To anyone who knew her Brienna seemed like an ordinary girl. However, magic flowed through her veins and fire burned in her heart. It was this fire which drove her to be brave and to stand up for those who couldn't defend themselves.
Brienna had no parents as they died when she was a baby and she was left on the doorstep of an orphanage. The orphanage was harsh and cruel but somehow with her heart of gold she managed to survive and keep her innocence. The matrons were vile and enjoyed violent, abusive punishments so Brienna lived a life of cuts and bruises. However, these punishments did not stop her from defending and protecting the younger children as she got older. She only wished someone had been there to protect her.
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It was an ordinary day of chores and scurrying out of the way of a particularly nasty matron Helen. This ordinary day turned sour when Brienna walked down the old wooden staircase for dinner and was greeted with shouts and pleads of mercy. Auden, a young girl of 9, was kneeling on the floor by a pile of smashed dinner plates and crying helplessly while a matron screamed at her and grabbed a belt from a hook. Brienna was always close to Auden and made it her mission to protect and shield her as best she could, no matter what. She didn't need to think twice before dashing down the stairs to save her pseudo little sister. Matron Helen had picked Auden up by the crook of her arm and dragged her to the staircase, where she turned the girl around and prepared to strike her back for being clumsy. At the last second, Brienna leapt from the staircase to stand in front of Auden with her right arm raised to take the hit from the belt.
The resounding slap could be heard all over the house ,along with Auden's wails and a gasp of shock at not receiving the awaited sting of leather and metal. Children flinched at the noise, most having experienced the pain of a good lashing before. Brienna turned to Auden and told her to run upstairs. "Why you insolent little brat! How dare you?" Matron Helen screamed at Brienna. Auden took off upstairs and hid on the landing to wait for Brienna and watch in horror at what would happen next.
Brienna did not grab her arm and nurse it in pain, instead her small 11 year old self raised her chin and stared the matron down defiantly. The matron grabbed some rope and tied Brienna's wrists to the surprisingly sturdy bannister with the girls back facing her. Brienna struggled and tried to get free but this only resulted in a hard slap that was sure to get her a nasty bruise. The matron then lifted the girls ratty t-shirt and proceeded to strike her with the belt. Once...slap...twice...slap and so on until her back had 10 different lashes covering it. Matron Helen released her from the rope and threw her trembling form to the floor, ordering Brienna to clean up the broken plates. The matron then left her crumpled on the floor to deal with the mess, not before a swift kick to her ribs and a final statement of not being allowed supper.
After watching the girl who practically raised her get beaten for protecting her, Auden held a shaking hand over her mouth as more tears fell and she tried to hold back a sob. Brianna finished clearing the broken pieces and hauled her fragile body off the floor, all the while wiping the remains of silent tears from her face. Silence when being punished was the best form of defiance as it irked the matrons but did not result in further punishments for backchat.
Brienna gently crept upstairs and found Auden curled up in a ball trembling on the landing. She reached down to the girl and took her hand with a kind smile to mask her wince as she moved. Auden took it and gingerly followed Brienna to her room in silence so as not to be yelled at further. Once inside Brienna's room on the third floor Auden let out her sobs and begged Brienna's forgiveness. "I'm s...so s...s...sorry Bri" Auden choked out between sobs. Meanwhile Brienna wrapped her arms around the girl and guided her to sit on the rickety iron bed. "Shhh Auden it's alright I will be fine. I promised to protect you and I did because you're practically my sister and I love you" Brienna told her as she soothed and comforted the girl, two years her junior. Brienna had always been so kind and nurturing to everyone unless they proved to not deserve it. Her motherly affection for Auden was mature beyond her 11 years of age but that is what happens when you're forced to endure hardships every day of your life.
Brienna stood up once Auden calmed down and lifted a loose plank of wood up from her floorboards. Grabbing an apple from the small pouch inside she gave it to Auden who gratefully accepted. After Auden had eaten, Brienna sent her back to her room to grab her night clothes and changed into her own while she waited for the smaller girl to return. Auden always found it comforting to sleep in Brienna's bed after a crying episode and have the older girl sing her to sleep. That is just what Brienna did and she lightly combed Audens hair with her fingers as she sang softly until the girl was fast asleep. The rickety bed was old and small, a single bed yet fit the two girls well enough as they were both exceedingly skinny. It was made of a cold iron -bar frame and had a hard mattress with broken springs. All Brienna had to keep her warm was an itchy wooden blanket and she had a pathetic lumpy pillow to rest her head on. She didn't complain as it was all she knew. This didn't stop her from feeling sad when she read her old charity shop books about happy children with happy families and a safe home to grow up in. She had long given up hope of having that for herself but she desperately wanted it for Auden. The poor girl deserves a real home Brienna thought as she drifted to sleep laying on her front so as to protect the wounds on her back.
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Brienna was awoken early the next morning by a light tapping on the narrow bedroom window of her jail cell- like room. She thought it must be about 5 am as she made her way over to investigate the barred window. Luckily Auden was still sound asleep as Brienna padded over to peer out of the window in her baggy T-shirt with holes and too small checked pyjama trousers that were getting rather worn. Bri almost jumped in fright as she saw a barn owl hovering outside the window with a letter clutched In it's beak.
The letter was a faded yellow with a post box red wax seal. While she couldn't make out the marking on the seal, she thought she could faintly see her name written in inky print on the front of the envelope. Thinking she was dreaming or imagining it Bri rubbed her eyes and looked again at the window to find the bird gone.
Still in shock and very much confused, Brienna padded back to the bed and lay down next to Auden who curled into her side and sighed in her sleep. Morning properly came and Auden woke up to the sunlight a couple of hours later. Bri hadn't been able to get back to sleep, so instead just lay there thinking about the owl and the letter. Auden looked up to Bri with hopeful and pleading eyes and asked "Bri can you please do the trick again? It will make me feel better and it will cheer you up". Laughing a light musical laugh, Bri looked down at Auden before sitting up in the small bed. "Ok but only quickly because I really shouldn't" she replied as she stretched out a hand and opened her palm. Facing it up to the ceiling, three little blue birds started to float up from her open hand and fly around Auden's head like a halo for her tight honey blonde curls. Hazel eyes stared at the birds in wonder as they flew up and evaporated into glittery blue mist. Brienna chuckled at Auden's amazement and got up to start getting ready for the day while Auden exclaimed excitedly " I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing stuff like that! It's like magic". It was magic and a very powerful kind too as Brienna could do it with ease without a wand ever since she was a small child. "As amazing as you find it I really shouldn't do things like that. What if I get caught by a matron and you get in trouble? It's not exactly normal and if they find out you knew and didn't tell on me you could get hurt Aud" Brienna told her gently.
The rest of the day went without hitch up until Auden heard the doorbell ring. She was about to scurry out of the way when a matron opened the door to a strange woman. The woman had black hair in a neat bun and emerald green robes that reached the floor, along with glasses and a stern expression as she eyed the matron. What the strange woman said next is what made Auden hide behind a cabinet and eavesdrop.
"I'm here for Brienna" ...