Melody's Whispers (discontinued for a rewrite)

Elegance is the Beginning

Ma stood over this person, trying to remain intimating.
"So, the Head Witch of the Bard Coven likes pretending to be a rebel. Too bad they're not very good at it." This person narrowed their eyes angrily at Ma before blushing red and stomping their foot like a child.
"Eda! You're embarrassing me in front of my crew." So the story of them having stage fright was true. They let out a sigh before turning to the rest of the rebels. "It's alright, everyone. The Owl Lady is an old friend." They removed their masks, trusting their leader.
"Nice to see you again," one told us with a smile. It took me a moment to realise who she was.
"Hey, didn't we break you and a bunch of others out of prison, like three or four months ago?" I questioned. She smiled with a nod. "Huh, never took you for a bard."
"Eda's the one who inspired me to make the group," Raine told their crew. I was just as confused as Ma. She had a light dusting of pink over her cheeks. "It was quite some time ago..."

They used to spend quite some time together. They'd play music in solidarity, mostly to get past the anxiety Raine felt before playing in any performance. Ma would tell them how she knew why Raine was out here.
"You know, you can't run from your fears forever," she'd tell them. "Which is why you gotta get the jump on them. Give 'em a whack in the face." Raine believed Ma was just joking when she said that. They only learned what it meant when they started teaching for the Bard Coven. Raine despised how the Emperor prioritised recruitment through force. Anyone who refuses to fall in line, they disappear. Raine slowly and carefully worked up the ranks until they were ranked Head Witch. They found a crew who wanted to change this corrupt system, just like them. That's when they formed 'the Bards Against the Throne', also known as the BATTs. They had their own little war cry and all.

"Anyways, who's this?" I stepped away from Raine as they stepped closer to me to look at my face closely; they adjusted their glasses with curiosity in their eyes.
"Who, Melody?" Ma questioned. "She's ah... Mel's my apprentice. Helps me run scams in the market. Though nowadays she's stronger than me..." our eyes drew upward footsteps came closer on the overpass. Silently, Raine pointed for their team to scatter; no one could be seen down here. I backed up closer to the wall keeping myself just out of view.
"Hey, if you guys have nothing to lose... we could use the help," Raine told us, extending a hand. Ma's face went red. Something told me there was something deeper than friendship those years ago. Ma took their hand. I guessed that meant she was down for a bit of trouble. Raine turned to me with a light smile. "You're quite the Bard; we'd be happy to have you join." I nodded, but something in me told me not to take the hand they offered.
"Yeah, I'm down... it's been some time since we caused real trouble around town."

Ma rustled around her room, looking for old maps; we'd not seen them in years. I had them memorised well enough for us not to get lost. In years past, we used these to escape coven guards—all homemade of every single nook and cranny of this place.
"Are we really doing this without telling Luz and King?" I asked, leaning on the open doorway. "Also, is this a package deal situation? Like you get two Clawthornes for the price of one? Do I have the option to back out?"
"I'm keeping my eye on you for now; I can't have you having another meltdown so soon." She told me. Well, at least I knew I didn't have much of a say in this. "And I wanna keep Luz and King safe... so don't tell them. It's up to you if you tell that Blight kid or not but... if we're caught... it's better if she doesn't know." I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Her name's Emira. Not 'the Blight kid'. Could you stop calling her that?" Ma shrugged her shoulders, continuing her rummaging.
"Found 'em. Let's get moving. They're expecting us."

The rebel team had us meet at the edge of Latissa; they had a little hiding place. The four rebels sat around a low-lying table. Raine started as Ma, and I sat down.
"Okay, here's the situation. Emperor Belos wants every wild witch in a coven before the Day of Unity," Raine explained.
"He's trying to steal as much magic as possible. We don't know why," Derwin, the guy next to me, said as he pushed up his glasses. His dark skin stood out against the lightly coloured walls.
"Right now, we're just focused on helping those he's captured," Raine interjected. "And the next raids take place here, here and here." Three raids were happening at the same time. The main objective was to capture as many wild witches as possible; our mission was to save those witches and get them out of town. The team pondered how we could pull off a task like this.
"Don't worry; Mama's got a plan," Ma smirked. Amber protested how she wasn't our mother. Mean, I wasn't gonna correct her. Ma had a plan for each member, except myself.
"So after all this nonsense about keeping an eye on me, you're just gonna leave me alone?" I protested, pissed off. I slammed my fist on the table. "That's not fair, M-Eda!" I had to stop myself from calling her Ma.
"I've heard her play; if anything, Melody would be a good distraction," Raine said, chewing at their nails, more thinking out loud.
"No," Ma stood firm. "She's been sick. I don't want her getting worse and overworking her magic."
"I'm fine," I argued. "You're being a nervous nelly for nothing. Come on, you know I'm capable. I don't have anyone holding me back." Ma reluctantly agreed with a sigh. But she wouldn't have me playing; my style was too recognisable. Instead, I was to help her break prisoners out and guide them out of the city. I could work with that.