Prologue
i stared up at the painting, hung above table like it always was. There was something about it that constantly drew my attention, maybe the way the her green hair was styled, or how she cradled a small swaddled up baby or maybe it was the knowledge she was my mother who left long, long ago.
My dad coughed loudly as he attempted to sneak up behind me, i kept staring. "Having a staring contest, are you?" his voice raspy and strained "She won" i answered finally looking away. His hair was unusually slicked back, probably with sweat, his face was covered with it after all. I pressed my bag against my side. "She'll be here when you get back." "When?" He went silent, he didn't know. "You mother left them strict instructions.." he hesitated. "sh-i-..She didn't tell me much about it" i pressed it even further, the small box at the bottom digging into my hips. he nodded, almost in understanding. before quietly moving out of the room. Time to go.
i stared up at the house, it looked like it was atleast 4 stories high, rope was weaved in between the windows, wrapping around other lines of rope as it made its way up. If it was one thing, it was grand. There was also a balcony on the roof, really adding to the rich feeling. Why did mum want me to go here? Dad knocked on the door, almost instantly it opened to a woman in a light blue sundress, long light brown and blue hair was tied into some sort of ponytail on the top of her head. She smiled, as she welcomed us inside. And i wished i stayed out, a thick red carpet lined the hallway, down to a darkwood door, its handle glittering in the light. It was like a maze of identical hallways, twisting this way and that, how someone would find their way around this place was a mystery and still is. We ended up in a lounge room, there was another girl there, her dark hair covering one of the arms of the chair she lounged around on. She couldn't of been that much older then me, a year or two at most. The chairs looked like leather. the woman and my dad sat on them, i stayed standing. "I apologise, kate is...busy today, so im just standing in." her voice was gentle, almost like she trying to sound trustworthy, i didn't trust it. "First off, im Madeline" she held her hand out for my dad to shake. "jack" he shook her hand. i watched the girl, she almost looked asleep. her hair had several small braids scattered around the black mess. "i just have few small questions and things to go over before she settles in." She was in a light blue dress, with a black trim and a matching shirt underneath. "Fistly, she'll be going to kingston prep from now on. Her first day is set for next week." There was a pause "the magic school?" "Yep, all mcivers go there or to the neighbouring boys school." A magic girls school? "Which leads to my first question, what magic does she use?" "She doesn't" another pause, "really?" I felt her eyes on me. "Is that a problem?" "No, it shouldn't be, its more strange, considering..." She went silent, i spared a glance at her, she seemed to be lost in thought. "..anyway, she will also be living here." She turned to the girl. "Willow, could you show sofie to her room." Willow sat up, her hair now a bigger mess, she gave a nod as she stood up. "Follow me" her voice was chirpy and a little bit too cheery. She quickly crossed to another door, one i hadn't seen before, and unnervingly i followed her.
I followed her through hallway after hallway, she named rooms as she went, not that i payed much attention. She skipped as she went, letting out a quiet hum in between words. "And this is your room" she finally stopped outside a door, like every other door in this house. She swung the door open, "why dont you unpack your things, and then we can go get some lunch" I looked in the room, it was mainly empty, just a raised bed, and a desk, a dresser sat at the foot of the bed. "your not sharing a room so feel free to do what you want with it" that did not make it better. I walked in sitting my bag on the desk. It didn't feel right to unpack my stuff. My stomach grumbled, i forgot to eat breakfast. "Or we can get lunch now?" Fine, i nodded, what could they even serve here? "C'mon" she added making her way back down the hallway, i nearly ran to keep up, she was fast. The kitchen was three hallways down, second door to the left. It was a mess, a pile of dirty dishes covered half the bench, random ingredients were spread out across the rest of the counter space. "What are you hungry for?" Willows head was already in a cupboard. There were the remnents of ingredients for pasta, most likely from last night. "Pasta?" More a joke then anything, willow looked back at me "for lunch?.. i like how you think, lets do it." She pulled out a packet of dry pasta, quickly filling a pot with water. "So, how you feeling Sofie?" She asked rolling a tomato from the pantry over to me. "What?" i stopped the tomato from rolling off the bench. "Well..your new here, that's gotta suck." She slid a knife over, before putting an onion in the middle of the bench. "...I mean this place is a fucking maze, everything is in the last place you look, and the people can be..a bit arrogant to outsiders." I froze, she didn't look like the type of person to just randomly use profanities, or at all. "Uhh yeah" I muttered, trying to move past the shock of her words. "Well if you ever need anything and I mean anything, don't hesitate to come find me." She gave a smile, an unnerving smile. I focused on the tomato in my hand, slicing it in half, then in quarters. she grabbed another knife and started cutting the onion into tiny pieces. We stood in silence, slowly cutting up the vegetables. I slid what was now a pile of tamato guts over to willow. She was looking straight down at the half sliced onion, knife resting on the chopping board next to it. Her hair completly covered her face. The bench had small drops of water spotted around the onion. "Are you crying?" She shock her head, slightly unsteadily, looking up with an almost forced smile, "the onion tears suck...alot" she answered, small tears dripped down her face. I nodded, choosing to go along with it, not sure whether to believe her, its not like she was sobbing. She quickly grabbed the tomato, and dumping it in the pot behind her, before grabbing an unmarked bottle and pouring half of it in. I moved the onion closer to me, and finished cutting it. She added something else, little flakes I think, in too, then added the onion and stirred it. I stared at her back, the massive black bow blended into her hair. She quietly moved the knives into the sink. She never really stopped moving, even if it was just shifting her weight from foot to foot. She set the water running as she wiped down the knives. And I sat there twiddling my thumbs, almost waiting to be told what to do.
fourteen days to go.
