My first fic, though by no means do I want anyone to go all soft and sappy
on me in it's reviews. :P
Just as a side note, more description of Ulla and at least Neida will be
offered in the second chapter, which I hope to upload soon. Also, it'll
move into a more-traditional Hogwarts atmosphere after this chapter. Please
R&R if you've got the time - I'm anxious for feedback!
The scent of alfalfa hay, sweet feed, and dust should have been comforting reassurance to the thin, trembling form of a girl pressed against the flank of a massive spanish-bred mare standing not-so-quietly in her stall. All throughout the barn, the other horses whickered and snorted to eachother uncertaintly - it sounded so much like human mummers in the darkness. The girl, Ulla as she was called, shuddered violently in her thin nightie and huddled closer to her mare, sensing the worry and anticipation in the animals - they knew that something wasn't right, just not what it was. Ulla knew better, knew that something to that effect had already occured in her own home, her own yard; a scant three or even four hundred feet away from the barn. Unnerved, Ulla's dizzied mind swept back..
"Run, girl, run! Run and hide!"
"But Mum, wait.. "
"No, I said - No, NOW!"
The force of her mother's hands slamming into her back nearly threw young Ulla into the backyard's dew-covered lawn, a glistening field of dark green under the glow of the nearly-full moon. It felt icy cold beneath her toes. As the door slammed and the violent sounds of curses, hexes, and general yelling issued from the house and it's frontyard rose in pitch, Ulla caught her balance and took off in rapid flight. Always an obedient child, she wasn't driven merely out of respect of the command; fear gripped her mind and tensed her body, pumping adrenaline faster, and faster..
Blood pounded in Ulla's ears as she cleared the hedge, nearly slipping again before she veered towards Alberta Line, the nearest road, with the nearest houses.. Suddenly, she stopped dead, a creasing look of pain and worry contorting her features as the horror of the realization shook her. Neida, and all the others! They could neither free themselves or defend themselves against the Death Eaters, should they choose to inflict their cruelty on them, after finishing off her parents.. It was of course very possible that they'd completely overlook the horses, but "what ifs" began it circulate through her mind, and the mere possibility of harm was too much to bear. It wouldn't take long, anyway.. She'd slip their stalls open, saving Neida for last - she could ride the mare to safety. Ulla turned on a dime, and flew to the property's neatly painted white-barn-with-black-trim with speed a track star would envy. A nasty voice in the back of the girl's head wondered exactly what *she* could do to stop a Death Eater if she should run into one, let alone a group of them.. But Ulla ignored it as she ran, never slowing until she'd flew silently on bare feet down the first long aisle of the stable, and come into the box stall area.
Greeted by the whickers of her friends, she shushed them with a soft whicker back. Though she thus far hadn't made the best witch, Ulla seemed to have a most extraordinary knack with animals. Even when she was a young child, she could communicate more effectively with her mother's cat and her father's owl than her own playmates; something her parents found strange but no cause for alarm. Her horses obeyed almost instantly to the girl's silencing, sensing the urgency without fulling gripping the danger of the situation. Her horses.. Now that was a funny thought, Ulla mused. Most belonged to her parents. However.. Judging by what was happening at the house, she no longer had parents, or soon wouldn't. These thoughts hadn't fully processed yet, though - the girl was in a bad state of shock as she reached shakily for the lock on the nearest stall - containing an ebony gelding named Veruthin, when the sounds of approaching voices and the crunch of footsteps on a gravel path interrupted her.
Ulla wheeled around, listening keenly.. So close, yet so far! The path lead in from the front of the stable, she'd carefully avoided it on her way in to avoid detection. Nothing could be done now - they'd be caught as soon as hoof or foot was set out of the barn. Skittishly pressed against the wall, unable to think of what to do, Ulla caught the sound of the voices once again - their tones sharp and hissing. Arguing, she realized, as one of the pair seemed to turn and make their way back up the path. To her dismay, the other set of footsteps headed for the barn again.
Panicked, Ulla's eyes darted down the aisle to rest on Neida's nameplate, gleaming in the most minimal moonlight striking it through a window. Without hesitation, she flew to the mare's stall, and hoisted herself over it's boards, landing in the soft straw with a dull thud.
And that was how she came to be pressed against Neida's side, flinching at every sound around her, even at those of her fellow creatures in their surrounding stalls. The footfalls continued, and she strained to her them on the paved barn floor where they were no near as audible as they were on the gravel. Tension brewed in the animals; Ulla could here them pacing, whickering to one another, bumping into water buckets and giving the occasional snort or blow. Neida herself puffed and blew, but didn't move. Ulla was thankful, and felt almost safe behind the big mare. They'll move on, see that it's only a barn, full of harmless horses. But oh, what if.. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard,
"Lumo-"
A man's voice, cut off by the sudden cry of another, down at the end of the aisle. She hadn't heard this new approach at all, and neither had the first speaker, either.
"Expelliarmus!"
There was the sound of desperate scrambling, when suddenly curses and hexes shattered the air, night and nerve of the the horses. Between the screams of the two combatants in the aisle, there was the thrash of panicked animals and mixed with their frightened cries, Ulla could barely hear her own shrill cry of terror, silenced only by a stray curse, zipping it's way into the stall and against her skull in a flash of blinding purple. Everything went black.
The scent of alfalfa hay, sweet feed, and dust should have been comforting reassurance to the thin, trembling form of a girl pressed against the flank of a massive spanish-bred mare standing not-so-quietly in her stall. All throughout the barn, the other horses whickered and snorted to eachother uncertaintly - it sounded so much like human mummers in the darkness. The girl, Ulla as she was called, shuddered violently in her thin nightie and huddled closer to her mare, sensing the worry and anticipation in the animals - they knew that something wasn't right, just not what it was. Ulla knew better, knew that something to that effect had already occured in her own home, her own yard; a scant three or even four hundred feet away from the barn. Unnerved, Ulla's dizzied mind swept back..
"Run, girl, run! Run and hide!"
"But Mum, wait.. "
"No, I said - No, NOW!"
The force of her mother's hands slamming into her back nearly threw young Ulla into the backyard's dew-covered lawn, a glistening field of dark green under the glow of the nearly-full moon. It felt icy cold beneath her toes. As the door slammed and the violent sounds of curses, hexes, and general yelling issued from the house and it's frontyard rose in pitch, Ulla caught her balance and took off in rapid flight. Always an obedient child, she wasn't driven merely out of respect of the command; fear gripped her mind and tensed her body, pumping adrenaline faster, and faster..
Blood pounded in Ulla's ears as she cleared the hedge, nearly slipping again before she veered towards Alberta Line, the nearest road, with the nearest houses.. Suddenly, she stopped dead, a creasing look of pain and worry contorting her features as the horror of the realization shook her. Neida, and all the others! They could neither free themselves or defend themselves against the Death Eaters, should they choose to inflict their cruelty on them, after finishing off her parents.. It was of course very possible that they'd completely overlook the horses, but "what ifs" began it circulate through her mind, and the mere possibility of harm was too much to bear. It wouldn't take long, anyway.. She'd slip their stalls open, saving Neida for last - she could ride the mare to safety. Ulla turned on a dime, and flew to the property's neatly painted white-barn-with-black-trim with speed a track star would envy. A nasty voice in the back of the girl's head wondered exactly what *she* could do to stop a Death Eater if she should run into one, let alone a group of them.. But Ulla ignored it as she ran, never slowing until she'd flew silently on bare feet down the first long aisle of the stable, and come into the box stall area.
Greeted by the whickers of her friends, she shushed them with a soft whicker back. Though she thus far hadn't made the best witch, Ulla seemed to have a most extraordinary knack with animals. Even when she was a young child, she could communicate more effectively with her mother's cat and her father's owl than her own playmates; something her parents found strange but no cause for alarm. Her horses obeyed almost instantly to the girl's silencing, sensing the urgency without fulling gripping the danger of the situation. Her horses.. Now that was a funny thought, Ulla mused. Most belonged to her parents. However.. Judging by what was happening at the house, she no longer had parents, or soon wouldn't. These thoughts hadn't fully processed yet, though - the girl was in a bad state of shock as she reached shakily for the lock on the nearest stall - containing an ebony gelding named Veruthin, when the sounds of approaching voices and the crunch of footsteps on a gravel path interrupted her.
Ulla wheeled around, listening keenly.. So close, yet so far! The path lead in from the front of the stable, she'd carefully avoided it on her way in to avoid detection. Nothing could be done now - they'd be caught as soon as hoof or foot was set out of the barn. Skittishly pressed against the wall, unable to think of what to do, Ulla caught the sound of the voices once again - their tones sharp and hissing. Arguing, she realized, as one of the pair seemed to turn and make their way back up the path. To her dismay, the other set of footsteps headed for the barn again.
Panicked, Ulla's eyes darted down the aisle to rest on Neida's nameplate, gleaming in the most minimal moonlight striking it through a window. Without hesitation, she flew to the mare's stall, and hoisted herself over it's boards, landing in the soft straw with a dull thud.
And that was how she came to be pressed against Neida's side, flinching at every sound around her, even at those of her fellow creatures in their surrounding stalls. The footfalls continued, and she strained to her them on the paved barn floor where they were no near as audible as they were on the gravel. Tension brewed in the animals; Ulla could here them pacing, whickering to one another, bumping into water buckets and giving the occasional snort or blow. Neida herself puffed and blew, but didn't move. Ulla was thankful, and felt almost safe behind the big mare. They'll move on, see that it's only a barn, full of harmless horses. But oh, what if.. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard,
"Lumo-"
A man's voice, cut off by the sudden cry of another, down at the end of the aisle. She hadn't heard this new approach at all, and neither had the first speaker, either.
"Expelliarmus!"
There was the sound of desperate scrambling, when suddenly curses and hexes shattered the air, night and nerve of the the horses. Between the screams of the two combatants in the aisle, there was the thrash of panicked animals and mixed with their frightened cries, Ulla could barely hear her own shrill cry of terror, silenced only by a stray curse, zipping it's way into the stall and against her skull in a flash of blinding purple. Everything went black.