Chapter 10: Curses
"No-good-dirty-rotten-thief-of-a-great-grandmother." Fidget mumbled under her breath as she dug a new hole. It was her fifth since she came here. Some of the holes she dug weren't even completed, which she grinned at. She heard Caveman mumble something to himself.
"No-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." He said. The others laughed at our murmurs of blame.
"I smell another story behind these people you blame," Magnet said. More of like ordered us to speak. Caveman started first.
"A long time ago, my great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats, was in love with a girl called Myra Monkey." He scratched his head. "I think that's what her name was. Or was it Mankey? Anyways, she was supposed to be really beautiful. Elya went to a fortune teller to get help. She told him to carry a pig up a mountain every day, and sing to it a lullaby as it drinks from a stream. The pig was supposed to bribe Myra's father into letting him marry Myra. Once he did that, and was married to Myra, he was supposed to carry the fortune teller up the mountain. If not, his descendants would be cursed, etcetera. He didn't marry Myra, and forgot to carry the fortune teller up the mountain. So my family blames everything on him, for stealing the pig and stuff."
"Whoa man, that story is complicated. How did you memorize it all?" Armpit asked.
"My grandfather would tell me bits and pieces of different stories at night. We had to share a room."
"What else did he tell you?" Zigzag inquired.
"My great grandfather got robbed by Kissing Kate Barlow." Caveman stated proudly. His words were met with 'Wow's and other stuff.
"She's my great grandmother." This simple statement hushed all the boys. Fidget was standing up in her hole, facing towards the distant mountains that were barely visible with the midday haze.
"What?" Magnet asked. The boys were too awestruck by what she had said to ask any more. Instead of Fidget, Blaze began to talk.
"Fidget and I are the great grandchildren of Kate Barlow. Everyone knows her legends, right?" The boys nodded, and he continued in his story mode voice, making it sound almost like a ghost story. As he began again, D-Tent put down their shovels and sat on the edges of their holes, listening, and nothing else.
"About a hundred years ago While Kate was out doing her thing, stealing, killing, and kissing in a desert much like this one, she met up with a certain lady. This lady was a gypsy, and believed in curses, magic and such. Now none of you forget that gypsies often have many shiny baubles and chains, meaning that they were rich from their trade.
"Kate set her pack on the gypsy's carriage, plundering it, and upturning it. Before Kate left the gypsy in the desert, she knelt down next to the gypsy.
'So tell me,' Kate said snobbily, 'what does my future have in store for me?' and the gypsy replied in a voice that haunted Kate forever.
'Your future is cursed. Your children and your children's children shall always be smothered with bad luck until they reverse your sins…' and with that, the gypsy lay back and laughed as Kate shot her.
"But Fidget and I know that it's just a fairy tale, right Fidget?" Blaze looked at his sister quizzically, but she only turned back once with a strange look in her eye, and then continued digging her hole. The rest of the boys followed suit.
"Hey Storyteller, how's your hole coming?" X-Ray called out no more than an hour later.
"Almost done." Blaze replied. "You doin' alright Fidget?" Fidget nodded, but didn't break her pace.
Fidget's POV
Should I tell him? Should I tell all of them? About what I did and about the curse? I asked the voice.
Well, that isn't for me to decide, now is it?
You were always telling me to do things before.
Meh.
'Meh' isn't a very wise conscience word for you.
Shut up.
Neither is that. Am I rubbing off on you?
Of course not! However, Casey…You will tell them soon, won't you?
…Yeah… I guess I should. But, when?
Wait for the opportune moment.
You've been watching too many Pirates of the Caribbean.
I don't believe Minds can watch TV.
Meh. You probably have a portable DVD player.
And that was how my weird conversation with the Voice ended. I walked back from my hole, muttering about pirates and evil consciousnesses, following the rest of the D-tent boys. For no reason, I felt extremely lost and sad. Pessimistic.
Stupid Voice.
And Caveman had been giving me strange looks a lot after the storytelling. Not to mention that my bro has a nickname. Storyteller. But we just call him Teller.
I overheard a conversation between him and X-Ray.
"Dude, you and your sister are complete opposites. You're all calm, and a great storyteller; you got a talent there. But Fidget, she has random bursts of craziness or sadness or anger, and barely talks."
"We sort of grew up differently. Not much of a big deal." Blaze replied.
"Oh? Say, Teller, can I ask you a favour?" X-Ray inquired slyly.
"As long as it has nothing to do whatsoever with holes, then I'm perfectly fine with you telling me about this favour. I'll only do it if I agree to it."
"Umm…Can you tell us a bit about Fidget? I mean, we don't know what her crime was, or about her family besides you, or anything like that. Y'know, D-tent is like one big family; we have to know about each other, and we'll get along."
"Well I don't know what her crime was either. And some secrets are better left untold."
It was about that time that I tuned out and had my Voice conversation. In fact, I think that was the first time my Voice answered me almost directly. I then passed all the tenters, muttering about the stuff I have already named.
Damn Pirates.
Stupid Voice.
Annoying boys.
A while later, we had finished dinner, and were headed to the Wreck room. I was, of course, the last one in. I also tripped, ungracefully, over someone's outstretched legs. I squealed slightly.
A different someone reached out to grab me before I hit the ground, and succeeded in closing their fist on a handful of my shirt.
The shoulder of my shirt was pulled down to reveal the few bandages I had wrapped around the glass cuts and burns from the cursed day. A bit of the bandages were coming loose, and in the suddenly silent wreck room, almost everyone had a view of my burnt and cut up arm. Blaze broke the silence.
"Casey –did you- uh, were you in the fire?" I looked up at him from where I hung suspended in the air by an arm and my shirt. My eyes were wide, and all I wanted was to run out of there, the smelly broken building.
Crap.
I was trapped.
"Fire? There was a fire?" Zigzag's eyes lit up with a pyromaniac's evil glint. We all ignored him. Eyes of all different tents, including D-tent, flicked back to my shocked expression, and my brothers, which was close to mine.
Squid, who had saved me from falling, pulled me back up, and I fixed my shirt so no one could see the bandages. But it was too late. The damage was done.
"Fidget?" Squid asked quietly.
"How many stories do you have?" asked the ever inquisitive X-Ray. That ticked me off.
"Why can't you all just stop sticking your noses into my business? I don't know your life story, now do I? I know I'm a girl, and that my presence in this camp is something totally new to you, but sometimes you just have to deal with it. I'm just another kid, and one who doesn't like to be bothered. So shut up and leave me alone!"
Yup, my fuse was short today. The dynamite blew up right in their faces. And if they didn't oblige, then there was still more waiting in the wings.
My outburst had once again covered the Wretched room into total silence. I pleaded silently with my brother, begging with my eyes that he doesn't tell the boys about the fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a genuine face; Squid looked at me with worry, and I knew he was aching to ask if I was okay. I just signalled to him secretly, that I had a short fuse today. He nodded, but the worried look didn't go away.
I stalked out of the room, feeling my cheeks go pink. Rounding a corner, I slid down a wall between two buildings and stayed there until the sky was filled with stars, and most of the boys were in their tents.
It was after lights out that I woke up, still sitting with my back against the wall, staring at the other wall in front of me. I estimated it was around midnight. The camp hovered in a tense quiet, as if something was going to happen at any moment that could upset the balance.
I heard a crunching of footsteps, and I froze, expecting Mr. Sir.
"Fidget?" Came Squid's voice. Relief flooded through my body, and I forgot to remind myself that I wanted to be alone.
"Squid!" I exclaimed in a whisper, and ran to his dark form, burying my face in his jumpsuit, hugging him. My eyes overflowed, and tears dampened his shirt.
He hugged me back and rubbed circles on my back. Softly, he began to sing.
If only, If only,
The woodpecker sighs.
The bark on the trees was as soft as the skies
As the wolf waits below,
Hungry and lonely
He cries to the moo-on
If only, if only.
His voice drifted off into the starry sky, and I sang the second verse.
If only, if only
The moon speaks no reply.
Reflecting the sun, and all that's gone by.
Be brave, my weary wolf,
Turn around boldly.
Fly high my baby bird,
My angel,
My only…
I looked up at him after drying my tears.
"Sorry for making you worry…" I whispered at him. I had the urge to bow my head in shame, but his eyes held me.
"You should come back to the tent and apologize to the rest, not just me. They were all worrying about where you went."
"hmm." Was my intelligent reply. I looked at my shoes, which were invisible in the night.
"But," He continued, the worry still in his eyes. "There's one thing I want to do first." And before I could protest, he tilted my chin up and crashed his lips against mine, pressing me slightly against the wall. Through his kiss I could feel his worry, and his love for me. And yet he was unsure, unsure if he kissing me was acceptable. I barely surprised myself when I kissed him back. The Voice knew it, and my subconscious knew it; I just had to realize it for myself. I was in love.
He deepened the kiss, and eventually we broke apart. I could tell he was happy by the look in his eyes and the way he carried himself. We smiled at each other, and walked back to D-Tent; I was leaning on him because I was so tired. Eventually, he picked me up and carried me back to the tent. I fell asleep halfway there, even if the distance was short.
Um, I was a bit unsure of this chapter. I was reading Lemonsour's Hidden and got a bit inspired. (sorry, I don't know where all the capital letters go in the name, and I'm too tired to check).
So...I am disappointed in you all. Four reviews. Only four. And how long has it been, a month? Geez. you all suck. Except for the four who DID review. You guys are cool. I wish I could send candy through the puter.
Now. If anything seems a but 'off', it's because it's 1:40 am and I haven't typed anything in a while. I had to think for five minutes before typing; I had completely forgotten my storyline.
Please review, ask questions, and suggest anything for the next chapter. Whatever floats your boat. Until then, I will be working on several other stories that happen to NOT be fanfiction, too bad! MUAHAHAHAHA! Anyways,
Toodloos!
Sarii