Normality, Shattered

Marya listened as Adriane answered her question. So she wanted to get home too. The neko had no problem with this Crazed Levall, but it was a dangerous place--much more so than her home. The receptionist came up with a silver tray holding three plates. Another chef followed in behind with a hot kettle and three cups. The women set the tray, kettle, and cups on the table. Each plate on the tray had hot breakfast food on it: a couple of hotcakes drizzled in sweet syrup with a dollop of butter, two decently-sized pieces of cooked sausage, and some scrambled eggs. Marya checked the kettle to discover there was tea inside. She ignored it for now since she had root beer and it seemed Adriane had her own beverage.

"If you want to contact your boss, you can use my cell if you want," she spoke up, resisting the urge to dig into the delicious food. Instead, she dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. It still had surprisingly good service, just as it had the night before. "I called my mom last night to let her know where I was...kinda. It was more to let her know I was okay since I don't even know if I'll be able to make it back home in the time I told her." She held out her hand with the phone in it for Adriane to take if she so desired.

"Oh!" Adriane spoke up rather surprised at the offer, but took it nonetheless. Taking the phone and flipping it open, she began to punch in the number and hitting call. "My thanks, Miss Marya." She added quickly as the tone began to ring in her ear. Once.... twice.... three times.... it kept ringing and a mental sigh escaped. When the tone finally ended and the voicemail came on, Adriane patiently waited until the beep and then began her explanation. "Master Renval, i-it's me, Adriane Gundershine, the maid you hired the other day. I-I-I wanted to apologize for not showing up yesterday, I ran into some... complications. J-Just know that everything is fine, I understand if you're dissatisfied, and that if I still have my job I will be in as soon as I possibly can. Thank you."

She flipped the phone off and let all of her nerves fall out of her, shaking slightly in the process. Handing the phone back over to the younger girl, Adriane continued to shake just a bit. "Th-thank you, Miss Marya. At least now he knows why I didn't show up."

Authur had heard the knock at his door, but he was still lost in lucid dreams, quite unwilling to leave just yet. He struggled to remember exactly why he should when he remembered he was meeting someone important today. There were things to do. But there were memories and new sensations still alien to him, waiting to be discovered.

Wake up, little fool. If you don't leave soon, you'll be stuck here.

The voice sounded almost affectionate. He could just hear an implied 'with me' in the command as well. As something started pulling him up from his subconscious, he struggled feebly to grasp at its wispy tendrils before finding himself completely awake and blinking at the bright light pouring in from the open window. The breeze let in tantalizing smells that the vampire's mouth watered at, but he ignored them in favor of finding his torn clothes. He quickly pulled on his pants, shaking his head at the slashed hole in the thigh, then went to examine his neon shirt form the day before. It really wasn't even worth wearing anymore, so he tossed it and put on his jacket without it.

He considered not wearing the boots but thought he was enough of a sight already. After pulling them on too, Authur stopped to consider the fact he wasn't burning to a crisp from the daylight so happily beaming into his room. Okay, so some things weren't like in the movies. Still, he'd stick to Buffy vampires for things to look out for. "I do not sparkle." He affirmed aloud, with a grim smile. Definitely not sparkling = a giant plus.

As he went for his blades however, the smile vanished with an exasperated groan. He'd forgotten to clean them. Successfully overcoming the urge to slap himself in the face, he gathered them up and went to the sink, head turned down to the point he couldn't see the mirror, and ran some warm water. He used a nearby washcloth to carefully wash away the now crusty stains, watching the sink start to turn a pinkish color. This was going to become a thing, he thought, gently scraping way at the parts he could reach (he had no doubt that there was probably some that had gotten into the internal bits, which he had no idea how to get to). The blades were always going to have to be cleaned after a day's fighting.

After finishing that up, Authur dried them off and belted them back on his arms, balling his fists to see if they were still functional. The blades both popped out with a smooth chink and the vampire grinned, fangs gleaming over his lip. He left the bathroom without a second glance, then unlocked his door and peeked out, hoping the that lady he assumed owned the inn wasn't standing around for him to startle again. He might actually try to eat her this time. She wasn't around, so he sauntered his way over to Marya's door and knocked.

Marya took the phone gently from Adriane and placed it on her lap. "I know how you feel. If we just let the people from our own worlds wonder where we went, there'd definitely be trouble of some sort," she said solemnly, fiddling around with the phone a bit. She knew the battery wouldn't last forever. Luckily, she had fully charged it later. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she'd be able to keep it juiced during her time in this dimension, or if that would even be necessary. She hoped that the king, as grand as he seemed, would be able to open some kind of portal with weird magic and send them back home. She felt like a total dreamer and sighed when she heard the knock.

"Come on in, Authur," she called out to her friend who was the only one who could have been at the door. Not to mention her ears had picked up on his footsteps. It was odd, her ears. She was able to pinpoint many things just based on sound alone. Her eyesight had gotten sharper as well, but she loved having such amazing hearing. In response to her thoughts, the ears seemed to twitch happily, though she certainly wasn't as happy as she could be. She felt a strange sense of dread, almost as if she were a criminal on trial waiting to hear from the jury on whether she was innocent or guilty.

The vampire opened the dorr without hesitation, though why he would he didn't know. He did notice the tension in the room as he shut the door behind him, looking the two girls over and noted both their tense expressions and nervous body language. Authur felt his left eyebrow rising. "Did I miss something?" By the looks of things he might have. He was more than ready to just move on and get on with their day (they really needed some new clothes), but you had to be wary of these things with girls. Having two of them be his best friends had at least taught Authur something.

"I was just letting Adriane use my phone so she could call her boss and explain what happened, though she left all the crazy stuff out of it," Marya explained, sighing and tucking her phone back into her pocket before taking another swig of root beer. "I called my mom last night and gave her a similar explanation...sans the crazy. Just didn't want her to worry. Do you have your cell phone on you, Authur? You should have a signal too if mine does, but I guess that's not really important right now..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about the meeting with the king in a few hours. He had seemed to charismatic and charming during his speech last night. The people of this dimension seemed to love him, gobbling up every single word that came out of his mouth. He seemed to have garnered utmost respect from his council members, including Reynal and Claudia. The thought of Reynal reminded her of the letter.

"Reynal told us to go out and buy some new clothes," she spoke up suddenly, making sure to look at Adriane as well since she was addressing both of them. "He gave us some pocket cash for those expenditures, but said anything else had to come out of our own wallets. I...kinda subconsciously took some cash from the thieves and animals last night..." she explained sheepishly, taking out the rather impressive stash that she kept separate from Reynal's gift. She hadn't realized she had managed to collect so much. It made her blush a bit in embarrassment. Coughing, she pocketed it and continued on. "After that, we can do whatever we want, but we have to be back at the inn by noon because Reynal's coming here to escort us to the castle for our audience. And after that...who knows."

Her eyes shot towards the food on the table as she heard her own stomach growl. She set her root beer down and grabbed the plate, taking a fork in one hand and beginning to munch down on the sausage. She couldn't remember a time when meat had tasted so good. "And the receptionist treated us to, mmph, breakfast just like she promised," she said, gesturing to the other two plates while gobbling down the delicious meal. She found that she was even hungrier than she thought she was originally, and the food tasted fantastic--like something her mother would make.

Authur had been prepared to shake his head and deny any offer when Marya asked him about his phone, so much that his head had already turned slightly to the side, but she changed the subject before he had to. He had absolutely no intention of calling his parents. They'd been calling him a no-good layabout for years, and in the last few had barely acknowledged his presence. Just as well, as he'd hardly been at the house longer than it took him to sleep a little then head off to school to see his friends.

He relaxed, in spite of everything, giving an amused grin as Marya started to tear into the food laid out. "I'm not exactly hungry." He stated, more for the others' benefit. He wasn't really feeling that hungry/thirsty feeling right now, but he didn't really know if that meant he would pass up murdering a little food right now or not. Either way, regular food wasn't his fare anymore, so he just stood there waiting on the other two.

"New clothing is a must, especially if we're meeting royalty." Adriane chimed in at one point, not knowing just how big this king was. Not that where he fell in terms of power mattered, they should still look their best. And when Miss Marya pulled out a large wad of cash which had been obtained from their enemies, Adriane could not help but smile. While normally it would be against her standards to take something from anyone, even if they were dead and had no use for it, they would need more than what Reynal had given them to purchase some things.

It was then that the topic moved to food and Miss Marya began to dig in once more. Adriane posed a weak smile before taking one of the two remaining plates and began to do the same. "Oh my," she said after the first bite "this is... wow..." She took another bite instead of trying to find words to fit how good the food tasted. "Are you, mmph, sure you don't, mmph, want some Mister Authur?" She said between swallowing and shoveling more into her mouth in a mostly normal matter.

"Oh I'm pretty sure." Absently, he touched the now mostly healed slash across his bare stomach. Authur grinned, exposing his sharp teeth to the sunlight. "Unless you're willing to donate?" He wasn't really serious . . . Not really. Well, maybe. It's like when you're a homeless orphan, you don't turn down food. And he didn't want to be threatening the king's servants or suddenly munching on William himself. While it might be immensely satisfying, there was no doubt he wouldn't be able to enjoy it for long.

Marya nearly choked on some scrambled eggs when she heard Adriane ask her question.  Had she forgotten a rather important fact about Authur?  Then again, if she were a vampire thirsting for blood, she doubt she'd pass up a root beer if offered to her.  "I don't think this meal quite suits Authur," Marya said, devouring her hotcakes hungrily leaving the plate completely empty.  She blinked her eyes a few times before realizing how quick she had finished.  It was almost as if she hadn't chewed or anything.  She wiped the syrup off her mouth with some napkins the receptionist brought along with the food.  She hated the sticky feeling on her soft lips, a blush upon her face.  Taking a few sips of root beer, she stood up, walking to a trash bin and tossing the can away.

"I'm going out on my own because I need to buy some..."  A hot blush streaked across her cheeks, but her gaze quickly turned from embarrassed to defiant.  "Things."  The conclusion was simple enough.  There were things she wanted to buy that she thought Authur should not see.  She coughed and approached the duo, divvying up the cash Reynal gave them and the cash they had from last night.  "There we go.  Now we each have some to spend," she said, regaining her composure.  "Let's meet back here before noon, 'kay?"  With that, she flashed her friends a genuine smile and dashed out of the room, down the hall and down the stairs not even stopping until she was outside the inn's front entrance.

The morning was immensely bright with a beautiful sun showering its gentle rays upon the village of Rose.  People were out and about now.  Marya gaped in awe as she realized a lot of them were dressed rather modernly in clothes that reminded her so dearly of Leviathan.  Others were fancifully dressed as if they were going to some formal event.  The mix was rather odd, but nearly all of them had painted faces and interesting hairstyles.  Others were normal which Marya appreciated.  She would have felt out of place otherwise.

"Time to get some new threads."

~Rose General Store~

Juice Box (Recovers 10 HP upon use) / Cash: 20 / Stock: 5

Soda (Recovers 20 HP upon use) / Cash: 50 / Stock: 3

Jawbreaker (Recovers 5 MP upon use) / Cash: 35 / Stock: 2

Antidote (Removes Poison/Severe Poison upon use) / Cash: 30 / Stock: 1

Lockpick (Unlocks treasure chests and doors) / Cash: 120 / Stock: 2

Life Gem (Revives fallen character with 20% Max HP) / Cash: 150 / Stock: 2

~Floral Weapons~

Rose Thorns (Green gauntlets with blood red clawed tips on each finger laced with dangerous poison.  Increases ATK by 2; equippable by Marya; Added Effect: Poison) / Cash: 95 / Stock: 1

Leaf Blades (Black straps with retractable metal blades of a leaf motif.  Increases ATK by 2; equippable by Authur; Critical hit rate +10%) / Cash: 110 / Stock: 1

Petal Duster (Elegant duster with the feathers designed to look like the petals of a blooming rose.  Increases INT by 3; equippable by Adriane) / Cash: 85 / Stock: 1

~Rose Clothing Store~

Skull and Bones (Black shirt with a skull on it and bones in the shape of an 'x' behind the skull matched with short, black shorts with straps.  Increases DEF by 2 and SPR by 1; equippable by Marya; Resist Dark) / Cash: 100 / Stock: 1

New Moon Overcoat (Long, strapped jacket as black as black can get.  Increases DEF and SPR by 2; equippable by Authur; Grants Invisible at start of battle) / Cash: 105 / Stock: 1

Classy Dress (A rather sultry black dress with white stripes near the bottom.  Increases DEF by 1 and SPR by 2; equippable by Adriane; +10% chance of Hesitation in attackers) / Cash: 100 / Stock: 1

~Rose Synth~

~ C L O S E D ~

Current Cash: 5

"Well I... uhh... I mean-" Adriane stammered, face flushing pink as she tried to respond to the question thrown back at her. How was one supposed to respond to such a thing? It was not exactly something that came up in day-to-day conversation, and it certainly was not something she had ever thought might happen to her in her lifetime. Luckily Miss Marya swooped in to save her, leaving the flustered maid to go back to eating.

However, it was when the younger lady left to go buy things, Adriane turned bright red. The question was still left unanswered and he was likely still waiting to see what she had to say on the subject. She picked up sputtering nonsense for a moment, her accent becoming very noticeable as she quickly put her plate back where it was and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. And when there was nothing left for her hands to do, her left went to her hair, fingers running through it like her life depended on it. "Well.. I... uh... I-I-I think it... it would be best if I... I mean... surely it... umm.... I-I-I-I'm going to... go with Miss Marya! Yes, that's it! Miss Marya! Please, wait for me!"

She scrambled out of the room before the only male in their little group could respond. And though she did not know it, nor would she likely ever, a small voice rang in the back of his head: "Interesting companions you have... try not to kill them." Meanwhile she had gotten out of the inn, rushing away in a graceless manner. Yet despite the stares she received from the diversely dressed people of the village, she kept up this manner until she found herself in a small sundries shop.

"Welcome miss! Is there anything I can do for you?" A fairly young man behind the counter said, a fairly straight grin shining. Adriane forced a weak smile and nodded slightly, moving over to the counter and looking at items labeled 'For Travel'. Most of it was brochures and travel sized toiletries, but there was a rather small section of consumables. Taking a look, the maid quickly pointed out some of the items and kept up her weak smile. She hoped the others would be alright with the purchase, then again... at the moment it seemed most any reaction was better than having to answer Mister Authur's question again.

Adriane buys Jawbreaker x3, Antidote x4, and Lockpick x1! -345 Cash!

Adriane also added a tiny bit of the cash Reynal had given them in her final total, purchasing a tote bag for herself. It would work better than to have all of the purchased items in her hands. With a 'thank you' and 'goodbye' Adriane set off again, this time in a more relaxed state which she maintained as she entered a clothing shop. It took her all but two minutes to find something in her size which was rather classy, and took her only three more to pay for it and go change into it.

Adriane buys and equips Classy Dress! -100 Cash!

From there it was only a short walk over to what was labeled as the weapon shop. Despite the name, however, she was able to find something that suited her. "Strange place this is," She commented to herself, looking over the feather duster that was made to look like a flourishing rose.

Adriane buys and equips Petal Duster! -85 Cash!

Marya blinked her eyes as she watched Adriane burst out of the door of the inn and head off in some random direction, hopefully finding somewhere worth shopping at. The girl's palm met with her forehead. I hope Authur didn't do anything to the maid..., Marya thought as she wandered back to the village square where the eloquent fountain was. There were quite a few people out and about, as she had already noted, but even more seemed to be populating the square. Several street performers were about, juggling and performing amazing magic tricks. Some of the civilians stopped by the fountain and tossed coins into it while making wishes. Meandering over to the edge of the fountain, she saw the bottom was partially covered in the coins. She smiled as a young boy came up next to her and tossed his coin in, closing his eyes and making a wish.

"What is it that you wished for?" she asked softly, giving the boy a lighthearted smile.

"I wished dat King William could get a way to merge da two worlds so dat da people of boat cud lif happily eva after togetter," he replied happily, showing his smile only to reveal he was missing a few teeth here and there. Typical of a young, growing child. Seeing that Marya had nothing more to say, he skipped off to meet up with his parents who gave her a slight wave before moving on.

"Glad they didn't comment on the bloodstains...maybe they just thought it was paint," Marya whispered to herself. "I need to find a clothing store." Walking along the cobblestone streets, she eventually came across a building with clothing on mannequins in the display window. Rose Clothing Store. Pretty generic, but straightforward and right to the point. Marya opened the door and entered. It was just like any clothing store in Leviathan. There was a women's section and a men's section. A section for jewelry and a section for other miscellaneous accessories. Marya took a gander at the women's section, not particularly liking a lot of the flowery stuff. She managed to find a section with more modern clothes that lacked the formality of the other garments. She picked up a pair of black shorts with a few straps on them. They looked pretty cool. Browsing the shirts, she found a black one with a rather cute, girly skull upon it with bones forming an 'x' behind it.

Before going to get changed and pay for the outfit, she made sure to look for some new...unmentionables. There were plenty to choose from. Some looked much too...revealing for her taste--something older girls and young women would wear. Some were too lacy. She found some light pink ones that she liked, but they didn't really match her outfit. The neko couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw some black ones with little skulls on it that matched the ones on her shirt. It was at that time that she was glad the store wasn't too busy. Stifling the rest of her laughter, she rushed to the dressing room and changed into her new clothes, making sure to pay after she got changed. She continued to look around, finding a black belt that she could clip things onto, and a small black bag as well. She used the money Reynal had given them to buy those things. Taking her gauntlets in her hands, she clipped them carefully onto her belt before taking the black bag and clipping it to her other side. Content with her purchases and her look, she exited the shop in better spirits. She also made sure to grab a few extra pair of her unmentionables and stashed them in one of her shorts pockets. Her outside outfit was something she wasn't worried about, but she preferred to have enough clean undergarments to wear, granted she had no idea how long the wait would be for them to get home.

Marya purchases Skull and Bones! [-100 Cash]

Just a little ways down the street happened to be a weapons provider of sorts for travelers. She looked at her claws. Would they need replacing? Would she even need them anymore? A sigh escaped her lips as she decided she might as well. Walking in, she browsed around at all the weapons, most of which seemed to be based on nature. She found some clawed gauntlets that reminded her of rose thorns. Taking them to the counter, she paid the cashier and noticed Adriane was lingering about wearing a new dress.

Marya purchases Rose Thorns! [-95 Cash]

"Hey, Adriane," Marya greeted the maid with a hearty grin. "You look very pretty in that. I think the fanciful nature of it suits you rather well," she commented. Marya was never one to like dresses, even when she was younger. Her mom said she was too much of a tomboy. She always through a fit when she was forced to take family photos and dress 'properly' for them. Brushing the memories away, she focused on the feather duster the maid had picked up as well. "Wooow, it looks just like a rose!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight. Whoever had designed and crafted it did an amazing job.

Authur was still grinning as he watched the maid eat up her food, waiting to see how long she would ignore him. He was amused all the more as she realized she had been left alone with him and left stammering with a rather adorable English accent.

'Interesting companions you have . . . try not to kill them.'

He just shrugged and left the room, almost leaving the inn before he realized he'd forgotten a piece of his wardrobe and sprinted back to his room. It took him a few panicked seconds to remember he hadn't left them in the bathroom but with everything else on the couch and snatched them up, pulling them over his head and let the darkened lenses hang about his neck as he strode from the room. With a (somewhat teasing) nod to the innkeeper, the vampire faced the bright daylight outside, ready to find some new pants. Mostly just pants, the shirt concerned him a lot less.

The people roaming around were strange, of course, but he received as many stares as he gave them. For a moment, he wondered if there was still blood around his mouth, dried in a cliched trail or something, but kept walking. If he was puffing up his naked chest, he didn't acknowledge it. Oh, that was another curious thing: could he scar? So many questions. Authur suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead and dragged it upwards through his hair, pushing out a sigh. 'Come on, man. Focus.' Argh.

It didn't take him long to find the clothing shop and start ogling at the pitch black jacket hanging up inside, just in there looking sexy and whatnot. He beamed at it as he swaggered inside, fingering his soon to be forgotten jacket. Old favorite or not, it had to go, as damaged as it was. The guy manning the counter barely had time to greet Authur before he was shoving money in his hands, "I'll take it." The coat didn't feel like anything he'd ever felt before. It was like leather in a way, smooth and cool but warming to his fingers, but it also felt like soft velvet. He didn't see how he could part with it. He shrugged into its sleeves and gently tugged the collar closer to his neck, almost growling with satisfaction at how well it fit.

Authur buys and equips New Moon Overcoat! 105 Cash lost.

Old, bloody and belted jacket in hand, he started looking around the rest of the store. Again, they were going to meet King William, the one with the voice that was . . . let's not go into that, but still the point is that he couldn't go in shirtless and generally looking like a ragamuffin. Whatever that was. It kinda sucked because he basically needed a new wardrobe, something he couldn't go carrying around with him while traveling on foot. Authur tapped his chin as he glanced through the selections of pants in the men's section. Anything formal just didn't appeal to him, going to see royalty or not. Ripped jeans and pinstripes were a bit punk for his style, there had to be something else. "Aha!" He grinned, chancing upon a set of Tripp-style black pants, crimson colored belts attached to the belt loops crossing in an X in the back. He was in luck too, these weren't the kind you'd find yourself actually tripping over if you tried doing anything more complicated than walking.

He tucked those under his arm with his old jacket and set off in search of a shirt. Any plain shirt would do for now, but Authur was pleasantly surprised at the wide selection of clothing for torsos available. He knew what he was looking for but was aware he was not likely to find it, and also aware that standard raver gear generally did not include a shirt, even if you were a girl. 'But this isn't a rave.' So a shirt was required, and finally! He pulled a long black tank top with the words 'Drop bass not bombs' emblazoned in surprisingly tasteful neon off a hanger. As an afterthought, Authur recalled that he might want to pick up some underwear too, and hurriedly grabbed a few from the shelves, not really caring what they looked like. When he returned to the counter, the man there was eyeing him with an eyebrow that almost went into his top hat, but the vampire didn't really care. He just tossed up the required amount of money and disappeared in the back to what he hoped were changing rooms, switching out his holey pants for the new ones and donning his new shirt, loathing having to part with his precious jacket the whole time.

Waving as he passed the shopkeeper guy, Authur left in search of the girls, something else he didn't have to spend too long on as he found them chatting in the weapons store. He silently moved past them in favor of checking out what kind of weaponry was available in this world. That's when he spotted the blades, curiously like his own but artfully crafted with leaves etched into the metal parts. He glanced down at his arm where his rather plain blades were now hidden under sleeves, then back at the others. Hardly a thought went through his mind as he lifted the beautiful blades from their stand and went to pay for them, already unbuckling his old ones as he set the others on the countertop.

Authur buys and equips Leaf Blades! 110 Cash lost.

See, new isn't so bad, now is it?

Authur couldn't agree more. 'Yeah, but what do I do with the old stuff now?' Receiving no response to that, he turned back to the girls, armload of clothing feeling quite cumbersome now. "Sooo guys, what do I do with my old junk now?"

Adriane looked up from the duster she had purchased upon hearing Marya's voice, a smile spreading on her face. "Thank you, Miss Marya." she said, eyes moving down towards the dress. She had not paid it too much mind earlier, but found that she was more than content with her purchase. The style suited her as Marya had pointed out. Looking back up and over to the girl, she was unable to comment on the girl's outfit before she started ogling her new 'weapon.' "The design is nice, but I don't quite understand what a feather duster would be doing in here." she kept her voice low so as to not insult the shop owner. Though she knew nothing of weaponries, she figured the owner had probably made most of the items himself.

The maid had little time to react to Authur joining them once more. But she did not begin to stutter, nor turn a shade of pink; rather she just averted her gaze for a quick moment as a chance to compose herself. He had asked them both a question after all, and she had a solution. Opening up the tote she had bought earlier, she allowed for both of them to see what else she had purchased. "I can hold onto your old things. And if you would like, I can mend them for you. I'm not an amazing seamstress, but I would like to think I could handle a few tears."

Authur looked down at his collection of torn and bloody clothes, then back at the maid. "They might need to be washed first . ." Of the black pants he couldn't tell if they were stained or not, but his shirt was definitely ruined. If he were going to any parties later, it wouldn't matter. He could just wash them and go, and nobody would say anything about it. He nodded, more to himself. "Yeah, really think they need to be washed." At that, he decided he was tired of holding the things and dumped them in the bag, at last looking the other two over and appraising their new things. Together, they all looked as if they were coming from or going to a gothic convention (all styles welcome).

Marya shrugged at Adriane's comment. "This world has proven to be rather...unique," Marya replied lightly, thinking about all the things that didn't quite make sense in this dimension compared to her own. Perhaps feather dusters were extremely viable weapons here, though when compared to something like a sword or a gun, it just didn't seem feasible. However, it was definitely a good thing that they had it, for Marya could not picture Adriane wielding a sword or a gun. Something about that picture just didn't seem quite....right. She had seen Authur enter the weapon shop himself and browse around while she and Adriane were talking, and after he had found something suitable for himself, he approached looking for somewhere to put his old belongings.

"I wonder if they have washing machines and dryers back at the inn," Marya chimed aloud in thought. "You notice how this place feels like it could be back in the olden days, yet there's so much modern stuff around. Electricity. Clothing. The amusement park we arrived at. It's like this place is purposely trying to contradict itself." Her expression flattened out into a grimace, granted she wasn't complaining. They had root beer and the luxuries of home. Good clothes. Entertainment. This world really wasn't too bad. It even had criminals and rabid animals which wasn't any different than what Leviathan had. Her mind thought back to the previous night where William gave his speech regarding the merging of the two dimensions. She wondered how that would honestly go down. She was almost positive that it would come up at some point during their audience with him today.

"I could always hand wash them." Adriane offered with a smile, reorganizing her bag so that the dirty clothing was in its own section. After a moment or two she was pleased with the results and nodded; now if they needed a snack it would not be coated in dry blood. With the almost mindless task complete, the maid looked back up to her allies, wondering what the plan was now. They had all done their shopping and all that was left on their agenda was to meet the King. What else was there to do? For a moment the maid's eyes fell on Authur and her mind drifted back to what he had said in Miss Marya's room. She bristled just a bit at the thought, and did her best to recompose herself while pushing it out of her mind.

"Yeah." The vampire said to the maid, drawing out the syllable. If Marya was right though, there wouldn't really be any need. Besides, it just felt a bit . . awkward. The last person to see his underwear lately was himself. "Yeah, it's a strange place alright. I kinda like it though. Different." The people, the places, the otherworldly sense pervading it. The people probably counted more though, considering they were more tasty. Moving on. "Anyhow, we'd better get a move on. William won't wait forever." He almost laughed at the tone in his voice. Excited and a bit thrilled, like he was about to go and sit at his crush's lunchtable or something. Authur grinned to one side.

"Yeah, I guess we should head back to the inn and wait for Reynal," Marya affirmed halfheartedly. The highlight of the day was coming so fast that Marya found her thoughts to be all muddled up. As they walked along the cobblestone streets, passing by the odd-looking denizens of Rose Village, Marya tried to keep her mind as clear as possible. She kept having these...extremely violent images flash through her mind. They were of her doing unspeakable things to the bandits on the road to Rose Village. She knew she wasn't just imagining them either; they had really happened. Regardless, she tried not to think about them too much. Eventually, they made it back to the inn just in time to see rather cheerful Reynal coming along the way to collect them.

"Ah, I see you have been browsing the local wares. How delightful," Reynal greeted them, giving them all a polite bow. "They definitely seem to suit you." He took a moment to scrutinize each of them, his gaze eventually settling upon Marya. "I trust you're all ready then? Follow me," he said, waving them along as he walked down the road in the direction of the enormous castle.

This was it. Marya paced behind Reynal with her allies nearby, her heartbeat picking up slightly. Why did she feel so nervous? Reynal led them straight to the castle gates which stood agape with two guards posted on each side. The man bid the two a hello and they returned the greeting, nodding to Marya and the others as well. They found themselves in a spacious entrance hall with suits of armor lining the walls. A large staircase led upwards to the second floor where a marvelous wooden door could be seen. In this particular area, the second floor was only comprised of a balcony that stretched around the east and west walls with a doorway on each wall that led to a corresponding corridor. A giant banner hung from the ceiling which had the seal of the Kingdom of Rose upon it. It became evident that their destination was the room hidden by the large wooden doors up the flight of stairs. Reynal warned them to watch their step as they ascended. The guards manning the doors opened them to reveal the audience chamber which was something to marvel in and of itself. Inside was a red carpet leading straight across the floor to the throne, lined with thin gold stripes near each edge. The ceiling of the chamber was extremely high and apparently equipped with skylights which allowed the sun to shed its rays upon the numerous rosebushes that were planted between each stone support column in the room, all of which were lined up vertically leading from the entrance to the throne--the same direction the carpet traveled. Lining the walls were intricate fountains--a single base stretching along the base of the wall itself with statues of roses built into alcoves in the wall spraying water from their blossoms into the base.

There was a man sitting on the throne, it appeared, as Reynal led them closer. It was the same one that spoke at the Hoshima Festival just yesterday: King William of Rose himself. Reynal stopped and knelt upon one knee, and even though she wasn't planning on it, Marya found herself doing the same, her gaze trying to take in the sheer amazement that was this beautiful chamber filled with the aroma of the live roses.

"From the looks on your faces, I take it you find my audience chamber to be rather charming?" King William said, an amused look plastering his own handsome face, his left cheek resting upon the palm of his left hand. He gave them all a welcoming smile, his light green eyes dazzling in the noonday sun.

Adriane's jaw dropped upon entering the audience chamber, an act she was able to compose only after the King's words registered in her head. At this she quickly grabbed the end edges of her new dress and politely curtsied. "Y-yes, your highness." She stammered, very small traces of her accent showing themselves once more. Sure, the maid knew how to handle herself in front of wealthy and powerful people, but this was the first time she had met an official King.

Was there not some sort of special policy for one such as herself to follow? With no way of knowing and not even the slightest trace of experience to go off of, the maid was left to return to her standing position awkwardly. It was not until after the fact that she realized maybe she was not supposed to stand until he told her it was alright and she froze. It took all of her willpower not to turn a deep shade of crimson and embarrass herself further. "I-I-It's lovely." she managed to get out after a few moments, her condition only slightly better.

Authur didn't quite know exactly what he expected. Well actually he did. In a way, he expected it to be like playing Ocarina of Time again, getting a rare glimpse of the inside of the castle, but ultimately kinda cheesy and less serious. What he got instead was . . . unreal. He was immediately taken with the place, all the beautiful masonry, the rosebush accents, the long carpet. Even the banner. He knew little about architecture, but he felt like this place had a lot of thought and love put into it at the time of its construction. At William's voice, Authur found himself a bit taken with him as well. He could easily understand how this man could lead a whole world with the sheer amounts of his charisma and presence. To the vampire, the king seemed larger than life. He smelled pretty good too.

With no small amount of panic, he shoved those thoughts away. He really, really did not want to find himself biting William and then dead two seconds later, if that. Clearing his throat, Authur kneeled down on one knee, unable to keep from smiling his fanged grin. "Quite. I find myself as interested in the castle just as much as the man who lives in it." It took him a second after that to realize exactly how he meant that, not to mention his tone, and the grin faded. When he felt no heat rushing to his face, he hoped it was because he wasn't blushing because holy crap he just flirted with the king. "Um." He kept his eyes on William, determined to live this moment down.

Oh, this is priceless.

'Oh shutup.'

"Please, rise. No need for formalities around me," King William said to them, his welcoming smile turning into one that was even more amused, mainly due to Authurius's comment. The only ones ever really interested in him as a person were biography writers and scholars. The girls, and even some guys, swooned over his appearance and abilities as a leader, but he felt that there was more to him than just that. "I'm glad you find the chamber to your liking then. I thought it would be fitting for a castle by the name of Rose Castle, yes?" He decided to stand up from his throne and stretch a bit. "As for being interested in the man living here, I'm afraid you might be spending a bit more time with him in his land," he explained sadly. "I know why you have come."

Marya was silent. Had Authur just tried to hit on the king? No, that couldn't be it. She had to admit that she was interested in the fellow herself. It must have been the same curiosity she was feeling. Yes, that was it. Regardless, she began to frown as she stood up, hearing the king's sad tone. "Then you know that we want to go back home," she said strongly. She was humbled before this man's presence, but she wasn't about to appear craven before him.

"Yes, but it's not possible. As you know, I am enacting a plan that will eventually fuse the two dimensions of Levall together so that its people may all live joyously together. As a side effect, it seems that people from the other dimension have found their way here. It's irreversible; I wasn't even aware of such a side effect," he explained, raising a hand daintily to his forehead while shaking his head solemnly. There was a gleam in his eye as he recovered his composure, giving them all a reassuring smile. "Here is the good news, however. The fact that the bridge between the two dimensions is weakening is a sign that my plan is working. As soon as the dimensions are fused, which hopefully won't take too much longer, then you will be able to see your family and friends again, preferably in a much better, unified world," he concluded with such a heartfelt grin that it was obvious that he wanted this very badly. The desire to merge the dimensions truly came from his heart--a sincere endeavor. Deep inside, he hoped more than anything to finally achieve it soon.

"If there's no way to get back, there's nothing we can do but wait until your plan works, I guess..." Marya mewed sadly, trying to seem too let down because King William's plan did seem nice. "What do you guys think?" she turned and asked Authur and Adriane.

The vampire rose at William's request. It seemed that just like everything else about the man, Authur rather liked his plan too. While Authur himself could be seen as less than moral at this point, the king spoke of nothing but unity and the vampire admired that. Perhaps if he spoke about using the new inhabitants as slaves or something, he might object, a little. He could care less that his parents would be joining this new Levall though. It would be far more satisfying to feed on them than anything else. Regardless, he liked the idea. "Well I'm all for it. I like it here, everything about it." His smile was sincere, and if he noticed that his eyes strayed to the king's, he pretended not to. "Is there anything we can do to help it along?" Maybe originating from the other dimension could be a key to something, if a small something.

"Quite. I find myself as interested in the castle just as much as the man who lives in it."

Adriane's embarrassment immediately flew south for the winter upon hearing Authur say that one sentence. She immediately stood, her head craned in his direction with a look of pure shock. The maid certainly had not pegged the vampire as that kind of person, but even if she had she would have been surprised anyway. It was enough to say such a thing to someone you found attractive, but to say it to someone who was a King was just... well... was it wrong? She herself had to admit she was fumbling over herself trying to be presentable for him. And there was a certain quality the man held that likely made everyone feel that way towards him.

Her shock almost caused her to miss the entire speech the King made, and while her thoughts blocked out the minor details she did hear the most important part. They could not go home. "Oh my..." Adriane said, bringing a hand to her mouth as she thought back to that morning. She had not expected to be gone for very long; she wondered if Master Renval would let her keep her job until she got back from this dimension. "I might have to make another call then..." the maid murmured to herself, her hands tirelessly messing with her dress absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, a chuckle was let loose in the back of Authur's mind; a very uncharacteristic chortle coming from the other resident of the vampire's mind. "Oh dear..." Heather's voice clouded by her laughter, almost making it impossible to discern what she was saying. Another round of laughter rang out in the back of his head before she forced herself to calm down, a single statement breaking through the dying laughter. "It seems I have my work cut out for me if you're going to fall for someone that easily."

King William was quick to meet Authurius's gaze powerfully, locking eyes with the vampire's easily without even flinching. He even kept his dazzling smile up while indulging in a hearty laugh. "Glad to see an outsider so enthusiastic about my plan!" he exclaimed, taking in a deep breath of content. "If a task arises that I can assign you, I shall, but for the time being, all we have to do is wait. It's a rather simplistic plan, if a bit costly. Please, feel free to keep your rooms at the inn. You're free to wander town, the castle, and even venture out to the other towns and areas. I'm not sure how long the wait will be, but there's plenty to do here," he spoke confidently, placing a single hand on his hip while glancing over all three of the outsiders.

"By your leave, Your Majesty. I must return to Hoshima," Reynal said, bowing deeply before taking a card from his pants pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the card to the floor.

"Of course. Stay safe, Reynal," the king offered his goodbye as the card on the floor expanded into a gaping black abyss that Reynal jumped into without a moment of hesitation, the portal closing back up as if nothing had happened. Even the card was now gone. "I hate to rush you off, but I have a few more audiences lined up for today. Feel free to visit anytime you'd like. If I'm not busy, the guards will allow you to see me immediately, especially if you're holding this," he said, walking up to Authurius and taking the man by the hand in order to put a piece of parchment into it. "Go ahead and show that pass to the innkeeper so that she knows you'll be staying there on my treat, okay?"

The Party receives King's Pass! [Inventory updated]