The Orb Gatherer - Chosen

All she wanted for her sixteenth birthday was a cute pair of shoes. Or some earrings. Instead she got Magick and a world of trouble.

The Orb Gatherer - Volume 1

Chapter One

 

The cat stared at her, its black coat gleaming in the late afternoon sun.

As Grace stared back, peering through a grimy window, the school bell shrilled, echoing around the walls of the old hall. She jumped at the sudden noise, her daydream interrupted and she was forced to pull her gaze away from the cat. She gathered her papers, butted the sheets together against the desk, and wafted them in front of her face as she waited for the exam to end.

Her mind wandered again as she waited. She idly noted the initials 'NW 4 SA' carved into the corner of her old wooden desk and wondered what NW & SA were doing now. Maybe they were now NW & SW and one of the W children was sitting in the hall, sharing the same Maths paper.

Sitting towards the back of the hall, Grace looked up at the four long rows of desks stretching to the front and stole a glance at the rest of her school mates. Some scribbled furiously, trying to eke out 'just one more mark’; others stretched, trying to iron out kinks in stiff bodies.

"Okay ladies and gents, finish what you're writing," commanded Mr Phillips from the stage at the front of the hall, resplendent in his bright lilac shirt. His jacket and tie had long since been discarded but the damp patches under his arms suggested that his attempts to fight the heat had been unsuccessful.

 "Stay in your seats until I have collected all your papers," he said, his voice rising to catch a couple of potential escapees at the front of the hall.

Grace unscrewed the cap from her bottle of Evian and drained the last few drops, already thinking ahead to the bottle of Coke waiting for her in the fridge at her Aunt’s house. Even with the windows open, the hall was sweltering and after two hours beginning to smell 'a bit funky'. She glanced out of the window and watched as kids of all shapes and sizes emerged from everywhere, exploding from exits like corks from champagne bottles, laughing and jostling, escaping to freedom. Many had already reached for mobile phones, keen to send texts and messages to friends that they had said goodbye to only seconds earlier.

As Grace watched, the kids separated and she saw the cat once more, looking oddly out of place amongst the sea of teenagers. It still sat on the school wall unmoving, and it appeared to be staring at her again. Grace stared back, challenging the cat to look away, but it wouldn’t.

Mr Phillips swept past her desk, collecting her exam paper on the way and Grace's link with the cat was broken.

"Right then boys and girls, you may leave QUIETLY and in an orderly fashion." His last words were lost in a cacophony of noise as chairs scraped on the old wooden floor and students gabbled questions at each other - 'how hard was that?' or 'what did you put for 3b?’ Grace looked out of the window again, but the cat had gone.

She followed behind the other students, half smiling at a couple of semi-familiar faces, but talking with no-one. She joined the crush at the front of the hall where all the students had been asked to leave bags and books and as she straightened to head to the door, she stumbled over a stray bag strap and crashed into the chest of one of the other pupils.

“Sorry!” she blurted, not lifting her eyes from the ground as she bent down to pick up her books which had spilled from her bag and were now strewn across the dusty hall floor, being trampled by the other children in the rush for the exit.

“Let me help you,” said a deepish voice.

She looked up into the fresh face of a tall, interesting looking boy. Interesting was the best description Grace could come up with. In the movies, he would have been broad shouldered, blue eyed, rugged, with perfect teeth...oh, and the lead singer of the hot school band and quarterback for the school team.

Wait a minute, now her brain had gone all Disney on her. In truth he was not cute in the traditional sense, but there was something about him. Not ugly, certainly not ugly, and he had a smile that reached his eyes as if he really meant it. Shaking her head, she left her daydream and descended back to reality.

“Hi,” was the best she could come up with, "and thank you. Sorry I crashed into you, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Grace drew a breath, inhaling the scent of his aftershave and shivered.

“No worries �" by the way I'm Zac. Zac Wood. And you must be Grace.” He said all of this with a wry smile on his face and Grace couldn’t be completely sure that he wasn’t laughing at her clumsiness. Grace resisted the temptation to ask him whether his parents were NW & SA.

“Yep that’s me �" Grace Addams �" although I’m not feeling particularly 'graceful' at the moment.” How did he know her name?

"Well you certainly pack a punch," he grinned, ruefully rubbing his chest where Grace had collided with him.

"I do?" said Grace, puzzled.

Zac laughed and moved off towards his friends who were waiting by the door. “See you around Grace-ful,” and he was gone.

“Come on Grace I need to lock the hall,” said Mr Phillips. Grace looked around and realised that she was now the last to leave. She picked up the rest of her books and hurried out, shouting a belated goodbye to Mr Phillips.

As she left the school via the main front door the full force of the warm summer air hit her. For a second she stood, face up, just enjoying the very slight breeze which always blew in from the sea, before grabbing her sunglasses from her bag and starting the short walk home.

‘Home’ she reflected. It was the first time she had thought of her new house as ‘home’. Home had always been the three-bed semi in London she had shared with her parents since she was born. But, she needed to get used to the idea that the place she had grown up in had gone �" sold to a nice young couple with three year old twins and a labradoodle.

Grace took a second to check her phone but as usual, her screen flashed nothing other than the time and date - no sign of text or voicemail. How things have changed, she reflected, dumping her phone into her jacket pocket. Shouldering her school bag, Grace set off towards the cliff path that led to her new home.

Turning from the main High Street in Granley, pausing only to check the headlines on the latest edition of OK Magazine in the newsagent window, she entered the less built up area of the town and approached the last of the houses on the village outskirts.

Up ahead a movement caught her eye and she watched as a girl emerged from the shadows of a small house, struggling with a large, black portfolio folder almost half her size. She was behaving oddly, stopping at the end of the wall and peering cautiously around the corner.

The girl was dressed a little strangely too, her clothes an eclectic collision of colour. Bright green jeans, with a stripy pink and black sweater, topped off by a royal blue woollen hat - in the middle of summer. Grace shrugged - who was she to judge.

Grace walked on, still a good two hundred meters away, when the strange girl broke cover and sprinted towards the last house in the row, the portfolio folder swinging wildly and banging against her knees. Within seconds, two other youths appeared from behind a car where clearly they had been lying in wait, jumping in front of her and bringing her to an abrupt halt. Hat Girl's shoulders slumped, and she started to back away.

The other two kids, one a tall skinny boy, dressed all in black and the other a slightly smaller girl in skinny jeans and a leather jacket, were laughing and pushing Hat Girl and appeared to be taunting her about something.

Grace turned away, deciding on the alternative route home through the village. But before she had taken more than a couple of steps, her conscience got the better of her. While she didn’t normally look for trouble, she also didn't like an unfair fight. Sighing loudly, she hitched her bag on to her shoulder, and walked towards the trio, picking up some of their conversation.

"Hey Mouse," taunted the boy in a reedy, nasally voice. "Where did you get today's clothes from? Church jumble sale or the charity shop?"

His partner giggled and added, "Come on Hope-less, let's see what you've been drawing,” as she pulled on the girl's folder.

Taking her lead from the girl's words, Grace sauntered up behind the two and said, "Hey Hope, how are you doing?”

The two swung around to face this new threat. "Well well, what do we have here?" said the girl. Up close, Grace examined the young bully’s face in more detail. Short, brown, spiky hair framed a not unattractive face. Earrings paraded all the way up her right ear and a sparkling nose ring completed the look, which, Grace thought, was more a statement of intent rather than a fashion decision. All she needed was a facial scar and an eye-patch and that statement would be complete.

The boy joined in and started to crowd Grace, which wasn't particularly pleasant as he clearly hadn't understood the concept of a shower in quite some time.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, all the time pushing closer and closer to Grace, trying to assert his superior height and strength. He raised his hand to grab Grace's jacket and instinctively she put her hand on his forearm in a defensive gesture, trying to hold him off. Their hands froze in midair and Grace was surprised at how easily she resisted him. Judging by the look on the boy's face, so was he. Pressing home her advantage Grace started to push back. Realising that this wasn't going to plan, the boy pushed harder, trying to force his forearm up under her chin.

Grace dropped her school bag and clutched his arm with both hands. She had never had a fight in her life, always preferring to talk her way out of situations but she was starting to get angry with this clown. She started to exert pressure of her own, twisting the boy’s sweaty arm to the side. The boy's eyes widened as Grace began to win the battle of wills. His face reddened under the strain and suddenly he changed tactics, grabbing Grace's long hair with his spare hand and yanking her head to the side causing her to lose focus.

Grace let his arm go and tried to move away. At that moment, as so often happened, the ‘God of Clumsy’ decided to intervene. As she stepped back away from the boy's rather unpleasant personal space she tripped over her discarded bag and landed flat on her backside, which of course sent both kids into peals of laughter.

Their hilarity was brought to an abrupt halt as a small black cat launched at the ankles of the girl, nipping her hard and springing towards the boy, hissing and spitting. Grace watched on in shock (and a little amusement) as she recognised the same black cat that she had seen earlier at school.

"Get off! Stupid, bloody cat," said the boy taking a wild swing with his foot but missing by miles. The cat retreated to a safe distance but positioned herself between the two attackers and Grace and Hope.

Calmly, the cat settled down to lick her paws, never taking her eyes from her quarry. "Just you wait Hope-less," the girl shouted, "I’m not finished with you yet!”

The cat stood up and started to walk towards the two who quickly scuttled off around the corner, heading back towards school.

Grace clambered to her feet, brushed the dust off her jeans and turned to Hope. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"No I’m not!" said Hope indignantly, trying to pull all of her artwork back into her folder. "You've just made the whole thing worse! They'll never leave me alone now.”

Grace recoiled in shock and stammered, "I'm s...s...sorry. I thought you looked like you needed some help.” Hope looked back at her and without warning, dropped her folder and buried her face in her hands.

Grace approached and put her hand on Hope's shoulder. Hope turned into Grace's embrace and clung to her, her tears making a small wet patch on Grace's blouse.

After a minute or two Hope detached herself from Grace. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that those two idiots have decided that I'm their pet project and they won't leave me alone. Thank you for helping.”

Grace snorted. "I'm not sure I wasn't much more than a humorous distraction with my heroic stumble over my bag!"

Hope laughed and pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. "Well at least the thought was there - thank God that cat decided it wanted to play. Where's it gone by the way?"

"I've no idea," said Grace looking around but finding no sign.

"Well, she was a life-saver!" said Hope. 

"Sure was. I'm Grace, Grace Addams," said Grace, offering Hope her hand.

"Hope Daniels, pleased to meet you," Hope replied with a tiny curtsey. The girls giggled at their formal introductions, each taking a second to size the other up.

"Are you going to be okay from here? I've got to get home," said Grace.

"Yeah, they're gone for now and I live just here in the last house on the left."

Hope bent down to pick up her things, shoving her school books back into her bag, together with a dog-eared Rachel Caine vampire novel.

"Cool, well maybe I'll see you around? At school, maybe?" said Grace.

Hope averted her eyes. "You don't need to...I mean, I'm really grateful but you don't have to speak if you see me..." her voice trailed off.

"Why would I ignore you?" said Grace, mystified.

"Well, I'm not exactly popular at school. I don't have many friends. Well, actually, I don't have any."

Grace considered this strange girl for a second. "Well you do now...if you want one?"

Hope's head snapped up, "Really?"

"Look, I'm new here and I could do with someone to show me around," said Grace.

"I can do that," Hope replied in a small voice, her brown eyes showing a brightness that Grace hadn't noticed before. The spark brought Hope's face to life and Grace recognised an intensity in her new friend that she hadn't realised existed until then.

Grace's eyes were drawn to a movement at the start of the cliff path. A tall female dressed in white, with long black hair to her waist, watched the two girls as they talked. Hope turned around to see what had got Grace's attention just as the figure turned and walked away, pausing to glance once more over her shoulder as she disappeared behind a row of trees.

"Weird," said Hope.

Grace just stared after the figure. Something bothered her, something familiar, but she couldn't place it. "Weird indeed," she said.

 

Chapter Two

 

After seeing Hope safely to her front door, Grace walked the short distance to the boundary fence, hopped over the stile and turned on to the path that ran along the cliff top, leading to her new home. The sea to her left sparkled and glinted and she stopped for a second to enjoy the view, her hands resting on the flimsy wire fence that separated the path from the edge of the cliff. The path seemed free from cats, bullies and creepy long-haired stalkers and she began the long climb. As she walked, her thoughts turned to her Aunt Carrie with whom she now lived following her parent's fatal accident some six months or so ago.

Grace had taken to her aunt at once �" her mum’s sister. Although several years younger and a good foot shorter, Carrie bore a striking resemblance to Grace’s mum. She was a photographer and had until recently lived in Australia. Following the accident she had moved back to England to look after Grace.

Grace remembered the first day they had met. Carrie had met her at Granley train station and without a word taken Grace into her arms. Slim and petite with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, Carrie’s similarity to Grace’s mum meant that Grace had dissolved into a flood of tears but Carrie had simply held her. Standing on Platform Two, Carrie let her cry, as Grace’s train edged away, taking with it a significant chunk of her old life.

Carrie had just one request for Grace �" drop the 'aunt'. In truth Carrie behaved more like an older sister and Grace knew that Carrie had given up a flourishing career as a landscape photographer in Australia to move back to Granley on the North Devon coast, to look after Grace. It was a kindness that Grace didn’t yet know how to repay but a gesture she would always be grateful for.

Grace missed London, particularly her friends and it was proving difficult to settle in Devon. Life moved at a much slower pace but each day she adjusted a little more.

Carrie had bought an old property overlooking the sea in Granley and whilst Grace initially (and secretly) thought it a little creepy she soon fell in love with Seaview House.

As she reached the top of the long, slow climb, Seaview came into sight, a large, one hundred year old property, that had been fairly recently renovated. Ivy covered the cliffside exterior wall and it boasted a large sprawling garden incorporating several outbuildings of various shapes and sizes. Grace had yet to explore them all.

She loved her huge bedroom, twice the size of her old room in London, but the kitchen was the house’s heart. An old pine table took centre stage where Grace and Carrie sat to eat breakfast, enjoying the view of the cove through the big glass doors which led to a small, crazy-paved patio.

The cliff path snaked off to the left, but Grace turned to the right to follow a lesser used trail leading to an old wrought iron gate giving her access to Seaview's garden.

The house was secluded and peaceful. Carrie had set up a photography studio in one of the barns and as Grace approached the house, she could see the camera flashes escaping through the sides of the blackout curtains �" a telltale sign that Carrie was hard at work.

Carrie had landed a job as a catalogue photographer for a national Motor Factor company. Photographing bits of cars was not Carrie’s ideal gig but as she said, “it puts food on the table,” while she tried to re-establish her career as a landscape photographer in the UK. Her landscape work still sold well through her website, but the extra money from this new job was welcome.

Grace let herself in through the front door, threw her school bag on the floor in the hall and wandered through to the kitchen. The sun had moved round to the front of the house leaving the kitchen blissfully cool and Grace grabbed a Coke from the fridge and took it through to the living room and flopped on to the settee.

Closing her eyes for a second Grace relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet after an eventful hour. The distant roar of the surf was too far away to be anything but restful and before long she was snoozing.

She woke with a jump and in a certain amount of pain. A familiar, sleek, black cat sat on her chest digging in its claws. Startled, Grace leapt up with a shriek and the cat bounded to the safety of the coffee table scattering photography magazines in its wake.

The cat turned to look at Grace who felt that she was undergoing some formal examination, as if the cat was trying to deem whether she was worthy of her attention.

“You again! Where did you come from?” said Grace. She approached the cat and reached out with her right hand. The cat let her scratch its head and purred loudly as Grace’s fingers found their way under its chin.

“You're a beautiful little thing, aren’t you?” said Grace.

“THANK YOU,” said a smooth voice. Grace jumped up and looked around the empty living room. Finding no-one, she stared at the cat.

“Who was that?”

The cat just looked at her, ears pricked. Grace shook her head and decided that she couldn’t have heard anything.

“Are you hungry?” she said and moved to the kitchen to find an old bowl. She filled it with milk and threw a couple of cold bits of chicken she found in the fridge on to a plate and placed them both on the floor.

The cat sat in the doorway staring at her but not moving. She glanced at the food and then back at Grace. “Well go on then, eat!” said Grace, hands on her hips. After a brief scan around the kitchen, the cat moved to the food and began to eat and drink.

“Found a friend?” said Carrie walking into the kitchen clutching a camera in one hand and her keys in the other.

“More like she found me,” said Grace giving her aunt a hug. “Have you seen her before?”

“Never,” said Carrie, “and we're a long way from our nearest neighbour. If she’s still here in the morning, I’ll ask around. I’ve got to go make some deliveries in town �" are you ok to sort your own tea out?”

“Sure,” said Grace. “I’m going to finish my homework and then I’ll get myself something.”

“Okay, but you’ll need to go and buy it; you’ve just fed your tea to the Cat!”

Carrie pressed a note into Grace’s hand. Grace grinned at her auntie and the cat stretched and yawned and started to clean itself having finished the food and milk.

“See you later,” Carrie called as she made her way to her beat up old Range Rover carrying a box of car parts.

“Well it’s just you and me now cat. What shall I call you �" I can’t keep referring to you as ‘cat’. Until we find your owner I’ll call you... Bess.” The cat yawned again, unimpressed, and strolled into the living room, jumped on to the couch and settled down to sleep.

“Well, fine company you are,” said Grace as she fetched her school bag and settled down to her homework at the kitchen table.

An hour or so later, and after some quality Facebook time with her old friends, Grace changed into a pair of old faded denim shorts and a t-shirt, locked the house and headed out for a walk. She hadn't explored much since they moved in a couple of weeks ago and she decided to walk more of the cliff path. Heading north, away from the village and school, she sauntered along the overgrown but well worn trail, enjoying the fresh air and the warmth of the early evening sun on her face.

After twenty minutes of walking, Grace paused at an old, moss-covered tree stump which looked as good a place as any to rest. Turning to the ocean she took stock of the fantastic view as the sea breeze played against her skin. The bay stretched out in front of her, the wave tops catching the evening sun and glinting back like a puddle of broken glass, a small yacht with yellow sails providing the only contrast.

Hearing a noise beside her, Grace looked down to find Bess sharpening her claws on the stump. "You better not do that on the furniture at home or Carrie will turn you into a silk scarf," Grace remarked, thinking that the cat’s persistence in stalking her was becoming a little bit weird. "Are you following me?” she asked, an amused smile on her face.

Bess nodded.

"Wait a minute; did you just...?”

Bess licked her paws and ignored Grace. Laughing at her own imagination, Grace decided to head back to Seaview, interested to see whether the cat would continue to shadow her. Glancing back over her shoulder from time to time, Grace smiled as Bess followed, the cat pausing only to sniff the air occasionally. Grace decided to have some fun and set off at a sprint leaving Bess in her wake.

With the wind blowing in her hair, Grace accelerated down the path, hurdling nettles and brambles, dodging roots and branches, thoroughly invigorated by the exertion. She was certain she'd never run as fast before and pushed herself harder, increasing her pace. This sea air must be good for me, she mused, thinking back to her unexpected strength this afternoon and now this.  Giggling, she scrambled around a bush at breakneck speed and skidded to an abrupt halt. Sitting in the middle of the path was Bess.

"How...?" Grace looked back down the trail for another cat, but the path was clear for as far as she could see. "You are starting to freak me out now," she complained. "How did you do that?" She examined the path for any sign of a short cut. Bess just turned round, flicking her tail in the air and headed for home. She paused once to look back over her shoulder, a smirk on her face.

Grace scratched her head, bemused. She shrugged her shoulders and set about trying to catch the cat up - this was certainly an odd day.

Reaching the gate leading to the Seaview grounds, Grace waved as she saw Carrie pulling into the drive. Carrie beckoned her over. “Give me a hand would you? I've got another box of car parts to photograph and it's heavy. I need a hand lifting it into the studio.”

Grace trotted over, noting that the cat was nowhere to be seen now that there was work to be done. Opening the tailgate of her Aunt's rusty old hatchback, she leant inside and grabbed the handles of the large cardboard box.

"Careful, I had to get a man to load it with me, it's really heav..." Carrie's voice trailed off as Grace appeared from the end of the car clutching the box with apparent ease. "Wow!" exclaimed Carrie. "I didn’t realise you were so strong.”

Grace looked blankly at her Auntie. "I didn’t know I was. This doesn't feel that heavy?" In truth, she felt as if she could manage another on top.

"Well I'm glad you're here," smiled Carrie. "I tried but couldn’t lift it on my own. Could you put it down on the bench in the studio, just beside the computer desk?"

"Sure," said Grace, sauntering off towards the old barn, shoving the box under one arm as she punched in the code to the digital door lock her Aunt had installed to protect her gear. Carrie watched her go, an odd, confused look on her face. Shrugging, she grabbed her bags from her car, locked the door and headed for the house.

 

***

 

'The sun goes down, the stars come out...' - Grace's phone lit up to the sound of 'The Wanted' blaring through its tiny speaker, the vibration almost sending the phone off the edge of her bedside table.

She groaned and reached out a floppy hand without opening her eyes and after a couple of near misses, located the device and hit the mute button. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Grace stretched her long limbs and then in true teenager fashion, curled back under her duvet. The sun streamed through the gap in her bedroom curtains and she could hear the gulls fighting over breakfast.

Enjoying the warmth of her bed and that unique cosiness that you get on early mornings when you are supposed to be getting up, Grace thought about her birthday. This time last year she was preparing for a party with her mum, organising her girl friends and choosing a DVD for her sleep over.

A wave of sadness washed over her but she angrily shook it off. Okay, she didn’t have any real friends close by but Carrie had promised a Chinese Takeaway for tea and it WAS her birthday tomorrow.

But first, Friday and the last day of term loomed with the spectre of a games lesson. Grace had never been a huge fan of sport, although she normally held her own with ball games and was physically fit - it was just that occasionally, and usually spectacularly, she sometimes leaned towards a natural clumsiness. Games lessons in her opinion were just another opportunity for the fate bunny to play more tricks.

Netball was on the cards today and being at a new school meant that Grace had yet to show off her (lack of) talent and she worried that, by the end of the day, she would be the butt of many jokes.

Sighing loudly Grace threw back her duvet and jumped as a black shape streaked across the bedroom.

"Bess!" Grace shrieked. "I'm so sorry, I forgot you completely.” The cat merely peered at Grace with a look that only felines can pull off - disdain with a hint of snooty. Grace bent down to pet the cat, and felt a strange sense of peace, that prickled across her shoulder blades as she stroked the cat's silky coat. Bess started to purr which Grace guessed meant she had been forgiven.

"Well Bess, as much as I would like to stay here and chill with you, I have to go to school.”

Grace peered into her bedroom mirror and tugged ineffectively at her wavy brown mane. She considered her reflection - her mum had always told her she was beautiful and her old friends had always been envious of her perfect bronzed complexion and deep blue eyes. Grace was never convinced that they weren't just 'being friends'. Sighing, Grace trudged into her en suite bathroom (another big plus for Seaview) and headed for the shower.

Half an hour later feeling much more awake, Grace skipped down the old wooden stairs to the smell of bacon and egg and the sounds of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show emanating from the kitchen. The strains of Stevie Wonder's ‘Superstition’ filtered out of the small and vaguely retro radio that Carrie kept on the cluttered window sill, next to the gaudy, mechanical egg timer shaped like a chicken, and a wilting potted plant that they had both forgotten to water. Bess lay stretched out in a patch of sun in the middle of the doorway leading to the garden.

Carrie stood at the counter, slicing bread for toast, the tip of her tongue poking from the side of her mouth as she concentrated. Her blonde hair hung in a loose pony tail, still wet from the shower and a damp spot had spread across the back of her blue t-shirt.

"Morning Aunt Carrie," Grace teased, grinning at her Aunt, who turned to her niece and rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Well someone seems happy this morning,” said Carrie.

"I feel great,” said Grace, "strangely bouncy and full of the joys...”

"Come here and give me a hug," said Carrie, wrapping her in her arms. "I'm glad you are starting to feel at home here. I was worried that all this might be too much of a change from London."

Grace murmured a thank you savouring the comfort of her aunt's embrace and inhaling the ever more familiar scent of her aunts washing powder and delicate, floral shampoo.

"As much as I like a cuddle, I think the bacon's burning!"

Carrie chuckled and set her niece free. "Sit down and I'll get you a plate.” Grace chose her favourite seat with the best view of the cove and settled at the table, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

At once a heavy lump jumped on to her lap and Grace yelped as a set of very sharp claws started kneading her legs through her jeans, causing Grace to slop her juice on to the table.

"Looks like you've found a friend for life,” said Carrie chuckling as she set a plate in front of Grace, together with a roll of kitchen towel. "I don't think she'll be leaving your side for a while.”

Grace pondered, "Well, she made me jump - but it's strange, I do feel very different when she's close. I can’t explain it, I just feel lighter and happier and that everything will somehow be okay."

"I'm glad you've made a friend, even if it is a furry one! I just hope you aren't too disappointed if we have to give her back."

"I don't think we will - somehow she belongs right here - but I don't know why? This really is the strangest thing but I feel like I have known her my whole life. I can't explain it but I know that if she left now it would leave a big hole. Definitely very weird.”

Bess cocked her head on one side and stared at Grace, the cat’s deep emerald eyes penetrating Grace's own, unblinking. For several seconds Grace was lost. Sound died, colours faded and Grace's whole world seem to polarize into the deep pools of Bess' eyes.

Cloudy, indistinct images formed in Grace's mind - shapeless figures and bright flashing lights flickered, like a video game watched through a gold fish bowl. It appeared to be a battle of some kind and Grace began to fall in, deeper and deeper. As she fell, the scene started to take on some clarity. Three figures started to emerge, standing around a bright, glowing ball of light. A voice filled her head, a strange unearthly voice, deep and slow, "HUMAN...COME..."

"Wha...what happened?" Grace stuttered as she dragged herself back to reality.

"Hmmm,” replied Carrie, "what did you say? Don't forget your breakfast, it's going cold."

"I swear I'm going mad," Grace muttered to herself. She shook her head and resolved not to tell anyone at school that she was now hearing voices. It was bad enough being the newbie without admitting to severe mental issues as well. But what did it mean?

 

Chapter Three

 

The double suns shone down fiercely over Classan, the capital city of the Kashians. The cloudless blue sky provided an almost surreal backdrop to the Culgan Mountains which bordered and overlooked the Western edge of the capital.

Despite the heat, crowds of people scurried about their business. Tall dark women, with children clinging to their robes shopped for supplies in the bustling market which meandered through the dusty streets of the Eastern side of the capital. Outside the city walls, men toiled in fields, planting and harvesting crops. Regular patrols of soldiers sauntered through the city, looking for troublemakers and Falaen spies alike.

Most patrols contained only non-magickal soldiers but occasionally they included a Mage, shaven headed and black robes signifying their position. Each wore a tattoo, the traditional mark of the Mage, a green serpent winding its way up the index finger. These individuals were treated with an almost God like reverence and people moved aside to let them through, their heads bowed in grudging respect.

Vorl Krodor skirted around the outskirts of the city, taking care to avoid the patrols. Although he was out on official Council business, some of the soldiers still thought it funny to pick on the younger Council Acolytes and some of their ‘games’ could be quite barbaric. As one of the few remaining Kashians with the ability to work Magick, Vorl enjoyed a certain amount of celebrity status amongst the population but this didn’t mean that a few of the older, jealous soldiers couldn't make his life a misery.

Life was so much easier back on the farm, he mused, thinking back just a few short months to a time before his selection. He still remembered the day when a Kashian Mage had arrived at their small farmhouse, demanding to test all of the inhabitants. One by one, Vorl's family had been declared negative until the Mage had reached him. When the man had declared, "Positive,” Vorl's mother had gasped, her hand shooting to her mouth. His father had looked on, his face revealing a sense of pride mixed with fear at what the future would hold for his youngest son.

After a few, too short, moments to say goodbye, Vorl had jumped on to the Council transport, his worldly goods packed into a small back pack which he clutched to his chest. His parents and older brother had managed to keep their emotions in check but his young sister, Sulia, had sobbed her heart out, half heartedly running down the road after the wagon.

There had been no choice, no time to make a decision. Since the 'Purge' of all natural Chinu (the power source for all Magick) a hundred years earlier, people with natural Magickal wells or centres were a scarce resource. Lord Merrikh had sent out a troop of roving Mages, all dedicated to finding anyone with Magickal potential. Vorl was going to learn to be a Mage, whether he liked it or not. He had watched his family fade into the distance through the cloud of dust the Council horses had kicked up. Vorl still wondered when or if he would ever return.

Rounding the last corner before the Kashian Citadel, Vorl slipped back into the shadows to allow a small patrol to pass by. Once they were safely out of sight, he sprinted across the main thoroughfare and into the cooling shade of the Citadel's outer ring. The Citadel's design was spectacular - four concentric circles surrounded the main chambers where Lord Merrikh, Leader of the Kashian people, kept residence. The outer circle contained the soldier’s barracks, kitchens and the Citadel domestic staff. The second circle was reserved for the Acolytes, the third for the Mages of Kashia and the inner circle and chambers were all Merrikh's.

At the heart of the Citadel, Merrikh's central chamber boasted three stories, an impressive building overlooking the Citadel and surrounding city.

Four corridors connected each circle, situated at the four points of the compass. Vorl headed for the Eastern corridor, intending to drop into his room to freshen up before heading to the Mage circle to deliver the supplies he had picked up for his Master, Mage Tanrar - a supply of precious metal samples which Tanrar needed for his experiments.  Opening the door to his room, Vorl slung his bag on to his cot before heading to a small stone basin where he splashed water on his face to remove the worst of the dust.

Feeling suitably refreshed, Vorl ventured back out, heading deeper into the Citadel towards the Mage circle. Walking with his eyes to the ground as he had been taught, Vorl headed right at the Mage Circle intersection and carefully counted down the doors before arriving at Tanrar's Chambers. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and knocked on the heavy wooden door and waited for a response.

"Come,” commanded a weak, nasally voice from inside. Vorl pushed hard on the heavy door and slid in to a large room where Tanrar waited, his head engrossed in a book.

"Ah Krodor,” Tanrar said without looking up. "About time, I thought I was going to have to come looking for you. Have you brought my supplies?"

Vorl nodded a response (having learned early on in his studies that the less he said, the less he could be criticised for) and then added a quick “Yes Sir,” realising that Tanrar was still not looking at him.

"Excellent,” said Tanrar. "Take the samples and file them into my stores, and take care not to mix up the metals."

Vorl gave a small bow and retreated to one of the large ante rooms surrounding the main chamber which served as Tanrar's laboratory where he spent most of his time working. Vorl had yet to work out exactly what project Tanrar worked on, but he had seen and heard enough to know that it was important. Sighing to himself, Vorl settled down to what would be a painstakingly boring job and started to sift through the samples, matching them with the labels in the stores.

Whistling softly, Vorl settled in to a routine and was about half way through his task and thinking about his evening meal when he heard a load knock on the Chamber's doors.

"Come,” came the now familiar response of his Master. "Lord Merrikh!" Tanrar exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise. Come in, come in. Can I offer you some refreshment?"

"This is not a social call Tanrar. I need to know how your work is proceeding."

"V..v...very well, My Lord,” stammered Tanrar in response, sounding more uncertain than Vorl had heard him before. "We have made significant progress in analysing the Falean transportation Magicks, and I anticipate having the solution for you very soon, very soon indeed.”

"WORDS!" Merrikh roared. "These are just words and they are the same words that you used last week and for several weeks before that. If you cannot find a solution then I must think of asking someone else to find it for me."

Vorl watched as Merrikh approached Tanrar and place his hands on Tanrar's shoulders. The older Mage cringed under his powerful Leader’s light touch.

"Tanrar, you have proved to be a resourceful man in the past. You were the first to partially succeed with the Falaen Transportation Stone, but I need a stone that will allow transportation both ways. What use is your stone if I can send a Mage but I can't get him back?"

"I understand My Lord. I..I'm very close, I'm sure of it!"

You have fourteen moons, do I make myself clear?”

"Yes, yes my Lord. Of course, fourteen moons it will be.”

The jars of samples in front of Vorl began to vibrate and a low rumble filled the air.

"Ensure that it is,” said Lord Merrikh in a cold voice which made the hairs on the back of Vorl's neck stand on end.

The vibration stopped as suddenly as it had started. Vorl stole a glance through the curtain separating the ante room from the main chamber to see Merrikh turn with a swish of his royal blue cloak and head for the door of Tanrar's quarters. A huge man standing at well over six feet and with broad square shoulders, Merrikh cut an impressive figure. At his hip, the heavily bejewelled dagger that never left his side, glinted in the candle light as he exited the room.

Vorl turned back to his work with renewed vigour, anxious to be out of Tanrar's sights and keen to be anywhere that Merrikh wasn’t likely to appear. In the background he could hear Tanrar shouting at his staff, taking out his nervous frustration on them. Vorl shuddered as a wave of Magickal energy swept through the room followed by a large crash as his Master released his aggression on some unfortunate inanimate object.

Vorl knew enough about Magick to realise that his Master must surely be in a terrible mood to waste valuable Chinu. He heard the door slam a second time and stole a look at the main chamber to confirm that Tanrar had left, probably heading for his favourite tavern and a comforting bottle of claret.

He decided to finish up as quickly as possible and make his escape.

At last the metal samples were all correctly stored and Vorl crept from the Ante Room and safely made it the main door. After a quick look down the deserted corridor, Vorl turned right, back towards the Eastern pass and despite his training, sprinted to his room.

Once behind closed doors, Vorl lay on his cot with his hands behind his shaven head and pondered what he had heard. Being inquisitive was not a trait that was encouraged in the Citadel, but Vorl was intrigued. He had been there long enough to know that the atmosphere was very tense and getting worse each day but he didn't know why.

Once more he wished he was back at home with no more worries than the weather and his crops. Learning to use Magick was incredible and he still had to pinch himself every day to prove that it was all real, but still, he did not like the city people, especially the soldiers and the mages who, in his opinion, were no more than bullies.

Lord Merrikh was the worst of the lot. Just last week one of Vorl's fellow Acolytes had  used a spell during training which had accidentally exhausted his Chinu Well meaning he would be unable to train for weeks whilst his Chinu supply regenerated. Lord Merrikh had marched out to the practice grounds in a fit of rage and thrown the poor unfortunate acolyte fifty yards into the Citadel wall.

The Acolyte had barely lived, suffering a broken collar bone and leg, together with a severe head injury. He had lain broken and bleeding while Lord Merrikh berated the other trainees about protecting their Chinu. "Without Chinu, you are NOTHING to me,” he roared and with a final glance in the direction of the injured trainee had stormed off back to his chambers. Vorl had not seen the injured boy again.

Lord Merrikh obviously wanted Tanrar to solve a problem and he wanted the solution now. But, what was the task? Tanrar had mentioned 'Falean Transportation Magicks' which seemed to indicate that Merrikh wanted something or someone transported. But who or what and to where or why was beyond Vorl.

But he vowed to keep his ear to the ground as he headed back out of the door to his weapons training class.

And that was another thing - exactly what was he being trained for? To fight? But against who? The Falea seemed the obvious choice, but since the Purge, only the strongest Mages had any chance against the Falean Priesthood and any battle would leave both sides facing long recovery times to restore their wells. It didn't make sense.

 

Chapter Four

 

Grace arrived at school early and sat on her favourite bench (she had sat on it twice before) just outside the main entrance, enjoying the last few precious moments of freedom. Closing her eyes, shadows flitted across her eyelids, reminding her a little of the strange vision she had experienced at breakfast. What did it mean? Was she going mad, or was it just a day dream? Had she fallen asleep at the table? She opened her eyes and watched as an endless stream of teenagers filtered their way past her, chatting about nothing in particular or sharing a joke with a friend. Grace checked her phone one more time, but the blank screen glowed back, taunting her.

The school bell rang for the first time, the clamour carrying to her bench. "Three more minutes," she said. She glanced across the road at the village primary school where a procession of big cars dropped off small children, their parents giving them a final hug and kiss to send them on their way.

She watched as a little girl, dressed in a lemon yellow summer dress, hugged her mother before skipping off to greet her teacher, presenting her with a flower she had picked on route to school. A stray, involuntary tear rolled down Grace's face which she wiped away angrily. She had done a lot of crying over the last few months and while it was easy for people to say, "don't be upset, your Mum and Dad wouldn’t want you to be sad," it proved a lot harder to do in practice. Plus, she had a little mascara on this morning and she didn’t want it to run.

Grace's desperately didn't want to forget her parents, and she worried that as each day passed, her memories dulled just a little more, the images in her mind, already beginning to blur at the edges. It was the little things she missed the most.

The final bell shrilled in the distance and with a sigh, Grace collected her bags and joined the end of the snaking line and headed into school.

The morning passed uneventfully and Grace managed to stay out of trouble with teachers and went a whole couple of hours without falling over or crashing into fellow students. She found Hope at lunch time walking into the school cafe, a lollipop sticking out of the corner of her mouth. She once again wore her hat and Grace couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer.

"Hope, why the woolly hat? You must be baking."

Hope blushed. "Err...I...I just like it?"

Grace just looked at her. "Oh, okay," Hope said with a frown. "I'll tell you but you have to promise not to say a word. I had a little accident with a hair dye."

Grace's eyes opened wide, "What colour?"

"Purple. Bright purple."

Grace's hand flew to her mouth in a gasp as she tried not to laugh. Hope looked at her in annoyance but eventually a smile formed on her lips. "I secretly quite like it but I wouldn't dare show it in public. It's just something else for Lottie to pick on."

"Tell me more about those two idiots,” said Grace, after they had each grabbed a tray and sat at a worn but clean table in the corner of the school cafe.

"There's not much to tell. Karl Whiting and Charlotte Smith, although don't call her Charlotte or Charlie - it has to be ‘Lottie'. School idiots. They were suspended for two weeks last year for ‘persistent offending’ but allowed back in by the new head for a ‘second chance’.” Hope sketched imaginary quotation marks in the air with her fingers. “They don't like me," she finished off.

"What did you do to attract their attention?" asked Grace, reaching for the salt.

Hope squirmed in her seat. "I might have accidentally hit Lottie on the head with a Rounders bat," she blushed.

Grace giggled, "No! I'd have paid good money to see that! How did you manage it?"

"Well, during a games lesson I managed to hit the ball for once and took off for first base. But I completely forget to drop the bat and in a moment of madness slung it back over my shoulder as I ran. I wasn't even looking but it hit her right on the head, much to her obvious displeasure. It didn't help that the rest of the class found it hilarious."

Grace chuckled, picturing the scene in her head and picked up her Hot Dog to take a bite. As she raised it to her mouth, her tongue flicked out to catch a stray dollop of ketchup that threatened to escape. As she ate, she glanced at Hope and noticed that she had suddenly gone very still. The colour drained from her friend’s face, as she stared over Grace's shoulder. Uh-oh, thought Grace. Turning in her chair she looked across the crowded cafe to see Karl and Lottie evicting a couple of unfortunate, younger kids who had had the audacity to sit at ‘their’ table.

"Hope," whispered Grace. "HOPE," she said in a louder voice trying desperately to attract the petrified girl's attention. Shaking her gently on the arm, Grace managed to get Hope to look at her. "Don't let them get to you - I won’t let them hurt you."

"You don’t know how cruel they can be,” stuttered Hope. "Last year, the teachers found a cat, burned to death. Nobody could prove anything but everyone knows it was them."

Grace sighed, "Come on, let’s get out of here, we'll work something out."

As they left the hall, Grace noticed that many kids were giving Hope strange looks and giggling at her unique appearance. Grace threw an arm around her shoulders and Hope looked up at her in surprise.

"What are you doing?” she hissed. "Everyone will laugh at you too."

"I don’t care,” said Grace. "I don’t have any friends here, I like you and I don’t care what any of them think.”

"Really?" asked Hope, with a hint of desperation?

"Really,” said Grace firmly. "Now let's get to netball where I can really make a fool of myself."

Hope's shoulders sagged. "I'm not going to get away with wearing this hat in the Gym am I?" she said despondently.

Grace looked at her. "Come on." She grabbed Hope's hand and they raced across the small, tree lined quadrangle that separated the main school from the sports gym, enjoying a few precious moments out in the warm midday sunshine and entered the girl’s locker rooms.

Grace turned to Hope and removed her hat. It really wasn't too bad. Hope had long straight hair which apart from being a bit 'hat hair-ish' was now streaked with gentle mauve waves. "Hope, it looks really cool!" exclaimed Grace. "And I'm not just saying that, the colour is lovely."

Hope didn't look convinced but relaxed at Grace's words somewhat. Grace turned her round, grabbed her hair brush and attacked the worst of the tangles and deftly plaited her hair which hid the worst of the dye. She finished just as the other players started to turn up. Changing into their netball kit they entered the main sports hall with their class mates to await the teacher.

"You know that ‘Evil Lottie’ is in this class too, don't you?" said Hope.

Grace groaned, "And I thought things couldn't get any worse.” Just as she finished speaking Lottie sauntered into the gym, wafting the aroma of stale cigarette smoke in their faces. She barged her shoulder into Grace and Hope as she pushed to the front of the group of waiting girls.

Before Lottie could cause any more trouble, the gym teacher strode in.

"Right Girls, we’ll have a match this afternoon. Jenny and Rachel, congratulations you are now captains. Pick your teams and line up. The rest of you will be subs and I will bring you on during the game.”

In time honoured fashion, the two captains picked all of their friends first and then the best players were snapped up, including Lottie. Jenny clearly preferred to have her on the same team rather than play against her.

Grace, to her surprise, was picked and ended up on the same side as Lottie, selected as Wing Defence.

"Just do your best,” said Jenny with a grin.

Smiling nervously at her captain, Grace picked up her blue and gold 'WD' bib and made her way to the court.

Settling into her starting position, Grace turned her concentration to the game and kept an eye on her opponent who had already started jostling for position. Grace held her ground, unwilling to take a backward step.

The teacher blew her whistle and the Centre moved to the starting circle and passed to her Wing Attack, who swiftly looped a pass to Lottie in the Goal Attack position. In true Lottie style, she barged aside the Goal Defence and successfully shot a goal. Hands on hips she turned to sneer at the opposition.

The poor defender ended up on the floor, writhing in pain. It looked to Grace as if she had twisted her ankle in the fall and after a brief examination by the teacher; she had to leave the court.

"Hope, you're in," the Gym Teacher called. "Grab the bib from Sarah and take your position. Lottie, calm down please."

Hope now found herself having to mark Lottie who stood a whole head taller. Within seconds, Lottie had stamped on Hope’s foot and was now using her shoulder to push Hope across the court while the teacher's back was turned.

The ball swept from end to end as the game continued and Grace began to get involved while trying to keep an eye out for Hope. Fortunately Grace's clumsiness had decided not to show and she began to relax in to the game and started to enjoy herself. Again she was confused by her increased athleticism as she made a couple of well timed interceptions, halting the opposition's attack. Every jump seemed a little higher, every burst of speed a little faster. Slowly but surely, Grace began to dominate the centre of the court, earning an appreciative word from the teacher.

Reminding herself that Hope was still suffering, Grace glanced up to see Lottie dig her elbow into her friend’s ribs, winding her badly and causing her to bend over in pain.

Grace looked on hopelessly as the ball whizzed her way. Catching it smartly she decided and try and help and fizzed a shoulder pass towards Lottie, putting all of her weight behind it. Unfortunately, as well as being a bully, Lottie was obviously a good ball player.

Just as the ball reached her, she ducked letting the ball sail harmlessly over her head.

CRUNCH! The ball made a sickening sound as it slammed into Hope's face, just as she straightened up after her hit to the ribs. Hope didn't know what had hit her as the full force of Grace's pass caught her on the nose, knocking her off her feet. Hope squealed in pain and Lottie dropped to the floor in laughter. Bright red blood gushed from Hope's nose and tears streamed down her face.

"Hope!" shrieked Grace as she rushed to her friend’s side horrified to have caused her an injury. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"Stand aside girls,” came the authoritative voice of their gym teacher. "Give her some space. Okay, up you come Hope,” she said as she dragged Hope to her feet.

Lifting Hope's chin and peering at her face she muttered, "Hmmm we better get the school nurse to check that out in case it's broken." Nodding towards Grace she said, "Grace is it? Please can you take Hope to First Aid? Chop chop, she's getting blood all over my new gym floor!"

Grace took Hope's elbow and guided her towards the door. "See you Hope-less,” Lottie crowed. "Don’t get blood on your shirt."

"Come on,” urged Grace, throwing a dirty look at Lottie. She paused to grab a wedge of tissues from the girl's changing room and handed them to Hope.

"Don't tip your head back and pinch the bridge of your nose if you can, it will help stop the bleeding.” Grace smiled as she remembered bits and pieces from her Brownie First Aid badge. Never thought I'd be using that skill, she thought.

Guiding Hope back across the courtyard towards the main school, Grace stole a quick look at Hope's face. Her nose had swollen and one eye already looked as if it was starting to bruise. She looked like she would have at least one black eye, if not both.

Way to go Grace, she thought to herself. Less than one day with a new friend and you've turned her into a panda.

Emerging into the bright sunlight, Grace squinted to get her bearings. Hope sniffed quietly as she staggered along, barely able to walk. One hand held the now bloody tissues to her nose and the other arm draped around Grace’s shoulder. Grace struggled alongside her, trying to hold her up and wondering where the First Aid room could be. She decided to head for the main school entrance where the secretary's offices were and to take it from there. Her concentration was interrupted by a familiar deep voice.

"Can I help Ladies?” said the friendly voice. Peering from under Hope's armpit, Grace recognised the cute boy from yesterday. What was his name; she panicked...Tim, Dan...Zac! That was it. Realising that she stood in a rather skimpy netball skirt, covered in blood, hair plastered to her face and sweating like a pig (or was it perspiring? Grace liked to think so), Grace tried to straighten her hair and her skirt with one hand, whilst stopping Hope from collapsing in a heap.

"Looks like you need a hand,” Zac smiled, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Here, let me take her. Where are you heading, First Aid?" Zac swept Hope into his arms and looked at Grace expectantly.

Grace stared at Zac, momentarily confused by this unexpected offer, combined with a slight tinge of jealousy (jealousy! where did that come from?) that Zac had Hope in his arms. Completely unable to string two words together, Grace just stared.

"Uh Grace, she might be a tiny little thing, but she's getting heavy and I have my favourite shirt on that I really don’t want covered in blood!"

Grace stared at her bloody hands. What a way to make an impression Gracie, she thought.

"Sorry," she gasped, "yes, yes. First Aid please and thank you so much for helping."

Zac smiled and Grace melted. Come on girl, keep it together, she mused, anyone would think that you hadn’t seen a really, really cute boy before, muscles bulging, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead...

"GRACE!" Zac exclaimed. "Anyone in there?"

"Yes, yes I'm here - let's go, you lead the way - I haven't got a clue where we're going."

Zac set off at a trot leaving Grace breathless and a little bemused. From behind a tree, she heard a miaow and looked up to find Bess staring at her. "What?" said Grace. "Don't you start on me as well!" she joked as she ran off to catch up with Zac and Hope. Bess just looked at her...like cats do.

Grace caught up with Zac just as they reached the first aid room, which was right next to the secretary's office. Nice guess, Grace thought.

Vaguely disappointed that the school nurse wasn’t a big bustling lady in a blue uniform, Grace watched as the nurse carefully peeled away the bloody tissues and examined Hope's face.

"Oh dear,” she exclaimed, "that really does look painful. Let me fetch some ice for the swelling. In the meantime, don’t tilt your head back and pinch the bridge of your nose to stop the bleeding."

Yes! Grace congratulated herself and then immediately felt guilty, remembering the reason why Hope was here in the first place.

Kneeling down next to her and taking Hope's free hand in her own, Grace looked at her friend.

"Oh Hope, I'm so sorry. I could see that Lottie was giving you a tough time and I wanted to distract her and decided that throwing the ball at her was a good idea, and it would have worked, except...she ducked!"

Hope looked at Grace out of her red, swollen eyes and smiled bravely. "It was a good try Grace, and I know you weren’t trying to hit me but OW, it hurts like hell."

"Well hopefully Lottie will have had her fun now and leave us alone.”

"Lottie Smith?" Zac piped up. "What's that silly little cow up to now?"

Grace snorted. "It's nothing, she just likes picking on people and this month it's Hope. We'll sort her and her lump of a bodyguard somehow." Hope looked sideways at Grace but said nothing.

"Well if you need some help just shout,” Zac added.

Standing up, Grace turned and looked up into Zac's eyes. "Thank you,” she said, "we will." Holding Zac's eye for just a moment longer than was comfortable, Grace then turned back to Hope to wait for the Nurse.

"I'd better be off,” Zac announced. "See ya later Graceful. Take it easy Hope."

Once he had moved out of earshot Hope turned to Grace and said, "Graceful?” She went for the full blown raised eyebrow look but instead ended up making her eyes water as she remembered too late her poorly nose.

"It's a long story that I will never tell you." Grace laughed.

"Well you seem to have made an impression with him,” Hope remarked. "He is 'très désirable',” she quoted in a quite awful mock French accent, which sounded even odder given that she couldn’t breathe through her nose.

"Have you seen the way I look?" Grace challenged. "He's probably on his way to the boy’s locker room now to share with his mates and someone somewhere has probably got a picture on a mobile that will be all over Twitter by the end of the day!"

Hope giggled. "Ow, ow don’t make me laugh...it hurts!"

The nurse bustled back into the room. "Okay, make some room please,” she ordered as she thrust an ice pack at Hope. Hope lifted it to her nose with a long sigh as the ice started to numb some of the pain. “I'm afraid that you're going to need an x-ray which means a trip to A&E,” the Nurse advised.

“Can I go with her?" Grace asked.

"I don’t see why not as long as we get your parent's permission - are they at home?"

"I live with my aunt,” replied Grace, a tinge of sadness washing over her, “and she should be at home”.  She repeated the number to the nurse.

"And what about you young lady?” said the Nurse as she turned back to Hope.

"Mum and Dad are both at work but I have Mum's mobile number," she mumbled from beneath the ice pack. "The number is in my phone which is in my Gym bag."

"I'll fetch it,” said Grace, desperate to do something to make amends, "and I'll pick up my stuff at the same time. Don't go without me!” she yelled over her shoulder.

Grace had little time for a shower, but she made the effort and arrived back in first aid in record time, dressed in her jeans and clutching Hope's kit and bag.

"Thanks,” said Hope, whose eyes and nose looked worse and worse by the second.

Grace swallowed, a lump forming in her throat as she looked at her friends messed up face.

"I’m really sorry,” Grace mumbled in a small voice. "I just wish I could take the pain away."

"Don’t worry,” Hope replied. "Look on the bright side; we got out of Netball early and no more school for the day."

Grace looked admiringly at her new friend who seemed to be able to find a silver lining in even the darkest cloud. Grace was sure that she would be wallowing in self pity about now and heading for a big box of chocolates and her duvet.

A car horn beeped from outside. Hope and Grace headed back out to the still warm afternoon to find the Nurse driving a blue Renault Laguna tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. "She's waiting impatiently for her patient,” Grace joked, which earned her another of Hope's sideways glances. After a quick check of seat belts, the Nurse accelerated slowly away on the long drive to the nearest A&E, some 15 miles away.

 

Author's Note

My first attempt at writing a novel - all feedback gratefully received. First 4 chapters loaded here - book complete at 63,000 words - Book Two is partially written at 40,000 words.