Violet

Violet was a small child, even for her tender age. However, no-one who knew her would have said she was tender. She had huge dark eyes which she used to unsettle others, and she made a habit of avoiding speech whenever possible.

This time, Violet was sitting cross-legged on the playground floor at break time. She wore an inscrutable countenance as she picked at the sandwich her father had packed for her. As usual, she was alone. Some distance away, a plump girl from her year was handing out birthday party invites. A small gaggle of children had flocked around her. 'She's not even that popular,' Violet reflected as she drew a large V in the dust with her finger. Not that she really cared; she had more serious things to worry about right then. The playground suddenly seemed quieter. Violet looked up at the group in front of her. They had dropped their voices and where arguing heatedly in ill-suppressed whispers. At the centre of the knot a pretty blond child, whom Violet knew to be called Romilda, was reviling the birthday-girl for something she had just said. '...not the freak! Seriously?' she ranted, a little too loudly. The chubby girl clutching the invitations glanced surreptitiously at Violet's corner, caught her eye and hastily turned back to face Romilda. Violet knew they were talking about her, but she didn't much care, as long as they kept her out of it.

As it transpired, she was not to be kept out of it. The girl appeared to have stood her ground against Romilda's assaults, since she was making her way towards Violet with a purposeful look. Violet cleaned her dusty fingers on her trousers and looked up at the newcomer blankly. She was surprised to see her holding out a colourful card and making a brave attempt at smiling. People usually found this difficult around Violet. Although annoyed, Violet tried to soften her expression; the girl looked as though she was trying to be kind. 'Would you like to come to my party?' she said, offering her the card. The honest answer was 'no', however nice she was trying to be, and Violet had never been one to beat around the bush, so she said it. The girl looked stung. 'Maybe you are a freak,' she snapped, her eyes filling with tears, as she turned on her heel and marched back to the smug-faced group awaiting her.

Ablaze

Seldryn opened his eyes. Everything was quiet, the palace slept. Yet he had woken. Something was wrong. He slipped from his bed and padded to the open window. Peering into the balmy night, he could just make out the dark mass of the curtain wall. The battlements appeared deserted, the watch fires out. He could hear muffled footsteps in the corridor now. Seldryn pressed his ear to the heavy door. Someone was whispering urgently outside his chamber. He flattened himself against the wall just as a cloaked man swept inside bearing a torch. He cast it's light around the room and glanced back at the corridor. 'Not here' he told his companion. 'He mustn't reach the prince,' the other answered, 'hurry!'. The prince! Seldryn felt a brief wave of panic. He knew what he must do. The girl, of course, would need to come with them. She would be used against them if he left her there. He closed his eyes to summon the familiar. As ever, he felt vulnerable drifting away from his carefully crafted thoughts, reaching out to his bird. The animal answered to his master's call. Through a balcony elsewhere in the keep, Seldryn knew a large raven was entering the young lady's living quarters to rouse her from her troubled sleep. She would know where to meet them, it was the prince he needed to worry about now.

He poked his head into the corridor and looked both ways before sprinting after the intruders, who had already disappeared. He reached the spiral staircase to the north tower, but instead of climbing it, turned down the corridor to his left and knocked softly on the first door. A small woman in a nightdress opened almost instantly. 'Seldryn!' she panted. 'They're here. It's happening.' 'I know Marietta, I know,' he answered, stepping into the room. Marietta closed the door quietly and hurried to the end of her chamber. She dragged the bed aside to reveal a trapdoor. Seldryn opened it and stepped inside. 'Are you taking the girl aswell?' She asked before he could disappear. Seldryn looked up from the floor. 'Yes. You know it's necessary.' She nodded. There was nothing to add. 'Take care, will you?' Seldryn smiled at her and climbed down, closing the trapdoor behind him.