Florisia Page 9

  Belle was frowning. “Maybe it’s one of your wounds healing. Don’t you dare use a stick; you’ll open it back up! Here, turn around and let me have a look.”

  Belle touched the exact spot. “Yes, that’s it! What is it?”

  Belle didn’t answer. Leah twisted her head to look back at Belle, confused by the look of wonder on the other girl’s face. “Belle, what is it?”

  “Ummm… I think they might be wing slits.”

  “Sorry?” Leah’s voice came out in a high-pitched, strangled squeal.

  Raff scrambled over to have a closer look. “Woah, I think you might be right Belle. So, do we have any idea how they work?”

  Leah hadn’t moved. She was a fairy? She tried to remember what Gifts fairies usually had, but she’d only skimmed through that handbook. She’d been more interested in the books on elves and mages.

  “How do you know they’re wing slits? What do they look like?”

  “There’s like two slits in the skin, about a hand-span apart, and as long as my little finger. They look exactly like the drawing in the Fairy handbook. You know the one?” Belle said.

  Leah could feel the heat rising in her face. “Umm, to be honest, I didn’t really pay much attention to the handbook on fairies. I mean, who would have thought I’d be a fairy? Seriously!”

  Raff chuckled, and shook his head. “So what did you think you’d be then?”

  “Oh, I don’t know! Maybe an elf or a Mage? Fairies always seem to be so… umm… fairyish!”

  She frowned as Belle and Raff burst out laughing. What was so funny?

  Belle finally stopped laughing long enough to talk. “Sorry, Leah. It’s just... a fairy is exactly what I thought you’d be. What about you Raff?”

  “Yep, totally agree.”

  Leah was even more confused now. “Why would you think that?”

  Belle smiled at her. “Well, from what I’ve read in the handbooks, fairies are usually petite, kind, empathic and beautiful. So, four out of four for you.”

  Raff was blushing furiously and wouldn’t look at her. “Yeah, what she said.”

  Leah’s eyes filled with tears. Here were her friends telling her she was kind and beautiful, when only five minutes ago she’d been so blinded by jealousy she’d been questioning their friendship! She didn’t know what to say, so she turned and hugged them instead.

  The awkward silence that followed was broken by the lunch bell, and Raff instantly scrambled to his feet.

  “Man, I thought the bell would never ring. Let’s go - I’m starving!” He brushed the grass off his pants and finally looked into Leah’s eyes, a cheeky grin on his face. “You ready fairy-girl?” She laughed, relieved the awkwardness was over. She grabbed the hand he was offering to help pull her up, and they headed off to lunch.

  * * *

  Raff pulled on his riding boot, torn between looking forward to their first riding lesson, and dreading it. While he’d been seriously hanging to learn to ride, he knew Rogue could change an awesome experience into a nightmare with the blink of an eye. Honestly, the horse did his head in.

  Well, I’ll just have to show him who’s the boss! Bolstered by the thought, and hoping it would be the solution to his problems, he sucked in a deep breath, pulled on the other boot and headed out the door.

  By the time he reached the meadow, the girls were already standing with Mr Trotter waiting for him. Belle’s arms were folded, her foot tapping impatiently. “Hurry up Raff, I want to ride today!”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Raff grumbled as he joined them.

  “Right then, let’s get started shall we?” Mr Trotter said. “First thing, could you call your horses over, and we’ll give them a quick brush and check their feet.”

  Raff heard the thunder of hooves before he even turned around. The three horses were racing up the meadow. He grinned when he saw Rogue out-running the other two horses, pulling further ahead of them with every stride. Rogue tossed his head as he ran, challenging Solange and Midnight to try and catch him. He slowed as he approached the group, and Raff greeted him with a hug, ignoring the horse-sweat staining his white shirt.

  “That was awesome,” he whispered in Rogue’s ear. He couldn’t help laughing when Rogue nodded his head in agreement as Solange and Midnight arrived, snorting and sweating.

  The children gave them a good brush, and checked their feet, while Mr Trotter stood watching the whole process, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Finally, he cleared his throat to get their attention.

  “Okay, first things first. You won’t be using the usual saddle and bridle with these horses. Their wings need to be unobstructed at all times. You’ll need to practice holding onto your horse’s mane to keep yourself steady.”

  He walked over to Solange, and showed them a groove, where her wings met her body, located behind her shoulder. “These grooves work equally as well as stirrups. The horses will respond to your legs and your voice, although once they learn to associate the leg pressure with a particular voice command, you probably won’t have to worry about the legs so much.”

  Raff scratched his head. “So how do we get on?”

  Mr Trotter laughed. “I’m afraid that is entirely up to your horse, and whether they are willing to be ridden. To my knowledge, these three have never had a person on their backs, so it’s up to you to convince them it’s a good idea. Some horses have been known to kneel down to let the rider mount; others will extend a wing you can use as a step-up.” He shrugged. “But I must admit, I’m keen to see how this works out. Once you’re on, we’ll go through some paces.” He walked over to his usual spot, and dropped to the grass to watch.

  Raff turned to ask Leah and Belle if they had any suggestions, but they’d already headed off with their horses. Yeah, fine, don’t worry about me! He turned back to Rogue and sighed in frustration. “Guess it’s just you and me buddy. So please let’s try and make this as painless as possible for both of us. Oh… and okay… you’re the boss!” He slapped his horse’s neck and scratched behind his ears. Rogue nudged his shoulder, and Raff could have sworn he winked.

  A split-second later, Raff was totally gobsmacked when Rogue collapsed his two front legs at the knees and extended the wing closest to where he stood. Raff was still standing there, with his mouth open, when Rogue snorted and looked around to see why he hadn’t got on. Shaking his head, Raff chuckled, grabbed a hand full of mane, stuffed his foot into the groove Trotter had shown them, and was up!

  As Rogue straightened his legs and folded his wing back in against his side, Raff’s foot scrambled to find the groove on the other side. He threw his arms around Rogue’s neck, scratching his ears and thanking him. He grinned when he saw Solange and Midnight lay on the ground to make it easier for the girls to climb on. Whispering a final thank you into Rogue’s ear, he sat up straight.

  Belle and Leah were laughing and waving in excitement, as Mr Trotter came up beside him.

  “Well, what an interesting exhibition. First they pick you, and then they act like docile lambs and let you just climb on. Guess they must know we haven’t got time for any tom-foolery,” he chuckled.

  Solange and Midnight walked up the meadow towards them, Leah and Belle perched happily on their backs.

  Belle’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. “I see Rogue finally decided he’d teased you enough. How did you do it?”

  Raff grinned. “Maybe it had something to do with me telling him he was the boss. Apparently it was all he’d been waiting for.”

  Mr Trotter cleared his throat. “Ok then, that was much easier and quicker than I’d anticipated. Now, I want you to get used to walking around. Feel the rhythm of your horse as he moves, and try to move with that rhythm. Horses have four gaits; walk, trot, canter and gallop. Oh, and of course, these particular horses also fly. But we’ll save the best experience until last!”

  They spent the next couple of hours working on using their legs and voices to alternately walk, trot, canter, gallop, and stop. Raff�
�s legs and butt were killing him from bumping around on Rogue’s back, but he was having way too much fun to care. After the horror of yesterday, it was the perfect stress release and one they all desperately needed. He pushed all thoughts of someone trying to kill them aside, and revelled in the sensation of following Rogue’s rhythm.

  Mr Trotter called them over, and Raff’s insides began to churn. Here we go!

  “Okay, I think you’re ready for your first flight. But I think it’s best if we do this one at a time, so I can watch you individually. This part is up to the horses. All you need to do is lean forward into your horse’s neck, and hold onto their mane, remembering to keep your feet planted in the wing grooves.”

  “I wouldn’t normally teach this until the horses were more used to your voice commands, as it’s difficult to guide them with your legs when flying. But here in the grounds of the Academy, they know where they’re going, so we’ll leave it up to them. Once you lean forward over your horse’s neck, they will get the message you’re ready to fly. For now, consider yourselves passengers, and hold on!” He chuckled as he nodded at Raff to go first.

  Raff turned Rogue away from the group and squeezed him into a canter, using the voice command at the same time. He leaned forward and grabbed two fistfuls of Rogue’s silky grey mane.

  “Okay boy, let’s fly!” he whispered into Rogue’s ear. Instantly, two huge grey wings, each the size of a door, lifted out from Rogue’s shoulders, and with one mighty swoop, they were in the air.

  The wind rushed past Raff’s face, the afternoon sunshine warm on his back. The sense of freedom was unbelievable. He wanted to just keep going… forever; to forget about all the fear and doubt of the last few days. But he knew Leah and Belle would be busting for their turn.

  He squeezed with his left leg, and Rogue turned, heading back the way they’d come. As they landed, Rogue folded his wings back into his sides and cantered up to where the others were waiting. Raff knew he must be wearing the goofiest grin, but he didn’t care. He slid off Rogue’s back and hugged him.

  “That was the most amazing experience of my life. Thanks buddy!” He looked sheepishly up at the girls. “You wait, it’s totally awesome!” He winked and laughed, feeling as giddy as a four-year-old in a lolly shop.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  - Fire -

  Leah sighed as she climbed wearily into bed and opened the fairy handbook. She’d been dying to read it ever since Belle had found the wing slits this morning, but they’d been busy with the horses all afternoon. She flicked eagerly through the book, surprised to discover there were so many different types of fairies. She gasped when she found the page Belle had mentioned earlier, the one with the drawing of the wing slits. They did look a lot like what Belle had described seeing on her back. She closed her eyes, picturing the girl they’d seen on their first day hovering in the air, her gorgeous wings beating slowly up and down.

  How awesome would that be…? She sighed and tried to imagine it was her, using her own wings to hover in the air.

  The next thing she knew, Belle was shaking her and screaming something. She must have fallen asleep reading the handbook. She opened her eyes to a room filled with smoke.

  “Leah, wake up, we have to get out of here now! The whole place is on fire!”

  Raff stood in the doorway, holding a towel against his face and coughing.

  Belle threw her a towel, pulled her own back up to her face, and headed for the door. Leah dived out of bed and followed her. The smoke in the hallway was much worse, and her eyes burned as she stumbled after them.

  She could hear Raff cursing and yelling, and then he was beside her. “The door to the common room won’t open! We’re gonna have to go back and try the windows.”

  As they turned to head back to her room, the door exploded inwards, as if a giant hand had pushed it from the other side. They were thrown backwards down the corridor, the flames leaping through the doorway, eager to consume whatever lay in their path. Clinging to each other, the three friends scrambled towards Leah’s room, only to find flames licking against the outside of the windows. They staggered across to Raff’s room and found the same thing. The fire was all around them. They were trapped!

  Leah knew she had to do something. Belle and Raff had both managed to call on their Gifts when they needed them, now it was her turn! She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to find the place she’d heard Belle and Raff describe as the source of their Gifts. She felt a tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. An eerie silence surrounded her, as if she had left her body and was watching from a distance. She spoke to the fire in her mind, begging it to stop before it killed them. The flames seemed to hesitate, as if confused by her request, then reluctantly spluttered and died.

  Raff grabbed both girls by the arm, and dragged them outside. They staggered past other kids sprawled on the grass coughing and babbling.

  “What happened to the fire?”

  “How come it just died?”

  “I didn’t even see any water?”

  The three friends reached the lake and dropped down onto the cool grass, sucking in the fresh air, and bathing their burning eyes. Leah sat in stunned disbelief.

  Had the fire really gone out because she’d asked it to?

  * * *

  Snuggled into one of the big comfy chairs in Madame Persimmons’ office, Leah couldn’t stop smiling. She had a Gift! She knew she should be more concerned with the fact that someone had tried to kill them, again, but she needed to indulge this sense of happiness and relief for a bit longer.

  The door opened behind her, followed by the soft tapping of Madame Persimmons’ slippers as she crossed the room and pulled out the chair behind her desk. Of course, the thudding of Dominic’s boots was right behind her, as always, and he appeared in front of them to stand beside her chair. Madame Persimmons looked at the three of them huddled in the big chairs, and her frown softened into a weary smile.

  “Well, I certainly didn’t expect to see you three again so soon.” She sighed. “Leah, I believe you have something to tell us.”

  Leah related the story exactly as it had happened, unable to hide a small surge of pride as she told Madame Persimmons about the fire going out when she asked it to.

  “Well, one thing has become painfully obvious,” Madame Persimmons face looked worn, the frown returning above her weary eyes. “It’s no longer safe for you to stay at the school. Tyranius must have a spy planted here. How else could he have known the first attack failed, and have organised another attempt so quickly? I also don’t believe it was a coincidence that the fire was confined to only the first-year wing. Dominic and I discussed it after you left this morning, and we both agreed that sending you to the elves in the Forever Forest is the best course of action.”

  Leah looked from Belle, to Raff, and back at Madame Persimmons. “You’re sending us away?” she asked in horror. “Where is this Forever Forest, and how will we even get there? I thought you said we were safe here at the school?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  - The History of When -

  Madame Persimmons took a deep breath before answering. “I’m sorry Leah, I did say that. And at the time, I believed it to be true. But after tonight’s events, I don’t feel quite so confident. For your own safety, I feel it would be better if Tyranius didn’t know where you were for a while. It will give us some breathing space to plan what we need to do next.”

  Raff was scratching his head again. “Umm, I have a question. Why are the Guardians trying to kill us? I get that we have this old blood and it’s mixed, but how could we be a threat? We’re just kids. And what’s so bad about this Elder Guardian, Tyranius? I mean, obviously we don’t like him ‘cos he’s trying to kill us, but why do you and the other people in Florisia hate him?”

  Madame Persimmons sighed. “I suppose you will need to know the whole story eventually. Under normal circumstances, you would have learned most of this in your history class. But I’m afraid you won�
�t be going to any more of those for a while.”

  “Up until about a thousand years ago, the three races lived in harmony, in the united world of When. Around that time, there was a falling out among some of the members of The Council of Guardians and a feud began between the families of three members. Eventually, the feud spread, to include the races of each of these families, and war broke out. When peace was finally re-established, it was agreed that veils be erected between the worlds of the Light Fey, Dark Fey and Humans, in order to prevent this ever happening again.”

  “The sole surviving Council member, an elf named Sardon, appointed an Elder Guardian to rule over each of the new worlds. The Guardians also believed that future family blood feuds could be avoided by removing children from their parents at birth, and placing them in ‘foster-homes’, where they could be raised by unrelated Guardians.”

  “A law was passed, stating children from all worlds should be raised in the villages of Naissance, unaware of their future or their past. The Guardians ensured any Gifts they possessed were bound, until they were old enough to be taught how to use them in a safe and secure environment. Schools like the Fey Academy were built in each of the worlds, and when a child turned fourteen, they were transported through a portal into the world where they belonged. The world to which each child was assigned was decided inside the portal, and the appropriate door leading to that world would appear.”

  “I have no idea what happened in the other worlds, but in Florisia there were many who felt the new law was preposterous, and fought to keep their families together. They were either imprisoned, disappeared, or met with mysterious accidents. Eventually, a secret society called The Watchers was formed, of which myself, Dominic and the Oracle are all members. There are members all over Florisia. We do what we can to protect those Tyranius preys upon.”

  Madame Persimmons took a deep breath, and smiled at them. “But preparing for the eventual fulfilment of the prophecy has always been our main goal. We have been waiting centuries, and most of our members are still unaware of your existence. It’s one of the main reasons I am sending you to the Oracle.”