I know I know! I'm so evil! I promised an introduction of the first villain, but I wanted to announce the winners first and play another game!
Firstly, I hope you like this chapter, as it does give some looking at who a few of her floor mates are, as well as a few others.
I also wanted to give you an idea of who she'd be directly next to.
So tell me peeps? Who do you want me to add?
And as a fun little contest, whose she next to?
Enjoy this short little chappie!
P.S. who is the landlord/desk guy? Can anyone guess? Or has he been forgotten? Test your knowledge of Disney!
P.P.S. Winners are at the bottom!
Lillie had arrived at the small apartment building about fifteen minutes after she had left Mickey's office. Located in the center of an almost city like burough of the land, the sights weren't really new to her. Lots of grey, a few trees planted in holes along the concrete. The lack of people made it dismal and strange, but after what Mickey had told her about a meeting she was eagerly awaiting any type of arrival from any thing that breathed air.
Besides her dog.
The apartment building itself was distressed red brick that went up only about five stories. She already knew she was on number four, a perfect location since she never liked being on lower floors. Those two things were only the first things that she noticed. The second thing, to her delight, was that right down the street was a small coffee shop. Her constant need for the stuff was something that pushed her small monthly budget off the financial cliff. But oh was it worth it. And that a little farther then that, a take out Chinese store. Her heart swelled. Chinese take out and coffee. A late night journalists best friends.
What she noticed after that wasn't so pleasing.
She had walked into the dimly lit lobby, a small red brick room with a desk and a few mail boxes in the wall.
Then she saw the elevator.
Out of order until further notice:
Message posted on 8/16/2002
"Oh. Well that's just perfect."
An elevator that had been broken for nine years. There wasn't a chance of it being opened any time soon, she knew that.
Four whole flights of stairs she'd have to climb. Every day.
A groan released from her throat. Well. That sucked.
Three small things that she noticed and already her time in the place was bittersweet.
She walked with Bartleby over to the counter where the landlord or the bell boy or anyone should have been standing. It was empty. She approached the empty oak desk and rang the bell that sat on the edge. A sharp ting echoes through the musty and gloomy room.
She rolled back and forth on her heels, biting down on her bottom lip, her small unbreakable habit. While she waited she scanned the room with curious eyes. Fraying red chairs sat in a cramped corner along with a few out of date magazines on a dark oak table. A sooty fireplace that was obviously unused was next to that. The set of stairs began to look uplifting.
She crossed over to the mailboxes, trying to pinpoint hers.
436, 436, 436… the number of her new "home" ran through her mind as she looked over the boxes.
"Aha!" Her finger reached up and pointed at the hardly visible plaque on the only empty box. Box 436, all hers.
She looked at the others to see who her neighbors were, trying to get a head start on names. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that without going through any mail. And god knows she needed that bad start. She could, though, just see the magazines and letters poking out of the open faced cubbies. She squinted as she read a few of the covers. Her face twisted in confusion.
The box a few down from hers was all about lost souls. "Probably just a rock band." She snorted. Next to that, a similar looking magazine. This one with potions and dragons. Lots of dragons. She rolled her eyes. "Band geeks."
A few over the other direction a paycheck sat, the return address coming from a store called Fabulous Furs; Bears, Seals and Puppy Dogs. "Okay. That's… weird…" Her eyes went down to Bartleby. "If anyone touches you I'll pop them across the head. So no worries." He didn't seem worried, and just barked happily, letting his tongue drag out for a nice yawn.
With much unease she looked to the box two to her left. A catalogue selling cheese sat there. "At least that's more normal." Then she spotted the magazine under it. A men's catalogue for all vintage clothing, looking to be in the 19th century. "Or… not?"
Two in the other direction proved to be just as normal, filled to the brim with advertisements on lock picks, pokers, British cabbie caps and all sorts of weird things.
One next to that had a single package. Something from HookDepot. "-the hell?"
A floor above her, as the mailboxes numbers changed, held all sorts of things as well. A gun magazine directly above her. Next to that, a calendar depicting only sea life and brutal fishing trips. Directly below her an incubator light for snakes, packaged meat that looked somewhat like zebra. A few were decorated. The one that contained the bible was covered in crosses. One from her floor had voodoo charms and symbols written in white chalk.
It got stranger and stranger too. Somehow…
With much caution she looked next to her box to see just who she would be directly adjacent to.
To her left, a box holding something large and a magazine on how to get men. Rich men. A few dukes and princes sat on chairs looking sternly at a camera.
To her right, bird seed and a few letters coming from some sort of pot company. At least they looked like pots from the logo on the top. She squinted. Maybe not pot. Lamp…?
Her stomach lurched and her face got hot. Her neighbors were all insane.
"Oh no." She whispered. "Why me? Why me whymewhymewhyme!"
"Excuse me? Ma'am?" A proper English made her jolt awake and spin around. A man, looking stiff, sat at the desk. Wearing vintage looking butler-wear, he stood like a board and stared through eyes, slit closed in a regal way. He held himself so perfectly that she stared at him for a moment, deciding if he was actually alive. When he gave her a look she smiled, making up for the awkward stare she had been giving him.
"Sorry. Just… you scared me."
"Not a problem Ma'am."
Miss! It's Miss! "Oh, thanks. Um… are you the landlord."
"More or less Ma'am. How can I help you?"
"Keys. I needed my keys. 436."
He scanned a sheet then gave her a proper stiff smile. "Lillie Ayman is it?"
"Actually it's Aymen. And yeah."
"Splendid. Do you need help with your… horse."
Lillie looked down at Bartleby, sitting next to her and panting heavily, drooling on the floor. "He's a dog, firstly. And I think I'm alright."
"Oh thank goodness." She glared at him. "Oh! So sorry Ma'am. Never been good with animals."
"Ah, not much of an animal lover, are you?"
"Definitely not." He handed her the key. "Your things have already been transferred up to your room, so no true worries on that. My name is Edgar, by the way. Just a right away if you need me."
"Thanks so much." She gave him an equally stiff smile, then began to go up the stairs, Bartleby leading the way.
Next chapter will be longer I swear.
Now for the winners!
Congrats to princess of the negaverse and also too DisneyPrincess! The next chapter is dedicated to you!
Everyone else, I loved your submissions! And I cant wait to hear more of them. No worries, like I said, everyone gets a chance to win!
WINNING IS AWESOME!
Again, take a guess at whose she's with OR request who you would also like to see. I already have a few and will be using them, such as Clopin and Lumiere.
A'right. Peace out for now!
~Galimatias