RPF Hushed Lands (a fairytale)

IC: Sterling Steele
The Dream of the Cab - the bottom of the staircase

Sterling pulled his head up out of the water and whipped it back, causing drops of water to spray behind him from his now wet, limp hair. Of course, the rest of him was soaked now too. And all to no avail.

"Nothing," Sterling said, turning around to look at Kiara.

That was when he realized that it didn't seem like water was coming in anymore. Things seem to have stabilized. At waist level, throughout the entire first floor of the castle.

"Hey! I fixed it!" Sterling said with happy surprise, "Water stopped." He smiled at Kiara. "See? Daring feat right there."

He crossed to what appeared to be the dungeon door and was about to open it when he stopped with a sudden thought. "Might not be a good idea to go down there. Even if it didn't flood, all this water would go down there. We should see about trying to find a way to drain the castle first. Got any idea how we could do that?" This was her castle, after all.

Tag: @HanSolo29

Lyanna
The Dream of the Maiden; her bedroom chambers

---

His voice was soothing as they walked. It seemed as if he was telling her a lullaby. Beautiful lands that continued to move on as she was stuck in dreamland. A flowing river that continued to gush as she slept. And now she had ensnared him in the trap. If she had known a way to not become involved in all of this, she would’ve taken it. But instead she continued to live an idyllic nightmare with different princes and never-ending slumber.

Prince Phillip’s voice had been so entrancing that Lyanna never even realized they were there. She saw a rose from the garden out of the corner of her eye. Lyanna stepped away from the prince and looked out onto the silent gardens. She thought she could remember them in all their glory. Lyanna reached up to her cheek, and was surprised to find a cool tear. She gently swiped it away before the prince could see.

“I believe, Ser Phillip, that we should first search the shadowed area under the tree. I. . .” She didn’t know how to explain it to him in a sane way. “I can’t see to remember what exactly lay under there.”

But before they could even begin to walk over there, Lyanna laid a hand on his chest.

“I must be crazy, my prince. Please forgive me for forgetting to tell you my name.” She curtseyed, blushing some. “I am Princess Lyanna. It is a pleasure to meet you.”


TAG: @Jabba-wocky; @Winged_Jedi

IC: Cahira

He wanted to know how to do penance for wronging her.

Fall upon your sword, Cahira thought. She'd never seen a man do that before, and she wondered if it was dramatic as the books said it was. Besides, Ivan angered her; there had been too many princes already, so what did it matter if this one died now, or just faded away when nightfall came?

But if there was even a chance...

"Oh, get up," she said impatiently. "We have to find a way to break the spell upon this place by nightfall, and you can't help me do that while you're on the floor." Cahira rolled her eyes, and turned toward the staircase. "I'm going downstairs. If you get the armour and sword back on quickly, you might even catch up." A few peals of silvery laughter drifted back up the staircase as she headed down, leaving Ivan to gather his things as best he could.

TAG: @Winged_Jedi

IC: Natalia
In the dream of the Scales

This was an…interesting turn of events. Natalia had never dreamed up two princes at the same time. And this newcomer was unlike the other princes she had dreamed of in the past. His rugged appearance was nothing like the prim, perfect princes she usually found invading her dreams, and his rough speech carried an intresting accent. Prince Troilus instantly brandished his rapier, but Natalia raised a hand to stop him—one thing she hated was when they tried to stake a claim on her.

Approaching the newcomer, Natalia gently scooped up the two kittens and placed them on her bed before returning her attention to this second prince. “Might I have your name, sir?”

TAG: @trimaj, @Winged_Jedi

IC: Billy-Jo Seedhauler
In The Dream of The Scales...

The Princess motioned for them to lower their weapons, and Billy-Jo being the gentleman that he was did so. Then she asked for his name. "Of course ya can, milady. I'm Billy-Jo Seedhauler, from the far off kingdom of Bakwerdia. Pleased to meet ya. I'm... gonna assume that you would be Princess Natalia?" He bowed, and looked at the kittens asleep on her bed. Such cute lil' things. "How can I be of help to you?" He eyed the other prince. Hopefully this one gets to leave soon. Having two princes around could only be awkward.

TAG: @Winged_Jedi, @JediMasterAnne

IC: Prince Phillip
The Dream of the Maiden: The Garden

"Princess Lyanna," he said, returning her curtsy with a deep bow of his own, "It has proved a great pleasure to meet you."

Doing so, he read from his own face and voice the things he had not yet consciously admitted. The whole gesture was suffused with an earnestness much deeper than he could usually achieve with such well-practiced courtesies. This had been pleasant. The journey worthwhile. She was well-mannered, a good listener, and put him at ease. As far as all this place was from what he had expected, he was discovering a strange proximity to his hopes.

But she seemed nervous, yet. It was what had silenced her, when she struggled to suggest a place to look. He looked again to where she had pointed, and found his own stomach churning slightly. An uncast shadow. A blight, at once neatly contained and sprawling unruly. A malignant otherworldly void of light. If there was any witching here, and any evil, he suspected it started there. In the place Lyanna couldn't recall.

"Let's go then," he agreed after a moment. He didn't say what he'd started to believe. He never pledged protection aloud. But he had begun to telegraph all sorts of things without being aware of it, and the announcements were more than all his words.

TAG: @spycoder9, @Winged_Jedi

Princess Lara
Chapel - Dream of the water-carrier

Oh well, Father Fortune. "My companion is the Rpince of the week, kissed him already, with tongue and without, didn´t help. A good kisser though." She said this as if she was talking the organisation of her household. Routine. So many princes had come before, although Father Fortune might or might not remember them. Other things were more important now. She would in a moment give all her attention to the church, for now . . . there was something else that cuaght her interest. "What do you have behind your bag, Father?"

She gave link a look and begin to circle the blasphemic positionend priest to the right, hoping Link would do the same to the left.

Tag: @MitthFisto, @WingedJedi

Hymperlink - Link
Chapel - Dream of the water-carrier. . .possibly.

Blushing at the frankness of the Princess so openly to the Priest as though it were nothing to speak of such an intimate matter openly. It was rather a shock, but then again she did seem to have a way with cascading words endlessly. As she started her game of circling the Priest after giving him an odd look. Sighing he reached forward to put a steadying hand on the Priest's shoulder. "Father, tis it not better to indulge in this small thing? She fancies the rolling of fate within the pews and a steady path with stones turned is likely to lessen the tongue later."

TAG: @WingedJedi , @KiraRomar

IC: Kiara
The Dream of the Crab - Flooded corridor

The response to her declaration about him taking action did very little to thrill her. In fact, it was the least thing she had expected of him - he actually dove into the murky water and within moments, had disappeared from view. That left her all alone in the rising water, her mouth agape as she stared at the place where he had been standing just moments ago. "Sterling!" she heard herself cry as her eyes frantically searched the surface of the water, hoping that he would reappear unharmed.

She couldn't say how long she waited at the bottom of the staircase with the water nipping at her toes, but she soon became aware that it had grown awfully quiet. The rush of water had ceased for the time being and it quickly dawned on her that the water level had stopped rising. And still, there was no sign of her daring prince. Did he manage to trigger something to stop the flow of water? Biting her lower lip, Kiara dared to step forward into the murky brown water, wincing as the water rose to her waist before stopping. Well, maybe this wasn't so bad, now if she could only find some kind of sign that Sterling was okay...

And then he finally surfaced, gasping for air as he waddled his way back to her position. "Nothing," he said before looking around and taking note of the current waterline. Judging by how surprised he looked, Kiara suspected that her earlier notion that he had done something to cause the water to stop flowing had been wrong. Still, knowing him, he would probably try to give himself all the credit. "Hey! I fixed it! Water stopped. See? Daring feat right there."

Kiara smiled at his comment - she had been right. How predicable. Still, she couldn't deny the fact that she was happy to see him and that he had come back all in one piece. For that reason alone, she decided to humor him. "Well, I guess it's a start," she said playfully, coming closer to him. "Good job."

Even as she spoke, he was already in the process of accomplishing his next feat - opening the dungeon doors. He started to yank on the heavy door barring the way, but stopped before he could crack them open. "Might not be a good idea to go down there. Even if it didn't flood, all this water would go down there. We should see about trying to find a way to drain the castle first. Got any idea how we could do that?"

Drain the castle - well, she supposed that would need to be done eventually, but what about breaking the spell? Maybe there was a way to accomplish both at the same time. The easiest way would be to allow the water to drain out the nearest exit, which would be the gardens. And the poem had mentioned flowers, which the garden had a plentiful amount. Besides that, a flower garland had been left upon her mattress...perhaps there was a connection there.

"The garden," she stated simply, looking over at him with a twinkle in her eye. "It's the closest exit to our position and maybe there's some connection with the flowers. The poem mentioned flowers, after all. You said there might be a connection yourself before deciding to come down here."

TAG: @Trieste

IC: Sterling Steele
The Dream of the Crab - Ground floor

"That makes sense," Sterling said, appreciatively, "Come on--you can get your dress a little wet, right?" She did have a point about the flowers and a link to the garden. Maybe there'd be something useful out there. Like a bilge pump or something like that. Every self respecting castle should have one of those. Besides, with luck it'd be sunny and warm out and he could dry out a bit from his delving. "Or is part of the curse that water can melt you?" Sterling kidded as he trudged towards the gardens.

TAG: @HanSolo29, @Winged_Jedi

OOC: A quick note- should any of you wish to leave the game, for whatever reason, please let me know. No grudges could possibly be held. This is, after all, only a temp game, and perhaps you have tired of it or no longer have the time for it. A handy advantage of the dream format is that the story can easily be adapted to incorporate player departures. Should you wish to call it a day, so to speak, do not hesitate to inform me.

---

The Gambling Priest- Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi

In The Dream of The Water-Carrier...

The priest raised an eyebrow at the news that Lara had kissed her prince, but did not comment. He seemed nervous when she asked what he was hiding, and was reluctant to indulge her. It was only when Link mentioned "rolling of fate" that the priest sighed, and held out his hand. What he did and said next was new to the Princess's dreaming.

In the palm of the Priest's hand were two six-sided dice, carved from bone.

"Beneath this floor," he explained, "we once stored the bodies of the dead. Many faithful servants and courtiers have been interred in the crypts below. But the enchantment that put the living to sleep has also woken the dead. Strangely, the only way to control them seems to be with these dice. Their souls are bound by games of chance, as if they were devils on earth."

He stooped toward the floor behind the altar, and lifted the stone, revealing a hole and a ladder. An unnatural wailing echoed up from the depths.

"I can introduce you to them, if you wish."

TAG: @KiraRomar, @Mitth_Fisto



In The Dream of The Scales...

Troilus seemed taken aback by the new arrival, and he fumed silently beside the window, rocking on the balls of his feet with one hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Maybe I...ask," he said slowly, ignoring the newcomer and turning to Natalia, "we see your...parents? Ze King, ze Queen? Zey sleep on ze throne, oui?"

He finished with a relieved sigh, having gotten through the sentences successfully.

TAG: @JediMasterAnne, @trimaj



In The Dream of The Maiden...

Phillip and Lyanna proceeded together toward the darkened region of the garden, and as they walked, the sun seemed to shift in the sky. Colour drained from their surroundings as they moved closer to their destination, until at last they could look behind them and see the splendour of the castle completely washed out into black, grey and white.

The royal gardeners slumbered in the strange shade, still gripping the tools of their trade in their hands: rakes, shears, forks. An old but beautiful woman stood over them. She was auburn-haired, with blue eyes and long fingers. In some ways she resembled Lyanna, except that her skin had a pale emerald sheen.

The symbol of the mythical Ouroboros, the serpent that eats its own tail, was tattooed upon her forehead.



"Well met, Your Highness," she said, addressing Lyanna. "I see that today's companion is a quainter specimen than most of his predecessors. He seems amusingly noble."

TAG: @spycoder9, @Jabba-wocky



In the Dream of The Crab...

The previously bickering pair- now on somewhat friendlier terms- waded together through the water, until they reached the gardens.

Some of the flooded moat had spilled over onto the grass, creating a treacherous brown sludge beneath their feet. Fortunately, the weather seemed to be exceptionally pleasant, and a warm sun shone in a rainbow sky.

Around the back of the castle was something close to a bilge pump that they could use to divert some of the water. It was an enormous wheel previously used to channel sewage. If they turned it they would be able to release water through the passages down into the cesspool. It was no job for a princess, but it would take two of them to turn the wheel.

To their right were the rose gardens, where roses of all description could be found. They seemed to almost bend their stems towards Sterling and Kiara, as if encouraging them to come and say hello.

To the left were the regular flowerbeds, where flowers from every corner of the world found a home- including the ones which had together made up the garland in Kiara's room. Small wooden squares jutted from the dirt, each of them carrying a description of the flower they stood beside.

There was one final area of the gardens, just shy of the briar thorns, which was completely new to Kiara's dreaming. It was a long, thin lake. The water rippled and glinted in the light, but it was an unnaturally bright emerald colour, as if a dye had been filtered through it.

TAG: @Trieste, @HanSolo29



In The Nightmare of The Serpent-Carrier...

Having passed through lands of death and shadow to get to the castle, it was appropriate that Char found himself standing in the bowels of a demon's lair. The grey walls were scorched black in places by some forgotten fire, and the wind chattered ominously about him.

He had possession of a yellowed map of the castle grounds, acquired from a fearful merchant, far outside the briar. According to the map, there was a garden to the rear, and a chapel. Nearby were the throne room and library, and beneath him were the dungeons. The banquet halls lay in the east wing, and the bedrooms lay in the west. The princess specifically was marked as being located in the westernmost tower.

As he studied his surroundings and his guide, Char may have been unaware of the goings-on behind him. Along the path up to the castle, the bodies of the dead were beginning to stir...

TAG: @Chukles38



In The Dream of The Ram...

Ivan hurried after his laughing bride-to-be, struggling to affix his breastplate once again while simultaneously sheathing his sword. He clanked down the stairs behind her, disturbing the otherwise perfect silence.

This version of the castle was a proud and majestic stronghold. The stones were smothered by vast rugs and warm furs, and flame-coloured banners hung from every wall. A magnificent tapestry hung in the entrance hall, depicting the legendary battle that had secured the kingdom for Cahira's ancestors. The trumpeters at the entrance were asleep and snoring in each others' arms, their instruments laid out at their sides.

All paths led, eventually, to the throne room in the north. The chapel was to the east, with the gardens, and the library to the west with the kitchens and banquet halls. Below were the dungeons.

"Your parents sleep on their thrones," said Ivan. "I have not been able to stir them, though perhaps you shall have better luck. The Minstrel and his...troupe...are awake in the dungeons, and that blasphemous priest of yours is awake in the chapel. All others remain in the land of nod."

TAG: @Rilwen_Shadowflame

IC: Prince Char of Gwynthor
In The Nightmare of The Serpent-Carrier

Prince Char stood for some time examining his surroundings in conjunction with his map. The interior of this castle was very much like the exterior, which hardly surprised Char. This princess must be quite the woman. If she could curb her almost certain insatiable blood-lust, perhaps they might actually have a future. Though Char had not particularly come here with the intention of finding a bride, he was always open to suggestions, should the right argument be made. However, he did have this curse to break. A small matter, to be sure. Do not be mistaken, he had no sense of nobility in freeing the trapped princess. His motivations were far darker, perhaps as dark as the walls of this keep, though, for the time being, those motivations remain his own.

And so stood Char, examining the map as he considered his course. Several places promised to bring about clues to this curse, but in the end he could only seek out the princess. After all, every story he'd heard revolved undeniably around the maiden fair. Should he seek to understand this curse, perhaps he'd best start with her. Gingerly, he rolled up the yellowed map. Char took one more moment to look around him, noting the poor state of things. Well, when one's servants all fall asleep for years on end, that is to be expected. Were it up to him, Char would have the lot of them flogged. The thought made him chuckle as he began to seek out this tower, his cane clicking on the stone floor in time with his steps.

TAG: @Winged_Jedi

Princess Lara
In The Dream of The Water-Carrier...

"Sure." She eyed the priest suspicion. His story did not reveal, why he felt like hiding the dice. But then she sighed and nodded. It was after all a dream and nothing else. not the kingdom was slumbering, but she was. "Tell me how to do this." She gave him a forced, polite and charming smile as she came closer. So the dice was they key to control of the dead? Well, that meant she probably wanted that dice, did she? She preferred sparkling gifts, but what could you expect from a priest? A stupid little . . . "Show me how this works, Father. Because I am all about games, myself." With a flirting wink she extended her hand.

Tag: @WingedJedi, @Mitth_Fisto

IC: Sterling Steele
The Dream of the Crab - The Garden

It was sunny out. Nice to be lucky for a change. Except the garden was muddy, which he discovered wasn't very fun. He had to step very gingerly through the mud with his boots. Every time there was a distinct sucking noise and resistance that indicate that the mud had a desire to keep the boot. These happened to be his favorite pair of boots (okay, so maybe they were his only pair of boots that didn't have any holes in them), so he wasn't inclined to oblige the mud in this regard. Sterling spotted the pump against the side of the castle.

"Hey, what do you know, you do have one!" Sterling said. He took three steps towards the pump and then stopped and turned around to look at Kiara standing by the portal back to the castle. Yeah...Kiara...princess...mud...those were three things that weren't go together. "Just wait over there. I'll do the...bilging--" Sterling decided that was now a word, "--and then come back."

So, slowly, carefully Sterling trudged across the glooping mud of the garden. It might be a nice garden when dry, but at the moment Sterling was having a hard time appreciating it. Eventually, after what seemed an inordinate amount of time and effort, Sterling got to the bilge pump, which really wasn't all that far away. He rested against it for a moment to catch his breath.

"Everything's great over here! Doing swell!" he called back to Kiara, "Just going to be a second!" He panted for a couple seconds before he began to turn the wheel.

Which didn't move.

Sterling huffed for a second and settled his feet deeper in the mud. He pushed again, trying to create that turning motion.

No luck.

"This must be one of those pulling wheels," Sterling said through grit teeth. So he reversed position and pulled.

Nada.

And he pulled again.

No dice.

And again.

Now Sterling was tired and he slumped against the wheel. He could feel it wanting to go but it wouldn't budge. So, wearily, he turned around and headed all...the...way...back to the entry to the castle. "You..." puff "...really..." huff "...could..." puff "...use..." huff "...an easier..." puff "...curse..." huff "...Kiara," Sterling exhaled. Any hope of his clothes drying out was now probably ruined by the fact that under the sun he was sweating like crazy. He'd probably catch an ague or something like that (Sterling didn't know what an ague was, but he knew people got it).

And so, he came back to where Kiara was and bent over, hands on his knees, now tired. "I'm...gonna need...your help," Sterling said, "The wheel's...heavy." And so, after a moment, he straightened his back and bent at the knees for proper princess piggybacking. Though Sterling had nothing against the curvy lasses (in fact, truth be told, sometimes he preferred them), at this moment he was glad Kiara was a tiny one. Mainly because he was pretty certain that one ounce more than Kiara weighed would probably result in the a tangle of two bodies in the mud--likely with Sterling face first. And really didn't want to have to do the rest of the rescue caked in mud.

"Hop on," Sterling said, in case she didn't know what he was offering.

TAG: @HanSolo29

IC: Phillip
The Dream of the Maiden: The Gardens

As reality came unseamed around them, Phillip knew the truth. This was indeed what was wrong. As the air grew strange and the world drained of color, he finally understood Lyanna's plight. He only wondered whether they weren't already dead. Or rather, whether they would be allowed to cross back out of this hell. To shut such questions out, he focused only on the soft give of the ground beneath his feet, and the even breath of his lady, beside him. So long as something existed, everything else was recoverable. They were just coming to the strange shade now.

He hadn't noticed the old woman from afar back. He was almost certain she had not been there at all. Her appearance repulsed, and in a strange way, so too did her words. He hadn't known their had been others. Failures? Or was Lyanna already promised? Warmth crept up his collar. Her familiar tone was disquieting, too. While it was of course possible that the woman was likewise cursed, and only resigned to her fate, Phillip could not help but think her role more sinister. But whatever he thought, he had acknowledged that he was by now far beyond his own world. He could no longer trust the instinct that called to his sword hand.

He looked to his Princess, confused, and wordlessly mouthed her name. With an equally silent proficiency, he found steady footing for battle. It was a delicate moment. But whatever was coming, he trusted her to tell him. And when he knew, he'd be ready to act.

Tag: @spycoder9

Lyanna
The Dream of the Maiden; The Gardens

---

"Well met, Your Highness. I see that today's companion is a quainter specimen than most of his predecessors. He seems amusingly noble."

Lyanna stared at the elderly woman. Phillip looked very puzzled as he watched both of him. He was only a little bit more confused than she was.

The black and white castle had been her first worry. Did she ever remember that happening before? Not that she could recall. And then she saw the elderly woman. Was it herself she saw in the woman? A near mirror image. The red hair that trailed down her shoulders, those deep blue eyes, and those very long fingers. And then there was the symbol tattooed onto her forehead.

The snake that ate itself.

“That he is.” Lyanna replied. “Calmer, and much more pleasant company. Can I ask you how you are aware of the others? And more importantly, who you are?"


TAG: @Winged_Jedi, @Jabba-wocky

IC: Kiara
The Dream of the Crab - the Garden

There was no point in keeping up with appearances by the time they were through wading through the dark water. Her dress was completely ruined and her hair...ugh, it was so tangled and matted that she would never get a brush through it. Even now, as they entered the garden and Sterling ran off to crank some pump, Kiara was too distracted by her hair, of all things, to really take notice of what he had said. With his big mouth, she was sure he would fill her in later anyway,

Reaching up, she gingerly touched a clumped portion of her long, golden hair and desperately tried to run her thin fingers through it. They got stuck several times and each time, she winced in pain as she struggled to free them. This was pointless! She was supposed to look her best for her rescuer! Not like some drowned rat with matted hair. She curled up her nose at the thought. Eww... With that lovely thought, perhaps she was lucky he had stuck around at all!

A shadow appeared above her at that moment and she quickly dropped her hands from her hair and jumped back just in time to see a very disheveled looking Sterling approach her.

"I'm...gonna need...your help," Sterling huffed with those big puppy dog eyes. "The wheel's...heavy."

What? What wheel? Snapping her head to the side, she quickly surveyed their surroundings, taking note of the flower beds, the roses, the lake (Lake? That hadn't been there before...) and...the wheel. The big, old, slime-encrusted wheel. Of course he would want her help with that! Anything to break her out of her element and get her down and dirty. Ugh.

"This is going to make your day, isn't it?" she commented as she crossed her arms across her chest and hugged herself. Might as well get this over with, she was already wet, muddy and totally miserable. "I've bet you've just been waiting to see the beautiful cursed princess get her hands dirty..."

"Hop on," Sterling said eagerly as he knelt down to accomodate her.

She rolled her eyes at the display. "I knew it," she mumbled, but followed his lead. Grabbing his shoulders with both hands, she hoisted herself up onto his back. "Let's just get this over with. Don't forget we're here to study the flowers and look for clues, not wallow in the mud."

TAG: @Trieste

Hymperlink, aka Link
Dream of the water-carrier in the church

Rubbing his eyes he groaned, zombies. Why did it have to be zombies? A horde of undead were living underneath the church, with the only bright spot their addiction to gambling. What joy. While the Princess got a room in the tower the priest got the job of dealing with the dead. Looking as the Princess very nearly dived in he looked with wide eyes to the priest of fortune.

True the princess was a pain in the - but that's not the point. "Priest, is it safe?"

TAG: @Winged_Jedi , @KiraRomar

IC: Natalia
In the Dream of the Scales

'Billy-Jo Seedhauler' was hardly a name she expected a prince to have, but Natalia was not one to criticize anyone based on a name. But before she could give him a reply, Prince Troilus made an attempt to reclaim her attention.

"Maybe I...ask," he said slowly, ignoring the newcomer and turning to Natalia, "we see your...parents? Ze King, ze Queen? Zey sleep on ze throne, oui?"
He struggled to get the words out, and was clearly relieved when he finished.

Natalia knew that he spoke true--her mother and father were asleep in the throne room somewhere downstairs, and though in some dreams she did manage to wake them, in others they remained oblivious to her attempts. And the verse she had found in the empty book remained in her thoughts. To her mind, though she was uncertain of anything, looking to the sky meant to look up, so rather than going down to the throne room, she might do better to start searching for clues somewhere above her.

"I do not think it will do any good to go to them right now," she said to Troilus, before addressing both of them. "Nothing around you is as real as you think it is--the curse is still very much unbroken, and all of this is little more than a dream." She was never very sure of the wisdom in telling the princes this, but she felt that they should know what they were really getting themselves into. "It takes more than the fabled kiss to break it, and we have to find the true way ourselves. And I think we should start at the top." She indicated the upper floors of her room.

TAG: @trimaj @Winged_Jedi

IC: Sterling Steele
Dream of the Crab - The Garden

"This is going to make your day, isn't it? I've bet you've just been waiting to see the beautiful cursed princess get her hands dirty..." Kiara said before she allowed Sterling to heave her up on his back. Sterling began to plod through the mud very carefully so as not to fall in the mud with Kiara. Because if she was complaining about this then heaven knew what she'd say about that.

"I knew it. Let's just get this over with. Don't forget we're here to study the flowers and look for clues, not wallow in the mud," Kiara instructed.

"Look, it's not--" huff, "--like I want to ignore any clues--" puff "--it's just I think there are--" grunt "--some in the dungeon. But--" oomph "--if there are any here we'd better take note," Sterling said. Kiara still had the garland around her neck where he'd draped it. At least it'd be easy to compare the flowers from that to the ones in the garden. What significance that could have he didn't know. But it did seem likely there was a reason why she'd have flowers in her bedroom.

Eventually they got to the pump and Sterling gently crouched to let Kiara get off. He straightened and leaned against the wheel to recover for a second. "Hey, upside--this thing works and there won't be any water in your castle anymore. Might even let the mud dry out a bit so I don't have to carry you everywhere." He stood up straight and put his hands on the wheel. "Ready to give this a shot? One...two...three..."

Tag: @HanSolo29