Witches (The Order)Revised

Chapter 18

Merianna

I groaned in the middle of a mound of fluffy pillows as a bright beam of light came streaking over my eyes. I rolled over onto my stomach and buried my face deeper into the pillows to escape from the lethal glare. My eyes felt like they were glued shut. My body felt tired and heavy. I didn't want to get up. I was too comfortable for that.

The sound of small shuffling footsteps across the bedroom's floor had my ears perking up though. Grumbling some more, I turned my head to the left to look to the door's side. Peeling my eyelids back reluctantly, I spied big inhumanly green eyes right in fornt of my face, staring disapprovingly back at me.

I found myself looking at the smaller humanoid face of Dorris. The resident Brownie that declared the Order her territory and home ever since Fog had erected the old place back in his much younger years. It was said that Brownies always either tended to a treasured home, or a family. If the treasured home burned down, they would stay to tend even the ashes of the house. If the treasured family moved, the Borwnie would follow them to the ends of the earth.

Her skin was a light shade of brown with only a few small wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, she had small pointed ears that stuck out from the sides of her face, and her flaming red hair fanned over her face in thick waves that slightly trailed behind her wherever she prattled to. Her dress today looked comfortable and resembled the colors of leaves in the fall. It suited her well.

Dorris didn't mind witches establishing the Order as their living space, and also didn't mind tending to everyone's rooms and post-party messes. In fact, when Nelia and I arrived at the Order and it was clear that Fog, Noch, Ara and the other members had taken us under their wings, Dorris had taken it upon herself to be our second mother in a sense.

She would dote on us when we got sick, patch up any minor scratches that we might have gotten while playing outside, kept track with our birth dates and left small gifts for us under our pillows.

But sometimes, like now, her button nose would be scrunched up in disapproval and her short Fae ears would almost be sticking out like horns on a demon whenever she was displeased with something we did. Right now, I could somewhat figure out what it was that she was displeased with.

I smiled hesitantly at her face that barely cleared the top of my mattress. "Good morning, Dorris." My throat scratched out.

"Young girl, it is far passed noon. More than long enough time for you to get out of bed." She glared at me with her big eyes.

"Sorry Dorris, yesterday was a long day." I grumbled as I sat up in bed. My white blonde hair felt like a bird had decided to scratch about up there and create a nest of what was available.

Dorris made a disgusted noise. "You went to bed early! The sun was still up! And now you are still in bed while the sun is up again! Shoe! Time to get up! Nelia should have dragged you out already when she woke up herself. You slept too much as is. It's not healthy. Now get! I'm behind time, I still need to clean the kitchens too!" Dorris jumped up onto the bed and pulled a wooden spoon out from who knows where and proceeded to whack my bottom with it.

"Ouch! I'm going, I'm going! Calm down Dorris!" I pleaded as she chased me off of my bed and into the bathroom.

"Go! Bath! Get clean! Get dressed! Get downstairs! Tell your sister I'll be smacking her too for letting you sleep so late!" She threatened as she kept attacking the back and sides of my shins all the way into the bathroom, making me dance to her whacking tune.

As soon as I was completely in the bathroom the door slammed closed behind me. I grumbled under my breath until I turned away from the door and looked to the stone and marble bathtub that sat on the side with steam rising from its depths. I smiled to myself.