Chapter 4-The meeting of Bradley
It was like the size of an average living room times 50. There were chalkboards along the left wall and white boards along the right. As the rest of the bungalow palace, every other inch of the walls were either wooden or covered in leaves. There were several, wooden cabinets at the back of the gigantic room. I wondered what they needed them for? Maybe storing bodies...what if they did use them for that? No that’s ridiculous, they wouldn’t. I pushed the thought into the back of my head. I didn’t feel like dwelling on it right now. I looked around the room again, taking in the view.
There were a few rows of books on each side of the room, near the cupboards. There were a few desks here and there, a few couches spread around the room. “It’s the study room. Everyone comes here for peace and quiet and to work on their stuff.” Leah whispered so softly I was surprised I even heard her. I looked around at the few people in the room. There were a few slim woman sitting on one of the couches. Each with a red book in their right hand, with their left, skinny legs crossed over their right. As Leah and I walked past they all put their books down at the same time and greeted us with “Hello, what a pleasant day it is.” It was freaky how much these red haired girls looked alike. “Those are the Kollens. Make sure to stay well away from them,” Leah whispered carefully making sure the women had gone back to their books.
“Why? Are they dangerous?” I asked with a bit of panic showing on my face. “No, not really. They are just realllllllllllllllllllly annoying,” stated Leah. “And freaky. Do they do everything in unison?” I leaned forward, waiting for an answer to my question. “Yeah, pretty much. They are quadruplets, so they are all related,” she answered.
I looked around at the men walking around the room. They were all pretty ordinary, except one. He had beautiful, brown hair that spiked up into every direction. His tanned skin contrasted well with his white shirt decorated with trees. His dark wash jeans wrinkled with every step. I couldn't help but notice that I was staring. I quickly looked away. When I looked back he was heading right for us. Oh no, did he notice me? I looked at Leah who was smiling like a cheshire cat. “BRADLEY!” she yelled, running for the cute guy I had just been staring at. “Shhh,” hushed the four girls at the exact same time. They creeped me out doing everything in unison, so I decided to focus on Leah.
She was hugging the guy, almost choking him to death. He coughed softly and she let go. “I heard you galloped into a tree yesterday. Is that true?” She teased, still smiling from ear to ear. “Who told you?” He asked in a frustrated and curious tone. “Oh, it’s everywhere, everyone knows about it. Even her ma-” I interrupted her by coughing slightly and looking at her expectantly. “I mean even Alexa knows,” she continued obviously understanding what I was telling her.
“An honour to meet you, your majesty,” exclaimed the man Leah had called Bradley. He put out his tanned, long fingered hand. I reached out, a little scared about what he was going to do. He just bowed down and gave it a small peck. I hoped he couldn’t see how much I was blushing. I was determined to change the subject before my face was a complete tomato. “Oh please, just call me Alexa,” I quickly stammered slightly relieved, slightly disappointed when he realised my hand. “I am Bradley and I see you have already met Leah,” he started. “It will be an honour having you stay here with us,” he continued eyes sparkling with joy.
“Wait, Wait, Wait,” I interrupted shaking my hands furiously. “First of all where the hell am I? What’s with the tree house theme? Is it true you can turn yourself into a firey bird? And did you really come to my rescue? And what the hell did that mad man want with me?” I blurted it all out in a mess. His face turned from a small smile into a confused expression. He placed his warm hands on my arms, effectively shushing me. “Calm down. I will answer all your questions as soon as possible. But firstly maybe we should move to my office,” he replied in a relaxing tone. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Bradley let go of me and started to walk towards the door. I followed closely behind him. Behind me Leah walked quickly trying to catch up with us. I was glad she was coming. At least there would be friendly and kind of familiar face there.
I was never one to be really afraid. Even when my primary threatened to expel me for skipping school. But now, now I was terrified. What if they make me stay here? What if they make me stay in a prison like they did with that Blazon guy? We walked down another 2 corridors before coming to a halt in front of a wooden door with the words general carved into the wood. Bradley reached forward and turned the golden knob to the right.
The door swung open, revealing a very relaxing setting. There was a dark green couch against the wall to the right and computer on a white desk on the left. In front of us stood a wooden table. Around it were 5 chairs.
Bradley went in first, slumping himself into one of the chairs, followed by Leah who sat across from him. I went and sat down next to Leah until something caught my eye. It was a golden eagle hovering just outside the window. I cocked my head to the side and it copied. Leah coughed softly and the bird grew out of it’s daze and flew off. I sat down silently in the chair next to Leahs. “Now, we can talk more freely,” Bradley stated looking at Leah. She stood up making an awful screech with her chair. “Does anyone fancy any tea?” she asked. “Yes please,” Bradley and I said in unison. She held back a laugh and exited the room quietly, making sure to close the door.
“So, what were those questions you were asking? Let’s take them one at a time shall we?” Bradley asked. I wish Leah would’ve stayed here. I was in a room with a complete stranger, about to ask him about every little detail that had happened in the past days. “Umm...Where am I?” I started off with. “You are in the city of Tropia. Home of all that is good in the forest.” He answered in a very enthusiastic tone.
“Ok. Why is everyone calling my, majesty?” I continued “Because you are our long lost queen, sent to us from the heavens. You are to guide us into battle against the Dreakens,” he replied. When was Leah going to come back? This is so confusing. He must of read my expression because he said “It is an old prophecy told by the elders of Tropia. And the Dreakens hold everything that wants to rot and kill the forest. They wish to wipe us and the humans out completely and take control of the world.”
“I see by look on your face we are going to have to take this slowly,” he stated.
“Yes, please,” I replied with so much confusion I was wondering if I would explode.
“A long time ago there was a queen, Queen Krasny. She was fair, just and a brilliant ruler. Everyone loved her, the people, the birds, the mice, the trees, everyone but our arch nemesis’ leader, Rozklad.” A look of grief and sadness appeared on his face but he continued anyway. “Rozklad is in charge of the Dreakens. There goal in life is to kill every thing good on this Earth and turn it into their own rot infested land. A place where they can roam free, without the fear of being killed or turned into Tropians by the humans. One night, without warning Queen Krasny died...of a...heart attack.” I could tell that this is not how she died but I could she by the look on his face that now was not the time to ask.
“So...uh...,” I staggered for words. Not only was I shocked from what I was hearing, but I also didn’t know how to comfort him at the moment. At that very moment there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Bradley yelled with an-oh-so-cheery voice. Leah came in with a tray of biscuits, a white teapot and 3 mugs. She set the tray down on the table in front of us. “Any sugars?” she asked completely oblivious of what we had just been talking about. “No thank you,” Bradley and I answered at the exact same time. Leah bursted out laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.
“Are you ok?” We both ask in unison. Seriously this was starting to annoy me. Although, to Leah, it was like a comedian was throwing jokes at her. “Play along, we have to get her to the nurse,” Bradley whispered. I nodded my head in agreement. “Hey Leah.” He started. “Let’s go for a walk,” he said while walking towards her and wrapping his arms under hers.
He gestured for me to do the same on the other side. “Where to?” Leah asked with a massive grin, stilling laughing like a lunatic. “Oh just to the garden for a walk,” he answered. What was he doing? But he asked to play along so I guess I will do exactly that. “Yeah. Just to smell the flowers,” I added. “That sounds fun!” she exclaimed.
We pretty much dragged her. Me just a smidge behind Bradley, cause let’s be honest, I had no idea where we were going. All I knew was we were going to the nurse.
We turned another corner and the wooden door had the word HOSPITAL carved across it. We pushed it open. “Where are we going? This isn’t the garden,” Leah stated still not using her own feet.
“SHE’S BEEN POISONED! PLEASE HELP US!” Bradley shouts. What?! Poisoned? When on Earth was he planning on telling me that?
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A/N I hope you guys are enjoying this.
What do you think. Should Leah live or die?
I already know what I am going to do but I would love to see what you guys think thank you!