26 May 2012
I sighed. Something deep inside my heart, something I couldn't normally reach, fluttered and sparkled when I saw Phillip. I felt I could trust him, that he would protect me if something went wrong. Isadora jabbed me in the shoulder, bringing me back to reality and I blushed, hoping that she hadn't noticed that I had been daydreaming.
"Gywn. GYWN!" she shouted in my ear. I blinked. "As I was saying, once you've been given the once over by my mum, you'll be allowed to join me and Phillip at the training grounds. Do you know how handle weapons?" She asked, and I could see she was dreading the answer. I could hardly stand upright without shaking, let alone hold a longsword, shield and armour and fight.
"Um... Well, no. I can't remember what happened before I came here. I might have been able to but not now."
Isadora grimaced and I did too. I could see in her eyes that she had been relying on me to say yes, she had make a bargain, with... With her mother, Eliza. The world flashed twice, making the back of my eyes burn and suddenly I was there, standing in the tent watching Isadora and Eliza talk in whispers.
"Okay. I'll make you a bargain. If the Gywn girl can defeat Sam, I will let you your father stay. If she can't, I kick you and your father out and I become clan leader. If you refuse, Gywn dies. I cannot afford another weak mouth to feed." Eliza smiled a cold, smug smile and left, knowing that she had won the battle before it had even begun. I tried to walk over to Isadora, to comfort her, to tell her I would fight, but I was frozen, stuck between one reality and the next. Isadora whimpered and I knew that her mind was whirring, trying to make a decision, whether to risk her father's leadership but save me or to lose my life, saving hers. Her and her father wouldn't survive outside the clan walls and who knows how her mother would rule. She sobbed and I lost my concentration, Isadora was normally so calm, so strong, never letting her emotions show through the surface. The image blurred, the world fading back to the cold, patchwork tent. I was lying on the floor, a shaking heap. I screamed, something was crawling on my rust- coloured hair. I looked up in panic, then relaxed as I saw Phillip stroking my hair.
His eyes shone in relief when he saw me move and he shouted, " Izzy! She's awake!" to Isadora, who was pacing the tent, looking frustrated.
"Ooh! Using nicknames now, are we!" I teased, but inside my throat burned with jealousy. Isadora glared at me.
"Great. Now we have a weak shape- shifting seeress with memory-loss. And a cheeky one at that!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in annoyance. Phillip chuckled and I sat up, surveying the tent. It was made up of a patchwork of old bits of fabric sown together with thin rope. I a way, it was beautiful, the different materials acting like a stained glass window, the holes letting the light come in and dance on the floor. I felt like spinning in a circle, arms outstretched, the breeze blowing my red locks around. A voice outside made me wake up, and I mentally shouted at myself; You must not daydream! Especially if you're due to fight a warrior that could spell certain death for you and your closest allies. I didn't say friends. I don't know why, but it seemed more appropriate, that we were allies, I mean, we didn't act like friends. Most of the time we spent together involved me being knocked out cold, in a vision or a crazed wolf, with Phillip and Isadora trying to revive me. Why couldn't I be normal? Sure, almost everyone else here was a shape-shifter but as far I knew, none had severe memory loss, none were seeress' and all could fight.
In an attempt to strike up a conversation, I stood up and looking at Isadora, I said;
"So, er... Just a question. Who exactly is your mum? I mean, I know she's Eliza and everything, but can she shapeshift?"
Isadora shifted uncomfortably for a while, then said;
"My mother isn't a shape-shifter. She and father got married soon after my real mother died. She's the clan's witch, so as much as I hate her, she has to stay, otherwise, she'll get her revenge and we'll all die."
She said this like it was nothing, a simple petty issue that wasn't a big deal. As far as I was concerned, a whole clan dying was a pretty big deal.
Nightshade Part 11 • Opuss № I