DAY 90, Morning

[loyallygiven]

Ken stared up at his ceiling for a long while after waking. Something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. Well, his clothes were too big, but he couldn’t recall if they always had been or if this was a new thing. There was nothing else to wear, except a too-large pair of pants, so he had to assume the oversized shirt was all he had. He

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[bluealgesistone]

Again, she shrugged her shoulders and again carefully walked over to Gisela's bureau and wardrobe. She proceeded to delicately but purposefully look through Gisela's vestments for something she could use to either pin-up the bottom of the nightgown or use as a belt to hold up the nightgown, since she knew how clumsy she was in her adult body, and she remembered how much more cumbersome it was in a child's body even with the lower center of gravity. She found a long, wide strand of the most beautiful pink iridescent silk ribbon which she thought would perfectly match the white, frilly cotton nightgown that Gisela had so graciously loaned her as she had no clothes with her other than the outfit that she came there in which was thoroughly saturated with water. She took the ribbon, remembering to put everything back the way it was, and gleefully padded over to the mirror with a grin and a new-found sense of conquest. Unfortunately she forgot to lift the skirt as she briskly walked over to the mirror and proceeded to fall flat on her face. She got up off the floor with a pouty look on her face and brushed the dust off of her with her hands. Fortunately for her she happened to land directly in front of the mirror. She stood in front of the mirror and proceeded to lift the skirt up the appropriate length so that she would not trip and fall, she figured that just below the knee would be raisonnable, and she wrapped the ribbon around her body, creating a balloon of fabric above the ribbon, and she then tied the ribbon in a nice bow perfectly in the center of her body. As she was smoothing the fabric down, she felt her bust, and a shocked look came over her. She held her hands there and slowly looked up to the mirror, with wide eyes and an ashen face. When her gaze met herself she screamed, at the top of her lungs, in anguish. When she opened her eyes again after her hysteria, she proceeded to shout at the mirror, "OÙ EST MES POITRINES! RENDÉS MES POITRINES! JE VEUX MES POITRINES RENTRÉ!" Once she calmed down from her hysterics, she looked at herself in the mirror, sans her breasts and said quite audibly, "Parfait!" Being quite satisfied with herself and feeling more comfortably dressed, she proceeded to open the chamber door and walk out of the room. She wasn't too terribly hungry, even though a nice hot cup of tea would perfectly accompany her morning, she decided to wander Blood Pledge Castle and learn more about her surroundings.

[loyallygiven]

Ken's wandering was mostly aimless. Every once in a while, he turned a corner or passed structure that seemed familiar, and he thought he might know where he was if he just thought a little harder. It was like a dream or a memory that was just out of reach. He knew he was from Tokyo, and that yesterday he was with his mother in their apartment, but he didn’t feel out of place here in this castle (though he did feel a kind of uneasy feeling, as if something wasn’t quite right).

He heard a door open ahead of him and stopped walking to see a young girl step out into the hall. He didn’t know her. But if she were a resident, then she might be able to help him. He pushed his glasses up (they really were too large for him, but he didn’t find any others that fit better, and he couldn’t see without them), and hurried to catch up to her.

“Excuse me! I’m lost. Can you help, please?”

[bluealgesistone]

She saw the most adorable boy approach her and she replied to his query, "I would love to help you, but I am new here and do not know this castle well. Je suppose Gisela or Bert would have shown me, but I have not seen them. How about we explore this castle together, n'est-ce pas?"

[loyallygiven]

Oh. That was a bit of a disappointment. But it couldn't be helped. What was that saying? Make the best of it. His doctor said it to his mom, about him. It was supposed to make her feel better about him being so weird.

"Oui," he said, smiling. "I was looking for a kitchen. I don't think I've had anything to eat since yesterday." He bowed, quickly saving his glasses from slipping off his face and onto the floor as he did so. "My name is Murata Ken. It's a pleasure to meet you." He straightened up and adjusted his glasses. And his shirt, as the bow got it a little twisted up.

[bluealgesistone]

She replied, "Enchanté monsieur!" as she curtsied in the manner of true European nobility. "Perhaps we should search out quel-que chose manger et boire together. If we get lost, I would far rather it be in good company." she added to reassure her new companion.

[loyallygiven]

Ken nodded and made a positive sound. "I'm sure we'll find someone to help us eventually." His young tongue stumbled over the last word a bit. His mother acted funny when he used words she thought were too big for him, so sometimes it felt wrong to use them. But this girl seemed pretty smart, and not much older than him.

It also wasn't hard to miss how she mixed French into her other speech. He understood her fine - he had been French doctor a past life not so far removed. It meant she was not only from this castle, but not even from this world. He could reply to her in kind. Except he wasn’t allowed to speak other languages at all. His mother forbid it. His doctor said he probably picked them up from watching TV, but Ken was pretty sure Mom knew better than that. It scared her. So he didn’t do it.

“I’ve already been that way,” he said, pointing behind him. “So let’s go this way.” He started walking forward. “What is your name?”

[bluealgesistone]

She smiled at him, "Je m'appelle..., oh, sorry, you probably do not speak français, my name is Gisela von Christ, but you can call me Gise. I already know there is another Gisela here." She joined him in walking down the hall.

[loyallygiven]

He looked uncomfortable for a moment, and tugged on a strand on his hair - it was unruly, and keeping it somewhat long was the only way to keep it from sticking out absolutely everywhere. "It's okay. I know ... a little. I'll understand you. Gise's a nice name." If there was another Gisela, he didn't think it was odd. There were sometimes two (or three) kids in the same class with the same name. "You can call me Ken, if you want."

[bluealgesistone]

She smiled at the boy and replied, "Okay Ken, by the way, how are you doing? You seem a bit anxious?" She asked as they continued down the hall, she had started skipping since she was free, or more free, to move with her skirt pulled up by the ribbon.

[loyallygiven]

He released his hair and returned her smile, a bit shyly. "I don't mean to. I'm fine. I guess I feel a little..." He searched for a word that was appropriate and not too big. "...off." He shook his head. "I'm okay." It was rude to make other people worry about you. He tried to smile more easily. "You're not from this place, are you? Where are you from?"

[bluealgesistone]

She responded gleefully, she wasn't self-centered, but loved asking questions about herself, to the point of psychoanalysis or even interrogation. "I am from Belgium, specifically Walloonia, which is the southern, agrarian and francophone half of Belgium. But when I came here, I was on my way to my first class to study Veterinary Medicine at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in America."

[loyallygiven]

Ken wasn't sure what to think of that. She seemed very sure of her reply, which just confused him, and because he didn't take his eyes away from her, he tripped and stumbled forward, but caught himself before he could fall. "Veterinary...!" he blurted, but caught himself there as well. He pushed his glasses up. "Um... You seem very young to be in university," he said.

[bluealgesistone]

She looked at him with a kind understanding. "I am not as young as I look, I woke up in this body, it is what I looked like when I was eight years old. But I am actually in my late twenties." She hoped that didn't frighten him or make him uncomfortable, as he already seemed very anxious and uncomfortable, like he needed to look over his shoulder every time we took a step. He seemed like a frightened animal being approached by a person. She wanted to dispel any discomfort he had and be as friendly and comforting as possible. She knew anxiety an fear only too well.

[loyallygiven]

He didn't have any reason not to believe her. He supposed it wasn't any more odd than having thousands of years worth of memories in his head. And he was only six. "That must be strange. Is this your first day here too?"

It felt wrong to say that, as if he was lying, even though he wasn't. He remembered being with his mom yesterday, though at the same time, the memory felt very, very distant.

[bluealgesistone]

She looked up in her typical "thinking" face and replied, "well, I got here at sundown yesterday, but it was late morning in Louisiane, mais oui, this is ma première jour ici." She then started looking around to see if there was anything interesting to share with her new friend or any sign of some food and drink.

[loyallygiven]

He nodded in understanding. There would be time differences, of course. But hearing her story didn't ease any of his discomfort, and he found that troubling. He found pieces of this place familiar enough that he was certain it was the castle he saw first constructed in his first life. But it felt like an echo, deja vu. He thought he would feel more of a belonging, instead he felt displaced. He didn't resonate with this place at all.

He realized he must have drifted off into his thoughts and bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Um... I think I know where we are." He paused a moment to think, then started forward again with more purpose. "It's just a little farther.

"If you don't mind... I mean, if it's okay, could we eat outside?" The plea was in a tiny voice. He felt as if he hadn't been out in the sun in some time, as if this might be his only chance. He had this sudden urge to escape. From what, he didn't know, but he wanted to run away from something.