Witch_Stew_xXx
Relaxing in a cauldron.
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
❀ About Me
☽RP Partner Qualities/Rules
☽ Interested Genres
♡ Pairings
☽Characters
☽Plots
☽Sample Writing
☽Conclusion
❀ About Me
☽RP Partner Qualities/Rules
☽ Interested Genres
♡ Pairings
☽Characters
☽Plots
☽Sample Writing
☽Conclusion
❀A B O U T M E❀
Hey, loves. I'm Witch Stew, but you can call me Witch, Witchy, Stew, Stewy, it doesn't really matter lol. I am a 21-year-old female who relies on Cinnabon cotton candy, my dog Gemini, and a good fantasy book to keep me going. I am currently taking a year off from college, however, I will be returning this fall to pursue my dreams of becoming a law student.
I really like sports, baseball being my favorite (Go Mets!!), and did softball and cheer when I was in high school. I RPed for four years, took a five year break, and
am now just jumping back into things. I have been writing massive amounts over the years, however, so I don't consider myself to be rusty. I consider
myself to be an advanced writer, though I suppose that opinion is up to the individual reader. Reading and writing is my passion and there
is nothing else I would rather do in my free time (: .
☽R P P A R T N E R Q U A L I T I E S/R U L E S☽
Here's what I would like from an RP partner; first, and foremost, I would prefer you to be 18+ as to avoid complications. I would like you to be advanced in writing and be able to write paragraphs at a time. A minimum of 2-3 paragraphs is ideal for me, I don't want to have to carry the story all by myself. Although, I can acknowledge that quality outweighs
quantity; I'd much rather have two paragraphs that are drool-worthy for their writing than six paragraphs that you just aren't really feeling, ya know?
I am most experienced writing female characters, but I don't mind playing male characters at all! Ideally, I would at least like for
you to reply two times a week at the minimum; I understand that life gets to you sometimes or you're just not
feeling that creative spark, but tell me that instead of just dropping the RP or moseying about
with it. I myself will be able to reply usually every day or every other day. I would
prefer if we could be friends as well, not just RPing back and forth. I like
communication and honesty between me and my RP partner, it makes
me feel even more comfortable RPing back and forth, makes me feel
more welcome. I want to create brilliant, creative stories with
my RP partner and to do that I need to find my
"one", as cheesy as that sounds. I am open
to more than one RP partner, but feel
like 3 is probably my maxing point.
☽I N T E R E S T E D G E N R E S☽
︎ Fantasy: I enjoy this genre the most because I love the endless possibilities and the opportunity to be transported to an entirely different world that some people couldn't even possibly dream up. I have the most experience writing fantasy, but I'm more than able to write other genres too. For fantasy, I like romance, adventure, monarchies, multiverse, magic,
creatures, action, pretty much anything.
︎ Realistic Fiction: I enjoy writing realistic fiction for the possibilities that it could potentially happen to me too (; . For this genre, I like romance, adventure, monarchies, action, and sometimes platonic.
︎ Mysteries: I would prefer this to be cast in with fantasy, but will do realistic fiction mystery as well.
︎ Fandom: The only fan fiction experience I have is Warrior Cats, but I am open to try other fandoms too. I will usually try to match my writing style to the author's of which book(s) we are fan writing about.
♡P A I R I N G S♡
For Fantasy:
WerewolfxWerewolf
WerewolfxVampire
WerewolfxHuman
VampirexVampire
VampirexWerewolf
VampirexHuman
AngelxAngel
AngelxDemon
AngelxHuman
DemonxDemon
DemonxAngel
DemonxHuman
Light FaexLight Fae
Light FaexDark Fae
Light FaexHuman
Dark FaexDark Fae
Dark FaexLight Fae
Dark FaexHuman
WitchxWitch
WitchxHuman
(Am open to other suggestions)
For Realistic Fiction:
MxF
FxM
(Pretty much anything you throw my way)
For Mysteries:
MxF
FxM
(Pretty much anything you throw my way)
For Fandom:
Warrior Cats (Preferably OC, but will do Canon)
Twilight (EdwardxOC, BellaxOC, JacobxOC, OCxOC)
Beautiful Creatures (EthanxOC, LenaxOC, OCxOC)
The Mortal Instruments Series (ClaryxOC, JacexOC, WillxOC, SimonxOC, SebastianxOC, OCxOC)
The Selection Series (AmericaxOC, MaxonxOC, KrissxOC, OCxOC)
Maximum Ride Series (MaximumxFang, MaximumxOC, FangxOC, DanielxOC, OCxOC)
Meet Joe Black (There's really no other way but to do OC for this lol)
☽C H A R A C T E R S☽
I keep a Character Storage in the Character Feedback thread and make a new character for every plot/RP that I get involved in. I show my character template on there, then list what RP it's apart of underneath it. I create my characters on Artbreeder and make my character templates on Powerpoint. In the Character Feedback thread, my thread title is Witch's Character
Storage☽.
☽P L O T S☽
These are all original plots and I also already have characters made for them, however they are negotiable.
HARVEST MOON ~Werewolves~
Hey, loves. I'm Witch Stew, but you can call me Witch, Witchy, Stew, Stewy, it doesn't really matter lol. I am a 21-year-old female who relies on Cinnabon cotton candy, my dog Gemini, and a good fantasy book to keep me going. I am currently taking a year off from college, however, I will be returning this fall to pursue my dreams of becoming a law student.
I really like sports, baseball being my favorite (Go Mets!!), and did softball and cheer when I was in high school. I RPed for four years, took a five year break, and
am now just jumping back into things. I have been writing massive amounts over the years, however, so I don't consider myself to be rusty. I consider
myself to be an advanced writer, though I suppose that opinion is up to the individual reader. Reading and writing is my passion and there
is nothing else I would rather do in my free time (: .
☽R P P A R T N E R Q U A L I T I E S/R U L E S☽
Here's what I would like from an RP partner; first, and foremost, I would prefer you to be 18+ as to avoid complications. I would like you to be advanced in writing and be able to write paragraphs at a time. A minimum of 2-3 paragraphs is ideal for me, I don't want to have to carry the story all by myself. Although, I can acknowledge that quality outweighs
quantity; I'd much rather have two paragraphs that are drool-worthy for their writing than six paragraphs that you just aren't really feeling, ya know?
I am most experienced writing female characters, but I don't mind playing male characters at all! Ideally, I would at least like for
you to reply two times a week at the minimum; I understand that life gets to you sometimes or you're just not
feeling that creative spark, but tell me that instead of just dropping the RP or moseying about
with it. I myself will be able to reply usually every day or every other day. I would
prefer if we could be friends as well, not just RPing back and forth. I like
communication and honesty between me and my RP partner, it makes
me feel even more comfortable RPing back and forth, makes me feel
more welcome. I want to create brilliant, creative stories with
my RP partner and to do that I need to find my
"one", as cheesy as that sounds. I am open
to more than one RP partner, but feel
like 3 is probably my maxing point.
1. I don't care if we cuss in our RP, I couldn't care less. If you don't want to, however, we don't have to.
2. I don't RP as MxM or FxF simply because I am not of the community and I don't feel like I would convey those emotions very well in writing, since it is something that I have never experienced personally. I do not tolerate discrimination against said community.
3. As far as different ethnicities go, I am comfortable RPing white, Latino(a), and Native American characters because that is what is in my blood, but am not comfortable playing any other ethnicities as I don't know what their experiences are and am not going to pretend that I know what their experiences are. I don't want to disrespect anybody, even if it is unintentional. I also don't tolerate racists.
4. I don't mind gore, I just don't really care for super intense, overly detailed, gore. Not really my cup of tea.
5. Make a character list for your characters. This is how I get a feel for them and how I can have my character connect better with yours.
6. I know taking things sexually too far are already a no-no on this site, but I would like to cover it again. I don't really want to take things that far, I like to have a cut off for our characters if things like that are going to happen. Obviously kissing and all that I'm fine with, it's just taking things down under that I'm not particularly fond of.
7. This should go without saying, but please, for the love of God, don't control my character. If you ask me if you can have my character do something, ask away! But don't just up and control my character, I will not like it. And no God-mode or anything of those sorts unless if we have specified that's what's going to happen.
2. I don't RP as MxM or FxF simply because I am not of the community and I don't feel like I would convey those emotions very well in writing, since it is something that I have never experienced personally. I do not tolerate discrimination against said community.
3. As far as different ethnicities go, I am comfortable RPing white, Latino(a), and Native American characters because that is what is in my blood, but am not comfortable playing any other ethnicities as I don't know what their experiences are and am not going to pretend that I know what their experiences are. I don't want to disrespect anybody, even if it is unintentional. I also don't tolerate racists.
4. I don't mind gore, I just don't really care for super intense, overly detailed, gore. Not really my cup of tea.
5. Make a character list for your characters. This is how I get a feel for them and how I can have my character connect better with yours.
6. I know taking things sexually too far are already a no-no on this site, but I would like to cover it again. I don't really want to take things that far, I like to have a cut off for our characters if things like that are going to happen. Obviously kissing and all that I'm fine with, it's just taking things down under that I'm not particularly fond of.
7. This should go without saying, but please, for the love of God, don't control my character. If you ask me if you can have my character do something, ask away! But don't just up and control my character, I will not like it. And no God-mode or anything of those sorts unless if we have specified that's what's going to happen.
☽I N T E R E S T E D G E N R E S☽
︎ Fantasy: I enjoy this genre the most because I love the endless possibilities and the opportunity to be transported to an entirely different world that some people couldn't even possibly dream up. I have the most experience writing fantasy, but I'm more than able to write other genres too. For fantasy, I like romance, adventure, monarchies, multiverse, magic,creatures, action, pretty much anything.
︎ Realistic Fiction: I enjoy writing realistic fiction for the possibilities that it could potentially happen to me too (; . For this genre, I like romance, adventure, monarchies, action, and sometimes platonic.︎ Mysteries: I would prefer this to be cast in with fantasy, but will do realistic fiction mystery as well. ︎ Fandom: The only fan fiction experience I have is Warrior Cats, but I am open to try other fandoms too. I will usually try to match my writing style to the author's of which book(s) we are fan writing about.♡P A I R I N G S♡
For Fantasy:
WerewolfxWerewolf
WerewolfxVampire
WerewolfxHuman
VampirexVampire
VampirexWerewolf
VampirexHuman
AngelxAngel
AngelxDemon
AngelxHuman
DemonxDemon
DemonxAngel
DemonxHuman
Light FaexLight Fae
Light FaexDark Fae
Light FaexHuman
Dark FaexDark Fae
Dark FaexLight Fae
Dark FaexHuman
WitchxWitch
WitchxHuman
(Am open to other suggestions)
For Realistic Fiction:
MxF
FxM
(Pretty much anything you throw my way)
For Mysteries:
MxF
FxM
(Pretty much anything you throw my way)
For Fandom:
Warrior Cats (Preferably OC, but will do Canon)
Twilight (EdwardxOC, BellaxOC, JacobxOC, OCxOC)
Beautiful Creatures (EthanxOC, LenaxOC, OCxOC)
The Mortal Instruments Series (ClaryxOC, JacexOC, WillxOC, SimonxOC, SebastianxOC, OCxOC)
The Selection Series (AmericaxOC, MaxonxOC, KrissxOC, OCxOC)
Maximum Ride Series (MaximumxFang, MaximumxOC, FangxOC, DanielxOC, OCxOC)
Meet Joe Black (There's really no other way but to do OC for this lol)
☽C H A R A C T E R S☽
I keep a Character Storage in the Character Feedback thread and make a new character for every plot/RP that I get involved in. I show my character template on there, then list what RP it's apart of underneath it. I create my characters on Artbreeder and make my character templates on Powerpoint. In the Character Feedback thread, my thread title is Witch's Character
Storage☽.
☽P L O T S☽
These are all original plots and I also already have characters made for them, however they are negotiable.
HARVEST MOON ~Werewolves~
Jaeden Montgomery enjoyed her quiet, peaceful life. She was almost a senior in high school, had successfully gotten into her photography, and had her life-long best friend Koda at her side. All of that changed when quiet, foreboding Graham Wood transferred to their school and moved into Big Timber, Montana. He brought secrets, mystery, and feelings that Jaeden tried to suppress. But what scared Jaeden the most was that he seemed to have an answer for every single one of her burning questions that she had about herself and her history, and that he seemed to know Jaeden inside and out. She didn't know why Graham Wood transferred to Big Timber, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she was the reason why./SPOILER]
King's Warrior ~Fantasy~
Adira Asmodeus has everything a girl like her could ever want. She's raised in the palace among the royals themselves, has princes and guards vying for her attention, is the King's personal assassin, and is his most prized possession. Everybody in the land of Nethaya have elemental powers, born with only one. However, a miracle came along when Adira was discovered, having two elemental abilities. She is the King's personal warrior to ensure that the subjects of Nethaya obey the utmost law; no use of their magic. Magic is only used by the royal court. However, the more Adira delves into the past and gains new knowledge about the monarchy, the more she starts to question those in power who raised her as their own. There is a sinister secret lurking within the shadows of the kingdom that threaten to counter Adira and everything that she believes in, leaving her wondering whom to believe in, and whom to trust./SPOILER]
Crown of Sun and Fire (Realms of the Seasons Series) ~Fantasy~
Every ten years, The Harvest occurs; sixteen boys and sixteen girls between the ages of fifteen and eighteen are picked at random from The Barrens to undergo training to see what Realm best suits them. The Flower Realm, the Sun Realm, the Leaf Realm, or the Snow Realm. Nobody despises this more than Navy September, a seventeen-year-old girl from The Barrens, who has had to embrace the life of a thief to ensure her survival, while the Royals have never lacked what she's always had to desperately find.
Now Navy is thrown into a whirlwind of new possibilities when her name is called to be part of The Harvest, and saying no is not an option. As she enters into the new and foreign lands, she finds that she also unexpectedly enters into the hearts of two princes from completely different Realms. With her head telling her one thing and her heart feeling another, Navy desperately tries to grasp these new emotions while trying not to drown in the kingdoms that are filled with secrets, darkness, and deception.
When she begins receiving anonymous notes and stumbles upon secret meetings, Navy begins to suspect that The Harvest wasn't that random after all, and she has a sneaking suspicion that she's behind somebody's plot to play a dangerous game with the Realms. One that just could cost Navy her life.
/SPOILER]
Gold Shadows of Dawn ~Angels and Demons~
Now Navy is thrown into a whirlwind of new possibilities when her name is called to be part of The Harvest, and saying no is not an option. As she enters into the new and foreign lands, she finds that she also unexpectedly enters into the hearts of two princes from completely different Realms. With her head telling her one thing and her heart feeling another, Navy desperately tries to grasp these new emotions while trying not to drown in the kingdoms that are filled with secrets, darkness, and deception.
When she begins receiving anonymous notes and stumbles upon secret meetings, Navy begins to suspect that The Harvest wasn't that random after all, and she has a sneaking suspicion that she's behind somebody's plot to play a dangerous game with the Realms. One that just could cost Navy her life.
/SPOILER]
Gold Shadows of Dawn ~Angels and Demons~
Blair Phoenix never imagined that she would amount to anything in life, never get out and see the world, and never leave the harsh clutches of foster care. One day all her thoughts were proven wrong while sitting in Biology class, and now she's not so sure if her wishes are a dream from Heaven or a nightmare from Hell. With the help of her friends Vlad, Ash, and Salem, Blair begins to navigate through these new changes, and she's about to save the world./SPOILER]
Creatures of Divinity ~Witches~
Caspian Gatsby has life in the palm of his hand. He's the baseball star in the small town of Morgan, Louisiana, has supportive parents, and has his best friend Atlas at his side. He's just a normal teenage boy. Until he meets the beautiful, mysterious Storm Rivers on his seventeenth birthday. As he draws closer to the mystifying girl, he discovers that she's wrapped up in a world full of secrets, allure, and wickedness.
Thrown into her strange world, Caspian attempts to understand Storm and her hidden society, piece by piece. And if he's not careful, then he just might get lost in her divine existence.
/SPOILER]
Light of Golden Fire ~Fantasy~
Thrown into her strange world, Caspian attempts to understand Storm and her hidden society, piece by piece. And if he's not careful, then he just might get lost in her divine existence.
/SPOILER]
Light of Golden Fire ~Fantasy~
In the normal world, living a normal life, with a normal family is Faylene Daughtler. Sure, she's still coping with losing her parents to a car crash and she can't seem to keep a steady friendship with anybody, but she appreciates her normal, mundane life. Until she meets a boy. A boy who happens to be the Light Prince of the Isle of Faeries. Prince Aston shows her a whole new world that was living right before her eyes the entire time, but delivers the shocking news that Faylene herself is Fae.
Confused, curious, and terrified, Faylene allows herself to explore this world and get sucked in by its appealing beauty and charm. Especially when she meets the Dark Prince of the Isle of Faeries, Prince Thayne. But while she begins to learn about this new paradise, grows closer to the two princes, and unravels her own inner Fae, she also discovers that there are dark and dangerous threats that are looming in the kingdoms.
And if she's not careful, these dark and dangerous threats may just devour Faylene and her brand new world whole.
/SPOILER]
☽S A M P L E W R I T I N G☽
My writing style can differ. I am always descriptive in my writing, but can have a more simple, laidback approach or have a more intense, thoughtful approach. It honestly depends on my RP partner and the story.
Confused, curious, and terrified, Faylene allows herself to explore this world and get sucked in by its appealing beauty and charm. Especially when she meets the Dark Prince of the Isle of Faeries, Prince Thayne. But while she begins to learn about this new paradise, grows closer to the two princes, and unravels her own inner Fae, she also discovers that there are dark and dangerous threats that are looming in the kingdoms.
And if she's not careful, these dark and dangerous threats may just devour Faylene and her brand new world whole.
/SPOILER]
☽S A M P L E W R I T I N G☽
My writing style can differ. I am always descriptive in my writing, but can have a more simple, laidback approach or have a more intense, thoughtful approach. It honestly depends on my RP partner and the story.
After walking for what felt like hours, I finally saw my shack come into view, tucked away between two equally weathered ones. I hopped up the steps and onto the porch, stepping lightly and avoiding the boards that I knew squeaked. Which was pretty much all of them. I tightened my satchel around my frame before gently pressing on the battered front door, silently slipping into my dark home.
There were a few strands of light that filtered in through the windows, and the occasional crack in the roof, but no candles were lit, and no signs of life was evident. Perfect. I cracked a small smile to myself, letting my eyes wander from the tattered wooden chairs that were scattered around a dull table to the torn couch that sat pathetically in the room. I flicked my gaze over to the tiny kitchen, but nobody was there either. I slinked my way over to an opening in the wall and pressed my back against it, peering my head around to make out the two rumpled beds occupying the space.
One bed, my bed, lay untouched, just the way I had left it in the early hours of this morning. With the faded white blanket flung back and my pillows bedraggled. I never bothered with making my bed; it was already a poor sight, so why bother with trying to make it presentable when that could never be accomplished?
The other bed, just as bad in shape, had a large form laying atop it, their shoulders rising and falling with the breaths of deep sleep. I crept forward on silent feet, my eyes fixated on the body that was tucked snugly under the blanket. As I got closer, I could hear a steady set of snores emitting from them, the sound causing me to bite my lip to reign in my laughter.
I slowly put a hand near the left side of his face, my leg following to land on the spot next to his left thigh, my right hand and leg coming up to align with his right side so that I was hovering over him. I took a few moments to look at the way his soft blonde hair lightly curled around his forehead and the way his features were relaxed to appear so calm and at peace.
His eyes were closed, but I knew that those rich hazel orbs of his were eating up every scene that his mind played out for him, causing a delighted sigh to escape from his lips. It almost made me feel bad for what I was about to do. Almost. I gripped his shoulders and shook him with enough force to shake the bed as well.
“Audrey, get up! A Somnus is here! They’ve come to take away Elfie!” I screeched in his ear like a crazed bird, purposefully widening my eyes and trying my best to shift my face into one of fear. Elfie was my brother, Audrey’s, cat. He had found the pitiful thing drowning in a sand hill when she was just a kitten, saving her from an ultimate doom.
He took her home and begged to keep her, much to my dismay. I hated cats, and the darned thing was always purring and rubbing up against my legs pleading for attention whenever I was at home. I was surprised she hadn’t immediately started up her charade when I had gotten here. Audrey’s eyes flew open and he shot up, causing me to lean backwards, his head swiveling back and forth.
“Huh, what?” He gasped in confusion, blinking his eyes rapidly to clear away the sleep.
I opened up my mouth to repeat what I had just told him, but he beat me to it by saying, “Somnus? Elfie?”.
He gave a hard, final blink, then leaned over the side of the bed to scramble for something underneath it and came back up with a groggy Elfie in his grasp.
Her grey and white tabby fur was kinked from sleep and her whiskers were bent, her dark blue eyes still hooded and clouded from her nap. So that was why the little pest hadn’t been all over me the second I stepped through the door. I actually felt quite proud of myself, knowing that I had been quiet enough to not wake a cat. Even if she was doped up on half stupid and half laziness.
Audrey clutched Elfie to his chest, his fingers digging into her soft fur.
“W-where are they?” He cried, his green and brown depths swirling around the room to locate the intruder. Elfie just clung to his arm that was holding her and purred, her eyes slitting in contentment. I grasped his shoulder and shook him to look at me, forcing my face to be in total seriousness.
His dark eyes landed on my own dark ones, and I slowly answered, “They’re in your dream because your lazy butt didn’t wake up this morning and help me find some food.”
I sat back, giving an agitated look at Elfie as her purring grew louder. I didn’t have Audrey steal things like I did, I would never put him in a position to be caught like that. The punishment is death, and I couldn’t have my baby brother going to his early grave.
I had him sit on the corners of Red Market and beg for food instead. Kids in The Barren Lands didn’t have the privilege of going to school; the only reason we knew how to read was because our mother knew how and taught us. Jobs were extremely rare to come by as well, usually only well-known families around The Barrens got those, and that sure wasn’t us.
Audrey could usually scrounge up some bread or a vegetable here and there with his pretty face, so that’s why I put it to good use. Audrey just stared at me, his face blank, his grip still deathly tight on Elfie, though she didn’t mind.
Then, his face morphed into anger and embarrassment at the same time, his cheeks deepening with crimson and his hands on Elfie tightening until she let out a soft meow. Oh, whatever, I knew she liked it.
“You’re terrible, you know that?!” Audrey snapped out at me, loosening his hold on the cat, and shoving me off his bed with his foot when I erupted with a fit of cackles.
I stumbled to the floor, clutching my sides, my head starting to feel dizzy from lack of breath. I felt moisture prick my eyes as I fought to gulp in air, my hoots turning into coughs. I sat up when I could finally suck in a breath, pushing my hair out of my face and tipping my head back to look at a still mad Audrey.
“I can’t believe you actually fell for that!” I crowed, fighting another fit of giggles.
“What would a Somnus want with a cat?” I inquired, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand to swipe away the tears. He glared at me as he tried to straighten out one of Elfie’s bent whiskers, his eyes breathing fire.
“Oh, shut up, will you!” He retorted, while the grey and white tabby rubbed her muzzle along the finger that was trying to fix her whisker.
“Maybe I’ll shut up when you actually wake up at a decent hour and I don’t have to drag your lazy butt out of bed,” I countered, throwing a haughty look of my own, crossing my arms. Which didn’t look all that intimidating when I was slumped on the floor having to tip my head back to peer up at him.
His face went red again, this time just with embarrassment, and he let out a mumbled, “Whatever.”
He let go of Elfie when he was satisfied that she wasn’t in danger after all, and she attempted to leap onto my lap right as I got up. She landed on the floor with a thud and peered up at me, her dark blue eyes sparkling with adoration. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“And I would have let that Somnus take you, too,” I declared to her, to which she answered by rubbing against my leg, her back arching.
I wrinkled my nose and stepped away from her, reaching into my satchel and taking out one of the deep red apples that I had swiped this morning.
“Breakfast,” I told Audrey while throwing it to him, to which he caught eagerly and let his eyes travel lovingly across the shiny surface. I hadn’t gotten anything for Elfie, but that’s because she always plumped herself up on the mice that scurry around late at night. Looking at her now, she could stand to skip a few nights of hunting. I heard a happy moan and saw that Audrey had bit into the apple, the juices gushing like gold liquid down his chin.
He pulled the apple away and used the back of his hand to wipe it off his skin, chewing slowly on his bite to savor the delicious taste.
“Who’d you pick it from this time? Mrs. Bluebeat?” He asked me, his hazel eyes trailing Elfie as she jumped up onto my bed and circled, kneading her claws into the already worn fabric of my blanket.
I shook my head, making my way over to the side of my bed.
“No, Mr. Wickery,” I answered as I picked the stupid cat up, her soft fur seeping between my fingers, and threw her down onto the floor. She just landed gracefully on all fours, bending down in a stretch and curling her plumy tail. I rolled my eyes. Nothing I did could get that darned cat to hate me and leave me alone.
Audrey got a twinkle in his eye as he processed the name I gave him, his smile turning mischievous.
“Is he still as plump as ever?” He asked with a snicker, his shoulders bouncing up and down. I nodded my head, a small smile of my own forming on my lips.
“Yes. I swear, he eats more than what he sells.”
It was very rare for a person in The Barren Lands to have, well, their ribs not showing and their faces a bit sunken in.
Which meant that Mr. Wickery did indeed eat more than he sold. But I couldn’t say that I blamed him; I probably would have gobbled up more than half of what I was selling if I was in his predicament. It did cause a pang of jealousy to erupt within my chest to see him not lacking in the food department, but I quickly shoved it down as I started to tell Audrey of my little adventure this morning.
“I was caught by Ms. Stemmins,” I admitted with a wrinkle of my nose, my ego stinging a bit. I hardly got caught, ever. Stupid bird woman with her stupid bird sight. Audrey started choking on the bite that he had taken, his face shining with surprise.
“You got caught?” He rasped out incredulously, his eyes blossoming with disbelief.
I rolled my eyes, leaning against the chipped trunk that held all our clothes, which wasn’t very many.
“Yes, that stupid old croon was flirting it up with Mr. Wickery when I was grabbing the apples, but she saw me because… well, because I took too long and swiped extras for Mars and Imogen,” I admitted with a faint blush creeping up my neck at my mistake.
I should have just waited to grab theirs at a different vendor, instead of being too sure of myself and getting caught. Now I wouldn’t be able to go in that area of the Red Market for a while, to avoid being recognized. Mars Free and Imogen Blue were my best friends; people that I would steal fruit for every day. I had known Imogen since we were children, her being the same age as me, our mothers having known one another, and she had been the only girl I had ever grown close with.
I found most girls to be annoying and dramatic, although Imogen was a bit on the more girly side than I was. Audrey had the biggest crush on her, always blushing and muttering like a drunken fool whenever she came around. Mars I had met one night on one of my thief trips, only thirteen at the time, about four years ago. We were both new to the arts of thievery and very young, Mars just one year older than me, and had grabbed for a pear at the same time.
We had looked up at one another, shock written all over our faces, and neither one of us had moved for several heartbeats. Then, I had hit him over the head with my satchel and run off with the pear back home. I had felt so guilty about what I’d done that I hadn’t ate it, but instead went back the next night to find him and when I did, I had sheepishly given him the pear as a peace offering and as an apology.
We had been inseparable since. We went on almost every thieving run together, looked out for one another, we even had our own secret watch tower. It was slightly northeast of Mango Province, surrounded by crumbling walls and shattered bottles of ale, from when the Lumens and Somnus’ used to occupy it. It was abandoned now since nobody was ever in that part of The Barrens anymore, forgotten much like how the Royals forgot about us.
“It’s okay! I’ve noticed that Imogen is looking a bit thin lately, so she could really do with some extra food,” Audrey insisted, his eyes glazing over, no doubt images of Imogen dancing around in his head. I rolled my eyes, letting out an exasperated huff.
“We’re all looking a bit thin lately, Audrey,” I replied in a dry voice, though he didn’t notice, still having that dreamy look on his face.
Elfie propped her delicate front paws up on the side of his bed, bending forward to sniff at the apple that was laying in his hand. She bunched up her hind legs, preparing to spring, but before she could get a nibble out of it, I caught her mid-jump, and threw her towards the opening leading into the front of the shack.
“Would you stop throwing this damn thing around?” A gruff, deep voice sounded from where I had thrown Elfie. I whirled around to see a tall, muscular boy with pitch black hair and deep smokey brown eyes giving me an irritated look as he had Elfie grasped between his hands, evidently having caught her.
“I’ll stop throwing her around when she stops acting like the stupidest cat alive!” I bit back, putting my hands on my hips. Ugh, maybe I should eat the extra apples for myself; I could feel my hip bones protruding like blades. The boy standing in front of me was Alixzander September, mine and Audrey’s older brother.
While I was the thief of the family and Audrey was the beggar, Alixzander was the worker. He was good friends with a better-known family and that had landed him a job as a sand hand; in other words, he delivered and moved sacks of sand on ships at the Dock of No Stars. The Dock of No Stars was where all the ships came to import and export goods and merchandise.
It was how we got our fruits, vegetables, meats, fabric, money, and how the Realms got their sand. Each of the Realms were known for their own particular goods. Land of the Flowers were known for their crops, Land of the Sun for their meats, Land of the Leaves for their fabric, and Land of the Snow for Dassia, Onyx from their mountains turned into our money.
In The Barren Lands, we’re known for the most precious thing. Sand. It’s how they build their roads, their homes, their shops, their castles, their kingdoms. And we had plenty of it to go around, more than enough. Alixzander tried to work as many shifts as he possibly could, but he could never manage to get more than a measly two Dassia per week.
He initially hadn’t wanted me to steal food and other things for our well-being, but once he saw how good at it I was, and once he saw that he couldn’t stop me, he finally allowed me to go as I pleased. I knew it was hard for him to see me do it, especially when the punishment was death for what I was doing, but it put his mind at ease some that I rarely got caught and that when I did, I always somehow managed to slip away.
But I never told him about the times that I almost managed to get myself caught; he didn’t need all the little details of my ventures. He had been taking care of us for almost seven years, after our mother died. Our mother, Mara September, had been the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen, with her hair the color of deep ink and her eyes the most stunning shade of hazel.
She had died from a critical head wound while trying to break up a fight in a tavern one night. One of the men had accidentally pushed her backwards and caused her to hit her head on the corner of a table, dealing the deadly blow. Me, Alixzander, and Audrey had all been stunned when Imogen’s parents had come to tell us the heartbreaking news. We hadn’t even gotten to see her one last time; they had hauled her off and buried her before we could even say goodbye. Like she was some dirty trash that they had tried to hurriedly dispose of.
Alixzander had started the dutiful role of our sole guardian after that, only at the age of twelve. Our father had passed not long after Audrey was born. Mother said he had died from a fever, but none of us could remember him. Alixzander was only four at the time, I was two, and Audrey only just a few months old. We were parentless and penniless; much like how many were in The Barrens.
Alixzander gave me a hard stare before he proceeded to step into the room and set Elfie on my bed. I crinkled my nose and bit my cheek to keep from saying anything as she curled up on my pillow and twitched her tiny dark grey nose. Stupid little twit. I threw an apple my brother’s way, who caught it deftly in one big hand and brought it to his lips, his shoulders losing some of their tension as he did so.
“Why are you back here so early? It’s barely noon,” I probed, raising a questioning brow at him. His dark eyes met mine briefly, then he skirted them away to gaze at Audrey as he moaned again from another bite of apple.
“They’re letting people stay home for the two days before The Harvest who have eligible kids so that we can spend time with them in case they’re chosen. And speaking of The Harvest, I don’t want you going and stealing anything, Navy. There’ll be too many people at Red Market to make preparations for The Harvest,” he ordered me, his gaze sliding back over in my direction.
The Harvest was something that occurred every ten years on the seventeenth of Jirelya, the seventh month out of the year, something that I absolutely despised. Thirty-two teenagers between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, sixteen boys and sixteen girls, were each randomly selected to undergo training to see which Realm they would best fit into. It was a chance for the worn, beaten, and slum of our world to be able to actually have the opportunity to live with the pampered, radiant, and perfect people.
The training consisted of the chosen teens being shipped across the seas, having the privilege of staying in the castles, and getting to tour every Realm. It lasted for eight months, and at the end, the kids had to decide which Realm they would like to call their forever home. It was sick, twisted, and utterly disgusting.
It was just an act made up by the kingdoms to keep us passive, to keep us borderline happy, so that we didn’t try and rebel. Not that we could have anyway, we were all a bunch of scraps blowing in the wind. We could never come up against the Royals. Me and Audrey were eligible since I was seventeen and he was fifteen, but Alixzander wasn’t since he was nineteen.
The lucky brute. Audrey was ecstatic that he was finally eligible to be a part of The Harvest; he wanted out of The Barrens so badly he was practically crazed about it. Which, I did understand his eagerness to leave this dump, but this dump was our home. This dump was where our mother and father had been, this dump was where our friends were, this dump was where our people were.
These people understood the hardships that we had to go through, they understood what it felt like to be so hungry that it caused cramps at night, they understood what it felt like to have cracked skin and bleeding feet. The Royals understood none of that. All they understood was that they didn’t have the latest fashion trend, they didn’t have the best fruit that year, they didn’t have the highest noble name in the kingdom.
We had to have torn rags for our fashion trends, we got the worst of the crops every year, and our names would always be the lowest of low. Those people in the Realms wouldn’t even know hardship if it slapped them in the face. And I hated them all the more for it; The Harvest was just the icing on the cake.
I gaped at my older brother, my mouth hanging open.
“Are you crazy? It will be the perfect opportunity to steal even more! There will be more bodies, more noise, more distractions! I can actually steal better this way,” I told him, willing him to understand. He shook his head, his dark hair flopping in his eyes.
“No, Navy. More people being there means more of a chance of you being caught,” he countered back, taking another bite of his apple.
“Um, excuse me, but who’s the expert thief around here? Oh yeah, that’s me. I know what I’m talking about, I know what I’m doing, Alix! I could easily bring back enough food to last us for a whole week in these two days before The Harvest!” My voice grew louder with every sentence, my ears starting to grow hot and my nails digging into my palms.
“Navy, stop! I said no!” Alix snapped at me, his eyes narrowed in that way of his when he meant business.
I stood there for a moment, my frustration wanting to burst out of me, but I settled for stalking over to him, snatching the apple I had caught out of his hand, and bristling out of the room. I bit into it, the sweet, ripe juices flowing into my mouth, and swallowed it. It felt scratchy going down my dry throat, but I didn’t care as I pushed the front door open roughly and stomped down the stairs.
“Hey, Blue Bird,” a rough, gravelly voice sounded off to my right. I jumped about five feet into the air, holding back a gurgled response of surprise, almost choking on my apple. When my eyes caught who it was, I glared haughtily at them.
“Mars, don’t do that! What are you doing here, anyway?”
He gave a deep laugh, his green eyes shining.
He reached up to dust some sand out of his light brown hair while answering, “Sorry. I came by to see if you wanted to do a run with me.”
In other words, go on a stealing trip with him. It only added to my fuel.
“I can’t. Alix is making me stay away because of The Harvest,” I told him with an angry pout, tightening my grip on my satchel.
Mars gave me a weird look, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion.
“That doesn’t make any sense. It’s the perfect time to go steal,” he insisted, which made me nod my head in agreement.
“I know, that’s what I said! Amateur,” I growled out, that last bit meant for my brother. He could be such a dense guy sometimes.
“You still going?” I asked him, part of me hoping that he wouldn’t so that we could spend time together and part of me hoping that he did so that he could share whatever he got with us.
Mars lived on his own. He didn’t have parents, he didn’t even have any siblings. His parents had both died from an accident at sea while shipping some sand to the Realms, leaving poor Mars at just the age of fourteen to fend for himself. The night we had met had been his first attempt at stealing, only a week after he had become an orphan.
He shook his head, his green eyes latching onto mine.
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
“But you have to! The food is bound to be mostly gone after The Harvest,” I said dryly, casting a glare back at the house, hoping my brother could see me out the window. Or at least Elfie.
“I don’t feel like it,” he replied with a shrug, having an indifferent look on his face. But I knew it was because he knew I was upset about not going and that I wanted to spend time with him. He knew me so well.
“So, what do you want to do?” He asked as he spit onto the dusty, cracked ground. I thought for a moment, tilting my head to the side. Well, I certainly didn’t want to stay here, that was for sure. And I didn’t want to go to Blackberry Province, where he lived, I didn’t want to walk that far. I felt my face light up as a place popped into my head, a grin tugging at my lips.
“Let’s go to the abandoned post.”
His grin mirrored mine, and we were off. We ventured out, thick as thieves, winding through the pitiful shacks of Mango Province, until we hit open ground and then picked up into a run as we headed towards our sanctuary.
Away from Alix and his dumb ways, away from Audrey and his longing for something that wasn’t us, and away from the inevitable horizon that was The Harvest.
There were a few strands of light that filtered in through the windows, and the occasional crack in the roof, but no candles were lit, and no signs of life was evident. Perfect. I cracked a small smile to myself, letting my eyes wander from the tattered wooden chairs that were scattered around a dull table to the torn couch that sat pathetically in the room. I flicked my gaze over to the tiny kitchen, but nobody was there either. I slinked my way over to an opening in the wall and pressed my back against it, peering my head around to make out the two rumpled beds occupying the space.
One bed, my bed, lay untouched, just the way I had left it in the early hours of this morning. With the faded white blanket flung back and my pillows bedraggled. I never bothered with making my bed; it was already a poor sight, so why bother with trying to make it presentable when that could never be accomplished?
The other bed, just as bad in shape, had a large form laying atop it, their shoulders rising and falling with the breaths of deep sleep. I crept forward on silent feet, my eyes fixated on the body that was tucked snugly under the blanket. As I got closer, I could hear a steady set of snores emitting from them, the sound causing me to bite my lip to reign in my laughter.
I slowly put a hand near the left side of his face, my leg following to land on the spot next to his left thigh, my right hand and leg coming up to align with his right side so that I was hovering over him. I took a few moments to look at the way his soft blonde hair lightly curled around his forehead and the way his features were relaxed to appear so calm and at peace.
His eyes were closed, but I knew that those rich hazel orbs of his were eating up every scene that his mind played out for him, causing a delighted sigh to escape from his lips. It almost made me feel bad for what I was about to do. Almost. I gripped his shoulders and shook him with enough force to shake the bed as well.
“Audrey, get up! A Somnus is here! They’ve come to take away Elfie!” I screeched in his ear like a crazed bird, purposefully widening my eyes and trying my best to shift my face into one of fear. Elfie was my brother, Audrey’s, cat. He had found the pitiful thing drowning in a sand hill when she was just a kitten, saving her from an ultimate doom.
He took her home and begged to keep her, much to my dismay. I hated cats, and the darned thing was always purring and rubbing up against my legs pleading for attention whenever I was at home. I was surprised she hadn’t immediately started up her charade when I had gotten here. Audrey’s eyes flew open and he shot up, causing me to lean backwards, his head swiveling back and forth.
“Huh, what?” He gasped in confusion, blinking his eyes rapidly to clear away the sleep.
I opened up my mouth to repeat what I had just told him, but he beat me to it by saying, “Somnus? Elfie?”.
He gave a hard, final blink, then leaned over the side of the bed to scramble for something underneath it and came back up with a groggy Elfie in his grasp.
Her grey and white tabby fur was kinked from sleep and her whiskers were bent, her dark blue eyes still hooded and clouded from her nap. So that was why the little pest hadn’t been all over me the second I stepped through the door. I actually felt quite proud of myself, knowing that I had been quiet enough to not wake a cat. Even if she was doped up on half stupid and half laziness.
Audrey clutched Elfie to his chest, his fingers digging into her soft fur.
“W-where are they?” He cried, his green and brown depths swirling around the room to locate the intruder. Elfie just clung to his arm that was holding her and purred, her eyes slitting in contentment. I grasped his shoulder and shook him to look at me, forcing my face to be in total seriousness.
His dark eyes landed on my own dark ones, and I slowly answered, “They’re in your dream because your lazy butt didn’t wake up this morning and help me find some food.”
I sat back, giving an agitated look at Elfie as her purring grew louder. I didn’t have Audrey steal things like I did, I would never put him in a position to be caught like that. The punishment is death, and I couldn’t have my baby brother going to his early grave.
I had him sit on the corners of Red Market and beg for food instead. Kids in The Barren Lands didn’t have the privilege of going to school; the only reason we knew how to read was because our mother knew how and taught us. Jobs were extremely rare to come by as well, usually only well-known families around The Barrens got those, and that sure wasn’t us.
Audrey could usually scrounge up some bread or a vegetable here and there with his pretty face, so that’s why I put it to good use. Audrey just stared at me, his face blank, his grip still deathly tight on Elfie, though she didn’t mind.
Then, his face morphed into anger and embarrassment at the same time, his cheeks deepening with crimson and his hands on Elfie tightening until she let out a soft meow. Oh, whatever, I knew she liked it.
“You’re terrible, you know that?!” Audrey snapped out at me, loosening his hold on the cat, and shoving me off his bed with his foot when I erupted with a fit of cackles.
I stumbled to the floor, clutching my sides, my head starting to feel dizzy from lack of breath. I felt moisture prick my eyes as I fought to gulp in air, my hoots turning into coughs. I sat up when I could finally suck in a breath, pushing my hair out of my face and tipping my head back to look at a still mad Audrey.
“I can’t believe you actually fell for that!” I crowed, fighting another fit of giggles.
“What would a Somnus want with a cat?” I inquired, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand to swipe away the tears. He glared at me as he tried to straighten out one of Elfie’s bent whiskers, his eyes breathing fire.
“Oh, shut up, will you!” He retorted, while the grey and white tabby rubbed her muzzle along the finger that was trying to fix her whisker.
“Maybe I’ll shut up when you actually wake up at a decent hour and I don’t have to drag your lazy butt out of bed,” I countered, throwing a haughty look of my own, crossing my arms. Which didn’t look all that intimidating when I was slumped on the floor having to tip my head back to peer up at him.
His face went red again, this time just with embarrassment, and he let out a mumbled, “Whatever.”
He let go of Elfie when he was satisfied that she wasn’t in danger after all, and she attempted to leap onto my lap right as I got up. She landed on the floor with a thud and peered up at me, her dark blue eyes sparkling with adoration. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“And I would have let that Somnus take you, too,” I declared to her, to which she answered by rubbing against my leg, her back arching.
I wrinkled my nose and stepped away from her, reaching into my satchel and taking out one of the deep red apples that I had swiped this morning.
“Breakfast,” I told Audrey while throwing it to him, to which he caught eagerly and let his eyes travel lovingly across the shiny surface. I hadn’t gotten anything for Elfie, but that’s because she always plumped herself up on the mice that scurry around late at night. Looking at her now, she could stand to skip a few nights of hunting. I heard a happy moan and saw that Audrey had bit into the apple, the juices gushing like gold liquid down his chin.
He pulled the apple away and used the back of his hand to wipe it off his skin, chewing slowly on his bite to savor the delicious taste.
“Who’d you pick it from this time? Mrs. Bluebeat?” He asked me, his hazel eyes trailing Elfie as she jumped up onto my bed and circled, kneading her claws into the already worn fabric of my blanket.
I shook my head, making my way over to the side of my bed.
“No, Mr. Wickery,” I answered as I picked the stupid cat up, her soft fur seeping between my fingers, and threw her down onto the floor. She just landed gracefully on all fours, bending down in a stretch and curling her plumy tail. I rolled my eyes. Nothing I did could get that darned cat to hate me and leave me alone.
Audrey got a twinkle in his eye as he processed the name I gave him, his smile turning mischievous.
“Is he still as plump as ever?” He asked with a snicker, his shoulders bouncing up and down. I nodded my head, a small smile of my own forming on my lips.
“Yes. I swear, he eats more than what he sells.”
It was very rare for a person in The Barren Lands to have, well, their ribs not showing and their faces a bit sunken in.
Which meant that Mr. Wickery did indeed eat more than he sold. But I couldn’t say that I blamed him; I probably would have gobbled up more than half of what I was selling if I was in his predicament. It did cause a pang of jealousy to erupt within my chest to see him not lacking in the food department, but I quickly shoved it down as I started to tell Audrey of my little adventure this morning.
“I was caught by Ms. Stemmins,” I admitted with a wrinkle of my nose, my ego stinging a bit. I hardly got caught, ever. Stupid bird woman with her stupid bird sight. Audrey started choking on the bite that he had taken, his face shining with surprise.
“You got caught?” He rasped out incredulously, his eyes blossoming with disbelief.
I rolled my eyes, leaning against the chipped trunk that held all our clothes, which wasn’t very many.
“Yes, that stupid old croon was flirting it up with Mr. Wickery when I was grabbing the apples, but she saw me because… well, because I took too long and swiped extras for Mars and Imogen,” I admitted with a faint blush creeping up my neck at my mistake.
I should have just waited to grab theirs at a different vendor, instead of being too sure of myself and getting caught. Now I wouldn’t be able to go in that area of the Red Market for a while, to avoid being recognized. Mars Free and Imogen Blue were my best friends; people that I would steal fruit for every day. I had known Imogen since we were children, her being the same age as me, our mothers having known one another, and she had been the only girl I had ever grown close with.
I found most girls to be annoying and dramatic, although Imogen was a bit on the more girly side than I was. Audrey had the biggest crush on her, always blushing and muttering like a drunken fool whenever she came around. Mars I had met one night on one of my thief trips, only thirteen at the time, about four years ago. We were both new to the arts of thievery and very young, Mars just one year older than me, and had grabbed for a pear at the same time.
We had looked up at one another, shock written all over our faces, and neither one of us had moved for several heartbeats. Then, I had hit him over the head with my satchel and run off with the pear back home. I had felt so guilty about what I’d done that I hadn’t ate it, but instead went back the next night to find him and when I did, I had sheepishly given him the pear as a peace offering and as an apology.
We had been inseparable since. We went on almost every thieving run together, looked out for one another, we even had our own secret watch tower. It was slightly northeast of Mango Province, surrounded by crumbling walls and shattered bottles of ale, from when the Lumens and Somnus’ used to occupy it. It was abandoned now since nobody was ever in that part of The Barrens anymore, forgotten much like how the Royals forgot about us.
“It’s okay! I’ve noticed that Imogen is looking a bit thin lately, so she could really do with some extra food,” Audrey insisted, his eyes glazing over, no doubt images of Imogen dancing around in his head. I rolled my eyes, letting out an exasperated huff.
“We’re all looking a bit thin lately, Audrey,” I replied in a dry voice, though he didn’t notice, still having that dreamy look on his face.
Elfie propped her delicate front paws up on the side of his bed, bending forward to sniff at the apple that was laying in his hand. She bunched up her hind legs, preparing to spring, but before she could get a nibble out of it, I caught her mid-jump, and threw her towards the opening leading into the front of the shack.
“Would you stop throwing this damn thing around?” A gruff, deep voice sounded from where I had thrown Elfie. I whirled around to see a tall, muscular boy with pitch black hair and deep smokey brown eyes giving me an irritated look as he had Elfie grasped between his hands, evidently having caught her.
“I’ll stop throwing her around when she stops acting like the stupidest cat alive!” I bit back, putting my hands on my hips. Ugh, maybe I should eat the extra apples for myself; I could feel my hip bones protruding like blades. The boy standing in front of me was Alixzander September, mine and Audrey’s older brother.
While I was the thief of the family and Audrey was the beggar, Alixzander was the worker. He was good friends with a better-known family and that had landed him a job as a sand hand; in other words, he delivered and moved sacks of sand on ships at the Dock of No Stars. The Dock of No Stars was where all the ships came to import and export goods and merchandise.
It was how we got our fruits, vegetables, meats, fabric, money, and how the Realms got their sand. Each of the Realms were known for their own particular goods. Land of the Flowers were known for their crops, Land of the Sun for their meats, Land of the Leaves for their fabric, and Land of the Snow for Dassia, Onyx from their mountains turned into our money.
In The Barren Lands, we’re known for the most precious thing. Sand. It’s how they build their roads, their homes, their shops, their castles, their kingdoms. And we had plenty of it to go around, more than enough. Alixzander tried to work as many shifts as he possibly could, but he could never manage to get more than a measly two Dassia per week.
He initially hadn’t wanted me to steal food and other things for our well-being, but once he saw how good at it I was, and once he saw that he couldn’t stop me, he finally allowed me to go as I pleased. I knew it was hard for him to see me do it, especially when the punishment was death for what I was doing, but it put his mind at ease some that I rarely got caught and that when I did, I always somehow managed to slip away.
But I never told him about the times that I almost managed to get myself caught; he didn’t need all the little details of my ventures. He had been taking care of us for almost seven years, after our mother died. Our mother, Mara September, had been the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen, with her hair the color of deep ink and her eyes the most stunning shade of hazel.
She had died from a critical head wound while trying to break up a fight in a tavern one night. One of the men had accidentally pushed her backwards and caused her to hit her head on the corner of a table, dealing the deadly blow. Me, Alixzander, and Audrey had all been stunned when Imogen’s parents had come to tell us the heartbreaking news. We hadn’t even gotten to see her one last time; they had hauled her off and buried her before we could even say goodbye. Like she was some dirty trash that they had tried to hurriedly dispose of.
Alixzander had started the dutiful role of our sole guardian after that, only at the age of twelve. Our father had passed not long after Audrey was born. Mother said he had died from a fever, but none of us could remember him. Alixzander was only four at the time, I was two, and Audrey only just a few months old. We were parentless and penniless; much like how many were in The Barrens.
Alixzander gave me a hard stare before he proceeded to step into the room and set Elfie on my bed. I crinkled my nose and bit my cheek to keep from saying anything as she curled up on my pillow and twitched her tiny dark grey nose. Stupid little twit. I threw an apple my brother’s way, who caught it deftly in one big hand and brought it to his lips, his shoulders losing some of their tension as he did so.
“Why are you back here so early? It’s barely noon,” I probed, raising a questioning brow at him. His dark eyes met mine briefly, then he skirted them away to gaze at Audrey as he moaned again from another bite of apple.
“They’re letting people stay home for the two days before The Harvest who have eligible kids so that we can spend time with them in case they’re chosen. And speaking of The Harvest, I don’t want you going and stealing anything, Navy. There’ll be too many people at Red Market to make preparations for The Harvest,” he ordered me, his gaze sliding back over in my direction.
The Harvest was something that occurred every ten years on the seventeenth of Jirelya, the seventh month out of the year, something that I absolutely despised. Thirty-two teenagers between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, sixteen boys and sixteen girls, were each randomly selected to undergo training to see which Realm they would best fit into. It was a chance for the worn, beaten, and slum of our world to be able to actually have the opportunity to live with the pampered, radiant, and perfect people.
The training consisted of the chosen teens being shipped across the seas, having the privilege of staying in the castles, and getting to tour every Realm. It lasted for eight months, and at the end, the kids had to decide which Realm they would like to call their forever home. It was sick, twisted, and utterly disgusting.
It was just an act made up by the kingdoms to keep us passive, to keep us borderline happy, so that we didn’t try and rebel. Not that we could have anyway, we were all a bunch of scraps blowing in the wind. We could never come up against the Royals. Me and Audrey were eligible since I was seventeen and he was fifteen, but Alixzander wasn’t since he was nineteen.
The lucky brute. Audrey was ecstatic that he was finally eligible to be a part of The Harvest; he wanted out of The Barrens so badly he was practically crazed about it. Which, I did understand his eagerness to leave this dump, but this dump was our home. This dump was where our mother and father had been, this dump was where our friends were, this dump was where our people were.
These people understood the hardships that we had to go through, they understood what it felt like to be so hungry that it caused cramps at night, they understood what it felt like to have cracked skin and bleeding feet. The Royals understood none of that. All they understood was that they didn’t have the latest fashion trend, they didn’t have the best fruit that year, they didn’t have the highest noble name in the kingdom.
We had to have torn rags for our fashion trends, we got the worst of the crops every year, and our names would always be the lowest of low. Those people in the Realms wouldn’t even know hardship if it slapped them in the face. And I hated them all the more for it; The Harvest was just the icing on the cake.
I gaped at my older brother, my mouth hanging open.
“Are you crazy? It will be the perfect opportunity to steal even more! There will be more bodies, more noise, more distractions! I can actually steal better this way,” I told him, willing him to understand. He shook his head, his dark hair flopping in his eyes.
“No, Navy. More people being there means more of a chance of you being caught,” he countered back, taking another bite of his apple.
“Um, excuse me, but who’s the expert thief around here? Oh yeah, that’s me. I know what I’m talking about, I know what I’m doing, Alix! I could easily bring back enough food to last us for a whole week in these two days before The Harvest!” My voice grew louder with every sentence, my ears starting to grow hot and my nails digging into my palms.
“Navy, stop! I said no!” Alix snapped at me, his eyes narrowed in that way of his when he meant business.
I stood there for a moment, my frustration wanting to burst out of me, but I settled for stalking over to him, snatching the apple I had caught out of his hand, and bristling out of the room. I bit into it, the sweet, ripe juices flowing into my mouth, and swallowed it. It felt scratchy going down my dry throat, but I didn’t care as I pushed the front door open roughly and stomped down the stairs.
“Hey, Blue Bird,” a rough, gravelly voice sounded off to my right. I jumped about five feet into the air, holding back a gurgled response of surprise, almost choking on my apple. When my eyes caught who it was, I glared haughtily at them.
“Mars, don’t do that! What are you doing here, anyway?”
He gave a deep laugh, his green eyes shining.
He reached up to dust some sand out of his light brown hair while answering, “Sorry. I came by to see if you wanted to do a run with me.”
In other words, go on a stealing trip with him. It only added to my fuel.
“I can’t. Alix is making me stay away because of The Harvest,” I told him with an angry pout, tightening my grip on my satchel.
Mars gave me a weird look, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion.
“That doesn’t make any sense. It’s the perfect time to go steal,” he insisted, which made me nod my head in agreement.
“I know, that’s what I said! Amateur,” I growled out, that last bit meant for my brother. He could be such a dense guy sometimes.
“You still going?” I asked him, part of me hoping that he wouldn’t so that we could spend time together and part of me hoping that he did so that he could share whatever he got with us.
Mars lived on his own. He didn’t have parents, he didn’t even have any siblings. His parents had both died from an accident at sea while shipping some sand to the Realms, leaving poor Mars at just the age of fourteen to fend for himself. The night we had met had been his first attempt at stealing, only a week after he had become an orphan.
He shook his head, his green eyes latching onto mine.
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
“But you have to! The food is bound to be mostly gone after The Harvest,” I said dryly, casting a glare back at the house, hoping my brother could see me out the window. Or at least Elfie.
“I don’t feel like it,” he replied with a shrug, having an indifferent look on his face. But I knew it was because he knew I was upset about not going and that I wanted to spend time with him. He knew me so well.
“So, what do you want to do?” He asked as he spit onto the dusty, cracked ground. I thought for a moment, tilting my head to the side. Well, I certainly didn’t want to stay here, that was for sure. And I didn’t want to go to Blackberry Province, where he lived, I didn’t want to walk that far. I felt my face light up as a place popped into my head, a grin tugging at my lips.
“Let’s go to the abandoned post.”
His grin mirrored mine, and we were off. We ventured out, thick as thieves, winding through the pitiful shacks of Mango Province, until we hit open ground and then picked up into a run as we headed towards our sanctuary.
Away from Alix and his dumb ways, away from Audrey and his longing for something that wasn’t us, and away from the inevitable horizon that was The Harvest.
/SPOILER]
☽C O N C L U S I O N☽
I hope I have covered everything and answered any questions you might have. If not, then you can always discuss things with me. I am very friendly and don't bite, I promise haha. Please PM me about potentially becoming RP Partners, please don't reply to the thread. If you're not the type of RP partner I'm looking for, I will let you know. I won't leave you hanging or ignore you, I will simply just let you know that you aren't exactly my cup of tea and I'll let you know why in the nicest way possible. I look forward to making brilliant and divine stories with our creative minds, whoever you may be. ♡
☽C O N C L U S I O N☽
I hope I have covered everything and answered any questions you might have. If not, then you can always discuss things with me. I am very friendly and don't bite, I promise haha. Please PM me about potentially becoming RP Partners, please don't reply to the thread. If you're not the type of RP partner I'm looking for, I will let you know. I won't leave you hanging or ignore you, I will simply just let you know that you aren't exactly my cup of tea and I'll let you know why in the nicest way possible. I look forward to making brilliant and divine stories with our creative minds, whoever you may be. ♡
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