First Strikes Disaster

by Tatiyana Perkins

  Rose backed away, wondering if she'd ever be able to tell what her aunt was really feeling.

  "Should we go in?" asked Kris, frightening her.

  “How did you-?”

  “Came back down.”

  Lena's face gave a look that said that she had tried to stop him.

  "How about we go get something else to eat?" Rose suggested.

  Rose wasn't really hungry, but it was the only way to distract them. Lena gave her a face that said plainly that she wasn't fooled.

  Together all three of them walked towards the kitchen, but a noise inside the dining room made them stop and inspect, as it was the sound of laughter. Not just anyone's laughter. Vister was seated at the table, and two couples seemed to be eating with him, all dressed as if they were going to a ball. The men were raising their glasses and the women were clutching on to the men's arms. Soft music was playing as Vister raised a glass, said something, and everyone screeched. Lena tried to pull Rose away but she was too fast. "Hello," she said.

  "Rose, love, why are you here this time of night?" His voice held a trace of concern under all the drunkness. She cringed; she was not his “love.”

  "I'm waiting for Ana."

  "Well, if we weren't drinking I'd tell you to join us. Your aunt has a habit of being dreadfully busy."

  The couple smirked as if they might laugh at that, but he gave them a warning look that said “don't.” Rose walked past them to where the snacks lay and picked up a cookie, never losing eye contact. Vister watched her, shrugged, and then continued.

  "So then I said that his plan had to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard and we'd never get into the entrance that way."

  "Whose?" Rose asked.

  "You wouldn't know him."

  "Did he believe you?" asked one of the women. She could belong to a beauty pageant: pretty but altogether too perfect. The way she leaned made it obvious that she liked Vister, but if her boyfriend saw, he was oblivious.

  "Not as much as he should have."

  "Who was he?"

  "Gordon, a knight or something like that."

  Daniel and Vister are BOTH constantly reliving the past,​she thought. One gloating and boastful, the other tired and sad. Rose couldn't explain why this made her feel so much anger towards him, but part of her felt like saying something hostile.

  "He couldn't have been that slow."

  "Trust me, they were all naive back then. Even precious little A-" he stopped and looked at her.

  Ana. He was going to say Ana.​Screw them and their precious wine​Rose thought. She focused on freezing the drink in his cup till it made it explode but something stopped her. A thin layer of ice formed at the top but the rest, she noticed, had thick traces of stuff that wasn't liquid.

  “Vister, put that down," she said with half a mind to let him drink it. "What?" he asked.

  "There's something in it. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think its been poisoned.”

  It was true. Daniel taught her how to sense it, as poison had this thick feel and it did not dissolve the way it should.

  "How can you tell?” Vister said like a child.

  "Let me see," she said as she took it.

  She tried to freeze the liquid in the bottle and it froze just fine. Strange. "Whose cup is this?"

  "Ana's.

  "Just hers?"

  "Yes." Realization hit him. "What are you saying? That someone is trying to kill her?"

  Rose examined the cup, refusing to answer his question. Vister stumbled over to her and made the wine bottle fall with a crash.

  "Sorry about that." He moved back and knocked over a candle that made a loud cling and sprouted burst of laughter that made him glare.

  "What was that?" asked Ana, appearing in a doorway standing as pretty as a flower, everyone turned. Her voice sounded so calm and quiet it scared them "is everything alright?”

  “No," Rose admitted.

  "What's wrong?" she came in the room.

  No one else stepped up to speak, so Rose announced, "Someone tried to poison you." she poured the contents into a nearby flower pot. "Here, take this cup."

  Lena took it first. "Wait," she said, and then, "it's the same consistency as what's on my knife."

  Ana took both objects in her hands and sniffed. "This wasn't here before.”

  "Well, it came from your kitchens," announced Vister. “Call up the guards. It's going to be a fun night.”

  "Impossible; ask the head maid."

  "She's asleep," said Kris.

  "She won't know," responded Vister, acting like he was talking to a child. "You say that as if she keeps track of exactly who pours what drink. I say we have them all questioned and tried.”

  “For your information the poison was built into here. I believe this particular cup was just sent to me as a gift recently, and if she has a record of orders she's accepted, I'd like to know. And she does keep track of who pours what drink, or else why do you think she's the head."

  "So someone go wake the old bird then, and let's get on with this," he said.

  Ana glared at him, grabbed Rose's arm, and led her away to the kitchen while the other kids followed.

  "Get new cups," she ordered, "and check all the old dishes; mine has been tampered with.”

  Rose was happy to see there was a night shift so the day shift wasn't overworked. Aylea was probably somewhere fast asleep. Someone must have heard what happened and told Ms. Grace, for she came down wearing a bonnet and yawning. When Ana told her what was going on, she said, “Well, maybe it is a great thing these kids were out of bed. I'm sorry. The person who knows where the record books lives isn't here, but I promise you you'll have new fresh dishes before the sun is up. It's a beautiful thing you hadn't drunk from it, my lady.”

  Ana smiled. "Thank you. Rosalie and Lena, go to sleep. Kris, you too, make sure Kana is in her bed."

  Rose nodded, though she was not going to bed, and she told Lena, after Ana left, who made no argument and retired thinking. Rose waited till she heard the new shipment arrive, when one of the boys quickly jumped up, saying, "I found something. Mercy me, I think they tried again." Rose snuck it out of his hand before he could get the next words out. On the bottom, the cup said​Erin’s.

  She knew where the place was, so hastily she went upstairs to make it look as if she were finally resting. At five o'clock in the morning, Rose got up from pretending to be asleep. She put on jeans and a light red shirt and, after making sure Lena was out like a light, climbed down the window and out towards the garden. From there she would take the long road to the plaza. It had never been far, but she still made sure to walk, especially quick; night creatures came to peek at her and she waved in return; their creepiness gave her an idea. She walked up to a black eyed child and asked, "Can you come with me? I need a favor." The little girl followed her mischievously, for she just knew Rose was up to no good. Rose sat down behind a big tree, when she saw the plaza and waited.

  Finally, the lights to the shops began to turn on. A man unlocked and opened the door, walked inside of Erin's and then came back out to set up a tray of beautiful plates. Rose turned to the dark-eyed child and said, "Keep everyone away from here for me, please." Then she slowly walked down and grabbed a plate on her way in. (Erin was shining forks.)

  He had tan skin and pretty curly hair. Up his body were strong muscles and tattoos that would have been any girl's dream. Each was intricately designed, though the highlight were the two biggest ones. On his arm, the most noticeable one, was a woman standing in the middle of a ballroom; she was about to twirl in a beautiful bedazzled dress. The back had a flower dripping blood, that a woman in a chariot was reaching out for. The two faces looked similar but different, like one was the older version of the other. Rose was so transfixed that she made a small noise when she shifted her weight and Erin asked, "Do you need any help?”

  She didn't know what to do, so immediately she froze him in his spot from the knees down and urged, "This won't be long,
I promise.”

  Erin's eyes grew wide, and he struggled and cursed, then yelled, "What are you talking about?"

  "Soon people from the government will come and grab you and question you. Before they do, I just need to know one thing. Were you apart of taking Daniel and do you know anything about it?”

  "I have no idea why you think I'm in that--------- In fact I do, because of who I am, but I'm telling you now it wasn't me. Do they really send kids to come after me now?”

  Rose ignored the part about kids. So he knew what she was talking about, he didn't have to ask. "Really, then explain this" and with that Rose picked up the cup "poison.” "Anyone could have done that."

  Rose held her breath, waiting for him to say the obvious; he didn't, so she continued. "This is the cup from this morning?"

  "The what?"

  "The cup you sent to the queen this morning, with your signature, that was poisoned,” she said.

  "I didn't send you anything. How could I if my store just opened, and why the hell would I put my name on it?"

  She smiled and then quickly stopped."Look, I feel like you're innocent, but you have to give me more than that to prove it. The people that are coming to take you won't let you. You'll go down for that they did; I can vouch for you, but only if you let me. You can do whatever you need to prove I'm not lying if you don't believe me." She didn't entirely believe he didn't do it; nevertheless, the little bit of doubt she had was enough.

  Erin was shocked. "I believe you, but let me get this straight: you're helping? Why did you freeze me then?"

  "Special effect and just in case. Now, you said you're a criminal; what did you do?" “Can you unfreeze me?"

  "Not yet."

  He gave her a thoughtful glance. "I guess most of my past isn't a secret anyway. I beat someone badly as in an inch before death.”

  Rose remained silent the way Daniel did with her when he wanted her to tell the truth.

  "I also stole things from humans for money, and I hung out with David's gang. But I wasn't in it, I just hung out. When they went down, I went down with them, because I was scared to admit I was in association when they first questioned me, so I lied. There was also the beating, but it was self defense.”

  Now this was useful. David's gang used to help humans win wars in exchange for lands and titles. They would start huge fires and storms, sink cities. They were discovered after they made a volcano erupt in pompeii and were ruthless before Daniel cracked down on them. There was your motive - Vister could easily make this look like a revenge attack.

  “It's good that you're being honest with me; did they let you tell your side on the beating?”

  “No. In fact, because I lied the first time, they never listened to me again.” He looked down almost shamefully.

  “What else should I know?” The more he spoke, the more Rose felt a desire to help him.

  “I started and built this shop with my own two hands. It's the only thing I have, and so I can’t lose it.”

  “I can't promise to keep it protected, but I'll try.”

  He thought for a minute. “Give me that cup here, that you have in your hand,” he said, “and the second one on the shelf behind you.”

  Rose handed him both warily. “What is it?”

  “They're exactly the same; no two cups of mine are ever the same.”

  Rose pondered over if she should believe him until, the words made her think back to a memory from a long time ago, a memory she had almost forgotten of the first time she met her aunt.

  It was true she had been young, probably around five, when she would make her mother and father take her to almost every chocolate place in the city, and she was no older than six when they had a big family dinner.

  "I'm going to get more chocolate," she had said to the table, "it's my favorite," and her parents smiled lovingly.

  As she packed her plate, Ana crept over to her, younger, almost innocent, and said, "Rose, dear, don't get that.”

  Rose had put down her plate, baffled. “But why? I love them?"

  "I know you love them; however, you can't let the people here know that." "Why can't I?" she had asked, confused.

  “Do you like mysteries?"

  "Of course," she said brightly.

  "It's like a mystery game. Never let anyone see you do the same thing twice, if you do they'll know exactly what to look for," and with that she smiled and left while little Rose stood perplexed. Look for what?

  Ana would have believed him, she decided; Ana would know that what he said was true.

  Rose asked for a list of suspicious people who had been in the store the past week. When she was done, she unfroze him and left the store.

  "You can stop now," she said to the black eyed child who was still behind the tree. At first she thought of going home, but Lena would only question her, so she turned towards the big school instead and traveled by light.

  "You're late," said the guard at the door. She nodded and walked in, genuinely shocked. How long had she been there? Everyone, even the animals seemed to be in classes, busy working. It was strange to see the school so quiet, as if someone would crash land into the ground at any moment. She hesitated, but she knew the guard was probably still watching, so she walked around the corner to where Mr. Clark's room stood. Nobody noticed her outside the door. That is... except for Lorenzo.

  "Hi," he said as Rose backed away from Mr Clark's window. He had stepped through the crack in the door so easily and quietly, like he was air. She worried that someone might see her, but the students were all studying; no one looked up, not even Lena, who probably had a thousand questions. The weight of the book Lena gave her was felt in her book bag. "Hi," she said back, though temptation had begun to kick in. Now would be the perfect time to look people up while the names were still fresh in her memory. If she waited she might forget. She stepped back again and asked, "Is there somewhere private I can go?"

  "Yes, but-" Lorenzo looked at her and shook his head. "You shouldn't be going there as you should be in class.”

  "I have something to do,” she insisted.

  "Work is something to do, miss,” he said stubbornly.

  “But it's important.”

  "Yes, but.... Oh, come on, come with me.”

  Rose pet him behind his ears. Lorenzo must have been kept around because of his polite personality, since he was too easily swayed. He led her down the hallway, which was dangerously close to her other teachers. Even then there seemed to be no one to detect her.​Is this some big test?​Whatever it was allowed Rose to think freely to herself. Would Vister really pick Erin up? Is that action alone enough proof for me to say that he’s trying to kill Ana?

  Lorenzo had almost gotten her successfully away, and Rose began opening her bag till a person called, "Rose, why aren't you in class?"

  Rose turned to see Mr. Barker carrying a huge stack of books, his brown hair carrying new streaks of red. Despite his freely demeanor, he did not look as if he would leave without an answer; not when it came to a student so known.

  "I was late.”

  "So you didn't try to go to class?" It was more a question than an accusation. "No, I... the door was locked, and Mr. Clark wouldn't let me in."

  "That's unusual."

  "I can go back and-"

  "No, that would cause a disturbance, better with me than wondering the halls.”

  Rose sighed as he sat the books outside of a classroom, on the floor and then walked with him, defeated. They would go to his room, she knew, and she wouldn't be able to take the book out there.

  "You know you're a really good student," he said after a pause. “I don't think you notice it, but you're one of the best in your class.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I feel as if counselor work will come easy for you.”

  "I don't want to be the counselor.”

  "Well, all the same, it's a very proud thing to see. People were scared that your aunt and uncle would be the last of their kind."


  In a way they were right. As she grew older, she didn't know what she wanted to be; maybe a musician but definitely not a fighter.

  “Did you teach them?” she asked.

  “No, not that old, but I met them. Your aunt will always be one of the most fearless people I've ever met; no one can even hold a flame to her when it comes to battle."

  “You knew Daniel too?”

  “We grew up together. He talked a lot about you after you were given to him; you were his pride and joy.”

  Rose beamed at the words.

  When they made it to his room, they made a sharp turn, and Rose saw that they were going to the small closet at the end of the hall instead. Mr. Baker took out a metal star, which she quickly noticed was a collapsible key. He uncollapsed it and unlocked the door.

  “Help me carry a few things,” he said as he let her in.

  There were a lot of shelves of award winning books recommended by famous people

  including "​Old Myths. Was it a god or one of us?”​and "The brutal truth about natural selection​."

  All of them must have cost a fortune, as they were not cheap. Mr. Barker sat on the ground, looking through a pile. She felt tempted to look through them, as both books had made Daniel cry once. There were more things; gadgets and badges and even a few weapons, everything a history teacher would need.

  Close to where Ms. Barker sat, there was a box labeled “Ontari". Rosalie picked it up and, after making sure he wasn't looking, peeked inside. There were two books, titled “Unknown secrets of the Ontari family​” and “Will Max truly rest in peace​” while the rest were props and gadgets. Before he could see, she picked up the first two things she saw - a badge and a necklace - and stuffed them down her pocket. She waited till lunch to examine the objects.