Author's Note: so I had great fun writing this chapter. I cant say when this story will end, but I'm having a great time writing it. It will be sad when the chapters end and I cant twist this tale more. On with it!
The house loomed in the distance, amidst the gloomy landscape of Rumkell. To be honest, he had expected loud crying. A sort of mourning for his loss over more than a decade ago. Or at least a shabby, ramshackled house on the verge of breakdown. something, only he, with his capable hands, hero's strength and talent in carpentry could fix. Instead, he could hear sounds of celebration inside.
His steps faltered. Had they been informed, somehow, of his arrival? He fought the ray of hope that rose up in his chest, and bloomed all over his heart. A homecoming. They might have sent me away in secret, indeed, but when I return, it is with noise and celebration? He thought incredulously, as he tried to quieten the little boy laughing with joy inside him. Perhaps years of separation had made Rubella fonder than ever of him. Mom, he corrected himself. It is mom, from now on. At least, that's what a son should call his mother.
He couldn't take it any longer. He broke into a run, the loose soles of his worn out shoes slapping at the pavement.
As he got closer, though, he heard other voices. So not just his mother. But several otgher people were inside. His hope that the party was on his behalf began to fade. He hadn't expected them to know, how could they? He knew he couldn't conceivably blame them, , but it still hurt like hell. Ignoring the painful feeling, he slowed eager steps to halting ones. To his dismay, he found himself facing the door all too quicly for his lliking.
Musa sat up, going through her lecture notes. They were hardly good. Indeed, the girls were unhealthily drooling over them and it made her a bit uncomfortable sometimes. It should have been the heroes from RF doing the class, she thought vaguely, and then mentally checked herself. Wait, they don't know anything about magic. Her mind unwittingly formed a picture of Riven, wrapped in those creepy plants that day at the mud swamp. Indeed, the plant might have digested him and the other specialists if it had not been for their intervention. What happened if he was trapped somewhere, again?
"He said tell Musa to wait for me," Layla had said. Why was it Layla who had too be his mouthpiece? Why couldn't it have it been him, saying good-bye? Surely, he could have spared a second? The tears she had been fighting prickled at the corners of her eyes. That stupid, ruthless heartbreaker.
"How dare he?" she moaned, biting out every syllable.
As he nervously knocked at the door, Riven marvelled that nothing had changed, at least outwardly, about the house. He could hear a hoot of laughter fron inside, which increased alarmingly in its volume, as the door flew open. The little boy inside him gave a nervous twitch, as he recognized the man standing before him. Driver. Much older and chubbier, but his step-father, nonetheless.
"what do you want, boy?" he asked. And it was like nothing had ever changed, it was lik they had never abandoned him, like he had never run away from them. Which one was it, anyway?
Rriven pushed back the little boy beneath and put on his leering mask, one cultivated from years of mastering. "I would like to talk with my—Rubella, please," he said, haltingly. He had almost called her 'mom'. That woman didn't deserve that title.
Driver stood back and poking his head inside, yelled his mother's name. There was a giggle and agasp, before the door flew open again. Clearly, nothing had changed, thought Riven, with a tug of longing for the years that had flown by. Because, save for a few grey hairs, his mother stood at the doorway, her mouth wide open, looking exactly like he remembered her.
The door flew open, admitting a flushed Stella, her eyes bright with unspilt secrets. musa groaned inwardly. Stella had always been her least favourite person, and once she had that look in her eyes, she was almost impossible to get rid of, even if the virtual mall was offering cut-throat discounts.
"guess what the little birdie told me," she chided, in the annoying, high-pitched voice that was so annoyingly Stella.
"What," echoed musa, dully. She smiled to hide her disinterest, though, as gossip, even, or maybe even especially at a time like this, was always interesting.
"Bloolm told me," stella began, as if to say 'if this turns out to be complete bollocks, you'll know who to blame for it'. She plopped down beside Musa, eyeing her notes with obvious distaste. "I don't know why you bother…" she began, now on a different tangent. Musa glared at her and playfully whacked her on the head.
"Stella, what is it?" she said, trying to not show her building intrest. Usually, stella would have talked it over with Flora before, but she looked like she had spoken to Bloom and then come straight to her. Could it be riven? Her heart skipped a beat. The flare of emotion must have shown clearer than Musa had intended, because stella quickly quelled the fires of hope rising within the musical princess' heart.
"No, it is not about your boyfriend—" she began. But then, a similar spark lit up her face . "You know, now that I think about it, actually, it makes, sort of, sense, you know?" she said, regarding Musa questioningly. The pig-tailed girl just gritted her teeth as stella worked out what was probably a very difficult mathematical problem in her head.
Sshe didn't tell you, after all, I mean, you guys are supposed to be best friends, so I mean, why wouldn't she tell you first, before Bloom? I mean, she may think you would mind, of course you would mind, I mean, I would mind! And, yeah, the disappearance, convenient, very convenient, yes, is he in it too? What an ass, I never liked his guts, anyway, I wonder if I should be saying any of this to you, now, I mean, I am not sure Bloom would have wanted me to tell you, I mean, she told me not to say anything and all, but you know me, blah, blah, blah, and I came to you half expecting you to know, anyway, but you don't, so that just confirms my theory…"
Musa sat stiffly through it all.
"Tell me what it is!" she yelled, when Stella had finally paused to take a breadth.
Stella mumbled something inaudible, about her thinking Musa knew already.
"I don't know," said Musa, trying to be as calm as possible. "Is it about Riven?" she asked, hoping to steer the ship in their conversational journey.
Stella didn't meet her gaze. "Maybe," she mumbled.
"Well, is he safe?" Musa asked, temper rising. Stella looked confused for a second, and brushed the question away. "I don't know about that," she said, airly, "but I think I can guess where he probably is."
Musa's eyes lit up instantly, and Stella shook her head and patted her friend's shoulder. "don't start celebrating yet. If what I am thinking is right, he never left Layla's castle," she whispered, consolingly. Seeing her confused expression, stella moved closer and pulled Musa down on the bed beside her. "you'll need to sit down for this one", she said, patting her shoulder again.
"Bloom just got off the phone with Layla," began Stella. "Oh!" she said, covering her face. "I've got to get in Bloom and Flora in here, too, this is just-too-big!" Musa tried to grab the bird before it had taken flight, but there was no catching Stella. She ran after her, mumbling curses under her breadth, "Call Techna, too," she added, softly. It was better that she didn't remember her finally after they were all together, and then run off again.
It was a good fifteen minutes before the five original members were gathered in Musa's room. They no longer had roommates, thank god, but now had their private room in the staff quarters. So much for private, Musa thought.
"We are here to discuss a serious issue," began Bloom, in her of-course-I-am-going-to-take-centre-stage,-I-am-th e-most-moral-one-here tone. Musa gritted her teeth for the tenth time and urged her to continue. "I was just on the phone with Layla, who is going through a bit of a crisis," she paused and looked sympathetically at Musa, as if she already knew all about it.
"Bloom, she doesn't know," stella said the words slowly, and the others watched the red-headed fairy's eyes widen in shock, while Musa just prayed it would all be over.
"But…"
"get on with the damn story!" said Musa, softly, but with a hint of menace in her tone.
Stella took over then. "Okay, so anyway, Bloom has been talking to Layla, and Layla confesses that she has been having some, like, feelings, for someone recently. I mean, like, it has been less than a week since Nabu died and everything, so obviously, she's really guilty about it, but she also mentioned that the person who she has these, these feelings for and everything, is someone who would shock us."
So that's why Stella came to me, realized Musa. She wanted to find out who it was.
"and, who is it?" asked Flora, in a timid tone, hiding a guilty pleasure for gossip that all of them shared.
"we don't know—" said Bloom, but Stella cut her off. "But I think I might," she said. All faces turned to her, in the dramatic way she loved.
Musa's mind went into overdrive. Waait, do they think, even for a second, that its
"It's riven," finished Stella, her words flowing over Musa's thoughts like magic. Musa was so shocked, she gasped. But the second warning bells went off in her head. It was a secret that the two were related, so she must play along.
"Oh no!" she offered, dramatically.
"That's right," Stella nodded at her captive audience. "and who else has been missing in action since we left the castle? Layla and Riven, that's right."
"oh no!" Techna blurted out. everyone turned around to look at her white face. Sure, it was horrible news, but the ever-so-stable Techna was hyperventilating. "Do you think," she swallowed, "do you think they could have killed Nabu off together?"
A/N: I took a long time to type this, as I was using the 'ASDF' instead of the one-finger typing I am so used to. So you guys better read and love it, even if you don't review.
