A New Beginning

Chapter Two

"Hurry up Elizabeth!" yelled Anastasia. She glanced at her watch. "You have two minutes!"+Elizabeth shrieked. She couldn't take a shower in two minutes! She huffed in annoyance. If she had set her alarm clock the previous night before going to bed she wouldn't have slept in and thus would've had more time to shower."One minute!" shouted Julia, taking a look at her own watch. A smile played on her lips. There was no way Elizabeth could accomplish this feat!"What's so funny, Julia?" Elizabeth asked smugly. She waltzed out of a shower. "Didn't think I could do it?"Julia's faces turned pink. "I--"Elizabeth interrupted, cackling. "I'm James Bond, ma'am! I can do anything!"Anastasia laughed. "Not here, you can't, Bond!Elizabeth scowled playfully. "I didn't say I'd do it all here, Romanov." She pointed a finger at the door of the outhouse, giving her hair final pat. "Onwards to breakfast!"The three girls sauntered into the dining hall, grabbing some eggs, bacon, sausage, and orange juice from the food tables."This is absolutely brilliant," remarked Elizabeth. "I love eating a feast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"Anastasia smirked. "Absolutely brilliant, huh?"Elizabeth's face darkened. "Oh, shut up. Don't make fun of my accent!""What's there to make fun of? British accents are awesome!" pointed out Julia. "I wish I had one." She popped some eggs into her mouth."Yeah, me too!" concurred Anastasia."Me three," said a voice.Elizabeth whipped her head around. Her green gaze met familiar dark blue eyes. "You already have one, Matthew."Matthew feigned a look of confusion. "Oh, that's right. Darn."Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She was about to retort when the General stopped by the table, her gray eyes sweeping over the four youths."Hello, agents," greeted the General, nodding."Good morning, ma'am," returned the agents.The General turned to Anastasia. "Agent Romanov, I have a favor to ask of you.""Anything, ma'am," replied Anastasia with a smile."I was hoping you could give Agent Bond here a tour of the fort." The General placed a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "Normally, I would do it myself, but I have other matters to attend to." She exchanged a look with Matthew. The action did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth, who raised an eyebrow. What did the general have to do that involved Matthew?"Sure thing, ma'am!" Anastasia answered, saluting."Great! Thank you, Agent Romanov." The General turned to Elizabeth. "I hope you enjoy the tour, Elizabeth." She smiled and walked out of the dining hall, the doors slamming behind her.Elizabeth stared at the doors, shocked. "What... How... She...." Elizabeth looked at Anastasia. "She knows my name!"Julia took a sip of her orange juice. "That's just scary. And impossible. How could she know?""Well," started Anastasia. "Remember last night? You said that someone here might know you, but you don't know them."Matthew coughed uncomfortably. "I'm, uh, I'm going to go join some of my cabin buddies." He stood up, taking his plate of food. "See you later."The three girls watched as he walked away to another table filled with guys. "Now that's suspicious behavior if I've ever seen it," observed Anastasia.Elizabeth gave Anastasia a confused look. "Whatever do you mean?""I mean," explained Anastasia, refraining from rolling her eyes, "that Matthew might be the person that knows you."Elizabeth almost choked on her sausage. Julia gave her a few pats on the back. Once Elizabeth could speak, she gave Julia grateful look and turned back to Anastasia. "That can't be!""Why not?" countered Anastasia coolly."Well, I... He... But...." sputtered Elizabeth. She gave up. "I don't know! Let's just not talk about it, okay?" She shoved a piece of bacon into her mouth.Anastasia sighed. "Okay, whatever. Once you finish eating we'll go on the tour, okay?" She glanced at Julia. "Do you want to come?"A regretful look crossed her face. "Sorry, I have to go to spell training. I'm almost failing."Elizabeth swallowed her bacon forcefully. "Spell training?"Anastasia laughed. "The first thing you need to know in Fort Unicorn is that magic is real. Just don't share it with the outside world," she warned. "They'll think you're crazy."Elizabeth shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Her mother had sent her to this place because she wanted her to learn self-defense, not learn to be a wizard!"Don't worry, you'll go to spell training soon," Anastasia reassured, as if Elizabeth actually wanted to recite spells."I suddenly have no appetite." Elizabeth stood up and dumped the remainders of her food into the nearest trash can. "Can we go on the tour now?""Sure!" Anastasia stood up, her face brightening. She faced Julia. "See you at lunch?"Julia grinned. "Of course."Anastasia then proceeded to grab Elizabeth's arm and pointed out every single building they passed: more dormitories, a random church, a library, some more outhouses, a gymnasium, and heaps more. Somewhere in the middle of the tour Joann stopped by."Hey, y'all!" said Joann with a dazzling smile. Elizabeth waved shyly. "What's up?""I'm giving Elizabeth a tour of the fort," replied Anastasia. "Want to join us?"Joann scrutinized her watch. "Sure, I've got a few hours before I go take care of Sparkles.""Sparkles?" wondered Elizabeth."Yeah, he's my cat!" answered Joann brightly. "Well, kind of. He's a mix between a cat and a pegasus.""A mix between a cat and a pegasus?" echoed Elizabeth, bewildered. Pegasi exist?Joann tittered. "Yeah, pegasi are real," she clarified, as if reading Elizabeth's mind."Shall we get on with the tour?" suggested Anastasia, a hint of impatience in her voice. "You're not the only one with a time limit, Joann."Joann narrowed her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. "Oh really? What do you have to do that's so important?"Anastasia looked smug. "I have a ten minute meeting with the General in an half an hour."Joann gasped. "No way," she whispered."What?" Elizabeth switched her gaze between the two females."Usually, if you're requested to have a meeting with the General, it means you're getting a promotion," explained Joann begrudgingly. It was obvious she was jealous.Anastasia waved it off. "Let's continue the tour."Joann and Anastasia showed Elizabeth a great deal more of places and buildings such as a pool and spa building, an obstacle course, the drilling course, the track and sports fields, the armory and weaponry building, tight roping course, a music building-- Elizabeth was surprised that there would be a necessity for such a building-- a rock wall, computer and science labs, stables where mythical and magical creatures were kept... Long story short, Fort Unicorn was absolutely massive. By the time the trio had finished the tour it was four hours later-- lunch time."Oh. My. Gosh," complained Elizabeth. "I'm starving!" She tugged Anastasia by the hand to the dining hall. Once inside, Elizabeth piled two sandwiches, a big scoop of macaroni and cheese, and a big handful of chips onto her plate."If you were truly starving, you wouldn't have all this awesome food," Anastasia pointed out.Elizabeth couldn't wait for Anastasia to obtain food. She took a big bite of her ham and cheese sandwich, standing next to Anastasia. "Ugh, this food is fantastic!"Anastasia chuckled. "Wow, you were really hungry!""Well it's not my fault this place is so huge it takes four hours for you to show me every single bloody building!" Elizabeth shot back, grinning."Well, well, well, using British slang, I see."Elizabeth pivoted her head and saw Matthew behind her at the food table. "Do you have a problem with that?""No need to be hostile!" Matthew had a look of mock hurt on his face.Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll be hostile when I want to. It just so happens that right now is one of those times, so back off before I smack your face so hard with a pillow you'll break your neck." She turned her back to him and pulled a protesting Anastasia to a distant table, far away from Matthew. Elizabeth didn't feel like dealing with his jests and jokes.Anastasia took a seat opposite from Elizabeth, studying her face. Elizabeth felt highly self-conscious, and took dainty bites despite wanting to take huge monstrous bites.Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore. "What?! Why are you staring at me?"Anastasia burst out laughing, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She doubled over, almost falling off of her chair. Elizabeth frowned. What was so funny?Finally, Anastasia controlled herself and beamed at her. "What you just told Matthew was unbelievably hilarious."Elizabeth shrugged. "I was just stating my feelings. I didn't want to talk to him.""Are you actually going to smack with a pillow so hard he'll break his neck?" Anastasia asked, still smiling widely.A thoughtful look took over Elizabeth's annoyed one. "If he comes over here, yeah."Anastasia laughed again, her eyes looking past Elizabeth's head. "Then you might want to get a nice, big pillow right about now!"Elizabeth whipped her head around and saw Matthew approaching their table. She groaned in frustration and looked back at Anastasia. "Where's the nearest pillow?" Romanov stood up, grasped the cushion from her chair, and handed it to Elizabeth. "Thanks!" Elizabeth flashed her an evil smile over her shoulder as Matthew came up to her. She switched her grin with a frown."What do you want, Matthew?" growled Elizabeth, hiding the cushion firmly behind her back."Nothing," Matthew lied, a tad bit confused. He knew he annoyed her to great lengths but he wasn't sure why she was being so antagonistic."Wrong answer," Elizabeth said simply. Before Matthew could say anything, much less react, Elizabeth raised the cushion with force and hit Matthew's face with a loud slap."Think before you speak." Elizabeth smirked, staring down at Matthew who was currently on the floor, cupping his reddened cheek gently."What the bloody hell was that for?" grunted Matthew, staggering back to his feet."Nothing," mocked Elizabeth, tossing the seat cushion back to Anastasia.Matthew grinned, ignoring the bruise that was forming on his face. He didn't think Elizabeth could hit that hard! "You haven't changed a bit."Elizabeth scrunched her face up in befuddlement. "What on earth do you mean?"Matthew's eyes widened. He had just made a major mistake. "Uh...""Hey, Matthew!" shouted a voice from the other side of the room. "Get your butt over here!"Matthew let go a small sigh of relief. "See you guys later!" He waved to Anastasia and Elizabeth, high-tailing it out of there and making a bee line for the source of the voice before either girl could say a word."What the..." Anastasia trailed off."My thoughts exactly," agreed Elizabeth, shaking her head. "Next time I see that chap I'm going to make him explain or else I'll smack the other side of his face and give him another bruise." She sat back down, stuffing chips into her mouth.Anastasia giggled. "Did you see his face when he saw your pillow? It was one of complete and total shock and then--" here Anastasia clapped her hands for effect, "--bam! Pillow comes in contact with target!"Elizabeth chuckled evilly. "He better give me a bloody good explanation or we're going to see that face again.""What face?" Julia suddenly appeared in the seat next to Elizabeth with a plate of food in front of her."Matthew's face," elucidated Anastasia, tittering again at the mental image.Julia munched on her sandwich. "What about it?""Elizabeth?" said Anastasia, smiling. "Care to explain?""It will be my pleasure," returned Elizabeth. She swiveled her gaze to Julia. "You know how Matthew teases me a lot?" Julia nodded. "Well, I got fed up with that when he interrupted my glorious feast, so I threatened to smack him in the face with a pillow so hard that he'll break his neck." Julia exploded with laughter. "I didn't give him a chance to say anything in my haste to get away from his annoyingness, but he came to our table anyways. So Anastasia gave me her seat cushion and I smacked him in the face as hard as I could. I think I gave him a bruise."By then, Julia was holding her stomach, guffawing at the story she had just been told. When she calmed down, she gave Elizabeth a bright look, her sky blue eyes sparkling. "I definitely need to see that happen again."With that comment came Elizabeth's master plan to assault Matthew with pillows in his dorm.It was after dawn, and breakfast was far away. Most agents, soldiers, and officials of high ranks were in their beds, sleeping peacefully. With the exception, of course, of three malicious, plotting, teenagers and other agents who wake early to train.Anastasia adjusted the two pillows under her arms. She looked up at the ocean blue sky that was scattered with fluffy clouds. "Isn't the sky so pretty?" She sighed wistfully, staring at the beautiful round moon that still shone at this time of hour.Elizabeth flicked Anastasia in the forehead. "Keep your mind on the mission!"The mission was to knock on Matthew's window, which was right above his bed-- information that Julia had gathered by following Matthew at bed time. Julia grinned at the memory of how oblivious Matthew had been; she had stepped loudly on a stick, making a sickening crunch. Fortunately, Matthew didn't even pause."This is it," Elizabeth whispered.----"Gee," Elizabeth picked up Matthew's limp arm and let it go, "We hit hard." Anastasia snorted and hoisted the unconscious agent on her back."I'll take him to the infirmary," She said, puffing a curly strand of bronze hair out of her eyes, "Be back in a moment." She shifted Matthew, and then headed to the infirmary."Hey, there's Joann," Elizabeth heard Julia say, so she turned around and saw the familiar face of Joann approaching."Heya," Joann greeted them, "Where's Anastasia off to?""Infirmary," Elizabeth replied with a sly grin, "we knocked him out with pillows.""Him?" Joann tilted her head."Matthew," Julia supplied, "There was a pillow fight-""And you knocked him out," Joann finished, "Nicely done, ladies. Hey, Elizabeth, did we get you that Unicorn Shield?" Elizabeth shook her head."By the time the tour was over it was time to eat," Elizabeth said, "How important are they?""Very, very important," came the voice of the General, and the three whirled around to face her with a salute."General," Joann said, the senior of the group."Agents," The General replied, "Where has Agent Romanov gone?""The infirmary, ma'am," Joann answered, "Agent Kirkland has been rendered unconscious, and she took him." The General nodded."Understood," She said, "Bond, ask Romanov to get you that shield- she knows more than most. And maybe she'll tell you the story. As you were." And the General turned on a polished heel and marched off. The girls relaxed. Elizabeth turned to her companions."Story?" She asked."A long one, I've heard," said Julia, "Maybe Romanov- er, Anastasia, will tell you.""And maybe she won't, I would understand if she doesn't," Joann added darkly, "But here she comes now. Get that shield, Elizabeth. Well, privet, Agent." Joann spoke the Russian word with an accent as Anastasia approached."You need to work on your pronunciation," She said, "Just met up with the General, got my orders. Let's go, Bond. You'll need that shield." Noting the usage of "Bond" rather than "Elizabeth," the girl followed her fellow to a large armory. Anastasia pushed open the heavy wooden doors and the two stepped into the smell of leather, metal, and peppermint."Peppermint?" Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at the scent."Da," Anastasia replied, "That is, yes. That smell is the Unicorn shields. Follow me." Elizabeth tailed Anastasia through the shelves stocked with weapons of all shapes and sizes, and all the while, the minty scent grew stronger. Finally, they reached a shelf that was ceiling-to-floor and covered the entire wall. All over it were large circles made of a material that looked like opal. It glistened in the dim light and cast rainbow colors all over the place."Whoa," Elizabeth breathed in awe, "What're they made of?""Unicorn hair," replied Anastasia, her voice a little proud, "The very stuff zhat-I mean, that, repels magic the best." She looked over at Elizabeth, looking amused. "You looked like a- how is the expression? - Kid in a candy store. Go ahead, touch it!" Eyes gleaming, Elizabeth reached out a hand and tentatively laid a finger on the shield. She was surprised to feel the roughness of it, as if it was woven. But how could it be, when it looked so smooth? "You like that one?" Anastasia asked, "Try it on." Elizabeth gently picked it up. "It can handle more than that, Bond. Try it on!" Elizabeth glanced at Anastasia, and then slipped the band onto her arm. The shield seemed to change, molding itself to her arm and as much as she shook it, it stayed on. It had a firm grip, almost like those blood pressure things the doctor puts on you, though the shield was far more comfortable. It stretched as Elizabeth flung her arm around."Whoa," She panted, "Cool. What will we need this for?" She turned to Anastasia."Monsters and magic is everything we're trained for here," Anastasia replied simply, "Follow me," She headed for a long, wooden desk on the far wall. Walking to the corner, she lifted up a quill and dipped it in a pot of black ink. She then selected a sheet from a cupboard and began writing, the brilliant blue of the feather twitching as she wrote. Elizabeth peered over the tall girl's shoulder. She saw her writing information in a slanted cursive."Sign there, Bond," Anastasia stepped back and handed the quill to Elizabeth. She took it nervously. "You can't sign with a trembling hand, Bond." Anastasia said, with an amused light in her eyes, "Dip it in the pot and sign on the dotted line." Elizabeth took a deep breath and put the quill tip to the paper, making her signature loopy with a grin."That's cool," She said, laying the quill down."Isn't it?" Anastasia blew on the wet ink and slipped the paper onto a stack with others of its kind. "C'mon, Bond, it looks to be time to train." Anastasia jerked her head and she and Elizabeth headed out to the fields. And who should they see first?"General," Anastasia saluted, and Elizabeth followed suit."Agents Romanov and Bond," The General glanced at them. "Lap, now. Then join the march. Romanov, I need you to do a perimeter check. Don't forget your shield." She warned the last sentence after Anastasia nodded."No, ma'am," She replied vehemently, "I will remember my shield." The general dipped her head."Good. Take your lap first. Bond, you can join Romanov on the check. Dismissed.""Thank you, ma'am," The girls chorused and the general walked away. Anastasia sighed."Ugh, perimeters check," She groaned, "Let's go take that lap." They headed to the large training field, watching as the Agents on the soft, springy grass sparred with various weapons and shields. The two started up on a slow jog, but Anastasia picked up the pace near the end and Elizabeth kept up with her. When they finished, Anastasia looked around."Let's go pick up our shields," She said, "I filed yours away. Come on, let's get it." And they were back to the armory. Anastasia got the shields as Elizabeth let her gaze wander around the interior. Over the sharp blades and blunt ends, the double-sided swords with one handle, and when Anastasia popped out with the shields, she tore her eyes away from a particularly nasty-looking knife and took her shield."And now," said Anastasia, "Perimeters check." She grabbed one of the curve bladed one-handled swords and slung it over her shoulder. They headed through the fields and past the cabins until they reached a tall barbed wire. "The perimeter.""What do we do?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at the towering fence."Patrol," Anastasia swept her hazel gaze around. "We head north first. And that's," She looked around again. Then she pointed left, "That way. Ve-I mean, we, just walk the border twice, and then it should be shower time. Let's go." Hoisting her shield on her arm and her blade on her back, Anastasia started off. Elizabeth took large strides to keep up. She bit her lip, wondering about that story the General, Julia, and Joann mentioned earlier. Maybe she'd ask now. They were finishing the second lap when she cleared her throat, speaking up."Anastasia?" She began. Anastasia flinched a bit, but replied without looking around."Yes?" Elizabeth looked at her feet, counting the leaves she crunched before continuing."Will you tell me the shield story?" She peeked up just in time; otherwise she would've tripped over her fellow."You want the shield story?" Anastasia's voice was low, "Why?""Um, Joann, Julia, and the General got me interested," Elizabeth replied, "You don't have to answer if you don't want.""I'm surprised Joann would mention it but I suppose you have the right to know," Anastasia turned and seated herself on a tree stump, leaning her blade against a tree. "Take a seat, Bond. This'll take a while." With a sigh, she began. Her voice took on a sort of rhythm, with her accent a tad more pronounced."It was when I was first recruited. The General-that is, the old General, assigned me and Joann to take out a dragon near camp. I've fought dragons before- it wasn't hard. I didn't pack my shield. I had metal arm guards for the fire. I didn't know why she assigned Joann too, but I didn't question orders. We scoped the territory, and when we found the lair, Joann went to check around. I waited outside. Just as the bush stopped rustling, I heard the slither of scales. Turning around, I saw the dragon. Or, the dragon's head. It was ugly and scaly and green and massive," She shuddered, "Its nostrils flared and its eyes were like two smoldering coals burned into the front of his face. He was bigger than anything I'd ever seen! And when he snorted out purple fire, I knew I was in trouble. Purple fire is a sign of magic. And though I had metal guards-which worked fine for regular fire- I didn't have my unicorn shield for magical protection. The guards would melt."Despite the terrible fright I'd gotten, I could still think. I drew my sword. This one here, matter of fact," She patted the handle of her blade, "First slash, I hacked off a chunk of its scales. It howled and blew fire at me. I dodged it. I slashed. It breathed fire. I dodged. This went on for a while- I knew I would tire soon, and then the dragon would- how do you say? - fry me. And I let my mind wander on the fact (something I never do anymore), and the fire licked my shoulders. That's the mark here," She paused, lifting up her sleeve to show Elizabeth a pale mark shaped like a sloppy splash, burned onto her skin. Her voice sunk in volume so much Elizabeth had to lean in to hear."I don't remember much. I remember screaming like I've never screamed before, or since. I remember Joann crashing back through the bushes, with fierce looking eyes and a look on her face of absolute, pure terror when she saw the scene. She's never made that face again..." She drew a shaky breath and Elizabeth let out one of hers that she didn't realize she'd been holding. "The dragon reared its ugly head and spat fire. But Joann threw her Unicorn Shield up, blocking the blast. She looked at me. I had silver pouring out of my shoulder like blood, a searing, melting pain." Elizabeth saw the pain in her hazel eyes as she relived the moment. "But I knew what Joann wanted, and I picked up my blade with my good arm and waited as she sprinted to the dragon, ducked to avoid a flame, and popped up under the dragon's neck- its only weakness. I threw my sword with all my might, and Joann caught it, driving the end into the dragon and killing it on the spot. Had I had my shield, I could have fended off the fire, and when Joann returned, perform a similar maneuver to kill it. But I was stupid and didn't bring it. Bond, remember your shield. It just might one day save your life." And with that, she upped and left, leaving Elizabeth to stare after her retreating figure.