Baubo Crew
By: Luncida Black
Disclaimer: This story is based on a manga, translated into English, 1/2 Prince. I do not own anything that is expressed in my writing, besides the characters, character's names, and some additional facts.
Tuesday. 6:39 a.m.
I was still asleep in my bed. It was a beautiful dream, filled with death and destruction. Blood stained the grass I walked on. Screams were carried in the wind that blew my black cloak out. Bits of many men's insides flicked off the tip of the cursed sword made especially for me.
I walked over to where my friends had made camp. "And she lives! What took you so long?" exclaimed The Blue Witch. She wasn't one for fighting, preferring to stay back at camp and make protective charms and create force fields around us while the battle is going on. She usually pretends that we're going to a party instead of killing people, since she didn't like parties either.
"Sorry, there were some people Hydrangea forgot." I stuck my tongue out at Hydrangea as I said this. She was the trapper in our group. She goes out in the field while I'm killing everyone and lays traps so survivors (the very few ones) can't get out.
"It's Lady Hydrangea! Plus, this guy was bleeding so much that the delicious aroma controlled me!" She defended herself.
Suddenly SilverWolf looked up. "Ya'll, do not start talking about that!" SilverWolf hates blood plus the fact Hydi (Lady Hydrangea is way too long!) and I love the taste of it (NO! WE ARE NOT VAMPIRES!) He joined us because he could cook and we were hungry. He also does not like violence at all.
I ignored him and continued talking to Hydi. "That's why I keep my mouth shut and wear the nose plugs." Hydi shuddered.
"I hate those nose plugs! They ruin my sense of smell!" She complained. I gave her a "no-duh!" look.
"That's what they're supposed to do!" Leprechaun yelled. Ginger (Leprechaun have red hair and she has red hair…get it?) is also a blood-lover, so she came up with the nose plugs so she wouldn't want to go into the battle. She is our Inventor and our Mender. She stays off the field, seeing how she can't fight worth crap.
Hydi and Leprechaun went on fighting as usual. I went to sit next to MaggotPie. She is the most innocent-looking in our group, but the most dangerous. Maggie (Don't ask me why she chose MaggotPie, but I refuse to repeat it more than necessary) was a Necromancer, but not the stereotypical kind. She doesn't go off to graveyards and rise zombies. Instead, she outlines the shape of men with leaves in the mud and then chants an incantation that brings soulless slaves into action, ready to obey their master's will.
After chatting with her for a few seconds, MoonHunter came along, carrying a deer on his shoulders. Hunter (I don't think I need to explain this one) is our archer and hunter. Everyone cheered at the size of the buck. It meant we were going to have a yummy stew tonight!
After depositing the deer with Wolfie (SilverWolf), who continued to cut it up for the stew, Hunter sat in between me and B.W. (The Blue Witch). "So, when are we leaving?" He asked.
Before B.W. or I could answer, Maggie jumped in. "Must you ask this after every battle? You know we don't leave until 24 hours has passed."
"Yes, I do know that but no one has even told me why." He continued, as usual. Sighing, I leaned back so they could bicker over me. B.W. was grinning at me.
"Wow. If an outsider were to look at us, they would think we didn't get along at all." She stated. I looked around the campsite; Hunter fighting with Maggie, Hydi and Ginger having a word duel with Wolfie yelled at them to shut up.
"Hey! Where is your other arm?" I jokingly asked B.W. I was referring to her twin sister, LadyBug. We already had one Mage (B.W.) but she was purely defense, so we needed a mage with offence skills to knock down castle walls. That's where Buggy (We have two Ladies and two insects. Odd.) comes in.
"Ha-ha. She went off to practice her…skills." B.W. ended lamely. She didn't like referring to her sister's powers as magic. I nodded then dropped the subject…at least until it forced itself up again; from the forest sounded a reverberating boom. Everyone instantly shut up.
In a single movement, we all stood up and ran towards the sound in perfect formation. That outsider previously mentioned would realize their previous assumption was wrong. We all got along perfectly. There was a reason we eight could never be beaten, even by an army of 1,000,000.
Soon we reached the riverside. We saw Buggy getting up and rubbing her head. B.W. ran over. "What happened?" Her voice was laced with worry. (She was older then her by twelve minutes.)
"Nothing. I was practicing my bombs when one fell short and the blast knocked me off my feet." She explained. I looked up in the sky and saw several smoke plumes slowly rising in the air. One was considerably closer, while another one was miles off. "Wow! You got some real distance on that one!" I exclaimed, trying to cheer her up.
It worked. She grinned and said "Thanks!"
Once we were sure Buggy was all right, we headed back to the camp at a more relaxed pace, but the moment of danger started my thinking.
Even though we were kids, I was the only one at 13 while the rest were 14 and 15. Yet, we were the best fighters in the realm. We could outscore the best one in our respective skill easily. Plus, we worked for the King. We loved the King and the kingdom and we would give our lives to protect them. And that just might be the price.
Our King, King Charles, is kind and fair. He is the best King anyone could hope for. He recognized our talents when we were all toddlers. Oddly, the king took us in, trained us, and then sent us on our first mission when our ages ranged from 8-10. We slowly started replacing his army, making the people happy.
Even though he was a just King, he still had enemies. Neighboring countries feel he has too much power and attack. The King sends us, and we get there in two days, max. B.W. plans strategy and protects us; Maggie uses her mud slaves to get them to an empty field; Buggy knocks down the walls; I start killing people; Hydi sets up traps with Hunter covering her; and Wolfie replenishes our energy with his food.
It was an efficient system, and no matter how hard the warring countries tried, no one could beat us. We've only had on injury, and that was when Hydi pushed me out of a tree the first time I called her Hydi and broke my leg.
Eventually we got back to the camp and enjoyed our meal, everyone talking at once and yelling to be heard. Our conversation eventually turned to our one friend who wasn't with us.
"I hope Star becomes queen when the King steps down, not the Prince," stated B.W. Everyone nodded in agreement. The Prince was a foul person, but he wasn't always. He wouldn't have been picked as the Prince and the King's "son" if he hadn't been.
The person next in line for the crown is our friend, Star. Right now, she is the King's "niece" and his scripter. She is a very gentle person out of nature, so she wouldn't have been able to come with us on the missions. Instead she is the one that tells us where armies are raising up and she sends us out to stop them.
We all live in the center town of Zeus, where the King's castle is located. All of the towns were named after Greek Gods or Goddesses. Out of the 15 towns in this world, the King rules over 10—Athena, Poseidon, Ares, Demeter, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Hestia, Artemis, and Nike—but one of them—Nemesis—is unpopulated because it is mostly impossible to get over the mountains that surrounds it. But the towns we don't rule over—Hera, Aris, and Hades—are peaceful with the King.
"Well, we don't know whether or not the Prince will stay horrendous when he accepts the role of King." I added, not really thinking what was coming out of my mouth. The rest of the group stared at me in shock. Then, all at the same time, they broke out into the creepiest grins in the whole world.
"You liiiiiiiiike him!" Maggie started chanting, encouraging the rest to join in. I hid my burning face in my hands, wishing I hadn't said anything. I looked to the sky praying that lightning would hit me when I noticed it was dark; time to go to "sleep" as we call it. I stood up and looked at them all.
"Well, would you look at the time? I guess I should 'sleep' now!" I stated in a fake cheesy voice. I accessed the mental menu we all had and picked the option of "Log-Out." The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by my alarm in my room, laying on my bed, and wearing my pajamas. It was time to face another day in the Real Life world.