"In that case," the seamstress replied, pocketing a nice strip of tape in
her hand, "I propose that we commence immediately!" Ushering the lady in
front of a panel of mirrors, Felcia started to stretch the tape out along
her arms and sides, while Robert followed, taking notes on a pad of paper.
This made the proceedings quite speedy, albeit not fast enough for no
snippets of conversation to flow through.
"Ah... lift your arm up -- yes, yes! Good good... now, what are these gowns for, mi-- er, Eulalia?" she inquired, running a hand through the jagged locks of hair upon her skull. "You chose well, I might add, yet they seem hardly as if for a mere tea party." Looking up, Felcia's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Almost as if for a ball."
"Why...why yes. However did you guess?" Eulalia said happily. "But this is just our little secret--no one else is supposed to know." She offered a timid smile.
The mirror across from Eulalia shimmered in the sun. An ordinary person might've thought that this was just a catch of sunlight through the windows- -except there were no windows around. Suddenly, Eulalia put her gloved hand to her mouth and bit softly on her nail. "Oh dear. I suppose we're done, aren't we?" She looked into the mirror, her head tilted down as she squinted. The reflection was hers--but in her eyes the image of someone else was there, looking at her darkly from the other side of the mirror.
"I believe it's your turn, isn't it, Dido?" Eulalia said quickly as she stepped away from the scene.
"Hmm... All right, then..." Dido stepped over to the mirror and held out her arms just like Eulalia. She turned her head to see her reflection, but instead she saw another image. "Oh... oh... dear..." she whispered, her heart sinking into her stomach. She knew she had done something wrong.
It was the same reflection that Eulalia now saw in the broach she held in her hand. Everyone else, however, only saw her and Dido staring at their own reflections; occasionally, one would reach to touch their hair or giggle. That was the way of their magic. As the brown haired girl walked away, the reflection focused on another woman, who began to speak immediately.
"Eulalia, Dido," the voice said calmly, though it was as icy as ever. Through the mirror, half of the woman's body was visible and enlarged to fit the surface. Not much older than the two she was addressing, the woman stood with her arms folded on her chest, head slightly tilted in a silent query as her piercing violet eyes scanned the room behind Eulalia and Dido. Though woman's face lacked any expression, there was a hint of displeasure in her speech that only the two young women could recognize.
"Where are you?" Her grave voice echoed, though only to be heard by the brunette and her green haired girl. The other occupants of the shop were completely unaware that they were being watched. The black haired woman continued to speak without waiting for an answer, "Where is he? Why aren't you at the Palace? We need to finish our preparations soon. You two should know better than to be wandering off at such a vital time as this." Her last words were more exasperated than angry, as though chiding small children.
"Oh, Miss Adrienne," Eulalia soothed in a quiet voice. Only Dido could hear her in the little shop--everything around them seemed to hang in air, frozen in time. "I couldn't find Dido after losing the half wolf, so our mission wasn't completed. She said she had something to tell me, but forgot. Do you think you could enlighten me, dearie?"
Though not fond of the pet name 'dearie', Adrienne merely nodded, not surprised at the least by this news. "I am contacting you here solely for that reason. We all know that Dido doesn't have the most reliable memory." The sentence was stated without pause, as it was fact and not opinion. "I've been informed that the half wolf was recently seen in the 4th Kingdom. While your losing track of him is still inexcusable and unexplained, we will have a second chance of eliminating him when he reaches the palace." Once again, her tone was scolding, but not angry. "Finish whatever business you are doing here quickly, Viator, and bring Oblivio with you. All of us must complete our tasks in time for the event."
"Very well," Eulalia nodded, and bade Adrienne farewell formally. She shut her compact, and the scene returned to normal. The reflection in the dress shop's mirror returned to Dido's normal reflection, although Eulalia was now almost pesteringly hanging over her shoulder.
"Lala..." Dido said quietly, "What am I supposed to do? Rien didn't say so..."
"We should be leaving soon.." Eulalia announced in a polite voice. "For... preparations. For the ball. We're on the royal committee, you know. And Dido, you have to speak to his highness about... the decorative mirrors, remember sweetie? Last time we discussed, he wished to forget all about them."
Dido's face brightened, "Oh, I like Prince Wendell, he seems oh so very nice, does he not?" She picked up her things, a purse and skullcap, which she didn't put on. "I'm ready," she smiled and waited by the door for Eulalia.
"Very well. Oh, and do remember to cover your head, dearie, you're so pale." Eulalia turned to face Felcia, who was putting up the measuring tape and all about tidying up. It was Robert who gave her some trouble, as he seemed to move like driftwood in the tide. "We'll come in soon, Miss Felcia, to check up. It was lovely meeting you!" And with a flourish, she left.
"I don't like her." Robert announced. The golden haired girl looked aghast.
From the corner of ones eye, one could see the two standing over a puddle of water. Perhaps it was a trick of the light--perhaps it was ones imagination, but the two seemed to jump inside it; the last thing that was seen of them was Dido's shoe as it disappeared inside. The puddle rippled, before it was calm again.
*******
Richelle had overslept; or in the least slept far too long for her to be comfortable. With her parents gone and Mariah quit she was in charge of the household. She peeked outside alarmed to see how late it had gotten.
Hurrying out of her parents room she hustled downstairs and tied her apron on securely. Opening the pantry door she stepped through, lit a candle and opened the farthest back door. Her father had, last winter, made it possible for them to save meat and such by packing the ground with ice and then putting the wrapped foods inside the hole.
Richelle wrinkled her nose at the cold, but lifted the hatchdoor to the meats. "I think...hmm...oh yes father's favorite," she reached for the brown covered parcel but held her hand back uncertainly. "Father wouldn't like it if I was to eat some of his prized meat." she murmured. The candle flickered and Richelle shivered. Giving up Richelle grabbed the parcel, slammed the door and was back out into the warm kitchen once more.
Pushing the curtains back she flung open the shutters then jammed the backdoor open to. She didn't wish to die of smoke. She frowned. "I'm sure there's plenty of things out there to kill me instead." she muttered wryly. Tossing some wood onto the firepit she placed the steak--with some difficulty since it was still mostly frozen--on a spit and placed it above the quickening fire.
Humming a small tune she went out to back garden and picked some lettuce and cucumbers for her salad then sharpened the cutting knife. While dicing the cucumber her mind wandered off to Maya's soon to be trip. She knew that Maya's parents meant well, they'd never intentionally hurt her, but the fact remained that for the first time in almost ten years Maya was going off without Richelle.
Richelle had to admit that hurt more then her own parents dashing off without her. Sliding the cucumber slices into a bowl she went to check on the meat. Satisfied the meat was okay she went over to the cupboard and got out the meat base. Mixing that she doused the meat with the marinade and went back to the lettuce.
Her parents were always going off without her, Richelle had long ago accepted this. Her shoulders sagged a little. For the first time she was truly alone. "Of course what do I have to console myself..." she whispered her hand going to the hairstick in her hair. "Sailor Mercury..." she sighed.
After a cursory check on the steak Richelle carried her plate and utensils out into the dining room and began to set her place.
After a cursory check on the steak Richelle carried her plate and utensils out into the dining room and began to set her place.
This was when Wolf decided to crawl out from behind a cabinet, looking from side to side. "Huff puff, she's gone for now.." He sat on his haunches and scratched his ear. Making sure that he was indeed alone, he rose to his feet and walked over to the fire. He was nearly salivating as he looked at the steak.
"Mmm, my love, how I have longed for you so!" He let out in a half howl, half whimper. "Such delicious, juicy, tender steak..." His eyes darted back and forth as his tail wagged. His face suddenly switched emotions as Virginia entered his mind.
"Ooh, Virginiiiiiiaaa.. my creamy dreamy Virginia... I'm so sorry..." He was whimpering pathetically now, clutching his tail. "How could I let my hunger fog my adoration for you! I should have never left Cécile alone!" He paused. "But while, I'm here, I might as well eat..."
Richelle stared at the guy then crept over to the stove and picked up the frying pan. *Mariah should have cleaned this...no I should have before I made...why am I worrying about this now?!* she thought picking up the frying pan and clutching it with both her hands, she held it at her side and crept up on the guy feasting on her dinner.
With a frown she swung the pan back and whapped it as hard across the side of his head as she dared. She only wanted him off her food--not dead. Holding the pan over her head she said in a calm voice, "That was my father's meat you just ate. Now either leave or please be kind enough to sign a paper that states I have every right to kill you."
"Cripes--what is with these girls and blunt objects?" Wolf said as he regained conscious. There was now three girls--not one--looking down at him, spinning in unison like a horses on a carousel. "Papers...? Cripes...you have to sign papers to kill people now...? Am I back in the tenth kingdom again...?" he whined, as he tried to make his world focus again.
Richelle frowned wondering if she had hit him harder then she thought. Taking a step back she relaxed her hold on the frying pan (which truth to tell was hurting her arms). "Tenth kingdom?" she shook her head clearing it. "No, no, it's something my mother used to say when father would upset her."
Standing as far back as the counter she stared at her intruder warily. "Why are you here?"
"Would you believe I was hungry?" Wolf offered, as he slowly pushed himself on his elbows. No such luck for him. He sighed. "Okay, so I'm hungry and I'm here to save the fourth kingdom from terrible danger. Does that sound any better?" Obviously not. "My name is Wolf... thought you might like to know my name before you beat me senseless again and I forget. Huff puff, twice in the same day.."
"Wolf? As in Wolf who helped save the Kingdoms Wolf?" she asked. At once she realized what had happened and let out a chuckle. "Of course! I'm sorry I totally misunderstood...didn't Maya tell you to beware? Honestly...she sent you as a joke didn't she? Be just like her too." she shook her head with a fond smile. "You one of her brothers' friends?" she looked him up and down. "Maybe a friend of the family's?" she suggested after a moment of thought.
She sighed and replaced the pan on the stove. "How silly of me...I should have known that she would try this. Make me feel better since she's leaving..." ignoring the pang that thought brought to her chest Richelle patted her hair. "So what's your real name then?"
"No really... My name is Wolf." Wolf smiled as she came into focus. She was a small girl, with pale features and dark brown eyes. Her black hair hung in a braid. His assailant was dressed plainly, in a dark skirt and white blouse. The apron tied around her waist made her look almost housewifely; but all and all she was an attractive girl. "Do I get to know what your name is?"
Richelle tensed, but decided that if he wished to keep playacting she'd humor him. As long as he didn't try anything--and apologize for stealing her meal--he might even amuse her. "Richelle Schneeweißchen...just call me Richelle." she said, conscious of how ridiculous her name sounded.
Folding her hands in front of her she tried to think of how to explain things. "Listen. I understand that Maya might have told you to keep saying you're Wolf--she knows how much I enjoy that story and is only trying to make me feel better by having you be one of the Heroes. But I simply can't have you here right now. My parents are away and my servant just quit and you ate my dinner." she glared at him momentarily before calming herself. "Now please tell me your name or I will be forced to yell."
"You'll have to yell then," Wolf said calmly, "Because that's my name." He got up to his feet and began walking towards the door. His tail briefly wagged as he looked back at her for a moment, grinning. "Thanks for the steak, though, Richie! I can call you Richie, right?"
"I AM NOT A GUY." she said through clenched teeth. There was no way Maya would send such an annoying man--even if she had under a misguided sense of purpose. Therefore, since he was not only intolerably rude and a real wolf Richelle didn't think she had much choice.
Reaching into her hair she retrieved the hairsticks there and said, quite proudly, "In the name of all that is decent...I will cleanse you of your impurities and make you pay for your cruelty!" Richelle didn't think about the fact that sounded ridiculous since she wasn't transformed.
Grabbing up the pan once more she tossed it at the back of his head and prepared to slam him with the only attack she could think of.
Wolf ducked this time, watching the pan fly over his head. "Cripes, there Richie--I mean, Richelle, let's back up on this whole 'cleansing' thing, okay..? I was just hungry--what's wrong with helping our your local savior of the nine kingdoms? I thought wolves were pardoned in this kingdom, you know!"
"That doesn't mean you go and steal people's dinners without so much as a 'sorry miss but I really would like to share your dinner with you' or an apology!" she retorted brandishing her hairsticks. They weren't much but could probably hurt him if she stabbed hard enough. "Nor does it excuse the fact you wished to call me a boy's name when I everything but a boy!" she added angrily, red faced with indignation.
"And you are NOT that WOLF! He was reported to be much nicer and gentlemanly and have much better manners!" she also said her eyes snapping.
"That's because he had his MATE with him at the time and she was SAFE! Now that...that...thing's going to kill HER, me--if you don't kill me first-- and Wendell! Is this such a time to get mad for me stealing a steak?!" Wolf thundered, standing at his full height. His teeth were bared as he snarled at her.
Unfrightened, Richelle had learned that with being Sailor Mercury she would have to face any number of nasty angry things, Richelle stood taller and glared right back at him. "I am still NOT convinced you are NOT crazy!" she shouted back, perhaps not as loud but with just as much anger. "If you were THAT worried about her and King Wendell why detour to my VERY out of the way house and steal MY dinner?" she demanded. "You are either a horribly overestimated as any sort of protector or incredibly STUPID to forget your mission so easily!"
*********
The vibrant yellow of the afternoon sun was blinding as the wolf-girl rolled over onto her side, creating a loud stir of pots and pans as she ended up on the bag. Cécile quickly lifted a hand to shield her vision and used her other to still the ringing metal. Her body felt stiff all over and her mind was quite dull at the moment. Part of her felt quite restless despite sleeping in, far later than she was used to. Mouth dry with the lingering taste of food, it took a moment for Cécile to fully recall why she wasn't in bed in the little cottage in the woods.
Blinking, she sat up straight, dark braid loose with rogue strands of hair hanging out, and scanned the horizon with wide eyes, "Wolf?" But the halfwolf was nowhere to be found, and he certainly hadn't been a dream if she was still sitting in the wagon in the middle of nowhere. She couldn't even tell if they were still in the Second Kingdom, though the terrain looked quite unfamiliar.
"WOLF!" the girl called out even louder, hoping to get at least a howl of a response. She had been irritated with him by the time she had fallen asleep, but they hadn't been that angry with each other to make him leave her in the wagon. Especially not with both horses, who stirred and neighed softly, knowing that Cécile was awake. Sniffing the air, she caught his distinct scent, leading from off of the seats and away from the wagon, out of sight. There seemed to be no sign of attack or any reason why he had been forced to leave, nothing other than the lingering scent of freshly cooked... "Steak. He left me for *steak*." She rolled her eyes and let out growl under her breath, leaping out of the bed of the wagon to follow his trail.
*********
"Or, I could just be a wolf," He replied quietly, the still air seemed to settle all around him. "For a little girl, you are very brave, you know that? Most people yell and scream at wolves. Much less insult then when they could just....eat you up." Pausing for dramatics, he turned and once again began to leave the house.
This was, of course, right before he bumped into Cécile.
Richelle had to pause thinking maybe he was right. Her parents had said that wolves were driven by very basic instincts. She heard the smack as two bodies bumped into each other and winced at how much that had to have hurt. *Who would be coming to my house...* she wondered suddenly embarrassed by her simple attire.
Dashing to the door she stared down at the tangle of limbs. "Are either of you dead?" she asked doubtfully. "Wait. Who are YOU now?" she demanded of the girl. "His accomplice in this theft?"
It didn't take long for the two wolves to separate and prop themselves up. Hair even more tousled than before, Cécile shot a glare at Wolf, more because he had run off than because of the collision. Shaking her head, she shifted from propping herself on her elbow to sitting upright at the sound of a stranger's voice. Her eyes narrowed even more at the girl's words, her anger first focused on the stranger, and then shifted over to Wolf. "Excuse me? Theft?" Scrambling to her feet, she placed her hands on her hips and growled indignantly to the girl, "First of all, I am NOT a common thief!"
Whipping around to face Wolf, Cécile felt her short braid slap against her back as she stopped, "Second of all, what are you doing in this girl's house?" Her lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing her fang-like canines as she stalked towards him, like a carnivore circling in on its prey. Rather than inquiring gently, her tone was more threatening than maternal, "Is she telling the truth? What'd you steal, Wolf?"
Wolf's smile was somewhat mischievous, like a child who had stolen a cookie before dinner. "A...a steak, Cécile, my dear. Just a steak.." He paused and rolled his eyes, remembering the taste. It merited a small howl. "A very, very delicious steak might I add."
Ignoring the other girl behind her, Cécile raised a fist at the man as if to cuff him in the ears for bad behavior. Instead, she reached for his ear, pinching it tightly, using a method that Grandmother had taught her how to execute quite well. She yanked down to be level with him, "Do I have to keep my eyes on you all the time?! Huff puff! You're old enough to be my father, yet you act like a...a...child!"
Despite his yelping and whimpers, the girl instead turned to Richelle exasperatedly, "I'm sorry about your steak. My..." She paused, trying to decide what to call him. Wary of the other female, she quickly continued, "...uncle, doesn't seem to have much self-control. I'll pay you in full for what he took." She finally let go of Wolf's ear to rifle through her front pocket for a pouch of coins.
Richelle bit back the sarcastic comment she was about to say and took a deep breath. "Your uncle is also a loon." she shot Wolf a glance. "He says he's the legendary Wolf. One of the Four who saved the kingdoms. Also he claims King Wendell is about to be killed as well as himself and his mate." she glared at Wolf again.
Raising a brow, Cécile was careful to not reveal any amusement at the fact that their hostess (of sorts) didn't know that Wolf was no liar, or a lunatic. However, it wasn't just out of caution that she kept a cool expression, but also because she was still severely displeased and currently disillusioned. Her 'hero' for the past six months had turned out to be quite a fool who required her, of all people, to make sure that he didn't get into too much trouble. Not to mention the fact that he had almost blown their cover, if the girl had actually believed him. One never knew who they could trust, especially when someone was after the Four who saved the nine kingdoms...
"Don't bother me with your money. Father can always replace it if he even misses it when he gets back..." Richelle didn't add how guilty she felt for having given the impression she wanted money from the girl. She had enough problems. Sighing she waved a hand. "If you would give me a moment to change, you both can stay for a proper meal. I need the company and Mother would have a fit if she knew I had turned away guests--even if one is highly suspect."
At her words, Cécile replaced her money and stared hard at the other girl. Her pride didn't like the way Richelle phrased her words, nor the fact that she wouldn't accept the coins and let them go off on their way... But logic presided over stubborn pride. Why pass up a free meal? They would probably need to save all the money they had, incase their journey went awry later. Glancing back at Wolf, the baker decided to make the executive decisions between the two of them, regardless of age or of reputation. It had become evident that he was going to get them into more trouble than was necessary if she let him handle things.
Turning back to Richelle, she nodded and straightened her clothes. "We accept your invitation. Thank you for your hospitality," Cécile replied in a formal tone. Despite the fact that the girl was smaller and apparently younger looking than herself, it was her mannerisms and polite words that made the baker feel like a country bumpkin in comparison. Idly lifting a hand to scratch the side of her head, she nearly brushed away the hair that hung over her left eye, though froze before it was too late. Unaware of the fact that Richelle already knew what Wolf was, Cécile awkwardly shoved her hand forward instead, "I'm Cécile, and this is...er..." She glanced back to Wolf, hoping that he got the hint.
"Warren Wolfson, my dear," Wolf introduced himself, smiling at his old alias. He had used it once before in the little lamb village in order to keep himself out of trouble--hopefully it would do the same for him here. "I suppose we had a misunderstanding back there."
"I suppose you did," Cécile said sharply and from there, it was dismissed. Dusting himself off, Wolf looked up at Richelle and tried to look the part of an addle-minded man, though he wasn't quite sure how he could pull that off with a simple glance alone.
Richelle nodded motioning them in. She was relieved the whole matter was settled so quickly. She wasn't sure what she would have done if either turned out to be less then what they said. "If you wouldn't mind please wait in the parlour?" she gestured to the door at her left. "I'll be right with you both. Steaks I presume are okay?" With a cordial nod she hurried up to her room and quickly changed.
Dashing about the kitchen she got three more steaks out, not of the same cut as the original, but then despite her earlier words she knew her father would notice the meat was gone and she couldn't explain away four cuts. Quickly putting them over the fire she chopped the remaining vegetables, chilled some lemonade and set the dining room table in record time.
Returning to the parlour Richelle removed her apron and smoothed her clothing. With a polite smile she entered the room. "I'm sorry about my earlier rudeness. Today has been a...stressful day. My name is Richelle Schneeweißchen and currently I am the Lady of the house." taking her customary seat on the chaste lounge she folded her hands in her lap and regarded her guests. "Where are you traveling to? This town isn't exactly off the main road."
It was difficult to conceal the awe that the baker felt when she stepped into the parlour of the younger girl, the entire house far larger than her quaint little cottage in the woods. The fact that there was a parlour room, and not merely an extension of the kitchen, was astonishing enough. But she quickly muted her curiosity to exchange words with Wolf once they settled in to wait.
Cécile's voice went quiet as their hostess entered the room and folded her hands neatly on her lap, eyeing 'Warren' to allow her to do the talking. He was, after all, a loon, as the girl had put. Forcing a polite smile, she opened her mouth to answer Richelle's question. "Grandmother's--" both wolves began in unison, though stopped to look at each other. Wolf shrugged in response to Cécile's stiff glance. She coughed slightly, turning back to the girl, "We're visiting my grandmother's home, in the Fourth Kingdom."
"She's very, very ill..." Wolf began clearly, though it turned into a sort of odd mumble. He turned his head down and scratched the side of it, almost like a twitch. Cécile nodded slowly in agreement and shifted in her seat beside him, sending looks back and forth between Richelle and Wolf.
"You see, we don't visit her often, so we got a little lost on the way," the girl explained, sounding calm as ever despite the blatent lies she was spewing. She didn't like to do this, but there was no other choice -- as kind as this Richelle had seemed, they didn't know who to trust out here. Cécile continued to gesture towards the man, avoiding eye contact with their hostess, "I sent Wol--Warren to find help, but he apparently got a bit sidetracked." Letting out a nervous chuckle, she began to raise her hand to scratch the side of her head again, but stopped herself quickly.
Richelle smiled politely and raised an eyebrow. "Really at first I thought he was sent by my friend Maya to cheer me up. She knows how much I have enjoyed the story since my parents first told it to me, and it would be just like Maya to just hire anyone off the street." she shook her head tossing her braid back behind her back. "Then well...I'm glad he has someone watching after him. It must be hard though." she said sympathetically, or what she thought was sympathetically.
Standing she inclined her head to the other two. "Would you care to join me? I don't know how you wish your steaks done..." she murmured.
"Er...rare.." Wolf said, not waiting for Cécile to respond for him. "Y-yes, very rare...." He looked to Cécile, his head cocked as he scratched behind his ear, sort of in a gesture pointing at Richelle.
Richelle frowned. "Oh well I just put them on so they shouldn't be too cooked yet..." she said trailing off as she headed into the kitchen. Sliding two of the steaks out she put hers directly over the fire to cook it quicker and slid the other two onto plates. "Do you guys want salad?" she asked popping her head quickly into the parlor.
Rising to follow, the pair of wolves stopped as the girl poked her head back in, freezing as though she had caught them in a suspicious moment. However, Wolf was the first to reply before Cécile could stop him. Luckily, he had become accustomed to his adopted behavioral pattern, and scratched his head again, as though it were a twitch. The feral grin returned to his face as thoughts of steak returned to him, "No, just meat. Just luscious, savory--"
The baker at his side elbowed him, before smiling warmly at the girl. "Ah... I'll have a salad, if you've already got it prepared. Otherwise, you don't need to go to any trouble..." Cécile felt guilty enough lying to the girl about their destination and about who they really were, especially when Richelle had been so honest to them about her friend. It was also a naïve choice to tell perfect strangers about her life. Fortunately, neither Wolf or Cécile were any threat to her, and only wanted a meal before heading off to meet danger.
"I just have the greens chopped. It's no problem." Richelle reassured her ducking back into the kitchen. She wondered if she was being perhaps too nice to these people who she really didn't know anything about.
'Grandmother's house? Excuse me if that sounds a little bit...typical..' Richelle thought skeptically.
Speaking of which, judging by the position of the sun when she had awoken, they didn't have much time to get to Wendell's Palace and prevent the death of the King of the Fourth Kingdom. In fact, they didn't even know where they were, or if they were too late already. Cécile's eyes widened in sudden panic, "Um... There hasn't been any news of danger...involving the King, lately, has there?" It was only after saying this did she begin to calm herself and conceal the nervousness in her voice, "And, er, could you tell us how far it is from his Palace? I'm afraid we're rather lost without a map, and we only know how to get to Grandmother's using landmarks..." Hopefully their hostess didn't inquire anymore about their directions, seeing as Cécile knew very, very little about the geography outside of her own Second Kingdom.
Richelle shrugged. "Only danger I have seen is your...uncle." Richelle answered equably, putting some greens into a couple of wooden bowls. Turning she handed the bowl to Cecile and the semi-rare steak to Wolf. Balancing her own bowl on her plate she carried the rest of the dishware into the dining room and set hers down. "Does your grandmother live at the palace then? Just go past the cedar pine grove, take a left at the statue of the old King and then continue about a day and a half. Should take you to the gates." she told them cutting her steak up.
She was, of course, fibbing a little. If they truly knew the way then they'd know she was lying, and about which part, they'd correct her. If not...well maybe today Sailormercury would be needed.
Wolf thought for a moment, scratching his head. "Huff puff, that doesn't seem to be the way I remember." Of course, last time he had went to Wendell's palace, it had been while he was fearing for his dear Virginia's safety, as well as being chased by trolls. It had not been the greatest of times to remember things like landmarks.
"Grandmother? At the palace? Oh... Why, no, just a few miles beyond that," Cécile almost sputtered at the thought of her grandmother living in a luxurious setting. She shook her head and glanced to her companion, following Wolf's lead. He knew better than she did about the area, since he had 'worked' there temporarily. Despite his former errors of making them into thieves and getting them into trouble, the man was much smarter once he was pointed in the right direction. "And...hmm, no. I don't recall the places you described. Are you...sure?" Cécile frowned as she idly reached up to touch her neck.
Could this girl be some sort of spy, trying to throw them off? As nice and innocent as Richelle seemed to be, it seemed that Cécile's suspicions weren't completely unfounded. Though Grandmother told her never to do it again, she realized that she might have to transform once more if this girl was aligned with someone who could pull people through mirrors. Only Sailormars could protect Wolf from that sort of danger, not the common baker, Cécile Follet.
Richelle frowned and chewed her steak slowly. "I'm fairly certain. Mother outlined the way to me one day, in case I should fall into a bit of trouble." Which was true. "Though I might also be a bit confused," she shrugged wiping her mouth. "Are you two thirsty?" she asked with a smile. Pushing back her chair she placed her napkin next to her plate and stood to the side. "I'm a mite thirsty myself."
"That sounds nice," Wolf replied. He grinned at her, two canines peeking out from the row of pearly whites. The end result was a cross between looking vicious and looking like an idiot. Tilting his head to the side, he shoved a piece of steak in his mouth and savored it, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Oh this is beautiful. Savory, luscious, and light! Such perfect steak!"
Richelle raised an eyebrow at Wolf. "I'm sure my father would love to hear that..." she murmured hurrying into the kitchen to grab some lemonade or water, whichever was chilled at the moment. Silently she wondered if her mother would notice scuff marks and possible blood if a fight did occur. Picking up the tray of lemonade she hastened back to the dining room. "I'm sorry to put a damper on our...visit, but I am due at the Widow Ritcher's home in a hour to heat up her meal. Can we please cut the chatter and speak plainly?" she asked politely, handing a glass to each person. "I don't say this to be rude, only I don't feel safe either sending you off to your 'grandmother's' nor allowing you to stay here in this town."
*******
The seventh kingdom was a pleasant place for traveling. Besides its dense, humid forests and bogs that seemed to plague the area that she and Gio were traveling through, it was home to colorful wildlife that someone from the tenth kingdom could only dream about. Talking birds filled the air with song and conversation--occasionally, a fae would fly by the carriage window and send a mirky glow inside the cabin where Alice was situated.
However, this did not stop Alice from being completely and totally miserable.
Possibly one of the most ridiculous things bestowed upon mankind was motion sickness. Why should humans feel nauseated just from traveling in or on something other than their feet, Alice couldn't decide. Either way, she was hot, carriage-sick and desperately wishing for some tums, dramamine, or even just ginger root. She wasn't even sure if the Nine Kingdoms *had* ginger root. Sighing, she gazed out the window, knowing thinking about it and/or whining was not going make it better. But the fairies making faces at her definitely didn't help.
Gio, on the other hand, was having a splendid time. The first top buttons of Gio's dress shirt were unbuttoned, exposing Gio's wooden joints, and the tophat the puppet usually wore was cast aside. No one was here to gawk and stare at her; and for that, she relaxed a little. Alice was tucked away inside the carriage--thank goodness, this scene was too pretty to be marred by sarcasm. Gio liked the eighth kingdom; unlike the other seven kingdoms, it laid untouched by the hands of royality. Elves and fae folk were like that, and their naturalistic approach was what the wooden carriage driver liked best about them. With a sigh of content, Gio whipped the reigns a little, sending a small wave of motion down to the horses, who responded by taking the curve in the round smoothly.
Though she didn't like to think about things so much as just go on and live her life, Gio couldn't help but wonder. Who would this Sailorneptune be? He, or she, could be anyone at anywhere. Certainly, Gio wasn't the type to say that something was hopeless, but the thought of exploring all of the nine kingdoms for these...'senshi', it was just a little overwhelming. And once they did find them, would they be willing to help?
Alice stared at the carriage door ruefully, another fairy whizzing by and returning to mock her. Green everything flashed past the window. Outside the window was Gio. That was a problem. But there was also cool, fresh air and horizon to watch. After carefully weighing the options, Alice opened the door as quietly as she could, momentarily pausing to consider grabbing a fairy and chucking it away. But since it took both hands to keep herself attached to the door, she decided that point was moot and clambered on top of the carriage.
"You're a might bit brave to climb up the side of the carriage like that," Gio said, unstirring from her position. "I wouldn't have minded stopping for a moment, you know." Her rust red hair whipped against her face, reflections of light casting sunrise-like patterns across it as they went under a canopy of trees.
"I laugh in the face of danger, ho ho," Alice said in a dead pan tone of voice as she sat with her legs folded. Her own hair had decided to take the chance to run wild and free, mostly getting into her mouth. The fairies seemed to have, for the most part, fled at the prospect of their point of amusement being able to fight back. Alice ducked a low hanging vine and asked, "Where are we going first, anyhow?"
"Dunno. Not many open towns out here in the eighth kingdom, you know." Upon saying this, Gio realized that Alice probably *didn't* know, and therefore decided to explain. "The Eighth kingdom is ruled by the elves and fae folk, as you might've guessed. They aren't particularly fond of people--I can see why though. And they're mostly nature-oriented people, so there aren't many villages or towns. Keeps the money grubbing people away."
"Oh goody... I suppose you don't have senshi detectors either, hm?" she replied, tackling her hair with some string from her pocket. "And we can only tell if they're senshi by their transformation or symbol on their forehead... The proverbial needle sounds easier to find."
"Not my idea of a picnic either," Gio said gruffly as they swung down another, more narrow path. The woods grew more dense. "But I'm sure they'll have some sort of...well, magic aura about them. Like you and I, though mine is a tad more apparent. I think the tenth kingdom wore off yours a long time ago."
Alice gripped the sides of the carriage as it turned and the road became rougher. "I was never big on magic shows," she murmured, ducking more branches. The light was dimming from thicker foliage. "How do we know we're not heading into some death trap, by the by?"
"I can admit that the seventh kingdom is... a bit more sinister than the others," The red haired girl shouted over the sound of horse hooves. "But there's two of us now, surely together we can rid ourselves of anything that isn't too serious. Anything bigger than that, well, that's a chance we're going to have to take."
"That's so-" but before Alice had a chance to finish her sentence, a particularly nasty bump dislodged her death grip and launched her into the air. She emitted a rather undignified squeal and almost landed on the ground instead of the carriage with a muffled thump. By the time this had occurred, her eyes were the size of teacup saucers. She scrambled in a more dignified position and changed her expression to the classically feline, "That didn't happen."
And Gio, poor, poor Gio, had sat there the entire time with a blank expression. She didn't make a noise when Alice proceeded to make a fool of herself, but as she saw Alice sit up from the corner of her eye, she couldn't stand it anymore. The slightest smile was on Gio's face. The smile turned into a chuckle--not an ill-natured one, mind you. It was one of the most sincere things in the world. She closed her eyes as she heaved, laughing for a few minutes.
Alice sighed, massaging her temples, "This is a mirror world, the people don't laugh at the puppets, the puppets laugh at the people."
The laughter didn't stop there. It didn't stop for several minutes, but finally, a panting, smiling Gio looked up at Alice. Gio tried her goshdarndest not to laugh anymore, but it was futile. Eventually, her sober expression broke again as she all but fell from the carriage herself. "There's a twig in your hair."
Alarmed, Alice untied the string and finger-combed her hair, removing the offending twig. Then she braided her hair back with practiced ease and threw her hood up to keep any other unwelcome object out of her splendid tresses. And good thing she did, the woods had quickly changed from deciduous forest to thistles and bracken. No more fairies flew to and fro. In fact, there was hardly any animal life to be seen, with the small exceptions of crows and black squirrels. Unnerved, she pulled the rest of her coat on and zipped it up.
"I think we're in the Eighth Kingdom now..."
"And you think I'm an idiot," Gio said quietly. She tucked her hat back on her head with a quick pat, as well as pulled her coat back completely over her shoulders. There was not the slightest bit of fear on her face--rather, she just flicked the reigns her hands, made a reaffirming noise to her horses, and continued driving.
"I'd like to remind you, I don't live here," she replied venomously. Alice had set her hand on her mace, just in case.
"I'd also like to remind you, niether do I." Gio said bluntly. "Don't have many customers that roll out of bed one day and decide that they too want to visit a spooky old kingdom for kicks, y'know? Funny how that is."
"Funny how you've forgotten to mention that we have to pass through a spooky old kingdom," Alice shivered. "... .... What the hell is that?!" She was pointing to a black object looming the the distance. The object, easily discerned as a castle, was composed of many guard towers and surrounded by the same thorn bushes as the path. Alice guessed it to be about fifty meters high, maybe more. Either way, she knew for a fact that black castles are always bad.
"You know, for a know-it-all, you don't know very much." Gio said as she tilted the brim of her hat up to see the upcoming castle. "It's one of the abandoned castles. They're all over the place, from the golden age when this kingdom was prosperous. I doubt anyone lives in there now."
"Yes, all abandoned castles have a few lit up windows," she pulled her coat tighter, "and I shall mention yet again, I live in the Tenth Kingdom. I know about that."
"I suppose you just get stupid when you're scared then?" Gio replied. The road seemed to lead right up to the castle. Lovely. Gio squinted at the aforementioned lit windows. "It's probably some ancient old family. We could stop and ask for directions--"
"My witty repartee is utterly wasted on you..." Alice shook her head. "And let's do stop and ask directions, I'd like to leave this place as soon as possible."
"Well that's one thing we can agree on." As they approached the front gates, they slid aside with a loud creak. The horses were spooked at this and Gio sent an assuring coo at them and tensed her hands on the reigns. Her eyes widened as she stared up at the castle in all of its size; it seemed like there were too many windows to count.
Alice quickly looked around, trying to grasp the size and layout of the castle. The keep shortly followed the outer wall, leaving little to no courtyard. The actual walls were enveloped with bramble, making the outline indistinct. "Why do I get the feeling that this place has bad karma and I will soon be employing the phrase "told you so"?" she muttered inaudibly.
"And why do I get the feeling that I'll be picking up your remains because you were too busy saying 'told you so' to notice that there was a large monster breathing down your neck," Gio answered. She was obviously getting irritated. "Making smartass comments isn't really going to help this situation, now is it?" The carriage had stopped, and Gio looked at Alice one last time with a look that could only be defined as reprimanding. She didn't wait for an answer.
Gio hopped off the driver's seat, landed, and began to walk towards the entrance--a moatless drawbridge that stretched out to meet them. Hesitantly, she removed the marionette from her coat pocket. As the last of her rust-red coat tails disappeared into the small courtyard, she didn't even glance back at Alice.
Pausing to remember that she was better than Gio and shouldn't sink to her level, Alice slid off the carriage top and speed walked towards Gio. Yes, she was stupid. But it was better to have a psychotic puppet murderess in front of you than behind you.
"Grab the torch to the side of you, would you?" Gio directed. From the corner of her eye she saw an extension of the courtyard, with higher, enclosed walls covered in ivy. Waiting up for Alice--she did, after all, have the light and at least that was a little useful--Gio leaned against the stone wall, her eyes casting up to the tallest tower of the castle above her. Good luck trying to find a person in there.
Alice grabbed the torch and produced a lighter from her coat pockets. After several attempts, she got the wicker to catch and waited a moment while the fire established itself before walking over to Gio. She asked, "Which way are we going, fearless leader?" while holding the torch above her head so the light would be cast wider.
"This way," Gio answered as they walked down the corridor. The air suddenly grew old and musty; the smell of decay was everywhere. "Not exactly my idea of good house keeping."
"Ugh," Alice murmured, one hand over her mouth. The torchlight kept flickering as spider webs were caught in the flames. She was beginning to regret wearing sandals, she kept stubbing her toes on loose stones and rubble. The corridor lead to a sparely decorated hall with two staircases lain thick with debris. Alice half-expected to see a good centimeter of dust everywhere, but it was quite lacking.
There was something black in the corner. At first, it looked like a black sheet had been laid over a large piece of furniture; but furniture does not breathe. Whatever it was, it was probably bigger than one of Gio's horses. "Alice... walk backward with the light...slowly now.."
Now they knew why there wasn't much dust. Alice took a step backward, then two, and before she knew it, the top of the door frame had knocked the torch out of her hand. "Shit!" she clutched her burned hand to her chest, trying to reach the torch before the flickering light extinguished. Too late.
"Sorry, gio..."
"S'all right," Gio said, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of something terrible. It was high and eat-splitting, but yet so intense that the very stone beneath their feet shook. The black thing moved--black legs, like foot-thick barbed wire, sprouted from everywhere. As it turned, several red eyes pierced the now-black room.
"Alice!" Gio shouted over the cries, "Transform!"
Alice, who had thrown herself over in a less occupied corner, and no idea what she was supposed to do. Her hand was scorched and she was about to be eaten by a giant spider, bad 1950s sci-fi movie style. Naturally, all sailor senshi have safety switches for times like these, and Alice's was just flipped.
A ghostly form materialized in front of Alice. A little girl, no older than eight, limned in light and wearing a blue pinafore and white apron. She smiled at Alice and took a card from her apron pocket. "Go, you can help your friend now." She handed the card to Alice and smiled again, brushing off her skirt and evaporating.
Now all this was very shocking to Alice, who was very sure for a moment that her terror had induced hallucinations. But the card seemed to know what needed to be done, and shouted at Alice. "GO KNOCK THEIR 'EADS OFF, YOU NINNY!" Startled, Alice tossed the card, causing it to rain card symbols and change her civilian clothes into senshi fuku.
She was Sailorpluto now.
At the same time, Gio's body was covered in string as she twisted around in midair. As she landed, the strings exploded--leaving her vaguely puppet- like fuku behind. There was no time for speeches or directions to give Alice now, because the spider lunged at the puppet senshi, tearing cobblestone up as it came closer.
"MARIONETTE!" Sailoruranus cried as she swung the marionette around like a boomerang. Strings appeared from the edges of the marionette and she held onto the ends with white-gloved hands. Swinging in mid air, Sailoruranus planted herself firmly on the back of the creature, the marionette making a complete circle and landing in Gio's free hand. She held onto the strings, which had encircled the monster's head, like the reigns of a horse with her other.
Obviously, the spider wasn't too happy about that. Like a bucking bronco, Sailoruranus was thrown into the air several times, each time coming down with a thunderous impact on the monster. "Whoa there!" She shouted as she pulled back on the reigns in an attempt to choke it.
Shielding her face from debris, Pluto ran to the opposite corner once more. But since Uranus was a little too busy to teach Pluto the ropes, it was up to the Queen of Spades card again. "Psst! Throw me!"
"... What?"
"SHUT YER TRAP AND THROW ME AT THE BLOODY SPIDER!"
Pluto was too enthusiastic to comply. As she flung the card at the spider, unbidden words came to her lips, "Royal Flush!" The card multiplied into five different cards, each one striking an eye.
"Take that, hell-spawn of Arachne!!" She shouted after hearing the satisfactory scream of pain following the attack.
"At least someone knows what they're doing!" Sailoruranus commented as she was swung in the air by the rearing spider, who was now legally blind. The string that had held the spider disappeared and the marionette and the red haired senshi both went flying through the air. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her scream suddenly came to a hault as she hit the stone wall with an almost comical 'thunk' noise. She slid down, landing on her head, the marionette falling beside her.
The cards returned to Pluto's hand, surprisingly free of blood and gore, "Round two!" She stepped forward and threw the cards again, this time aiming for it's soft under-belly as it reared on its back legs. The razor- sharp cards passed though the abdomen, spraying spider guts as they exited.
"Ewww."
After a few minutes of laying there senseless, Uranus' legs flipped over her head and she found herself kneeling on her marionette. As she stood, she surveyed the situation. Her magical attacks wouldn't work here--but Alice's could. If she could find a way to help her... An idea came to mind and Sailoruranus threw the marionette as hard as she could in the direction of the spider, who was descending from its full height now that Alice had nearly disemboweled it. The strings that exploded from the ends of the marrionette reached out to wrap around the spider's legs as it made a full circle. Once the movement had been completed, the marionette crashed into the ground, tightening the cord that bound the spider's legs and down the monster went.
"Good idea, Uranus! Royal Flush!!" she flung her cards for the third and final time, each card striking a vital organ. The spider screeched and wriggled as life left it, Pluto grimacing at the bloody, gory mess. Once the spider had stopped squirming, the cards returned to her hand, clean as ever. And since now she had time to think, Pluto realized something was wrong. Terribly wrong. "WHAT am I WEARING?!" she cried, looking over her short-skirted pinafore and mary janes.
Sailoruranus couldn't help but laugh. "Er...welcome to the club of corny sailor uniforms." She said with a flourish and a little bow, showing off her costume. In battle, it was okay, but once you got over the fact that you were gonna be killed and ate for lunch, it was ridiculous to be seen in. "But I think everything's fixed here. We can detransform now."
"Errr, right." Pluto pocketed her card and her fuku vanished and was quickly replaced with her civilian clothing. "I do hope that we don't have to do that again." She knelt down where she dropped the torch and searched with her hands. She found the torch within an agonizing minute and re-lit it. "There are two stairways going up and one going down," Alice said, peering about in the dim light. "Left or right?"
*************
Broken Fairy Tales: Senshi of the Ten Kingdoms.
Mmm. Cliffhangery goodness. :D
The chapters of this story are taken directly from a play-by-email by the same name. Each of the writers, including myself, have given consent to having their work published under this name, with due credit.
'Steak, Secrets, and Spiders', episode four of Broken Fairy Tales, was written by Gena, Sushi, Koi, Alex, and Carrot. Love you guys! 3
This is a crossover between 'Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon', and the NBC/Hallmark miniseries 'The Tenth Kingdom', that aired in 1998/1999. 'Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon' and 'The Tenth Kingdom' do not belong to the people who wrote Broken Fairy tales and we do not claim rights to any of the aforementioned television shows. We do, however, claim rights to our original characters, the Senshi of the Ten Kingdoms. They are copyrighted to their creators.
Are you a fan of sailormoon, the tenth kingdom, or just fairy tales? If you're a good writer and would like to contribute, visit our site at www32.brinkster.com/cwmrpg/broken
We're currently looking for someone to play Sailorneptune and Sailor Commoneo, so if you're interested please check it out. ^_^
"Ah... lift your arm up -- yes, yes! Good good... now, what are these gowns for, mi-- er, Eulalia?" she inquired, running a hand through the jagged locks of hair upon her skull. "You chose well, I might add, yet they seem hardly as if for a mere tea party." Looking up, Felcia's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Almost as if for a ball."
"Why...why yes. However did you guess?" Eulalia said happily. "But this is just our little secret--no one else is supposed to know." She offered a timid smile.
The mirror across from Eulalia shimmered in the sun. An ordinary person might've thought that this was just a catch of sunlight through the windows- -except there were no windows around. Suddenly, Eulalia put her gloved hand to her mouth and bit softly on her nail. "Oh dear. I suppose we're done, aren't we?" She looked into the mirror, her head tilted down as she squinted. The reflection was hers--but in her eyes the image of someone else was there, looking at her darkly from the other side of the mirror.
"I believe it's your turn, isn't it, Dido?" Eulalia said quickly as she stepped away from the scene.
"Hmm... All right, then..." Dido stepped over to the mirror and held out her arms just like Eulalia. She turned her head to see her reflection, but instead she saw another image. "Oh... oh... dear..." she whispered, her heart sinking into her stomach. She knew she had done something wrong.
It was the same reflection that Eulalia now saw in the broach she held in her hand. Everyone else, however, only saw her and Dido staring at their own reflections; occasionally, one would reach to touch their hair or giggle. That was the way of their magic. As the brown haired girl walked away, the reflection focused on another woman, who began to speak immediately.
"Eulalia, Dido," the voice said calmly, though it was as icy as ever. Through the mirror, half of the woman's body was visible and enlarged to fit the surface. Not much older than the two she was addressing, the woman stood with her arms folded on her chest, head slightly tilted in a silent query as her piercing violet eyes scanned the room behind Eulalia and Dido. Though woman's face lacked any expression, there was a hint of displeasure in her speech that only the two young women could recognize.
"Where are you?" Her grave voice echoed, though only to be heard by the brunette and her green haired girl. The other occupants of the shop were completely unaware that they were being watched. The black haired woman continued to speak without waiting for an answer, "Where is he? Why aren't you at the Palace? We need to finish our preparations soon. You two should know better than to be wandering off at such a vital time as this." Her last words were more exasperated than angry, as though chiding small children.
"Oh, Miss Adrienne," Eulalia soothed in a quiet voice. Only Dido could hear her in the little shop--everything around them seemed to hang in air, frozen in time. "I couldn't find Dido after losing the half wolf, so our mission wasn't completed. She said she had something to tell me, but forgot. Do you think you could enlighten me, dearie?"
Though not fond of the pet name 'dearie', Adrienne merely nodded, not surprised at the least by this news. "I am contacting you here solely for that reason. We all know that Dido doesn't have the most reliable memory." The sentence was stated without pause, as it was fact and not opinion. "I've been informed that the half wolf was recently seen in the 4th Kingdom. While your losing track of him is still inexcusable and unexplained, we will have a second chance of eliminating him when he reaches the palace." Once again, her tone was scolding, but not angry. "Finish whatever business you are doing here quickly, Viator, and bring Oblivio with you. All of us must complete our tasks in time for the event."
"Very well," Eulalia nodded, and bade Adrienne farewell formally. She shut her compact, and the scene returned to normal. The reflection in the dress shop's mirror returned to Dido's normal reflection, although Eulalia was now almost pesteringly hanging over her shoulder.
"Lala..." Dido said quietly, "What am I supposed to do? Rien didn't say so..."
"We should be leaving soon.." Eulalia announced in a polite voice. "For... preparations. For the ball. We're on the royal committee, you know. And Dido, you have to speak to his highness about... the decorative mirrors, remember sweetie? Last time we discussed, he wished to forget all about them."
Dido's face brightened, "Oh, I like Prince Wendell, he seems oh so very nice, does he not?" She picked up her things, a purse and skullcap, which she didn't put on. "I'm ready," she smiled and waited by the door for Eulalia.
"Very well. Oh, and do remember to cover your head, dearie, you're so pale." Eulalia turned to face Felcia, who was putting up the measuring tape and all about tidying up. It was Robert who gave her some trouble, as he seemed to move like driftwood in the tide. "We'll come in soon, Miss Felcia, to check up. It was lovely meeting you!" And with a flourish, she left.
"I don't like her." Robert announced. The golden haired girl looked aghast.
From the corner of ones eye, one could see the two standing over a puddle of water. Perhaps it was a trick of the light--perhaps it was ones imagination, but the two seemed to jump inside it; the last thing that was seen of them was Dido's shoe as it disappeared inside. The puddle rippled, before it was calm again.
*******
Richelle had overslept; or in the least slept far too long for her to be comfortable. With her parents gone and Mariah quit she was in charge of the household. She peeked outside alarmed to see how late it had gotten.
Hurrying out of her parents room she hustled downstairs and tied her apron on securely. Opening the pantry door she stepped through, lit a candle and opened the farthest back door. Her father had, last winter, made it possible for them to save meat and such by packing the ground with ice and then putting the wrapped foods inside the hole.
Richelle wrinkled her nose at the cold, but lifted the hatchdoor to the meats. "I think...hmm...oh yes father's favorite," she reached for the brown covered parcel but held her hand back uncertainly. "Father wouldn't like it if I was to eat some of his prized meat." she murmured. The candle flickered and Richelle shivered. Giving up Richelle grabbed the parcel, slammed the door and was back out into the warm kitchen once more.
Pushing the curtains back she flung open the shutters then jammed the backdoor open to. She didn't wish to die of smoke. She frowned. "I'm sure there's plenty of things out there to kill me instead." she muttered wryly. Tossing some wood onto the firepit she placed the steak--with some difficulty since it was still mostly frozen--on a spit and placed it above the quickening fire.
Humming a small tune she went out to back garden and picked some lettuce and cucumbers for her salad then sharpened the cutting knife. While dicing the cucumber her mind wandered off to Maya's soon to be trip. She knew that Maya's parents meant well, they'd never intentionally hurt her, but the fact remained that for the first time in almost ten years Maya was going off without Richelle.
Richelle had to admit that hurt more then her own parents dashing off without her. Sliding the cucumber slices into a bowl she went to check on the meat. Satisfied the meat was okay she went over to the cupboard and got out the meat base. Mixing that she doused the meat with the marinade and went back to the lettuce.
Her parents were always going off without her, Richelle had long ago accepted this. Her shoulders sagged a little. For the first time she was truly alone. "Of course what do I have to console myself..." she whispered her hand going to the hairstick in her hair. "Sailor Mercury..." she sighed.
After a cursory check on the steak Richelle carried her plate and utensils out into the dining room and began to set her place.
After a cursory check on the steak Richelle carried her plate and utensils out into the dining room and began to set her place.
This was when Wolf decided to crawl out from behind a cabinet, looking from side to side. "Huff puff, she's gone for now.." He sat on his haunches and scratched his ear. Making sure that he was indeed alone, he rose to his feet and walked over to the fire. He was nearly salivating as he looked at the steak.
"Mmm, my love, how I have longed for you so!" He let out in a half howl, half whimper. "Such delicious, juicy, tender steak..." His eyes darted back and forth as his tail wagged. His face suddenly switched emotions as Virginia entered his mind.
"Ooh, Virginiiiiiiaaa.. my creamy dreamy Virginia... I'm so sorry..." He was whimpering pathetically now, clutching his tail. "How could I let my hunger fog my adoration for you! I should have never left Cécile alone!" He paused. "But while, I'm here, I might as well eat..."
Richelle stared at the guy then crept over to the stove and picked up the frying pan. *Mariah should have cleaned this...no I should have before I made...why am I worrying about this now?!* she thought picking up the frying pan and clutching it with both her hands, she held it at her side and crept up on the guy feasting on her dinner.
With a frown she swung the pan back and whapped it as hard across the side of his head as she dared. She only wanted him off her food--not dead. Holding the pan over her head she said in a calm voice, "That was my father's meat you just ate. Now either leave or please be kind enough to sign a paper that states I have every right to kill you."
"Cripes--what is with these girls and blunt objects?" Wolf said as he regained conscious. There was now three girls--not one--looking down at him, spinning in unison like a horses on a carousel. "Papers...? Cripes...you have to sign papers to kill people now...? Am I back in the tenth kingdom again...?" he whined, as he tried to make his world focus again.
Richelle frowned wondering if she had hit him harder then she thought. Taking a step back she relaxed her hold on the frying pan (which truth to tell was hurting her arms). "Tenth kingdom?" she shook her head clearing it. "No, no, it's something my mother used to say when father would upset her."
Standing as far back as the counter she stared at her intruder warily. "Why are you here?"
"Would you believe I was hungry?" Wolf offered, as he slowly pushed himself on his elbows. No such luck for him. He sighed. "Okay, so I'm hungry and I'm here to save the fourth kingdom from terrible danger. Does that sound any better?" Obviously not. "My name is Wolf... thought you might like to know my name before you beat me senseless again and I forget. Huff puff, twice in the same day.."
"Wolf? As in Wolf who helped save the Kingdoms Wolf?" she asked. At once she realized what had happened and let out a chuckle. "Of course! I'm sorry I totally misunderstood...didn't Maya tell you to beware? Honestly...she sent you as a joke didn't she? Be just like her too." she shook her head with a fond smile. "You one of her brothers' friends?" she looked him up and down. "Maybe a friend of the family's?" she suggested after a moment of thought.
She sighed and replaced the pan on the stove. "How silly of me...I should have known that she would try this. Make me feel better since she's leaving..." ignoring the pang that thought brought to her chest Richelle patted her hair. "So what's your real name then?"
"No really... My name is Wolf." Wolf smiled as she came into focus. She was a small girl, with pale features and dark brown eyes. Her black hair hung in a braid. His assailant was dressed plainly, in a dark skirt and white blouse. The apron tied around her waist made her look almost housewifely; but all and all she was an attractive girl. "Do I get to know what your name is?"
Richelle tensed, but decided that if he wished to keep playacting she'd humor him. As long as he didn't try anything--and apologize for stealing her meal--he might even amuse her. "Richelle Schneeweißchen...just call me Richelle." she said, conscious of how ridiculous her name sounded.
Folding her hands in front of her she tried to think of how to explain things. "Listen. I understand that Maya might have told you to keep saying you're Wolf--she knows how much I enjoy that story and is only trying to make me feel better by having you be one of the Heroes. But I simply can't have you here right now. My parents are away and my servant just quit and you ate my dinner." she glared at him momentarily before calming herself. "Now please tell me your name or I will be forced to yell."
"You'll have to yell then," Wolf said calmly, "Because that's my name." He got up to his feet and began walking towards the door. His tail briefly wagged as he looked back at her for a moment, grinning. "Thanks for the steak, though, Richie! I can call you Richie, right?"
"I AM NOT A GUY." she said through clenched teeth. There was no way Maya would send such an annoying man--even if she had under a misguided sense of purpose. Therefore, since he was not only intolerably rude and a real wolf Richelle didn't think she had much choice.
Reaching into her hair she retrieved the hairsticks there and said, quite proudly, "In the name of all that is decent...I will cleanse you of your impurities and make you pay for your cruelty!" Richelle didn't think about the fact that sounded ridiculous since she wasn't transformed.
Grabbing up the pan once more she tossed it at the back of his head and prepared to slam him with the only attack she could think of.
Wolf ducked this time, watching the pan fly over his head. "Cripes, there Richie--I mean, Richelle, let's back up on this whole 'cleansing' thing, okay..? I was just hungry--what's wrong with helping our your local savior of the nine kingdoms? I thought wolves were pardoned in this kingdom, you know!"
"That doesn't mean you go and steal people's dinners without so much as a 'sorry miss but I really would like to share your dinner with you' or an apology!" she retorted brandishing her hairsticks. They weren't much but could probably hurt him if she stabbed hard enough. "Nor does it excuse the fact you wished to call me a boy's name when I everything but a boy!" she added angrily, red faced with indignation.
"And you are NOT that WOLF! He was reported to be much nicer and gentlemanly and have much better manners!" she also said her eyes snapping.
"That's because he had his MATE with him at the time and she was SAFE! Now that...that...thing's going to kill HER, me--if you don't kill me first-- and Wendell! Is this such a time to get mad for me stealing a steak?!" Wolf thundered, standing at his full height. His teeth were bared as he snarled at her.
Unfrightened, Richelle had learned that with being Sailor Mercury she would have to face any number of nasty angry things, Richelle stood taller and glared right back at him. "I am still NOT convinced you are NOT crazy!" she shouted back, perhaps not as loud but with just as much anger. "If you were THAT worried about her and King Wendell why detour to my VERY out of the way house and steal MY dinner?" she demanded. "You are either a horribly overestimated as any sort of protector or incredibly STUPID to forget your mission so easily!"
*********
The vibrant yellow of the afternoon sun was blinding as the wolf-girl rolled over onto her side, creating a loud stir of pots and pans as she ended up on the bag. Cécile quickly lifted a hand to shield her vision and used her other to still the ringing metal. Her body felt stiff all over and her mind was quite dull at the moment. Part of her felt quite restless despite sleeping in, far later than she was used to. Mouth dry with the lingering taste of food, it took a moment for Cécile to fully recall why she wasn't in bed in the little cottage in the woods.
Blinking, she sat up straight, dark braid loose with rogue strands of hair hanging out, and scanned the horizon with wide eyes, "Wolf?" But the halfwolf was nowhere to be found, and he certainly hadn't been a dream if she was still sitting in the wagon in the middle of nowhere. She couldn't even tell if they were still in the Second Kingdom, though the terrain looked quite unfamiliar.
"WOLF!" the girl called out even louder, hoping to get at least a howl of a response. She had been irritated with him by the time she had fallen asleep, but they hadn't been that angry with each other to make him leave her in the wagon. Especially not with both horses, who stirred and neighed softly, knowing that Cécile was awake. Sniffing the air, she caught his distinct scent, leading from off of the seats and away from the wagon, out of sight. There seemed to be no sign of attack or any reason why he had been forced to leave, nothing other than the lingering scent of freshly cooked... "Steak. He left me for *steak*." She rolled her eyes and let out growl under her breath, leaping out of the bed of the wagon to follow his trail.
*********
"Or, I could just be a wolf," He replied quietly, the still air seemed to settle all around him. "For a little girl, you are very brave, you know that? Most people yell and scream at wolves. Much less insult then when they could just....eat you up." Pausing for dramatics, he turned and once again began to leave the house.
This was, of course, right before he bumped into Cécile.
Richelle had to pause thinking maybe he was right. Her parents had said that wolves were driven by very basic instincts. She heard the smack as two bodies bumped into each other and winced at how much that had to have hurt. *Who would be coming to my house...* she wondered suddenly embarrassed by her simple attire.
Dashing to the door she stared down at the tangle of limbs. "Are either of you dead?" she asked doubtfully. "Wait. Who are YOU now?" she demanded of the girl. "His accomplice in this theft?"
It didn't take long for the two wolves to separate and prop themselves up. Hair even more tousled than before, Cécile shot a glare at Wolf, more because he had run off than because of the collision. Shaking her head, she shifted from propping herself on her elbow to sitting upright at the sound of a stranger's voice. Her eyes narrowed even more at the girl's words, her anger first focused on the stranger, and then shifted over to Wolf. "Excuse me? Theft?" Scrambling to her feet, she placed her hands on her hips and growled indignantly to the girl, "First of all, I am NOT a common thief!"
Whipping around to face Wolf, Cécile felt her short braid slap against her back as she stopped, "Second of all, what are you doing in this girl's house?" Her lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing her fang-like canines as she stalked towards him, like a carnivore circling in on its prey. Rather than inquiring gently, her tone was more threatening than maternal, "Is she telling the truth? What'd you steal, Wolf?"
Wolf's smile was somewhat mischievous, like a child who had stolen a cookie before dinner. "A...a steak, Cécile, my dear. Just a steak.." He paused and rolled his eyes, remembering the taste. It merited a small howl. "A very, very delicious steak might I add."
Ignoring the other girl behind her, Cécile raised a fist at the man as if to cuff him in the ears for bad behavior. Instead, she reached for his ear, pinching it tightly, using a method that Grandmother had taught her how to execute quite well. She yanked down to be level with him, "Do I have to keep my eyes on you all the time?! Huff puff! You're old enough to be my father, yet you act like a...a...child!"
Despite his yelping and whimpers, the girl instead turned to Richelle exasperatedly, "I'm sorry about your steak. My..." She paused, trying to decide what to call him. Wary of the other female, she quickly continued, "...uncle, doesn't seem to have much self-control. I'll pay you in full for what he took." She finally let go of Wolf's ear to rifle through her front pocket for a pouch of coins.
Richelle bit back the sarcastic comment she was about to say and took a deep breath. "Your uncle is also a loon." she shot Wolf a glance. "He says he's the legendary Wolf. One of the Four who saved the kingdoms. Also he claims King Wendell is about to be killed as well as himself and his mate." she glared at Wolf again.
Raising a brow, Cécile was careful to not reveal any amusement at the fact that their hostess (of sorts) didn't know that Wolf was no liar, or a lunatic. However, it wasn't just out of caution that she kept a cool expression, but also because she was still severely displeased and currently disillusioned. Her 'hero' for the past six months had turned out to be quite a fool who required her, of all people, to make sure that he didn't get into too much trouble. Not to mention the fact that he had almost blown their cover, if the girl had actually believed him. One never knew who they could trust, especially when someone was after the Four who saved the nine kingdoms...
"Don't bother me with your money. Father can always replace it if he even misses it when he gets back..." Richelle didn't add how guilty she felt for having given the impression she wanted money from the girl. She had enough problems. Sighing she waved a hand. "If you would give me a moment to change, you both can stay for a proper meal. I need the company and Mother would have a fit if she knew I had turned away guests--even if one is highly suspect."
At her words, Cécile replaced her money and stared hard at the other girl. Her pride didn't like the way Richelle phrased her words, nor the fact that she wouldn't accept the coins and let them go off on their way... But logic presided over stubborn pride. Why pass up a free meal? They would probably need to save all the money they had, incase their journey went awry later. Glancing back at Wolf, the baker decided to make the executive decisions between the two of them, regardless of age or of reputation. It had become evident that he was going to get them into more trouble than was necessary if she let him handle things.
Turning back to Richelle, she nodded and straightened her clothes. "We accept your invitation. Thank you for your hospitality," Cécile replied in a formal tone. Despite the fact that the girl was smaller and apparently younger looking than herself, it was her mannerisms and polite words that made the baker feel like a country bumpkin in comparison. Idly lifting a hand to scratch the side of her head, she nearly brushed away the hair that hung over her left eye, though froze before it was too late. Unaware of the fact that Richelle already knew what Wolf was, Cécile awkwardly shoved her hand forward instead, "I'm Cécile, and this is...er..." She glanced back to Wolf, hoping that he got the hint.
"Warren Wolfson, my dear," Wolf introduced himself, smiling at his old alias. He had used it once before in the little lamb village in order to keep himself out of trouble--hopefully it would do the same for him here. "I suppose we had a misunderstanding back there."
"I suppose you did," Cécile said sharply and from there, it was dismissed. Dusting himself off, Wolf looked up at Richelle and tried to look the part of an addle-minded man, though he wasn't quite sure how he could pull that off with a simple glance alone.
Richelle nodded motioning them in. She was relieved the whole matter was settled so quickly. She wasn't sure what she would have done if either turned out to be less then what they said. "If you wouldn't mind please wait in the parlour?" she gestured to the door at her left. "I'll be right with you both. Steaks I presume are okay?" With a cordial nod she hurried up to her room and quickly changed.
Dashing about the kitchen she got three more steaks out, not of the same cut as the original, but then despite her earlier words she knew her father would notice the meat was gone and she couldn't explain away four cuts. Quickly putting them over the fire she chopped the remaining vegetables, chilled some lemonade and set the dining room table in record time.
Returning to the parlour Richelle removed her apron and smoothed her clothing. With a polite smile she entered the room. "I'm sorry about my earlier rudeness. Today has been a...stressful day. My name is Richelle Schneeweißchen and currently I am the Lady of the house." taking her customary seat on the chaste lounge she folded her hands in her lap and regarded her guests. "Where are you traveling to? This town isn't exactly off the main road."
It was difficult to conceal the awe that the baker felt when she stepped into the parlour of the younger girl, the entire house far larger than her quaint little cottage in the woods. The fact that there was a parlour room, and not merely an extension of the kitchen, was astonishing enough. But she quickly muted her curiosity to exchange words with Wolf once they settled in to wait.
Cécile's voice went quiet as their hostess entered the room and folded her hands neatly on her lap, eyeing 'Warren' to allow her to do the talking. He was, after all, a loon, as the girl had put. Forcing a polite smile, she opened her mouth to answer Richelle's question. "Grandmother's--" both wolves began in unison, though stopped to look at each other. Wolf shrugged in response to Cécile's stiff glance. She coughed slightly, turning back to the girl, "We're visiting my grandmother's home, in the Fourth Kingdom."
"She's very, very ill..." Wolf began clearly, though it turned into a sort of odd mumble. He turned his head down and scratched the side of it, almost like a twitch. Cécile nodded slowly in agreement and shifted in her seat beside him, sending looks back and forth between Richelle and Wolf.
"You see, we don't visit her often, so we got a little lost on the way," the girl explained, sounding calm as ever despite the blatent lies she was spewing. She didn't like to do this, but there was no other choice -- as kind as this Richelle had seemed, they didn't know who to trust out here. Cécile continued to gesture towards the man, avoiding eye contact with their hostess, "I sent Wol--Warren to find help, but he apparently got a bit sidetracked." Letting out a nervous chuckle, she began to raise her hand to scratch the side of her head again, but stopped herself quickly.
Richelle smiled politely and raised an eyebrow. "Really at first I thought he was sent by my friend Maya to cheer me up. She knows how much I have enjoyed the story since my parents first told it to me, and it would be just like Maya to just hire anyone off the street." she shook her head tossing her braid back behind her back. "Then well...I'm glad he has someone watching after him. It must be hard though." she said sympathetically, or what she thought was sympathetically.
Standing she inclined her head to the other two. "Would you care to join me? I don't know how you wish your steaks done..." she murmured.
"Er...rare.." Wolf said, not waiting for Cécile to respond for him. "Y-yes, very rare...." He looked to Cécile, his head cocked as he scratched behind his ear, sort of in a gesture pointing at Richelle.
Richelle frowned. "Oh well I just put them on so they shouldn't be too cooked yet..." she said trailing off as she headed into the kitchen. Sliding two of the steaks out she put hers directly over the fire to cook it quicker and slid the other two onto plates. "Do you guys want salad?" she asked popping her head quickly into the parlor.
Rising to follow, the pair of wolves stopped as the girl poked her head back in, freezing as though she had caught them in a suspicious moment. However, Wolf was the first to reply before Cécile could stop him. Luckily, he had become accustomed to his adopted behavioral pattern, and scratched his head again, as though it were a twitch. The feral grin returned to his face as thoughts of steak returned to him, "No, just meat. Just luscious, savory--"
The baker at his side elbowed him, before smiling warmly at the girl. "Ah... I'll have a salad, if you've already got it prepared. Otherwise, you don't need to go to any trouble..." Cécile felt guilty enough lying to the girl about their destination and about who they really were, especially when Richelle had been so honest to them about her friend. It was also a naïve choice to tell perfect strangers about her life. Fortunately, neither Wolf or Cécile were any threat to her, and only wanted a meal before heading off to meet danger.
"I just have the greens chopped. It's no problem." Richelle reassured her ducking back into the kitchen. She wondered if she was being perhaps too nice to these people who she really didn't know anything about.
'Grandmother's house? Excuse me if that sounds a little bit...typical..' Richelle thought skeptically.
Speaking of which, judging by the position of the sun when she had awoken, they didn't have much time to get to Wendell's Palace and prevent the death of the King of the Fourth Kingdom. In fact, they didn't even know where they were, or if they were too late already. Cécile's eyes widened in sudden panic, "Um... There hasn't been any news of danger...involving the King, lately, has there?" It was only after saying this did she begin to calm herself and conceal the nervousness in her voice, "And, er, could you tell us how far it is from his Palace? I'm afraid we're rather lost without a map, and we only know how to get to Grandmother's using landmarks..." Hopefully their hostess didn't inquire anymore about their directions, seeing as Cécile knew very, very little about the geography outside of her own Second Kingdom.
Richelle shrugged. "Only danger I have seen is your...uncle." Richelle answered equably, putting some greens into a couple of wooden bowls. Turning she handed the bowl to Cecile and the semi-rare steak to Wolf. Balancing her own bowl on her plate she carried the rest of the dishware into the dining room and set hers down. "Does your grandmother live at the palace then? Just go past the cedar pine grove, take a left at the statue of the old King and then continue about a day and a half. Should take you to the gates." she told them cutting her steak up.
She was, of course, fibbing a little. If they truly knew the way then they'd know she was lying, and about which part, they'd correct her. If not...well maybe today Sailormercury would be needed.
Wolf thought for a moment, scratching his head. "Huff puff, that doesn't seem to be the way I remember." Of course, last time he had went to Wendell's palace, it had been while he was fearing for his dear Virginia's safety, as well as being chased by trolls. It had not been the greatest of times to remember things like landmarks.
"Grandmother? At the palace? Oh... Why, no, just a few miles beyond that," Cécile almost sputtered at the thought of her grandmother living in a luxurious setting. She shook her head and glanced to her companion, following Wolf's lead. He knew better than she did about the area, since he had 'worked' there temporarily. Despite his former errors of making them into thieves and getting them into trouble, the man was much smarter once he was pointed in the right direction. "And...hmm, no. I don't recall the places you described. Are you...sure?" Cécile frowned as she idly reached up to touch her neck.
Could this girl be some sort of spy, trying to throw them off? As nice and innocent as Richelle seemed to be, it seemed that Cécile's suspicions weren't completely unfounded. Though Grandmother told her never to do it again, she realized that she might have to transform once more if this girl was aligned with someone who could pull people through mirrors. Only Sailormars could protect Wolf from that sort of danger, not the common baker, Cécile Follet.
Richelle frowned and chewed her steak slowly. "I'm fairly certain. Mother outlined the way to me one day, in case I should fall into a bit of trouble." Which was true. "Though I might also be a bit confused," she shrugged wiping her mouth. "Are you two thirsty?" she asked with a smile. Pushing back her chair she placed her napkin next to her plate and stood to the side. "I'm a mite thirsty myself."
"That sounds nice," Wolf replied. He grinned at her, two canines peeking out from the row of pearly whites. The end result was a cross between looking vicious and looking like an idiot. Tilting his head to the side, he shoved a piece of steak in his mouth and savored it, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Oh this is beautiful. Savory, luscious, and light! Such perfect steak!"
Richelle raised an eyebrow at Wolf. "I'm sure my father would love to hear that..." she murmured hurrying into the kitchen to grab some lemonade or water, whichever was chilled at the moment. Silently she wondered if her mother would notice scuff marks and possible blood if a fight did occur. Picking up the tray of lemonade she hastened back to the dining room. "I'm sorry to put a damper on our...visit, but I am due at the Widow Ritcher's home in a hour to heat up her meal. Can we please cut the chatter and speak plainly?" she asked politely, handing a glass to each person. "I don't say this to be rude, only I don't feel safe either sending you off to your 'grandmother's' nor allowing you to stay here in this town."
*******
The seventh kingdom was a pleasant place for traveling. Besides its dense, humid forests and bogs that seemed to plague the area that she and Gio were traveling through, it was home to colorful wildlife that someone from the tenth kingdom could only dream about. Talking birds filled the air with song and conversation--occasionally, a fae would fly by the carriage window and send a mirky glow inside the cabin where Alice was situated.
However, this did not stop Alice from being completely and totally miserable.
Possibly one of the most ridiculous things bestowed upon mankind was motion sickness. Why should humans feel nauseated just from traveling in or on something other than their feet, Alice couldn't decide. Either way, she was hot, carriage-sick and desperately wishing for some tums, dramamine, or even just ginger root. She wasn't even sure if the Nine Kingdoms *had* ginger root. Sighing, she gazed out the window, knowing thinking about it and/or whining was not going make it better. But the fairies making faces at her definitely didn't help.
Gio, on the other hand, was having a splendid time. The first top buttons of Gio's dress shirt were unbuttoned, exposing Gio's wooden joints, and the tophat the puppet usually wore was cast aside. No one was here to gawk and stare at her; and for that, she relaxed a little. Alice was tucked away inside the carriage--thank goodness, this scene was too pretty to be marred by sarcasm. Gio liked the eighth kingdom; unlike the other seven kingdoms, it laid untouched by the hands of royality. Elves and fae folk were like that, and their naturalistic approach was what the wooden carriage driver liked best about them. With a sigh of content, Gio whipped the reigns a little, sending a small wave of motion down to the horses, who responded by taking the curve in the round smoothly.
Though she didn't like to think about things so much as just go on and live her life, Gio couldn't help but wonder. Who would this Sailorneptune be? He, or she, could be anyone at anywhere. Certainly, Gio wasn't the type to say that something was hopeless, but the thought of exploring all of the nine kingdoms for these...'senshi', it was just a little overwhelming. And once they did find them, would they be willing to help?
Alice stared at the carriage door ruefully, another fairy whizzing by and returning to mock her. Green everything flashed past the window. Outside the window was Gio. That was a problem. But there was also cool, fresh air and horizon to watch. After carefully weighing the options, Alice opened the door as quietly as she could, momentarily pausing to consider grabbing a fairy and chucking it away. But since it took both hands to keep herself attached to the door, she decided that point was moot and clambered on top of the carriage.
"You're a might bit brave to climb up the side of the carriage like that," Gio said, unstirring from her position. "I wouldn't have minded stopping for a moment, you know." Her rust red hair whipped against her face, reflections of light casting sunrise-like patterns across it as they went under a canopy of trees.
"I laugh in the face of danger, ho ho," Alice said in a dead pan tone of voice as she sat with her legs folded. Her own hair had decided to take the chance to run wild and free, mostly getting into her mouth. The fairies seemed to have, for the most part, fled at the prospect of their point of amusement being able to fight back. Alice ducked a low hanging vine and asked, "Where are we going first, anyhow?"
"Dunno. Not many open towns out here in the eighth kingdom, you know." Upon saying this, Gio realized that Alice probably *didn't* know, and therefore decided to explain. "The Eighth kingdom is ruled by the elves and fae folk, as you might've guessed. They aren't particularly fond of people--I can see why though. And they're mostly nature-oriented people, so there aren't many villages or towns. Keeps the money grubbing people away."
"Oh goody... I suppose you don't have senshi detectors either, hm?" she replied, tackling her hair with some string from her pocket. "And we can only tell if they're senshi by their transformation or symbol on their forehead... The proverbial needle sounds easier to find."
"Not my idea of a picnic either," Gio said gruffly as they swung down another, more narrow path. The woods grew more dense. "But I'm sure they'll have some sort of...well, magic aura about them. Like you and I, though mine is a tad more apparent. I think the tenth kingdom wore off yours a long time ago."
Alice gripped the sides of the carriage as it turned and the road became rougher. "I was never big on magic shows," she murmured, ducking more branches. The light was dimming from thicker foliage. "How do we know we're not heading into some death trap, by the by?"
"I can admit that the seventh kingdom is... a bit more sinister than the others," The red haired girl shouted over the sound of horse hooves. "But there's two of us now, surely together we can rid ourselves of anything that isn't too serious. Anything bigger than that, well, that's a chance we're going to have to take."
"That's so-" but before Alice had a chance to finish her sentence, a particularly nasty bump dislodged her death grip and launched her into the air. She emitted a rather undignified squeal and almost landed on the ground instead of the carriage with a muffled thump. By the time this had occurred, her eyes were the size of teacup saucers. She scrambled in a more dignified position and changed her expression to the classically feline, "That didn't happen."
And Gio, poor, poor Gio, had sat there the entire time with a blank expression. She didn't make a noise when Alice proceeded to make a fool of herself, but as she saw Alice sit up from the corner of her eye, she couldn't stand it anymore. The slightest smile was on Gio's face. The smile turned into a chuckle--not an ill-natured one, mind you. It was one of the most sincere things in the world. She closed her eyes as she heaved, laughing for a few minutes.
Alice sighed, massaging her temples, "This is a mirror world, the people don't laugh at the puppets, the puppets laugh at the people."
The laughter didn't stop there. It didn't stop for several minutes, but finally, a panting, smiling Gio looked up at Alice. Gio tried her goshdarndest not to laugh anymore, but it was futile. Eventually, her sober expression broke again as she all but fell from the carriage herself. "There's a twig in your hair."
Alarmed, Alice untied the string and finger-combed her hair, removing the offending twig. Then she braided her hair back with practiced ease and threw her hood up to keep any other unwelcome object out of her splendid tresses. And good thing she did, the woods had quickly changed from deciduous forest to thistles and bracken. No more fairies flew to and fro. In fact, there was hardly any animal life to be seen, with the small exceptions of crows and black squirrels. Unnerved, she pulled the rest of her coat on and zipped it up.
"I think we're in the Eighth Kingdom now..."
"And you think I'm an idiot," Gio said quietly. She tucked her hat back on her head with a quick pat, as well as pulled her coat back completely over her shoulders. There was not the slightest bit of fear on her face--rather, she just flicked the reigns her hands, made a reaffirming noise to her horses, and continued driving.
"I'd like to remind you, I don't live here," she replied venomously. Alice had set her hand on her mace, just in case.
"I'd also like to remind you, niether do I." Gio said bluntly. "Don't have many customers that roll out of bed one day and decide that they too want to visit a spooky old kingdom for kicks, y'know? Funny how that is."
"Funny how you've forgotten to mention that we have to pass through a spooky old kingdom," Alice shivered. "... .... What the hell is that?!" She was pointing to a black object looming the the distance. The object, easily discerned as a castle, was composed of many guard towers and surrounded by the same thorn bushes as the path. Alice guessed it to be about fifty meters high, maybe more. Either way, she knew for a fact that black castles are always bad.
"You know, for a know-it-all, you don't know very much." Gio said as she tilted the brim of her hat up to see the upcoming castle. "It's one of the abandoned castles. They're all over the place, from the golden age when this kingdom was prosperous. I doubt anyone lives in there now."
"Yes, all abandoned castles have a few lit up windows," she pulled her coat tighter, "and I shall mention yet again, I live in the Tenth Kingdom. I know about that."
"I suppose you just get stupid when you're scared then?" Gio replied. The road seemed to lead right up to the castle. Lovely. Gio squinted at the aforementioned lit windows. "It's probably some ancient old family. We could stop and ask for directions--"
"My witty repartee is utterly wasted on you..." Alice shook her head. "And let's do stop and ask directions, I'd like to leave this place as soon as possible."
"Well that's one thing we can agree on." As they approached the front gates, they slid aside with a loud creak. The horses were spooked at this and Gio sent an assuring coo at them and tensed her hands on the reigns. Her eyes widened as she stared up at the castle in all of its size; it seemed like there were too many windows to count.
Alice quickly looked around, trying to grasp the size and layout of the castle. The keep shortly followed the outer wall, leaving little to no courtyard. The actual walls were enveloped with bramble, making the outline indistinct. "Why do I get the feeling that this place has bad karma and I will soon be employing the phrase "told you so"?" she muttered inaudibly.
"And why do I get the feeling that I'll be picking up your remains because you were too busy saying 'told you so' to notice that there was a large monster breathing down your neck," Gio answered. She was obviously getting irritated. "Making smartass comments isn't really going to help this situation, now is it?" The carriage had stopped, and Gio looked at Alice one last time with a look that could only be defined as reprimanding. She didn't wait for an answer.
Gio hopped off the driver's seat, landed, and began to walk towards the entrance--a moatless drawbridge that stretched out to meet them. Hesitantly, she removed the marionette from her coat pocket. As the last of her rust-red coat tails disappeared into the small courtyard, she didn't even glance back at Alice.
Pausing to remember that she was better than Gio and shouldn't sink to her level, Alice slid off the carriage top and speed walked towards Gio. Yes, she was stupid. But it was better to have a psychotic puppet murderess in front of you than behind you.
"Grab the torch to the side of you, would you?" Gio directed. From the corner of her eye she saw an extension of the courtyard, with higher, enclosed walls covered in ivy. Waiting up for Alice--she did, after all, have the light and at least that was a little useful--Gio leaned against the stone wall, her eyes casting up to the tallest tower of the castle above her. Good luck trying to find a person in there.
Alice grabbed the torch and produced a lighter from her coat pockets. After several attempts, she got the wicker to catch and waited a moment while the fire established itself before walking over to Gio. She asked, "Which way are we going, fearless leader?" while holding the torch above her head so the light would be cast wider.
"This way," Gio answered as they walked down the corridor. The air suddenly grew old and musty; the smell of decay was everywhere. "Not exactly my idea of good house keeping."
"Ugh," Alice murmured, one hand over her mouth. The torchlight kept flickering as spider webs were caught in the flames. She was beginning to regret wearing sandals, she kept stubbing her toes on loose stones and rubble. The corridor lead to a sparely decorated hall with two staircases lain thick with debris. Alice half-expected to see a good centimeter of dust everywhere, but it was quite lacking.
There was something black in the corner. At first, it looked like a black sheet had been laid over a large piece of furniture; but furniture does not breathe. Whatever it was, it was probably bigger than one of Gio's horses. "Alice... walk backward with the light...slowly now.."
Now they knew why there wasn't much dust. Alice took a step backward, then two, and before she knew it, the top of the door frame had knocked the torch out of her hand. "Shit!" she clutched her burned hand to her chest, trying to reach the torch before the flickering light extinguished. Too late.
"Sorry, gio..."
"S'all right," Gio said, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of something terrible. It was high and eat-splitting, but yet so intense that the very stone beneath their feet shook. The black thing moved--black legs, like foot-thick barbed wire, sprouted from everywhere. As it turned, several red eyes pierced the now-black room.
"Alice!" Gio shouted over the cries, "Transform!"
Alice, who had thrown herself over in a less occupied corner, and no idea what she was supposed to do. Her hand was scorched and she was about to be eaten by a giant spider, bad 1950s sci-fi movie style. Naturally, all sailor senshi have safety switches for times like these, and Alice's was just flipped.
A ghostly form materialized in front of Alice. A little girl, no older than eight, limned in light and wearing a blue pinafore and white apron. She smiled at Alice and took a card from her apron pocket. "Go, you can help your friend now." She handed the card to Alice and smiled again, brushing off her skirt and evaporating.
Now all this was very shocking to Alice, who was very sure for a moment that her terror had induced hallucinations. But the card seemed to know what needed to be done, and shouted at Alice. "GO KNOCK THEIR 'EADS OFF, YOU NINNY!" Startled, Alice tossed the card, causing it to rain card symbols and change her civilian clothes into senshi fuku.
She was Sailorpluto now.
At the same time, Gio's body was covered in string as she twisted around in midair. As she landed, the strings exploded--leaving her vaguely puppet- like fuku behind. There was no time for speeches or directions to give Alice now, because the spider lunged at the puppet senshi, tearing cobblestone up as it came closer.
"MARIONETTE!" Sailoruranus cried as she swung the marionette around like a boomerang. Strings appeared from the edges of the marionette and she held onto the ends with white-gloved hands. Swinging in mid air, Sailoruranus planted herself firmly on the back of the creature, the marionette making a complete circle and landing in Gio's free hand. She held onto the strings, which had encircled the monster's head, like the reigns of a horse with her other.
Obviously, the spider wasn't too happy about that. Like a bucking bronco, Sailoruranus was thrown into the air several times, each time coming down with a thunderous impact on the monster. "Whoa there!" She shouted as she pulled back on the reigns in an attempt to choke it.
Shielding her face from debris, Pluto ran to the opposite corner once more. But since Uranus was a little too busy to teach Pluto the ropes, it was up to the Queen of Spades card again. "Psst! Throw me!"
"... What?"
"SHUT YER TRAP AND THROW ME AT THE BLOODY SPIDER!"
Pluto was too enthusiastic to comply. As she flung the card at the spider, unbidden words came to her lips, "Royal Flush!" The card multiplied into five different cards, each one striking an eye.
"Take that, hell-spawn of Arachne!!" She shouted after hearing the satisfactory scream of pain following the attack.
"At least someone knows what they're doing!" Sailoruranus commented as she was swung in the air by the rearing spider, who was now legally blind. The string that had held the spider disappeared and the marionette and the red haired senshi both went flying through the air. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her scream suddenly came to a hault as she hit the stone wall with an almost comical 'thunk' noise. She slid down, landing on her head, the marionette falling beside her.
The cards returned to Pluto's hand, surprisingly free of blood and gore, "Round two!" She stepped forward and threw the cards again, this time aiming for it's soft under-belly as it reared on its back legs. The razor- sharp cards passed though the abdomen, spraying spider guts as they exited.
"Ewww."
After a few minutes of laying there senseless, Uranus' legs flipped over her head and she found herself kneeling on her marionette. As she stood, she surveyed the situation. Her magical attacks wouldn't work here--but Alice's could. If she could find a way to help her... An idea came to mind and Sailoruranus threw the marionette as hard as she could in the direction of the spider, who was descending from its full height now that Alice had nearly disemboweled it. The strings that exploded from the ends of the marrionette reached out to wrap around the spider's legs as it made a full circle. Once the movement had been completed, the marionette crashed into the ground, tightening the cord that bound the spider's legs and down the monster went.
"Good idea, Uranus! Royal Flush!!" she flung her cards for the third and final time, each card striking a vital organ. The spider screeched and wriggled as life left it, Pluto grimacing at the bloody, gory mess. Once the spider had stopped squirming, the cards returned to her hand, clean as ever. And since now she had time to think, Pluto realized something was wrong. Terribly wrong. "WHAT am I WEARING?!" she cried, looking over her short-skirted pinafore and mary janes.
Sailoruranus couldn't help but laugh. "Er...welcome to the club of corny sailor uniforms." She said with a flourish and a little bow, showing off her costume. In battle, it was okay, but once you got over the fact that you were gonna be killed and ate for lunch, it was ridiculous to be seen in. "But I think everything's fixed here. We can detransform now."
"Errr, right." Pluto pocketed her card and her fuku vanished and was quickly replaced with her civilian clothing. "I do hope that we don't have to do that again." She knelt down where she dropped the torch and searched with her hands. She found the torch within an agonizing minute and re-lit it. "There are two stairways going up and one going down," Alice said, peering about in the dim light. "Left or right?"
*************
Broken Fairy Tales: Senshi of the Ten Kingdoms.
Mmm. Cliffhangery goodness. :D
The chapters of this story are taken directly from a play-by-email by the same name. Each of the writers, including myself, have given consent to having their work published under this name, with due credit.
'Steak, Secrets, and Spiders', episode four of Broken Fairy Tales, was written by Gena, Sushi, Koi, Alex, and Carrot. Love you guys! 3
This is a crossover between 'Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon', and the NBC/Hallmark miniseries 'The Tenth Kingdom', that aired in 1998/1999. 'Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon' and 'The Tenth Kingdom' do not belong to the people who wrote Broken Fairy tales and we do not claim rights to any of the aforementioned television shows. We do, however, claim rights to our original characters, the Senshi of the Ten Kingdoms. They are copyrighted to their creators.
Are you a fan of sailormoon, the tenth kingdom, or just fairy tales? If you're a good writer and would like to contribute, visit our site at www32.brinkster.com/cwmrpg/broken
We're currently looking for someone to play Sailorneptune and Sailor Commoneo, so if you're interested please check it out. ^_^