The Wanderers

Chapter 3- Katy

"I've finished ma'am." Timothy said as politely as she could. She slowly removed the blind fold so that the lady could see her reflection in the mirror.

"Oh! This is simply wonderful! I love it!" The lady cried patting her hair. "My dear you're so talented. Now how much did that cost?" Mrs. Rider was a plump little jolly woman who had taken pity on Timothy and decided to get a haircut. She was wearing a little hat, a pink shirt and cream capris that suited her personality a lot. She also had a cute little poodle sitting in her big purse, occasionally yipping and frolicking around happily. I wasn't a fan of poodles but I couldn't help adoring this one.

"7$" Timothy replied.

"Only! Why you deserve more than that sweetheart! And she tucked a little 10$ bill into Timmys pant pocket and merrily skipped out.

"Okay guys next customer!" Timmy yelled.

Over breakfast we had decided that we could start a little business here in the parlor itself. I and Josh would run into town inviting customers over. It would take a while but we'd decided that it was worth it. Right now we were out to get our 6th customer.

I was about to rush out the door when Josh stopped me. "Hold on! Wait! Venus is now closed!"

"What?!" I and Timmy cried at the same time

"Well you guys can continue with your work but I'm going ... WE'VE GOT 30$ BABY!!" Josh cried.

                                                                                         . . .

I plopped into the seat next to Josh. I heaved a sigh of relief. We had successfully boarded our ferry, "The Cursed Clover" and no had recognized me. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have the twins come along. I smiled to myself. That reminded me- "Hey Josh you said you'd tell me about... about your parents." I managed. His usual cheerful expression turned grim. "But hey man... its totally up to you. I'm not going to push it." I added

"No, we trust you. I'll tell you." Josh replied.

Just then an announcement interrupted us- "I'm sorry for this interruption. This is your captain speaking. We will have to delay the departure of the ferries. Governor Belatrice wants the boats checked for her daughter, Timber McCracken. If you notice her kindly report to the attendants on deck. Thank you."

I felt like I couldn't breathe. I was hyperventilating. Timothy held my hand and tried to assure me that everything was alright. That I was still in my disguise .Her voice was anything but calm. The fear and worry was clear on her face. I didn't know what to do . I was panicking but I felt paralyzed like I couldn't move. I was frozen. My heart rate increased like crazy and I could hear each beat loudly, full of fear. Just then the hunters boarded our ferry, followed by none other than my step mom herself. A wave of nausea came over me. I gasped. This couldn't be happening. My luck couldn't be that bad. As crazy scenarios formed in my head I did the right thing. I got up and ran to bathroom. Honestly hearing that announcement had been bad enough, but actually seeing Belatrice oh... I'd almost wet my pants.

But walking into the bathroom had been the biggest mistake of my life. I entered the bathroom, panting and sweating. Exhausted from the run, I leaned against the wall only to find my hand stuck to a piece of gum on the wall. I went straight to the sink and tried to get the gum of. Splashing and flailing, water flew and landed right on the head of a teen girl. "Oh I'm so sorry!" I shrieked.

"No no. You won't get away that easily. Bring it on sista!" and then I found myself smack in the middle of a water fight. Water splashed onto my face. I being the idiot I was, rubbed it not realizing I still had heavy makeup on. I quickly ran into a stall and locked the door. I heard loud footsteps entering the bathroom. A low female voice echoed through it. "Stop your lollygagging all of ya. These are orders from Queen Belatrice herself. I want all the ladies out of their stalls for inspection."

I internally screamed. What if the hunter recognized me? Wait a minute... Queen Belatrice? Since when was that lady a queen!? I opened the door hesitantly and walked out, trying not to raise suspicion. Other women emerged from their stalls. I tried to imitate their expressions, extremely confused and concerned. But then I realized everyone was staring at me. Oh no. This was it. I was about to surrender when I realized that teen girl who had been in water fight was giggling. Giggling at me. That didn't make sense. Even the lady hunter looked like she was suppressing a smile. "You got a little something there." The huntress said gesturing to my face.

I turned and looked into the mirror. Holy crud ... my makeup. My lipstick was smeared across my cheeks and the mascara, eyeliner and kohl had smudged everywhere and I had dark circles under my eyes. I turned as red as a tomato, smiled sheepishly and slowly washed my face. Though I would've loved to keep my messed up makeup on for precaution, it would look odd that I wasn't washing it off and I'd only attract more attention. Gods that was the last thing I needed. But I had to be careful as well. If I washed it off completely before the hunter left I would've been caught. As I rubbed off the lipstick I quickly revised my intro in my mind - I was Ashley Kole, 18. I was travelling to Sector 2 to meet my aunt, Johanna Kole. Yes that seemed alright. Meanwhile the huntress glared at all the women, randomly barking questions at them. Then she nodded and left the bathroom. I wanted to cry out in joy but I controlled it and quickly washed off the rest of the makeup. I could only rely on the wig to conceal me now.

It's just you and me wig, you and me, I thought to myself. Yes I was totally psychotic. Here I was stuck in a bathroom, talking to a wig. Man I needed to get a life. I headed out to find Timothy and Josh but they had left their seats, probably looking for me. I had nothing to do so I went looking for them. This was another thing that topped "The biggest mistakes of my life" list.

I found them in a narrow corridor near the back of the ferry. They were both screaming at me for getting them so worried when a too annoyingly familiar voice echoed from somewhere near by.

" Did you find her yet?" Belatrice asked in a raspy voice.

"No... but we will ma'am... I mean Queen." a hunter replied. Belatrice sneered. Josh quickly shoved me and Timmy into a closet. I coughed softly. The amount of dust here was terrible. It was probably a storage room. But I should've been grateful for it. I needed to hide from Belatrice. If anyone could recognize me, it was her. I held my breath as the two voices passed.

"Well you better find her fast Williams. I don't want her up to any mischief. Anyways I'll be on my way back. Cheerio!" The voices became faint and faraway. Only then did I exhale. We waited there for a few minutes in silence, thinking about what had just happened, how close we were to being caught. I reached for the door handle but before I could even touch it swung open and smacked me on the head. Dazed, I fell down. Worst of all, as I fell my wig came loose and fell off. I could see two men, no... one, I was still dizzy. The man was wearing a uniform, a hunter uniform. I gasped. Timothy was frozen in shock. Josh ran by my side and was shaking my shoulder. The man tilted his head and looked at me. His eyes widened as realization struck him. He smiled a cold, evil smile and took out his handcuffs. He slowly advanced toward me. Josh charged at him, but the hunter simply flicked him away as if he was a puny insect. Josh smashed into a wall. Timothy yelped. But then a second figure appeared behind him- a girl in a red flowery dress, long blonde hair, big emerald eyes and perfectly done makeup. She punched the hunter on the head and kicked him in the groin. He collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. My mind was still registering all this when she smiled at me, a cute girly smile with adorable dimples. I was still on the floor and my head ached. Was I hallucinating? It didn't feel like it. She acted like nothing at all had happened and kicking big burly men's buttocks? Oh that was a usual thing. Then she extended her hand to help me up. She smiled again only this time she said, " You don't remember me, Timber. Do you? Anyways I'm Katy."