They moved from the small room into a much larger one. The man went over to an iron lever on the wall nearest to them and pulled it. On the other side of the room a pair of giant wooden doors began to open, another pair of doors behind the boys began to open as well. Through the first set of doors trotted a pair of crystal white horses, pulling a large but incredibly old carriage. The rotting wheels creaked and wobbled, and the entire structure looked to be incredibly unstable. Ethan and Jerald stared at the carriage open mouthed. The man clapped his hands together sending clouds of brown dust skyward. "In you get then!" he laughed loudly. Jerald was thinking that it might be safer to walk when Ethan spoke up. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted "There is no bloody way I'm getting into some rickety, insecure, old.." he paused as the door to the carriage opened and a pretty blonde girl poked her head out. Jerald glanced over at Ethan, who had his mouth open. He closed it, swallowed and then began walking towards the carriage. "I'm in." He called back. Jerald rolled his eyes and followed, the man close behind, struggling to hold in a bought of laughter. The man pulled himself up into the driver's seat, and Jerald felt himself getting a little more worried. The blonde girl smiled at them and Ethan opened the door. Jerald jumped in first, and sat diagonally to the blonde girl, opposite another girl with a mane of shocking red hair. Ethan hopped into the carriage and sat opposite the blonde girl, closing the door softly behind him.
The carriage began to move as both boys tried to relax into the red plush seats of the carriage. The structure creaked and groaned as though it hadn't been used in generations. Ethan was staring at the blonde girl who was trying to look anywhere but at Ethan. Jerald coughed ominously. "I'm Jerald. Jerry. He's Ethan. Just Ethan." He said nervously, and all eyes landed on him. He felt himself going bright red, but then the other members of the coach smiled. "I'm Skye." Smiled the blonde girl.
"And I'm Ivanna." Said the red-headed girl in a strong Scottish accent. Feeling too awkward to try to start a conversation Jerald sat back and crossed his arms in an attempt to look relaxed. Ivanna dropped her head forwards so that her bright hair covered her face and green eyes. Skye had begun to plait her hair, and Ethan seemed content to sit back and rest his hands together at the end of his knees.
Skye wore a pretty pink blouse and a knee length pleated purple skirt, with bare feet, and yet she seemed completely comfortable with this. Ivanna was the opposite of Skye, with a purple polo shirt and pale green jeans and black army boots. Jerald looked at his own clothes and was thankful he had changed out of his pyjamas when he got up that morning. He was wearing his scruffy blue jeans with the rips at the knees, and a brown long sleeved t-shirt. Ivanna sat and twirled her frizzy hair around her finger, in some kind of an effort to make it do the impossible and get curlier. Skye finished her plait and tied it off with a pink hair-band she had originally kept around her wrist. She looked around her at the other faces and smiled. "The horses are beautiful, don't you think?" she said dreamily. Ivanna stared at her. "I wonder what breed they are" she said thoughtfully.
"Lipizzaner." Ivanna said immediately and Skye turned her attention towards the other girl.
"How do you know?" she said softly. Ivanna looked down.
"I had one. He died last year of a chest infection." She said slowly. Skye reached over and took her hand.
"I'm sorry." Skye said quietly. Ivanna looked up and stared at Skye. She wrenched her hand away from her and shook her head, trying to conceal her obvious sadness at the memory. Skye, to her credit, seemed to be used to this reaction, and she smiled kindly before turning back to look at Ethan. Ethan and Jerald shared the same startled look as Ivanna, both shocked that someone would try to make such a bad joke about death.
They sat in silence until the journey ended. The carriage lurched to a stop and they were all thrown forwards brutally. When Jerald looked over at Ethan, he noticed that his face was much paler than before, and he was looking around him wildly. The door opened, and the man's face appeared. "We're here" he smiled. Ethan gestured for Skye and Ivanna to leave before him, and after he got out into the fresh air his complexion improved and so did his expression. Jerald got out last and walked into the sunlight.
The group had emerged onto a narrow cobbled path in the middle of a densely packed forest. In front of them stood a ring of tall stones, each of which had a different mark engraved onto its rough surface. Inside the stone circle lay five large rocks. Four lay in a small semicircle, facing the last. Each rock had been smoothed out on the top so they could be sat on. The group moved cautiously into the circle at the man's request, and went to sit down. Jerald sat first, on one of the middle stones. Skye sat down next to him on the other middle stone, and Ivanna sat beside her. Ethan took the last seat reluctantly. A figure emerged from the tree line and moved towards the group. It was a woman, dressed in a fine long green silk gown with long brown hair and hazel brown eyes, weathered with age. She moved gracefully into the circle and took the seat opposite them. Without hesitation, she began to speak, her voice soft and reassuring. "Legend tells of a band of noble warriors. Whenever trouble is at hand, they should be sought out, for they are sworn to protect the innocent and vanquish the evil." She paused, smiling down at the teenagers.
"That's a nice story." Muttered Ivanna audibly with a hint of sarcasm.
"Hey!" Skye said, turning quickly to face Ivanna. "It could happen." She said enthusiastically. The remaining members of the group raised their eyebrows and then turned back towards the woman, who was smiling appreciatively over at Skye, her hazel eyes warm and kind.
"You must be aware that we would never have brought you here if it wasn't absolutely necessary. You see, you are the new warriors." She said.
"Why us?" Jerald asked slowly.
"Because each of you has something very special inside." The woman said, ignoring Ethan's sarcastic look. "And that special part of you is needed to defeat the darkness that is coming."
"what darkness?" asked Skye, frowning.
" A danger we face that is greater than ever before. We need you."
"Why is it always a danger greater than ever before?" Ivanna snapped suddenly. "Its beginning to sound a lot like a fairytale, and I don't know about any of you," she said, pointing to each of the other members, "but I don't believe in fairytales." She said. She stood quickly and began to walk away.
"How do I get home?" she said as she began to walk
"You can't." Whispered the woman. She too got to her feet. "You were chosen." She said. Ivanna shook her head.
"I don't choose it." Said Ivanna angrily. The woman stood and walked gracefully over to her. She held out her hand and revealed a small dead daisy lying in the centre of her palm. Ivanna looked down at it and then up at the woman. "Am I missing something here?" Ivanna said slowly, trying her best to contain her anger. The woman smiled.
"A flower may seem dead to many eyes, but with the correct nurture and kindness," the woman said softly, closing her fingers around the daisy. Her hands glowed white and the woman smiled to Ivanna, and took her hand. The woman dropped the daisy into Ivanna's hand and closed her fingers around it. "It can come back brighter than before." Finished the woman and Ivanna opened her fingers to see that the daisy had grown to full bloom, and its white petals looked brighter than any other white Ivanna had ever seen. The woman smiled and turned back to the others. "I am Freya. The man who," she coughed "escorted you here is Eros. As you may have guessed by now, we are both magical beings, and we will be your tutors for however brief a time." Freya smiled.
"When do these lessons begin?" asked Ivanna pointedly. Freya turned back to Ivanna.
"We begin immediately. We have no time to spare." Freya answered.
