W.I.T.C.H.: The Bloody Throne

Part 16

           For two days Gwen had been spending the night at Elyon's house and by now, the young princess was hoping Danny got her sister's heater fixed. She still saw Gwen as her new best friend and enjoyed their time together, but she missed being able to have a restful sleep. For the past two nights, all Gwen wanted to do after getting to Elyon's house was eat, watch scary movies, discuss the movies, and inform her about the ins and outs of the crawler species. Elyon was sure that she could have gone a lifetime without knowing that a male crawler's horns became engorged with blood and turned red during mating season to attract a mate. She could have also gone on living without knowing how crawlers occasionally rolled in the dung of their kills to hide their scent from other animals and make it easier to hunt. Furthermore, she was a little worried and excited to visit Ero; excited because she would get the chance to meet her extended family and worried that her parents might change their mind at the last minute. Lastly, she was paired up with Arty for Science class and hated every minute of the lesson. Whenever she tried to pick up a fuse or cable to perform the circuit experiment, Arty would take it out of her hand with an excuse that electronics aren't a women's element. After the fifth time he took something from her, she wished she knew enough of her powers to zap him with lightning. It also didn't help that he had skipped brushing his teeth that morning and she was certain she could smell the garlic bread on his breath he had for dinner.

Her agony continued when Arty decided to attempt to join her for lunch. Grinding her teeth, Elyon endured. She concentrated on her tray of questionable food as Arty followed her like a lost duckling; every step she took, Elyon could smell Arty's breath behind her and she wondered if it would kill him to brush them once in his life. Just as she was about to sit at a randomly selected table, she heard the voices of her friends close by. This was confirmed when she heard her name being called from close by.

"HEY ELYON, COME SIT WITH US!" the voice was Danny's; she was sitting two tables away, frantically waving her arm like it was a signal fire. Seeing this as her only chance, Elyon quickly turned on her heels and rushed to the table with her friends. Of course, Arty was quick to follow her, but the closer she got to her friends, the further Arty kept his distance. By the time Elyon took her seat by her friends, Arty had moved to another table.

"Wow, you got one smelly stalker on your case." Chuckled Danny and lightly elbowed Elyon's arm. "I can smell him from here."

"That is Arty, and he can't get it into his head that I am not interested in him. I just don't like guys who think I can't do things because I am a girl." Muttered Elyon as she poked at the questionable food. Normally, mac & cheese shifted or jiggled when pocked, but not at Sheffield. With a tired sight, Elyon turned to Danny and asked. "So, when is your brother going to fix Gwen's heater?"

"Is my little goblin beginning to bother you?" Again, Danny let out a hearty chuckle that seemed to warm the moods of the rest of the table mates.

"Well, she is great to hang around..."

"But she tires you out and eats like a horse. Tony and Ella got the parts yesterday, so they are going to work on it today when Ella gets off. By tomorrow, she will be off your hands." Danny finished before finishing her plate of cafeteria food. As suspected, it didn't have much in terms of flavor and it settled in her stomach like a rock. Elyon shamefully hung her head; she hadn't meant to insult Danny's sister.

"I like Gwen..." was Elyon's weak attempt to save the situation, not realizing that Danny didn't feel offended.

"I have no doubt you do, but I am her sister and knew her since the day she was born. She is a gremlin with a hollow leg. She is good in small doses, but not on the regular. As for that Arty fellow, just stick around me if he bothers you. I'll scare him away for you." As she got up to take her tray away, she gently patted Elyon on her shoulder as a way to motivate Elyon to keep her chin up. The young Princess only poked at the remainder of her food; she was glad that Arty was leaving her alone for the rest of lunch and that Gwen's heater would soon be fixed, she wished she could have dealt with Arty on her own and didn't have to rely on Danny to solve her problems.