“Umm.....” Keylee dragged her attention back to the dense Awrythian Fairytale they were translating. In the summer, Keylee and Gabriel had a tutor in the afternoon. It was still very hot and the words on the paper seemed to swim before her eyes. She forced her brain to concentrate. A faint ringing noise sounded in her ears.
« Ce que j'ai vu m'a vieilli. Je suis le roi de la montagne de cuivre » The smooth, silvery words which had yesterday rolled of her tongue so easily, now fell awkwardly, like weighted leads, heavy and cumbersome. Keylee thought she could taste blood on her tongue.
“What I have seen has aged me so. I am the King of the Copper Mountains.” The simple effort of speaking these words aloud had drained Keylee and she fell back in her chair, fatigued. Aryle inclined his silvery head.
“Good.” He spat out the word as if it caused him physical pain. There was nothing he enjoyed more than pointing out Keylee’s appalling faults. “Now, Gabriel?” As Gabriel began to read in his sweet, childish voice, Keylee’s vision wavered and dimmed, like ripples spreading in a pool. She felt as if she were falling from a great height and when she tried to make a noise, her mouth would not open, however the noise boomed in her skull, echoing eerily......
Keylee knew that she was no longer in the classroom. She was outside, and the sun was streaming in like honey. She was in a forest, that she was sure. The maple and beech trees were widely spaced and a deliciously cool zephyr blew on her face as she sat up, confused. Keylee could not make sense of her surroundings; the forest was like no other she had seen. As she looked on, she saw smoke rising through the trees and got up, curious. She knew what this was now; it had happened before and she knew how to make it go away, but, she was fascinated. She still, after all these years had no idea what brought on the vision. She perceived a camp fire in the middle of a clearing, several men clustered around it, warming their hands and cooking meat. Keylee knew, suddenly, that in this dream, she was invisible to others. She stepped over the fire and walked past the men. There, on the tree in the middle of the clearing was a girl. She was tied up and gagged, Keylee noticed and her face was tear-streaked. Her head lolled to one side and her eyes were closed. Her golden dress was ripped and muddy. That was when Keylee noticed. She heard the roaring in her ears again and this time, embraced the blackness eagerly. The girl tied up to the tree was herself.
Keylee woke in her bed. The sun was low down in the sky and the first stars were beginning to twinkle dimly. She sat up and the world seemed to tilt forwards and dim. Keylee closed her eyes and put her cool hands on her temples. When she opened her eyes again, the world stayed where it should be, and there was only a faint trace of dizziness. She swung her legs round the side of the bed and touched her feet to the floor. Steadying herself, she limped slowly to the door. The sound of faint voices drifted through the half- open door. Keylee sat lightly on the top stair and leaned her head against the banister gently. It was dark and the hallways were draped with ragged shadows. There were the tiniest creaks and whispers all around her, the ancient house settling down for the night like a great animal.
“-tell me what to do! It’s going perfectly! In a few days, we’ll have what we would have had fourteen years ago!”
“We must have prudence, friend, for the hour is close at hand that we shall carry out the plan. It is of the most vital importance that she will not be harmed.”
“I don’t see why! A few broken bones may encourage-” The voice stopped suddenly. Keylee’s stomach churned and she leapt back up the stairs and through the ajar door of her bedroom. She lay on her bed and breathed deeply. In. Out. Keylee heard footsteps outside her room and had to fight the urge to jump up and slam the door.
“Still asleep?” a voice asked quietly. There was silence. Then the footsteps started again, away from her. Keylee sat up. She didn’t know what these men were planning, but it had something to do with her. And for almost the first time in her life, bar the few occasions she had talked to her father, Keylee was scared.
