And We Go To The Stars

Chapter 2

(Current day)

Grace sat on the windowsill, gazing up into the night. Her thirteenth birthday had been a complete atrocity. An unexpected thunderstorm had destroyed any hopes of an excursion to the fields. Her mother was on the phone with clients all day so that ruled out company. Grace even had to bake her own birthday cake. She was doing her best to forget about the entire thing.

     The night sky was oddly clear, given the cloudy torrent that had taken place earlier. Grace smiled at her favorite constellation, Orion. The clean air of the countryside let Grace see every star in the sky. The chilly autumn air bit at her nose, and sent Grace cuddling further into her quilt. "Orion," she said aloud. "The hunter."

     Grace and her mother had just moved to a big, old house in the country. Grace's mother, Annette Little, had decided she had had enough with the city, though she couldn't quit her job. So, she upped and left, dragging her daughter along with her. The house was drafty, the stairs creaked, and the attic was creepy. Grace had decided she loved it as soon as she stepped foot in it. But the drafts were killing her, it was so cold in the house. Like now.

     The wind blew through the house, slamming the loose shutters on the kitchen window, making the candle in Grace's room gutter, and taking the form of an owl right in front of Grace with a swirl of color.

     Startled, Grace nearly tumbled off the windowsill and rolled off the roof. The owl tilted it's head and looked at Grace curiously.

     "Hahh, my friend, you scared me," Grace said. She righted herself on the windowsill and peered at the owl. "Where did you come from?"

     I come from the North, where the mountains are high and the waters are clear, said a voice. The voice resounded with power and wisdom, the voice of a leader, a healer. Grace's eyes became like saucers.

     "Was that... you? Wait, no, you're only an owl," Grace said, mostly to herself. She was visibly shaken.

     I am Boreas, the North Wind. As if agreeing with the owl, the wind picked up and shook the trees. Boreas fixed Grace with a stern look that made her shrink into her blanket. Something is happening in the fields. You must come with me.

     Grace shook her head, back and forth. "N-no, I can't go out, it's dark, and I'm in my pajamas, I can't--" Boreas spread his wings and seemed to grow ten times bigger and stronger. He picked Grace up by the shoulders and took flight, Grace's shriek whipped away by the wind.

     While walking to the fields normally took Grace at least fifteen minutes, the journey was reduced to a mere two minutes by the large owl. Boreas gently dropped her on the top of a hill in the fields and perched on her shoulder at normal size.

     "Why did you do that?" Grace was outraged.

      I had no choice. I must have a partner as powerful as I, and you were the only one to even come close.

    "Partner? What do you mean?

    Shh, watch, child, and all will become clear to you.

     Grace huffed and settled down in the grass to watch. At the foot of the hill, there seemed to be a huddel of people. Grace squinted, trying to make out what was happening.

    Here. I can help you with that. Grace felt as if something had rammed into her back. All of a sudden, she could see the group clearly, with sharp detail. The group was in fact made up of animals.

   A high, reedy voice could be heard; Grace strangely made out every word with no effort. I hear ol' Boreas got a sorcerer of 'is own.

   Do not speak so lightly of the affairs of Boreas, scolded a deeper, slower voice. Grace focused her vision and saw a bear and a gopher. "A bear? Bears don't normally live in the plains." Grace whispered. But bears don't speak either, so, okay, she thought afterwards.

   A rabbit stood on his hind legs and piped up. She's no sorcerer, she's a sorceress! The first one in three hundred years!

   And she doesn't even know? The weasel laughed. She's just a waste of Boreas's time. I still say he shoulda gone with Amaddus.

   The bear growled. Amaddus has an evil spirit. He isn't capable of the magicks Boreas is.

   Boreas said he needed someone to get rid of Amaddus, said a bat in a hiss.

   And he picked a little girl to do the job? I don't think so.

   Grace stood up, shaking her head. Boreas withdrew his night vision and excellent hearing from her senses and perched on Grace's shoulder.

   "This can't... you recruited me without telling me?" Grace extended her arm for Boreas to sit on, so she could glare at him more easily.

    No. I brought you here to see this. Those creatures need your help, Grace. You are the only known sorceress to have been born since the Darke Lady.

   "I'm not a sorceress! Take me home, Boreas!" The owl looked at Grace sadly.

   Grace.   

   The voice was human, though the owner had seen more bloodshed and earned more wisdom than any man. It sounded like the wind. In Boreas' place stood a young man with eyes of emerald, flecked with gold. His hair was black as the midnight sky, his skin pale but youthful.

    "Grace." Though Grace was already thirteen years old, the sadness in Boreas' voice made her want to curl up and cry herself. She stretched her arms out to Boreas, and he tilted his head.

   "I'll come, I'll help. I will." Boreas smiled, and became a massive owl once more. Grace clambered onto his back and they glided down the hill to join the counsil of animals.

   Lord Boreas. The bear dropped on all fours and dipped his head low. So this is the young one?

   Indeed. Boreas fixed an eye upon the weasel, who fidgeted nervously. She will become great. Grace is a descendant of the Lady.

   A gasp went up all around. No, said the rabbit, shocked. Lady Serena never had any children!

   But no one is for sure about her younger sister, Boreas reminded the rabbit. A dead silence answered him, a tension even Grace could feel.

   "Um, who is...?" Grace faded off. The cold feeling and terrified faces of the animals around her made her stomach drop. Only the bear remained unaffected.

   Lord Boreas, I will serve you in any way I can. If you need a teacher in the ways of physical combat for Lady Grace, I am more than willing to oblige. The bear departed with another deep bow and lumbered towards the forest a few yards before dissapating into a silvery mist.

   Grace looked round at the others once more, utterly speechless. One by one they wordlessly left the group, scurrying, leaping, and flew away before they, too, dissolved into a shimmering mist.

   Boreas flew Grace home without another word, whether of explanation or consolation. He let her off at her window and turned to her.

   Training starts in the morning. I'll be here at sunrise. Your mother will be gone for business all weekend. Wear comfortable clothes tomorrow, and get some rest now. Goodnight. And he swooped off into the night.

   Grace stumbled to her bed, suddenly exhausted. She couldn't sleep, however, as she was haunted by the sadness in Boreas' human eyes. Who was Boreas, truly? What was it that made him so sad?

   Grace fell asleep remembering the gentle kindness in Boreas' voice as he said 'Goodnight.'

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Okay! Thats the second chapter, you readers who probably arent there! I have trouble getting my work out on the internet. it sucks. Oh well! If youre reading this, I hope you enjoyed it! More about Boreas' human form in the next chapter!

-Pepper