“They will be tested and challenged. They must prove themselves worthy. We believe in their propensity for greatness. Without our fullest faith in them , from us all we may be lost."

The Symphony of voices

Lisa had insisted they all go for a walk after eating and drinking their fill, it felt good and Louisa inhaled deep breaths.

Louisa was convinced they were all going to pop and they of course hadn't. She had eaten more in one meal than she had in days. She was always on a diet of some kind trying to lose the excess weight that her mama had called puppy fat. It still hadn't gone anywhere and she was now eighteen damnit. She felt like a ball compared to her friends, she knew she wasn't that big but she was soft no matter what she did. Georgia had insisted she should dress to her beauty and ignore the haters. So she'd stopped hiding under tent-like clothes and had started to grow into herself even though she kept trying to lose, just a kilo.

Alex snuck up on her and wrapped their arms around her as they pulled her to a stop. "You look radiant today Chere." They purred in her ear. "The air is doing you good, you have colour in your cheeks and you will accept you for you." They grinned as they popped a chaste kiss on her cheek that was indeed glowing from the chill as Autumn began to show itself. The walk into the forest had relaxed them all and they had needed it.

They sat on the stone circle in the clearing, their regular meeting spot. The Autumn leaves rained down on them as a small gust of wind helped to remove the ever changing canopy.

"We need to hold hands." Louisa spoke low, out of nowhere her accent often jumped when she was scared or angry but it held firm in a flat Canadian tone "Don't argue just do it. Danger, there is danger approaching."

She had to be strong, something was coming and truthfully she couldn't be sure if there was a test or they were all going to be brutally murdered. She truly hoped brave and strong would be enough as her wide opened eyes were flicking about looking for what was approaching. She grasped out her hands and they followed her lead as the gust of wind became a gale and the clouds shifted fast until darkness descended like night on them.

"Don't let go, whatever happens. We have strength as one" Louisa screamed as the storm seemed to whip up the air around them while lightning charged the air around them. She nodded at Georgia who closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths. If she was the anchor she would have to keep them all steady and she would because she knew her friend was the most dependable of them all she had never let one of them down even at risk of meeting her guardians wrath.

She glanced at Graham who was obviously suffering but followed Georgia's deep breathing as their hands clamped tighter.

"We may never be fully prepared but we will always work together." Louisa shouted to the storm above them as rain now fell like a punishingly icy shower. Aiden nodded as he closed his eyes, then Lisa and then everyone except Louisa whose unblinking eyes was still seeking whatever was coming for them.

It seemed as each of her friends relaxed and breathing changed to a steady rhythm things improved and the storm lifted one small piece at a time.

"Perhaps all is not lost." The man who entered the clearing looked like he belonged to one of those medieval fayres and would be jousting sometime soon. She watched his gaze land and stay upon Georgia for what seemed like too long. "I know you believe the pen is mightier than the sword dearest bard, but there are times when what is needed is an actual sword. Only one here can yield my sword and she I fear may be too much of a little bird to do so with force but she will learn or we will perish." He placed the beautiful shining weapon next to Georgia before placing a hand on her shoulder. "You are of my blood, I believe in you."

Louisa shivered as the cold was really burying itself deep. "We can't just walk into school with a sword Sir. As pretty as it is. It is really very lovely but weapons are contraband."

"I understand that bard, if you want to address me properly then you should use your highness not Sir." He chuckled lightly as her mouth opened in a small O. "When my heir takes it, it will become what she needs and scriveners need pens so they can scribe do they not? When danger draws near and she needs the sword it will become that."

"Your heir?" Louisa's words came through chattering teeth.

"Indeed, seemingly random choices and happenings aren't always random. I believe you are all headed for greatness, for it must be."

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"I don't understand." She was sure her nose had turned blue.

"You will bard, you all will when the time is right for you to understand or you have progressed enough."

With one blink from her he wasn't there anymore and the air had cleared. "It has passed," she said before pulling her hands clear and rubbing them together to get some circulation. One by one they all opened their eyes and blinked.

"What was that?" Georgia said as she rubbed the shoulder that the stranger had touched absentmindedly.

"A delivery for you Georgia" she nodded her head to behind her.

Georgia turned around and they all gathered around the shining weapon.

"Woah, It's beautiful." Aiden's eyes went wide as he moved to pick up the sword but literally couldn't shift it from the ground. "How heavy is it? I can't shift the bloody thing."

"It's for Georgia not you Aiden or you David." Who had tried to move it after Aiden's failure. Georgia crouched down and she ran a finger over the sword's handle. "He said you were his heir and only you could wield it."

Louisa smiled as Georgia picked up the sword with seeming ease as if there was no weight to it at all. She braced herself to slice it through the air when they all stepped back to give her the space she needed and after one elegant swing it turned into a beautiful silver fountain pen.

"Did he say who he was?" Georgia asked.

"He didn't say so, but there was a definite implication." Louisa replied deep in thought considering what to tell them all. "He did look like he stepped out of medieval fayre." Her words had a soft laugh to them as they left her lips. "I have my suspicions about who he is but I'm not sure you need to know yet."

"Dude you're talking in riddles." Aiden laughed. "I'm way too cold to figure stuff out."

Louisa had turned back towards the school. "I think we will go back, get warm, dry and eat. I don't think I've ever felt this hungry. Oh and dudes dont have these." She pointed to her cleavage peeking from the slight v of her clingy wet thirst.

"Nope, not thinking that way dude." He laughed again as they all headed towards the school. "Though I gotta say Georgia either you are a lot stronger than you look or that magic sword of yours is something very special."

They were met at the door to their part of the school by Mrs Hodge who had her arms crossed and was shaking her head trying to look firm but the soft smile on her lips made her look so friendly, she was a warm person.

"Sorry we got caught up in the storm, it came and went so quickly but it dropped enough of the wet stuff so quickly that we got soaked." Louisa spoke as they all filed into the cold stone corridor.

"Go get warm showers, I'll bring up dinner and light the fire in your common room. Your fridge is full and your snack drawer full but don't be spoiling yourselves, it's roast chicken and all the trimmings now be on your way."

Louisa was the first out of the shower and with dry hair and comfy warm clothes the common room was bathed in a warm glow from the fire as the flames danced.

Each of their plates was piled high with all the goodness of a perfect Sunday dinner. Without waiting for the others she pulled off the foil keeping the heat in on her plate and filled her mouth with a steaming hot roast potato. It was worth the burn as the crispy exterior gave a wave to the perfect creamy and fluffy interior. That engrossed in her plateful she barely noticed as everyone joined her and they all ate in companionable silence.

Louisa was the first to break their silence. "Graham. Can I ask a question about something I don't understand?"

"Of course little miss scribbler." She hadn't realised that she had started to sketch again. So this was her new habit was it?

"You've talked about slowing time, yet our day seemed to have run as normal."

He nodded, "I'm slowing clock time as much as I can and it hurts but it is my burden to bear."

Louisa nodded as she pondered his words. "Can we help you in any way?"

"I know so little, let's be honest we all know so little but we will learn and grow together."

Everyone sat around the table nodding in agreement. "Time for sleep." Georgia said pushing up from the table, she was keeping her new pen near her. "Dream well friends."

Louisa laughed and she couldn't help it. "Can we really do this?" She went to the fridge and started to hand out sugary drinks then from the snack drawer chocolate bars. "When I woke up this morning I felt like my energy bar was at zero.”