Lupin woke late the next morning, his head throbbing and aching. He looked up toward his bed-side clock to see the hand ticking toward the number 12, he had slept right through the morning. Lupin slid out of bed and checked his plans...all exactly where he had left them – neatly laid out on his deep green desk, but he had forgotten to hide them... or cover them over at the least, Lupin prayed that nobody had entered his room while he was gone, his Mother would be angry...no... furious! He then grabbed a sheet of white paper and spread it across the plans. "Now nobody will know," He whispered to himself.
"Well, unless they look under the paper," He continued, and chuckled.
Lupin now dreaded going downstairs, for his Mum and Sister could be down there waiting for him, waiting to accuse him of sneaking out in search of the rabbits.
He gritted his teeth and made his way to the top of the staircase, he walked down it, the colour of his ears growing redder...redder...REDDER....
"Morning Lupin!" His Mother called, swiftly walking past him,
"More like Afternoon," Maple said, sweeping past him towards the living room, Lupin shot a glare at her, Maple smirked back and stuck her tongue out, Lupin back at her, (This now became a war of 'who could pull the silliest, most stupid face') Lupin won and Maple carried on into the living room sulkily.
Lupin made his way into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, his stomach started grumbling so he made himself a ham and cheese sandwich too. Then he slunk into the living room and sat at the end of the sofa, right in the nook of the room, trying to avoid eye contact with all his strength.
Taking bites of his sandwich, He glanced at his Mother, expecting a whole half-an-hour of telling off. But no, nothing, no telling off at all. She was cleaning, dusting, tidying, vacuuming... Ignoring him, taking no notice, as per usual. She was showing no sign of knowing where he was and what he was doing last night at all.
Then it hit him... Maple...she didn't snitch. She couldn't have, But why?
Meanwhile, Maple sat across the room in an armchair, Lupin glanced at her. She stood up from the chair and walked out of the room looking back at Lupin mouthing something. He looked at her, completely baffled and mouthed "What?" back, frowning. Maple mouthed it again, this time in a hushed whisper,
"Meet in your room in 5," Lupin heard her say.
Lupin entered his room to find his sister sitting on his bed, waiting for him, something on her mind. He walked in and sat beside her,
"So why did you want to meet in here?" Lupin asked,
"Did you go into the woods again last night?" She began,
"M...maybe, why are you asking?"
Maple looked down for a few minutes, examining Lupin's grassy green rug, and deep purple carpet, she then looked up again and slowly started talking,
"Do you ever wonder where Dad is?" She questioned,
"Do you ever wonder why Mum never answers us when we ask her about him?"
"And even when she does answer, it's so vague and...and just doesn't seem... truthful?" Lupin added,
"Yeah..." He continued, slowly looking up to meet his Sister's eyes,
They sat in silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say, until Maple began talking,
"I...I better cut to the point," She started,
"Okay, so..." Maple paused, "I want to go with you, to the woods," She said,
"What?!" Lupin exclaimed, surprised,
"But...but...you don't believe in magic, let alone want to go following it?!"
"It's not the magic that I'm going into the woods to find...it's Dad..." Maple explained,
"But why would Dad be there?"
"With all of those monsters, creatures, beasts, he'd definitely be dead." Lupin explained,
"What about beyond the woods though?" Maple questioned,
"What if there is another village, a safer place?" She continued,
"What if he left us knowing he was going into danger?" Lupin said,
"Yes, but he could have left wanting us to follow him, finally meeting him again," Maple argued,
"It's dangerous though!" Lupin exclaimed,
"How? How is it dangerous? Tell me!" Maple demanded, there was silence...
"Because when I went to the woods...I...nearly got eaten..." Lupin explained,
"Pfffft, Eaten!" She laughed,
"It's not funny! I got chased down by a MASSIVE spider and it seriously nearly ate me!" Lupin blazed,
"You what?!" Maple said, clearly not convinced,
"I could've been killed," He shuddered,
"And you still don't believe me?!"
"I bet it wasn't that bad," Maple snickered,
"Ok, now you are definitely coming to the woods with me," Lupin assured her,
"Meet here at Ten o'clock tonight, bring a bag full of things we're going to need,"
"Alright then...Ten it is," She confirmed,
Maple headed out of his room leaving Lupin buzzing with curiosity, information and adrenaline.
Now Maple will see that he is right, magic is real!
YOU ARE READING
The Whispering Woods
FantasyAn ongoing fantasy novel about a young teen (Lupin Orchidal) who growing up feeling as though he never fit in with the crowd, bullied and picked on for his differences, discovers his magical abilities and his extraordinary family tree. Follow his jo...
