Songs of the Lost

Gamer’s Grotto sat on the corner of St. Mary’s Woodlands street in Arathia, the quaint cafe was a popular hangout for all wayward teens. The cafe wasn’t too impressive on the outside; a small, building made of stone with a sign reading Gamer’s Grotto in a fancy calligraphy font. The buildings surrounding the cafe were small novelty shops and a bookstore who had an ongoing agreement to use the microwave in Gamer’s Grotto in exchange for the use of the bathroom in the back of the bookstore. The novelty shop on the other hand was run by an older woman-around seventy- who had a hatred for the cafe and the loud, raucous teenagers who visited it.

The inside was an entirely different story; The first thing a customer sees after walking through the painted red door was the main counter, a marble topped counter with a cash register perched on one end and a rack full of comics next to it. To the immediate right of the main counter was small tables and a few booths near the windows. No matter where you were in the cafe, however, there sat a game system on the tables, free to play and have fun.

On this particular morning, Blair and Seren were opening the cafe and preparing for the slew of customers to arrive for the morning rush. Mornings were hard, yet afternoons were hell for the two girls. The afternoon, around three was when rush hour started and the teens finished a day of schools. The problem was that rush hour brought out the rudest people and tested the patience of Seren, a usually calm and sweet girl.

Seren Bore was a twenty year old girl with gorgeous emerald eyes and her hair dyed to a lovely lavender. She was of the grand coven’s lineage, making her a formidable enemy, If she would actually pay attention to her mother’s lessons. Her mother and father were divorced after the wooden spoon incident of 2013, but she was able to visit her father in Thornton. She was an incredibly trusting person, which may be the reason she is friends with Blair.

Blair Hayes was also twenty, but she was distrustful of almost everyone she encountered so she took care of the two of them. She had curly brown hair and deep brown, almost black, eyes; her skin always caught the attention of passersby, instead of the light, creamy skin that most in the area had, her skin was darker, a lovely mocha color, and held not a blemish or fault. She shared an apartment with Seren after her mother died in a house fire while she was in culinary school at St. Mary’s Charter School and her father had ran off after she had been born.

Seren dashed over to the door of the cafe and flipped the sign to say Open then unlocked the door for the customers to come in. The first person to walk through the door of the cafe was none other than Wren Evans, getting his morning coffee before heading to the studio. He made a beeline to the marble counter as the girls met him there to say their hellos to the graceful friend of theirs.

“Wren! It’s been far too long since we last saw you. You must visit more instead of working your butt off in that darn studio!” Seren began to nag the poor boy while Blair stood back, enjoying the show.

“Sorry! The recital is coming up,” Wren scratches the back of his neck. “I would really like the extra practice before I have to perform in front of the entire sold-out theater.”

“You should visit us Thursday, so we can celebrate before the recital,” Blair interjected.

“Maybe. I’ll have to tell you later. Anyways, I should get going, thanks!” He grabbed his cup of black coffee before racing out the door and to the dance studio.

“Hey did you remember to restock the hot cocoa mix?” Seren asked as she walked over to check the muffins in the small oven in the small kitchen blocked off by the counter.

“Did you remember the new game for table three?”

“Fair enough.”

Wren began with his usual stretches; the pigeon stretch, the side split, and the barre hamstring stretch were a few of the ones he performed. He moved fluidly from stretch to stretch before getting in position to practice his ballet routine for the upcoming recital. He starts with a Releve, then moves to a saute, and ended with a plie to finish warming up. He had to get the routine perfect to be better than his rival dancer.

His rival’s name was Cadoc Roberts, he was a hip-hop dancer who ‘shared’ the studio that Wren practiced in. Wren would never admit it to himself, but he thought that Cadoc was rather handsome. When one compared the two, they were as different as can be; Wren was a dirty blond with eyes that can only be described as sapphires, he had a slight tan, but the pale skin was evident regardless. Meanwhile, Cadoc had pitch black wavy hair and fan-fiction green eyes. Not to mention that Cadoc was six foot two while Wren was barely five foot eight.

The two had arguments on a regular basis due to two factors. The first factor was that they both needed to practice for the recital, where everyone in the Crossroads Dance Academy would perform for the people of Arathia. The second was the ache for some type of conversation, even if it’s a yelling match at six in the morning. The two had feelings for the other, however the two were equally too stubborn to admit it.

As Wren moved into the starting position, Cadoc burst through the doors to begin practicing his routine. The two stopped, staring at the other for a bit too long before moving towards each other. Cadoc glared down at Wren while the latter released a low, guttural growl. They met in the center of the room as Mrs. Verena Thomas walked through the metal double doors into the shared dance studio.

“What are you doing in here? I had booked today to practice!” Wren snaps at the taller boy in front of him.

“Actually, I asked Mrs. Thomas and she said that no one was practicing today. You need to leave.” The boys continued to argue over who would get to practice in the studio until Mrs. Thomas was done with their arguing.

“You will both share the studio! All of the others are packed and there is plenty of room for both of you. Cadoc, you take the left half and Wren, you take the right. Now if I hear any arguing from the two of you, there will be consequences.”

Mrs. Thomas left as the boys stormed over to their respective sides of the room and began to set up to practice their routines. Wren once again moved to start as the soft, lulling music filled the room only to be drowned out by an energetic mess, originating from the other side of the room. Wren’s head snaps to glare at Cadoc before stalking towards the other boys speaker and turning it off, leaving only the soft ballet music to fill the tense air of the room.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Cadoc moves to turn the music back on, but the stubborn ballerina moved in front of the speaker to stop him. “I need the music to practice for the recital.”

“Well so do I! And I can’t hear a damn thing over your stupid pop music!”

“At least I’m not the one playing music that will put everyone to sleep!”

“Fine! We’ll wear headphones! Then we don’t have to deal with each other!”

The two separated and began practicing with music blaring out of their headphones, sneaking the occasional glance at the other. After an hour of two, Wren began packing up, taking a swig of water from the baby blue bottle he kept in his backpack. He started towards the door, checking his phone to see that Seren had texted, as he went to answer Cadoc knocked into him resulting in both boys falling to the ground.

Groans left the mouths of the two boys laying on the ground; Cadoc had crushed Wren when he fell, leaving the boy winded. Cadoc jumped off the smaller dancer, apologizing, and helped the boy up while he attempted to regain his breathing. Wren held himself up using Cadoc’s arm, but caught his breath and stood up straight a few minutes later. He excused himself, blushing tomato red when he realized he still had his hand on Cadoc’s arm, and ran out of the room.

At Gamer’s Grotto Seren was hiding under the counter while Blair dealt with the current customer, Seren’s cheating ex boyfriend and a complete douche bag. Blair was being frigidly cold to the unsuspecting idiot. Seren was hiding from the inevitable awkward conversation that would happen if he were to see her. After he ordered- A long black coffee and a chocolate muffin- Blair bent down to check on Seren.

“You alright? The douche can’t do anything to you anymore, honestly I would like to see him try to mess with you. He’d have to deal with me and everyone else in the cafe.”

“I know, but it’s awkward seeing him after he cheated on me with Adalin. I mean who cheats on you with your cousin?” Seren began to rant while Blair kept a slightly interested look on her face, not caring in the slightest.

“Come on, I need you to make the coffee anyways, the machine doesn’t like me all that much.” Seren whined when she was pulled up by her arm, but went off to make the coffee regardless. Blair went back to taking the orders of the group of older women, all around sixty,and chatting with the group effortlessly. As soon as Max’s order was finished Blair called him up to the counter, turning cold once again. Max went to the counter for his order and decided to make the biggest mistake of his life: he started to flirt with Blair.

“So, would you happen to be free tonight?” He gave her a cocky smile which she returned with a smirk.

“Sadly, I’m too busy running Hell, try again never.” Her smirk disappeared as she glowered at him.

“Aw, come on. It will be fun, I promise!”

“There are three things one should never break,” Blair began, earning a confused look from Max. “Promises, Trust, and someone’s heart. Sadly, you have broke all three of those..”

“I don’t know what you’re-”

“Seren Bore.” Max looked shocked and a tad bit scared, not knowing Seren worked at the cafe and shared an apartment with Blair.

“I don’t know how you know about that, but if you don’t go on a date with me I’ll call the cops!”

“I told you boy, I’m the Queen of Hell,” Blair let out a low growl, causing Max to jump before running out of the shop, leaving Blair with a smirk on her face. She turned around to see Seren giving her a playful, yet reproaching look with a smile. The two continued working as if nothing had happened. The two worked until noon when they closed up the shop for an hour to eat lunch; today was Seren’s turn to pay.

The two girls decided on the Italian pasta restaurant a few streets over on Avon Heights Boulevard. It had some of the best fettuccine in Arathia and knew the girls by name. The owner, a sweet man named Vincent, gave the two a discount due to their impeccable manners to the waiters and waitresses. The two arrived at their destination in around five minutes and were greeted by one of their favorite waiters, Tony.

“Well If it isn’t our favorite customers, Seren and Blair. How’s the cafe?”

“Busy as always Tony. However, you still have yet to come visit us,” Blair pouted a little, making the boy laugh.

“You know Vincent likes to keep his best servers here, I don’t have time to visit sweetheart!”

“Don’t sweetheart me, Honey.” The two continued the playful banter as Seren watched, laughing at the hopeless gays. Tony was dating another server named Chris, a good friend of Seren’s, and Blair was single currently, but could only be described as a Disaster Bi ™. Tony eventually led the two girls to their favorite booth; the booth sat near one of the windows and had a perfect view of Golden Garden Park. The two sit down and immediately order a plate of fettuccine between them.

The girls always shared a plate due to the fact they wouldn’t be able to finish it by themselves. The plate was piled high with delicious noodles that was a personal favorite of Vincent’s. They both dug into the meal with fervor, enjoying each bite of deliciousness. If asked how the pasta tasted the girls would reply with Heavenly.

The creamy Alfredo sauce was made with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese poured over fettuccine noodles. The sauce held a secret ingredient that only the head cook and Vincent himself knew, despite the pleading from both girls, the cook would never tell them. The girls had tried to trick Vincent into telling them,but he would simply give a boisterous laugh and smile kindly. The two finished the plate and ordered two Panna cottas, which were small bowl shaped blobs of sweetened cream mixed with gelatin and molded with strawberries on top. The two quickly finished their lunch and rushed back to the cafe.

Cadoc had finished practicing his routine by one, but was hesitant to walk home to the empty house and wait for his mom. His mom, Charlie Roberts, was a grade-A witch who owned the small shop Magic’s Ace. Magic’s Ace was a small shop for witches- and regular people -to buy herbs and charms for spell craft. His dad was a tad bit more normal, Matthew Roberts was an accountant for Hedgewood Accounting, and was a great father, if a bit busy. His dad was currently at a business meeting in Thornton.

Cadoc decided to head over to the cafe he had seen every time he walked to the studio, a little shop named Gamer’s Grotto. He gathered his things before walking out to the streets and making his way to the building. As he entered the shop, the first thing he saw was Wren having a mental breakdown and being helped by a girl with brown hair. The moment the girl saw him, she helped Wren to the back, behind the marble counter.

A second girl, one with purple hair, was working the register, this is the one he approached. She was talking to Camille, a girl who was in the Hip-Hop dance team at Crossroads, they chatted with ease and a sense of comfort. As Cadoc walked closer, Camille went to sit down and await her order. The girl at the register had a name tag with the name Seren written in elegant, flowing cursive.

“Welcome to Gamer’s Grotto,” Seren leaned forward onto the counter, flashing a charming smile. “And what can I get for you today?”

“I’ll have a flat white and a piece of banana nut bread, please and thank you.” Cadoc muttered, wondering what was wrong with Wren.

“Coming right up! Blair! Flat white and Banana Bread, Stat!”

Cadoc strode over to table six, taking a seat in one of the comfortable, wooden chairs, and checked his phone for any messages. He saw his Mom had texted, telling him she’d be late getting home from the shop, meaning she had made a sale, and had to write it in the store ledger, so she wouldn’t forget. He sent a simple okay before going to play a game on his phone. He looked up from his phone a minute later to see Wren walking out the back with a teary smile, which he would never admit to finding both heartbreaking and adorable at the same time.

“Cadoc Roberts?” Seren called out as his order was placed next to her by who he assumed was Blair. He walked over to the girl, flashing her a smile as he paid and walked back to his table to relax, he didn’t need to be anywhere. He caught himself glancing over to Wren quite often, often enough to notice he had a cute laugh, almost a giggle. Cadoc remained in the cafe for a few hours, at least two, before he needed to get home to start dinner for when his Mom would get home from work.

Cadoc walked from the cafe to his house in under ten minutes, not wanting to be out after the sun sets for fear of the ‘Rebels,’ who were really just wanting to cause trouble in the quiet lives of everyone in Obrar, the small country just South of Bulgaria. The group wanted to bring the entire country under the rule of their ‘King’ because the current king wasn’t responsible enough to run a country. They justified killing people as it being the will of their God, Aslin, the God of hatred. Cadoc’s mom being a witch ensured that the boy was pagan, hell he carried a ‘lucky penny’ on a string with him when he participated in competitions.

Cadoc opened the pale blue door of his house only to be greeted with 72 pounds of muscle and fur. Sadie, his doberman, had pounced on the unsuspecting boy, knocking him over, and attacking his face with doggie kisses. He shoved the dog off with a smile and hurried to the kitchen, starting the fried pork chops for him and his mom. He managed to get dinner finished when his Mom burst through the front door, carrying her canvas bag as a shield as Sadie bounded towards the five foot four woman.

After the dog had covered her in slobber and the two had a nice dinner, his mother insisted on a tarot card reading for the dancer. The tarot deck his mom managed to dig out of her overfilled bag was the one he had given her for Mother’s Day when he was ten, over twelve years ago. He dragged his hand over the cards, feeling for the spark of the past, present, and future cards. The first card zapped him as soon as his hand waved over it, he picked it up, handing it to his Mom, then he did the same for the other two.

The first card was the sun, meaning his positive upbringing by his loving parents and friends. Next was the Tower, a sudden upheaval was bound to happen according to the cards and the two, the witch and the legacy, took the cards’ warnings seriously. The final card cast a dark shadow over the two, the last card was Death.