Prologue:No one ever knew what to expect from Metha, a woman that could be labeled clinically insane, if a clinic ever found her. The humorous part? No one ever did try to send her to an asylum, even though she certainly wasn't shy about her presence. She posted ads for "Metha's Motley Palace," the trader's outpost that she happily volunteered to manage, everywhere. She let anyone and everyone into her home without so much as thinking twice. Crazy? Of course! Like anyone would steal from her anyway! [Oh yes, she held far too much faith in people.]
The question one would always had to ask: what if even
she lost it? Could someone without it, ever loose it?
Setting: Metha's Motley PalaceStory:"Oh, it was a dark and stormy night...~" Metha chimed in, her voice coming across with it's usual hint of madness, but of the darker sort. Hey! You couldn't very well tell a horror story without a scary voice! Besides, it really
was dark and stormy! That's exactly why the Lucain-gone-human was sitting inside her large, bright colored palace.
The story started centered in the middle of her office, her forever stage. She was relaxed back in a large ornate armchair, her feet propped up on her desk. There was no one around and no other sound, aside from her own voice, the rain crashing down on the roof and the occasional blast of rolling thunder in the distance. At times, one would catch the woman flinching when the thunder was too loud.
Alone. Alone. Alone...
Silence.
People could go insane under those conditions if they were left under them long enough.
"There was a little girl, with little black curls and little black eyes. She sang, 'One, two, buckle up you~ Three, four, lock the door~ Five, six, pick up sticks~ Seven, eight, run them straight~ Nine, ten, you're dead again~!' Of course, the little girl hardly understood what she was singing about. She just made it all rhyme. Can't blame a kid for that! Ah, imaginations, such a wonderful thing~" Metha laughed. "Oh right. Story, story. So this little girl was always alone. No one wanted to be her friend,
because she was too weird. The other little girls and little boys would tell her that all the time. And what did the little girl do? She laughed in their faces. She believed that weird was always better than what they could ever be. It was a compliment to the little girl! A freakshow, a freakshow~"
"One day, the little girl, whom, by the way, never had a name, ran away from home. Her parents were dead anyway. To her. They didn't
want her! She was too weird for them too." Metha shook her head. "The poor little dear. Really, she should just come live with me! I'd love her! Erm... Haha! Oops. There I go again~!" She laughed at herself once more.
...Just who was Metha telling the story to anyway...?
No one around, still. But she kept going!
"When the little girl ran away, she found herself in a strange palace. The outside was bright and whimsical, just the place for the little girl to go. As she approached the doors, she was greeted by singing flowers~ They sung, 'One, two, buckle up you~ Three, four, lock the door~ Five, six, pick up sticks~ Seven, eight, run them straight~ Nine, ten, you're dead again~!' The little girl laughed. 'You know my song!' she proclaimed, her cheshire grin stretching from one side of her face to the other. The little girl then proceeded into the palace, throwing the doors open like a crazed queen who ruled the world~! Or...at least owned the palace... And what happened then? Ooooh, aaaaah. I wonder~ I wonder~ Haha! The girl fell down!"
"Down, down, down, she fell! But what? What about the floor? Didn't she hit the floor? No! She went
through the floor. In other words, the floor ate her! She was quite delicious, I have you know! At least, that's what the floor told me later..." Metha nodded her head, seeming quite serious. "But oh! How does the girl escape?! Haha! For another day, for another day my dear~!"
"Miss Metha, what in the names of all the Gods
are you doing?"
"Don't say the 'names of all the Lords!' Say 'name of the wondrous God Zu'hai!' Didn't you hear? He has wooshy robes~ Wooshy robes, I tell you! Isn't it amazing!?"
As Metha responded, she leaned forward in her chair. Very forward. So forward, in fact, that she tumbled right out of her chair! She rolled twice, before springing up.
"Anyways, anyways~ I was telling a story to the walls! I think they enjoyed it~! Though, I think they're jealous that the floor got to eat the little girl and they didn't...."
The young woman rambled on about her story, only to be cut off by the pink coated Rabbot standing in the doorway.
"You killed a little girl in your story?!" He suddenly exclaimed, quite surprised. It wasn't like his mistress to think of horrible things. She loved kids...
"Not forever~ She comes baaaack!" Metha grinned wildly, putting on a too innocent look.
"Right...Anyway. I came in to tell you, there was a knock on the doors. It was a little girl caught in the storm. She said that she ran away from home and had nowhere else to stay. I let her in and led her to you're room to pick out a change of clothes."
Now, while this seemed like something unwise for the Rabbot to do, he was Metha's assistant and, knowing that helping the little girl was something that she'd want, he
had to do it. Not by force, but because...because. [*cough*] He loved her, of course! Where do you think Metha got all that paper to burn in the furnace? Duh! The unread love letters he sent her did a wonderful job of providing fuel~!
"A little girl?" Metha cocked her head to one side, a curiosity igniting in her almost-coal colored eyes. "Wont you take me to her?"
"Of course, M'lady."
The pair left the room at a...sort of slow pace. Metha was walking awkwardly, throwing her legs forward one at a time and taking ridiculously large steps. It just didn't look natural for her to do so, but it made her smile. This caused the male Rabbot to hurry along beside her, resorting to trotting on all fours along side her.
Down and up and around the hall they went, until they came to a big wooden door, just barely cracked open.
"There she is." The Rabbot announced, only to get shushed by the Lucain woman. Her ears perked forward, listening to the movement inside her own bedroom. She could hear the sound of tiny footsteps pattering against the hardwood flooring. She leaned in closer to the door, still not peering inside yet - which the Rabbot seemed to find unusual. His mistress wasn't known for being very cautious, she would normally burst through the doors like she owned the place [even though she did].
"Yes, yes. Why don't you go tend to our other guests." She whispered, with a shooing motion of one hand.
"But Miss, are you sure you don't need me to stay?" He asked, almost begged. He didn't want to go, he wanted to remain of use. And besides, while he knew his mistress was a little off, she seemed unusually so right about now.
"Shuuush! Yes. Go!"
Reluctantly, the Rabbot waddled away on his hind two feet, to do as she had asked of him...
From the corner of her eyes, Metha watched him go. It wasn't until she was sure that he was gone that she finally peered inside. In the middle of her room stood a little girl wearing one of her smaller shirts, which was still too big on the little girl, and a shorter skirt, which also looked long on the little girl. Metha smiled to herself, glancing down at her own outfit which was pretty much the same one that the little girl had chosen from her wardrobe - purple, black, bright green and blue made up their outfits. The little girl had black hair and black eyes. Yep. It was
her. Who her? Only Metha knew.
"Hello, there." The woman finally pushed the door open to the room, causing the little girl to whip herself around to look up at her. For an instant, the little girl seemed frightened, but soon, a smile broke onto her face.
"So I heard that you are lost?" Metha asked, to which the little girl nodded and replied, "Yes. I was. But I'm not lost anymore."
"I see..."
The little girl suddenly held out her hand, looking up at Metha expectantly. Metha was smiling, as she hardly ever
didn't smile. She took the little girl's hand in her own, to lead her away from the bedroom, knowing just what she wanted. Hot cocoa~ What little kid didn't want hot cocoa?!
"So why are you here?" Metha asked.
"I ran away from home. And then the storm started up.
There's a freeze warming- I mean, freeze warning in effect, you know?" The little girl spoke, looking up at the woman's face breifly. "It's funny, it's not that cold around here. The closer you get to the palace, the warmer it seems to get. It's snowing everywhere else, but it's only raining here..."
"Is it now? That's a little weird, isn't it?"
"I like weird!" The little girl almost shouted her statement.
"I know you do..." Metha replied, quietly.
Soon enough, the woman and the girl made it to the largest kitchen in the palace, hand in hand. The ceilings were incredibly high, there were several large refrigerators and a large amount of counter space. After all, the palace often sustained a large amount of guests at one time, the set up was needed.
"Uuuuhhh..." The little girl wasn't staring at the overdone kitchen, but up at the ceiling. "
I don't pretend to understand it but... are those whales in the sky?"
Metha glanced up and, sure enough, there were miniature whales floating around up there. There were killer whales, sperm whales, and even a few beluga whales. Holy! Was that a shark?! Yes, there were a few baby hammerhead sharks up there too. Shoo cyute~~!
"Now, that's the ceiling, not the sky, and there are sharks up there too." Metha corrected the little girl.
Still stunned by the sight, the girl just slowly gave a nod. "Yea...That's...I like the baby sharks..." Other than the fact that it was definitely one of the strangest things to see, the little girl didn't seem put off by it. Nope! She liked it, loved it, actually.
Without going on about the flying sea creatures any longer, Metha went through the process of making warm cocoa for her and her young guest.
"Hot cocoa is great, but I like tea too. Do you like tea?" The little girl asked, having taken a seat on a stool to watch the woman as she worked.
"I love tea!" Metha answered.
"My favorite is peppermint." They both said at once.
Both of them stopped dead for a moment, before laughing in unison.
It was while Metha was still preparing the two tea cups filled with hot cocoa that the male Rabbot appeared in the room, shouting, "Miss Metha, I've tended to all of the guests! Oh!" He spotted the little girl almost right away. "Well, hello, again." He greeted her, putting on a sort of forced smile.
"Did you?" Metha looked back at her assistant, watching his reaction for a moment. Though, she found, he didn't appear to notice the resemblance between the two.
She took a seat in a stool beside the little girl, setting down the two cups of steamy, sweet chocolate liquid. "How is everyone?"
"They're all fine, Miss. Perfectly well." He assured her, rubbing his paws together out of random habit. "I was considering, though, going outside and checking on the guests in the lake."
The little girl, who was mostly ignoring the adults and about to take a sip of her cocoa, shot her head up when she heard him say this.
"
Don't even try! Your colors will fall right off!"
The Rabbot turned to her, startled. "What? My colors will...?"
"Didn't you know? Didn't you hear? They say that all will change on a day like this... I don't know just who
they are, but some weird stuff if happening, that's for sure. I bet you that the water has an acidic property."
"But you came from outside in the rain, and you are fine." What a silly girl, he thought.
The little girl shook her head.
"Who said that I was fine? Look where I am! The flowers in the garden sing, there are whales in the sky, and I constantly hear that awful ticking!"
Metha, oddly, remained silent during the entire exchange. She just stared at the little girl, pretending as if none of them came across as unusual.
"Erm...Ticking...?" The Rabbot looked confused.
"Yes, from the clock tower." She stated matter-of-factly, almost as if he was stupid if he didn't know.
"...."
"Oh, I guess you didn't know!" The girl laughed. "There is a clock tower in your room. When the clock stops ticking, you will die." Somehow, even with that cryptic of a statement, the little girl's voice came across as sweet as ever.
"Whaaaat!?! Metha, do you hear this!?" He turned to stare at his mistress, to find that she wasn't at all put off by what the girl said, like he was. Which could only mean... "No...no!" He shook his head. "She's just a little girl telling all sorts of lies! You can't tell me that you actually
believe her!"
Metha's expression, for once, was solemn. All that was, except for her eyes. Her dark eyes had a strange glint to them, like she wasn't quite all there any more.
"I'm not...going to die..." He protested, weakly, falling back on his butt. "No...I'm not..."
The little girl laughed.
"But you will, you will. I could stop it. But, you see,
I love you... but not that much."
The Rabbot, once again, looked up at her, confusion and horror written on her face.
"You can't love me! You don't know me..."
"Oh, but I do~! I do~!" She threw her head back, howling in her sweet laughter. Suddenly, she leaned to the side, and fell right out of her seat. She tumbled a time or two, stopping and somehow managing to be standing on her feat when she did. "Couldn't you recognize me? Look at her, look at me." She gestured toward Metha, who remained out of it.
It dawned on him then, finally. The two looked so much alike, it was uncanny. Sure, Metha now had colored steaks in her black hair, but it was there. The two of them could be twins! Aside from their obvious years apart in age...
"But how...? It's not possible..."
"Didn't I just tell you that strange things are happening?
I'm that strange thing. And, because you are so terribly annoying, you need to die. Simple enough, is it not? You
love me, but I cannot love. Haven't you gotten that hammered into your thick skull yet?"
The male was at a loss, though his mind was abruptly working a mile a minute. What to do, what to say? Should he run? Would that help him escape the fate?
Wait...Why did he even believe her? Of course, that was no question. Anything could happen in Metha's world. Why should it surprise him that he ended up meeting Metha when she was little girl, right here, right now, when the real Metha was still conscious. Well... No. From that dazed look, his Metha was gone...
That's it!
His eyes went to the older Metha.
"What have you done to her?"
"Oh, she couldn't be around for this. She's just asleep, don't worry. She'll be free, after you're dead."
"Why do you want me dead?"
"Because I feel like it~ Shouldn't you have guessed that'd be the answer, since you know me oh so well?" She paused, eyes narrowing, "Tick. Tick. Tick. Time's a'wasting~"
He stood up, taking a step closer. Was he crazy?! No, he was plotting...
"May I ask for a favor, if I'm going to die so soon?"
"A favor?" This request just so happened to intrigue the little girl a bit.
"Yes, a favor." He took another step forward, one at a time.
"What kind of favor?"
"A kiss."
"A kiss!? You want
me to kiss
you?! That's ridiculous! Disgusting!"
The Rabbot shook his head. "No, it's not. I have always loved you, remember? It's the least you could do..."
The child version of Metha was making a face, yet, somehow, couldn't think enough to protest.
"Not you, though. The real Metha. The one I fell in love with. I'd feel sick if I kissed a little girl."
She turned up her nose. "I don't see why I should let you."
"I love you. Isn't that a reason enough?"
"But I don't love you!"
"But I'm going to die soon anyway."
"Ugh! Fine! Whatever! Kiss the empty shell for all I care!"
"I will."
He stepped before the adult Metha, eyes staying on her younger self until he leaned in toward the other's lips. The little girl looked away in disgust. Perfect! In a sudden burst of light, the Rabbot's form changed. He became a man with pink hair, wearing dress pants and a dress shirt with a pink vest- yet, the little girl would never see him like this. He hefted the unresponsive Metha into his arms, using the burst of light from his transformation as a means of escape.
He ran. Ran as fast as his feet would carry him down the hallway. Metha was held in his arms bridal style, completely dead weight. It was as if she wasn't even alive.
He came to the door to his room and kicked it open, kicking it shut again when they were both safely inside. Sure enough, their was a large clock tower, much like a grandfather clock, standing in the middle of his room. He laid Metha down as carefully as he could while trying to be fast. When she was settled, he wasted no time jumping up and locking the bolt on the inside of his door. Surely, the girl was angry with him now. And this was her world.
Frantically, he went back to Metha's side. What to do, what to do! He needed to wake her up, but was at a loss...
No, bad, idea, bad. His mind was working as fast as it could go, but no realistic ideas would come.
Until...What about what he told the girl? A kiss...? That seemed so overly cliche, but it...it was worth a try, wasn't it?
Tentatively, he knelt down beside the woman's head, slipping a hand gently behind it to prop it up a bit. He leaned closer, slowly, a blush warming his cheeks even though she was...asleep. His eyes moved across her face rapidly. To her eyes, which remained open despite her state, then to her lips. Closing his own eyes, his lips pressed against hers. Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock counted the seconds. Nothing happened. At first.
When about ten seconds past, the Metha's conscious mind snapped back into reality [well, her version of reality]. Her eyes grew wide and her throat produced a squeaky sound of horror. The Rabbot man pulled back, reading her horrific expression, his own eyes wide. His heart beat fast with excited relief. She was alive! She was awake!
Metha sat up. Her mind felt like it was filled with a think fog, like it had been smothering her. She rubbed her head, before she looked to the man.
"Just
what were you doing!?" ... "Ow.Ow.Ow..." Raising her voice made it hurt. It took a second, but her mind processed it. "You-You...you just kissed me!"
"I had to wake you up!" He said hastefully in defense of his actions. He knew she wouldn't have liked it, but he had to admit, to himself, that he did like having to chance to kiss her just once... "We have no time to waste, Miss. The other you wants me dead, and frankly, I don't want to die. That was not in my job description!"
With his help, Metha rose to her feet. "She wants you... But why?" Unlike her younger self, Metha was oblivious to the Rabbot's affections. She didn't even know the anonymous love letters that she burned were from him. She never opened them to read them.
"That's not really important, I don't think, Miss! The clock stops, I will die." Seeing as he was staring at the clock, he need not point it out to her. She noticed it on her own.
"Oh my..."
"Help me knock it over?" He asked, though felt he didn't actually need to. Metha would help him, he had faith enough in her for that.
Metha nodded in agreement, no questions asked. No need to ask questions in a place like this.
The two of them positioned themselves on one side of the clock tower, hands planted firmly against the side of it, and began to push against it.
Try as they might, the clock tower just wouldn't move at this rate. Even with their combined strength, they couldn't get it to budge.
And they were disrupted by a loud, continuous banging on the door. "Let me in! Give me my body back!" A young voice was screaming at them from the other side.
"It's her." The Rabbot man stated, trying remain calm.
"The clock won't budge..." Metha reminded him, obviously becoming worried now.
"We need a plan..."
Silence... all except for the younger Metha still screaming and beating on the door.
Then Metha came to a conclusion, "Let her in."
"What?!" The man turned to her, giving her a look as if she was mad. "Are you crazy!?"
Metha looked back at him, her expression serious as ever. "Yes, I am crazy. Now open the door."
As much as he wanted to argue with her, he decided to trust her instead. Ever so slowly, he approached the door.
"Did you hear that? She said she wanted to let you in... Stop hitting the door, and I...I...I will open it."
The girl seemed satisfied, and stopped her assault on the door.
All the while, Metha had made her way to the other side of the room, grabbing something from the wall...
His hand reached for the lock, his hand shaking. He griped it, took a deep breath, and...
click. The door was unlocked.
The door was thrown open by the girl, her eyes narrowed into slits. Her expression was fixed in anger.
She lunged at the man, but Metha threw herself in the way, intercepting her attack. They landed with a heavy thud, and rolled. Simultaneously, there was a second, softer
thud sound. The Rabbot looked down, to see a knife sitting at his feet. So that was Metha's plan. It all made sense now.
As the adult Metha pinned her younger self to the ground, sitting on her legs and her hands holding her arms down, he came forth. But he was hesitant...
"Just do it already!" Metha shouted at him when he didn't act. "It won't do anything to me, I swear, just do it!"
The little girl squirmed for dear life, but couldn't escape. It very Metha of her not to scream even when faced with death.
The man leaned forward, the knife held tightly in hand.
"I thought you loved me!" So she did shout, her eyes fixing onto the man's face. Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"I love you... but not that much." He repeated her own cold words back to her, and then closed his eyes.
With the kiss of a knife, her eyes shut forever...The scene from the point as a bit too gruesome to describe, with all of the bubbling blood spouting from her throat and all...
As soon as the body of the child began to vanish, the clock tower struck loud, and began to malfunction. It made a broken sound as the clogs began to grind against one another and snap. The clock began to crumble, breaking into millions of pieces and falling to heap on the floor.
The two remaining looked at one another...
"Next time you loose it, Metha, don't loose it alone."
Music: "Walking With Strangers" by The Birthday Massacre:Look around for a means to dissuade her attention.
Can't remember the places and names that she mentions.
My words are falling apart in spite of me.
I'm stepping out of the light so she can't see.
Don't think I'll miss her,
But I want to take her picture
When I found a place
Where she can't find me.
And she's falling asleep as she's walking with strangers.
Talking cheap as the flies on the wall entertain her.
Her world is falling apart in front of me.
She's stepping into the light, but she can't see.
It's hard to miss her when she's posing for a picture,
But I found a place where she can't find me.
My words are falling apart in spite of me.
I'm stepping out of the light so she can't see.
Don't think I'll miss her,
But I want to take her picture
When I found a place
Where she can't find me.