First fanfic I've actually put up, due to complications. Hope you enjoy!
Summary: Septimus wants to explore the Wizard tower. Seems straight forward enough...
Septimus sighed and looked around him. The spring sun shone lazily through the enormous windows of the library, illuminating the glass-fronted cases of books, but right now none of the leather-bound volumes appealed to him. Dust swirled in the air and his emerald green Apprentice robes stuck to his back in the heat.
He sighed again, and his breath ruffled a pile of parchment, which wafted to the floor. Everything seemed so lifeless and, well, floppy in the still air.
Septimus felt exactly like the pieces of parchment as he gathered them up. He couldn't be bothered to hike all the way up to the Other library, the one where he worked and studied for Marcia, in the hope of finding a good read. That was right at the top of the tower.
What Septimus really wanted right now was company. The Ordinary Wizards were friendly enough, and the Ancients polite an helpful, but it wasn't the same as having friends his own age.
Then it hit him. Jenna. He would go and find her.
Jenna was laying on the grass in the Palace gardens, reading. It was the first hot morning of the year, and she wanted to be outside. The book she was reading was a heavy, old one, who's yellowing pages made a cracking noise every time she turned them.
A shadow fell across her and she looked up. Septimus was standing over her. He dropped to the ground next to her, and leaned over her to see what she was reading. She gave him a playful shove and he sprawled on the grass, the blades tickling the bare skin on his hands and neck.
"Nice to see you too." he grinned. "I only wanted to know what you were reading."
"Could've asked then, couldn't you?" smiled Jenna. "Here." She flipped the cover of the book over, so that Septimus could examine the front.
"A Guide to Dream and Vision Interpretations." read Septimus aloud. "Marcia reckons that's a load of rubbish. But then, she thinks everything is. You've lost your page, by the way."
Scowling, Jenna snatched the book off her brother and leafed through it, searching for where she had left off.
"Never mind that now." said Septimus. "There's something I want to show you."
"Ooh." Jenna's eyes widened in anticipation of an adventure." "What is it Sep?"
"You'll find out soon enough." replied Septimus. "Come on. Wizard Tower. Race you there."
Wizard Way was peppered with activity; Wizards buying quills and parchment, people stopping to chat in doorways, some smoking pipes;cats sunning themselves on the roofs, dogs sniffing round on the path, the like. Many people called out greetings to the Princess and the Extraordinary Apprentice as they skipped and ran down the cobbled path.
"So what do you want to show me?" quizzed Jenna as they squeezed between two groups of passers-by going the opposite direction very slowly.
Septimus didn't reply, but doubled his pace. When Jenna caught up with him,outside the Wizard Tower, he was leaning on a low wall to recover.
"Well?" she demanded, clutching a stitch in her side.
"Well what?" panted Septimus. "I told you, you'll see in a minute."
Jenna hopped impatiently from foot to foot whilst Septimus got his breath back. After what seemed like an age, he led her inside. But instead of mounting the staircase, he led her to the right and behind an enormous marble statue of a long-dead ExtraOrdinary Wizard. There was a small black door almost concealed in an alcove behind it.
"I've always wondered what's down here." he explained. "And, as I've got no more work to do, I'm going to find out today. Coming?"
So what do you think? Good opening? Or bad? Or just sort of indifferent? Reviews would be really appreciated,