Fairytale Island

As children we believe in magic. We live in our own made up world of pure magic. For some children this world can be a marvellous fairy-tale land just for their enjoyment. For others it can be an escape from when our innocent eyes first notice the ugly teeth of this world. At the point we realise that it will take bites of our souls for as long as we live. For Lara and Camille it was the latter.

Prologue:

Lara and Camille Hale were still children when their parents died in a car accident. Their aunt Dorothy took pity on them and let them into her house even though she already had four children of her own. The two eldest had already moved out when Aunt Dorothy took them in. The two younger children, Emma and Collin were almost the same age as the Hale sisters. Like aunt Dorthy her children had facial features of a fat rat. The problem was Collin also acted as one. Always stealing cookies and stuffing his face in little corners in the house, that was if he wasn’t snooping around or spying. Emma on the other hand would use any opportunity to get her cousins into trouble. On time Collin had stolen some of the freshly baked cookies aunt Dorothy had made and Emma told her the thieves were Lara and Cammi. Lara had just taken the fall for both of them, since she knew there was no arguing with her aunt and as a result she received a whooping. Lara therefore strongly disliked her cousins so she and Cammi mostly kept to themselves in their little room in the attic. Though the attic was mostly cold and filled with spider webs the girls were happy, they had it all to themselves and the view. They could easily see the lake which had an island in it, just a little bit from the house and the fields and trees that grew along side it.
The house itself was secluded deep in the countryside. There were about 20 miles to the nearest neighbour though the church was closer than that.

Chapter 1: The island.
The heat was blistering one day Aunt Dorothy wasn’t home. She and Emma had gone of to town and would be home again later that day. Collin had gone with only to be dropped of at a friends house. Truthfully Lara thought her aunt didn’t like the idea of her own children being alone with her nieces. She thought every mischief done in the house was either done or instigated by the sisters. Though it wasn’t nice of her it suited the girls nicely.
Cammi had been crying most of the night, missing her parents, and had finally fallen asleep when the others had left the house. Which left Lara with an entire day to spend just by herself.
She walked around the house for a while before walking outside. The warm weather made her sundress cling to her skin and all she could think about was to just jump in the lake. As she walked to the tiny shore Lara noticed the tiny rowboat and thought one day she might sail in it. Lara was well aware that aunt Dorothy wouldn’t let any of the kids swim or sail in the lake, so for now she decided to just stick her feet in.
”One step more won’t hurt me” Lara said to herself after standing in the shallow water and stepped a bit more out into the cool lake.
”Maybe just a little more. My dress will have time to dry”
The water now reached the hem of the dress at the knees.
”A step more maybe. I can swim. Aunt Dorothy won’t have to know.”
Like this she went further and further out until she had to stand on her toes to keep her head over the water. Quickly she looked around to see if Dorothy had returned and she would be scolded. But she wasn’t. What Lara did see was something she had seen many times before. The island. In about the middle of the lake was an island. From the shore of her house you could see the shore and a lot of trees and bushed but nothing more. It wasn’t a small island either; it filled a large part of the big lake.
Until this moment mischief had never been a part of Lara but the sudden freedom gave a rush.
”Maybe I should just swim a little closer” She mumbled but before she knew it she was already at the island’s shore.
As she walked up from the water she noticed some of the nearby-bushed carried raspberries. Lara decided to pluck a few before lying down on the sand. Before that she hadn’t noticed the sounds beside the birds and lake but when she plucked the berries she thought she heard something whispering and stepped away. After slightly backing away she sat down on her knees and looked at the bushes. Trying so see anything or anyone, but she couldn’t.
”Come out. Don’t be scared, I don’t bite.” Lara called out towards the bushes.
”I not scared!” A voice called back.
”Well you’re still hiding.” Lara teased.
From behind the bushes a boy sneaked out carefully. A boy approached her. He looked dirty she noticed. Maybe he didn’t have an aunt to keep him clean as aunt Dorothy did her. Always making her scrub and scrub until her skin was all red and smelling of stinky flowers. The boy hesitantly sat down in the sand a little away from her. She shook her head and moved a little closer before stopping because the boy looked like he was going to run away. Instead she held out her hand for him to shake.
”I’m Lara” she smiled.
He looked at her hand and held his out likewise but without touching her.
”Christopher.”
”Nice to meet you” She didn’t take his hand to shake but just pulled it back and buried it in the warm sand.
His ears were longer and a little pointier than normal she noticed so Lara brushed off her sandy fingers and held them out to touch one pointy ear. He did not shy away from her this time but just looked at her curiously as she touched his ear.
His hair was a golden brown and his eyes’ had the mixed colour of a green forest in summer and ice blue as a winter’s lake.
”You have funny ears.” She grinned. Promptly he stuck out his tongue at her.
”All of my friends have ears like this. It’s your ears that are weird.”
”What kind of friends do you have then?”
”The fairy kind. ”
”You don’t really, do you?” Lara asks him. She didn’t believe him one bit but she thought it would make a nice story for Cammi.
”I do too! They live here on the island, haven’t you ever seen them?”
”No, I’ve never been here before. Aunt Dorothy doesn’t want her kids to swim here.”
”Is she a witch?”
”No! Or not always. Why would you say that?”
”Because witches don’t like water. They melt if they get wet. Don’t you know anything?” Christopher stated as if it would make complete sense to anyone else and rolled his eyes. Lara was so interested now she didn’t care for anything except the stories.
”Are there witches on the island too?”
”Of course! There is only tree right now though. They had a sister but they tell me an evil girl splashed her with water so she melted. That is why I wouldn’t come out from the bushes”
”Because I’m a girl?” Lara asked.
”Yes! The witches say girls are very mean and I should stay away”
”How so?”
”They will melt you! I just told you!”
”Sorry. Are there other things on the island?”
”Some trolls, the fairies, talking trees, a mermaid and the dragons of course.”
”Dragons?” Intrigued Lara crawled a little closer.
”Sure, but they aren’t a big as some think. They are the size of bats and only come out at night. And they can be really annoying! They will hide anywhere that’s warm. Once I had one in my bed! Almost sat on him too! And the witches, well they don’t like them at all! The dragons keep eating their ingredients for potions! Sometimes I help them find those in the woods and let me tell you, those frogs they want are hard to catch!”
”It sounds wonderful! Do you live with the witches?”
”Not always, mostly I spend time with the fairies. The witches house smells like potions and it’s not nice!”
”I would love to meet your friends some day” Lara said thinking out loud.
”Really?”
”Yes! I have never seen fairies or trolls or witches!”
”Then come with me” He smiled jumping up ”We’ll go see them right now!
Lara sprung to her feet but noticed that the sun was slowly setting, and knew if she was not home before aunt Dorothy, she would be in big trouble.
”Christopher!” She called. He was already on his way towards the bushes again. He turned around and walked to her. He thought she looked a little sad but didn’t understand it since they were going to see the fairies.
”I can’t go. I have to get home before aunt Dorothy. She’ll be really mad at me if she knew I was out swimming all the way to the island.” She said sighing.
”Can you come again?” He asked sad to be saying goodbye so soon.
”Next time my aunt isn’t home, I will. I promise! Will you show me the fairies then?”
”Yes.”
”How can I find you?” She asked and he grinned.
”Just call my name really loudly! The fairies will hear you and come tell me. You just wait on the beach for me”
Lara smiled at the strange boy who was smiling just as wide. Quickly she gave him a hug, jumped back into the lake and swam back to the house.