The Wait

Chapter 2

This story is set in the heart of a huge, overgrownl wood, where there was a pretty cottage decorated in delicate, pink flowers. An elegant, white horse stood next to the house attached to a carriage. This carriage was very different to the normal ones. It was long but very thin. There were two seats, one behind the other, and a wooden box at the very back. Inside the box were heaps of strange maps and plants. The seats looked comfortable but didn't look very safe. This was because the trailer had no barriers on the side, back or front to prevent people from falling off it! Inside the house it was as peculiar as the cart! It had no walls except from the front and the right-hand side! In front of the right wall, was a little wooden table. Plates were neatly laid out on one side and on the other was a small, hot fire. On the fire was a black cooking pot with strange purple balls sizzling away inside. "Is it nearly ready yet Bella?" enquired a tall, tanned woman. The lady seemed to fit in very well with her strange surroundings because she was wearing a very unusual outfit. She had a long, frilly skirt that matched her red and gold top. Her sandals were encrusted with tiny rubies and her jewellery was all golden. But, what definitely caught your eye when you saw her was her bubblegum blue hair! It started off being navy blue, but ended in a baby blue! "Yes nearly! Just a few more minutes!" smiled Bella. "We should wait for the others though, Zina. They will be home soon." "Sure!" sighed Zina cheerfully, "But where's that cheeky goblin? Thorn! Come here now!" They suddenly heard a loud clash of pots and the sound of running feet. The door burst open and, there stood a small, ugly goblin sporting a bright blue coat and huge, pointy ears. The green goblin rushed in and banged the door shut. "What now?" screamed Thorn, "You told me to feed Marina and Salty and I was doing that! Thorn this, Thorn that! All the time!" "Calm down." said Bella as she hoisted him up from the floor. He had tripped over a loose floorboard and was thrashing his arms and legs around wildly. "I wanted to ask you if you had seen any of the others." replied Zina, as though nothing much had happened. "Well I would've told you if I had, wouldn't I?" yelled Thorn, "That would have been the most obvious thing to do! Do you think I'm dumb or something?" "Well, you did steal a load of gold from Gemstones! And ..." bellowed Zina angrily. "We are supposed to ask you to do whatever we want." interrupted Bella quietly. "This is your punishment. You shouldn't have taken any of the savings should you?" "I wanted to! Goblins aren't enslaved anymore!" shrieked the goblin who was slowly going pinker (that made him look a muddy brown colour). "You are!" Zina shouted, "So be quiet and carry on with your work!" "I was!" mumbled Thorn, but did as he was told. It was steadily getting darker and the two girls were beginning to grow very tired. In the back left of the cottage, Zina sat by a clear, blue fountain. It was only a meter tall but seemed rather large as the room was only about seven meters long and six meters wide. Bella was brushing her long, mouse-brown hair and was resting on a heavily cushioned chair next to the fountain. In front of the chair was a tiny table, on the table sat a steaming blue drink. A couple of feet in front of the fountain, under and arch, lay Thorn, fast asleep in a little bed. On the table beside him was a couple of bottles full of slimy potions. "Zarla!" said Bella, so suddenly, that Thorn nearly awoke but then drifted back off to sleep, as she extended her one of her arms and fingers in front of the fire. Immediately, a table appeared and some stools bounced out of the sky and positioned themselves carefully in front of the new table. "Emmelinia!" shouted Bella quieter this time. Then some plates came flying from the table they were on, to the one that was being accompanied by the stools. Then, out of some drawers near where Thorn was sleeping, came half a dozen forks, knives and spoons. They were closely followed by pretty patterned mugs. "Done!" said Bella joyfully. "Good, and the right number!" "Yes! Me, you, Anastasia, Heather, Millie and ..." "Amanda!" they said at the same time. "Yeah, if they find her." informed Zina, "They would have been faster if they had taken Marina or Salty. On the other hand, I don't think they would be welcome there." "I agree! Just imagine if they made them invisible. They would be fine, except, if anyone spotted them soaring through mid-air I'm sure they wouldn't be too pleased, they only just got rid of all the Witches. They were terribly wrong! Not one Witch died, only innocent, normal doctors!" "Well, Witches weren't harmed but Wizards were, and Giants." Zina mumbled quietly. "We should go to bed, I think maybe they got lost on the way." "Ok." replied Zina. They both stood up and jumped over the fence at the back. Then they walked into another room, which was next to the fountain but separated from the main room by a few wooden panels, that had three beds (one was a double) a table and a glow-in-the-dark potion on a tall stand. The two people slipped into the double bed together and fell fast asleep in the warmth of their blankets.