Chapter 7 and 8

Chapter 7:

Chapter 7

Bella sat, legs crossed, across from her aunt Elizabeth (who was, by all rights, only older than Bella by a few days.) playing a game of rune sticks.

Elizabeth cursed under her breath as the runesticks turned against her, and she pushed a part of her cookies towards Bella. Bella flinched, and stared for a long moment.

A huge jolt had gone through her body as Elizabeth grew frustrated. The frustration, irritation, and mild amusement hit her like a brick. She blinked.

"Are you alright, Bell?" Elizabeth asked, looking at her with a frown. Bella barely had time to nod before a knock sounded on the door. Elizabeth pursed her lips, and stood, brushing dirt from her skirts. She crossed to the door and pushed open the piece of wood that served as a door. Outside stood a woman a full head shorter than she was.

She had blonde hair cut jaggedly, as though with a hunting knife. Her green eyes glowed like a cat's.

"Can I help you?" Elizabeth asked. The woman pushed by and crossed her arms, looking around the room. Her eyes looked back and forth between Elizabeth and Bella for a moment.

"You are to come with me," she said, then turned to walk out the door.

"Excuse me?" Bella asked, standing up slowly.

"I'm Angela," she said as though it was obvious. "Come with me."

"Um, I don't know you," Elizabeth said. "Do you, Bella?" Bella shook her head.

"Just come with me before I use force," Angela said with exasperation.

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so..." Bella said, reaching into a bag she wore around her waste over her skirt, and slowly removed a dagger.

With a great big sigh, Angela raised her hand, fingers extended, and uttered some words under her breath. Energy rushed up through the earth, and knocked them off their feet. The force of the magic knocked them out and the world collapsed to darkness.

"Great," Angela uttered under her breath. "Now I get to carry a whole bunch of dead weight."

Chapter 8:

Geltha clutched her apron together into a sack infront of her, putting apples into her skirt. Robert chucked an apple at the back of her head, and she deftly side stepped and continued picking apples. In her side step, the apple went careening into her brother, Brendon. He yelped, and rubbed his shoulder. He glared at Robert, then bent, picked up the apple, and chucked it at his head.

Geltha grinned as Robert fell onto his butt, rubbing his temple. She looked at her collection of apples, and decided it was plenty to make a few apple pastries and cider for the evening, and turned to walk back to the house. The boys threw a few more apples at each other. Geltha reached out to open the door, but it opened without her touching it.

A man stood there in shadow. "Geltha," he said shortly. He looked at the boys. "Robert. Brendon."

"Who are you?" she asked, guarded, taking a sharp step back.

"You best be coming with me," the man said, ignoring her question. Robert shouldered in around his half sister, and Brendon took up her other side.

"You are being..... ah, apprenticed, if you will," the man said. "This is a very important apprenticeship. You cannot refuse it."

"Oh, truly?" Geltha said, daring the man.

"Yes, truly," he answered. "Now, you can come with me on your own, or..." Geltha lashed out a foot at the man's stomach, dropping her apples. Damn. They'd be bruised for sure. He caught her foot easily and spun her in the air, so she was plucked right off her feet. She landed flat on her face, and as the boys advanced, he easily pushed both off their feet and looked down at them. Geltha spit grass, and rolled over to look up at him.

"Just what sort of apprenticeship is this?" she snapped.

"A very important apprenticeship," he repeated. He then pulled her to her feet. "Will you come willingly, or not?" She debated kicking him again, but then realized it would be highly undignified to go wherever the man wanted her to go slung like a bag of flour over a saddle. And she would surely lose if she tried to fight him.

She nodded curtly, fury flashing in her eyes. The man grinned without it reaching his eyes, and led Geltha into the brush, beckoning the boys to follow. They did. There were four horses in the brush, waiting.

They mounted, and rode off through the trees, wherever the man was leading them.