ˢⁱˡᵛᵉʳ ˢᵒˡᵈⁱᵉʳ ... ᵃⁿ ᵒʷˡ ʰᵒᵘˢᵉ ᶠⁱᶜ

1

"Into my office. Now."
The headmistress of the Little Newt Orphanage of the Boiling Isles.
Mistress Yrmira.

A small young girl, maybe about 9 years old, was pulled into the office by the wrist. Her emerald eyes gleamed with annoyance as she shook her head so hard she felt dizzy and her chestnut hair got messy and frizzy.

She liked that feeling. It made her feel wonderfully weird, and she loved to twirl around and see how wobbly and awkward she could be, to see the world whirling around her.

"Sit." Mistress Yrmira ordered.
The girl did as she was told, sitting in a small chair in a big room. The whole place looked so big compared to her, shelves amongst shelves of files and books and trophies, probably belonging to the Headmistress from back in her Hexside days.

The woman sat down in front of the girl, behind a large dark wooden desk that smelled of sap and shined in the light from the greasy looking tabletop shine.

"Kellsey Sunwood. I've had just about enough of you." Yrmira started.

However, Kellsey wasn't paying attention. She was watching Yrmira's movements - the middle aged woman reminded her of a thumb, or a stubby little big toe on someone's foot. the Headmistress was only slightly taller than her and quite plump and fat, with leathery wrinkles on her face. Her hair, the color of hay, was tied up on her head, making her look similar to a greasy onion.

".. Hello?? Oh, you wretched girl, you must have some nerve to ignore me. Are you hearing what I'm saying, Sunwood??" The Headmistress yelled. Kellsey snapped out of it.

"Yes ma'am." She replied quietly.

"I've had it with you. Absolutely had it. I'd always known you were too.... much. And nobody wants you because of those ears of yours. Drawing on the newly painted walls, sticking pins on chairs... Pushing and hitting children, the constant tantrums and jealousy.. the list goes on."

Kellsey listened to the woman, nodding. She was used to hearing this a gazillion times already.

"Perhaps it would be best if we looked into something else for you. The Emperor's Coven called a few days ago, seeing if we had any older children that could be recruited as scouts. You'd contribute much more to society that way, you useless girl." Headmistress Yrmira spat.

Kellsey froze. Emperor's Coven? But she was too young for that. Hex, she never attended Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. All the bigger kids did. She'd always wondered why they held her back.

Probably because of her ears. But nobody else cared so much about her ears except the older people. She met the Plant Coven Head once on accident, who just scrunched up her face in disgust and muttered something unkind.

"It's settled then. You're a bit young, but I could care less." The horrid woman murmured.

"But Headmistress-" Kellsey stuttered.

"It's Ma'am to you, girl." Yrmira growled.

"-Ma'am.. I haven't even- I'm too young. Aren't I supposed to be 16 to start training as a.. scout?" The word left her mind for a second, but Kellsey was able to remember it.

"They won't care. The age requirement is there but they'll accept anyone really. Now go, pack your things. Dress nice, you'll be meeting the Emperor. I'll have them pick you and the other children up by suppertime."

Kellsey quietly slinked out of the Headmistress's office. She was stricken with fear. The world was whizzing by so fast, and not in the way she liked.

~~~

Kellsey was too nervous to eat during supper. She just sat there in her nicest dress, a blue little children's dress lined with silk. It was the nicest thing she owned, she got it one day from a stranger who was so kind when they saw her wearing what she always wore - ugly, sometimes small clothing that smelled like an old lady's house.

Soon, the time came. The caretakers rounded up the children that were chosen, and waited. A carriage full of masked people in cloaks, some tall, some short, some with horns, some not, showed up.

"Get in." One of them ordered. The children did as told, sitting together quietly as the carriage set off.
As the orphanage became smaller and smaller in the distance behind them, Kellsey began to whimper softly, tears welling up in her eyes. This would be the last time she saw that orphanage.

A scout sat beside her.
"What's wrong?" The scout asked gently.
"You look quite young to be on this carriage."

"I'm scared. Is training scary?" Kellsey sniffled.

The scout let out a sigh.
"Well, sometimes. It can get rough. But the Emperor needs us. You see, sweetheart, scouts do all the dirty work, so that all the good safe things are with the people of Bonesborough." They said, rubbing the small girl's back in comfort. "We keep our people safe. We keep our Emperor safe. And most importantly, we keep our Titan safe."

Kellsey had stopped sniffling.
"So I'll help the Titan?"

"We all do; just in our own special ways." The scout said warmly.

The small girl smiled, and wiped her tears away.

"It's not so scary when you do it for a while." The scout added finally. Kellsey looked behind her again, and the orphanage was gone.

"I wanna be the best scout ever. I wanna make the Emperor and the Titan happy" Kellsey said, looking up with hopeful eyes at the scout.

"I'm sure you will." They chuckled.