The Scars We Bare _

Chapter 1: A Castle In The Hills

Dawn broke over Castle Overblow and the early morning sunlight began it's daily task of warming the ancient stones of the school. It was mid August and the days were warm. Dew glistened on delicate tendrils of grass as the birds sung their morning songs. The archaic, old castle was silent. The pupils that normally inhabited the droughty halls were spending the summer holidays at home with their families, leaving only Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom alone in the castle.

On this particular morning, a small black shape was slinking along the base of the ancient walls, making its way back in after a night of hunting. Morgana paused in her journey as a gentle breeze whispered over her, bringing with it an unfamiliar scent in the process. There were intruders on the premises. The cat, deciding she'd better investigate, moved cautiously and silently in the direction the scent had come from. She entered the courtyard and scanned the area through narrowed green eyes before padding around the perimeter.

It didn't take her long to discover the two girls who lay in a crumpled heap near the gates. Morgana pricked her ears but there was only silence from the humans. She carefully approached them and sniffed the air. The sour stench of fear and the metallic tang of blood was what she picked up. Not surprising considering the girls were covered in cuts and bruises. Morgana noted that they seemed a little smaller than the youngest girls who came to the castle to learn magic, although, she thought, it was difficult to tell whether that was because they were indeed younger or because they didn't seem entirely well fed.

Morgana wondered what had happened to them and where they'd come from as they weren't pupils. She decided she best go and alert her mistress, and so, went in search of Miss Constance Hardbroom.

o0o

Constance Hardbroom had always been an early riser, even during the holidays. She was always the first one in the castle up and about in the morning. This morning was no different.

As she went about getting ready for the day in her bedroom, she was not at all surprised when Morgana leapt through the window and landed on the sill. It was when her familiar jumped up onto her dressing table and let out an insistent meow that she allowed a frown to form on her features.

"What's gotten your tail in knot, hmm?"

The cat meowed again and jumped down in order to proceed to the currently closed door. She scratched at the wood insistently and continued to meow.

"For goodness sake, Morgana!"

Constance sighed and got up. She pushed open her door and watched as her cat streaked down the hall. She was about to close the door when Morgana stopped, turned around and meowed again. She sat herself down and waited expectantly for her mistress.

Constance's frown deepened. It was obvious something was wrong. Morgana seemed insistent that she follow her.

"Alright, I'm coming." She relented.

She followed as Morgana led the way downstairs, past the empty staffroom and over to the main doors. Constance pushed them open and frowned again as her cat slipped out and streaked across the courtyard. She stepped outside and let her gaze sweep the yard.

In the early morning sunlight, she spotted Morgana near the gates standing beside a still shape on the ground. The cat meowed at her and padded around her find. Constance made her way across the courtyard.

"What on earth. . ." She trailed off as she stared at the two small girls.

They were both in an appalling state. Every inch of visible skin was littered in cuts and bruises and they were so thin Constance was certain she could see their bones protruding from under their pale skin. Underneath the cuts and bruises, was an ugly web of scars that covered their bare arms and necks. They both had ebony hair which was tangled and dirty.

Constance closed her eyes against the image of herself that her mind had conjured, bruised and broken after years of suffering under Mistress Broomhead. She pushed the thought out of her head and knelt down beside the girls, feeling their wrists for a pulse. She was relieved to find they were both alive, if unconscious and decidedly ice cold. Wasting no time in resolving the latter, she crossed her arms and transferred herself and her companions to a guest room in the castle. She made sure the girls, decidedly twins, landed safely on the bed before vanishing to the potions lab.

o0o

Precious few people knew Constance Hardbroom, as in truly knew her. It was a select few of those people who could see through the ice queen facade to the damaged woman underneath. The woman who cared about her pupils and who would do anything to ensure their safety. But even those few would have been surprised to see how truly gentle she could be.

Constance was sat on the bed, carefully applying healing potion to the girls' injuries with the most delicate of well practiced touches. She had already cast a cleaning spell over them and healed a couple of broken bones. All the while, Morgana was watching dutifully over them.

As the last cut faded away under the influence of the potion, she let her eyes drift over the ugly web of scars. The sight of so many scars on such young girls made her feel sick. On a grown witch was one thing but on a child was quite another.

Constance blinked and pulled the closest girl onto her lap. She let the tiny girl's head rest on her shoulder as she conjured a hair brush and gently started to comb the tangles from her hair.

o0o

The first thing Leah registered as her mind was pulled out of the comforting realms of unconsciousness was that someone was holding her. Holding her and brushing her hair. Leah knew right away that that someone was not Eva. Eva was her twin sister. Her everything. The only one she could trust.

Leah, however, did not feel threatened by this presence. It was a strong, protective magical aura that radiated calm and control. It was not sadistic and corrupt like grandmother's. It made her feel something she'd never felt before. It made her feel safe.

She kept her eyes closed until curiosity got the better of her and she slowly opened them. Leah found herself staring into the almond-shaped brown eyes of a woman she'd never seen before. They watched each other for a moment, as if unsure of how to proceed. Leah was confused by the fact that she didn't feel threatened.

Constance was captured by the startling blue of the girl's eyes. It was true, she thought, that a person's demons hide in their eyes. She could tell by looking into those blue eyes, that this girl was haunted. Broken by a lifetime of pain and suffering.

Constance moved her hand to place the hairbrush down on the bed, only for the girl jump back, her eyes widening with fear.

Leah saw the woman's hand move out of the corner of her eye. She leapt away in terror. "I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to! P-Please don't hurt me! It won't happen again!"

Constance wiped the look of surprise off of her face. "You didn't do anything. I'm not going to hurt you, or your sister. " she said clearly. "You're safe."

At the mention of her sister, Leah looked around her until she spotted Eva curled up behind her. She frowned when she saw the cuts were gone.

"Did - did you heal her?" Leah questioned.

The woman nodded. "I healed both of you."

Leah looked down at herself. She inspected her arms and flexed her wrist, which had been broken. Again.

"Thank you." she said in a small voice.

Constance gave the girl what she hoped was a reassuring smile. A small one, mind you. "Your welcome. Now, can you tell me your name?"

"It's Leah." She replied.

"Well Leah, I'm Miss Hardbroom. what's your sister's name?" Constance continued.

"Eva. Miss Hardbroom, where are we?"

Constance watched as Leah looked around, carefully observing her surroundings. "This castle is called Overblow castle. But it is also Miss Cackle's academy. For witches."

Leah frowned. She'd never heard of Overblow castle or Cackle's academy before. "May I look out the window Miss? Please?"

"Go ahead."

Leah got up and walked across to the window, looking back a couple times as she did, just in case. She pushed open the shutters and peered out. Below was a cobbled courtyard surrounded by an old stone wall with a large wooden gate set into it. Beyond that, lush green forest spread for miles around.

She stared disbelievingly at the unfamiliar landscape. "This - this isn't Wonderland. . ."

"What?" Constance was fairly certain she'd heard wrong.

"That portal. . ." Leah half whispered. She looked down at her wrists at the once angry red scars that encircled them. Now they were a pale pink. "We're free." She looked up at Constance then and repeated, "we're free."

Constance, for the first time that morning, noticed the ugly pink scars around the girls wrists, like thick bracelets. She paled. There was only one thing that caused markings like that. But possession spells had been outlawed years ago. Their use was strictly against the witches code, not to mention the wizards code. Constance felt sick. Who would be cruel enough to use one on a child? Not even Mistress Broomhead had gone that far.

"Leah, come here." Her voice sounded strained.

Leah, however, instinctively backed away. "I'm sorry, Miss, I-I-"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Leah, please come here. I want to see those marks on your wrists." Constance explained.

Leah still looked uncertain, mistrusting. She hugged herself nervously as she backed away a bit more.

Constance sighed. She wondered whether the poor girl had ever had anyone worth trusting. Or had all the adult figures in her life been deemed untrustworthy?

Morgana jumped onto the bed from where she'd been sitting on top of the nightstand. She positioned herself beside her mistress and Constance scratched behind the faithful cat's ears. The witch knew from experience that troubled children often responded well to the comforting presence of a furry companion. Perhaps Leah would too.

"Would you like to come and say hello to Morgana?" She inquired.

Leah contemplated this. She moved a little closer, still watching Miss Hardbroom's every move, ready to run if she had to. The woman, however, remained still, on the bed with her hands folded in her lap. The picture of patience and calm. Leah moved closer. She carefully climbed back onto the bed and the cat sniffed her hand. She scratched behind her ears and Morgana purred happily.

Constance was very patient with Leah. She watched the girl stroke Morgana for a moment and noted that her posture seemed to relax slightly. It was however still decidedly ramrod straight. Constance knew that a child could only have such rigid posture if it was beaten into her.

She continued to observe the girl silently. She spotted the way her hands seemed to tremble slightly with nerves. The way her blue eyes seemed to dart around, keeping a constant watch over her surroundings. Constance wondered what had happened to the two girls and where they'd come from. What did she mean by this isn't Wonderland? It didn't make sense. The girl wasn't acting confused or delusional, she had simply stated that she wasn't where she seemed to think she was before. Constance shook her head. The time for figuring that out would come. For now she needed to confirm her fears.

"Leah. Can you show me your wrists now?"

Leah chewed her lower lip. She wanted to ask why, why did Miss Hardbroom want to see her wrists so bad? But asking why, in her experience, was never a good idea. Grandmother never liked that word. Last time Leah had dared utter it, she'd gotten a stinging backhand that left a gash in her cheek from the woman's ring. So instead of risking her new acquaintance's rath, she obediently held out her hands.

"Good girl." Constance praised lightly. She took them gently in her own and held them up for a closer look. Her blood ran cold. They were definitely possession scars, though they were pale pink rather than angry red. That would mean the spell was broken.

"Who did this to you, Leah?" She questioned.

Leah pulled her hands out of the woman's grasp and looked away. She played with a tuft of Morgana's black fur.

"Look at me while I am speaking to you, girl."

Leah's head snapped back around to face her. "Please Miss, I'm sorry. It-it was our grandmother."

"Your grandmother?"

"Yes, Miss. She - she's a monster." Leah replied quietly.

Constance seemed to ignore that last bit. "At least we can safely say it's broken." She whispered, half to herself, as her eyes locked back onto the girl's scarred arms.

Leah heard anyway. She looked down at her wrists, at the ugly bracelet like scars there. "It's not broken, Miss. Just voided. She would never be so kind as to free us." She said solemnly.

Constance frowned. "How do you know that?"

"We fell through a portal last night. Possession spells are automatically voided if the two parties are in separate lands. If - if we were to go back, it would be reactivated. Automatically." Leah explained matter of factly. "The only way for it to really be broken is if grandmother was dead, or if she willingly removed it. And she's not and she didn't. I can tell you that right now."

Constance blinked. Never before had she met a child who knew the workings of a possession spell. Mind you, she'd never met a child bound by one either.

Just who were these girls and where had they come from?

I hope you enjoyed, and please review if you want to see more!