Candy and Grenda smiled as they walked towards the small town. The pair of girls rarely ever got to see it, having lived in the mansion most of their lives.
Candy's father had 'disappeared' when she was very young, and the man had been working on a very important deal with Grenda's father when he had gone missing. Grenda's father had gone missing a few weeks later, and just like Candy's father, no-one knew if he would ever come back or where he had gone.
Grenda's mother, a fierce and formidable woman, had died of 'a broken heart' according to the doctors a couple of months after her husband's disappearance.
This left Grenda and her older brother to Nikki, with Candy. Candy was about three or four at that time, and the two of them were instant best friends.
Candy herself, had no siblings at all. She was a very lonely child when her father wasn't around to keep her company, and her mother did absolutely nothing to her the poor girl.
Nikki hadn't been touched in any way by her husband's disappearance at all, and many people had suspected that she had something to do with it all. In reality, she hadn't actually given a fuck about him, so his death had not touched him in any way at all.
Candy sighed and looked over at her friend. Grenda heard her little friend and looked at her as well. The larger girl reached over at her and put her arm around her, trying to cheer her up.
"When can we tell my mum? I don't feel good keeping it from her. and what about Dipper, we can trust him, right?" Candy asked, finally looking up at Grenda, who nodded thoughtfully.
The larger, older girl gave Candy a gentle pat on the back before moving forward slightly. The girl tossed her head over her shoulder before starting to talk.
"Well, we don't know about Dipper, but Nikki would go nuts at us. You know that. She would kick us out, sell us a slaves…..other horrible things like that….and Candy, I can't lose you. You are my best friend and if I lose you then it will be like-no it will be-losing a part of myself. A part of myself that I couldn't bear to lose. Please, for now, let us just keep it from your mother, and when she can't do anything about it, we can tell her."
Candy nodded, smiling at her friend, her wise words touching her quite fondly, giving her advice on what to do about her friend.
The two of them kept a very dark and important secret, that if the wrong people found out about, they could be in very, very serious trouble.
"Look, let us not talk about that right now and focus on the fact that we are already in town. Wow, that was fast," Candy said, smiling over at her older friend.
Grenda let out a short laugh and gently swung Candy up onto her back. The younger girl laughed as she hung onto Grenda, who was now giving her a full on piggie back.
Both girls giggled as they ran down the final hill, grabbing onto a couple of trees on the way down to stop themselves to prevent them from hurting themselves.
Thankfully for the two of them, they were able to get to the library without any problems. The library was on the other side of the town, so being able to sneak into the town, and make it to the library without being spotted by anyone was very good.
"Hello, we are looking for a book on sigh language, would you happen to have any?" Candy asked the woman, who looked like a true librarian.
She had big, round glasses mad out of steel and glass, as well as a large shall wrapped around the bottom half of her face, along with a pair of clothes that looked normal for a small towner.
The woman looked over the bench at the two young girls, who almost flinched when she began to talk in her load and booming voice,
"And why would you two sweet looking girls want books on sign language, hmm?"
Candy took a deep breath in, worried that the shop owner may do something horrible to her, she did look like the kind of person that existed in fairy tales and went and ate up little children who got lost or run away from their homes….
"It is for a friend. He recently became unable to talk, so we decided to teach him siren, sorry sign language so that he can still talk, or at least communicate with us, and it would make out day if you could be as kind as to direct us to where the sign language books are, we'll pay full price, and more, if you want us to, just please take us to the books," Candy said, her voice cracking slightly.
The woman peered over the desk at the two girls, before slowly getting up and moving her hand in a motion that told the two girls that they needed to follow her.
Candy looked over at Grenda, who was silently pray. Praying to ask that we don't getting eaten by this woman, I hope, Candy assumed, fear starting to overtake her body as it just about went into flight and fight mode.
"SO, I presume that by the fact that you two are in such a rush means that you aren't supposed to be here, I am I correct?" the woman asked, turning around to face Candy and Grenda, who were frozen stiff with fear.
Candy slowly nodded, despite knowing that the woman probably already knew the answer.
"So, the no-one would be able to know where you went, should you, perhaps, disappear~ nor would they be able to hear you scream!"
At that point Candy just about fainted at the woman's words, terrified that she would never get to see the light of sun ever again, or take notes on Dipper or see her mother or, or…
"Relax, I'm not going to eat you. Barely anyone comes up here to buy books, so I take the opportunity to scare them. Besides, this job was originally to just get money to help my dad, and then the stupid librarian passed away, so I am forced to look after it until someone else comes and decides that they want too work here. I'm Wendy, by the way, Wendy Corduroy,"
Candy stared up at the woman, Wendy. Wendy removed her glasses, shawl and a few of the items of clothing that made her look like a terrifying fat old woman that was likely to gobble them all up.
Now, without her scary get up, she looked like a normal nineteen year old woman with red hair and piercing green eyes. Her slim build was covered in a flannel shirt and pants, which was uncommon for woman in this town.
"Seriously though, you really shouldn't come to this part of the woods all alone, there are things that would like to hurt you more than anything."
Candy nodded, and looked over at Grenda, who looked fine now that Wendy had not turned out to be a terrifying woman that could gobble them up at any second, without any warning what-so-ever.
"So, why exactly do you need this book. I mean, I've lived in this town my whole life and never seen any mute kid before," Wendy asked, turning her head around slightly to get a better look of the fifteen year olds before her.
"Our friend is a siren and they cut made it so he couldn't speak…" Grenda said, her eyes full of sorrow for Dipper, who had lost his voice to the pirates.
"Wait, I thought the Northwest's siren a female and she still had her voice, do they have that weird ability to change genders like some fish do? And then they must have cut out her voice, poor thing….she looked so miserable,"
Candy and Grenda shot a look at one another. Wendy obviously thought that they were talking about the siren that the Northwest family had bought off of a local fisherman that had managed to capture her. they had watched the poor thing being dragged in by the tail, fins ruined and people flocking over her until the Northwest's had bought her.
"No, there is another siren who is our friend. He is a boy. He lets Candy take notes on him so that she can write a book on how sirens aren't actually that deadly, and how they are like us. He is really nice, but he is the custody of a man named Charles, who is the worst to him. Dipper deserves so much better. I mean, I agree with Candy. Sirens only hunt and eat humans because that is their natural prey. We hunt and eat cows, pigs and fish, so what is the difference really? Who are we to judge the sirens because they hunt us and tear us from out families, when they do the same to us, and many other creatures. It is called justices, bitches."
Wendy smiled at Grenda's language, acting like the irresponsible adult that she was. She smiled, telling both of the younger girls before her that she agreed with them.
"That is really bad-ass of you two to do that, particularly for a siren that you almost nothing about. So if you two bad asses ever need some help from an adult that should be responsible, but isn't, I'm your girl okay. Promise me that I am the one that gets called first."
Candy and Grenda looked from Wendy to each other, before nodding their heads. The two girls would probably, most likely need an ally in this world, and someone like Wendy seemed the perfect choice.
"One last question, though Wendy. What is your opinion on girls and girls, and boys and boys, romantically?"
Wendy looked at the two girls, before a large smile grew onto her face.
"Well, I think that we, as humans, have no right to judge people over who they like, and I think that I don't mind it. If I said that I didn't I think that I wouldn't only be hurting your feelings and trust, but denying a part of me that I don't care if other see…"
Candy and Grenda's eyes widened in surprise. So Wendy like girls as well? That was new. The two of them had never met someone else like them, so meeting Wendy was like going to paradise. She accepting them for who they were, and didn't totally freak out when they said that their best friend was a siren. She was one of the actually decent humans that the two teenagers had met over the years.
"Oh, here we are. That took very long, don't you think? Anyway, it was good to meet you two. I think that no matter what, you two are going to succeed. You have good motives and you are responsible, you care for your friends. I am glad that you two are one of my best friends."
Candy's eyes widened as she realized what the older girl had said. She thinks that we are her friends? That is so…so..awesome! we have some another friend now, that is so awesome! I think Grenda is also very excited as well… Candy thought as she watched Grenda just about burst into happiness as Wendy pulled out a book and handed it to them.
Candy reached to grab her purse and pay for the book, before Wendy shook her head and guided Candy's hand to put the purse back into her pocket.
"I'll let you guys have this one for free, thanks for the chat, by the way."
Candy blinked several times in confusion.
"are you sure? I mean, we can pay for this…" Grenda told Wendy, who shook her head once more and led them to the door.
As the two girls walked back to Candy's mansion, they saw Wendy waving to them. they looked at each other and smiled.