Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

[Ella Mage]

Don't come home for christmas
you're the last thing I wanna see
underneath the tree.
merry christmas
I could care less

Another Christmas had been and gone, leaving behind only the fast fading memory of crakers, faity lights and christmas pudding. A small girl with honey-blonde hair lay on her bed, stairing at the dark celing; on which clouds of purple, red and white swirled menecingly. An old wooden trunk stood next to the bed; the open lid of which revealed an untidy assortment of clothes, spell books and CDs.

"Ella? Ella, come down please. Silverwing is here." The girl rolled her fiery crimson eyes and rolled over, putting the lid back on a small bottle by her bed before slamming the lid of her trunk down. She dragged it out into the hallway, pausing one last time to glance back to her celing, where the clouds had vanished, leaving a cold dark void in their space. The girl smilled slightly before continuing to drag her trunk along the hallway and down the stairs of her parents' manor house.

"There you are Ella! Hurry up would you - Silverwing is waiting." her mum tapped her foot inpatiently on the paving stones outside and looked at the nobel, silvery-grey dragon perched in the middle of their lawn. She gave it a look which clearly said "teenagers!" as her daughter swung open the door to Silverwing's carriage.

"Bye sweetie," she said, embracing her reluctant daughter in a huge hug.

"Bye mum. Take care." Ella let another rare smile play on her lips before lifting her trunk up into the carriage: she was quite strong considering how slim she looked. She went to get into the carriage before pausing in the doorway,

"Where are the twins?"

"Oh," her mum smiled, "Didn't I tell you? They'll be along a little later. You know what they're like - it'll be another couple of hours before they're ready to go."

"And Dad?" Ella added almost as an afterthought, although she could already guess the answer.

"He had to work. He sends his love though. Bye Sweetie. Don't forget to write."

"Of course I will mum." Ella closed the door to the carriage, which was still empty (she must have been the first) and took a seat by the window, stowing her trunk underneath. She felt the familiar rush of joy as Silverwing took of. Christmas had been OK, but she could never handle being stuck with her family for too long at a time and, although she looked him, she couldn't help feeling relieved at the though that every second took her further away from them.

She sighed slightly and waited for Silverwing to go collect the next person.

[Kia Rex]

Kia sighed as she wound her way between the never-ending sea of evergreen trees. She had grown used to the woods over the summer, but still found having to find her way from one part to the next very tiring. They were littered with trails and pathways, each leading in completely different directions. It had taken time for Kia to memorise their various directions and destinations, but with the help of the Miaku (a small village of witches and wizards who lived in the forest), she had managed to navigate her way around the woods for the past six weeks.

The Miaku had been friendly to her, but that was all. They had tolerated her simply because they had had no choice, and Kia was sure they were glad to be rid of her. But then, the feeling was mutual: Kia hated staying in the same place for too long, and she was looking forward to returning to the castle.

She emerged into a large clearing just in time to see a majestic dragon swoop down from the sky to land in front of her. She stood in front of him, surprised that her had managed to land in such a small space. So this is where you spent your summer, Miss Rex? The voice came not from the dragons mouth, but from the depths of Kia's head. "

Yeah, figured it would be as good a place as any." Unlike the dragon, Kia spoke out loud and gave him a half smile (usually as good as it got with Kia). "Are we good to go?" We can leave as soon as you're ready. Just climb aboard.

Kia shifted her rucksack on her shoulder and climbed aboard the carriage without looking back.

After winding her way through the various compartments, she finally found one that was nearly empty, with only one student sat down inside it.

"Hi." Kia said in the way of recognition when she entered the compartment. The girl was also in Tempest, but a few years below her. Kia had never really spoken to her much before but she had heard of her and had seen her around the common room a few times, so the other girl would probably know who she was as well.

[Ella Mage]

So far the trip had been quiet. Silverwing had stopped at a few other places and picked up other students, all of whom had taken one look in her carriage and walked straight past - she didn't exactly have a reputation for being the friendliest of people.

She had passed most of the time listening to music on her MP3 Player, thinking about the year ahead and what it would bring. After an hour or so Silverwing landed once more, only this time the door to Ella's carriage was pulled open and someone walked in and took the seat opposite her. Pausing her music, Ella looked up to see who it was.

Kia Rex. One of the most notorious witches in the school. Where Kia went, trouble always seemed to be close behind. It wasn't like Ella to be nervous around other people but there was something elusive and mysterious about the fifth year girl, and she couldn't help feeling a little nervous at her sudden arrival into the carriage.

"Hi. It's Kia, isn't it?" she asked, hoping that she came across as being more confident than she felt.

Ella glanced to her left, out of the carriage window, to take a look at her surroundings for the first time. She was somewhat supprised at the scene that greeted her: the forest around her looked baren and deserted, not the sort of place you'd want to spend your summer. She went to ask Kia about it but then thought better of it: the girl hadn't even answered her first question yet.

Looking back from the window, Ella contented herself with playing with her hair while she waited for the other girl to respond.