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Chapter 5... the Little Inn |
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Chapter 5
Jenni sat around a small wooden table. She drank hot chocolate, along with Elena, Codey, and Oliver. Oliver would only take small sips at a time, still not used to the heat that came to his lips while he drank. Elena quietly drank her hot chocolate as she sat and stared at Jenni. Codey was looking at his drink and stirring it.
"I know all about each one of you, so there is no need for explanations about yourselves. But... I do need to give all of you an explanation," Jenni read the small amount of surprise on their faces, and gave a small smile.
"Here, I would be counted as an assassin. A surprise, no? But anyways, along with the information. Assassins are also called Time Masters. The reason is... is that we seem to know the most about time, and how it works. We aren't taught the things we know, we've just always known about them. But no more about me and my job for right now. Let's get on with who you," Jenni pointed to Elena, "really are."
Elena sat up straighter once she knew that it was really going to be her that was first. "Elena, you are something special, and someone of high importance. Not that everyone else isn't, it's just that without you, there wouldn’t be any army controlling the south border of Tearh. Tearh is just one of the many countries here, on a different planet than Earth. You are a Warrior Princess. Normally trained from birth, but in this case, you're not even trained!" Jenni tried to sound as positive as she could, but didn't do very well.
Codey just barely looked up from his previous entertainment and looked at Elena. Her face was wide with a fear that was as suppressed as the sound of an elephant herd on the run.
"You play chess, do you not?" Jenni's voice broke the silence. Elena just simply nodded and Jenni smirked a little. "That's what it's going to be like, only in real life. So play your game very carefully, and you will win. But be sure that you do not underestimate your opponent, for that has happened several times, and I have almost been killed because of it." She had been talking about the scars, which made to seem to confuse almost everyone.
"I've noticed that there seem to be copies of people here and on Earth," Codey stated as if it were the most normal thing to notice. Jenni gave a small nod.
"That is true, and that is why there are no other people that look like me left, because the one on Earth died only a few minutes after she and I switched places. And don't worry, I have the people that look like you at school at the moment. They may be a little lost, but otherwise, they're just like you," Jenni had her face resting on her hands. The streaks of color in her hair outlined her face, making her look like she was in a picture frame.
Jenni looked at Codey closely. "You don't even want to be here, and that's why I'm going to tell you, that you are a single wanderer. A minstrel, as your other self would say. I used to travel with him all the time, but barely remember anything besides that he looks a lot like you. You tell stories with your guitar, and I sing, or I play on my flute or piccolo often times," Jenni gave a small nod of approval to Codey's reaction.
Codey didn't even seem to flinch as he heard his background. "Oliver... you are last. Because, you work for Elena. You are her top thief. You give her the information other warriors are waiting for, and she usually gets it first, making you a target of almost everything." Jenni gave a small frown.
She clapped her hands and gave a small smile, "But no matter what, someone has to do it." Codey simply just nodded.
Jenni turned her head, her silver dangling earrings flashing in the candle light, and looked at the door.
A girl with brown hair dragged in John, who was half asleep. "I hope this is one of your many projects, Jenni, 'cause you can't be serious if he is just a completely finished project. But beyond that, I should get paid for doing this!" Her voice was stressed and annoyed as she dragged the completely soaked John up to the table. The girl with brown hair pulled off her black cloak. Surprisingly, she wasn't wet from the rain.
Jenni just gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry, he's still in progress... really near the beginning of progress," Jenni's voice was smooth and unconcerned. The brown haired girl pulled up a seat to the table as Jenni went to the back to get some dry blankets and clothes for John.
The brown haired girl's eyes were a chocolaty brown that were a darker brown around the edges of her eyes. Her shirt was block with white sleeves and red around the edges. She wore a black skirt and black shoes that were covered with mud. Her face was stern but once she relaxed, she looked as if there wasn't anything in the world that would make her work.
"Maria, don't worry," Jenni said as she started to take off John's shirt. Oliver made Jenni stop and frowned. "Okay, you can change him," Jenni whispered as she sat down with a sigh. The book bag that Jenni had was dangling off the back of her seat, and as she fiddled with it, she seemed to finally remember something.
Maria smirked, "It took you long enough." Jenni took out a long skirt that was a light green and a top that matched it. The top only had one shoulder and the back of it had a hole decorated with a silver material.
"I'm sorry... I almost forgot that you wanted me to go back to being a minstrel... I hate that, sort of...," Jenni stared down at the table. Maria shook her head as if Jenni were more trouble than she was worth. Which was true at most times.
"Come on, we need you to play your music. Plus, it's an easy way to teach everyone about Tearh," Maria pointed out. Maria had a leather bag with her. She handed Jenni a small wooden, hand made instrument. It was Jenni's piccolo that she usually used in performances.
"I'll be right back," Jenni said as she walked in to the back.
Oliver was struggling with getting John wrapped in the warm blankets and Maria laughed. "You could be helping me, instead of laughing," Oliver pointed out as he glared at Maria for a little bit.
"Oh, I'd rather not, seeing as the two of you are guys, and I'm a girl, and that wouldn't look right," Maria said. She usually thought like that, making everything sounding a little more different than most people even think. Oliver had a look of pure disgust on his face as he finished making sure that John was wrapped and warm.
Jenni came back, her skirt swishing around at her ankles as she walked. A boy who was traveling with some of his friends stared at the odd group of people. His hair was silver and fell in to his light blue eyes, causing to annoy him most of the time. He wore two different shirts. The one on top was a light blue, torn and shorter sleeved, and the one on the bottom was a royal purple and there was something sewn on the sleeve in a gold thread. His face was rough and his hands were worn from the days of working in the sun at the dock on the South Coast. His friends weren't as tan as he was, because they didn't work outside in the sun as much as he had. They were stuck inside cleaning different parts of the ships that sailed in, while he got to sit around and talk to anyone that wanted to talk.
"Okay, so... what do we have to explain!?" Jenni said as she plopped herself down in her seat, seeming to be over the normal cheery limit. Maria shrugged; she didn't care much of what was going to happen next, beyond the fact that it would just be easier for her.
Right now, Maria wasn't going to have to look for any strays, because John was probably scared beyond belief when he first saw her. Usually people were surprised when they first saw Maria, because they are on a new planet, about half the time, and they weren't expecting anyone to be so straightforward. Or as ready to kill them if they did something wrong.
Jenni looked up and gave a small smile. "There is nothing to explain. We've got to wait for the rain to pass over, and then we can get on with our trip. And teaching them everything they need to know," Jenni said, and she turned towards Elena, Codey, and Oliver, and frowned.
"Like not to fall asleep at some place they don't know, without being sure that there is someone on watch!" Jenni shouted in to Oliver's ear. She was clearly annoyed by the fact that no one was able to stay awake.
Oliver's head shot up and he fell out of his chair while he stumbled to his feet, trying to figure out who shouted. Maria and Jenni both laughed at Oliver. He didn’t look too pleased by the way he glared at Jenni.
"I enjoy making you suffer," Jenni laughed as she talked, making the words harder to interpret.
Oliver just laid his head down on his arms and stared at Maria. How'd she find John? Was his only thought as he watched her eyes light up when Jenni started to talk about how different it was on Earth, from here.
John moved a little as he started to wake up. But it wasn't long until he started to panic, because he couldn't get out of the cocoon of blankets. He glanced up at the table where he heard people talking. Jenni's skirt touched his nose as he slowly rolled over towards her chair.
Oliver was the first notice what John was doing, but didn't want to warn Maria or Jenni. They deserved to be surprised, for making him do the dirty work. At least it seemed a little dirty, in a way. Or hard. It really depended on how he looked at the work he had done.
"Hey, isn't that the boy that I dragged here?" Maria said as she pointed at John. Jenni just glanced down, as if it were the most natural thing to have a guy at her feet, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.
"Hn," Jenni grunted a little as she brought her full attention towards John. She just got out of her chair and slowly started to unwrap John from the blankets.
At the last blanket, Jenni grabbed the end closest to her, and tugged. John rolled on the floor and moaned in pain as he stopped. "I never said this wasn't going to be painless," Jenni said before John could protest.
"Yeah, but you could've said something," John muttered as he stood up. Jenni just gave him a small frown as she looked at him up and down. John now wore a pair of black jeans and a loose grey t-shirt.
Oliver just shook his head, knowing that John wasn't able to think thoroughly about things. John's never been able to do any long term commitment very easily. Or anything that takes a small amount of thinking process to figure it out. He's always looking for the trick to things. It's insane how long he'll sit there, just rereading a math problem, because there was no trick to it. Oliver thought as he watched John pull up a chair.
The chair scratched against the wood floor as John dragged it a small distance. Maria watched the dust that fell on to the candle, taking it as the lowest form of entertainment. John looked at Jenni after he had sat down, expecting her to say something.
"What?" Jenni finally asked. It had been two minutes of staring at Jenni, and John was getting tired of this.
A small frown slid across John's thin lips. He didn't like the way Jenni always wanted him to tell her what was wrong. He didn't like that she wouldn't tell him what was going on. He didn't like that completely oblivious and ignorant look on her face that was always there. She never paid attention to him, or anyone that she found unimportant or quiet.
"You know what," John replied, his tone serious.
"John, I'm not a mind reader. I read body language. That's it. And if you want to know what I can guess through your body language, then I'll tell you. And that your body language is annoyed. It is also showing you're curious about something, you may not know that you're curious about it, but down inside of you, there is curiosity," Jenni explained as she stared at his eyes.
John's frown became deeper as he stared at Jenni. She was annoying him.
"I enjoy making you work with people, John. You have problems with working with people like me. The kind of people that will test you throughout your life, and believe me, a lot of people are like that here," Jenni said, testing John's patience even more.
John just stared at Jenni, still wanting her to explain things.
"You also want me to say something, but I won't until you ask me," Jenni commanded. Her voice was stern and showed authority. She knew that she was going to make John crack from his shell of protection. I will get him to crack. It'll just take patience and a lot of poking around.
John's eyes dimmed and he looked down at the table. He felt as if she was infiltrating his own bubble, yet she didn't touch him or say anything about him.
Jenni took a slow sip of her hot chocolate. It was the last of her drink, and she sat it back on the table, with no intentions of getting a refill. Jenni glanced at Elena, sleeping so softly. To Jenni, though, it was pointless. She rarely got sleep, and rarely even needed it. Her body could be under complete stress, and nothing would show, except for laziness in work.
Within hours of sitting and staring, John fell asleep, along with Maria, while Jenni took the pleasure of being the guard.
A reason why Jenni never even wanted to sleep, was because of her nightmares. They seemed so realistic, and even when she tried to wake up, she couldn't. But to her, her entire life was a nightmare. Here, she was the only one in her family that was abandoned. She made her life almost surreal as she did her job, but never wanted to look back. Not even look back at people that had given her hope, because in the end, they gave her pain or betrayal.
 m.ikstar · Sun May 27, 2007 @ 01:30am · 0 Comments |
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