Phoenix: I have heard your praises, my people, and have acknowledged them in my heart. I welcome your love and will in turn sprout it forth in multitudes for my loyal followers.
GM: (walks up) What are you doing?
Phoenix: Have you not read these beautiful replies that people have been sending us?
GM: Of course I have. What about them?
Phoenix: Can't you see? They love me!
GM: You mean, they love us. The readers like our conversations. As in you and me.
Phoenix: Wow. Big headed much? How can you even live with yourself? (shakes head and walks away)
GM: What just happened here?
The hall was bustling with workers and servants, lords and ladies, guests and intruders. Five intruders to be exact. The guys maneuvered their way through the crowd as best as they could, ducking under chairs that were carried, leaping over rolls of carpets, and in general, trying to get though the crowd as quickly as they could.
"Hey you!" A voice called out suddenly.
"Oh man!" Finn cried. "We're so totally busted!" He made a move to bolt, but Phoenix clamped his hand onto his shoulder, preventing his escape.
"Just play it cool." He hissed. "If we run, there's no way we can play it off."
The guys turned around slowly and found themselves face-to-face with a burly redheaded man in a uniform similar to theirs save the fact that he wore a black suit jacket where they only had vests. His name tag read Viviane Steel.
"What kind of name is Viviane?!" Finn burst out laughing. At the man's furious scowl, Junko covered Finn's mouth with his large hand, muffling both the laughter and the cried for air.
"What are you boys doing here?" The man asked, still glaring in Finn's direction. "You are needed in the dining area in order to get your assignments!" He spied Radarr. "What is that… thing doing here? If we get complaints from the guests on our sanitation levels, do you know what Master Cyclonis will do to us? Whatever it is, I'll be sure to suggest that you get sacrificed first!"
Aerrow opened his mouth to retaliate, but Phoenix spoke up first.
"But Mr. …" He stole a glance at the name tag. "Steel. Mr. Steel, this dog is my good friend's helper dog. You see, he can't hear, and he needs the dog to give him signals as to what is going on around him. And of course, a man of business like yourself will already know that it is against Cyclonian law to discriminate against those with such disabilities."
Mr. Steel gave Radarr an incredulous look. Radarr offered his most innocent grin and scurried to Aerrow's arm where he began gesturing to Aerrow in the man's direction. Aerrow, catching onto the game, began nodding at Radarr and making exaggerated gestures like he was trying to understand what Radarr was telling him. With an expression of understanding lighting up his face, he grasped Mr. Steel's hand and pumped it enthusiastically.
"Well, I suppose he can stay then." Mr. Steel said reluctantly. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that you are all not in your designated places. Now move it!" He pointed in the direction of the dining hall.
Not needing a second warning, they sprinted in that direction, laughing all the way.
"Man, I thought we were busted for sure!" Finn laughed.
"Yeah that was close." Phoenix agreed."But we have to be careful. We don't know who will recognize us." They arrived at the large doors labeled as Dining Hall in large gold letters. "Alright, Junko, you and I are going to go into the dining hall and get our instructions in case that guy comes to check up on us. We'll also be able to listen in in case someone spills any information on the wedding. Aerrow, Finn, and Radarr - you two go and try to find where they're keeping Piper. If you can bust her out, great. If not, come and find us and we'll try to figure out some kind of diversion."
"Wow, you and Aerrow are going to be great brothers-in-law." Junko marveled.
Aerrow shot Phoenix a grin. "We'll be a force to be reckoned with."
"Well I'm already pretty fierce on my own." Phoenix bragged. "But I welcome your abilities."
They grasped each other's shoulders in a sign of brotherhood and with a nod to their designate parters, headed in the direction they needed to go.
Piper had never been one to wear much make-up. A touch of concealer here, a dab of lip gloss there, but besides of that, she had always been pretty satisfied with her appearance. She had naturally good skin and she didn't want to mess that up by glopping on a whole bunch of stuff. She tried to explain this to the team in charge of primping her for the wedding, but her words of protest were just wasted since no one seemed to be listening anyways.
They started off with a bath where she was scrubbed raw - her skin red and glowing where the women had relentlessly scoured her with stiff brushes and determined hands. Two women were put in charge of buffing and painting her nails a pale pink. Definitely not Piper's choice In color, but she doubted they would care about that. After that, they rubbed her down with a (thankfully) soft and fluffy towel and covered her with an equally fluffy bathrobe. Plopping her down in front of a mirror, a skilled hairdresser yanked her team of combs and brushes through her hair, trying at least ten different hairstyles before settling on a bun made up of tiny braids embellished with pearls that peaked in and out of the braids like shy children looking out from behind their mother's skirts.
No sooner had the hairdresser left her side that a beautician and his assistant appeared. Spreading out the tools of the trade, Piper was spun away from the mirror and they began their quest to make her look "halfway decent" as the beautician muttered to his assistant. After a disheartening combination of sighs, grunts, tongue clucking, and scowls, he finally announced that he had done all that he could. Spinning her chair back to face the mirror, Piper stared blankly at the person facing her in the mirror. Looking back at her was a beautiful young woman like those she had seen in Atmos Monthly who modeled all the newest fashions and posed in the ads with skimmers and heliscooters. She would never admit it, but occasionally she would sigh to herself and wished that she too could be considered beautiful enough to be photographed for magazines such as that. But then she would remember all of her own unique talents and intelligence and she would manage to snap herself out of her funk.
Mrs. Waters grabbed her chin in her cold hands and yanked her so that Piper was forced to face her. With piercing eyes, the woman analyzed every part of her face, taking in the make-up and judging the perfection of the hair. It was only after she had announced that Piper looked "passable" that Piper realized that everyone in the room had been holding their breath and now they let it out in a collective sigh.
In a whirlwind of activity that Piper could only barely follow, everyone left the room at once, taking their instruments of torture with them. In less than five minutes, Piper and Mrs. Waters were the only two left in the room.
"Well, the wedding will take place in exactly an hour." She said with a pat to her graying hair. You have forty-five minutes to meditate and mentally prepare yourself for your new life as a married woman. I will not have you going into this marriage with my son with a light heart. Your days of fun and games are behind you. From this day on, you will be taking on the honorable Ace name and it will be your duty as a woman to do everything within your power to keep it from blemish." Without waiting for Piper to give any sort of reply or argument, she left the room and Piper found herself alone at last. Not one to waste an opportunity, she waited a few moments and then rushed to the door, intent on escaping even though she wore nothing but a bathrobe. NO sooner had her hands touched the cool metal of the knob, however, than she heard Mrs. Waters commending voice on the other side of the wood.
"Dark Ace's fiance is on the other side of that door. No one comes in or out of that room without my permission, do you hear? You will not leave your post until I come back in forty-five minutes with the dressmaker. You disobey my orders and you will be paying with your life."
Guards. Piper thought. Well, even in a bathrobe, I think I stand a pretty good chance against them. I'll just wait until she leaves and then I'll ambush them. I doubt there could be more than two or three guards.
She was about to go looking for something to use as a bat when the voice on the other side of the door made her pause.
"As you wish, my mistress."
"Very good, Cinderpool. You are the only one I can trust with this job."
Cinderpool? Piper thought in confusion. What kind of threat is that?
GM: Well it took a little longer than I expected, but these past few days have been hectic as I'm sure it has been for everyone. But I hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas as well as a safe one.
Phoenix: Will you stop your yappin' and work on the next chapter? My fans want to see more of me.
GM: Oh? I thought you were trying to get me to hurry up so I could save your sister.
Piper: Yeah! What's up with that?
Phoenix: Piper! W-well you see, I was really trying to get her to hurry up for that reason, but I didn't want the readers to panic so I was trying to cover up with that excuse...
Aerrow: Yeah okay. Nice cover up brother.