Alrighty then... this story is centered on my character Roseate, as you can tell by this chapter. But this is just the chapter that starts the plot, so the next chapter is Storm Hawk central. And an OMG THANK YOU goes to Jazzy Pony who, besides having awesome stories on this site, gave me permission to put her team the Silver Falcons in here as well. This story takes place in the spring after the Party of Terra Liluo, so if you are lost you might want to read that AND Roseate of Terra Liluo...It explains everything.So I'll now shut up and let you enjoy.
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Roseate sighed, sucking in the spring breeze as she wandered idly along her way. Her basket was almost full of Luley fruit, the grapefruit sized fruits hanging from the green leafed branches budding for summer as well. The sun filtered through the branches, Rose's light hands carefully choosing her harvest. The river nearby gave a calming trickle that drifted through the forest. Her search for food startled a flock of birds, the sparrows and oddly colored finches scattering for new perches. Heron barked and tried to nip at the lower flying birds, jumping on his hind legs. The sudden feeling of surprise caught her as well, the girl leaving the tree to start to head home.
Following the river, which would lead to the water fall, then a trail, Rose heaved the basket more comfortably on her arm. The wind toyed with her brown hair, her blue eyes mirroring the glimmer of the river. The day was pleasant, to say the least. Considering the news she had received a few months ago concerning her parents. The council was no longer sure if Reah and Fallon were alive. So she had assumed the worse in case the worse was what was to come.
The lovely chirps and whistles of birds rang in her ears. Heron trotted next to her, his big paws lightly skimming the ground as he suddenly picked up speed to try to chase a squnk. (Yes, a squnk: a mixture of chipmunk and squirrel, native to Liluo. Pronounced: Squ-unk) It ran, its bushy tail flickering behind its tan and black body, the horizontal strips highlighted with white. Rose shook her head and smiled, hearing the waterfall's roar faintly beginning to announce its presence. But another sound not native to the forest sounds made her stop, Heron now retuning to her after loosing the squnk. Hums of energy alerted her as the Liluoian tried to figure if it was nothing more than her brothers.
"Rose! Rose!" Jay-Jay's faint yell relaxed her, assuring Rose it was indeed them.
"Where are you!? Someone's here!" Yuro added with his voice louder. The statement raised Rose's fear again, and she bolted for the clearing at the falls. Her brothers zoomed over her head as she reached it, Jay-Jay spotting her with a yell.
"Jay-Jay?! Who's here?! Wes? The Storm Hawks?" Heron rested at her side once more, not affected by her urgency.
"No..." Yuro trailed off, sharing an unsure glance with his brother. Jay-Jay shrugged.
"Well then is it the Cyclonians!?" Rose tried to pry it out of them.
"No..." Jay-Jay repeated for Yuro, their sister sighing bitterly.
"Then who is it?!!" Rose was not sure if it was an attack, slowly becoming frantic. There was an unbelievably LONG pause, the Yuro fessed up.
"Uncle."
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"Uncle?" Rose said as her Uncle Lennox smiled to her from the other side of the doorway, the boys already letting him in. She had traveled all the way home on her brother's sky board, and was still perplexed why he might be here. Like the many other natives to Liluo, he had fled when Cyclonia took power. "Its...interesting to see you here." The Luley fruits were set on a little table, Rose shutting the door behind the siblings.
"I know I've not been here in so long, my dear, but I have some business to fix here..." Lennox trailed off, but suddenly opened his arms. It was only polite to return the odd hug. Rose pulled away to see a boy, about Wes's age, sitting in the far corner of the living room.
"Un-Uncle... who's that?" Roseate responded warily, Heron beginning to growl. Her Uncle motioned for him to come over, the light gracing the boy's figure. His clay red eyes pierced her deeply, striking a familiar feeling she just couldn't shake off. "This is Clarence. He an orphan from a Terra not far from here. Terra Barsha. I believe you've heard of it." Rose's nod was Lennox's only response, Jay-Jay and Yuro dashing off to put their sky boards away. "He's lived with me for five years, and my faith is high in him. I can only hope he receives the same treatment you give to your many friends." Her Uncle's grey eyes sharply looked down to her, making the request an order. Jay-Jay and Yuro returned, the mood lightening in a split second. "My boys!" Lennox summoned them, Yuro's green eyes meeting Rose's with a question wafting silently in the air. "I believe you have fuel crystals for you revolutionary sky boards, am I correct?"
"Yeah!" Jay-Jay replied, his interest perked.
"Do you boys happen to have any Nitro crystals?"
"WHAT!" Jay-Jay's navy eyes lit up.
"NO WAY!" Yuro exclaimed as their Uncle pulled two Nitro crystals from his coat.
"Uncle, you can't possibly-" Rose started.
"Rosie, don't worry. Their boards have foot locks, right?" The odd pet name did nothing to soothe her. Rose only nodded again, letting her brother's accept the gifts with many thanks. "And I have something for you as well." He pulled an orange bracelet from another pocket, all five blood orange little gems strung on a thick silver band. Rose took it humbly.
"Thank you, Uncle. I didn't ask for something but... Many thanks." Rose finished with a Liluoian phrase, her Uncle smiling as she put it on, the gift snapping on her right arm with a click.
"Reah raised you well. May we chat in a more...?" Her uncle looked down to her brothers with a sudden hint of intolerance. "Secluded area?"
"Of course, uncle. The sunroom is pleasant now during the spring." Roseate assured him, letting her last family member loop her arm in his as if to escort her. She rolled her eyes and shot her brothers a look saying: He's full of it, I know. They grinned back, running off into the garage. Clarence followed Lennox and Rose, the room opening widely after the doorway. His red-brown eyes seemed to lock on her, and his black hair fell into his face. Rose let her uncle settle in a chair while she sat sideways on the window bench, her form glowing in the sunlight. Clarence sat next to the older man, not saying a word.
"Well, my dear, I must say. Your mother always did have a wonderful decorative style." Lennox commented, casting one glance around the bright room.
"Thank you, Uncle. But what did you need to talk about?" Rose asked, curious to what her Uncle wished to keep her brothers out of.
"Well Roseate, as you know, your parents are now deceased." Her uncle said with a sorrowful tone as Rose sadly nodded, silently hoping if she could prove him wrong someday. "And that leaves me as your only guardian in your family. As well as your brothers."
"I understand the concern, Uncle Lennox. But even after my parents left, we've been fine. I can protect my home." Rose started get a bit defensive, remembering what her mother had said about the woman's brother.
"He's a con man, that's what he is!" Reah scowled, her forest green eyes flashing. Rose walked into the kitchen to find her mother yelling at a letter.
"Who, mom?" Rose asked, quite confused.
"Your Uncle. Lennox. He never takes into consideration what is important to me, or our family for that matter." Reah turned to her twelve year old daughter. "Be wary of him, Rose. He can't always be trusted, no matter how close he is to the family."
Rose nodded at her mother, her own blue eyes shining with comprehension.
"But that's all been luck! Protection from an unpredictable army only lasts so long. Cyclonia will find you, my dear. And that's why I'm here." His light grey eyes scared her of how commanding they seemed in this light. "I am here to put together an alliance. Between you and Clarence here."
Clarence suddenly became a concern for her, and she looked at him. The seventeen year old had been with her Uncle for half a decade, according to him, but didn't seem trustworthy.
"Why Clarence? You told me he was an orphan. What could he do?" Rose felt uneasy all of a sudden. Her Uncle disregarded this and pressed on.
"He has a family. Uncles and Aunts from a culture not too far from here, as I've mentioned. They have promised protection of our home if they may live here-"
"NO ONE lives here but my people!" Rose sat up stiffly, a bit unnerved that her uncle would suggest such a thing.
"Then where are they now?" Her uncle calmly asked. Rose sighed and backed down, defeated.
"Trying to be safe. In other places." She murmured.
"Exactly. I believe that if my boy's people start to come here, ours may come back." Her Uncle Lennox pointed out, Rose still angry that he would give up Liluo to, to, outlanders! But she remained silent; her sky blue eyes trained on the nearly sixty year old man. "So, as your only guardian, I decided that in order to save you, your brothers, and your home from a horrible fate, you will be married. To Clarence."
"WHAT!" Rose stood up, shocked and enraged. "This isn't even your home. It's MINE! And I've protected it long enough to know how to keep it safe. And besides," She sat down again, quickly smiling at her sudden conclusion. "I'm no longer available, Uncle." Rose's face was breaking into a small smile, but her eyes were shining in triumph. It was short lived.
"Who?" Her Uncle snapped.
"I said I was." Rose calmly repeated.
"No, who has taken you?" Lennox barked, a bit louder.
"Wes. The leader of the Silver Falcons." Rose sat straight, proud of her love. Her uncle seemed to seethe in his seat, but was holding it back.
"Well, Rose, darling," She remembered when he used to call her that. "A lot has changed since I have been here five years ago. But no matter. I can change it back."
"Oh no you can't! This is MY home, and I can make you leave." Rose got up from her seat, and was more than ready to use her power to make him, her mother's warnings now taking full effect.
"You wouldn't turn your back on your family, Rose, now would you?" Her Uncle sat calmly, almost unmoved by her willingness to attack.
"You are not family anymore." She simply said, pushing her hand forward. Her mind reeled. No water was coming to her. Nothing at all. "What?" The girl uttered, and she moved her hand out again. She received the same results.
"A child cannot disown an adult, my dear." Her Uncle smiled at her sudden fear. "And you also cannot disown that bracelet I gave to you. You see, it blocks the power you contain with that water crystal of yours." Rose began to try and yank it off, but found she couldn't. "Oh, and did I mention? The only way it can come off is if you use a certain key. Which only I have."
She ran out of the sunroom, somehow knowing that she had to call for help. She couldn't take them on her own. A sudden jerk pulled her to a stop, her eyes beginning to show fear as she quickly gawked back. Clarence had grabbed her tightly around the wrist, his touch harsh and cold. Rose somehow wrenched herself from his grip, her Uncle waiting behind her with Clarence, the seventeen year old breaking a smile as well.
"You can't use the radio either. Clarence disabled it." Lennox's voice scared her, and she ran up the stairs. There was only hope left. Thank God she knew where the Strom Hawks were right now. Her heart was pounding; never before had she been so fearful of her own family. Rose remembered her brothers were in the garage, they would find out later. She finally reached her room, shooting up the ladder to open the hatch after grabbing some paper. A light 'coo' answered her.
"Cosette." Rose breathed out, scribbling on the scrap piece while leaning on the hutch, her pigeon hopping over to come to the door. "Storm Hawks... Please get this." Rose opened the little hatch at the top, her little pigeon complying. The message was slid into the little pouch around its breast, the pigeon cooing the entire time, happy to see its master. "Go to Terra Saharr. I pray you understand this time."
Rose calmed down for a moment, sure that this was her ticket to freedom. Before opening her hands to let Cosette fly away, she sighed.
"Soon we will both be free, I hope." Rose thrust the bird into the air, the coos cut off with the sudden fluttering and flapping of its wings. "Only time will tell." The sentence came out strained, her words lost in the breeze that had seemed alluring that morning.
Not a second after, the hatch was flung open against the roof with a deafening slam. Her brothers burst out, lightly laughing as they ran to her when Clarence popped up as well. The older man lagged behind, letting Clarence help him up. Yuro heard the bird making its way and let out another laugh.
"Too late!" He cheered, Jay-Jay chuckling as well. "I told you our eavesdropping would help someday." The brown haired boy said smartly, still in disbelief how one slime crystal and two snobs could give so much amusement.
"What do you mean 'too late'?" Their Uncle scoffed. "Your sister is powerless, your communication is down, and your sky board crystals are drained because of those fake Nitro crystals."
The last statement started yells and demands from the boys, Rose clutching them to her sides. After scolding them, she turned on her Uncle and his accomplice.
"Too late." Rose removed her hand from Jay-Jay to point to Cosette, who was nothing but a mere dot. "The Storm Hawks will be here soon. With guests." Clarence sent her Uncle a look, anger and impatience mixed together with a horrible combination.
"Well then," Her Uncle straightened his tie and collected himself. "If they are far away from here, then they won't make the wedding. Because it's now three days away, thanks to your bird."
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Oh. My. God. Fly, Cosette, fly!! Review for the next chapter. Aw what the heck, I'll update anyway...