Disclaimer: Thank CraigMccraken. I don't - nor will I ever - own the Powerpuff Girls.
A/N: Dammit, dammit, dammit I can't write to save my life right now! I'm so sorry guys, this has got to be the worst writer's block I've ever encountered. Tried working on other stuff, but so far isn't going that well. Will try to get rid of this stupid thing more. For now have this really kind of crappy, kind of short chapter. Thanks for putting up with my stupid shenanigans and late updates!
~ CHAPTER 19 ~
Consequences
"Princess, what happened back there?" Patty asked as she knelt down beside Buttercup, dabbing at her cuts and bruises with a warm towel.
The raven haired girl averted her eyes. "Nothing important. We just got into a fight is all."
She had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from going into a fit of rage. She felt so betrayed; the one person she thought she could trust turned out to be nothing more than a spy. A dirty, filthy spy that just wanted to kill her. And Mitch. Mitch was nothing to her. Not anymore. She'd suppressed her feelings for a year already, and she was determined to do it till she died.
Love was garbage. Trust was garbage. The only person you could ever truly be safe with was yourself, and there was no way around that.
The maid shook her head. "Oh, Buttercup. I've known you since you were nothing but a little squirming bundle, and you still haven't cease to amaze me. How about you head to bed, it's getting late."
"Alright," Buttercup sighed, rising from her stool. She muttered a few curse words to herself, started to head up to her bedroom, but then stopped at the door. "Oh, and Patty?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Make sure those two are punished."
Blossom ran a hand through her hair, exhaling loudly. This year's guest list was overwhelming; there were dukes and kings and queens and just so many nobles that she wasn't sure if she could keep track of all of them.
She glanced at her calendar. The festival was tomorrow, and it was getting her head. The streets were already decorated with streamers and lanterns, all the performers had rehearsed, and the ballroom was perfect. But that wasn't the point.
For the first time in a long time, she wasn't worried about her citizens—she was worried about herself. Or more specifically, her relationship with Brick. She wasn't sure where they stood after what had happened on Bubbles' birthday, but it definitely wasn't good.
She kind of wished that she could go back in time and change whatever tipping point it was that made them abhor each other so much. But even if she could, she wasn't entirely sure when and what it was she did that caused this; he seemed to already dislike her when they first met.
Blossom let out a small groan, shoved the name list to the side, and grabbed her copy of "Mythical Creatures of Our Lands". She had promised she'd find out something for Buttercup, but all she read in books were short paragraphs about nixies and kelpies and krakens that absolutely did not match the description her sister had gave her.
She flipped through a couple more pages, but only more elaborate drawings of mermaids and sea serpents stared up at her. Her pink eyes drooped in exasperation, and she plopped her chin on top of the book.
Maybe it was the stress of planning a huge party, or maybe the thought of marrying someone as impossible as Brick, but she felt so small all of a sudden. In this huge, terrifying world she felt like nothing but a speck of dust with no purpose.
Undines are water elementals; physical manifestations that appears most often in the form of a young woman. They are flirty, playful beings that enjoying toying with humans, but can also be quite helpful at times. It is said that if they were to ever fall in love with a man, they would become human too, but is cursed to die if the man is unfaithful to her. Commonly found—
Blossom's eyes drifted from the text to the margins, and noticed a little scribble at the bottom of the page. Right at the very corner, there was a chunk of words that overlapped each other, making it practically unreadable. Whoever had written it first started from left to right, but them seemed to turn the book ninety degrees, then continued so they were vertical lines on top of horizontal horizontal.
She furrowed her eyebrows, and held the book up against the sun. Tilting it back and forth, she soon realized that she could—just barely—make out what they said.
Turn right upon entering library. Third case from the left. Under the second shelf. There is a key. Remove the back panel of the fireplace. Insert key. Proceed with caution.
Blossom could hear her heartbeat rapidly thumping in her head. She'd always wondered if the castle had any secret passages or rooms. All the other kingdoms in her books were practically overflowing with underground tunnels and hidden chambers.
She tucked the book under her arm, and opened the door. Gingerly, she slipped through and made a dash for the library. There wasn't really a reason to be acting so suspicious and sneaking around, but it just felt right. The thought of looking like an idiot briefly crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it.
As usual, the library was empty and she immediately turned right, walked up to the third row, and looked under the second shelf. Nothing. Blossom blinked. What? where was the key? She flipped open the book again, and scanned the words again.
Turn right upon entering library. Third case fro—
So where was the key? Where was her mystery? Just as she was about to stand up, she remembered something. The book didn't originally belong to Selodia. On the first page it said it was a gift to their kingdom. She opened it again, and there it was, at right below the title.
A gift to Selodia for assisting us in war all these years — Gadrea
Of course. Of course, of course, of course. It had to be Gadrea. It had to be Brick. Everything just had to always lead back to him. Because he was so important, and he was so great, and it was her destiny to be stuck with him forever and ever until the end of time.
Of course.
Butch sat inside his little cave, whistling quietly to himself as he filled the woven baskets will dried fruit. He had't heard from Travis since he threatened to go find Araceli, but since she never came to confront him, he just assumed that Travis had chickened out.
"What are you doing here!"
Butch spun around, grinning. "Oh, hey Cel. What's up?"
Her eyes were narrowed, and she had a nasty frown on. "I thought the guards put you in the dungeons. What the Hell?"
"What are you even talking about? I'm not in jail." He let out a small chuckle, putting the lid back on the basket. Her knuckles turned white and she seemed to be struggling to speak.
"Whatever! I'll take you back later! I-I just can't believe I ever trusted you. You're the most horrible, disgusting person I've ever met!"
Butch laughed and shook his head. "Alright, princess. I can take the 'horrible' and 'disgusting' part just fine, but c'mon. We're buddies of course you can trust me."
"Argh! Why are you still trying to be friends with me? I hate you! I hate everyone! Stop lying! That's all anyone does anymore! Lie, lie, lie, and I'm sick of it!"
"Woah, calm down, alright? I never lied to you." His stomach clenched and he wondered if she found out about his secret.
"Shut up! I know who you are, alright? I heard you loud and clear! Can you just stop?"
Butch froze. She knew. She knew who he was and she hated him for it. His gaze hardened. Well, he hated her too. He always had. She was a whiny little brat who did nothing but cry.
"So you know. Good for you, you dumb girl. Good. For. You. So, what are you going to do now, huh?"
She glared at him. "You know what?"
"What?" He smirked.
"I'm leaving. I've leaving this crappy place, this crappy kingdom, this stupid Goddamn crappy life. I don't care if I'm the princess. I'm leaving, and I'm never coming back. Never coming back for Blossom, or Bubbles, or Mitch, or my father, or anyone else. Especially not you, Travis Storme." And with that, she turned back around, and left.
He blinked. Travis Storme? So she didn't know? And princess? What princess? He stood there for a while, processing what had just happened.
She never knew who you were! Just that Travis was a spy! Dammit, Butch, why do you have to be so dense?
His eyes widened, just now realizing the terrible mistake he had made. He ran all the way up the narrow path, but when he made his way back up the cliff, there was no one there.
She had left.
He wandered back to the cave in a sort of daze, and sat down in the very spot she used to. What had he done? It was all his fault that she left. No. No, no, no, no, please no.
How was he going to fix this?
How am I going to fix this? Mitch looked hopelessly at the locked door of the jail cell. He had messed up everything with Buttercup, got dungeoned—something he usually helped do—and was stuck with Storme, of all people.
He was no doubt, the dumbest person in the entire world. How had he not noticed that she liked him? Why had he dated Robin and made a big show about it? Declaring that she was her everything, that she was his special snowflake, that she was all that mattered while Buttercup—his best friend— had to watch?
He looked up from the floor. Maybe he should ask for help. But who? He was going to be stuck here for God know how long, and the only other person here was Storme.
No. Not him. He's the enemy.
He looked around. No one else was here. After screaming internally for a solid five minutes, he decided To Hell With It and walked over to the small window connecting the two cells.
"Hey, Storme."
No reply.
"Storme?"
Nothing.
"Hey I know we're supposed to hate each other but can you just help out a little?"
Silence.
Mitch shrugged and sat back down. "Huh. Guess he fell asleep or something."
Little did he know that three hours ago, not long after the night took over day, the boy cloaked in green had already made his way out of the dungeon, his eyes glinting with a hunger for blood and glory as he made his way through the forest, ready to deliver the valuable information he had gathered the previous night.
~ end of chapter 19 ~
