A/n: I hope everyone enjoys this! it's my first fanfic! BTW when I was thinking up names I was in the middle of drawing faeries, hence the name "Faerena" This is a fixed up version of chapter 1. I fixed up a few sentences here and there, but the biggest one was that I took away Renee's lisp b/c pple were telling me it was confusing to read! This story gets better around chapter 5 b/c it takes awhile for me to adjust to writing a new story...So just deal with the sorta childish way of writing for now and you'll see that my writing improves later on!

Anyway, this is the NEW version of chapter one! It sounds so much better than the original! I changed Madam Crosswire's name to Madam Castifore but I'm not finished rewritting chapter two yet so just so you know, Madam Castifore and Madam Crosswire are one and the same!

R&R!

Oh! And a BIG thank you to Actaeon for helping me get the story to flow better and for being a great beta-reader! THANKS!

An Artist's Tale

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"There she is" I glanced back as I stumbled down the steep hillside a small easel tucked under my right arm and a half finished painting of a flower tucked under my left arm. I stubbed my toe on a rock that had somehow managed to plant itself in my path. I winced in pain and then fell to the ground as a sharp pain shot through my chest, my paints and brushes not to mention my easel and canvas sprawled around me and I hurried to pick them up.

"Here." I heard a grouchy but kind voice say I glanced up and noticed it was one of the women who had been following me. A couple of my brushes were in her outstretched hand. I reached out tentatively and took them from her grasp and as I did I felt something like an electric shock run down my arm.

"Thanks." I mumbled quickly and turned away with my things in my hands. As I walked hurriedly down the hill I could hear the two women continue talking. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying.

"Is that her?" I heard the woman who had helped me ask the other woman.

"Yes, her name is Faerena Massey. Our village believes she is possessed by a demonic spirit." I felt my temper rise, the woman was very well known in my village her name is Madam Belinda Castifore and she's the wife of the news crier. She's the nosiest and most snobby woman in the village, but that didn't give her the right to call me a demonic spirit, did it? I quickened my pace, walking as fast as my short legs would allow, but kept one ear open to hear the rest of the conversation.

"I see, where are her parents?" The strange woman asked.

"They died a couple years ago." Madam Castifore said, "So she and her five siblings live in the orphanage. They have an uncle that refuses to take them in because Faerena scares him." I could feel the blood pumping in my ears, why was Madam Castifore being so cruel? Couldn't she see I was in range of her voice? Couldn't she see that what she was saying was tearing open old wounds?

"Hey Renee! Hurry up we're leaving!" I glanced up to see my oldest brother Kalmia Massey waving at me at the foot of the hill, my other siblings Crystal, Marik, Elekiel and Sonya were standing behind him.

"I'm coming! Just give me a second!" I shouted back, forgetting everything I had just heard when I looked upon my family's smiling faces. I blundered and stumbled the rest of my way down the hill to meet my family.

"Did you forget we were goin' to the beach today?" Kalmia asked, punching my arm playfully.

"No." I answered rubbing my sore arm, "I just lost track of time, I was too busy painting on the hill." I glanced back and noticed with satisfaction that the two nosy women had disappeared. Good riddance. I thought happily.

"Hurry up Renee!" My brother Marik said tugging my arm, "I don't wanna miss the trip to the beach!"

"Go to the beach by yourself, for all I care!" I retorted sticking my tongue out. "I have my art supplies to worry 'bout." Marik and I are very close siblings, but we like to argue a lot which gives people the impression that we hate each other. Marik rolled his eyes and grudgingly took the easel from my arms and swung it over his shoulder. My sister Sonya took my palette with a small smile and Crystal took my brushes. Elekiel and Kalmia somehow managed to get out of helping me carry my art supplies as they always did.

And so laughing my family and I made our way down the road that led to the beach.

That night:

"Renee, it's the middle of the night." Crystal murmured lifting her head up from her pillow and rubbing the sleep from her gray-green eyes. She tucked a loose strand of light brown hair behind her ear and stood up quietly making her way toward my bed across the girl's dormitory.

"I know but I can't sleep." I whispered back still absorbed in the sketch I was working on. It was a picture of Pookie, Madam Castifore's pet poodle who hates children and only has eyes for his mistress, sleeping curled up on a rug bundled up like a baby. Crystal peeked over my shoulder and stifled a snort of laughter. The girl in the bed next to mine, Nali Handler awoke with a start as Crystal and I broke into quiet giggles.

"Whazza matter? Why aren't you sleeping?" Sonya mumbled from her bed in the corner of the dormitory.

"Sonya, you have to see what Renee is in the middle of drawing!" Crystal said in a stage whisper. With a halfhearted sigh Sonya stood up and walked over, stumbling in the dark and waking a few more girls on her way over to my bed. Soon about half the dormitory was crowded around my bed giggling at my picture. The small midnight gathering was soon broken up when Aristati Levidia-the prefect of our dorm- came in to see what all the commotion was. She sent everyone to bed with a warning that if she caught them out of bed again they would be sent to Matron's study first thing in the morning for a punishment. Before she left she complimented me on my drawing but suggested that I go to sleep soon.

I was finishing up my sketch of Pookie when I remembered Madam Castifore and what she had said about me.

Stupid woman, I thought angrily brushing away the tears that threatened to fall. I hate her, she had no right to say all those things about me. I sniffed and clutched my pencil tighter in my small hand and brought it back down onto the paper. I wish I could make her pay. More and more anger built up inside me so in order to calm myself I began to add on to the picture, sending all my rage and pain into the drawing like my parents had taught me.

After another ten minutes I set my stub of charcoal and my piece of paper down on my night table, yawning widely. It had been a long day and I was tired and I had school the next day as well. I shut my eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

Like I said, it had been a long day...