Blue Rose Jam - Drabble
Written 12th June 2017.
Written 12th June 2017.
The birds were chirping as it was early morning at the Resort, yet the air was already quite humid. Itzel cracked open a window and wind came bustling in, blowing some of the papers on her desk onto the floor. “Agh!” She exclaimed, getting to her knees and collecting them again. There was faint chiming now that there was air flow in the room, the small office just outside of Soot’s Office. Working as her secretary had her perks and one of them was the magnificent view, overseeing the vast ocean and looking down on the Resort, all the residents and guests having fun in the bright summer sun. She smiled, enjoying this moment to herself, but it was rudely interrupted by a growl and a slamming of a coffee mug. “ITZEL!” A voice crooned from within the main office, in which Itzel quickly entered the room, her orange feathers ruffled slightly as she looked for the source of the problem. There she saw Soot, an elderly coal Coatl, splayed out on her low couch, her long cail coiled around a scroll. “Itzel! What is the meaning of this?” She demanded, almost literally throwing the scroll at the skydancer. “W-whats what?” She replied, quickly unfurling the scroll and reading the contents. Her face shifted from confusion to a muted expression; “Lady Soot…This is our monthly budget. We’re under budget, isn’t that a good thing?” Itzel asked, checking the figures again quickly.
“Exactly! That mean’s we’ve forgotten something! And I cannot, for the life of me , remember what it was.” She scowled, sitting up on her haunches now, she was a dramatic old coot that’s for sure. Itzel rolled up the scroll once more and returned to her desk; “I’ll investigate it Lady Soot.” And left.
Glancing outside once more, she decided that perhaps she’d go to the market this morning and fetch Lady Soot some flowers, hibiscus perhaps. Now that she had a plan, she collected her items and left the office, she wouldn’t be gone long anyway. A short walk led her into a massive open internal space, the main halls of the Breezebreak Resort. It was levelled out into multiple levels, each floor supported by great pillars made of marble, almost like the ones you would see in ancient Hewn City. Each pillar was strewn with fairy lights that tinkled softly, the white light reflected ever so slightly against the marble texture. This massive hive-like formation was the heart of the Resort, and being dragons, getting around was pretty easy. Itzel looked both ways and up and down before she unfurled her faceted orange wings and dove over the side, missing a family of Spirals who were trying to control their cluster of noodle children. They writhed and cried but Itzel had no time to tend to them now. She flew down several floors before reaching the 3rd floor. It had a large panel made of stained wood, this was the main exit to one of the gardens.This particular gardens was holding the morning market today!
The garden was laid in pebblestones which was growing moss over them, grass growing between the cracks. Small picket fences lined the flowers, various shades of orange, yellows and reds. There were stalls set up everywhere, and dragons of all sizes and ages were spread out here. One snapper was selling his wares, old relics from Dragonhome. Itzel questioned his authenticity but took a look anyways. There was an old vase with some greek decorations gilded into it, a few chips and it was a bit dusty. For a fake, it was pretty believable. A scent caught Itzel’s nose, a smokey scent of mixed herbs and rosemary. The young dragon wafted over to the source and was pleasantly surprised to see who was cooking this dish – It was her twin sister Trellis!
“Trel! I didn’t know you could cook!” She teased, looking down at the various dishes. She had many jars of jams and unspoilables, some honey and even jars of ground up insects and herbs. “Hah, there is a lot about me you don’t know Itz.” The green skydancer bickered back, “Hey, give this a try.” She added, passing Itzel a spoon with some sort of purple jam on it. “It’s good, trust me.” She smiled, urging her sister on. Itzel, the older twin , took it in. It was a tangy mix, but not one she liked. “Yeuugh!” She grimaced, her sister laughing, “I thought you could handle anything!”
“Not when it’s poison!” Itzel hissed.
“It’s actually Blue Rose Jam.” Trellis pointed to a boquet of said blue roses, “They’re meant to taste like blueberries somewhat.” She shrugged, Her sister was not impressed.
“Hey, have you heard from Xoco?” Itzel quickly changed the subject, “I heard she was in town, but I haven’t seen her yet…” Her voice trailed off slightly, her attention grabbed by some art work at the stall next to Trellis’.
“Xoco? She’s in town?? I didn’t know!” her sister gasped.
“Why hasn’t she seen us yet?”
“Maybe she’s embarrassed…”
“By us? No way!” Itzel retorted.
“I mean, we’re twins. She was…” The green skydancer paused, quickly finishing a transaction with another market goer. “I mean, she wasn’t .. planned.”
“Don’t say that!” Itzel growled slightly, “That’s not true. She was meant to be here.”
“But she’s not like us”
“I’m not having this conversation.”
Trellis was silent for a few moments, “I’m sorry, that was pretty mean..” Her paws fumbled with a jar of blue honey, tracing the lid with her nails.
“Its not like that” A voice squeaked from behind the two sisters, a small skydancer who was clad in orange wolf pelt and adorned in worn battle armour stood before them. A small sob came from within the pelt, muffled by the fur. “Itz…Trel…I-I know I wasn’t wanted and…I-I…” Xoco started, shuffling in place, before she turned and bolted, darting between the customers at the market. Itzel sighed heavily and shot a death gaze towards Trellis, who avoided her gaze completely, wallowing in her guilt. Itzel went to pursue her, but lost her in the crowds.
Oh boy, the twins were in a big mess now. Family affairs were always so messy.