Eye of the Storm (DISCONTINUED)

Eye of the Storm-Chapter 4

So sorry for making you guys wait so long! A whole month- GAH! Anyhoo, a very long, unedited* chappie for you, mai wonderful cookies! 

            I lay staring at the white-painted ceiling of my new room. My head rested on a plush pillow and I was snuggled under the covers. I was perfectly comfortable and saw no reason to get up.

            There was a knock at my door and I sat up, my vision blurring for a minute. My hair was a tangled mess around my head, obscuring my sight. I brushed it out of my face and called out.

            “Come in!”

            The door opened a crack and Cynthia’s grinning face appeared.

            “Hello, Kiera!” she flounced in, her fair hair whipping around her face. “Ready for your big day?” her cheeks were flushed with excitement. I sighed. Today was only my second day at SkyHaven, and I was already going to what Cynthia called “Riding Theory School”. I had groaned when I heard this name- since Tempest, my companion, was too small for me to ride yet, I would have to learn the “theory” of riding- or basically the purpose of riding and the base of a bond and blah, blah, blah.

            However, I was excited to meet other riders my age. I hadn’t been around other children since I was given to the herbalist.

            I pushed the covers off of me and swung my legs off the bed, groaning. The black satin pants I had worn to bed were rumpled, and so was the matching shirt. I grimaced and whipped them off, slipping on the bathrobe that now hung on my wall.

            As I plodded toward the bathroom, Cynthia called out. “Don’t take too long- your class starts in fifty minutes!” I slammed the door, trying to block out her voice. I liked Cynthia just fine, but I hated mornings. I wasn’t someone to wake up early.

            I scrubbed down quickly in the washbasin and combed my tangled hair out. Yanking the robe back on, I opened the door again, shivering at the cool air that flooded in from the open window.

            I was soon dressed in a plain blue cotton tunic with silver edging and long black leggings. I put on the slippers Cynthia gave me and walked over to the door, reaching for the handle.

            “Wait.”

            Cynthia stopped me in a quiet voice. I turned around, dread clouding my thoughts. Was something wrong?

            I was relieved to find her smiling. Raising one hand, she beckoned me over.

            Sitting down next to her on the floor, I stared at her in puzzlement. What was it? “Turn around,” she said in the same soft voice. I did as I was told and felt gentle hands grasp my loose hair. She fiddled with it for a moment, then steered me over to the bathroom and stopped me in front of a mirror.

            My medium-length golden-brown hair was now braided into a plait. A tiny silver ribbon held it in place. I smiled.

            “Thanks,” I said quietly. She nodded.

            “Oh, one more thing.” Cynthia grasped my shoulders and turned me around. She drew something out of her pocket and slipped it into my hair. I turned to see it in the mirror. A little silver brooch was fastened above my temple. It was in the shape of a swirling cloud.

            My smile grew even wider.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~