Tales of Elderbrooke

The Birthday Feast

When they reached the Academy, the girls seemed more excited than the boys but neither twin knew the reason behind the sudden shift in atmosphere. The female Sprites and Danes practically sprinted up the stairs to their dormitory while the males seemed reluctant to leave the landing. All Alice could focus on was whether or not her fox cub would be there waiting upon her return. She dearly hoped it would be on the bed waiting for her, but part of her understood if it had decided to go back to the forest. Bidding goodbye to her twin, she climbed the stairs and held her breath when opening the Vixen's door. The first thing she saw was plump orange Odesza asleep at the foot of Penelope's bed. Her eyes swept the room for any sign of the small furry creature she rescued but didn't see anything that resembled the reddish brown animal. Her spirits dropped, but she reminded herself this would be a very real possibility. Penelope entered shortly after eager for the next part of the plan, but as soon as she noticed Alice's solemn expression, she knew now wasn't the time for festivities.

"Is it not here?" She asked. Alice shook her head not able to meet her friend's eyes. "Well, that's okay. Maybe Headmistress Holloway found it and is keeping it safe until you can talk to her about it." Penelope tried to think of a reasonable excuse as to why the fox cub wouldn't be in the room aside from the sad idea that it left entirely. Trying to keep a tender tone, she still had to inform Alice of the next step on their birthday itinerary.

"Listen, I know this sucks right now, but we will figure it out later. I promise." She reached for Alice's hand to get her attention. With the kindest smile she could muster, Alice thanked her friend for the compassion. At the same time, Odesza had woken up and wandered up to Alice's free hand, nudging it affectionately. As soon as Alice's fingers brushed the cat's soft fur, her sad feelings disappeared second by second. Once the atmosphere had lightened and Alice seemed back to her more cheerful self, Penelope excitedly rushed to the only closet in the room. All the girls shared this closet for their cloaks, bulky overcoats, and apparently fancy dresses.

"No one revealed this to you guys, and honestly I'm proud of the little ones for keeping the secret this long, but we are going to have a formal dinner in the dining hall, and then we get to have a little dance after!" Penelope squealed. The dress she had pulled out was long and flowy with pieces that draped off looking like vines. The whole thing was covered in what appeared to be real leaves and flowers and when she wore it her human figure would nearly disappear becoming a unique piece of vegetation herself.

"Penny, that dress is beautiful!" Alice asked admiring the foliage that fit her friend's personality perfectly. "We're doing a dance? Like a real school dance? What kind of music do you even dance to here?" Penelope nodded excitedly and laid the dress out on her bed then went to hunt for shoes.

"Oh I don't know, I'm not in charge of the music tonight. Tobias is usually the music man. But we have two hours to get ready. I need to go help Dahlia with the Danes, you could maybe see if Pearl needs help with the Sprites? We'll all get ready back here in an hour or so," Penelope detailed.

"Wait, but I don't have a dress. And I didn't bring any of my formal wear from Baltimore either." Alice said faltering again in mood. The fanciest things she brought were her skirts and dresses for school but none of them compared to what Penelope just pulled out. This event seemed to be a big deal around here and she didn't want to look lackluster on her own birthday.

"Not to worry, you skip the Sprites and go hunt down Lady Josephine. She's bound to have something nice you can wear." Penelope responded with a smile. Pulling out a small but ornate pocket watch, she checked the time and gasped. "Oh boy, we're starting to run behind schedule. Go find Josephine then meet me back here at 6:00 sharp." With that, she bounded out of the room to the anxiously waiting girls next door. It was Alice's task to find Lady Josephine, but where would she be at a time like this? She never once thought about where the teachers went when the students weren't in class. A lot of free time was spent leading the younger students in activities, but even then the older students kept an eye on them a fair amount of time as well.