Act 7
Doors
~This chapter is deticated to Indigo-Jay for their helpful advice and wonderful ideas, thankyou~
D.O.O.R.S
Dangerous Out Of Reality Situations
Red paced.
Urhg, he was pacing like an impatient child. Red prided himself in not acting in such a way, but waiting—well, waiting was not one of his strong suits, that's for sure. He turned to the door again, intently listening for the familiar footsteps of the Earl, but alas— as it had been for the last two hours—none came.
Where was he? The Earl was never late, not once in the time that Red had been here had he ever failed to show. He always turned up at the exact moment the little hand on the clock reached the IX, although he couldn't read time—or anything at all really—he reckoned if there were twelve symbols on the clock face, 'I' being the symbol for 1, then all he had to do was count up to the IX, which would mean it was the symbol for 9. So basically he arrived on the dot at nine sharp, but not today it seemed, for the clock was ticking closer and closer to the symbol for eleven.
Red sighed, slumping back down on the 'neatly' made bed; at first he had been slightly confused as to why the Earl hadn't woken him up, but he figured that he might as well take advantage of the situation by dressing in what he wanted not the Earl's taste in clothing. Red swore if he had to wear another one of those top hats ever again, he would personally hunt down the Earls seemingly endless collection, and take absolute satisfaction in burning it hat by hat.
He blinked, where had those violent thoughts come from?
He knew he could always just leave his—yes he finally considered it that—room, but ever since the time when the 'Monster Chef' had chased him through the halls, he'd been scared—hesitant to leave without the Earl. For some reason the grinning gentleman always made him feel safe. Red stood up, there was no point in waiting around anymore, it was obvious that the Earl wasn't going to show. Plus, he was extremely hungry—verging on the point of starving; if he didn't get some food soon he would go crazy.
. . .
Nostalgia, that was the first word that came to mind as Red walked—more like crept—through the maze of hallways and rooms. It was nostalgic because he had done this once before, on the first night he had woken up here, but it was also different as he wasn't being chased by an insane chef, who Red was pretty sure had wanted to cook him up and eat him. It was so weird, some doors led to normal rooms one would expect inside a mansion, whereas others led to a completely different place. Every third or fourth door he opened seemed to lead out into a white town that sat deserted under a sunless azure sky. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, considering the weird amount of things he had witnessed lately, but a whole town hidden behind random doors? That was just plain utter nonsense!
He was certain to there was something going on here, he had suspected that there was more to the Earl and his family for quite some time, Tyki's recent 'talk' had only proved this more. Red made a mental note—the next time he saw the Earl he was going to demand some answers, if he wanted Red to find this 'lost friend' so badly, than he was going to have to start talking.
His stomach gave a loud protest, proclaiming his growing hunger to the world.
Actually, answers could wait. Getting food and not starving to death was now top priority.
Red opened another door—hoping with all his might that it was a kitchen—but was sorely disappointed to see that it was in fact another entrance to the same mysterious white town.
Red's eye twitched in annoyance and with a vexed growl, he slammed the door closed again. He slid to the ground, back pressed up against the wood; the growls from his stomach had grown ever louder, demanding to be fed. Even when he'd been starving on the streets and hadn't eaten for days, his stomach had never been this loud!
"Stupid door…stupid white town…stupid hunger…"
A voice—like a breath of wind—sounded in his ear, "Who are you talking to?" It giggled.
Red shrieked, tumbling sideways onto the floor in fright. A pair of familiar black polished shoes and striped stockings seemed to be the source of the girlish laugher that floated about the hall. He looked up higher, coming face to face with none other than Road.
"What did ya do that for!?" Red exclaimed.
"You were just sitting in the corridor talking to yourself; you didn't even notice me approach you. So of course I had to see what you were doing; it's not my fault you scare easy." She replied innocently. Red stood up to his full height, glaring metaphorical daggers at the girl.
"Go away." He hissed, trying to seem as intimidating as possible; he wanted to be left alone. Road tilted her head to the side, lower lip pouted, eyes wide.
"Aww, that's so cute~" She sang, latching on to Red in a suffocating 'hug'.
"Can't…breathe." Red gasped, struggling in Road's 'death-grip'; immediately she let go, taking a step back.
"So, why are you wondering around? It's not safe for children to be alone here." Her tone became more serious, as she observed him. Red blinked, surprised at her sudden change in demeanour.
"Cause' the Earl neva' showed," He replied. "An' I was hungry. But no matter where I look, I can't seem to find the kitchen!"
"The kitchen? Red, the kitchen is right through that door behind you." She stated, bemused.
He stared incredulously at her; was this girl stupid?
"No it's not…it leads to the stupid white town. Look I'll prove it."
Red turned around—missing the strange look Road was giving him—and opened the door behind him, certain he would see the mysterious town. No—it seemed that the universe was determined to prove him wrong— because he was greeted to the sight of a bustling kitchen. Red blinked, slowly closing the door then opening it again, nothing changed.
What the hell?!
His eye twitched as he repeated this process at least a dozen more times.
"W-what?! But it was right here! How can a whole town disappear?!" He cried in disbelief.
"Red, what white town? There are no towns anywhere near here." Road had the strangest expression on her face, but it only lasted for barely a second before it was replaced by her usual girlish smile.
"Since lunch won't be ready for a while yet, why don't we play a game?" She suggested.
Uh oh, he didn't like the sound of that. Whenever Road wanted to play a game Tyki would go considerably pale, and almost immediately decline. Red got the impression that Road's 'games' weren't very appealing. But come to think of it, he did need a distraction from his stomach's protesting growls.
"Fine, what game do ya want to play?" He asked warily.
"Dolls."
"No way. That's a game for lil' girls. I'm a boy." He responded immediately.
"Bu—"
"No! Choose another game."
Road pouted. "How about dress-ups?"
Red was suddenly faced with the mental picture of the Earl's hideous top-hats. He mentally gagged.
"Absolutely not! No dress-ups."
"Meanie! I want to play dress-ups!" She shouted, stamping her foot on the ground like a child. She glared at Red, daring him to say no. Red glared right back at, fists clenched—he was sick of his wants being pushed to the side, it was his turn to get what he wanted.
"I don' care what ya want! We're playin' a different game!" He yelled.
Road blinked, not expecting the boy to actually tell her no, no one ever told her no—well except for Millennie of course—normally she would just make them play anyway, but something about the way that Red glared at her with his intense silver eyes sent chills down her spine; it reminded her of a pair of ice-blue eyes that held the same intensity. No she was just imagining things, the owner of the ice-blue eyes had been dead for almost thirty years.
"Ok, how about we play broomsticks then."
"Broomsticks? What's that?"
Road smiled mischievously, pulling out a dazed pink umbrella from seemingly nowhere.
"Do you remember Lero?"
"You mean that weird talking umbrella? Yeah, why?"
Road giggled.
"Because, he's the broomstick."
Both the children's eyes turned to the floating umbrella. The pumpkin head started sweating.
"Lero…" It gulped, looking for the nearest exit to escape his impending doom.
A/N:
Hello all. Did you think I was dead? Nope, cause' I'm definitely alive and well. Ahem, this may be slightly late but as most of you know I'm a lazy updater.
This chapter was mostly a filler, so there's nothing in it I really need to talk about. Well except for the whole 'White Town' thing, if any of you can't guess what that is then you may need to rewatch D. Grey-man.
Although there is something that has been bothering me lately, I found another d. grey-man fic with the same name as mine. So I'm wondering if maybe I should change the name of this story?
And the detication, more of these will be popping up, I can assure you. I'll deticate a chapter to anyone who I think deserves a big thankyou for a lovely review.
Rainbowrunner01, riding her rainbow out of here!