A few days had passed. It was early in the morning at her grandmothers and the day was just beginning to warm. A fresh summer smell of blossom touched the air, a beautiful day.
Luisa pulled a lace through the loop of her trainers. She was going for a run under her own accord for the first time in her life. She had made an executive decision; she was going to focus all her attention on her training for Cataindar. Finn and the abbot had given her homework which was much more fun than the homework she had got from White Manor School. She had already done her stretching, breathing and mind-clearing as soon as she woke up in bed, so was now she ready to tackle the exercises Finn had given to her.
As she bounced downstairs she wondered; she should be tired seeing as she was awake at night but she woke up feeling better and better each day.
She thought about it; if her pendant could take her to a different place, she guessed it could make her rested too. She found herself gripping it unconsciously. The sound of dishes clattering from the kitchen told her that her grandmother was up.
“Grandmother I am just going out for a run!” she called,
The sounds stopped and her grandmother appeared in the main hall.
“Luisa its rude to call through walls.”
“Oh, just so you know, I am going for a run.”
Her grandmother slowly put the cloth in her hand down. She took a laboured breath.
“Why?”
“Oh just to you know, get some fresh air, I think I have been spending too much time inside.”
“You are most certainly not going for a run or anything else so ridiculous. You shall stay here and do your homework. You may take a walk with me in the early evening.”
Quite uncharacteristically, Luisa found words of defiance coming out of her mouth, “I am going for a run.”
Luisa’s grandmother raised a disapproving eyebrow.
“Luisa, do not. I repeat. Do not… go down this road.”
It was too late, something inside Luisa spoke for her.
“I bloody well am!”
Luisa found herself shouting the last word, she shocked herself as much as her grandmother. Her grandmother’s face hardened to ice. Luisa felt tears prick her eyes and ran out the house as fast as she could.
She ran the lane from the house, pounding down the hill until her lungs hurt and she was forced to slow to a walk. She kicked over a fence into a field, although it was early in the morning the sky was clear and the sun beat down on her back. She found some sticks and started throwing them at a tree to practice her dart throw. She was rubbish. She threw her sticks for ages and did not hit the tree once with any force.
Damn.
She began to doubt herself so quit with the sticks and practiced climbing the tree instead, which she was better at. She sat in the branches and sighed, looking out at the rolling Welsh countryside.
She wondered what everyone from White Manor was up to. Terry was probably killing people. Literally. Oliver… she shuddered. He wasn’t even worth a microsecond of thought. Stacey would be having some serious fun as always. Boys, sleepovers and parties was probably not the best combo, Luisa worried about her; hopefully she was being somewhat sensible. Although she had no doubt she would hear every little detail of what’s gone down. She thought about Matthew, trying to remember what it was he said to her outside of the school with that big cut on his lip. Something about his Aunt?
She smiled, he was a strange one that boy.
Would she ever get home?
She tried not to think of a scalpel slicing through her mother’s head. She gripped her pendant and closed her eyes.
The horrible falling feeling gripped her. She could feel tears spring to her eyes.
No. I have Cataindar.
She slid down the rough bark and then threw herself into all the exercises Finn had shown her, kicks, punches, rolls, cartwheels, press-ups and tuck-jumps, she did them all. By the end of her workout her whole body was burning. She forced her aching legs to run back to her grandmother’s. As she approached the imposing house the memory of her defiance stung her. She decided she would go in right away and apologise, just get it done with; she had to live with the woman for now after all. She entered the house and found her grandmother in the lounge, back straight reading a book.
Luisa stood in front of her.
“Gran, I am sorry for swearing.”
Her grandmother looked at her for a moment. The ice was still in her eyes.
“Repeat but please call me grandmother.”
Luisa gritted her teeth.
“Grandmother I am sorry for not listening to you and for swearing, but I really needed to get out of the house and I wanted to go for a run.”
Her grandmother looked at Luisa over her reading glasses.
“Luisa you are forgiven, and you may continue to go on runs, but if you see a stranger, you do not talk to them. You do not look at them. You come right back here without question. Those are my terms, understand?”
Luisa jerked her head,
What? That’s weird.
But she felt she had a good deal so nodded in assent.
“Very well. Now for swearing at me you may spend the rest of your day in your room. Goodbye.”
Luisa was aghast; it was two p.m.! However her grandmother’s attention had already returned to the book. Luisa gave a sigh and trudged upstairs.
Her Grandmother came up a few moments later with a large jug of water and a glass. She set it on the counter and left without saying a word. By four p.m. Luisa decided she would break her room confinement to test if she could bring food back to Cataindar. She wanted Clearwater to try a chocolate bar. Creeping downstairs she carefully peeked around the corner of the lounge and saw her Grandmother through the window tending to the garden. Max was behind her helping; she was teaching him the names of the plants. On all fours Luisa scrambled through the hall to the kitchen. She fetched two Dairy Milk chocolate bars from the treat cupboard and stealthily made it back to her room.
Unlucky Gran.
Her victory was short lived; it was only 4:05 p.m.
Bored.
She read a whole book.
The hours felt like days and hunger began to gnaw Luisa’s tummy. She waited, and sat on her window sill watching the sun set. Her mum had never grounded her before.
This is bloody rubbish.
Finally, night arrived. She brushed her teeth and changed her clothes and lay in bed waiting, chocolate bars in her pyjamas pocket, stomach growling. Eventually sleep came, and her hand instinctively found its way to her pendant, taking it in a gentle hold.
--
Thank you!
Hello everyone! Wow - what a weekend I had. I am back in England and was just best man at my best friend' swedding. It was such a fun time, delivering the speech was a bit of pressure however! :-)
Pics are on my twitter! @TEJJohnson
Last day in London before I head with my family to the English country for the week. Hoping for lots of time for editing (thank you so so much for the suggestions guys) and reading. I am also hoping the weather will be kind :-S
I hope you enjoy. :-)
As always your votes and comments mean the world! Thank you!
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Cataindar
Action#1 for a month on the Fantasy-Action Hotlist. Wattys2015 Winner. Fourteen-year-old Luisa is focused on staying under the radar at her rough London school, relieved that the summer holidays are soon to begin. Exploring the ruin of an abbey at ni...
