"What?! Are you joking? Like Emma said, I wouldn't do such a thing if my life depended on it!" I shouted.
"Well, I could use a servant." Robert put in suddenly (he did this at odd intervals). "Amelia has five at home. I only have-" he paused, then said, "four. I only have four. It's not fair. I should have another one."
"Then take your sister. She'd be a wonderful servant. Maybe a slave would be better," I muttered.
We had reached the town by now, and we got out. I tied the horses to a post, letting them graze, then turned to Amelia.
"Well, would you like a tour?" I snapped.
"Yes, I would. Take me on a tour, Elisa. You shall be the tour guide."
I quivered with rage. My voice shook as I said, "Fine. Let's start by looking at the jewelry shops, shall we?"
I walked quickly, so they had to jog to keep up. And I talked fast, too.
"Here's Mr. Ladin's shop, he sells the finest necklaces and earrings in Kent, Miss Kathryn's rings and earrings. And here's the Market Square—"
"Slow down, Elisa!" Amelia panted.
I decided to play along, so I slowed down so much that Amelia whined, "Oh, come now, walk faster."
So I did, and they, once again, had to jog to keep up with me. All the while I kept talking, sometimes going into the shops, saying hello, then leaving just as abruptly as I had gotten in. Emma, all the while, was giggling uncontrollably, bringing up the rear.
Amelia got sick of this and shouted, "Stop giving us the tour! Emma, will you please show us around?"
Emma stopped laughing and shrugged, then obeyed. Now we walked slower, and Emma took us into the zoo (a very small zoo, with only a few of the small species of dragons and other creatures), showed them the shops, the orchard and the vineyards, until Amelia said she wanted to buy something at the jewelry shop.
On our way there, Amelia pulled me down a small street before I could even think about jerking away.
"I want to see if this works." Amelia said, more to herself than me. It was almost as if I was a jack-in-the-box that she wanted to try and see if the "jack" would pop out. I was an "it" for the moment. She let go of me and commanded, "Stay here until I call you."
I tried to move, but I felt pain rise through my chest. I stayed where I was. Amelia walked towards Emma and Robert, who were waiting. I could see Emma looking very pale and nervous. She knew what was going on.
"Elisa, come here." Amelia ordered.
I stayed there, thinking, This is it. I must break the curse now! But the intensity of the pain rose. Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. I walked quickly towards Amelia. She smiled evilly.
"Thank you, Elisa." Amelia turned around, looking smug, and started walking towards Mr. Ladin's jewelry shop. Robert followed. But Emma and I stayed where we are.
"Well, my life of misery has begun and will only end when she ends or leaves." I sighed, furious, and on the edge of tears. I couldn't believe what was happening to me.
Emma put her arm around me, and I thought, at least she will be able to help me, and I felt like I was younger than she, although I was not. She seemed different, older, and more mature.
"I know how you feel, and how you will feel." She said quietly.
"No, you don't. You really don't," I said, and pulled away from her. She let go.
"Elisa! Emma! Come here!" Amelia shouted from inside the jewelry store.
We sighed, and went into the large store. An elf, Mr. Ladin, was at the counter. He was the only elf who worked in a store in all of Kent. This was the first time we came into his shop, for although we would stop and say hello sometimes, we usually did not have enough money or the time to stop and look at jewels.
Amelia was holding quite a few diamonds, ruby and emerald necklaces and earrings that gnomes had dug up near Gnome Falls. Robert was just looking around.
The elf smiled at us, his eyes gleaming (as all elves' eyes do), and began to speak Elfian.
"Welcome. I have never seen you two in here before, but I am glad you are here. Nor have I seen these two before, and I am not sure what to think of a young lady and young man who cannot speak Elfian." The elf jerked his head towards Robert and Amelia with an indignant air.
"They're friends of the family. Don't mind them." Emma said briskly in Elfian, then turned to Amelia and spoke in Kyrrian. (It amazed me how fast she could speak one language, and then transition to another. I couldn't do that, and I still can't.) "You called?"
I noticed Emma's tone was not nearly as friendly as before.
"I can't understand him. I can tell he speaks Elfian, but he refuses to speak Kyrrian to us," Amelia said, pouting.
"Too bad," I said, and went to leave, but then I heard Amelia order me, "Speak Elfian to him, and tell him that I will pay no more than 650 KCs for all of this."
My mouth dropped open at "650 KCs", for that was quite a lot of money to people from Kent. I spoke to the elf, and his jaw dropped, and he accepted the offer readily.
"This is such a nice little town. Now let's go. I'm tired, and I'm hungry. Get the carriage, Elisa." Amelia waved her hand, and I left. I didn't feel like resisting at the moment. I would do that later.
After we got in the carriage and started to go, a dragon flew overhead, but was not intending to drop down. It was going to Dragon Cove after a nice meal of ogres from Kashanti Forest (the Orgese word for "ogre"), a forest a few miles away from Kent. He swooped overhead, brushed the tree line, and soared back into the sky, showing off his glistening scales.
Amelia screamed. Emma and I laughed.
"What's so funny, Elisa? I don't see anything funny about a dragon who could eat you in one gulp," Amelia said shakily.
"You're the one who's funny! Dragons haven't eaten people ever since I was six!" I laughed again. (After my dragon experience, the dragons became afraid of humans and our "Mirrors", or the diamonds. So they vowed never to eat another human or any of the human's livestock. So far they haven't.)
I couldn't see Amelia from my perch on the carriage, but I could almost hear her ruffle up like she had known that all along and shake away her fear. I had made the first blow of revenge (for all she had done to Emma and I so far), even though it was a little one, and not on purpose. We were reaching home, and I could get away from Amelia for a while, and maybe gallop Moonlight.
My thoughts drifted, and I slowly drew the carriage up, untied the horses, and led them into the barn. After feeding them, I took Moonlight out. He pawed the ground, knowing exactly what I was going to do. We rode away from Amelia, Aunt Sarah and Robert, away from chores, away from my obedience, and towards a few moments of freedom.