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Post by cassandra on Apr 22, 2015 19:31:48 GMT -5
Cassandra stood and surveyed the messy, dusty, attic with her nose wrinkled in disgust. "If they were going to staff the castle in my absence, the least they could have done was have someone clean up here. It's a disgrace!" she huffed. Seeing several trunks gathered together in one corner her innate curiosity took over, overcoming her distaste for dust. Walking over she dragged one of the trunks into the center of the floor and opened it, squealing in delight as it appeared to be full of old clothes. "I love vintage clothing," she squealed to herself. "I wonder if there's anything in here I can use?" Digging through the old dresses and petticoats and giving them a cursory glance, they did appear to be the type of things she would wear. She threw them onto the floor in a heap, to be taken down and washed later, she refused to actually try on anything that dusty! Dragging one of the other boxes to the middle of the floor she opened it, expecting to find more clothes but finding stacks of books instead. "Oh, pooh! Kaden should have found this one, he's the book lover" she thought with disappointment. Just out of curiosity she reached for one of the old tomes and opened it, nearly dropping it in surprise when she saw her name written in obviously very old script. "What the...?"
She picked up the book and took it over to one of the window seats in the attic and drew back the heavy curtains. "I'm not quite sure why they put window seats in an attic, but I'm glad they did." she said outloud as she brushed off the old velveteen cushion and sat down. "Maybe I can see enough by the light of the window to read this and see who was writing about me back in the day, and why..."she murmured as she made herself comfortable and opened up the book.
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Post by sebastian on Apr 22, 2015 20:10:15 GMT -5
"AaaaaaaCHOO!" Why, or why have you chosen this musty, dusty, created-from-the-very-bowels-of-hell sorry excuse for a room to hole up in? And just pray tell why have you chosen to reacquaint yourself with everyone in the damn house but me? Your familiar? For that matter missy, I'd like you to explain just how in hades you managed to slip away without my knowledge, being as how I am your said familiar? By it's very definition you aren't supposed to be able to be anywhere that I don't know about! Well? What have you got to say for yourself missy?" The black cat was standing at full attention with every hair he had standing straight up, giving the illusion of a much larger cat than he actually was, (although he hadn't been eating many skinny cat meals, it would appear) If a cat could have an indignant expression on his face, had had it. In spades.
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Post by cassandra on Apr 22, 2015 20:28:04 GMT -5
"Oh, shut up you flea ridden scourge from hell!" Cassandra hissed at the irritating feline. "I slipped your damn radar rather easily, I am a goddess after all. You were given to me to help and protect me,, not torment my soul! And yeah, I'm glad to be back and missed you as well" So saying she reached out and scratched the top of his indignant head, a gesture he normally despised and hissed over, but seemed to tolerate, even enjoy, today. "Hmmmm...maybe he did miss me. Stranger things have happened.." Returning her attention back to the dusty book in her lap she read on, stumbling over the strange names and ancient script. "Sebby? What do you know about a former Cassandra? One that lived a couple of centuries ago? Seems she was all caught up in some forbidden love affair...hmmm...def my ancestor...but she just disappears from the story one day...nothing said about what happened to her or anything. Her lover, it appears, left and resettled in another country, but no word of him taking her with him...Sebby? Are you listening to me? SEBBY!" The darn cat's eyes seemed to have glazed over. Like he was staring at something way in the distance.
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Post by sebastian on Apr 22, 2015 20:32:17 GMT -5
"I don't know anything about anything! I was born a poor ignorant child many, many, centuries, ago...Please don't beat me Miss Cassandra, I swear I don't know nothing about nothing!" The cat whined while attempting to grovel, even though it went against everything in his being to even fake groveling.
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Post by cassandra on Apr 22, 2015 20:38:55 GMT -5
Sandra just stared at the cat, her face totally expressionless. "You ain't even funny," she finally managed. "If you keep on with that routine you'll have the PC police down on us in a minute and they don't play. Poor ignorant child my foot! You were formed a full blown scourge from hell and everyone that knows anything about you, knows it! Now quit clowning and answer me, I can tell by the way you're trying to divert my attention you know something about this story and I want to hear about it. I'm intrigued, for some reason. Maybe because she's my namesake...or I'm hers...or some damn thing! Anyway, furball, SPILL!". "I'm a feline just like you Sebby...and the more you try and deflect my curiosity, the more you end up whetting it. What's in here you don't want me to see, Sebby?" Getting no reply, Cassandra looked up and saw that the pesky feline had slipped away. "That's not like him," she thought to herself. "Dunno what's in this book, but I'm twice as curious as I was before!" So saying she settled in for a long read.
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Post by cassandra on Apr 23, 2015 0:52:29 GMT -5
....A beautiful green field, with wildflowers all around...grass soft and velvety looking, colored the deepest deep green, emerald green....two people come into a view: A beautiful woman with long, coal black hair worn loose down her back, and a handsome, equally dark haired man, his hair worn long in the custom of another time. The woman is dressed in a long gown, also from another time, the man in a simple tunic and slacks. They are laughing, and holding hands, obviously reveling in each other's company. ....."Cassandra...slow down...I'm out of breath!" The man calls, quickly answered by the giggling woman, " Letting a little girl outlast you Tristan? I'd think your manly pride would forbid you're admitting it!" My manly pride is admitting nothing!" The man replied, laughing, while at the same time falling down onto his back, still holding onto her hand, causing her to tall on top of him. "What would dear old dad have to say to this m'lady? Wallowing about on top of the servants?" Well, then, if you are indeed my servant, then you must do my every bidding, and I bid you to kiss me! Right now, sir!" "That's one order I'll happily oblige, m'lady" and his mouth came down on top of hers...hard...demanding...yet soft and gentle at the same time...[/i
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fiona
Junior Member
Fiona Vampire
Posts: 69
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Post by fiona on Apr 23, 2015 0:55:56 GMT -5
"Cassandra? Are you here? Gads it's awful dusty up here! Cassandra! Oh ! There you are! Did you fall asleep up here?"
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Post by cassandra on Apr 23, 2015 1:06:24 GMT -5
"Huh? Whaaa?" Cassandra still felt heavy and logy from the dream, if in fact, it had been a dream. "Yeah, I'm here..what did you want?"
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fiona
Junior Member
Fiona Vampire
Posts: 69
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Post by fiona on Apr 23, 2015 1:17:44 GMT -5
"Nothing really, I just missed you and wondered where you'd gotten off to. Oh! Look at these old dresses! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in your life? Look at the stitching and attention to detail. These were really meant to last. I know! Why don't we take them down to the laundry and have them done up? I'd bet they would fit us and wouldn't it be fun to come to dinner in vintage dresses? After all, we do live n a castle, may as well dress the part!" Fiona said laughing.
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Post by cassandra on Apr 23, 2015 1:23:45 GMT -5
"Yes, I suppose that would be fun. Fi, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you about, but I don't want to offend you.." Cassandra began slowly. "It's just that...well...since I've been back there seems to be a lot of servants here. There's people to do everything for you except eat and breathe!"
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fiona
Junior Member
Fiona Vampire
Posts: 69
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Post by fiona on Apr 23, 2015 1:30:39 GMT -5
"Yes, I've noticed the look on your face every time servants are mentioned. The truth is, Cass, there always was a lot of work to be done here, Lilyrose and Narym just quietly did it and made it look effortless. Trust me, it's not. Now, with them gone, well,...I had to do something. It's not like there's not money in the castle budge to pay these people, so why not? I know when you ran out on your father all those years ago, you also turned your back on his wealth and the perks that come with it., but face it girlie. You're a princess! The wealth you have here wasn't handed to you, you literally fought for it! Now, you can live like a pauper if you want. The rest of us, who also fought for that wealth, don't want to."
"If it makes it any easier then look at it this way, you're providing jobs to people who need them!"
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Post by cassandra on Apr 23, 2015 1:51:18 GMT -5
"I know you don't. I don't expect you to, really. I think it's about Narym and Lilyrose. Like having these other people here is intruding on their territory and it seems wrong, somehow. I just keep hoping they'll come back. Do you think they will?"
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fiona
Junior Member
Fiona Vampire
Posts: 69
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Post by fiona on Apr 23, 2015 1:54:28 GMT -5
"I dunno kiddo, I really don't. What I do know, is this: If Narym and Lilyrose do come back, they'd rather come home to a tidy castle vs. a filthy one! Now, I'm going downstairs and raiding the fridge, wanna come with?"
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Post by cassandra on Apr 23, 2015 4:36:44 GMT -5
"No, thanks. I think I'll stay here for a bit and go through this old book I found. If want though you can take the dresses down to the laundry" Cassandra laughed as Fiona stuck her tongue out at her as she gathered the clothes and left. "Now where was I," she mused as she opened the book again. Finding her place she began to read, not noticing as her eyes began to feel heavy and her head to nod.
I "I see you came back to visit me, my love" the man said as he reached and took her hand. "I've waited so long for you!" "Who are you?" she asked in confusion. "Where am I? More importantly, how did I get here?" Cassandra felt lost in confusion. Was she awake? Or asleep> She honestly didn't know. "Wait, " she thought. "If it's a dream I won't have any sensation if I try and touch something." So thinking, she reached down and reached for a flower, gasping in surprise as the stem broke off in her hand! "Who are you? Whhhere am I?" she stammered in confusion to the man standing beside her.
"You are Cassandra, of course. Who I am doesn't really matter in this place...in this time.. Where you are is more difficult to answer, but rest assured you're in no place where harm will come to you. " With that the man reached out and took her hand/ "Come, there are many places for us to go, many things I want to share with you, and I'm never sure how long you will get to stay.
Cassandra let the man lead her by the hand not knowing what to say. She stared down at the flower in her hand in dumbfounded amazement. "The earth! I feel the earth beneath my feet! I can't be dreaming because in dreams you don't feel the earth when you walk!"
"No, my love, you aren't 'dreaming'. Not in the way it's understood in your world," The man said. Apparently he could read her thoughts.
"Then who are you? I can't just keep thinking of you as 'The Man'"! Cassandra thought the question to see if he could indeed read her mind,.
"I am Tristan. Yes, your thoughts are communicated to me. There's literally no need for words here." "Where you are is harder to explain. An altered state of reality would come closest, I imagine, though not quite. You're not just experiencing this place in your mind. Try and take the flower back with you when you leave and you will see. You can take objects from here back to your world."
"Look, we're here. There's our cottage. Though it's been empty these many years, I'm sure you will find it as welcoming as you ever did."
"As I ever did?" Cassandra questioned him aloud, not used to talking to someone with her mind. "Are you saying I've been here before? Then why have I no memory of it?" She stopped walking as she spoke, pulling on his hand and forcing him to face her.
"Ahhh, but you do have memories of this place. Traces of memories, at least. You just wrote them off as dreams. Does the very landscape not feel familiar to you? Come inside the cottage, you'll find many more things that are familiar there." So saying Tristan once more pulled her forward by the hand, leading her into the cottage.
As she entered the cottage one of the first things she noticed was that while it appeared quite small from outside, once inside it was really quite large, with many rooms seeming to lead off from the main one. Walking around this room she observed many things which did seem to trigger 'memories' of a sort. There were shelves that went the full width of one of the walls. On one shelf were many figurines. Looking closer, Cassandra gasped in surprised to find they all were exact replica's of everyone in the castle! On another shelf she saw more figurines, these of people she had known, but who were no longer in her life. On still another, she saw animals., dogs, cats, rabbits..Looking closer she gasped again...they were identical replicas of pets she'd had. There was Bugsy, her rabbit. Max, her dog. Even Keisha, her ferret! All dead these many years, but perfectly replicated here. Turning away from the shelf she noticed what appeared to be a large television screen hanging on the wall. As she stared, a picture formed on the screen. As she watched in disbelief she saw Kaden, sleeping as she'd left him at the castle. Reaching out to touch the screen in wonder, the scene changed as soon as made contact. Now it showed Fiona in the kitchen, making a salad. Blaine coming in behind her and snatching a strawberry off her plate. This appeared to be her actual friends, shown in real time. On a screen. Totally confused Cassandra looked up at...Tristan? for an explanation. "Do you have my castle bugged?" she thought the question to him.
"Not in the way that you mean, but I do have the same access as if I did. It's hard to explain in words you can understand." "And, yes, Tristan is my name. I'm surprised you find it so foreign on your tongue. " he said aloud. "Go ahead, look around all you want. This is your home, for the time I have you here, at least."
He didn't speak the last sentence, it just came unbidden into Cassandra's head, chilling her to the bone! "I don't want to be here! I must be dreaming! I have to be dreaming! I want to wake up now! Now/! Now!" Cassandra screamed the words both inside her head and aloud, coming close to hysteria.
"Shhhh! Shhhhhhh! My love, calm down!" As Tristan murmured the words to her, he reached and took her in his arms for a moment. Feeling her struggling even more against him, he gave her a violent push causing her to fall back...and back......back!
Reaching out to grab anything to break her fall, Cassandra was surprised to feel the thick velvet of the attic curtains in her hand. "Wow....what a realistic dream" she said as she stood. Unseen by her, a crushed flower fell to the floor at her feet.
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Post by cassandra on Apr 24, 2015 13:19:07 GMT -5
HOURS LATER.....
Cassandra returned to the attic with the freshly laundered and pressed dresses she had found earlier in the day in the attic. Taking them over to a corner by the window where there was plenty of light, she hung them on a nail and began to look at them one by one. "Hmmmm...most of these are entirely too fussy and not at all my type, but this one...hmmmm.....so saying she held out a light lavender gown, styled in the empire waist style of many years ago. The gown had short cap sleeves, and a darker purple velvet ribbon wound round just under the bust, the skirt very full and flowing. "I just wonder how this would look on me,?" she mused aloud and began to remove her own clothing in order to try on the gown.
As the gown flowed over her body she felt a strange sensation. Familiar was the only way she knew to describe it, it felt as if she'd worn it before. It fit her as if it had been made for her, the faint scent of lavender that came from the fabric also seemed familiar, although it was not a scent Cassandra wore.
Seeing a large mirror in the far corner of the attic, Cassandra walked over to view herself in it, loving the way the dress flowed around her angles, lightly brushing against them with every step. Peering at her reflection, she had an instant where the reflection staring back at her wasn't her own! The reflection peering back from the mirror had hair much longer than Cassandra's own, tied loosely back in a pony tail, with small tendrils curling around her face. Blinking furiously and looking again, the reflection..shimmered...and, once it stilled, Cassandra saw only herself staring back. The dress and facial features the same, the hair shorter and of one length. As she continued to stare at her reflection, there was again a sort of shimmering and once again Cassandra saw the other reflection in the mirror. Her, yet not her. The hair long and flowing past the middle of her back, shorter tendrils curing about her face...and...and...somehow...behind the reflection, rather than the dusty attic, there were fields, and flowers, and hills.....and...and...in the distance...the same thatched roof cottage she'd dreamed about!
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