Fate of the Water

By Morena Stamm

When Rose discovers a baby floating in the river, her whole life changes. Now she must navigate between kingdoms, and around rebels and princes alike, to try and get home to Granda. But when she makes it home, baby and cat in tow, nothing is as it seems. And everything she knew has been a lie. Can she trust the handsome Gregor? Or will she runaway from fate, hers and the kingdom's.

***This short 3 part short fantasy story is quick paced, filled with action, adventure, and shocking secrets. Keep a hold of your leg!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independant
• Release date: Jul 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781738769896

Book preview

To my fellow fantasy lovers, who would want to live in a reality without dragons and magic and strong warrior women?

The Legend

What was broken shall be mended, and a family shall be reunited. The Old shall join with the New, and two kingdoms shall come together once more. All will be well once again with the coming of the small one, the cunning one, and the one that is not whole.

PART 1: Bend in the River

Chapter 1

Walking home from a day at the market, Rose was very pleased with herself. She had been able to barter a whole pot of honey for two spools of wool. Granda will be very proud of me, she thought. As she was walking over the bridge, she noticed a bundle of cloth hanging from a branch that overlooked the river.

Huh, I wonder why no one else noticed it, she mused. She walked briskly toward the tree. When she reached it, she put her basket down with its pot of honey and fruits from the vendors.

Rolling up her sleeves, Rose started to make a plan to save the little blue bundle. Decided, she shimmied into the freezing water of the river, never letting go of the branch. Slowly pulling herself along the branch, she reached out to grab the bundle.

Suddenly, the river swelled up and pulled the little bundle off the branch. Rose stared after the dark mass as it slipped away. Is it worth the risk, she asked herself, should I really go after it? Then she heard it, a little muffled cry coming from the dark mass that was now almost out of sight. Whatever that meant, it decided her. She braced herself, taking a deep breath, before letting the last support to life go.

The river quickly picked her up and threw her around. Thrashing hard, Rose was able to pull herself slightly out of the water. Before she could take a breath, something tugged her down with the force of a giant boulder. Trying not to panic, she straightened her body out and let the river pull her along.

Suddenly, she had an urgent need to take a breath. Before she noticed, she had taken a breath in. But instead of air, water filled her lungs. Feeling strangled, Rose pushed herself to the surface.

Her head bobbed up and hit a lump. Unwittingly, she reached out to grab whatever it is. It felt like very coarse cloth wrapped tightly together. She pulled the bundle closer to her body. Rose looked around, searching for the edges but she couldn’t see them. The sun had all but set, and the current slowly grew cooler.

She felt a sharp pain in her back. Reaching behind her, she caught a glimpse of a log. Quickly, she started to swim over to it, angling her body so the river would push her closer. Once it was in reaching distance, Rose started to tread. With one arm around the log, she was able to pull the bundle into safety. Now, all she had to do was find the edge of the river. But that might not come. From her observation earlier, she concluded that the current had pulled her and the bundle into the middle of the river where the swiftest currents went.

Rose had to decide now, as her energy was getting low. She would soon have to get out or she might make a mistake and drown. Maybe, she could fashion some sort of platform? The sooner she got out of the freezing water the better.

Now that she had a purpose, she started to gather any driftwood that came into reach.

Long breaths later, she was able to make a platform that was able to hold her if she curled up into a ball. I’m safe now, she thought, snuggling closer to the bundle. In the morning, I will find Granda, but for now, I will rest. And then she fell asleep.

Chapter 2

A strange looking human, I dare say.

Rose twitched as something wet touched her nose. She sat up quickly and sneezed several times in a row.

Bless you.

She blinked, squinting at the bright sun that already sat high in the sky.

You’re not much to look at, are you?

She turned toward the voice but saw no one standing nearby. Instead, a soft cry caught her attention. Rose crawled over to the little bundle that lay near her. Gently, she pulled back the cloth. Big black eyes looked up at her, in near tears. She carefully pulled the bundle into her lap and started to unwind it.

You look a little young to have had a child.

Of course it’s not mine, Rose snapped back at the voice, pulling the babe free from its swaddle. She carefully checked its cloth diaper. Nothing. Turning the babe to face her, she looked at its reddened face as the babe cried louder.

Something soft brushed by her arm. Startled, Rose pulled the baby into her arms and looked around herself for the danger.

Instead, she came face to face with a pair of large silver eyes. They blinked.

I think the little human is hungry.

Not able to understand what her senses were telling her, Rose blinked several times, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. Yet sitting in front of her was a large white cat, with gray stripes that faded into its belly and darkened on its tail and shoulders. It’s tail flicked, before it pulled up its front paw to its mouth, gently washing it as if nothing was amiss.

What, cat got your tongue?

This time she had seen the cat move its mouth as it spoke. Rose scrambled back as best she could with the babe in her arms until her back hit a log.

The cat looked at her with an expression that could only be called disgust. No need to act as if you haven’t seen a cat before. We seem to be quite popular amongst the humans now-a-days.

You-you talk-talked!

If it is speaking aloud in a coherent manner that you are referring to, then yes, I talked.

She looked around herself for the first time, trying to catch her bearings. The river still flowed behind the cat. On either side was a bank of sand with a sheer cliff face that was several times her height. There were a couple pieces of driftwood around herself, but otherwise nothing.

But-but how? And why? And where am I?

Well, those are several questions, and I may be one of the wisest beings that traverses these lands, but not even I have all the answers. Just the important ones. As to where you are, you are in the lowlands of Madin.

Madin! Rose couldn’t help but squeak out. That was a whole kingdom away from Granda. For her and Granda’s little hut sat in the mountains of Kain, which lay north of Madin.

I need to get home. To Kain.

She gathered the babe up, trying to swaddle it back up as tightly as she could, before scrambling to her feet. After looking back and forth along the bank, she decided to turn left and follow the river.

I wouldn’t go that way.

You don’t understand, my Granda is alone, and he broke his foot this past week, and he can’t take care of the sheep or go to the market or—

The cat swiftly pounced ahead of her, forcing Rose to come to a stop.

What? she yelled angrily, shocking the babe into a crying fit. She pulled him closer and gently rocked him, glaring down at the feline.

You are going the wrong way. The cat nodded his head to behind her. Kain is North, and north is that way.

She nodded stiffly, before turning around and stomping along beside the rumbling river. It was then she noticed the current went the other direction. Rose shook her head at herself. Of course, the water flowed south. She had known that.

Hopefully, with a bit of luck, she would be at Granda’s in no time. A gentle padding caught her attention. Peeking down to the left of her, she noticed the gentle sway of the cat as it followed her.

She