Beauty that lies Within

Chapter 4 - How big is this tree??

"Farewell Gavaldon! Farewell low-ambition! Farewell mediocrity!" Sophie crowed triumphantly, though Gavaldon was well behind them and would never hear those words coming out of Sophie's mouth. She had never felt so free in a long time, and an-almost-physical weight lifted off her shoulders as she, Agatha and the shadow flew across the pitch black darkness. Sophie hadn't heard a peep from her sister since they had left Gavaldon and when she tried to crane her neck around the Shadow she could not see her either.

Apparently you can't see through a shadow. Sophie thought. She rolled her eyes to herself in annoyance.

"Aggie - are you alright?" Sophie asked, concerned. Whether Agatha heard or not, she remained silent and if she was about to respond - 

Suddenly the pit of Sophie's stomach dropped and Sophie felt a falling sensation that created knots in her stomach. "AIIIIIIIIIIII-" Sophie could hear Agatha scream and Sophie sounded in unison not soon after. Well at least I know that Agatha is alive! Sophie silently thought as she screamed in panic, scrabbling for something to hold onto, anything -

Then the falling stopped. For a second, Sophie thought that Agatha had somehow caught her but then realised that a) Agatha had been falling too b) Agatha probably wasn't strong enough to catch Sophie and c) Agatha would have to see Sophie first to catch her and given the fact they were in pitch black darkness, unless her sister had night-vision she never knew about, then it wasn't her that caught Sophie - that caught them.

In fact they hadn't been caught at all. 

Sophie heard a match being struck and a gasp. "Sophie," she heard her sister say, sounding awed, finally speaking since the kidnapping. "You can open your eyes now - Sophie look." Sophie had her eyes screwed tightly shut, and her hands clasped firmly over her face. Slowly, Sophie removed her hands keeping her face captive and gasped on sight.

The Shadow was gone, nowhere in sight, leaving the girls to stand up, brush themselves off and explore their surrounding. They were cocooned in the creepers of an elm, which ferried them up an enormous tree and dumped them rather ungraciously on the lowest branch. The girls were confused. This certainly wasn't the School for Good and Evil. Both girls opened their mouth to speak in confusion - 

The branch wobbled, ominously. The girls thrust their arms out, yelping but managing to maintain balance. 

For about less than a second-

The branch coiled back like a sling. And according to one of Newton's First Laws (or is it second or third - and is there even a fourth?) ... what comes up must go down.

So surely it must apply vice versa as well? What comes up must go down.

So what does down must come up.

And just as accordingly the sling-like branch came shot up, hurtling them up to the next branch like canon balls before they could utter a scream. This cycle repeated quite a few times, the girls ping-ponging to a new branch before Agatha found her voice and shrieked, "HOW TALL IS THIS TREE?!" The girls braced on impact colliding into nothing and everything: the branch, themselves and each other. Dresses were torn, accessories lost and twigs clubbed them around their heads until after the longest time (but couldn't be any longer than 10 minutes, tops) they reached the highest bough.

Is it the School for Good now? Sophie groaned, clutching her side in pain. I have to look my best to arrive at the School for Good and I can't like this... Sophie heard Agatha gasp. But unlike earlier, it was a gasp of horror.

In a flash, Sophie opened her eyes. In front of them now, was a giant black egg. Sophie caught onto Agatha's thinking (perhaps the hits to her head had boosted her intelligence)