Meet the main character - you ✨
One day your whole world crumbles around you. Literally. The sky splits, and everyone you know turns into dust. You escape to the thousands of glowing portals to any dimension imaginable. Only you are trapped, and hun...
Alice chases you all the way around the tower. It's how the castle's build: the main central part has two floors, and the four towers are linked to it via a corridor for each. Too bad you didn't think about that before. You glance back, but she's already blocking that one corridor.
"Get back, you idiot!" she yells. Her ribbons soar and coil around her like a swarm of hissing snakes.
You dash around the corner. It's dark, you hardly see where you're going.
"I said–! Argh!"
"A-a-h!" One ribbon grazes your shin, and you jump to the side.
Thud! Crack!
You knock over some furniture and trip over a vase. Or some other white decor – no time to look – but it's sharp, and a shard cuts your palm.
"This is my home, my family! I hate you!" The glass cracks as Alice runs over the shards too. "Ugh, Goddess." Her voice sounds a little behind.
Don't look back. Just run. You gasp for breath and push on. Over the rolled-up carpet's edge and past the low threshold into the castle's wing. Never mind which one is this– wait, hope it's the one where you and Lars are staying. Another turn and rooms start on the right side. On the left are windows–
Alice shouts and growls, and her ribbons wreck random stuff and leave scratches on the walls.
Fuck.
You've just looked back. Your heart skips a beat.
Alice smirks and gestures her hand. She scoops up some air, and her ribbons pounce and mimic the movement. Down! Ouch. Pain pierces your leg, another second, the ribbons swoop over your head and turn around. Roll– They smash into the wall, and you crawl away. Your back knocks into something. A door?
"A-ha!" Alice whirls her hand once more. "Gotcha!"
Two ribbons wrap around your leg. You jerk it and pull on the closest– ouch, the fabric burns your palm. You grind your teeth and don't let go, and yet more ribbons tighten around your leg. They pull you across the corridor and snatch you up.
"O-wo-a-ah!" Upside down. You whirl your arms around and try to kick the ribbons. Or wrench your other leg free. Or anything.
Alice snaps her fingers. A gush of cool air, one ribbon unhooks the window, and others yank you through the window frame. Well, at least she's opened it first...
"A-a-h!" you shout. Darkness. You plunge, grass grows closer– And then the ribbons yank you up. "Put me down!" you plead, and your voice breaks. You rasp and suffocate. Hurts.
Alice snickers. "As you wish." Her ribbons loosen, you slip– that's two floors down, alright?! The ribbons tighten. They pull you up and spin around.
"Alice, stop that!" exclaims the Black Emperor. He hurries down the corridor, you see his dark figure appear in the windows one by one.
"They have to go!" whines Alice. "This is my home, not theirs!"
The Black Emperor struggles with Alice, he tries to gently pull some ribbons inside. It does nothing, he holds two, then three more unwrap from her arms and shoot towards you. They argue, and nausea clutches your throat. Your heartbeat drowns out their voices.
"W-world!"
Oh, that's definitely Lars. All the commotion must have, finally, woken him up. You squint and spot Lars duck under Alice's ribbons. Can't see him well, does he climb up the windowsill?
A light blue stem crawls from his palm and over the window frame. It shimmers in the night and slowly grows out to you. You wriggle and try to reach for it– too far – still too far!
Lars pants and squeezes his eyes shut. His hand shakes, the vine vibrates and glows fainter. It grows out from his skin, across his open palm, and twines in between his fingers.
Lars winces. He slams his wrist into the window frame, the vine steadies and shoots a few leaves.
"Just a bit more!" you shout and kick the ribbons.
Alice's forgotten about you for now. The Black Emperor's pulled her aside, hovers over and quietly says something. You only see the back of her dark redhead. Alice nods. Her ribbons float and hold you above the ground. By one leg and upside down, but at least they don't pull roughly or spin you around.
"A little... bit!" You reach further and yet grab only air.
Lars grimaces and pushes his wrist down. He climbs up and crouches on the windowsill, throws his whole weight to keep his right hand in place. The light blue stem crawls out into the night. It glows so close.
So.
Close.
"Argh!" Lars cries out. The vine bursts. He tumbles backward and plumps onto the floor.
The ribbons let go. You yelp and plunge, the ground looms closer–
"Alice!" that's the Black Emperor.
Her ribbons wrap around your body. Like a spiderweb, you're stuck, and they bounce back.
"Got them," she grumbles and hoists you up and then through the open window.
"Umpf!" Tosses you on the floor, and you roll further and knock into the wall.
"Don't be rude," chides the Black Emperor and lowers his voice.
You see colours. Lars crawls to you, shakes your shoulder and mumbles.
"Great job, Lars," says the Black Emperor and goes on talking to Alice quieter.
Lars flushes. "I didn't–"
"Yeah." Alice puts her hands on her sides. "I did."
The Black Emperor gives her a look. Alice meets his gaze, holds it for a few moments, but then shudders and steps back. His eyes flash a deeper blue in the semidarkness. Oh. Above your heads, a torch blazes on the wall. He must've lit it while you were, well, loitering outside.
"Now." The Black Emperor looks from Alice to Lars and you. He claps his hands. "How about a change of scene?"
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