Gray Areas Ch. 3
Looks like I'm on a roll with this story. ^.^ Though I guess having some of the story already typed up on Google Drive had some influence too. Anyways, that was all I had to say so let's get on with the quote.
"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."
-Laura Ingalls Wilder
o0o0o0o0o0o Gray Areas o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The next morning I woke and dressed in another one of my black Greek dresses with an open back down to the small of my back, bare feet, and my hair free down to my calves. My first person to wake up was Carlo since I knew how to wake him. Then I moved on to Eve.
"Eve," I called out softly while I walked up to her bed. "Eve."
She stirred slightly at my voice and turned towards me. I rolled my eyes good naturedly at her as I began to shake her. "Eve."
This time her eye opened blearily and she gave a huge yawn.
"La?" she asked through her disorientation.
"Hey Eve. You need to get up for school."
She groaned from in her pillow but she none the less rose from her bed. "I'll see you downstairs for breakfast."
My last stop was right across from her room where JJ's was.
"JJ," I said as I knocked on his door. I didn't know when he woke up and I didn't want to barge in with him half naked so it would be my best bet to knock first. I didn't get an answer from him so I pushed open his door to see his amongst messed up covers one of his arms under a pillow while his long hair was everywhere. I had to stifle a giggle at the sight as I made my way over to his bed.
"JJ," I tried again, touching his exposed shoulder lightly. The moment I touched him I went flying over him until I was underneath him on his bed.
"Nix?" he asked when he saw me.
"I guess this makes us even," I smiled up at him. "It's time to wake up. We'll have breakfast down in the kitchen once you've gotten dressed."
I tried to sit up but JJ didn't move an inch. "JJ?"
"Huh, oh," he mumbled sitting up on his haunches so that I could roll off the bed.
"I'll see you downstairs."
After quickly shadow traveling down to the kitchen, I started making biscuits and gravy with a side of scrambled eggs, bacon, and fried diced potatoes. I also made lunches for all three of them since the school didn't provide lunch. Carlo all but skipped into the room with wild hair while Eve and JJ meandered into the room.
"Good morning," I greeted them all while I placed plates down at the table. "Carlo, you didn't brush your hair."
He ducked his head in embarrassment and accepted the comb I handed him.
"Morning Nicci."
"Good morning La," Eve chirped, now all bright and cheerful.
"Morning Nix," JJ yawned. Carlo and JJ automatically went to their usual seats while Eve took the empty seat next to Carlo.
"What is this?" Eve and JJ questioned the food on their plate.
"Breakfast," I told them. "Go on and eat up. It's good."
JJ needed no other persuading from me before he tore into his meal. All I could do was shake my head at his behavior. Carlo was exactly the same when he first came to live with me. "JJ, you can eat slower. The food isn't going anywhere."
He rolled his eyes at me but he slowed down all the same. Both JJ and Carlo asked for seconds while Eve simply put her dishes in the sink upon my instructions.
"That was delicious La," she praised me.
"There is food that is better mine," I told her. "But thank you."
Once the two boys were done with their food, I had them come over to me. "JJ, do we need to make a pitstop at your house to grab your backpack?"
"Nah," he said. "I'll be fine without it."
"Alright, then I want everyone to hold hands. I'm going to drop JJ and Carlo off at Dragon Hall first."
And just like that we were off and in front of the school.
"And here's your lunches," I announced while I handed them out.
"Thank you Nicci," Carlo beamed, throwing in a quick hug before he ran off.
"Thanks Nix," JJ said with a light punch to my arm.
"You're welcome JJ. You're welcome to come back to the house after school."
"Am I going to get tackled again?" he teased with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
"No," I blushed at the mention of what had happened last night. Eve raised an eyebrow at our conversation, but kept quiet. "Don't ask."
"I'll be there," he promised before he too disappeared into the building.
"Alright Eve. Let's stop by your house and grab your backpack."
Picking up Eve's backpack and dropping her off at school went by without a hitch which left me with virtually nothing to do except clean and train until school ended. Towards the end of the school day, I started making spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread for dinner. I had a feeling we would be receiving another guest so I made a little bit more than I normally did. When I went to the school to pick up Carlo, Eve was the only one waiting with him.
"Where's JJ?" I asked them when I didn't see him.
"He said he was coming back later," Carlo told me.
"Okay. Why don't we get a move on then, shall we?"
When we got back to my house, Carlo and Eve put their backpacks in their rooms then came back down to the kitchen where I was working on dinner.
"What are you making La?" Eve questioned me while she watched me make the meatballs.
"Spaghetti." Once I had them made I threw them in a pan with olive oil while I began boiling the noodles and popped the garlic bread in the oven. We had about forty-five minutes until everything was ready so I grabbed the CLUE game I had from the lounge on the second floor. "Do you guys want to play a game of-,"
"Nix! I'm back!" JJ called out as he came into the kitchen with Mal by his side.
"Hello Mal," I greeted her cooly, still not forgiving her for what she had almost done to Eve.
"Nicola, Evie, Carlos," Mal returned. "Nicola, Jay has brought to my attention a wonderful ability you have. A certain 'shadow traveling' I think you call it?"
"What about it?" I challenged with slightly narrowed eyes. I did not like where this was going.
"I want you to help me with something."
"Oh?"
"We want to get into the Library of Forbidden Secrets in Dragon Hall, but the only person who has a key is Dr. F. However, if we have you, we could get into there no problem."
"Why should I help you?"
"You get to come with us and make sure Jay doesn't get himself hurt."
"Where exactly are you going?"
"To the Forbidden Fortress."
"What in Zeus's name are you going there for?"
"My mother is absolutely sure that her Dragon's Eye staff is active again so she wants me to retrieve it."
"How did it reactivate?" Eve piped up. "Our parents don't have their magic anymore."
"Jay and I think that there was a hole in the dome or something."
At her words Carlo's, Eve's, and my eyes widened. "So there was? What caused it?"
"One of my machines," Carlo said while shaking slightly. To comfort him I put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed them.
"I don't believe you," Mal accused haughtily. "Prove that you're telling the truth."
"Mal," JJ interrupted as he squirmed uneasily. "I believe Nix."
"That's you. I'm different."
"Fine," I sighed angrily, causing my hair to ignite. "I'll show you."
Without further ado, I gathered shadows together that I formed into a sort of screen where I showed my memories of last night. Carlo and Eve fidgeted as they relived the experience while Mal and JJ watched with dropped jaws at the scene. As soon as it was over, I dispersed the shadows and looked back at Mal to try to challenge what I had showed her.
"So you were telling the truth."
"No fucking duh Sherlock," I grumbled under my breath causing everyone but Mal to stare at me in shock.
"Hey Carlos, do you have your machine here?" Mal asked ignoring my comment.
"Yeah."
"Then go get it. I need to see it."
He looked unsure about it but I gave his shoulder a squeeze and gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's alright Carlo. Go get it."
"Based on your mother's staff coming back to life," I began in hopes to get Mal out of my house faster. "I would say that the hole in the dome allowed magic to come back for a split second. Just enough to kickstart anything magical that has been sleeping all this time."
"That makes sense," Mal mused to herself. In seconds Carlo was back with his box in hand, looking over at Mal with apprehension. "Can you make it work again?"
"No," Carlo admitted fearfully. "I've tried to make it work again but all I get is it beeping off and on."
Like a tracking device, I realized with wide eyes.
"Carlo, let me see that."
There was no hesitation in his handing over the machine.
"What are you doing?" Mal demanded while watching me.
"I'm going to trace the box's tracking object to see if it actually does lead to something magical."
This was enough to pacify her so I closed my eyes and let my own magic flood the machine and shoot out with its own signal. I could feel it soar through the Isle, past some miles of land, until it landed amongst a place of great and evil magic. Holy fuck. With a gasp my eyes snapped open and I stumbled slightly. JJ and Carlo were the first ones to react and each sent an arm out to steady me.
"Well?" Mal pressed eagerly despite my state.
"I'd say that it leads to your mother's staff," I told her with a shaky breath.
"That is wonderful!" Mal cheered. "Now I'll just be taking this."
"No," I said firmly at the distressed face Carlo was making. "Like hell I'm letting you take something that Carlo has worked so hard over." Even though I was weakened from the use of my magic, I could see that Mal was wary about trying to challenge me.
"Fine," she huffed angrily. "Then you're coming with us Carlos. We need that little device to find the Dragon's Eye."
"There is no way Carlo is going to the Forbidden Fortress!" I shouted. "He could get hurt!"
"I second that," Carlo piped up.
"Then why don't you come with us?" Mal offered. "That way you can make sure that he doesn't get hurt."
I glared over at her but I knew that she was not going to let this go.
"Fine."
"If they're going, I'm coming too," Eve announced bravely.
"Thanks Eve," I smiled.
"Your loyalty and kindness sickens me," Mal gagged.
I rolled my eyes at her and handed Carlo his machine so that I could work on the last stretch on dinner.
"We should head out early tomorrow," JJ suggested. "Tomorrow's Saturday so there will be nobody around to see us. We can stop by the-,"
"I have everything we could need for our trip here," I insisted. "We all could sleep here and head out in the morning together. As for right now, we have dinner."
Eve, Carlo, and JJ cheered happily and raced to the table while Mal looked uncomfortable and shifted uneasily. "What are you waiting for Mal. Dinner includes you. Go grab that seat across from Eve."
She slowly made her way to the table while I whipped the spaghetti together and carried it along with the garlic bread to the table. Once their plates were placed in front of them, Carlo and JJ dug in happily. Eve, like the classy princess she is, twirled her spaghetti around her fork with a spoon. Mal still looked uncomfortable, but she began to eat as well.
"After dinner I'll show you to your room," I told her. "That way you can change into some pajamas."
"Why are you so nice?" Mal questioned me. "You kind of freak me out."
"That's just Nicci/Nix/La," Carlo, JJ, and Eve chorused together. All I could do was smile at the explanation that they gave Mal. It was nice to have friends like this. Mal didn't have any words for their comment so she simply continued to eat her food. Like always Carlo and JJ got seconds while Eve and Mal settled for one plate each.
"Alright everyone, now is the time for us to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."
Carlo and Eve followed my instructions dutifully by dumping their dishes in the sink then heading upstairs.
"Okay Mal, I'll show you to your room so that you can turn in for the night."
"My room?" she echoed in confusion.
"Yes, your room," I confirmed easily. "Since you're going to be a part of our group, you might as well have a room here. If you will please give me your hand….,"
Mal was weary about giving her hand to me but she none the less followed my request.
"Now I need you to close your eyes until I tell you to open them."
I then shadow traveled us to the second floor in front of the room directly across from mine.
"Alright Mal, you can open your eyes now."
Her eyes snapped open and she pulled her hand from mine before she pushed open the door in front of her. The empty room quickly morphed into a room with purple, green, and magenta color scheme that influenced all of her furniture.
"Everything you need should be in here, but feel free to come to my room across the hall if you need anything. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
With that I shadow traveled back to the kitchen where JJ was stacking dishes out of the sink.
"Hey JJ," I called to him that made him jump slightly.
"Hey Nix," he returned sheepishly. "I was working on getting this done for you since you made dinner."
My heart swelled with warmth at JJ's sweetness which brought a soft smile to my lips.
"Thanks JJ. Why don't the both of us work together?"
And just like that that both of us eased through the task of washing the dishes and putting them away before we went on to packing the backpacks for tomorrow. There was a deep purple one for Mal, a dark blue and red one for Evie, a black and white one for Carlos, and a red backpack fro Jay. The first thing we packed in there were flashlights (two just to be safe), first aid kits, a knife, water bottles, and food. As a last touch I strapped a sleeping bag on top of all the backpacks in case the trip took longer than the day I expected.
"Are we really going to need all of this?" JJ asked me while eyeing the backpacks.
"Probably not," I answered easily. "But it is better to be over prepared than under-prepared."
He nodded in agreement before he swung his backpack up onto his shoulder.
"Wait, what about you? Where's your backpack?"
"I have that covered JJ," I assured him. "All you have to worry about is making sure you dress in comfortable clothes."
I then hefted all the three remaining backpacks and threw a good night over my shoulder to JJ so that I could slip the backpacks into the others' rooms then headed off to my room. A well deserved hot shower relaxed my muscles and helped me unwind for bed. Once I left the little bit of heaven, I dried then brushed out my hair not bothering to get dressed in pajamas. When there was no one but me in my room, I preferred to sleep naked. I don't know how to explain it but the way the sheets and blanket felt over bare skin was sort of…comforting. It wasn't even five minutes from laying down did I slip into the pleasant abyss known as sleep.
o0o0o0o0o0o Gray Areas o0o0o0o0o0o
There we go lovelies, another chapter to Gray Areas. As always if you have any question, comments, or concerns with the story, feel free to leave a review. Remember, reviews are magic!
-White Wolf