Jessie's Story

Jessie is sitting by Cross Over Lake. She looks at her reflection in the black murky water. She sees her black skin that turns purple-blue wherever the sun hits it. She looks at her hand. "I like my skin. I have dark rich tone with just a trace of colour. My skin is normal." Says Jessie

She looks in the water and examines her wings. They are large dull whitish colour and made out of webbed bone. "I like my wings. They are a sign of my strength in self bone working."

Jessie leans into the water slightly and grimaces. Her braid has fallen over her shoulder and it now reflects in the water. The long copper strands glisten and reflect light.

"I hate my hair." Jessie flings the braid back over her shoulder. "Why couldn't I have been born with a dull coloured hair like everyone else?"

Jessie hears footsteps she looks behind herself. She sees a boy who is more akin to a shadow than a human. The boy reaches down and picks up a rock.

Jessie launches herself into the air and starts to fly away. The boy yells. "No wonder you're not aloud to go to school. You really are a freak. Bone wings are for show. They show necromancy strength. They aren't for flying. The density needed to support weight would be too heavy to attain flight." The boy continues to rant but Jessie is now too far away to hear the rest.

Jessie ignores the boy and continues to fly away. This isn't the first time that someone has told her that she can't do something that she has already done.

**

Jessie reflects on when she was little and her mother, Ella, showed interest in her. Jessie's mother tried to dye Jessie's hair but the dye just kept running off. So her mother dampened her hair and coated it in ash. Jessie was then paraded out into the great hall which was full of adults. Jessie was uncomfortable and nervous, because she had just the week previous finally got feeling in her wings.

"Now be a good girl Jessica. Go walk around and be polite to people." Warned Jessie's mother.

Jessie walk around and no one noticed except one man he was staring at her the whole time. Jessie twitched her wings. A look of shock crossed the mans face then he stared at Jessie harder. "Hay, Ella your daughter has properly portioned and fully developed bone wings pretty early, doesn't she? You must be very proud" Yelled the man to Jessie's mother who was across the room.

Jessie's mother hurries over. "Yes John we are very proud of her for that."

The man stares at Jessie intently. Jessie twitches her wings again. She looks even more uncomfortable. The man stares harder and with determination in his eyes. Jessie shifts her weigh uncomfortably then pulls one of her wings over her shoulder and scratches it. The man's jaw drops. "Bone isn't designed to bend" he stammers.

Jessie's mother slaps Jessie hard and then yells for the butler. "GET HER OUT OF MY SIGHT RIGHT NOW!"

Jessie is rushed out of the room. She starts to cry.

**

"You know looking back the reason that I was so uncomfortable is because that man was trying to do bone working on my wings. And bone do bend they bend at the joints"

Jessie flew on.

A raspy voice calls, "Can you come down here for a moment? "

Jessie flies on. "They can't be talking to me. No one ever talks that nicely to me." Jessie looks down she is above The Forest of Passing. "Not many people climb trees in The Forest of Passing. So who are they calling?"

The raspy voice calls again, "I'm not used to being encored. Come down here so I can talk to you."

Jessie looks down she is above a clearing and there is a lich right below her looking up at her. Jessie lands in font of the lich. Jessie asks, "I'm not that interesting. Why do you want to talk to me?"