Ebby Flint and the Sword of Sorrows (Book 1 in the Artis Trilogy)

BartholoMEOW

Chapter Five - BartholoMEOW

"Bartholomew," I say.

"Yes, Eboni," the cat answers.

Upon realizing I just said the cats name allowed, I say, "Uh, sorry, nothing."

"Bartholomew, Bartholomew," I repeat, catching the attention of Naeri walking in front of us. She gives me a questioning look.

"What?" the cat harshly says.

A smile spreads across my face. "Bartholomew. You're a cat named Bartholomew. Don't you think your name should be Bartholomeow?"

Naeri erupts in laughter from in front of us. She turns around; her hair bouncing happily. She gives me a bright smile, but her face drops to a stern one when she sees the cat giving her a dirty look. She clears her throat and turns around. "Urm, sorry,"

"I'm glad that terrible pun on my name has brought your spirits up, Eboni," Bartholomew says in a dead voice.

Although he's being sarcastic, he's correct. I've been in a mood ever since I found out the truth about my real life. I'm no longer the Ebby Flint I used to be. I'm not the student who goes to school every day wishing to become a teacher. I'm not Terri and Derek's daughter. I'm not Marcus's best friend. I've been stripped of those titles, but I've gained new ones. I am the daughter of Rowan and Juliana. I belong to the Kingdom of Artis. And I am a witch.

I'm a witch.

Witch. The word is still so foreign to me. Of course, I've heard it before in movies and stories. But that's fiction. Witches are fiction. Magic is fiction. This is fiction.

"Oh, Ebby, don't go back into your head, please," Naeri says, stepping back to walk beside me. "I know this is a lot to handle. Well, I don't know personally, but I imagine this is a lot to handle."

"I...I know. Trust me, I'm trying not to think about all this. It's just hard. There's a whole new world that I didn't even know existed. I just...feel so much smaller, you know?"

Naeri nods. "I get it. I really do. When I was portal jumping, I went to so many new places that I didn't even know existed. I was just one small speck in the universe."

Bartholomew eyes Naeri suspiciously, "Well, aren't you two quite the existentialists."

"Shut up, Bartholomeow," Naeri says jokingly.

The cat hisses at her, and his tail fluffs up to three times its original size. Bartholomew trots in front of us, leaving Naeri and me behind.

"So, how far away is this Kingdom?" I ask Naeri. After I finished my 'meltdown' at Temporis Falls, we slept in the cave until the sun came out, then we decided (or should I say Bartholomew decided) to head out to the Kingdom of Artis. We've been walking for hours, and it didn't help that we were going at the speed of a cat. My feet are sore and blistered. If I could go back in time, I would've put shoes on before I jumped into the portal. Luckily my pyjamas have completely dried from the falls.

"It's not too far now. We'll probably reach it by tomorrow morning. But we'll have to make camp soon because the sun's starting to set," she says.

The hair rises on my arms, and I stop in my tracks. "Camp out here? With the Trolls and the... who knows what else?"

Naeri laughs. "Oh, Ebby, I forgot you aren't from Artis. Remember when we crossed the cliff? Well, we're now on the Kingdom's side. Everyone is peaceful on this side. They're all under the law of the King. If you go against the law, you go against the King. You risk being banished to the Badlands."