The poor little norn ran through the street. He was scared and hungry. He could hear the footsteps behind him. He ran around a corner and ducked. He prayed that this wasn't the end. He tried not to breathe. The foot steps came closer and closer.

"Where is he?" Asked a gruff voice.

"I don't know, sir," answered another.

The poor little norn waited and wondered if he would get out of here alive. He looked about ready to cry. One of the strangers turned to the leader.

"If he is so young, can't we leave him alone?" She asked. The leader turned to her.

"If he gets away, then other norns and ettins will try. Do you want to have to do things the hard way again?" He growled and she shook her head. He stood up and yelled to the little norn. "Little norn, come out immediately! We do not tolerate run away slaves!"

The norn shivered and remembered what had happened. His mother had died to save him. His father was in the army. Not by choice had he been there, however. He died there trying to stop the grendels. The norn was an orphan. A runaway slave. The Grendel Runaway Norn Police, or the GRNP, were gaining on him fast.

"Listen, Norn, maybe we'll go easy on you if you give up now!" The leading grendel said sweetly. The norn didn't believe a word of it. He started to run, but he crashed into a grendel. "There you are. We've been worried sick!"

The norn was looking into the lead grendel's eyes. The sarcastic note in his voice was bad enough, but he knew what came next. The grendel slapped him and pulled away with a small grin. He raised his hand to do it again, we a bullet nicked his arm. "Try picking on someone your own size!" Came a female voice from above. The little norn looked over at her and almost gasped.

She was a tall, blue and green pixie norn. She had a grin on her face that could scare the bravest of grendels. Her gun was firmly in her hand prepared to take another shot. She was young too. No older than a youth, but she had fire in her eyes.

The grendels' leader looked at her and frowned. She was not the normal norn. She was strong. He knew where she was from, and they were never alone. He made the only call he could think of. "Retreat!" He yelled.

All of the norns ran away from the new norn and she seemed pleased. She jumped down and faced him. She turned to look at him and saw horror in his eyes. "What's your name, Kid?" She asked.

"Corren," he answered. She looked at him and nodded approvingly.

"I'm Dacina. I'm with the Norn Rebellion. We're sick of being slaves and are fighting against it. We should be getting back now," the female norn said and tossed her gun over her shoulder. Corren jumped up after her.

"Wait! Does that mean I'm going with you?" He asked. She turned to him and nodded.

"Unless you want the GRNP to find ya," she answered and started walking again. She jumped on the lift and started down. He almost didn't make it there in time.

"So, we're going to meet your friends?" He asked and she turned to him.

"My co-workers. I don't have any friends, and I don't want any!" She growled and turned away from him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Simple. Friends leave you. If you are always alone, then you have nothing to worry about," she answered. He looked at her and was quiet. The lift finally reached it's destination and they got off. Dacina covered her tracks and nodded to Corren.

They went to where the grendels had been the outcasts, the volcano. He saw a lot of norns there. Dacina stretched and started to go to sleep. A gruff voice popped up from behind her. "Sleepy already, Dacina?"

"Yeah. You see, I have this thing, it's called a job. I don't get to lay around all day. Working makes you tired! Maybe you should try it sometime, Torl," Dacina muttered and tried to go back to sleep.

"There you go again! You think that you are better than everyone, Dacina!" Torl yelled. His lovely fur was standing on end.

"That's not true. I know I better than everyone else," she muttered. Torl finally gave up and walked over to Corren. Torl sat down next to him and looked at him.

"Where's the rest of your family?" He asked and Corren looked down at the ground.

"I don't want to talk about it," he answered.

"Come on!" Torl tried again.

"Please, I don't want to talk about it," Corren tried again. Torl looked about ready to ask again, when Dacina grabbed him by the throat.

"He doesn't want to talk about it, Torl!" She hissed and lay back on the ground. Corren looked at her and went to sit with the other young norns.

"Wow! I've never seen Dacina get mad over someone before!" A little girl norn said. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. "Were your parents fighting when she found your family?"

"I don't have a family. They all died," he answered.

"Wow! You're brave! My name is Aidan. My family and I escaped when I was really young. What's your name?" She asked. He was about to answer, when he heard Dacina call to him. He waved good-bye to his friend and ran over to where Dacina lay.

"Yes, Dacina?" He asked. She threw him a motherly type look and motioned towards the ground.

"Now is a time for sleep. You can meet new friends in the morning," she told him. He lay down right beside her and yawned. The other norns watched in horror. Norns didn't sleep within five feet of her without her getting mad. Dacina opened one eye and smiled. She closed it and went to sleep.

Dacina woke up early the next morning. She shook Corren. "Come on! It's time for me to train you!"

"It's too early," he whined. She threw him a look and slapped him. His head popped up and she looked at him.

"I do not tolerate whiners," was all she had to say. He stood up and dusted himself off. Dacina nodded to him and they both snuck out.

"What are we doing?" He asked with a tired sigh.

"You are going to learn how to fight. This is a gun. Use it on those mushrooms," she instructed. He took the gun and missed everyone of them. Dacina took the gun from him. "You are holding, aiming, and firing wrong."

She took it and showed him what to do. He tried again and shot one out of the three mushrooms. She shook her head and showed him again. With some practice, he was able to shoot. Not as well as Dacina, but enough to keep him alive.

"What else are we going to learn?" He asked eagerly and Dacina looked pleased. She hardly ever smiled. The only time he did was when she was shooting at a grendel.

"Nothing more today. Go on and meet the people here. I have some business to attend to," she said. He nodded and walked off. Dacina waited until she knew he was far enough away before she walked back in.

"I thought you didn't teach nobody," Torl said with a snicker. "You care about him, don't you?"

"He is strong and he has a courageous heart," Dacina said, but she didn't turn away from him.

"And he reminds you of yourself, maybe?" Torl asked and Dacina sighed.

"That has something to do with it. Wait! Why am I telling you this, Torl? Get out of my space!" She yelled and he just nodded. Dacina lay there thinking about the child. She never cared for anyone. Not since her parents died when she was little. She had been found alone and scared. But they could see she was a fighter and backed off.

Corren had the same strength and she knew it. That, and he trusted people. She didn't trust anyone and she didn't care about anyone. That had been her philosophy. But this norn child... The sound of a gun interrupted her thoughts.

"The children!" Cried one of the mothers. Dacina jumped up and grabbed her gun.

"Corren!" She yelled. The other norns and ettins watched as she raced out. She saw a hurt female norn and a dead grendel lay next to her, dead. Corren held a gun in his hand.

"They tried to kill to kill Aidan!" He told her. He tossed her the gun and she caught it.

"Is he dead?" She asked.

"Yes," Corren answered. He looked into her face and not at the ground like she taught him.

"Good. I knew you had it in you. It shouldn't have happened when you were this young, though," Dacina told him.

"I know," he answered and she nodded. She looked down at Aidan. She nudged her and the little norn moaned.

"Corren?" She asked in a tired whisper. He ran over to her.

"Aidan! You're okay!" He said happily.

"What about the grendel?" She asked. Dacina walked over to her and kneeled down.

"Corren took care of him," Dacina told her. She walked over to the grendel. Her eyes opened in surprise and in a bit of terror.

"What is it, Dacina?" Corren asked. Dacina turned to him and sighed.

"When I was young, my family worked for General Grunel. He was the one who captured all of the norns and forced them and the ettins to be slaves," Dacina started when she saw the hurt in Corren's eyes.

"My father, he died in that war," Corren said, trying to explain himself. Dacina gave him the time he needed before she continued.

"He used to work us all to death, except for me. I was a baby at the time, real young. He was waiting until I was older. He wanted me to learn how to be a killer. I was supposed to be the first norn in the GRNP. I had two brothers, Rolite and Otrin. Rolite was the oldest. He was always planning an escape. Otrin was the mastermind. He was able to take a rock and make a gun.

"One day, we decided to try it. By that time, I was a child. I was still very young and Rolite had to carry me. We snuck out of our jobs and went to find my parents. When we finally found them, Grunel noticed we were missing. He sent all of his men out to get us. When they found us, they took us to Grunel," she paused for a minute. She looked down at the two children.

"What happened?" Asked Corren softly. She turned to him.

"He nodded to one of his soldiers to bring my father over. The soldier did and Grunel exectuted him in front of us. Next was my mother who's death was not much better. Then Ortin, because Rolite was holding me. I can still hear Ortin screams. Then, finally, it was Rolite's turn. Before he died, he turned to me, and said the words that I will never forget. *Watch the whole time with my death. Watch and don't forget this day. I love you, Dacina.* I screamed for my brother the whole time they were killing him.

"After their death, Grunel told his men my training was to begin. I learned how to fight and kill without a thought. I knew what Grunel's plans were, though, and I did not want to be a part of them. Without even a plan, I decided to walk away. There was only one grendel who stood in my way. His name was Grunish. He was Grunel's eldest son, but I didn't know that. I killed him and ran off. Grunel, of course, was furious, but he didn't send his men after me," Dacina said with an angry tone. She turned to the children.

"Why?" Corren asked and Aidan nodded with curious wonder.

"Because he figured that I wasn't worth chasing, was the lie he told his men. I know he thought I was, but I think he wanted to kill me, or at the very least his other son, Grune. Grune is the grendel that lays before you," Dacina finished.

"Are you sure?" Asked Aidan.

"She's right," Torl said as he walked up behind them.

"Who asked you, Torl?" Dacina asked angrily.

"No one, but I thought that I should answer," Torl answered. His look turned more serious. "Does Grunel know?"

"Not yet. He'll be furious when he finds out, though," she muttered. Corren and Aidan looked at each other in horror.

"What are we going to do?" Asked Corren. Dacina turned to him and sighed.

"Fight, I guess," she answered.

"I'll get the others together," Torl said. He ran back inside to get them.

"Corren, get a gun. We're going. Aidan, are you coming?" She asked. Aidan looked at her strangely.

"Are you talking to me, Ma'am?" She asked.

"Yes, Aidan. Are you coming?" Dacina asked again. Aidan grabbed a gun and cocked it.

"Yes, Ma'am!" She answered and Corren grinned as he grabbed another. Torl came back out.

"They're ready. When do we leave and what's the plan?" He asked to Dacina.

"We'll fight while Corren and Aidan get more men. They'll free the slaves. Etrin, what so you think?" Dacina asked.

"The roads are clear now. This would be the best time to strike," an ettin advised. "Ettin Intelligence is still watching. We'll tell you if anything changes."

Etrin left then, leaving the norns alone to think. Meanwhile, Grunel waited patiently for his son to return. "Sir, we have some news for you," a soldier said and Grunel turned to him.

"What is it?" He snapped.

"Your son is dead, Sir," the guard said. Grunel's face turned more sour than usual.

"How?" He asked.

"That norn boy that ran away killed him. He was trained by Dacina," the grendel said. Grunel said something is the grendel's tongue.

"Dacina?! I want her brought to me! Her and the boy!" Grunel growled.

"Yes, sir. What about the others?" The grendel asked. Grunel looked him in the eye.

"Exterminate them!" He said.

"Yes, sir," was the reply. Grunel in turn sat down and sighed.

"It has been too long, my dear Dacina, far too long," he muttered to himself and snickered. She would not escape this time.

"Are you ready to fight?" Asked Torl to the others who were ready to go. He pushed back his red fur.

"Yes, Sir!" The others yelled.

"If we do not fight now, the grendels will look for us! At least now, we are prepared!" Dacina yelled and the other norns cheered for their leader.

"Let's go!" Yelled Torl, finishing it off and the other norns cheered even louder. All of them got their guns and other weapons and started off towards the battlefield. Each of them were prepared to give their lives in order to stop the grendels.

The older norns went ahead of the other two younger ones. It was their job to help Corren and Aidan get to their goal. They didn't march into battle though. They hid behind trees and bushes. The dove behind boulders and anything else that could hide them.

"Do you see them?" Dacina whispered to Torl.

"No," was his reply. A gun shot hit the tree he was behind. He shot back at it and Dacina joined in. Corren and Aidan ran to the nearest town and helped get the slaves free.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Asked one grendel angrily.

"We're helping our friends out of here!" Corren yelled.

"They shouldn't have to work for you anymore!" Aidan jumped in. The grendels backed away in fright and the two norns nodded for the norns to get out of there. When all of the slaves were free, they shot at the grendels to keep them from coming after them and helped the norns back to the base.

"Thank you," said one of the mothers and Corren just smiled.

"Your welcome," Aidan told her. Then Corren motioned with his head that they were going to go back. The newly freed slaves stayed behind.

Meanwhile, Dacina and Torl were doing their best to hold their enemy off. "Dacina, you still with us?" Her companion asked.

"You're not going to get rid off me that easily, Torl!" Dacina yelled back.

"Dacina!" Corren yelled and she turned to look at him.

"Retreat!" Were her orders. The norns fell back, still firing. The grendels let them go. Their numbers were too low to continue to fight them.

To be continued!