• ---To Be edited! Stay Tuned for ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strain) ch-ch-ch... *fades out* It is going to be a hard and brutal process (I hate changing too much, and I always get carried away, trust me, this story was about a boy living in the slums originally sweatdrop ) BUT GIVE ME COMMENTS IF YOU POST - I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK THE STORY SHOULD BE LIKE AND WHAT I NEED TO CH-CH-CH-CHANGE!---

    It had been a week since we arrived at Alana and Arthur’s home. I was told to repack my things and meet my two, well, lets just call them 'keepers', in the dining room.

    As I packed my things I reminisced on my stay at there house and wondered where I would be going. They taught us self defense, armed with a dagger, sword, or just unarmed, how to ride a horse, as well as archery. It was in the morning of our sixth day that they armed Ben, Atali and I with a dagger encrusted with rubies on its golden hilt.

    I completed my packing, zipped my luggage up and proceeded to the dining room where the entire household was waiting. Amistad and Mary had small, worn bags thrown over their shoulders. I noticed the marks the knives tucked in Amistad’s belt and sleeves. He massaged his pendant of a crescent moon with his fingers, his eyes bearing into me.

    Arthur’s fingers tapped on the polished mahogany dining table and Alana fidgeted in her red velvet upholstered seat. The air was vibrating with tension as much as a bow’s string does after its arrow is released from its hold.

    “It has been a pleasure for the four of you to stay with us, but as you know, you must be off to get an education. I assure you that you will enjoy the school as much as Alana and I had when we attended it,” Arthur sighed, attempting to relax his rigid position.

    Alana placed her hand on top of Arthurs’ to stop the drumming, “We are sending Amistad and Mary with you for the journey to the school. Be on your best behaviour, and do not be rude to your escorts.” She got up, walked around the table and gave us all a hug then shooed us along. Arthur moved into a blank expression, his brown eyes glistening as he glared at his distorted reflection in the shiny wood.

    As I left the dining room, Alana burst into tears, I could hear her sobs. It had only been a week, I thought, we never even really saw her other than at meals. Maybe she feels guilt in sending us off to combat after only a week of training. We are probably the new recruits in the suicide bombers. We all followed our escorts out of the house and into the black car that awaited us outside, Maya held my hand and clutched a pink unicorn in her other hand. “Where are we going Looney?”

    “We are going on a car ride, then to our new school!” I replied, forcing a smile on my face.

    Maya stopped in her tracks, “I hate school.”

    I knelt down to her height, “Hate is an awfully strong word, and especially considering you have never been to a real school, I’ll bet you are going to love it.” The fake smile stayed on my face as I looked into the worried little girl’s face.

    It was an hours drive to our destination. However it was not a school where we arrived, just another grand, stone house. Amistad and Mary hopped out of the car and the four of us squirmed out of our cramped positions in the three-seat back seat and followed the two adults to the front door of the house. We were greeted by an old Scottish man and were invited in the house.

    He shook each of our hands with his large, wrinkled hand, introducing himself as Sawyer Macrae. He had alert, bright blue eyes and a conservative smile. His eyes shifted around the room and he waved us down the hall into a large, dark room with piles of papers everywhere. I looked around the room; there was a coat of arms on the wall adjacent to a tall window. A gold lion head on a rich red background was displayed on the shield and there were two long swords with hilts much like the ones tucked within the bands fastened on our legs. On the opposite wall was an oil painting of a wise looking elderly man, balding slightly on top of his head and blondish white hair around the spot. His eyes were a piercing blue and the features on his face were soft, but strong.

    Mr. Macrae’s eyes shifted violently around the room as Amistad and Mary covered the windows, and shut the large, thick doors. “Sit down children, please,” he motioned for us to sit on a faded red velvet couch, Maya sat down in my lap, Mr. Macrae sighed, “It is time for you to realize your fate. You are all highly intelligent children, and you will realize that what is going to be heard in this room is something you shall never repeat to anybody, no matter how much faith you have in the person you tell,” he bent over us to look straight into our eyes, “if you value your lives nothing should be repeated,” He paused to make sure we all understood, “some of it, well, the people you will be with will know of, but other pieces of information, you must keep to yourselves, I would just recommend not mentioning any of it.”

    Amistad and Mary positioned themselves by the two doors and nodded to Mr. Macrae.

    It was then when the four of us were told our future. That we were a part of a bizarre world filled with magic, creatures of myths and creatures of our worst nightmares. I didn’t believe it. It was like I just stepped into the mind of JRR Tolkien or CS Lewis. My mind twisted around the concepts that flew through the strange mans mouth. When I looked to Amistad and Mary, their heads were bowed. Amistad saw me looking at him, my brows furrowed, he nodded to me. His shoulders slumped slightly from their usual strong, broad pose as he returned his gaze to the floor. You should feel sorry about lying, I thought, Atali, Ben and I will be able to get past the untruthfulness, but lying to a five year old? Their hearts must truly be cold.

    It seemed like only a short time since the morning, when we arrived, but the end of our discussion ended as the lights turned on. Ben and Atali just sat on the couch staring into nothingness, while Maya, who had moved off of my lap and onto the floor after five minutes in the room, tugged at my pant leg, “Are we going to see a unicorn?” Her inquisitive eyes beamed up at me as she clutched her pink unicorn closer and patted it on the head.

    I shook my head, “Probably not, I hear they are really rare,” my eyes lifted to bare into Mr. Macrae’s eyes. His faded grey eyes, looked straight into mine, not even so much as a slight shift appeared.

    Mary came over to grab Maya’s hand, “I am sure you are all ravenous, I know I am.”

    As everybody got up and followed Mary and Amistad out the door, I only stood up, my eyes still bearing into Mr. Macrae’s. “Why are you doing this?”

    “It is the truth, Luna,” He replied, sighing and moving towards his desk.

    I watched as he straightened the small stacks of paper placed on its leather top. I walked up to the desk. “Prove it to me. There is no reason I should believe a total stranger about something this,” I chose my words carefully, “this substantial.”

    “The others have taken it in and thought it the truth.”

    “Yes, but I have grown up around Politians, they have grown up around nuns, I naturally question everything I hear.” I remarked.

    “I can not force you to believe.” I rolled my eyes at his reply.

    “Look, I am not going to fall into another fairytale, I don’t want the next best thing, I want – need the truth. Your story needs some mending.” I took another step towards the desk, towards the strange man without the answers.

    He slammed his hand down on the desk, I held my body, not allowing it to flinch, “This isn’t a fairytale if you want bloody proof then here it is, you must want me dead, I must want myself dead for doing this, but here goes everything,” he shut his eyes, his body started to shake as his paper flew every which way and a high pitched buzzing whirled around my head. The agony of the sound was brutal, the paper that whipped around hit me hard, I struggled to remain standing.

    In an instant, it all stopped. We were outside of his house, the clouds had come out in the pitch black sky, a few beams of moonlight peaked out from behind them. Mr. Macrae stood next to me, dark circles appeared around his eyes, his posture was now weak and a tremor irrupted in his hand. “Believe me now little girl?” He sighed and walked back into the house, “Mary get my cane!” he left the door ajar as he hobbled into the house.

    I just stood there, my muscles quivering from their tense position. What the hell just happened?