The time the twins had left before school started was drawing to a close. After arriving on Friday to their new, old, home, and spending Saturday exploring every inch of the manor’s small spaces and cozy hide-aways they now were focusing on the gardens and grounds for Sunday.
During their travels across the gardens they discovered their old treehouse right at the far end of the garden. It had seen much better days, with years of weather having taken its toll.
“I don’t remember having a treehouse.” Rubi said.
“We did spend our time in the vault…” Ruby replied.
Feeling bad about abandoning what looked like a lovely gift from their dad, the two girls set out to correct the mistake and fix up the place. They did so by getting out their phone and calling over a small team of contractors to do it for them. The men were over within the hour and were very polite indeed to the young girls.
They gave the whole thing and looked over before setting to work in restoring it back to new. The girls did not need any new additions to the treehouse so the work went by quickly. Both Ruby and Rubi also quite enjoyed the sight of these big, strong, canines working up a sweat in the sun. So much so that they eventually set up two deck chairs from the pool and took a front row seat to the action.
Besides the good view, they did start to remember some more details of the old house. It had been built in a thick L shape. With three main rooms. A cozy living room along the biggest part of the L, a small reading nook, and a tiny bedroom for napping. As well as a rooftop balcony for stargazing, a working basket elevator besides the ladder for easier delivery of stuff… And a working bathroom. The girls had rarely used this lovely creation when they were younger due to the favoritism of the pillow vault but now that they were older and wanting somewhere extra private, this served to be the perfect solution.
Before long the old treehouse was looking like new. Some of the old wood had been replaced, metal had been polished, the glass windows cleaned to a shine, not to mention cleaning out the bathroom and oiling the elevator. There was a surprising amount of tasks to be done but they had sorted it all by the morning’s end. After giving a tip to the contractors they were left alone to play, which they did by copying the clean up crew.
Ruby took a broom and went round the living room to clean away any leftover dust and bits from the construction, while Rubi meanwhile changed the sheets and pillows on the small bed. They were small tasks, barely a chore, but it made the girls feel like they were helping in putting together their perfect little home away from home.
The living room was starting to look quite nice in no time at all. They had a nice little coffee table for drinks and snacks, a plush sofa for relaxing and reading, and a bookcase for said books. After Ruby finished sweeping the dust out of the front door she left the broom in the umbrella stand before going back and sitting herself down on the sofa. She stretched her arms and gave out a yawn before looking around the room. Her eyes traced up the wooden walls and along the painted ceiling until she reached the large window behind her. It spanned the length of the main wall and due to its placement overlooked the sparse and overgrown forest just past the Hivally Estate’s huge brick wall.
Ruby turned herself around fully, her knees resting on the sofa, and her hands on the back of it as she gazed out into the woods. The trees were a lovely shade of rich green that the mountains tended to lack. Ruby backed her way off the sofa and stepped over to the side where she opened up one side of the window. She leaned out and breathed in the refreshing smells of the springtime forest. Wild flowers had all bloomed and the leaves were growing hotter by the day. Her tail feathers flicked as a breeze blew past and into the treehouse. Ruby smiled and closed her eyes to enjoy the lively sounds of bird songs and insect chirps. When suddenly she heard something else.
“Hello. Do you live up there?” A small voice from below asked politely.
Ruby turned her eyes all the way down and at the base of the brick wall, to which the living room leaned on, she found a small deer boy about her own age. He carried a bag around one shoulder and a bug net in his hands. She blinked at him, opened her mouth and let out a rude caw before throwing her hand over her mouth in sheer embarrassment. Stumbling back into the living room she blushed fiercely and bent over with the weight of her shame.
“What is happening?” Rubi asked as she came in from the bedroom.
“A boy.” Ruby whispered. “A cute one!” She said while pointing to the window.
Rubi headed over to the window and poked her head out. She looked around and then down to where she found the cute deer boy looking up to her. His brilliant blue eyes shining in the afternoon sunlight.
“Hello again. Do you like butterflies?” He asked.
“Ughhhhh…” Rubi moaned. “Excuse me.”
Rubi threw herself back into the room and joined her sister by the coffee table in her blushings and flustering pacing. The two sisters grabbed each other's hands and began to twirl around.
“He’s so cute!” Ruby whispered.
“And his eyes, like gemstones!” Rubi replied.
“What do we say? We have no script!” Ruby asked.
“We have to ‘wing it’ as they say.” Rubi replied.
“What if we come off as rude?” Ruby asked.
“Oh no…” Rubi muttered as they came to a stop.
“We are being rude by ignoring him!” Ruby cut in.
The boy looked up to the open window with a soft smile and patience alike. He tilted his head as he could just about make out the tapping of claws on wood, the ruffling of clothing, and whispering bleaks clicking at each other furiously. And then suddenly it stopped. A moment later and the crow girl from before appeared, alongside another crow girl that looked identical.
“Hello.” Ruby spoke with a creak to her voice.
“What lovely weather we are having.” Rubi said next.
“Did you just move in? That happens a lot in the summer.” The boy replied.
“Yes. We just moved.” Ruby spoke first.
“In, that is. Ruby added.
“But we used to live here.” Ruby explained.
“We have a lot of pillows.” Rubi added before cringing at the random statement.
“I have bugs. Butterflies are really pretty.”
The boy said as he pulled a sketchbook from his bag, lifted it above his head for the two twins to see. He flicked through the pages so they could see his crude drawings of various butterflies and bugs he had seen or captured in the forest. After closing the book he put it back into his bag.
“Neat.” The twins said in unison.
“Oh, I was heading home actually. I should get going before I’m late for dinner.”
The boy spoke before running away from the treehouse.
“Cya at school!” He shouted back.
The twins waved him off with awkward smiles before relaxing and letting out a sigh together.
“We are not ready for school.” Rubi said.
“Why did you have to mention the pillows as well?” Ruby asked/
“I don’t know, it’s hard to think around boys! Nobody told me that would happen.”
“Oh I know, it’s so much more…” Ruby added.
“Exciting.” They said together.
The pair left the window open but turned their attention to figuring out a plan for tomorrow. They pulled a notebook and some pens from the bookcase and spread them over the coffee table. Ruby sat herself down and began to already write down some ideas while Rubi stepped aside to give Micheal a call.
“Good afternoon, can you please deliver some paper and stationary to the treehouse alongside snacks and juice?” Rubi explained. “We are doing some last minute homework.”
With that sorted she put the phone back into her dress and sat herself down next to her sister.
“What are you thinking?” Rubi asked as she gazed over the doodles.
“We could turn our little soiree into a welcoming party in order to mingle.” Ruby replied.
“Oh excellent idea. With all the students coming we will surely have plenty of opportunities to make friends easier than in a more formal setting.” Rubi nodded.
“Quite. But we should try to make some acquaintances first to make sure attendance is high. Which means, socializing.” Ruby then pointed out as she circled a note on the page.
Rubi tapped her fingers on the table in thought before picking up a pen and adding a note too.
“We need to create a script to follow in order to better introduce ourselves.” Rubi said.
“Yes, we can not have the same blunders as with the deer boy.” Ruby agreed.
“Far too embarrassing. Much too awkward.” Rubi shuddered.
They both added some notes to the page before drawing lines between the sections.
“It has been some time since we studied interactions and introductions.” Ruby said.
“Indeed, quite the fault for getting distracted with physical performances.” Rubi replied.
“Not too big of a mistake. Such things are needed after we get a boyfriend.”
The pair let out a giggle just as the doorbell rang.
Ruby hopped up off the floor and skipped over. Opening the front door she greeted their butler, Micheal, warmly. He stepped inside and wiped his shoes before heading into the living room proper.
“Wild tuna and vintage cheddar spread on wholewheat crackers. Served with iced plum soda and spiced sunflower seeds.” He spoke dryly as he placed a tray down on the table. “As well as your stationery supplies.” Micheal then added as he put down paper, notepads, pencils, rulers, erasers, coloring pens, crayons, tape and glue.
“Perfect, thank you Micheal.” Rubi praised.
“My pleasure, M’am.” Micheal said as he bowed his head towards her.
“Do let Gustav know we will also be having dinner up here.” Ruby spoke up.
“I shall.” Micheal replied before taking his leave.
The two girls spread out the paper across the table. They turned on some music using their phone and began to focus deeply on every little detail of tomorrow’s events. Introductions, any possible accidents, lunch time, playground events and returning home. All of this is something they had already thought of in the past but it had been long enough to need a refresher of topics.
With confidence souring once more, they had no doubts about tomorrow.
But the thing so easily overlooked, is that you can never control what other people will do.
