AUTHOR'S NOTE
Wow. Hello. So much has changed since last year. What a ride 2020 has been so far. So, yes, hello my Nuggets. I hope everyone is safe and healthy during this strange time. I hope you're in a safe and secure home, reading silly fanfictions like mine and spending time with people you love, somehow. I hope you are making the most out of staying inside, and that you're doing your best to stay inside - because this is our social responsibility. I am in my last semester of college, and I have to do it all online as of a few days ago. Not the greatest way to end the last 4 tiring years of going to school, working, caring for my family, and writing, but hey, it could be worse. Again, I wish all the best for each and every one of you, and thank you for your kind words these past several years of being patient with Ana's crazy story. Thank you for glazing over my grammatical errors and typos, because this is a passion hobby of mine and therefore I don't spend a millions years checking to see if I spelled it "grey" or "gray." Please continue to read and review, and feel free to reach out to me, as always!
Love and peace and distance,
~ Nuggs
Chapter 84
"You've got something in your hair."
"Seriously? I don't even feel it."
"Is that you asking me to remove it for you?"
"Hah, yes."
"Think you're so important huh? Stop walking for a second, will you?"
Shire removed something from my wig. I looked over at him slowly. We were right outside of Diamond Park, er, Kingdom, and just ensuring I was ready to really embody this new character I had to be. We stopped to look over my costume, as well as my general backstory. Shire had told me that the beach refugees were secretive, so I didn't need much of a backstory except that I was a beach refugee. People would apparently know not to pry.
"Best way to lie is to base it on some truth," Shire explained. "If you want to give them any details about your history, give them ones you actually mean or feel."
The thing that he carefully removed from my hair was a leaf. He let it go and we watched it flutter to the ground.
"Thanks," I said with a deep breath. This wasn't my first time sneaking around this world, but I still felt nervous.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and steadied me. "You were disguised as a man right under the Queen's fat nose," Shire said quietly. "In her house, no less. You're a professional now."
"Yeah, a professional liar."
We stared at each other for a moment before he suddenly cleared his throat and slapped me on the back.
"Alright, let's go find that landlord and make sure you got a place to sleep," he said, pushing me forward.
I let him push me, enjoying the confidence it was somehow giving me. "You're sticking around?" I asked.
"Of course I am. Remember last time you were here?" Shire scoffed. "Remember last time you were anywhere? Something always happens."
I frowned. I had nothing to say, though. It was true. Shire was definitely problematic, but at this rate, I was the much bigger problem.
"Exactly, so I'm gonna stick around to make sure you don't shrink and fall to your death again."
I thought about when I was small and literally walked off the surface of his hand. I was so dumb. Has anything even changed?
"No argument?" he asked, surprised.
I shrugged. "How could I argue with that? Most of the stuff you say, while completely annoying, they tend to be true."
"Maybe that's why you find him annoying?" Stephanie said out of nowhere. Or, I mean, out of my head.
He chuckled and patted my back. "You're learning."
I looked up at the massive Diamond Park entrance and took another deep breath. I felt some relief in the diversity of colors they used - unlike Heart Kingdom's weird checkerboard thing. The sound of happy screams filled the air for a moment; a roller coaster at its peak. I smiled.
"OK, so this shouldn't be so bad," I said to no one in particular.
"Where do we find the landlord?"
I paused to think. Elliot had found me by one of the rides, and then we ended up by his brother's home. Well, Warren's Villa. I remember it was a mental institution named after Warren, and that Warren resided here, separately from Elliot. I felt like we should try there first.
Without saying anything, I lead Shire to Warren's Villa. It was a big building shaped like a cube. It was colorful and bright, and the front side was as bright and as yellow as the sun. The green vines hugged the building tightly, just like last time. I almost expected Warren to be sitting out on the front porch in his wheel cheer, but of course he wasn't.
"What the hell is this place?" Shire asked. The building looked like a rubix cube; I could see how someone like him wouldn't like it very much.
"Ah, it's Warren's Villa." I hopped on one of the larger cobblestones. "The landlord's brother lives here."
Shire hopped on the cobblestone behind me. It was too small for both of his feet, so he gave up the balancing game and stood normally. "Great, but don't we need the landlord himself?"
I turned around. "Yeah. I don't know, this is the first place that came to mind. Apparently he tends to walk around and check up on his people pretty often."
"Before we go running around looking for him, maybe we should try his castle first?"
I blinked.
I'm not like the Red Queen, okay? I'm rarely in the castle unless I'm sleeping or in a meeting, so if you're ever searching for me, the castle shouldn't be your first choice.
"King Elliot said that?" Stephanie asked.
Yeah, he did.
"It's like he was expecting you to come back."
I didn't want to overthink anything. He didn't go to the Heart Kingdom ball. He had said before that he'd been busy recently. But maybe he was just telling me where to find him. There didn't have to be a specific reason, right?
"Maybe not, don't hurt your head, please," Stephanie said, her voice a little on the whiny side. "I feel it too."
I laughed. I couldn't laugh in my head, and I'm not even sure if that was something humans can do naturally anyway. Shire looked at me weird, reminding me that he was still here.
"Sorry, Stephanie said something."
"You sound and look crazy," Shire said flatly.
I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, we shouldn't try the castle."
"What? Why?"
"Because Elliot said that there's a small chance of finding him at the castle. He's always outside unless he's in a meeting or sleeping."
"Why do you know this man so well?" Shire asked.
"Down, kitty." I spotted his ear twitch. "He just happened to mention it while we were walking around."
"You mean while he was walking around. Because you were in his hand." Shire lifted in hand. "Because you were small. Because he poisoned you." He pointed at his palm.
I frowned. "Come on, let's just look around." I could have brought up Claudine. But I didn't. I'm better than that.
"Claudine...you seem to really dislike this person."
"Let's go this way."
I walked beyond Warren's Villa and Shire followed at a short distance.
We passed different rides and attractions and food stands. We passed village homes and weird carnival-esque art. But we couldn't seem to find Elliot.
"Where the hell is this guy? Is he even here?" Shire hissed.
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. I was getting tired, and the heavy black hair wasn't helping anything. "I have no idea."
"Can we check the castle now?"
"Fine."
We both knew where the castle was, it turns out. I was there once before, obviously, and so was Shire, because that's where he first saw that I had been turned tiny. We headed for the roller coaster, The Diamond King. Once you pass the railing, there was the misleading building entrance that looked like the waiting area of a ride. If you go further, there's another set of doors that would lead to the inside of the multi-colored brick castle. I never went inside the castle, and I doubted that Shire ever went in either.
I remember when I was here, all Elliot had to do was whistle and some of his staff would somehow emerge. I whistled.
Nothing happened.
"What's wrong with you?" Shire asked.
I elbowed him and looked around, wondering if anyone heard my whistle at all. There weren't any guards outside the doors. Maybe Elliot's whistle was special and recognizable? I crossed my arms. Or maybe those doors weren't to the entrance? Maybe we weren't there yet?
I walked forward towards the door. Still no guards in sight. It's a castle after all, they had to have some kind of security. I reached the front door. This was the door that Pulp and his bog emerged from. I pulled the handle and the door opened quite easily.
Surprised, I pulled it open all the way and found myself looking not into the castle but to the front grounds of the castle. In other words, the castle was inside what I thought the real castle was. The walls that could be seen from outside were just walls separating the castle grounds from the rest of the kingdom, similar to how Heart Castle had its own special grounds and bridge before truly entering the castle. Of course, they had guards for the castle and the castle grounds. I guess the Diamond Castle grounds were public.
They definitely seemed to be. There was a mixture of knights and servants and ordinary people walking about and having conversation. Some were handling creatures, including a few massive bogs. Some were holding crates of unidentifiable objects and fresh produce. Some were empty-handed, just laughing with one another.
I looked at Shire. He looked just as confused as me.
"Never been on the grounds before?" I asked him.
"Uh, no. Have you?"
"Nope."
We walked forward. I felt a bit shy. I was dressed as a refugee, so I wasn't sure if they would even be hanging around this area. In fact, both Shire and I looked out of place.
It was cool to see how the roller coaster really did loop through the castle. It was also kind of terrifying. It seemed to pass through one of the high windows, like you could briefly see inside one of the rooms as you scream for your life.
While I was admiring the terror of The Diamond King ride, Shire had stopped walking forward.
"Shire," I heard him say.
Shire? Why is her saying his name. I turned around.
"Yes, sorry, my name is Shire."
He was facing away from me and talking to someone directly out of my view. I cautiously walked towards them and leaned a bit to the right to see who was starting conversation with him.
"Ah, of course, thank you. And your friend? Ana? I'm assuming she is doing alright since the incident? She was the Guest of Honor, and I've heard good things."
Shire coughed. "Yes, yes, she's fine. She's back to normal, Your Majesty." He looked over his shoulder at me. He didn't seem sure of what to say next.
I fully stepped out from behind him. "H-hello, King Elliot."
Elliot straightened. "Oh, hello there. I believe we haven't met." He stuck out his hand. I didn't look at it. I was studying his short brown-blond hair and blue eyes. I had forgotten he was so tall. "You must be one of the old residents of Ocean Point. I'm glad you've made it here safely. I'm so sorry I haven't met you before. Are you new?"
There was nothing about him that would say king. He was in black jeans and a grey T-shirt with little printed diamonds lining the collar. He looked like any other guy.
Shire cleared his throat and I realized I didn't shake Elliot's hand. I quickly grasped it.
"Elliot," I said quietly. "It's me. Ana."
Elliot's eyes widened. "Uh, pardon me, but I strangely don't recognize you. Are you one of Evelyn's daughters?" he asked.
He really didn't recognize me. I guess my disguise was pretty good!
Then again, we only met that one day.
"No, I mean, I'm the Ana you were just talking about."
Elliot looked at me, and then looked at Shire.
Shire nodded. "Yeah. This is Ana. I'm her friend."
"And I'm not really from Ocean Point," I whispered. "This is just a disguise."
Elliot's bright eyes zoomed left and right. He seemed to be checking if other people were looking at him. He maintained his put-together appearance and smiled at me. "Why are you in disguise?" His voice was low and concerned but somehow he kept his happy face. That took talent.
I sighed. "It's a long story."
Elliot looked around again before putting his hand on my back and leading us forward. He gestured for Shire to follow behind.
"I'm so sorry about your situation, miss. And Shire, thank you for letting me know about her condition," he said at a normal volume now. "What did you say your name was again?"
I looked down nervously. "U-Uh…" I met his eyes. "A-armani?"
Elliot nodded, his hand steady on my back. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Armani. Let's get you inside and we can talk about how we can help you settle in. You must be exhausted."
I coughed unconvincingly. Elliot was sharp.
Shire moved over to my other side and touched my arm. I looked back at him and nodded.
As we approached the true entrance to the Diamond King's castle, where there were two large knights stationed outside, I looked to Elliot with wet eyes.
"I really need your help. It may be a matter of life or death."
Elliot's mouth twitched. "There are many refugees here at Diamond Kingdom. I can assure you that you are not alone, Armani."
He returned my gaze and I felt somewhat safe again
But for some reason, I also felt an unsettling, heavy presence beyond that castle door.
