Hmph. I said I wasn't going to update until I got FIVE REVIEWS, which I
haven't gotten yet, but my Muse (which is currently in the form of Peter
the dragon, Puff's brother visiting from Missouri, who is sitting on my
shoulder) wouldn't stop breathing down my neck, which is quite
uncomfortable, seeing that dragons breathe flames...So I had to write.
Here's chapter two.getting closer to the actual ZAPping...
Oh, by the way, thanks to the TWO PEOPLE that did review (I am an impatient little thing), The Blind Assassin and Alebaba46...THANKS PEEPS!
Disclaim: I own Randi and maybe some other stuff later on. But until later on, Tamora Pierce owns everything. Huh.
Twins
"That is my decision. We need not discuss it," said the man at the desk. He was already looking at a book. His two children left the room, closing the door behind him.
"He doesn't want us around," the boy muttered. "He doesn't care what WE want."
"We KNOW that," was the girl's answer. "He doesn't care about anything, except his books and scrolls."
The boy hit the wall. I don't WANT to be a knight! I want to be a great sorcerer! I want to slay demons and walk with the gods-"
"D'you think I want to be a lady?" his sister asked. "'Walk slowly, Alanna,'" she said primly. "'Sit still, Alanna. Shoulders back, Alanna.' As if that's all I can do with myself!" She paced the floor. "There has to be another way!"
The boy watched the girl. Thom and Alanna of Trebond were twins, both with red hair and purple eyes. The only difference between them-as far as most people could tell-was the length of their hair. In face and body shape, dressed alike, they would've looked alike.
I turned over on the bed. I had only finished the first page, and this was starting to get interesting.
"Face it," Thom told Alanna. "Tomorrow YOU leave for the convent, and I go to the palace. That's it."
"Why do you get all the fun?" she complained. "I'll have to learn sewing and dancing. You'll study tilting, fencing-"
"D'you think I LIKE that stuff?" he yelled. "I HATE falling down and whacking at things! YOU'RE the one who likes it, not me!"
She grinned. "YOU should've been Alanna. They always teach the girls magic- " The thought hit her so suddenly that she gasped. "Thom. That's it!"
From the look on her face, Thom knew his sister had just come up with yet another crazy idea. "WHAT'S it?" he asked suspiciously.
Alanna looked around and checked the hall for servants. "Tomorrow he gives us the letters for the man who trains the pages and the people at the convent. You can imitate his writing, so you can do new letters, saying that we're twin boys. YOU go to the convent. Say in the letter that you're to be a sorcerer. The Daughters of the Goddess are the ones who train young boys in magic, remember? When you're older, they'll send you to the priests. And I'll go to the palace and learn to be a knight!"
Suddenly this story, whatever it was, was beginning to sound a little like my own life. How it seemed I was condemned to only one path, in my case reform school, in Alanna's case the convent, when suddenly, another path opened up, changing all future events and possibilities. It's funny how life sometimes does that.
"That's crazy," Thom argued. "What about your hair? And you can't go swimming naked, either. And you'll turn into a girl-you know, with a chest and everything."
"I'll cut my hair," she replied. "And-well, I'll handle the rest when it happens."
"What about Coram and Maude? They'll be traveling with us, and they can tell us apart. They'll know we aren't twin boys."
She chewed her thumb, thinking this over. "I'll tell Coram we'll work magic on him if he says anything," she said at last. "He hates magic-that ought to be enough. And maybe we can talk to Maude."
Thom considered it, looking at his hands. "You think we could?" he whispered.
Alanna looked at her twin's hopeful face. Part of her wanted to stop this before it got out of hand, but not a very big part. "If you don't lose you nerve," she told her twin. And if I don't lose mine, she thought.
"What about father?" He was already looking into the distance, seeing the City of the Gods.
Alanna shook her head. "He'll forget us, once we're gone."
Forget...I wondered if mom had forgotten me. After all, it had been a couple weeks since she last saw me. Had she become too wrapped up in her own life again, that she wouldn't trouble herself (not that she ever had) on checking in on her only daughter? I seriously doubted it. I felt my muscles tense and my face flush, just thinking about her.
She eyed Thom. "D'you want to be a sorcerer bad enough?" she demanded. "It means years of studying and work for both of us. Will you have the guts for it?"
Thom straightened his tunic. His eyes were cold. "Just show me the way!"
Alanna nodded. "Let's go find Maude."
I would've continued reading, but there was a knock on my closed door and Lori opened it and stuck her head through.
"Almost done?" she asked.
I got that book under my sweatshirt quicker than you can say "red-handed". For some reason I didn't want my aunt to see it. I don't know why, really, it just didn't seem to...belong. It was as if it had come from another world, not a closet. And it was too similar to my own life for my liking.
"Yeah," I said, sitting up. "I'm done."
She stared at me a moment, then said, "Okay...Supper's ready, then. Are you okay? You look pale."
"Huh? I'm fine," I lied.
"Alright...Then go wash up." She shut the door.
I sighed with relief. I took the book out from under my sweatshirt, and looked at it closely. The leather, which was polished before, looked different. It was still shiny, but in a different way, like the letters were coming alive...
That last thought brought me to reality. "Randi," I muttered to myself, "you are really losing it. Get a grip." I shoved the book under the mattress on the side not facing the door, pulled the comforter well over it, then joined my new guardians in the dining room.
***
After dinner, which consisted of vegetarian pizza, lettuce salad, and cranberry juice, I took Lori's advice of "turning in early". It wasn't that I was tired; I just wanted to get another look at that book.
I changed into a pair of flannel pants and an overlarge t-shirt, flipped off my light, then pulled the book out from under my mattress. I held it for a moment, looking at the letters in the fading sun still coming through my window, when suddenly, an enormous surge of heat came out of nowhere.
I dropped the book in horror. My hands-my hands felt like they were on fire! It was hotter than a fire-maybe hotter than ten. I turned them over, and realized I was breathing hard. I examined them--nothing was wrong. They looked exactly the same as the always had. I knelt there a moment, trying to get my heart rate to return to normal, trying to figure out what had just happened. I wondered if I was losing my mind, or if I was hallucinating, or if I had had a little too stressful of a day. Whatever it was, I didn't care.
Shakily, and avoiding the book, I got up and closed the window, then closed the curtains tightly. Taking a deep breath, I tapped the book with a toe. I don't know what I expected--for it to burst into flames or to transport me into a weird, psychotic book-world? I don't know. Whatever it was, it didn't happen. I knelt down again, thankful, and picked up the book.
There was a flash of bright, white light. Suddenly, I wasn't there anymore. But I wasn't somewhere else. I was someplace in the middle, floating between earth and another universe. My body seemed far away, and I realized I didn't need it anymore. Why would I need a body when my mind stretched out as far as I couldn't see? Why would I need a body when all I could think about was how happy and blissful I was? I felt myself falling, yet staying in one place, then I felt being pulled remarkably fast, so fast that I could hear wind whistling past my face. Then abruptly, the pulling stopped, and I landed incredibly hard on some sort of ground. Everything went black.
Whoo-wee. That was a shorter chapter than I had planned, but I still got the zapping in. Sorry, peeps, if it's a little disappointing, but half-way through I got a brain fart, and...you know what happens from there. Next chapter will be better and LONGER, I promise.
By the way, d'you know what would make me really happy and blissful? To review. If you don't, I'll sic Peter on you.
Oh, by the way, thanks to the TWO PEOPLE that did review (I am an impatient little thing), The Blind Assassin and Alebaba46...THANKS PEEPS!
Disclaim: I own Randi and maybe some other stuff later on. But until later on, Tamora Pierce owns everything. Huh.
Twins
"That is my decision. We need not discuss it," said the man at the desk. He was already looking at a book. His two children left the room, closing the door behind him.
"He doesn't want us around," the boy muttered. "He doesn't care what WE want."
"We KNOW that," was the girl's answer. "He doesn't care about anything, except his books and scrolls."
The boy hit the wall. I don't WANT to be a knight! I want to be a great sorcerer! I want to slay demons and walk with the gods-"
"D'you think I want to be a lady?" his sister asked. "'Walk slowly, Alanna,'" she said primly. "'Sit still, Alanna. Shoulders back, Alanna.' As if that's all I can do with myself!" She paced the floor. "There has to be another way!"
The boy watched the girl. Thom and Alanna of Trebond were twins, both with red hair and purple eyes. The only difference between them-as far as most people could tell-was the length of their hair. In face and body shape, dressed alike, they would've looked alike.
I turned over on the bed. I had only finished the first page, and this was starting to get interesting.
"Face it," Thom told Alanna. "Tomorrow YOU leave for the convent, and I go to the palace. That's it."
"Why do you get all the fun?" she complained. "I'll have to learn sewing and dancing. You'll study tilting, fencing-"
"D'you think I LIKE that stuff?" he yelled. "I HATE falling down and whacking at things! YOU'RE the one who likes it, not me!"
She grinned. "YOU should've been Alanna. They always teach the girls magic- " The thought hit her so suddenly that she gasped. "Thom. That's it!"
From the look on her face, Thom knew his sister had just come up with yet another crazy idea. "WHAT'S it?" he asked suspiciously.
Alanna looked around and checked the hall for servants. "Tomorrow he gives us the letters for the man who trains the pages and the people at the convent. You can imitate his writing, so you can do new letters, saying that we're twin boys. YOU go to the convent. Say in the letter that you're to be a sorcerer. The Daughters of the Goddess are the ones who train young boys in magic, remember? When you're older, they'll send you to the priests. And I'll go to the palace and learn to be a knight!"
Suddenly this story, whatever it was, was beginning to sound a little like my own life. How it seemed I was condemned to only one path, in my case reform school, in Alanna's case the convent, when suddenly, another path opened up, changing all future events and possibilities. It's funny how life sometimes does that.
"That's crazy," Thom argued. "What about your hair? And you can't go swimming naked, either. And you'll turn into a girl-you know, with a chest and everything."
"I'll cut my hair," she replied. "And-well, I'll handle the rest when it happens."
"What about Coram and Maude? They'll be traveling with us, and they can tell us apart. They'll know we aren't twin boys."
She chewed her thumb, thinking this over. "I'll tell Coram we'll work magic on him if he says anything," she said at last. "He hates magic-that ought to be enough. And maybe we can talk to Maude."
Thom considered it, looking at his hands. "You think we could?" he whispered.
Alanna looked at her twin's hopeful face. Part of her wanted to stop this before it got out of hand, but not a very big part. "If you don't lose you nerve," she told her twin. And if I don't lose mine, she thought.
"What about father?" He was already looking into the distance, seeing the City of the Gods.
Alanna shook her head. "He'll forget us, once we're gone."
Forget...I wondered if mom had forgotten me. After all, it had been a couple weeks since she last saw me. Had she become too wrapped up in her own life again, that she wouldn't trouble herself (not that she ever had) on checking in on her only daughter? I seriously doubted it. I felt my muscles tense and my face flush, just thinking about her.
She eyed Thom. "D'you want to be a sorcerer bad enough?" she demanded. "It means years of studying and work for both of us. Will you have the guts for it?"
Thom straightened his tunic. His eyes were cold. "Just show me the way!"
Alanna nodded. "Let's go find Maude."
I would've continued reading, but there was a knock on my closed door and Lori opened it and stuck her head through.
"Almost done?" she asked.
I got that book under my sweatshirt quicker than you can say "red-handed". For some reason I didn't want my aunt to see it. I don't know why, really, it just didn't seem to...belong. It was as if it had come from another world, not a closet. And it was too similar to my own life for my liking.
"Yeah," I said, sitting up. "I'm done."
She stared at me a moment, then said, "Okay...Supper's ready, then. Are you okay? You look pale."
"Huh? I'm fine," I lied.
"Alright...Then go wash up." She shut the door.
I sighed with relief. I took the book out from under my sweatshirt, and looked at it closely. The leather, which was polished before, looked different. It was still shiny, but in a different way, like the letters were coming alive...
That last thought brought me to reality. "Randi," I muttered to myself, "you are really losing it. Get a grip." I shoved the book under the mattress on the side not facing the door, pulled the comforter well over it, then joined my new guardians in the dining room.
***
After dinner, which consisted of vegetarian pizza, lettuce salad, and cranberry juice, I took Lori's advice of "turning in early". It wasn't that I was tired; I just wanted to get another look at that book.
I changed into a pair of flannel pants and an overlarge t-shirt, flipped off my light, then pulled the book out from under my mattress. I held it for a moment, looking at the letters in the fading sun still coming through my window, when suddenly, an enormous surge of heat came out of nowhere.
I dropped the book in horror. My hands-my hands felt like they were on fire! It was hotter than a fire-maybe hotter than ten. I turned them over, and realized I was breathing hard. I examined them--nothing was wrong. They looked exactly the same as the always had. I knelt there a moment, trying to get my heart rate to return to normal, trying to figure out what had just happened. I wondered if I was losing my mind, or if I was hallucinating, or if I had had a little too stressful of a day. Whatever it was, I didn't care.
Shakily, and avoiding the book, I got up and closed the window, then closed the curtains tightly. Taking a deep breath, I tapped the book with a toe. I don't know what I expected--for it to burst into flames or to transport me into a weird, psychotic book-world? I don't know. Whatever it was, it didn't happen. I knelt down again, thankful, and picked up the book.
There was a flash of bright, white light. Suddenly, I wasn't there anymore. But I wasn't somewhere else. I was someplace in the middle, floating between earth and another universe. My body seemed far away, and I realized I didn't need it anymore. Why would I need a body when my mind stretched out as far as I couldn't see? Why would I need a body when all I could think about was how happy and blissful I was? I felt myself falling, yet staying in one place, then I felt being pulled remarkably fast, so fast that I could hear wind whistling past my face. Then abruptly, the pulling stopped, and I landed incredibly hard on some sort of ground. Everything went black.
Whoo-wee. That was a shorter chapter than I had planned, but I still got the zapping in. Sorry, peeps, if it's a little disappointing, but half-way through I got a brain fart, and...you know what happens from there. Next chapter will be better and LONGER, I promise.
By the way, d'you know what would make me really happy and blissful? To review. If you don't, I'll sic Peter on you.