"Poor, unhappy Roaster." Sunny sighed, theatrically. "I knew him, you guys."
Hiro smacked her back, but he added little force so that he wouldn't slam her onto the floor. He let out a chuckle, and he remarked,
"Sunny, he's going to be okay! We just gotta have some faith!"
She beamed, wrapping her arms around Hiro's waist like a doting younger sister, "Of course, Hiro! Gosh, you're always the one picking me up when I'm down in the dumps!"
Elliot smiled faintly, "Yeah, you guys were amazing, and we wouldn't have gotten out of here if it weren't for the Roaster. You actually made me feel good..I'm so sorry for not coming along. I was scared…scared of a certain something…But now that this almost happened to you, I'm going to make sure this never happens again."
Suddenly, a chilly gust of wind crossed paths with them, and they shivered. They looked up at the cloudy sky, and snowflakes started to fall. Elliot remained deadpanned, already used to the sheer freeze of winter.
"Jiminy crickets!" Sunny remarked. "It's the beginning of winter! Golly, time flew by!"
"No….No…"
"Anala, what's the matter?" Hiro asked.
Anala was down on her knees, her eyes widened into a thousand yard stare. Her face was pale and her skin—especially her hands and feet—were freezing blue. She huffed for air, but all that came out of her mouth were chilly breaths. All that came out her mouth however were cold chatters. Elliot frowned, closing his eyes.
"She's suffering from hypothermia." he muttered.
Sunny immediately rushed over, taking off her coat and wrapping it around Anala. She held her hands, her grip nearly faltered upon feeling their icyness.
"Oh jiminy…" she muttered, her eyes widening.
Squeaker's head perked out of Hiro's pocket, and Sunny turned her gaze to him.
"You've brought him along?!"
"I couldn't just leave him home! Anything could happen!"
Sunny paused, before finally facepalming. Squeakers meanwhile wrapped his body onto Anala's cheek, using his fur to ignite some warmth. She quickly turned to face Anala, tightening her grip as Hiro rubbed his hands around Anala's arms. Sunny shut her eyes closed, she regretted how she thought of the Creator. She regretted nearly giving up to Heresy. She folded her hands together, Anala's hands intertwining with them.
"Please, Creator.." she whispered. "Don't let her die…She's like a big sister, a big sister I never had!"
Elliot hesitantly spoke. "She must ignite the fires of Mars that could thaw the moon's thousand winters."
Sunny's jaw dropped, her eyes bulging out her sockets.
"She's THAT cold?!"
She patted Anala's rosy cheeks, trying to lightly smack some sense into her.
"Anala, snap out of it!" she yelled. "Please! We need you! You promised you wouldn't leave me!" she winced, starting to whimper as tears formed her eyes. "Creator…I'm so sorry…I was so angry that I lost control! But please don't take her away, especially since I finally got over Heresy!"
"What are you peasants doing here in the alleway? Are you that pathetic to be wandering here?"
Everyone turned their heads to face Constance, who was accompanied by a wincing, bag-carrying Jacques. She was fashioned with a fur coat and her nose scrunched up upon seeing the situation.
"Constance!" Sunny smiled with exuberance. "How's it going, pal?"
Constance scoffed, "And what do you want, Impoten? Are you gonna beg for money just like some of the folks on the streets?"
Elliot growled, his hand clutching his spear. But before he could take action, Hiro patted his shoulder, shaking his head in disapproval. Constance meanwhile let out a weepy sigh, putting the back of her hand to her forehead in a theatrical manner.
"Oh, how shopping tires me…And it isn't the only thing either! Rowdy Raldir won't leave me alone!"
Sunny tilted her head to the side, and she sighed wearily, "What did he do this time?"
"He's always harassing and making a fool out of me! He drowns the flowers of my garden and leaves it all ugly and slushy!"
Hiro frowned, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, classic Raldir. Always making a fool out of everybody he doesn't like during his free time. I recall all the times he bullied me by squirting me with water guns!" but then he snickered like a maniac, "But that's alright, because i'm gonna get him back with my winds someday! I'm going to whirl him into one of my accidental tornados then make him beg on his knees!"
Sunny couldn't help but laugh, but she turned to Anala, who suddenly fell to the floor, her body frozen. She yelped, picking up her head and resting it upon her lap.
"Anala!" she cried, holding her hand. "Say something!"
Hiro and Elliot gasped, both of them running to her side. Jacques winced, almost feeling the pain of frostbite, while Constance just rolled her eyes, her arms crossed.
"Tch, can you all relax? She's going to be fine. All we need is to give her a warm bath."
A lightbulb flickered on top of Sunny's head, and she lightly gasped. She couldn't help but wrap her arms around Constance, giving her a tight hug.
"Constance, you're a genius!"
Jacques yelped upon witnessing the scene, and Constance let out a squeak, violently pushing Sunny out of her.
"Get your filthy hands off of me, darn it!"
Sunny chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry about that, pal. However, we could really use your help. I need you to get Raldir to chase after you and make it here. We're going to need his cooperation too."
"EXCUSE me?! I am NOT gonna get myself dirty thanks to that disgusting brute!"
"Yes, you will!"
"No I won't!"
"Yes you will."
"No I won't!"
"Yes you will."
"No I won't!"
"Yes you will!"
"No I won't!"
But before she could argue back, Sunny flipped the tables with a: "No you won't."
"Yes I will!" steam blew out of Constance's ears as she continued to yell.
"No you won't."
"Yes I will!"
Hiro and Elliot watched as they went back and forth, with the former cackling and the latter smirking in amusement. Jacques winced even more, covering his ears in case Constance screamed like a banshee again, but instead..
"I say I will, and if I say I will, it means I say so!"
Sunny jumped into the air, her fist knocking the air, "Yes! She said yes!"
The snobbish rich girl smirked, holding her chin up in victory, "Darn right I did! Now Jacques, take me to the garden and get Raldir here!"
Jacques nodded, chuckling nervously as he backed away. He held up her designer bags, running down the road, but the moment his foot stomped onto the slush, he slid down like an ice skater before crashing into a huge pile of snow.
***
Anala rested on the couch, the tips of her skin bluer than before. Hiro sat beside her, blowing some warm air upon her face. Elliot picked up the walkie-talkie, putting it against his ear.
"This is Elliot Darkwood speaking, how are things going at Constance's mansion?"
"Yo, this is Sunilda Tournesol. It's going great." Sunny responded.
She watched as Constance stood in the garden, her arms crossed as she gazed at her lovely roses. She approached her, giving her a knowing smile.
"You've grown beautiful flowers, Constance."
That statement alone boosted Constance's ego, and she gave Sunny a smug smirk,
"I sure do, Impoten!"
"You know, I'm just curious. Why did you become a crusader in the first place?"
Constance frowned, a bit taken aback. She looked around, and she growled,
"Where is that useless butler?!" she lashed out. "He's supposed to be with me! I'll surely get papa to fire him!"
"Now, now. Let's not get too hasty. We have a mission to fulfill. We need to give Anala a bath to warm her up."
"Why can't you just go to the hot springs?"
Sunny paused, her cheeks turning pink, but she shook her head, her hands on her hips.
"There won't be enough time! Besides, who allows children to go alone?"
That was when Constance shrieked, her scream echoing throughout the entire city. She pointed her finger at Raldir, who in the distance, sighed deeply as a stream of urine escaped his pants. The flowers were drowned in the steaming liquid, the winter breeze freezing them into weeds. Sunny instinctively looked away, but then she yelled,
"Now's your que, Constance!"
Constance quickly raised her hands, her fury casting vines and flowers that spread all over the garden. Raldir cackled, his waters rising like tidal waves. The girl quickly began to speed through the vines, which slowly formed into thorns,
"Tournesol! TOURNESOOOOOOL!"
She ended up grabbing Sunny and throwing her over her shoulder as she screamed like a damsel in distress, speeding down the streets at a cartoonish pace. Raldir cackled madly,
"That's making my life a little H-E double hockey sticks, you spoiled brat!"
He chased them both, riding his mini tsunami like a loyal steed. Sunny couldn't help but laugh at the situation, but she quickly regained her composure.
"That's right! Keep running! We gotta get to Judith's house!"
"Oh, no!" Constance paused. "There's no way I'm ever going to that peasant's house!"
"Peasant…?" Sunny asked, uncharacteristically stern. "Nobody calls that sweet, old lady like that!"
She immediately leapt off of her, immediately forcing her into her arms and racing down at lightning speed. Constance screamed as if she were kidnapped, and the vines grew thicker. They tangled the nearby buildings, the folks letting out shrieks of terror as they watched their homes get wrecked.
"Keep running!" Constance yelled. "He's chasing me like a bull!"
***
Sunny panted the moment she reached the house. The frustrated Constance was still upon her back, screeching like a banshee. But before she knew it, Sunny raised herself up, causing her to fall off her.
"Jiminy crickets!" Sunny knelt down. "I'm so sorry, Constance!"
"Get away from me, you…you freak!"
"Freak…?"
"Yes, you're a freak! Everybody in the city thinks so too!"
Sunny looked around, and her eyes widened. Everyone looked at her with judgemental looks, almost out of resentment. She scratched her head, a little intimidated by their stares. What could she have done to make them suddenly dislike her? The moment she gazed at a nearby poster, her face went pale. It had her face implanted on it, she was wanted for the missing Prophet.
"But…I didn't do it!"
"It's you!" the old woman she helped out earlier pointed. "You stole the Prophet! You stole the Prophet!"
The nearby folks surrounded the girls, all of them wielding bats and metallic pitchforks. Sunny's face turned even paler, she could barely breathe as they glared at her.
"No!" Sunny cried. "Please, listen to me! I didn't do it! Really, I didn't! I don't even know the Prophet!"
"Lies!" a man shouted. "Tell me where our Prophet is, you…you witch!"
Constance suddenly grabbed her hand, snapping her out of her anxious trance. She screamed with fury as vines violently sprouted, tangling upon the crowd and dropping them into their flowery prisons.
"Constance, what are you doing?!"
"Rescuing you, of course!"
"But…why?"
Constance paused, releasing Sunny's hand. She backed away, her arms crossed.
"I thought you were Jacques for a second."
"Constance, that can't possibly be the reason. Do tell me what's wrong."
"Why do you wanna know, Impoten?"
"Because that's what friends are for?"
Constance scoffed, "Friends? Do you think that's what I need?"
"Everybody has to have at least one!"
"Well, I never grew up with them! That's what happens to us Cassidys. Everybody calls us jerks just because we happened to be rich!" Constance snapped, her hands clenched into fists. "The only reason I've become a crusader was so that I could escape my awful papa! He never cared to even look at me because all he's ever done was take care of the Charming company! He didn't even come to mama's funeral!"
Tears formed in her baby blue eyes as she continued to berate, while Sunny just frowned.
"I tried to do what papa would've wanted, to be perfect. I tried to grow the most beautiful powers that he could ever sow into his silky cloth. I crafted vines so that our beautiful walls would be shielded. But no matter what I grow, he never looks at me! I'm…useless! And that's also why I hate you so much! You're an Impoten, and Impotens are supposed to be useless crusaders! But you, a peasant, still managed to bring me into this like I'm your loyal guard! How are you happier than me?!"
Sunny frowned even more, and she patted her shoulder, her eyes filled with sympathy. She struggled to blink away tears as memories of the orphanage flashed in her mind. Gulping, she finally responded,
"Constance, don't say that. Nobody's useless, they all have a purpose they all must accomplish, and you have one too. Besides, I wasn't happy being here in the first place." she sighed heavily, her eyes closed. "I've done awful things myself. I ran away from my loved ones after being blinded by grief. I was lost in this world for many days and I had to adapt. Then we lost the Prophet….Since that day, I got so reckless that I got everybody, including you, involved and Cynoce kidnapped. I still keep making mistakes because I can't be perfect, and neither can you."
"But how can I get papa to look at me then?" Constance whimpered.
"Constance, you mustn't try to be perfect all the time. We all make mistakes sometimes, but that's why we gotta learn from them. I read books from time to time, and there was not a single character who was truly free of mistakes and imperfection. I felt at ease, because it was like their journeys were telling me that it was okay to be me. But please don't ruin your life trying to live someone else's! Otherwise you'll never be happy!"
"Even if I'm imperfect?" Constance sniffled.
"I'll make sure you'll never be lonely. You are better than you think you are."
Constance smiled, her eyes drying, but she resorted back to her cocky demeanor.
"Well, thank the Creator for that, Impoten! Make sure nobody sees me like this. Anyways, let's get that brat inside. He's going insane over me!"
"Alright, let's just get into the house before that mob shows up!" Sunny sighed. "And I can't believe they're accusing me of such a thing…I want to help search for the Prophet, not hurt him in any way!"
But before they knew it, the tornado barged through the vines, revealing the wrathful Raldir. He growled animalistically as he tried to barge through the vines, Constance quickly slammed a vine onto him, his head bashed by its leafy hardness. His head hung as a bump appeared on top of his head.
"Quick, go get him." Sunny called.
"I'm not going to bring him close to me!"
"Fine, then I'll just carry him. Happy?"
"Why, yes! Now do your work, you've already given me a pep talk."
Sunny nodded. She climbed onto the vines, carefully grabbing Raldir's head and slowly yanking his body downwards. She dragged him by the arms as she and Constance descended into the house.
19