Spring Knight: Young Adult Romance Novella (A Seasons of Change Standalone) (13 page)

“Yeah, that sounds fair. As long as you don’t drop me.” Reaching up her, lips met his gently so as not to ruin her costume or make-up.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me,” he murmured against her lips. The kiss was tender but brief as they were interrupted by the stage manager shouting for everyone to get into positions.

“Ready?” Kayleigh asked, pulling away and taking his hand. They walked out on to the stage to take up their starting positions.

“Nowhere near ready, but I trust you.” He glanced across at her, taking in the full length of her costume. “You look gorgeous by the way.”

Kayleigh only had time to smile before the music began to fade out and the ivy curtain lifted. For the first time, she didn’t feel like she had to pretend she was in a fantasy world. Of course she acted her heart out, but Kayleigh was too excited to get back to the real world where her own knight in shining armour was.

 

 

THE END

 

Enjoy Spring Knight? Why not check out the first three books in the Seasons of Change series?

 

Summer Demons
Winter Angel
Autumn Ghosts

or check out the Seasons of Change Box Set that includes all four novellas and two exclusive bonus stories.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family and two cats. She spends most of her time writing or reading, loves anything paranormal and has an overactive imagination that keeps her up until the early hours of the morning.

With three poems published before the age of sixteen, Mia moved on to short stories but finding she had too much to tell with too little space, Mia progressed to novels. She started her first series (
The Wanderer Trilogy
) at the age of fourteen and since then hasn’t stopped writing.
Elemental Killers
is her second series and with an ever growing list of ideas, Mia is trying to keep up with the speed at which her imagination generates them.

 

For more information on Mia, her work, giveaways, and more visit her blog:
http://miahoddell.blogspot.com

or sign up to her
newsletter

or connect with her via:

Facebook Page
,
Twitter @MiaHoddell
,
Goodreads Page

OTHER BOOKS

 

The Wanderer Trilogy
The Sheol
The Flawless
The Hunted

 

Elemental Killers
Deadly to Love
Deadly to Promise
Deadly to Lie
Deadly to Leave

Novellas

Seasons of Change (standalone)

Summer Demons
Winter Angel
Autumn Ghosts
Spring Knight

Seasons of Change Short Stories

Summer Revenge
Seasons of Love

All books are available in ebook format from: Amazon Kindle

Paperbacks are available from Amazon:
HERE

 

AUTUMN GHOSTS

 

Seasons of Change Standalone #3

 

Keep reading for an excerpt from Ellie's story.

CHAPTER ONE

 

They were everywhere. The flaming oranges and reds surrounded her in a fiery circle. Dancing in the gusts of wind, which hit her face as she sat there, they flickered violently. The colours blanketed the ground, some of the hues fading as they merged into brown. There was no heat felt from them, though. Drying out under the canopy, the leaves rustled as a few were swept along the ground. When she looked up at the sky, it was also consumed by the burning colours. All signs of blue were obstructed by the fresh leaves; they clung to their branches, refusing to fall and signal the end of autumn.

Ellie usually found this time of year relaxing, as she used to love watching the trees change colour before slowly shedding their leaves. However, this year she dreaded it. The reds of the Acers and oranges of the few Maples signalled her final warning. The colours also mirrored her frustration and anger at herself and the book resting on her lap. Its white pages—marred with black scribbles—fluttered, making the words difficult to read. It wasn’t like she needed the distraction; Ellie was finding it hard enough to concentrate on the confusing calculations already.

Ellie groaned when she turned the page, only to be faced with another list of test questions. Bringing her hands up to her face, she hung her head with a heavy sigh. She just barely held back the sob building in her throat as she sucked in a deep breath, the crisp air freezing her mind with every inhale.
I can do this. I know I can,
she thought, trying to convince herself of the fact she knew not to be true.

When she lifted her head again, blinking back the tears so she could focus, Ellie began scribbling next to the question. Trying to apply everything she had learnt in class, she moved the numbers around and attempted to make sense of the problem in front of her. At first she thought she was getting the hang of it. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, pleased with her progress, but soon it faltered and fell from her face. Having gone round in circles, Ellie was back where she started: staring at the calculation and unable to find a solution.

Frustrated, she leaned back against the tree stump, her head colliding with the wood harder than she meant it to. A slight pain radiated out from the impact and spread across her head, but she ignored it. Closing her eyes, she let the cool breeze flow over her as she focused on calming her stress levels.

It was hopeless.

When she opened her eyes and looked down at the textbook, she saw a single crimson leaf had floated on to the pages. Its colour glared at her, a physical warning of how little time she had left, mocking her by falling from its branch and taunting her with an ever closer deadline. Picking up the leaf, Ellie threw it to the ground. However, not satisfied with the distance or force as it twirled gently before settling, Ellie snapped her textbook shut. The sharp crack rang out in the empty area, and was quickly followed by a loud bang and rustle when she hurled the book at the nearest tree. She watched as it fell open, its pages flipping by before it closed again.

Then, bolting upright, Ellie remembered where she was. The deadened silence made guilt rise in her chest; she’d disrupted the eternal peace of those resting around her.

“I’m sorry, Gran. I didn’t mean to lose my temper.” Sighing, she glanced over at the shiny, black granite plaque that marked the beloved family member’s grave.

“It’s just so hard without you. No one gets it like you did, and I’m slipping behind everyone in my class.” When Ellie spoke, she directed her words at the plaque even though she knew she would get no response.

“I’m trying my hardest, but it doesn’t seem to be good enough. I’m not going to pass this exam if I continue the way I am. I don’t want to disappoint you.” Ellie had whispered the last line. In her mind, speaking it loudly would make it all the more real. She didn’t want to live with knowing her gran would be disappointed in her. Out of everyone in her family, she was the only one who had understood Ellie’s problems enough to help her. Her parents were too busy to offer their assistance and believed it was above them. They’d forced her to study accounting, but thought she should struggle through on her own. Having only ever skied, her brother didn’t know anything about the subject, either. Therefore, all subject related matters were left for her gran to deal with. She had made the subject easy … or at least manageable. Now even the simplest of calculations confused Ellie.

At first people had blamed the slip of her grades on the grief of losing someone so close, but after six months, the excuse was no longer effective. People were now questioning her ability. Ellie knew they were right, and that she’d only been passing before because of the extra sessions she put in with her grandmother.

“Why did I take this subject, Gran? It’s not like it’ll be any use to me, I’m not cut out for accounting like Mum and Dad. I should have done what Luke did …” Ellie trailed off, her thoughts captured by picturing what her gran would have said had she really been there listening.

It’s just one problem, Ellie. Move on and come back to it. You have the ability, it’s just taking you a bit longer to understand. You’ll get there in the end, and we’ll all watch you graduating next year. At least one Jeffords needs to finish uni, and seeing as your brother is back to skiing, I can’t see it’ll be him.

At the memory of what her gran would have told her, a sad smile—which didn’t reach her eyes—teased her lips, trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, as a lone tear fell from the corner of her eye, she realised it wasn’t true. Even if she graduated—something that looked highly unlikely—the one person she wanted to be there wouldn’t be. She hated the pressure she was under. No one had asked her what she wanted, she’d just had to fall in line, unlike her brother. It was the one downside to being a twin: there was no one older to relieve the pressure for the younger sibling. Luke started his career early, and that meant it was up to Ellie to follow the family’s wishes.

She hadn’t minded at the time, as she didn’t have a better alternative, but now that she was in her final year, Ellie knew accounting wasn’t going to make her happy. It was too late to change majors, though … at least that’s what she told herself. It was easier than confronting her parents.

Taking a deep breath, Ellie held it for a few seconds before releasing it slowly. As she did, she pushed off the ground, moving over to collect her textbook. The dried leaves crunched beneath her boots, but when she stopped to pick the book up, the rustling continued.

Snapping to attention, Ellie’s eyes scoured the area looking for any sign of another person. When she saw nothing out of the ordinary, she clutched the book under one arm. Then, bringing her free hand up to her lips, she kissed her fingers before brushing them across the cool stone.

“I’m sorry, Gran. I really wish I could do better for you. Please don’t think any less of me.”

The rustling behind her caught her attention again, this time sounding closer. Glancing over her shoulder again, Ellie still saw nothing.
I’m being stupid
, she thought to herself. She had been coming to her gran’s grave weekly and never once seen another person. However, her ashes had been scattered in a nearby wood, so it wasn’t unlikely that she’d meet someone.
It’s probably just a bird,
she told herself. However, in her highly strung state, when the distinct sound of a shoe kicking up leaves came again, it made her wary. She wasn’t worried about who it could be, but she didn’t want anyone to see her breaking down. So, not staying long enough to see who or what it was, Ellie hurried home.

CHAPTER TWO

 

Striding into the hallway, Ellie slammed the front door to her house a little harder than necessary … not that she would apologise, since it had felt good. She caught sight of her mum’s short black hair peering around the corner of the kitchen door, shaking her head in disgust, but Ellie ignored her. At least until she called out behind her as Ellie hurried up the stairs.

“Ellie! What’s the matter with you? You know better than to go around slamming doors.”

Ellie continued without stopping, rolling her eyes at her mother’s predictable comment. Of course she was more worried about what the neighbours would think than what was wrong with her daughter. She’d never been the type of parent who created a strong bond with either of her children. She kept her distance except for lectures and reprimands, which irritated Ellie seeing as she was an adult.

Ellie was at the top of the stairs, about to head into her room, when she heard her mum shout, “Luke, go see what’s wrong with your sister!”

With a shake of her head, Ellie marched into her room, muttering under her breath about how typical it was that she would send Luke. Sure, they were close and Ellie would rather talk to him, since he would understand, but it was the fact her mother always passed the responsibility to him that irritated her. And Ellie didn’t want to be disturbed.

As she placed her textbook on the pile of revision notes on her desk, there was a slight, almost hesitant, knock on her door. “Elles? Can I come in?”

With a frustrated groan, Ellie moved over to the door, pulling it open to reveal her brother. She’d made sure to keep the gap only big enough for her head to fit through. “You don’t have to check up on me, I’m fine.”

Luke arched an eyebrow, not needing to clarify what he was asking. Ellie’s tone and frown were enough to convince him she was anything but okay.

“Ugh, fine. Get in here then, it’s not like you’re going to go anywhere. I know you’ll just waltz in no matter what I say.” Turning her back on him, she moved over to her bed and muttered quietly, “Just can’t get any privacy these days. I knew I should have pushed for student accommodation when I started university.”

“What did you say?” Luke shut the door softly behind him before moving over to sit backwards on the wheelie chair at her desk.

“I said: can we get this over with so I can get back to more important thing, like getting ready to go out with my friends in an hour.”

Luke smirked. “That wasn’t what you said, but I’ll go along with it if it makes you happy.”

“Why’d you ask if you already knew?”

Luke shrugged, not bothering to answer her question. Instead, he refocused the conversation. “So where’ve you been?”

“Revising with Gran.” It just slipped out, and Ellie cursed at the way she had made it sound like she was still alive. “I mean, I was in the woods, where we spread her ashes. I thought it would help me being near her. Turns out people really are useless when they’re dead. She couldn’t have hung on for two more months?”

“Don’t say that, Elles, you’ll regret it later. You know she would have done anything for you and it wasn’t her fault. She
was
eighty-nine for crying out loud.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. It was just a rough day.”

“Then explain the problem to me. I’m not stupid. Maybe I can help?”