Quest 138

[primrosella]

Entry the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth
In which Her Royal Highness Princess Rosella finds herself in distress, which is normal, and shortly thereafter drops a bag of peas on her head, which is not.
Once upon a time, in a rather strange land known as the City, there lived a princess with quite a bit on her mind--which was only to be expected, really, from living in a place like the City for so very long. She had made plenty of friends in her time spent there, and she had been through many curses, and that made for a great number of things to think about, especially for someone who, to be perfectly honest, often thinks about things too much, anyway.

As she made her way through the aisles of the little grocery shop, listening to the pleasant click of her shoes on the floor and scouring the shelves for the items she wanted, the princess let herself drift into thought. She'd had a lovely evening the night before, attending a surprise party for the eighteenth birthday of one of her dearest friends, and soon there would be another birthday to celebrate, for another dear friend. And of course, Giving Thanks--or rather, Thanksgiving, she quickly amended with a touch of embarrassment--would be coming up soon, as well. Yes, there were plenty of good things to look forward to, she mused, and placed a bag of flour into her basket.

But alas, her thoughts soon turned to other considerations, and these were ones of the not-so-pleasant variety. Many of the people she cared about had seen friends sent home lately, and while she knew all too well that there was really nothing she could do to fix it, she still felt guilty and worried for them. And then there were her own worries--ones that had been piling up, bit by bit, over the course of a few months now, that she had been trying to ignore and determined to overcome. So many calamities had occurred, arriving every few weeks, and while she always did her best to recover from the horrors of those calamities, she was also aware that she hadn't shaken those horrors completely.

As she added a bag of apples to her basket and then went in search of the yeast, she let her mind drift over the memories of the prison, of the loss of her heart, of the cannibals and monsters that October had brought about, and finally to the horror of her encounter with Lolotte in the pumpkin patch. The joy of seeing her family the previous weekend had helped to counter a great deal of the sadness and uncertainty these events had brought about in her, but unfortunately, countering sadness did not necessarily mean eliminating it entirely, and the princess knew all too well how the City seemed to thrive on misery. She had vowed that it would not extract any out of her in the month of October, and she took a measure of rebellious pride in the fact that she had succeeded in keeping her vow.

However, this was now November, and she had no such vow for this month to help get her through.

(And, of course, had she known there was a curse on this particular day, she might've chosen to put these thoughts off for a later time, so as not to broadcast them all over the Network. But alas, it was not to be.)

Perhaps it was just that the coming of winter made it harder to keep her mind on light and cheerful things, she mused, dropping two packets of yeast into her basket. It was difficult to be anything but cheerful in the spring, when the days grew warm and the flowers came out and the whole world seemed to come back to life again. Now was the time for bundling up against the cold and building fires to keep warm--the normal fires, preferably, ones kept to the hearth and not to couches or straw dolls--and with the evenings coming sooner and sooner, perhaps it was only natural to be a bit gloomy. And at that thought, her optimistic spirit briefly surfaced, and she thought that perhaps she'd just have to hang on that much more tightly to the things that did make her cheerful, to combat the gloominess. It may not be easy, she mused, but she had never let things being difficult stop her before.

All these things she considered as she absently reached for a bag of peas, straining on her tiptoes to pull it down with the use of two fingers, and it was then that the princess learned her lesson about why one should always pay careful attention when retrieving heavy bags of peas from very high shelves.

Comments

[playstheblues.livejournal.com]

Third person?

Really?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

It was only to be expected, of course, that once her rather embarrassing predicament was made public on the Network, her friends would begin contacting her in response to it. Unfortunately, that didn't make things any less embarrassing.

Nor did it help that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to stop narrating all of her actions like a storybook, rather than just speaking normally.

"I'm afraid so," she answered, using the hand that wasn't writing these very words to cover her face in a mixture of annoyance and resigned embarrassment. "Really."

[playstheblues.livejournal.com]

Would you prefer if I didn't talk to you today?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

It was, perhaps, a very good thing that the princess was not reaching for any other bags of heavy produce items at the time, because she surely would've dropped those on her head, too, just as she had the peas, when she saw the words on her Network device.

"No, no, it's quite all right, really," she wrote back quickly. "I'm just fine, honest, just a bit...silly." She paused, then added, "Really, it's no different than if I were cursed to speak in poetry all day, I suppose."

[srslynotguy.livejournal.com]

Sir Flynn Scifo is normally not one to pry into matters like this, preferring to respect fellow people's privacy. However being a member of the Imperial Knights, he finds himself gripped with a mild case of curiosity at this particular post's mention of its subject's position in royalty. It was not that Flynn himself is one to put much value in the titles of nobility and so he wished to associate with royalty once more, but rather, this curiosity is borne from a natural desire to serve, and to protect. The title itself is more of a bait in this case. He spends a few moments in thought, hesitant about putting forth a word or two to someone who is effectively a stranger, not to mention one who hails from another world. In the even however, he decides that he could reach out, and inquire, in a polite manner fitting in the address of a princess.

"My Lady," he begins in a polite tone. "It seems that this curse has affected the both of us."

There is a strangeness to his words, and that he knows and admits, but he has also been speaking all day long, detailing his exploits for the benefit of any who would listen. He acknowledges that this may, in fact, be a direct result of that.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The princess was admittedly a bit surprised to see such a message appear on her Network device. It wasn't that she was unused to receiving messages from new people, of course, but she supposed it was just her luck that of all of the days when a new acquaintance might appear to speak with her, it would be on a day when she was cursed to converse in an absolutely ridiculous way. She hoped the manner of speaking wouldn't give leave this acquaintance--Sir Flynn Scifo, as he had mentioned in his narration--with a poor impression of her.

"Yes, I'm afraid it has," she agreed, shaking her head at the silliness of it all. "And it seems it has done away with the necessity of introducing ourselves, thanks to the narration. But proper is proper, so please do allow me to introduce myself, anyway. My name is Rosella, and I do hope you won't think poorly of me for the way I'm acting today."

[srslynotguy.livejournal.com]

And though the manner by which they are conversing at the moment is, indeed, strange and then made awkward by the fact that this is their first time conversing with each other, Sir Flynn finds nothing in the curse-induced situation to have a poor impression of Lady Rosella. He smiles from his side of the network and chuckles lightly before beginning his own proper introductions.

"I do not think of you any poorly at all, Lady Rosella. It's a pleasure to meet you," he begins, thinking to assure this young princess first that he is not all made to think poorly of her. "I'm Flynn Scifo, Acting-Commandant of the Imperial Knights."

He is admittedly curious about what kingdom Lady Rosella hails from, but even as this narration finds itself materializing in the network, Flynn's cheeks color and he thinks it proper to keep what he can and wait for the Lady's elaboration rather than to ask for it. After all, such private matters should be divulged at will, and not at the request of a stranger such as himself.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The one thing that stood out throughout Sir Flynn's whole narrative, the princess noted, was his tendency of calling her Lady Rosella. Which was only right and proper, and ought to have been expected of the head of a body such as the Imperial Knights, she admitted. Still, her many months in the City had made her a bit less formal than she might have been otherwise, and so she decided to relieve him of that obligation at once.

"Please, just Rosella is fine, Sir Flynn," she assured him, indulging in a brief smile of her own. "And I'm very glad you don't think poorly of me. It really is a pleasure to meet you, though I do wish we might've done so under slightly different circumstances."

She paused, wondering if she ought to address some of the other things he'd brought up in his narration, or if it would be impolite to do so and therefore better to wait. Still, she supposed it didn't matter either way, since he'd be able to read everything that she wrote in her own narrative, and goodness, this curse really did lead to awkward conversing, didn't it? So it couldn't hurt to mention that she was from the kingdom of Daventry, and that her parents were King Graham and Queen Valanice, and that Daventry is a lovely place, really, but that it's all right if Sir Flynn has never heard of it because no one else ever has, either.

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

Any news from his acquaintance, the princess, is welcome to Cain. Even such news as dropping bags of peas on her head. Sometimes, he admits, he wonders how the girl can manage at all since there seems to be far more on her mind than she ever admits.

But, unlike her, he's glad of the coming of winter. He likes the colder days, the grayer skies, the fog that rises from the lake in Xanadu early in the mornings, the first snowfalls. Spring reminds him too much of his sister sometimes, and he's as glad to be removed from spring and summer and kept in the depths of winter.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The princess really would've preferred that her friend the Earl of Hargreaves not find out about the pea-dropping incident, but it certainly couldn't be helped now. At least he had the decency to only note it in his narration, rather than asking her about it directly, because then she would've had to come up with something clever to say, and it was really very hard to be properly clever when all of one's thoughts were written out for the whole world to see.

She did, however, find it interesting--but not surprising--that he was looking forward to winter. The two of them were different in so many other things, already, so perhaps it was only natural that he preferred the cold and gray. She was hesitant to say it suited him, because really, that sounded rather awful (except that she'd gone and written it anyway, and yet again she grumbled about the frustrating nature of this curse), but it still seemed fitting, somehow.

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

Certainly, the earl has no doubt that the princess would have come up with some kind of clever response. That seems to be one of her skills, really. And perhaps it's only her nature, or perhaps it's something she's learned. Perhaps it's both. After all, he knows full well that she's inclined towards adventure. It's a family tradition for her, as his collection is one for him.

How different they are, indeed.

He spoke at last: "How do you, Rosella?"

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

She was flattered, of course, that her acquaintance had such faith and confidence in her wit. However, she supposed that he ought to be equally confident in her insatiable curiosity, and she wondered if he realized just how easily this style of narration might reveal things to trigger that curiosity of hers. She wasn't entirely sure if she liked the thought of learning things this way, though; as others on the Network had said, reading such a narration rather felt like an invasion of privacy.

Of course, he could just as easily read all of her narratives, and so that would at least keep them on equal--if frustratingly revealing--footing.

"Oh, I'm quite all right," she answered, and then after a moment's consideration, added, "Well, other than the matter of the peas, anyway."

[thebutcherbird.livejournal.com]

Rosella?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The princess glanced down as her Network device made a noise, curious to see who had contacted her--and her face lit up with a smile as she saw that it was Mozu. She very much enjoyed speaking with the other girl, even if she did occasionally feel a bit self-conscious about her lack of understanding of some aspects of the girl's culture. And of course, she did still feel a little self-conscious anyway, regarding the matter of the peas. (And of course, she felt even more self-conscious that she'd just written all that and had no way of stopping it, thanks to this ever so annoying curse.)

"Hello, Mozu," she said, trying to ignore everything she'd just written. "How are you today?"

[thebutcherbird.livejournal.com]

Apparently a little less verbose than yourself.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

That was another trouble with this curse, the princess mused--that everything she said was so wordy, when under normal circumstances she could sum up her meaning into only a few words. It took so much more time this way, and often led to rambling tangents that she would've rather not revealed, and just generally made for a great mess of things. And she was doing it again, with the rambling, and it was frustrating that she couldn't help it at all.

"I'm afraid so," she admitted with a sigh. "It seems I'm cursed, and narrating everything I do or say. It's very..." She paused, trying to find a word that could properly express her exasperation. "...tedious."

audio;

[worksmart.livejournal.com]

[This pause may or may not be slightly amused.]

How's your head?

audio;

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The princess was surprised and pleased to see that Dr. Chase had messaged her, and thought it was very kind of him to ask about the condition of her head, following the incident with the peas, and a bit dismayed to discover that the narration was not merely confined to the things she wrote down, but the things she said aloud as well. In fact, she imagined she looked quite ridiculous, walking down the street with her bag of groceries in her hand and her Network device in the other, narrating every action she did as she did it.

Finsh biiun uh ib idn oo any good to keep from narrating everything she said, and really in fact only hurt her lip from trying to talk while biting it, she gave up on that idea and decided that perhaps it would be best if she directed her attention to answering Dr. Chase's question, instead.

"It's all right," she answered, though it still ached a little. "No real harm done, I'm sure."

audio;

[worksmart.livejournal.com]

I don't know, you seem to be having a few problems with your speech.

[Finsh biiun uh id idn oo indeed.]

Give me a call if you start feeling dizzy later.

audio;

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

"Well, that's what happens when a person tries to speak a narration and bite her lip at the same time," the princess retorted with more than a little amusement. She was well aware of how silly it was, trying something like that to keep from saying all this out loud, but she supposed it was at least worth a try, anyway, and there was really no harm done by it, other than her lip stinging a little from the biting.

It took her a moment to realize what the good doctor meant when he said she might feel dizzy, though, and so she decided to be certain of his intent by asking about it, as well. "You mean because of the peas?" she inquired.

[princess-crow.livejournal.com]

You made a vow?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The princess received the message from her friend--acquaintance?--friend, Princess Rue, with a mixture of hopefulness and uncertainty. She had been hoping to hear word from Rue for quite some time now, but had been hesitant to seek her out herself, for fear that she might intrude on her friend's solitude--or that it would only upset Rue more to see her, perhaps, and she didn't want that at all. But here was Rue now, and so the princess resolved to tread carefully, glad to hear from her friend once again.

"I did, yes," she wrote back, though she did have to admit that "vow" was a very formal way of putting it. It was really more that she'd just promised herself not to let anything about October break her down, and that she had been relying on her own stubbornness and competitiveness to get her through the month by turning it into a challenge--because she did hate to lose at challenges, after all. But in a sense, it was a vow, and so that was what she called it. "I vowed that I wouldn't let October make me miserable, no matter what."

1/2

[princess-crow.livejournal.com]

Maybe I shouldn't have.

[princess-crow.livejournal.com]

...

You weren't miserable because you're strong. A better person and princess.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Not for the first time that day, the princess wondered how much longer it would be before this ridiculous curse was over. She knew full well that it wouldn't be for hours yet, but she was growing tired of the tendency to spell out everything she said or did in the form of a story on the Network, when it would've been so much faster and simpler to just write her thoughts in plain sentences, the way that she normally did.

Still, the comment about being strong made her consider. She certainly didn't feel very strong at the moment, but she also knew that she had survived trials that many people would never even dream of facing, and that yes, sometimes strength could be found in unlikely places.

"It made it easier, though, having something to cling to," she replied, thinking once again of that vow she'd made. "I think it's easier to be strong when you're doing it for someone or something other than yourself, even if it's something as silly as keeping a promise like that."