Enchanted

Chapter One

Happiness.

It's an odd feeling, isn't it? So many things can make you happy, and yet, happiness can be taken away in an instant.

I remember how life was before all this started. We lived in a small but beautiful city called Ellesmere. It was a peaceful place, free of war and anguish. Everyone was encouraged to pursue what made them the happiest. That's how it had always been.

Then the Thoreau family arrived.

Tatyana and Kristopher Thoreau were the strictest family that the people of Ellesmere had ever seen.Besides their stern manner, they were also the richest citizens that resided in Ellesmere since it had been founded by Samuel Ellesmere in 1854.

That being said, they bought up the town and changed everything that we had ever known. From the shopping centers to the television programming, everything was changed to suit the desires of Ellesmere's self-appointed dictators.

Tatyana Thoreau was a tall and intimidating woman with a cold gaze, and white blonde hair that fell upon her shoulders. Her thin lips were always in a line and she never seemed to smile. If anything, the only emotions she seemed to portray were anger and disgust.

Kristopher Thoreau's appearance wasn't as glamorous as his wife's. He was shorter than Tatyana, and had a rounder appearance, his ebony hair neatly combed and his pinstripe suit neatly pressed. Kristopher always agreed with his wife, no matter the subject, and loved to cause anguish among the people of Ellesmere.

Since the two had arrived, the Ellesmerian's lives had been full of nothing but rules. Citizens carried a melancholy air about them as they were forced to abide by the strict schedule set by the Thoreau family.

A few people had tried to sneak past their eagle eyes. For example, Robbie McGregor and David Crowley, two men who didn't have anything to their name, had tried to practice their hobby of fishing and journeyed out to the docks on the far edge of town before the sun had risen. Rumor is that they had only been out there for a total of ten minutes before Tatyana and Kristopher's private police force had snatched them, and now they were rotting in jail.

Just when life couldn't seem to get any worse, Tatyana had the idea that the individuals who were younger than twenty, as that was the required age for most of the jobs in Ellesmere, had too much free time on their hands.

That was the beginning of the Edgerton Boarding School, where I, as well as many of my friends have been staying for the past few years.

"Ravyn!"

 As usual, my thoughts are interrupted.

My friend Jacqueline stares at me with an impatient expression and I realize that my thoughts must have started to wander during one of her tangents... again.

"Sorry Jace." I've been calling her that since I was young, due to the fact that I originally couldn't pronounce her full name.

Running a hand through her ash colored hair, she promptly rolled her eyes at me, frustration clear on her face.

"You could at least pretend to pay attention!" Jace huffed, "I don't understand how you're one of the best students in the school with how often you zone out."

That was true. I was one of the best students at Edgerton. However, it was only because I was excellent at pretending that I wanted to do everything the spiteful teachers threw at me. Nothing is ever what it seems to be. My black hair and sapphire eyes made me look a bit plain, and I always managed to pull off an obedient attitude, but I hated the Thoreau family as much as anyone.

 My name is Ravyn Ashmore, and this is the story of my rebellion.