Blossom~
For the past two days our doors remained shut as we prepared for the King and auction that was taking place in a few hours. I shut myself away in my room to avoid losing anymore dignity that I had left. I hiccupped as I thought of Butch and the lack of recognition in his eyes while tears burned mine. No one knew who I was and no one was going to know who I am. The silky pink ribbon in my hands was turning into a weight more than a happy memory. I loved this ribbon, hadn't seen it since Brick tore it and a chunk of my hair out the summer before high school. After that the only hair pulling that was done was in the bedroom. I sighed at the last full memory before the New Beginning. Brick and I were on our three year anniversary date at our favorite ritzy restaurant. Our laughter filled up the empty dining room that Brick had rented out for privacy. I wore a pink floor length dress that had a slight V in the front and Brick couldn't keep his eyes off me. If he could see what I was wearing now his jaw would fall right off. Today I wore a black lacy teddy that was just enough for the imagination and a blood red under bust corset with a satin bow tied just above my mostly exposed ass.
I choke out a sob, all I ever wanted was normalcy but all I ever got was chaos.
Sedusa quietly entered my dimly lit room to find me at the vanity patiently waiting for my death sentence, or so it felt like, to add the "final touches". She painted my lips with blood red lipstick and put a light dusting of black eye shadow on my lids. Sedusa gently pulled up the top half of my hair and tied it with the infamous bow. She stares at my reflection for a long time with a look in her eyes I can't place. She sighs out and squeezes my shoulders as a mother would.
"There is something so very special about you, Blossom. I can't put my finger on it but I know it will change things." She murmured, fussing over my hair now to busy her hands. Silence fell over and I swallowed down another lump in my throat.
"Oh little Blossom, Do not think me heartless! I'm not selling you for personal gain, my gut tells me to trust Master Butch. That something good will come of this." She said before shutting the door and leaving me alone in with my thoughts in the dark.
I peek from behind the deep red curtain and take in the hall. The kotasu are straightened and placed closer to the walls and openings. The pillows are evenly stacked and out of the way instead of haphazardly spread across the floor, this is the most organized I have seen this place since my arrival. Men and women from all over are packed inside of the hall and everyone is dressed to the nines. Robin is gently playing the harp as more guests flow inside, other girls with red or black bows are running around with trays of food or drink. Sedusa's pillow is currently empty and then I spy her mingling among the crowd, hyping up the auction for a high bidding war I am sure. I swallow the bile down and let the curtain fall into place. A few deep breathes later and I can hear a hush fall over the room.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Sedusa announces, "Tonight I have an exotic flower for sale."
Cheers erupt and echo off of the marble halls. I bite back a whimper and patiently wait for my cue. The hall falls quiet once more, so quiet I can hear Seuda's heels clacking against the marble floor.
"This flower has been through a rough winter. She will need love, affection, and passion that burns hotter than any sun! Please give a warm welcome to Blossom!"
And then the curtains fly open on their own accord. Sedusa has her hand outstretched for me. She is clad in a beautiful black kimono styled robe adorned with pink cherry blossoms. Tonight really is about me. I take her hand, she squeezes it to ease my shaking and gives me a gentle twirl. The crowd is cheering and whistling as they assess me with deft eyes.
"Bidding will start in about an hour, please enjoy yourselves tonight!" Sedusa bellows and the hall erupts with chatter and giggling.
"How are you feeling?" She asks, helping me sit on my throne.
"Nauseous." I admit and she sits next to me.
"You'll be fine. I know he won't be able to resist you. You'll have everything you want if you go with him."
The promised hour is almost upon us. A good forty five minutes or so have passed with the girls attending to their regulars and even new clients. The giant wooden doors open for the first time since the announcement of the auction my heart freezes in my chest as I see two very familiar men come into the now silent hall. Brick is in a black suit with a deep crimson tie. His crown shimmers in the low candle light, the rubies dance like a flame. The crowd parts for the two to make way to Sedusa and myself. Brick's red eyes fall over the place, assessing everything his father's money has bought, his face is set in a sneer but I can tell he's impressed. As he reaches the foot of the stairs Butch bellows out.
"Isn't this a party?" He reaches for the nearest waitress with a tray and snags two drinks, "Is it because King stick up his ass is here?"
Butch's joke seems to break the ice and the hall resumes its normal decibel. Brick's eyes fall on his brother and mine follow. I always kept an eye out for the raven haired brother, his thoughts were always the darkest of the three. Butch was making his way to Evelyn, he bows to her and makes the most beautiful bouquet I've ever seen appear from thin air. An apology no less.
"Ah Master Brick a pleasure as always!" Sedusa purred bowing at the waist, "How was the trip?"
"Fine. As always." Brick's eyes lingered over Sedusa's empire, "I have to admit I did not expect this to go so well, so fast."
"Well when you have hard working women anything is possible." Sedusa replies and they both laugh. Brick looks Sedusa up and down before smirking, seeming to like what he sees. He glances at me before doing a double take, his red eyes narrow as he comes for a closer look. Sedusa swallows and sets her drink down before approaching Brick.
"Master Brick this is why everyone is here. I have a very special flower to sell tonight." She says as she brings me to my feet. She gives me a spin as if I am a fine dress or a pet to be bought. She twirls me at an excruciatingly slow pace and I can feel Brick's eyes pining over my body, heat rushes to my cheeks as I remember what I am wearing and how much of me is actually exposed.
"Stop her there." He voice is gruff. His eyes have to be lingering on my ass but instead I feel his fingers on the silk ribbon.
"Do you know how she got this?" He asks Sedusa dropping the ribbon, I turn to face him. Hoping and praying he remembers who I am, that his heart will ache from missing me for months.
"It was a gift from a friend." She muses. Brick's callused hand grabs my chin to tilt my face towards his. As he is inspecting me I can't help but stare at his lips that are always in a half pout half smirk. I swallow the urge to kiss him until I look in his eyes. Those deep red eyes that I have gazed into late at night, but they reflect no love just curiosity. I feel desperate as my heart is free falling into my stomach. I lean on my tip toes and try to press my lips to his. But our lips never touch. His hand rests on my shoulder and gently pushes me away.
"She is quite interesting." Brick smiles but it is one of malice, "She will make some man very happy one day, especially with how eager she is."
"Start the auction." He says as he descends the stairs and melds into the crowd.
The auction starts off well, a few men have a small bidding war before Butch places a bid in for me. I can see him smiling from the back of the room. No one is counter bidding him, his bid is by far the highest tonight and probably out of reach for anyone else here. I lock eyes with him, silently begging for him to retract his bid but his eyes flicker to his brother in the corner. Brick is standing with his arms crossed over his chest, acting uninterested. The auction is about to close and at the last possible second Brick places a bid that is far higher than Butch's. I can still hear Butch chuckling now.
Brick never did give me time to cope with the changes his thrust into my life. I became nauseous as Sedusa's palace grew further into the horizon, turning into nothing but a dot.
"You'll strain your neck that way." Brick's first words to me since the grand purchase, how they offer little comfort. He had helped me gather my things, if you can even call them that. Brick had held my comforter in one hand and a small suitcase that Sedusa packed while I clutched my prized pillow close to my chest. Sedusa told me to call or write anytime I wanted but I didn't know how badly I loved that place until I was placed in Brick's cold, dead hands. I needed a home and Brick wasn't making himself one anymore. I thought by now he would see me for who I was but clearly I was mistaken. He had so many mixed feelings about me that he hardly reacts. I'm still trying to look out the window at my last solace of hope when Brick places his hand on my thigh.
"I believe it is gone now pet." He gives my thigh a small squeeze before going back to his paper work. How could he do business at a time like this? At a time where I feel so small, insignificant, disposable? Blossom Utonium has never felt this way before. And why the hell should I? The world always needed me and my sisters but now no one even knows who I am, not even my fiancé. I look over Brick's work to preoccupy my mind, to ignore the new voice in my head telling me how useless I am now. Brick is unkempt as ever with his work, papers are scattered across his lap and shoved into his brief case. I noticed that he's messed up a calculation on a theory, a page he has set to the side as he finds the trends to the new world market.
"You've messed this all up." I finally say. A miscalculation always grates my last nerve regardless of the situation. Brick glares at me like he always does before fixing his tone into a condescending one.
"I don't mess up calculations. I'm the smartest man alive." He replies, scribbling on the cliff notes of a sheet.
"But not the smartest person. You're always like this." I snort stealing the pen from his hand and fixing his calculation, "You never could admit you were wrong."
His neck flushes red and soon the blood rushes into his cheeks. He is embarrassed, angry, and cute all at once. I'm about to use my one liner to calm him down when he grabs my forearm with enough force to cause an instant bruise. My bones strain under the pressure and begin to crack. I let out a whimper as he comes nose to nose with me.
"Don't you ever correct me again." He growls before dropping my wrist as if I am diseased. I bite my lip as hot tears spill from my lids I quickly face the window and cradle my arm. I haven't seen this side of Brick for a long time and especially not aimed at me. After that I don't speak to him or even touch him for four weeks.
Bubbles~
I snuggled deeper into my blanket as I watched the rain from my window seat. Small droplets bang together to make larger ones but it all ended with a stream at the bottom of the sill. Lightening danced across the grey clouds. The clouds here were different from Center City. These clouds were how I remembered storms looking, grey or deep black, sometimes green but only if there was a tornado but never reddish black. Never reminding me of the fresh hell I lived in.
"Bijou, Blossom!" Hecate pulls me from my thoughts, "Dinner is ready! Butch and I are waiting for you two."
"Okay! I'll be down in a sec!" I rush into the jack and jill bathroom to wash the flaking paint from my hands. One day Butch decided to take me "on loan" for a week out of every month. It came around the same time the broken bones and bruises did, just after Blossom showed up. Butch had taken me shopping for my room. Told me I could decorate it however I saw fit, that I could buy whatever I wanted to pass the time. So I got paint, books, and too many stuffed animals to count. There was so much inspiration here on the outskirts of Outer City especially since I had my very own balcony to look out of. The balcony faced a dense forest where there were real, live animals that roamed close to Butch's estate. Oh how I wished I could speak to them but painting them was making me just as happy. Butch never did treat me as a doll or Blossom a pet once he got over his suspicions. He believed us witches who put a spell on both Brick and Boomer, the fact that we looked similar/familiar didn't help our case until he took us out to grill us. We tried to tell him who we were, how we were sisters, but we just…couldn't. Blossom tried first but her lips were folding in on each other instead of forming the words. When I tried my throat closed up while my lips acted as if they were sewn shut, that's when he realized we were just two poor souls who had been cursed. He must have taken pity on us. With the time away from Boomer he has become less obsessive with me and where I am going. He was hardly every this way after he turned over a new leaf our senior year of high school. His eyes were never this haunting before.
Butch is already sitting at the table with a paper in hand, "Center City Cornicles". The paper has Boomer's face plastered on the front page with an article talking about how he spoke to some country overseas and got them to pelage allegiance to "His Greatness." I scoff as I read the details, what bullshit this whole thing was. I serve myself some roasted chicken while Sedusa places the rolls on the table.
"What's wrong my little arteest?" He asks lowering the paper, "Do you need me to model naked for inspiration?" He's wearing a sly smile while he serves himself. I giggle but catch him looking at the painting behind me. It's one of mine, in fact a lot of the paintings in his estate I have done. This one however is the largest and most sentimental one I have done to date. It's an intimate sort of painting, as if you just happened to come across the girl in the painting, it's a tribute to Buttercup really. I don't know if she is alive or dead but either way the painting gives me peace. She is sitting on the edge of a cliff, her hands supporting her weight as she tilting her head towards the sun, a top view of her head really. In the background was a stunning blue sky fading into hues of purple and pink contrasting with the earthy tones of the canyon. The whole shot was an accident. Buttercup had gotten really into photography and time lapse videos so the Professor got her a DSLR camera in middle school. She loved it and used it right up until the end. She was so good that she won tons of awards and even helped me pay for art school but I digress. She had taken her camera for a project, to catch a time lapse of the sunset, on every project she would sit out of the shot and just enjoy the peace. But halfway through filming a bird just heavy enough rested on the handle on her tripod tilting until she was in view. Until that breath taking moment where I saw the purest side of my sister. I begged her for a still shot of that moment just before she notices the bird. Hell she's even intimidating when her face is upside down. I never did have the time to paint it in my normal life, if you could even call it that then. Between fifty hours of homework and crime fighting I was lucky to have a chance to catch my breath. My paintings hadn't always been so happy in the new beginning. First they were creamy grey eyes staring up at me. Then it progressed to the full memories, from the moment I found my dear friend until I threw the last shovel full of dirt on her grave. My sisters always dealt with the bodies Boomer and his brothers would leave. The Rowdy ruff boys were not always so pure.
The funny part is how attached Butch seems to be to the painting considering he claims to have no idea who the girl in the painting is. It was my first painting aside from the girl, I call it the last of my grieving period. Blossom finally joins us at the dinner table.
"Sorry I was finishing up a theory." She says as she stuffs a roll into her mouth, she hasn't been to a meal for the past day. Here she can read, write, solve problems and wear whatever she wants. Currently she has on jeans and a t-shirt.
"No problem." Butch shrugs and continues to eat. Blossom says we shouldn't trust Butch but I can't help it. I do trust him, he is protecting both Blossom and I from our counterparts. Well somewhat, being here and away from Boomer has caused him to become more level headed. I know it's the same with Brick. Butch wants to help us heal or at least that's how it seems in his home. Sadly tonight is our last night of the week here soon I will have to return to Center City and how I dread that hellish jail cell that Boomer calls home.
Boomer is in an especially foul mood today. His arms are crossed and he is tapping his foot anxiously, waiting no doubt for my return. We are at the train station just outside of Center City, just where the sky begins to look wrong. I grit my teeth as I step off the train with my small suit case in tow as Butch politely carries Blossom's and my heavier bags.
"Hello Master Brick." Blossom greets while giving a small bow. I glance her way and frown as I realize how different she has become in Brick's care. My sister used to always say find your equal to walk beside you, not in front or behind you.
"Hello Boomer." I say bowing my head slightly, I even smile to seem excited.
"What have you been doing to her?" Boomer growls, ignoring my welcome. At first I think he is acting tough for Brick but I see in his eyes he is on one of his deranged days where he can't tell reality from paranoia fueled imagination.
"Oh having my way with them of course." Butch purrs as he wraps his thick arm around me possessively. His lips find my neck and he nibbles. Butch always tries to rile Boomer up, whether for his own entertainment or as a dare to challenge him I will never know but he has never taken it this far. Lately and I hate to admit, I have been fantasizing what it would be like to live with Butch instead of Boomer. I feel the heat of my blush rush up my throat and to my cheeks as he somehow manages to get a moan out of me, I feel his lips curl up against my neck. That moan was more than what Boomer could get out of me for the past few months. Boomer snarls and lunges for his brother.
"Ah ah ah!" Butch cooed pulling me closer, "I have valuable merchandise."
"Is this really what he has been doing with you pet?" Brick half snarls, the animosity aimed mostly at his brother, "If he is I will kill him myself."
"Is this what he is doing to you Bubbles?" Boomer half yells, "I will have father end you."
"Ha! End me brother?" Butch's voice has changed from carefree to dark, "Do you know why Father's empire is so successful?" Butch snakes his arm around my waist as he speaks.
"How many countries have you two won over for Father? One? Two? Do you know why they agree to your petty attempts brother? It is because they are afraid of me. While you two keep your hands clean and pretend to add to Father's assets I am actually out there doing something. I am purging the countries that do not obey. I am keeping the rebellion in check, I am the reason for success. Fear instilled by force. The King of War is Father's greatest strength, not the King of Finances or the King of hot fucking air."
My anxiety is in full over drive now as Boomer's eyes bore holes into Butch. Butch gently pushes the small of my back towards Boomer who snatches me quickly.
"And if I find out that you took out your anger on sweet little Bubbles, I will end you brother or not." Butch snarls in Boomer's face before turning around and sauntering away.
Blossom~
I rise a few hours after the sun and feel out for Brick's warmth only to meet cool sheets. Meaning he's been up for a while. I know where I will find him, he will be in his study hunched over the mountains of paper work trying to solve the miscalculation that I fixed in the middle of the night. The thought of it caused me to stay awake for hours causing me to solve it over and over again until I wrote it down. I groan with the floorboards stuffed with hidden books as I reach for my sheer black robe on my sitting chair. I make my way to the kitchen after tying the robe shut. I make Brick's coffee and pad to his study down the hall leaning against the door jamb to study him. His deep red eyes are fixated on a pile of letters his hair is a mess of an unkempt braid that I will fix later while the corners of his pouty lips are upward. No doubt thanks to him 'finding the problem' to the theory of relativity he's been working on. He doesn't make mistakes often but he has never been so discouraging about me helping him. Maybe all of this king shit has gone to his head.
"Ah good morning pet," He finally notices me but doesn't bother looking, "Bring me a cup of coffee would you?"
I squeeze the coffee cup until my knuckles are white, had I had my powers the glass would have shattered. I grit my teeth before answering sweetly, best not ruin his good mood.
"Had you looked at your fine pet you would have seen your favorite cup." I move some papers and place it on the mahogany desk. His arm quickly finds my waist and pulls me to sit on his muscular thigh.
"Pet you always wear my favorite things in the morning." He whispers and then nibbles my neck. My body reacts by becoming flush but my heart isn't all the way into it. He is only half my Brick but I giggle anyway.
"You can see my nipples Brick."
"Why else do you think I bought that robe?" He nuzzles my neck but all I can see is this letter at the top of the pile signed by HIM personally. I read over it and feel a little queasy.
"What's the Pits Brick?" I ask and I feel him stiffen under me.
"His Greatness has requested that my brothers and I attend this special match with the champion. The champion has been at the top for a few months now, almost a year. He's requested that the Court Pet and Court Doll attend as well. So he must have something big in store." He signs out. I feel my heart beating double time in my chest rattling my ribs.
"Go get ready we have to leave soon."
When we get to the pits my stomach lurches even more. It is a giant colosseum packed to the gills of people from Inner and Outer city. Him sits on a giant throne overlooking the stadium with a step down with six thrones. Boomer is to the left while Bubbles sits in the smaller throne next to him, a smile plastered to her face, Butch sits to the right looking agitated, biting fiercely into his lower lip while Brick and I sit directly under Him. I am not allowed to sit in the throne, I am only allowed to sit in Brick's lap. A small fight is taking place that ends quickly as the main announcer comes center field.
"Ladies and gentlemen the fight you've all been, our brass crass and over all tough champion will be up against a special opponent of His Greatness' choosing!" The announcer is really hyping the crowd up their cheering can almost burst your eardrums. I'm half squinting in the direction the announcer is pointing trying to see the silhouette of the person in the shadowed arch way.
"This will be the champion's first fight since her terrible injury a few days ago. Will she come out on top?"
"She'll be dead by the week's end though I am surprised she hasn't died already." Brick murmurs.
"What do you mean?" I ask and he pulls up the mini holo projector to pull up last week' highlights. He fast forwards to the last one just as the champion is coming into view.
"I PRESENT TO YOU OUR TOUGHEST FIGHTER!" My throat closes up as I see her step into view. Her raven hair is chopped short and she seems a little underweight and paler than normal. Panic seeps in as the highlight plays over and over. She's looking away from the fight, it's seven against one and she's unarmed. While looking up her slender body is hitting the last two of three fighters left but a behemoth of a woman catches her off guard and slices deep into her back. She falls to her knees and she's surely dead but she falls onto her side and does a low sweep kick causing the giant to fall. She recovers quicker than her wound should allow giving a blow to the head to knock out Goliath. My heart is in my throat as Brick confirms my fears.
"Someone must have sewn her up but she's still bleeding. It's dripping down the backs of her legs. She's gone."
I'm fixated to the spot with horror as she glares down Him first then Butch who seems to be on the edge of his seat. He's leaning forward on his knees, his hands gripping themselves so tight he has to be breaking fingers. Those deft green eyes find Bubbles and then find me. It's like staring into the face of a ghost. My blood runs cold as Buttercup stands injured in the middle of the arena.