𝗔 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
𝗔 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿.
𝗔 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
When senior high school student Elizabeth Carter sees Isaac Belwich at her...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
By the time the sun had set, we had made it to the quiet town of Bellanshire. It sat on the edge of a cliff by the sea. The air was cool, clean, and the sound of the waves crashing softly against the cliffs filled my ears. A white flock of birds flew overhead, screeching their protest of the cloudy sky. The buildings were quiet, except for the tavern from which sounds of laughter and lively music echoed down the streets, dim lighting from fires in houses sprinkled the hills.
We all followed Ember past the tavern and over a small hill to a stone house with a large stable. She guided Belle and settled her in with the many other Engii in the stables.
"My family is known for their Engii. After my parents passed away, the land's ownership fell over to me. But I never wanted it. My little sister, however, loved the place and the animals so I had given the rights to her. Then I moved to Listra shortly after, where I got the job working at the palace," she explained, stopping at the front door. She sighed, putting her hands on her hips, "I must warn you she's a bit eccentric and her husband... please don't freak out. She gets enough grief about it from the townspeople." And with that, she knocked on the door.
There was a bunch of clanging and fumbling before the door opened. A small, heavily pregnant woman appeared before us, looking a lot like a younger Ember; blue eyes and short blonde hair. Her smile brightened when she saw her sister, wrapping her arms around her with delight.
"Ember! What a surprise! It's been so long, how long has it been?" Once her eyes landed on us, she gasped. "Oh! And you brought friends? Come in! We had just finished dinner. Thremael is upstairs putting the little ones down. Would you like anything to eat? You look a bit thin. They better be taking care of you up at the palace. You wouldn't believe the horror stories I heard from the capital!" She ran around the tiny house, pulling plates, and cups down along with a wide variety of foods from the fridge, all while rambling on about everything going on in her life. In the span of a couple minutes, I felt like I knew everything about her sister except for her name.
Ember sat at the table and motioned for us to join her. "Just go with it, let it happen, don't deny her," she whispered before clearing her throat. "Alice? May I introduce Master Isaac Belwich and his friends Elizabeth and..." she paused at my sister.
"Isabella," Isabella said softly, her eyes wide from the whirlwind that was Alice.
Alice stopped dead in her tracks, dropping the plates she was holding. Her blue eyes widened at Isaac's name. "Did you say Belwich...oh...oh my..." her face fell as she looked around her house. "I wasn't expecting such a company. My house is a huge mess!" Her face paled as she realized all the insults she had just hurled at the capital and palace. "I am so sorry... please forgive me." she wavered.
Isaac quickly got up to help her with the plates which had shattered. "There is hardly any need for such formalities. Please let me help you, and your house is lovely, Mrs. Alice," he said politely. He bent down and started carefully picking up the pieces. Alice stared up at him in awe and blushed.
