bit at the end

Well, here is a bit at the end of the story, where Garrett and Simon finally get their butts kicked by Lily for hating each other/ arguing all the time. It references some things that I have yet to write during the middle of the story.
This is after they all kill the bad guys and complete the quest. They're still in the bad guy's castle, and the quest is almost finished, they just have to get back to camp. So then Simon and Garrett start arguing and stuff. I was going to have Lily scream something kinda inappropriate at the end, but I decided not to, because Merlin's Pants and Your Mother are just funnier that way.

"Well, it's all thanks to me that we won, isn't it?" Garrett said. "I got us here and I did a lot of the fighting and I made sure we were safe.
"Oh, and that troll killed itself, did it?" Simon shot at him. "The meals cooked themselves, did they? Maldan was hearing things other than the flute, was he? Or was that just me making stuff up, as usual?"
"Okay, so you three did some of the stuff, but I did most-" Garrett began to say.
"Lily did most of the stuff," Simon interrupted. I had never seen him that mad. "You just don't like to admit that a girl and an outlaw both killed more bad things than you did tonight."
"It's not that I"m embarrassed or anything-" Garrett began again.
"You jsut want to take all the credit, don't you?" Simon hollered. "You hate sharing the glory. I'm surprised you got knighted, you're so selfish."
"Simon, be reasonable!" Garrett yelled.
"BOYS!" I screamed over both of them. They stared at me in disbelief. I guess they weren't expecting me to yell that loud. Or maybe they didn't want to be addressed as boys. Either way, it got their attention, but it didn't hold for long.
"He started it," Simon said.
"Robin Hood started it," Garrett snarled.
"Prince John started it," Simon growled.
"Your MOTHERS started it!" I yelled.
They both stared at me again.
"Now that you two have sufficiently shut up," I continued, but I didn't get any farther than that.
"Don't make comments about my mother," Garrett snapped.
"Don't give her reason to, then," Simon said.
"This isn't a laughing matter, outlaw," Garrett retorted.
"Don't make it one, then, your worshipness," Simon replied sarcastically.
"MERLIN'S PANTS!!" I screamed at the top of my voice. For a third time they stared at me. Just to make sure they'd listen, I grabbed both of them by the ear and pulled them down to my height. They both gasped in pain. I was amazed at my own authority in the matter.
"Now, listen," I said in my most dangerous voice. "I don't care that Simon is an outlaw ang Garrett is a knight. I don't care that it's supposed to make you two sworn enemies. I don't care that you two find it impossible to agree on anything. You were sent on this quest for a reason, and I don't think it's because you hate each other. You both are good at certain things and bad at others, and the sooner you own up to the fact that someone else might actually be better at something than you are, the happier you'll be. And you are NOOT allowed to argue anymore, because I SWEAR I will rip you both to pieces if I EVER catch you at it again, and I will be employing spies, too. Do I make myself QUITE clear?"
"Yes," they both gasped.
"Good," I said, and I let them go.
It was so much fun being a girl. No guy would have been able to get away with that.

And by the way...

Here is the rest of the story from Creative Writing. No, it's not done yet, but I'm still putting it up here. We just had to get to a reasonable stopping point in the story, and mine was them leaving. So here it is.

“I’ve got a question, though,” I said. “What about my parents?”
“They already know,” Lheada said. “That’s why they brought you out here in the first place.”
“So why was I brought up by humans?” I asked.
“So you could learn like a human,” Lheada explained. “So you could learn the logical things that humans do. You’ll learn once we’re with more fairies. We typically jump to conclusions.”
“YOU jump to conclusions,” Eohu said.
“Um... okay, then,” I said. “But when do we leave?”
“Right now,” Eohu said.
“WHAT?” I yelped. “What about sleep and clothes and stuff?”
“That will be covered once we get there,” Eohu said. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I wondered.
“The king’s hideout,” Lheada explained. “The palace was infiltrated and he had to go into hiding, along with everyone else in our world.”
“Do you know him?” I asked.
“We’re part of his guard,” Lheada explained. “The junior part. We’ve only just passed the tests to get in.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Eohu said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. I had a sudden sensation of being squished into an over tight tube, and then a sudden sense of relief. We were in a totally new place.
We had arrived in a large clearing with a lot of tents that slouched and tons of dejected-looking people. Some were knights pacing back and forth, some were wild-looking men dressed in Lincoln green, and still others were small and light, similar in build to Eohu and Lheada. All of them looked dejected and worn out.
I realized that all of these people were stuff of legend, myths, and fairy tales-the knights of Camelot, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, fairies, elves, sprites, and nymphs. I glanced around and saw a dwarf tying a unicorn to a tree. Nearby, a giant sat whittling a piece of wood. He looked so sad, and I realized why-he must feel so trapped, being tall enough to stand above the trees; he would never get to stretch his legs, for fear of being seen.
On the opposite side of the clearing, a dragon lay sleeping. It was huge, bottle green, and was the saddest sight I had ever seen. Like the giant, he seemed tired, sad, and trapped, like the nap he was taking wasn’t actually giving him any rest.
“Sad, isn’t it?” Lheada said, noticing where I was looking. “Kenzal’s been there for a few days, and he still hasn’t woken up. He’s still breathing, though,” she added, noticing the look on my face.
“This way,” Eohu said, leading us through the campsite to a section that had a definite sense of magic in it, even though the tents were just as bedraggled and the people were just as morose. I guessed that this part was where a lot of the magical types lived-fairies, like us, elves, nymphs, sprites.
I suddenly felt very out of place, with my beaten-up and drawn on blue high tops and overlarge cargo pants. Everybody here was elegantly yet practically dressed except for me and my too-big pants and my ill-fitting plaid shirt. Both had belonged to my dad at one point. I never thought they would be out of place until now.
Eohu pushed back the flap of one of the less haphazard tents and led the way inside. I realized I was still holding the wooden flute. I shoved it into my pocket and followed.
On the outside, the tent was not exactly brilliant. On the inside, however, it could probably sleep at least twenty on fairly nice beds AND had room for a study and a fire pit.
Sitting at the desk, which was the first thing I saw, was a man of about forty. He looked tired, just like everyone else, probably partially due to the lateness of the hour. However, he had a sort of rugged sense about him that was still sort of regal. I guessed that this was the king. He looked up as we entered.
“Ah,” was all he said. I wasn’t sure whether I was allowed to look at him or not, so I fixed my eyes on the disorganized desk. The room was quiet for a few seconds.
“We did as you asked, sir,” Eohu said lamely after a few moments of the awkward silence.
“I see,” the king said. “Did you fill her in entirely?”
“Yes, sir,” Lheada replied.
“Very well,” the king said. “The search party leaves at dawn in two days. Lheada, I am afraid you will have to remain here. The men need a female presence in camp while the rest are away. Eohu, you are still coming, I presume. Now, any questions?”
“I do,” I said meekly. The king glared at me. I immediately forgot what I going to say under his stern glare. “Um... I was wondering, um... never mind,” I stuttered, blushing scarlet.
“Yes, well, carry on for the night,” the king said. The two fairies bowed and left, and I, not knowing what else to do, followed suit.
Once we were out of the tent, I asked, “okay, what did he mean by ‘fill me in entirely,’ and why do I still feel totally clueless?”
“Not now, Lily,” Lheada sighed.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Eohu said apologetically.
“Try,” I insisted.
“Well, basically, all the creatures and people of legend-fairies, sprites, nymphs, elves, King Arthur and his men, Robin Hood and his men, dragons, wizards, witches, unicorns, dwarves, centaurs, everything-they’re dying out. Now Guinevere and all her ladies-in-waiting and the fairy queen and the princesses and Robin Hood’s daughter, they’ve all been captured. All the girls except for Lheada, basically, were captured and being held hostage in the old fairy castle, or maybe one of the ruins, we’re not sure, and we have to go save them.”
“How was that hard to explain?” I inquired.
“There are a lot of weird prophecies and whatnot that involve a flute player-that’s you-and a quest and lots of other junk that’s all very confusing,” Lheada said. “So we’re going to take you to the grub tent and explain the rest in the morning, all right?”
“Okay,” I said. “But where do I sleep?”
“In our tent, Lheada said, as if the idea didn’t really suit her fancy all too well. And that was that.
************************************************************************

The next morning, after a fitful sleep in a cramped tent, I awoke at dawn, unable to sleep any longer. I don’t know why I couldn’t sleep. I don’t think it was the hard ground so much as the fact that I was sleeping between Eohu and Lheada, and Eohu kept rolling over on top of me.
Rising as quietly as I could, I moved out into the mist of the campsite at dawn. Shivering slightly in the cold, I walked over to a somewhat secluded place behind our tent and pulled out the flute. It was small, really. Looking at it, I was totally befuddled by all the holes and designs. I put it to my mouth, and just as I was about to blow, there was a voice behind me.
“Lily?” a male voice asked quietly.
I turned. The voice belonged to a young man I didn’t recognize, with dark, shaggy brown hair, large amber eyes, and freckles. He was at least three inches taller than me, but he was also kind of skinny, like he had just gained the height.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Simon,” he said, taking a tentative step forward. “I’m one of the merry men.” He barely looked older than me. He still seemed to be in that awkward phase between boyhood and teenager-hood, but certainly not Robin Hood-hood.
“What are you...? I mean...” why was I so terrible at asking questions of these people? Simon wasn’t in the least bit attractive. Well, maybe a little bit, but not that much.
“I saw you come out of your tent,” he explained. “I... uh... I couldn’t sleep either. Can I join you?”
“Um... sure,” I said, sitting down.
“What were you doing before?” he asked, sitting down beside me.
“Nothing,” I said honestly.
“Really?” He asked, as if he didn’t believe it.
“Yes!” I insisted, with maybe a little too much force. Simon still looked doubtful.
“Well, then,” he said.
Another figure appeared over Simon’s shoulder. Simon immediately jumped up, and I followed suit.
The newcomer was tall and broad, in a muscular sort of way. He had auburn hair and bluish-grayish-greenish eyes.
“What are you two doing?” he asked. His eyes traveled over me, and then to Simon, where they donned a look of disgust.
“Nothing,” Simon said. He seemed somewhat intimidated.
“He just introduced himself,” I piped up. “Then you came.”
The newcomer raised one eyebrow.
“Garrett, honest,” Simon said. There was an almost pleading note in his voice.
“Garrett nodded, as if he didn’t believe a word of it.
“Well, then,” Garrett said. “I’ll leave you two to it, shall I?”
He stalked away.
Simon glared after him.
“What is it with you and him?” I asked.
“What are you talking about?” he replied.
“It’s just you don’t seem to like each other all that much,” I said.
“He just got knighted,” Simon explained. “And he’s acting like that automatically makes him ten times better than any of the rest of us. The Merry Men, I mean. I can do anything he can. He just has to act all high and mighty about it, because now he’s SIR Garrett of the Southeast Duchy of the Warrior Knights instead of Garrett the Page.”
“And so he was bullying you?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” Simon said, shifting uncomfortably. “He... I can just tell that he doesn’t like me.”
“How can you tell?” I don’t know why I was so curious about these guys I barely knew, but I couldn’t help but wonder what was up between the two of them.
“The way he treats me, you think I was about two,” Simon grumbled unhappily. “And he doesn’t seem to think I’m there. If it’s me and him and a few other guys, and we’re talking about something or another, I’ll start to put in my two cents and then halfway through my sentence, he’ll start talking over me, like I’m from the Land of the Unintelligible or something.”
“I see,” I said slowly. “Well, I had a friend who did that.”
“What happened?” Simon asked.
“We went to different schools after fifth grade and we’ve only seen each other about twice since then,” I told him. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy this time, though. I mean, for you. Is he coming on the mission?”
“Yes,” Simon grunted. “Unfortunately.”
“Well, that’s convenient,” I muttered.
“Are the cooks up yet?” Simon asked, abruptly changing the topic. “I’m starving, aren’t you?”
“Okay,” I agreed. Simon hurried off. Shoving the flute back in my pocket, I turned to follow him, glancing back over my shoulder to survey the area one more time before leaving. As I turned away again, I heard a rustle in the bushes behind me, followed by quiet footsteps that seemed to be going away from me. I immediately swung back around. There was nothing there. I looked closer. Still nothing.
“What’s taking you so long?” Simon demanded, coming back to my side.
“I thought I heard something come out of the bushes over that way,” I told him, pointing. “And then it ran off.”
“Weird,” Simon said. He walked forward and crouched down to inspect the ground where we had just been.
“There are no tracks,” he said, studying the dirt closely.
He went over to the other side of the bushes and crouched down again. I followed him.
“Yep, something has definitely been here,” he said. “See, that print there looks like a human footprint. If it were human, it might fit a kid around seven or eight. But the thing is nobody here is younger than sixteen.”
“Actually, yes there is,” I said. “I’m fifteen.”
“All right, aside from you, nobody here is under the age of sixteen,” Simon said. “And a dwarf’s foot is bigger than that. This means we’re being watched. We need to tell the king. Follow me.”
He rose and started off at a jog. I followed, struggling to keep up with his longer stride.
Simon arrived at the king’s tent moments before I did. He seemed barely out of breath, but he was also taller than me, had a longer stride, and therefore was able to leave me in the dust in a footrace. I was completely winded and breaking a sweat with the effort of keeping up with him.
“We want to see the king,” Simon said to the guard outside the door that hadn’t been there last night.
“The king is indisposed, on account of being asleep,” the guard told him firmly. “So buzz off.”
“It’s urgent!” Simon insisted.
“Whatever an outlaw and a little fairy girl have to say can wait until morning,” the guard said.
“It IS morning,” Simon reminded him doggedly. “The sun is up and everything.”
“Well, you’ll still have to wait for the king to wake up,” the guard insisted. “You have to wait for the king. The king doesn’t have to work his schedule around yours.”
Just then, the tent flap was pulled back, and the king emerged. He looked no less tired than when I had seen him the night before. He was wearing an old coat and pajamas. Everyone bowed.
“What’s wrong, William?” he asked pleasantly.
“They want to talk to you, sir,” the guard named William said. “It’s urgent, apparently, even though I didn’t think-“
“What is it?” the king interrupted, looking at us.
“Footprints, sir,” Simon said. “Brand new, sir. Lily heard whatever it was leaving just a few minutes ago, sir. We were in this clearing near the edge of camp, and-“
“Show me,” the king ordered.
“This way,” Simon said. Simon led the way and the king followed just behind him, with me at the back.
“Interesting,” the king said, crouching down to inspect the marks in the dirt. “Any idea what made these?” he asked of both of us.
“We’re not really sure,” Simon replied. “We were thinking maybe a brownie or something similar in build. Gnomes or goblins, perhaps. It’s really hard to say.”
I didn’t recall ever agreeing to thinking that it might have been a brownie or something similar in build, but I didn’t think it was the time to argue with him.
“I don’t think goblins would be this far from a cave or a mine,” the king said. “And gnomes are just plain stupid. It would be silly to make a fuss if it were a gnome that was watching you, but if it was a brownie, we’re in serious trouble. They’re loyal to Maldan, and they’re very smart. Did it see or hear anything that might have been important?”
“It might have seen the flute,” I said.
“Brilliant,” the king muttered. “Just brilliant. Now they might know we have the prophecy girl. Great.”
Then I heard a rustle behind me again. Spinning around, I saw a small, furry little creature waddling away from me on two short legs, cackling in a voice that sounded like it swallowed some helium or something. If it hadn’t been for the voice, I would have thought it was a walking teddy bear.
It moved away into a little clearing a little farther away. It turned around and, seeing me watching it, immediately dove into the nearest bush and raised its eyes tentatively over the edge of it, seeing whether I was still watching or not.
I turned back to the other two. “So is that a brownie?” I asked them.
“Yep,” The king said.
“Weird,” I remarked. “I didn’t exactly expect it to be so, well, cute.”
“Well, that’s the point, isn’t it?” Simon said, glowering. “Send out the cute little fuzz balls that nobody will hurt, and you’ll get all the information you need. Nasty little creatures, really. They bite hard and won’t give or tell you anything unless you give them their favorite food.”
“What’s their favorite food?” I wondered.
“Apples,” Simon said.
“I’m going out there,” I decided. “Maybe it will talk to me easier than it will talk to you, because I’m a girl.”
“Why should that make a difference?” Simon asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
“She’s got a fair point,” the king put in. “But you should take this.” He pulled an apple out of his coat pocket.
“Thanks,” I said.
Cautiously, I walked across the wooded area to the brownie’s clearing. Its eyes watched me from behind its bush. I crouched down and moved slowly towards it.
“Come on,” I said, using the same voice I used with my dog when he didn’t want to get up for his morning walk. “Come on,” I repeated, smiling slightly. I held out the apple.
The eyes behind the bush went wide, and the brownie emerged from the bush. Approaching with caution, its little button nose sniffed the apple, as if to see whether it was poisoned, and then all of a sudden snatched it out of my hand, giggling in the helium voice.
Before it got a chance to run away, I snatched it around the middle.
“Gocha!”
I pulled the apple out of its grip.
“What did you hear?” I demanded.
“Nothing,” the brownie said. Its voice was surprisingly gruff-I’d been expecting more of the helium tones.
“What can you tell me about your master’s whereabouts?” was my next question.
“Give me the apple and I’ll tell you everything,” it told me.
“Tell me first, and then you’ll get it,” I said.
“It’s my price for the information,” it said.
“How will I know you won’t run off as soon as you get it?” I asked suspiciously.
“I won’t,” it promised.
“Yeah, right,” I said. “You’ve got a meeting with my king, mister. Come on.”
Wrapping my arms tighter around the little creature, I walked back over to Simon and the king.
“Lemme go,” it grunted.
“Not a chance, buddy,” I answered.
“I’m not saying anything,” it insisted.
“That’s funny,” I said. “I think I just heard you say something, or are my ears going bad?”
The brownie just rolled its eyes.
“You’re gonna need a lot of apples for this one,” I told the king. “It says it’s not saying anything, but that probably proves it’s guilty.”
“I like the way your mind works, Lily,” the king said. “I’ll take over from here.”
***************************************************************************

Several hours and quite a few apples later, the king and his advisors had eked all the information they could about the whereabouts of the Royal Ladies and Maldan’s stronghold. I knew Lheada had been involved with the persuasion, because she came out of the tent quite a while later. The first thing she did after looking at me was to wave her hand, and my hair had instantly braided itself into waist-length corn rows.
“You’re going to need it,” she explained. “It’s a lot easier to manage if it’s back like that. Dreadlocks are too much of a hassle. And by the way, the king wants you.”
It turned out that the king just wanted to tell me what had happened, and what had been decided.
As soon as possible, the search was going to leave. The party had been greatly reduced to a quarter of what was originally going to be sent out-it was now only me, Simon, Garrett, and Eohu.
In addition to this information, the king also gave me a map of the stronghold, a long, searching look, the news that I should probably keep the boys in line, because they were all rookies, and the advice that I should keep the flute with me at all times.

A few hours later, after getting a completely new but much sturdier outfit from the elves, including something that looked, felt, and worked like a bodice, but was actually armor, and some new boots, we were finally able to leave.

Creative Writing Story

This is part of the story I'm working on in Creative Writing. I'm not done with it yet, which is why it's only part. So here it is.

I guess it all started with Dave's clarinet. I was fifteen, and we had gone camping-me, my dad, my mom, and my dad's best friend, Dave, and his daughter, Julie, who was my age, at the beginning of the summer after my freshman year in high school. Julie and I, we didn't exactly get along.
Dave had brought his clarinet that weekend. I'm not sure why. Anyway, near lunch time, Dave went out in the woods a little ways and started to play. Curious, I followed him. He walked deeper into the woods and I followed like a puppy, entranced by the music. Then he came to a clearing and sat down, still playing. I followed him and watched his fingers dance over the silver keys.
When he finally stopped, I asked, "Will you teach me?"
He tried to, but I was terrible at it. My fingers didn't fit the keys right, but I blew anyway. The sound that emerged was nothing like the sound that Dave had conjured from the tube. Dave's sound was flowing and beautiful; mine was loud, squeaky, and obnoxious. I tried again, to no avail. I was determined to get it, no matter how long it took.
However, Dave had other plans. He pulled the instrument out of my hands and said, in a ver annoyed tone, "Maybe we should try again another time." He stormed off, leaving me in the clearing alone.
For a little while, Iwas happy by myself in the clearing. Then a mounting panic began to rise in my chest. Where was our campsite? Where was my family? How would I get back to the tent? I began to cry quietly. A bear would probably eat me or something out here.
More time passed, and nobody came for me. I began to cry harder, blended with cuss words and tirades uttered under my breath. They had surely all forgotten about me, which, of course, was probably the entire point of the entire enterprise.
Dark began to fall. I finally forced myself to get up and move and try and make a shelter of some sort, so I didn't get eaten by anything.
Then I noticed a small flute by my left hand. I don't know how it got there. It was small and carved out of some sort of dark wood, with little flowers and vines carved on it. The middles of some of the flowers were hollow-the holes where you put your fingers.
I picked it up and blew on it. It made it a low sort of sound, kind of like an owl. I blew it again, and kept blowing. For some reason, this was a lot easier than playing clarinet. The flute seemed to fit my hands perfectly. I began to randomly put my fingers on and off the various holes, and somehow made a melody.
I don't know how long I stayed in the clearing, playing the flute. I just looked up at one point and saw two figures that were glowing slightly in the dark. I stopped playing and started getting scared again. Dark had really fallen now, and in addition, there were two eerily glowing figures in front of me. They looked like humans about my age-one was a boy, and one was a girl. Both had slanted, bottle green eyes and black hair.
"Well, it took you long enough," the boy said.
"Eohu, don't be rude," the girl scolded.
"Well, we've been here for a good hour and a half," Eohu complained. "Can we go now? I'm bored."
"No, dummy, we have to deliver the message," the girl chided.
I watched this interaction with confused amazement. These two figures were probably twins, but what did some creepy glowing pair want with me in a forest clearing in the dead of night?
"All right," Eohu sighed. "Hurry up."
"We have to do it properly," the girl insisted.
"Oh, all RIGHT," Eohu moaned.
"Lily," the girl addressed me, and I started. How did she know my name? "You have been bestowed with a flute that has certain powers. YOu have been brought to this clearing by our colleague, Dave. You need to hear some very important information."
"What?" I asked, curious.
"Okay, Lheada, enough with formality," Eohu said. "Basically, we're here to tell you that you're a fairy, and we need your help in saving the queen."
"WHAT?" I nearly yelled.
"See, I TOLD you we had to do it properly," Lheada told him.
"Hang on... what?" I asked, unable to take it in. Fairy? A queen? A fairy queen? What was going ON here? "Give it to me again, slowly."
Eohu groaned. "You... are... a... fairy," he said, as if I was both very deaf and very slow. "We... need... YOU... to... help... US."
"Are you fairies, too?" I asked.
"Yes," Lheada said.
"So why do you need me?" I wondered.
"Because you know stuff that we don't," she explained.
"Such as...?" I asked, still confused.
"Such as how to play that flute," Eohu interjected. "Only one person can play it."
"And since you grew up with humans, you can use logic," Lheada said.
"Not all humans can use logic," I said. "I'm terrible at it."
"But you also know certain types of defense that fairies never learn," Lheada explained. "Like how to beat people up with your fists and feet. We just use magic."
"Correction," Eohu interrupted. "I can use my fists and feet. You just use magic. I can fight just fine, thank you."
"And, so... why do you need me and my martial arts in order to save the queen?" I asked. "I defenitely can't wrestle trolls or beat up giants or anything."
"Trolls are over rated," Eohu said. "I nearly fought one once. And they're stupid as-"
"EOHU!" Lheada cut across him.
"What?" he protested.
"No cussing!" Lheada ordered.
"I wasn't going to!" Eohu complained.
"Yes, you were!" Lheada countered.
"Was not!"
"Were too!"
"Um..." I interjected tentatively, "Is this relevant?"
"Oh," Lheada said, returning to her poised state. "No, it isn't. Thank you for reminding us."






That's all I have time for right now. I'll be back in a bit to finish the rest.