House of Six

Chapter One

The cold wintery air whips around my face as I watch the leaves fall delicately onto the grass beneath me. As they fall I flick my finger in the direction of a small pile of leaves to my side. I feel the familiar sensation of magic manifesting within me as the wind scatters the leaves. I can't help but giggle to myself. Yes, it is childish, but something about playing with leaves is so comforting that I almost forget how silly I must seem to my fellow peers as I do it. Suddenly the anxiety of someone watching me creeps in.

"Orion..." I say to my general surroundings.

The snap of a twig behind me makes my shoulders rise to my ears.

"Orion! Not funny!" I yell in an angry voice.

As he steps out of the shadows, Orion, a skinny and pale boy who is about 3 inches taller than me, places his boney hand on my shoulder.

"Oh come on Gale, you know you love it when I scare you."

I frown and furrow my brows in an unhappy manner. I really do hate it when he sneaks up on me like that. But of course he has the power of shadows on his side to aid him in his shenanigans. Orion approaches me at my side and looks out across the scenic view in front of us. Leaves wrestling in the distance is the only sound I can hear amongst his heavy breathing. Clearly he had been walking for quite a while before deciding to disrupt me.

I shake my head and laugh in the uncomfortable silence left between us. I fear Orion often has a hard time finding things to talk about with me because, to be honest, I'm not very good at small talk. I've never been a very good conversationalist, not even with my closest peers before moving to the House. But I commend him for trying. Not even the Head of the House, Mayrin, expects me to socialize very much even just at the dinner table, let alone in public. I make it a point to start up the conversation again.

"It's almost the winter season. I hope we are blessed with much rain and snow." I don't make direct eye contact but speak at a volume that only a person close by would be able to hear.

"I'm sure Idris would love that. After all she does have the affinity to wield water at will. Much rain will certainly ease her mood and put her in her element." he nods his head as he talks, also not making eye contact.

"I've seen your sneaking shadow lurking around Idris' door. Not that I assume the worst, but oddly suspicious wouldn't you say? Is Idris in any distress recently?" I turn my head to look at him directly as I ask my questions.

"Ah, a watchful eye indeed! It's always the quiet ones you should worry about." He sighs to himself as a faint smile appears on his face, now turning his own head to stare back at me. "Not that I believe Idris is in any distress currently, I just make it a habit to keep my tabs on her during the upcoming season changes. She can oftentimes be..." he begins to trail off a bit. "Well, she can be a bit emotional at times. But you didn't hear that from me." With a slight wink and a flashy smile, I can see his shoulders and jaw relax. I get the feeling I've successfully made good conversation.

The river that is just up ahead suddenly booms with the sound of footsteps splashing in its wake. Idris must be on her way over. Apparently I did not go far enough away from the House to be left alone today. The sweet trill of her voice echoes as she stumbles her way through the water to accompany us. As always, she is barefoot and the bottom of her very nice long dress is completely soaked. Her hair messily put up into a twist on her head, her eyes as blue as the sky. I glance over to Orion and he nudges me with his elbow into my side. Not hard, but enough to send the message that we should change the subject.

"Oh Gale! Orion! Is that the two of you I see over there! Mayrin was just looking for the both of you. Dinner will be held soon so make sure you're not out here too much longer." She says as she trudges out of the water.