Starlight House

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine smiled up at Sky and tugged his hand. "C'mon. Think of this as an extra credit project. How to get to know your people and better understand what they need in their lives," she said. "But yeah, it's Magix and not Eraklyon, and it's a foster home, but work with me, damn it." She was fairly bubbling with excitement.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Honey, I'm home," she called playfully, her signal to let the kids know that Miss Christine had come to help out and play with them. "Kids, this is Sky. He's a friend of mine and he came to help out. So, be nice."

She tapped one of the little girls on the nose. "Have you been getting into Deirdre's makeup again, Ash? You know she doesn't like that." She shook her head and chuckled softly. "Okay, so what story do you want to hear this time?"

OOC: tags Sky, and a bunch of little NPC children XD
edit OOC: www.loony-archivist.com/jem/primer/img/gallery/locations/starlighthouse.jpg

[Random NPC]

: "Beauty and the beast?" a timid voice asked from behind Deirdre, Ba Nee step forward and with a shy smile, "it's my favorite." Ba Nee loved it when Christine came to visit she always told the best stories.

OCC: I'll find a pic for Bonee later, and check the spelling of her name. XD

_{OOC by admin: added picture and fixed the spelling of her name}

[Chris Strongheart]

OOC: XD One step ahead of you - have an image found. And it's Ba Nee I'll have her icon made in a moment

"Beauty and the beast," Christine repeated, tilting her head slightly. Hm... She glanced up at Sky. "Well, we're in luck," she said, crouching down to get to the eye level of the girls. "Sky's going to help us tell the story." She smiled at the girls. "Now, let's see..."

She rocked back on her heels. "Once upon a time, in a land far away, lived a prince. He was proud, spoiled and selfish, not to mention very vain. He was given everything he wanted - but not what he needed. What he needed was pure love - the kind of love a mother has for a child, a husband for his wife. Because he was denied it, he was not a very sympathetic person."

She glanced at Sky, hoping he'd help her tell the story. "One night, during the coldest night in anyone's memory, an old beggar woman knocked at the prince's door - hoping to find shelter within." She paused and looked at the girls and said in an imitation of old woman's voice, spoke the lines of the old beggar woman. "Sire, please.. may I find shelter within your castle walls. It's too cold for an old woman like me to be traveling... I can not give you much, just this simple red rose..."

[Sky]

Realizing that that was his cue to jump in, Sky continued as he uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck, "The prince was not swayed, however, by the old woman's sorry state - quite the opposite, actually. Rather than opening his doors to her and offering her a room, which he easily could have since the castle was very large and had many empty beds, he instead laughed at her and told her that the cold would do her good."

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine smiled approvingly at Sky before picking up the story. "The old woman chuckled quietly, obviously not something the prince was expecting. A golden glow bathed the old woman, and her ugliness melted away, revealing a young woman, an enchantress." She paused and slipped into a melodic voice, protraying the the enchantress. "Because there was no love in your heart, you are nothing more than a beast. So, with this in mind, let your form reflect what you truly are." She chuckled quietly, as the enchantress would have done. "But do not despair, for there is a way to break this spell. You must learn to love and be loved in return. Only then may you regain your human form."

[Sky]

"The prince was shocked at the sight before his eyes and as the enchantress cast her spell, he begged her to show him mercy - but it was useless. The enchantress would not be swayed. Instead, before she left the castle, she gave the prince the magical rose and told him that if he ever wished to break the spell, he must find love before his twenty-first birthday upon which the last rose petal would fall. Should he succeed in loving and being loved, the spell would be broken . . . but if he failed, his curse would become permanent."

[Chris Strongheart]

"The prince fell into despair and lost all hope, for whoever could learn to love a beast? Years passed and the prince soon faded from his people's memory. Well, perhaps not completely, for while they soon forgot the human, no one could forget about the beast that now inhabited the prince's castle," Christine said quietly. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and thought. "With a year remaining before his curse was made permanent, a young girl moved into the village with her father. The girl was incredibly curious, and quite intelligent, quite an odd combo for a girl at that time."

[Sky]

"Indeed, as the years passed, the prince, having no true contact with those outside of his castle, began to grow more beast-like than ever before. He forgot all his manners, forgot about etiquette - forgot what it was like to be human. At times, even, he forgot that he had ever been human; in his eyes, he was a beast through and through. And he knew that in the eyes of others, that was all he could ever be. But he also knew that the townspeople hated him and wanted him dead; they viewed him as a threat and they spread vicious, frightening stories about how he would eat their children and their livestock. All of this, the prince saw through his magical mirror, which allowed him to see what was going on anywhere he wished; it was his only connection to humanity . . . and it was his most treasured possession. Because although what he saw hurt him and enraged him, the prince preferred it to being completely locked out of what had once been his world."

[Chris Strongheart]

"Remember the girl from the village," Christine said, drawing their attention back to her. "One day, she overheard some hunters talking about the beast. Naturally, her curiosity was peaked and she had the strong desire to go find the beast, perhaps warn him of his impending danger. So, three days after learning about the beast, in the dead of night, the young girl slipped out of her house, and headed for the castle."

[Sky]

"The thing was, that night a dangerous storm was brewing. And as the girl was making her way toward the castle she grew frightened at the sounds of the thunder drawing closer and closer; naturally, she panicked and ran. But she ran the wrong way - instead of going back toward her home, she ran in the direction of the dark, dark woods. It was a terrible mistake for in these woods, many things were awake and were lurking around just off the path, waiting for something to come along to pounce on."

As Sky related his part of the story, he sighed inwardly. He simply wasn't good with children - he just could never feel comfortable around them and he never knew what to say or how to talk to them. And what was more, he didn't share Christine's enthusiasm for charity work or volunteering or whatever it was called. It just wasn't for him - it was too hands on, too interactive. He was much more the type to write a check to help build better facilities or whatnot. But he supposed it wouldn't hurt him too much to do it this one time. Since this was something Christine obviously cared about.

[Chris Strongheart]

"Finally, the girl made it to the castle, but after being frightened many a time, and blood dripped from her arm from where she had gotten clawed by a wolf," Christine said, smiling at the children. "She silently slipped into the castle and stood in the entrence way, awed by what she saw. Though the castle had fallen into disrepair due to the prince and staff being cursed. Yes, the enchantress cursed the staff - if only to give the prince some measure of company, albeit, not human companionship."

She paused for a moment and spoke in the voice that the young girl from the story would have, "Hello? Is anybody here?" she said before switching back to her own voice. "The girl called out, hoping someone would answer her and lend her aid. But the only noise she heard was the soft drip drip drip of her crimson blood on the stone floor beneath her feet."

[Random NPC]

: Ba Nee moved up and snuggled next to Christine. That was the best spot to sit and listen to the stories and as she was the youngest one the others tended to let Ba Nee sit there the most. Ba Nee held her breath as she waited to hear what would happen next, Ba Nee could almost tell the story herself but still loved to hear other people tell it to her.

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine stroked Ba Nee's long dark hair as the young girl snuggled close. It was a rather soothing act for the two of them, besides, it helped take her mind off the wait for Sky to pick up his bit.

[Sky]

"Upon receiving no answer to her calls, the girl tentatively moved deeper into the castle believing that it must certainly be deserted. It was easy for her to think this, though we know that it was not true, because it was ever so dark and very, very still. It did not seem at all welcoming and since the girl was in many ways still very innocent, she could not imagine in her wildest dreams that someone could actually live in a place so gloomy." Pausing for a few moments for dramatic effect, Sky then continued, "But then, the girl saw something up ahead. It was very faint, but upon squinting her eyes, she realized that it was a light of some sort. Curious, the girl began to walk toward it, not thinking for one moment that the castle may not be as safe as she assumed it to be."

[Chris Strongheart]

Christine paused, trying to think of how to continue the story. "The girl silently made her way up the stairs, heading in the direction of the light. "Hello?" she called again, hoping she'd get an answer this time. She was more then a bit frightened when she heard a strange noise behind her. She turned around slowly and took a small step backwards, and then another. "Who, what are you?" she asked the person who appeared in the shadows."

She had to mentally laugh at how they had set this up - so she would do the maiden and Sky the beast, which pretty much was accurate for them - she the maiden and well, he the beast. She settled down, adjusting Ba Nee on her lap and waited patiently for the "beast" to answer. Then her thoughts came to a screaming halt as she remembered that there was a bit of love in the story and her cheeks suddenly took on a crimson hue.