Drop

Well, suprise, suprise, here's the second chapter! And the review reply:

Trae: Thanks for pointing out those mistakes! I totally didn't notice them. If you find anything wrong with my grammar, can you let me know? I've gotten complaints about them... And about the 'potion' thing. There's a few different possiblities to the reason why it says potion. A) It could have been a potion that a person drank and it would move them in time. 2) It could be spilt on the ground and opened a portal-type thing. C) It's an AU fic, which, in this case, actually means they're in an alternate universe. I'm just not sure. The characters won't tell me!


“OUCH! That hurt like a mother-”

“VINCE!”

“Sorry! I swear I was just looking for a website!”

“What’s a website?”

The newcomer looked up to the two young men who were still standing. “Holy Mother Nature. Bella, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

Avril shoved Vince off her legs. “We haven’t been in Kansas in four years. What are you doing here?”

“Where is here?”

“‘Here’ is Brenna, in the university.”

Vince looked confused. “Er, right.”

He stood and helped Avril up. He was 6’3 and dressed in a tight black ‘wife beater’ and the strange trousers called ‘blue jeans’ and his feet were seated in odd white shoes.

He brushed a bit of chocolate brown hair away from his green-brown eyes, staring at the other men. “And you two are?” He spoke with a different accent than Avril.

“Jasper of Proges.”

“Alex of Nickal.”

Vince flashed them a brilliant smile, his teeth perfectly straight and gleaming white. Then he got a good look at their clothes and snorted.

“Oh my Gods, what are they wearing?” he chuckled. “That is so… vintage,” he continued, trying not to laugh.

Tneloiv let out a squeal and Avril squatted down, intending on picking him up, when she spotted a thin black box.

“My laptop!” she shrieked gleefully. She scooped up Tneloiv and the laptop. She was joyfully checking it over for damages (after placing the dust bunny safely on her shoulder) when she paused and glared up at Vince.

Nothing is much funnier that watching a well muscled man cowering in fear from a young woman a foot shorter than him.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

After a good long dressing down, Avril took a deep breath and turned back to the Brennian and the Oddoshin. “Well, since Vince,” here she took the opportunity to lightly smack him on the back of the head, “ruined the chance of return this time, I guess we’re here to stay until ya’ll find a way for us to get back.”

“What?” Alex shouted just as Jasper exclaimed, “Excellent!”

Avril grinned at Alex’s obvious discomfort. “And that means that we should get enrolled here because who knows how long it’s gonna take for ya’ll to find a way back.”

If someone thought it wouldn’t be possible for Jasper’s smile to widen anymore, they would be wrong. “Most excellent. But we are going to have to get uniforms for you two.”

Vince gasped. “I’m gonna have to wear those ugly clothes?”

Avril let out something that sounded suspiciously like a snort. “Oh, honey, they aren’t that bad,” she said, hardly able to keep a straight face.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Do you know your measurements?”

“52-36-48,” Vince said.

“36-24-36.”

Alex wrote them down, then excused himself from the room. Jasper led them back down the corridor to his dorm room. Once inside, he turned to the visitors. “I’m going to go to Headmaster Michel and set up an appointment for you two after you get changed. Stay here.”

“Hey, Jasper?”

“Yes, Avril?”

“Do you have a shower or a bathtub?”

Jasper grinned. “Sure. Right through that door,” he pointed across the room to a door on the left, “is my personal bathroom. We just got running water installed, so you just have to turn the knobs.”

“Neat. Got a toothbrush and toothpaste?”

Jasper looked confused again. “Actually, we use a tooth cleaning powder. It becomes paste-like when it gets wet.”

“Good enough. Do you have any that I can use?”

“And me,” Vince added.

Jasper looked thoughtful. “You know, I bet I could get some extra from the quartermaster. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll also see if I can’t get you two a hairbrush,” he added, looking at Avril’s tangled nest of hair.

“Thanks, you’re a life saver.”

Jasper grinned again and left. Avril walked over to the door he had pointed out and opened it. She inspected it approvingly. It was clean and neatly organized. She gazed at the huge bathtub. It would have easily fit her and another person. The toilet lid was down, which surprised her. She turned on the hot water and immediately it was hot. No waiting for the water to heat up here! She mixed in some cold until it was just right, then plugged the drain. Satisfied with the filling tub, she walked out into the bedroom just as Alex and Jasper returned. Alex’s arms were full of clothes. And unless she was much mistaken…

“Is that a dress?” Avril asked, pointing at the offending garment.

Alex smirked, “No, it’s a skirt. It’s what girls wear here at the university.”

She swore violently in French. “Just give it here,” she said through clenched teeth. He handed her the skirt and the white blouse that went with it. She took them to the bathroom, set the clothes on the toilet and check on the tub. Still not full enough. She returned to the room and asked Jasper, “Did you managed to get the stuff?”

“Yes, I did.” He handed her a small bag. Inside was a toothbrush, several packets of tooth powder, a hairbrush and several assortments of hairclips, ties and things of that sort. “You two have an appointment with the headmaster in an hour and a half.”

“Again, thanks,” Avril told him. She tucked the bag into her pocket and walked back toward the bathroom. “I’ll be in the bath,” she called over her shoulder as she passed through the doorway.

She reentered the room a moment later, wearing only a black bra and jeans, and walked back toward the group. “Vince, do you have…” she started to ask. Vince cut her off by tossing her something he had pulled out of his pocket. She caught it and tucked it under her chin. She turned and walked back to the awaiting bathtub, unbuttoning her jeans as she went.

Both Alex and Jasper stared after her, open mouthed. They turned to Vince, who grinned. “Yea, she has that effect on people.”

“Does she always walk around like that?” Alex asked.

“Most of the time, yea.”

Alex turned to Jasper. “I think I could get used to her being around.” Vince frowned at him. He didn’t like the way Alex sounded when he said that.

Vince was fiercely protective of Avril, thinking of her as the little sister he never had. He was the only child of an Irish couple that had moved to Texas when he was 4. His parents died in a car wreck shortly after gaining US citizenship and Vince became a warden of the state. He was sent to an orphanage, where he met Avril when she came in. She was three at the time and Vince had just turned eleven. They were drawn to each other from day one. When Vince turned twenty, he petitioned the courts to let him adopt her. He already had a good, well-paying job and his own apartment. The only thing missing was his ‘sister.’ The director of the orphanage herself showed up the hearing, wanting to see the two reunited.

After much deliberation, the courts allowed it on a temporary basis, wanting to see how he would handle Avril. To their surprise, he was an excellent caregiver. He made sure she went to school everyday, made her eat healthy food, all the things good parents did. After a year, the courts granted him full custody. His job was one that required him to travel often, so Vince started home schooling her. Heck, she knew he was gay before he did.

It worked out well for them. Even after she turned eighteen, she remained with him, working from her laptop on all sorts of things.

So you can see why Vince went on point when he heard Alex. He had heard them speak to each other often enough to know that they weren’t the best of friends. That boy was up to no good, he knew.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Avril walked out just as the watch called the hour mark, fully dressed, her hair twisted in a bun, even though you could still see a few streaks of light blue hair, to find that the three men were waiting on her. Vince was already dressed in the clothes Alex provided for him. She sat down on Jasper’s bed beside Vince and grabbed the stocking that he handed to her and began putting them on. First, she hooked the open end on her thumbs, then pulled the other end in until the toe part got to the tips of her thumbs, then slid a small foot into them, slowly releasing bits of the stocking until there was none left. Then she switched feet and repeated the same process. Finally, she began to pull on the black leather boots that had been provided. “Puh-lease don’t tell me I gotta wear tons petticoats under this damn thing,” was the first thing she said.

“No, only the one petticoat,” Jasper said. Seeing the look on her face, he added, “Just be glad they don’t require you to wear a corset.”

Avril wrinkled her nose. Ick. She finished buttoning the many buttons and started on the other boot. “Alright, now tell us what we need to know.”

Alex bit his lip, looking thoughtful. “First, we should tell you about the countries we’ll be saying you are from. Avril, you’re going to be from Mesmures.”

“Mesmures,” she turned the new word over in her mouth, as if tasting it.

“Right. It fits your accent best. Now, I have a cousin from there. I asked him to pretend that you are related to him in some way, possibly a sibling. As we mentioned earlier, it is the only slave country left in our world. I’ll teach you more about it later, but it’s good to have a basic grasp of it. It’s a rather large island located to the south of Brenna. The king is Santiago and the queen is Julian. They have been ruling for… twelve years. They have two children, both girls. Crown Princess Danna of Rishi, age six, and her younger sister is Nayeli, Duchess of Aspen, four. They cannot have anymore children.”

“Oh, that’s so sad,” Avril broke in. “What happened?”

Jasper turned a bit red, looking as though he wanted to say something, while Alex frowned at her. “It’s not something that should be said in mixed company,” he said stiffly.

“What, did his balls get cut off?” she asked, snickering.

Jasper fairly ran from the room. Alex stared at her. “How did you know?”

Both Avril and Vince burst into laughter. “I… j-just… guessed…” she managed to gasp out after a few minutes. Jasper walked back into the room and sat down in his chair as if nothing had happened. Alex glared at Avril, making her laugh again.

Finally, after several more minutes, the two visitors calmed down. “I’m so sorry. Please, do continue with the lesson,” Avril said, her accent sounding more British than American.

The two stared at her. “How did you do that?” Jasper wondered.

“Do what?” she asked, her accent turning back to normal.

“Your accent,” Alex said. “It changed.”

“What, you mean like this?” Again, it changed, this time sounding German.

“Yes. How do you do that?”

“Well, I told you I traveled a lot. I learned to pick up accents. Quite a neat trick, eh?” Her accent changed from American, to British, to French, to Irish, all in quick succession.

“Wow,” was all either could say.

“Yup. Now, to continue with the lesson?”

Jasper cleared his throat. “Right. Let’s see… My cousin Aditya is from fief Elias, so your name will have to be changed to Avril of Elias. He should be here-”

He was interrupted by a new voice. “Hello, cousin. So sorry I’m late.” The visitor brushed a bit of curly brunette hair out of his cornflower blue eyes. “You must be Avril,” he said, shaking her hand. “I’m Aditya of Elias.”

“Oh, hello. Thank you for allowing me to ‘join’ your family.”

“It’s nothing, really. You are to be my younger sister, from Father’s second marriage to Lady Lynwood of Yusuf. Father’s name is Xavier and he is the Duke of Elias.” Aditya smiled at her. “I’ll be able to intercept any letters about you before they get to the ship, so no need to worry about you being found out by ‘our’ family. We have some time, if you wish to learn more about the fief? And I’ll also need to know more about you if we are to make this believable.”

“Is that ok with you guys?” Avril wanted to know, looking at the other two.

“Yes, that’s fine. We’ve told you all need to know for now,” Alex told her.

The young woman grinned and the two new siblings moved to the other side of the room to talk.

Jasper turned to Vince. “Now, as for you, you’ll be from Hoddlein, as it fits your accent best. It’s a small country just to the east of Brenna. Mostly, it’s wild jungles or desert sands. Not much is known about the people who live there and nobody from there is at this school, so we shouldn’t have a problem passing you off a noble. We do know that the king is Elick and the queen is Hortencia. They have been ruling for fifteen years. Seven children. Crown Prince Jovanni is seventeen. They’re looking for a bride for him right now. His younger sister, Bria, age thirteen, is lined up to be the bride of Crown prince Darvin of Flodderth, to the east of Hoddlein. Rumor is that King Bryton had a hard time convincing Queen Doshia that the match would be a good one. Next is ten year old Drake, then nine year old Eliezer and his twin sister Elzada, then six year old Isom, and finally two year old Leopoldo. Thankfully, they’ve stopped having children.”

“One would only hope,” Vince said. “Anything else?”

“Would you care to learn the major exports and imports?” Jasper asked.

“Er, no. What about the fief I’m suppose to be from?”

“Hm, that is a bit tricky. Well, like we said, not much is known about the Hoddleins, even the nobles. We were thinking mayhap you could just use your last name in place of the fief. So, you would be called Vincent of-”

Again, Jasper was cut off, this time by Vince’s indignant “WHAT?!?”

Avril looked over to them and snorted. “They called you Vincent?” she called out.

Un-amused, he pointed a finger at her. “Quiet, you!”

Avril just shook her head, laughing.

“Calm down! It is only a proper name. Most will call you Vince, but on all the court documents and when you’re introduced to the court, it must be Vincent,” Alex said, trying to reassure the older man.

He grumbled for a few minutes, then nodded the affirmative.

“Good. Now, what is your last name?”

“Nitarwasha,” was the muttered reply.

“So, Vincent of Nitarwasha.” Alex grinned as he watched Vince wince at the name.

“Now, you mentioned something about court papers?” Vince asked.

“Oh, yes. I have a friend who is faking documents for the two of you. We will have to stop by and see him before we see Headmaster Michel,” the blonde said.

“That reminds me! We need to tell them some things about Brenna!” Jasper exclaimed.

“Yes, of course. Avril, Aditya, are you two finished talking?” Alex called over to the pair.

“Yup, we have been for some time. Just been sittin’ here making fun of you, Xela,” Avril smirked.

“Oh, ha ha, not funny. Come over here, you need to learn some things about Brenna.”

Aditya stood, but the girl remained seated. “And who are you, my daddy?”

Vince snorted while Alex just glared. “Oh, come on, bella, just be nice,” Vince said.

Now it was Avril’s turn to glare. “Fine, Vincent.” She moved to sit with the others.

Jasper and Aditya shared a look. “She’ll fit right in with the family,” Aditya chuckled.

Alex cleared his throat. “Now, Brenna. I’ll just run through the royal family, like with the other countries. More can be learned later. His Majesty King Fallon and Her Majesty Queen Lavenia have been ruling for twenty years and have four children. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Dimitri is our age, twenty three. He attends university as well. I’m sure you’ll meet him soon. Her Royal Highness Princess Izora is nineteen and will be married in two months to Crown Prince Llewellyn of Hoddins, the country northeast of Brenna. Prince Virgie, age fourteen, is training to become a knight in South Brenna. And Prince Romaine is five.” Alex paused and took a breath. Everyone stared, waiting for him to continue. “Oh, yes, just one more thing… Can you two speak with proper grammar?” the young man asked

“Yes, of course we can. We were not raised uneducated, dear Alex,” Avril told him.

“Well, that’s a plus,” Jasper remarked. “Now, if that’s all?”

No one said anything. Then, the watch called the half hour. “Sounds like we have just enough time to get to the headmasters office.” All four stood up and followed Jasper out of the room.

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