Ivy Newton
kg*m/s^2
- Pronoun
- she
Okay, so I feel like posting my story, which is an assignment for English class. Why? Because I am proud of it~
Where am I?PERENNIAL
All I remember is a big storm, and then…
Nothing.
Perennial struggled into a sitting position, rubbing her head. She was afraid to look around. Afraid of what she might see when she did. But finally her curiosity overruled her fears, and she opened her eyes. She was in a dank, dark room, so large she couldn’t see the other side, surrounded on either side by piles of crates towering far over her four foot stature. A rat scuttled by her feet, and she shrank back against the wall.
What is this place? she thought, jogging her memory for anything that might indicate what had happened. All of a sudden her thought process was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming nearby, as a large, shadowy figure stepped in front of her.
“Ah, so you’re finally awake,” the figure said in a deep, impatient tone.
Finally? How long have I been here? thought Perennial, still staring up at the figure in front of her.
“Well? Are you mute?” the man exclaimed. “Get up. I didn’t bring you here to let you laze around all day.”
Perennial regained control of her voice for long enough to ask in reply: “Wh-where am I?” before the man roughly grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the outline of a doorway.
“Ah, an inquisitive one, are we?” he barked as he dragged her along the paved-stone floor. “I suppose it’s just as well. You’ll learn quicker. And as for your question, I won’t tell you anything that you don’t need to know. Now come on, get up. I’m not carrying you all the way.”
When Perennial stepped through the door and entered the main room, she gasped. It was so richly decorated, so opulent, as if the owner of the house didn’t care a bit about money. The floors were covered in plush carpets, and the walls sparkled gold.Ξ Ξ Ξ
“Do you like it?” the man who had dragged her up here asked, his voice swelling with pride. “The entire place is mine.”
“I-it’s very nice sir,” Perennial replied politely as she could, turning to face the man. She finally got a good glimpse of him. He had short-trimmed, graying hair, which seemed to once have been a magnificent shade of black, and a small beard. His eyes were a curious shade of gray tinged with amber, much darker than Perennial’s own gray eyes. He was well dressed, though rather simply, in a navy blue vest over a white shirt and black pants. “Though may I ask why I’m here?”
“Fine. You’d find out soon enough anyway,” the man replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “You have powers. I want control over those powers. So, I’m going to train you, teach you to use your powers. Simple enough, correct?”
“B-but surely you must be mistaken!” exclaimed Perennial. “I don’t have any powers! I’m just a young girl! I’m just a girl…” she whimpered, her eyes tearing up.
“Stop that sniveling at once!” the man demanded, taking a deep breath. “I’ve lived a long life. I know what I’m doing by now,” he said, calmer now, as he sauntered towards the velvet-lined stairs leading to the second floor. “Now, follow me. Don’t dawdle.”
“This is where you’ll being staying during your time with me,” the man said, showing Perennial to a room on the second floor. He seemed much nicer now than he had been. Perhaps he had resigned himself to the fact that he’d have to be nicer if he wanted Perennial to cooperate. “I’ll leave you to get settled. Come downstairs when you’re ready. We have a lot to discuss,” he finished, closing the door behind him.Ξ Ξ Ξ
Perennial looked around the room. It was large, and certainly not skimpy on the furnishings. There were a four-post bed, an oak wood desk and a matching dresser. But it was missing something. It wasn’t home. Perennial sighed, sitting down on the cushy bed. Only one thought crossed her mind.
Escape…
“So, you probably have a lot of questions,” the man began as Perennial sat in the too-large chair in front of the too-tall table, nibbling on a piece of bread. “First, my name. I am Lord Edmund of Havenshire!” he said in a booming voice, as if he was speaking in front of a crowd rather than to a young girl. “But you may call me Edmund. As I mentioned before, you are here to be trained. To learn to use your powers. And to help me. You are free to go wherever you wish inside the mansion, but you may not leave the building without my EXPRESS PERMISSION,” he said forcefully. “You are to do what I say, when I say. For the safety of both of us. Understand?”Ξ Ξ Ξ
“Yes, Mister Edmund, sir,” Perennial replied quietly, poking her head up over the tall table just as the maid came in to clear the dishes.
“Well, it looks like it’s about time to retire for the evening,” Edmund said, looking through the large window at the dark sky outside. “Be down here tomorrow at dawn, and we’ll begin your training.” He strode off towards the hallway, leaving Perennial alone in the dining room. Edmund may think it time for sleep, but for Perennial, it was anything but.
It was time to explore…
Boom!Ξ Ξ Ξ
Perennial ran outside, wrapping her thin cloak more tightly around herself. It couldn’t do much to protect her from the piercing cold rain, though.
“Perennial, come on!”
“No! I’m not leaving without Daddy!” Perennial yelled, struggling to be heard over the strong winds.
“He can take care of himself, now come on!”
“No!” Perennial yelled as she jumped out of the way of a falling tree.
“Hurry up, honey!”
A bolt of lightning came crashing down, narrowly missing Perennial, but still close enough to send shocks through her body. She fell to her knees, gritting her teeth. Another tree fell straight towards Perennial. She felt a push against her side, heard a piercing scream, and then everything went dark.
“Ahhh!” Perennial yelled, bolting upright and hitting her head on the ceiling. Rubbing the developing bruise, she looked around. It was just a dream. She was in the attic, having fallen asleep there after exploring all night. She hadn’t found anything of interest, just a bunch of velvety rooms and dusty volumes. Oh no, she remembered, I’m late for my lesson! She hurried downstairs, her cloak whipping around her.
“You’re late,” Edmund said angrily as Perennial stepped into view.Ξ Ξ Ξ
“I-I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not, if you know what’s good for you.”
“Sorry,” Perennial squeaked. She had never liked seeing people angry.
“Very well, just make sure you’re on time next time,” he said, sighing. “Now, let’s begin. Follow me.”
Edmund led them through the hallway, pausing at the end to unlock the door. They stepped into a dark stairwell, with only a few flickering torches to cut through the gloom. Edmund took one of these off the wall, and hurried down the stairs. Perennial followed.
After what seemed like an eternity of going down steep stairs, they came to their destination: a tall-ceilinged room, just as opulent as the rest of the house. Perennial could faintly see a large, cluttered desk and a high-backed chair in the flickering light from the fireplace, as well as shelves upon shelves of who-knows-what.
“Now, here is where your training will take place,” Edmund said, stepping into the room from behind Perennial and placing the torch in a sconce. “Every morning until noon, I will teach you the literary and mathematical arts. After a break for lunch, we’ll begin to work with Magics. Any questions?”
“No, sir. I understand completely.”
“Good, good. Now, sit down here,” he said, gesturing towards a smaller chair on the opposite side of the desk. “And let us begin.”
“Now, focus. Find the power within you, and pull it out. Imagine it condensing into a beam of light.”Ξ Ξ Ξ
Perennial had been trying to do that for almost an hour now. She was starting to believe more and more that Lord Edmund had gotten something wrong, that she didn’t really have any sort of ‘powers’. But she still tried really hard. She wanted to do it for herself as much as, if not more than, because Edmund told her to. She felt a light tingling in her palms, and looked down to see sparks flying from her hands. Unfortunately, in her excitement she lost her concentration.
“Did you see that? I did it!” Perennial yelled excitedly, examining her palms for any trace of magic left over.
“Yes, not bad. Although it could have been better,” Edmund replied disdainfully.
“But I did it!” Perennial was so happy, even his criticism couldn’t ruin her mood. Magic! Real magic that Perennial herself could control! It was almost too good to be true.
“Very well, that’s enough for today,” Edmund said, rising from his seat and gesturing for Perennial to do the same.
“Where are we going, mommy?” A younger Perennial asked as she sat with her family in a train station amidst the hustle and bustle of a busy day.Ξ Ξ Ξ
“We’re going on an adventure, Renny! It’ll be really fun, I promise.”
“But why are we taking all of our things with us?” she wondered.
“Well hon, we may not be coming back.” She cringed as she said this, wishing her daughter wasn’t so curious.
“What?! Why!?” Perennial cried.
“Well, everyone has to leave. It’s too dangerous to stay. But don’t worry; we’ll have lots of fun.”
Perennial just fell against her mother’s shoulder and started sobbing.
Perennial woke to pitch black surroundings and dried the tears that had appeared in her eyes at the memory. She had been tired out by her first lesson, so she had gone right to sleep. Tomorrow she would go back to spending the night exploring, though. It seemed more and more urgent every day to escape as soon as possible.
Perennial’s lessons continued, and after a couple weeks she had learned how to manipulate that power that she had drawn on to do many things. Now she could move things without touching them, fire beams of light, even break into people’s minds! She also continued to explore every night. For quite a while she found nothing of interest, and it seemed to her that she was just checking the same places over and over again. But one night was different.Ξ Ξ Ξ
She had been searching Lord Edmund’s office again, hoping to find something she had overlooked before. It wasn’t going too well though, considering she didn’t want it to be obvious that she had been searching his papers. Suddenly she happened upon a book on the shelves that seemed to be rather askew. Curious, she pulled it out of the shelf and open to the bookmarked page. Clearly someone had been reading this recently. She began to read.
Lord Edmund was born in Havenshire, a then small town to the west of the capital Asgarnia. He had a simple, modest childhood, which is perhaps what inspired him to become so great in more recent times. When his parents died of the plague when he was twenty years old, he took over as the new Lord of Havenshire, putting the small, obscure town in the history books. He gained many riches for Havenshire, increasing the size and influence of Havenshire enough to rival Asgarnia.
This wasn’t good enough for him though, so twenty years after his rise to power, he sparked a war with Asgarnia in an effort to expand his influence and power. The war later spread all across Misthalin, forcing millions to leave their homes for safer areas.
Perennial set down the book carefully. My family had to leave because of him? she thought. It was all because of him. This whole thing is his fault. Perennial kept running this thought through her mind. It was all she could think. Suddenly an idea sparked in her mind. The war… he’s training me to fight for him! She almost screamed with the realization. I have to get out of here!
Perennial ran down the stairs, as quickly as possible, not even caring about stealth in her rush to get out. She skidded to a stop just in front of the main double doors and, grabbing the door handle, pulled with all her might. Locked. Perennial frantically looked around for another exit, and didn’t even hear someone stomping down the staircase behind her.Ξ Ξ Ξ
“Perennial! What do you think you’re doing?!” Lord Edmund yelled, stopping at the bottom of the staircase. “Don’t you know how late it is?”
Perennial didn’t answer, hoping to give herself a little more time. As she ran back and forth around the room, stopping at anything that might connect to the outside, realization flashed in Edmund’s eyes. He dove towards her, grabbing her by the arm to stop her from running.
“I thought I made it clear, you’re not allowed outside,” Edmund said through gritted teeth as Perennial struggled in his grasp.
“You can’t make me stay here!” Perennial yelled defiantly. “I won’t fight for you!”
“What makes you think you have any control over your destiny, little girl?” Edmund said menacingly.
“I have as much control as I want!” she yelled, forcing Edmund to let go of her with a blast of light that knocked him halfway across the room. She ran for the door, blasting through it and feeling powerful as could be. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier, she thought as she ran into the night air, followed by Edmund’s angry shouts and loud steps.
Perennial ran faster than she ever had before.Ξ Ξ Ξ
She had been running for a while, with barely a single chance to stop and rest. She hadn’t slept in almost two days now, and was certainly feeling the fatigue. The power she had felt earlier was wearing off quickly.
If two people running at top speed through narrow alleyways surprised anyone, they certainly didn’t show it. Perhaps they were used to such strange occurrences.
Perennial weaved back and forth between the few people up at such a late hour, slowly losing speed. Perennial could run, but not this much.
She heard a yell from behind her; “Come back here!” She looked behind her to see Edmund slowing down, red-faced. He must not exercise a lot, she decided.
This place looks familiar… Perennial thought, looking around at the dirt path below her feet, the trees on either side, and the overcast sky above. I used to live near here! The excitement caused Perennial to stop and look around in wonder, giving Edmund the perfect chance to stop her.Ξ Ξ Ξ
Perennial, so enchanted by the familiar sight, failed to notice Edmund behind her until he knocked her over and pinned her down.
“I hope you realize it’s not a good idea to run from me,” he hissed into her ear. She tried to push him off, but he had her arms pinned against her sides. He had a wild look on his disheveled face.
“I hope you realize it’s not a good idea to cross me,” Perennial replied shakily, trying to stay calm but failing. She tried to call forth that familiar burst of power, but found that she simply couldn’t.
“Not so strong now, huh?” Edmund chuckled upon seeing the bewildered look on her face. “I knew you didn’t really have as much power as you thought you did.”
“I have plenty of power!” Perennial yelled loudly as she tried to be heard through the strong winds. Suddenly she heard a sharp crack, and a tree fell down next to her, smoldering where the lightning had hit it. There was a full-fledged storm surrounding them now. “If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have kidnapped me,” she said more softly now, unnerved by the fallen tree. The piercing scream from the night she was taken flashed back into her mind.
“Kidnap you!” Edmund laughed. “I didn’t kidnap you! I saved you!”
“Saved me? W-what do you mean?” Perennial stuttered.
“I rescued you,” he said mysteriously. “I didn’t kidnap you, because there was no one to kidnap you from!”
“B-but what about my parents?”
“Your parents, ha! Your parents were dead long before I got there!”
“N-no they weren’t!” Perennial yelled without much conviction. “I saw them! They were there!” Try as she might to convince herself otherwise, she simply couldn’t get that horrible scream out of her mind. The pounding rain mingled with her tears.
“You’re even more gullible than I thought!” laughed Edmund. “Do you really think your parents could survive being crushed by a tree? I saved you. I took you in, kept you from becoming an orphan on the streets. You should be thanking me! Not this! Running from your savior, your protector, the only way you could ever be safe! Together we could have been great! We could have ruled the entire world!”
Perennial broke in at this moment, saying “Take it back! My parents aren’t dead, I know it!” She believed it less and less every second, but that hope was all she had left right now. “And why would I want to rule the world? Especially with you? You’re just a vile, evil liar, and that’s all you’ll ever be!” she spat.
Fueled by her sheer rage, she pushed him off easily and stood, clutching a tree so as not to be blown away by the whipping wind. She felt she could do anything, if it meant getting rid of this horrible person. She closed her eyes, channeling every dark thought, every dashed hope, every sad moment together into one big blast, as Edmund looked on, entranced. When she released the pent up fury, its blast could be felt all around. Edmund dived out of the way, barely missing the heat of the blast. Perennial watched as he scurried away with his last dregs of strength. She felt sure she wouldn’t be seeing him for a long time.
As if on cue, the rain stopped and sunlight began to filter through the blanket of clouds.
Perennial walked slowly through the forest, kicking a pinecone as she went. Maybe it’s true, she thought. What he said about my parents. Maybe he wasn’t making it up.Ξ Ξ Ξ
Perennial had returned to the familiar house on the edge of these woods as quickly as she could, entering to find a cold, foreboding place, so different from the one she had left behind a few weeks ago. It seemed as if no one had touched the place since then. She had given up any hope of finding her parents alive.
On a whim, she decided to head towards the nearby town.
As she threaded back and forth through the throngs of people, she looked around for anything or anyone familiar to her. She was about to head back to the empty house so she’d be back before the sun went down, when she thought she heard her name from off in the distance.
“Perennial…” There it was again.
She twirled around to look in the direction it was coming from, fully expecting that Edmund was back to capture her again. But the face she saw running towards her was as far away from his as you could get. It seemed to be a mirror image of Perennial herself. It was the face of her mother.
“Perennial!” she yelled loudly, causing a few bored people to look up at her. Perennial ran towards her mother as fast as her legs could carry her.
“Renny! I’m so glad I found you!” she screamed, gathering Perennial into a huge bear hug as a middle-aged man came up behind her.
“Mommy! Daddy! You’re alive! I went to the house, but it was empty, and all I could remember was that piercing scream, and…” she said quickly, everything tumbling out of her mouth as if this was her only chance to talk to them, ever.
“Slow down, honey. You can tell us what happened later. Right now we just want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’m fine mom! Where did you go after the storm? Why weren’t you at the house?” The questions came almost as quickly as her recount of the events that took place.
“We started to look for you, hon. We went all over. We were about to give up, when someone mentioned they had seen a young girl running through the city late at night. We thought it might be you, and it was.”
“You spent this whole time looking for me?” Perennial said softly, her voice clogged with emotion.
“Yep. And it all paid off,” her father replied. “Now let’s go home.”
And off they walked into the sunset, a young girl and her family reunited at last.
THE END
