Rating: PG for incredibly tiny fairy-tale violence
Feedback: Yes, thank you.
Spoilers: Yeesh, nothing.
Distribution: For now, here. If you should happen to be interested, let me know.
Summary: The continuing adventures of Black Rose and her Prince, William
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Mutant Enemy (Joss Whedon), a wonderfully creative company whose characters I have borrowed for a completely profit-free flight of fancy. Kindly do not sue me, please, as I am terrified of you. Thank you.
Author's Note: Argh. For some weird reason, chapter one was replaced with chapter three. I think it's fixed now. Sorry to anyone I confused.
Chapter FiveBlack Rose sat down in front of a mirror in the room, which was an odd thing to do since she had no reflection, and began to weep. She missed her William dreadfully, and all she could think of was that he'd be waking up very soon and she wouldn't be there for it. After a few minutes, Rose wiped her eyes on her sleeve and changed into the lovely dress that the ex-Watcher had given her, clasped the demon's golden necklace around her throat, and picked up the doll from her daddy. She was just about to rejoin the Three Good Beings when a sudden change came over her.
Rose stood in the middle of the room and stared vacantly at the far wall. Granted, this wouldn't really have been that abnormal for her, all things considered, but there was something decidedly more eerie than usual in her swaying posture. Suddenly, an image flickered on the wall before her. It was a dark-haired woman dressed in the height of fashion.
"Who are you?" Rose asked.
"Not important. Just walk through the wall," the woman replied in a very surly voice.
"I've tried walking through walls before," Rose murmured thoughtfully. "I always end up bumping my nose."
"Oh, for crying out loud, just get in here!" the girl half-screamed as her arm shot through the supposedly solid stone wall, grabbed Rose by the wrist, and pulled her through. With a dull thud, Windowshade landed on the floor in the now vacant chamber.
The wicked debutante, since of course that's who she was, was losing patience, not that she'd ever had much in that department. For the past eighteen years she had looked high and low for the princess, and it had taken her until tonight to find her. Of course most of her expeditions had gotten side-tracked at the local mall, but that was beside the point. Now, with only a few minutes left before sundown, she had to find a way to get her to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Under normal situations, this would have proved difficult, but since this is a fairy tale of sorts and, as has been mentioned elsewhere, spinning wheels automatically come free with the purchase of any piece of real estate in the land of "once upon a time," there happened to be a spinning wheel sitting right in that very room.
"Do you know what this thing is?" asked the fashion maven.
"Am I supposed to spin it and try to land on the dollar?" Rose replied, her brow wrinkled in confusion.
The other woman sighed. "Look, will you just touch the big, sharp, pointy thing and get this overwith already?"
"Okay," Rose replied good-naturedly, then stuck her finger on the spindle and promptly fell over in a deep sleep.
"Gee, that wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was gonna be," the wicked May Queen said happily. "Whoo-hoo! I'm off on a celebratory shopping spree!" With that, she abruptly disappeared in a color coordinated puff of smoke.
Meanwhile, the Three Good Beings were standing in the hallway, waiting for Rose to finish dressing. None of them looked too happy. Time passed. Eventually, they realized something must be wrong.
"Perhaps one of us should go in and check on her?" ventured the ex-Watcher.
"Oh, you know women. They take forever getting ready for a big to-do," the demon answered.
"But it has been over two hours. I am starting to believe something is quite wrong."
The vampire tapped gently on the door. There was no answer. With one swift kick he knocked the massive oak door off its hinges and plowed full force into the room. Its only occupant was Windowshade.
