"Oh there you are, how nice of you to finally show up oh gracious one." said Annie in clear sarcasm as Maddie walked into their shared bedroom.
"Oh ha, ha, thank you." replied Maddie.
"Oh you're welcome, but seriously, where the heck did you go? I was looking for you everywhere?" asked Annie.
"I was starting to get seriously worried, you do know that you were gone for like more than four hours?!" said Annie as Maddie sighed and sat down on her bed, she was not in the mood to be scolded.
"If you were that worried you could have just used a locate spell to find me." replied Maddie with a shrug.
"Yes, I was worried, but as worried as I was, I am also a good friend and I knew that you needed to be left alone to deal with whatever was bothering you this morning." replied Annie.
"Thanks for that, you didn't have to be worried, I wouldn't leave the Castle." said Maddie.
"Then where were you?" asked Annie.
"In my favourite spot in the Castle, you don't need to bother yourself about that." replied Maddie.
"Well you seem better, do you feel better now?" asked Annie.
"Much better." replied Maddie as she smiled.
"Do you want to talk about what was bothering you?" she asked as Maddie shook her head.
"No I do not, it's not that serious, I was just being my usual, overdramatic self." replied Maddie.
"Oh so you know that you are overdramatic?" asked Annie as Maddie scoffed.
"Don't milk it, yes, I can be a prima-donna sometimes." said Maddie.
"Okay, let's just hope you've got it all out of your system for today, it's time to go on the picnic, and please promise you that you'll behave yourself. Ollie wants to do this nice thing for us before we leave." said Annie as Maddie groaned.
"Okay, yes, yes alright, I will behave, you don't always have to fight on behalf of that blondie." replied Maddie sounding annoyed and a little bit jealous.
"Oh yes I do, I have to save him from your antics, the poor guy was very worried about you when you just left without eating anything." said Annie.
"I'm so surprised that you always seem to be on his side, you always defend him, I'm sure you wouldn't do the same if it was me instead of him." said Maddie as she took off her shoes.
"First of all, you always defend yourself before anyone else can, and besides, you know that's not true. I will always defend you, always, when you're right, just don't count on that when you're the one that's wrongfully terrorizing our friend." said Annie as Maddie rolled her eyes.
"Whatever you say." said Maddie.
"Have you eaten anything?" asked Annie in worry.
"Just some fruit, but I'm not hungry." said Maddie.
"Okay then." replied Annie.
"Get dressed, we're leaving in ten minutes, do you like what I picked out for the picnic?" asked Annie as she did a little twirl causing her favourite purple skirt to flow.
"I can't believe you're all dressed up for this picnic, it's not that big of a deal." replied Maddie.
"Oh it is, because it's a big deal to Ollie, which makes it a big deal to me as well." replied Annie.
"Well you look great." said Maddie.
"Thank you, and why are you wearing a sweater? It's hot." said Annie as she realized that Maddie had been wearing a sweater all morning in this heat.
"Well I felt a little bit chilly this morning." replied Maddie.
"Really now? Because I woke up almost sweating this morning. It's the middle of summer, why are you wearing a sweater Maddie?" asked Annie in a mix of concern and suspicion.
"Not everyone feels the heat the way you do. I actually felt cold, hence the sweater, don't make a big deal out of it." replied Maddie.
"Okay, fine, but just don't wear that sweater out, it's going to be really hot outside, the sun is really bright and warm, and it is the perfect day for a picnic." said Annie.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll meet you outside, I feel like you're smothering me right now, so go and wait outside while I get changed." said Maddie
"Oh alright, fine, you have eight minutes Maddie, if you come down a second late you'll just see me appear behind you." said Annie with a warning.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, see you later." she replied as Annie left the room and Maddie sighed as soon as the door was closed behind her.
Maddie took off her sweater and looked at the wound on her right arm. It looked less noticeable, but the bright red colour was still there.
Magic didn't seem to be able to work on it, so she had to find something to cover it up. Wearing long sleeves in this type of weather would instantly make Annie more suspicious than she already was.
Maddie rushed to her suitcase, she opened it and brought out some makeup as she proceeded to use it to cover up her wound. It stung as she applied it causing her to wince but it had to be done.
She didn't want to tell either Annie or Matt what was going on with her, or at least not until she knew what was causing it. She didn't want them to worry, things were just only starting to be peaceful and now this happened, she never wanted to be a burden to anyone, never.
After applying the makeup she made sure to be certain that her wound was not visible at all.
Maddie rushed into the bathroom realizing that she did not have much time left before Annie barged in here.
She concluded that if magic wouldn't work on the wound itself, it could at least work on the makeup.
She muttered a quick spell and turned on the tap and placed her arm under the running water and the makeup did not wash off.
Maddie chuckled in delight she was a genius, now she did not need to worry about her makeup getting wet and washing off it it rained or someone accidentally spilled some liquid on her.
"You're a genius Maddie, a genius." chuckled Maddie to herself proudly.
Maddie quickly rushed out of the bathroom remembering that Annie could be back here any second, she hurriedly looked in her closet for any random dress to put on, she threw it on the bed and removed her sweater rushing to get ready.
...
"Hey guys." said Annie as she smiled when she caught sight of Ollie and Matt waiting outside.
"Hey Annie." said Matt with a smile.
"You look really dressed up for this simple picnic." said Ollie as he laughed.
"Of course I am, a very special guest planned this just for us, and for that I am thankful which is why I am dressed very nicely, so do you like it?" asked Annie with a smile.
"I like it a lot." said Ollie with a smile causing Annie to smile.
"Hey, where's Maddie?" asked Matt as he looked around.
"She's in our room, she finally came back after being gone for so long and I only gave her ten minutes to get ready." said Annie.
"I don't think that she's coming, it's alright if she doesn't, it's fine we'll just cancel it and stay home." said Ollie sadly.
"No Ollie, stop that, she will come, and you won't cancel this wonderful gesture of yours. In fact, ten minutes have long passed, I'll be right back, she better be ready." said Annie as she stormed off.
"Oh Annie's angry alright." said Matt as he watched Annie's retreating figure as she entered back into the Castle.
"I didn't want any of this to happen, I don't want the both of them to be angry at each other because of me." said Ollie sadly.
"Oh don't blame yourself Ollie, Maddie's already had this coming, she's been misbehaving all day, you just relax and stay out of it." said Matt as he patted Ollie on the back.
...
Annie stormed angrily as she walked up the stairs. So help her if Maddie wasn't dressed yet or came up with an unruly excuse, or worse just plainly stated that she wasn't going, Annie would be livid and the roof would come down for sure.
Maddie could already hear the heavy stomping of the approaching feet of someone she knew was on her way angrily.
"Shoot." said Maddie as she quickly put on her brown sandals and ran into the bathroom with her makeup as Annie threw the door open at that same moment.
"Maddie!" called Annie as she walked straight to the bathroom.
"Geez Annie, chillax, I was just putting on some makeup." said Maddie calmly with a bright smile.
"You can't tell me that Maddie, I know how unreasonably stubborn you can be, at least your dressed, come on now, let's go." said Annie as she pulled Maddie's hand.