Deadly Shenanigans

Opening Of Reaka (Reaka)

The cool walls of tunnel hallway were covered in dirt, water dripped from the cracked ceiling creating several puddles. My breath came out quickly as I ran further down the hall, terrified of the creature behind me. The shouts of my comrades bounced off the walls.

"REAKA, RUN!" The frantic shouts of Emalia, Cundrie and Scarlett grew distant. The thumping of footsteps did not, it got closer. My heart raced. I was terrified, a cold aura grew closer to me, causing my gaze to venture back. I couldn't. The book of legends was right, there was no way in hell I could escape the clutches of the beast behind me. I tripped. Something growled. A tear escaped my eye. As the powerful beast known as Iren tore through my bag searching for her mask I had previously stolen.

    "Yolo..." 

Sitting in the 'time out chair' was a normal occurrence for me. The wood was covered in scratches, I had even inscribed my name onto the back. Emalia, Cundrie, and Scarlett, made no move to help me out of my situation, that was the rule. If someone is in the time out chair they will be ignored by everyone until they exit. To make things worse I was stuck with a blindfold on, a scratchy blindfold- courtesy of Iren. So in the meantime I was left to my own thoughts, drifting off into the world of the past. A world where five girls and two boys were idolized as the very embodiments of the holy virtues.

Charity: the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need

Abstinence: the fact or practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something

    Diligence: careful and persistent work or effort

    Honesty: telling the truth and being free of deceit

    Modesty: the quality or state of being unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one's abilities.

Ideal personality traits, things that everyone wanted to be. The idea of becoming the very image of any of these was idolized in the Kingdom of E-Rantel. For generations family members of The Arlert family, The Ha family, The Merrick family, The Caige family, The Cowan family, The Earl family and The Arnold family, had a child who was exactly this. As soon as a the previous Virtuso had died a new one was ready to take it's place. As it happened an unnamed assassin had killed all seven of the Virtuso and had since disappeared. The successors were quite a hit at first, and for a time they enjoyed it. Their names became widespread, it was common to hear shouts of, "Lady Raeka and Lady Cundrie stopped by my shop today! I was even given a new coat!" Or, "Did you see the Virtusos today? I can't believe they would do that for the town." At first they all loved it, the attention, the luxury, the events. The two boys Earl and Joseph, bonded and became the faces of the group. The five girls were already quite close having grown up around each other. And for a while everything was perfect.

One day I happened to be walking through town, it was hot so I had taken off the tight wool scarf that I normally wore. I made my way back to the tower where everyone else was waiting for me, weaving in and out of the crowd. It was a normal occurrence for the townsfolk to be staring but today something seemed off. I liked it when people noticed me but I was interested in a different kind of attention. The kind and pleasant kind of attention that felt like a warm breeze. I didn't like the cold judging stares of the people around me. It almost looked as if they knew something about me. My parents had always told me to do what was best for everyone else, and to never wish for something myself. However, it was often when I was forced into the position of giving that I longed to feel what it was like to take. To bask in a wealth that I had never felt. To have a full meal without having to give some to the poor. To act like a noble and have everything given to me. In essence I wanted to give in to the overwhelming greed that I was forced to ignore. The people around me whispered and glanced at my neck. My breath caught. A young man dressed in what looked to be the robe of a noble stepped forward. He reached forward to finger my necklace

"What sort of metal is this?" His voice lilted at the edges a smile stretched over his features. Mocking me.

"This looks so similar to my childhood dog's collar!" Fake tears welling in the corner of his eyes. Truth be told it was disgusting.

    "May I take this?" The smug smile he wore seemed to loom in on me, as I looked around desperately for a means of escape. However the group of people hovering around me watched with pity. I stuttered forced into a box. His calloused, grimy hands reached closer and closer to my neck. I nodded my head my actions the exact opposite of what I was feeling. The cheap necklace that he was trying to grab was the last thing I had from my parents. It was the last thing I wanted to give away. My heart clenched as I watched the man skip away to his friends.

    It was after that moment that I seriously started to doubt the idea of being a virtue. I noticed the flaws in everyone. In Cundrie who was the definition of Abstinence was thin and tired, unhappy. Iren was constantly working and was never around, dark bags haunted her gaze. Emalia was an open book and constantly ruined herself. Not to mention Scarlet who I would catch ever so often looking mournfully at the couples around town. In fact the only ones who seemed to enjoy this whole "Virtues" thing was the two boys, Earl and Joseph.

It was also around that time that the girls each made a decision. After months of watching and letting themselves suffer as someone who they really weren't they finally cut the bonds of what they were before. Charity, Diligence, Abstinence, Humility, Modesty, disappeared becoming- 

"GUYS I THINK SHE DIED!!!!!" A voice pierced through my thoughts.

"REALLY?! ARE YOU SURE CHECK FOR A PULSE." Another feminine voice shouted from off in another room.

"Thank god." A lazy groan came from what I guessed to be the large red armchair. The room was deathly silent for one large awkward moment, as I held still bc im an asshole.

"Soooo... who gets her stuff?" A voice I knew was most definitely Scarlett's quipped from somewhere near me. If I wasn't trying to play dead I would've smacked that bitch, no one touches my shit, not even me. After another moment of silence, one I assume was spent exchanging glances, I heard the sound of footsteps racing down the hall. I panicked. Hell broke loose. Iren who hadn't moved watched unamused as I broke the timeout chair and tore down the hall. The stone walls rushed past as I neared my open door. A few items were spilling out and I could hear clunking from within.

    "I really like this dress," Emalia commented from within holding it out to Scarlett.

    "That is really pretty! Do you think it would go with this purse?" A single tear traced down my face, Emalia had single handedly un organized my collection of designer dresses. The purse that Scarlett was holding was made of pure gold and silver threads. AND NO THEY DID NOT GO WELL TOGETHER WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PAIRS A GOLD PURSE WITH A YELLOW DRESS. NO ONE. The wood frame of the door cracked and all of their heads jerked up. Even Cundrie who had just found my stash of Kit-Cats. My previously perfect room stacked full of organized piles of clothing, jewelry, makeup, books, food. Everything you could possibly imagine was ruined. Before anyone could say anything I grabbed the closest weapon (which happened to be a giant candy cane) and charged.

    "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!"