"Aren't these ones pretty?" Cadence cooed.
"You've said that about all of them," Ace laughed. The couple had been walking along the meadow for most of the morning, with a plan to visit the animals in the afternoon. It was the perfect place to take a girl like Cadence, Ace knew, but the constant 'ooh shiny' that she went through was delaying their journey ever so slightly. Not that he minded, but they had both promised Alex that they'd be back by sunset. Nevertheless, he followed Cadence as she practically embedded the scent of flowers into her skin.
"Can I take this one, too?" she peered down at a lonely lilac.
"If you can hold it." Ace raised an eyebrow at her. Cadence stuck her tongue out, scooping the flower into her already full arms. She had several bunches of different types of flowers in her arms, varying from the ever expanding bunch of lilacs to the drooping tulips she so favoured. Ace reflected on the trail they had traveled across that morning. The sun was halfway in the sky, not too hot and not too cold, the life of nature was astounding on the way here, he couldn't have asked for a better way to treat Cadence. Thinking back to Alex, he recalled the scars along her back. They seemed to be from deliberate slashes, but whether he entirely believed the story of her battling a dragon was another thing.
"Ace? Hellooo?" Cadence waved her hand in front of him. Ace blinked, coming to his senses.
"Sorry," he said with a smile. "got lost in thought."
"I'll say," Cadence sighed. "You okay?" Ace nodded, only now noticing that her other arm was struggling to maintain the weight of the several flowers she had. "Want me to take those for you?" he offered. Cadence gave a sheepish smile, handing him the flowers.
"Thanks," she said. A pause. "I really appreciate you taking me out here," she twirled a lock of hair that dangled in front of her face.
"I'd do it again," Ace grinned. "We needed a day to just get away from everyone, you know?" Cadence nodded, sinking to the ground and picking some daisies. Ace continued, "I'm still not entirely sure of Alex, though."
"What do you mean?" Cadence inquired nonchalantly.
"Do you really believe that she fought a dragon? Aren't dragons just mythical creatures?" Cadence hummed to herself quietly for a moment. After a breath, she answered, "We used to think the same of zombies and skeletons. The dead coming back to life? Impossible. But here...things are different here. I've learned to just kind of go with the flow. So...yeah, I believe her."
"But a dragon?" Ace was still a little reluctant.
Cadence shrugged. "Maybe it'll fuel some of those weird dreams I get. Riding a dragon sounds a lot better when they actually exist."
"And could kill you."
"That's all luck of the draw," Cadence flashed her toothy smile, bringing up another bunch of flowers. She crossed over to another patch, but just as she was about to bend down, there was a rustling from nearby. Cadence and Ace froze in place, unsure of what to do. It was still daytime, so monsters shouldn't be out...a thousand thoughs raced through Ace's head. Before he even thought of reacting, a figure stepped out from the bushes and trees.
"Excuse me," he said. "but I couldn't help but overhear you two talking about a dragon?" The boy that stood in front of them had a faded dark blue streak in his pitch black hair, which accented his dim, ocean eyes that seemed to see more than they told. Neither Cadence nor Ace knew who this boy was.
"Y-Yeah," Ace cleared his throat. "What's it to you?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing...but it might intrigue you to know that such a dragon does exist in this world." Ace raised a disbelieving eyebrow, while Cadence's eyes widened in fascination. The boy continued, "They call the beast the Ender Dragon. I've recently heard that it was slain, as well. A group went in, I'd say about five in total, and only one came out. It's surely a riveting story, no?" The boy smirked playfully.
"But it's just a story-" Ace started.
"No it's not!" Cadence interrupted. "Sorry," she apologized before continuing. "But doesn't it fit with Alex's story? That name, the 'Ender Dragon,' it's the same in his story!"
"So maybe they're tag-teaming it, I don't know! It all sounds...fishy." Ace scratched his nose.
"Who's this Alex you speak of?" The boy asked curiously.
"Um...our leader, I suppose. She helped Ace and I out of a tight fix, and we've just ended up sticking together ever since. Er...are you lost? Do you want to meet her?" Cadence suddenly became concerned with the boy's situation.
"Oh, no, I'm not lost. I have my own house just a short walk from here. You two should come over, there's other people there, too. It's not like you'll be late for anything, right? It's barely even midday..."
"It wouldn't hurt, would it, Ace?" Cadence looked to him with puppy-dog eyes. He hated it when she did that. Though Ace couldn't shake a bad feeling he had about the entire ordeal, he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if he at least didn't give it a chance.
"Sure, let's go. Er, what did you say your name was?" They started to walk. The boy seemed to have mentally slapped himself in the face.
"Ah! Where are my manners...my name is Luke."
Alex flinched as she grazed her stub over her sunburn. It still hurt. She could already feel the skin beginning to peel away - it wasn't a pretty sight.
"Stop touching it, you'll only make it worse." Came the voice of Lucas, who was busy with frantically writing something in his journal.
"I know that," Alex fired back. "It just...really hurts."
"That's what you get for going outside," Lucas smirked. The one hand he was writing with hadn't slowed down in speed at all as he talked. "You should just put your shirt on and forget about it."
"But then the fabric rubs against it, and then it gets itchy, so I scratch, and then it gets even worse!" Alex exclaimed. Lucas sighed, his pen finally coming to a halt. "Do you want me to get some ice?" Alex nodded vigorously, so much that Lucas feared her entire head just might bob off. Lucas closed his book, leaving it on his bed and passing by Alex, who gave him a happy smile. He went outside, grabbing a bucket from a chest as he went, scooped up some water from a nearby pond, and proceeded to climb up the beacon. From what he understood, the wood went above the clouds. It was so high, in fact, that one could see it from almost any distance. But because it was so high up, it also made for excellent cooling conditions. Indeed, as Lucas traveled upwards, he began to feel a chill course through his thin shirt.
Once he got to the top, he could feel the snow tickling the back of his neck. With a grunt, he emptied the water into a wooden tub on the very top of the beacon. And then he sat down on the opposite end, and waited. It didn't take very long for a thin layer of ice to appear on the top of the water, but Lucas waited ever so patiently still. He counted one-hundred seventy-two more seconds and the ice was mostly solid. Unwilling to remain in this chill for any longer, he deemed it good enough, took the ice, and slid back down.
Alex seemed to rejoice when she saw Lucas bring in the ice. She instantly pressed the cool substance to her back and breathed deeply. Lucas rolled his eyes.
"I don't see why you and Cadence couldn't have used this method last time." He picked up his notebook again, found his page, and began to sketch out a drawing.
"She wasn't all too willing to go up that high," Alex said, rubbing some of the ice on her shoulders and exhaling slowly. "And I didn't want to add hypothermia to my list of problems. So, we opted for the water bucket instead. The cleanup wasn't the best, but given the circumstances it worked, for the most part."
"I suppose the entire bucket thing didn't help matters?"
"Not exactly." Lucas chuckled a little at that. He made a couple more lines in his book, pondered on them, and nodded.
"I think I'm done," he said.
"Done what?" Alex prodded, sad to find that she was coming to the last little bit of her ice. Lucas hesitated before answering, "Can you keep a secret?"
"For the most part." Alex cracked her neck. Lucas gazed at his drawing. "Good enough, I suppose. Take a look - it's an idea I had for all those note blocks I have in storage. Ace gave me the idea. If I use redstone and control the circuit in such a way...we could make actual songs out of them."
"For real?" Alex was impressed. This kid clearly knew a lot more than he let on.
"Yeah, all we'd need is a heck of a lot of redstone and redstone repeaters, not to mention even more note blocks...it'll definitely take us a while."
"But if you could actually do it..."
"Then I'd have bragging rights. I also figured out how to build a fireplace, if you ever want to put one in. It'll end up getting cold in here at some point." Alex peered at Lucas' many sketches and jotted down notes. It was clear that he put a lot of effort into it all. The note block idea had already taken up five separate pages, and the fireplace was a hefty seven.
"I seriously hope that you never run out of paper," she was still entrapped in wonder by the entire thing.
"Well, considering the amount of sugar canes we have growing on the farm, and the fact it doesn't need much to grow and survive, I'm sure we'll have more than enough for an eternity."
Alex rolled her eyes. "It's a compliment. You have good ideas. A good mind. Don't let it go to waste."
"That's why I invent." Lucas shrugged. "It's probably the result of too much free time and not a soul to talk to, but it seems to be a good use of time."
"Good for you. Now, that fireplace idea sounds really cool." Alex rubbed her stubs together eagerly.
"Yeah? Then let's get started."
Luke led Cadence and Ace closer to a cozy-looking, small, wooden home. Compared to Alex's full-size house, this place was teensy. It was one big room with enough space to house three people, Luke included. There were armchairs and couches about; bookshelves and torches aligned the walls, and a few beds were huddled in the farthest corner. No more than two chests, furnaces, and crafting tables were present, and it certainly made Cadence and Ace's minds put Alex as a bit of a neat freak.
"So...it's not much, but it's cozy," Luke gave them a warm smile, admiring his house fondly. A rustle from around the corner and a girl popped her head out from a chair.
"You're home early," she commented, her long eyelashes batting seductively. Her doe-eyed, soft expression was eyeing them with a spot of curiosity as her loosely flowing, tasseled ivory hair draped over the arm of the chair.
"I found some new company," Luke explained. "Play nice, alright, Mona?" In response, Mona stuck out her tongue from her full lips and then returned to what she was doing. She seemed to be giving herself a makeshift manicure.
"She's alright once you get to know her," Luke shrugged.
"I can still hear you," Mona gave them a one-eyed glare. Luke continued on anyway, "Usually there's another guy around...Mona, have you seen Josh?"
"He went out a little after you left," she was focused on trying to make sense of the fingernails she didn't have. She was obviously frustrated, so she dropped her stub to her tan waist.
"Where?" Luke sounded a little off.
"Do I look like I know? Probably off to smash a mountain with his fist or something. I don't doubt that he couldn't pull it off, either." Luke sighed, turning to Ace and Cadence.
"Sorry, I need to go out and look for him. Are you two fine with staying here for a while?"
"Sure!" Cadence piped up instantly before Ace could say anything. Luke shot another smile and darted out the door, off to search for the mysterious Josh. Ace huffed out a breath of air.
"You know we can't stay for long," he said irritably.
Cadence batted away his comment, "Come on, Ace! Live a little! We've finally found more people than just...Alex."
"Don't forget about Lucas," Ace pointed out. "he's new."
"But he's...weird." Cadence shifted around uncomfortably.
"You barely know him." Ace raised an eyebrow.
"You had to hang out with him for a while, too! There's something off about him, isn't there?"
"It's called living in a cave for a while. Not talking to anyone but yourself for a long time will give you an edge. He's relaxed a lot more over the past few days than you think." Ace defended Lucas coolly.
"How do you know?"
"It's a guy thing." Cadence rolled her eyes, making herself at home.
Ace sighed. "Look, let's just wait until Luke comes back, thank him for his hospitality, and go home. We can always come back, right?"
"But..." Cadence stopped herself, biting her lip.
"But what?" Ace pressed. Cadence avoided his eyes, staring at a particularly interesting dot on the floor. She took a deep breath and said, "There's something I've wanted to talk to you about for a while. Do you...I mean, this sounds stupid, but...would you consider running away with me? Like, getting our own place, living without anyone else. I just want to be somewhere where I don't have to feel on edge the entire time. This place feels...comforting, somehow. Doesn't it?"
"Cadence, this doesn't sound like the best idea..."
"Why not?" her voice got a little louder. "I'm sick of staying in our 'merry' little group, dealing with that moody weirdo and that creepy mechanic!"
"They're our friends!" Ace yelled. "They've gone to extreme lengths to make sure we stay alive! Why can't you see that?!"
"Ugh!" Cadence threw her arms in the air dramatically. "Then you can go back to them tonight, without me."
"Don't be an idiot-"
"When haven't I been?" She glared at him through tearful eyes. "Don't lie - I've always been the idiot in our group. I'm staying here. For good. Goodbye, Ace." Ace said nothing, instead glaring at her and storming off outside.
"Well, that was interesting," Mona was relaxing on the couch still, looking amused. Cadence was suddenly quiet. She wrapped her arms around herself, sat on the couch, and began to cry. Mona sighed.
"Don't be so upset about it. If he really cares about you, he'll come back."
"If not?"
"Then it was never meant to be."
"This looks a lot better than I thought it would," Lucas said with pride, grinning at the completed project. A fireplace now stood proudly in the far wall of the bedroom. It was nice enough that it could provide good heat, but hopefully not too much.
"You got that right. This sunburn's already feeling way better." Alex was dabbing at the burn across her back.
"I was talking about the fireplace," Lucas said blankly.
"Oh," Alex cleared her throat. "That's pretty cool, too." Lucas rolled his eyes, grabbing his notebook from a nearby table and already jotting something down. Alex hopped on over beside him, smiling. "What's next?" Lucas snorted a laugh. "What?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing," he said. "You just come off as a lot more joyful than I thought you'd be. I don't think Cadence and Ace really knew what they were talking about. They said you were mostly mopey and depressed a lot of the time."
"When did they say this?" Alex asked, this time sounding more concerned.
"It was a while ago. You went out to get food or something and Cadence was complaining about you. It was soon after I ended up here. Er, which is to say, not long ago? It's hard to gauge weeks and months here."
"Am I really mopey?" Alex hadn't overly considered it before. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't even mustered up the courage to take a step outside until she was forced to, and was more than a little reluctant to let Ace and Cadence in on that rainy night.
"What? No, you're optimistic, if anything." Alex pondered the term. Optimistic. She had willingly gone outside more often, she was actively socializing and even noticeably enjoying herself more often. It wasn't that long ago she had hardly any thoughts and hardly anyone around her. But now her circle of people was steadily growing. It started with the couple of Cadence and Ace, and now she'd taken in Lucas as well. She briefly wondered if there would be a many as there was before.
"An optimist, huh?" She cracked a grin, and it felt real.
A few minutes passed by without much of anything happening. Lucas had retreated into the confines of the bedroom, where he was either writing in his notebook or pacing around, and Alex decided to use her time wisely by lying on the floor and tracing the lines of the floorboards with her stub. There wasn't much else to do - everything was well-stocked, and they'd just finished a fireplace.
Alex was just following the path of a slightly crooked line when she heard stomping from outside. She was surprised that she'd heard it in the first place - but it was soon clear why. Ace's feet thundered against the ground, and he didn't look too happy either. His brow was tightened and his face turned into a scowl. He said nothing as he thudded over to a chest and unloaded.
"You seem angry," Alex mentioned, attempting to start a conversation. Ace shot her a dirty look. Maybe not the best idea.
"Yeah. I am." He slammed the chest shut and stood up again. Alex supposed she'd try again.
"Where's Cadence? Did she find a hybrid lily or-"
"Cadence isn't coming back," Ace said bitterly. "because she just can't see reason."
"Um. I have several questions about this." Alex sat up, all thought of floor lines abandoned.
"Don't expect an answer."
"Where is she?"
"I just said-"
"Where is she?" Ace took a step back. Alex was on her feet now, staring him in the eye. Ace gulped, a great majority of his anger leaving him in that second.
"With other people..." he said slowly.
"Like, strangers, or...?"
"Kind of. We just met them today on our walk."
"Names?" Alex pestered.
"The one guy - he had a faded streak in his hair - I think his name was Luke. Why, does it mean anything? Alex, are you okay?" The colour had drained from her face like a passing shadow. Her heart nearly stopped, and within seconds began to hammer so hard she thought it might burst.
"Grab your things," she choked out, her heart so high up in her throat her words came out jagged. "we need to get her back."
ns 15.158.61.8da2
