The Rise of the Songbird

Chapter 3: My Flower

     "Rose, come on."

     "No."

     "Rose, at least eat something."

     "What did I say before? Oh, yeah, I believe I said, 'no.'"

     Jacob sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's been a week, Rose. Get up," he said, exasperated. She grunted and turned onto her side, her back to Jacob. Her blankets got pulled with her to cover her drawing lying unfinished by her hip.

    "Rose, get your sorry ass out of bed and stop being a crybaby," her other brother called out, appearing at the doorway.

     "Go to hell, Noah."

     "Hey! Both of you, be nice!" The bed creaked and sagged as Jacob sat on the end of it. Rose covered her drawing some more. "Listen, Rose. I know this has been tough on you. Hell, this has been tough on all three of us!" He chuckled and rubbed his face. "But if we let it get to us we are letting them win. If we survive and be- well, try to be- happy, we can prove to them we are stronger than they are. Plus, I need my little flower back. I miss you."

     Rose groaned as she rolled over to her back, and looked over at Jacob. "Well, I'd have no soul left if I didn't get up after that. What do we have in the cupboards? Maybe... well, maybe I can make one of Mom's recipes." At that Jacob's face brightened and a smile took over. He leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead.

     "I promise everything will get better," he murmured. She gave him a tight smile and kicked him out so she could get dressed in some clothes Jacob found for her. Once Jacob left, she uncovered her drawing. Her mom smiled up at her.

    "I know it will," Rose whispered. "But when?"

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     "Nothing, empty, ewww is that a dead spider?" Rose slammed the cupboards shut and looked at her brothers. "What do you guys even do when you are on your errands. Isn't the whole point of them to get food?"

     "Woah, woah, woah. Don't bash us. You were the one being a lazy ass and slept for all eternity," Noah said, putting a hand on his hip and his hand out. Rose stifled a giggle and noticed a small basket sitting by the front door.

     "Oh, so this is where the food is hiding!" she exclaimed as she lifted the blanket to reveal a few slices of bread, two eggs, and some fresh fruit. "I won't even ask where you found this stuff." Rose saw her brothers give each other a knowing glance as she thought up meal ideas. She remembered when her mom would surprise her early in the morning with a fruit breakfast on her birthday morning. A pang of sadness hit her. Don't focus on what's gone. Focus on how you can keep her alive, she heard her mother say. It was one of her favorite sayings to use. Well, I can start with this recipe.

    They didn't have all of the ingredients, but she could make do. After shooing her brothers away so she could "have some space", she got to work smashing strawberries and mixing it with a little bit of water to make it almost like a sauce. She found that her brothers weren't able to completely fix the stove, but it was set up so that a lit match could light it enough to function. As she mixed up the eggs, dunked the slices in it, and placed it over the stove, a small smile danced across her lips. Maybe it's possible for us to be happy and have a life here.

     About 10 minutes later, she had three plates laying out with a sloppy arrangement of french toast with fresh fruit and strawberry sauce. Rose tilted her head at the food and felt a rush of pride.

     "Guys! Food is ready!" she called out. As soon as the words left her mouth, she heard what sounded like a stampede, and her brothers appeared in the doorway. Jacob ruffled her hair affectionately as he strode by, grinning at her creation.

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     "Tell you what, kiddo. Noah and I will run out to the trading post tonight and try to find more food. And you," he waved his finger around before bopping her on the nose. "You can make us more delicious treats. Deal?"

     "Deal. But I wouldn't recommend going before you wash up. Otherwise, people will think you ate something. Or someone." Rose eyed the two of them, their faces covered in the red fruit juice. She backed up slowly as she watched identical grins spread across their faces. "No. Don't you dare. You- Noah!" A screech escaped her lips as Noah came at her, Jacob close behind. She sprinted to the other side of the rickety table, Jacob and Noah close behind.

     "Gotcha!" Arms grabbed her waist and pulled her back as she exploded into another fit of giggles. Two sets of sticky lips hit her face, trapping her in the middle.

     "Eww- guys! Stop-it!" Rose forced out in between laughs. As she escaped their grasp, she wiped at her face.

     "If you have that much on your face, I don't want to see our faces," Jacob said, wiping his own face off with a rag. He sighed. "We'd better get going if we want to be back before midnight." Noah nodded and cleaned his own face off before handing the rag to Rose.

     "You guys are careful, right? And how do you even get the food? We don't have any money."

     "Labor and trade. Believe it or not, the people here have set up a crazy system. There are trading posts, gardens, small and hidden farms; it's pretty amazing, actually. When you work for someone, they can either give you trading slips, worth different amounts, or some of the goods you helped to make or harvest. They use matches and candles for light and fire for cooking, obviously, but they even have ice. I have no clue where they get it, but they have a huge amount of it."

     "Wow. These people were here for a long time, weren't they?" Rose said in awe. Even being banished to this foul place didn't stop people.

     "Yeah," Noah cut into the conversation. "You know how we had only found out the City of Banishment even existed until a year ago, and that's only because we overheard guards? Well, it's been around for centuries. Oh, and it's not just for criminals like we thought. The Queen could simply decide she didn't like someone and send them here." Rose's stomach dropped. This was worse than she thought. A thought flew to her head, vile enough to make her clutch her stomach.

     "What happened- how did she- what about-" Rose stopped, inhaling deeply to steady herself. "Mom. What about mom."

     "We don't know. I wish- man, I wish so bad that I knew. But I don't." Jacob ran his hands through his hair. "I don't want to scare you, but I think she was executed." His voice was thick and he sounded tired; like he thought about this a lot. Rose wrapped her arms around her oldest brother.

     "We'll get through it together, right?"

     "Absolutely, flower." He planted a kiss on the crown of her head. "Hey, come here." Jacob took her arm gently and led her to the window. "When you can't see the moon anymore from this window, that means we are coming home. Ok? We will be back by then."

     "Ok. Be safe," Rose whispered.

     "I will. And tomorrow, I can tell you everything I know about this place, the kingdom, you, and mom. Sound good?" Rose smiled and nodded.

     "Jacob! Ready to leave?" Noah called from the door.

     "Yep, I'm coming! I'll be back soon. I love you," Jacob said, ruffling her hair.

     "See ya, Rose!" Noah called out. She watched from the doorway as they disappeared into the shadows. Stay safe.