued it took her a year to speak to us. Most people thought she was mute.”
    David stared at him. “She didn’t speak for a year?”
    Jasse nodded. “Yes. I was the first person whom she spoke to.” His gaze took on a slightly distant look and David guessed that he was back in that moment, hearing the little girl that no one believed could talk, speak for the first time. Realizing that David was waiting he continued. “I brought her to the school soon afterwards and she began her studies. Kathryn