Hey! This is my first fanfic for Hollow Kingdom Trilogy. It's pretty slow at first, but don't worry, it gets better! Please read and review!!
My name is Isabeau Mallory Diedre, and this is my story.
I was destined for bad luck from day one for no other reason than my name. First of all, what kind of name is Isabeau? I could have had a normal name, Isabelle would have been perfect. "Consecrated to God" is its meaning. I think I could have lived up to that name. No, instead my mother wanted to be "original" and decided to make it Isabeau. That's not even the worst. Diedre is Celtic for broken hearted. Great. The blame lies with my father there. As if all of that isn't bad enough, my parent's decided to name me after my grandmother, Mallory. Thanks, Gram, you cursed me with your name meaning bad luck! All this added up to one thing. From the moment I could think I lived by this rule: If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.
It seems strange to most people, but I've always found that much can be determined about a person by their name. It molds them into who they are. Which is why I wasn't thrilled with mine. That is a mild way of putting it, to say the least. I have three siblings, a sister and two brothers. We live in a comfortable home about two miles out of London, England. I wish I could say we are a happy family, full of love and compassion for one another. That would be a lie, though, and I try never to lie.
Let me give you a brief description of my family. My mother, Maya, is a simple woman beat down by life. Her hair was once a lustrous mahogany, but has been streaked with gray and faded to a dull mud. My father is a serious man whose face is etched with lines from worry, strife, and a simple lack of smiling. Colista and Keene are nineteen-year-old twins. Keene is scholarly, preferring pouring over textbooks to having any sort of communication with the rest of us. Colista is beautiful, and she knows it. She uses it, and constantly reminds me that I can't match up to her in looks. Carlin, my eight-year-old brother, is perhaps my favorite of my siblings. He's a darling little boy, and my constant companion throughout my many adventures.
"Izzy!" Carlin screeches, his reddish brown hair tumbling into his eyes as he scrambles into my lap.
"What's wrong, Carl?" I question, scanning my eyes over him quickly to check for an injury. I was almost ten when Carlin was born, my mother past her prime years and tired of life. I had filled in role of mother most of his life, and fiercely protect my little brother.
"Keene told me to be quiet because I would never be a scholar like him, and Colista said… said…"
"What'd she say, sweetie?"
He looked up at me with sad brown eyes and whispered, "Said Penny would never like me because I was ugly and short." He buries his face in my shoulder and I hold him tight. I couldn't believe Colista! Carl had liked his classmate Penny for months, they had been best friends for a while. He confessed to me the other day he liked her and I told him to bring her flowers, but Colista was ruining everything!
I sit Carlin up and look at his eyes, seeing my own dark blue ones reflected in his. "Carlin, you are not ugly. You are the handsomest boy I ever saw."
He sniffles. "Even Kevin?" he asks, making me blush. Kevin is my beau.
"Even Kevin" I promise. "And Penny will love the flowers you picked her. Why don't you give them to her now? Here," I say, untying the purple ribbon holding back my chocolate covered curls. "Tie them up in this."
He gives me a quick peck on the cheek and takes off at a run. I sigh. I wish all my problems were as easy to mend as his. Raising myself to my feet with a grunt, I head back toward the house, searching for my sister. I walk in the yellow front door and turn left to head to our bedroom. She is where I expect her: in front of the mirror.
"Collie," I say reprovingly.
She turns to give me an exasperated glare. "What now?" she complains, knowing my tone.
"You can't say those things to Carlin! He's just a little kid! You can't tell him he is ugly, or that Penny won't like him, Collie. That's just cruel."
Colista merely continues brushing out her hip length auburn hair. She pouts her full lips in the mirror, watching me with an unabashed expression. "Who are you to tell me what to do? I'm not cruel, just honest. Have you seen his nose? All crooked!" she says, tweaking her own nose with a satisfied smile. I open my mouth to reply nastily, but she cuts me off. "And it's not Collie. It's Colista."
"I've called you Collie since I was two years old."
"Well, Raymond doesn't like me being nicknamed after a dog," she replies, naming her latest suitor. "You would do well to change yours too, Izzy."
I lift my chin defiantly. "Thank you for your concern, but I believe I'll make that choice myself." I turn and march out of the room, desperate to leave her company. With father at his office in town, mother visiting our neighbors, and Colista being insufferable, I don't really have much option of anyone else to be with. Interrupting Keene from his studies is a fantastic way to get your ear talked off, so I don't really fancy that.
I walked out into the yard, observed its disarray. Every fall Mother said she was going to fix it in the spring, and every spring she said she was much to busy. The swing my father put up to keep us outdoors and away from him is still intact, and I sit down on in with a lonely sigh.
"Ah, Izzy," comments a voice behind me. I smile without turning around, knowing exactly who it is. "What are your plans for this fine day?"
"I thought perhaps to sulk," I respond casually. He grips the rope of the swing, pulling it back and releasing me into the air. I giggle in delight. "But as it seems you have already ruined those plans…"
He stops the swing and draws close to me, out faces inches apart. "And what would such a beautiful lady as you have to sulk about?" My face melts into contentedness. No one makes me feel the way Kevin does. As if being me is enough.
I lean my head on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"Yes it does," he tells me, stroking my hair with a comforting hand.
I shake my head. "Let's just enjoy the moment, not dwell on the past."