chapter three

The day of the Shyroe trip dawned crisp and bright. I was wide awake long before Megan, thanks to another nightmare, this time involving shorter, a more regal monster, whose skin appeared decorated by thick, criss-crossing black lines, and whose hands nearly succeeded in grabbing me before I woke up. It wasn't the most auspicious start to the day, but Megan's enthusiasm proved to be contagious, and I found my spirits lifting despite the long walk to Shyroe. Megan was right, it was easier to feel comfortable when I tried to be engaged, and the seven other wards on the trip, aged 15 to 18, made an effort to keep me included in their discussion of local legends.

"Do you really think there were once goblins in these hills?" asked Nicole, animatedly peering over the ingenuous landscape. She was a vivacious fifteen year old, well liked by everyone, especially James.

"Just stupid legends," scoffed Bernard, James's younger brother.

"Easy for you to say. You're too ugly for the goblins to ever bother with!" teased Nicole.

"And too male," laughed James.

"What do you mean?" I inquired

"Well, according to legend," began James, in a knowledgeable voice that fit his authority as the oldest ward, "there were once hideous goblins living under theses hills, and every few decades, when their king needed a bride, they would rise from the ground and steal whatever some beautiful, unfortunate girl living at the Hollow Hill Mansion. They would take her," he continued, adopting a more ominous tone, "down into the depths of their kingdom, and she would never be heard from again."

"Well the tales about the goblins suck," pouted Nicole prettily.

"I prefer the stories about the elves, too," agreed Megan. She turned to me, "you see, while the goblins lived underground, the beautiful elves lived in the forest, and their king also sometimes selected a human bride from Hollow Hill." She sighed, "Those tales are full of laughter and dancing."

"Hey, that reminds me," broke in Eric, James's roommate, "isn't today the day of the Shyroe Festival?"

"Holy crow, you're right!" exclaimed Megan. "I totally forgot. I wish I had worn something nicer," she finished wistfully, looking down at her mismatched outfit.

Nicole turned her shining green eyes towards me, "each year," she explained, "there's a huge festival at Shyroe, with dancing, games, food."

"Fortune-telling," added James teasingly, his eyes smiling at her.

"Yes, fortune-telling," Nicole agreed, laughing. "Last year, the fortune-teller told Sarah her fortune. But Sarah still won't tell us what she said," said Nicole, turning to her best friend and roommate.
"Yup. I still won't say," declared Sarah, mock-imperviously. "But I will say that Madame Nadinna has never been wrong." Sarah smiled.

"Ooo, did she tell you about love?" mocked Henry, Bernhard's roommate.

"Haha. You wish," retorted Sarah.

"Yea, he does," giggled Victoria, the youngest in our group, and a bit giddy with excitement from her first trip to Shyroe with the older wards.

"Shhh," admonished Megan, as Henry was turning red. "We're almost there."


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