Gravity Rises (S2)

NMS: Part Seven

The light in the hallway was much dimmer than Gideon had originally thought. Which set off a cascade of nervousness through his body.

A clock. He had to see a clock; he had to look at a clock —

He brushed the cobwebs and dirt from his clothes and scanned the hall, trying to find one.

Mabel had left the graveyard first, and she was still shuddering from the ordeal. "That was not fun."

"I'll say," Gideon said. "We need to find a clock."

Mabel looked around. "Um. . . maybe there's one this way." She started walking away. Gideon followed.

It took a few minutes, but they eventually found a clock amidst some paintings of Northwest accomplishments. Gideon's heart nearly stopped when he read the clock face. No. . .

It was almost time for the party. The one he had to have the ghosts defeated by.

"Are you okay?" Mabel asked. "You look more pale than usual."

"No, I'm not okay," Gideon said shortly. His mind raced. Maybe he could get Mabel a different outfit so she could blend in with the guests.

It might work for a second, until Pacifica saw her. Gideon was so sick of Pacifica's grudge against Mabel. At least Mabel was okay, unlike her annoying twin brother.

Well, they might as well try the different outfit thing. It might work, and Mabel's current outfit with its pine tree logo would make her stick out like a sore thumb.

"This way," he said to Mabel decisively. He started walking quickly down the hall, and Mabel had to jog to keep up.

He led her through the halls until they were somewhat near to the main hall, where the party was being held. Then he pulled her aside into a closet.

Well, he thought of it as a closet.

"This is huge!" Mabel said, looking around in awe. "You could fit my entire family in here and then some!"

"Well, it's my mother's, and she owns a lot of clothes," Gideon said.

"There's even a bathroom!"

"Yes. I think we have twenty bathrooms total. You can use it to change."

"Change?" Mabel asked.

"Yes. So you'll blend in."

"With the servants?"

"Or my parents. Even the servants look nice."

Mabel put her hands on her hips. "Are you saying I don't look nice?" she asked defensively.

Gideon could feel himself start to sweat. "No, I'm just saying it's better to dress formally when you're around formal people."

And it'd be nice if you impressed my parents, his brain added unhelpfully. Gideon went a bit red and tried to steer his thoughts in the other direction.

"Let's see if anything in here fits you," he said.

They looked for a while. But luckily, Geneva wasn't one to throw out old clothes, and they eventually found a black dress that looked like a decent size.

"Black?" Mabel asked. "I'd probably just look like I'm going to a funeral in that."

"Yes, but it's the only thing close to your size we can find, so you're stuck with it," Gideon said. "Go into the bathroom and change."

Mabel took the dress, sighed, and went into the bathroom.

Gideon looked around the empty closet, feeling supremely awkward given the situation. After a minute, Mabel opened the door. She was still in the clothes she arrived in.