Chapter twenty-three: Royally Spooked(Refurbished)
Snowflake had been laying reclining on her back with the sun and cool breeze keeping her company until a presence finally appeared nearby.
"Hello?" Snowflake asked curiously, the husky pup still wrapped up in the blue sheet.
"Are you still stuck in that thing?" Marshall asked, drawing even closer as he said this. "You'd think you'd get tired of being stuck in there by now."
"Yes! Hehehe. Actually, no. It's kinda fun under here. Ooooooooo!" Snowflake replied, pretending to be a ghost. She then fumbled around until she slid the blue sheet up, showing her face and the stuffed animals she was hugging.
Marshall grinned and rolled his eyes humorously. Then she noticed the small structure right behind him.
It was fairly tall, all framing of PVC piping that made sort of a trapezoid shape from where she stood, and gave a strange impression on her that she had to speak aloud.
"What's behind you?" Snowflake asked with interest.
"It's our fortress!" Marshall declared, lifting a paw dramatically.
Snowflake gave the object in question a confused look.
"A fortress? It looks nothing like a fort. More like a bunch of pipes twisted up," the husky pup retorted.
"For now." Marshall smiled.. then stepping back inside the empty frame, he placed his paws up onto it and rolled it forward. The doorframe side allowed it to roll right overtop of the small pool and as soon as it was directly above it, Marshall snapped the mechanism on the old computer chair wheels that had been set on the bottom of each joint; locking them in place. Then Marshall came out from under the frame and barked.
"Now guys!" He called.
Then as a shadow soon developed, she looked up to find Skye.
"Heads up!" The cockapoo sang, dropping the material she was holding.
Snowflake's eyes grew as she saw the material drop.
"What is going on?!" Snowflake exclaimed before pulling Marshall into a hug and covering them both under the blue sheet.
"Relax.." Marshall snickered. "It's ok.. look." When Snowflake actually looked, she saw Rocky appear.
"Hiya." He waved, smiling. "Lemme batten down the hatches and set sail.."
"Wrong reference, Rocky." Marshall smirked, shaking his head humorously.
"Oh right, sorry." The mixed breed beamed. "Let's just get you guys set up." Then setting to work the pup matched the velcro strips to their correspondents.
"And that's the last one.." Rocky announced finally. "Have fun guys!"
"Thanks Rocky!" Marshall called back. "So? What do you think now?"
Snowflake looked at the big contraption the pups had put together, then back to Marshall.
"A fort? Nice. So you wanted to play with the stuffed animals in the kiddie pool, in the fort?" Snowflake said, trying to understand her friend's idea.
"Sort of.. we could play.. defend the fortress either one of us could be the bad guy.. or we could pretend one.. either way.. whoever's inside the fortress has to defend it."
"Pretend. We can both protect the fort," Snowflake suggested.
"Well it's all pretend.. but ok." Marshall shrugged. "So.. who are we defending the fortress from?"
"Hmmm. The Dragon of Plushies? The Ghost of Cuddles?" Snowflake replied playfully.
"Hm.." Marshall thought.
"Yes?" Snowflake asked.
"Hmm,.. hey wait!.. That's a great idea! A dragon!" Marshall realized. "We've got our fortress.. we just need a king?.." he hopped up next to the pool and dipped one paw in to sift through the animals and pulled up a bear with a crown and robe on.
"And our queen.." he searched around some more and pulled a bear with a tiara and long gown up, and set it next to the other one.
"And.." he dove his whole upper half into the pool to dig some more, and when he came up he tossed another smaller bear back behind him so that the other crowned, gowned bear landed outside the shade of their tent fortress.
"Oh no!" Marshall cried dramatically. "We've gotta rescue the princess from the horrible, fire-breathing dragon!"
"Yes. I'll save her!" Snowflake said as she ran out of the tent fort to retrieve the princess bear. The husky pup was still clad in the blue sheet with the other plushies on her shoulders.
"Hurry, Royal Knight Snowflake! The Dragon is coming!" Marshall called from the shelter.
Snowflake nodded, grabbing the princess bear and running back to the fort.
"She is safe, Royal Knight Marshall," Snowflake replied, setting the bear down.
"Hooray!!" Marshall cheered with a triumphant hop, then picked up the king bear.
"Royal Guard, Snowflake." He spoke in a regal voice for the bear. "Because of your heroic deed.. you shall henceforth be known.. as Sir Snowflake the Bold and Brave! All hail! All hail!!"
"All hail!" He echoed for the other animals.
"Well done, Sir Snowflake!" He finally remarked as himself, also in a regal tone. "Well done."
"Thank you, everyone. It's my royal duty to protect our king, queen and other fellow stuffed animals from the dragon. Everyone deserves to be safe in our kingdom!" Snowflake replied happily, enjoying the celebration she was given.
When she set the animal down it sat up straight for a moment before falling on it's side and the two pups burst out laughing at their back and forth shenanigans.
"Ok.. so.. what now? We saved the kingdom.. What do we do with it?" Marshall wondered, beginning to think again.
"Well, we could explore or hang out with our friends in the kingdom. Who knows? Maybe part of the castle is haunted? Hopefully not though," Snowflake suggested as she too thought of what to do.
"Haunted?! Why?" Marshall cried, becoming nervous.
"Why must there always be a part of a castle that is haunted!!" He wondered openly in a semi-dramatic way.
xxxx
Unbeknownst to the two, a certain husky pup was listening in.
"A haunted room in the castle? Hehe. Time for me to have some ghostly fun!" Ned whispered to himself. He went to Snowflake's vehicle and pulled out two big white sheets. He covered himself under both of them before sneaking over to the fort.
xxxx
Snowflake gave Marshall a hug.
"Relax, little buddy. We don't know if part of the castle is haunted. We haven't even explored every room yet. Who knows what wonders this castle holds! Let's go explore," Snowflake said kindly.
"But.. there aren't any rooms in this tent?" Marshall pointed out. "How do we know when we've "entered" a new one?"
"Well this is an imaginary castle, so we just use our imaginations," Snowflake replied.
"Oh.. uh.. h-yeah.." Marshall chuckled lightly. "Um.. I guess that might work."
"Unless you just want to explore the tent," she added.
"Isn't that the same thing though?" Marshall asked.
"Oh yeah. Anyway, let's explore," Snowflake replied with a chuckle.
"Sure.." The Dalmatian complied.
Strolling around the small enclosed space, the pups let their minds paint the scene for them.
"Oh what lovely tapestries." Marshall commented, scanning the walls carefully.
"Yes. I wonder if any of the rooms have labels or if we need to go door to door?" Snowflake said as she explored the walls. She looked down the hallway too, seeing the different doors.
As they looked, they didn't notice the sheet covered Ned sneaking into the fort.
They searched along the back wall of the tent meeting each other in the middle from both sides and somehow imagining the same thing.
"Nice statue!" They said at exactly the same time as they looked at one another, then burst out laughing.
"Yeah. Let's check out these doors and see what we find," Snowflake commented.
As she looked around, the husky pup found some old wooden boards and paint.
"Aha! We can use those to label what the rooms are," Snowflake said, pointing towards the wood and paint.
"Huh?" The Dalmatian wondered, cocking an eyebrow to show he was confused.
"Like this," Snowflake commented as she opened a side door. She looked inside to find different clothing and random objects. Snowflake closed the door before going to the paint and wooden boards. She took a paint brush in her mouth, wrote something on one of the wooden planks and then carried it over to the door. The plank read "Royal Fool Room".
"Hm.. ok.. then.. let's put that onnne..here." He carefully set the sign at a random point against the wall, then turned back to Snowflake.
"Ok what's next?" He asked.
"We go from room to room and see what's inside them. Then we use the wood and paint to label what they are. You take the left side, and I'll take the right side," Snowflake explained.
"Got it.." Marshall winked. "Wait.. How are you gonna explore the rooms like that?" He asked the sheet-wrapped pup.
"Come to think of it.." He thought further. "How did you make it this long like that?"
"I have no idea. The blue sheet never flew off of me. No wind, and I think me moving around made it just stay on me. It is on my head and neck after all," Snowflake replied thoughtfully. "Kinda like a cape that doesn't want to come off."
"Huh.. guess you've been pretty lucky today.. more so that we have been anyway." Marshall shrugged. "Ok.. now what's behind door number one!"
Pretending to open a door and peering in, he stood there a second then closed the imaginary door.
"Kitchen." He said, staring straight over at her with a blank look.
"Label it. I'll check the door across from the kitchen," Snowflake said before checking the other door. The room was filled with nothing but tons of space, was silver looking, and had a circular ceiling.
"Hello?" Snowflake called out. Her voice echoed throughout the room.
"Cool!" Snowflake exclaimed before turning to Marshall.
"I think this is the ballroom. That or we have a spare," Snowflake commented.
Marshall had just put the label on the door he'd just opened, then looked her way.
"Label coming your way!" Marshall called, tossing a board at her.
Snowflake caught the board with her paws before placing it on the door.
"What about the paint? I need to label it," Snowflake commented.
"There's another cup right there by you." Marshall said, nodding to the blue paint sitting right next to her.
Snowflake looked, before taking the paint brush and painting in blue the word "Ballroom" on the wood. She put the wood on the door before turning to Marshall.
"Okay, looks like we got two doors or so left. Let's find out what's in them!" Snowflake replied.
Marshall opened a door..
"Music room?" He said, thinking this to be a little strange.
"Odd. Must be for festivals. Hold on," Snowflake said before opening the other door.
What she saw surprised her.
"On guard!" came a familiar voice.
"On guard! Heyah!" came another familiar voice.
"Huh? Guys?" Snowflake asked, peeking in.
Standing right in the middle of the room, surrounded by armor, swords, axes, sticks, and other objects, were Zuma and Rocky. They were fighting with fake swords, and wearing armor. Upon hearing the husky, the two friends turned to face her.
"Hi Royal Guard Snowflake!" Zuma and Rocky said happily, stopping the fight to wave.
"Did thy come to join us in sword practice?" Zuma asked kindly.
"No, I'm looking at rooms to label them so people and pups don't get lost in the castle. I'll let you get back to practice. Just don't kill each other, or Ryder will have all of us in the dungeon!" Snowflake retorted matter-of-factly.
"Got it! See you later," Rocky responded before Snowflake closed the door. She awkwardly turned to Marshall.
"Knights battle practice room. Did not expect to see Zuma and Rocky in there. Anyways…" Snowflake said in confusion.
"Ok,.." Marshall shrugged with ease, then immediately made a double take. "Wait.. Rocky and Zuma were in there? How is that possible?"
"In my head. They aren't actually in here with us. But yeah, I saw them practicing in the room. Speaking of, let's keep going," Snowflake explained before painting a board with the words "Battle Practice" on it and putting the wood on the door.
"Huh.." Marshall vocalized. "Ok.." then strolling over a ways, he opened another door and looked in.
"Got a bedroom over here." He said, beginning to label it.
Snowflake open the next door to find the same thing.
"Another bedroom here," Snowflake commented, before getting a plank of wood and labeling it too.
"Well at least it was nothing crazy this time." Marshall reasoned. They came to a spot somewhere in the middle of where they had been and both looked at one another.
"Uhh.. ready for this?" He asked, figuring this to be the final door.
"Yeah…" Snowflake said nervously.
Ned smiled as it was time to put his plan into action, for real.
"Ooooooooooooooooo! WoooooooooooooOOOOOooooooooo!" Ned said in a spooky voice.
"Uhhh.. what was that?" Marshall asked, becoming even more nervous.
"I don't know Marshall," Snowflake retorted anxiously.
"OOOOOOOOOOO! Boooooooo! WOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!" Ned exclaimed louder with his spooky voice.
"Ahhhhhh!! What's that?!?!?!" Marshall cried.
"Ahhhhhh! I don't know! It's coming from the room!" Snowflake cried out, getting scared too.
Then the female husky pup thought of something.
"Marshall, I think this is the haunted room you mentioned earlier. I didn't think it was real though!" Snowflake commented in a horrified realization.
"But you SAID IT?!?!" Marshall hissed. And hearing the howl again.. the two grabbed each other in a hug.
"I said 'maybe'. I didn't actually think a room was haunted!" Snowflake retorted, scared.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" came the ghostly cry of Ned under the sheets.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Snowflake screamed, as she jumped, still hugging Marshall. The blue sheet flew off her and into the air before landing on top of Marshall completely.
"Noooooo!!!!!!!" Marshall hollered, the two now trying whatever they could to get out quickly.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Help! Get me outta here! I'm so sorry, buddy!" Snowflake cried out, as she too flailed about under the blue sheet, trying to get out.
xxxx
Ned waited patiently, wondering what mayhem the two buddies had gotten into.
"Woooooooooo! Oooooooooooooo!" came Ned's ghostly calls.
"Aaahhhhhhhh ITS STILL HERE!!!" Marshall cried running forward.. and for a moment the sheet held him.. but then it came loose and he tumbled forward.
"Come on, Snowflake! Let's get outta here!!" He called, looking back at her still struggling.
"But we still need to check the last room!" Snowflake replied, as she struggled under the blue sheet.
"Why bother!?! The haunt is already here?!" Marshall cried.
"We still need to check it out. Besides I think the haunting is inside the room. We're just hearing it from outside the room." Snowflake returned, still under the blue sheet.
"W-why?" Marshall wavered, regrettably looking back at her again.
Snowflake was able to poke her head out of the blue sheet, getting somewhat free.
"Why? Marshall, buddy, we're the PAW Patrol. We've faced many challenges before, so I think we should be able to handle a haunted room in our pretend castle. Besides, I'll be with you the whole time. And we can use my blue sheet to hide so you won't have to be scared seeing anything. Someone's gotta deal with that room at some point, so why not now? Trust me," Snowflake responded sympathetically.
Marshall stared at her a moment longer.
"Ok fine,.." He sighed finally. "I trust you.." He came back over to her and nosed his way under the sheet, turning around under it so he could poke his head out.
"Ok.. I'm ready, let's do this." he said.
"Okay," Snowflake said as the two blue sheeted pups opened the door and walked inside. The room was big and mostly empty, apart from the sheet covered furniture that surrounded them. They closed the door and walked inside.
"See? This isn't so bad," Snowflake commented.
"Boooooooooo! WOOOOOOOOoooooooo!" Ned said in his ghostly voice. The double-sheeted husky slowly walked out and heading towards the two buddies.
And here we are again! Posting a new chapter with more fun to be had!
To clarify, for certain, a majority of what is described here is make believe so they weren't ACTUALLY in these places. Also that scene with Rocky and Zuma(lol!) is in fact fake; as indicated by Snowflake thereafter. Please enjoy and I'll see you tomorrow! Thx!!