Post by Melody on Sept 22, 2019 0:58:42 GMT -8
Shortly after occupying Truffle Village, Melody found how boring the title had been, and it was no wonder the previous Duke was so weak since it involved solving people’s problems rather than protecting the village itself and it had been years since the last invasion. At this point she realized Duke Glacier had more work cut out for him back home in Orchestra Village and it was much more interesting there than it was here. Melody was chewing gum, making large pink bubbles between her lips, until a local villager knocked at the door of her home, and let themselves in as it was customary on her orders. It was a little girl wearing a red dress with white spots at the hem who was clasping her hands so tightly that the pigment discolored to a paler complexion.
The village provided a bus for Melody to cross east from the west across a bridge connecting to the central lands and finally the southlands.
“Alright kid, let’s get this red mushroom soup going so we can get everyone feeling better, yeah?”
“What is it?” Melody continued to chew her gum, leaning sideways on her cushioned throne shaped like toadstool with a long leaf for a back support.
“I just received a letter from my older brother, he has contracted a rare disease while mining for Ox-corp, and a few others have fallen ill. He left to help support our family, even though we make enough to live, he wished for us to be wealthy enough not to farm mushrooms anymore. I gathered enough red mushrooms to help everyone there but the trouble is I cannot go...so I was hoping that you can help everyone there and make them our mushroom healing brew recipe so they can get better.”
“Eh?!” Melody stammered as she stood up from her throne. “Me cook? Are you kidding me?”
The little girl yelped, “Well my brother also knows how to make it…”
“Good, I am afraid all your hard work would be put to waste if I were to do it. What is your name little one?”
“Morel and my brother’s name is Portabello.”
“Well there is no helping it, otherwise someone would have done something to help these sick people. Very well, I will go aid them and bring them back. Just load the mushrooms into this capsule and I will head out.” Melody stood up and approached her with a capsule in hand in which the little girl took and ran off to fill it with her bounty of harvested mushrooms.
Several days passed before arriving at the south lands mainly because she did not know how to drive a vehicle it was something that was not specific to Melody’s training with Glacier. To make matters worst, Icecap a rival from Tundra Village, who has been training under her mentor has been attempting to overthrow her for a while had interrupted her travels. Every time she fought him the time it took to defeat him had been steadily increasing by a minute and slowly but surely he was gaining on her but with every loss he cursed at her and claimed that she would be beaten.
By the time she reached the mines, tents were set up just outside of it, and ill were all quarantined in the largest tent. Portobello was easily found, he was the youngest one there, and his hair was cut in the traditional bowl-cut most of Truffle Villagers wore.
“My---my lady!” Portobello was shocked to see her, “What are you doing here?”
“Community service.” Melody answered simply, “Now take this and your sister promises you will feel better.”
The capsule filed with all the mushrooms were placed in his extended hand and he used what little energy he had to cook them all, the vapors were a bright red cloud over the stew, and it was enough to give others a bit energy upon smelling it. Soon enough everyone’s illness was cured by the stew they all ate. The full work force of the mines was restored and mining continued on its normal schedule. In the meantime, Melody took it upon herself to mine as well, only because she had learned that most physical chores were no different from training especially when done quickly than the average being. In a matter of days Melody mined through the other side of the mountain, doing what took three months to do in less time, and while the Chief Miner offered compensation for every ore she had dug up, she found that the ore was more valuable to keep with all the sweat and tears the other workers were suffering from.
Without hesitation she knocked the chief miner unconscious claiming that the people were being abused in exchange for monetary compensation and the only ones really benefiting from it all was Ox-corp. It went against everything she believed in on a personal level, the pay, and benefits were not equal to what the South lands were gaining. A thorough report of her claims and behavior were sent to headquarters soon enough but the company was busy dealing with other issues as a whole that they ignored the bottom feeders. Melody proved her point when no one came to the staff’s aid and she took her time convincing them to abandon mining all together. Eventually they gave in, calling on their family members to leave their tiny apartments in the city order to have a new permanent residence to Truffle Village in the Western Lands. As soon as their families arrived they took all the ore, equipment, and Ox-Corp vehicles after spray painting the logos off with black paint, and drove off forming a caravan.
Upon the return of Melody and all the mining workers, Portobello was paid generously, as the ore had been delivered to Oolong City, and he no longer had work everyday on growing mushrooms to make ends meet; the family had enough money to relax on and the same said for everyone that followed Melody to town. Everyone was working so hard for their families and they were able to settle into a village that allowed them to relax a bit and the economy of the village grew with the increased population.
“Lady Melody!” Morel entered the throne room which was filled with wrapped gifts, “Wow! Look all the presents, is it your birthday?”
“No. Sometimes gifts are given to express one’s gratitude.” Melody blinked, yawning a bit as tears formed in the corners of her eyes, “What brings you here, little one?”
“I wanted to thank you for bringing my brother back, we were able to buy new capsules, and among them a few droids to help us farm more medicinal mushrooms. But I am going to make you a gift to make my feelings more meaningful, I will be right back!”
“You don’t have to--”Melody’s voice trailed off as Morel had already left.
Several minutes passed and then it turned into hours soon enough Melody fell asleep on her throne taking an hour nap until she sensed Morel nearby.
“Sorry it took so long! I had to use the oven.” Morel approached with a tiny box in her hands and handed it over for Melody to take.
Inside the tiny box was a set of dangling red mushroom earrings made from polymer clay. Melody did not have pierced ears but it was effortlessly done as she jammed the earrings on, piercing her lobes, drawing a bit of blood that was hidden behind her green hair to the point where only the red mushroom caps were visible.
“Handmade gifts are definitely more meaningful that buying something at the store. I will cherish them always, thank you.”
With a wave the little girl left, at the door were new village kids waiting on her to play with, and Melody resumed the rest of the day in peace. The thought of having children one day crossed her mind briefly but the world as it was now was not a place she wanted have them grow up in. In order to accomplish what she aspired to do and her role, was to first take over the Westlands, one village at a time, but she needed to earn the trust and loyalty of every villager first in order to achieve higher goals. It required that everyone helped each other harmoniously leaving no one behind and to follow her lead in order to transition into a role model worthy of changing history. Freedom for all, harmony for all, and Melody to take over control of the world was quite the dream. It was the first time her ambition had grown since she had been appointed to Truffle village and she never thought she wanted more until now. There were other obstacles to consider, stronger people existed, and the world was divided up. It had taken thirty years to get to the position she was in now, she feared not being to live long enough to make a difference, but she wanted to try anyway because time was all she had in her hands.
1,522 Words