Chapter 3: Adrienne

Adrienne skipped along a hallway, approaching a tall skinny man in overalls sweeping the floor.

"Good afternoon, Bill!"

"Afternoon there young Adrienne", Bill smiled back as he withdrew his broom, allowing her tiny frame to pass.

Reaching the end of the hall, she turned the corner and entered an enormous chamber stacked with rows of bookcases. The bookcases spaced far apart in a circular manner, each leading to the center of the chamber. Half crescent tables, perfectly designed to fit the theme of the room, were spread around the center. Waving around the tables, she selected a gap between two bookcases and ran through.

"Hello Vince!", she briefly greeted as she continued her momentum. The man placing a book on the top shelf of a bookcase turned his head and saw her long black hair flowing in the distance.

"Chipper as always", he laughed to himself while leaning on the ladder he stood on.

Adrienne traveled through other hallways and greeted several more people until she arrived at an isolated building. She pushed past a pair of swinging doors and smelled many fragrant aromas.

Skidding to a stop, she waved, "Good afternoon everybody!"

The room consisted of five women, wearing white robes and a tall white hat. Each immersed in their own tasks, they kept their focus but a smile crept on their faces. All but one of the women turned.

"The stray kitten has arrived."

"How are you today, Adrienne?"

"...Hello."

"You've come at the perfect time."

"Kitten come taste this."

Adrienne grinned and walked towards the woman that offered her food.

"Hey! I was just about to say that, come here kitten."

She stopped in her tracks and glanced confusingly at both women.

"Haha, you're confusing the little one you two, how about you just come here instead?"

"Hey hey!"

"Wait a second!"

The three women began to bicker as Adrienne furrowed her eyebrows.

"Adrienne", a whispered floated to her ear. She turned her head away from the clashing ladies and found a spoon beckoning her. One of the remaining two women was minding her own business, but the other was facing her and beckoning her with a silver spoon. The silver spoon held a shiny red gelatin which wiggled ever so gently. "Come taste this."

Adrienne's grey eyes darted from the three women to the spoon and slowly backed away from the women. Stepping up to the spoon she opened her mouth and the woman brought the spoon into her mouth. A tangy sweet flavour coated her tongue immediately causing the corners of her mouth to curve up.

"Mmm this is actually g-", she began to say before a burning sensation welled up, "-Haaaaa!!"

The woman who fed her burst into a fit of laughter. Her blue-grey eyes curved in playfulness as her blonde hair shook from her laughter.

"Aunty Sammm", she pouted. She stuck her tongue out and fanned it with her hands, tiny tears surfacing from the corner of her eyes.

"Haha, this is my new invention. I call it, the Sweet Spiceprise", Aunty Sam revealed proudly as she tapped Adrienne's nose with one of her long fingers.

"Hnggg… not… haaaa… funnyyyy."

At this point the bickering ended between the three women as they realized their prize had been stolen.

"Samantha that's not fair!"

"Kitten soothe your tongue with Aunty El's delicacy."

"How can your crumb cake compare with mines? Here try Aunty Liz's new mousse cake."

Adrienne once again faced confusion, but this time with her tongue flailing in the air.

"Awwe look how cute she is", Aunty Sam squeezed her cheeks. "You all know the drill, just settle this like usual."

The three women exchanged glances and nodded.

"Fine."

"Let's start then."

"Heh."

Adrienne suppressed the persisting pain on her tongue and closed her eyes.

Aunty Liz fed her first, followed by Aunty El, then the remaining woman. Adrienne scrunched her eyebrows together as the three women waited with their bodies leaned forward. After a minute Adrienne snapped her eyes open, her eyes emanating utmost certainty as she declared, "The last one!"

Aunty Liz and Aunty El wailed in defeat while the third woman gave Adrienne a meaningful hug. "Haha as expected of kitten, you make Aunty Marsha very happy."

Adrienne squirmed in the tight hug of Aunty Marsha's round body and full bosom, but smiled at the genuine joy she exuded.

"That makes the score three hundred and twenty seven, three hundred and one, and three hundred and twenty seven", Aunty Liz stated after she recovered.

Aunty El clenched her fists, "Arghhh, I need to improve my skills!"

"Just you wait Marsha, next time I will pull ahead again."

Aunty Sam shook her head, at the sight and even the quiet woman cracked a slight grin. Time flew by as Adrienne watched with great interest while the women cooked and baked. Her eyes gleamed, blinking scarcely so that no detail would escape her sight. Her quiet existence was welcomed and natural as the women worked unperturbed.

Before she knew it, the light from the windows dimmed and caught Adrienne's attention. Her dry eyes lost it's keen focus as she blinked rapidly to make up for the past hours. "I have to go now Aunties, I'll come back next time!"

"I'll miss you little kitten", Aunty Liz gazed down from her great height and ruffled her head.

"Enjoy the rest of the day Adrienne", Aunty Sam winked. "Don't spread the knowledge of my secret recipe."

Adrienne froze and shook her head as she recalled the impactful flavour.

Aunty Marsha brought her in for a hug. "You made a great choice today kitten."

"Hey I wanted to hug her!", Aunty El demanded.

"Winner's privilege."

".... Goodbye."

"Winner's privilege my foot, come here kitten."

Adrienne happily gave her short and skinny frame a hug. "Aunty El is a great cook too!"

Aunty El rubbed her cheeks against hers. "You're the best kitten, I feel energized already. Come back and play again soon!"

Adrienne giggled from the friction until Aunty El set her free. She waved one last time then skipped out of the kitchen. Her fleeting figure and lingering cheerfulness left a smile on all their faces as they resumed their actions.

After exiting, she wasted no time skipping down the hallways. Several turns and greetings later she entered a spacious courtyard surrounded by flowers and fresh fields of grass. Girls and ladies of all young ages sat or walked around, practicing magic or chatting with friends. Her steps slowed as she carefully walked around certain groups and cliques of females. Her stealthiness proved successful for some but for those that noticed her presence, a majority of them gave her cold stares.

Lowering her head further, she made her way through a long narrow alleyway to an interconnected courtyard. The conspicuously smaller courtyard had a single group of young men and boys, some sitting on the only grass and others moving about. Her presence was immediately noticed as they stood up, or turned, and bowed.

Adrienne flailed her hands in embarrassment at their respect. She glanced among them and wasn't able to find the people she was searching for. Eyeing one person she was familiar with, she asked, "Hello Duster."

The tall young man gave a rosy smile and inclined his head deeply, "Greetings Lady Adrienne."

She frowned, "I told you to stop calling me that."

"You know I am unable to", Duster awkwardly shuffled his feet, "if they catch me…"

"I know… but…", Adrienne tried to think of a way to convince him but the consequences for him surfaced in her mind, leaving her stumped. "... Next time I will think of something for sure!"

Duster smiled at the familiar promise and nodded. "Of course, Lady Adrienne."

"Ah! That's right! I don't see them here, do you know where they are?"

"I'm not too sure but I saw them arguing over something not too long ago. I think I heard Danielle's name a lot from their mouths…"

"Eh? Why would they talk about Danielle?"

"If I'm not wrong they could be fighting over her favor", Duster shook his head. "Many boys do that over the ladies at their age, especially for those that like Danielle."

Adrienne frowned. "They won't hurt each other over something like that… right?"

Duster sighed. "Something like this always happens. There have even been cases where some of them severely injure the other because of this."

"Ah!", Adrienne squealed. "No no no, they can't do that. They can't!"

"But I could be wrong", Duster reassured, his tone unconvincing.

"Do you know where they are?", Adrienne asked in a hurry.

"I'm not too sure but if they're doing what I think they're doing then the only place should be the boy's combat courtyard."

"Okay thanks!"

Recalling the location in her head, she nodded and dashed out of the courtyard. As she returned to the courtyard of females, her speed caught the attention of several people. A pair of chubby girls in particular stepped up, hurried over, and blocked her path. Puffing out their chests, the two girls folded their arms.

Adrienne furrowed her eyebrows and tried to move around the girl on the right, but the girl moved to block her path yet again. She frowned, "Can I please leave?"

"And what if I don't let you?", she sneered.

The girl who had yet to move shoved Adrienne's shoulders, sending her stumbling until she fell. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Aw, look, she's crying", the perpetrator giggled.

"That's what she gets for knowing those two", chirped in the other girl.

"Yeah, you better tell those two to leave Danielle al-"

"Enough!"

A tall built girl with short fuzzy black hair stood up from her seat and marched over to them. The two chubby girls glanced smuggingly at Adrienne but soon they realized the girl was marching towards them. Their faces quickly turned solemn; lowering their gaze, they were unable to meet the towering glare of the girl.

"I don't understand where or when you two fat asses found the gall to speak on Lady Danielle's behalf-"

"Brianne." The girl sitting besides a now empty seat lowered the book in her hand and gave the tall girl a meaningful stare. "No lady."

"But you deser-"

-Cough-

"How about-"

-Cough- -Cough-

"Okay okay", Brianne surrendered mellowly against Danielle's voice. Her face hardened once more as she returned to her targets like a hawk. "Now where did you two find the gall to speak on Danielle's behalf?"

"I- uh- we-"

"No- I- never-"

"I- we- Shut up!", Brianne mocked. "Pathetic lazy fat asses who can't do anything but pick on a girl younger and smaller than you."

Indignant expressions plastered across the girls faces as they frowned. Brianne raised an eyebrow, her glare fiercer than before. Before the girls could react, she cleared the distance between them in a single step and gripped both their collars.

-Woosh- -Woosh-

Brianne pivoted in place as she spun and threw their bodies in a single motion. The girls had time to emit a single squeal before skidding across a patch of grass. Scrambling to their knees, they saw scratches all over the impacted parts of their body. They sniffled while holding their injuries; their eyes meeting with Brianne's, unable to hide their hints of fury.

"Ehh?", Brianne took another step towards them. "You want more?"

The girls jolted to their feet, shook their heads furiously, and scurried away; faint sobs echoed behind their trail. Brianne humphed as she turned to the spectators.

"Shows over, don't you all have something better to do?"

The spectators casually returned to their previous activities as Brianne walked over to Adrienne. Already on her feet during the altercation, Adrienne wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "Tha-."

"I don't need your thanks."

Adrienne lowered her gaze.

"I just didn't like them, but they did have a point. You better not let me see those two get anywhere near Lad-"

-Cough-

"-I mean, Danielle, otherwise I'll beat them up worse than the two fat asses."

Adrienne nodded obediently, her gaze still lowered.

Brianne sighed and stepped to the side, "Now it looks like I'm the one bullying you. Go go, do whatever you were doing, just remember what I said."

Bowing her body slightly, Adrienne picked up where she left off and ran. After turning several hallways she took a deep breathe and gathered herself. She wiped off any remaining dust from her behind and rubbed the remaining tears from her eyes. She slapped her cheeks, shook her head, and cracked a slight smile.

Continuing her run, she greeted people as per usual and soon neared her destination.

-Tap- -Tap- -Tap-

The hollow sound of clashing wood reached her ears. An unsettling feeling swelled inside her stomach as she broke into a sprint. Reaching a small courtyard, she saw two young boys exchanging many blows with a wooden pole and two swords.

"Stop it!"