The Children's Home

Chapter 9: Betrayed!

TWs: None that I know of

CWs: Non-graphic depiction of an injury

AN: This is unedited work. I'll be going through the manuscript and making edits. When I edit the novella again, I'll be updating each chapter with the newest version. I apologize for any cringiness you may encounter. 

 A few months later, all ten of us (Amiyah had headed out five minutes earlier to set up the rope) nervously gathered in my room. The sun had set five hours ago, and all was eerily quiet. We anxiously sat waiting for the old clock in the parlor to strike midnight. I checked my very beat-up (but still working) watch.

"11:50," I read.

Toby turned to leave but paused. Fishing in his satchel, he pulled out a leather scabbard with a design that matched the emblem on Firebrand.

"I found this. I thought ya might like it, Arwen," Toby sheepishly explained. "It's a beauty, innit?"

"Oh, Toby, thank you so much! Why, it matches Firebrand's emblem exactly! I bet that's its scabbard."

A blushing Toby smiled before racing out into the dark night. We waited ten more minutes before the clock started to chime.

I counted twelve bongs. "C'mon, guys, let's go!!! It's midnight!"

Everyone except Leah and Vanessa rushed out of the room, making as little noise as possible. In a matter of mere minutes, we miraculously snuck out to the garden. Our feet made no noise on the cool grass. I'd made sure dresses were ditched—after all, climbing a stone wall in a dress, no matter how short, is near impossible. Boldly, Winnie ran across the well-trimmed lawn, somehow managing to look regal and elegant in an old button-down shirt and well-worn pants borrowed from one of the boys.

"Let down the rope!" she commanded.

The makeshift, rather colorful, rope was lowered. Confidently, she clutched it and securely tied it around her waist. Then giving herself a small push, she pulled herself up and over. A loud cheer went up, meaning she was successful. Then Aidan grabbed it and climbed over, causing another cheer to be emitted. Some of the others had just made it to liberty. I was about to risk it myself when I heard a sudden cry of alarm. Strapping on Firebrand, which I'd placed in its scabbard earlier, I hurriedly grabbed the rope and scaled the wall only to find...

None other than Lady Christine Folman, along with a whole army of children, awaiting us. We had been betrayed.

"Who did this?!" I screamed. "Which one of you would sink so low to tattle on us?!"

"If you are wondering, none one of this group you reported your little plans," Lady Folman coolly answered. "It was someone else. Agatha, it is well. You may reveal yourself."

A young red-haired woman with a French braid, leather armor, and forest green eyes appeared out of thin air, a cruel smile marring her otherwise graceful features.

"Agatha?!" gasped Winnie, putting the facts together. "I thought—"

"You thought you could trust me," finished the very familiar figure I knew to be Agatha Mullins. "Well, you were wrong."

"But you didn't act like this when I first met you!" I protested.

"Oh, that? That was all a façade. I cannot simply proclaim to new arrivals, 'Yes, I'm here to tell Mother—I mean, Lady Folman—all about you so she can determine whether or not she can draft you into her army of children with special abilities.'"

"Wait! Lady Folman...is your mother?" Hallie realized.

I shook my head. "No way."

"Yes, Agatha is my daughter," Lady Folman confirmed.

It all made sense now! Agatha must have pretended to have no relation to Lady Folman, which explained her apparent disgust with the noblewoman. But the one thing that still bugged me was Agatha's last name.

Did that redhead also lie about her last name?

Observing that the army was preparing for attack, Toby yelled "RUN!"

I snapped to attention and prepared for a long sprint. As I was about to flee, Lady Folman noticed me trying to escape.

"Stop right there!" she ordered.

I did.

"Ah, Arwen Robertson Ignis," she scoffed. "I have known you since you were but a baby, yet you are still most pathetic."

In a flood of memories, I remembered my last name. "How do you know my last name? And why is 'Ignis' added to it?"

"Tut, tut, all these questions. I shall answer them both. Your beloved father and mother were my employees. Of course I'd know their surname! Ignis, Miss Robertson, is a title given only to the most powerful Pyrokinetics. And before you ask, it was I—yes, I—who arranged for the death of your parents. It was I who arranged for you to be placed in your first foster home with Alvah Drake. I never expected that you would arrive at my doorstep, nor did I intend for you to. You have proved yourself, my dear Arwen, to be much too clever, but now, now you are in my grasp." She laughed evilly.

Recovering, she continued. "So, choose: join my cause and be spared, or remain loyal to your petty little friends and suffer. Which shall it be, Arwen?"

"I choose...I choose my friends. And before you slay me, let our weapons do the talking!" I drew Firebrand in a smooth, rapid movement.

Lady Folman threw off her sweater to reveal a dagger around her waist. She grabbed the hilt and drew the small weapon. Her lips curled into a sneer. "Oh, Arwen. You will never defeat me. But go ahead. Be a fool. Let us see who shall be injured first the most."

I lunged, thrusting my sword toward Lady Folman. She parried and then sent a well-aimed slash toward my face in the exact same location where Alyssa had cut me all those months ago. I used my sword to block it. Our weapons clashed, the air resounding with the echo of metal upon metal. For a couple of seconds, time seemed to slow down. Then our blades separated.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of energy. Taking a few steps backward, I charged toward Lady Folman. She attempted to parry me, but it was too late. I brought Firebrand down on her dagger. CRASH! To my surprise, it shattered. But my trusty sword was still intact—and unscathed.

"No!" she screamed, fear seeping into her voice. "Nemesis is unbreakable!"

"Well, I guess your Nemesis wasn't so unbreakable after all," I taunted.

Quickly, Lady Folman recovered from the shock of losing her trusted weapon. Frost began to form on her pale hands as she prepared for another attack. Right then, I realized how similar she looked to Winnie. But aside from physical appearances and powers, the two were nothing alike. Regaining my senses, I stabbed her left arm—hard. The injury was deep. Clutching her wounded arm, Lady Folman started to disappear in a flurry of snow.

Right before the snowflakes fully encompassed her and she vanished, she moaned, "I will return, Arwen Robertson Ignis! I will never forget this wound. Soon I will have my revenge! And then, then, you shall be sorry you ever dared do this to me!"

I stood in awe of what happened. Did I really just defeat the cold-hearted woman who'd made my friends' lives miserable? Then I let out a loud cheer. But my glory in my victory was short-lived.

"Arwen, 'elp!" a panicked Toby screamed, disturbing the silence of the early morning. "We're outnumbered!"