~~~~Chapter Three~~~~
Light poured from the window as I woke up. Wait. It was morning? It was afternoon when I hunted for stones.
Oh. My. Gosh.
I sat up straight, trying to remember what happened. Okay, I remembered hunting for stones. Blackstar was with me. Then I saw the boy buried in sand.
The wizard boy.
I began panicking when I remembered what had happened the day before. Where was I? Clearly, I wasn't in my room. My bed wasn't this comfortable. I searched for Blackstar but he was no where to be found.
"Oh, you're awake! Mr. Lockwood would be pleased." A voice said. I turned my head towards the direction of the voice. There in the corner, a beautiful girl sat in a chair while reading a book. She had luscious blonde curls and electric blue eyes.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Brianna Radford. You can call me Bree, if you want." she slowly rose from the chair and gracefully walked towards me.
"W-where am I?" I stuttered.
"You're in Chandleor. This is the safe haven for wizards. You're perfectly safe here. We won't hurt you. Even warlocks can't find this place," She smiled.
'Even warlocks can't find this place,' That phrase replayed in my head. What does that mean?
"How did I get here?" I interrogated.
"You have so many questions, do you? Nathan brought you here."
Just before I can ask who Nathan was, the door bolted open.
"Is she awa--" A boy entered the room and directed the question towards Bree. He stopped when his eyes landed me and I realized it was the boy who was buried in the sand.
"Yes, Nathan, she's awake." Bree answered his unfinished question.
"You're Nathan?!" I asked. Then suddenly the memory of him hitting me in the face came back to me vividly. "You punched me!"
"Yeah, I did. I had to bring you here. But you wouldn't cooperate. And I was exhausted at that time so couldn't put a sleeping spell on you. So, I punched you...I didn't know I hit you hard enough for you to be knocked out for a day." He shrugged.
"What?!" My jaw was dropping. I was exasperated.
"Nathan! For crying out loud, she's a girl!" Bree cried out.
"Bree, you told me it's bad to be sexist." He wagged his finger towards her. Bree simply put her head on her hands.
I rolled my eyes but I got out of the bed. I tried going out the door but Nathan was blocking it.
"Woah, woah, where you goin' lil missy?" He looked down at me.
"I don't belong here." I stated as I glared at his green eyes.
"Yeah, I know. But Mr. Lockwood would like to speak with you, so until then, you're stuck here." Nathan said arrogantly.
"Nathan! She's a guest! Go take your rudeness somewhere else!" Bree said with so much authority that the room trembled.
Nathan snorted and leaned against the door frame.
"I'm sorry, but you have to stay here for a while. We have to identify what you are." Bree said softly to me. Her eyes made her seem older but she was about the same age as me.
"Identify? What does that mean?" I asked Bree but Nathan answered.
"Obviously, you're not a wizard. But since you can enter Chandleor, you aren't a warlock either. So what are you?" He arched an eyebrow.
Doesn't these guys know about humans? Either way, I'm not going to tell them easily what I am.
"I told you, I lost my memory." I lied smoothly.
"Can you, at least, remember your name?" Bree asked.
I can't just give them my real name. I need to hide my identity as much as possible.
"Audrielle. You can call me Audrielle." Oh, great. I'm so smart that I gave them my original name. Brilliant, Audrielle. Just brilliant.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Audrielle." Bree reached out to shake my hand. I took it and shook it slightly.
"Are we done here?" Nathan asked impatiently. A look of annoyance was plastered on his face.
"You'll have to excuse Nathan's rudeness. There's really something wrong with his head." Bree explained. Nathan rolled his eyes and turned his back to leave the room.
"I'm sorry about him." Bree apologized.
"It's okay." I smiled. I didn't fake that. I really felt welcome here. If you exclude Nathan.
"May I ask you to change into these clothes?" Bree held out her hands but there was nothing there. I looked at her strangely but she just smiled at me. Before I can ask where the clothes are, violet sparks and smoke were coming out of her hands. I gasped at the sight. Clothes started materializing on Bree's hand.
"Here are your clothes." She said brightly. I just stood there, completely astonished. Even though warlocks did sorcery, Bree's magic wasn't the same. Warlock sorcery felt dark, cold and harsh. Her's had this peaceful aura that made you feel safe.
"Audrielle? Is there something wrong?" She asked concernedly.
"N-nothing's wrong," I smiled as I took the clothes gratefully from her hands.
"I'll leave you alone so that you can change." Bree started to walk out of the room but I caught her wrist. Like Nathan, she had the blue markings of a wizard. "Wait!" I said.
"Yes, Audrielle?" Her blue eyes were staring directly at me.
"What you said earlier...about warlocks not finding this place. What do you mean by that?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh...Audrielle, Chandeleor is protected by a forcefield that prevents warlocks from entering. We call it Corsians. As I said earlier, you'll be safe as long as you're here." She smiled. Bree left the room which left me standing alone in the center of the room.
Even though they say that I'm safe here, I can't leave Charlie with the warlocks. They'll abuse him and he'll be a slave forever. I need to go back for him.
"Well, if it isn't Slave 827!" A very familiar voice exclaimed. I turned around and immediately fell to the floor. Miss Margarette was standing right in front of me.
"H-how did you get here? They said warlocks--" I tried to ask but she already answered me.
"No, human, only you can see me. I am just a projection, a figment of your imagination." she said darkly. "The mark on your arm, it binds you to us. Wherever you may be, we will always, always, find out where you are. But not to worry, as long as you're in Chandleor grounds, you're perfectly safe. But that doesn't change a thing, does it? You're still a slave to warlocks." She spoke slowly like I'm not capable of understanding.
"Why are you here then? You said you couldn't hurt me." I didn't even bother to use polite words, she can't touch me here.
"Ah yes, well 827, we need something important and only you can get it." Miss Margarette walked and passed right through me, but like a ghost, I just felt a breeze of her passing by.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Warlocks have been always searching for four elemental stones. We already have fire, earth and water. But we need the last one, which is the wind. And it can only be found inside Chandleor."
"And you want me to get the last elemental stone? Is that it?" I predicted.
"Precisely. If you did, you'll gain your freedom." She turned around with her hands clasped together.
"No, you can't make me work for you again." I shook my head.
"I was hoping you'd say that. But I'd like to ask, does the numbers 848 mean anything to you?" She tilted her head slightly.
My eyes widened and those numbers immediately rang a bell.
Those were Charlie's slave number.
"No! Don't touch him!" I pleaded.
"Then get the stone for us. It's that simple. One stone gives you freedom and saves your friend." She looked at me with fake sympathy.
I didn't answer.
"You're given a hundred days, 827. Oh, and don't tell the wizards that you're human. That's our little secret," She laughed grimly before vanishing.
I banged my head on the wall. I thought I was finally free. Not having to serve those filthy creatures. Not having to risk your life just so you can eat.
I'd bet death would give me all the things I wanted. In fact, I'd rather be dead than serve them. But since they have Charlie, I can't give up. I need him.
"Audrielle? Are you ready?" Bree asked through the door.
"J-Just a minute!" I hurriedly changed into the clothes as I wiped a tear that trickled down my cheeks.
I folded my old clothes neatly and piled them on the bed. The clothes that Bree gave me included a white blouse, a black skirt that reached the knees, a suit jacket and a stripped necktie. I straightened the skirt, uncomfortable because of its length. I walked barefooted as I opened the door and saw Bree wearing the same thing.
"Students of Chandleor must wear the same thing..." She explained.
"I'm not a student..." I said.
"You might be. I'm not sure, Mr. Lockwood would decide for us." She handed me a pair of black socks and shoes. I fell out of balance when I was wearing the shoes. A hand catched me before I fell. I turned around to see who it was.
Nathan was standing in front of me. He was wearing the same thing except he wore pants. The clothes suited him but I'm not telling him that.
"Mr. Lockwood's waiting." He said shortly to Bree.
"Let's go." Bree looped her arm around mine.
"Wait a minute, you never told me who Mr. Lockwood was..." I stated.
"Oh, Mr. Lockwood's the Head Wizard of Chandleor. He's very entertaining." Bree informed.
Mr. Lockwood's title reminded me very well of Miss Margarette. I hope he's nothing like her. We passed through different hallways. Nathan just kept quiet, not in a nice way. I tried to ask him questions.
"So how old are you?" I asked him. Not a single word came out of his mouth. I frowned.
"Were both seventeen," Bree answered for me.
"I'm seventeen too." I smiled. At least Bree was friendly. Not like the middle-aged man who was walking in front of me whose name rhymed with jerk.
Well, not really. But close enough.
I started making faces at Nathan's back. Bree started giggling. I stuck my tongue out just when he turned around.
"Well, somebody's crazy." He muttered. I remained silent but inside my mind, I'm punching him and taking his guts out.
"We're here." Nathan said as he opened the double doors of a large room. There were blue pillow cusions everywhere.
"Uhm, Mr. Lockwood?" Bree knocked on the door.
"WOOHOO!" An old man passed by us riding a flying pig.
Yes. A flying pig.
He hit the hallway walls and the pig flew out of his arms. He immediately stood up while Bree and Nathan tried to help him.
"Oh dear, my back!" The man exclaimed. When his eyes landed on me, he brushed off the invisible dirt on his clothes. "Is this Audrielle?" he asked.
"Yes," Nathan said.
"Audrielle, this is Mr. Lockwood." Bree gestured at the man.
Well, he is a very entertaining man indeed.
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A/N: Yes! I have finally uploaded after like 69212345678908765123456 years... I hope you enjoyed it...
Please tell me what you think!
P.S. The picture on the side is supposed to be Nathan (although he was supposed to be blonde, oh well)...Does he look like your imaginary Nathan?
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