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unknown magic
Chapter III - The great battle [part1]

Written by Tadi

I’ve never seen the outside world. My whole life I’ve only lived behind the walls of the orphanage. But there were girls that came to the orphanage at older ages and they told us all these stories about how wonderful the world is. I love to read and the orphanage’s library was full of stories like Cinderella, Sleeping beauty, Snow white and a lot more and I guess that I’ve always envied those girls in the stories, even though they weren’t real they lived a great life. Yes, they were in danger for a while but in the end the prince always saved them. I act all tough but really I’m afraid of what will happen, what my life will turn out to be and I secretly wish that a prince awaits me at the end.

The sun was beginning to rise and we put our flashlights back in to our backpacks. We were walking on a wide path, seemed like a road with nothing but trees and grass around. We could hear noises in the distance which we guessed meant that we were close to a town. We picked up our pace and walked in silence. My whole body hurt but I kept my head up high and kept fighting through the pain because I wanted, I needed to make it to the end. There was no turning back now, we were almost there. Just a few more steps, I said to myself. 

    “What will we do when we make it to the town?” asked Anna.

    “Well we need to go to a shop right away, I can’t be seen in these rags” chipped Lacey. I didn’t know what to tell them. I didn’t have a plan, I just wanted to get there. As far away as we can get from the orphanage the better. We can’t stay in town for long, since it’s the only town anywhere near, I bet the keepers come here often. We need to keep a low profile for a while, go incognito.

We could see the town now, in all its glory. As we came closer my heart started beating faster. Is it going to be what we expected? I’m guessing it is past 5 am, since the sun has already risen. Some people are already out and jogging or driving to work. But other than that it’s pretty peaceful. We walked down the street and couldn’t help ourselves from looking around with our mouths open. The buildings were huge but in an old Victorian style. There were trees and flowers everywhere. We walked past a shop full of clothes and Lacey just stopped and stared through the window. She was your typical teenage girl. Even in the orphanage where all we had were ripped clothes she always looked so fashionable. She could make an outfit amazing by just adding an accessory. I grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. My stomach started growling when the wind blew the delicious smells from a nearby bakery to us. It all seemed so perfect.

We stepped in to a hotel called Home sweet home. A silly name for a hotel, I thought and stifled a giggle. I hit the desk bell and waited for an answer but got none. I hit a few more times until I heard an old man’s voice.

    “Okay, okay I’m coming” said a man in his eighties. He had grey hair and more wrinkles on his face then I could count. He sat on a chair behind the desk, opened a book and looked us over.

   “What can I help you girls with?” he asked.

   “We’d like a room, please. The cheapest one you’ve got!” I answered. He looked at the keys hanging on the wall and seemed to be thinking about something. A few seconds later he reached with his shaky hand to a key with a little number 12 on it.

    “This is the smallest and the cheapest one I’ve got. It only has one bed, a bathroom and a small TV” he said while handing me the key.

   “Now I’m going to need your last name and” he paused “what do you plan on paying with?” He eyed us suspiciously so I pulled out a hand full of money.

   “How much is it?” I said with a smile.

The room really was tiny but it’ll have to do. We won’t be staying long, just long enough to get some rest and think of what to do next. I threw the backpack on the floor and collapsed on the bed. I was so exhausted I felt like I could sleep for a week. I watched Anna as she rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a granola bar. She ate it slowly and as I watched her I became even hungrier. Lacey was sitting on a chair with her legs crossed looking out the window. She’s a year older than me and came to the orphanage at the age of two. I’ve asked her about her family but she says she doesn’t remember anything. I sometimes find her lost in her thoughts just staring at nothing and I wonder if she truly doesn’t remember a thing or if it’s just too painful to think about it. Anna on the other hand came to the orphanage as a baby and like me has no memory of anything before that but she has a picture of her mother and she sometimes shows it to me. She looks just like her mother, the same face features, the same eyes and smile. The only thing different about them is their hair. Her mother’s was long and black while Anna’s is short and blonde.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom. I glanced at the clock on the wall before closing the door behind me. It was now around eight. I washed my face and stared in the mirror. I smiled at myself but it didn’t feel right. I locked the door and took a shower. I sat on the shower floor and let the water fall over me. I heard a light knock on the front door and then some voices. I stood up and wrapped myself in a towel just as someone knocked on the bathroom door.

    “They brought us breakfast” said Lacey through the door and my stomach growled once again. I brushed my hair with the brush I found in the cabinet. I could barely get rid of all the knots. We didn’t have brushes back at the orphanage so I usually just used my fingers to untangle it as much as I could. I dried myself with the towel and put my clothes back on. I wrapped my hair in to a towel and walked back to the bedroom. As I opened the door I was hit by an intoxicating smell of food. I walked over to the small table and took a plateful of food.