//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Smoke and Shadows // Story: Servant of the Queen // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// Silver Rose entered her home, quietly taking the next few steps, looking out for her mother. Changelings had acute senses, which were much better than the regular human. If she could smell the blood from her leg, then her mother would be able to as well, if she were close enough. Silver just hoped she could make it to her bathroom before her mother found her. If she was lucky, maybe her mother was out shooting something for her upcoming movie. Two of the maids greeted her as she moved for the staircase. Silver smiled back and said hello before retreating up the stairs. So far so good. Silver crept along the passage, past the paintings and statues and suits of armor to the closest bathroom, which smelled heavily of soap and perfume. She reached for the doorknob, only for it to turn on its own and open, revealing… “Oh, no,” Silver muttered. Her mother walked out of the bathroom, clad in a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. She normally only wore that when she was heading out for work. “Silver, you’re home,” Ebony Wings sniffed the air a couple of times. “Is that… blood I smell on you?” Silver Rose cringed. “Umm… yes?” “Where?” Ebony demanded. Silver complied and began slowly rolling down the sock on her right leg. Past the knee, the white of the bandage and dressing could clearly be seen. “Did someone do that to you?” Ebony narrowed her eyes. “The truth. Now.” “More of an accident during PE class. Me and another girl ran into each other.” “Ran into each other?” Silver’s mother looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How did you manage that? I taught you to be careful of your surroundings, Silver.” “Well, more of like she ran into me. But I got off lightly. Sunny Flare sprained her ankle, I think,” Silver explained. “So now that I’m home, we can heal this, right?” “This Sunny Flare girl again… Your aunt mentioned her. She dares to harm my daughter…” Then she sighed and patted Silver on the shoulder. “Are you okay? Did it hurt?” “No, not really,” Silver shrugged. “I was kind of hoping we could heal it now, actually.” Ebony Wings sighed and reached into her pocket, coming out with a vial of greenish liquid. Silver Rose entered the bathroom and sat atop the toilet bowl, sticking her leg out for her mother as Ebony unstoppered the vial. “It was wise of you not to heal in school, Silver,” Ebony said as she peeled away her daughter’s dressing. “Your classmates might’ve freaked out, or worse, think you’re a monster.” “Yeah, I figured that.” The cut was nearly two inches long, and Ebony wasted no time in dribbling a bit of the vial’s contents over the injury. The cut began to steam and smoke, the flesh healing over and leaving a single black line where the wound had been. “There, much better,” Ebony stood up and kept her vial. “Now, mother’s got to go for another shoot. We’re doing motion capture for the upcoming Manslayer’s Doctrine video game.” “You’re working on a video game?” Silver asked her mother. She thought she only acted in blockbuster movies. “I didn’t know you did that, mother. Maybe I should start playing video games so I can see you in them. Do you think I could get a Neighstation or something?” “I think that would cut into your schedule even more,” Ebony said flatly, holding up a hand to stifle any protests. “I’ll think about it. Don’t forget to re-dye the area where you were injured.” “Thanks, mother,” the young changeling gave her mother a hug. A game console would certainly add some entertainment to her life, especially if she could play as her mother. “Well, go knock their socks off.” “I most certainly will,” Ebony smirked. “I don’t think I’ll be home for dinner tonight, so make sure you’re nice to your aunt.” “I’m always nice to Aunt Psithyra. She’s amazing! It’s a wonder why you two split up so long ago.” A look of annoyance crossed Ebony Wings’ face. “Yes, well, back then we had a disagreement. However it’s all in the past now, so there’s no need to bring it up again.” “Yes, mother.” Silver felt like she was always saying that, and it was probably because it was true. “Oh, by the way. See about inquiring into the fencing team tomorrow. Your aunt says they meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” “Of course, mother.” “Well then, I’m off. See you later, darling.” “Bye, mother. I can’t wait to see you on screen!” Silver Rose waved as her mother began down the staircase. “That went better than expected,” she said as she skipped towards her room. “And I might even be able to get a Neighstation! Not bad. Not bad indeed.” “Open the door wider,” Sunny Flare complained. “I can’t get through like that.” “My bad,” Indigo Zap replied and pushed it open more. Sunny Flare grumbled to herself as she slowly made her way into the cafe using her crutches, heading for a table that Sugarcoat had already picked out, which was one of those with a semi-circle couch around a round table. The other Shadowbolts filed in first, allowing Sunny to sit on the outside. She placed her crutches by the side of their seat and sat down with a sigh, stretching her sprained leg out under the table. “This stinks…” she rested her elbows on the table. “How am I supposed to train for the Friendship Games now?” “How long did the nurse say you’d need those?” Indigo asked. “At least two weeks,” she groaned and placed her head in her arms. “That’s two weeks of no exercise. Two weeks of getting around slowly. Ugh…” “How did you manage to sprain your ankle anyway?” Sugarcoat said, taking her eyes off the textbook she had been studying. “It’s not like you were jumping hurdles.” “I crashed into Silver Rose and lost my balance…” Sunny slightly masked the truth. “She did, I was there,” Sour Sweet nodded in agreement. “Though it was your fault, Sunny. If you hadn’t tried to knock her down, you wouldn’t be in this mess.” “Hey!” “Hey, I tell it like it is,” Sour said sweetly. “So you tried to injure her and you were the one injured in the end?” Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Man, that was so cool when Silver Rose jumped right over us!” Lemon Zest hit the table like it was a drum. “It was because of that that Sunny wanted to take her down.” “Stop with all the details!” Sunny hissed to her friends. “You’re making me sound bad.” “She-she jumped over you?” Indigo leaned forward. “For real?” Lemon nodded excitedly. “Yup right over us, legs and all! She was like a professional gymnast!” “She must’ve been one wherever she was before coming here,” Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses and went back to her book. A waitress came over and took their orders, quickly returning with their drinks on a tray in a short amount of time. Sour Sweet had also gotten a slice of chocolate cake to go with her orange juice. “So you tried to injure her? Silver Rose?” Indigo asked the mulberry haired girl. “Why? She’s the daughter of Ebony Wings.” “I know who her mother is, Indigo,” Sunny growled. “As to why I did it, I wanted to wipe that smile off her face. I wanted to teach her a lesson.” “Looks like you’ve learnt the lesson yourself,” Sugarcoat looked at her and sipped loudly from her strawberry milkshake. “Oh, shut it, Sugarcoat. I’m not the only one who got hurt.” “Silver Rose was hurt too? Oh, the poor thing,” Sour Sweet put her hands on her face. “Too bad for her.” “I didn’t see her on crutches,” Indigo recalled as she drank from her can of soda. “Mustn’t have been bad.” “I don’t know what’s more humiliating, the fact that she only got away with a scratch on her leg, or that she carried me to the nurse’s office,” Sunny grumbled, taking a sip of her tea to calm herself down. “No thanks to you girls.” “Hey, we were going to help you after we finished our mile,” Lemon Zest told her. “Yeah, but you had already gone when we got back,” Sour Sweet added, taking a bite from her cake. Sunny sank down in her seat, taking a disgruntled gulp of tea as she did so. “Sometimes I don’t know why I’m friends with you.” “You would’ve done the same for us,” Sugarcoat flipped the page on her book. “But Silver Rose helped you? Even after everything you’ve done to her?” “Yeah, what’s up with that?” Lemon asked, taking off her headphones. “I mean, I knew she was nice, but to help you? Wow. She must be really nice.” “Either that or she’s trying to get something from us,” Sour Sweet gobbled down the last of her slice of cake. “But I don’t think so. She’s not so bad.” “I doubt she’s just being nice for the sake of it…” Sunny rubbed her chin. “You might be on to something, Sour Sweet.” “Just leave her alone, Sunny,” Sugarcoat creased her eyebrows. “She’s not out to get you. You’re just being paranoid.” “No, I’m not!” Sunny sat up straighter. “You weren’t there when she decided to show off. She leapt over us on purpose!” “So what?” Indigo asked. “We all show off. What do you want to do about that?” “What I want to do?”  a smirk formed across Sunny’s mouth. “I want to get back at her, that’s what. We just need to think of something so humiliating that she’ll know her place in this school.” “This is turning into an obsession,” Sugarcoat said bluntly. “Why are you so fascinated by this girl anyway?” “I-I…” Sunny looked like her face was going to explode. “I want her to know she belongs below us! I want to embarrass her in front of everyone! She hurt me, Sugarcoat! And I’m going to get her back. Are you girls with me or not?” “I don’t know…” Lemon Zest fidgeted with her headphones. “Silver’s not really done anything to deserve this.” “Yeah, I don’t think we should, Sunny,” Indigo supported the lime haired girl. “You’ve never been like this before.” Sunny wanted to pull her hair out in frustration, but she realized that would make things worse for herself. “Can I count on any of you for anything?!” “You can count on me, Sunny,” Sour Sweet smiled, but quickly folded her arms and looked away. “Silver Rose deserves some ridicule!” “Sugarcoat?” Sunny looked to her bespectacled friend. “What about you? Where do you stand? Are you with me or are you with them?” She pointed a finger towards Indigo and Lemon Zest. “Mmhn,” Sugarcoat said noncommittally. “I’m going to sit on the sidelines for this one. I can’t say I approve of Silver Rose showing up the Shadowbolts, but I think you’re taking this a bit too personally, Sunny.” “Well… What if I am? Does it matter?” “Yes, it does.” Sugarcoat pushed her glasses up and stared at Sunny. “We all represent the Shadowbolts of Crystal Prep. That means that our actions, for better or for worse, represent this school. If you allow yourself to be caught up in some petty revenge scheme, how will that reflect on the rest of us? How will it reflect on the school altogether? I doubt Principal Cinch is going to be happy if she finds out.” “Then she’s not going to find out, will she?” Sunny looked at the other Shadowbolts. “As long as none of you open your mouths, we have nothing to worry about.” None of the other Shadowbolts spoke up. “That’s what I thought,” Sunny twiddled her fingers. “And it’s not like I can do anything now anyway, with my foot like this.” “On the bright side, it’ll give you a lot of time to think it over!” Lemon Zest smiled and drank her soda. “Maybe you’ll change your mind?” “Ha. I doubt it.”