{ELEMENTISTS OF WILLOW FOREST BOOK V} The Journey Across Water

Running

9: Running

The cupboards I had rummaged in earlier were enfolded in scarlet and amber fire, which licked their handles, slowly making their way towards their contents. More flames were dancing round the banister, spiralling and twirling to the rhythm of Auntie Romane's screams, which seemed to pierce the smoke as she hung up on the last emergency call and dialled yet another.

Oops.

She turned around to scream at me, obviously not to delighted that her house was now on fire. She yelled; 'Tu es la fille de ta père, tu n'es pas la fille de ma soeur. Allez!'

Although I didn't understand a word she was saying, I got the general inkling of it and scampered out of the house. Auntie Romane followed me, after ripping the phone from its charger.

She stood outside in the street made black by smoke, as its other inhabitants ran out, (probably) asking their neighbour what on earth was happening, who was that filthy little girl, and would the fire spread to their house or were they spread far enough apart.

Sirens erupted form the distance.

The fire brigade. Or, more worryingly, the police.

I didn't know what they'd do if they found me, and didn't really want to linger long enough to find out.

So I ran. Down the road, down another, through a gateway, a park and a street...

I soon lost track of where I was going. My only inclination was away. Away from the shouts of people, the rush of crowds, the whirring of police cars. Away from the smell of the rising smoke, the crisping building, the blackening windows. Just away.

People stared, but I didn't care, I just wanted to be away.

This is when I was no longer normal. This is when I became who I am now. Not normal. I was no longer a girl, I was all grown up. Before this moment, I was normal.

Olivia snorted. Sasha ignored her, hoping Olivia hadn't noticed she was trying to reassure herself more than anyone else that the events that had happened throughout her (still rather short) life hadn't always been too abnormal. "I noticed that, unintentionally, I'd been running back towards where I'd camped with Les Serpents Rouges only the night before. So, I small, unconscious part of me would be hoping that I'd be able to somehow find my way there, and they'd all welcome me in and offer me as permanent home you could get with a bunch of teenagers who never stayed in one place for more than twenty four hours. But, it was stupid willing it to happen. They're them. They'd be the other side of France by now already.

But, amazingly, when I got back to the camp, all ten of Les Serpents Rouges were still there. It didn't look like they were going to be there for much longer, though. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Marc and Rex ramming tents into bags as a few of the others dismantled them.

There was no chance I was going to get what I want, even though I deserved to.

So why was I running into their camp, and throwing myself down, and pleading for me to stay with them, as there'd been a fire (I didn't say why) and now I really had no-where to go, so please please please please please could I stay with them, as they were about the only people in the whole wide world I actually knew?

I looked up, excepting Seraphine to scream at me. Instead, I was treated to a very rapid conversation in French I hated not being able to understand, which was summarised for me by Rex. (Unhelpfully, still in French.)

'Tu as la sœur de ta frère, et nous aimons tu.'

'Which means?' I asked hopefully.

Avril smiled. 'Bienvenue, Sasha.'

There was an echo of my cheer and a roar of voices. I walked up to Avril afterwards. 'Will you teach me French now?'

*

"They didn't really want me for me." Sasha blurted. "Did they? They just knew I was Felix's sister, and I'd caused a fire, and wanted me closer to them so they could observe me and see if I'd do it again.

"Basically, yes." Olivia admitted. "Sorry to be the angel of doom, and shatter all your childhood fantasies, but it's the truth."

Sasha heaved a sigh full of melancholy.

"So... are you going to talk about your real time with Les Serpents Rouges? Tell me all about it?" Olivia asked eagerly.

"No." Sasha decided.

Olivia's face fell into one of confusion. "What?"

"You've heard about them all, and who I thought they all were, then in turn lectured me about they really are." Sasha said. "There's not really much else to say. Sorry to disappoint, but I only would have told you about all the meaningless stuff which isn't really important at all any time until half an hour ago, when I still stupidly thought they were my friends, and liked me and loved me and showed an interest in me for me, not because I'm an Elementist, or Aodh's descendant, or Felix's sister. Now that I now that's all a hoax, it's not like I'm going to enjoy telling them anymore. Besides, we've both been cooped up in the lounge at the House of All since ten o'clock this morning. It's now late afternoon, and we haven't had a break all day, except to eat those pineapples you grew when I was reading your story. I'm trying to rattle through my story quickly, okay? Otherwise we'll both be here forever, and everyone else will really be in need of the TV and Wifi in here."

"Fine." Olivia responded. "Quickly summarise your time with Les Serpents Rouges. Then tell me something else that's a bit jucier."

"Alright." Sasha replied, satisfied. "It lasted three months."

"THREE MONTHS?" Olivia gazed disbelieving.

"Yeah. Three months. During that time, I learnt not only French, but how to survive, how to hunt, and how to steal. All of them, especially the last one, would prove incredibly useful in the future.

It was epic. I'm not going to deny that. Nothing beats zipping around France at the speed of sound with ten non-aging teenagers. Although I was not allowed to go out on the field with them so have never actually seen all then in action, killing Dark Wolves – sorry, Death Wolves – I still heard about it afterwards, when they returned to whichever camp we were at that day.

I loved it. I loved it I loved it I loved it I loved it I loved it. Even though I now know it was all a lie, I still loved it. You wrote about your childhood paradise, Olivia, and this is mine, although it's quite different to yours and only lasted a matter of weeks.

I could have believed it possible that this was it, my life now, for all eternity, if it wasn't for Seraphine always reminding me that it wasn't. Virtually every other day, I'd get a 'You don't belong here. You cannot truly join us, and you will never truly be one of us. You are just with us until you find a better place to go' Or something like that. I never let it sink in, though. This was where I belonged, and this was where I'd stay.

Until, one day, Rex raised the fateful subject – me. He made a long speech about how great it was to have me there, but how I was only supposed to have stayed until I got over whatever happened at Auntie Romane's house. He said that I couldn't stay much longer in France, and that I had to go back soon to England, nearer 'the Great Forest' or bad things would happen because they'll have messed with fate, or something stupid I didn't actually believe or take notice of, because they'd already taken me to the ferry terminal in Brittany and left me there.

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