Raven Saga 01 - Raven

new to me and I got the impression that they'd made more of an occasion out of it than they would normally have done.
    I believe they were making up for all those years of my 'living' in a room with little contact with the outside world. I told them they needn't have made so much effort. I'd have been equally as happy to put up a Christmas tree and have a normal dinner with everyone. But I understood that they were showing me how much they loved me and how much they'd missed me over the years. The feeling was completely mutual.
    Between Christmas and New Year I had received another huge surprise – a birthday party.
    It was December 28 and, although I was aware that it was the date I was born, it never even occurred to me that anyone else would take much notice. After all, nobody ever had. The other thing that had been on my mind was the fact that not only was it my birthday, it was also the date I had lost my sister. The date of Neleh's death. And it was very close to the anniversary of my mother's death too.
    How could I celebrate when something so horrific had happened on that very day fourteen years earlier? It was difficult, but having never had the opportunity to meet my mother or my sister, my sorrow could not equal the sorrow that perhaps Rose was feeling. Or Gabriel. Or any of my family for that matter.
    I refused to dwell on the sad facts of that day, remembering instead that it was my birthday. I was a year older and I was excited at turning fourteen. On the outside, I didn't look any different but on the inside I felt like I was becoming a completely different person. Comparing me to the person I was just a year earlier, I could barely recognise myself.
    In England while living under the roof of that witch, it was as if she had reached down into my soul and sucked my true personality and character right out of me. I had been a simple and insanely naïve girl who had truly believed that my life had been normal. How wrong could I have been?
    A year on and the real me was finally emerging from my shell. I felt like I was becoming a young woman. A strong, independent young woman and I finally felt good about myself. I finally felt like I could face the world head on.
    The day had passed much like any other. Gabriel had rushed out of the house and yelled that he would see me later. He didn't mention what day it was, so neither did I. Ben had come by the house to collect me first thing that morning and we had gone straight to the practice where I had started training a few weeks before. It was a bit of a struggle at first, moving around with my crutches clumsily getting in the way of everything. I hadn't been able to physically handle any of the animals as we were waiting for my cast to be removed first. But I learned a lot just by watching Ben carefully, answering telephone calls and speaking to the locals about their pet's problems. It had opened a whole new world to me and I was becoming even more confident in myself. I wouldn't shy away from anything like I would have done just a few months previously.
    Ben had even taken me out on occasion when he had horses to treat. Although I could do very little, I was fascinated by these regal creatures. There was always a part of me that wondered who they really were though. Twice we had been called out to injured horses – just like the injuries Ben had treated on the day of my accident. He concluded that whatever had attacked them had managed to remove some of the sinew from the inside of their legs. It was a mystery to him. To me, however, it was slightly less mysterious. I knew the crimes had probably been committed by a changeling, a vampire perhaps? A witch, even? But, as usual, I had to keep my thoughts to myself.
    On my birthday, after a few hours of work (it was particularly busy that Christmas), we had made sure everything was cleaned up before we locked up the clinic before heading back in Ben's truck.
    I had noticed Ben's sideways glances at me a couple of times throughout the day but had assumed it was because he was checking how I was doing. However, as we arrived home, I soon figured out that hadn't been the reason at all.
    “Happy Birthday, Lilly!” shouted a house full of family and friends as I gingerly pushed open the front door with one of my crutches.
    Shock rippled through me and my initial reaction was to cry. I was totally overwhelmed. It hit me even more than Christmas day had. A birthday party. For me. I was completely speechless as