//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 - The Start of Trouble // Story: Servant of the Queen // by A bag of plums //------------------------------// Silver Rose packed her things as the bell signaled the end of her final class of the day. After everything that happened during PE class, Silver felt like the other students, mainly the guys, had been looking at her more than usual. It could’ve just been her imagination after such an embarrassing moment, but it it could’ve not as well. “Tough day?” “Hmm?” Silver looked up from her thoughts. It was Sound Wave. “Oh, just thinking is all.” “Okay, good to know.” The blonde haired boy pushed his file into his bag. “You just looked like there was something worrying you. I mean, I heard what happened at the field. Are you okay?” Silver smiled and waved a hand. “Y-Yeah, don’t worry about it. It was just a little accident… It’s Sour Sweet you should be worried about. She hit her head.” “Yeah, I heard. Slight concussion. Not fun.” Sound Wave hauled his bag over his shoulder. “Well, I’m off to meet Lemon Zest for some tunes.” “Oh? She’s not hanging out with the other Shadowbolts today?” Silver asked. “Yeah, something happened between them lately. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s not groovy, I’ll tell you, especially not when the Friendship Games are coming up.” “Right…” If the Shadowbolts were like that right now, then her plan against Sunny Flare was actually working. “They’ll need to be in top shape for that.” “Mhm.” The boy waved goodbye as he headed out of the classroom. Silver Rose looked out the window as she slung her backpack on. Just wait, Sunny Flare. Your time is coming. The young changeling first made a stop at her locker to put her books back. As soon as she opened it, a piece of paper fell out, but she quickly caught it before it could hit the floor. “What’s this?” She unfolded the paper and read it. “When you pull down your shorts again, make sure to give us a good view…” Silver’s cheeks blushed red as she crumpled the paper and tossed it deep in her locker. “Who wrote this?! Ugh… When I find out who did it…heads will roll.” “Something happening, Silver Rose?” She recognized the voice as Jet Set’s. True enough, there he was, standing beside her, adjusting his glasses. “Just people saying silly stuff…” she sighed. “Don’t worry about it. Where’s Upper Crust? You two haven’t been apart since that day.” “We haven’t?” Jet Set scratched at his cheek. “Well, you might be right, Silver Rose. She just went to use the restroom. We’re, umm, going on another date today.” “Oh, that’s great!” Silver sniffed the air, getting a good taste of Jet Set’s love for his girlfriend. That’s very good. “It certainly is,” the grey haired boy smiled. “And it’s all thanks to you.” “Don’t mention it,” Silver told him and grabbed her English textbook from her locker. “You two are cute together.” “We are, are we?” Jet Set looked proud. “Hey, Jet.” Upper Crust arrived, putting an arm around Jet Set’s before planting a kiss on his cheek. “Hey, Silver Rose. You ready to go, Jet?” “Definitely.” The boy nodded to Silver. “Then we shall be off. We’ll see you around, Silver Rose.” “Yup, see you.” Silver breathed in deeply the scent of love from the two students as she shut her locker. So far, she had been unable to determine any other sources of love in school, but for her to find one, she would actually have to look hard, seeing as her sense of smell wasn’t as strong as her mother’s or aunt’s. Jet Set had been easy, because he had outright told Silver about his feelings. No one else in Crystal Prep seems to be in love. Well, maybe except for being in love with success… Silver Rose found her aunt waiting outside in the car, along with a crowd of students as usual. They never did seem to get used to seeing Ebony Wings’ family. “Hey, Silver Rose,” one of the guys said as she passed them to get to the car. “Before you go, why don’t you give your skirt a little lift, huh? I’m sure you don’t mind now, right?” Silver’s face turned red as the students shared a laugh amongst themselves, but as she opened the car door, her aunt winded down a window and stuck her head out. “Hey, you.” She focused her eyes on the boy who spoke. “Don’t you ever talk to my niece like that again.” Something in Ivory’s voice must’ve spooked him, because he and a bunch of the other students took a few steps back, their laughter falling silent. Silver closed the door and crouched a little lower than the window, hiding her face, which now had a smile on it. That’ll teach you to mess with me. “Thanks Aunt Ivory,” Silver said as she buckled in. “No problem, dear.” Ivory steered the car away from Crystal Prep Academy. “That was rude of him. What was all that about? Are you being bullied by that Sunny Flare girl again?” “I wouldn’t say that…” Silver pushed her backpack onto the empty seat next to her and fetched a bottle of water from the minibar. “Just an unfortunate accident is all.” “An unfortunate accident?” Ivory sniffed. “You don’t seem convinced, Silver. What really happened?” “Well…” She went on to tell her aunt about her shorts being pulled down in front of the class, Sour Sweet hitting her head and the teasing she’d received because of it. “They shouldn’t.” Ivory’s fingers gripped tighter on the steering wheel. “Are you alright, dear?” “I’m fine, Aunt Ivory. They’re just annoying, not hurtful.” “Good to hear, my favorite niece,” Ivory smiled. “When we get home, I’ll give you a big hug. How does that sound?” “Sounds great, Aunt Ivory.” When the car arrived back at the Wings Estate, Ivory got out and let Silver Platter bring it to the garage while she led Silver back indoors, but not after picking her up in a rib-squeezing hug. “Ah, Silver, you’re home,” Ebony Wings greeted when they entered the first floor living room. She was lounging on a couch, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and the remote in her hand. “I’m free today, so why don’t we do some marksmanship lessons?” “Oh, yes, mother.” Silver was given time to put her stuff down in her room before she went out behind the house to where the shooting range was. The area was a long grassy land with two walls at the end, one at knee height, the other double its size. Targets of all sizes and shapes sat atop the two walls, ready for Silver Rose. “Hmm. We’ll start with pistols today,” Ebony said, unlocking the gun storage shed and rummaging through its contents. Finding two sleek black pistols, she handed one to her daughter, who spun it around her finger expertly. Next, Ebony Wings handed out magazines, which the two loaded into their guns. “Oh, almost forgot,” Ebony re-entered the shed and pulled out two pairs of earplugs. “Can’t go about being deafened like that.” Waiting until both of them had their earplugs securely fastening in their ears, Ebony then stepped up to the firing line, took aim with her pistol, and fired off two shots at the closest target. Two holes appeared in the target’s head, flapping slightly from the impact. Pressing a button on the side of the gallery’s wall, a fresh set of targets popped up, at the very far back of the range. Ebony began to strafe from side to side, shooting in between steps. Each bullet hit its mark in the head of the targets. Only when her gun clicked empty did she stop pacing, and stepped back to reset the targets. “All right, Silver. Now it’s your turn. Remember…” “Sight along your arm, take a deep breath and squeeze, don’t pull, the trigger,” Silver recited back perfectly. “Exactly.” Silver lifted her pistol and aimed, pointing to the first target from the left. She breathed in and when she felt she was ready, she squeezed the trigger. The bullet blasted out of her gun with a deafening boom, even with her earplugs on, whizzing through the air and hitting the target in the chest. “Almost there, Silver,” Ebony said. “Remember to account for distance and wind.” “Do we really need to aim for the head all the time, mother?” she decided to ask as she took aim again. “I mean, if I really ever have to shoot someone, a chest shot would still kill them, right?” “You can never be too sure,” Ebony said airily. “And some people wear armor over their bodies, like your aunt and myself. A headshot bypasses both those problems.” “Oh, okay.” Silver fired again, hitting the target in the shoulder this time. She tried again, hitting the target in the bottom left of its head. “Umm, does that count, mother?” Ebony tilted her head, eyeing the target. “It’ll do. Aim a little higher next time.” “Yes, mother.” Silver Rose tried a few more shots while moving, emptying her magazine into the row of targets. Only one bullet had missed completely, which she deemed an improvement. Though, mastering the headshots was still something she really had to work on. “Not bad, Silver.” Ebony eyed her pistol’s smoking tip. “I suppose if your enemy doesn’t have armor, you’ll be able to handle yourself.” “I’m sorry, mother.” Silver looked down at her feet. She inhaled and smelt her mother’s disappointment. “I tried my best.” “Mmhm. Let’s try something else.” Retrieving the pistol from her daughter, Ebony Wings returned them to the shed and came back with two rifles. “Now, these might feel a little big, but I thought you might want to try something heavier.” Silver grasped the rifle in her hands, lifting it a few times to see how heavy it was. It wasn’t too bad, but it was a huge difference from the tiny pistol she had before. Ebony Wings put the weapon’s butt to her shoulder and pulled back the bolt, then clicked it back in place. “Just watch and see, Silver. You should be able to aim better with this one, but just watch the recoil. Now watch and copy me.” Then she fired, the shot crackling across the air as the bullet ignited out of the rifle’s barrel, hitting a target on the second row between the eyes. Ebony Wings suddenly did a combat roll and fired low, hitting the target in front of it in the head as well. Then the one of the left, and the next one, and the next one. Silver didn’t see any reason for her mother to roll like that, but she couldn’t deny that Ebony Wings was a really good shot. Her mother pulled back the bolt after the last shot, ejecting the empty casing. “There, like that, Silver. You try.” Ebony stepped aside and rested her rifle against the grass, letting Silver take center stage. The young changeling took a deep breath and held it, aiming for the first row. A rifle had more power than a pistol, so Silver adjusted the barrel height accordingly, squeezing the trigger when she felt ready. This time, she hit the target close to the center of its head. Smiling with surprise and excitement, Silver pulled back the bolt and expelled her used shell, firing another shot at the same target. She hit it in the head again, though a little to the left this time. “Good improvement, Silver.” Her mother nodded her approval. Silver breathed in and smiled. It tasted nice. “Keep it up and maybe you’ll be a world class shooter, just like your mother.” “You’re a world class shooter?” Silver pointed the barrel down. “I mean, I’ve never gone for a competition,” Ebony said. “But I know if I do, I’ll be the best.” Silver smiled at her mother’s confidence. She was always so sure about herself, even when she wasn’t good at it, like cooking. Sometimes her aunt just had to chase her mother away from the kitchen before she could cook up something odd. “Come on, Silver,” Ebony said, gently pushing the girl forward. “Go again. Show me what you can do.” Silver Rose and her mother continued shooting targets until the sun began to go down, then headed back in to get ready for dinner.