Bridge of Worlds ( On Hold)

Chapter 1

Silver

It was her sixteenth birthday. Lady Silver of the House Theris held still while her two maids braided flowers into her hair. Today she must look her best. It was the day of her Matching. Every child had a ceremony of Matching on their sixteenth birthday. If they were lucky, their Match appeared and they were bonded for life. Silver was a little nervous. What if there was no Match for her? And if there was, what would it be like to be bonded to a magical creature from another country? She fidgeted with the ribbon on the front of her dress. She had heard that some people could sense the emotions of their Matchmate. Would she? What sort of creature would her Match be?

"All done, my lady. " The maids curtsied. Silver looked at herself in the mirror. She wore an elegant day gown of sage green with ribbons lacing up the bodice. Her black-as-midnight hair was braided with myriad flowers and fell to her waist. She smiled.

"Thank you. You may go. " The maids escaped the room, chattering about what a big day it was. Silver put back her shoulders and opened the door.

"I'm ready," she muttered to herself. She went to meet her father.

He was standing in the manor's entrance waiting for her, one strong arm held out for his Matchmate to perch on. Skyelin is a crowned harpy hawk, regal and dignified. Beside Silver's father stood her oldest brother, Kellor, with his Matchmate Elira, a lioness. Kellor gave her a distracted smile. Her father looked her over briefly and gave a curt nod. He turned to his attendants.

"We are ready to go."
He strode out the door, Kellor following.

Silver tried to maintain her smile. No compliments or congratulations. Her father barely even looked at her. She sighed. She should have known better than to hope for her father's attention. It had been this way for five years, ever since her mother had died. Her father had buried himself in work and forgotten about everything else, even-- especially-- his children. Except for Kellor, who, as heir, had to be taught the running of the estate. Silver had hoped that now that she had come of age, her father would notice her, but he had still ignored her.

"Hey, Silly. You okay?" She heard the concern in her brother's voice and looked up.

Darrin, only a year older than her. He knew what it felt like to long for their father's attention. After their mother's death, Silver and Darrin had clung to each other, no one else caring about them. Darrin was her closest friend.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little nervous."
Darrin gave her a look that said he knew it was more than that, but he fell into step beside her as they descended the manor's steps to the carriages.

"Hey, don't worry about it. If even I Matched, you will for sure." The worry in his eyes belied his confident words. Eerie, his squirrel, chittered comfortingly to them.

"Thanks." She smiled at them as she was handed into her carriage by a footman. Darrin got in the other side with Eerie scampering up the steps.

"You look beautiful," Darrin said. "All grown up. "

Silver played with the end of her braid. "Darrin?" she asked. "What's it like, being Matched? And do you really feel each others emotions?"

Darrin gave a nervous laugh. "A little. But only when the feelings are really strong. And Eerie's a goofball. He almost never gets serious, just like me." Eerie swished his tail playfully in Darrin's face.

"I don't know," he continued. "It's weird. It's amazing. It's like, you used to be all alone, but suddenly there's this creature that's going everywhere with you. Suddenly I becomes we. And even when I don't feel his emotions, I have a sense of him just being there. He makes me laugh whenever I get sad. And he's a great distraction whenever I'm in trouble." He grins. Darrin gets into trouble all the time. Silver thought that he was trying to get their father's attention. But Darrin's charm and his endearing grin and, as he said, Eerie, often got him out of trouble, and their father never paid him any attention. It saddened Silver. Why couldn't their father just love them? Just see them for once.