castle_whims | TWO TALES END (Golden Ending)

Reunions and Meetings

It's a couple of hours since the end of the torment. The eternal game is over. A Little Brother, a little run ragged, runs around the Academy and the depot telling anyone who will listen that something is happening. The Queen, a friend of theirs, is visiting. She contacted the sheep while everyone was busy. They explain that she, along with a group of children, will be coming to the depot to meet everyone. She also can help get those who want to go elsewhere, get there. The Queen, it seems, found a way to open doors to other worlds and times. This could be helpful to get home as well as bringing old faces to the depot, if not Closetland itself.

It takes about an hour but eventually a golden door opens on the deck of the platform. A young girl in full petticoats dressed in blue stands before everyone. Even if her smile is nervous at the sight of so many new people she gives a quick curtsy. She shrinks back shyly as she speaks as a few other children come out of the door, too.

"I'm Queen Alice. The sheepies tried contacting my castle and told me what happened. I'm... very sorry about what must have happened. As my friends will tell you, you don't have to worry about the castle or her--uh, Nursery Rhyme--anymore. She's not a King anymore. I'm just a kid like everyone here, um. My friends helped me make this body so I'm sorry if it's a bit surprising. Um. I can help you get home if you'd like..."

Queen Alice goes onto explain that she can open doors to any world your character wants to go to. She can also gently pull other people through doors if needed. The sheep add that the teleporter to Closetland won't allow them to go there. The Academy is for students and staff only, after all!

The residents of the Castle seem nice enough, at least. Maybe now is the time for new friendships after shared two very long grueling experiences? Perhaps you just want to return to a safe place.

Two stories end quietly in the middle of a dark but calm ocean.

OOC

Welcome to the reunion post of Round One and Round Two. Players who played in either round only, please. You may play or NPC castmates of fellow characters if you'd like, though! Please no bringing in of Round Zero NPCs, please. They preferred not to come. If your character has no place to return to or ever needs a place to rest, Alice will offer them a room at her Castle provided they behave themselves. Powers are on there unless trouble arises. She's a bit sensitive after being drafted into being a murdergame accomplice, after all. We hope you enjoy yourselves and this will be the final post for round 2 of Castle Whimsical. Thank you, everyone!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Isabella Swan's face should be immediately recognizable to most of the students at Ira Academy, seeing as her photos were placed on the memorial wall for Edward, during the time he was dead. This is obviously she--small and soft and fragile looking, with long dark hair and big dark eyes.

What the pictures did not convey is that Edward clearly had at least some basis in his frantic over-concern, because she cannot even make it through the door before somehow managing to trip over her own feet and falling flat on her face.]

Shoot!

[Thunk.

She shoves herself up as quickly as she can, glaring down at her feet and the floor and the door frame behind her as if they had betrayed her, cheeks bright scarlet from blushing furiously as she tries to fade into the background. Hopefully nobody noticed her humiliating fall. She glances down next at the note that's crumpled tight in her hand, and bites her lip for a moment, pulling it gently open to look at it again.

Hi Bella,
I'm really sorry to bother you like this. I'm Edward Cullen's sister, Alice Cullen. I gathered that he dropped you off the other night, but you can tell by now that he never came home. And if you really got the chance to talk, you know how scary it should be that none of us can get a hold of him no matter how hard we try. Unfortunately there's an organization that has threatened our family if we talk too much, so I've realized that the only person I can ask for help is you. It's not like you owe him anything, but I really think this could be fate. If you want to see him again soon, please stand in your closet at 9 PM tonight with the door closed and answer the knock.

FOREVER your friend after this,
Alice Cullen
P.S. there's nothing wrong with the color red, but we're getting a little tired of it lately. You've rocked the blue hard around school before and you'll do it again!

The closet thing had worked, somehow, so presumably the rest was true as well, and if that was true it was entirely possible Edward needed her. Which really is the only thing that pushes her into talking to the nearest person, though she's blushing even harder as she does, and is positive that she is being judged.]

Um. Do... is.... I'm um. Looking for Edward Cullen?

[ooc: THIS IS ALSO NATALIE, HI, I figured I'd let Bella have her own time to play around before she just starts getting lumped into Edward's posts when she finds him!]

[Well, someone noticed that fall, and now there's a Dalmatian looking at Bella with concern, a few smaller Dalmatian pups hugging onto him tightly.]

Uh, yeah, he's here, but...are you okay?

[At this proof positive of witness to her humiliation, Bella can feel a portion of her soul die, and her blush grows just a shade deeper. But, after looking over in the direction that the voice had come to with a dismissal already on her lips, she sort of trails off in the middle of the first word.]

Yeah, it's....

[There's only a small pile of dogs over there, and she just does not know what to make of that, so she is definitely looking around to try to find the speaker, but can't really resist going over to give her hand to be sniffed before attempting to give tummy rubs. Who could resist giving puppies tummy rubs? She's still looking around as she crouches down, though.]

Uh. Hello?

[...right, this is still weird for humans. After so long in this school where every human understands him perfectly, that fact completely slipped his mind.

He will give the offered hand a sniff, since it's only polite once she offers, but when she tries to go for belly rubs-]

Hey, wait, no, I'm the one talking here!

[AS MUCH AS BELLY RUBS MIGHT BE NICE IT'S GONNA GET REAL AWKWARD ONCE THEY HAVE TO ACTUALLY SPEAK TO EACH OTHER SO HE'D RATHER PASS]

[Bella freezes in that same position, eyes growing wider as she starts to wobble slightly until she suddenly just sits down. Luckily she's already pretty close to the floor, because she just kind of drops.]

Uh. You... are...

[Shoot! Think.]

Can...

[um]

It's... it's really you?

[Okay, all considered she is starting to strongly suspect this is some kind of really, really weird prank, and is trying to glance around herself to see if there's like, a camera maybe? Or maybe this is just a dream.]

Yes! I promise! You're not going crazy or anything!

[Yeah, Dylan's brain is in a similar, but notably different place.

Meanwhile, the other pups clinging to him are staring. Their voices are clearly different from Dylan's own, sounding much more young.]

Does she understand?

She must speak dog too!

Since when do humans try to learn dog though?

Holy crow.

[Okay. Oooookay. She is not at all convinced that she's not crazy yet, since the voice coming from a dog saying she's not crazy probably should not be considered valid proof of this, but you know what? Sure. For now they may as well go with this.]

Um. Hello?

...

I'm sorry, this is... kind of weird for me.

I. Uh. You said you knew Edward?

[The commentary on her knowing how to speak dog she just sort of gently sets to the side for now because she just has no idea how to respond to that.]

[Before Dylan can answer-]

She does! She does understand!

Woah!

Cool!

Hey, hey! Calm down!

[Turning away from Bella for a second to address the trio of pups.]

Dafydd, Donut, Delphie, can I have a minute? Please?

[The pups look at their brother, then the human, and back to their brother before speaking in unison.]

Okay!

[Once they run off, he turns back to Bella.]

Sorry about that, not really used to humans understanding us. Anyway, yes, I do know Edward! He's...a good friend.

[putting it lightly...]

[Bella just stares for a long moment after the puppies - who she can still understand - as they file off, nibbling in a distracted, worried sort of way at her lower lip as she does. None of this is making much sense to her, and ugh, this is humiliating enough.]

Oh.

[Honestly what did his sister even send her here for?]

Well, um. He's been missing, I guess? Actually missing, not just absent from school. I... I kind of thought that it might have been my fault, except, um...

[Finally, not really sure where to go from there, she offers the note, slightly damp now with nerves, and then pauses.]

Wait, can dogs read?

TWO TALES END (Golden Ending)

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