Hope everyone is having a lovely day today. Wow, 15 chapters already? Next thing you know we'll be reading the sequel lol(if I make one :P). Sometimes I think I let on that I'm too happy, do I?
Hope: Yeah, its kinda scary...
Me: Shut up! Now I've turned my own creation against me, dammit!
Anyways I am debating whether to have another of my OCs come into play or not, Rigby doesn't have a love interest yet... Oh well, its not your problem.
"Whether you live to be 50 or 100 makes no difference, if you made no difference in the world."
― Jarod Kintz, Great Listener Series Mute Women
Find people who think like you and stick with them. Make only music you are passionate about. Work only with people you like and trust. Don't sign anything.
- Steve Albini
Onward to the story!
No one's POV
"Hope! Wake up!" Mordecai yelled, shaking the smaller bird.
"Five more minutes," Hope mumbled in a daze.
"I will get you up for breakfast, Hope. Now I will count to three before I get you up."
"You and what army?" Hope scoffed.
"One."
"This bed is so comfy."
"Two."
"What exactly are you going to do?"
"Three." With that Mordecai pulled Hope off of the bed. Hope struggled to get out of her tangle of blankets and sheets.
"Help me, Mordecai!" Hope demanded.
"I think I'll watch you struggle." Mordecai chuckled.
Hope, who was obviously irate at her friend's antics, let loose a long stream of curse words, causing Mordecai to laugh even harder. After his laughter ceased, he helped Hope unravel herself from the absurd mass of blankets and to stand. Hope looked him dead in the eyes and said quite plainly,
"Thanks I guess. You're an asshole though, don't forget it."
Mordecai inclined his head and smirked. "I'm aware. Now I think you should get dressed and head down to breakfast, the queen and king has something to announce to us."
Mordecai left the room. Hope went to the closet that she had claimed with her first step into the extravagant room, and picked out a dress that was the prettiest and simplest of greens and flowed to the floor. This was something that Hope wouldn't get caught in if they were still at the park. Simply because it was too classy for her tastes and that it must had cost a fortune to create such an elegant dress. She smoothed down her feathers and set off to the grand dining room of the palace.
From what Hope had seen of the palace left her in awe. It had countless hallways, sitting rooms, libraries, bedrooms, and dining rooms. Each room had a different theme, one could be set in ocean blue and another in forest green. Every single room in the servant quarter of the palace housed up to ten people. It just seemed like everything was dream, when Hope was younger she dreamed of being whisked away from her hellish life to live in a castle and being treated like a princess who was pampered with only the finest of everyday luxuries. Looking back, she could see how foolish she was as a child; dreams don't come true. Well not in that dimension anyways.
Reaching the dining room, Hope curtsied in greeting to the royal family. They gave her a nod of acknowledgment in return. Hope sat between Kris and Pops and across from Mordecai. Kris and Skips were having chit chat about the palace decor. The king stood up from his chair at the head of the massive table.
"My guests, while you slept last night, my most trusted scribe found a lead to the knowledge of the Legend of Immortality. If he may rise to tell you of the journey you must go on, I will retain from speaking further." The king sat down once more.
A purple rabbit stood up. "It is an honor to meet you all." He did a gracious bow. "My name is Siren Odessa, I am the king's most trusted scribe. My findings that he mentioned have lead me to believe that the thing that you have been searching for is in the darkest corner of Summerbarrow."
Pops held up a hand.
"Yes, human?" Siren asked.
"Where exactly is the place that we are looking for?" Pops questioned.
"You need to travel for twelve hours straight to the east, you will come across a field of various flowers. Make note to only pick one, the-" Rigby cut Siren off.
"Why only one? Better yet, why pick flowers?" Rigby rolled his eyes.
Mordecai scoffed. "Shut it, man, he ain't gone talking!"
"As I was saying, only pick one, they will give you a power of sorts. Like let's say you pick a Lilac, you may get bravery or determination, I haven't fully worked it all out yet. There is one flower though that I highly recommend you stay away from; Oleander, considered one of the deadliest plants in Summerbarrow. It has poisoned many of of alchemists and gatherers." Siren explained to the group of merry misfits.
"So we are in Summerbarrow at this very moment?" Hope asked the scribe.
"Yes, Summerbarrow is the name of our country here." Siren confirmed.
Hope nodded her head in understanding. "So are you the only non spider person here?"
"No. Now back to the journey! After you choose a flower keep it on you at all times, or you will lose the attribute it gave you. After that you will soon come to a dark cave, only one person will be able to venture into the cave. If more are sent in, the first one to go into the cave will fall into a deep sleep which only one thing can awake them." Siren paused, expecting a question. "It is the blessing of an immortal. Of course if they have already had an immortal's blessing or are one they will be untouched by curse of the cave. Being as the immortals never venture out into Summerbarrow that far it will be very difficult to attain such a blessing. Now I suggest you set off now, the river's glow is at it's brightest as we speak." Siren sat back down.
The queen sighed. "We will be giving you the things you need to deal with the hardships of the expedition. There already is a carriage awaiting your command. It is filled with the food and water you will require to complete such a journey. We have had an outfit created for each of you. You are dismissed from breakfast, change and get on your way."
The band of park employees stood and retreated to their rooms to change for their adventure. They all met at the carriage to discuss matters that consisted of each of them.
"Any thought that Yang planned to blessed me and Mordecai so that we would be able to go into the cave?" Hope asked, raising her hand.
"Any thought that this is just a dream that we are all having?" Kris asked.
"The immortals are tricky. There are some who are psychic, they could had planned this when we were all born." Skips explained.
"Pops, put that down!" Benson snapped at Pops, who was throwing a bag of food into the air to catch it mere milliseconds later. Pops quickly obliged and put it back into the truck that sat on the back of the elegant black carriage.
"Whatever! Let's get this show on the rooooaaaddd!" Rigby screamed, stretching out road to make it sound as though a excited five year old had said it.
"Let's!" Everyone said in unison. Everyone proceeded to pile into the carriage that was being pulled by what seemed to be the product of a crazy night between a horse, ox, and spider. Its eyes gleamed with distrust.
...
Twelve hours later
Hope's POV
...
"Why do we have to pick flowers! They're so girly looking!" Rigby screamed in frustration, throwing his paws into the air.
"Rigby, they're flowers not girlfriends, you can at least pick one that looks nice and not complain." I huffed.
"Yeah, look to the bright side! They can't run away!" Skips said, causing everyone but Rigby to laugh.
"Whatever!" Rigby ripped up a random flower.
"Pops, do you have any idea what kinds of flowers these are?" Mordecai asked.
"Of course, Mordecai. The one you are holding is a rose." Pops stated.
"Mine?" Kris hesitantly asked.
"That, Kris, is a clover."
"What about this one?" Skips inquired.
"Child's play, its a dahlia, my good sir." Pops stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Benson sighed and picked up a buttercup. "I know what this is, Pops, so you don't have to tell me what it is."
Pops clapped excitedly. "Jolly good show, Benson!"
I laughed at Pops' child-like behavior. No matter how depressed I am, all he has to do is giggle and I burst into a fit of what I thought deranged scientists would sound like after telling their plan.
Pops turned to me, "Hope, why don't you have a flower?"
I shrugged. "Because I don't want to be the one that gets the carnivorous plant that will try to eat me."
"Silly Hope, there is no evil plants here, or none that I can see anyways." Pops said. "That one right there, " he pointed to a flower that had white petals, some sort of purple spikes, and a rather large tube thing, "is a passionflower, pick it."
I listened to him. "Is it poisonous?" I ask dropping it quickly.
"Perish the thought. It is edible." Pops giggled.
I hesitantly picked up the flower with my index finger and thumb. I trusted Pops, don't get me wrong, but even the most intelligent person on earth is wrong at least once in their predictions. I looked around to see everyone but Rigby had picked a flower and were placing it in one of the many pockets of their silky outfit.
"Rigby, where is your flower?" I asked.
"Flowers are for girls! And Rig-bone here is a man!" Rigby replied, flexing his nonexistent muscles.
I rolled my eyes. This was typical Rigby behavior on a good day.
"I'm not getting a flower before you even ask!" Rigby screamed at no one in particular.
"Rigby?" I asked, face palming.
"Yes?"
"Grow the fuck up!" I snapped.
"Stop talking!" Rigby shrieked in an immature way that only he could succeed in doing.
Kris stepped in between us. "Come on, guys. We are on an adventure, why should you two fight during half of it?"
Rigby and I made eye contact and marched to opposite sides of the field; Rigby going to the carriage and my going to the pond that was within site of the carriage.
I sat at the edge of the pond. It didn't glow like every other body of water that we'd come across so far, it actually was rather dark. As dark as I thought the water was, I couldn't helped but be unnerved by how calm the surface was. It looked like someone had shined black marble. It had a pulled to it that tugged at me, like temptation to get your deepest desire granted or your darkest fear to vanish. My body seemed to have a mind of it's own; one second I was sitting by the water's edge, the next I'm chin deep in the water. Mordecai walked over to the pond.
"Why are you swimming, Hope? We're about to leave and now you're wet. Not that way or anything; I mean how would I know if you were." Mordecai said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So I'm going to go back to our ride. Be out in five, 'kay?"
Still not having control over my body, I nod. "Of course, Mordecai." I say, slowly sinking deeper into the onyx water. Faster than I could say my own name, I was completely emerged in the water.
"Hope." A deep, honeyed male voice says. "Come forth, we have matters to discuss of the prophecy."
Suddenly I was out of the water and sitting in a simple, bright office. I was sitting on a white sofa, there was a plan mahogany desk sitting between me and a guy. He looked pretty ordinary. He had spiked up black hair, a black and white striped sweater, black skinny jeans, and white and green Vans.
"Yes, I look nothin' like an average immortal, do I?" He asked, winking at me.
"No, the other immortals look like they are the definition of classy and elegant. You look..." I left off, picking up a picture that sat on the corner of the desk. It was of whoever this man is, a woman who looked as though she was Cinderella, and a smiling toddler.
"I guess you're going to say goth, emo, punk, or just dark."
"I was thinking plain."
He rolled his yellow, catlike eyes. "Whatever. My name is Chris Heart. I am the immortal of love and fertility, Kenyangi told me all about the prophecy and how you are supposedly going to save the world by falling in love with your 'prince'. I don't believe any of it, but Mrs. Boss Lady must have."
"Mrs. Boss Lady?" I asked, confusion showing on my face.
"Fate." He stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "In the cave, if the prophecy is true that is, you have to save the others from Scar."
"Whose Scar?"
"Scar is Kenyangi's brother, they never saw quite eye-to-eye, it's sad really. Scar is the brother that Kenyangi turned immortal when they were younger, causing her to be thrown from her village as a youngster. I'm here to warn you of what is to happen."
"What is going to happen?" I huffed in annoyance. These immortals know how to mess with your head, making you think that you can save people.
"Well to start off, you're going to take a trip."
"Where? Back to the park? Home?"
Chris gave off what sounded like a mixture of a bitter laugh and a scoff. "Really you're still thinking that you can go home? Honey, if you could go home, why don't you leave now?"
I looked to the white tile floor, "I can't."
"Exactly. Our time is up," Chris' face erupted with an evil smirk. "Have a nice run, Jamie."
I was back in the cold, dark water; swimming towards the surface. I looked around, everything was the same except on thing. I was filled with bitter anger. Not because Chris knew what was going to happen and didn't fully tell me, but because they fucking left me out here!
DUN DUN DUN! Yes I made them leave Hope, I'm just that evil :3. There will be a good reason though. I'm trying to keep it interesting, is it working? Just wondering, has anyone played The Walking Dead(video game, if you didn't read 'played')? I just finished it, I was broken and the ending left me wondering what would happen to Clementine. If you haven't played/finished the game, I highly recommend you play/finish it.