Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which are trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.
Episode 20:
Race for a Lifeline
-Twyla-
Friday, September eight was a cloudy summer day with long shadows and a cool breeze. It was also the day of the boat race.
Twyla stood on the edge of the pond gazing out over the various obstacles of the course. What is the point of all this?
A hand gripped her arm and flung her towards the rowboat, "Sit up front," Mal hissed.
Twyla scowled as she sat down and gripped both oars. Petra and Glimmer sat behind her on the first middle row, with Faybelle and Li Mei on the second middle row and Mal as sat rudder.
Faybelle flipped her hair out of her face as she asked, "So like, what will the prize be this year?"
Mal shrugged, "To be honest, I don't know. For the longest time the prize was a boon but last year Captain Jones did that whole letter writing thing and now I have no idea what's going through their heads. Could have been a fluke, who knows it might go back to boons again."
Faybelle leaned forward and shoved Twyla, "Boogey~ You need to row extra hard; you have to match our rowing speed you know."
Twyla slouched as she glared at her, "I'm aware."
Petra huffed, "I don't understand why you're even here, you didn't practice with us. How am I to know you'll do your best to achieve my victory?"
Mal scowled, "Because all students must be present for the race."
Petra rolled her eyes, "Oh look at you obeying all the rules like the patron saint of the school. If you had any sense you would have let Twyla roam. Its the only time of year Captain Jones is out of her office."
Mal leaned forward, "All the more reason to ensure I'm viewed in a positive light by her. Control of the student body means control of the ship."
"And control of an empty office means access to things for escape. Are you really so short-sighted?"
Mal grit her teeth, "When you're a senior you'll understand."
The boom from the twin rose revolvers echoed around the racers as Captain Jones landed on a raising pillar in front of them, "Good morning my dearest students, I hope the day finds you well. The rules of this race are as follows, make it to the finish line with most of your vessel intact and you win. I expect a rousing spot of competition but do try not to murder one another."
She laughed at her own joke, "Now the prize for our dear corporals will be the coveted position of class leader, complete with a step promotion to Staff Sergeant upon graduation. For the lovely underclassmen on board the winning ship a HTOA day will be your prize."
Captain Jones's statement was met with confused looks and blank stares. She rolled her eyes and sighed, "For those of you who don't know what a HTOA day is, it is a homework time off accolade. It is for one-day use and one day use only. Let us say you forgot to do your homework in one class, well you would simply take the HTOA and have the LT sign it, but you can't just use it for one class, you must use it for all the classes in that day so use it wisely. Does everyone understand?"
Twyla perked up. A free day of no homework? The idea is nice but I would rather have a boon, those are much more valuable.
Captain Jones grinned widely as she hid the rest of her face under her hat, "Corporals, ready your vessels."
Mal gripped the rudder and smiled, "Let's win us a race."
Petra smirked, "With me on board, its guaranteed."
Captain Jones raised her twin rose revolvers in the air and fired, "Go!"
Twyla pushed both her oars and grunted as the boats sped along.
Mal screamed, "I need more speed! We're getting passed up by Kitty!"
Faybelle grunted, "I'm going as fast as I can, Twyla needs to keep up."
"Faybelle, how about we trap that cat!"
"Traps are my specialty."
Faybelle cast two spells and shot it into the water, triggering the flying spikes trap. Kitty maneuvered her boat out of the way and snagged the second trap Faybelle had created.
Kitty mewled loudly as her boat was engulfed in a net, "Meow! Not fair." She smiled out of her boat and clawed at the net.
Mal laughed as they went by Kitty.
Cedar seeing that the spike trap had already been triggered passed over the wire only for the illusion to dissipate. This triggered the real spike trap and smashed her boat to bits. Cedar and her crew swam to shore.
Mal chuckled, "Nice job, but watch and learn." She threw a spell at Clawdeen.
Clawdeen howled, "Nu uh Mal, I've got the best team on the block. Hit it Farrah!"
Farrah held up her wand, "I'll try." She created a bubble-like shield.
The spell bounced into the water and Farrah's eyes widened, "Oh! I did it!"
Mal chuckled, "Not what I was aiming for, but it will do."
Clawdeen raised an eyebrow as the mine field was summoned around her boat.
Farrah lowered her arm, "Oh dear."
Clawdeen cringed, "Abbey!"
Abbey froze the water but it detonated every single mine around them on impact which launched the boat.
When it landed Clawdeen swam to the surface and spit out water, "Ooooh, Mal you are such a cheater."
Mal laughed as she passed the ramp, "Hey, if you're not cheating, you're not trying."
A large glowing pharaoh's hand ripped the oars out of everyone's hands and snapped it in half leaving them dead in the water.
Twyla glanced around and spotted a waving Cleo.
Cleo smiled, "Petra be sure to come bowing down to me when I win."
Petra growled, "Oh I will not be beaten by Cleo." She stood up in the boat, her entire body crackling with dark energy, "Pharaoh dictates strife and pain, spin these waters bring the rain."
She threw her spell towards Draculaura and a huge whirlpool and thundering cloud appeared below and above her boat. Draculaura peered through the shimmering dark light of her parasol and squeaked out, "Cleo…"
Cleo stared at the cloud, "Oh my RAH."
The cloud dropped sheets of rain and Draculaura's boat was flooded with water as it was pulled under by the whirlpool. Petra smirked, "Hmph, as it should be."
Mal scoffed, "We still need to paddle. Look Raven just passed us."
Petra pointed to the broken oars floating in the water next to the boat, "You mean those?"
Mal smiled and pointed to the oars, "Yes, grab them, go go go!"
Petra flipped her hair and sat down, "What's the hurry, I already won. Look Raven and crew are struggling with the whirlpool."
Evie threw a spell into the whirlpool and propelled their boat up and away.
Mal glowered, "Row. Now."
Petra grabbed the oar and smiled, "Just kidding, let's go people."
Twyla struggled with the short end of the oar bending over twice as much to paddle.
Faybelle scowled, "Oooh, you are such dead weight row faster."
Twyla growled, "Dammit Faybelle, you try using two oar stubs!"
Faybelle hissed, "Little girls, stupid girls, don't talk back. Row this boat 'til your arms crack."
Sinister yellow magic like liquid snakes wrapped around Twyla and sank into her arms. Her arms were seized by the venomous magic as she was forced to row. She had no control and her arm muscles practically screamed as she was forced to push past her limits. She heard Li Mei whimper behind her and realized that she wasn't the only one affected by the spell.
Petra whined, "This…is…unnecessary."
Mal grunted, "Just keep rowing."
Raven's eyes widened as Mal passed her on the left, "Wait, what!"
Mal cackled, "Fly away now, Raven."
Mal threw a spell under Raven's boat blasting Raven and crew twenty feet into the air.
Twyla let out a stifled scream as she helplessly watched her arms snap. The screams of her teammates behind her deafening as they zoomed into the finish line.
Captain Jones waved a flag and shouted, "And the winner is Corporal Thorn!"
Captain Jones pulled the rock out of her pocket and shot it, changing it into the large floating platform.
Twyla's arms fell slack as the spell ended. She rose out of the boat and sat down on the platform as she glared at Faybelle.
Faybelle gripped the edge of the platform and puked over the side of the platform.
Mal rubbed Faybelle's back, "You really don't have what it takes to be the next queen of the dark fairies."
Faybelle wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "No, I want my story! I'll prove it, just you wait."
Mal shook her head, "I'll believe it when I see it."
Twyla looked down at her broken arms. I've already seen it.
She trekked to the infirmary with her teammates to receive healing. Montoya took one look at her when she entered and pointed to a bed, "Oh Sombrita, again? Go ahead and lie down, I'll be right with you."
Twyla did as she was told, choosing a bed close to the door as Montoya healed her teammates. When her head hit the pillow the subtle scent of lavender wafted into her nostrils. Despite the agonizing pain in her arms her body relaxed as she got comfortable. She closed her eyes and took deep calming breaths, doing her best to ignore the intense throbbing pain in her arms. She was vaguely aware of Montoya folding a soft yellow light around her arms.
It wasn't until she woke underneath the bed that she realized she had fallen asleep. She glanced around the now dark infirmary void of patients. She raised her hands to see both arms wrapped in cloth. As she lowered her arms a lantern of light drew near her bed.
LT Montoya sat on the floor as she held the lantern close to the underbed, "Oh. Sombrita, you're awake already. Looks like my instincts were correct."
Twyla slid from under the bed, "LT Montoya, why do you call me Sombrita?"
Montoya sat up and placed the lantern on the side table. She pulled Twyla close, cradling her like a child, "You remind me of my little shadow, she was the smallest of all the animals on our rancho, her mother died and I had to nurse her from infancy. You are tiny like her and I worry about you. Always getting into things you shouldn't. I just wish I could protect you from it all like I protected her. She lived such a long life."
Twyla felt awkward as Montoya rocked her back and forth. She was already self-conscious about her height and now Montoya was trying to rock her to sleep! Twyla fixed her gaze on the floor as she pulled away, "May you put me down please…"
"Oh, I apologize," Montoya stammered as she let go.
Twyla stood up and was eye level with a sitting Montoya, "Thank you ma'am. I will be careful from now on."
Montoya glanced between the curtain and Twyla, "You haven't eaten, and I still have some of what Addy brought me. Come, sit at the table and I will fix you a plate." She stood up and motioned for Twyla to follow.
Twyla felt strangely rejuvenated as she walked towards a long table in the back. She passed potion cabinets, herb cabinets, drying plants hanging from the ceiling, large pots with unidentifiable plants and herbs, and three cooking areas along each wall. One cooking area had a fireplace with a large cauldron, the other a typical stove and oven and the third; well, Twyla wasn't sure what the third was but it looked like a hybrid refrigerator and stove with the eyes on the surface of the fridge door. The smell of herbs, spices and flora flooded Twyla's nose. It felt like lounging in a warm kitchen during a feast. Twyla walked to the table and raised an eyebrow at the height. She would need to sit on her knees in the chair just to reach the surface.
Montoya pulled out a large silver platter and piled meat, beans, tortillas and rice onto it then in some bowls she placed the tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. She hummed as she placed the plate in front of Twyla on the table.
Twyla stared at the huge plate; it was the size of her torso. She looked up and smiled, "Thank you."
Montoya smiled down at her then clapped her hands in realization, "Oh, almost forgot the silverware and the drink hold on."
She dashed about to grab a fork and fill a goblet with the tea she had prepared for Walker. She set those before Twyla, sat down and smiled. Twyla smiled back as she picked up the fork the same size as her hand and began to eat. Montoya watched Twyla intently as she ate every single bite. When Twyla had finished the plate, she felt like bursting.
Montoya smiled and added more food to the plate, "Eat more, don't be shy. Go ahead."
Twyla cringe smiled and gulped down her drink, the intense smell of lavender and chamomile made her head spin. Montoya smiled even brighter and patted Twyla's head, "Sleep well Sombrita."
