Disclaimer: All characters except for Elisabeth, Sonya, and her mother.
belong to David Eddings. I'd love to be able to take credit for them, but
thems the brakes.
Summary: Elisabeth Black is just a regular sixteen-year-old from Dunedin. She reads constantly – especially books by one of her favorite authors, David Eddings. She daydreams of escaping into the world of the Belgariad and Mallorean.
One day, what should have been a fatal accident may make her dreams come true…
~*~
Chapter One: What Should Have Been An Ending
~*~
"Ella! Ella, honey, you're going to be late!"
It was Ella's mum. She stared grouchily at the mirror. Her long brown hair was tidied back in two french plaits, and she wore the little silver cross that her grandmother bought her for Christmas. Green eyes against her caramel skin let her pretend for a moment that she was an exotic princess, off to a grand ball.
But no, she was just a sixth former at Kavanagh College, and she didn't think being part maori qualified as 'exotic princess'. She looked with distaste at her jersey, which she steadfastly refused to wear, and picked up her blazer. Her kilt was just knee-length, luckily she hadn't been one of those unfortunates who ended up with the longest kilts you ever saw. Knee high navy blue socks were pulled up, and she wore comfortable mary- jane-style black shoes.
She applied a coat of lipgloss and gave one last exasperated sigh before hurrying out to meet Sonya at her gate.
"God, Ella, you take forever in the morning, you know that?" It was Sonya, Ella's best friend.
"Yeah, I know." Ella gave her friend a half-hearted smile.
"What's up?" Sonya looked concerned. "Sarah steal your new skirt or something?"
Sarah was Ella's little sister, and she drove Ella up the wall. "Sky's up, last I checked. Nah, Sarah's not doing anything."
"What is it then?" Sonya persisted.
Ella decided to go with the easiest excuse that would get Sonya off her back. "Boy troubles." She said shortly.
They started to cross the road, and Sonya started to ask Ella who, but she didn't get any further.
A car, from out of no where, smashed into the petite sixth former's side, sending her flying through the air.
"ELISABETH!" Sonya screamed.
~*~
When Ella came around, she knew instantly something was wrong.
This wasn't her room, these weren't her pajama's – on closer inspection, it was a nightgown actually – and she'd never seen anything like this room.
Somehow, it all seemed so familiar…
She heard someone walk in. "Who are you? And where the hell am I?" she demanded as they pulled open the curtains.
"Why don't you tell us who you are?" the woman said. She seemed familiar too, like a dream that Ella hadn't quite forgotten…
"I'm Elisabeth Black." She answered, hesitantly. Fear showed in her deep green eyes. "Polgara?" she whispered.
"Yes." The woman nodded.
"That's impossible! You're a character in a series of books, not a real person!" Ella cried. She saw her bag and school uniform laid neatly by her bed.
"Oh?"
"I've been reading about you since I was eleven, you were like my idol. I wished I had an aunt like you, a family like yours." Beth burst out; unable to keep it in. "I adored reading about you, the things you did. And Belgarath, 'Old Wolf', I wished he was my grandfather. I thought Garion was so lucky, but I was so shocked when you hit him for saying 'Torak'. That was a bit much, Lady Polgara." Beth seemed to be saying things she'd been dying to say for years, and Polgara didn't interrupt her. "I cried when Brand's son died and he just walked away. And you kept throwing Garion and Ce'Nedra together on that journey – Ce'Nedra mentioned it to Garion when they went to get formally engaged or whatever it was. She said something mournfully about missed opportunities and made Garion blush." Ella giggled.
Polgara decided now was time to intervene.
"Elisabeth, what happened before you came here, and do you know how you came here?"
"Last I remember," her brow furrowed, "I was walking to school with my friend Sonya. I was feeling a bit down, and she wanted to know why, so I told her it was boy troubles. She was about to ask me who, and a car came flying around the corner, and it hit me. Then nothing." Her eyes widened. "I got hit by a car! I should be dead!"
Polgara regarded her carefully. "How much do you know about us, then?"
"I've been reading about you since I was eleven, like I said. There are thirteen books, two series – the Belgariad and the Mallorean – and then there's the two prequels – Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress, written in first person – and then there's the Rivan Codex. The Belgariad is from when Garion leaves Faldor's Farm to when he kills Torak, and the Mallorean is when Geran is abducted and they – you – traipse around the world after him to the final meeting of the child of the dark and the child of the light."
"What sort of books are they? Historical documents?" Polgara ventured.
"No, no, of course not. Fantasy novels, written to entertain. There's no magic where I'm from, and the gods…well, there are lots of religions, and wars are fought over them, people are persecuted for their beliefs, but each and every religion insists that their god is the only god. Or their gods, as the case may be. But they don't talk to people." Ella stretched. "Can I get up now? I've got a change of clothes in my school bag."
Polette and Polina (or Polly and Lina) came barging in. They were the twins, and the same age as Elisabeth. "Is she awake – oh, hello!" they said in unison. If they really wanted to annoy their grandfather, they spoke the way Beltira and Belkira did, finishing each other's sentences.
"Uh, hi." Ella said, swinging her legs out from under the blankets and going to get up.
Polgara pushed them out the door and then went to leave herself. She turned, and smiled. "Go ahead, I'll be out in the vegetable garden. It should be easy to find, the cottage isn't that large."
"Yes, Aunt Pol. Oops, sorry, Lady Polgara." Ella blushed at her slip of the tongue.
~*~
Ella put on a little white tiny-teeshirt, which showed off her belly-button ring and the tattoo of a dragon in the small of her back, with a denim mini- skirt that showed off her long legs to good advantage. It was summer here, and she felt relieved that her clothes wouldn't be too hot in the warmth in the vale. She hadn't any other shoes, so she went bare foot out into the garden. Polly and Lina gaped at her.
"Can you see what she's wearing, Polly?"
"Can you see what she's not wearing, Lina?"
Ella wished they'd shut up, and then her heart sank.
She was wearing – by their standards – next to nothing, and in front of the King and Queen of Riva, and their children. Geran, who was a couple of years older than her, and Beldaran, her own age.
Not to mention the Eternal Man, Belgarath the Sorcerer.
"Elisabeth," Polgara beckoned, as if she hadn't noticed that what Ella was wearing was definitely not the style here. "Come over here."
Reluctantly, she approached them.
"Elisabeth, this is—" Polgara went to introduce them, but Ella nodded.
"I know. Ce'Nedra, Garion, Geran and Beldaran."
Ce'Nedra looked offended that this girl – clearly a peasant – had neglected her titles, and was so badly mannered.
" Ce'Nedra, Queen of Riva and Imperial Princess of Tolnedra, and Belgarion, Overlord of the West." Ella added after a moment's thought. "I'd curtsey, but my clothes really aren't designed for it."
Garion looked curiously at her. "Where are you from?"
"No place you'd know of." She grinned. "Can I go climb the tree, Lady Polgara? Please?"
"Of course you can, Elisabeth. Go on." Polgara smiled at her.
Ella beamed happily, and dashed off to scamper up the tree. She had adapted quickly to this place, oddly enough, probably because she had imagined this so many times before.
Geran watched her go, while Garion and Ce'Nedra turned to Polgara with a barrage of questions.
"What did she mean 'no place you'd know of'?" Garion demanded.
"Where were her manners?" was Ce'Nedra's first question.
"She's not from this world. I don't know how, but she isn't." Polgara replied. "She's…there's something there. The Will and the Word, certainly, but there's something else."
They watched her chase Polly and Lina up and down the tree, and swing among the branches. She seemed to be having the time of her life.
~*~
'Time for your lessons.'
There was a voice in Ella's head. She was puzzled by it for a moment, then she realized. 'You're the voice of the Necessity, aren't you?' she asked mentally.
'Very clever.'
'What do you want with me?'
'Promise that if I tell you, you won't say "Why me"?'
'Ha. Ha. Ha.' She replied sarcastically. 'I'm not that stupid. What I do want to know is why the hell am I here?'
'You are the Serpent's Daughter.' The voice said, with a hint of drama in its tone.
'Gee, thanks. And of a shouldn't I be from Nyissa to be daughter serpent?' Ella didn't seem very impressed with her title.
'Go ask a god. Or better still, work it out yourself.'
She went to ask another question, but the presence was gone.
She said then things that young ladies just should not know.
And are quite probably not physically possible.
~*~
"It called her what?" Belgarath narrowed his eyes.
"The Serpent's Daughter, she told me." Polgara replied.
"It matches up, old wolf." Poledra told her husband. "The new prophecy. A few of Eriond's priests are having religious experiences; Urgit and Zakath took the liberty of having their ravings written down. Here." She handed him a parchment.
"Read it out." Polgara ordered.
Belgarath grumbled about women and inheritance, but did as he was bid. "And lo, the Serpent's Daughter, Child of Two Worlds, will reclaim her destiny, flung into the world of her birth. She shall be made as the gods intended once more, and she shall save us from the Unending Night."
There was a long silence as they mulled that over.
"Unending Night?"
"Serpent's Daughter?"
"Child of Two Worlds?"
Polgara, Garion and Belgarath exclaimed all at once.
"Does it say how she'll save us?" Polgara asked quickly. "Or give us any clue yet?"
"No, but I'm guessing she's our new Child of the Light. Which means…"
"There's another Child of the Dark out there somewhere." Ce'Nedra breathed. She'd been accepted into this circle of sorcery, though she was not herself a sorceress. She felt peculiarly honored.
"She'll need help." Garion remarked.
"Clearly. I'm sure there'll be more prophecy – telling us who will help her, I hope." Polgara regarded them carefully.
~*~
"Ella, would you please—"
"—come down?"
It was Beltira and Belkira. She couldn't disobey them…she could probably disobey Belgarath, or try and get around Polgara, but she'd never even dream of disobeying the twins. She suspected they'd be very 'disappointed', and she'd always hated that.
"Yes, Uncle Tira, yes, Uncle Kira!" The pair had very quickly become Ella's uncles, and they didn't mind. Beldaran didn't seem to like it very much, though.
Ella didn't care. Beldaran struck her as a miniature Ce'Nedra, and Ella was enough like Ce'Nedra to clash with anyone of a similar personality. I.e., Beldaran.
Geran, on the other hand…
So, she climbed down and hugged them both.
"You, young lady—"
"—are very astounding—"
"—in that you are—"
"—from somewhere else—"
"—and a part of the—"
"—new prophecy." They told her.
The daydreams she'd had for years were coming true, and it was somewhat unnerving. Ella did something she'd never done in her entire life.
She fainted.
~*~
Author's Note:
End of chapter one! The Girl In The Story, Chapter One: What Should Have Been An Ending, how do you like it? R&R!
Summary: Elisabeth Black is just a regular sixteen-year-old from Dunedin. She reads constantly – especially books by one of her favorite authors, David Eddings. She daydreams of escaping into the world of the Belgariad and Mallorean.
One day, what should have been a fatal accident may make her dreams come true…
~*~
Chapter One: What Should Have Been An Ending
~*~
"Ella! Ella, honey, you're going to be late!"
It was Ella's mum. She stared grouchily at the mirror. Her long brown hair was tidied back in two french plaits, and she wore the little silver cross that her grandmother bought her for Christmas. Green eyes against her caramel skin let her pretend for a moment that she was an exotic princess, off to a grand ball.
But no, she was just a sixth former at Kavanagh College, and she didn't think being part maori qualified as 'exotic princess'. She looked with distaste at her jersey, which she steadfastly refused to wear, and picked up her blazer. Her kilt was just knee-length, luckily she hadn't been one of those unfortunates who ended up with the longest kilts you ever saw. Knee high navy blue socks were pulled up, and she wore comfortable mary- jane-style black shoes.
She applied a coat of lipgloss and gave one last exasperated sigh before hurrying out to meet Sonya at her gate.
"God, Ella, you take forever in the morning, you know that?" It was Sonya, Ella's best friend.
"Yeah, I know." Ella gave her friend a half-hearted smile.
"What's up?" Sonya looked concerned. "Sarah steal your new skirt or something?"
Sarah was Ella's little sister, and she drove Ella up the wall. "Sky's up, last I checked. Nah, Sarah's not doing anything."
"What is it then?" Sonya persisted.
Ella decided to go with the easiest excuse that would get Sonya off her back. "Boy troubles." She said shortly.
They started to cross the road, and Sonya started to ask Ella who, but she didn't get any further.
A car, from out of no where, smashed into the petite sixth former's side, sending her flying through the air.
"ELISABETH!" Sonya screamed.
~*~
When Ella came around, she knew instantly something was wrong.
This wasn't her room, these weren't her pajama's – on closer inspection, it was a nightgown actually – and she'd never seen anything like this room.
Somehow, it all seemed so familiar…
She heard someone walk in. "Who are you? And where the hell am I?" she demanded as they pulled open the curtains.
"Why don't you tell us who you are?" the woman said. She seemed familiar too, like a dream that Ella hadn't quite forgotten…
"I'm Elisabeth Black." She answered, hesitantly. Fear showed in her deep green eyes. "Polgara?" she whispered.
"Yes." The woman nodded.
"That's impossible! You're a character in a series of books, not a real person!" Ella cried. She saw her bag and school uniform laid neatly by her bed.
"Oh?"
"I've been reading about you since I was eleven, you were like my idol. I wished I had an aunt like you, a family like yours." Beth burst out; unable to keep it in. "I adored reading about you, the things you did. And Belgarath, 'Old Wolf', I wished he was my grandfather. I thought Garion was so lucky, but I was so shocked when you hit him for saying 'Torak'. That was a bit much, Lady Polgara." Beth seemed to be saying things she'd been dying to say for years, and Polgara didn't interrupt her. "I cried when Brand's son died and he just walked away. And you kept throwing Garion and Ce'Nedra together on that journey – Ce'Nedra mentioned it to Garion when they went to get formally engaged or whatever it was. She said something mournfully about missed opportunities and made Garion blush." Ella giggled.
Polgara decided now was time to intervene.
"Elisabeth, what happened before you came here, and do you know how you came here?"
"Last I remember," her brow furrowed, "I was walking to school with my friend Sonya. I was feeling a bit down, and she wanted to know why, so I told her it was boy troubles. She was about to ask me who, and a car came flying around the corner, and it hit me. Then nothing." Her eyes widened. "I got hit by a car! I should be dead!"
Polgara regarded her carefully. "How much do you know about us, then?"
"I've been reading about you since I was eleven, like I said. There are thirteen books, two series – the Belgariad and the Mallorean – and then there's the two prequels – Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress, written in first person – and then there's the Rivan Codex. The Belgariad is from when Garion leaves Faldor's Farm to when he kills Torak, and the Mallorean is when Geran is abducted and they – you – traipse around the world after him to the final meeting of the child of the dark and the child of the light."
"What sort of books are they? Historical documents?" Polgara ventured.
"No, no, of course not. Fantasy novels, written to entertain. There's no magic where I'm from, and the gods…well, there are lots of religions, and wars are fought over them, people are persecuted for their beliefs, but each and every religion insists that their god is the only god. Or their gods, as the case may be. But they don't talk to people." Ella stretched. "Can I get up now? I've got a change of clothes in my school bag."
Polette and Polina (or Polly and Lina) came barging in. They were the twins, and the same age as Elisabeth. "Is she awake – oh, hello!" they said in unison. If they really wanted to annoy their grandfather, they spoke the way Beltira and Belkira did, finishing each other's sentences.
"Uh, hi." Ella said, swinging her legs out from under the blankets and going to get up.
Polgara pushed them out the door and then went to leave herself. She turned, and smiled. "Go ahead, I'll be out in the vegetable garden. It should be easy to find, the cottage isn't that large."
"Yes, Aunt Pol. Oops, sorry, Lady Polgara." Ella blushed at her slip of the tongue.
~*~
Ella put on a little white tiny-teeshirt, which showed off her belly-button ring and the tattoo of a dragon in the small of her back, with a denim mini- skirt that showed off her long legs to good advantage. It was summer here, and she felt relieved that her clothes wouldn't be too hot in the warmth in the vale. She hadn't any other shoes, so she went bare foot out into the garden. Polly and Lina gaped at her.
"Can you see what she's wearing, Polly?"
"Can you see what she's not wearing, Lina?"
Ella wished they'd shut up, and then her heart sank.
She was wearing – by their standards – next to nothing, and in front of the King and Queen of Riva, and their children. Geran, who was a couple of years older than her, and Beldaran, her own age.
Not to mention the Eternal Man, Belgarath the Sorcerer.
"Elisabeth," Polgara beckoned, as if she hadn't noticed that what Ella was wearing was definitely not the style here. "Come over here."
Reluctantly, she approached them.
"Elisabeth, this is—" Polgara went to introduce them, but Ella nodded.
"I know. Ce'Nedra, Garion, Geran and Beldaran."
Ce'Nedra looked offended that this girl – clearly a peasant – had neglected her titles, and was so badly mannered.
" Ce'Nedra, Queen of Riva and Imperial Princess of Tolnedra, and Belgarion, Overlord of the West." Ella added after a moment's thought. "I'd curtsey, but my clothes really aren't designed for it."
Garion looked curiously at her. "Where are you from?"
"No place you'd know of." She grinned. "Can I go climb the tree, Lady Polgara? Please?"
"Of course you can, Elisabeth. Go on." Polgara smiled at her.
Ella beamed happily, and dashed off to scamper up the tree. She had adapted quickly to this place, oddly enough, probably because she had imagined this so many times before.
Geran watched her go, while Garion and Ce'Nedra turned to Polgara with a barrage of questions.
"What did she mean 'no place you'd know of'?" Garion demanded.
"Where were her manners?" was Ce'Nedra's first question.
"She's not from this world. I don't know how, but she isn't." Polgara replied. "She's…there's something there. The Will and the Word, certainly, but there's something else."
They watched her chase Polly and Lina up and down the tree, and swing among the branches. She seemed to be having the time of her life.
~*~
'Time for your lessons.'
There was a voice in Ella's head. She was puzzled by it for a moment, then she realized. 'You're the voice of the Necessity, aren't you?' she asked mentally.
'Very clever.'
'What do you want with me?'
'Promise that if I tell you, you won't say "Why me"?'
'Ha. Ha. Ha.' She replied sarcastically. 'I'm not that stupid. What I do want to know is why the hell am I here?'
'You are the Serpent's Daughter.' The voice said, with a hint of drama in its tone.
'Gee, thanks. And of a shouldn't I be from Nyissa to be daughter serpent?' Ella didn't seem very impressed with her title.
'Go ask a god. Or better still, work it out yourself.'
She went to ask another question, but the presence was gone.
She said then things that young ladies just should not know.
And are quite probably not physically possible.
~*~
"It called her what?" Belgarath narrowed his eyes.
"The Serpent's Daughter, she told me." Polgara replied.
"It matches up, old wolf." Poledra told her husband. "The new prophecy. A few of Eriond's priests are having religious experiences; Urgit and Zakath took the liberty of having their ravings written down. Here." She handed him a parchment.
"Read it out." Polgara ordered.
Belgarath grumbled about women and inheritance, but did as he was bid. "And lo, the Serpent's Daughter, Child of Two Worlds, will reclaim her destiny, flung into the world of her birth. She shall be made as the gods intended once more, and she shall save us from the Unending Night."
There was a long silence as they mulled that over.
"Unending Night?"
"Serpent's Daughter?"
"Child of Two Worlds?"
Polgara, Garion and Belgarath exclaimed all at once.
"Does it say how she'll save us?" Polgara asked quickly. "Or give us any clue yet?"
"No, but I'm guessing she's our new Child of the Light. Which means…"
"There's another Child of the Dark out there somewhere." Ce'Nedra breathed. She'd been accepted into this circle of sorcery, though she was not herself a sorceress. She felt peculiarly honored.
"She'll need help." Garion remarked.
"Clearly. I'm sure there'll be more prophecy – telling us who will help her, I hope." Polgara regarded them carefully.
~*~
"Ella, would you please—"
"—come down?"
It was Beltira and Belkira. She couldn't disobey them…she could probably disobey Belgarath, or try and get around Polgara, but she'd never even dream of disobeying the twins. She suspected they'd be very 'disappointed', and she'd always hated that.
"Yes, Uncle Tira, yes, Uncle Kira!" The pair had very quickly become Ella's uncles, and they didn't mind. Beldaran didn't seem to like it very much, though.
Ella didn't care. Beldaran struck her as a miniature Ce'Nedra, and Ella was enough like Ce'Nedra to clash with anyone of a similar personality. I.e., Beldaran.
Geran, on the other hand…
So, she climbed down and hugged them both.
"You, young lady—"
"—are very astounding—"
"—in that you are—"
"—from somewhere else—"
"—and a part of the—"
"—new prophecy." They told her.
The daydreams she'd had for years were coming true, and it was somewhat unnerving. Ella did something she'd never done in her entire life.
She fainted.
~*~
Author's Note:
End of chapter one! The Girl In The Story, Chapter One: What Should Have Been An Ending, how do you like it? R&R!