✎ 001 [written]

[raisingdad]

[Alexis has been in the castle for approximately an hour and has learned the following things:

1. This is not New York City.
2. She has no idea where this is or how she got here.
3. She can't find anybody she knows or any explanation that's satisfactory.

The one thing she did learn from the people she's run into so far is that this journal is magic and can be used to communicate with the other people here.

Ok. Sure.

Due to the fact that she's not having much luck getting her questions answered and the castle seems to be huge - way too big to explore all of in a timely manner, she's decided to try and see if the journal actually is magic.

She figures that if it's not, she won't look like too much of an idiot because she's only writing things down on paper.]

Hello?

[The writing is carefully formed, written slowly and tentatively.]

If there's anybody who can read this, my name is Alexis Castle. Can someone possibly tell me where I am and what's going on?

Comments

dictated;

[themuse]

[In between exploring the castle, Kate had spent most of her time curled up at Rick's side. He's still sleeping, with both unnerves and frustrates her, and she's starting to wonder how long it can possibly last for. She knows this much, though; she'll find a way home, but she's not going anywhere without him.

She just happened to flip open the journal, her head propped against his still shoulder. It helps a little, so she can kid herself that he's just taking a nap and he'll wake up any minute. When she sees the message, she doesn't think much of it - until she sees the name.]

Oh my God. Alexis?

[She's not even going to bother writing. Instead she bolts up bed, pushing her hair out of her face.]

Where are you?

dictated;

[raisingdad]

[Alexis drops the book when she hears Kate's voice emerging from it. She scrambles to pick it up and re-open it to the page that she was on.]

Kate? Can you hear this?

[She has no idea if she's doing this right.]

dictated;

[themuse]

Yeah, I...

[She glances over at Castle, her heart skipping a beat. Oh, God, how was she going to explain any of this?]

Tell me where you are, I'll come get you.

dictated;

[raisingdad]

Uh..

[She looks around, trying to describe her location.]

I'm in some kind of.. giant lobby maybe? Near the front doors. There's a huge chandelier in here.

[forsometimenow]

Yup, we can read you loud and clear. Are you okay, aside from the whole admittedly disorienting part where you suddenly appeared inside a castle?

[raisingdad]

Yeah, I'm ok.

Where am I? What's going on?

[forsometimenow]

Cair Paradisa. I know that probably doesn't mean anything to you, but that's what this castle is called. It- the castle- brought you here. Nobody knows how, unfortunately, but people have been brought from all kinds of places.

[raisingdad]

[Cue strange look from Alexis.]

How did.. a castle bring me here?

dictated;

[freeslider]

Boy did you sure ask a mouthful...

dictated;

[raisingdad]

[She's still not used to the voice coming through the journal and it makes her jump.]

Meaning... there's no short answer?

dictated;

[freeslider]

Not that I've heard so far. Somebody's always going to leave out something. Though I think the standard intro starts like this...

Hi. Welcome to Cair Paradisa. You're been kidnapped by a magical sentient castle, it's taken something important from you, but you can wish for pretty much whatever you'd like, and the kitchen's on the first floor...

dictated;

[raisingdad]

Uh... ok?

Is whatever it's taken from me my life back home? Because other than that...

[She didn't appear to be missing anything from what was on her when she arrived.]

[Dictated]

[therealrisette]

'Castle'? ... Like that writer guy?

[Rise doesn't know him very well, actually, but she knows he's been here for a long time. And how do you miss someone literally named Castle in a magic castle?]

[Dictated]

[raisingdad]

Yes, he's my dad. Is he here? Do you know where he is?

[Finally some real help, maybe.]

[Dictated] - sorry for the late! had a lot of RL things pop up...

[therealrisette]

... Really?

[Okay, she doesn't really know Castle all that well, but... he's a dad?! Sure, he's old enough, but Rise... kind of never got the impression he was all that responsible.]

Um... not exactly... I know he's probably somewhere in the castle? [A Castle in a castle. That never sounds normal.] If I knew him a little better, I could probably find him.

[She doesn't use her Persona powers often in this place, though. It's almost an afterthought that she can even do something like that.]

... Did you just get here? Like, just now?

[She's got to have a billion other questions, right? Then again, if someone really important to Rise were here when she'd shown up, that'd be the first place she'd want to go too.]

[Dictated] - that's ok!

[raisingdad]

[Believe it or not, Alexis is the one area of Castle's life where he's been incredibly responsible. It doesn't show if one has never seen them together.]

Yeah. I woke up in the middle of the garden in the courtyard with the journal next to me. Is there any way that I could specifically contact my dad with this?

Dictated

[strangewonders]

Hello. As you've likely been informed already, you're the newest 'guest' of our magical castle here.

It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, and it's relatively harmless. Well, except when it isn't. But it seems to have settled down again, so I'm sure you'll be just fine.

Dictated

[raisingdad]

Yeah I've heard the bit about the 'magical castle'.

[Although something 'magical' must be happening because she's answering a voice coming out of a journal.]

Maybe this is a dream? Although if you're part of my dream you probably can't tell me whether this is a dream or not.

Dictated

[strangewonders]

I could tell you I'm sure I'm not part of your dream, but there's no way to prove it, no. Maybe I'm dreaming. Or maybe we're all having the same dream?

But the castle just got done putting everyone to sleep for awhile, and that would be ridiculously redundant if that were the case.

Probably easier just to accept you've actually been kidnapped by a magic castle. It's not too terrible, really.

Dictated;

[putuporshutup]

I think you already got the run-down, but don't worry. Your Dad's okay. He's a friend of mine. Long story short.... this place messes with people a lot, and right now, it's messing with him.

Dictated;

[raisingdad]

Yeah Kate told me.. about some of it.

[She's still kind of processing all of this.]

You know my dad? He's... apparently been here a while?

[Which makes no sense whatsoever.]

Dictated;

[putuporshutup]

Yeah, I kinda figured. And yeah - we work together. I'm Meg, by the way. Just wanted to make sure you weren't freaking out.

[She chuckles.]

You know, more than you normally would after suddenly popping up somewhere completely strange.

[dog_eat_dog]

[Dictated, as she usually does.]

Wow. We're getting ourselves a whole little family of Castles, aren't we?

[raisingdad]

[She wasn't expecting sarcasm in return, but at this point, if the sarcasm comes attached to some help, she'll take it.]

I take it you know my dad?

[dog_eat_dog]

He mixes good drinks.