Born on my fathers farm outside the town of Greenhills, county Dubhlinn, Ireland. It was the seventh of March in the year 821.  I grew up believing that the man that raised me was truly my father.     Each morning I woke up early to tend to the few animals we had before checking the crops of oats and barley.  There would be times in which I would help haul buckets of water from the nearby creek to water the crops and animals.  The creek was fed by a fresh spring, and offered us lots of fresh water.  After the morning chores I would help my mother cook, and do the washing.     After a busy morning I would take some time to myself and go to the field behind the house.  There was a circle of trees around a large rock, and I would sit here and look at the clouds, daydreaming of what things were like outside of this small area I lived in.  I often dreamed of travel, but I was not sure of why.  I was born after the barbarians ravaged out lands, so I heard tales of those men and their large ships and wondered what it would be like to go off on the ocean and explore.  I could not chare these thoughts with my parents, however, for they would get very angry and tell me to never bring it up again.     One day, while I was out on my rock, my mother approached me.  It was the morning of my birthday, the day I was to come of age.  She knew I would never accept the ways of our village, that I would never be happy staying at home tending to my husbands every need.  I had too much of my true fathers blood in me, as I would soon find out.  Her face was pale and her eyes red, as though she had been crying.  I asked what was wrong, and that is when she began the tale of my true origins.
	My dear daughter, your father and I have been discussing your future and we have decided it is time you know your true origins.     At the time of your conception I lived in Howth with my parents.  I was sitting on the beach, awaiting the return of my fathers fishing ship when I noticed another ship coming toward the shore.  I was not sure why, but I was very afraid.  I ran back to the house and told my mother of the approaching ship.  She grabbed me and we ran, looking for a place to hide.  We only had one horse, so I told her to go for help.  She began to cry, I was their only child, and she couldn't bear leaving me behind, but I forced her to go.  Running back to the house, I saw the men coming toward me.  It was too late to hide.  One of them charged me, grabbing me around the waist.  I screamed and tried to fight, but it did not matter.      (There was a long pause.)   I will save you the details of my attack dear child.  The day our ship was to depart I managed to jump into the water and since I was able to hold my breath for a very long time they must have believed I drown and left without me.  My mother returned to find me soaking wet in our home.  We never heard from my father.     Over the next several months my tummy grew.  My mother knew that my child would be an outcast here so we traveled to  Greenhills, to my fathers brothers homestead.  He took us in and found a man willing to marry me and raise my child as his own.  So now you know why we never wanted you to talk of going off in a ship.
I was in shock.  My entire life was a lie.  I could not even look at my mother, all I could do was run back to the farm.  My father, or the man I thought was my father, was standing by the gate.  I ran past him as well.  While inside my mother handed me a rolled up piece of canvas, she told me it was a sketch of my father that she drew for this day.  I took it and gathering my few belongings I left there, never to return again.