A/N: It's been forever cause I was occupied by all my other stories(sorry bout that) but I hope you enjoy the first official chapter of…THE GIRL WITH BLUE HAIR.

THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tamora Pierces awesome novels. Period.

Chapter 1

Aly woke up to a faint ringing sound in her head.

What had happened?

She had been out on her balcony, thinking, then she went inside…

Hazel eyes shot open at once.

She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision and sat up from the hard floor she was sitting on.

Hard floor? That can't be right. Her room had a heavy rug in it that was soft and kept away the bitter chill of the stone blocks.

And yet…

This was her room. Aly was sure of it. Same walls, same floor, and fireplace, except this room had no furniture in it and was coated in a heavy layer of dust, like it hadn't been touched in years.

What in the name of the Goddess had happened?

Aly tried to stand up and but immediately stopped and winced. How did she get so sore? Her muscles felt like they had been dragged by a horse over nails. Multiple times.

Biting her lip to keep from groaning, she managed to stand up and wandered over to the balcony she swore she had just come from.

The stones felt frigid under her feet as Aly stepped out onto the balcony and surveyed the land around her.

Aly rubbed her eyes and checked again in disbelief. It certainly looked like Pirate's Swoop at first sight, but Aly's sharp eyes caught the changes.

Houses that were supposed to be ruins.

Trees in place of pastures.

But most of all, a strange sense of….offness, if that was even a word.

Aly spun on her heel and headed towards the heavy wooden door, sending little tornados of dust in her wake.

Just before she reached the door however, she silently got down on one knee and listened carefully for any signs of life on the other side while peering through the keyhole. She was meet with grim silence and an empty hallway.

Where was everyone?

Aly carefully pried open the door and crept along the deserted hall. She swiftly traveled through the manor, having learnt all the passages by heart. But when she lifted an old wall hanging to enter the secret shortcut underneath, she came face to face with solid stone.

Something was definitely wrong.

Da had installed the passageway when her parents had first moved into the Pirate's Swoop. It used to be an abandoned fief before that. All the relatives had died off and it was official Crown property until King Jonathan had given it to Da.

As she thought over this information in her mind, it all came together. However impossible, when all other options had been eliminated the remaining must be the answer.

Aly had traveled back in time.

This was not completely unheard of. There were legends, but that all it ever seemed to be, legends. However, it seemed the gods were always involved, and that was definitely heard of, her mother being one of the few blessed by the Great Goddess. Though she couldn't think of any gods that had to do with crows.

Aly stepped back from the wall, ready to test her theory, however fragmented. She walked the familiar path out of the manor. As she slipped across the courtyard, a faint bell could be heard beyond the walls. She silently pressed against the door, listening. The creak of wheels and ringing. Soft footsteps. A merchant, traveling to a nearby village.

She waited until the noise had passed before sneaking through the wooden doors. Having to pick the lock first, of course.

The outline of the wagon and an elder woman walking beside it got smaller and smaller as they traveled farther and farther away. Perfect.

"Hello!" Aly cried, putting a deliberate Corus accent and a thread of desperation in her voice.

The old woman slowed to a stop, but Aly was unable to discern her face in the shadow of the sun. Her gaze sharpened as she used the Sight to see. The old lady's face came into view and she could see the small curl of a royal blue sparkling in her midsection. Magic, but not enough to be used for anything other than a few household remedies and spells. Her face was filled with smile wrinkles and she had light blue eyes, like the sea. Her graying hair was pulled back into a loose bun. She wore a faded red robe-like dress with many little trinkets around her neck.

"Hello!" She called back in a faint voice.

Aly hurried forward, purposefully pulling up her skirts as to fear the dirty ground to play the part of a city girl who thought themselves important enough to act like a noble in the presence of country farmers.

"Can you help me? I got separated from my caravan and I don't recognize any of the surroundings." She gasped, appearing out of breath, with a note of pleading coming through plainly in her voice.

The old woman took her in a wise look, observing her windblown azure hair and dress and her formal Corus speech, so unlike the usual talk.

She nodded, smiling gently and held out her hand in greeting. "T'would be a pleasure to give helping to the younger gen'ration. 'Owever strange dey may be." She eyed Aly's hair with one raised eyebrow. Her speech had the faint echo of country background, but showed she had grown into the formal merchant speak later in life.

"Name's Ilene Nomith."

Aly smiled and shook her hand. "Aly Homestead."

"Well Aly, where 'xactly are yer from?"

"Corus." She drew herself up importantly.

Ilene thought this over for a minute and Aly waited patiently, hoping to look pleading. Finally Ilene sighed and nodded reluctantly, like she'd seen this before. "Well, if you'd want, I'd be glad to take yer as an assistant. I'll be makin' my way to Corus soon enough. You can meet up with your family there. But be prepared to work. "

Aly nodded eagerly, losing her arrogant stature. She looked up at her with wide honest eyes. "Oh thank you! Thank you! You won't regret it! I'll be the best assistant you've ever had!"

Ilene couldn't hide a smile at her new assistant's excitement. "First we're gonna travel to Creelop, the nearby village. We'll be selling our wares there. You can look after Boris," she motioned to the donkey pulling the cart, "and mind the cart. Shouldn't be too difficult."

Aly nodded obediently.

"Yer lucky you came across me. Most people wouldn't give you a second look. But I've been looking for someone to help me. I'm not as young as I used to be. Someone must be watching o'er you."

Ilene smiled at the end of her sentence and turned back to her wagon, leading Boris purposefully forward.

Aly smiled softly. "Yah, someone." She whispered under her breath and hurried to walk beside Ilene, beginning a mission of her own.

So this chapter was kinda suckish, I hope the others will be better. I wanted it to be more…drawn out, but I couldn't think of anything else. So don't think the rest of the story is going to be like this.

And most of all….REVIEW!