The Forgotten Magic

  Look at that, we have a title for this novel now. :) This makes me happy :P

I hope that you enjoy this third part. I'll be very grieved if you can't pronounce the names, and I hope you'll forgive me if that be the case.

 Here it be :D

“I don’t know, but they’re gonna get it. How dare they bash my door down… or try to anyway.”

He started hobbling toward the door with an indignant cry. I stared in surprise.

   “No offence or anything but what exactly are you going to do?” I asked.

The door creaked ominously, but still held. I was unsure how it had managed to stay in one piece so far. Whatever was on the other side was pretty determined though.

  “I’m goin’ to give them a piece of my mind, and a lecture on other people’s property.” He declared still steaming with anger.

  “And just how are you going to do that?” I asked not a little sceptical. Ok, the man could turn himself into a cat, but I couldn’t see that coming in handy. He turned and smiled saying mysteriously,

“Oh, I have my ways.” He winked at me and turned back to the door. I looked around and saw the table. I crawled under it grabbing the fireplace poker as a weapon on my way. Whatever was behind that door sounded big and I wanted to be able to defend myself. Hínnior grasped the door handle and tugged it viciously. The door opened with a spooky creak, and revealed…

A giant.

Like I mean a real giant. It was easily eight feet tall, and probably weighed five hundred pounds. My heart leaped into my mouth, and I gripped my poker till my knuckles were white. To my surprise Hínnior didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by the sight of the thing. I gaped as a little man stepped out from behind the giant. He was up to the giant’s knee. He was a dwarf by human standards, but next to the giant he was miniscule. Hínnior opened his mouth to speak, but the little man beat him to it.

“Honestly, Izor, I asked you to knock not break the door down.” He said with a frown. The giant lowered his head and scuffed the ground with his giant toe.

“I’m sorry, Mas’er.” Izor whimpered with a lisp. “I did no’ mean to. Some’imes my s’rength does me no good.” He sniffed and sighed. It was bizarre. Here was Izor, eight feet tall, reduced to a sniffling, cowered servant by a man who came up to his kneecap.

“I’m terribly sorry, Hínnior. Izor doesn’t know his limits yet.” The little man apologized.

“Oh, that is alright, Iggy. The door will hold more of Izor’s knocking any day.” Hínnior boasted.

“Still as proud as ever over that door,” grinned Iggy. Through this conversation I still hadn’t moved from my shelter under the table. Now at Hínnior’s invitation, the duo moved inside. Iggy immediately noticed me hiding.

“I see you’ve got a new pet, my friend,” he said boring his jet black eyes into mine. Despite my misgivings about this dwarf man my blood boiled at the mention of me being a pet. It did make me wonder if Hínnior kept humans as pets, but only briefly. I scrabbled out from under the table and drew myself up to my full height. Even so I only came up to Izor’s waist.

“I am most certainly not a pet!” I said indignantly my eyes blazing. Somehow this was funny to both Hínnior and Izor who both burst into loud laughter. Iggy only let a ghost of a smile touch his features.

“Oh, leave her be, Iggy. I found her here when I came home. She was taking refuge from the hares.” Hínnior explained.

“What kind of a name is Iggy anyway? Sounds a bit childish,” I said just a little smugly. I was convinced I’d found a way to get back at the man for calling me a pet.

I was right.

Iggy turned red and steam could have been coming out of his ears, although I could have been imagining that part. Obviously I’d hit a tender issue with the little man.

Fortunately for both parties, Hínnior interrupted before Iggy exploded.  

“Now, now, no need to get our arms in a twist. I’ll have no fighting in my house. But what are you we going to do about you, lassie. You can’t stay here.” Hínnior said thoughtfully.

“I definitely need to get back home.” I said suddenly worrying about how Poppa, Mamma, and Preston were faring since I hadn’t come home. I certainly didn’t want them out in the woods with those hares around looking for me.

“Well, we could point her the way and shove her outside,” suggested Iggy grinning with delight.

“I refuse to budge a step out of this hut with those crazed things out there.” I said coldly.

“No, I don’t think we’ll send her out there, Iggy.” Hínnior said glaring at Iggy.

“Oh, well, it was worth a try,” whispered Iggy none to quietly to Izor. That sent Izor laughing again.

“I think it be best if you sleep here tonight and we’ll send you on your way tomorrow.” Hínnior concluded. I agreed with a nod though I was pretty sure I would sleep a wink tonight with these weird people around. I settled in the corner on a pile of fur coats. Despite my intentions to stay awake and listen to their conversation, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Running form hares will do that I suppose.

I was sleeping sweetly when a sudden shriek pierced my consciousness. 

1. I awoke to find myself back at home outside the fringes of the woods. But something was wrong. Very wrong. I smelt the air and shivers shot up my spine as I smelt the unforgettable scent of wood smoke. I spun around to see a sight that sunk my heart to the very tips of my toes. My beloved home was burning. My thoughts jumped immediately to the rest of my family. With a cry I began to run toward the swirling mass.  

2. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my poker. I looked frantically around for Hínnior and the others, but the hut was empty. Panic filled my heart as I ran to the door, and swung it open to reveal a terrible sight.

3. My eyelids shot open. I sat up cautiously my hand groping in the darkness for my poker. My hand closed over it and I pulled it closer. I looked around and was surprised to see the others fast asleep still. Seriously? I pulled off the blankets and tiptoed over to the figure I though was Hínnior. I was about to shake him awake when I noticed something odd. I peered closer and saw that this man was clean shaven. My heart leaped and I slowly back away. That man couldn’t be Hínnior and he was too small to be Izor, and too large to be Iggy.

“Where am I?” I thought horrified.

Right before I backed into a chair. 

Voila! I hope that makes you happy. 

We're going golfing tomorrow. I've never been before so hopefully I'll manage. :P My brother likes to go, and so does one of my friends. She will be there tomorrow so that will be helpful. That is if it isn't cancelled due to the rain. We're getting quite a bit of it but I don't mind too much. It's rather nice. Which is a good thing I guess since we'll be getting more. 

I must say adieu now. Sorry for the shortness of this, but duty calls.

Arrivederci!

Antonella Rose 

Can't Think of a Post Title

   As the title suggests I can't think of a title. Does anyone else do that? It's because I don't really stick to one topic when I blog, I suppose. I've had a pretty boring week to top it off. Right at this instant I think only Wednesday was eventful. ( it usually is :P ) We went to a Spirit of Anzac thingie. It was very cool. They gave you head phones and a Iphone which automatically played tracts which explained the different exhibits. You could collect items on the Iphone too. I got forty-two which wasn't too bad, but I probably missed some, because I was rushed through the last few. I was just reading/ listening at the same time which, by the way, is a little bit tricky. And so I got left behind the group. Apparently they waited half an hour on the other end for me and my sister. But I like to take my time and read the plaques. Anyways that was lots of fun.
   Now, I'm trying to think of a title for this story, but I'm not having much luck. The Secret Stone of Shimmering Something. You get the picture? That's what I'm coming up with. I often think the title is the hardest part of story writing. Well, I have till next week to think of something.
   I'm currently reading the fifth Brotherband book. I kinda zoomed through book four so I'm not entirely sure how much I retained, but hey I enjoyed it. Any of you reading something exciting at the moment? Flipping from one side of the coin to the other, Writing. I am currently struggling to write a short story for schoolwork. It's called Serving with a Smile, and it has to have three incidents building to a climax in just 500-800 words ( I believe it is somewhere around that ). How do you do that exactly? I think I've discovered I don't do well when I have to plan out a story and then write it. (Especially such a short one. I like longer stories.) Which was why I thought a choose-your-own adventure story would suit, because I can't really control the story-line. I like to just jump in and go with the flow, I guess. Not sure if that's a good thing.
    Wrapping up with a question, Do you find my blog enjoyable/interesting? I feel like I just ramble on about my life and go into too much detail.
     Anyways, good-night. :D
          Antonella Rose

The Second Instalment

  I'm finally back with another part of this story. Still need to think of a title. It's a little bit shorter than the first one, but hopefully just as good. It contains a little bit more dialogue. But then again one doesn't have much time for talking when running for one's life. :P Anyway option three won.
So here it is,



 Unbelievably I saw a little hut nearby. I ran to it and threw the door open slamming it behind me with all the force I could muster. The yelps of pain indicated I’d hit some. Hard. Suddenly there was silence. Then something cast a shadow across the floor. I looked at the dark shadow outside the window. I prayed that the window was fastened shut. But it wasn’t. It swung open with an ominous creak. A shadowy figure jumped gracefully to the floor. Relief washed over me in a flood as I saw that it wasn’t a hare, but a cat. Mind you it was a huge cat, more like the size of a sheepdog. It advanced slowly staring at me with icy blue eyes which were oddly out of place in its warm yellow fur. Those eyes seemed to hold me in a trance. I couldn’t move nor speak. I tried to swallow but my throat was dry. The cat stopped a meter in front of me. It opened its mouth wide and my heart leaped into my throat. I could see its razor sharp teeth glinting like little shards of diamond. I closed my eyes and prepared for the attack. It was deadly quiet until…

“Meow.”

I slowly opened my eyes to see the cat now sitting, still watching me but a little less intently. I breathed again. The breath caught in my throat though as the cat began to swell. It grew bigger and stood on its hind legs. The face began to change with the ears shrinking and swivelling till they rested on the sides of the creature’s head. Sure couldn’t call it a cat now. The whiskers were sucked into the nose which had grown less pointed and more snub like. Finally the transformation seemed complete, and it looked kinda human. A furry human still possessing ice blue eyes though. But as I watched in fascinated horror the fur began to fade away into skin. Now it was finished. It had the appearance of a little old man. He was a head shorter than me and had a bushy snow white beard. Actually it gave the impression it could have been home to a number of small creatures, it was so big. I suppose that was to compensate for the fact he was utterly bald. He had a wrinkly face, a snub nose, and those piercing blue eyes. But he looked nice enough. As nice as a man who had just transformed from a cat can be.

He grinned at me and said,

“Hello, what have we here? What might you be doing in my house?”

I stared at him for a long moment before I decided to answer him. After all, his hut had just saved my life.

“I’m Poppy, and I’m hiding from the hares.” I replied.

“What were you thinking wondering outside at this hour? Everyone knows that the Hélior emerge from the hares at the full moon’s light.” He looked at me in surprise.

“Well, I’m not everyone.” I answered just as surprised to learn that this was supposed to be common knowledge.

“Yes, well, that is obvious. Where do you come from?” He was starting to look just as puzzled as I felt.

“I live with the hunter and the village healer.”

“But not their child?”

I shook my head, “No, they adopted my brother and I after our parents disappeared.”

He nodded his head. “I heard rumours Paul and Primrose had taken on a couple of kids.”

“But who are you?” I asked. I was telling him about me, he could at least shed some light on himself. I’d never seen him before, and I didn’t think anyone lived in the woods near us. Briefly I wondered if Poppa and Mamma knew anything about this man.

“I am Hínnior of the Harlian Hall.” Seeing the blank look on my face he continued, “There is a clearing on the western side of the hut. It is call the Harlian Hall by the folk who live in the woods. I am the caretaker of the Hall. I make sure the Hall is kept clean and ready for the next lot of meetings held there.”

“Wait you mean there a more people like you around the woods?” I was skeptical to say the least. I was in the woods on any given day and I had certainly never seen another soul anywhere. But then again who was to say they couldn’t turn into ordinary creatures? I could believe almost anything in my present state of mind.

“Sure. Plenty of them around, but they keep themselves hidden well. That is unless they choose to reveal themselves to you. Otherwise nobody ever finds them.” He said.

“You mentioned something about Helium and the hares?” I asked now thinking back to my recent adventure.

He chuckled and smiled, but his face quickly grew serious. That can’t be a good sign, I thought.

“Not helium, Hélior.” He answered.

“And that is?” I prompted. He seem reluctant to further explain.

 “They are the evil spirits that live in the hares. They can’t emerge and take control of the hares until full moon, because they are weak under the spell. But the spell is weakest at the full moon so they can break free from it then.” He finally managed.

“What spell?” I asked. It was intriguing in a scary kind of way.

“The spell put in place by Allor, the great sorcerer. It protects the woods from----

Something threw itself against the door with great force. The door creaked and bent under the weight, but held, though it was obvious it wouldn’t hold for much longer.

“What’s that?!” I cried fearing coursing through my veins once more.

1. “They’ve come.” He whispered, fear evident in his voice.

2. “I don’t know, but they’re gonna get it. How dare they bash my door down… or try to anyway.” He started hobbling toward the door with an indignant cry.  

3. Before he could answer the door fell in with a loud crash. Dust filled the room. I coughed and my eyes stung painfully. An angry, hoarse voice spoke up from the whirling dust.

“Where is it?”

 I hope you liked it. I will get onto a photo for it soon.

So, I haven't been up to much. We went and watch Rogue One on Saturday at the movies. I thought it was pretty good, I'm just not a big fan of movies where they kill all the good guys in the end. I know in this movie it was kind of necessary, but it still bugged me. Other than that I liked it. 

Sunday was that concert I mentioned. It went really well, in my opinion. Besides the fact my bridge slipped out of my violin right as we were getting ready onstage. Real helpful I know. But my teacher saved the day and put it back in without snapping any strings, and tuned it before we were supposed to start. I'd had the feeling it wasn't going to stay in much longer. It was leaning precariously to one side. Now I'm going to need to get another one. Other than that it was reasonably uneventful. We were first on, and we watched a little of the other performances, but we had to leave before it finished because Mum had had an attack of vertigo the day before so she wasn't feeling well. 

We got a new piece of music on Wednesday call Celtica and it is really beautiful. There is a violin solo, and it is really nice ( way out of my league :D ) my teacher played it for the rehearsal. They're thinking of sharing it with the violist who's music is a little too simple and boring for him. 

We celebrated our little miracle baby, Ali's twentieth birthday on Thursday by going out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I got lemon chicken which was very yummy, and I managed to eat it all. ( which is a great achievement for me ) He had a red velvet mud cake which was heavenly. We had to cook it at my sister's place because our oven is broken at the moment. It was a very nice day, albeit with some sad memories attached. Mum was sad, and no doubt Ali too. Sometimes I image what it would've been like to have another Ali around. It's so hard to do though. Next year it will be harder because it will have been his twenty-first. I wonder how Ali feels knowing he could have had another half. I know I've mixed feelings on the subject. But I'm thankful we have Ali, because he very nearly didn't make it. One of many blessings to count. :)

And then Friday finds me here writing this. This week I was supposed to write a story for English, which is coming about very slowly. It's a lot harder to do than this story, because they are very different styles. But I think it will work this time. ( It's not my first attempt :P )

Looking back it was actually a busy week. How was yours?

Cheers!

Antonella Rose ♥ 

My Musical Life

  As the title suggests I have a musical life. Do you? I play a violin ( just in case you hadn't heard :P ). I started learning probably four years ago, so this will be my fifth year. I started learning with a really nice guy, named Mr. Baker. He was also the conductor of an orchestra which was held in the same building I had my lessons. He invited us to try it out and so we did. We still go now, but Mr. Baker has moved on. I started having lessons again this year after a considerable amount of time not having any. Well, it felt like a long time to me :) I discovered I'm grade three level, which is where I thought I was about. So this orchestra is rather small and barely keeps going, but I like it nonetheless. I play second violin, and my seat mate is Heidi. She's younger than me but about the same grade, probably higher actually. We have a concert on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it. I can play most of the music well, and I'll have my teacher there to help too. I also started playing my violin at church, because our organist left. So my sister and I have taken up that role, which is quite interesting. Sunday will be rather packed though. We'll go to church and play there, then mum and dad have a meeting, so we are being picked up by a friend who will take us to the concert rehearsal. 

   My mum and I agreed that I should post the story every fortnight. So, sorry, but there won't be one today. Ironically I've started this story right as my English decided to teach me all about writing stories. So now I have to write another story, except it will be starkly contrasted between this one. Two very different styles :P

   I'm going to post this and go start the next installment of the still-no-name story :D

   Arrivederci,

   Antonella Rose ♥