50
By: Aviantei
Act I: 50 Minutes/Abandonment
Scene V: "For you, that's the value you place on fifty minutes."
By the time Rhea finished eating (it was delicious, despite her souring mood), the Fifty Minute Room's comfort whatever had finally kicked in. As such, the dining hall morphed into what Rhea could best surmise as a combination of the school's cafeteria and kitchen of her former home, most of the walls in varying shades of blues, all brighter than the sky. The furniture stayed in the muted brown range.
Familiarity stung Rhea at recognition, before she realized that the surroundings did make her feel better, and stepped back into the hallway to find her new room. Presuming it to be in the same direction as Axel's, she set off down the hall, which had undergone a similar change. The carpet remained plush under her feet.
A few people passed, heading towards the now cafeteria. They all came from the same direction, bolstering Rhea's confidence that she had chosen the right route. In particular, a man with shaggy pink hair and a woman with her blonde hair in pigtails caught Rhea's eye, both too old to attend her school.
Like the town with no name that Rhea came from, the town Roxas had taken her to was equally peculiar in that it didn't have enough people to fill its buildings. Aside from the few teachers, Rhea hadn't seen many adults in the time she stayed there, and even less people who lived there. Temperies was the same sort of sad in-between world that didn't have a solid purpose unless you needed it.
The Fifty Minute Room reminded her of that, too, just so much more isolated and condensed. Rhea held no expertise in how the worlds worked, but the place around her gave off the same quiet vibe as the other two she had lived in. She couldn't decide whether to be sad or comforted by the fact.
Soon enough, she stumbled upon a hallway where each door bared a nameplate. Rhea hadn't seen any such thing when she woke up, but perhaps that was part of the change, too. Axel's room was close to the end of the hallway, the one to the left baring the name Saix. To the right, Rhea found Sir (despite just having been in the kitchen when she had left minutes ago) hanging up a fresh nameplate and dusting his hands off on each other, satisfied with his work.
As expected, Rhea was written across it in blue, the letters in a neat calligraphic script.
"Just in time," the nondescript man said. It seemed the visual comforts didn't quite apply to their hosts. Rhea didn't mind too much, but she would need more time to adjust. "Again, we're sorry about the delays, but everything should be set up now. We hope your stay in the Fifty Minute Room will be even more enjoyable now."
Rhea stepped away from Axel's door, resisting the urge to pound on it. That seemed like it would be against the rule of disturbing guests, and she didn't feel like going back to school if she got kicked out. "Don't worry about it," she said, stepping inside her own room as Sir opened it for her. "You've been helpful for sure. I'm imposing on you, so you don't have to go overboard for me."
Sir shook his head with a soft smile. "The satisfaction of our guests is how we keep our business running after all. If you feel our comfort programming is lacking in any way, let us know and we'll make adjustments accordingly."
Rhea didn't know how to feel about being so pampered. Even in the town with no name, she had never experienced something like the Fifty Minute Room. The Temperies dorms didn't compare, either. The place she stood is was a singular experience.
"How do you keep this place running?" she mused, crossing over to the couch in the center of the room. In shape, her new room reflected her dorm room in many ways, down to the furniture. The main difference was in the size it covered, with double the floor space. Extra furniture, such as the couch, filled in the space in an arrangement similar to the pure white set that had been in Axel's room. The colors matched the rest of her Fifty Minute Room perception, dashes of yellow thrown in to spice up the mix.
Sir considered the question from the doorway. Realizing he wouldn't move without permission, Rhea gestured for him to come inside. Sir crossed the threshold to the room, but not much further, letting the door close behind him.
"In which way do you want to know?" he asked, determining the question too much to be answered without clarification. Rhea guessed she had been rather broad. "A number of aspects go into managing the Fifty Minute Room. I don't mind answering your questions, of course, but I don't want to bore you with the details."
Rhea dropped down onto the couch, folding her arms behind her head and stared at the ceiling. The image of a blue sky, clouds drifting over its surface, met her. "I guess like…financially?" she tried. "You don't take money, but you have all this stuff and food to give us. Seems like an extensive charity if you ask me." Heck, if there were places like this and Temperies, the amount of people clustered into the town with no name seemed unfair.
"Ah yes." Sir put his hands together, the fingers creating a steeple against his pastel colored sweater. "Miss Rhea, how much value would you say you put into fifty minutes of your time?"
"Huh?" Rhea looked to her new bedside table, which held an alarm clock identical to the one in her dorm room. It didn't display any numbers, though. "Well, I guess… That's a class period. Or lunch hour? Or like…ten lower floors of the castle, five higher ones." It was a sunny afternoon's relaxation, a car ride with Roxas, looking for the distortion into the castle.
Sir nodded, crossing farther into the room. He took a seat on the opposite couch, keeping the dull wood coffee table between them. "So for you, those are the things one can accomplish in that period. For you, that's the value you place on fifty minutes." He drew his finger over the table, glowing yellow lines creating images of the tasks she had mentioned. He circled them, then drew an hour towards the new image of an analog clock. "By sacrificing that time, you are losing the opportunity to accomplish these things. That value powers a deeper magic, and that is the core of our energy and resources."
Rhea screwed up her face, trying to put together the logic. "But aren't we…gaining time by being here? You said no matter how much time passes inside, it's just fifty minutes for the guests outside." Sir nodded. Rhea pointed to herself. "I mean, I've already been here for several hours. This is totally a better deal for me to just hang around here and catch up on sleep."
"That may be true, but would you be able to attend class or traverse in the castle you mentioned while here?"
"No, I wouldn't."
"And that is what you're sacrificing by using our services." Sir tapped each golden image in turn before they went up in shimmering sparks. Watching a projection of herself vanish wasn't very encouraging. "Of course, the value you place on the specific amount of time you give up to us is less important than the concept to yourself. Not that your perception of the matter changes how we process your payment." Sir stood and gave another bow, hand to his chest. "If you don't mind, Miss Rhea, I have other work to attend to. But don't hesitate to call on me or my wife should you need it."
"Oh, yeah." Rhea sat up straight, glancing at her knees in embarrassment before looking up. "Thanks for answering my questions. Really—"
But Sir had already vanished, and Rhea was alone again.
Pinpricks of pain and light assaulted Rhea's eyes. She gasped for air and slid down the wall. With her spotted vision, the black creature almost blended in with the shadows. It wasted no time in diving for Rhea again, a small but sharp tackle striking into her stomach once more. The blow carried enough force to make the girl cough up a thin trail of saliva and bile.
For a moment, her thoughts held regret and fear. And then survival instinct kicked in like an upset horse, and Rhea lashed out at the black creature. Her palms struck the side of its head, sending it tumbling backwards to the opposite wall. It twitched, then jumped back onto its feet, tilting its large antennae while pupil-less yellow eyes observed the person who had just attacked it.
Rhea caught enough wind to scream.
The screech made the creature hesitate, and Rhea scrambled up onto her feet. She bolted down the hallway, but, not having any intentions to turn back before, didn't know the path she had come from. Rhea rounded corners at random, putting space between her and the creature, its footsteps fading several halls later.
Rhea propped herself up against a wall, failing to take controlled breaths to get her airflow back. Her legs still burned from the climb up, but she refused to sit. If the creature found her again, she didn't want the disadvantage of being prone. Tears pressed hot lines down her cheeks, adrenaline and regret spiking her heartbeat.
I was wrong…
She didn't have much practice in fighting other than scuffles as a child, and she hadn't watched anyone to even have a guess of what to do. She hadn't brought anything for protection, not even a knife. She had almost grabbed one upon leaving, but had chosen not to.
That amount of hesitation should have tipped her off where even her check that the door to the castle was still open had failed.
Small footsteps approached. Rhea clasped her hands to her mouth, trying to stifle her sharp breaths—or sobs, she wasn't sure anymore. Her palms pressed shaky imprints of sweat onto her face. She didn't know what the creature was, but it had attacked her with intent. Her stomach still burned from the impact. There was a chance it could kill her. No.
Rhea had walked into the castle knowing it would kill her. And now she wanted out.
The door didn't lock behind me. If I can just get downstairs, I can get out. I can make it.
The creature's footsteps continued, but Rhea could tell what hallway they were coming from thanks to the echoes. She slipped off her boots, goosebumps trailing up her legs at the press of the cold, stone floor against her feet. Keeping her steps light, Rhea headed in the opposite direction of the creature. For now, at least, putting distance between her and the enemy held the priority.
Rhea checked around each corner before she rounded it. Every few minutes, she paused to listen in. After what felt like the eternity of a nightmare, the footsteps faded. This time, Rhea had kept track of her path and began to retrace her turns. She could do this. She just needed to stay calm.
That calmness almost shattered when she checked around her next corner to find that the creature had a friend.
Beside the strange black creature stood another one, identical in size, shape, and form. Or maybe the one that had attacked Rhea was elsewhere, and the ones in front of her were two new ones. She preferred the first option, as it kept her enemy count to two. Rhea pressed her back against the wall, stopping her boots before they could smack into the stone and give away her location.
Damn, damn, damn…
Panic tore her mental map, already shoddy at best, into complete shambles. Had there been another way back to the stairwell? She couldn't say. Everything blurred together, and nausea threatened to upend whatever Rhea had left in her stomach. She swallowed hard and prayed that when she checked around the corner again, the creatures would be gone.
They weren't.
If anything, it looked like they were conversing amongst themselves, and a soft chittering reached Rhea's ears. She didn't understand a bit of it, other than the creatures collaborating couldn't be good for her. Left without options, Rhea backtracked once again, choosing another hall in hopes that it would lead her to a stairwell.
Which it did. Just one that was going up instead of down.
"You've gotta be kidding me," she whispered before she could stop herself. Rhea's boots slipped from her hands, thumping against the floor. The sound echoed in the hall, competing with the rush of blood to her ears. No matter how Rhea tried to look at it, going up wouldn't help. She needed to go down to get out, unless there happened to be a window facing outside she could jump from.
The thought brought Rhea sinking to the ground and curling into a ball. I made a mistake. I'm sorry. Please save me. Please take me home. She muffled her fresh cries into her knees, not wanting to be found by the creatures even if sitting still was just making it easier for them.
Sure enough, the advance of small footsteps crept up the hallway. Rhea looked over her shoulder to find a cluster of the black creatures approaching—five sets of bulbous glowing yellow eyes, five monsters. Rhea forced herself to stand, back to the stairs. The hall ran in a straight line, all exit blocked by the black creatures' march. Several sets of dangling antennae twitched, and the monsters chittered, as if deciding an attack plan.
Then the one at the forefront charged forward, hands raised just enough that Rhea could see the short points they formed at the end as it leapt straight at her. She had imagined a number of scenarios of her end before coming to the castle, but that had not been one of them.
It had been what she had wanted, though.
"But I don't want to die!"
The cry surprised Rhea, as did the twack of her boot crashing into the creature's head. It smacked against the wall, twitching from the impact. The rest of the creatures reacted, all rushing the girl head on. Armed with only footwear as a blunt weapon, Rhea spread her feet, ready to hold her ground.
Don't be afraid. It's not your time to go yet.
The calm words echoed in Rhea's mind, the voice of a girl she had never heard before. It spoke with kindness. Relief and confidence fell over her mental state, even as the monsters started their own attacks. Rhea shouted in defiance as she struck out, knocking two out of the air just as she had done the first. Her next swing went broad, and the third creature scratched a long, thin, stinging line through her shirt and up her forearm. The last of them attempted to tackle Rhea's leg, and she kicked it in the face, feeling only a cold, dark sensation against her skin.
You should retreat. It'll be too easy for you to get overwhelmed like this.
"But the only way out is the stairs…" Rhea protested, fending off another blow. As much as she hated to lose ground, losing her life stood as the other option. No matter how much she struck at the creatures, they still stood up, and the outnumbered her five to one.
She didn't need combat or tactical training to know the odds were not in her favor.
If you go upstairs, I promise you'll be safe. There's someone very kind and strong up there. He'll help you get out.
Rhea sunk her elbow into the next approaching creature's stomach, taking steps back as she could without letting down her guard. Listening to a disembodied voice counted close to stupid, but her whole plan in coming to the castle had been stupid, really. There wasn't much other choice to be had in the moment.
Taking a risky move with turning her back, Rhea spun around and sprinted up the stairs, a gash of pain scouring down her calf in the retreat.
To Axel, the Fifty Minute Room had always been bathed in the peaceful orange glow of twilight. So long as there were empty walls, windows let in the faint brush of fading or growing sunlight. The windows didn't open, and the outside beyond them just an illusion, but Axel felt at peace in the atmosphere regardless.
It had been here that he had recovered.
And it had been here that he had found—
The redhead snorted at the new door next to his. For the longest time, his room had lied at the end of the hallway. With Rhea's arrival, the halls had expanded to make room for her place. Her door reflected faint light off its cream surface, just like all the others. He thought of knocking, but decided against it. Judging by her reaction at breakfast, she was still hurt from the loss, and he wouldn't do much to help.
That much, Axel could understand, so he respected it. For the time being.
Why did I invite her here? Why did I think that was necessary? He kept asking himself that, even if the answers were obvious. This girl had known Roxas in the year between. In the year while Axel had spent more time sulking and coming to terms than anything else, she had stood by Roxas's side and fought the best she could. She had filled in the gap where Axel once stood.
He wanted to know what had happened. How Roxas had been. What he had accomplished. Both inside the castle and out. Rhea was the key. Axel wanted that time back.
You can't get back the time you give to us, Dear, Madam had said a year ago, when Axel had first arrived. That's our absolute rule.
Axel had memorized it, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He knew exactly what it meant for his past, present, and future.
But that wouldn't stop him from trying otherwise.
[Avi's Running Out of Clever Comments Notes]
Chapter five shouldn't seem like such a point of celebration, but I'm glad we made it to this milestone nonetheless.
Thanks to Savage Kill and patamon642 for the review, favorite, and follow this past week. I'll keep the chapters coming in turn!
I'll admit, pulling together these chapters so they would have just the right amount of content was tricky. I do think the flow came out nicely, considering.
Next Scene, "They won't respawn here for a while." will be up next Saturday. Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[09.11.2017]