FAGEtastic Four
Title: October
Written For: Aurelle Angelus
Written By: BeMyHeroSeverrus
Rating: K+
Summery/Prompt Used: A forest to end it all will also begin it all for Zinnia. The Dark Stranger has come and took the breath out of Zinnia. He has his secrets and she has hers. will their secrets bring them together or tear them apart.
Chapter One: The Tea Shop
Autumn rolled around into the sleepy little town of Bexhill-on-Sea (Bexhill). It was a quaint and quiet town, resting where the tree and ocean met. Quite a tourist spot in the summer, but for now, it was quiet and the locals were left in peace.
Shops lined up and down Main Street and signs turned from Closed to Open in the early morning. Zinnia rubbed her sleepy amber eyes and let out a big yawn. She looked out her door window above it hung her own sign Green Tea. She slowly turned her sign to Open and unlocked the door. With the heat of summer gone and the bitter cold soon to set in, Zinnia could go back to brewing her own famous tea. She loved the summer, the beach, noise, fun...but there was something beautiful about the autumn wind coming in as winter follows, with its blankets, fires and hot mugs.
Zinnia came out from the back with a kettle as the bell above the door rang. There must have been some tourist left in town, for she had never seen this man before. He was tall and thin, his hair reaching a little pass his ears and falling above his eyebrows, almost covering his intense dark eyes, which to Zinnia looked troubled. His jacket was long, black and covered him all up.
"Good morning Sir!" Zinnia said brightly. "May I help you?"
He reached the counter and glanced at the menu, his eyebrow rising for a second. "Black tea."
His voice was soft and though he spoke two low words, Zinnia caught them perfectly. "Sure, take a seat, I'll be right out." She smiled brightly and disappeared into the back.
The tourist looked around the room. Many posted pictures of bands and movies decorated the wall; the furniture was black, white, and green, and a fluffy looking couch and chairs were spread about, little tables were weaved through with two chairs at each end. He supposed it was comfortable, in an adolescent sort of way. Tucked in the corner was a little table which caught his attention and he made a beeline toward it.
He looked over as the girl came out with a large mug of tea and a tray. He supposed she was pretty; she had amber eyes, light caramel skin and long straight chestnut hair. Her large sweater covered her frame, which he assumed to be small, considering she was rather short. She wore a warm smile, her eyes twinkled, and her voice was light and soothing.
"Here's your tea and some freshly made rolls. Enjoy!"
She walked away before he could tell her, he didn't order any rolls. He was running low on money, and probably couldn't afford it. He just wouldn't touch it. He kept his back to the wall and looked at the door whenever it rang.
"Take care of yourself, Zinni!" The fourth costumer, an elderly woman, called back as she walked out of the shop.
"Will do, Mrs. Andrews!"
Zinnia saw her glance at the dark man before running out. She look looked over at him. He sat straight, and tried to discretely keep his eyes on the door. She wondered if he was some sort of criminal, no doubt that would be the word all over town. He certainly made a presence. No. To Zinnia, he looked lost and afraid, as if someone was going to com through the door and snuff him.
She walked over to his table with freshly brewed tea. She saw his eyes watch her, cautiously as if expecting an attack. She kept a friendly smile on her face and filled his cup up again.
"Despite the look, those rolls are very delicious. I made them myself."
"Thank you, but I cannot..."
"Don't worry about it. Just eat it. Come on!" She smiled, "I'm really not a bad baker."
He slowly took one and bit into it. Honestly, it was very good.
She laughed, "See. Pretty good." She started to get up but then thought again. "Look the problem with small towns is..." she scrunched up her nose, "people are nosy. We're actually very nice here. But as winter comes, people can't help but be bored. Nothing is more interesting then gossip. So either high tail it out of here...or just accept the gossip with grace."
"Thank you for your concern, but I am no stranger to rumors." He stood up. "Thank you for the tea." He started to pull out money.
Zinnia stood up. "Don't worry about it." He raised his eyebrow. "Welcome to Bexhill."
He gave her a stiff nod and was out the door, his coat following silently behind him. Zinnia quirked her lips up, interesting stranger. If he was in hiding though a city would have been better. A gossiping little town couldn't keep secrets.
The day came to a close and Zinnia switched her sign to Closed, locked the door, and headed home. She walked left toward the forest. Some town people lived above their shops, and while she could, Zinnia preferred the two story cabin by the forest. A few other cabins were scattered around, used by the tourist that came in the winter. Not very many came, and Zinnia was often left with no neighbors. Most of the town lived west of Main Street where houses were neatly lined on either side of the street. Very few lived on the east near the ocean.
Zinnia took the road to her house. In a few minutes, her cabin came into view. The forest sat directly behind her home, becoming a sort of big backyard; there was a nice little stone porch with two steps and a swing seat in front. She unlocked her door and walked in to an open flat space where the living room and kitchen sat.
"Isis! Echo! Mommy is home!"
A bark and paw-steps came sounding from upstairs. A large fluffy white husky came bounding down the stairs barking madly and jumped on Zinnia.
She laughed, "I know you're happy! I'm glad to see you too." She patted his head a couple more times. "Suppose Isis is sleeping somewhere."
She walked into the kitchen with Echo in town. "Well let's feed you and put something down for Isis."
Zinnia popped in a movie and cuddled on the couch with Echo. Half way through, a long white and black haired cat with bright twinkling blue eyes jumped on the couch with a soft meow..."Isis, nice of you to cuddle with us." She answered with another meow.
They all huddled on the couch, and fell into a quiet sleep