Hey, y'all! I know this is long overdue, but I'm really excited to present to you the fourth installment of Rules, Rebellion, and Revolution! I hope y'all enjoy it! If you haven't read part three yet, click
here.
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The Saturday after meeting up with Hunter Huntsman, the Ever Afters were keeping themselves busy until Hunter arrived to work on fliers with Raven.
Blondie was typing away on her laptop, intent on her job of sharing the horrible new rule with the rest of the student body. "Everyone is going to see this blog post and protest against the rule!" she thought. "If I can only think up the right words..."
Raven and Ashlynn were sitting around the dining room table, beginning to fight.
"Why can't I help you and Hunter brainstorm what will go on the fliers?" Ashlynn argued.
Raven sighed in exasperation. "I've already gone over this with you, Ashlynn! You're too nice! You wouldn't come up with any sayings that would stir the fires of revolution! Just look at your strike poster!"
Ashlynn tilted her head slightly, glancing at her pretty poster.
"Yes, it is nice, but are you proposing that Hunter will come up with something mean? He would never!" Ashlynn protested.
"We aren't trying to come up with mean things to say!" Raven explained. "We just need to say some things that are... Outside your wheelhouse!"
"Well, I..." Ashlynn began a retort, but was cut short by a slurred bang against the door.
"Hunter?" Ashlynn jumped up from her chair, her eyes aglow.
"Whoops!" Madi exclaimed as she walked through the door. "This is a little awkward to carry!" she said, gesturing to her bundle.
Ashlynn plopped back down into her seat, her shoulders slightly stooped.
"What is that, Madi?" Blondie asked, implying the brightly colored fluff roll that Madi was holding.
"Oh! I can't wait to show you!" Madi beamed. "It's a rug!"
"Where did you get it?" Ashlynn inquired. "And why would you buy a rug that doesn't coordinate with our color scheme?"
Raven smirked slightly. "What color scheme?"
Ashlynn shot Raven a dirty look-- or as dirty a look she could muster.
"I got it at the marketplace! And come on, who doesn't love purple?" Madi smiled. She then threw her purse into the air, where it did a little flip, then landed perfectly on top of Blondie's head.
"Careful, Blondie, the water in there is still boiling!" Madi giggled.
Blondie's eyes shot open. She kept her head very still.
"Why do you keep boiling water in your purse?" Blondie asked, but then quickly zipped her mouth shut as the teapot wobbled precariously.
"You don't?" Madi cocked her head.
"Hang on, Blondie, I'll get it off you!" Ashlynn said as she trotted over to her friend.
Madi flung the rug across the floor, revealing it's full purple glory. Ashlynn stopped mid-motion and stared at the neon rug.
"Madi, I'm sorry, but that rug has got to go somewhere else!" Ashlynn exclaimed. "Even if we don't have a color scheme--" she threw an evil eye in Raven's direction-- "this rug doesn't help anything!"
Blondie tried to recapture Ashlynn's attention without turning her head too much. "Ashlynn!" she quietly said.
"HOLD up!" Madi threw a hand in the air. "This rug isn't just any old rug! It's a very special rug!"
"Oh, really? What makes it so special?" Ashlynn placed her hands on her hips.
Madi's turquoise eyes sparkled and her lips curled into a wide grin. She leaned in towards Ashlynn and said, "It's a magic rug!"
"A magic rug?" Ashlynn said dubiously.
"A Wonderland magic rug!" Madi explained. "It can fly!"
"See, you just sit on it-- like this," Madi explained with a grunt as she arranged her long limbs. "Then you unlock it's magic potential by speaking a riddle to it!"
As Madi spoke in Riddlish with the rug, Ashlynn looked to Raven for help. "Raven! Please tell Madi that she needs to take her flying carpet somewhere else!"
Raven seemingly contemplated what Ashlynn said, but then replied, "I actually think it brings a nice touch to the living room. It adds a fun bit of color!"
Ashlynn's face turned slightly pink with frustration at this remark. "Yes! It completely enlivens the room-- along with the hideous yellow couch!" Ashlynn's said, her voice thick with sarcasm.
Madi jumped to her feet, picking up the bright purple rug. She shook a finger at it, demanding, "Work, magic rug! You were working perfectly at the marketplace!"
Blondie continued to hold her head completely still, not even wanting to speak for fear the pot would tumble down her face.
When the magic rug still wouldn't work, Madi threw it down on the ground and said, "Maybe it's one of those magic rugs that only works once you speak the riddle, and you dance on it!" She began a native Wonderland dance on the carpet. After about five minutes, she finished the crazy dance with a dance move that left her standing on her head, but the carpet still wouldn't work.
Ashlynn threw up her hands in frustration. "Madi! It's not going to work!" Ashlynn said, her voice mounting in anger. "It's broken or something!"
Raven looked at her frazzled friend and said, "Ashlynn, I think you need to calm down. It's just a rug!" Raven gave Ashlynn a knowing glance. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Well..." Ashlynn hung her head, her anger starting to diminish. "I guess I missed just a few hours of sleep last night... The latest installment in the Fairyworld Series is absolutely riveting!"
"I think you need to go rest for a bit," Raven suggested.
"Fine," Ashlynn conceded. "But promise me that when Hunter gets here, you will let me know."
"I promise."
Madi twitched. "Could you guys maybe help me get back up?"
Blondie piggybacked on Madi's request for help with one of her own. "And maybe you could take the boiling water off of my head?"
The hours dragged on, but Hunter still didn't arrive. Madi, Blondie, and Ashlynn had fallen asleep in the living room, while Raven sat, still waiting for Hunter.
Raven's forehead was wrinkled in worry. Hunter always follows through on the commitments he makes... What happened? She didn't know what to think.
She looked over at Ashlynn's still form. She slept on the floor out here just so she wouldn't miss a moment with him... Only for him not to show up!
Raven placed her hand on the paper that she and Hunter were supposed to have been working on. Somehow, she knew deep down that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
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Sooo... Whatcha think? I'm hoping that you are getting into this as much as I am! What do you think might have happened to Hunter?
XOXO Ginger Spice
