Spike stubbornly stared her parents in the eyes as she stood in the doorway of the third house they had ventured into, hoping to find "the One." Sadly, the heads of the Brandt family were finding immense opposition from their middle child, out of five, Spike. Chaviva and Leo Brandt stared down at their daughter, hoping she would give up first. Spike's younger siblings, Amelia and Adrian, already knew Spike would win. Spike always won.
Finally, Chaviva and Leo turned away and sighed. Chaviva slumped away from her husband's arms and into the passenger seat of the car as Leo went to talk to the woman guiding them around the few vacant houses in hick town, South Park. Spike still hadn't eased up, so her younger brother and sister cautiously approached her, each tugging on one of her hands, trying to get a show of affection from her that they used to receive without asking.
The twins already knew Spike wouldn't deny them as she uncrossed her arms to slip her gloved hands into their own, tiny ones. Amelia and Adrian still didn't understand why Spike changed so much from how she used to be, but they knew Spike was still the same inside. Well, almost.
Leo and the guide, Spike couldn't remember if it was Mrs. Getsby or Mrs. Garnet, made their way towards the siblings. The woman—Spike remembered now, Mrs. Garnet—beamed at them before she rushed out, "Congratulations! This is a wonderful-"
"Yeah, whatever." Spike rose an arrogant brow to the woman. She never did have time for phony people. "Give us the paperwork and get the fuck away from here. Oh! Before you go, we're staying here until it's finalized whether we're getting the house or not. Gimme the keys dumbfuck." Leo began to scold his daughter before she shushed him with a low growl in her throat, reminding him of the violent change throughout his sweetest child.
Mrs. Garnet gaped at the rude punk before accepting it as going along with her appearance. Spike shifted her weight to her other foot, the chain hanging off of her spiked belt jingling against her waist. "I," Mrs. Garnet cleared her throat for a less shaky start, "I understand. Here you go." Mrs. Garnet dangled the lone key to the house from a carefully manicured nail.
Spike shook Amelia from her left hand, the one with the black, leather half-glove, and held it out, showing off her own manicured nails glistening with black nail polish. Spike noticed Mrs. Garnet's twitch of anger at the obvious challenge. Spike won. After all, Spike's nails were longer. And real.
Amelia watched the exchange, and started mimicking Spike as Mrs. Garnet shoved the key into Spike's hand. It was obvious it hurt Mrs. Garnet more than it hurt Spike. Amelia knew for sure she loved her older sister. Spike was cool.
Ignoring everyone else, other than her younger siblings, Spike turned to enter the house once more, beckoning to Amelia so the younger girl would grab her hand again. Amelia and Adrian, released from the tense silence between the adults, and young adult, began swinging Spike's arms for a small thrill. The teenager led the twins to the room she had staked out as theirs and let go of their tiny palms to kneel down to their eye-level.
"Yo, Lia, Ian, this'll be your room from now on." Spike paused as they looked around in wonder then giggled. The two were still so innocent even though they were in fifth grade. Their mother had kept them insanely sheltered for as long as she could. Soon Amelia and Adrian had turned their attention back to Spike, deciding it was more fun to smear her black lipstick and play with the skull settled above her eyebrow.
Spike laughed and detached her younger brother and sisters' hands from her face. "Chill, you two. I'll be sleeping in the room across the hall-" Spike held out the hand clad with the ripped up elbow-length princess glove this time, to indicate her chosen room, "Do you guys want to sleep with me until we get our beds, or what?" Amelia and Adrian jumped on Spike, avoiding her spikey jewelry with well-practiced ease.
"We want to sleep with you, Amy!" The twins spoke at the same time, not realizing their mistake until Spike tensed completely and let out a rattled growl. Spike didn't like to be called Amy. Amelia pinched Adrian at the same time he pinched her, as punishment for forgetting their older sister's rule.
Adrian spoke alone this time, with a needy voice only children could pull off without being hated, "we're sorry, Spike. It was a mistake." Amelia looked into Spike's narrowed eyes with tears in her own, waiting to be joined by her brother. With the power of both of the twin's puppy dog eyes, Spike was able to slowly release the tension from her body.
The ravenette shook her head, sending her black and orange locks spinning around each other. "Yeah. Okay." She pressed a long finger to the spiked collar on her throat and popped her neck, ridding herself from all the bad feelings. Spike was all the way calmed down before she heard her parents talking with Mrs. Garnet about the papers they needed to fill out down the stairs in the room she had pinned as the living room.
Spike always chose the organization of the house, since she was the neatest of them all. Their father was a mess, and their mother couldn't handle such big projects, especially moving into a new home. Spike pressed a finger to Amelia and Adrian's mouths before creeping halfway down the stairs, careful of her platform boots and the multiple chains attached. The goth peered between the staircase and first floor ceiling at the adults settling the official matters. Perfect.
In a burst of mischief, Spike jumped over the polished wooden rail, relishing in the solid thunk her boots made as they made contact with the tiled floor. The women jumped, clutching their hands to their hearts, and Leo just grasped the arms of his chair in shock. All three were staring at Spike with wide eyes. In the background Amelia and Adrian were clutching each other in laughter.
Spike smirked at her parents, "what? I have to get our stuff from the car." The girl chuckled as she ambled out of the front door. Once the door was shut, Spike sighed and it seemed like her body just collapsed in on its self. One shaky hand sought the wall as the other covered her mouth, hoping to stave off some sort of nausea.
Spike clenched her eyes shut and willed herself to keep being strong. Mentally she patted herself on the back for doing so well with Amelia and Adrian. Even the hands of children terrified her. The switched girl bit down on her cheek as hard as she could and shook the tears from her orange eyes—it was contacts. Spike clenched her fist, pulled herself straight, and pulled her previous aura of a confident rebel around her, like a cape, hoping to survive the world with her finely honed armor.
Spike strode to the car with a smirk on her face, as if she was being watched, and popped the trunk to grab her things. Seconds after she had pulled her suitcase and backpack from the trunk, Amelia and Adrian ran out of the house. Spike grinned down at them. "Oh! How terrible! I cannot succeed in my endeavor! Whatever shall I do?"
Amelia looked up with wide, curious and excited eyes. "Oooh! What, what? We can help!" It always did impress Spike when her younger siblings knew what she was saying no matter what. Still playing, Spike leaned over to whisper conspiratorially to them.
"I have a secret package I must send to the king of Alderaith. Alas, the journey is too dangerous and long for one such as I. If only I had two young brave warriors to bring to my benevolent ruler. For without it, he will lose his land to the ravages of war. If only, if only…" The twins' eyes shone with excitement; they loved the games they played with their sister. The stories she came up with and the adventures she provided them with were always fun.
Adrian and Amelia locked eyes and nodded solemnly, ready to take on this "important task" their older sister had set them. "We'll do it." Spike paused, as if to think, really wondering how they could talk in synch.
"Then take these," Spike handed them their sleeping bags, the twins shared one and Spike had her own, "and travel to the Great land of Alderaith. You must get past the gateway of the Divine realms and traverse the Howling Mountains. Once you have reached the top, follow the well-worn path to the gates of Alderaith. There you will meet the messengers of the king. Be safe! Travel well, Brave Warriors." The children screeched with joy and ran into the house, most likely to their room or Spike's.
Spike just smiled tersely, still not over her earlier panic, and just grabbed the twins shared suitcase and bag, still holding her own, and walked into the house. Spike always liked efficiency, and she found, manipulating children to do the tasks for her, happily, was always more efficient. Spike glanced up and down the long road, she chose this house simply because it was all alone for a long expanse of land, and sighed. She had to try better here. Not just for the twins. For herself.