New beginnings - Letter

Kate re read the letter for what felt like the hundreth time...

Dear Students,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted for enrollment at the Academy at Lillegard Castle. Below are very specific instructions on how to reach Lillegard Island. Please follow them as carefully as you are able.

Travel to Sindri's Cove, Scotland. Sindri’s Cove is a very small fishing town located North of Balchrick. Walk Southwest towards the sea. You will soon come upon a line of buildings facing the beach. The third building is painted blue with “Barabal Tavern” written above the door. You should go inside, where you will be waiting for an old man that goes by the name of Hendry. He is short and stocky and usually wears a worn brown coat. You may have to wait a while. When he arrives, present him with this letter, and he will ferry you across to Lillegard Island.

Do NOT lose this letter. There are only two ways to find the island; the boatman or by accident. Since by accident could take a while, we recommend you follow these directions well.

Good Luck, and we look forward to having you at the castle.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Everly
Dean Kale
Dean Odqura

No matter how many times she read it... it still didnt seem real! Of course Elizabeth had started packing the moment she tore open the envelope - barely bothering to read it she was so excited. Kate was... pleased, sure... but at the same time unsure. Not only were there the normal worries of 'a new school'.

"Will i fit in?
Will i be the youngest? Oldest?
Will anyone like me?
I hope i dont embarrass myself... "

But it was a school for people like her and Elizabeth... 'Gifted' is what Henry had called them. But now she had to worry about being the least 'gifted' or if they were like that boy she met with the water powers... wanting a fight to see who was better, stronger and more talented. Kate could feel a head ache brewing as she walked beside Elizabeth down the row of buildings. Elizabeth was whistling a tune so badly she couldnt understand what it was supposed to be as she skipped along searching for the 'Barabel Tavern'

Elizabeth was getting bored with Kate's constant re-reading of her Lillegard letter. She just wanted to get there! She started whistling some Lady GaGa as they wandered past a few buildings. They were looking for a building that said 'Barabel Tavern' so 'the boatman' could take them to the island...
Elizabeth was first to notice the building and started hopping up and down in excitement, "Its there! We found it! Haha!"
Kate continued dawdling over and didnt look half excited as Elizabeth, "Will you keep it down? Im pretty sure Australia doesnt want to hear you" Kate has such a quiet voice you wouldnt know she was there unless she lodged an arrow in your back.
Elizabeth skipped over to the battered door and rapped her tiny knuckles loudly on the wood.

The Barabal Tavern sat like a single tired blue flower amidst all the worn whites and browns of the other buildings along the sandy walk. The door was shut against the chill wind, but the jovial sounds of men warm with whiskey floated out from around the panels.

Inside, Hendry leaned casually against the bar, tapping the bottom of his empty glass on the wooden surface idly. He was expecting a couple students so he had made sure not to have more than one drink while he waited. He wasn't a man to be overrun by spirits, but it wouldn't do either to scare them off with the stench of whiskey on his breath. The old boatman groaned and denied a refill with a shake of his head, keeping his beady eyes on the door. It was then he heard a muffled rapping on the door and he quirked an eyebrow. No locals would knock on the local tavern door. It was either the new students or some poor lad who was too drunk to realize he was knocking on the wrong door.

Pushing himself away from the bar with a brief farewell wave to the 'tender, Hendry thumped his heavy boots across the wooden floorboards, pausing in front of the door, then harshly yanking it open. He stared down his nose at the pair of girls that awaited him on the other side and grunts, looking a little unimpressed, but he pretty much always looks that way. He stepped around them, facing the sea, then grumbles without looking at them, "Ye got yer letters?"

The wind was favoring the northward vessel today, he recalled from his journey to the mainland, which means that the trip to the castle over the sea should prove speedy today.

Elizabeth’s first thoughts of the boatman were literally – ‘Wow he’s tall’. Not the most intellectual but it was true, everyone is tall compared to Elizabeth but there was something about the boatman that made him look even taller. While Elizabeth was gaping up at the boatman gormlessly Kate stepped in and answered his question,
“Right here” She handed her hundred-time-folded letter to him.

Aesis glanced at the letter one last time, trying to pronounce the first word.
"D-D- Dee-ee- ay- er- S-tuh-ooh-dee-ee-en-tee"
---
Dear Student,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted for enrollment at the Academy at Lillegard Castle. Below are very specific instructions on how to reach Lillegard Island. Please follow them as carefully as you are able.

Travel to Sindri's Cove, Scotland. Sindri’s Cove is a very small fishing town located North of Balchrick. Walk Southwest towards the sea. You will soon come upon a line of buildings facing the beach. The third building is painted blue with “Barabal Tavern” written above the door. You should go inside, where you will be waiting for an old man that goes by the name of Hendry. He is short and stocky and usually wears a worn brown coat. You may have to wait a while. When he arrives, present him with this letter, and he will ferry you across to Lillegard Island.

Do NOT lose this letter. There are only two ways to find the island; the boatman or by accident. Since by accident could take a while, we recommend you follow these directions well.

Good Luck, and we look forward to having you at the castle.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Everly
Dean Kale
Dean Odqura
---
"....what's all this supposed to mean?" he asked himself in Elf.
Aesis then crumples up the letter and throws it off into the distance.
"Don't these people know I don't want stuff I can't read?" He sighed, "really, what do they expect me to be, a genius? PAH!" He spat on the ground in frustration.
He then started walking..southwest, and came across a blue building.
Aesis then looked at the letters painted above the door.
"...what."
Aesis, still confused about English, summons a banana and munches on it.

[[I've decided to make my illiterate-banana-elf find Henry on accident...and purposely losing the letter...
xD]]

[[ Im new to this... but i thought the replies were supposed to link?? Im confused now... so is Elizabeth ]]

(( Not necessarily. Because he's just joining the thread, it wont link with yours right away. It will when Aesis meets the girls and the boatman, which should happen in the next couple of posts. It'll work out, you'll see. We actually do encourage that people join threads, it's more fun with multiple people than just two.

And getting to the island is going to be very difficult without that letter. ^^;; ))

[[LOL Well, getting to an illiterate non-english speaker's head with English is harder. xD]]

(( okay - I didn't know he was going to link in with Kate and lizzie ,, I can't wait till they meet! ))

The boatman took the letter from the taller girl's hands and opened it carefully with his calloused fingers. The paper was worn thin, and almost ripped at its folded seams. He brought the paper close to his face, focusing on the signatures at the bottom. He took his time, allowing the girls the time they might need to worry that he might not accept the paper.

"Hmph," he grunted, handing the letter back to the same girl who had given it to him. He opened his mouth, about to hurry the girls along so they could take advantage of the wind before it changed. Then he noticed the boy standing in front of the tavern.

From under his deep set brows, Hendry watched the boy as he stared up at the tavern sign, eating a banana. The sight was odd, which made Hendry sure that this must be yet another student. He was tempted to leave the boy to figure things out himself, but ferrying them all over together would save Hendry some valuable time.

"Hey," he said roughly, aiming to get the newcomer's attention.

Kate turned in surprise to see who the boatman had called to. There was a guy standing there... eating a bannana? She folded her letter and shoved it into her shoulder bag and turned her head slightly so she could see Elizabeth. Elizabeth had done the same and was raising her eyebrows at Kate. That usually meant Lizzie was either confused or embarrassed , Kate just nodded and turned back to stare at the boy with the bannana...

"Hm?" He turned his head and abruptly stopped eating the banana as he heard the man call his name.
He noticed the old man and two girls staring at him.
"Wh-Wha? Why are you staring at me like that?! What do you want?" He yelled in elf.

Hendry blinked, his face straight. The loon was yelling in some strange language, looking rather affronted. The boat man grunted and rubbed his forehead in irritation, as if trying to sooth out the wrinkles his surly brow. Giving up, and giving the strange boy a stern glare, he made the universal 'come here' gesture by holding out his hand and waving it back to himself a few times.

"Come here, laddie. Ye gaein ti the Academy at Lillegard Castle?" Hendry decided that to bring the boy to the Academy where one of the teachers might be able to communicate with him would be the best course of action. It was already accepted that there was no way in hell that the boatman was going to put up with this for too long. He just hoped the lad would understand enough to get on the boat and sit tight until they got to the other shore.

Elizabeth jumped back a foot when the banana boy started yelling in a different language. It was like nothing she had ever heard before. She looked to Kate again who had a shocked expression plastered across her face, Elizabeth hoped she didn't have the same expression - she just can't work that look. Elizabeth side stepped to be next to Kate and stared up at the boatman, she couldn't read his expression at all. Suddenly he started beckoning the boy over to them, was he a student? Elizabeth just watched the boatman intently for any change that would show what be was planning to do next with her big ruby eyes...
"come here, laddie ye gaein ti the academy at lillegard?" he asked,
Elizabeth only understood half of what he had said but continued to silently stare...

He stared at the old man's hand intently, watching the gesture.
"Hu.." He had a blank look on his face, which was later replaced by a stern look.
"Fine, I'll come with you, just don't expect me to like it." he muttered in elf.
As he approached the man and the two females, he started to scrunch up his face.
"Oh. It's only humans. Nothing to worry about then." he scoffed in a rude maner, as he glanced at them.
He summoned another banana and nibbled on it, as he had nothing better to do.

The strange bannana boy wandered over to us muttering again in his strange language, he scrunched up his face as he got closer and said something Elizabeth was pretty sure wasnt a good thing. Again he conjured up a bannana out of no-where and started to munch... Elizabeth was curiuos and kind of scared at the same time, she switched her stare to the bannana boy.

Hendry glared down at the munching elf. There was something cocky about this boy that he didn't quite like, but the teachers could deal with it. Switching his stern expression from the boy to the two girls and back, he sighed unhappily.

"Weel, lats git ye ower ti the boat, than." The weathered man turned towards the sea. "Hits ower this wey." The heavy boots made dull thuds as Hendry crossed over the moist sand, away from the tattered town and over to a small dock, where a small boat was holding fast. The wooden planks were groaning under the weight of the man, and as he made his way to the end, the dock wavered in the water. All the other boats were out with their fishermen at this time, the only one left was a bare brown, big enough to fit about five people. Looking expectantly at the three kids, he gestured to the boat.

"Weel, git in."

For the second time in the space of 10 minutes Elizabeth had no idea what the boatman was saying, When the boatman walked off she just decided the best idea would be to follow. Kate did the same, bit when they reached the end of the dock Elizabeth froze. She had known this was going to be hard for her with her fear of water but now she was actually here... She started to tremble and Kate gave her a worried look. Elizabeth clasped her hands to her chest and started to shuffle backwards, her eyes darting from side to side.

Kate couldnt tell if the boy with the bannana had understood the boatmans instructions, to be honest it didnt seem as though Elizabeth understood either... She followed the boatman down to the end of the dock where he gestured to the boat when Elizabeth stopped in her tracks. Kate had known this was coming but hadnt expected before she had even got in the boat... Elizabeth told her it was better now. They both knew if Elizabeth was fully submerged for more than five seconds she would die - 'I guess its the price of being the Fire Element....' Kate thought as she watched Elizabeth begin to tremble, Kate gave her a quick look but Elizabeth was already backing up, her hands clenched together in front of her.
"Come on Lizzie, you'll be fine" Kate whispered, "I promise" she added, holding her hand out for Elizabeth to hold.

"...what's that guy saying anyways?" He looked at the old man's gesture. "Oh."
He followed along and climbed into the boat. He turned back to see one of the two girls trembling in fear. "..what's her problem?" He noticed the other girl trying to help the scared girl, holding out her hand.
"..........what's wrong?" he asked in elf. Apparently, he forgot she wouldn't know what he was saying.
He then summoned another banana and offered it to the traumatic girl.

[[YAY FOR BIG WORDS BD]]

Hendry raised an eyebrow at the girl's strange behavior. He glanced at the boat, wobbling on the water's surface. As the pieces started fitting together in the man's mind, he sighed again. It seems he's been doing that a lot more since he started ferrying kids over to the Academy. Gripping his jacket and pulling it tighter over his shoulders, he crouched down to be level with the scared girl.

"Listen, laisse, as I see it, ya hiv twa choices: ye can git on the boat, or ye can gae hint ti wey ye cam frae." Hendry's stern glare was set, and even though he wasn't really trying to be mean, he wasn't taking steps to be nice either. All he knew was that he was setting of this boat in 5 minutes with or without this girl.

Lizzie stared at the boatman for a moment, was there no other way of getting to lillegard? Probably not... , before grabbing kate's thin hand and squeezing it tightly, her own hand barely half the size. She took one more look at the boatmans stern face before carefully lowering herself down into the boat - it was a lot more distance for her. Kate followed, never letting go of her hand. Elizabeth wrapped her arms round kate's and tucked her knees up to her chin. Suddenly she noticed the strange boy holding out... A banana? Elizabeth shook her head and whispered " thanks ". She couldn't believe she was going to risk her life ... For school! What is the world coming to....

((lol ))

Kate really didnt think this was a good idea - Lizzie and water shouldnt mix... If anything happened she would never forgive herself. Lizzie held on tightly to her and tucked up her knees. She looked like a scared toddler.
" Could... Could she...fly?" Kate asked, "A-above the boat i mean" She added. Elizabeth looked up hopefully...

The boatman stepped in to the boat, now that all the kids were in and seated. It wobbled slightly with his weight, but nothing too drastic. Reaching over, experienced hands unwound the tether, collected the rope inside the boat, and shoved off away from the dock. Standing straight once again on his sturdy sea legs, Hendry looked down at the two girls, expression set to his default unimpressed.

"Nae. Juist sit tight." The boat man felt the wind brushing against his face, a familiar feeling on his weather exposed skin. The atmosphere was still right with them today, and it favored their direction. This trip would be fast. Leaning down, Hendry gathered the sail and proceeded to go about setting it up on the mast. The fabric was quick to fill with air, and the force pushed the boat forward. Grunting, the man then made his way to the back of the boat. Sitting heavily, he grabbed ahold of the rudder. He set his gaze off into the distance ahead of them, experience seeing what others could not.

Elizabeth gripped Kate tightly as the boat began to move. She hated being so close to water and water didnt particularly like her... Hopefully this would be over quickly, she felt... wrong - she definitely didnt belong on a boat. She nudged Kate and pulled her eyebrows together, Kate could always understand what she was feeling - she knew all her little gestures and movements.