Chapter 9: An unsuccessful reunion
Authors note: YAY SCHOOL IS FINALLY OVER! And you know what that means right? Yes, more updates! I will now be updating more often so YAY! And I apologise if I depressed anyone from the last chapter! This chapter isn't as bad. And the story will begin to get a bit more cheery from the next chapter onwards! And as for this chapter, well enjoy!
Blueberry burst into tears when she managed to shut the gate from behind her. She could no longer control the flood of tears that escaped her eyes. Blueberry hadn't been so upset before in her entire life! The only other time she was this upset was when her father left. And that was no walk in the park for her or especially her mother! But this was different. This concerned her and the one she truly loved. She had just let him go, and were now enemies like the rest of the gnomes. Blueberry didn't mean for that to happen! Well the arguing anyway. She wanted him to just accept that they were not destined to be together no more and be done with it. Instead they both rowed and insulted each other! Why, oh, why did it have to end like this?
Blueberry continued to let her emotions slip away as she leant up against the fence. It was now raining quite heavily and an odd rumble of thunder escaped the sky every now and then. Blueberry tried to wipe her tears but it was no use, the rain didn't help either but it was mostly tears that streamed down Blueberry's eyes.
Blueberry blamed Pansy for this! If it wasn't for her being so reckless and cruel to poor Wisteria, no one would be in this situation! Wisteria would still be happy and not have a cracked hat, her mother wouldn't be so depressed, all of the gnomes would have been nice to each other and most of all, Redbrick and Blueberry would still be together! But how could one gnome cause so much chaos between two gardens? It was madness! No longer would everything be good, instead it would all be bad. Life was no longer worth living!
Whilst Blueberry was crying she hardly noticed anyone approach her. Neither did she care at this point in time. But someone did in fact walk over to her cautiously. Blueberry continued to cry without noticing anyone approach her. But a familiar hand touching her shoulder made Blueberry turn around and face the person who had noticed her distress. Blueberry was actually stunned when she saw a very worried Wisteria, he hat showing all signs of that dreadful incident the other day.
"Blueberry! What on earth is wrong?" Wisteria asked as Blueberry continued to wipe her eyes acting as if nothing was wrong. Her face obviously told a different story.
"Nothing Wisteria, I am fine," Blueberry assured trying to regain her posture. Instead she found herself quietly crying again.
"Don't take me for a fool Blueberry! It's obvious you are distraught about something! Why don't you come inside and tell me what's wrong?" Wisteria offered her arm to support Blueberry and she gladly accepted it. Once inside Wisteria offered Blueberry a chair, but she surprisingly didn't sit. Instead she remained where she stood, still wiping tears from her face.
"So why don't you tell me what's wrong!" Wisteria said in a careful yet hushed tone. She wanted to comfort her best friend as much as should could, for whatever had made Blueberry this upset must have been important! But even Wisteria wasn't planning on what happened next!
"Oh Wisteria!" Blueberry cried flinging her arms around Wisteria as she cried once again. Wisteria's only instinct was to comfort her friend in a warm embrace, and as they stood in silence, the only noises that could be heard were the rain outside and Blueberry's cries that soon became muffled. Once she had began to calm down Blueberry then spoke.
"I am no longer with Redbrick!" Blueberry told her friend who suddenly let go of her. Wisteria stood watching Blueberry with a surprised face and her eyes became wider than usual. She stood thinking for about a moment before she spoke.
"You mean you broke up with him?" Blueberry nodded sadly and then Wisteria continued "Why Blueberry? Why did you let go of your one true love?"
"The feud was becoming too much! And mother is expecting so much of me! And Redbrick wanted to elope with me! I just don't feel that it was the right thing to do carrying on like we did! I mean look what happened! You had your hat smashed! I was almost smashed myself! I just couldn't go on like that no more!" Blueberry admitted letting all her reasons out at once.
"But, what about you? You two could have ended the feud if you reunited the gardens!" Wisteria suggested.
"Don't you see Wisteria? The feud is too much for us to control anymore! Even if we did reunite the gardens and got married, Pansy would still find a way to send us plummeting back into that dark hole yet again! And I can't risk that happening! She may want to harm you yet again! I just can't be in a relationship inside the feud anymore!" Blueberry explained and Wisteria looked to the floor in shame.
"And what does Redbrick think about all of this?" Wisteria didn't look up at this point. She knew that what Blueberry was saying was true; there was no longer a way out of the feud even if they did reunite the gardens!
"Well he didn't agree with me so it led to an argument! I was hoping that we could remain friends but we ruined that and we are now enemies like all the rest of the gnomes! I have broken his heart! And I know I have somehow managed to break mine!" Blueberry now looked to the floor as fresh tears began to form in her eyes yet again. Wisteria looked up and walked over to her friend and embraced her once again.
Wisteria felt pain for her friend and Redbrick. She knew that everything was going to change for the worse from now on. But instead of giving up like any other gnome, Wisteria had a sudden wave of determination fill her entire body. She was going to at least try and help Blueberry and Redbrick get together! And if Blueberry wouldn't help, then perhaps Redbrick will!
…
Redbrick walked across the alleyway in a saddened rage. He felt like his world had just been torn apart by one silly thing! And it had. He was no longer with Blueberry, which made him even more depressed. To think this morning he was thrilled by the idea that he and Blueberry could run away together. But now he felt as if that was the worst idea in the history of ideas.
As he entered the garden Redbrick didn't even remember to check to see if his sister was about. Not that he hardly cared if she saw him or not anyway. At this moment in time that seemed to be the least most important thing on his mind. Pansy was on her pedestal talking to Boris but they stopped talking when Redbrick made a sudden appearance. Pansy and Boris smirked as they saw Redbrick walk past the pedestal. His walk made them laugh! He was practically limping his way across the garden with a distraught face. Redbrick had no idea how he was walking, but the shock of how much his emotions hurt made his body feel weak causing him to walk funny.
Once Redbrick was out of sight Boris turned back to Pansy who also turned to face Boris. "You don't think Redbrick was crying back there do you?" Boris asked and Pansy couldn't help but giggle.
"Redbrick? Cry? No Boris, my brother isn't the emotional type! He never cries!" Pansy explained and Boris nodded. Actually Pansy was wrong! Redbrick was the emotional type, he just didn't display his emotions in front of anyone, especially his sister. And if he did, she would only tease him more about it anyway.
Once out of Pansy's sight Redbrick walked over to the bushes at the other end of the garden and decided to sit down nearby them. He knew he would be able to find solitude there for a while so he could let his emotions out. Unlike Blueberry, Redbrick had no good friend to cry on their shoulder. He knew Blueberry would have probably gone to Wisteria for comfort but who did he have? No one! His parents wouldn't understand and his sister had no sympathy. And all the other gnomes didn't get involved with the leaders and their children so that was no good. Redbrick knew he would have to go through this alone! He would have to combat his emotions and move on by himself! There was no other way!
But Redbrick was trying but failing with this! All he could do was sit there and feel sorry for himself. He had managed to stop crying eventually and all he did now was just sit there as the day went by without a care in the world.
Redbrick hardly noticed his mother come up behind him. But when he did he jumped up immediately trying to act as normal as possible. His mother didn't look concerned. She actually looked happy! This surprised Redbrick a little, his mother was usually full of worry and concern when he was fine. And now he was upset, she was happy? How odd.
"Redbrick dear! Me and you father want a quick word with you!" Lady Redbury grabbed Redbrick by his shoulders and guided him in a direction he would rather not go in. The direction of the blue fence.
Once Redbrick saw his father he wanted to turn around and walk away. It wasn't because he was angry at his father anymore; it was actually the fact that his father was standing at the giant gap through the fence. So they could see the blue garden and all its inhabitants. Especially Blueberry!
"What is it father?" Redbrick asked as his mother released her hands from his shoulders. His father waved his hand at him and told him to come over to him. Redbrick decided to do what he was told and he did just that. His father then pointed towards the blue garden and Redbrick turned his head so he was looking in on the blue gardens activities.
"Tell me what you see son!" Lord Redbury demanded calmly. Redbrick continued to look into the blue garden and he was kind of relieved he didn't see Blueberry; neither did he want to after the events that just happened between them. After a few more seconds of browsing around the garden, Redbrick turned back to his father who awaited an answer.
"Well I see a thriving garden who we are meant to be enemies with," Redbrick replied and his father nodded.
"Exactly! And that is why we must be cautious Redbrick! We never know what trick they have up their sleeves!" Lord Redbury turned back to the garden and Redbrick sighed.
"Father, I don't think I am the one you should be discussing this with. Isn't Pansy the one in charge of dealing with the blues?" Redbrick explained frowning at having to mention his sister's name.
"No Redbrick I, I mean WE need to speak with you about something important!" Lord Redbury turned to his wife who now became involved in the conversation.
"Now we know this feud has had a deep impact on you!" Lady Redbury explained and Redbrick felt his eyes roll over.
'More than you know' Redbrick thought to himself thinking about Blueberry yet again. That didn't really help because he was trying to get her out of his head. Instead he was now constantly thinking about her. It was beginning to drive his emotions insane!
"That is why we need this talk with you!" Lord Redbury explained, Redbrick raised his bushy brown eyebrows in a confused manner. What were they going on about this time?
"We have recently been thinking and discussing and we have recently agreed!" Lady Redbury said.
"We want an early retirement and we now feel that you are ready to be leader!" Lord Redbury finished and Redbrick felt his eyes go wide in shock.
"Are you serious?" Redbrick felt his mouth drop a little.
"Yes, we have decided that in a few weeks you will be officially called 'Lord Redbrick'!" Lady Redbury exclaimed happily and proudly.
"And besides!" Lord Redbury began "There are rumours that Lady Bluebell is intending to make her daughter the next leader of their garden in a few weeks also so we might as well give them the full force of the reds!" Lord Redbury finished.
Redbrick didn't know what to say! Sure Blueberry had mentioned she had responsibilities towards her mother but she never mentioned once about becoming the leader this soon! Redbrick now felt he had to get over her more quickly if he was going to be the next leader. After remaining silent for a few moments Redbrick decided to speak. "W-What does Pansy have to say about this?"
Lord Redbury and Lady Redbury exchanged worried glances before turning back to their son. "Well, she seems a little upset by this. But she knew this day was coming! And if she has any problems with it, we suggest you come and get me!" Lord Redbury explained.
"Is there anything else you wanted to speak to me about?" Redbrick asked, and Lord and Lady Redbury shook their heads.
"Well duty calls son!" Lord Redbury announced as he and his wife walked away leaving Redbrick by himself at the hole in the fence.
Redbrick was about to turn away himself but an unexpected voice rang out through his ears. Redbrick heard a whisper like the one Blueberry used to try and get his attention the other night. Redbrick turned around and was actually taken aback by who he saw at the other side of the fence.
"Wisteria?" Redbrick felt his eyes widen as the female gnome stood on the other side the gap in the fence wearing a small sad smile on her face.
"Hello Redbrick," Wisteria said slowly. Redbrick was still shocked by her sudden appearance and decided to be cautious. She was probably here to argue about Blueberry.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Redbrick asked.
"Well I thought we needed to talk!" Wisteria added sounding determined.
"Listen if this is about Blueberry, then forget it! I don't need you yelling at me as well as her. I know you're her loyal friend and you have most definitely taken her side in this argument. I don't need this right now!" Redbrick explained and Wisteria chuckled.
"You obviously don't know the way of hippies do you?" Wisteria continued to chuckle "We take no sides. I am as much against this feud as you are! And I can assure you I have not come here to argue with you! Blueberry has no idea I am here, she is in my pad keeping a low profile after what happened earlier. She is really upset by this you know!" Wisteria now sounded serious.
"What do you want Wisteria? It's pretty obvious you didn't come here to have a 'hello, how are you?' sort of chat! Now spill the beans!" Redbrick tried to get straight to the point. Wisteria then frowned a little before continuing to talk.
"Ok, we need to talk Redbrick!" Wisteria said.
"What do you think we're doing right now?" Redbrick replied.
"No I mean privately! It's not safe to speak here! Could I meet up with you in the alley way or something?" Wisteria asked and Redbrick sighed.
"Very well," Redbrick wasn't particularly bothered at this point in time. He just wanted to get this so called 'talk' out of the way with. Wisteria sighed gratefully and smiled.
"Thank you Redbrick!" Wisteria exclaimed relieved.
"So are we meeting now?" Redbrick asked.
"If you don't mind?" Wisteria said.
"No, no I don't mind. I will see you in the alleyway in a minute."
"Thank you!" Wisteria said before they both headed out into the alleyway to meet each other for this talk.
Once Redbrick made his way out of the gate his sister gave him funny glances. He chose to ignore them and decided to just focus on meeting Wisteria. Speaking of whom, she stood outside of the blue garden gate looking at the floor. The sound of Redbrick shutting the red gate made her look up and notice he was there. She smiled sadly and walked over to Redbrick.
"Now what is it that you dragged me out here for Wisteria?" Redbrick asked impatiently.
"Oh, yes… well can we go into the Lawrence garden while we talk about this?" Wisteria pointed over to the Lawrence garden gate and Redbrick shook his head.
"No Wisteria, now just tell me what's going on!" Redbrick was beginning to get even more impatient with Wisteria as she kept changing the subject every two seconds.
"I would feel much more comfortable if we went in the Lawrence garden," Wisteria pressed on receiving a deep sigh of defeat from Redbrick.
"Fine, but I want you to get straight to the point! And no more distractions!" Redbrick followed Wisteria into the Lawrence garden and once inside Wisteria decided to tell Redbrick what was going on.
"Now Redbrick, I know the last thing you want to do right now is speak to Blueberry. So I decided to speak on her behalf!" Wisteria explained and Redbrick rolled his eyes.
"So she put you up to this?" Redbrick sounded a little upset by the tone in his voice, Wisteria shook her head immediately.
"No, like I told you before, she has no idea I am doing this!" Wisteria replied.
"Well why do it then?" Redbrick asked kind of flustered.
"Because you two need to get back together!" Wisteria finally let out, leaving Redbrick stunned.
"Hasn't Blueberry explained this to you already? There is no way we can be together! I now understand what she was saying! Our love is doomed. And it took me till just now to realise it!" Redbrick explained feeling his emotions going back to him yet again.
"Yes, but I hate seeing you two like this! You're now denying anything had happened between you two. And I will tell you one thing! The first time Blueberry met you, I knew she was in love! She had been the happiest I had seen her in a long time! And when I met you I knew that you also loved her very much! Now after some argument you two decide that your love was never there! When you know deep down that you still love each other!" Wisteria exclaimed.
"Listen Wisteria, why don't you just face up to the truth? Yes we still love each other but I am afraid it can't be! The feud cannot be changed and now it has come at the expense of our happiness. But life goes on! I am sure we will be great leaders and we will both be able to get over this. Alone!"
"So you are just going to give up?" Wisteria said in utter disbelief.
"Yes, Wisteria… let it go! Before something else happens to you or anyone else!" Redbrick then looked up at Wisteria's hat, the re-glued pieces evident on her head. He felt so sorry for her, after all of what happened, she still had the guts to re-glue her hat back on.
"Fine, but you may come to regret your decision soon, and I will tell you now, one day, no matter how distant that day will be, you two will one day be together! And when that day comes, you may regret the feud forever!" Wisteria explained before turning around and heading in the opposite direction of the exit. "Farewell Redbrick."
Redbrick stood there for several moments in amazement and shock. It was as if Wisteria just told him his fortune! But he knew none of that would happen. There was no way he and Blueberry were ever going to get back together again! Let alone regret the feud. Wisteria was crazy! Redbrick watched Wisteria leave and then decided to head back to his garden. Still confused from what Wisteria had told him, Redbrick entered his garden as if nothing had happened. And he would have it no other way!
Meanwhile in the Lawrence garden, Wisteria decided to give Featherstone and Miranda a last visit to tell them what was going on. Neither Blueberry, Redbrick or herself had seen them since that horrible day when Pansy smashed Wisteria's hat to pieces. And Wisteria felt it was her responsibility to tell them what was going on.
Wisteria looked around the garden and soon noticed the two flamingos standing at the centre of the garden. Wisteria had to step closer to them to notice they were stood perfectly still. She hardly noticed why they were standing like that until she heard raised voices from the house. She then realized what was going on and decided to also freeze just in case she got caught. Their voices could be heard throughout the house and garden and the odd sound of smashing could also be heard. As it turned out, they were arguing. Great! More feuding!
"You never respect me!" Shouted a feminine voice from within the house. Wisteria guessed it was Mrs Lawrence shouting towards her husband.
"Oh, coming from the woman who yells at me for no apparent reason!" Shouted a masculine voice from the house. It was Mr Lawrence sounding just as angry as his wife.
"Oh, how you get on my nerves at times! That is what I hate about you!" Mrs Lawrence roared.
"The feeling is mutual!" Mr Lawrence replied.
"GET OUT!" Mrs Lawrence screamed and a smashing sound came from within the house. Wisteria flinched as she heard a smashing sound that was scarcely similar to the sound that came from her hat when it was sliced off by Pansy the other day. Bad memories came rushing back to Wisteria which put her down a little. Recently everyone was beginning to argue. And the worst part of it was, Wisteria was a hippie who was against fighting. And she now found herself at the centre of it all.
A slamming of the door sound could also be heard from within the house. It was evident that the humans had both left the house to get out of each others sight. Once sure they were gone, Wisteria unfroze out of her original position and cautiously approached the two flamingos who were now comforting each other.
"How much more of this do we have to take Featherstone?" Miranda cried placing her head on his neck. Featherstone comforted her as she began to cry, neither of them noticed Wisteria approaching them from behind.
"How long has that been going on for?" Wisteria asked nervously as both flamingos turned and looked down at Wisteria.
"A few days," Featherstone replied whilst comforting his wife. Miranda suddenly lifted her head from Featherstone's neck and walked over to Wisteria.
"Oh Wisteria, it's awful! They have been arguing all day and night for the past three days and they are now threatening each other with divorce! We do not want them to separate! It would ruin the garden!" Miranda then looked around and noticed Blueberry and Redbrick weren't there with her "Say, where is Blueberry and Redbrick?" Miranda then noticed Wisteria's hat and gasped. "And what on earth happened to your hat?"
Wisteria looked at the floor sadly. She continued to do this before speaking quietly "you're not the only one being torn apart by a feud!" Wisteria then looked up to reveal her eyes that were now filling with sudden tears before looking back down at the floor again. "On the way back from your garden the other day I was confronted by Redbrick's sister Pansy. She is a horrible gnome who pushes the likes of me around to get her own way. She thought it would be amusing if she sliced my hat off my head. Then Blueberry came and defended me and Pansy almost smashed her! Both the blue and red gardens witnessed this and they soon declared war against each other!" Wisteria then paused before looking up at Miranda who was in shock after what she had just heard. "Blueberry and Redbrick are no longer together!"
"What?" Miranda and Featherstone said in unison.
"So you see? You aren't the only ones who are being broken apart by other peoples hate. Blueberry and Redbrick now have to be loyal to their gardens and other people's hate destroyed their love for one another! I tried bringing them back together, but it isn't that simple. The feud is now too great to control and I am afraid I am the one to blame for it! If I hadn't of been there to have my stupid hat smashed, perhaps none of this would have happened!" Wisteria now cried in anger. Something she had never done in her entire life.
"Wisteria, you should not blame yourself for what has happened! Pansy sounds like the one to blame for all of this! Not you! So don't fret dear, things may improve!" Miranda tried to be optimistic. But she still didn't really cheer Wisteria up. Things became silent between the flamingos and the gnome for several minutes before Wisteria stood up and decided to speak.
"Well, I just came to tell you that we may never see you again! Farewell my friends!" Wisteria said sadly before turning to leave, leaving a very distraught pair of flamingos in her exit.
"Adios!" Featherstone called out sounding the saddest he had ever been "Wisteria."
Once outside the gate of the Lawrence garden Wisteria glanced across the alleyway to see if the coast was clear and Pansy was not around. Once she realized the coast was in fact clear she decided to slowly walk back to her garden. She noticed the blue and red fences that marked which garden was which. And she knew that sadly she was apart of this feud whether she liked it or not. It broke her heart to see so much fighting going on! Hippies wanted peace and happiness not sadness and feuding! She knew that one day something bad was going to happen to one poor gnome which may indeed change the feud around. But until that day came, it was all despair!
Blueberry, Redbrick, Wisteria, Lady Bluebell, Lord Redbury, Featherstone, Miranda, Pansy, Boris, and every other gnome in each garden was now involved in some sort of feud. And unfortunately nothing would change that. Blueberry and Redbrick were now destined to be the next leaders of their gardens in a few weeks, and after what just happened… well they were most definitely not going to even consider a truce! It broke Wisteria's heart to see her friends influenced by so much hate that their love was practically dead!
But over the next few weeks two new gnomes were about to change the fate of Blueberry and Redbrick for the rest of their lives! And maybe, just maybe, bring happiness to their lives! But we would have to wait to see what was about to happen!
Authors note: And indeed we shall wait until the next chapter to see who the new arrivals are! And that's it folks! It's official, you will probably hate me for this but Miranda and Featherstone will no longer be in the story until towards the end! Sorry! And now, I am going on holiday on Saturday! But I am taking my laptop with me so I will still be able to update as usual! YAY! Anyway please review! I wanna know what you think!