I Won't

The add in the news paper was for a live-in nanny. Lirio decided to try it out. She's about to find herself in the deep end of trouble and danger. This life isn't what she bargained for...

Lirio played with her black hair nervously as she knocked on the door. She only received an email two days ago. This family had hired her almost instantly and now she was going to be the new live-in nanny. Hell, she hadn't even seen what these people look like. All she knew was there were two kids who needed a nanny and a huge salary if she accepted the job.

A small girl answered the door. She was at least ten years old. Short, sandy hair, and haunting blue eyes. What caught Lirio's attention right away was the bright orange lock of hair that stood up at the front of her split bangs.

"Hello," The young girl smiled, "Are you my new nanny?"

"Yeah," Lirio knelt down to meet the girl's eyes, "My name is Lirio, Lirio Flores. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Any. My name is Any Caraway."

"Any, who are you talking to?" A voice came from behind Lirio. She almost jumped out of her skin.

"Who are you?" The young boy asked Lirio. She turned around to see a kid with dirt blonde hair and almost glowing green eyes. He was about thirteen. Like his sister, he had a single lock of hair that stood up against the others. It wasn't orange though, it was blue.

"I am Lirio," She smiled at him, "I'll be looking after you from now on."

The boy didn't smile, "Okay, follow me." he grabbed Lirio's hand and led her through the house.

Their home was huge on the inside compared to the small apartment like size of the outside walls.

"Listen, I don't expect you to last long because no one ever does," The boy sighed, "So don't go trying to get all close to me... OR my sister. She's a pretty big cry baby so when you do hit the road, she'll be crying for days."

"Stey!" Any furrowed her brows at her brother, "Don't be rude, she might not leave. and I'm not a cry baby!" She stomped her feet as they climbed the stairs.

"Whatever," Stey opened a door, "Here this is your room, for now anyways."

Across from them was a window inches away from the twin size bed. Next to the bed was a dresser and adjacent to the window was a closet.

"Thank you," Lirio dropped her purse on the bed, "Um, so where are your parents?"

Stey looked at Any who looked back at Stey, "Not here." They said in unison, "Our Dad had to leave for work early."

"And your mom?" Lirio asked.

"She's just gone." Any looked down at the floor.

"Oh," Lirio felt bad, "Did you guys eat yet?" Lirio changed to subject before she could say something she shouldn't.

Any and Stey sat at the dining room table. Lirio started cooking.

"So what do you guys want to eat, kiddos?"

"I want french toast!" Any smiled, "and cereal."

"Stey?" Lirio looked at him through the arched doorway that led to the dining room from the kitchen, "What would you like?"

Stey was silent then reluctantly he huffed, "biscuits with gravy and country potatoes."

She served them breakfast and sat at the table with them.

"What's your favorite color?" Any smiled as she ate.

"It's orange actually," Lirio pointed, "Kinda' like your hair."

Any blushed and smiled, "so since you're going to live here, can we have sleep overs and movie nights?"

"Sure," Lirio smiled back, "We can also go to the park and out to the beach. Whatever you want." She looked at Stey who sat silently, angrily eating his food.

"Is there anything you would like to do, Stey?"

He looked at her and almost said something. But he stopped remembering something, furrowed his brow, and kept eating.

The house was quiet for a while. Then Stey started to fight with Any. Lirio went into the living room.

"Knock it off, you two-" A crash interrupted her mid sentence, "Any, Stey!" She ran to the source of the noise, Lirio nearly died at the site a huge hole in the wall dead center of the living room. She watched stunned as Stey climbed out of the hole. He dusted himself off and leaped across the rubble. He lifted his hands and pushed. Any flew back as an invisible force thrust her through a wall.

"Oh my God," Lirio almost smiled, "These kids are telekinetic." She shook her head, "Hey!"

Stey looked at her, "What?"

"Quit fighting right now!"

"Why?" Stey stuck his tongue out at her.

"No! Don't be mean, dummy head!" Any rammed herself into her brother. The two tumbled onto the floor. They wrestled each other pinching and scratching. Lirio tried to pull them apart. She found herself tossed on the grass outside the house. She rose to her feet slowly.

"You little punk, that's an unfair advantage." She peeled Stey off his sister and sat him down on the couch, "Time Out!"

"Let me go!" He tried to force her off but she wrapped her arms around him and wouldn't budge.

"I said time out!" Lirio growled as she hugged tighter. Any looked at Lirio. Her eyes widened.

"Stey! Stey, she's bleeding! Her head! She's bleeding!"

Stey stopped struggling to look at Lirio. Her forehead was trickling blood. He blushed and pouted, "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. But this is none of your business so butt out!" He pushed her away. Any punched her brother as he flew at her. Stey broke the ceiling as he caught himself. Lirio wiped the blood off. How could she stop these two? They were destroying the house. She looked around what was left of the living room. All the tables and pictures were broken. The couch was missing half of the arm rest. The only thing that wasn't ruined was a tall blue lamp in the corner. Nothing useful. Lirio thought for a moment and looked for something else. next to the archway that led to the dining room was a staircase. Perfect. Quickly she climbed the staircase and waited. Any was slamming her brother every which way. He in return threw countless objects at her. Stey Kicked his sister in her gut, she folded over in reaction as he forced her face into the couch. He levitated into the air just under Lirio. She took a deep breath and jumped on his back.

"Get off of me!" He screamed, trying to shake her off.

"I won't!" She tightened her arm around his neck while digging her fist into his hair, "Now, quit it! I'm betting your dad won't be happy to see his house in ruins. So Settle down!"

Stey grew tired and obeyed, "Stupid old hag," He glared at her as she let him go.

"Sure kid, whatever you say." Lirio turned to Any who sat crying on the couch, "You alright, sweetie?"

"Yeah, but you aren't." her lip quivered, "You're still bleeding and you're going to leave us because we're freaks."

"Any," Lirio started, "I'm okay, really. I bleed all the time, this isn't something I can't handle."

"Really? " Any sniffled.

"Really, and I'm not going anywhere, if your dad doesn't fire me." Lirio made a face as she glanced at the living room.

"You're not going to leave?" Stey looked up at her.

"No, This old hag isn't going to leave. Unless you want me to?"

"No!" Stey jumped up, "No, don't leave us."

Lirio could tell this kid was hiding something. Was this some kind of test?

"Well then, Let's get this place all cleaned up then," She got to her feet and nearly past out.

"Oh no!" Any gasped, "She's lost too much blood! Brother, get the bandages!"

Lirio, blinked her eyes rapidly as she sat up on the couch. The living room- it was fixed. No hole in the walls, no collapsed ceiling.

"How did you two-"

"With magic!" Any stretched out her arms, "We're sort of like magicians but no illusions."

"Yeah," Stey brought her a cup of tea, "Stuff like this will happen ALL the time. Do you think you can put up with us? We can't really control ourselves too much and you could get hurt a lot."

"Seriously?" Lirio smiled, "I'm not here to put up with you, I'm here to take care of you and make sure you stay safe. So How could I leave you two alone by yourselves. You might kill each other." She tussled his hair, "Maybe I could even help you to practice your magic."

Stey turned to Any and smiled hopefully. He stuck his hand out, "Fine, I'll accept you as our nanny."

Lirio shook his hand. Stey's stomach growled.

"Are you hungry? But we just had breakfast."

"No," Any shook her head, "You were out for about six hours; it's lunch time"

"Six hours?!" Lirio took out her phone: it read 2:38, "Oh my gosh." She went to the kitchen and started lunch, "Do sandwiches sound any good?"

"Yes, please." They both said in unison. Lirio really didn't pay attention to the kitchen earlier, but now the kitchen looked beautiful. The countertops were marble and there was a little island counter in the center of the kitchen. All the appliances were jet back and the curtains were themed to match the colors of the marble. The windows even let in the scenery of the garden from the back yard.

Lirio sat with Stey and Any after lunch on the couch to watch movies.

"Let's watch Mulan!" Any pointed to the VHS.

"Not even! Let's watch Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!" Stey commanded the VHS to float.

"No, no, no," Lirio wagged her index finger, "You two have to see The Mighty Ducks. Then we'll watch both Mulan and Power Rangers."

By the time the last movie ended, Both Any and Stey were asleep. Lirio looked at her phone and it was only 9:30. It was dark, shadows had consumed the house. Lirio went and turned on a few lights.

"Wonder when your dad will be home." Lirio said to herself, "If he left before seven... that means he's been gone for like fifteen hours."

She picked up Stey and carried him to his room. Then she went back for Any.

"Lirio," She yawned.

"Yes, sweetie?" Lirio sat next to the little girl. Any yawned again and crawled into Lirio's lap.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were still here."

"A lot of nannies leave, huh?" Lirio stroked her hair.

"Twenty seven." Any hugged Lirio and buried her face into Lirio's chest.

"Twenty seven?"

"That's how many nannies have left me and brother." Any fell asleep in her arms. Lirio scooped her up and carried her to her room.

It was quiet again. Not wanting to fall asleep until she could meet the father, Lirio cleaned the kitchen and put away all the movies.

As her eyes fluttered and she started drifting in and out of consciousness, Lirio had awoken to the sound of the walls crashing inward.

Lirio stood to her feet. She could make out a silhouette of a man as he entered the through the hole he made.

"Where are the magician's children?" He looked at her.

"You could have used the front door," Lirio looked for something to defend herself, "And they aren't here. I hid them somewhere far away."

"You're lying." the man smiled. He vanished and appeared in front of her. He towered over her in height.As he came closer, Lirio could see the man more clearly. His face was long and slender. His eyes were swirled greenish blue but there was something menacing about them. Insanity? The man had to be about thirty years old.

"I know they're here. Now give them to me." His silver hair flew in and out of his face.

"NO!" Lirio tried not to shake.

The man looked down at her. With twist of his wrist he sent her flying into the wall, causing the stairs to collapse. Her body tensed up with pain.

"You can pretend all you'd like that you aren't scared. But I can see right through you." He laughed, "Those children are special. They can do incredible things... with the right motivation."

"Motivation you can provide, right?" Lirio forced herself to stand.

"Yes, I can." He slammed her again into the wall, "Now where have you hidden them?"

"none of your business." She spat.

"You are pretty helpless here. I could really hurt you- kill you even. Tell me where they are!"

"I won't!" her heart raced, she couldn't stand.

The man walked over to her, taking hold of her throat, "Why are you protecting them? He brushed her hair out of her face. She couldn't look at him as he stared intently at her.

"This is my job. And I am not getting fired on my first day either. So if you want those kids you're going to have to kill me."

Stey and Any came out of their rooms.

"Dad?" Stey looked at the man groggily, "You're making too much noise."

"Yeah, daddy," Any pouted, "You woke me up."

"I'm sorry kids," the man smiled, letting go of Lirio. She fell forward into his chest.

Lirio looked at Any, "This is your dad?" She wanted to ask but nothing came out. The man looked down at her and the menacing look was gone.

"I'm sorry miss. I had to make sure my kids would be in good hands while I'm away. My name is Prei, Any and Stey's father."

Lirio pushed away from him with what little was left of her strength.  

"You're hired, if you want the job."

Lirio stood shaking.

"Lirio?" Stey asked worried.

"DO you want the job?" Their father asked.

"Yeah," Lirio tried not to pass out, "I want the job. But use any magic on me ever again, so help me God..." She fell again into Prei's chest.

"Well miss Lirio, you got yourself a deal. Welcome to the Caraway house.

Author's Note

This is one short story that will spawn others. Whether you enjoy it or not thanks for reading! Give me the truth but please don't be rude (^.^)

Reviews

[Matthew-Ryan Willams]

This was good. As far as set ups go you did very well. Just work on your dialogue delivery and your transition sentences. The fight scene between brother and sister could use a bit more description in the way of emotions and the reason it started and maybe tone it down just a bit. even though they are magic users doing the actions that you described would still leave them severely injured. all in all I enjoyed it and I hope you continue to work upon it. just clean it up a bit and I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[JazmanianDevil]

Thanks for your input! This was my first transition from comics to writing. I was so used to show don't tell, it's hard to switch over. But I'm working on it and really do appreciate your review!

[Dandelion]

This story stands out from the others because it is very unique! The writing is very standardized but I enjoyed reading it :)

[charlie]

Well, for what it's worth, I could not get into this story. There was simply too much dialogue: it's nearly entirely dialogue, from beginning to end... Can't say that I've ever read a story, as such, written in this way.
Maybe you could think about a screen play instead?

[JazmanianDevil]

Thanks, I was really unsure what to write so i figured i could let the characters say it instead. But like me, they probably talk a little too much. I'm used to writing comics which is nothing but dialogue (for the most part). I'll work on it. :)

[charlie]

Well, at least you're being productive with your writing. That is primary,.. so keep up with the exercises. You'll do well, methinks. :)