Once Upon a Gundam
A Tale as Old as Time
Chapter II: Enchanted Castle
As Mwu and Endymion made their way to their destination he started to get confused. Nothing seemed to look familiar. Maybe it was because of the time of day or maybe it was something else. "Dammit we should be there by now" He said looking around. "Maybe we missed the turn?" Soon they came to a fork in the road. There in between the two was a sign. He held his lantern up but he couldn't quite make out the wording written on them. They were faded as if they hadn't been replaced in years. Making a quick decision he grabbed the reins of his horse and pulled him towards the route to the right. "Come on let's go this way" He instructed.
Endymion looked towards the right. All he saw was a dark overgrown path. He turned his head the other direction and could see a much more inviting route. Deciding to think for himself he attempted to go left instead. Mwu pulled the reins again towards the right, with a bit more force this time.
"Come on, Endymion!" He yelled to show who was in control. "It's a short cut buddy. I promise we'll be there in no time." Finally the horse listened and began walking down the dark path. As they continued down the path Mwu found himself becoming more and more confused. "This can't be right, where the hell did you take us?" He asked blaming his poor horse. Suddenly out of no where a swarm of bats swooped in spooking the horse. "Look out" He yelled.
Without warning Endymion began to run. He ran as fast as he could, the trailer on the back bouncing behind them. He kept running through the woods avoiding anything and everything in his path. Before long they came to an edge of a cliff and nearly toppled down it.
"Back up! Back up! Shhh…. it's ok boy, good boy" He said in calming tones as he rubbed his mane. "Steady. That's good." Still scared Endymion bucked Mwu off and down on to the ground. "Endymion!" He yelled from the ground but before he could get up and grab the reins again the horse ran off leaving him at the edge of the cliff. He was about to yell again when he heard growling. "Oh no!" He gasped.
He looked up and sure enough up high on the hills was a pack of wolves. A serious look crossed his face before he took off running. It wasn't long before the wolves started the pursuit of their new prey. He could tell they were catching up to him. He wouldn't' be able to outrun them forever. He looked back for a split second to see how close they were but this only caused him to trip and stumble down a hill. He landed in front of a set of gates. He looked up and was surprised to see a castle.
He had remembered as a child hearing rumours of a castle deep in the woods. Some believed that it was the winter castle of a great royal family. After it fell into disrepair it was abandoned. While others something very different. They said howls could be heard from within the walls of the castle. Many believed it was haunted. As he grew up the rumours slowly dissipated until they were only tales told to scare children. He shook his head trying to get those thoughts out of his head.
Standing up he ran to the gate. His only hope to survive was to get through them. He grabbed the locked gates and began frantically shaking them. "Help! If someone's in there please!" Then, as if by magic, the gates seemed to open by themselves. Without hesitation he ran in to escape the wolves. He whipped around and slammed the gates fast, the swift movement caused his hat to blow off onto the ground. He stared down the wolves for a few seconds. They growled one last time before running off.
He took a deep breath, relieved to be safe from them. He turned around and looked at the large building behind him. He began wondering if he should go in or not. This decision was quickly made for him when the cold rain started. Leaving his hat behind he ran up to the big castle doors. He banged on the door hoping if someone was there they would hear him. Slowly the door creaked open and he entered cautiously.
"Ah….Hello?" He said walking in.
Over on a near by table sat a candlestick and a standup clock. But these inanimate object weren't as inanimate as one would assume. They opened their eyes and watched the young man over by the entrance. Barely whispering the two began to communicate.
"He must have gotten lost in the woods" The candlestick remarked.
"Quiet!" The clock said whispering through gritted teeth. "If we're lucky he'll go away"
"Huh? Is someone there?" Mwu said thinking he heard someone. He spun around but saw no one.
"Shut it Athrun… not another word" he warned.
"I don't mean to barge in or anything, but my horse took off on me and I could use a place to stay for the night" He yelled his voice echoed through the halls.
Athrun looked over at his friend. His eyes pleading to help this poor soul. "Come on Yzak…. Have a heart" he begged.
He scowled at him and placed a hand over his mouth trying to shut the candlestick up. "Shut it already" He whispered. Frustrated Athrun retaliated by place his lit candle hand to Yzak's. "Ahhhh! Dammit!" He yelled in both pain and anger.
"Of course Sir! You're definitely welcome to stay!" He informed the visitor.
Mwu looked around confused. He didn't see anyone. "Who said that" he asked looking around. The castle was so dark it was hard to see anything. Seeing a candlestick on a nearby table he walked over and picked it up. He continued to look with one eyebrow raised.
"That would be me" Athrun said tapping on his shoulder.
Mwu spun around thinking there would be a man standing behind him. Instead he only saw an empty entrance just as before. He was starting to get spooked. Maybe the stories of this place being haunted weren't stories after all. "Where are you?" He asked his voice slightly trembling. Athrun tapped him again this time in the head. Mwu looked over at the candlestick. His eyes opened wide seeing a pair staring back at him.
"Hey"
"Ahh!" He screamed startled, dropping the candle onto the floor. He took a few deep breaths watching as the object picked itself up. "In-incredible!" He managed to say.
Yzak started hopping over to check out the situation. He looked up at the man skeptical of the situation. "Great look what you've gone and done now!" He said angrily. "This is just gre- Hey!" He yelled as the visitor picked him up.
"How this heck does this work?" He asked fiddling with the clock.
"What the hell do you think you're doing! Put me down" Mwu started tickling his feet. Yzak stifled a laugh the best he could, but to no avail. Then the inventor moved to twirling the hands on the clock's face around. Before he could yell at the man again his privacy was invaded one more time when the door to his pendulum was opened. With his hand he quickly slammed it shut catching Mwu's finger inside. "Do you mind?" Yzak asked disgusted. "You don't see me poking a prodding at you!"
"Oh…. sorry. It's just that I've never seen a clock that… aah… I mean… aah aah aah-chooo!" Unable to stop it from happening Mwu sneezed all over the clock's face. He looked at the man more ticked off now as he used his clock hands as a sort of windshield wiper. Mwu set him on the floor before sniffing and stifling a cough. It was clear he had caught a cold from being out in the rain.
"You're soaked sir" Athrun said concerned. "Come on follow me, you can warm up next to the fire"
"Thanks" He said following close behind. Angry Yzak came running after them.
"Are you crazy!" He yelled not noticing the figure in the shadows that was watching them overhead. The trio entered the den, he watched horrified as the man started to sit in the large cushioned chair in front of the fireplace. "Now I know you're insane! Get him away from there! That's the master's chair!" He protested before a footstool came running by him barking. "Dammit this can't be happening right now" He said to himself.
"Huh? Hello there fella" Mwu said looking down at the footstool. He was both confused and delighted. The footstool propped himself under the man's feet. Soon a coatrack enter and removed his cloak. "Amazing service" He remarked.
"Grrr…. That's enough! I'm in charge here and I sa-" He was interrupted when a tea cart came rushing by him knocking him to the floor. "It's like a zoo in here" He said to himself in frustration.
"Oh my! You look positively dreadful" the elegant kettle said. "Nothing a bit I tea can't fix" she boasted "It'll warm you up in no time!" She tipped forward pouring the hot liquid into a teacup next to her. Once filled it hopped over to Mwu.
"Damn! This is no time for tea!" Yzak yelled still trying to get control of the hopeless situation.
Mwu picked up the cup and placed it to his lips taking a large sip. "You know you shouldn't drink your tea so fast."
Started by the cup he moved it away from his face to look at it. "Well hello there" he said smiling. He was almost in a trance looking at the various animate objects that in a normal situation would be inanimate. He was both in awe and slightly terrified. He was broken from these thoughts when the door to the den burst open and a strong gust of wind blew through the room. The wind cause the flames from both the fireplace and Athrun to blow out.
Yzak stood up making his way under the chair to hide. He wasn't prepared to deal with this, not right away anyways. The small tea cup jumped out of Mwu's hands and hopped over to the tea kettle, taking an almost protective stance. "This isn't good" The cup said. Mwu looked at the cup confused before looking towards the doorway but there was nothing there.
"Who the hell is this" He heard something growl. The voice was coming from behind him.
Athrun relit his flames and run to intercept. "Please Master, let me explain. He was lost, cold and wet…" He tried to explain but his Master just growled loudly in anger blowing out Athrun's flames once again.
Yzak walked out from under the chair. He couldn't help but smile at Athrun being the current target of the Master's anger. "I told you this was a bad idea. Serves you right" He said with confidence before turning his attention to the towing figure. "Master, they just wouldn't listen to me-" He tried to explain but the Master just growled downing out Yzak's voice.
Mwu was still sitting paralyzed by fear. He could tell he wouldn't stand a chance if he tried to run. Feeling a brief moment of bravery he turned his head and look to the right. There he only say the tea set. Taking an unnerving deep breath he looked towards the left. His eyes opened wide shocked at what he saw. There standing on all fours not far from him was something he could only describe as a beast. He seemed to have horns like a buffalo, arms and body of a bear, the jaws, teeth and mane of a lion, the tusks of a wild boar and the legs and tail of a wolf. But one of his feature stood out the most, his eyes. They seemed to peer right through him. They were unmistakable the amethyst eyes of a human. What was this creature he wondered.
"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here" He asked quickly with rage in his voice.
Mwu was scared. He couldn't remember ever being this scared in his entire life. He couldn't help but think he was better off with the wolves. He swallowed what felt like a lump in his throat as he stood up. "I-I" He stuttered. "I got lost" He managed to say.
The beast began to approach him "You're not welcome!" He yelled.
"S-sorry" He said backing up against the fireplace. He back soon pressed up against it as he stared lost in the beast's eyes.
"What are you staring at!?" He asked.
Mwu looked toward the doorway. For the moment his path was clear. "Nothing!" He yelled before turning and running towards the door. But his efforts were pointless. The beast quickly ran blocking the entrance with unseen speed.
"You come to stare at the beast?" He asked angry. "Find me unusual?"
"Please I didn't mean any harm! I just needed a place to stay honest!" He pleaded.
"Fine" He said calmly "If you need a place to stay I have the perfect place" Before Mwu could get the chance to attempt an escape again the beast scooped him up. The door slammed behind him engulfing the den in darkness.