Trouble in Paradise

[Kensie Barnett]

Kensie stared out the window excitedly as the train pulled into the station at Hosenka Town. She’d never been this far from Magnolia before, and it definitely showed by the sheer excitement from pulling up to the town so famous for its spas and other relaxing activities. As excited as the idea of getting to try out a spa made her, that wasn’t why they were here, and it wasn’t why Kensie was truly excited. No, this was Kensie’s chance to show her big sister that she could handle herself on a job request so that the pair could start going on more fun adventures without anyone thinking Kensie was too young and weak to travel.

“Sissy!” Kensie bounced up and down on her seat, the excitement getting the better of her as she turned and pointed out the window. Of course, none of this was new to the older, far less excitable girl. That didn’t stop Kensie from trying to share her excitement, however. “Look look! We’re in Hosenka Town!” Her voice became noticeably shriller at the town name. Of course, Sonya had likely known half of her reason for choosing the job had been to get to see the old vacation town, but Kensie herself only knew that she was excited and about to do a job. Her actual reason for choosing the job had changed about four times over the course of the two days before when she had been looking at the job board.

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[Sonya Barnett]

Sonya was going over the details of the job in her head as the train slowly came to a halt. They had to guard a daughter of a very wealthy client. She was mentally practicing being polite to the client and respectful, and really hoped her sister was too, even though she probably wasn’t. Honestly at this point she was more worried about her sister’s manners than she was her ability to shoot fireballs. Angering the client would not be a good idea, at all. But she would take the lead and do the talking, and hopefully her sister would just enjoy the spas.

The serious wizard couldn’t help but smile though when her sister was practically bouncing with excitement. ”I know, it’s a pretty place isn’t it?” She had been here once before, and really enjoyed it, even if she was working. ”Now come on, we need to get to the client’s house.” She took her sister by the arm and walked with her through town. She knew she would be staring at all the spas and wanting to go in. ”Remember, work first and relaxation later.” Her sister probably didn’t want to do that, but they were doing that. Sonya followed the streets till she got to the address of the house, more like mansion, of the employer. She took her sister down a long drive and to the large front door and knocked. After a few moments of silence the door opened and a butler let them in. He said that the lady of the house had been expecting them. Sonya walked inside and stopped to look around. It was a fancy place. Decorated by statues and paintings.

[Kensie Barnett]

Kensie didn’t really mind holding hands or anything; that was hardly the reason her face looked like she wanted very badly to grumble to Sonya. Sure, she really wanted to visit the spas, but they couldn’t do that without the client anyway. Kensie knew that! She was fourteen after all. She didn’t pull away from Sonya though, instead walking and protesting about half the way there. Despite the protesting though, she couldn’t stop looking around at the new location. It was her first time as a Fairy Tail wizard outside of Magnolia, so when they got too near people she quieted down and tried to act dignified despite being led around like a child.

Finally, they arrived at the gate and Kensie pulled away, determined to walk beside her sister because she wanted to seem grown up too. At least when it came to the mission. The lady of the house opened the door, blinking in surprise at the two sisters before her. “Oh, you must be the Fairy Tail wizards we sent for,” she told Kensie and Sonya as she eyed their matching yet opposite tattoos. Kensie spoke up first. “Yes, ma’am,” she told her in her cute voice that was higher pitched than Sonya’s. “We’re here to keep your daughter safe and stuff.”

453 Words

[Sonya Barnett]

Kensie could sulk or pout or whatever. They had a job to do and that was what was important. She wasn’t happy that her sister was pouting, she was just trying to keep them task after all. Was it that bad? Apparently it was. Oh well, they would be soon distracted by their work. Her sister actually took some initiative, well kind of. Saying they were there to keep her safe and stuff wasn’t the best choice. Sonya sighed at that. Hopefully the family would still think they were competent. They were, but saying things like that didn’t help.

”Yes ma’am. We are here to be the body guards. I assure you we are more than competent.” She nodded and bowed a bit to show respect. Sonya always wanted to make the customer happy. The lady gave them a quick look over. ”I’m sure you ladies are. This was please.” She led them into the house and into the living room. It was very lavish. ”Here is my daughter, you will be protecting her this weekend.” The girl was sitting on a sofa getting her nails done by a servant. The girl perked up. ”Oh, you’re the wonder wizards! We are going to have such a great weekend.” She smiled sweetly when she talked, but the servant seemed uneasy around her.

[Kensie Barnett]

Kensie did a quick curtsy when Sonya bowed to the lady, adding on to Kensie’s own greeting. The lady told them hello, and led the girls inside. Kensie stuck very close to Sonya, though that was pretty normal when Sonya would allow it. She looked around quickly, her hair swishing slightly in the breeze her movements created. This was quite possibly the nicest house Kensie had ever seen, and it showed on her face. They even had servants! Well, that was the first thing Kensie noticed as they were introduced to the girl getting her nails done on the couch.

Kensie was highly socially observant though, from her years of manipulating people with her own cuteness. The servant was uneasy, and Kensie nudged Sonya in order to try to get her to notice this without causing too much of a ruckus. “Mhm!” Kensie nodded when the girl addressed them as the ‘wonder wizards.’ “With us around, you’ll only have to worry about fun. Or… whatever.” She nodded, crossing her arms due to the chilliness of the inside of the house. These people were rich enough for a cooling lacrima in their home! And here Kensie had worn her sleeveless short dress… “My name is Kensie,” she told the girl, trying to start off on the right foot and giving the girl a cute curtsy, “What’s yours?”

[Sonya Barnett]

Good, her sister was following suite and being polite, and this was definitely the nicest house Sonya had ever been in. She wished she had this kind of money. Oh the things she would do, and the things she would buy, but alas she didn’t have this kind of money, and probably never would. Sonya would live though.

Sonya looked at her sister when she nudged by her sister. She looked back at the servant and noticed she was uneasy. Sonya wasn’t sure why, these people seemed very nice, but sights were not all they were made out to be. Sonya looked back at her sister and gave a small nudge. She wasn’t sure what was up, but didn’t pay it much mind. It could be easy to get nervous around the rich, especially when you worked for them.

”Yes, we will keep you perfectly safe so you can do whatever you want. My name is Sonya. So, what would you like to do first?” The girl smiled at them and introduced herself. ”I’m Cecilia. It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Hmm… how about we go shopping? Doesn’t that sound fun?” Sonya knew it sounded fun, she didn’t want her sister spending too much money, and she didn’t want to spend too much herself. She liked her nice shoes.

[Kensie Barnett]

Of course Kensie was being polite. Buttering people up was one of her specialties, and only Sonya ever seemed to show resistance to it. Even she wasn’t immune to Kensie, however, and Kensie was probably a little bit too proud of this fact. She made a slight squeaking sound when Sonya nudged her back. It also meant she hadn’t gotten the clue that she’d been trying to give Sonya. Oh well, she’d be proud of Kensie when she was able to be prepared for this girl to be worse than she looked right now. She probably liked getting her way. So did Kensie.

The younger sister’s eyes opened wider when the girl asked about shopping. Kensie didn’t shop for the normal things like clothes or shoes, though she certainly didn’t mind doing so with Sonya. No, she liked shopping for sugary drinks and candy. Like she needed to be more high strung right now. “Shopping sounds like a great idea!” Kensie nodded. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this girl wasn’t so bad. But maybe she was and she hadn’t had a reason to be bad yet.

Kensie was already plotting on how to make sure Sonya would be proud of her for watching out for the girl causing trouble, even if on the surface it looked like she was just smiling cutely. Kensie would be a formidable mastermind indeed if her thoughts weren’t preoccupied with childish things. “Are we going already? We just got here.” Not that it mattered. Kensie was cold. She didn’t’ like sweating particularly, but dresses were not fun with cold or drafts. The lacrima in this house gave it both.

[Sonya Barnett]

Cecilia really liked Kensie, someone who was as excited as her to shop sounded like lots of fun. Sonya still worried for them all. Things would work themselves out. ”Remember Kensie, we’re working. We can shop after we are done.” Cecilia laughed. ”Don’t be silly, you can go shopping with me.” This was not helping things at all, Sonya looked behind her and realized the mother had slinked away. That was odd. ”We can do whatever you want ma’am.” If shopping kept the client happy, so be it. Client satisfaction was a number one priority. Cecilia smiled brightly and got up once her nails were done, and the servant left very quickly.

The three of them went to a boutique a small walk away. Thing went well at first… Sonya shopped and tried on some new shoes. She wanted them, but ended up not getting them. Self-control and all was important. After about fifteen minutes of shopping though Cecilia went nuts. ”What do you mean you don’t have a dress like this in my size and in red!?” She was yelling at a worker in the store and threw a dress at her. Luckily dresses didn’t make good weapons. The clerk tried to explain but was cut off by more screaming. ”Give me what I want now! This is outrageous! Not having this dress in my size and in red! I’ll get you fired!” Oh boy. Sonya went over and tried to calm things down. ”Cecilia, what’s the problem?” She yelled the same issue as she had before to Sonya. ”Dear, if they don’t have it, they don’t have it… there are a lot of shops, maybe one would have a dress that fit your requirements.” That did not work. Cecilia then started yelling at Sonya. ”Don’t tell me what to do! You’re the hired help!”

[Kensie Barnett]

“I know, I know,” Kensie told Sonya with an exasperated tone when she was told they were working. “I’m proving I’m able to do jobs now, remember?” Unfortunately that didn’t stop Kensie from trying to bicker with her sister. Even if she was her most favorite person, they were still siblings, and Sonya still got onto Kensie’s nerves with the way she was coddled. She’d always been coddled, and in some ways she’d never minded, but the bad part was that everyone treated her like she was still eight. She hadn’t been eight in six whole years!

Cecilia insisted they could shop though, and to the client, Sonya relented, a fact that Kensie wasn’t entirely happy with, even if the reasoning made sense. Sonya would do stuff for a stranger because they were giving her money but not for her favorite and only sister. Hmph. Still, she pot on a happy face and practically did a happy dance for Cecilia. “Yeah! We’ll go shopping together and that way you’ll have more fun!” Spoiled brat.

Sonya did the predictable thing, looking at shoes while Kensie traveled with Cecilia and started looking at dresses. It came as no surprise when Cecilia started yelling about a dress Kensie had picked out because it wasn’t red. Kensie’s eye visibly twitched, but Cecilia wasn’t paying attention. Sonya came over while Kensie took a step back and tried to smooth things over. Kensie was trying to be a good girl. If she yelled at the girl, Sonya would be mad. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure what to do other than stand there looking between Sonya and the girl causing a scene. She was still safe at least… right?

[Sonya Barnett]

She had planned to go shopping with her sister once their job was over. To celebrate her first job, and to just relax and have a good time. Relenting to the customer was part of the job. So long as it made the customer happy, it was good. Within reason of course. Some customers wanted to do outrageous things, and that just couldn’t happen. And sometimes a customer got a bit too touchy, that also couldn’t happen.

Sonya was doing her best to keep her composure, but she did not like being called the hired help. Or for being yelled at for making a suggestion. ”Do what you want ma’am… we are just here to keep you safe.” Sonya said calmly. After that the girl continued to shop and berate the staff there. She yelled and complained, but kept finding things to buy. Sonya went up to Kensie. ”I… don’t know if this was a good job… she is a brat…” Sonya didn’t want to deal with a brat for the weekend, but she was doing it for a job.

Cecilia kept shopping and went to a few other stores. She talked to Kensie some on their way home. ”Its un believable… some of those places were so rude. They had a terrible stock and wouldn’t make the customer happy. Pff… Don’t you agree Kensie?” Of course the customer was her, not anyone else, she even got angry at some other shoppers.

[Kensie Barnett]

Kensie had an interesting look on her face while the selfish brat of a girl walked next to them. Kensie considered herself an angel despite her demonic traits from her magic, and next to this girl, not even the most honest and critical person in the world would disagree with that. She had to not yell. She had to be a big girl. She might still have childish cuteness but she was fourteen, and she was old enough to keep her composure and not yell at this girl. Their childish charge was even nice enough to try and drag Kensie into her little tirade. “Yes…” Kensie told her in what was obviously a forced friendly voice. “How rude of them to not have unlimited stock.”

Sonya whispered to Kensie about this being a bad job. “Like it was my fault!” Kensie whispered back in an annoyed tone. “The poster didn’t say ‘two brave heroes must look after a dragon in a red dress,’ you know.” Kensie wasn’t trying to be mean to Sonya, but she was young, and this girl liked her for some reason. It meant she was nice to Kensie, but it also meant Kensie had to put up with talking to her…

[Sonya Barnett]

Sonya didn’t take anything Kensie said like it was against her. She knew it was all stressful and assumed anything was aimed at the job itself. ”Calling her a dragon is too nice…” She whispered back. More like demon, but she didn’t want to say it to her sister. Maybe not demon, maybe bigfoot. Oh well, the two would survive.

They went back to the mansion that night and the servants had set up two beds in the adjacent room for the wizards to sleep in. The beds were big and comfy with a lot of lace and pillows. Sonya looked at them longingly once they were in. But they had to keep watching the girl. Dinner went by fast with Cecilia only mildly complaining about the food, and then bed. Sonya crashed onto the bed and would have been to sleep quickly, but… Cecilia was snoring like a freight train in the next room before Sonya could get her eyes shut.

After a few hours of the rumbling train next door Sonya spoke up. ”Kensie… are you awake? I can’t sleep the princess is too loud.” She wanted to curse, but no, that was not lady like. No matter how much she wanted to curse and shove a pillow down her throat she would not do it. Nope, behave Sonya.

[Kensie Barnett]

Celia fortunately lost interest in talking to Kensie once they got back home. She was far more preoccupied with herself, after all, and Kensie was fine with that for once. She stood there, arms crossed as she looked at the girl order the servants around like they were garbage. She could barely disguise the disgust she felt. She might manipulate people into do things for her, but she at least respected them. She ate food she brought with her for dinner, already feeling sorry for the servants and instead snacking on some cheese and crackers that were in her bag.

Finally, it was bedtime. Keeping up with Celia all day had been hard work, and as soon as Kensie was in her night gown, she flopped onto the bed completely zonked. She didn’t even notice Celia was snoring, and wouldn’t have woken up at all had it not been for Sonya trying to get her attention. She made a cute little groaning noise as she opened her eyes. She’d been laying on her stomach where she flopped over, and she rolled enough to rub her eyes. “I’m tired, Sissy. What time is it? Is there a storm going on?” she asked as her mind adjusted to trying to remember what was going on and where they were.

[Sonya Barnett]

Luckily someone was immune to the chainsaw in the next room. Sonya was not that person. ”I don’t know what time it is… other than late. I can’t sleep. The princess is the storm… sorry I woke you up.” She forgot how hard of a sleeper her sister was. Lucky. Sonya managed to sleep after a lot of snoring and growing hate. She tried to be a nice person, but she really needed her sleep.

The next morning Sonya looked grumpy and her hair was a bit unkempt by her standards. It was still nice, just not up to her normal par. Getting only a few hours of sleep did that to her. She quietly ate her breakfast while the princess bossed people around. ”Today we’re going to the spa!” She said. Normally Sonya would have been really happy to go, but… not today.

Cecilia led them to the spa, and the spa would have normally been fun, but she even managed to ruin that. Even though she paid for the wizards to enjoy it as well. The water was too hot, then too cold, then too many bubbles, then not enough bubbles. Sonya was twitching. Then when they all got massages, the masseuse was too rough, then too soft, then the oils were wrong, then more and more. Sonya wanted to slap that little girl. ”Why can’t this at least be relaxing?” she asked her sister when Cecilia was out of earshot.

[Kensie Barnett]

Kensie had fallen asleep once again relatively quickly, since she hadn’t fully woken up. She spent the rest of the night clung to Sonya sleeping peacefully, having unintentionally fallen asleep yet again as she tried to answer her sister. By the time morning rolled around, she was still clinging like her older sister was a teddy bear, and woke up feeling both happy and well-rested, the exact opposite of Sonya. It wasn’t exactly hard for the little imp to spot. “You look terrible, sissy,” she told her with a concerned frown. “Maybe you’ll have time to rest at some point?” She was willing to put up with the brat alone if it meant her older sister could recuperate a bit.

When they got out to breakfast, Kensie wanted to eat, but she felt too sorry for the servants to ask for anything. Maybe Sonya would let her get something while they were out. Assuming that was what they were doing today. They were at the mercy of the dragon who was now in a glittery silver dress. She had the most ridiculous “princess” hairstyle going on too, but Kensie only had to smile a friendly smile and say “You look very nice today, Lady Cecilia” She seemed rather pleased.

It wasn’t long after that that they were led to the spas. Kensie put on her towel and got into the spa like the “princess” had, sitting beside her as instructed. Eventually the real demon in the group wandered off to yell at the spa people, and Sonya took the opportunity to ask why this couldn’t be relaxing. “I dunno, Sissy. I’m enjoying myself when I can tune her out,” she shrugged, holding her towl on with one hand. “It’s the other eighty percent of the morning I’ve hated having eardrums,” she said with a glare in the yelling girl’s direction.

Finally, the girl had finished yelling, returning to Kensie and Sonya and talking about how everyone in town had been rude to her lately. Kensie finally lost her temper at this, seeing as how everyone had been overly nice to the monster in front of her. “The only rude person here is you, you spoiled brat!” she complained. “You yell and yell and complain and make everyone around you miserable! You've been mean to everyone around you, including my Sissy, and you should stop! And also you snore really loud!” she was yelling at this point, having stood up in her towel. She wasn’t as tall as the princess, but that didn’t seem to stop the younger Fairy Tail mage.

[Sonya Barnett]

All things considered, Sonya was very proud of her sister. Kensie was probably doing a better job than her sister keeping her sanity and saying on the job. It was good. Sonya just wasn’t able to tune things out as well. She did her best though to be professional and keep working and her guard up. She could see why there would be reasons someone might want to hurt this kid. Sonya knew she wanted to sometimes.

The spa wasn’t bad when their charge wasn’t around. ”Yeah… its relaxing when its quiet, just its not quiet very often…” Sonya laughed a bit to try and keep her spirits up. But that wasn’t working too wonderfully.

The spa was going alright until Kensie snapped. Sonya didn’t blame her but she was instantly into damage control. ”Ma’am… she didn’t mean that. We have been under a lot of stress and she has had a hard few days its…” Cecilia puffed up. ”You do not get to talk to me like that you pathetic little minion… I can do what I want. You don’t get to tell me what to do, you’re just the help and stupid…” No, she was not talking to her sister that way. Sonya snapped back. ”Now listen you… you do not get to talk to my sister that way. We are here to protect you, not get berated by you… Now you are going to sit down, and enjoy the spa and behave….” Sonya was working very hard to hold back, and you could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears. You could see her eyes turn red as her magic welled up.

That scared the kid, and Cecilia calmed down and moped for the rest of the day at the. The sisters were actually able to relax and at some point, Sonya smiled at her sister. ”That felt really good to tell her off like that… but don’t tell anyone.”

[Kensie Barnett]

“I did mean that!” Kensie flailed. “Someone needs to tell this brat that the reason no one likes her is because she’s a jerk unless you serve her every whim!” Kensie sighed as Sonya tried to talk over her and was rewarded by Cecilia calling Kensie a stupid minion. Sonya might have been trying to behave, but Kensie was steadily deciding this wasn’t even a job worth taking. She opened her mouth again, but Sonya’s magic flared up, causing Cecilia to run in terror, obviously unused to wizards and their unusual magic they often had. Sonya let out a sigh, stating that it felt good to tell her off.

Kensie only looked at Sonya like she wasn’t sure Sonya had even done anything, speaking up in a quiet, flat tone. “Wow, Sissy, when you get excited you really… stay the same,” she plopped into the water again, determined to find something good about this trip. When they were done Kensie would be allowed to go on missions without her sister lording the promise she’d made to her and her parents over her. That was good. Too bad over wasn’t now.

Kensie let out a sigh. “Sorry, Sissy, thank you for sticking up for me, too. She just makes me so mad. I want to slap some common courtesy into the girl. I’ll be her servant if I’m paid to but not her personal punching bag. I don’t care what you say.” Kensie was a willful girl, and the top of the food chain was where she usually rested in social situations, if only because she worked to be there rather than being a "princess." This didn't sit well with her, but she knew it could be worse.

[Sonya Barnett]

”I know you meant that… and I was thinking it too. That girl is a jerk.” She let out a long sigh as she relaxed into the water again. It had really felt good to snap back, even if her snapping was more controlled than most people. ”I was working hard not to ring the girl’s neck… and you shouldn’t have to take that from anyone siss… I think she makes everyone mad.” The princess was off sulking now, but quiet and not rude and in the way. So that was nice. The rest of the trip at the spa went well. No one got yelled at and it was relaxing. Except for the perpetual mopeing that Cecilia was doing. She deserved it though.

That night things went about like the previous one, but less snoring. In fact it was kept to a dull rumble. So Sonya managed some sleep. Being exhausted helped that too. The next morning things went about the same. They had breakfast and the servants were scared of the girl. Today they were going shopping again, oh boy. Things were quieter though after everyone snapped. As the group moved down the street, Sonya stopped to show her sister a pretty dress in the window. ”What do you think? Think one of us would look good in it?” There wasn’t really time to answer as Cecilia screamed. ”My purse!” Sonya turned just in time to see a man with her purse run down an alley. ”Kensie… after him!” Even though the girl was a jerk, it was their job to protect her, and she had just been robbed.

[Kensie Barnett]

With a burst of purple flames, Kensie Barnett transformed to her imp form, with her eyes changing into their red color, tiny, cute horns appearing on her forehead, and small bat wings and an imp tail appearing as well. She took off after the man with the spoiled brat’s purse. Cecilia might make her and Sonya mad, but Kensie was better than this girl, and she was going to be a hero and do exactly like she was hired to do – keep the girl and her things safe. “I’ll catch him!” Kensie told Sonya. “Stay with the brat and keep her safe!”

Unfortunately, Kensie was swift, but the man had much longer legs than a fourteen year old girl. He was slowly pulling ahead of her, and Kensie tried to run even harder. She couldn’t catch up to him with speed though, as she figured out reasonably quickly. Instead, she conjured a blast of purple flames she fired at the man’s feet. He jumped over it, avoiding the blast, followed shortly by jumping a fence. Kensie had to stop short, jumping up to the top of the fence. She wasn’t strong enough to pull herself up, and dropped back down. She looked around, seeing a place she could climb. The younger Barnett girl quickly climbed the pile of junk and hopping the fence. She hoped no one else wanted to pick on Cecilia while she was gone. Even without the purse she was still a super-rich brat. Even Kensie knew this might be some sort of distraction for the actual valuable merchandise.

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