My sixteenth birthday would stay with me like no other--it was the last day I'd see Mama and Papa alive.

Had I known what fate had in store for me, I would have made every last second count in those upcoming days before they met their demise. Instead, I wasted time whipping my wooden sword through the air and pretending to rescue political prisoners from our Gatál oppressors.

"Take that!" I hissed in a hushed whisper as I thrust my sword forward. "And this! Death to tyrants!"

Mama knocked on the door, and I scurried to hide the fake weapon under my pillow.

"Are you decent?" she asked.

Ha! Never! I thought with a sly smile.

Grabbing my brush, I pretended to style my hair like a lady. Never mind that my auburn mane could never be tamed by a mere utensil made of boar bristles.

"Come in," I said as I attempted to still my breathing from my imaginary tussle.

The floorboards creaked as Mama walked into my room dressed in traditional Halcían garb, her wicker basket prepared for another day of foraging. Mama's sapphire-blue surcoat with the gold trim matched her vibrant eyes, but I knew the real reason why she wore our national colors. It was a silent protest against the Gatál occupation.

"You're finally reaching the Age of Knowledge," Mama said with a broad smile. She tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. "Are you ready for the big day?"

I nodded. "I hope the Gatál choose me for the Adventurer's Guild."

"Because you want to explore the world or because your friend Marlena has been chosen?"

"Both."

Mama gave me a pensive look as she sat down on my bed and patted the space beside her. I rolled my eyes and sat down heavily on the mattress.

"Please don't try to change my mind, Mama."

"They choose only a handful of people for the Guild every year," she said. "I want you to be happy, but you'll probably have to choose either your father's profession or mine."

"What exactly would you teach me?" I asked, tossing the brush on the bed with a callous flip.

"You'd start off by learning how to concoct herbal remedies from wildflowers and herbs."

"But Papa has a special permit to travel for hunting and fishing."

"That's true, but here's something I've never told you before," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "I make potions and sell them to the Gatál directly. I'm one of the few Halcíans with that privilege."

"Really?"

She gestured at the fine wooden furniture in my room. "That's how we can afford all this. It's also how we can justify all of the restricted science equipment we have. If no one takes after me, the Gatál won't allow us to have those tools anymore."

"I don't know," I said with a sigh. "I'll have to think about it."

Mama lifted my chin with her index finger until her gaze fixed upon mine. "I can show you how to win the hearts and minds of men. I can teach you how to tame the inner beast of evil creatures and how to make potent warriors. I can show you how to give life and how to take it away."

"Mama!"

"Only in self-defense, my little hawk."

I gaped at Mama with wonder. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe she could do all that. "You make it sound like you practice magic."

"One person's science is another person's magic," Mama replied.

"If I become a healer, will I be able to hunt or fish, too? Can I do special experiments like Papa?"

Mama shook her head, and my heart sank. I'd wanted to learn about Papa's science secrets ever since I was a little girl. Picking flowers seemed a poor replacement even if that meant learning how to make fancy potions.

My shoulders slumped a little. "Oh, Mama, I don't know."

"Toil in the fields if you will, my little hawk," she said. She tightened her grip around my shoulders. "You seem adamant on choosing your father's profession."

"I can study healing at night," I suggested. "That way, I can do either profession."

"You can't become a healer only by reading. In that way, it's just like hunting and farming, Helena."

I took a deep sigh, and Mama released my shoulders with a smile. "If you decide to change your mind, come and find me. Just remember that once you make your final decision, it'll be your profession for life."

You just don't think I can manage.

Mama chuckled with a knowing smile and gathered her ankle-length skirts. "Come on. Let's go find Papa in the fields," she said.

After she'd fetched her foraging tools, we left the house and Mama strolled along the gravel path towards Papa with a happy hum. "Andreas, my love," she called to him, "I'll be home before sunset."

Papa waved at us to stop and wiped the sweat from his brow as he approached us. "There you are, my little dreamer," he said as he ruffled my hair.

"Hi, Papa."

Papa turned to Mama. "Both of you be careful in the forest today, my love."

"Helena has actually chosen your path," Mama said.

"Indeed?" he asked me with a twinkle in his eye. "I suppose it makes sense for you to try both professions before making your decision."

Mama whispered, "Andreas, she'll have more opportunities if she--"

Papa chuckled and gave Mama a kiss. "Let her decide for herself, Aurora. Helena's a bright child." He winked at me.

"I suppose you're right."

Mama returned his kiss, and Papa wrapped his hands in her strawberry-blonde hair. I turned away from them and pretended to pick weeds.

Ugh, I'm right here.

Before my mother disappeared into the thick green, she turned to me and said, "Enjoy your first day, my little hawk."

Papa called me over, and I brushed the dirt off my hands. "So, let's get started, shall we?" he said with a chuckle. The golden waves of grain rustled in the breeze as my father prepared his scythe for the autumn harvest. "You'll be helping me in the fields today gathering the harvested wheat."

My face fell. "Can't we go to the forest and hunt? Or do an experiment in your secret lab?"

"Shh," Papa said, furrowing his brow, "You promised not to speak of it."

I rolled my eyes. "Who's going to hear?"

"You never know."

***

For hours we toiled under the morning sun, and the blistering rays burned my skin. I heaved bundle after bundle onto the cart, and sweat poured down my back and face. Papa gathered the golden grain into bunches that I tied up and threw onto a wooden cart.

"After sixteen years, I still can't believe it," he growled as he used the scythe to slice through the wheat. "The Gatál buy grain from us for pennies and sell it for gold."

"Why can't we sell our own grain?" I asked as I heaved another bundle. "And cut out the middleman like Mama?"

"That's illegal, Helena," Papa replied. "Mama has special permission from the Crown."

"How can farmers survive on so little money?"

"They can't," Papa said. "That's why you'd have a better life as a specialist healer."

"But you get to go hunting and do more exciting things," I insisted.

He chuckled and swept his thick, dark hair out of his dark eyes. "If you want to follow in my footsteps, there's more to farming than grand adventure."

"Really?" I asked in a skeptical tone, scrunching up my face in disdain.

"Farming is fifty percent toil, forty-five percent patience, five percent adventure, and five percent knowledge and wisdom."

"But Papa," I said, rolling my eyes, "that makes one hundred and five percent."

He gave me a wry smile and ruffled my hair. "You don't miss a thing, do you?"

"It's just that you always seemed so happy. I thought farming would be amazing."

Papa stopped cutting grain and leaned against the wooden handle of his scythe. "When your back's against the wall, you do what's necessary to survive. Don't be their slave when you have a choice."

"Why do people always think that I can only do her work?" I asked, my voice terse. "Please give me a chance. Show me how to use a bow or a dagger."

"Foraging and potion-making aren't women's work," he replied in a solemn tone as he reached out and touched the top of my head. "It's the work of a keen mind like yours."

I batted his hand away playfully. "Come on, Papa," I exclaimed. "You wouldn't be caught dead picking flowers."

He chuckled. "I'd change places with your mother any day, but I don't have the skills."

"You could learn with me."

"I till the fields like a dutiful Halcían so that the Gatál don't ask questions about my evening experiments," Papa said with a shrug. "Besides, I wouldn't do that to your mother--she loves her job too much."

"Someone has to tend the fields, and that's going to be me," I said with a defiant glare. "Let's get this done so that we can get to the good stuff!"

"Yes, Your Ladyship," he said in a playful tone with a deep bow.

I raised an eyebrow at him and lifted another heavy bundle of wheat onto the cart with a grunt. He gave me a broad grin, and I laughed. Never would I be a lady, and we both knew it.

Just when I thought I'd lose my mind from boredom, the cruelty of life turned my world upside down. Fate would give me more adventure and excitement than anyone needed in a lifetime.

And not in a good way.
___

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Oh, no! What's going to happen? Please support Helena by giving her a vote.