The Exiled Gem

The Bloodless Method

Alexandra had expected a good welcome at the council. It had been six months since she had last visited this place - and a part of her was scared that she would have forgotten the way to the meeting room, or to the arenas, or she would have forgotten which shelf of the library the epics were kept on and have to ask for small directions as if it was her first time there. But nothing of the sort happened, the bridge was lowered routinely by man who was in charge of it (he sat on the long wall of the Council boundary so that the tossed coins or badges were visible to him). 

As if in a routine, he greeted her with, 'How's your blade, Mable?' because spies asked of each others' health by asking of their "blade". 

'Shiny and sharp, thank you!' She returned, grinning. In her fifth year, she had received the bridge duty quite a lot, and it was fun to catch the tossed coins, or catch the glint of a badge being shone her way. Even as she thought of her fifth year, Alexandra registered how different the Council felt, all of a sudden.

She had just crossed the bridge and then - silence.

It looked like there was no one around, like everybody had deserted the council and left. A lone, dry wind blew past and it carried some of the sand from the arena with it. She frowned and stared at the melancholy scene, wondering if she ought to go back and ask the bridgekeeper what was going on.

Deciding against it, because bridgekeepers seldom knew what was going on in the council that day, and taking upon herself, the mammoth task of finding out where everybody was, 'Hello?' Alexandra called out. Then she had another look around herself, turning behind and frowning, 'What's going on?' She muttered to herself.

KA-BOOM!

Alexandra covered her ears and cowered. She heard many more explosions around her - what was making it, she had the least idea and neither did she want to know. And then, as if it were the commonest of things that could have happened - she was enveloped by familiar people: all doubling over and laughing.

'She was so scared!' A fifth year said, holding his stomach.

'Exactly, did you see the way she cowered?' Someone else supplied.

'But it was my idea!' Watson reminded, not wanting to be left bereft of the credit of the plan. Unfortunately, that meant Alexandra got the wind of it too. And she registered, for the first time despite seeing him about each day, how Watson had grown a little different from what she had expected him to. The slightly pointed ears were the only "elfish" feature of his, because otherwise, his blue eyes could be quite captivating and mature and his reckless courage quite enamoring.

'Oh, your idea?!' She hissed, as she pulled Moira out.

'Oh no,' said Owen and Hans, who were the only other two in the council from her year. But they apparently didn't have much intelligence when it came to fun.

'Oh yes,' said the others, 'Now starts the real fun!' And maybe it did, because Alexandra chased the Elf around the council for several hours later. She discovered that she hadn't forgotten anything and was quite as good with the ways as she always had been. 

'Fine - fine! I'm sorry!' Watson said, right in front of the lake. Ducking and laughing at the same time as Alexandra slashed Moira in the air, subconsciously registering the how differently he laughed from Liam.

'Not yet!' She said, pushing him back, right into the Lake. Momentarily unbalance, he fell backwards and then resurfaced, laughing harder. Swimming up to the Lake's end, where Alexandra sat down in a final act of forgiveness, he climbed out of it, twisting the water out of his wet clothes.