Rings of magic

1

My eyes fly open. Mother and father are talking in hushed voices. " No" my mother says, her tone firm.

My father sighs. " We have no choice. She must go. Their is no other way. " 

Mothers voice shakes. " She'll get killed. She's not old enough. She still hasn't found a suitor, and what will we do then? She is our only child. Our family will be lost. "

Father speaks in a reassuring way. " It will be all right. Its not for a month or so. We'll tell her soon." 

The floorboards creak, signaling they've gone to their room. 

I snuggle under my covers. What were they talking about? What would kill me? 

I try to sleep, though I lay for many hours, my mind swirling with thoughts. Eventually, I drift of to sleep.

The sun is bright, shining through the thin curtains on my window. I slip out of bed, the chill washing over me. 

I put on my light blue dress, though it is getting short on me, almost above my ankles. I'll have to tell mother, though I know she will tell me to hem it myself, an activity I despise. I know one day, ill be like her, sitting around all day cleaning, ctking, and taking  care of many children while waiting for my husband to return home. I dont like that idea, thjough most girls do.Mother and father wanted many children, but all of them died young. I was the only one to make it this far, sixteen, and the last to be born. I suppose its nice to be an only child, but this puts pressure on finding a good husband, something else I am not eager to do. Most girls my age have already had many crushes on different men and boys throughout the village, but I have had to such luck. 

Once I am dressed, I go to the kitchen, where I notice a note on the table. Upon closer investigation, I find it is a list of foods I must get from the market, a chore I have gotten recently, as mother has been helping Ms. Elmwood, a neighbor, with her pregnancy.

I quickly eat an apple, and grab a basket, heading out the door. I breath in the warm summer air, and I feel a tingle in my chest and fingers. I suppose I should explain. 

You see, the world is full of magic. Its everywhere. In the air, I'm the ground, inside, outside, you get the point. Some people don't know it exists, but it keeps the world running. Without it, everything would wither away. But, as for  humans, they can't see or feel it, unless your a summoner, like me. 

Summoners have the ability to use the magic, but they can not do very much without something to guide it to do anything. For example, there is an old fairy tale about a summoner who had a necklace that could use the magic to kill all the animals in the area. Another one is about a man who had a watch that caused people to drown themselves. As you can tell, we are not depicted very well. 

As I walk into the market, something hard hits my in the back. I spin around, seeing a group of boys running of, screaming "witch!" 

I sigh. People have made it very clear they do not like me, though I have never done anything, not having a guide. Everyone found out when I was six, and got incredibly angry at a girl while at a community meeting, and used the magic to push her. I immediately collapsed, as using magic without a guide, even a little, takes a lot out of you, but everyone ran to her, though she only had a bit of dirt on her dress. My family was not allowed back for two weeks. 

I quickly get all the things on the list, getting many suspicious looks and curious glances, and head back home. I stop in the doorway, as father looks at me grimly, mother at his side. 

"What-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"Take a seat. We must talk."