Disclaimer: Same old, same old.
Sorry about the wait, I've been sitting on this chapter for awhile and it's driving me crazy. It's mostly fluff and build up so maybe the next few new ones will start picking up as soon as I can get them written out. :) Un'beta'ed. But as soon as I get one, I'll upload that one instead.
"They cannot know the truth, Aline. They are too young to know." Celebrian spoke angrily.
The two women sat in a glade. The trees reminded him of an eternal spring – everything stuck in an eternal budding stage. It made him sad inside to know these plants would never have the chance to be real blossoms and fully clothed trees. They two women (or what he believed to be women) were wearing blue and purple cloaks of velvet. The woman in the purple cloak also wore a golden circlet inlaid with power runes. The other woman in blue was nervously wringing her hands.
"But they deserve to know the truth! They are fighting for the sake of our court!" Aline cried.
"Enough! They will not and must not know. Any creature of the Seelie court who reveals otherwise will be executed." Celebrian said coldly.
There was something about his dreams that made them have the nightmare feel to them, and Spud was beginning to see that they always told the future's truth. He had once dreamt of an entire day and weeks later he saw it come true. It's why they always left him shaking and cold, in desperate need of being warmed. They way they crept into his bones, sunk into his brain until all he thought of was an irrevocable destiny. It scared him. These cemented futures, destines.
Spud tumbled out of bed to wash the sweat off his face and neck. He was so tired. His limbs felt heavier every day, and he sometimes felt like the ocean waves were beating down on him until he was drowning. Spud sometimes wondered why no one else could see the bruises the waves left on his skin, but he made no comment about them for fear of a backlash from Jake and Trixie. Reminded of Jake, Spud touched the dragon tattoo.
Over the weeks, he had come to love the dragon that encompassed his torso and back all the way to his ankle. It reminded him strongly of Jake, and Spud liked to think that when he touched the dragon, Jake knew how he was feeling in this split moment. Spud sighed. These dreams and the lack of sleeping was going to kill him.
Maybe he would do some homework. The night was no longer for sleeping.
Sluggish, Jake woke up. He ached like he had gotten into a fight with a leprechaun or five goblins all at once. He wondered why he felt so peculiar. But it was still Friday, and as such, Jake had to get ready for school, no matter how much his body hurt.
He went through the motions of washing his face and brushing his teeth, dressing himself and eventually eating. All the while, he tried hard to concentrate on the golden ball in his head. The red string connecting him and Spud seemed to be pulling taut. He was worried for the only emotions coming from Spud were strong and terrible. It made Jake feel sad to know his mate was feeling so many different and conflicted things….and not telling him. He distantly wondered if Spud was afraid to trust him as a result of the Orb switching his polarity.
He stumbled past his swoop and waited for his two friends. Spud was always the first to reach his house, but this time Spud had a surprise! He was going to try to prove to Spud he was mate worthy by being as romantic as possible! Starting now!
As soon as Spud got here that is.
Jake impatiently tapped his foot on the pavement waiting for his precious mate. His attention was immediately perked up when he saw his beautiful and cute mate walking down the sidewalk in a slightly hunched manner. Concern filled Jake at once, what was wrong? Spud did not usual hunch into himself. Did Spud look thinner?
Almost hyperventilating, Jake watched the boy come closer and then all the tension in his body seemed to melt. Spud was so perfect…
"Hey, Spud!" Jake called when Spud was a reasonable distance away.
"Hey, man." Spud greeted in an alto voice that made the hair on the back of Jake's neck stand up.
"Ready to meet Mama Trixie?" Jake asked with his easy going grin.
"Of course." Spud laughed, his laugh hoarse.
Jake ignored his mate's raccoon eyes in favor of savoring his mate's presence. The dragon teen was beyond happy to be reunited with his mate, and he felt the lingering sadness that he had to be separated from his mate at all leave him.
"You okay?" Jake asked casually.
"Huh? Yeah!" Spud agreed.
Jake walked silently next to his strangely masculine, pretty mate. Deciding now was a good time to make a move, Jake grabbed for Spud's hand and was handsomely rewarded by a small but bright smile. He felt the reassuring pressure from his Spud, and Jake's heart beat out of his ribcage.
He smiled too.
Curious and slightly creeped out, Trixie stared blankly at the doll. It was a stick and leaf doll, or so she thought anyways. And it had been next to her head, on her pillow. What the hell?
Trixie chucked the doll as she got ready for school. Maybe she put it that there last night? Yes, that must've been what she did. Relieved, Trixie put the thoughts of psychos creeping into her room late at night to give her a doll like present.
Upon seeing and raising an amused eyebrow at Jake and Spud, Trixie led the way to school. This time, she opened the door and 'accidentally' hit Jake with it before she finally went in as well. She smiled sweetly at his scowl and hurt arm. Yeah! That better teach him to hit her with any doors from now on! Spud looked at her demented smile funny, but she figured she'd tell him her secret later. Right now, she had a crap load to put in her locker.
Spinning her combo, she opened her locker and blueberries poured out. Trixie closed her eyes tightly and prayed that they would go away. Opening her eyes, she not only saw the mass amount of blueberries, she saw her classmates gawking at them too. Deciding that ignoring the problem had worked earlier, so it would work now, Trixie acted.
She put her books away normally, closed her locker door normally and walked away without stepping in a graveyard of blue like normally. Humming to herself so she could block out the whispers, Trixie ran-walked to her next class. Nope. Nothing to see here.
Tinsel sighed in agitation. Why did humans insist on eating processed crap? The Great Mother was eating something called chips, something Tinsel would actually called greasy potatoes with a mine of salt that was clearly not healthy for her. The dragon was eating something called a cookie, something that Tinsel had come to the conclusion was nothing at all like a real cookie. And the human? The human was drinking chocolate! You do not drink chocolate as chocolate in solid form was enough but in a liquid form? What were humans thinking?!
Something had to be done. Tinsel grinned devilishly. The dragon and the human would also have to sacrifice their suicidal ways in order to get the Great Mother to eat healthy for the Prince. Staring at their lunch table, Tinsel plotted.
"These blueberries are really good!" Spud declared as he munched.
"Where did you get the blueberries?" Trixie asked in surprise.
"From your locker!"
Trixie's face went blank for a split second, "Where did you get the blueberries? There was none around my locker. Today has been completely normal, and it is not normal for blueberries to spill out of my locker, got it?" She finished growling.
"I got the blueberries of Jake's locker, my bad." Spud said shrugging sheepishly and in fear.
"Oh? He decided to bring blueberries today? How unusual of him!" Trixie exclaimed.
"Uh huh." Spud nodded. "Maybe we should get to English?"
And the two friends walked to English in an awkward silence.
"I need something both sweet and endearing. Something that just says "I love you!" without being a girl about it. Hmmm." Jake pondered to himself with a frown and bitten pencil.
He tapped the paper by his head in frustration. Maybe a poem? No, he sucked at poetry. No poetry. How about candy?! No, Spud started to eat "right". Pft. Like eating junk food is the wrong way to eat. There simply was no wrong way to eat! Unless you liked to eat humans then maybe there was a wrong and right. So, no candy. Maybe a for real date? To see a movie? The idea had merit. Spud liked movies. Jake liked movies. Movies it was!
Now, just how to ask upon this date….
He banged his head on the table. Damn it.
"They are weak. They see only which they want to believe. If anything, Alone, I am saving the world from an ignorant species. They are destroying the planet around us. I am saving it." Celebrian explained quietly, her purple cloak on.
"My sister does not seem to agree." Alone commented, a cloak similar to Aline's on.
"Your twin for reasons unknown has decided that the human race can be saved. She believes that humans are evolving from the violence hungering animals they truly are. I see much more clearly than you sister." Celebrian countered.
"That is true. It is in her very nature to be so forgiving. I think she would forgive the Unseelie if she could only get close enough to one!" Alone agreed.
"I'm glad we could have this discussion." Celebrian smiled, her teeth showing.
"Likewise my Queen."
Spud shook the fog from his mind. Purple and blue swirled in and out of his vision. What was going on with him? The dreams in him could no longer be considered just dreams. Visions. But why was he receiving them now? What was he meant to do?
Shuddering, Spud got up to relived the past few nights. There was no rest for champions.
Champions? Spud wondered at the thought that had wandered into his brain and now refused to lodge itself. What was a champion to these people exactly?
Trixie growled. The not-really-there gifts kept popping up! This morning it had been a wooden handmade horse that reminded her of a chess piece more than like a real horse. Who the hell was fucking with her?
Scowling, Trixie forgone her usual routine and instead went to fetch breakfast first. Fruity Pebbles would make sense of this problem as well as Lucky Charms. Delicious when by themselves and yummy when combined. Trixie reached for her bowl and cereal boxes, and screeched.
Her precious Fruity Pebbles were dried little chunks of fruit! In desperation, Trixie reached for her Lucky Charms. No! Her cereal box only yielded shamrocks! Fearful, Trixie ripped apart her other boxes of sugar. It couldn't be! They were all gone and replaced with fruit or grass! No!
Trixie cried at the lack of sugar in a terrible wail.
Spud grinned like a fool as him and Jake walked home. Their date had been amazing! Pizza, sci-fi movie and kicking wizard butt always made him happy! Although, the last bit had not been planned. He felt nice and tired as well – the kind of tired where your body falls into a deep like coma sleep. He was looking forward to the sleep more than anything else.
"Something on your mind?" Jake asked curiously.
"I was just thinking about how tired I am, and how nicely I'll sleep. I mean today was so busy!" Spud exclaimed excitedly.
"Are you… are you happy?" Jake asked tentatively.
"Extremely." Spud said after a brief pause.
"Is anything bothering you?" Jake asked with a tight frown.
"Nope! I just haven't been sleeping very well lately." Spud smiled gently at Jake.
Jake paused to consider Spud's words for a moment. He stared at his mate through the moonlight before smiling back.
"Can… Do you want me to sleep over tonight?" Jake asked shyly.
Spud considered Jake's offer silently, wondering if the dreams would stop if Jake spent the night. The worst that could happen would be Jake saw him wake up from them, right?
"Sure." Spud grinned.
Jake hugged Spud tightly to his chest as he felt his mate shudder and cry. The red ball in his mind screamed fear and sadness into his mind and all he could do was hold onto Spud. Was this what the ball had been trying to tell him? How long had he been tormented by these dreams?
"Shh. It's alright Spud. It's alright, I'm here."
I feel like this story has out grown its name, any suggestions to reflect the fact it's am arc?