Thread: Castle Märchen - Fairytales for Adults

Myrelle opened her eyes.

She was lying on the ground, her cheek against the cool earth, but it didn't sting as it had a moment ago. There was no ache of bruises and, when she reached tentatively with one hand to touch her forehead, she had no broken fingers and no blood seeping from her hairline. It took her a moment to remember why that had been an immediate concern, and then another moment after that before she came to the puzzling question of the vision she'd had of the angel.

"I must be dead..."

Slowly and tenderly, she pushed herself to a sitting upright position, glancing first down at herself in wonder. She wore a gown she'd never set eyes on before in her life -- it was made of a luxurious satin in a lavender color she'd very rarely seen in fabrics, with deep purple trim and mist-blue accents. Myrelle was afraid even to touch it, that it might snag and be ruined, but even as she sat there in the dirt, it began to change before her eyes. The fabric snaked and curled, closing in on itself as it tightened and condensed and simply became something else -- leather and cotton in the form of practical traveler's breeches and and tunic. Totally at a loss to rationalize what she'd seen, Myrelle simply blinked, shook her head as if to shake the vision from her memory, and stood.

She finally looked around at her surroundings and found that the dirt she was lying on was part of a path. One particular direction seemed to be drawing her attention, and so she began walking.

It didn't take long for Myrelle to follow the path through a break in the trees, and she found that she was on the grounds of a massive castle that took up nearly all of her field of vision. It wasn't a familiar-looking castle, although she'd only seen a few, but it was the only building in sight, and so she headed for it. All the while, she wondered what kind of an afterlife required a person to escort themselves to whichever final destination, but she was in no position to complain.

When she stepped off the grassy grounds and onto the stone drive in front of the manor, Myrelle's clothing began to change again. She didn't notice until she was climbing the front set of stone stairs, and by that point it had almost completed its transformation back into the stately gown of before. "What an odd element..." Myrelle muttered under her breath, choosing again to ignore the changing gown rather than to ponder it.

She reached the top of the stair and went to knock at the great wooden door, but it swung itself partway open before she had the opportunity. Hesitating only a moment, she slowly stepped inside called out tentatively, "...hello...? I'm so sorry to intrude, but..." But what? She hadn't a clue.

Lady Reine happened to be in the town to do a bit of shopping. Her dress of the day was a fine sky blue with full skirt and a deeper blue bodice. Her long white-blue hair was coiled into braids over her ears and left long and unbound down her back. Her dress of the day, combined with the blonde basket over her arm and white lace apron tied around her middle gave her an odd look of casual and formal - as if she didn't have much of a distinction between them.

She heard a voice calling at the entrance and set down the porcelain figurine she was examining at one of the shops. "Coming!" she called merrily, ignoring the glare the Tinker gave her and hurrying off to the entrance, which was only a few twists and turns away from the Tinker's shop.

Lady Reine was all smiles as she took in the new visitor, clapping her hands with delight as she looked the young woman over. "Ah, lovely!" she cried. "What a beautiful gown! You would be a new guest, I expect. Not a servant. Would you like to go to the castle? I think I'm done with my shopping, so I don't mind at all taking you. Oh, it is such a walk!" she added and laughed, not seeming to realize she hadn't given the other young lady time to speak before she turned and started to lead the way.

Myrelle stared at the woman, who seemed to be of similar size and age as herself, with wide wondering eyes. It was just as well that the lady didn't stop talking, because Myrelle wouldn't have known what to say anyway. Inspired by the way the lady carried herself, though, she began to remember all of her 'training' as a child, and so she drew herself up, put her shoulders back, and headed after the woman with a late, but still graceful, dip of her head.

She had to lift her skirts in her hands as she walked to keep them from dragging, but as it became evident that this wasn't just an around-the-corner jaunt, she felt the fabric slip through her fingers like soft loamy soil. When it had finished its most recent transformation, Myrelle was wearing a shorter, sturdier dress with two overlapping skirts and a bodice and blouse like she'd seen the innkeeper's daughter wear. Her eyes darted around anxiously, but there didn't seem to be anyone around to notice.

Finding her voice, Myrelle finally addressed the woman in front of her. "My Lady, I thank you for your kind thought to guide me, as I admit I don't believe I've ever... visited... this place before." How did you term your time in the afterlife, anyway? 'Visit' was the only thing she could think of, although she felt silly saying it. "Might I ask your name? I am Lady Myrelle Frazer, of Telmere."

Lady Reine turned her head a little to smile over her shoulder. But seeing that the new guest was dressed completely differently than the last time she looked she stopped and clasped her hands again to admire it. "Oh, wonderful! It's magic, I suppose? How wonderful! And it has good taste too - or do you?"

Realizing that the young woman had said something to her, she continued without waiting for her reply. "A pleasure, Lady Myrelle." She dipped into a graceful curtsy before rising to continue speaking. "I am called Lady Reine. I suppose you could consider me 'of' Märchenland, as I was not a proper citizen of Dorcia before I was brought here. I have no surname, because I was not born human, you see!" She smiled to show that she had no shadows on her past.

Myrelle was grateful as Lady Reine bubbled right on past her question about taste. For some reason, it didn't seem like a good idea to admit that she had no control over her enchanted gown, perhaps because it suggested that it wasn't wholly hers. Or perhaps she was just still in denial about the whole thing.

"Märchenland... Dorcia?" Myrelle considered the names, peering again at the great stone walls they were passing through. "My goodness, I must be much farther out of my way that I'd imagined." She was struck, then, by Reine's comment about not being born human, and Myrelle's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, so I have died, then! You must be another angel--am I in Heaven?" The last bit was added hesitantly and hopefully. It didn't seem much like a paradise yet, but it also certainly didn't seem a place of suffering. It was quite normal so far, in fact, she still couldn't quite decide what to think.

Reaching the edge of the garden Leila called out to the servants that floated around the palace. Asking for them to retrieve her cloak, she waited a few minutes for it to return. "Thank you," She said to the floating pair of hands, not sure if they could understand her thanks. Since she had been here never once had the servants responded to her thanks but she felt that she owed them for their help.

Slipping the cloak back over her shoulders and dropping the hood down to cover her fair face, she glided through the castle to see who this new visitor was. Though upon reaching the foyer of the great palace she found no one was around. Sinking down on a bench she opted to sit and wait to get a chance to see the new guest to the palace. Looking around the enormous room, with it's tall marble columns and huge ornate staircase leading farther into the palace, she was still amazed that such beauty existed outside her precious forests. It made her upset to think that now she was trapped here, unable to see the rest of the wonders that the outside world had to offer.

"An angel? Oh - la! No. I'm just a glass slipper." She didn't appear to think Lady Myrelle's question was funny or stupid. She answered quite seriously, though in a light and friendly manner as she continued walking up the winding, lonely streets to the castle. "And Lord Märchen isn't an angel either! Hardly! He's a fairy, I think. Or perhaps an elf? In any case, he's a fae lord and it's almost the same no matter what."

The young, pale woman paused and looked around a bit at the aging but beautiful architecture of the buildings of Märchen town. "I don't believe Märchenland is Heaven, but..." They had reached a part of the town that was near to the wall and looked down over the city and to the waters that were slowly moving to surround the base of the castle. A fog was likewise rolling in as the sun began its downward descent and the somewhat cool air began to puff up to stay warm. "Sometimes it feels like you could see it from here." She smiled to Myrelle and if the other young woman didn't linger, continued on to the castle, entering through the same foyer that Leila was sitting in.

"A glass slipper...?" Myrelle said in wonder, completely thrown off by that revelation. She seemed a bit in a daze as she continued, "Ah, yes, I can see the resemblance..."

Lady Reine went on to comment about Lord Märchen, whom Myrelle could only assume was the master of the castle, considering the town seemed to be named for him. She took note of the peculiar things Reine said about him -- fairy? elf? -- and then, as Lady Reine went on to draw her attention to the view they were passing, Myrelle was thoroughly distracted from her thoughts. It was a stunning, almost unearthly sight, and it put Myrelle in the frame of mind to accept that fae lords and elves may run rampant in this place, whatever it was.

Feeling a bit more calmed and open minded, Myrelle followed her guide the last of the distance to the castle, where her dress reverted itself to its original flowing gown. "Again, Lady, thank you for your kindness in bringing me here. Is the Lord or his steward in that I might inquire about a room during my stay?" She gazed around at the foyer as they entered, and her eyes found the hooded figure lounging there in the room. Not wanting to ignore anyone on her first day here, Myrelle dipped into a small curtsy and nodded her head in that direction with a smile. "Hello!"

Lady Reine would have only smiled cheerfully at Myrelle's comment about seeing the resemblance, but not commented. It didn't seem to her that the other young woman was being sarcastic and rather may be overwhelmed, so she thought it kinder not to pursue that line of discussion at this time.

When they entered the foyer and Myrelle addressed her again, she stopped and turned, setting her basket aside on one of the long tables by the door. She didn't at first answer Myrelle to instead clearly pronounce, "I have need of you, please." Then she turned back to Myrelle and smiled reassuringly. "We always have open suites for guests. You probably wouldn't want to meet the lord at the moment and we have no steward, but the invisible servants can guide you to your room now, if you like..."

She was then distracted by Myrelle's greeting to someone else, so she looked around and spotted Leila, so she made introductions. "Ah! Lady Myrelle Frazer, of Telmere, I would introduce you to Leila Faris. She would know best whether she holds rank or country, but I'm afraid I've forgotten if I knew!" She laughed merrily, her smiles warm for both young ladies. Perhaps the introduction would have distracted Myrelle from the arrival of two or three pairs of gloved, disembodied hands, but certainly Lady Reine would notice and perhaps become distracted giving instructions to one of them.

Standing up quickly when the Lady Reine walked into the foyer, Leila's hood fell off causing her to bow her head and throw it back down over her face. She had never had much luck in showing people her face. It always seemed to scare them in the outside world and she wasn't sure how this new beautiful woman would react to her.

She smiled beneath the hood at the lovely woman as Lady Reine introduced her. "Just Leila is fine, I've never had any need of a title and my country is wherever I happen to be at the moment," She said, watching as the the new guest's clothes changed from rough traveling clothes to a gorgeous dress right before her eyes. Seeing the two women standing there in all their beauty however, made her feel a bit insignificant. After all, Lady Reine was practically the princess of this magnificent kingdom and this young woman must surely have been and princess from a far off land. The more Leila looked at them the more she had wished she'd stayed in the garden.

Myrelle beamed at the hooded girl, not even hardly noticing when Leila's hood fell back; after the conversation on the walk to the castle, she had apparently accepted that things were going to be stranger than she was used to. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Leila," she said with another nod of the head. Her eyes lit up when she mentioned not claiming a country. "Oh! It must be wonderful to have the freedom to travel. I hope that I'll get the chance to see many new places, too."

She turned her attention back to Lady Reine again, having noting that she'd said there would be suites open for her and wondering when she would get the chance to meet the mysterious lord. And then she got a good look at the floating, bodiless hands. Myrelle may have been beginning to accept strange new things, but the hands seemed a bit much this early, as she suddenly went speechless and paled. She tried her best not to stare, blinking and trying to find comfort in the fact that Lady Reine was perfectly at ease with the hands. Still, though, acquiring a room and perhaps considering nap were both beginning to seem very inviting. Not knowing how to broach the subject (of either the hands or the nap), she simply waited for a sign or some instruction from her impromptu guide.

While not highly sensitive to the discomfort of others, she did happen to notice it in both of Lord Märchen's guests and pursed her lips a moment to figure out how best to deal with it.

She wasn't entirely certain how to manage Leila's unease, because she hadn't spoken with her very much in the past month because of the elf's interest in the gardens. There was nothing she saw that would cause her to react that way, other than the changing of the gown - and she thought the elf wasn't the sort to be unnerved by that.

However, it was easier to understand Myrelle's cause of alarm - the invisible servants. She left the back of her mind puzzling of how best to put Leila at ease while she dealt with Myrelle's. "These are the invisible servants. Though I suppose with the hands they're not entirely invisible, are they?" She smiled and continued. "Just ask for something or call to get their attention and they will come soon enough. They'll fetch and carry for you or bring you food or things from your rooms - things like that. Leila should be able to explain it all to you, if you like...?" She looked over at Leila to confirm this. Perhaps Leila was uncomfortable around humans?

Leila smiled at Lady Myrelle and, noting that she hadn't seemed to mind after seeing her face, slowly removed her hood. "Likewise, I'm sure," She said in her soft voice. While it was true she that she had been to many different places in her travels she had been acquainted with very few people. So she was glad when this girl didn't seem to mind her appearance.

Upon being asked by Lady Reine to help explain the castle to Myrelle she couldn't help but say yes. She nodded quickly and smiled at the new girl. "Um, sure I think I can help you out if you don't mind," She hoped that Myrelle didn't mind. "There is an empty room next to mine," She looked down at the floor before continuing. "I mean I'm not in my room that much but if you need help I'm almost always in the gardens." She hoped she wasn't coming on to strong but it wasn't very often that she met someone that wasn't scared by her strange appearance.

She smiles warmly at Leila, relieved that the elf has relaxed a bit and extended herself to be welcoming to the new guest. "Delightful! Yes, I believe that suite of rooms would even do nicely. It's such a long wing sometimes, so it's nice to have someone you know closer!"

The other two wouldn't quite understand what Lady Reine meant by that, since they wouldn't have yet been here when the wing has hosted more guests than it has currently. There always seems to be one or two empty suites of rooms for every guest in residence - so at the peaks of activity, the guest wings seem to stretch on for miles.

"Shall I walk you both up, or would you prefer the invisible servants went with you?"

Myrelle nodded slowly as Lady Reine explained the invisible servants. Well, as long as they weren't just plain ghosts, she thought she could manage to settle in with the idea alright. She still wasn't quite sure how to respond to the introduction of sorts, and was grateful when Leila spoke up to offer to help her out.

"Oh, yes!" Myrelle beamed, turning to face her again, "That would be lovely, Leila, thank you! It would be nice to be near someone who knows their way around, I'm sure. It seems such a grand castle."

She turned her attention, then, back to Reine as she offered to continue with them to the guest suites. "You're most welcome to join us, of course, but I fear I've taken more than my share of your time already. You've been so kind to bring me here! I'm in your debt, Lady Reine." Having not practiced since she was quite a few years younger, Myrelle feared that a deep curtsey might be outside of her scope of possible maneuvers. However, with the wide skirt to hide her uncertain feet, she managed to pull off a graceful bow of gratitude quite smoothly.

Lady Reine smiled at Myrelle's speech and nodded. "I'll send one of the invisible servants after you to make sure you have everything you need. My suite has my name on the doorplate-" As, in fact, does everyone's room from the moment they stake claim to an empty suite. "-so it should be easy enough to find me and join me for tea some afternoon." She looked at Leila and smiled to include her on the invitation.

Leila smiled back at the beautiful girl, happy that she had finally made a friend in the castle. While she appreciated Lord Marchen's hospitality, it had been a little hard with no one around but Lady Reine and the enigmatic lord. She couldn't wait to get to know the new girl. "I wouldn't say I know my way around extremely well, it's a very big place after all," She said, watching the the two women's exchange and lighting up at the invitation to tea. "I would like that very much," She said before turning to head up the stairs. "Are you ready miss Myrelle?" She asked, turning to face the other girl with a smile. "I'd imagine you are very tired after coming all the way here," She said with a soft smile.

"Tea sounds lovely; we should certainly schedule that sometime." Myrelle nodded again to Lady Reine.

Then, as Leila asked if she was ready, she turned her smile back towards her. "Yes, I am! Thank you, Leila," Myrelle gathered her skirts in her hands to follow her new guide up the stairs, then wondered about her comment about being tired. It wasn't all that long ago, afterall, that she'd woken up in the dirt. She was surprised to find that she really was quite tired, though, as if whatever had brought here here in the first place had drained her. "I suppose I could use a bit of refreshing," she agreed. "Do the guests here gather at particular times every day for meals, or are the kitchens just open?"

Satisfied that they had made plans together, even if tentative, she'd curtsy to both in a graceful, sweeping gesture and walked off to another area of Märchen Castle, chattering to two of the invisible servants as if carrying on a proper conversation.

The third set of hands will float along behind the other two ladies, alert for any request.