24. Meeting of Fate

So many things at once. Yoko is crying. Meredith is having spasms. Brooke meets a white tiger? What is one to do?

Someone threw popcorn at Brooke and woke her up. She lifted her head and saw little orcs and other weird creatures with pale blue skin. They pointed at her, talking, and laughing. Brooke rolled over and ignored them, until she heard the door to the cage open. She looked to see it was Ferra holding two dog bowls of popcorn. Brooke gave her a wry expression. She thought it strange. They were feeding them popcorn? Brooke’s stomach made a noise. She wasn’t going to reject the food, but it was weird. Then again, it was a circus.

          Yoko cried in Meredith’s arm and he woke her. She rocked the baby and her eyes widened to see the orc with the food. She unlocked the door and set the bowls down. She shook her head. “Honestly, that orc is mad, popcorn to feed elves?” Then she smiled and gushed at Yoko. “Oh my god, that your baby?” Meredith shook her head. “Who’s?”

          Meredith glanced at Brooke then quickly turned away. Ferra was exceedingly friendly. Brooke could take her down right now and they could escape if not for the fact that they did not know where to escape to or which direction was home. The civilians of this country would just send them in, especially since Grayer owned this circus. That meant he was loaded and could hire a good bounty. Besides, Brooke didn’t have any shoes to kick effectively and her fingers, well, the orc looked stocky and muscular. Brooke was sure she might hurt her hand. She wished she had spent more of her time learning martial arts. Brooke sighed.

“Um, he belongs to a servant of mine,” answered Meredith. She attempted to hush the baby. “I think he is hungry,” she thought aloud.

“I have a baby of my own, you know, she’s only three years old her first word was mommy she’s adorable she walked when she was six months oh my god and she just recently learned more words-” Brooke rolled her eyes. There was nothing worse than having to listen to someone gush about his/her family. Brooke didn’t care and wished she would shut up. Even Meredith looked impatient and uninterested. “It may not be much, but I can offer some milk for the young lad.”

Meredith’s eyes widened and Brooke saw a small smile appear on her face. Brooke wondered why the orc was so nice. Would she be nice enough to free them? “That would be so helpful.”

Ferra nodded. “I mean, not all of us orcs are cruel, I can bear sympathy for a starving child I mean if my baby was starving I’d want someone to do the same for mine.”

“Geeze, if you’re this nice, why don’t you free us?” asked Brooke as she rolled her eyes.

Ferra scowled. “Don’t mistake my kindness, Human.” Well, it was worth a try. Her scowl disappeared back into a smile. “But I’ll return with a bottle of milk tomorrow; it won’t taste very nice to an elf, but it will satisfy.” Ferra then skipped off to feed the rest of the elves.

Seven days passed since Grayer locked Meredith and Brooke inside the cages. Ferra returned every day to give Yoko a bottle of milk. Meredith was grateful and Brooke watched the princess cheer up after seeing Yoko satisfied. Ferra even surprised them by giving Meredith a bag of pampers. It was funny to see the princess change Yoko. Brooke laughed at her facial expressions. She was just as glad to see that Yoko was going to be okay.

Three days passed before Grayer left the tent and stood before the cage, grasping the bars. It was morning and the sun made his skin appear plastic and synthetic. “Good afternoon, Ladies.” Meredith and Brooke did not respond. Yoko was asleep. Grayer smiled. “Princess of Alagracia, your family bears claim to enormous amounts of power, huh?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Grayer asked in disbelief, but his smile remained. “You must be a humble elf, which is surprising considering the kingdom you rule.” His tone of words sounded envious in some way. “Come here.” Meredith stared at him, and turned away. His smile melted into a frown. “If I have to come in there, it won’t be pretty.”

“What a surprise,” she mocked.

Grayer’s grasp on the bars tightened and he bent the metal. Meredith rose, wrapped him in his cloth, and set him down, glaring at Brooke in the corner of her eyes. She walked towards the bars and crouched down. Grayer’s anger dissipated and he said, “Good, now, take these.” Grayer held out a couple of color shifting pills.

 “Zexel pills?” Meredith’s eyes narrowed. “Why must I swallow this?”

“You’ll see.”

“I won’t swallow anything not knowing proper cause.”

Grayer rubbed his left temple and groaned. “You talk like a textbook, just do as I say.”

Meredith took the pills and tossed them somewhere. She moved back when Grayer grabbed at her. He grunted and stormed away. Yoko woke up crying and Meredith rushed to cradle him.

The next couple of days went like the previous ones. Brooke slept, Yoko cried, Meredith cared for him, and Ferra brought in the food. After the next week had gone by, Meredith had begun to throw up her food. The cage stank with her vomit. Brooke wondered why. It wouldn’t surprise her if Grayer put the pills into her food.

Meredith’s gagging woke Brooke up. Meredith held her stomach and heaved. Brooke saw that Meredith’s body trembled in violent spasms as she bent over releasing more vomit. “Are you ok, Princess?” Then she regretted the question because it was obvious that she wasn’t.

“Do I look okay?” she yelled, and then she screamed, her body trembling to the point Brooke thought she was having a seizure.

“Can I do anything to help you?” Another dumb question. There was nothing she could do. Maybe she should take Yoko and care for him. “Lemme tale care of Yoko.”

“Stay away from him,” she said gritting her teeth. “Saving Yoko did not impress me and doesn’t soothe my hatred, my distrust for you.”

The words struck Brooke like a slap to the cheek and she frowned at the princess. She opened her mouth to object, but Meredith passed out. Brooke rushed over to her, gazing at the unconscious princess. Brooke checked her pulse and it thumped beneath her fingers. She was alive. Brooke heard Grayer laughing as he left the tent to approach the cage.

“What did you do?” Brooke asked; her eyes fixed on the orc. He laughed again. Two orcs appeared behind him and they unlocked the cage.

“What do you think?” One orc picked Meredith up, carrying her bridal style out of the cage. “There is a way to make a horse drink from the river.”

They disappeared behind the tent, and Brooke felt helpless again. Brooke picked up Yoko as he started to cry. He stopped, glanced at her, and smiled. He had lovely sapphire eyes, and the fire in them glowed with his smile. Brooke felt the desire to rescue him and take him away from this place. He didn’t belong here. He belonged in a home, somewhere safe. Brooke hugged him close to her. Brooke rocked Yoko to sleep and soon she fell asleep after him.

Brooke awoke when the door opened again; the orcs threw Meredith’s limp body into the cage. Brooke finished changing Yoko and pushed the dirty diaper through the cage bars. She held Yoko as she hurried to Meredith’s side. She shook her, but she did not respond. Brooke checked her pulse. She was still alive. “Hey, hey!” Brooke’s heartbeat grew loud; she could hear it through her ears. Two orcs left the tent, bringing a giant cage covered by a cloth. “Hey, this woman, she needs help,” Brooke cried. “Wipe the wax out of your ears; I’m talking to you!”

They ignored her, took the cloth off the cage, and left. Brooke clenched her fists and beat the floor of the cage. Yoko began to cry and the shrill noise annoyed Brooke. She plopped down. Brooke heard a growled yawn and turned to face the cage the orcs brought. Her eyes widened when she saw it contained an albino tiger. She gasped as it yawned again. It rubbed its face with it huge paw and shook its head. The tiger looked at Brooke and she turned away, trying not to stare. She rocked Yoko to sleep and fell asleep as well.

Another week passed of this. Meredith had not said a word looking as empty as a corpse when the orcs returned her. No matter how many times Brooke called her name she wouldn’t respond as if she had not enough energy to respond, or even move her lips. Brooke worried and didn’t know what they were doing to her. Then she scolded herself because she thought it strange to care about someone who hated her anyways.

A short creature with blue skin wearing a magician’s hat and tuxedo left the tent and stormed up to the cage with the albino tiger inside. “You impudent cat!” he swore. “Damn you, why won’t you sing?” The tiger softly roared. The creature looked like he was going to burst. He grabbed the bars and shook them. “Speak, I demand you!” The creature and the tiger sat there for the next few minutes before the creature sighed of defeat. He stormed towards the tent, turned back, and yelled, “I will tame you, mark my words!”

Brooke chuckled at the cliché line as the creature retreated into the tent. She leaned her head against a bar and closed her eyes. Yoko was asleep, so she decided to get some rest. She stopped when she heard the tiger chuckling. Brooke blinked twice. Its body rumbled as it chuckled. Talking animals were the works of a witch or spell caster of some sort. Was it possible that this was an enchanted albino tiger? Was it for that it was imprisoned? Brooke waited, but the tiger said nothing. Brooke glanced at the tent. Meredith was still in there, suffering, and in pain. Brooke wished she knew a way to escape from here.

An hour went before, an orc shoved Meredith inside, and Brooke awoke. A tear fell down Meredith’s face and onto the cage floor, but she did not sob. Brooke didn’t think she had enough energy to sob. Yoko awoke and cried as if shedding her tears, feeling her pain. He was always restless whenever they returned Meredith here.

“A pity,” she heard someone say. Brooke looked around, but her eyes fell on the tiger. It locked eyes with Brooke again. Its voice sounded feminine and mature. “Yes, I did speak.” Her tail wagged slyly in the air. Her facial expressions did not move or anything, but the tiger was really talking to her. Brooke gawked at her with wide eyes. She chuckled. The tiger rose and moved closer to the bars. “Your friend there, you would like to know what they are doing to her?” Brooke glanced at the half-dead looking woman. She nodded. “Grayer must have fed her a bunch of Zexel pills, but she’s having violent magical outbursts.”

“Magical outbursts?” Brooke wasn’t familiar with magic at all. Maybe once or twice she considered gaining an interest in it, but she believed herself to be an honorable person. In no way was she like Angel and Alex. Whatever happened to those two, Brooke wondered. She never saw them around after the academy audition.

“Magic erupts from her body in blasts of light and color; it’s like being constantly hit with a bullet leaving your friend drained to the inch of her life; I’d say she won’t last long the way they are doing her.”

Brooke’s stomach knotted up. She didn’t want the princess to die before her eyes. Brooke wanted to cry in frustration. “What can I do?” she asked herself.

“Nothing.” The word sent Brooke into despair. She was right. “You have the spirit of a swordswoman, a strong swordswoman,” she inquired. She sniffed and a smile made the tiger seem unreal. Brooke’s despair deepened. She felt unworthy for someone to call her a swordswoman. Wait, why, she defeated a giant serpent. She should feel proud. She protected the princess and a baby. Now, the situation flipped and Brooke couldn’t protect anyone. “But you lack something, something that fate brings us here for you to gain.” Brooke didn’t understand the tiger’s words.

“What do you mean?” she asked finally. The tiger said nothing more even when Brooke asked repeatedly.

Morning rolled around. Brooke saw that Meredith was still there. She watched her wobble to rise and sit on her knees. She crawled in the corner. She sobbed and Brooke didn’t want to disturb her.

Night came. Grayer left the tent and Brooke looked at him with disgust. He smiled. “You Human, I hear you good with a sword, eh?” The two orcs grabbed Meredith and another lifted Brooke’s cage, heading towards the tent. “Well tonight, this circus is going to turn into a fighting rink, got it?” Despite the situation, Brooke became excited. She needed a fight. 

 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

Mmmmm, nothing much to say about this chapter. I know it's a little random haha, but keep bearing with me.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless