A blUE RoseS maZe, a BLuE kinG

tHe BEGinNing oF a NeW maZe

iT's TRuE...aS ExPECted tHE kiNG iS TRApPeD in hiS oWN maZe

MUst oF bEen whEN he PUlLEd hEr iN. He'S nOW inVOLveD iN thIS ToO. HE lOsT hIS meMORieS as A kiNg.

WhaT A STUPid KINg.

He'S STilL A kiNG AFTer AlL

WhiCh oNE wiLl be lEft aT tHe END

whAt FUn. WAtchiNG thEM

sUfFer

What is happening here...could it have anything to do with the red room? Ib's mind was reeling. 'What...? They were so happy back in that other room - ' How did they even get down here? I fell. Does this mean...this could mean there a way back up. She turned to Blue to verbalize her theory, but stopped when she saw his face. He was staring out over the basin, half in horror half in shock. His face seemed to have paled. 'Blue...'

'We have to leave here. We must get out of here.'

'How? We're surrounded by the basin.' Ib pointed out.

Blue seemed to be struggling internally with something. Finally he seemed to collect himself. 'Well...the floor we fell from looked somewhat like an art gallery. It's like someone with bad taste designed the studio, and this is the formidable trash room.'

'Gurtena.' Ib stepped forward. 'The artworks and sculptures in the upper gallery were made by a man called Gurtena. I guess this is Gurtena's studio, or rather, the way he thinks, and his art style, the way it seems...' Ib trailed off. After a minute she finished her thought, 'This world is unchanging. Even though there are so many exhibits here, it feels somewhat deserted. As if the creator has abandoned his creations.'

'You may be right, but even if the creator, Gurtena has left his creations behind, he didn't abandon them completely. It feels like he left some of his soul behind when he made the creations themselves. Your well informed about all this, Ib. Do you enjoy art?'

'Mmmm...not terribly. I mainly know about Gurtena. That's it though.'

'Oh, are you a fan of his?' Blue asked, 'You really like this kind of stuff. I'm really not that into it.'

Ib sweat dropped. 'Not really.'

I want to know more. More about you, Even if it's just a little bit, I want to know more. So I con get to know you better...even if I looked, I wouldn't know anything about you...

'Oh...' Ib said, snapping Blue out of his train of thought.

'What's wrong?'

'Well, If were really in Gurtena's mind right now...we might be able to find out something about you, Blue.'

'...Huh?' Blue was caught off guard.

'I wonder if Gurtena wrote memo's while he worked?'

'Ib, is there a relation between me and this...artist called Gurtena?'

Ib hesitated. 'Uhm...well, that's...' Well...you are one of Gurtena's masterpieces.

'I'm sorry, I got it wrong.' Blue said resting a hand on Ib's head. So there are still things you cant tell me yet. 'It's fine, just don't keep it bottled up inside. If I could only remember even fragments of memory, that'd be nice. If I got my memory back, we might be able to find out more about this world too.'

His...memories...'Uh, Blue?'

'Though I must say, the lake in this world seems to have broken up, we won't be able to move around much like this-' Blue's statement was cut off when the ground started shaking violently. 'Wha-?! An earthquake?'

'There's something coming up from below!' Ib started when something grabbed her, then she calmed down when she realized it was just Blue clinging to her. After what seemed like hours, the shaking subsided.

'...did...did it stop?'

'You can let go of me now.'

'Ah!' Blue pulled away. 'Just making sure you didn't fall...hehe...W-what is this?' He looked down at the slate colored raised platform they seemed to be on. White lines decorated it in seemingly random patterns.

'An arm?' Ib stared at the arm shaped platform. 'There seems to be something written on it...letters?'

'More arms seemed to raise up over there too.' Blue pointed across the basin. 'There too.'

'I have no idea what these letters make out to be-'

'I really want them to stop doing this kind of stuff.' Blue said offhandedly, 'I don't know who the artist in charge of this feet is, but the whole place is unsettling.'

'Hey, Blue, if you look at it from over here, Don't you think the letters link to form a sentence?'

'What?'

'The Law of...This world...Existence for another...To exchange one's.'

'Oh, your right...though I still don't know what it means.'

'Wait, Ib! don'tleaveme...' Blue said in a small voice.

It's been bothering me for a while now, It's a bit scary and I don't want to give it too much thought, but if this really is Gurtena's World...then he might not be able to leave this world. 'Lets see...' Ib approached one of the arms that was out of sight from the arm she was originally on. 'To change fantasy into reality...' After all, he is one of Gurtena's works, if this is Gurtena's world then this is where he should've been.

Ib reached the second arm, 'And then, 'Is possible'. If he's only a painting called 'The Forgotten Portrait', Both his memories and his name...might not of existed in the first place.

If I'm not wrong, Blue, who can only exist in the fantasy world of the painting he was created in, wanted to exist in the real world outside, then he would have to exchange...

Ib's thoughts were interrupted when Blue grabbed her hand. 'Shall we take a break?'

The two of them made their way back to the arm that they were on when the shaking first started. Blue and Ib sat down leaning against a vertical arm that was adjacent to the one they were standing on. 'Thanks for this.' Ib said, handing Blue back his coat.

'Oh, guess it was too big for you. Thanks.' Blue slipped his torn up coat back on and stuck his hands in the pockets. 'Though I must say, this is a pretty random world were in. Geeze, what a mess. What are we suppose to do now?' He said, stretching his hands behind his head. 'I have no idea what those sentences mean, or what this 'Exchange of existence' stuff is. I wish they'd just write how to get out of here. But I guess it can't be that simple.'

'That just might be it.'

'What?'

'Changing from illusions to reality means that the people or things in the paintings can become real, right? So to exchange someones existence...'

'The people in the painting? Sorry, Ib, I don't get what your trying to say.'

'I-I came from the outside world! So I think my existence from that world will be exchanged for someones existence in this world.'

'Ib, wait...what are you going on about? What are you saying?'

In order for me to go outside, if there's no other way about it...'Hypothetically speaking, if only one of us can get out of here...' Then I might as well...

'What are you saying?' Blue was about to continue, but the shaking ground cut him of. 'It's started to move again. Ib, this way, you should move away from the ed-KYA!'

'BLUE!.' The shaking arm had thrown Blue off the edge, and onto the side of the hand. Ib had grabbed his hand before he had fallen completely off the edge.

'Blue...I can't...pull you up.' Ib panted.

'Drop me' Blue said, straight faced.

'B-but'

'It's okay, just drop me.' Ib was hesitant, but she did as Blue had asked. There was a small patch of land that Blue landed on, instead of drowning in the basin. 'See? I told you it was okay to drop me.' He said smiling. 'How can I get back up on the hand?'

It was short lived. As Blue moved around, looking for a part to get back up on the hand, the ground started shaking again, and the small patch of land Blue was standing on started to crack. Ah, this is bad...As soon as the thoughts appeared in Blue's mind, the land gave way, sinking Blue into the basin.