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The new crop of freshmen is mostly pretty ordinary. They're fresh out of middle school, playing with new identities, seeing how the batch from this neighborhood react to the batch fed in from the other side of town. They're bonding or forming petty enmities over music and fashion and flash-in-the-pan romances; they're developing opinions about their teachers and the quality of the cafeteria and how early they have to get up in the morning to catch the bus.
Here, sitting by herself writing in a prettily-bound notebook, is a twelve-year-old. Must have skipped a couple grades.
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deepest_magic
against_all_trouble
It doesn't take long to find Arthur, he didn't wander that far. He stops dead when he sees Isabella.
"So you found your things, then?"
"So you found your things, then?"
deepest_magic
"Everything except the horn and the cornucopia! Oh, and I'm not sure what will have happened to my berry plant; it was in my window but that whole tower's collapsed. I'm going to look for it; if I can find it and it's growing, it's a good idea to replenish my healing cordial in case something happens."
deepest_magic
"Summoned help. Sort of idiosyncratically. I got it pretty late in my reign and never used it myself, but occasionally someone else would have it and blow on it, and someone - not someone in particular, but someone who was in a position to help them - would hear and know where to go."
against_all_trouble
"If they found your things, but left everything here except food and 'help'... I don't think I like the sound of that."
deepest_magic
"I don't think the cornucopia and the horn were in the storeroom or on my person at the time I disappeared, so it's not quite that concerning."
deepest_magic
"Mm-hm."
And, lighted staff leading the way, Isabella climbs around and rummages through ruins, until she is pretty sure that:
"The plant is either dead or relocated. But there's more of the cordial than it looks like - it'll be good for dozens, if not hundreds, of healings, and if we need that many before Christmas I'll be surprised. Although not floored, because we're here now for some reason."
And, lighted staff leading the way, Isabella climbs around and rummages through ruins, until she is pretty sure that:
"The plant is either dead or relocated. But there's more of the cordial than it looks like - it'll be good for dozens, if not hundreds, of healings, and if we need that many before Christmas I'll be surprised. Although not floored, because we're here now for some reason."
against_all_trouble
"Where do we go from here, then? Gather a few bags of apples and head towards the mainland?"
ladysunday
"I think there were a couple leather packs in the storeroom. You should see it anyway, Art, even what was left behind was amazing."
deepest_magic
"They'll be kind of worn out, but they're better than nothing, albeit I'm keeping my Earth backpack in the absence of my old bag. There does remain the question of how to get to the mainland when you two can't swim. I can walk there, I have shoes that will let me walk on air, but I can't take you with me. I could walk there and see if there are any boats, but if there's no boats and no creatures willing to give you a ride... I suppose I could attach the magic shoes to an arrow and shoot them back for your use? It's not that great a distance, I think I could make the shot with the good bow even with shoes throwing off the balance."
against_all_trouble
"I guess we do a circuit of the coastline? If someone lives on the island, they're probably near the water."
deepest_magic
"We've already been most of the way around it, but we can go the rest of the way, if you two aren't tired, since my scepter does light."
against_all_trouble
"That would be fine with me. Or we could wait until morning. Or try a raft."
deepest_magic
"Sure."
Isabella strides out, bejeweled and cloaked and even-striding and crowned Queen.
But there does not seem to be anybody living on the shore of the island, even though Isabella tries (dubiously) talking to two gulls, one tree, and the stream they found itself ("in case there's a river god").
Isabella strides out, bejeweled and cloaked and even-striding and crowned Queen.
But there does not seem to be anybody living on the shore of the island, even though Isabella tries (dubiously) talking to two gulls, one tree, and the stream they found itself ("in case there's a river god").
deepest_magic
"I'd sooner go for walking and then shooting my shoes over to you, but yeah, we'll work out how to get off the island in the morning." Sigh. "There's not really going to be anywhere comfortable to sleep; oh well."
At least the night is warm.
At least the night is warm.
against_all_trouble
And the apple trees keep off any rain and most of the wind. And then it is morning, and they are rested if sore.
"What's a good way to test shooting the shoes across the strait? Anything else we can hang from them?"
"What's a good way to test shooting the shoes across the strait? Anything else we can hang from them?"
deepest_magic
"Yeah, I'll get some of the old linens out of the storeroom and try that."
She gets some old linens and bundles them into a roughly shoe-sized configuration, and goes out of the ruins to find a clear way to try shooting it, but before she's loosed her burdened arrow, there may be seen a pair of men in armor, in a small boat, coming up the river and holding a struggling bundle.
She gets some old linens and bundles them into a roughly shoe-sized configuration, and goes out of the ruins to find a clear way to try shooting it, but before she's loosed her burdened arrow, there may be seen a pair of men in armor, in a small boat, coming up the river and holding a struggling bundle.
deepest_magic
"Either a person or a nonspeaking animal, but considering, I don't think I like the odds it's the latter," says Isabella, dropping her encumbered arrow and drawing a new one.
She shoots.
She grazes one of the soldiers' helmets; they drop their bundle in the water in a panic and wade away, abandoning their boat.
Isabella rushes forward to try to rescue the bundle.
She shoots.
She grazes one of the soldiers' helmets; they drop their bundle in the water in a panic and wade away, abandoning their boat.
Isabella rushes forward to try to rescue the bundle.
against_all_trouble
Arthur's not as fast off the mark, because he's watching where the soldiers flee.