A New Beginning
Chapter 1
Earth…
It was a cold, damp day, and a 16 year old girl was walking through a town called Heatherfield, where she had just moved to from England. She was new to the place, and was only here because her dad couldn't look after her anymore. Thomas Vandom was a scammer, and often used her in his schemes. The police had found out about his games, and the two of them would have been sent to prison, if her dad hadn't stood up for her rights. Her mother, Susan Vandom, had abandoned her years ago, and she hadn't seen her since. This was part of the reason why she didn't want to be in Heatherfield. She would never forgive her mom for that.
She wasn't a nice girl really. She was moody, mean and most people would describe her as plain rude. She probably would have been if she hadn't lived the life she had. People had betrayed her, yet she stayed loyal to them, sort of. For some reason, she had an addiction to frogs, and loved to collect anything frog–like, apart from the actual amphibian itself.
She was a skinny girl, with bright red, fiery hair which stopped just above her shoulders. She had cinnamon coloured eyes, light pink lips and pale skin. The girl's name was Wilhelmina Ashley Vandom. She hated her first name, so she decided to shorten it down to Will.
She searched around her purse for the address to her Mom's house. This was what she had meant. Her own mother didn't have enough time to pick up her own daughter and take her home. Apparently, she was busy, which meant that Will had to take a taxi ride from the airport, pay the driver, and walk back home. This was a problem because Will had never been in this area, and now in the pouring rain, she had to try navigating her way to her Mom's house.
73 Stanley Close
Where was she supposed to find that? Her Mom had given her directions to get to the house, but with all the rain the piece of paper had gotten drenched, almost as much as she had – and unfortunately she hadn't brought her umbrella with her. Ahead of her, Will saw a young woman with two children walking down the road. At least she had been taught manners, even if she didn't use them all the time.
"Excuse me Ma'am? Do you know where 73 Emerald Close is?" she asked in a loud voice. It was now raining cats and dogs and lightning had even appeared.
"Urmm…yes, turn right, walk straight ahead and turn on the second left." Said the lady in the quiet voice.
"Thank you…" said Will. The women nodded her head in approval.
Turn right, walk straight ahead and turn on the second left. After she had followed these instructions, she lifted up her head. In front of her she saw a huge block of flats. Now to find 73 she thought. It hadn't taken her too long. She went towards the door, into the elevator which told her which floor it was on and went up.
When she found number 73, she pressed on the doorbell. No answer. She pressed again. No answer. Will became unsure if this was the right flat. She checked the wet piece of paper. Nope. She was definitely in the right place. She placed her small suitcase down on the floor and checked for a spare key somewhere. Beside her, there was a plant pot. She lifted it up and to her delight, she found a key. Hopefully it was the right key.
She opened the door and found something unexpected. Her mother had locked lips with a man who had dirty blond hair and a mustache. Will felt utterly disgusted and offended.
"Is this what you were busy with?!" she yelled with a strong angry voice. Immediately, Susan turned around to meet two large, fierce eyes.
"Oh…Will… I…I didn't think you would be here this early." She said straightening her long, black hair in embarrassment.
"I don't think you remembered that I would be here at all, did you?"
"Now honey, you know that's not true...why are you all wet?"
"Don't you honey me! It seems as if you were so lost in time with that romantic kiss that you didn't even realise that it's pouring with rain out there! Now if you'll show me to my room."
Susan walked over to a room and opened the door. The room was plain white, with a single bed which had a white cover, a huge white wardrobe in the corner, a large dressing table and a white bedside table. It was all white. This room is definitely going to need redecorating, Will thought.
"Would you like me to help you unpack hon – Wilhelmina?"
No I don't need help, and it's Will, and not Wilhelmina" Snapped Will.
"Oh. Okay Will. I've ordered for some pizza. You're not a vegetarian, are you?" asked Susan. Will nodded. "I'll order some vegetarian pizza then."
After a while Susan told her boyfriend to go back home. She knocked on Will's door and walked in. It seemed that Will had brought barely any clothes and a whole load of stuffed frogs and photos of her dad and friends.
"Is this you?" asked Susan.
Susan lifted up a photo in a green frame with shiny foam frogs stick on it. It was a picture of Will with a girl with black hair and two twin boys with brown hair. Will looked so different in the photo. She had a side fringe and her hair was just above the waist. Her skin seemed like it had much more life to it.
"Urmm…yeah…" said Will
"When was this?
"Just last week."
Will went over to Susan, took the picture and placed it on the bedside table, along with one of her small stuffed frogs and a frog shaped alarm clock.
"Will? Where are all your clothes? All I see are some underwear, a t – shirt, a pair of trousers and a hoodie." Said Susan.
"I must have forgotten to pack them." Will shrugged. The girl seemed completely careless.
"Alright then. Tomorrow after you come back from school, I'll have brought you a whole load of new clothes." Said Susan with a smile.
"WHAT SCHOOL?!" Will asked, feeling sick.
"Oh don't worry dear, I brought you a school bag, school uniform and all the supplies you'll need. You'll be attending Sheffield Institute. I guess British schools start a lot later than in Heatherfield. Oh well." Stated Susan. Will looked as if she would faint in any second.
"School?"
"You won't need to worry; I've everything sorted out for you."
"School?"
"I suppose things have been a bit rushed."
"School?"
"You'll fit in just fine."
The next day, Will was having a lie in and at 8:00am and Susan was making breakfast. What the older Vandom didn't realise was that Will wouldn't get up without any force.
"Will! Will! Wake up honey, it's your first day at school today, remember? Please wake up!" Susan said while shaking her daughter.
"5 more minutes, Dad!" Said Will in her sleep.
"Will this isn't your father, it's your Mother – you're late for school!" At once Will's head shot up.
"I'm late!" Will screamed as she brushed her teeth.
"I left your uniform on your bed, sweetheart!" called her mother from the kitchen.
5 minutes later, Will came out of her bedroom. She was wearing a tight black skirt with skinny, black tights. Under her maroon jumper, she wore her plain white school shirt, which had the top buttons undone, and the tie had disappeared down under. On her feet she had ankle high black boots and her hair had been parted at the side
"You'll need a jacket Will. Shame you haven't brought one with you!" exclaimed Susan.
"I'll just use my hoodie" Said Will.
"I'll give you a lift" Offered Susan.
"Thanks"
"And that, my class, is how William defeated Harold in the Battle of Hastings – with pure luck and skill."
Just then a short, young redhead stumbled into the class. All pairs of eyes turned towards her.
"It's okay…I...I'm here…just…just give me a moment…to catch my…breath" panted the girl with one hand on her chest and the other on her knee, "I'm good now."
"And you would be?" The teacher asked her, narrowing his eyes.
"Will Vandom" she said. His eyes widened in surprise, but returned back to normal.
"I meant your full name…"
"Humph…Wilhelmina Ashley Vandom…"
"I see…we've been expecting you. My name is Mr Collins. Hay – Lin? Why don't you take Will and show her around? You see, Hay – Lin has offered to give you a grand tour of the magnificent Sheffield Institute."
"It seems like shit anyway" Will muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Mr Collins asked suspiciously.
"Nothing!" Will said in her most innocent voice which she used in her Dad's scams, as she left the classroom with Hay – Lin.
"So, Will? Do you like our school so far?" asked Hay – Lin. It was unbelievable actually. The girl was actually shorter than her! She had long raven coloured hair which was put into two pigtails. Did she always have a smile plastered to her face? From the way she looked, she had to be Chinese. Will frowned.
"I haven't even been here five minutes" She said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Silly me! My tour will last us until lunch time. I mean, thank god! I get to miss science and French. Those two are my worst subjects. Can I see your timetable?" Asked Hay – Lin.
Will handed her timetable over to Hay – Lin and watched as the hyperactive girl studied it.
"I don't mean to worry you or anything, but you got given one of the worst timetables ever. Never mind though. You're in all the classes with meeeeeee!"
"Lucky Me!" said Will sarcastically.
"I know right!"
When it was lunch time Will managed to know Hay – Lin and all her friends.
First there was Cornelia Hale. She was the leader of the group. She had long blond hair just below her waist and icy blue eyes. Her future career was to be a top supermodel. She was horrible to those she really disliked but was kind to people she liked.
Secondly, there was Elyon Brown. She was Cornelia's best friend ever since middle school. She was a little shy, but quite talkative at the same time. She loved going horse riding with her horse Sweetie. Elyon also had a secret crush on Matt Olsen, and only Cornelia knew about that.
Thirdly, there was Irma Lair. She was the prankster of the group. She loved laughing and, no matter what situation they were in, she could always make a joke to make things better. She also had her own school radio station. She had layered brown hair, with ocean blue eyes.
Fourth was Taranee Cook. She was the smart one from the 5 of them. When she was older, she planned on being a mathematician or an astronomer. She had short hair which was put in a braid, and large Harry Potter glasses. Just like Cornelia's family, she was rich.
Finally, there was Hay – Lin herself. She was an only child AND SHE HATED IT. Her family owned the local restaurant called The Silver Dragon. She was an amazing artist and longed to be a fashion designer when she was older.
"So, I take it you're Will. Where were you living before you came to Heatherfield?" asked Taranee whilst moving her glasses up.
"London" Will replied coldly.
"Oh, I heard that it's a wonderful place. I've been dying to go there myself!" exclaimed Elyon.
"Why choose Heatherfield to come to?" asked Cornelia.
"Yeah. The only thing good you get here is the park, the cinema and the swimming centre" stated Irma.
"I'm only here for a while, just until my Dad can look after me again," they all looked at her with concern. "I don't wanna talk about it."
While Will was walking back home, she thought about her 3 friends who were amazing to her. It was true that the 5 girls she had met were kind to her, but she had her old friends, and she wouldn't give them up yet, and she would go back home to them soon enough anyway.
As she was walking down a narrow, dark alley, a large blue thing appeared out of thin air. She gasped and stared at it with her eyes wide open.
Just then a large snake – man thing came out from the blue thing. She backed away slowly, but with one swipe of it's tail, it grabbed her and took her into the portal.
Meridian…
It took a few minutes before she could finally open her eyes again. She couldn't remember much, but she knew that she got whacked by the tail of a half – snake – half- man creature. Now, she wrapped up in vines, thorns and black roses?
"W…W…Where am I?" Will asked in a hoarse voice.
"In my castle in Meridian" replied a soft, but firm voice coming from a dark shadowy place. She saw a throne, but couldn't see the person sitting on it.
"Now tell me child, who are you?" he said.
"N…Nobody"
"Who…Are…You?"
"I'm Wilhelmina Ashley Vandom"
"That sounds like a Meridian name, meaning…Determined Protector…interesting.
"W…Who are you?" asked Will in an uncertain voice.
"Hmmm. I am Prince PHOBOS!" He shouted as he got off his throne and walked towards Will. He had long blond hair with merciless cold grey eyes, just like the girl called Elyon, except her grey eyes had a lot more life to them.
"Throw her in the oubliette while I decide on what to do with her" Phobos ordered. From behind her, another voice appeared.
"Yessss, my Princccce…" The creature came towards her, and she saw that it was the same one that kidnapped her and brought her here in the first place. After all the roses, vines and thorns disappeared; the snake once again grabbed her and left.
She had been knocked unconscious for the second time now, she realised. She slowly opened her eyes again and was surprised to see a large face of a male teenager, probably not much older than herself, bent right over her. One of his hands was placed on her chest and the other one was just touching her hair.
He had messy brown hair and tanned skin. His eyes were green, just like frogs, and they were watching her with concern. She felt as if she knew them from somewhere before, but quickly banished those thoughts. He had a large scar on his cheek. In fact, he had scars all over his bare arms. He wore a plain white shirt. He must be freezing. She was, and she had her jacket on.
When he noticed that she was awake he quickly removed his hand from her chest. She felt something warm under her. She turned her head and saw that it was a coat. He must have placed it there so she wouldn't be too cold. She slowly lifted herself up.
"Who the hell are you?" Will asked, the fear in her voice was obvious.
"My name is Caleb. What's your name?" asked the boy. She didn't know if she should reply or not.
"I'm Will" She said, her response quick and sharp. The reaction she got from him was much unexpected. He actually laughed.
"I have reason to believe that is a man's name" Caleb stated.
"I have reason to believe that you are an ass," Will sighed, "My full name is Wilhelmina. Horrible name right? That's why I changed it to Will."
"Really? I think it's quite an elegant name." He said.
"Whatever. Here, this is yours" She said, handing him the long brown coat.
"You should keep it" Said Caleb. Will knew enough to know that you should never accept things from strangers, even if they insisted, so she hurled it back at him. He looked at her with nothing but great annoyance.
"You're not from around here, are you?" He asked her. She knew at once that he was referring to her school uniform. Her school uniform that was now ripped and torn. Her skirt now had a slight slit upwards and her tights had several ripped areas. She noticed that her jumper was now pretty much a pile of rags and her shirt a small tear on her right sleeve.
"I doubt it. I'm from London" Will replied honestly. Instantly she felt regret. What was she doing, telling a stranger where she was from? Who was this boy? Was he like the snake and the tall blonde man, Prince Phobos was it? Then again, he was being kind to her. Will decided she really needed answers.
"Where's that?"
"In England, duh, what do they teach you these days?!" She replied. This guy was out of his mind. Why did the snake have to put her in here with a complete lunatic!
"I see – wait, you're not supposed to be on this side of the veil. Tell me how did you get here?" He asked aloud with concern in his voice. Will decided that she had, had enough of his little games.
"I was minding my own business on the way home from school and behind me, a blue swirly thing came from nowhere and a half – snake – half – man thing kidnapped me and knocked me out. When I woke up I was ties up in roses and Prince Phobos ordered for me to go in the oubliette. And that's all I remember" Will frowned deeply.