I'm back, gnomies! Here is chapter 3 where Violetta meets the Leaders of the Red/Blue gardens!
Sun rose up early, the next morning. Violetta and Lily were still sleeping by the broken shed. Violetta had her thumb in her mouth. You see, Violetta has a mild bad habit of sucking her thumb. When Violetta gets upset, stressed out, or mad, sometimes she sucks her thumb because it soothes her. Yes, she should have grew out of this habit. But the problem is, Violetta can't seem to stop. Neither Violetta or Lily heard two voices gathering around them. When Violetta opened her eyes, she yelped. Then, shrank and sucked her thumb, again. In front of her, were two adult garden gnomes. One was a blue gnome lady. She had white hair up, dressed in all blue, and wore a blue hat. In her hand, she carried a shovel. The second gnome had long white hair and beard. He wore a yellow shirt, red pants, brown shoes, and a red hat. They all looked curiously at Violetta.
"Top of the morning, little girl," The woman in Blue greeted, calmly but still cautiously. Violetta still sucked her thumb, she was too scared to speak. Lily woke up and when it saw the two adults, it hid a bit behind Violetta.
"Speak, little girl!" The gnome in Red, barked. "Where are your manners?"
Violetta took her thumb out of her mouth.
"V-V-V-V-V-V-Vi-Violetta!" She stuttered. Judging by the lady's cautious stare and the man's glare, you couldn't blame the little girl gnome for feeling so apprehensive! She also didn't know if they are to be trusted or not.
"Hello, Violetta. I am Lady Blueberry of the Blue Garden," The woman in Blue responded, as she gestured to the Blue fence.
"And I'm Lord Redbrick of the Red Garden," The gnome in red stated, as he showed Violetta the Red fence.
So that's who lives in those two fences! Violetta thought.
"Where did you come from?" Lady Blueberry asked.
"I come from Bath," Violetta said meekly. "A tornado took me from Bath and brought me and my mushroom, Lily, here."
"Where are your parents?" Lord Redbrick inquired.
"And why is your hat purple?" Lady Blueberry pried on.
They have no idea who this little girl gnome could be. They only know gnomes who are either Red, Blue, or green. Never in their lives, had they met a purple gnome. Each leader suspected that somebody from both of their gardens had secretly intermarried and had a purple child! Whoever did that, would be permanently punished!
"I don't have any parents; I am orphan," Violetta murmured, sadly. She didn't feel comfortable about telling them that later she was taken in by Lord and Lady Grossman, who were cruel toward her. Nor the fact that she's running away. Lord Redbrick and Lady Blueberry softened at her response. No wonder she's alone.
"And..my hat's always been purple! I was born with it," Violet said, arching an eyebrow. Why does the color of her hat matter to them?
"Well, what about your parents? Were they purple too? Or was one of them a Red and the other a Blue?" Lord Redbrick questioned.
"No, they were purple too, as I recalled," Violetta answered, truthfully.
"Forgive us, Violetta. We never saw you before so we were just curious," Lady Blueberry said, gently. So neither of her parents were from their gardens, after all.
"Well since you are alone and are a rare purple gnome, why don't you come and live with me in my Blue Garden?" Lady Blueberry asked, gently as she offered her hand out to Violetta. The child smiled a little. But before she could take Lady Blueberry's hand, Lord Rebrick grabbed Violetta's hand.
"Oh no, you don't!" He barked at Lady Blueberry. "She's coming with me instead! In the Red Garden, she will learn a lot of things about being a Red!"
"Like what? How to be illiterate?" Lady Blueberry mocked. She grabbed Violetta's hand. "I could teach her how to be a Blue warrior. She'll be brave, courageous, and smart! Unlike you Reds!"
Lord Redbrick's nose flared and snatched Violetta's hand away from Lady Blueberry.
"I could shape Violetta into a Red warrior! She'll be smart, tough, and strong!" He shouted. "Unlike you Blues!"
Violetta moved her head from side to side as she watched them fight. How could she decide when both of the adult gnomes want her?
"STOP!" She yelled. Lord Redbrick and Lady Blueberry stopped and looked at her. "I thank you for your offers but I can't-"
"You can't decide, eh?" Lord Redbrick, questioned.
"No, you see-" Violetta began.
"How about this?" Lady Blueberry interrupted. "You will stay in the Blue Garden for today And tomorrow, you'll spend a day in the Red Garden. After that, you will choose which garden you want to live in. How does that sound Lord Redbrick?"
"Sounds like a good plan," Lord Redbrick, hesitantly answered. He hated to admit that Lady Blueberry's idea sounded reasonable.
"Um, okay," Violetta nodded, still confused. She started to suck her thumb, again. She really had no idea what things are between the Reds and the Blues.
"Well, let's start off with the Blue Garden. You will love it!" Lady Blueberry cheerfully said, as she took Violetta's free hand and led her and Lily toward the Blue fence.
"Yes but wait until she sees the Blues, especially your nephew!" Lord Redbrick mocked.
"At least, my nephew is more polite than your nephew ever will be!" Lady Blueberry snapped. She turned to Violetta. "Come, you will meet the Blues." Then, she opened the Blue gate and led Violetta into the Blue Garden.
I know, it isn't much but next chapter, Violetta will meet more Blues/Reds, including our favorite certain Blue boy and our favorite certain Red girl! I hope this chapter sounded decent because I was trying to figure out how to have Violetta have access to both gardens and the deal the leaders made with her was the only thing me and Mickey could think of. Well, let me know what you think!