Somewhat of a chapter...

This is something I wrote to introduce Annik into the picture. Please tell me what you think!

Annik stepped into the biting cold, pulling the door close behind her. She shivered slightly, trying hard not to cry. It was her 3^rd master this month, and she was running out of places to go.

‘It’s not my fault,’ she thought bitterly. ‘Humans just can’t deal with me having a power while they are helpless without us Puppets.’

She heaved her bag onto her shoulder, trying to avoid squishing Lang underneath her cloak. She searched for the book she had stolen in an act of rebellion. It was so old that the binding was falling apart, and the words almost unreadable. It was one of her former-master’s treasures, and she couldn’t bear the thought of him having such a precious book. Annik found the book with her few worldly possessions, and opened it up to her favourite page. It was an old prophecy, supposedly written by the creator of all Puppets, called the Puppetmaster. She read it out loud to herself, to try to forget her sadness.

“Five Puppets of the elements shall join together, and expel the darkness from the land. Each shall be different, yet the same. Though one shall come from the night, they will produce light from which the time of greatness will rise. Five pieces will bring them together, to form a bond that nothing break.”

Annik sighed, and put the book away. How she wished she could be one of those five legendary Puppets! Then she would never have to worry about being alone or unwanted. She started to trudge towards the nearest inn, knowing that many people who wanted Puppets would hang around there. ‘Please, someone be there!’ she thought to herself, and carefully wrapped the cloak around her and Lang.

She pushed open the door of the inn, and was immediately greeted with some hostile looks. Annik scurried to the nearest wall, expertly avoiding feet trying to trip her or hands shoving her. The lobby that she was in was full of people smoking and drinking, with weary looks on their faces. Many of them were searching the lobby with strange expressions in their eyes, which made Annik retreat into the corner even more. She tried searching for someone who could be a possible master. She finally saw a man that seemed very nice, with a twinkle in his black eyes and messy clothes. ‘He needs someone to take care of his clothes,’ she thought to herself. ‘Which means he’ll probably want a Puppet.’

She got the courage to creep over where the man was and tap him politely on his shoulder. As he spun around to look at her she asked “Are you hiring, sir?”

For a second, his eyes glinted with what seemed like malice, and Annik quickly took a step backwards. His eyes started twinkling again, and he smiled. “Of course I am! Are you looking for a job?”

Annik was about  to roll her eyes at his stupid question, but thought better of it as she remembered that strange glint in his eyes. Lang slithered underneath her cloak and hissed maliciously. Annik knew that her snake didn’t trust this man, but she had to take her chances and ignore Lang. She tried to appear as cheerful as she could and nodded her head.

“Well you look like the right Puppet for me,” he said, grinning. “I’ve got to get going, my friend is picking me up, so follow me!” He bade farewell to his drinking friends and quickly headed out to the door. Annik had to run to try to catch up with his long strides. They got outside to an awaiting carriage, and the man went up to the driver.

“Well, I’ve got another one! I see a raise in my future,” said the man, looking boastful. His friend shook his head. Annik could barely see the driver’s face, but she could see the grimace that he tried to surpress. “Don’t count on it, Drake. But let’s get going, or the master will be very upset at us,” the driver said, then quickly opened the carriage door and tossed Annik in. She hit her head hard on the other side, which knocked her unconscious. She woke a few hours later, and looked around her in bewilderment, then remembered that she was in a carriage driven by people who had kidnapped her.    

She cursed, and Lang gave came out of her hiding spot. Lang tilted her head and stared into Annik’s eyes. Annik knew she was in for a lecture from her snake. She closed her eyes and waited for Lang to start.

<I told you so!> hissed a voice in her mind. <And yet you didn’t believe me until it was too late!>

“But you know how important is was to get employment…”

<You know that isn’t an excuse! And now we have no idea where these men are taking us.> Lang slithered over to the window and peered outside. Annik felt the shame rise up into her face. Her snake was right. She acted foolishly and hasty, and now she had no idea what would happen to them.

Lang seemed to sense her sadness and nuzzled Annik’s hand.

<Don’t worry too much> she said. <We’ll find our way out of whatever trouble comes our way.>

And together, snake and Puppet, waited for the carriage to arrive at their destination.

Kiki