A girl sat at the edge of a mountain, not too high but high enough for a good aerial view of the capital city, Linn city. She heard the sounds of the bustling city, loud enough to reach her up here. The people appeared as ant-like specks, barely visible. The difference is this was not a mound of dirt but a large, cramped concrete jungle. The buildings rose so tall that they could tower over giants. The girl continues to gaze at the city her long purple ponytail blowing in the wind with the rest of her hair. A cloud large enough to cover the sun drifted over through the sky its grey hue a clear sign of what was to come. Soon enough rain began to drop from the sky a drizzle to start but that would soon become a heavier downpour. The girl shot up turning away from the ant farm she loomed over and rushed towards a nearby hole in the mountain she sat on.
She got towards the hole and moved a small curtain out of the way as she entered her home, an ex-military base, It was in ruins the floorboards creaked with every step and some were even pointing out of the ground. The lack of a door didn't help either the girl had no protection from the elements and barely any way to keep heat in. Wind rushed through blowing away the curtain as it wrapped around the pole they rested on and into the newly created gap. As the wind rushed through the girl's hair was thrown around her face messing up her already wet and untidy hair.
The only part about this cave that made the place even somewhat homey was the bed which was just a small dirty mattress covered with large yellow spots that was placed on top of a slab of wood for some sort of support even if it didn't do its job too well. The walls were covered in graffiti a mix of different colours scattered across the walls the only colour that was in this dull home. Yellow and blue lines faded out as they got further from their source crossing over many other colours. Some of the art was just that a mess of colours sprayed on the wall to cure boredom. Some other corners had art on them with an entire wall filled with colourful butterflies some the same as her hair clip.
The girl threw herself onto the mattress. When she hit it it felt hard and even lumpy from the broken springs that were inside. She lay there for a few minutes sinking very slowly into the mattress. She started up at the dirty ceiling the same one she always looked at every day for the past three years. She knew the ceiling so well she could draw it from memory the only changes over the years had been some pieces that had fallen showing the rocky and rugged cave roof. After a good few minutes of sitting with her thoughts while staring at the cave roof, she got up walking across the cold and rough wooden floor. She walked towards one of the walls picking up a few cans and shaking them as she walked towards the wall.
She stood in front of the wall placing 2 of the cans down. She raised her arm as long as she could and pushed down on the can. The sound of air being pushed out of the can came out but no paint. She shook it again and still nothing, she tried the other can and yet again nothing and finally the third one where she once more shook the can. A small splotch of blue paint came out but after that nothing. She put the cans down before kicking them into a large pit of other empty cans.
The girl went over to another corner and grabbed the first hoodie, a lilac one with some holes, and put it on over her other hole-covered shirt. She pulled the hood up to cover her head from the rain that continued to assault the ground with many constant heavy hits. She came towards the cut-out she used as a door and moved the curtain back in place as she walked out. The jagged ground was wet enough to reflect the girl's face and the slopes that went down towards the city kept her balance by holding onto any rocks sticking out of the walls to keep her balance.
She walked through the cramped streets walking against the crowd slipping between the small gaps. She splashed through puddles water leaking into her shoes through the rips and holes. Her legs were damp and cold as she broke out of the crowd. She approached a shop its walls and windows covered in the same butterflies that she had on her wall along with some other drawings in her style too.
The girl walked through the door lifting her hood down. A bell went off as she entered. The man at the counter looked up and saw the girl.
"Ah Charlotte there you are, how've you been" the man spoke with a jollily tone.
"I'm ok yeah" Charlotte said as she drained out the water from her hair leaving a puddle with a light purple hue.
"So I'm assuming you want the paint?" He asked as he pulled out 3 cans
"Yes please if it's no trouble, I ran out again" Charlotte spoke she had a sorry look to herself almost like she was asking for food
"Don't worry kid it's fine" the man said as he threw the three cans to her. Charlotte caught them and shoved them into her hoodie pocket.
"Thanks, Cedric" Charlotte spoke as she walked out the door followed by another bell.
Once more she walked into the wet streets passing by her broken-up reflections in the puddles. She kept her hands in her pocket holding onto the cans of spray paint her hand clasped around them. With her attention drawn to the ground and the cans in her pocket, she didn't see where she was going. With her attention elsewhere she walked into something. Her grip on her cans slipped as she pulled her hands out to catch herself. She caught herself getting her hands and knees wet but she was fine overall. As she went to grab one of her cans of spray paint a hand came down and got it before her. Charlotte grabbed the other two cans quickly before getting back up. She was prepared to shout at the person but when she got up she was met with a hand stretched out with the can.
"Here you go" the person she sounded about a year or so older than herself. She had long black hair that split off into three long and thin braids with red streaks throughout.
"Oh...thank you" She took the can and put it back into her pocket.
The woman looked at Charlotte her clothes and hair mostly seeing its tattered and dirty state
"Are you ok?" She was concerned over the girl's state.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Charlotte questioned the woman's concern she knew she didn't look the best but it wasn't that bad was it?
"Your hair is greasy, you smell disgusting and your clothes are dirty with holes" She listed off everything she could notice at a moment's glance.
"Well...there's a reason" she tries to divert the questions.
"And that is?" The woman continued the questioning
"It's a uh science...test" the excuse got weaker each time
"You look and smell homeless and you barely look like an adult" the woman made more notes about Charlotte
"I'm 19 so you're not far off but you see" she tried to think of something else
"Look you're not doing good so how about this? Come to my place I'll get you some proper clothes and you can get a good wash because you need one and if you want I'll let you stay I have a spare bed, sound good?" The woman's offer was good almost too good to be true but Charlotte wasn't in the position to pass up on a chance like this so she went ahead with it.
"Sure, I'll just follow behind." Charlotte sounded a bit embarrassed but she soon enough was following behind the woman
"So what's your name?" The woman asked, "If you're going to be staying with me I might as well know."
"Oh right, it's Charlotte. You?" Charlotte returned the question to the woman.
"It's Èdra." She came back with a simple response as the two kept walking.
YOU ARE READING
Royal Rebellion
ActionTRIGGER WARNINGS: gore, family issues, deaths, violence, domestic violence(this may change if I realise I need to add anymore)
