I walked out into the hallway, closing my bedroom door softly behind me. I crept down the stairs, stepped into the kitchen and winced. It was pitch black. I hesitated, before deciding not to bother with light, and stumbled towards the back door. I somehow managed to make it without tripping over anything and yanked it open. The warm breeze I was met with made me wish I could just sit in the long grass for hours, but I wasn't even supposed to be outside right now. My dad was apparently having some very important meeting. His exact words were for us not to step outside until he said so. I was being such a rule-breaker: he would not be happy if he caught me.
I walked out into the small open area that eventually lead to a forest, scanning the trees. Nothing much was visible in the fading evening light. Finally, I realised there was nothing for it. Taking a deep breath, I started slipping through the clearing. I had made it around twenty yards when I heard a mocking laugh behind me. I froze and spun around to see my sister Blaise, staring at me from a few metres away.
"Naughty, naughty Flair," she said, tutting. "You gonna spy on dad?" I squared my shoulders and gave her what I hoped was a disapproving frown.
"I'm not spying," I paused, and Blaise narrowed her eyes.
"Sure ya aren't."
"—I'm just investigating the scene." She let out another laugh. "Are you going to tell on me?" I asked soberly. Blaise didn't answer, she just studied me with her inquisitive gaze.
"Well?" I pressed impatiently. She suddenly waved her hands.
"No, of course not, Ms Flair. I'm leaving right away. Enjoy 'investigating' your 'scene'." I groaned.
"Sparks, you are so annoying. Why does sarcasm have to be one of your character traits?" She gave me a grin. "Well anyway, I'm not spying. I'm going to walk in the other direction right now, just to prove that." I turned and started walking towards a giant oak tree in the opposite direction of where I started from.
"See?" I gestured to myself. "No spying here." Blaise nodded, but didn't move. I continued walking, casting glances at her once in a while. I reached the corner and turned it. Then I stopped dead. Directly in front of me, stood a man with dark hair, wearing a grand black cloak that showed off his muscled arms. My eyes widened at the sight of the sword strapped to his hip. He had his back to me, and was talking earnestly to a woman wearing a light yellow cloak and a dark expression.
"Please Master Ingred. I know you don't agree with Luthor's plans, but this is a little drastic." She frowned.
"Drastic? He's trying to allow humans to infiltrate our world. I don't know how you can consider this even a little bit acceptable." The man sighed.
"If Master Timecrest thinks that humans should be allowed back into our world, he has valid reasons for doing so, even if we can't see them." The woman tutted. "Please. Just hear him out. Talk. There is no need for confrontation of this sort." His tone was slightly exasperated, but firm as he gestured behind the woman. She looked him up and down for a second, before turning away.
"I'll think about it, I suppose." Then she marched away through the trees, presumably back towards the 'meeting' my dad was hosting. And then, Master Crane of lightning turned to face me. I felt my cheeks going bright red under his sharp gaze.
"Haven't your parents taught you eavesdropping is wrong?" I felt like heat was radiating off my very soul as I swallowed and nodded.
"I-I'm really sorry…" I trailed off. I wanted to say that it was an honest accident, but that would be possibly the least honest thing I could say in this moment. Instead, I could only stare down at my feet as his eyes raked over me.
"Well, you should go home. Our conversations aren't any of your business." His words cut like a million knives, or just one deep slice of the sword at his side. I could stared at my thin light orange shoes as I nodded again and turned quickly away. My face was still burning as I skulked through the clearing and back into the house. Everything seemed suspiciously quiet for a house with five children in it, but the only thing I could think about was Master Crane's icy stare as I ran up my stairs and slammed my room door. I heard the front door open a few minutes later.
"You can leave the house now, guys!" my dad called from downstairs. I heard a few doors open and close up and down the hallway, but I stayed firmly in place. I didn't know if I could ever leave my room again after this. My face would probably be permanently scarlet, and no one could find out why. I groaned.
"Why?" I heard sudden shouting; Blaise and Cadence must have gotten into some argument again. I sat down on my window sill and fiddled with my long fiery red hair, my eyes focussed on the outside world. A big forest stretched away from my house, the trees alive with muffies and other wildlife. My room was dark, being sheltered by the large trees. If I crossed to Ashlyn or Ivy's room, the shining lights from the village of Lyal would practically make their rooms glow. Staring out of their windows would show the view of the dirt street below and if I looked straight out, another house that was almost parallel to ours. That house had a field behind it, and kids loved running wild over there. I personally preferred the shadowy trees and the crunch of leaves underfoot. As I lay there, I thought about how stressful it could be being the oldest out of six children. Ok, I did have a twin brother, but I was technically born ten minutes before him, so I was still the oldest. This came with its own problems, though. For one, I was always expected to look after everyone when my parents went out somewhere, and that wasn't easy with one crazy sister and one that happened to wander off at the worst times. Not to mention the fact that I often had to share things that I didn't particularly want my siblings to get their grimy little hands on. Well, at least I never felt left out of anything. Even though there were so many of us, my parents both made sure to find time to spend with all of us in turn. I knew that if I had a problem, I could count on them to do the very best they could to help, and that was definitely not something that everyone had.
I watched as a bright winged bird swooped up from a nearby tree and let out a burst of song that was just about audible through the thick glass of the window and the noise coming from downstairs. I sighed as I stood up.
"I should probably go see what they're up to." I started down the corridor, making a resolution to stay as far away from Blaise as possible. My horrible experience wouldn't stay in the dark for long if she realised there was something I was hiding.