castle_whims | All Hail the Queen

[An hour passes in this strange place. There's silence for a few moments. Then loud talking starts.]

They don't seem to like me... [A young girl's voice, timid and small despite the fact that everyone can hear her.]

Does it matter? If we act like the sun or the north wind, it's no skin off our backs. [A second voice answers... the same voice? Could she just be talking to herself?] You are the Queen. All ways are your ways.

Yes. Alice is the Queen.

[At this statement, the doors quickly open. As the Queen's note said there's a large table filled with tea and sweets in the middle of the audience hall. There's even chairs for everyone. Far from the ground on an balcony is a large throne. On the throne is a young girl, with a small fluffy cat in her lap. The girl smiles briefly.]

I'm Alice the Queen.

[The cat jumps on the railing of the balcony to stare dispassionately at the gathered group before jumping on the throne herself. Within a few seconds a copy of the Queen is sitting next to her, dressed in black.]

And I'm Alice the Chesire Cat. Welcome to our Castle. [There's a dryness to the Cat's voice that is missing from the Queen's.]

I'm sure we can answer your questions! Come, it's time for Alice's Tea Party! Let's begin, Alice.

[Welcome to Wonderland.]

((OOC: It's alright to still respond to the IC intro post and there will backtagging from myself in this post if needed.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Um, in that case, is it okay if I join you?

[Niko's actually going to start gathering some cookies and maybe a plate or two of cake from the table -- she prefers strawberry but she'll grab the nearest reddish one, which is probably cherry -- and then stand here on her tippy-toes waiting for permission...]

I don't really want to shout in a place like this, especially with the echoes and...

[And, well, everyone else talking over each other. It seems way easier just to go to the Queen, obviously??]

Um, what do you think, Alice?

[They huddle together and talk it over. Playing favorites was bad... but cake. Tea!]

We can have a private tea party after, if you'd like. We don't want anyone getting jealous.

... Okay. I don't mind talking in private either, if it's that important.

[There's an obliging smile and Niko takes a seat at the table finally, slowly beginning to nibble her way through all the cake and cookies she's just gathered. Is it two persons' worth? Yes. She can't really push something she's already taken on someone else, though.

Tea party etiquette really is a problem sometimes. Extra helpings it is.]

We can just... talk a little bit now, then? Tell me a little more about yourself, Alice-chan, Alice-tan.

[well if you need help finishing those snacks...]

Oh!

[She notices Mizuki probably like, looking this way or staring at the cake or whatever other cue she's getting -- Niko's pretty good at noticing things like that.

The other girl gets a welcoming smile.]

I haven't touched this other slice, if you want it. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to eat it all, but you're not supposed to put food back...

[Putting her hands together to ask for help!!]

[AI has an examine object feature that you can spam multiple times for increasingly silly responses of the character just staring at the object so there you go.

Mizuki pulls up a seat, sighing in gratitude and relief.]

You're also not supposed to skip three meals a day, and I guess a lot of us are close to that by now.

[To be perfectly fair sudden videogame mechanics make about as much sense as anything else around here or, in fact, anything happening in Niko's canon. Combine the two and having someone do that weird twitchy motion where a character's head bobs back and forth because you keep pressing A and they keep going back to staring into space seems about as logical as you can get. ☆

Complete tangents aside, Niko's just going to obligingly push a slice of the cherry cake towards her! True to her word it's pristine and even already has a fork arranged with it.

She's going to get busy pouring tea too, because that's how she do.]

They do have a space to feed us, at least. I found it while I was looking for the exit, but I guess it's true that the meals are timed...

Oooh...

[This fork is even at a cute angle! Mizuki feels no guilt about the cake. There's whole fruit in it, it's fine.]

I guess when you look at it that way, then starting tomorrow we should get used to the regular meal times. [Smile fading.] Even though staying overnight is creepy.

[They've been through a lot, so sweets therapy is certainly the least they could be indulging in.]

Mm, it's not too different from being in school. Ah, I go to a boarding school, so a meal schedule is pretty normal. It depends on what they think of as meals.

[Well, maybe that's where she got her manners. Either way, she doesn't seem to be complaining about getting dessert first of all. There's a moment or two where she contemplates her bite of cake, pops it in and then just thinks over it for a moment.]

But at least we'll all be together in the starting area when we sleep.

Oh, that makes sense. At my school we just have lunch together... Is it overseas?

[One of the common reasons to have a boarding school. Either way, she's envisioning all kinds of fancy things like enormous pots of breakfast stew.]

The castle's shape kind of stands out once you walk around it, huh? There's not exactly a lot of emergency exits. Most rooms only go one direction. [In the sense that there's a front door and a back door, but not a left door or a right door.]

Mm, we'd like that.

[Queen Alice seems to be a little better.]

Well... I used to read a lot. Books about mice and rabbits or a girl from Kansas. Books... I don't read many these days but I like them.

[There's somehow pride in the other Alice's words now as she puffs out her chest a little.]

Yeah. A good story is one you never want to end!

[Niko's just going to daintily sip tea and continue nibbling here and there as she listens! She definitely looks fascinated, possibly because keeping up with the Alices is kind of like watching a mirror talk to itself, possibly just because she's enjoying the conversation?? The jury is out.]

Hmm, I noticed there was a pretty big library here, and even a lot of movies that were based on books. I don't read a lot these days, either, since books aren't as big anymore...

It's nice having a library, though. [a little smile here as she regards C!Alice] You like stories too, Alice-tan?

[It's not just the talking that's mirrored. They seem to move in a similar way though there are differences. Queen Alice, the one in white, moves more like one would expect from a nine year old. She bounces slightly on the throne, fussing with her skirt or braids when someone asks a question she doesn't like.

Alice the Cat, on the other hand, is almost motionless. If she was alone it might be considered regal or prim. With the other Alice beside her it's quite a contrast. Her nod at the question is short and while she's speaking positively, it's not quite the same as Queen Alice.]

I do. We all live in a story, don't we?

[Wow, they really are connected in some strange way -- she's not really sure what to make of it, but in the past little while she's encountered people from other worlds(?), possible robots in disguise and decapitation, rude catboys and VCRs. So really...

Having a pair of twins that mirror each other is just as much of a curiosity as anything else. As for her, she swings her feet now and again, but for the most part she stays still.]

Ah, that's poetic! The first letter we got from you was poetic, too.

It was a little creepy, but still... you must have worked hard on that, right?

I did. Verse and rhyme come natural to me.

[She giggles to herself in pride.]

Hmm, it's true, if we're talking about fairytales and storybooks and children's stories, a lot of them are songs or lullabies, right? Rhyme would make sense if you really want to keep with the theme.

[She seems pleased, in her own way, with the consistency of the setting, but maybe it's just that the snacks are real good, too? Maybe that's the real important part of the theme here.

Niko hums a little in happiness as she digs deeper into her slice of cherry cream.]

All of this had a lot of work put into it, right? Getting us here, and setting up the game, and everything... [her enthusiasm dampens a little] I'm still not sure I understand, but it's a little high-stakes for me.

Mm, we do like storybooks and rhymes. As for the stakes, well.

[She nods firmly.]

A game with some stakes is more than one without, right?

All Hail the Queen

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