# ~The Queen~

Title: ~The Queen~
Status: Complete
Characters: Amber, Samantha and Ripley
Rating: SFW
Classification: One Shot
Author: Anonymous
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~The Queen~
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They never think to check behind the recliner. Like a shadow in the night, I am invisible here. My Halloween costume still fits snugly, and my ninja daggers are at the ready on my belt. Mom and Dad tried to hide the costume from me, but since they're gone for the weekend, they can't protect it anymore. I had to climb up to the highest shelf in their closet when Grandma and Grandpa weren't looking. The enchanted outfit fills me with mystical power, and once again, I have reached my full potential. From the dining room, I hear the sliding glass door open and mumbled voices debating something. My targets are nearby, but I must wait for the perfect moment to strike. I pull out a throwing star from my pocket, readying myself to spring like a panther.
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The voices get louder and louder as my targets enter the living room, placing themselves in my sights. Wait for it...
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"Sweetheart, you know how she is. She wouldn't just run away, I don't think-"
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"I'm not risking it, Samantha. We're calling the station."
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Grandpa steps towards the end table and picks up the home phone. This is my moment. As he begins to dial, I silently exit my hiding place. He's very tall, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. As I leap onto the sofa, Grandpa turns, and the last thing he sees is a throwing star zipping straight toward his head. My perfect throw hits; the star bonks him on the forehead before falling to the floor. As he recoils in shock, I jump off of the sofa and unfurl my wings, dramatically slowing my descent to the ground and landing in the middle of the living room. I draw both of my daggers as Grandma turns to me, preparing my fighting stance and beginning my grand speech.
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"Under the new moon, my blades will strike true!. With the power of the night, I will be your last sight!"
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Both stare at me, motionless; I can sense their pure fear as I finish my speech.
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"I am Amber Mous, the Shadow Queen of Volcadera! Prepare to take your final breath!"
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I look at both of my targets. Grandma begins to look relieved, but Grandpa starts to look really mad. He looks like he's about to yell, and I can't help but be scared until Grandma suddenly grabs his arm really tight.
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"Ripley, dear." She says, putting her other hand on his shoulder. Grandpa stops, and it looks like he's not as mad.
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Still, while pointing at me, he says, "Amber, you.. *Don't* do stuff like that! Do you know how long we were looking for you?"
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I don't know how long I was hiding, but I think it was awhile. I can't help but start to feel bad. I didn't mean to make everybody sad. Pouting, I look down towards the ground.
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"I.. I was just trying to have fun." I say, trying to apologize.
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Grandma takes a step toward me, crouching down on one knee as she whispers, "I know, honey. We were just worried about you."
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She places a hand on my shoulder, and I look up at her. She's smiling at me, and I don't feel bad anymore. Grandma always knows how to make me feel better; I drop my plastic daggers and give her a big hug as thanks. She's happy to hug me too, and I even notice that Grandpa isn't mad anymore. He starts to look sad, and I'd give him a hug too, but he starts to walk towards his recliner, the one I was hiding behind. He grabs a magazine from the little end table next to the chair and basically shoves his face into it when he sits down. I let go of Grandma, and she looks at him, too. I expect her to say something to him, but she just looks back to me.
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"Amber, honey, you should go change out of that costume." She says, trying to coax me into following Mom and Dad's rules.
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I don't even try to mask my disappointment as I whine, "But Graaaandmaaa, I really like it. Just for today? Pleeease?"
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She thinks for a bit before telling me, "You don't want to get it dirty when we eat lunch, do you?"
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My heart skips a beat as I realize what she just said. With barely contained excitement, I stutter, "W-What's for lunch, Grandma?"
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She looks at me with a knowing smile, saying, "If you change, I can put some dinosaur n-"
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That's all I need to hear. Before she even finishes, I pick up the plastic daggers from the ground and turn tail, running back to my room in a frenzy. I push the door closed behind me, trying to take the costume off with surprising difficulty. I finally do, and since Grandma never said anything about *what* to change into, I put on my pajamas; the really comfy ones I got for my birthday. I open my door back up, running back through the house. I find Grandma in the dining room, taking out a baking pan and some tin foil from the cabinets. As she turns to me, I unfurl my wings and strike a pose.
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"Tada!"
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She stares at me for a little bit. I start to wonder what's wrong, but then she just starts giggling.
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"Mph! Hmphgh! Oh, honey, you're adorable!" She says, a smile shining brightly across her face. She comes up to me again and scoops me into a surprise hug; I didn't expect it, but I hug her right back. Grandma really is the best.
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~
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Me, Grandma and Grandpa are all sitting at the dining room table now. I look down at my plate; Grandma gave me a whopping ten dino-nuggets with ketchup, and she said there's still more! Grandma made herself a tuna sandwich, and made Grandpa a ham sandwich. They're both eating quietly, not saying anything to each other. I might have noticed, if I wasn't busy chowing down on my favorite meal. I think to the near future; maybe we can watch a movie on the big Tee-Vee! Before I get a chance to say anything to Grandma, Grandpa stands up from his chair. It looks like he's done eating.
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"I'll- be outside." He says. Grandma looks up at him, and looks kind of disappointed.
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She looks toward him and says, "Ripley, you told me you'd stop." Grandpa is silent for a moment, before sighing.
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"I'm trying." He says, before leaving the dining room entirely and walking for the front door. He does go outside, shutting the door behind him. Grandma looks a little bit sad, until she notices me looking at her; she starts smiling again.
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"Don't worry, honey. Grandpa isn't feeling very well right now." She says, continuing to eat.
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I try to keep eating my dino-nuggets, but I can't help but feel sad. I don't want to let him be outside alone if he's not feeling well. I decide to stand up, too; Grandma looks at me as I start leaving the table.
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"Amber, what are you doing?" She asks.
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I turn around, puffing my chest up as I say proudly, "I'm going to cheer Grandpa up!"
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Grandma looks like she wants to say something to me, but just smiles and nods. I walk out of the dining room and towards the front door, following his steps. I open the door, looking outside; Grandpa is sat upon the steps of the porch, holding his magazine in one hand and a smoking stick in the other. He turns his head toward me, surprised to see me, before I practically jump toward him.
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"Grandpa, Grandpa! What's wrong?" My shouts echo father than I intended them to, but nobody else in the neighborhood is outside. He looks at me, and his eyes look sad before he turns away again.
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He whispers, "Amber, honey.. I'll be in soon."
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Right before I begin my impassioned speech about honesty, trust, and love, I take a deep breath. Suddenly, I start coughing in disgust, waving a hand around my head. Grandpa looks to the smoking stick in his hand, dropping it to the floor and crushing it with his shoe as he mutters, "Sorry about that." With the smoke gone, I can speak again.
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"Grandpa, I think you're sad. Aunt Rosa always says boys hide it when they're sad. What happened?" I ask. He doesn't look at me, he just keeps staring off into the distance somewhere. I continue to stare at him with an unerring gaze, hoping to get some kind of response.
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Eventually, he sighs and says, "Honey, a good friend of mine.. left town a few weeks ago. I'm upset about it. That's all."
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I frown, and decide to sit on the steps next to him. I know what it's like to lose friends, too. To cheer him up, I tell him, "Don't worry, Grandpa. I'm sure you have lots of friends, so I think you'll be okay."
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To my disappointment, my words don't seem to help; he makes a very flat face before saying, "At my age, you start to run out."
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I don't know what it's like being old, but I do know how friends act. I decide to show one of my best friends in the whole world how I feel; I give him as big of a hug as I can from the side. He turns his head towards me again.
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My words come straight from my heart; "No matter what happens, you'll always be my friend."
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Finally, Grandpa starts to smile. After a bit, he starts to hug me, too; I feel happy that I made one of my best friends feel better. As we're wrapped up together, he utters the words, "Thanks, Amber."
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We hold each other for a long time. Eventually, we start to let go of each other, but I keep leaning my head on his arm. He looks at his magazine again, and I get a good look at it this time. The cover has a human man swinging some kind of metal club. I only recognize it when I read the word "GOLF" written in big white letters on the top of the page.
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"Oh! I love minigolf!" Lifting my head off of his arm, I look at Grandpa and excitedly ask him, "Do you like minigolf? We should go minigolfing!"
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He looks at me, then back to the magazine. Then back to me, then back to the magazine. Finally, he just looks at me, and another smile creeps onto his face. He starts to look just as excited as I am, and even laughs a little bit.
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"Yeah, honey. We can go minigolfing."
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~END~
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