Chapter 3

My stomach gave a loud grumble as I stared down at my plate which was stacked high with perfectly-rounded golden pancakes, decorated with assorted summer fruits and drizzled heavily in granny's home made maply syrup. My cheeks grew pink as I felt a bit of dribble escape my mouth and stain my top which was an obvious sign I needed to get food into me quickly. Granny set down a glass full of milk for me and took a sip of her own coffee as she sat carefully on the chair opposite me. As I glanced up at her face I could see the pain that she felt from her bones from when she sat down but it quickly disappeared when she caught me staring. I averted my eyes down to the empty plate of food and dipped my finger into the maple syrup that was stuck stubbornly to the bottom. I heard her give a soft chuckle and thought sarcastically to myself. Wow, someone finds me funny... And to think that I didn't even say anything.

"I hope you liked your breakfast." She gestured to the plate which I had licked clean. I nodded, not wanting to be rude to her by talking with my mouth full of pancakes.

Trying to make casual conversation Granny continued to say. "So Amelia, what are you planning to do today? It is afterall the Summer holidays and the weather outside would be exceptional to soak up some vitamin D."

I rolled my eyes at her choice of wording. "I thought maybe I could stay inside and... er read a book?" My answer came out more like a question and she immediately shook her head and walked out of the room muttering something, only to appear back in a couple of seconds holding a woven basket of some sort and a striped rug.

"I thought that we might go explore the woods behind the house today. I always remember taking you as a little kid. Don't you remember?" I scowled at her behind my empty glass of milk and tossed my brown curls impatiently. I had always done that as a sign of annoyance and from being stubborn.

"Isn't calling it 'the woods' exaggerating a bit? Afterall it's just a cluster of ginormas trees!" I waved my hands angrily in the air and my sudden outburst shocked me. However, Granny remained calm and at ease, as if she were expecting it to happen. She knows me too well.

She muttered. "What is it with kids these days and making up words? Gi-nor-mas?" She asked curiously, sounding out the word that I had just used like it was said in another foreign language."Anyway, like it or not you have no option. It's either this or cleaning your room." And I thought I was stubborn. I could only open my mouth and gaze at her with utter amazement. I'm glad I got most of my personality off her. I noted silently to myself. Even though most of the traits that I had inherited annoyed and shocked people it left me feeling proud of myself. Selfish? I know. On the outside, people believe I look like an innocent child that would never be one to swear or get yelled at... with her big brown curls of hair, wide eyes and pale complextion.However, on the inside I believe I'm a real badass.

I came back to reality and granny opening jars of honey and jam to put into the picnic basket. I mentally spat the last two words out and gave a devilish grin. Two can tango Grandma.

"Fine." The wooden kitchen chairs scraped along the marble tiles as I pushed it back and stood with my arms crossed. "I'll clean my room." I saw the back of her briefly sag in defeat but I knew she had some other plan up her sleeve that would make me crack. She wasn't one to quit. Another thing I unfortunately loved of her.

Her eyes held a flash of disappointment but she then held up a plastic container filled with something dark and rich in it and waved it at me. A part of me felt awful for what I had done to her but I reminded myself that Granny had always be the one to tell me to always stick up for what you believe in and never go down without a fight.

"So I guess that means you don't want any of my fudge brownies, strawberry cupcakes or banana split?" She got me. It was like I was shot down into the ground with a machine gun. I had to silently applaud her for winning, she was definetly a strong fighter.

I sighed heavily at her. "I'll go get change." Was all I could say.

As I was about to turn my back and storm out of the kitchen -making my grand exit which I did whenever I was aggravated- she quickly added, like she had nearly forgotten to tell me.

"I'm not just going to the woods for a fun little picnic. I have a reason for why we're going there. I must give you something... something important before..." She hesitated, stumbling on some of her words. "Before it's too late." She turned her eyes away from mine and I felt my adrenaline rush... this time not from the thrill of something but because of the terror that had seeped its own way into her voice.