My Escape From Reality

[Sara Moon]

Sara was huddled in a window on the Seventh Floor, her legs tucked up against her chest as she sat on the wide windowsill, her long, curling hair falling in front of her face, a curtain which seperated her from the rest of the world. She wasn't in this world, not a that moment, she was immersed in a book, her thumb up to her lips, as she pressed her teeth into her fingertip. She became so involved in the story, not wanting to put down the book, not wanting to leave this imaginary land she loved so much. Reading had come second in the past few years, but today she was renewing acquaintances. Resting on her knees, was the book "The Gathering Storm." The twelfth book in the Wheel of Time series, written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Jordan had died before finishing the series, and had left behind notes and his plans for the series, to be continued by Sanderson. It wasn't finished yet, but it was one of her favourite series.


She bit hard into her thumb at a particularly thrilling part of the plot. Aes Sedai, Dark Lords, it was the kind of world she understood, and the kind of world, she had so willingly come to live in. She'd almost finished the book, having sat here all morning. She always saw finishing a book as both a good and bad thing. She enjoyed the reading, the tying together of lose ends in the story, though she always hated closing the book and returning to reality. She reached the last page, and turned to the end page, no realising tat the book was finished. She blinked rapidly, raising her eyes from the page, and slowly closing the cover. A morning well spent. She leaned her head back against the wall, thinking over the finer points of the story, and idly imagining what would happen next. The sun was pouring in the window, reflecting off her skin. She loved the tanned, brown colour of her skin in the Summertime, and watched as a little mmini-rainbow formed on her arm, moving around so that the colour spread further.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate walked into the common room and flopped down onto the couch by the fire. She was tired and she wanted to sleep but it was only half five in evening. She had been staying up late reading for the past few nights and it was taking it's toll. She knew she shouldn't read well into the night but she just can't help it when a book is good. She gets into her own little world when she reads. She's not really aware of the real world, she's usually sucked into the world of the book. It annoyed her parents when she was younger because she would never hear them calling her she was so engrossed. It was the same now even at the age of sixteen. If it was a good book she would be sucked in and she could spent, two, three hours just reading. Her Dad had said it was bad for her eyesight but here she was after ten years of reading and her eye sight was perfect. Currently she was reading a book called Endlessly. It was good so far and she really likes the main character who is easy to relate to. The author is clever as she puts humor in where its needed and Kate periodically giggles and people look at her strangely.

After just sitting on the couch, she started feeling too hot and she got up quickly. She just wanted some fresh air. She walked out of the common room and headed up to the North Tower. She walked along the corridor and as she was left to her own thoughts, they turned to Stefan. She hadn't seen him since Christmas and she missed him a lot. She was looking forward to seeing him again. As she thought of Stefan she climbed the stairs up to the seventh floor. She decided to take a walk along the corridor since she was still a small bit wary of the North tower as only bad things seemed to have happened her every time she has gone to the tower. As she walked along she spotted a familiar figure. She hadn't talked to Sara in a while, the two don't talk very much usually. She saw the book she was reading and smiled, she had attempted to read the series but there had been so many things going on she had just got confused. "Hey "She said smiling before sitting opposite her sister.

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara's musing was interrupted by familiar voice, she whirled around to see Kate. She hadn't spoken to Kate in quite a while, which at one point would've seemed odd to her, but now it didn't bother her. Being related didn't mean you had to be close, though she did miss her brother. She felt responsible for him. Star had always been Kate's pet, and Ryan was Sara's, but he didn't really talk to any of them anymore. She could see quite a lot of herself in Kate now, they both had darker hair, and Kate was catching up with her in the length of her hair. Sara's was curlier, and she had a slightly darker skintone, but you could see they were related now, which you wouldn't have thought a few years before. "Hey." she replied, with a smile, glancing at her sister, she noticed her shoes; "Those are lovely." she complimented her, she liked the design on them. She usually wore heels, and she wondered idly whether she'd be taller than Kate if they both stood.

"How are you?" she asked, hugging her knees, to make more space for Kate. Kate was taller than Sara, who totaled at five foot one, she needed more leg room. Seeing Kate, she couldn't help thinking about someone else, someone she loved, who she was incredibly worried about. She had to ask; "Have you heard from Stefan?" she asked. If Stefan contacted anyone-it would be Kate. Sara loved him like a brother, and she couldn't help the fact that she found herself wondering where he was, if he was safe, if he was eating enough. He'd always been so thin, so fragile. She always felt as though she had to protect him, and he didn't like it. He was a very private person, and she would always regret not confronting him about his Father. They could've helped him, maybe he and his Father could've gone to counselling or something. Before, she would've thought it a good thing that his Father had died, but now she understood that he'd loved his Dad, even though he'd treated him badly, and now he was an orphan, with no family to speak of. Except perhaps that Archer boy; "There's a first year called Tybalt Archer-do you think there's a chance they're related?" she wondered aloud, she hadn't told anyone of her suspicions yet.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate and Sara had once been close but due to circumstances they had drifted apart not as peacefully as one would hope but things had turned our well in the end. Kate was happy with the way things were now, she did love her sister but that didn't mean she had to be so close. People usually thought that just because they were twins meant that they would be super close when in reality that isn't always the case. Their family had changed a lot since first year. Ryan was improving as was his relationship with Star who Kate had been keeping a good eye on. She knew Star could be fragile when it comes to feelings so she just wanted to make sure things were okay. Since Ryan and Sara had always got on better, Kate was hoping Sara was keeping an eye on him as life was busy with school and quidditch. Kate did look out for him in the Great Hall and when they passed in the corridors she would sometimes stop him and ask him how he was or she would just smile and wave. She loved her family and a small part of her wished it was the same but she knew it was better like this and she was glad how things had turned out. "Thanks"She said following Sara's gaze and looking at her shoes. Kate likes shoes and has a lot of them though she usually prefers converse and canvas shoes.

Sara's question got Kate thinking. For once she was actually able to say good and really mean it. For a long time she had just said good or fine when really she hadn't been but now she was genuinely happy with life. If RHI just disappeared and she could be with Stefan life would really be perfect but life was pretty good and RHI didn't bother her that much anymore, it's just the people who take it on themselves to tease her at any moment. How RHI went from branch to twig to small whale is really beyond her. "I'm good, great really"She said smiling. She had been sick for a long time or unhappy and now it was like a weight off her shoulders to actually feel good about life. "How are you?"She asked. She hadn't heard anything about Jake in ages and she wondered how things were going for the two. Kate didn't know much about Sara's social activities, she just hoped things were okay. "We've been writing, don't worry he isn't dead like RHI believes."Kate said rolling her eyes at the last part. Stupid author, Kate had never really hated anyone. She had disliked some people of course but never actually hated someone until RHI."Christmas was amazing with him, I finally got to see his house"Kate said her smile faltering slightly. It had been small and there had been broken windows and no electricity or heating but she hadn't minded. She had made sure he had suitable sleeping equipment and she had left him some more money, just enough to keep him going for a while longer. She also hoped her present helped him. "I'm almost sure they are. I've told Stefan and I have a picture that I'm going to show Tybalt. He is looking for more information at home. I just have to find Tybalt and show and tell him all I've got. Do you think they're related?"She asked curiously. She hadn't talk to anyone but Tybalt and Stefan over the similarities between them.

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara smiled, glancing out the window. Once again, study had taken over her life. The workload had increased, which she hadn't thought was possible; "We're doing so much more this year." she smiled idly, watching students on the ground below, and hugging her legs. Kate was taller than her, so she'd probably need more leg space. She saw Ryan around the school occasionally, asked about him, but her brother still wasn't speaking much. Not to her anyway-not since the incident by the cliff. He knew she was right, and that, was precisely the problem. She knew he'd be okay now, but if she ever found out who had terated him so badly, she would hex them into next week. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. She wouldn't betray her brother, wouldn't tell Kate what happened. Still, should she? Should she tell her? "I think Ryan's going to be okay....we talked a bit last year about what happened and I think he just needs time." she didn't want to be too specific. Kate didn't need to know everything. It was enough that one of them knew, and could watch out for Ryan, salute him in corridors, keep an ear to the ground in case it happened again. She knew where the Slytherin Common Room was, because of Jake. Perhaps
she'd go down there and wait for him some morning, try to have a proper chat with him.

Sara smiled at Kate's answer, and started chuckling; "You're terribly cheerful for someone who's been in every RHI. Seriously, you'd think people had better things to do with their time." she laughed, she'd seen people getting so upset over it, but Kate handled it well. She sort of pitied whoever wrote it. They obviously had so little going on in their own life that they spent their time making stuff up about other people. She paused before answering her question. She was okay, but she hadn't seen Jake in an age. They had so much homework and such. She just didn't know how she felt anymore. She didn't think about him much, and only when someone mentioned him did her mind wander down that path. they didn't have a real relationship, and she wasn't sure where they were going, but still, things were good; "I'm alright, spending most of my time on schoolwork and Quidditch. I figure, a few years is nothing to sacrifice for the rest of my life." she smiled, becoming an auror was the most important thing, and that was her focus. She didn't realise it, but this, but it was a sign of how she'd changed, matured. She was becoming an adult, which in itself, was terrifying. She smiled at news of Stefan, glad Kate had spent the holidays with him; "You went to his house? Wow-that's a big move for him. Well done Stefan." she grinned, Stefan was such a private person, and she knew it would've taken a lot for him to do that. "I can't believe he took so long to figure out you two belong together." she smiled, pushing back her hair; "I...I really miss him." she admitted. He was like a second brother to her, and she loved him dearly. It was scary to think of him out in the world on his own. "Wow-it's moving fast. I mean, he's got those vivid blue eyes, and there's something about his manner that reminds me of Stefan-he's colourblind too, so that's another thing. It's too much to be a coincidence." she replied, happy that she could talk to someone about Stefan. It seemed sometimes, as though Hogwarts had forgotten him.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate followed Sara's gaze and looked out the window. The Hogwarts grounds were as usual beautiful. No matter what season it was,, the grounds always looked wonderful. Kate loves the beauty of the outdoors and liked spending time outside no matter how cold, warm or whatever the weather. Kate smile "Ya, but this year I seem to have a lot more time on my hands"Kate said truthfully. Every other year her mind had been preoccupied with so many different things, usually bad things which made the time worse. This year she really had no negative thoughts weighing her down which was fantastic and very liberating. So ever though she was busy with class etc she had never actually felt this good and free in a long time. Life for once was good and Kate was treating it like something precious, she didn't know what she would do if it was all taken away from here. She had worked so hard to actually enjoy life ,continuously not ever so often. Her family had been through a rough time but she had a feeling they were nearing the end of the tunnel. She could see the light and Kate couldn't wait for the day once all her family was happy again. Kate looked down at her shoes, she felt bad for not being there for Ryan, for not noticing the extent of how hurt and messed up he had been but she had been too worried about Stefan and herself. She was going to try her best and make sure that never happened again. She felt like a terrible older sister. "That's good. I can't wait for the day when all the Moon's can say they are happy"Kate said looking outside again.

Kate shrugged and grinned "I feel honored" She said rolling her eyes "I think I'm getting a bit boring for them now"Kate said chuckling. She felt sorry for the poor soul they picked on instead of her. Indiana Night seemed to be the most likely suspect but Kate hoped that RHI was gone by then. "A small whale? I mean really."Kate said pointing at her thin waist. That was probably the most ridiculous thing they had said about her yet and she did feel sorry for the person who wrote the magazine who must really feel so bad that they wrote that. Kate didn't feel much pity towards them though, they had done nothing but insult her and ruined her reputation in a lot of people's mind which was probably the point. She hated that she was the only person who had been mentioned in every single issue. She had tried racking her brains for someone she could have p!ssed off so much that they felt like saying all that stuff about her. "So we are against each other in the next quidditch match"Kate said grinning. She wondered was this the first time twin sisters had been the two opposing captains. Kate really wanted to win not because of Sara but she really thought they deserved to win the last one and she knew the Hufflepuffs were a great time and she would like people to take them more seriously. "Ya, it was a big thing for us . Thankfully things are finally moving forward"Kate said smiling happily. Since second year she had wanted things to move forward for thing. but things had continually got in the way but finally there was nothing stopping them from being together. Kate smiled sympathetically "Ye should agree to meet over the holidays or something? That's when we meet usually and I'm sure he would love to see you"Kate said looking at her sister. "Exactly what I was thinking"Kate said thoughtfully, she would have to try and meet Tybalt sometime to show him the picture. "So aon sceal?"She asked curiously