On the morning of Ciara's 12th birthday, her parents snatched her out of her nice, warm bed and rushed her down to the stables with everything she owned stuffed in a satchel. The war was lost, her mother said, and the enemy was only a few scant miles away from the city walls. They gave her a kiss on the cheek and the fastest horse in the city, and sent her out into the world just hours ahead of what would prove to be the shortest and bloodiest siege in history.
Four days later, exhausted, hungry and more than ready to just give up, Ciara tumbled from the back of her horse into the middle of the dusty road. She had just enough energy to climb back up on her knees, but no more, and she sat there feeling sorry for herself for quite a long time. That was when the rabbit child came out from among the trees by the side of the road. Niamh wasn't the first rabbit Ciara had ever met, but she was the first one who was Ciara's own age and the first one who didn't look at Ciara like she might attack at any moment. Instead, Niamh came over and offered Ciara a hand up without any hesitation at all.
Neither of them had any way of knowing what the future would hold, or how close they would eventually become. Young as they were, though, they each felt the spark between them, and when Ciara took Niamh's hand was the moment the future began.
