Disclaimer: Thank Craig Mccraken. I don't - nor will I ever - own the Powerpuff Girls.
- CHAPTER 2 -
Memories
Boomer strolled along the dark streets of Gadrea, munching on a peach. He had his hood covering his face, so nobody would recognize him. But there was no need. It was well past ten o'clock and the townsfolk were too frightened of the things that go crash in the night to come out. He eyes lit up when spotted a unsupervised cart full of pears beside a shop. After swiping three, he tucked them in the many pockets of his cloak.
What's the point? He thought to himself, There're plenty of pears back at the castle. Even if I did get caught stealing, they wouldn't punish me. I'm the prince. He sighed and started putting them back in the cart.
A stray dog barked.
Boomer looked down at the skinny, flea-bitten animal. He felt bad for him, having to live on the streets with no food or shelter. Glancing at the one pear that remained in his hand, he decided to give it to the poor dog. He took out his knife, cut it into pieces, and discarded the seeds, knowing they were hazardous to canines. After setting them on the ground, he came up to him slowly, sniffed the pears, and quickly devoured them.
This feels...good. He decided as the dog licked it's mouth and looked up hopefully at him. It feels good to help the needy. Like Robin Hood. Steal from the rich and give to the poor. Except he wasn't sure if the owner of the shop was rich. Well, he has lots of pears, so I guess that counts. Rich with pears.
Taking the two fruits he had originally put back, Boomer cut them up and fed them to Thomas, the name he decided to give the dog, for he thought it rather resembled the castle's head butler. After finishing his meal, Thomas rested his head on Boomer's knee, and looked at him with big puppy dog eyes.
"You want to come back with me to the castle, boy?"
Thomas barked and wagged his tail.
Well, I supposed it wouldn't hurt... It is for a good cause, after all. Boomer took out and piece of string, tied it around the dog's neck, and started leading him to where he lived.
Instead of actually taking Thomas into the castle, Boomer lead him to where the chickens lived. Or used to. He and his brothers had frightened them all away when they were six. The palace staff didn't bother replacing them, knowing the boys would scare the new ones off again.
"Stay inside the chicken coop, Thomas. I don't want other people finding out about you." He whispered to the dog as he closed the door. "I'll feed you again tomorrow morning!" He brushed a strand of his blonde hair out of his face and quickly ran to the back door of the castle that only he and his brothers used for sneaking out.
As he closed the door to him and his brother's room, the a candle suddenly flickered to life. Wincing, Boomer slowly turned around.
"How considerate of you to come back. Oh, don't worry, it's wasn't like anybody cared. That is except for father and the entire palace staff." The light flickered in Brick's amused red eyes. "Ten past eleven. Hm. I guess there's a first time for everything." He glanced at the clock ticking on the wall. "You know, I would expect something like this from Butch, but not you. By the way, what were you doing?"
"Well, it's kind of a long story. I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear about it, besides it's getting late. You must be tired." Boomer smiled nervously, slowly inching towards his bed. Brick spread his arms out and raised an eyebrow at his brother, a smug grin on his face.
"Oh don't mind me, I could stay up all night. And since you obviously don't really think it's late, judging from the time you chose to return home, you obviously aren't tired, either." He nodded at the chair across from him."Now sit down and explain."
With an extremely loud sigh, Boomer reluctantly lowered into the armchair. Even though he just wanted to get in bed and sleep, he knew better than to disobey Brick. "Well, I was just out, walking around town, checking on the townsfolk, when suddenly a lady screamed that someone stole her purse! I being the gentlemanly person I am," He wiggled his eyebrows at his brother." Went to help track down the thief. And I did. Took me an entireday to find him, too. When I finally returned the mistress' bag, it was already so late! I came home as soon as I could."
The truth was, Boomer didn't track down a thief, nor was a lady's purse stolen. He lied. All he actually did was sit in the peach grove, stuffing his face and swim in the lake. But he wasn't going to tell Brick that. That was how people got killed. By making Brick angry.
Sighing, the redheaded boy stood up,"Alright, Boomer. I believe you. Just don't do it again." He gave his brother a thump on the head and blew out the candle. "Now go get some sleep."
The moon's beams shone through the dense woods that surrounded the kingdom of Gadrea. Cold harsh winds sent leaves fluttering up into the night sky. Wolves howled in the distance. A group of people hid among trees. It was time for a meeting.
"Did you go into the forest to meet her?" The cloaked figure asked. A knife flew past his face and stuck in a tree. The boy before him snorted and lifted his hood, revealing his dark green eyes. He tossed another knife in the air and smirked, catching it.
"Of course I did. Doesn't seem like someone worth keeping an eye on," The knife hit the bark. "But, she was acting a bit strangely. When I asked who she was, she seemed surprised that I didn't know." He glanced at the people sitting on rocks and crouching on the branches of trees."Maybe she can give us some information about her kingdom, Selodia." A sly smile formed on his face. They whooped and cheered as he bowed and leaned on a nearby tree.
"Mm. Very good Travis, perhaps it wasn't a mistake letting you into our little 'group'." The figure, who was obviously leading the discussion, glanced at the boy. "Now onto other matters. As you know, according to Sabrine," He nodded at a little girl polishing a dagger, who grinned wickedly. "Aleton will send men to scout out our kingdom tomorrow. I trust you can all prevent them from succeeding?"
"You can count on us, sir," Sabrine let out a maniac laugh that rang throughout the forest and stabbed an apple on the rock in front of her. "We won't disappoint," She smirked at the teenagers around her. "will we, boys?" Everybody hooted and shouted.
"Excellent."
Bubbles woke up to the warm morning sun shining on her face. She sat up, stretched, and glanced at the clock. Six o'clock. Her sisters probably wouldn't get up until seven. She tiptoed out of her bed and to the bathroom, so they wouldn't wake up. After freshening up, putting her blonde hair in two long pigtails, picking out a light blue dress, and packing her sketchbook in a small satchel, she quietly opened the door and went to the kitchen.
"Good morning Princess Bubbles, what do you want for breakfast?" Patty, one of the staff that worked there asked. She spread some flour on the countertop and started kneading dough. Bubbles smiled and shook her head.
"Just an apple will be fine, Patty. Oh, and do you mind wrapping up some bread for me? I'm planning to go the hill again," She grabbed an apple out of the fruit platter and tucked in in her bag. Bubbles didn't eat much in the morning. Actually, she didn't eat much in general. Most of the time she would just take food so she could distribute it to the needy townsfolk.
The middle aged woman wagged her chubby finger at the girl," Princess Bubbles, don't you have lessons this morning? If I do remember correctly, you and your sisters all have History and Mathematics." She handed the blonde her the bread.
"Oh don't worry, I promise I'll be back before eight," Bubbles winked and gave her a cheeky smile. "Well, goodbye Patty. See you soon!" She waved and walked out the back door. The brown haired woman sighed and shook her head at the cheerful young girl heading out the palace gates.
Bubbles skipped down the cobbled streets of her kingdom, occasionally stopping to greet her subjects. Outside of the palace she was a optimistic, bubbly person, and everyone adored her so. But when was around her family, haunting memories started coming back...
Bubbles bounded up the palace steps, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. She couldn't wait to show her mother the drawing she made, it was by far the best one yet.
"Mommy, Mommy! Look what I drew!" She beamed at her mother, who was sitting in an armchair. " It's the sun!" She held it out, extremely proud of herself. The queen put down her book and took the drawing into her hands.
"You did a wonderful job, Bubbles. It's very beautiful. You're a great artist," She smiled at her daughter. Bubbles plopped down onto the armrest and rested her head on her mother's shoulder.
"Thank you Mommy! Do you want to keep it?" She looked up. "Mommy?" Bubbles cocked her head. Why wasn't her mommy answering her? She gently nudged the queen. "Mommy!" She began to panic. Her mother's head lolled to the side and her green eyes were closed. Bubbles started to scream.
"Wake up Mommy! Wake up!"
She blinked and shook her head. The forest came into view, but instead of going in, she went down a small dirt path. As she neared the hill, her pace quickened and before she knew it, she was running at top speed towards it. She did how much she needed this. Even though she was here just yesterday, the events of the previous night stressed her out and she needed to calm herself down. Without warning, a dark figure appeared in front of her and she crashed into him.
"Watch it, little girl!" He shouted, rubbing his head as he sat up. He frowned and picked up the object in his lap. It was a sketchbook. "Now get out of my sight and take your little book with you!" He tossed it in her direction.
I-I'm terribly sorry," She stuttered, reaching for it. Something shiny caught her eye. She turned around a her eyes widened at the amount of money and jewelry spilling out of a cloth pouch. "You sure do have a lot of money."
He quickly scooped it all up and turned his back on her," Umm, I suppose..." She cocked her head and picked up a necklace that he missed. It had a sapphires hanging from the silver chains and that formed the shape of flower.
"Why do you have woman's jewelry?" Bubbles looked up at him. He rubbed his head and his shoulders were hunched. "Wait, you didn't steal them, did you?" She eyes widened in horror and she stood up. He winced and slowly turned around.
"Maybe?" He said slowly, his eyes avoiding contact. Her face was contorted into an expression of both disgust and anger. "But it was for a good cause!" He protested.
She rolled her eyes and sighed," Who do you think you are? Robin Hood? Were you going to give this to the poor townsfolk? Do you seriously think I believe you?" He bit his lip and puffed out his cheeks.
"Well, actually..."
"Wait, you were seriously going to give this to the needy?" She cocked her head, surprised. He nodded slowly.
"Um, yes." He adjusted the leather eye mask he was wearing. There was a moment of silence. Then she suddenly burst out laughing. He arched his eyebrow.
"You really are trying to be like Robin Hood? That's ridiculous!" She giggled, clutching her stomach. Bubbles pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head,"I'm sorry, but it really is." Then she turned serious again. "But stealing is still wrong. You should give it back immediately. Besides, what are you? Fifteen? Sixteen? Way too young for something like this."
He groaned and rolled his eyes at her, "Sixteen. And I'm not too young! Besides I'm helping the poor, I'm sure the rich can spare a few coins." She shook head and sighed.
"Alright. I still don't like it, but I guess there's no changing your mind. What's your name?" She shrugged and dusted off her dress. He scratched his head and looked away.
"That's not important. It's not like we will see each other again," The boy started walking down the path, towards the hill. "Besides, I shouldn't be telling 'strangers' my name." Bubbles followed him.
"Strangers are just friends you haven't met." She smiled at him and tucked her sketchbook back in her satchel. "Well, if you won't tell me your name, then what should I call you? Do you have a name for your Robin Hood character? Like a title?" He shook his head.
"Then why don't you make one up right now?" Bubbles looked him up and down. He was wearing a blue tunic, brown pants, and black boots. "Hm, you like the color blue, right? And you probably do your stealing at night?" He nodded. "So how about... The Blue Shadow?"
He thought for a moment. "Why not? I don't have anything better. Thanks." Bubbles blushed. He glanced ahead and gave her a small wave,"Goodbye, then. I'm going this way." He gestured at another small path leading off to Gadrea. "Perhaps we will meet again."
Bubbles nodded and continued walking towards her hill as he went the other way. She sat under the tree that grew there, doodling sketches of the mysterious boy.
Brick walked out of the bathroom and glanced at Butch, who was still sleeping. It was almost eight already, and the dark haired prince was lying face down in bed, snoring like a pig. Brick grabbed a pillow and hit his brother with it repeatedly.
"Wake up Butch!" He yelled. Seeing that what he did had no effect, he changed tactics. "Look, pretty girls!" The redhead whispered in his ear, gently nudging him. Butch immediately sat up, his eyes wide.
"Wher-" Before he could finish his sentence, Brick hit his face with the pillow. "Why did you do that?" Butch demanded, jumping off the bed. His brother shook his head and started walking out the room.
"Get up, you insufferable miscreant. Father called us in for a meeting at half past eight."
Butch yawned and squinted his eyes.
"What?"
