Beneath the Sunset (working title)
an excerpt

It was such a glorious and wonderful day. So beautiful, in fact, that nothing could have been more perfect. The sky stretched endlessly across the horizon in a single shade of pale blue with not a cloud marring the sight. Below, the emerald green sea rolled continuously and lapped gently against the lazy beach. Seagulls flocked the shore, flying and diving occasionally in search for fish and other food that seagulls usually prey on.

Despite all the surrounding beauty, the lone being sitting atop a mass of hard consolidated mineral material by the beach noticed none of it. The person was a young woman with red hair similar to the color of copper. She was at the prime of her youth although her wiry frame made her look rather small for her age. She gazed sadly at the point where the sky and sea met and her pale oval face was smudged with dirt and tears. A few minutes later, she noticed a figure walking hurriedly and purposely towards her. She hastily wiped her face with the back of her hand and made a move to stand up, shaking the sand that had gathered on her simple dress.

"Elise." The person called out, finally reaching her.

"Any news?" Elise asked her new companion.

"I'm 'fraid not." He replied. "He wants to have a word with you."

"I see." She started walking towards a crude path that led to the edge of the town where she had called home for most of her life. "It is a beautiful day, is it not?" Elise added dispassionately.