Chapter 4: Friends and Enemies
The thick wooden door opened revealing a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. She had slender figure and she was wearing a brown gown that reached her knees with a maroon sash wrapped around her waist forming a bow on the back. She was barefoot with dirty feet. Her hair was a dark brown, the color of tree bark that was still strikingly pretty. Pulled back by a faded pink cloth used as a headband held her hair back. Her eyes were brown, with similar coloration to her hair, only a tad lighter. Her skin was fair bit her was covered in smoke residue-probably from cooking, yet she remained stunningly pretty.
Behind her in the doorway stood another young girl who also appeared in her early twenties. Her eyes were a similar color to the woman who answered the door nut were a little darker. She had black hair with bangs hugging her face like crescents. She wore no shoes and a brown dress with a purple sash tied around the waist. Her knees were green and brown with grass stains and dirt. Her slender figure complimented the rather hideous dress, but she still managed to look attractive in it.
A last girl sat in the room towards the back where it was difficult to see because of the two eldest blocking the view of the small house. Relaxing on a fur blanket by the fire, she appeared about 18 or 19 along with being the cleanest. Her eyes were brown as well as the first with the same hair color. She had straight cut bangs that covered the top of her head and reached her eyebrows, but her hair reached just above the shoulder blade. She was wearing a mint green nightgown.
The brunette who answered the door gaze softened when she noticed the color of Brick's eyes. "Come inside! I've missed you! Well, we've missed you." The girl ushered the 3 guys inside the small home. Brick stepped through the door first, showing the girls that they had an unconcious visitor. The maroon sashed girl swiveled toward the girl in the hreen night gown. "Basil!" she whispered.
Basil nodded, rising from her position in front of the fireplace. Quietly she led Brick down the hall to a doorway and into a room on the left side of the hall.
"How have you been, Bree?" Boomer smiled giving the girl with the headband a hug. Butch gave the other girl a hug at the same time.
Bree smiled. "Just fine without you three giving us more hassels."
"Breana? What can't you hold your tongue like Bhumi? At least she pretends like she is happy to see us." Butch teased, while switching with Boomer to give a Bre a hug and for Boomer to hug Bhumi.
Bhumi laughed. "You guys are so dramatic! You know we've missed you!"
A second later Brick and Basil reappeared from the darkened hallway and more hugs were exchanged. "Wow, Basil. You're getting big. How old are you now? 34?" Brick joked.
Basil crossed arms. "Its only been a few months. Im still 19."
Boomer took a quick glance around. "Where's the Firecracker?" he asked. He was still looking around.
Bhumi sighed. She walked over the table that had a few dirty plates on it and began clearing them away. "Britt is sleeping in bed." Bree walked over to the table to assist with the cleaning.
A door was heard slamming and everyone turned toward the hallway. A silohette of a small person wandered aimlessly down the hallway, apparently still half asleep. A moment later a young girl about 10 emerged into the flickering firelight, looking dreary eyed. She was wearing an indigo nightgown. Her hair was blonde with orange dyed tips and it was tied back in two lopsided ponytails that hung low. She held a blue worn out rag elephant doll under one arm. She was skinny like a twig, showing off her ribs, implying that she hadn't eaten a filling meal in years.
"Britt! You're supposed to be in bed asleep!" Bree scolded.
Britt rubbed her bright blue eyes and yawned. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on the surprised guests. She ran up to Boomer and jumped up into his arms. "Hi Boomer!" she greeted much more awake now. She turned to Brick and the Butch. " Hi Brick! Hi Butch!"
Butch tousled her hair. "Hey there Firecracker." Britt giggled.
Bhumi pulled a slab of smoked meat out of the ice box. "Are you guys hungry?" she asked from across the room. Basil crossed over to the room and sat back down on the fur blanket in front of the wavering firelight. Brick and Butch glided over to a tattered couch over byy Basil and sat down with Boomer close behind with a yawning Britt. Boomer sat down with, cradeling Britt who was starting to drift back to sleep.
Butch nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!" Brick and Boomer nodded quietly. Bhumi and Bree took a moment to make three plates of steak, mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots. Then they collected up the wooden plates and handed the plates to the 3 men. Butch took a giant bite into the steak and exhaled in satisfaction. "This is really good. You guys have always made some of the best food."
Bree smiled. "We do our best." Bree and took a seat on floor beside Basil while Bhumi remained standing.
Bhumi hovered over to the touch and tickled Britt's cheek. Britt stirred and looked up, weary eyed. "Come to bed, Britt. Its way past your bedtime. You can play with the boys in the morning." Bumi said, trying to pull Britt off of Boomer's lap.
Britt held onto Boomer's shirt. "I don't want to go to bed." She looked at Butch who smiled at her. Then at Brick who smirked at her. Finally she glanced up at Boomer, who smiled down at her. "Don't make me go to bed! I want to listen!" she pleaded.
Boomer shrugged. "Sorry, Firecracker. Sisters are right. Time to go to sleep." Boomer stood up and handed her to Bhumi. "We'll see you in the morning."
Bhumi and Britt walked down the hall and disappeared into the hallway. Basil stretched out on the blanket and purred softly. A moment later Bhumi reappeared unaccompanied by Britt. Bree stretched out her arms. "Are Bubbles and Buttercup already asleep?" Butch asked, around a mouthful of carrots.
"No. You missed them. They left this morning." Basil replied.
"How long did they stay before going on to our forte in Monshea?" Brick wondered.
"Only a little while." Bree said, crossing her legs in front of the fireplace. The three guys gave her an awkward glance. "They were on the run from Jojk. The guards were on their trail and they got here right before the town was flooded by soldiers. We had enough time to hide them inside the hollow wall along with Britt, right before they charged into our home and started looking for fugitives. As soon as the perimeter was safe enough, Bubbles and Buttercup apologized for not staying longer but left swiftly." Bree explained quickly.
Brick nodded. Basil sat up. "Who was the girl who was with you?"
"Hold on ladies. Before we start going into the rebellion info, let's catch up on the latest. We haven't seen you for a few months." Brick said. He finished the food on his plate. Rising from his seat, he strided over to the wash tub, placed the platter into the silver tub, and returned to his seat.
Bhumi crossed her arms. "Come on guys tell us! We told you about Bubbles and Buttercup!" she pleaded in a wailing tone.
Brick ingored the comment. He looked over at Bree. "Come on Bree. For all we know, Bean could have proposed to you and you could be making preparations for your first child."
Bree blushed a little out of embarressment. "I-i-its not like that!" she stuttered. "Besides, do i look preggers to you?" She motioned to her stomach that was flat and thin.
"Nah. Just asking."
"What abou you Basil?" Butch asked, shooting a glance toward his older sister figure. Basil looked up at him, a little on the defensive side but tried to appear neautral. "Have you and Bain hooked up yet?"
"I'm only 19" she countered.
Butch rolled his eyes. "Not that way you airhead. I mean as in boyfriend."
Basil crossed her arms. "I don't need a boyfriend, Butch. I have enough to worry about without needing to worry about Bain all the time."
Bhumi elbowed her sister. "Come on, Basil. You know you miss Bain and are counting down the days until he comes back." she teased causing Basil to blush a bright pink.
"So? I know that you keep the letters from Brin under your matress!" Basil countered, causing Bhumi to blush and hide her face in her knees.
Boomer looked at the floor. "Its getting all sister-dramatic up in here."
"Maybe it is a good idea to start swapping info."Brick suggested.
"Good idea" Bree agreed.
Boomer held a palm up. "One quick thing. How's Britt doing about Block?"
Bree sighed. "She's been a little down without her best friend..."
"Boyfriend" Butch muttered quietly.
"But," Bree continued, "sh'e happy that he's able to help Bean, Bain, and Brin with the rebellion. Block seems happy to be following in Bean's footsteps as a spy anyways."
Brick nodded. "Its a shame that they have to grow up in a time like this. They should be able to live life, free of fear of Disoria and not have to worry about rebellions." he agreed.
"The night is waning. Perhaps we should discuss now, before the night is spent." Bhumi persisted. She had glanced out the window, and using experienced skills, could decipher that about 9 hours were left of night.
"Good idea. Who's the girl?" Basil said, watching them intently.
Brick rubbed his hands together, intertwining his fingers. "We were on the run from Bronton. Earlier today, we had been at Priss, and we were able to smuggle ourselves inside and managed to snag soome loot." Priss was a wealthy city a few miles north of Bronton. Priss and Bronton were partners in several ways of trade and protection. Bree gave a questioning look. "Priss will definantly be one of the last cities Disoria will try to overtake. They have an enormous wall surrounding the city that are at least 40 feet high." he explained, describing as best he could.
Butch chuckled. "Theres a reason Priss is named priss. The people there are weathy, rotten, spoiled. Just over all horrible. I honestly wouldn't mind watching Disoria's forces humble that pompous people. Makes me sick."
"Continue," urged Bhumi. She always loved listening to the adventures of her little brother figures.
"Anyway, we were escaping through Bronton when Priss raised an alarm." Boomer continued. "Bronton's soldiers were on our trails almost instantly. I remembered Bubbles describing a cave nearby between Prowl and Monshea, a little ways from Bronton. So we rode hard, got to the cave undetected, saw a tower, climbed found a girl who was apparently hostage there, rescued her, got followed again, and made our way here."
"Sounds like you guys had yourselves one hell of a night." Basil noted. Her eyes started drooping.
"yeah. Anything new here?" Brick asked. He pulled off his hat and his mussed orange hair was visable.
"Well, Bean, Brin, and Bain reported that Shro has fallen and Troth is under besage." Bhumi muttered tiredly.
"I'm not surprised." Butch mumbled.
"Dissoria's forces are definantly on the move." Brick added.
"Hope still is everywhere. Bean reported that they are gaining new people to join the rebellion everyday. We need to keep the faith. These times will pass and good will rise up." Bree declared with a powerful truth backing up her words.
Butch put a hand over his heart and nodded with his eyes lowered. "Spoken like a true old person." he said solemnly. Bree scoffed, rolled her eyes and punched Butch in the leg softly. "Oh hey we have one more thing to tell you about the girl we brought."
"What is it?" Basil asked groggily. She was dozing off on Bree's shoulder as was was Bree on Bhumi, and Bhumi on the floor.
"Blossom, the girl, is a Splitzer." Boomer responded. Upon hearing this, all three girls sat up with new alertness. "Yeah. She has Ice and Healing abilities."
Bhumi raised a hand to her lips. "So there is another Spitzer this century. I was beginning to this that Agash might have needed to serve as the final Splitzer" she thought out loud.
"I did too." Bree added. Basil nodded her head in agreement. "This is fantastic! A team of 7! The rebellion is looking brighter every second." Bree noted positivly. Something about her always gave her a positive outlook despite past events that could have made a regular person psycho. Yet she remained helpful, and positive for her sisters and for the boys. All of them. Brick, Butch, Boomer, Bain, Block, and Brin. Bean, she was secretly hoping, despite how much Brick and her sisters teased her, that he would propose to her sooner or later.
Basil yawned. "Is this discussion pretty much over? I am exhausted, and unfortunately, i have to rise with the sun as the saying goes."
"As said like an old person." Boomer repeated earning a glare from Basil and a few mild laughs from everyone else.
"Yes its over."Bree said rising to her feet. She clasped onto Basil's right hand with her right, and clasped Bhumi's left hand with her left and hauled them to their feet. "Your blankets are in the trunk. Make yourselves compfortable."
"Big breakfast tomarrow?" Brick asked hopeful. He snatched a down fur blanket from the trunk and wrapped it around himself.
Bhumi rolled her eyes and smiled weakly. "Yes, I suppose."
"Good night." Basil called as she, Bree and Bhumi shuffled into their bedroom. The boys went about making themselves beds in the living room.
Brick looked up at the ceiling. It felt nice to sleep under a roof in a safe place for the first time in months.
(next morning)
Sedusa slipped out of the bed and slipped her dress back on along with pulling her brown fur coat on over it. Quietly she slipped on her brown flat shoes and exited the bedroom door. The pockets of the downy coat were already full of jewels, golden coins, silver and a dagger that had an intricate silver and gold design on the handle that she had stolen when the man Fred had turned his back on her. Not a wise decision. Slowly, she wandered down the stairs of the two story home, keeping an eye out for any other priceless peices. She noticed a pearl necklace resting on a table, so she stealthily snatched it up and tucked it away in her pocket.
After confirming that she had been gone long enough from Blossom at the tower, she collected her bag from the front door. Minutes after entering the stable, Sedusa was off riding Jennings towards the woods. She wandered the horse idly in the right direction for a few miles when she stopped dead in her tracks. Her breath was ragged as she noticed horse tracks in the moist soil, going down the path towards the cave. She rode hard in the direction of the tower. It wasn't one horse. It was several! Sedusa added a stress to the reigns pulling Jennings to a halt at the mouth of the cave she rushed throught the tunnel and came to the base of the tower.
"Blossom! Come down!" she called up franticly. Nothing happened. Blossom couldn't have been kidnapped. She had already done that! "Blossom!" A second later a rope fell from the window. Sedusa let out a sigh of relief, stepping into a noose tied at the end of the brown rope. "Pull me up, Rose."
Slowly, the rope made progrss toward the window. Inch by inch. Foot by foot. The progress notably increased as she got closer to the window. Sedusa peaked over the window sill once she was close enough but saw nobody. The rope seemed to have been pulling itself into the shadows. She shrieked, but then she notcied a silohetted humanoid figure in the shadow just beyond the dresser. "Blossom. Don't starle like that! Now as a punishment, you must scrub the floors of the tower and cabin." Sedusa commanded, with a hand on her hip. She had pulled herself up over the sill and into the bedroom.
A dark laugh filled the room, and the window closed abrutly. A coldness filled the room and chills went down Sedusa's back, temporarily paralizing her. "You think you can command me Sedusa?" Another laugh echoed in the room. The room was terrifyingly cold and Sedusa could she her breath when she breathed.
"Raven?" Sedusa asked, hardly able to speak. It burned her throat to speak.
"Oh look at that! She does speak! Blossoms not here Sedusa, and Disoria is not happy about you letting the other Spitzers live in hiding." Raven claimed. Quick as a light, several candles lit the room, revealing a tall woman wearing a black cape that covered her body except her head. Her hair was black and pulled back into a high up do and her eyes were unnaturally black as well.
Life rushed back into Sedusa's limbs and she could move freely again. "Others? What others?"
Raven strode forward, producing a dagger and held the tip eye level to Sedusa. Sedusa stared at the knife with wide eyes. It was the same one she had swiped back at the house. Sedusa wasn't overly surprised but was still shocked. She had worked with Raven before , and if death had a wife, Raven would be her. Raven moved the blade down Sedusa's cheek forming a shallow scratch. Mumbling a few words, the cut vanished leaving no trace of an open wound. Rave giggled darkly. "Look at that! I can harm you and yet I can heal you back to perfect health! Just imagine how horrible it would be to torture you. To have a perfect New and healthy body to be tormented all over again." She sounded serious. Sedusa gulped. Raven stopped laughing and death was in her cold black eyes. Nothing in her demeanor was friendly. "Don't play coy with me Sedusa. I know, Disoria knows that because of your weak spot for that Professor of Monshea, that you spared all 3 of his daughters."
Sedusa breathed shallow gulps of air resulting from panick. Her toes were numb and her fingers were freezing up from the fear radiating from Raven. She feared no one, besides Disoria. "One was a Splitzer the other two were not. I delivered them to two separate families that would treat them as slaves. I kept Blossom here to help harness her power so she could better help Disoria in the future." She squeaked to her intimidating visitor.
Raven sighed and held the knife closer to Sedusa's soft flesh. "You failed to behold that indeed all three were Splitzers. Two of the babys' eye colors hasn't developed yet. All three are free of their bond keepers and will inevitably meet one another and try to learn the secrets of the past in order to overthrow the empire that Disoria has been patiently building for centuries. It was your job to dispose of them. Yet you saved them alive. That same year, shortly before your assignment, Allies of the Night were Sen to destroy the triplet boys who were born Splitzers. But they also failed. All 138 soldiers were slain for failing the empress and sorceress. You should feel relieved that you haven't already been assassinated. I'm a warning from Disoria." Raven lowered the knife. "I'm not here to slay but to warn." Sedusa released a sigh. Raven turned toward the window and the shutters opened and the candles extinguished. "I suggest that you finish what you were sent to do in the first place 16 years ago. And if you fail, Disoria will not be as forgiving. If it was up to me I would have killed you the moment your head popped over that sill." Sedusa blinked and when she opened her eyes, Raven was gone.
Sedusa sighed. She was now reinstated as an Ally of the Night by Raven informed by Disoria. That also means that the penalty for failure would be death. A smirk spread across her lips. Not if she killed them first. That would get her in good with boss. A shimmering glint caught her eyes from the floor. She reached down and picked up the locket necklace that Blossom had discarded the Night previous. Sedusa's grin grew wider. If Blossom and her sisters wanted answers, they would have to find her.
sorry for the long wait but I hope you enjoyed it
BTW: I know alot of you thought that the mystery girls were BC and Bubbles, but this was how I originally thought up the story but I did write it off the way I did to give some speculation each of the girls represents me, my sister, my other sister, and my friend who is still my sister in the story, I am the oldest in the story (hint hint) since I am in real life. BC and Bubbles will be in the next chapter
BTW: I chose the name Raven for the name of the evil girl because of the creepy movie and story the raven by Edgar Allan Poe and it sounded like a cool name for an evil person although I love Raven from Teen Titans.
Well thank you for reading this hope you liked it. Pleas review and tell me what yo think! ADD