The Homeless Mate

Reading, writing, dancing and fighting

I nodded. Ella had just hit the nail right on the head. As she talked, we had reached the kitchen and she had sat me down like a child.
"Ok, lesson one. Cereal. It can be really sweet or really bland. You eat it covered with milk in a bowl. My favourite type is chocolate pillows, so if I can find some, we will try that." Ella said, rummaging fearlessly through the cupboards, eventually pulling out a cardboard box. She poured the contents into two bowls and sloshed some milk over it, then pushed the bowl towards me.

"Eat." She said, digging into her own. I took a spoonful and raised it to my lips, depositing the strange mouthful. It was crunchy and sweet and really nice. I continued eating the cereal, savouring every mouthful. Ella finished a little before me, and tipped the bowl to her lips, drinking the milk. I followed suit, and the chocolaty milk doused my senses and poured down my throught.

"Ribella would kill me if she knew. I'm not supposed to eat unhealthy food anymore." Ella grinned. I shot her a questioning look.

"Ribella is the Elder Guardian, my boss, so to speak." She explained, taking our bowls and dumping them into the sink.

"Lesson two, reading and writing." Ella pulled out a pad and pencil, placing it on the counter and sitting beside me.

"So, do you know the alphabet?" I nodded. I dimly remember my mother teaching it to me one day, only for my father to forbid me from telling anyone I had learnt. But I never forgot.

"Ok then, do you know how to write your name?" I shake my head, red fire consuming my face.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't know a word of Yanginl when Mal found me." Yanginl was the language of the empowered. Everyone was taught it, though most people spoke in their native tongue. At Beta's daughter, I had one lesson every day on it. Ella wrote out my name and then asked me to try. I very carefully tried to write it out, copying each shape, but when I finished it looked like a scrawl compared with Ella's neat, looping letters. But it said my name.

"That's pretty good for your first time. Your handwriting will get neater the more you practise."

"How do you know?" I ask quietly. Ella's face closed up like a fan and she inhaled sharply, tears coming to her eyes. She shook her head and stood up.

"That memory is too painful... I'm going upstairs to dance, yell if you need anything." She snapped, striding out of the room. Well done Annabelle, you messed up.

I spent the next hour practising my name, relishing the growing neatness. After I got bored, I went to the window to check the time. It was about an hour or two before noon. I didn't know what to do. I sort of wanted to go find Ella, but I was nervous of how she would react. I decided to poke around a bit, keeping an ear out in case they come back. I smile as one of the lessons Sev taught me rushes back.

"If, my dearest Belle, you ever find yourself in an unknown place, do two things. First, be careful. It isn't worth the risk to be rude or impolite to your captor. Second, try to find out everything you can about them."

His words ring in my ears as I look through the cupboards. Just food. So much food. One cupboard contained the rations for a family of five for the entire week. It was like when the Alpha told me to clean his kitchen. I shut the doors and consider. I looked through some cupboards full of food. Hardly daring. I wonder what's behind all the doors upstairs? I creep up the stairs, straining my ears for any slight sound. I open the first door on the left. I think it's Cara and Jakes room. There's a door on the other side, so I walk over and open it. It leads into a beautiful nursery. It's painted a light pink, and has an ornate crib sits below the window. This must be the babies future room. I leave the room and hear something, almost leaping out of my skin. The regular beat betrays it as music and I relax, deciding to investigate.

Ella is nowhere to be seen as I go to the end of the hallway. I peek into her room, but she isn't there. I shrug and open the door on the right, where the music is. And freeze. The room is full of people. Spots of darkness fly across my vision before a reassuring voice rings out in my mind,

Chill out, girl. It's just two people in mirrors.

Ok. I call it. I'm bonkers. I'm now officially ing voices. It's true though. The hundreds of people is me standing in the doorway and Ella dancing reflected endlessly in the mirror plated walls. My heart calm, I step into the room and quietly close the door. A beautiful and haunting song plays through the speakers.

And now... I'm lost in paradise.... An angelic voice echoes through the speakers. But it's Ella who catches my attention. She spins over and over, her body perfectly in time with the music. She throws herself into the air, turning three times before elegantly landing. It was so perfect, I felt so broken, so ugly, watching Ella and the music become one. The song ends, and Ella became stiller than a puddle on a breeze less day. Tears were streaming down her face, dripping of her face.

"Mon frére et ma soeur." I heard her mutter. I slowly backed out of the room, shutting the door before she could come out of the odd sort trance she was in. I start to wander downstairs. What was that about? What did Ella say? How can she move like that?

CRASH

I leap out my skin, u turning on the stairs and running towards the sound. It came from the dance studio. I raced to the door, flinging it open and gasping in shock...

Cliffhanger!

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