The Queen

Chapter 5

"Rae!" A voice called.

"Is that her?" called another.

I turned to her and asked, "Why does everyone around here talk about me like I'm a science experiment? I don't talk about you guys like you rose out of toxins."

She laughed and a small group of girls formed a circle around us.

Rae spoke to them, introducing me, "This is Mercey, guys. She's the Special and she'll be staying with us until who knows when." Then she looked to me. "Mercey, meet the girls."

Instantly, they all swarmed forward, trying to touch me, pulling my hair, asking me nonsense questions, and all the other normal things a person would do when meeting a strange creature for the first time.

Finally they all stepped back and a girl wearing purple pants and a cropped black top started to ask Rae questions.

"So who brought her?" the girl asked, flipping her brunette hair that seemed to have gotten purple paint on it at one time or another.

"Rowan and Isaac, they went down to the Realm last night, talked to Bertha and now she's here." Rae shrugged like it was no big deal.

Some of the girls had snickered when she said Isaac's name and I couldn't understand why.

The purple girl continued to pepper Rae with questions and she answered all of them until finally a girl who wore red pants and the same cropped black top they all seemed to be wearing stood up. "Kirstin, would you leave her alone? It's evident you're just jealous that she might have gotten to see Rowan and he didn't call you to come get her."

Rae turned to me, "Speaking of, where did Rowan go? He wasn't there when I came to get you."

"Yeah," I said, "But I don't know where he went. That's why Isaac called you, so he could go find him, that and every twenty minutes we get into an argument."

"Look at that!" Red Pants said, slapping me on the back. "Not even here a full day and she's already one of us." The other girls laughed.

Kristin just looked mad. She stood with her arms crossed and she glared at everyone in the crowd. I went and stood next to her while the rest of the girls carried on.

"Do you wear purple because of his eyes?" I whispered.

"Excuse me?" She scoffed, turning to meet my eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean any harm. I was just wondering. You know, because of his eyes."

"Rowan's eyes have nothing to do with it being my favorite color." She snapped at me.

"Oh." I looked down at my feet. "Are you two whatever word everyone keeps saying when referencing a boy and girl?"

She laughed, but it was cold and full of malice. "Companions? Not yet. But we will be." She sighed happily.

"Um, okay then." Something told me that should be my cue to exit.

Red pants came up to me and clapped me on the back. "Hey, my name is Felicity, but you can call me Crimson. Everyone else does." She smiled and I noticed her hair that was the color of fire.

"Hi. My name is Mercey, I don't have a nick name yet."

She laughed and I got the feeling I could grow to like her. "Welcome to Base, where we'll change that in no time."

I stood there for a short time wondering what to say. Then it came to me. "Why do some of you have paint in your hair? Don't you have showers here?" I asked.