Young Writers Society

Let me know what you think! I'm not too happy with this one All reviews are welcome, I really think I need some help in going over my work. Thank You for everyone's comments so far!!

“Its good to be awake. Oh, and call me Esme.”

End of part 9

*

Something flittered across Zahra’s expression, it only lasted a moment but Esme could clearly distinguish her confusion. She’d never called herself Esme before, always it had been Esmerald. But now it didn’t seem right. She wasn’t Esmerald, just like she wasn’t Holly. She was this new person, a combination of a human from the present, young, scared yet determined and plucked from her life to provide the body for another- and a powerful, ancient being who had unusual abilities. It was peculiar, odd. But Esme thought she might like this new her.

“Esme.” Zahra repeated, an all-too-happy grin spreading across her face. “Welcome Esme!” As she spoke she turned to the audience- the strange collection of observers that kept a safe distance from Esme. At her words they all burst into applause, similar smiles appearing on their uncertain faces.

Esme felt a small glow of satisfaction.

They’re unsure of me. They don’t know how I’m going to act or what I will do. They’re nervous.

It wasn’t just the power she held that amused her, but the thought that they had no idea. The girl they had only hours before mistreated, was now part of the one they now applauded. Esme kept her face blank, keeping her pleasure hidden.

As the claps and cheers petered out, Zahra turned back to Esme, searching her gaze for some indication as to how she felt.

“How did you find coming back? Everything ran smoothly, I trust?” She kept her voice casual but her stare betrayed her interest.

You have no idea…

“Oh yes, everything was… perfect.” Esme recognised the alteration in her own voice, it was stronger, clearer.

Zahra nodded, her eyes still fixed on Esme‘s face. “Would you like to come back with us now? The living accommodations are not what we were once used to, but they satisfy.”

“I think I’d like that.” Esme had no idea how grand the housing was, Holly had seen snippets of it but her journey had been mostly confined to narrow staircases and the cold stone room she had been imprisoned in. A thought came to her. “But first, you don’t perhaps have a mirror by which I could see my new form?”

Zahra gave another slight nod. “Joseph, Lauren, bring the mirror.” Joseph and a pale, blond girl were quick to follow her orders, disappearing for a moment behind the crowd before returning, a full length mirror held between the two of them. The border was a swirling of silver, the metal flowing like liquid in sweeps and curves, the reflective piece glinted from the growing light of dawn. They placed it carefully down, a few feet from where Esme sat.

That’s me?

She did not look like Esmerald- she hadn’t expected to. After all, Esmerald was long dead, she was in an entirely new body now. She wasn’t Holly though- distinct changes had taken place, altering her features to resemble a mixture of her old and new self.

The limp brown hair that had once reached to her shoulders had darkened, it was now a deep and lustrous black that curved gracefully. She didn’t look like the starved followers before her- her jaw line was sharp and cheekbones prominent but in no way did she resemble the corpse-like bodies she had once cowered from. True, her skin was pale, but it was smooth- a soft cream, absent of any slight speckling of freckles. Her nails were longer, her lips fuller, but most significantly her eyes were a vibrant green- their previous murky blue rejected for a mesmerising colour that glowed back at her.

She raised one hand to brush the dips and curves of her face.

I’m beautiful.

A cough nearby broke the spell the mirror had created. She turned away from her reflection to meet Zahra’s curious gaze.

“Shall we go then?” Esme asked, the question more of a statement than actually seeking Zahra’s answer.

Zahra gave a twitch of a smile, followed by two sharp claps, “Lets move.”

It was as is a switch had been flicked. Everyone jumped into action. Two grabbed the mirror that Esme had been looking into, hoisting it onto their shoulders and moving off at an impossibly fast pace. Esme herself hopped off the throne she had been sitting on.

Her weight was different, she felt light, as if she could float away. The gold dress she was wearing she could truly appreciate now that the fear had gone. She admired the shimmering material as the rest of the group bustled around her, clearing away all trace of them ever having been in the clearing. It was the type of clothing Esmerald would have worn, delicate and beautiful. The chair she had been sat on was quickly picked up and carried off down a small winding trail- what Esme presumed was the path she had been led down only hours ago.

Zahra caught her eye as Esme gazed at the scene around her. “Everything alright, Esme?” She put emphasis on her name, raising one of her eyebrows in an exaggerated imitation of concern.

“I’m brilliant, Zahra.” She flashed a bright grin, truly feeling her happiness.

Esme began to walk past Zahra, towards the pathway that she presumed led back to where she had come from. Movement was easy, it was as if she could will herself to be anywhere and in a split second she was. It was brilliant. Half of her hadn’t felt this was for an impossibly long time and the other had never experienced it. The wind brushed past her as she sped up effortlessly. The slight stinging of it against her skin was the only indication she had that she was moving any quicker- she didn’t breath faster, her muscles didn’t strain, she might as well have been standing still.

This is so easy!

Life rushed through her veins, she felt amazing. The trees flittered past her vision, blurring into one long stretch of green and brown as she wound inbertween their branches faster than could even be visible to the human eye. She felt alive. This was living, this was what it was like to be in this world- no longer ordinary or a floating outsider, to be powerful and real.

And then she was there. She stopped herself with a mere thought before the small hillock she had emerged from earlier that night. It had taken her hours to arrive at the clearing when she had been Holly- now it had been barely minutes. She had beaten the others there, she couldn’t see them even with her improved sight. Esme knew that logically she should be out of breath- but she felt fine. As if she had been resting, doing nothing at all.

The sky was even lighter now, time had passed since she had woken up. The tops of the trees looked almost on fire from the rising sun- an orange semi-circle that slowly rose on the horizon.

As her exhilaration started to dip, her mind brought her back to the more worrying problems she might face. She wanted to hang onto the thrill that buzzed through her, but a question popped up into her mind unbidden-

What do they want me for?

Thanks for reading!