“Finish your homework then we can all go out and talk,” Daisy said, grinning when Eagalia’s eyes widened and she instantly went back to her packet.
“Have your sisters always been this nice?” Lollipop asked when I passed her bed to go get some extra blankets from our shared closet. I hummed lightly before slowly shaking my head and jerking it towards them.
“No. For a while they were less than kind. They never really liked me until they became the Galaxy Girls,” I said lowly before pausing in thought. They had been jerks for a while before eventually beginning to treat me like a normal human being. I sometimes wondered what made them change, but most of the time I didn’t really think about it. Shaking my head, I grabbed some of the thicker blankets before looking around and grinning when I found a good place to make camp.
I tossed them to the ground and began to set up while the others spoke in the background, grinning wider when I finished. “Did you make these cookies Bulb?” I heard. I looked up then back at Tulip, who beamed at me, before nodding and laughing when Daisy grabbed a cookie from the container.
“These taste amazing!” Daisy said happily. I smiled at her widely before turning back to the awkward mass of blankets and beginning to rearrange them better. When I finished making my nest, I settled down on it and watched as they began to casually talk. While I was tempted to join in, I kept to myself and leaned back against a wall, yawning tiredly. I began to feel myself drifting off to sleep and relaxed back, hoping that I wouldn’t have any nightmares.
I don’t think I slept for long, but when I opened my eyes I found Silver above me, a gentle smile on her face. “Silver?” I said groggily, frowning when she pulled me up a bit.
“Hey. Tulip and Daisy went with the other to get dinner. I volunteered to wake you up when they were getting close to being back,” she said with a smile. The door opened and I blinked blurrily a few time before rubbing at my eyes to focus. Leatre was holding a tray of food in one of her extra hands and beamed when she looked at me.
“Hello Rosie! Did you sleep well?” she asked, walking over and passing me the tray before she moved back and took a seat on her bed.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, beginning to eat while the others took seats as well. The others began to talk again and I ate slowly, trying to keep awake. I was about to join in when a knock came from the door and I quickly stood. “I got it!” I called, heading over and opening it before looking up at a large woman. It was like looking through time, the woman looking like an older version of Gypsy. She was smoothing a hand over her red uniform jacket and fixing her black slacks while her black tail swished behind her. One of her wolf ears was torn slightly and she had deep golden eyes, which looked down at me when she deemed herself presentable. They widened and a bright smile appeared on her face, instantly reminding me of my teammate. “Hello,” I said in confusion.
“Ghourru,” the woman said, nodding her head to me before looking over my head and grinning wider. “Gypsy!” the woman cried before gently lifting me and moving me to the side before heading into the room.
“Burghour?” Gypsy said in confusion, shuffling over and curiously looked up at the woman.
“Ghourru cvououraou!” the woman said brightly before hugging Gypsy, who hugged her back with confusion on her face.
“Vghur urou you duadk ghourou?” Gypsy said, the language slipping out roughly from her mouth. I awkwardly shuffled off to the side then watched with wide eyes as the woman looked to the others then turned to me and her eyes widened.
“A dadd’r rouuraoou rghou Rroou Duvakurur vuc ghourou,” the woman said with a smile before bowing slightly at the waist. “I apologize for not speaking in your native tongue sooner,” she suddenly said, slowly moving up before extending her hand. Her voice was thick and accented and I grabbed her offered limb, shaking it after a moment.
“It’s alright,” I said with a shrug before moving back as she looked down at me for a moment. She finally turned to Gypsy and laughed, pointing at me after a moment.
“Yuo’vou cqoudr burgoud,” she said with a grin. Daisy and Tulip suddenly burst out laughing while Gypsy colored and looked to them with a glare.
“Du. A ghuvoud’r!” she said loudly before glaring at Daisy and Tulip, who were laughing harder. “Cghor or!” she snapped before glaring at the woman, who laughed.
“Durghadk ru gou ouburuccoud ugouor!” the woman said with a laugh before grinning at me. “I am Gypsy’s mother, Alpha Ruler of the Tamed and of the Red Waves,
Esmeralda ,” she said before looking back at Gypsy. She grinned at her and Gypsy scowled before pouting slightly and crossing her arms over her chest.
“Not to be rude, but why are you here?” Gypsy asked before growling at my sisters, who seemed to be attempting to calm down. They took one look at Gypsy then burst out laughing again, causing her ears to flick back and flatten against her skull.
“Alright guys calm down,” I said, hoping to keep Gypsy from being too upset. Tulip and Daisy giggled a bit before calming and giving me a wide smile each.
“Sorry Bulb,” they said in unison. I rolled my eyes at them before looking to Esmeralda, who was now speaking lowly to Gypsy. Worry instantly appeared on Gypsy’s features and she shifted in place before making a growling sound. They spoke for only a moment longer before Gypsy’s mother straightened out and looked to me.
“I don’t want you to worry, but fair warning. The Elysians and Fleet are spooked about something, something just outside of the universe that seems to be moving closer. All council members were advised to tell their children, but I think you should know True Neutral Navigator Jones,” she said. Gypsy looked to her mother then me in worry before shuffling over and shifting in place. I frowned deeply and looked away, thinking about what it could be.
“Did the Elysians and Fleet people speak about what it could be?” I asked. Esmeralda looked to me blankly before slowly nodding a bit and looking around.
“I shouldn’t tell you, but I’ve noticed that the headmaster seems to be trying to coddle you,” she said before frowning deeply. “Given your status as the true neutral and an Ubouku, I would too, but you seem to be tougher than he and we give you credit for,” she said with a crooked smile.
“Ubouku?” I said in confusion. She waved off my confused look before fixing her uniform jacket and looking down at me with a serious look in her eyes.
“He used to be referred to as the Chaos,” she said in a hushed voice. I felt slightly ill and looked down before looking at her again.
“The super crazy chaotic Navigator? Hector?” I said softly. Her ears flicked back and she nodded before rubbing her hands together.
“They think he’s trying to return from banishment. He heard of you, an Aurese by the name of Horace was tortured into telling him about you,” she said lowly.
“Mother. We shouldn’t be talking about this,” Gypsy said.
“Then when? She said that the headmaster is coddling Rosie,” Lollipop said from my side. I looked to Lollipop and found she was glaring at Esmeralda with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Your medic has a point ror,” Esmeralda said before looking into my eyes. “I was a ror myself when the other Navigators were still alive….” She said trailing off before shivering and looking back at me. “He is the true personification of evil, child,” she said with a scowl on her face. I frowned deeper before nodding slowly.
“Thank you for telling me. I need to go talk to someone,” I said before lifting a hand when Esmeralda opened her mouth. “It’s not Headmaster Rockefeller,” I said before nodding to everyone. They all frowned at me, but I slipped from the room and quickly headed down the hall to the only person who was going to tell me everything without mincing words. Henny.
Chapter 15
Dull Eyed Dolls
“I don’t think we should talk about this Rosie,” Henny said lightly as I sat at her side and fiddled with my pants leg.
“The headmaster isn’t going to tell me and this Navigato
r concerns me,” I said weakly. Henny let out a whine before sighing and groaning after a second.
“Fine. I’ll tell you more about Hector,” she said sourly. I settled back in my seat and watched as the lights in the room dimmed and a hologram appeared. The man was thin, his body sickly looking, but his eyes were black as night and a demented smile was stretched across his face. His hair was wild around his head and he was dressed in rags. “This is Hector Gomez when he was banished,” she said before the image changed and another person appeared.
This new person was dressed in the combat uniform, but the armor looked different and the person’s VISOR was red. His hair was short and he was clean shaven. He was muscular and he was frowning harshly forward. “This is Hector before he went missing for two years,” she said. I examined the floating image for a short while before leaning back in my seat and looking to my lap.
“I heard from somewhere that he’s been seen around the edge of the galaxy,” I said. Henny whined then went silent before the holographic image disappeared.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this but…..he’s not on the edge of the galaxy. Not anymore. You have to understand that your appearance has caused a huge stir. Boarders were abandoned so people could see what and who you were…..he slipped through,” she said in worry. I felt my breathing hitch a bit before I nervously rubbed my now sweaty hands on my pants leg.
“So he’s been in the universe for some unknown amount of time?” I said aloud.
“Yes. Several species have reported him lurking around their planets, but it’s been so long since he’s been seen that no one really knew who he was. It was only when a former member of Headmaster Rockefeller’s team was attacked did we realize he was now back,” she said. I frowned deeply before leaning forward and resting my head on my hands.
“So he’s been here for a few months,” I said slowly before shaking my head. “Why come back?” I said lowly.
“He wants to kill you,” I heard. I jumped and looked back, swallowing when I found the headmaster standing in the doorway with two mugs in his hands. “Come to my desk and sit so we can talk about this,” he said. I quickly headed over and took one of the mugs when he held it out to me. We took our seats and he took a sip from his mug before pulling off his VISOR and frowning. “You should have come to me about this Rosie,” he said with a frown on his face. In lieu of answering, I took a drink from my mug and he took the moment to speak again. “You don’t need the stress of worrying about Hector,” he said in a scolding like tone.
“Sir he’s a seriously dangerous man and I just wanted to be prepared,” I said. He shook his head before giving me a gentle smile.
“Please don’t worry yourself over this Rosie. Hector would have to be insane to ever try to attack you here or at all,” the headmaster said before drinking from his mug again.
“He is crazy though headmaster. He was the reason the former Neutral died,” I said. Headmaster Rockefeller stopped drinking from his mug before looking up at me and we sat for a moment, gazing one another down until I looked away.
“I saw Brenda die Rosie. I know how dangerous he is. You’re safe,” he said. I looked back to him and found he was fixing his VISOR on his face and frowning. “Don’t think about him. Christmas is coming soon and I wanted to give you an early present,” he said with a small smile beginning to spread across his face. I frowned in confusion before looking back when the door to the room opened. Madam Matron walked in and nodded to us before looking down at me and smiling.
“I have someone who wants to see you,” she said before moving to the side and looking to the door. It opened further and someone tall walked in. It took a moment, but I realized who it was when the person pushed their long red hair out of their green eyes.
“Rusty!” I cried, jumping out of my seat and running over, hugging him tightly and laughing happily.
“Hey Rose Mary!” Rusty said, hugging me back and spinning with me. I laughed harder before grinning up at him when he set me down. He has changed! He was muscular now and was wearing some kind of private school looking uniform! His glasses were smaller and he was giving me a wide smile.
“You look great!” I said, moving back and looking him over. He laughed and ran a hand through his hair before pulling it out of his face.
“Thanks! You do too!” he said with a wide smile. I grinned up at him before blinking when he pulled me into a tight hug again. I laughed a bit and hugged him back before relaxing again in his embrace. I missed him so much. We slowly pulled away from one another before beaming at one another and looking to Headmaster Rockefeller.
“Thank you,” I said with a large smile before grabbing Rusty’s hand and pulling him out of the room. Rusty laughed and I mirrored it as I led us down the hall and towards the stairs that led down. While I wasn’t going to let go of the fact that there was a mad man on the loose that was looking to kill me, I also wanted to feel a little normal for once. “How have you been?” I asked as we slowed and fell into step. Rusty pulled out a hair tie and pulled his hair into a small ponytail before shrugging.
“Mom and dad thought I wasn’t doing much with myself when you left and sent me to that really rich academy in the next town over,” he said. I frowned in confusion before remembering which one it was.
“St Helens?” I said before wincing when he nodded. I had heard horror stories about it.
“I got beat up for a while before I started to work out and now no one really messes with me,” he said with a shrug before looking at me. “Enough about me! How are you? Everyone in town talks about you now,” he said with a smile. I frowned before shrugging and shoving my hands into my pockets.
“What do they say?” I asked curiously. Rusty made a face before waving his hand and giving me a grin.
“A lot of girls are jealous you’re so popular and some of the boys regret not asking you out,” he said with a laugh. I made a face before shaking my head and leading him from the offices building and towards the dorms.
“How’s Jacques?” I asked. I was curious about the asshole.
“He got into some bad trouble with the Psycho Cyborgs,” Rusty said before frowning deeply and rubbing his right arm. I frowned up at him, but he shook his head and laughed weakly. “Sorry. He pulled me into his trouble and we finally got it sorted out a few weeks ago. How’s school? Is it interesting?” he asked. I shrugged and rubbed at my arm as we walked into the dorms and towards the elevator.
“Not really. I have a really advanced math class. I also am learning fencing,” I said with a grin as we climbed into the elevator. When the elevator touched down on my floor we exited it and headed down the hall. We got to the door quickly and I opened it, blinking when we found the twins were laughing along with Gypsy’s mother. Gypsy was growling and glaring at her mother while Lollipop and Eagalia spoke to one another behind her. Leatre and Silver were in the middle of pretending to sing and I just shook my head. “This is my team,” I said before walking in. I heard Rusty mumble something about cute girls, but ignored him and walked over to my nest. “So how long are you staying?” I asked to him, sitting and watching as he took a seat as well.
“Just until January. School doesn’t start up for me for a short while,” he said lowly. I noticed Gypsy was looking to me, but she was frowning.
“Hi Rosie….” she said, trailing off as her eyes landed on Rusty and her frown deepened. I heard my sisters begin to calm before one of them gasped and rushed over.
“Rusty?!” she cried, pulling him to his feet and causing him to yelp.
“Hi Daisy…..Tulip?” he said in confusion. She laughed before hugging him while Gypsy shuffled over and took Rusty’s vacant seat. She leaned into me and looked down at me curiously.
“Where did you go?” she asked curiously.
“I went to talk to talk to someone about Hector,” I said lowly before looking up and watching as Esmeralda stood and stretched.
“I will be taking my leave. If you need to speak to me pup I will
be staying at the Forest Hotel in town,” Esmeralda said before walking over and opening her arms. Gypsy shot up and hugged her, nuzzling her face into her neck. Esmeralda smiled softly before kissing her forehead and nuzzling her back.
They pulled away from one another before Esmeralda moved over and pulled me up then into a hug. I stiffened slightly in shock while Gypsy colored and my siblings giggled. “Keep my child safe,” she whispered before pulling away and fixing herself. I nodded and she gave me a grin before nodding to everyone else and heading out.
Shortly after she left, Rusty was instantly besieged by the twins, both of them commenting on how he had changed. Silver and the others looked to him awkwardly before looking to me and I waved to them. “He’s harmless,” I said while Rusty yawned and took a seat. The others began to talk and I yawned as well since it was well after lights out.
“It’s pretty late and we should all get some sleep,” he said softly. Gypsy’s head snapped towards him and she walked over, glaring down her nose at him.
“Are you staying here?” she asked slowly. The others paused and looked to him as well and he shifted in place before nodding.
“The headmaster said it was alright,” he said before looking away from her. Gypsy’s eyes narrowed so I quickly cut in to keep her from getting too protective.
“Hey it’s alright. My dad and mom were alright with us sharing a room,” I said. She looked to me with a deeper frown before she grumbled and took a seat at my other side. She grumbled a little louder and butted her head against mine slightly and I snickered. She butted her head against mine again and I laughed slightly before turning and shoving her a bit. “Stop!” I said before looking to Rusty when he tugged on my shirt. He raised an eyebrow and I returned the look while he rolled his eyes.
“So where do I sleep?” he asked. I hummed in thought before shrugging and patting the ground.
Starstream Academy (The Navigators Book 1) Page 12
