499 Cade lane. The house was on the far east side of Crater's residential; it was fancier than Ivy expected. Above the thick wooden door was an interstice of several spiderwebs spanning from the wall to the marble columns, which caught the attention of Zoe. They glistened yellow in the early morning sunrise.
It seemed to be the only house made of brick and marble in the eastern district, as almost all the brick houses were in the north. The eastern houses were usually smaller angular gothic-style wooden houses.
Many tall shaded windows faced the cobblestone street the trio stood on. The placard on the door read, "NO SOLICITING!" in all capital letters.
Zoe typed in the four-digit code on the metal gate. They walked down the winding stone path that led through the well-manicured garden. Four tall statues were on either side of the marble steps attached to the front porch. The two on the left side: A tall man with short hair, wearing a suit, and a woman who sat elegantly on a stone chair—serious, but with a twinkle of humor in its eyes. On the right side was a girl with a bright smiling face and long, flowing hair. Sitting at the statue's feet, a large shaggy dog, its mouth hung open in a goofy smile.
"Wait, is that you?" Ivy grinned, pointing to the statue on the right. Walking over to examine it, looking back and forth from Zoe to the statue.
Zoe let out a long sigh, "yea," she mumbled, trying not to look at it.
"Geez, that's so cool!" Ivy laughed.
"It's embarrassing."
"Sheesh, I forgot how crazy your house was," said Colson as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"It's not that big," Zoe said sheepishly; she took a deep breath and knocked on the door before opening it and walking inside, Ivy and Colson following her.
"Wow," Ivy said.
A large crystal chandelier hung down from the ceiling right outside the foyer. Two mirroring staircases went from each side of the room to the second floor, between that a long hallway that stretched to a lavish courtyard. Beyond the courtyard, the expansive backyard of the residence unfolded, commanding a breathtaking view of the ocean.
"Can you guys take your shoes off?" Zoe said while slipping out of hers, and tossing them to the side of the foyer.
"We don't want to scuff their immaculate white wooden floors," Colson's words dripped with sarcasm, looking at the floors which were covered in claw marks and fur from the two massive dogs they had.
They tossed their shoes off, put their backpacks next to them, and followed Zoe to the back of the house to a kitchen with large windows and a glass door that overlooked a backyard, which was attached to an indoor swimming pool.
As they walked closer to the kitchen, the sound of sizzling bacon and the smell of warm pancakes got more potent in every room they went through until they walked through the kitchen doorway.
A loud bark rang out as the heavy sound of galloping came rushing toward them. The giant beast stood on its hind legs; it was a head taller than her; it panted as it put its paws on Zoe's shoulders and started licking her face with fervor.
"Eugh!" Zoe grunted as she attempted to push the shaggy white dog down.
"No, ma'am! Down, girl!" A woman's voice yelled from across the room. She was barely taller than Colson, with blonde hair, a bright face, and a cooking apron around her waist; under that were blue basketball shorts and a black t-shirt. "Canary's excited! It's been…wow, she hasn't seen you in months." She smiled and put down the spatula she was holding. She walked over to the trio and gave them all a big group hug.
"Hey, mom," Zoe grumbled awkwardly as she was getting squeezed to death.
Ivy's mouth was watering as her eyes glazed over the stacks of waffles, pancakes, and bacon on the quartz countertop.
Stepping back, her mom looked the group up and down, smiled, and hugged Zoe once more; Colson smirked while looking at Zoe, who had a forced grin plastered across her face.
"Wow! You've grown so much; I remember when you were just up to here," she gestured to a place a bit above her stomach. She turned to Ivy, "now I don't know you,"
Ivy introduced herself, and Zoe's mom hugged her again. She turned to Colson and greeted him; they did a secret handshake. She turned back to the stove and stirred some eggs in a pan. On the wall looking down on her, existed a massive replica of the painting, 'The Lovers.' "Anyways, Zoe, your father should be down soon, and I'll serve breakfast then; you all should sit and have breakfast with us; you really should. He has a busy day ahead of him; I guess you both have busy days today, huh? We really are proud of you, Zoe. I know how much you wanted a mission. Anyways, how long have you known Ivy?"
"A few weeks, as she only got here recently," said Zoe as they all sat down at the table.
Her mom's smile fell, her face turned pale, and she glanced toward Ivy, who still stared at the food on the counter. "Only got here recently…." She repeated the words as if she was caught in a trance.
"Mother?" Zoe said with a puzzled look on her face.
"Oh!" Her mother looked around nervously for a second; quietly, she said to herself, "Now, where did I put that spatula.."
The trio shared confused looks and shrugged.
Heavy footsteps came down the stairs above their heads. Her mom took a quick breath, and her smile and color returned to her face. She leaned out of the Kitchen door and yelled, "Breakfast is ready, dear! Zoe and her friends have decided to join us!"
"I'll be right down!" A deep voice called back.
She looked back at the trio; Ivy was staring, wide-eyed, at the stacks of pancakes and waffles, and Zoe and Colson were absently chatting. Zoe's mother looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it and turned around. 'I'm going to have to tell Joel! He needs to know!' She thought as she finished scrambling the last egg.
A few minutes later, a tall man with combed black hair and a blue suit walked into the room. His intense eyes scanned the trio at the table with a fastidious look. A second later, his face broke into a small smile, "Welcome to our humble abode," his voice so boisterous that it caused Canary to yelp. He sat down at the seat across from the trio facing the window.
"Breakfast is ready!" Zoe's mom said with alacrity, as she balanced several plates in her hands, placing them in the middle of the table. "So this girl here," she pointed at Ivy, "she's actually new to the colony. Isn't that great!" Her smile still remained, but her eyes were wide and staring intently into Joel's. 'I hope you pick up what I'm putting down.' She thought.
'Yea, I read you loud and clear,' thought Joel, as he looked Ivy up and down as She was shoving a syrup-soaked waffle into her mouth, blissfully unaware. 'Based on her physiognomy, the girl seems innocent enough, quite immature, but I should talk to Neph, sooner rather than later. As she is now, I doubt she'd be a danger to anyone who is a triple-star colonist or above. But why did Neph sign off on a mission like this? It's not too terribly dangerous, but it is worrisome how the farm hasn't responded to any of our messages sent. Especially that one in particular….'
They continued eating as Zoe's mother brought out more and more plates of cooked food, glancing at Zoe, who had barely touched her breakfast and only poking at it with her fork, "you know, Zoe," she said, setting the platters down on the table "you should really eat something; you can't really spare the calories."
"Mother," she grumbled. "I don't eat this kind of food."
"Oh, that's right. Sorry, I honestly completely forgot. But you should eat something," she pleaded.
"Maybe," Zoe mumbled, stabbing the fork into one of the pancakes.
"What did Neph say when he signed off for you guys?" Joel asked, his wife pausing and quickly glancing back at the table before going back to grab the last plate of food.
"He didn't say much," Colson said between bites. "Right, guys?"
"You betcha!" Ivy said in a guileless tone.
Zoe half-heartedly nodded as her eyes shifted downwards, avoiding her father's stare.
"We do have some meeting with a quest master in a bit as well."
Joel could always tell when his daughter wasn't being entirely honest. "Oh, usually, he wouldn't give the 'ok' for a mission like this to kids like you."
"Like us?" Colson asked.
"Well, you know," Joel's tone was a light-hearted repartee, "only Zoe here has completed any missions; if I'm not mistaken, Colson, you've never actually completed a single quest before. And you, what's your name again?"
"Ivy."
"Yea, Ivy," He said her name as if he were discussing a politician he didn't like, "You just got here, so it's a little odd that someone like Neph would say yes to you. Am I wrong?" He asked, looking towards Zoe; her head was low, and her hands started fidgeting with her necklace.
"I guess," Ivy said with a shrug as she looked down at her empty plate, then stared hungrily at Joel's breakfast, which was almost untouched.
'I can't stop them because that's against the colony's bylaws; if they haven't asked for help, or if their quest hasn't become unmanageable, I can't do anything to impede them. Only a vote via the five Hounds can do anything! At the moment I won't be able to prove any foul play either. I'll have to go to Neph immediately! As a Chief of staff, he will listen to me and put a stop to this,' he thought as he got up from the table, glancing at the clock above one of the windows. "Anyway, I should get going. Good luck, you guys, and it was nice meeting you, Ivy." He hugged and kissed his wife goodbye and left.
Zoe let out a sigh of relief, pushing her food to the middle of the table, barely eaten—her stomach gurgling from her nerves. Ivy and Colson split the remaining food on Joel's and Zoe's plates.
Zoe's mom turned towards them, looking a little flustered, "so what time do you guys leave?"
"Probably now," Zoe said.
Once Ivy and Colson had finished, they all walked towards the front door, ready to leave. Zoe's mom asked them if they had everything they needed, if they brought enough food, if their weapons were sharpened, and other motherly things.
"Zoe, dear. Can I talk to you one moment?" Her mom said as Zoe was about to leave.
"Okay, you guys can keep going," Zoe turned to face her mom, who was looking past her toward the two. "What?"
"I just want you to be safe, okay."
"Yea, I know, mom," she said impatiently.
"I trust your judgment, but I just think you should be careful, okay?"
"Mother-"
"Just listen, your father is very protective of Crater and its citizens. This is our home. And if someone comes in and threatens it, they're a threat to all of us. Do you understand?" Her smile was gone, replaced with a stern look that only a mother could give.
"You know what the fortune says, don't you? That's why dad was acting so weird at breakfast! What did it say?"
"Zoe...I don't really think I'm at liberty to say…but this stays between us, okay?" She held out her pinky finger towards Zoe, "pinky swear?"
"Alright," Zoe said as she held out her finger.
"How much do you know about it?"
"Almost nothing. I only know that it's about a 'new girl that joins the colony.' The tone of the fortune seems to suggest that something bad will happen, but I've heard other rumors saying the opposite."
"Well, I don't know much more than you do, but your father has told me bits and pieces of it. He shouldn't even know about it himself, but people talk, I guess…" she paused, looking up at the slowly rising sun, seeing the rays shine over Carter's walls. "How did you get the mission?" She asked, finally.
"Well, we just kind of...found it," She had a guilty smile.
"Oh," the disappointment in her mother's voice was evident, "don't let someone trick you into doing something you don't want to do."
"But I do want to do this! You know I've been trying forever!"
"You don't seem very thrilled," her mother noted.
"This is my one opportunity; if I don't take it, who knows when I'll get another chance."
"Is that what she told you?"
Zoe's silence was all her mother needed to hear.
"Zoe, you've got to think about these things. Why people say the things they say."
"Mom, I'm not an idiot."
She smiled, "I know," she said, embracing her daughter once more, "I'm just worried." She pulled back, "Do you still have the necklace I gave you?"
"Yea," Zoe said, taking it out from under her shirt. The orange four-leaf clover contrasted with the dark blue background of the small metal deck of cards.
"Good, make sure to keep that close. Anyways," her smile returned, "you are dismissed."
"Alright, well, see you later, mom!" Zoe jogged off towards Ivy and Colson, who were waiting for her in the distance.