Me: (Types away furiously at computer, muttering. Finally notices people are there) Oh, hi! Sorry, didn't notice you were there…
Disclaimer: Hey, what does that say?
Me: What?
Disclaimer: That, on the computer.
Me: Oh, nothing. NOTHING at all.
Disclaimer: "U.S. Government Central"…?
Me: It's not anything. I'm not trying to hack into the U.S. Government System.
Disclaimer: OOH…yes you are!
Me: No I'm not.
Disclaimer: Yes you are!
Me: Shut up.
Disclaimer: You can't just keep doing that you know. They're going to figure out it's you directing all those a-bombs towards Bush's house sooner or later.
Me: Don't you have a job?
Disclaimer: Do I?
Me: Yeah.
Disclaimer: I do? What is it?
Me: Never mind. I'll do it.
Disclaimer: No. Seriously. What is it?
Me: (Glares at him) Yeah, anyway, none of the characters, places, etc., etc., belong to me. They belong to Tamora Pierce, the author of the Tortall series.
Disclaimer: What was that? Was I supposed to do that?
Me: (Rolls eyes) No. You're supposed to contact the Muffin Man and threaten to stalk him.
Disclaimer: I am? Ok, I'll go do it.
Me: Right. Uh, hope you enjoy the story.
Beginning by Eveiveneg
A tall girl lounged on her bed, her dark red curls spread in a fan around her head. She stared up at the stucco ceiling, her light gray-green eyes glazed over.
"Falconer!" a raspy voice snarled. She started. "Huh?" She looked towards the door. "You're supposed to be ready for the visitors!" The gray haired woman shrieked. The fifteen year old stared at her. "Visitors, Mrs. Palmer?"
The old woman looked heavenward. "Yes, Falconer. A couple who wants to adopt a sweet, adoring child who does not always have their head in the clouds, which makes me doubt that they will pick you. But in any case, I want you ready in five minutes!" She held up her hand. "Five, got it?" The girl nodded. "Good." She left, shaking her fat behind.
Gayle sat up with a groan. She grabbed a hair clip and pulled her long hair into a bun. That done, she jumped off the bed and walked towards the window of the dorm, cast a glance around, then slipped out the paned window. She clambered down the ivy that wound its way up the side of the building and onto the ground. With that done, she set off down the street, not really caring where she went as long as it was away from the orphanage. She didn't even understand why she was there in the first place.
Whatever happened to going to relatives? She'd been told there were none left, but she distinctly remembered a pair of grandparents, as well as several uncles and aunts. She'd told the hospital that, but they said she was wrong and that she must have been hallucinating or something from the so-called 'accident'. What was it that made them deny everything that didn't go along with what they supposedly knew? She fumed.
God, they could be so annoying…
She blinked. Where was she? She looked around. There was a long, winding sidewalk, benches, playgrounds, and a lot of grass. The park? How did she get there?
Whatever, she thought, shaking her head. It didn't bother her so much. She often ended up in strange places when not paying attention to her surroundings. Anyway, she liked the park. There were all those sweet little kids, and the energetic dogs playing around with their owners.
She wandered around the paths, watching kids play in the sand, kicking around balls. A soccer ball rolled towards her. "Hey!" a little boy shouted. "Over here!" Gayle smiled. She was kicked it back to he and his friends with a loud thwack! They gasped in awe and chased after it, giggling excitedly.
Gayle looked after them for a second, her mood lightening. She could always count on some kid or another to be so innocent and naïve. It was so sweet, but sad, too. They had no idea that terrible things were happening everywhere, everyday. Like people robbing banks, people kidnapping, even murdering each other.
She felt someone watching her. She turned to see who it was, and saw nothing. Now she was starting to get creeped out. She started to run, just to get rid of those uneasy feelings. She could run really fast, when she wanted to. Now was one of those times.
She jogged for a long time, not even looking where she was going. She ran out of breath after a while, and stopped. She looked around.
Now she was really lost. There were trees all everywhere, whereas before there had only been a few. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick rise and stick straight out. Someone was watching her. But who?
She cast her gaze around. No one. Suddenly she saw eyes. Not at a human's height, though. She looked down. A cat. She stared at it. It was long and lean, with shiny golden brown streaked hair.
Gayle stood there for a while, watching the cat prowl around. Suddenly, it looked up. She saw bright blue eyes, staring right back at her. The two gazed at each other for a moment. Then the cat leapt straight at her.
Taken by surprise, Gayle stared at the cat as it flew towards her. It hit her with a greater force than she would have expected from such a small animal, causing her to fall backwards with a loud thump.
The cat had dug it's claws into her, holding itself upright. It screeched at her, "What are you doing?" Well, more like meowed very loudly. But she still had understood it.
"What in the name of the Gods are you doing here?" It shrieked at her again. All Gayle could do was stare at it in bewilderment. "What?" she asked it. Maybe she hadn't actually heard the cat talking just then. Maybe, maybe it was her imagination acting up. It did happen a lot…
This probable reason for what was happening was shattered when the cat spoke again. "You aren't supposed to be here! You have to go! NOW!" It dug its claws in even deeper. This was when Gayle stopped staring at the cat bemusedly. Her eyes took on an angry look, flashing with pure venom. She wrapped her hand around the cat's middle and flung it off of her.
With that done, she stood up and, with a last poisonous glance at the cat lying on the ground, ran off in the other direction. She had no idea where she was, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was getting away from that-that animal back there. There was no way it could be a cat. Cats-at least the ones she knew-didn't talk.
She burst through a thicket of thorny bushes, and suddenly she was at the edge of a lake. She skidded to a stop. What the…? She had no idea where she was, that was for sure. No idea at all.
Gayle walked up to the edge of the water, looking down at it. The surface was still and mirror-like. Her reflection stared back at her. Stray scarlet hairs framed her pale face. Gray-green eyes shone in the light of the full moon. Her nose, small and sharply edged, was pink from the cold. Her father's nose. She closed her eyes. No. Don't think about that. Don't cry. You've got to be able to keep from crying. Stones don't cry. Think of stones. Stones don't have anything to do with them.
She opened her eyes again, then widened them in surprise. "What the…?" she whispered. Her reflection was gone. In its place was a scene of a large vista. A giant forest, dark and mysterious, was closest to her. In the distance was a large castle, or maybe it was a palace? Gold glinted in the moonlight off the towers, lighting the entire building up like a candle. Stars winked up in the black sky. It was…amazing.
One tower in particular caught her eye. It was by far the tallest one. She could just make out a staircase winding around the outside of it. At the very top was a large platform, uncovered and open to the night sky.
Then suddenly it was all clear and close up. She saw two men and a small woman standing near the rail. "It's hard to tell what's going on right now." One of them said. He had a very deep voice and was immensely tall, well over six feet. His long dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, showing his brown face. He wore a long, billowing robe that flapped all around in every gust of wind. "I can second that." This came from the short woman next to him. She had pulled back her flaming red hair and Gayle was amazed to see that she had purple eyes. She wore a long sleeved shirt under a tunic and breeches tucked into riding boots. "Everything is cloudy. I can't See anything at all. Much like when Aly was missing." She was saying.
The other man ran his hand through his black hair. "What's going on? Why can't anybody See anything?" he muttered to himself. His sapphire eyes were focused on something in the distance. "I don't know, Jon." The woman told him. And then in a quieter voice, "I just don't know."
The tall man closed his eyes and turned his head away. Then he opened them and was staring right at Gayle. His black eyes focused on her in amazement, like he couldn't believe she was really there. "What in the name of Mithros?" he said in a bewildered way. The woman looked up. "What is it Numair?"
Numair pointed at her, still staring. "Alanna, Numair…" Jon said tiredly. Then he turned to where they were looking. Alanna looked fierce and extremely angry. Jon gazed at her in bemusement. Numair had lost the confused look on his face and gazed at her without an expression, his eyes glazed over.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Alanna spat venomously. Gayle just blinked. What? They could see her too? What would they do with her? "Answer me!" she practically screeched. "Alanna…" Jon said warningly. "Excuse me, young lady," he turned towards her. "What are you doing here?"
Gayle couldn't speak. She just stared at them. What was going on?
Numair suddenly strode towards her, a strange look in his eye. "Wait…" His hand was stretched out towards her. Gayle automatically took a step back. But what she hadn't realized was that she was at the very edge of the platform, and the railing was very weak and rusted behind her. The metal crumbled as soon as she touched it.
"No!" Numair yelled, making a grab for her as she stumbled back into the open air. She was falling. It was a weird sensation. Almost like going down really fast on a roller coaster. Except she wasn't. No, now she was actually falling, actually going to hit the ground and actually go splat! just like water balloon. Then the air was rippling. No, everything was rippling. Like…like…
Water.
Gayle started. She was back on the lakeshore. The image on the water was gone, disturbed by her feet in the water. She stared at where the picture had been. What had that been? A loud noise came from behind her.
She turned her head around. The cat, the talking cat from earlier, burst from the bushes, just as she had. It was yowling madly, racing straight for her. She tried to step back, and ended up tripping over her own feet. She stumbled backwards, towards the water. She distinctly heard a loud "NO!" before she landed in the lake with a splash.
-
That was kind of long, wasn't it? Checks the number. Yup. Seven pages. No. Wait, eight (Hey, that rhymed…) I apologize if it's too long for your taste. Now, would you PLEASE review? I feel like no one's reading these. And that makes me a bit paranoid. (Looks nervously from side to side) that's because if you're not reading them…
Never mind. Just review, please. Damn it! I lost my cracker! (Snarls ferociously as she jumps up on the computer in fury)
Eveiveneg -Where is that damn goldfish!