Flame and Water (Red queen oc)

Fun Friday and new jobs

It was a hot and sunny Friday. Fun Friday, as a matter of fact.

16-year-old Aqua Barrow was busy distracting the richer merchants while stealing some of their best items. Her older sister, Mare Barrow, was stealing from the crowd. Together, they collected a nice stash to help their family, much to their mother's despair. But hey, beggars aren't choosers, they were poor and red, they had to deal with it. 

Even though stealing books didn't exactly keep her family afloat, Aqua loved them. She would spend hours in her room, reading, while her younger sister Gisa sewed another masterpiece. Then, she felt guilty. While she was here, reading a stolen book, other children were out there without any books at all! She shut the book she was currently reading, Harry Potter (why not, this is fanfiction), and went back to work. Stealing, making food, fixing things, bringing up the mood, her daily work.

Eventually, it was time for a break. It was "fun Friday" after all. Aqua followed Mare and Kilorn to the arena where some pompous silvers would show off and fight. Yes, we get it, you are stronger!  Aqua rolls her eyes at the silvers above her and sits down on the uncomfortable bench, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. People stare at her in awe, wondering how this beauty was even a red. 

"Uh... when does it start?" asked Aqua, starting to get bored. She was itching to get back to her book. Mare rolled her eyes and told her to be patient. Kilorn wore a look of anticipation on his face. Silver bloodshed, yay!

Finally, the silvers came. People began cheering, shouting, hoping for some extra rations. Life as a red was hard enough without being forced to cheer for some dumb silvers. Some strongarm walked up, looking confident. Then a regular silver walked up, looking like prey to the strongarm. Hmm... wonder what his ability is. 

After a few minutes of watching the strongarm hit the thin silver guy, he finally defended himself. The thin silver guy stared at the strongarm, and the strongarm stopped. Wait... was he being mind-controlled? wondered Aqua. She watched as the prey became the hunter. "Oh, that's why Samson Merandus sounded familiar! The Merandus house are whispers!" whispered Aqua to Mare. Mare nodded in agreement, surprised that her sister even knew that because Mare totally forgot and was never given a good education, while Aqua managed to teach herself and read way too many books. 

After the show, the Barrow siblings went home. They had their regular family dinner where most things their parents said could be roughly translated to: "Why can't you be more like Gisa?"

But hey, this was life, this was family. After that, they went to bed. Well, Mare and Gisa did, but Aqua stayed up reading.

Lost in a good book, Aqua was extremely annoyed when Kilorn snapped her out of book bliss by whistling. Mare woke up, blinking, clearly annoyed. "Don't worry, I'll throw a book at his head" 

Rolling her eyes, Aqua opened the window. "You better have a good reason for waking me up!" said Aqua. She was about to continue her scolding but stopped when she saw Kilorns face. Kilorn never cried, but here he was now, tears rolling down. 

***

"2000 crowns!?! Is she kidding me?" screeched Aqua after leaving Will Whistles wagon. "We'll never be able to get that much money in 2 days! Kilorn's doomed!" moans Mare. What are we going to do... that blond woman, Farley, wants way too much!  They both think. "We can't let him get conscripted!" says Aqua. Mare nods in agreement. And so, the two siblings get help from Gisa, who takes them to the silver market. There, they begin to steal from silvers, but much more carefully than with reds. 

Then, a broadcast came on. "We are the scarlet guard, *talks*, equality, starting with the reds" 

Everyone stops. Aqua grabs Mare and yanks. "We have to go, now, find Gisa and let's go"

The silvers began interrogating the reds. "I don't know anything, I swear!" said a red man, who was being drowned by a nymph. Aqua flinched and began to run. She had to get out, she couldn't die here, she couldn't bleed here, not where everyone could see what color her blood is. 

Because Aqua wasn't red, not really. Her blood was... pinker, like rose gold or a kind of bronze. The silvers would kill her for being different. Even Aqua didn't know what she was. They picked up the pace, and when they found  Gisa, they headed for the exit. It all happened in a flash. Gisa, trying to pickpocket a silver, the silver multiplying, cloning, and then... officers. Gisa's hand... they broke it. Aqua trembled, fueled by anger and trying not to punch the officer. 

***

It was dark. Gisa was back home, and they still weren't anywhere close to 2 thousand crowns or, coins. Aqua put her head down. At this rate, Kilorn was doomed. Then, Mare dragged her out to try to steal some more. Eventually, they came upon some guy. Mare tried to pickpocket him, but he caught her. "Thief," he said. Exhausted and tired, Mare didn't put up a fight. "Obviously," she said, fighting back tears.  

The guy surprisingly didn't turn them in. He seemed to pity them, actually and asked about their life situation. Mare mentioned that she was going to get conscripted soon, a topic that nobody wanted to talk about. Aqua closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She didn't have much to talk about either way. In the end, they had 2 coins, 2 crowns, but that wasn't enough. They went to bed knowing they had failed to save Kilorn, with sad and guilty hearts. 

That night, Aqua dreamed of having powers. Growing a tree, playing with water, freezing it, then melting it with fire. Flying on a cloud, calling on lightning, and enjoying the sensation of a beautiful nature's scene. Then, she woke up and faced reality. She was red or close to it. She was never going to live the silver life, after all, in this world split in 2, Aqua would always be on the bottom. 

They went down for breakfast and were interrupted by guards. The family stared at each other in fear. "We're here for Mare and Aqua Barrow"