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[npc-excolo.livejournal.com]

Time has little meaning here, though your body back home may disagree.

Dream.

A forest.

A forest of the oldest sort, thick with brambles, trees snarled with centuries of life. It stretches for miles, many of them very dark, because the trees grow so close that it is hard to see. From a high vantage point, on one of the hills of the forest, one may glimpse a tower at the heart of the forest, a great graceful column of grey stone. Here and there there are clearings, bright with sunlight, and streams running with clear water. But mostly there is dark.

In the distance, the howl of a wolf.

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[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

The fairy's afraid, which isn't very comforting.

"I know the tower's a bad place. But there's a princess trapped there. I'm supposed to rescue her," I say. "That's what princes do. I suppose I'm meant to marry her, too, but I'm not sure I will," I admit. "But now I've seen the tower, I don't think I can leave her. Everything about that place is bad." I shake my head. "What do you know about a key? And what's your name, miss?"

[john-thiess.livejournal.com]

Cold cool water slaking thirst blue on red tongue and movement but I see them smell them hear them no surprises not like the flying gold orange dust brown in my nose and sounds like yellow and dull worry fear things ahead are bad wrong path. The flying not flying black brown grey, quiet and purple away below me, picking white hard things out with her paws like a thing with paws clever dark picking food red from the blue cool smooth water.

[glass-beddau.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't go there all by myself! There's something wrong in the tower. Something very very scary wrong," and I think of the fervid shadows as I drink a palmful of water, and am of a mind to agree. May be I should have seen it before, may be that it grows worse when a challenge is near...

"Many things to be afraid of in the forest," I say, "but not all of them are wrong. Call the tower wrong, or only bad? And has it always been so?" I could guess at the first, and to the second, well, catch as can if there's any sense to asking a faerie about time; but I would care to hear. I put my stones in a pocket, and glance down the river.

"We are going there, I think. Not alone. Would you choose to come?"

[fairy-fiona.livejournal.com]

"I know the tower's a bad place. But there's a princess trapped there. I'm supposed to rescue her," I say. "That's what princes do. I suppose I'm meant to marry her, too, but I'm not sure I will," I admit. "But now I've seen the tower, I don't think I can leave her. Everything about that place is bad." I shake my head. "What do you know about a key? And what's your name, miss?"

"Ooooh. You want my name? That's a big present! Do you have a present to give me back?" I pat the tree so it knows I still like it even though I'm going away, and fly up a little so I can see the prince better. "And you want me to help you find the key? That's another present! I don't like the key. It doesn't feel good even though I know it does good things."

"Many things to be afraid of in the forest," I say, "but not all of them are wrong. Call the tower wrong, or only bad? And has it always been so?"

"But it's not supposed to be bad! It wasn't always like that. It used to be pretty. Maybe when the princess got locked up, that's when it turned bad, 'cause she's not supposed to be there either."

"We are going there, I think. Not alone. Would you choose to come?"

"If you want to save the princess, I'll help you," I decide. "You're brave." All of them are and I mean all of them when I say it, 'cause 'you' can be one or more than one. "You'll be brave enough to find the key and get to the tower. I hope you'll be brave enough to make a happy ending. Why wouldn't you marry the princess?" I ask the prince. "That would be a good happy ending!"

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

"Ooooh. You want my name? That's a big present! Do you have a present to give me back?"

I smile a little.

"I could give you my name in exchange for yours," I say, "if you promise you'll treat it well." I know something of what fairies do with names.

"And you want me to help you find the key? That's another present! I don't like the key. It doesn't feel good even though I know it does good things."

"I don't have much to give," I admit. "Not here. Though if you come to my kingdom after my quest is done I can give you jewels or spices or gold." I wonder if I'll get home again. My memories of it are strangely dim.

"You'll be brave enough to find the key and get to the tower. I hope you'll be brave enough to make a happy ending. Why wouldn't you marry the princess? That would be a good happy ending!"

"I think," I say thoughtfully, "I'm tired of letting other people decide what my happy ending should be. I think I need to find that out for myself." I look seriously at the fairy. "If you help me find the key, I'll do my best to repay you," I say.

[john-thiess.livejournal.com]

Hunting movements searching movements pack noises want to go this way that way brown grey black purple searching downstream snort look upstream hunting places is different than hunting red brown quick goes downstream but blue cool fast starts upstream another drink before travelling.

[glass-beddau.livejournal.com]

"But it's not supposed to be bad!" and so I suppose that would be enough to make it wrong as well. "It wasn't always like that. It used to be pretty. Maybe when the princess got locked up, that's when it turned bad, 'cause she's not supposed to be there either." True or not, grant that view's shared; else there'd not be so many coming to find her and staying to cast their bones on soil.

"If you want to save the princess, I'll help you. You're brave. You'll be brave enough to find the key and get to the tower," she answers us. And I am minded to go to the tower, and would rather have a faerie's help than not, so I will try saving the princess as well, and that's all our intents wreathed together.

And Valmont and the faerie are talking of names and payment, and I stand back and raise an eyebrow at the wolf, which appears to be taking our presence uncommon calm. "Shan't presume to ask your name," low and light and said mostly to myself. Well, listen to me chatter on. I suppose it's the company.

"You know aught better way to reach the key than travelling upstream?" I add aloud. Which is not precisely asking where it is, true, but still may give direction.

[fairy-fiona.livejournal.com]

"I don't have much to give," I admit. "Not here. Though if you come to my kingdom after my quest is done I can give you jewels or spices or gold."

"Oooh. I like those. Sugar and spice and everything nice!" I giggle, and fly up a little higher so that I can pick a leaf off of the tree. It's a nice leaf, a pretty one with ruffly edges and very very green all the way through. "Here," I say, giving it to the prince. "You can have a leaf now and then you can have the key later when we find it. Maybe we'll give names later too. That's a big present. But I promise I'll be nice to it when you give it to me. It's probably a nice name, and it would be sad if people were mean to it."

"I think….I'm tired of letting other people decide what my happy ending should be. I think I need to find that out for myself. If you help me find the key, I'll do my best to repay you."

His eyes are very dark and very serious and when he says what he says it sounds like he's thought about it foreverandever. I have to think too, because it's such a big thought to think about. Then I nod slowly. "I understand. That's a good kind of happy ending. The kind where you make it happen." I smile. "That's a good kind of promise, too. I'll help you."

"You know aught better way to reach the key than travelling upstream?" the lady asks.

"Um. I don't know where the key is but I can tell where the key is. The key feels bad even if it does good things. I think it's somewhere in the forest. I can tell when I'm near it..."

I stop for a second and think. Where is it where is it? Something like the prince's sword, only worse. Something with the same itchy-tingly-hurting feeling…

"That way?" I point upstream and a little off to the west. That's where I feel it the most. "Are you coming too?" I ask the boy who's a wolf.

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

"You can have a leaf now and then you can have the key later when we find it. Maybe we'll give names later too. That's a big present. But I promise I'll be nice to it when you give it to me. It's probably a nice name, and it would be sad if people were mean to it."

"Thank you, miss," I say, tucking the leaf into my doublet.

"That's a good kind of promise, too. I'll help you."

I give her another bow.

"Thank you." I'm feeling more myself, now. Having a direction to go in helps.

"Are you coming too?" she asks the wolf.

"Does he understand you, do you think?" I ask. He seems a tame sort of wolf. I wonder if he's known people before.

I look at Glas. "What do you think you'll do when we get to the tower?" I ask her as we follow the stream. I know why I'm going there, after all, but I don't know what she wants.

[john-thiess.livejournal.com]

More noise and noises and noises and then movement finally movement pack on the move moving is better or sleeping not sitting noises and not playing now moving finally ears set back at flying gold and dust to make me sneeze now moving ahead of upright noisy things scenting ahead nothing better to do, pack movements and this is the right path right place to go.

[glass-beddau.livejournal.com]

"Um. I don't know where the key is but I can tell where the key is," she explains, and that's enough for a direction, and set off upwater. Wolf takes the lead, but doesn't leave us. Well, then, that's aright.

"Does he understand you, do you think?" and think he's speaking to the faerie, but I shrug.

"Maybe not the words," I say, "but think so. Seems we rather suit him." He's looking at the faerie mild suspicious, but think that if he took her for dangerous he'd be gone. Sensible sort.

Presently Valmont asks "What do you think you'll do when we get to the tower?" and I find myself shrugging. 'd not thought of it much, but the answer comes clean and easy.

"Find what's in it, and may be that I'll find why," I say. "Been here a long time. It doesn't suit me, not knowing." And not sure why I've let it lie so long, since...

Shake my head. I've spent winters here, surely, but couldn't lay number to them; could give lay of the land and its safety and its teeth well enough, but not when I learned them. "I am beginning to be of a mind," I say slowly, "that you lose things from outside these woods, you stay here overlong."

[fairy-fiona.livejournal.com]

I don't think the wolf-boy wants to walk near me but I want to walk near him 'cause he's nice and safe and big enough to keep away the bad things from the forest.

And he looks like he's going to sneeze and if he does that would be funny.

"I am beginning to be of a mind," I say slowly, "that you lose things from outside these woods, you stay here overlong."

"Oh, but if you lose things then you can find them again!" I tell the lady. "Sometimes. If you do the right thing and know the right way to go. You can find people, too. And maybe you can find thoughts? Did you lose your idea about why you want to go to the tower?" I ask her.

We go upstream, and I hear voices and start to feel…itchy. Not just the prince's sword. Worse harder bad.

"The key is that way." I point.

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

[once upon a time... (http://community.livejournal.com/estdeus_innobis/405098.html?thread=10301034#t10301034)]