Magic & Illusion, Miss Jina [leveled readers txt] 📗

They would always point in her direction, sometimes they would laugh, other times they would run. They called her names behind her back, but usually quieted when she would enter the room.

Ella Bedford was only five at the time, but her time spent at Raven-town orphanage, she could never forget. She never really meant to bring harm to the other kids. It was just the fact that every time she was around them something bad would happen. Like what happened to Edward Fitzgerald. He was just shy of being two years older then herself.. He stood with a few friends and started to snicker, Ella over-hearing him, heard him comment on her un-brushed hair. She crossed her arms and listened to them further insult her. Her arms grew tighter together, her face grew warm, and her eyes grew moist. One minute Edward was standing there, and the next some glass from the sconces above him burst, and scattered over poor Edward. The sight of blood dripping down his face and arms made her queasy. When one of the elders ran to him he pointed at Ella and screamed, “She’s a witch, she did this, I saw her,” he yelled. The elder looked at her and shook her head. Of course, she could not believe that a young girl could possibly shatter a sconce from where she had been standing.

She could remember other similar moments, like when she would lie with her mind. She had this way with making things seem different then they were, like when she snuck into the kitchen for a late night snack and Rose Collins caught her in the act. She had chocolate all over her face to prove she was guilty. When Rose returned to the kitchen, the mess that Ella had left was gone. Although; Ella was standing right in the spot she had been before, both Rose and the elder searched around the room for any sign of her and the missing chocolate, they could not see Ella nor the chocolate wrappers on the counter.

For Ella Raven-town orphanage was a cold and dreary place, and without friends, it made it seem colder. The stone walls had cracks in them allowing any kind of heat to escape quickly. The atmosphere was dark, hallways lit by only the faintest of candle light. The main rooms had high hanging chandeliers and sconces on the walls, making them slightly brighter. All of the bedrooms had windows or what once were; are now covered with black metal bars, and remained un-cleaned and hard to look out of. Without clean windows, Ella anxiously awaited the moments when the elders allowed them outside to play. Although Ella never had anyone to play with, the fresh air kept her sane-well almost.
The night she was “rescued” from Raven-town was a night right out of a horror story. A storm had brewed in the late afternoon, thunder rattled the windows, and hail pounded against the door. It was strange weather for mid-march, but nothing surprised her anymore.

At only five, she felt as if she were older then the rest of the children, and had an easier time understanding things then most kids her age. It was almost as if she were ten, stuck in a five year olds body. The adult conversation outside her room that night convinced her that she knew more. She sat to the right of the wooden door and listened to one of the elders speak with a strange man. The elder was attempting to discourage the strange man from wanting her. She said things like, “She is a special case, and is not up for adoption.” Then he would only respond with, “but she is the one I have been looking for.” It went on like that for what only seemed like hours, but was truly about twenty minutes. The elder knocked quietly on the door.

“Miss Ella,” she opened the door and leaned her head around before stepping through the doorway.

Ella carefully made it seem as if she was not there. The strange man began to push the elder into the room so that he could see for himself.

“Miss Ella is not here at the moment, perhaps maybe the dinning hall,” the elder said attempting to escort the man out of the room.

It was almost as if he had known she was right there beside the door watching them. He turned his head and their eyes met. Ella’s heart raced with fear. Even though she could barely see his face under the large top hat on his head, she could still see his almost golden eyes staring through her soul. A chill ran up her spine as she watched the elder shove the man out the door. It took Ella a few breathless moments before she let herself go. A strange feeling about the man over whelmed her.

The night sky continued to light up the dark room, Ella lay under her covers counting the seconds between every flash and boom. The storm seemed scarier then before, and never once had she remembered being afraid of a little storm. Footsteps began to threaten the space outside of her room. She could see a shining light flickering from the space between the door and floor. It was quiet, and did not seem as if more than one person was there.

Her door was open, and the person did not even knock. Under a certain age the kids were not aloud to lock their doors. She once again made herself un-seen, and kept the covers over her head as well. The person shut the door quietly and began to search the room.
“Miss Ella is it?” the voice questioned.

She quickly recognized it as the man from earlier. Her heart raced again, and her hands began to shake. She kept feeling as if her disappearing act was slipping. She could feel herself moving under the covers, and noticed a quick change in the direction the footsteps were going. They headed straight for her. She tried so hard to keep her cool, but the force that kept her invisible was fading fast. Suddenly, the blankets were torn off her and standing there holding a candle was the strange man from earlier.

“No need to be afraid my dear, I am here to help you,” his voice had an edge to it.

“How can you tell me not to be afraid, I cannot even see your face,” she responded.

“You don’t have to see my face to know that I am like you,” he added.

“Like me how?” she asked.

“Can you do special things that no one else can? Like make yourself seem as if you are not there. Or break things when you get angry or sad. I can help you control it, let me take you in and teach you the proper way to use these gifts,” he said.

“How did you know I could do those things? And they aren’t special, I heard the elders talk at night, they say I am a spawn of the devil.”

“The devil huh?” he chuckled softly.

“No, no my dear, you can learn to control the gift so that you do not follow in those ways. As I said let me help you. I can also tell you that there is a place young Ella. A place where everyone is like us, but in order to get there you must possess a key. Only certain people with our gifts can unlock the doorway. It is you, you are the one Ella,” he tilted his hat up just slightly to where she could see his golden eyes again.

“I am not supposed to go anywhere with strangers,” she politely added.

“I am not a stranger Ella. I am someone that should never have given you up. It’s me, your father,” he held out his arm to her and rolled up the right sleeve of his suite.
Ella looked at the man’s wrist, and just below his thumb on the underside of his wrist was a brown birthmark shaped like a small star in the night sky. Ella’s eyes grew wide, and her stomach twisted.

“I- I-.” she stammered.

“I have the same,” she spoke as she turned her wrist and pulled up the white sleeve of her nightgown.

The man took her by the hand and pulled her out of her bed. Ella allowed him to do so. Once she was standing barefoot on the cold hardwood floor, she looked up at him.
“Now pack some of your things we must leave now,” he looked towards the door, and then back down at her.

“Go now, “he shoved her forward. “Before the elders come, hurry now,” he spoke quickly.
Ella obeyed the man, still too unsure to call him father. She hurried as quickly as she could, packed a few dresses and under garments, and then belted the suitcase shut.

“Now we mustn’t make a peep, we must hide ourselves. You seem to be pretty good at doing so,” he told her.

All Ella could do was nod her head, her pigtails bounced against her face as she did.

“Okay Ella, ready?” he looked down at her once again.

“Mm,” was all she could muster.


***
Darkened bedrooms and hallways still haunted Ella; it had been as if she had never left Raven-town. Truthfully, she had no idea where she now resided, all she knew was that it rained almost every day, and barely anyone filled the cobble-stoned streets outside her window. The house she was in was old, that much she could tell. With every footstep, the floors creaked with pain. She sometimes felt even more trapped here then she had in the orphanage. The only thing she enjoyed was not having kids mock and laugh at her. It was quiet most of the time, but aside from the relief of being made fun of, she felt lonely and still very un-happy.

It had been at least five years since she had been here, but for some reason she noticed no change in appearance for herself. By now, she should have physically looked to be around ten. However, every time she looked in the mirror she still looked like the five year old she was when the strange man came for her. Several times, she had asked why she did not look grown up, but the man never had an answer for her. He would ignore the question and move onto another subject.

To her he still was not a father figure. Everyday he drilled her with exercises to relax her ability. Nothing seemed to work, every time she would feel the slightest bit relaxed all chaos would break loose. So far, she set fire to the dinning room, blew out several windows in the basement, and nearly made the roof of the garage collapse in on them. She was really starting to believe she was the spawn of the devil.

On some occasions, the usually quiet home turned into something a bit more livelily. The strange man would have guests come to the house, until all hours of the night. He told her not to come down from her room that she would be aloud to join them when she got older. However,