Stage 2: 30 Minutes Waits for No Man
"I hope this is the last bag, because I'm not going to carry out your luggage the first thing when you step outside and away from here!"
The Mistress gave Gail the dirty snarl, as she immediately took several steps back. The Mistress herself looks like a demon with horns on her head and the face of an ugliest creature known to mankind…but, then again, that was just what her face typically looks like on a regular basis.
But if you ever see her walking down your pathway, be careful, you'll probably need to carry a bucket with you just in case if you start vomiting.
Gail still continued to look down at what was once her old mistress. And then she said, "Even if we never became good friends, I'm still going to miss you…my Mademoiselle."
The Mistress just looked at her as if she's grown a second ear or something on the side of her head. She scowled one more time and said, "Don't give me any of that crap. You came just for labor and since you finished every single chore that I haven't gotten to do my lifetime, that's why I'm setting you free. The sight of you could make women as old as me die in a heart attack…and get your stinkin' feet of my satin dress!"
Gail noticed right away and saw her foot resting upon the black lace of the Mistress' dress. She freaked out and removed her foot instantly, the Mistress was still pretty ticked about it and she let out a low snarl seconds before she decided to move her long, dressy skirt away from Gail's feet. Or at least… from Gail's point of view.
And just before Gail even thought about turning around to say she's sorry, the horse carriage pulls up in front of the gates and a huge smile was replaced with the hopeless guilt that she had to hang on to for half an hour.
"By God, it's here!" Gail squees the moment the carriage door opened. "You may have been a nasty host, but hey, at least you left me to live with my dreams! So I have to thank you…thank you!"
She quickly kneels down at the Mistress' height and leaves a kiss upon her cheek. The Mistress' eyes widened with so much embarrassment, in fact, she never thought once that a cheery, redheaded teenage girl would even think about kissing an old lady's cheek.
Gail rushes down the hill and turns around, waving at her mistress. The Mistress swiped that embarrassment look off her face and brought back her vicious glare, and slammed her door with a lot of force.
Gail didn't care much however; she knew that she will never see the sorry excuse for an old woman ever again.
She sighed and took a good look at her Mistress' house. Just as they finally loaded the last luggage into the trunk of the carriage, Gail finally stepped inside and thought about what's going to happen for the rest of the day.
Just as they took off, Gail watched that 'hellhole' disappear and out of her life. She couldn't stop smiling; the thought of getting away from the torture was her number one priority. She still couldn't believe that the day has finally come.
Just as the saw the fields of roses slip past her, she let out a huge sigh of relief, and thought, And now…my journey begins. And I already have it planned out. First, I will have a private meeting with the Queen; get to make friends with the maids, get some errands done before I have my live performance tonight. By God, I can hardly wait! Tonight's going to be so much fun!
Gail sighs once more and lets her dreams start to take over. She just knew right away that tonight, her dreams are just about to bear fruit.
There was once a clocktower that stood in the south corridor of the palace. People from each corner of the world would come once or twice a year to see this magnificent structure. It was as if, somebody painted it on the empty canvas and breathed life to it.
Basically, it was more like a piece of art displayed rather than something you'd find in a furniture store.
But…that was beyond centuries ago, since it was full of decay and bacteria of any kind, they demolished it, and it doesn't stand there anymore to this day. Instead, they built a new tower, sort of a hangout for the knights to stick around and chat.
A young man about maybe eighteen years old stares out from that broken window. He wears a pale pink overcoat, a purple necktie, a brown vest, black pants and white shoes. He carries a gun pouch around his waist and in his hand, he held a silver pocket watch.
His hair was pretty long, probably up in shoulder length, and his eyes were a crystal blue color, but in the form of deepening sadness dwells within them.
He lets out a hopeless sigh, as he stares at this old watch with a blank expression written on his face.
Why can't I get this thing to work? He thought to himself, but not out loud. I'm back in France aren't I? So…shouldn't I be able to get it to work anytime now?
He lets out another hopeless sigh and thought, Whatever. He wasn't kidding. This thing is definitely broken. When there's a miracle, I will know for sure.
His heart skips a few beats just as he heard the door open from behind him. He slips onto the couch and pretends that he didn't do anything so special.
Then, three other men appeared in the room.
First one was a man with long brown hair, which he keeps it up in a ponytail. It doesn't happen to look as long compared to when you see it lay flat on the back of his head, but it was still pretty long, past shoulder length perhaps. He wears a new signature green coat, with a cross-design buttons coming down one side, and there was two black stripes coming down the sleeves.
The second one was a man with extremely long blond hair, he also keeps it tied back in a ponytail, and he was wearing his typical knight's uniform proudly, since he's back at the palace once again.
Lastly, there was an elderly man, nobody knows for sure how old he really was because he's in such good shape (even in this lifetime), and he still stands there, placing the hat with the white feather on it on the center of the table. This guy wasn't any different however; he still decided to wear his signature color…which was black.
"Robin, I don't believe you." The man in the green coat answered to the young man, "We were gone for hours to look for a precious gift for the queen, and you came back with a bouquet of flowers. Why do this to us?"
Robin shrugs as he answers, "I don't really know myself. She happens to like them, and I did see that her flowers were wilting, so I thought I'd give her some replacement flowers."
"Well I think that's a good idea." The man with long blond hair answers, "Maybe I should buy some and give it as a gift to Anna."
"Well, you should've thought about that a few hours ago before you left D'eon." Robin laughs out loud, "Because I bought a second bouquet already. Oh yeah, before I forget, Queen Marie asked me to deliver a package to you."
"A package?" D'eon looks at Robin as if he said something foreign. "What kind of package?"
"This package," Robin answers as he takes a tiny wrapped up box out of his pocket, "Queen Marie told me that it was special and that it should be taken care of. The Queen said it herself that she didn't even see what was inside, but, she had a feeling that there is something very special in it. And look, there's not even an address, so, it couldn't possibly come from her."
D'eon takes the perfectly wrapped box and gazes at it. He let's his mind slip and starts to pull the inexpensive wrapping paper, slowly. Robin's eyes widen and placed both of his hands on D'eon's.
"D'eon, what are you doing?" Robin answered, his voice reaching a high pitch. "Don't you know anything? You're not supposed to open special gifts randomly, wait until the time is right and then you can open it."
"S-sorry." D'eon answered sheepishly, "For a second, it felt like I knew what was inside this box. But you're so right, Robin, I shouldn't let my fantasies get a hold of me that easily."
"Well, at least that you didn't rip the paper, so that's probably a good sign." Says the elderly man in the back of the room. He pulls up the chair closest to him and sits down; he lets out a huge yawn and pretended as if nothing really 'special' happened.
"Sir Teillagory, you must have found a lot of enjoyment out of this." Robin gives that old guy his cheesiest smile up to date.
Teillagory laughs and then answers straight-on, "Oh, I believe so. Especially since you are still holding hands with one of my favorite students."
Robin glances back at D'eon, Teillagory wasn't kidding around. Robin still had his hands on D'eon, and the instant he looks at his hands he immediately pulls them away from him.
The guy in the green coat gave out a hearty laugher. Robin glares at him and starts blushing right away, "What? Sir Durand, it's not my fault that I let my mind slip through me!"
Durand shrugs as he spoke, "Nonetheless, you have to admit it though, it was pretty funny and cute in a way. With that long hair of yours, you've seem a lot older than you were before. What happened to you anyway? Ever since we regrouped, I couldn't really tell if this was the same Robin that I remembered back then. You really haven't told me anything ever since then. I let it slide then, but now, I demand answers."
Robin looked away from Durand's gaze and said, "I really don't know…I really don't remember anything."
It was Durand's turn to sigh, he did, and then he said, "Oh well, whatever then, until you remember something, come and tell me. Since New Year is making its way, I'll let it slide, but this is the last time I will bring this subject up."
He stood up, fixing his open pockets and then said, "Well, I think a good stroll will do me some good, so, hopefully if I find a gift that's worthy enough for Queen Marie, then my life will be one step closer to being completed."
Just as Durand leaves, Robin sat back down in his chair and took out Durand's old pocket watch and started to toy around with it…but, just a little bit before D'eon or Teillagory noticed.
Teillagory, however, noticed and said, "Well, well. When did you get that? In fact, I've never seen you take Durand's old pocket watch."
"Huh?" Robin looks up dumbfoundedly, and then he remembers and says, "Oh yeah, three years ago, before you and Sir D'eon went to bed, Durand and I had a little talk and he said that I should keep the watch. He thinks that I will be able to live the longest among the four of us and he believes that I could get this watch to start working again. But somehow, I can't seem to get it to work at all. Honestly, I have no idea how to do it."
"Well, you may never know what the future holds." Teillagory answers seconds before he starts yawning. "Just give it some time and the answer will come to you."
"He's right." D'eon answers, he places a hand over Robin's (the hand that's holding the watch) and says, "Don't worry, we'll be there to support you and try to get it to work again."
Robin smiles as he answers, "Sure, thank you. Both of you."
