The Out Cast

Chapter 1:

The cold water dripped down the back of Tessa's dress. Her hair now a soaked mess of mousy brown curls, pins sticking out from where they had been placed to hold back her unruly hair. Her big grey eyes sweeping the audience looking for a familiar face. Alas, Magnus, Catarina, Ragnor, Woolsey, and Sophie never went out during the day. So why had Ms. Tessa Gray been caught by the dreaded Axel Mortmain and his band of cronies? Her cousin. He had been trying to gain entrance into Mortmain's little secret society, Pandemonium. This being the main reason he had oh so willingly turned Tessa in so he could move up on Mortmain's ladder. Her cousin, Nate, was standing near the edge of the raised platform, his gaze averted from his cousin. Tessa thought about her options; try to run which wouldn't be so successful seeing as how Benedict Lightwood, Josiah Wayland, and Axel were surrounding her, or out herself in front of all these people. Her fingers clasped around the tight restraints. The rope dug into her skin. She struggled against the restraints. Seeing her attempting to free herself, Axel snatched at the back of her neck grasping it firmly in his hand. Tessa let out a fearful sob as he started to forcibly push her towards the cauldron of water.

All of a sudden Axel Mortmain's grip released her. Tessa staggered back only to be caught by a pair of strong arms. She looked up to see a spray of red hair and hazel eyes. Tessa tried to fight against him but the darkness started to cloud her vision. She heard talking but couldn't make it out. It sounded like a constant buzz. She felt a heavy quilt being wrapped around her and she was lifted bridal style back into the strong arms.

Little Tessa sat on one of the grassy hills that overlooked the town. She tugged on the grass while watching her cousin play with the other little boys. None of the girls wanted to play with her. Sophie hadn't arrived yet so Tessa just sat and waited. She fiddled with the scarf Sophie had given to her the other day as they had walked home from school. And then all she felt was pain. Excruciating pain that touched every inch of her body. She felt that she was blinded by this. That's why when she saw the sliver of light she ran towards it. Then Tessa was back on the hill and felt as if she were somewhat back to normal.

"Hey Sophie, have you seen Tessa?" Nate asked slightly winded from sprinting to the top of the hill.

"Ha ha Nate very funny." Instead of his usual mischievous smirk he just looked down on Tessa in confusion.

"No, I'm serious. I need to tell her we'll be leaving soon." Nate said in his serious tone.

"Nate, I'm right here." Tessa insisted. What? Was Nate hallucinating now?

"Oh you guys are playing that whole trade the name game. Well when you see her, tell her we have to go home soon. You don't want to be snatched up by the Downworlders now do you?" Nate grinned and ran back down the hill. Tessa was none the less confused as to what had just happened. That's when Tessa noticed her pretty dark curls flipping around her shoulders while the wind blew. Wait. Did Tessa just say dark curls? Tessa didn't have dark curls. Well she had curls but not these ringlets and her hair was definitely not the right color. Tessa, now alarmed by this sudden change of appearance, sprinted down the other side of the hill skidding to a stop in front of Lake Lyn. She saw her reflection in the water and gasped. She was so surprised she fell back on to the mud. She took in a few staggering breaths before she sat up and crawled to the edge again.

Except there was a problem. She wasn't Tessa Gray the towering ten year old but Sophie Collins the shy and timid girl who was known mainly as Tessa's best friend. Tessa could feel her breath come out in little ragged shards. Each intake caused a searing pain through her chest. All at once the pain was to much for Tessa and she collapsed onto the lake's shore.

Tessa awoke the next morning in her small bed in Aunt Harriet's cottage. She wasn't wearing her dress anymore but one of her cotton night gowns. The fading sun lit the room so it appeared to be orange. Tessa tried to play yesterday off as a dream but she knew deep down that it had been real. She was scared of course. If anyone found out of this…this deformity they would surely burn her at the stake. If she were to be found out then it would only be a matter of time before her aunt and cousin would be prosecuted for aiding a warlock and they would either be sentenced to a life in prison or worse hanged.

She knew that if she were to stay she'd only hurt those she loved. Tessa quickly ran over to her dresser and started to pack up some clothing for her to take. She snuck into the hallway with her knapsack slung over her shoulder. She crept into the kitchen retrieving a jug of water, a few apples, cheese, and bread. She opened the door slowly as to not wake her sleeping relatives and ran out into the night. Her velvet cloak flared out behind her as she ran out of the small town and into the woods that lay to the south.

Tessa kept running until she straight out couldn't. Finding a small meadow of soft green grass, Tessa decided to bunk down for the night. It was nice sleeping under the stars but she missed her warm bed. She slowly drifted off to sleep thinking about her decision that she had just made and how she would never be able to right it.

Tessa had left.

So first chapter what do we think? I would love to know what your opinion is so please review or if you'd rather not PM me! And I just want to point out that there will be a lot of back tracking into Tessa and the other characters pasts.

R and R is always welcomed.

-Emma