Victorie plus N

Chapter 29: Gotta' Be Dead

(A/N: Okay, I think I'm going to stop weekly updates because obviously not abiding to those dates (I haven't updated in three weeks), so I think I'll just do whenever. Thanks to all my devoted readers, love you all!)

"Three meters all around it. Three meters. Also ten feet in the conversion system. Three meters, ten feet," Teddy mutters as he takes out his journal and starts scribbling down what I think are notes about the gazebo.

I balance from foot to foot, awkwardly waiting by his side and looking down at the layout map I got out for him.

"If it's three meters wide, and roughly nine meters - 30 feet- from the main path, and 30 divided by three is ten, and ten times itself is one hundred, then I think we're getting somewhere!" he goes on.

I bite my lip. It's at least ten p.m. and Teddy has been staring down at the map like it holds the answers to everything. I mean, it might... But I seriously doubt it.

"These dates are all connected!" He yells suddenly, making me jump,"Ten years from when Uncle John left in 1953, a man- Marcus Thrice- was put into a time loop, probably by the Manipulators, and that's 1943. Thyme was lost in time most likely around 1853 or something, and so Ann must be 100 years from 1943 and in 1843!"

"I don't follow."

"Ann's in the year 1843!"

"But... I thought Thyme was lost in 1853."

"Yes, but we need to subtract that year from ten!"

"Why do we need to subtract?"

"Because the gazebo is 3 meters, or ten feet, wide, and 9 meters, or thirty feet, from the main path, and thirty dived by three is ten, then you need to subtract ten from 1853!"

"Why do think you need to divide ten by thirty?"

"I don't know."

"Then she might not be in 1843."

"Well," he sighs, "It's better than having no date where she could be. So let's try it."

Yeah, sheesh, if we get lost in time it's fine, right Teddy? Just throw away our lives, why don't you.

"You trust me, don't you?" he asks quietly like he knows what I'm thinking. Whoops.

"I- yeah, of course I do. Sorry, just thinking. Let's do it," I pause, "What do we need to do again?"

"We need to act as people from 1843 in the day that Ann is in."

"And how do you suppose we find that?"

"I think... well, it might be the same date as the time Thyme disappeared. So I think we should go with that date, find some people's journals from that time, and start the 7-day repeat period."

"Sounds pretty easy."

He tilts his head. "Yeah, it kind of is now that we know the dates."

I try to hold back my, 'you think we know the dates' comment, and thankfully succeed.

Teddy starts gathering the journals and the map and I turn around to leave. "Bye."

"You too," he mumbles.

Now. Next mission. Find people to act as for ten days straight. Easy as pie.

_________

"Alexandria?! You want me to play as my grandmother?!" I yell at Teddy in total disbelief.

"Yes, it will be fine, okay? It's not that hard."

"Okay... but it's... my grandmother," I cringe.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing really but..."

"If you say 'because it's my grandmother' one more time I'm going to leave," Lolita says from her spot in a nearby armchair.

Tempting. Maybe I should keep this up so she leaves...I'm just kidding, I'm not that rude.

"Fine," I give in, "Where's her journal?"

Teddy picks up a journal from my drawing-room table and hands it to me. "Here."

I bite my lip and flip through it. "Okay, so who are you playing Teddy? And what about you, Lolita?"

"I'm not going. Teddy thinks I should hold down the fort here," Lolita says.

"I'll be going as your grandfather," Teddy cuts in before I can give her a snarky response,"I was able to find a journal that listed events from that day and year."

"Oh, okay."

Teddy nods his head. "Okay, umm, let me just go over again all the rules of character acting for the seven-day repeat period."

I sit down in an armchair. "Great."

Teddy starts to pace around the room. "So first, you need to carry out the daily activities of your character on the particular day you're traveling to. Daily activities include chores (I doubt we'll be doing those, though because we're in the wealthier class), taking certain visits to friends' houses, and more. I will be working because Uncle John had a job at that time, and... uh... you will not be. Let's see, you need to act, dress, and talk like your character - this just helps you replicate that day easier, it's really not all that necessary, but usually helps you when you travel- and you need to have other people play parts such as 'friends' if you're visiting people or 'servants' if you interact with your housekeepers. These people, however, will not be traveling through time with you, they're just additives that help run the day along. When you finish with the 7-day period, expect a feeling of, well, kind of like you're splitting into pieces but it doesn't hurt and you're not actually splitting into pieces."

"You're sure it doesn't hurt?" I ask him. The thought of breaking into pieces... shudder.

"I'm sure," he says, and then continues, "When you get into the day you want, you have ten days to complete your task -in our case, fetching Ann- and get home. You can get home earlier than the 10th-day ending point, just not later, or it's off to the world of time-loops with you. After getting home, your task should have changed the thing you wanted to change, as long as you made enough... disruption... in the past. Like, small changes you make in the past won't change anything in the present time. So anyways, that's about it. Oh! And also, you can only play as a person who is already dead and long gone during the 7-day repeat period, or it doesn't work." He claps his hands, "And that's about it."

"Okay," I nod my head, "Seems as simple as it can get. But wait, who will play the other people? Like friends and stuff?"

"Lolita and Kelly, and we need one of the boys, but that's all we need. We have everyone else already."

"I see."

"Well, are we done here?" Lolita asks, standing up.

Teddy nods. "Yes, we are."

"Great, bye, see you all tomorrow at this house."

Teddy waves. "See you then."