Write a piece of fanfiction. I read the latest anthology Mercedes Lackey put out about her signature work, Valdemar, and thought, "I could do better than some of this stuff." So I did. Herewith is a snippet of it, with all the disclaimers in place---that this world belongs to Mercedes Lackey and not to me, etc., etc., and with all due apologies to Ms. Lackey.
Angel's Companion, Lia, alerts her to a visitor to Companion's Field.
As Angel approached the knot of Companions, she could hear the sobs and heaving breaths of someone whose entire world had fallen into ruin.
The Companions parted, and Angel could see the girl clinging to Lia's cannon, her face buried in the Companion's knee.
:You do attract the little girls, Chosen: Angel told Lia before she dropped her crutches to the ground, making as much noise as possible, and clumsily lowered herself to sit on the rough ground.
The girl raised a tear-blotched face.
"Hello," Angel said in a friendly voice. "I'm Angel,"--she pointed--"and that's Lia."
The girl scooted away.
"Don't worry," Angel said. "You didn't do anything wrong."
When Angel made no other moves and said nothing further, just sat, arms resting in her lap, the girl relaxed and scrubbed at her face. Angel judged her to be about twelve, all skinny arms and legs, and with wild, uncombed brown hair. The flash of eyes she'd seen had been brown.
"Will you tell me your name?" Angel asked with gentle tones, rather like those she used for soothing a frightened animal. "Just so I don't have to say 'hey, you, girl.'"
"Sasha," the girl whispered, and hiccuped.
Angel did her the courtesy of not smiling at the sound.
"You're a Herald, aren't you?" Sasha said.
"It's the Whites," Angel said, deadpan. "Gave me away, didn't it?"
Sasha tried to smile. At least her lips quivered as if making the effort.
"Journeyman status," Angel replied cheerfully. "Lia and I were out on circuit. We were, that is, until this." She thumped the cast on her leg.
"Did your leg get broken during a battle?" Sasha asked.
"We --er--weren't battling at the time," Angel said.
Lia snorted. :With a stirrup, maybe.:
Angel ignored her Companion and didn't volunteer the information that a mud-slick boot slipping from her stirrup while mounting had caused the injury. Some stories sounded better with bits left out.
