[UNDER RECONSTRUCTION] Minerva- Book I in The Chronicles of Labrilantis

IX- Jacque

I wake up to Lilly shaking me, her long black hair falling over me, green eyes filled with annoyance. In the dim light of my room. Her skin looks paler than usual.

"Come on! We need to get to the mining shack!" She scowls impatiently. I then remember where I am, and realise this is Fern, not Lilly. I sit up and brush my hair out of my face. She frowns.

"We need to do something about your clothes, and the blue tips in your hair." She remarks in annoyance.

"Why?" I demand indignantly.

"Because you stand out." She says, as if it's obvious. "The others would know you aren't from here."

"Uh, what others?" I ask, still confused. She rolls her eyes.

"Uh, the Blue-Bloods'? The ones who live up there?" She points to the ceiling. I decide not to pursue the topic, and nod as if I understand. Fern stands up and goes to her mattress. When she comes back, she's holding clothes like her own. She gives them to me, then turns around. There's a ragged brown fur singlet with an arm missing, like Fern's, and a worn skirt made of the same material. I change into them.

"You can turn around." I call to Fern. She turns around, looks me up and down, and nods approvingly.

"Now what to do with your hair...." I am suddenly reminded of a crazy hair stylist. Bear wakes up.as he sits up, he catches sight of me and grins.

"You lent her some clothes? Are we going marketing? If so, what about her hair?" He shoots questions at Fern excitedly.

"Oh, I don't know..... Oh, wait! The dye in the shack!" She grins. Bear nods.

"What are we going to say about her tan?" He asks with a frown.

"She's a weaver. She often sells her produce at the market." She decides.

"Can we go?" Bear asks impatiently. Fern nods, a smile spread across her face.

"Come on, Jacque!" Bear says with a cheeky grin, the excitement gleaming in his green eyes. He grabs my hand and pulls me along a network of tunnels. We get to a lift like thing that Bear waits at. A few moments later, Fern turns up, panting. She shoots a glare at Bear and he smiles sheepishly.

"Get in the lift, it takes us to the shack." She explains, still catching her breath.

I hop in, blushing uncharacteristically when Bear holds the lift open for me. Fern raises an eyebrow, and he gives her another sheepish smile. Fern pushes him into the lift playfully, and then quickly jumps in. She closes the door and pulls a rope till the lift starts to rise off the ground. When a beam of light shines through the gap between the doors, she ties the rope onto something and opens the door.

The shack is made of rotting wood, and has a small work bench in the corner. It has all sorts of chipped precious stones on it, and there are dyes and inks on a shelf. Fern grabs a tub of black dye and hands it to me.

"Just dip your tips in it." She tells me. I frown. It took me ages to convince mum to let me get these! But I put them in the dye anyway. I go. To take it out, but Fern's hand stops me.

"Leave it in there for a little bit longer." She says. I wait a few moments before taking it out, and dip the other side in. I look up at Bear, who's grinning.

"You and Fern look like twins!" He exclaims. Fern glances around the room, the picks up something with a cloth on it. She pulls it off and holds it up to us. It's a mirror. Bear's right. Except for the tan, and the slight height difference, we look like twins. It's sorta unsettling.

"Can we go now?" I ask, and Fern nods. Bear grabs my hand, and we step outside of the shack.