Willow's Legend - Original Version

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

        "Willow." Willow whispered. "How do you know it isn't like a willow tree, or a willow mirror?"

                "A willow mirror?" Michael asked, his voice tinting amusement.

                "Well, how do you know I'm Willow? There are a lot of Willows out there. How do you know it's not a living thing? Maybe it's an object?"

                "There is more to the legend, 'The girl who slays the Incoy Dragon will be your Savior. Her name is Willow.'"

                Willow threw her head back. "How do you know I'm Willow, though?"

                "We don't." Michael replied, confusing her all the more.

                "This is why you're here. For some years, we Ganashes have been taking Willows and training them. You do not have to agree to this. But this is what we're offering: For two months, your team trains you to fight, gives you lessons, feeds you, and all that. At the end of two months, you go on a month long adventure to go kill the Incoy. If you kill it, we will know you are Willow. If you don't, well, we will know you aren't. We cannot guarantee your return. And if you choose not to do it, we will erase your memory of being here, and send you home."

                "What about my family?" Willow asked.

                "We are keeping an eye on them now. We’ll allow you to send maybe one or two noted to them."

                "Alright. Now, what happens if I am the Willow?" Willow asked. She was relatively calm, for being told her biological father is a torturer, that all their lives may be in her hands, and that she has to slay a dragon, well, calmer than she had been two minutes ago.

                "You will be our leader. And you will decide what you want us to do, but we shouldn’t be thinking about that now, you still have a dragon to slay." Cirestain said. "You have until tomorrow at noon to make your choice. Meeting dismissed."

                Everybody got up, Chelsea turning to Michael and the rest of them, "I'll take her to her bedroom."

                "That's fine with me." Alicia said. "I'm bushed."

                Without another word they all left the library, leaving Chelsea and Willow in the large library with just the maid.

                Chelsea turned to Willow. "Come on, let's go."              

                Once they were out the library, back in the bricked hallways and wooden stairs, Willow couldn't help but ask, "Do you guys have parents?"

                Chelsea laughed, not even seeming to look straight ahead of her, she had the place memorized. "No, we do. Well, Michael doesn't, and Alicia only has one."

                "Where are your parents?" She knew it was prying, but she just wanted to know, wanted to know all the little details really bad.

                "Mine are in Ganash Headquarters of LakeLight, I left them to study here. Alicia's mom is in Ganash Headquarters of CarvesWay River, she left her, as well. Michael's parents died when he was twelve. Chris's parents are in Ganash Headquarters of HigherHaven, he left them as well."

                "Why’d you leave them?” It seemed like a terrible thing, to leave your family, Willow would’ve never been able to do so.

                "Well," Chelsea said. “Ganashes usually like to leave their parents when they’re twelve. It makes us stronger and used to having to say goodbye. Some choose to stay with their family and be taught in the Headquarter they were raised in. Others, like me, Chris, and Alicia leave our home to make us stronger. Ganashes are trained their whole lives, but at twelve years old is when you take the next step. You get put into a “Training Group”. The training group is the group you’ll get to know and will always work with. My training group is Michael, Alicia, and Chris. We all know each other in our strengths and weaknesses, so when we work together we are stronger.”

                "How old are you? What if you don’t like someone in your group? What if one of your group members tries to harm you?" Willow’s questions piled over each other, she had always been curious, but she never remembered being so curious. They stopped in front of a door that had a piece of paper painted red on it, in neat, black handwriting it said, “Willow”.

                "We are all seventeen, like you. If you don’t like someone in your group you can request to leave, or request to be put in another group. It is against the Ganash law to harm another Ganash, anyone harming another Ganash could be put to prison. And if a Ganash were to kill another Ganash without proper reason, the Ganash will be put to death." Chelsea answered all the questions, to Willow’s surprise. Put to death? She wanted to ask, but she felt like she had already asked too many questions.

                Chelsea pointed at the room with the paper that said “Willow” across it. "This is your room. You'll recognize it because of this piece of paper. Stay here until we come and get in a couple hours."

                "Couple hours?" She felt almost like she was in jail herself. ‘Stay in the room until we come and get you’ didn’t seem very hospitable.

                "Well, Michael did bring you here at one AM. It's two AM now." Chelsea said. "If you do need me, this is my bedroom." She pointed at the door right in front of Willow's. "And that's Alicia's, although she won’t be much help.” Chelsea pointed at the door left of hers. "And Michael's is to the right of mine. And Chris’s is left of yours. Just come to me if you have a problem, I don’t think the others will do much, though Michael might…But just come to me anyway.”

                Willow nodded, not that she was planning on going to Alicia or Michael for help.

                "Well," Chelsea said, opening the door to Willow's room. "Good Morning."

                Willow walked in, smiling slightly at the “Good Morning” reference and Chelsea closed the door behind her.

                The room was plain, and rather large. But because it was scarcely furnished, the largeness made it look empty.

                All there was in the room was an empty bookshelf, and fireplace full of ashes, and a very large four post bed with white blankets, sheets and lots of pillows. There was a door in the other corner, Willow walked to open it, to find it to be a large, walk in closet full of clothing that looked about Willow's size. The other door led to a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and bath. Wondering if they had plumbing she looked around the bathroom to find faucets. Turning the faucet of the shower came a very weak trickle of water, but, despite the weakness, it had enough water to wash. To Willow’s disappointment, there was no hot water, just frigid cold. Well, you couldn’t expect this medieval looking place to have all the nice things of her own home.

                She wondered if all the bedrooms were this large and empty, if they all had weak, cold running water.

                The other half was normal pajamas. Willow settled with a pair of pajama pants and a tank top.

                Shaking her head at her odd thoughts, she walked over to the closet. There wasn’t much clothing, just enough to last a week or two. Looking through the stack of pajamas she found some weird, yet comfortable shorts made of a material she had never seen and –to her surprise—a normal blue tank top.

                Walking over to the large bed, she settled in. There were four blankets, and eight pillows that engulfed her body. They were all plush and soft and warm, yet despite all the layers, Willow felt cold. And in the big, empty room, she felt lonely as well.

                What have I gotten myself into?