Elyssa was still in shock the next day of the grim's banishment. She hadn't done anything to trigger it, either; it just happened without any explanation. Her parents had been shocked when they had found out. How could it have been her?
      The shadow that had befallen on the colosseum was gone, vanishing after the grim was destroyed. She had been taken aside by a guard nearly a second later.
      "How did you do that?" he had whispered.
      Elyssa had replied, "I-I don't know! I just touched it."
      The guard looked back at the fading shadow. He looked at the confused people.
      "Strange that it targeted you of all people. Very strange," he whispered.
       Elyssa shrugged and said, "Why wouldn't it?"
       "It wouldn't because there were so many other people that were much closer; it picked you out of the entire crowd," he replied with a glare at Elyssa.
      Elyssa gulped. The guard grabbed her shoulder suddenly.
      "If you do anything suspicious like that again, report it to the authorities immediately! Do you understand?" he growled.
      Elyssa nodded and broke away from his grasp and walked back over the crowd. To her relief, the guard followed. She was bombarded with questions immediately, but she tried to block them out. She pushed through the chaos and out into the open street with her hands in her pockets. The ominous howl burned and seared her mind, it's echoing penetrating the deepest part of her heart. Long story short, it terrified her.

Present time

      Elyssa pushed open the door to her house and took off her jacket and placed it on the coat rack. Her father could be heard from the living room talking to her mother. Elyssa walked into the living room and her parents looked up from what seemed to be intense conversation. Her father smiled weakly.
      "Oh, hello, Elyssa. Why don't you take a seat?" her mother said, motioning to a chair that faced both her parents.
      Elyssa sat down and looked at her troubled parents with confusion. She shifted her feet as her parents looked at one another with concern, then looked back at her. Her mother cleared her throat.
      "Elyssa, dear, we, your father and I, well, we've decided that after yesterday's... Incident, that well, we would maybe let you be around someone who is more like you." Her mother wiped away a gentle tear. Elyssa was in shock.
      "Well, what your mother is trying to say is that we found someone who is more experienced with the world than we are. We realized how much of a target you could be, and if something were to happen to us you need to be able to take care of yourself in the wilderness. We are going to... Send you away, Elyssa. Not because we don't love you; we're concerned about you," her father said, looking at his feet when he said the last part.
      Elyssa stared at her parents with her mouth wide open. She couldn't believe her ears, and if she didn't know her parents had no sense of humor, she would have taken it as a joke. But her parents had no sense of humor. It wasn't a joke.
"But it's not permanent!" her mother put in quickly.
  Elyssa pretended not to hear. She stood up and ran to her bedroom. She was not going to believe it one bit. Her parents were sending her away. She landed on her bed as she opened the door to her room and buried her face into her pillow, crying. She let the tears stain the soft white case. She didn't care. It wouldn't matter, could it? The answer was no; it wouldn't.
      She sat up on her bed with tears in her eyes as her father leaned into the room.
      "Your mother and I forgot to tell you. You're leaving in two days."

Two days later

      Elyssa had been furious at her parents the next two days, and it broke her heart when her father leaned into her room.
      "He's here. It's time for you to go, dear." He picked up her small bag.
      Elyssa stood up from her desk and picked up her journal. She closed it and locked the bind before putting it into the front pocket of the bag. "Let's go," she said with a last look at her room before shutting the door and stepping down the stairs. Her auburn hair caught the shadows and seemed to say No! Stay here! She ignored it.
      A man with dark eyes and black hair was standing at the doorway with Elyssa's mother. They seemed to have been talking seriously, but the man looked up as Elyssa stepped off the stairway. He held out his hand to shake hands with her father, who looked at her.
      "Goodbye, Elyssa," her father mumbled with a dismal expression.
       "Goodbye, Father."
        The man took the bag and said, "Ready?" His voice was slightly gruff, but it was still distinctive.
         "Yes." Elyssa gave her parents a hug and stepped outside the door. She looked out at the blue, clear sky.
           It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The air was fresh and crisp, green leaves floated from the trees. One caught Elyssa's hair and floated down the autumn strands and crunched under her feet as it hit the ground. The man watched a bird as it floated over the blue sky. It had silver feathers, and if Elyssa hadn't known any better, she would've thought it was a silver bird. It's wings were tinted with the smallest rays of light, as if gold had found peace on the edges of it's wingspan. The stranger laughed to himself as a dog ran by with its tail straight up. It bounded past them and barked at the bird. The bird swiveled in the sky and dived in the direction of Elyssa and the stranger. It revealed to have a envelope tightly shut in its beak and gave it to the man as it perched on it's shoulder. Then it revealed more radiance to Elyssa; its wings were edged with gold! The dog whimpered and scrambled away after the bird squeaked a shrill cry at it. Elyssa watched the man open the envelope, read it quickly, and stuff it into his pocket. She didn't dare to ask any questions. The man muttered something to the bird and it ascended quickly into the sky, climbing and climbing the sky. It vanished after becoming a tiny speck in the sky. Elyssa watched and the man smiled at her.
      "That's Jay," he said.
       Elyssa nodded and watched another bird soar by. She was so full of questions, but she didn't know how to ask all of them. And yet, each one came to a perfect way to ask. Her mind must have exploded from the events that had taken place. She decided to ask one question, though.
      "I'm sorry, but I never got your name." Elyssa awaited the man's reply. She watched a ray of sunlight, and it seemed to sparkle on the ground with unending radiance and beauty. She took in a breath as she remembered the glow of that grim's eyes.
       "Alexius Blake. Yours is Elyssa Yaxen, correct?"
        "Yes sir."
         "Well, I guess it's you and me now."
         "Yes sir."

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Who else saw it coming that this stranger that has Elyssa was the man from chapter one? Tell me what you think!

P.S. I do not intend to steal plot lines away from J.K. Rowling by having birds carry messages; that is only intended for a better story line. Any Harry Potter references from Harry Potter are purely a coincidence and are by no means copied from the amazing Harry Potter series.

~Holly Pug