Chapter Twenty One: Run Brandon Run
Brandon heard a little nagging voice at the back of his head screaming at him to drop the queen and high tail out of there, he wasn't gonna lie, it was damn tempting. His wide eyes took in his towering blond girlfriend that was slowly making her way across the foyer toward him with deadly little steps, her sharp eyes never leaving his. Oh shiiiiit! Says something you idiot! Say something before she assumes the worst! The voice in his head told him in a panic; Brandon gulped and tried for his best killer smile "Hey pumpkin, I've missed you so much!"
Stella halted in her walk and just stared at him with wide eyes, disbelief written all over her lovely feature "Have you?!" Outrage coated every syllable and Brandon didn't miss the way all the girls took a big collective step back.
Before Brandon knew it he was walking across the foyer quickly to meet her, a sweet smile on his face "Of course I did babe, what was it? Three days? Four? Felt like an eternity"
Stella's sour face didn't change when she stared at him, her fingers still gripping the long steel spear with the long point and spikes on both ends, her eyes didn't leave his when she asked "So who's that?"
"Who?" Brandon asked innocently, raising his eyebrows.
"The girl you're carrying!"
"Oh!" Brandon had forgotten he was holding the queen, the exact look alike to Stella, he looked down and found her gazing nervously back at him "Ummm...no one"
Stella's face abruptly turned to outrage and she lifted up her spear a few inches and changed so she was in a fighting pose, Brandon scrambled to put Saloria down and swish her behind him "Stell, honey! Just stay calm!"
"I am calm!" Stella now gripped the weapon in both hands, eyes blazing "But I want a goddamn introduction!" She paused for a moment "Sweetie"
Brandon knew he was treading on thin ice, any more bad things said to Stella and she'd snap. He didn't know how to handle this situation. Before he could say anything Saloria limped out from behind him, keeping a hand on his arm to steady her, and smiled nervously at Stella "Y-you must be Stella. I've heard so much about you, I never thought I'd get to meet you"
"Obviously" Stella replied slowly, eyes on the hand resting on Brandon's arm.
Saloria slowly took it away "I-I can explain, you see...ah...Brandon was just taking me up to my room"
"No!" Brandon exclaimed waving two hands out in front of him as the girls behind Stella gasped in horror, and buried their faces in their hands.
Stella's eyes went a little wider "What? Why?"
Saloria didn't seem to notice the looks the girls behind Stella were shooting her, the don't-say-anything-bad look "Well we had a rough night, it was all very tiring, spent the whole time together-no!"
"No!" Brandon exclaimed again, true panic showing in his face.
"No!" The girls all yelled out in anguish, dreading Stella's wrath.
Stella's upper lip and eye literally twitched with unconcealed fury, she was almost snarling, jealously radiating off of her. Brandon didn't know what else to do, he was lost, he set eyes on the group behind her and was surprised to see Mandy among them. He didn't know why he did it but he raised his hand slightly and waved "Hi Mandy!"
Stella's spear whipped out and hit him on the top of the head, it hurt like hell and he exclaimed as Stella started to yell "'Hi Mandy!' That's what you've got to say?! I thought you were dead and you come all the way to freaking crazy town, and this is what I find!" She hits him again on the head, by this time Brandon was crouching down, hands out to protect his face. Saloria had backed away and was cringing with every hit.
"Stella!" Bloom rushed forward but didn't get too close, in case the anger was turned on her "Stop it! It wasn't his fault!"
"That doesn't matter, I'm freaking pissed off, everything's his fault!" She hit him again on the shoulder, he yelled out again.
Behind them Musa cringed and shook her head "Oh crap! He woke the beast"
"Oh we're never gonna get her to calm down now!" Layla replied rubbing the back of her neck and watching the scene with dread.
"S-should we do something?" Mandy asked fearfully, watching the spear and looked guilty.
Techna patted her on the arm "Nothing we can do, just let them handle it"
"Brandon!" Saloria yelled to him, leaning down so she could see him better, sympathy written all over her face "What do I do? Do you want me to get Scarlet?"
"Ah! No!" Brandon answered between hits "She just needs to—ah! Get it out of her system!" He turned back to Stella "Baby, you know I love you-ouch!-so can you please stop hitting me?!"
"No!" Stella replied "Not until I feel better!"
Back at the group Flora turned to her friends "Somebody stop her!"
Evil Bloom was in the middle of laughing "N-no! Ahaha, this is freaking hilarious! Who wants to take bets?"
"EB!" Bloom screech back at her, frustration and wrath seeping into her look. She turned quickly back to Stella who was still striking with all her rage "Stella this isn't like you, you're over reacting!"
Stella paused her assault and turned to Bloom with a livid expression, spear raised. Bloom backed away abruptly with her hands up "Whoa! No you're not"
Brandon took the opportunity to turn on his knees from where he'd been crouching and give her a pleading look "Stella sweetie, I know you're upset and angry but this isn't what it looks like" he paused and looked down at his watch "And well, we kinda don't have time for this"
"You don't have time?!" Stella demanded, her spear going up again.
"Stella no!" Bloom yelled, darting forward and grabbing onto her arm and pulled her back a step "Okay!" Bloom yelled to everyone in the room "Nobody do anything! Just don't say another word!"
A moment passed and suddenly the door on the side of the foyer opened and in barged Scarlet yelling in anger "Okay! What did I say?! I said I wanted to just go upstairs and sleep, what the hell happened?!" As soon as she set eyes on the scene a strange look came over her face. Everyone paused and stared open mouthed back at her. Brandon was still kneeling on the floor with his hands upraised, Saloria leaning down beside him, Stella standing over them with a spear in her hands, Bloom holding onto her, the girls behind them looking shocked and Evil Bloom still snickering to herself and eyeing her in a way that she found very unsettling.
Scarlet didn't say anything for so long that Saloria simply cleared her throat and said "Everyone, this is Scarlet. My bodyguard"
"Hiiii Scarlet!" Evil Bloom sang in a happy voice, waving her hands and smiling sweetly.
Scarlet snapped out of her shock and came forward, looking carefully from one person to the next, she pulled her sword out of its sheath at her side and pointed it at Stella "You. Step away"
Stella scoffed and rolled her eyes "Oh what are you gonna do? Glare me to death?"
Bloom was still staring wide eyed at the girl but managed to choke out "Stella no"
"S, come here" Scarlet ordered to the queen.
Saloria shook her head quickly "Not without Brandon!"
"Excuse me?!" Stella demanded, looking pissed again.
Brandon held up a hand to Saloria "I'll be fine, you go"
Saloria looked hesitant "Really? Your girlfriend just beat you up with a stick"
"It's a spear!"
"Go!" Brandon urged the queen away from him again. Saloria got up and walked quickly over to get behind Scarlet who was looking bewildered at Bloom and EB, her mouth hanging open slightly.
"So..." She began hesitantly "You've come to what? Take them home?"
"Yes" Flora came forward quietly, a shy look on her face "We'd just like to get the guys and go home, please"
Saloria and Scarlet jumped at seeing Flora, Saloria whispered "The savage"
Musa came forward to stand next to Flora, hands in her pockets "So could you maybe point us in the general direction of our boyfri-"
"Arrest them!" Scarlet ordered abruptly. Guards stepped forward quickly, swords coming out and hesitant looks crossing their faces.
"Damn!" Techna exclaimed, a rare thing for her to do "I can't be arrested again, my parents will kill me!"
Musa looked offended "What? Why?!"
"You're dangerous! All of you!" Scarlet answered in a harsh voice, disgust seeping in as she looked at all the girls.
Brandon leapt to his feet "No, wait!" he approached the two girls peacefully and they seemed to soften in nature "Come on Scarlet, they're not dangerous. They're good people"
Scarlet gave him an obvious look "Brandon, you look like you just got your ass handed to you"
Brandon nodded embarrassed and turned to Bloom and Stella "Yeah okay, I'm not gonna be able to help you here"
Bloom let go of Stella and walked forward, as she got closer she could tell Scarlet was very uncomfortable at having Bloom so close. She stopped and spoke peacefully "Please, we're not here to cause trouble. We mean you no harm, we just came to rescue the guys and get them home" Behind her Techna cleared her throat loudly and Bloom recalled the other reason they were there "Oh yeah, and we're also here to ah...do something else"
"What is it?" Scarlet asked suspiciously.
"Get magic back" Bloom answered boldly.
"Wait" Brandon breathed in shock "What?"
Stella spoke grimly from behind him "Magic, it's gone. Disappeared from all of Magix, right after you disappeared"
"That's not possible; magic has been around for centuries! It can't just disappear!" Brandon replied, refusing to believe the truth. Magic had been a part of his life from when he was born, even though he didn't possess magic himself.
"Well it has" Techna answered looked sad "And we have to find a way to get it back"
Scarlet spoke "Jesus, please take our magic. We don't want it"
"You have magic here?!" Flora asked astounded, her eyes going wide.
"Unfortunately...yeah" Scarlet replied looking grudgingly at the floor.
"Then why don't they use it?" Mandy asked Layla next to her who just shrugged helplessly.
Musa looked around suddenly "Hey Brandon, where's the rest of the guys?"
Brandon, Scarlet and Saloria all jumped at the same time, all staring wide eyed at each other. Saloria abruptly broke away and started speeding up the foyer towards the throne chamber "Somebody get me Luca!"
Scarlet turned and spoke to a nearby guard "They haven't returned?"
"No Ma'am"
Scarlet sighed and shook her head "Damn"
"They're still out there" Brandon stated grimly, looking toward the castle entrance with an on edge look.
Stella forgot her anger and asked quickly "Brandon what's happening?"
"Where are they?" Bloom asked timidly "Where's Sky? Is he okay?"
Brandon looked worried but tried not to show it, he took a deep breath and turned to all the girls "Look...a lot has happened since we got here. There's so much you need to know...but not here"
Saloria re entered the room and waved them in "Come, you can discuss it in the throne room, no one will disturb you"
The girls all hesitantly entered the throne room one by one, followed by Brandon, Saloria and Scarlet. The girls were starting to feel very nervous, they hadn't seen the other guys lurking around the castle, they wondered where they were and what happened to them. Saloria went and sat down in her throne with Scarlet next to her, the queen leaned over and whispered "I've sent Luca on a small mission, just so he doesn't accidently come in and see them"
Scarlet almost cracked a tense smile "I kinda want to see his reaction"
The girls all stood awkwardly in the middle of the small quiet room, all the doors were shut and Brandon came to stand in front of them, be began slowly "So...ah...we can't go home yet"
"What?" Stella exclaimed in disbelief.
"Why not?" Musa demanded her eyes hard and her arms crossed.
Brandon held up his hands to ward off the girls objections "Look, it's complicated, okay. A lot of stuff has happened and I'm sorry but it's gonna be a while until we all get to go home"
"So tell us what happened!" Layla replied impatiently.
"Well by your attitudes..." Scarlet began in a bored voice; the girls turned to look at her and were a little creeped out by the wild look about her "You've all discovered that you're in the past. You didn't seem overly shocked when you saw the queen and me, so I assume you've been filled in on where you are"
Bloom nodded to her ancestor, her mind whirling out of control that she was actually talking to her "We're in the past"
"Is that all you know?" Saloria asked nervously, twirling her fingers together.
"That's pretty much it" Musa answered from where she leaned against a pillar, trying to appear calm when inside she was fearing for her boyfriend.
Brandon nodded "Okay well the thing is, this land is in trouble. It's being terrorized by an enemy, one that will probably destroy all of this and kill everyone unless we stop them"
"Oh wow, who are these mighty foe's?" Evil Bloom asked in mock horror, she had sat down on the floor looking at ease.
Scarlet gave the girl a hard look "The Ancestral witches"
The girls all gasped and their world tilted to the left, as felt like they all needed to sit down suddenly. Bloom and EB had their mouths hanging open; from their knowledge the witches had been the ones responsible for the downfall of Sparks, their home. So this news hit pretty close to the heart. Flora sounded fearful as she asked "H-how is...that can't be! How?"
Saloria spoke sadly from her throne "They've been destroying these lands for generations, up until now we've been able to fight them off and delay any drastic action but...the time has come for us to fight back"
Brandon turned back to the girls "And we're going to fight with them"
"You're what?!" Stella exclaimed, horror showing obviously in her voice "You're gonna take on the Ancestral witches, in a world where everyone hates magic! Are you insane?!"
Techna stepped forward, her eyes wide "Brandon, I do not doubt your strength as a soldier but...these are the Ancestral witches! They're so powerful that not even our best magical forces could defeat them, only lock them away. And that took lives, people died to seal them away!"
Bloom felt a heavy weight on her shoulders, her thoughts going to her parents and her sister "Families were torn apart"
Brandon gave her a sympathetic look "I know that. But it's different this time; we have a way of actually defeating them!"
"It's a long process, believe me" Scarlet added in with a dreading voice, thinking off all the stuff they had to do to make this work.
Layla waved a hand "Let's just say, you do actually have a way to defeat them, how would it work?"
Brandon went on to explain about the six guardians, their talismans and the spell caster. How each of the girl's ancestors was a guardian and the guys had to track them down, to cast the magical spell that would ultimately create the magical barrier. It took a while and the girls listened in silence until Techna spoke "It's brilliant actually, the magical layer will control the magic and make sure the witches aren't as powerful as they are now, people will have magic and then they will have a better chance of defeating them"
"Wait a minute" Musa interrupted with a confused look "You guys don't seem like you want magic all that much; you seem like you sort of hate it"
Both Saloria and Scarlet fixed her with a dark look, Scarlet spoke "So?"
Musa ignored the looks and asked "So why are you so eager to have the guys help you give magic to everyone in the land, won't that be a bit of a culture shock? What if they don't want it?"
"Well it's either have magic or let the world burn"
"Oh" Musa put her head down and went into silence "That's fair"
Mandy began to speak "Umm, okay so you're going to bring magic to this land by casting a really big spell. That doesn't really explain where the other Specialists are"
"Yeah! Where are they?!" Musa demanded with impatience, her annoyance at Riven surfacing again.
There was a bit of a pause before Brandon spoke "We were...we were on our way back to the castle last night, we had just picked by a seer by the name of Tatianna who was one of the guardians" He turned to Techna "She's your ancestor" Techna looked startled and her mouth popped open, Brandon continued "But when we stopped to make camp for the night, we were attacked. By the minions of the witches"
"Oh my god" Flora breathed in horror while stepped forward "Are they okay? Where's Helia?!"
Brandon looked truly disturbed "We all got separated; I don't know where they all went I had to get the queen out of there. They haven't made it back yet"
Musa shot up and looked alert "Well we have to go look for them! Send out search parties and stuff, let's get moving!"
"The witches minions could still be out there, they'll tear our soldiers to pieces" Scarlet replied in a calm voice, resting her arm against the throne "I'm not sending my men out there to die like that"
"And what about our boyfriends?!" Layla demanded, looking angry and ready to throw a punch.
"Go look for them yourselves, or wait for them to come back"
Saloria raised a small finger and spoke shyly "But we really need to find Tatianna, without her we can't cast the spell"
Layla turned to her friends and nodded "Okay guys, we'll go out and we'll find them, we have our weapons and it's still daylight"
"Good idea, we can get a couple of hours search in" Techna nodded, going into strategic mode, she walked forward and the girls all huddled up, excluding Saloria and Scarlet. Techna gave the queen a look and turned to Brandon "That girl is she going to be a problem?"
Brandon shook his head "No, she's cool. Although..." he paused and looked a little tired "The talisman that she has to have for the spell, it's a crown. And she's lost it"
"Well isn't that just peachy" Stella replied with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face.
Techna turned and pointed to Brandon "I think you should stay here with them"
"Why does he have to stay?" Stella whined.
"Because he seems to be the only one of who those two trust, we need an ally on the inside Stella"
Stella looked hesitant "Well, can I stay with them too?" They all gave her a strange look and she shrugged "Well maybe I could help jog the queen's memory on her crown thing, who else here knows more about royal crowns than me?"
"She's got a point" Musa replied while nodding.
Techna nodded "Okay, Brandon and Stella can stay" She paused for a moment "And maybe you too Mandy"
Mandy looked shocked and a little offended "Me? Why me?"
Musa spoke in an uncaring voice "No offence kiddo but you'll hold us back. We tend to do our best work when we're on our game and not trying to save you from death, you seem like the sort of girl who'll get into danger and need rescuing" Mandy was silenced and looked a little regretful and annoyed, Brandon reassured her with a nudge and a smile.
Techna looked at the rest of her friends and nodded "Flora, Musa, Layla and me will go out and look for the guys. That leaves Bloom to stay here too"
Bloom gasped and took a step back "You're making me stay too? Techna!"
Brandon put a hand on her shoulder "I think she's right sis, we kinda need you here" He inclined his head toward Scarlet "I have a feeling we'll need you to get information out of our bodyguard over there, she says she doesn't have a talisman. Maybe you can help her" Bloom still looked hesitant so Brandon added "Don't worry, they'll find Sky"
The door to the throne room suddenly opened and a soldier came running in nervously, glancing at the group and practically shuddering as he passed them, he went up to the queen and bowed before handing her a piece of paper. Saloria took the paper and read it while the man exited the room as abruptly as he came, the girl read over the message with a growing look of horror "Oh my gods, you didn't!"
"What?" Stella asked in defence.
Saloria looked at with an appalled expression "Did you get into a fight with a native by the name of Florance?"
Scarlet looked annoyed and groaned "Oh come on! Really? You just had to run into that woman and start something, didn't you?!" She turned to the queen and whispered "These girls seem like more trouble than their worth"
"Hey!" The girls all yelled in unison.
Saloria sighed and looked very nervous "You have to go and apologise, the peace between my people and the natives is...frail" She shook her head "One of you needs to go, she's demanding an apology by tomorrow"
The girls all turned and looked at Flora, who seemed startled and fearful "Oh no, please! I don't want to go back there! She's so mean!"
"Sorry Flo, you're the one who broke her nose and you are her descendant, try and bond a little" Musa patted the girl on the back.
Techna gasped and smiled "That's right, you have to go and apologise and then convince her to do the spell with us, and don't forget to get the talisman!"
Flora looked lost and sad, looking at all her friends one by one in helplessness "B-but do I really have to go alone?"
"I'll go with you!" A voice replied quickly and eagerly, the girls all looked down on the ground to see Evil Bloom raising her hand and smiling sweetly.
"You?" Bloom asked looking dumbfounded.
Evil Bloom bounced up off the ground and smiled "Hell yeah, I love that crazy little cannibal!"
Flora looked even more nervous and whispered to Bloom "Is she gonna be mean to me?" Bloom didn't answer but quickly gave Flora and tight hug. Flora sighed "Okay we'll go back to the forest and I'll say I'm sorry"
Techna nodded "And then Bloom will stay here to talk to her ancestor, as will Stella. Brandon and Mandy will stay here to keep the peace and the rest of us will go look for the guys as a group"
Musa pulled her back pack on and said abruptly "I'd rather go by myself and look, I work better by alone"
Scarlet stood up straighter "I wouldn't go out there alone, especially at night, bad things happen in the dark"
Musa gave her a fake sweet smile "I think I can manage, and it's still daylight"
Layla turned to Techna "So I guess it's just you and me then"
"Wait!" Saloria called to them, standing up from her throne and walking nervously over to them, she gestured to their outfits "You aren't going out there like that are you?"
"Yeah she's Stella's ancestor alright" Musa mumbled as she looked down at her blue uniform.
Stella eyed the queen and raised an eyebrow "You got anything better to wear?" Saloria went wide eyed and nodded, for a brief moment Stella was reminded of a small shy child instead of the queen she'd been told about. Maybe Flora wasn't the only one who had been misguided by legends of her ancestor.
...
After that the girls were all taken away and dressed appropriately for the time period, they took this opportunity to observe the castle and found it was as glamorous inside as it was outside. Twenty minutes later Stella, Bloom and Mandy were dressed in different dresses while the rest of them were dressed in various pants and garments fit for travelling long distances. Mandy had on a nice light purple dress with her brown hair flowing down her back, Bloom was given a nice black and blue dress with long sleeves and cuffs, her red hair put into a nice half bun with the rest hanging. Stella was dressed in a lovely baby pink dress that reached her very toes and flowed around her, her hair piled up and pinned. They all found themselves standing in a courtyard next to a stables, Brandon felt like he was back two days ago when they'd set off for the tower.
Musa was the first to be ready to set out, she got given a very big hug from Flora and Techna made her swear to be careful and not get into too much trouble. On her way toward the courtyard Musa thought of how she'd find Riven, it was a really tough job but she knew she could do it; she'd been given a trusty map of the kingdom to help her. When she reached the stone walkway she saw her friends and the queen with her bodyguard that never left her side, she didn't fully trust Saloria and Scarlet but if Brandon said they were cool, she'd believe it. And Musa did feel a bit uneasy about going off alone but it was better than staying here and watching Stella and Brandon tear each other to pieces and listen to how much Scarlet hated magic. In her opinion, Musa really didn't want to take the time to get to know anyone here, she wanted to find Riven and go home. But it still did her head in that just one day ago she was back in Magix, now she was here in the past and looking for a way to fight the ancestral witches, these things had a way of creeping up on her.
As she walked past her friends she gave them a smile and waved, they seemed so anxious for her and she did appreciate it, pulling herself up onto her horse she caught sight of Saloria and Scarlet. It was strange, if she didn't know any better she'd say that they were looking at her with...hostility. Like the very sight of her enraged them, Musa tried not to let it bother her but it still nagged, why would they have reason to suspect anything bad from her? They didn't even know her!
Musa looked over to where Techna was watching her horse suspiciously and smiled "Hey Tech! You okay?"
Techna looked troubled "I do not like horses. They're unpredictable. I prefer ships with the capacity to be controlled and have safety equipment" Techna looked up at her with a sort of sad look "I have a feeling I won't like being in the past, not without my precious technology"
Musa smiled and reached down to pat her on the head "Down worry Tech, we'll get out of here as soon as we can"
Techna sighed "Good luck finding Riven"
Musa nodded and ran her fingers along the two swords strapped to her back "Yep, I'm gonna save him and then I'm gonna kill him"
Techna gave the horse a final pat as Musa was about to disembark "Remember, Riven does love you. Deep down, he does"
Musa tilted her head to the side "We'll see"
Flora was walking down the steps from the castle pulling her gloves on when she caught sight of Musa on a black horse riding away from the gates, she sent up a silent prayer for her. Walking down she had to pass right by the queen and Scarlet, and she'd be lying if she said the red headed girl didn't intimidate her. Keeping her head low she was almost there when a hand reached out and grabbed her, spinning Flora set eyes on Evil Bloom who smiled sweetly at her "Hey buddy'o'pal! You ready for our adventure?"
Flora tried not to be rude and forced a kind smile "Yes, I think so"
EB slapped her on the back "Good, meet you down there!" EB turned suddenly on her heel and skipped over to Saloria and Scarlet who were watching the girls disembark. They saw her coming and got a little tense, eyeing her in bewilderment.
Saloria angled her head "There is two of you?"
EB waved a hand and laughed "Oh, long story! We're the same person but split in half, one good and one very very bad" This seemed to make shock the two woman but they didn't say anything "So anyhoo, I just wanted to come and say that I am so happy to be here! And I also wanted to say to Scarlet over here..." She leaned forward and gave the red headed girl a wide smile, eyes blazing with some close to evilness "You and I are going to be the very best of friends, I can feel it!"
Scarlet didn't react to the girls comment, but she did feel a tightening in her stomach like an icy grip. I wonder if she knows...
Layla sat on a wooden crate and read over the map she had been given, her brow creasing with amazement "This place is huge! How are we ever going to find them?"
"You will! Don't worry, just follow your instincts!" Bloom reassured her, in dress blowing in the slight wind "And if you need me, even for the slightest of tasks, just send a message and I'll be there"
Layla gave Bloom a secret smile "Bloom, you really have to stay here"
Bloom looked deflated at the comment and sat down next to her "Why? I don't want to stay here and form alliances with my weird feather-animal-skull-wearing ancestor; I want to look for Sky"
Layla shook her head "You also need to stay so Stella doesn't kill anyone" Layla pointed to where Stella was lurking "She's already on the edge"
Bloom looked over and found Stella in her pretty pink dress but with a deadly scowl on her face, she was having a tough time with everything. Especially since she found out that Brandon was still a little mad at her for the argument they had before he left Magix. Bloom sighed "I guess"
Layla gave her a half hug and the stood up, turning to Techna "You ready?"
Techna eyed the tall white horse of hers and mumbled "To be thrown off and become handicapped, no. But we'll take it one step at a time" Techna slowly and carefully pulled herself onto her horse and dug her feet in so she wouldn't fall off. Layla easily got into hers and looked so natural and calm, she looked down at Bloom "We have our walkie talkies, so if we find any sign of the guys, we'll call"
Bloom nodded an anxious head, her eyes taking in her two friends as they both spurred their horses out of the gate and down the path, disappearing from sight. Stella came to stand beside her and the two silently watched as Flora and EB got the last of their stuff together, Flora looked nervous about going to see her ancestor and EB looked positively glowing with happiness. It did set Bloom a little at ease that her other half was finally finding joy in life from stuff other than hurting and tricking people. On their way out she gave Flora a smile and EB gave her a wink as she passed, and soon enough it was just her and Stella standing in the courtyard. Bloom felt a weight descend down on her, she looked around curiously "Where's Brandon?"
Stella answered without looking away at the distance "Inside, talking to Mandy"
From the tone of her voice Bloom felt that Stella was going into a depression, she grabbed her hand and squeezed it "It'll work out"
"Oh" Stella replied after a moment, slowly pulling away and walking back to the stairs that led to the castle "Will it?" Bloom watched her go and for a sudden moment, felt very alone.
Saloria turned to Scarlet and felt a rush of unease about the whole situation, looking at her friend she could tell the red headed girl was curious and suspicious, especially of her descendant Bloom "Do you-do you think that she..."
Scarlet shook her head "No, not that one" She looked down on Bloom who was still standing in the courtyard looking off into the distance, her thoughts went to the other one "But her...other half, I think she knows"
Saloria suddenly looked alarmed "How?"
Scarlet looked bothered and worried at the same time "I don't know. When she first saw me, she looked at me and...she just knew"
A long silence ensued until the blond girl wrung her fingers and asked timidly "Do you think she'll tell?" Honestly Scarlet didn't know, she sighed and tried not to think of what would happen if the girl they called EB ever told anyone about what she knew about her, it was probably the only thing that could frighten her now. Looking back at the girl in the courtyard she did feel a twinge of sympathy for the girl's situation, it all did seem a little hopeless. Shaking her head she turned her thoughts to the mission and how much they would have to do, how long it would take.
Bloom turned and walked back up to the stairs and into the gardens of the castle, thinking of Sky and if he was alright. She still had that uneasiness in her stomach and even now the burn she had sustained days earlier had still not healed. In fact, she could almost feel it burning under the fabric of her blue dress. Bloom sat down with sudden tiredness and tried to think clearly, running her fingers through her loose hair, she suddenly had a thought. For some reason she couldn't possibly explain she had a sneaking suspicion that it would be a long time until all her friends and the Specialists were reunited again, if ever.
I feel like I'm losing the humour in this story, it's just all so tragic and drama filled. I'll try again next chapter to put some funny stuff into it, I have a plot point coming up that I think you'll all just love. And oh! What could Scarlet and Saloria be talking about? What does Evil Bloom know about Scarlet that she doesn't want anyone to know? Review! Pretty please. :D