Quest 207
[Private Thoughts || Off-Network]
It's been almost a week now, and Peter is still missing. I thought for sure we would've heard from him by now--that someone, anyone, would've at least heard something--but even his family doesn't know where he is, and...and I'm the last one to have seen him. And I haven't the slightest idea of where he could be, either. Or I do, but I don't want to think that--
We were trapped in the catacombs for two days. We called out after we found each other, and only stopped the once so that we each could have a few hours of sleep. It was chilly and the ground was hard and it was difficult to get to sleep at all, since I didn't want to let my guard down for even a moment. But it was better with Peter there, keeping track of the candle and hold of the knife and the makeshift staff we'd contrived for him to use...much better than if I'd been on my own. And there was no way of keeping track of time other than to watch the candles, so we just...
When must that have been? Kazuki said it was Thursday when he found me, and it was early in the afternoon when we went to the hospital. So we must've reached that exit either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. And it was Tuesday when we called out, so we must've walked around exploring for another day before we finally found our way out.
The ground started to slope uphill. That's what made me think it was an exit. Perhaps I was careless, getting too excited about the prospect of finally being out of there once and for all, but we headed for it at once and then all of a sudden there was that awful scraping and moaning, and all those monsters lunged out at us from nowhere...
He jumped at them to give me time. He had the knife and the staff, and I didn't have my bow at the ready as I should have. He jumped at them and started driving them back, keeping himself between me and them, and I backed up to give myself the space to shoot. It was hard to aim--the light was flickering everywhere, and there were so many of them all around him, and I wanted to help clear some of them away from him to give him a better chance, but my hands were shaking and I didn't want to shoot unless I was sure of hitting one of them and not him. It was hard to see, I remember that. I did manage to get one of them, at least, but there were so many...
But what happened next?
I have to try to remember...or at least to piece it together until something comes to me. I have to, for Peter's sake. I was the last one to see him. What happened?
I hit my head somehow. I had bruises on my arms. They had to take gravel out of some of the cuts on my hands. But I don't remember any of that happening, so it must've come after...
Someone grabbed me. It's the only thing I can think of. The monsters were popping out from all over, and I don't remember any of them getting behind me, but...could one have come out of the wall? From some hidden place behind me? I wasn't moving around enough to hit my head on my own, I don't think, so either something from the ceiling fell and hit me, or something grabbed me and moved me into it.
But how did I get out? Kazuki didn't come down after me. He said I was in the cave when he found me, so I had to have gotten up to the surface somehow. But if a monster really did grab me...could it have thrown me out the exit? Could it be that the monsters wanted us out of the cave? That awful thing implied as much, calling us trespassers and meddlers, so I suppose it's possible that they were just there to force us out.
But if they were trying to do that, why didn't they corner us before? Why leave us to wander the whole maze on our own, and then only attack us when it began to seem as though we would get free?
No, I don't think that could be it. They didn't act like they were trying to get rid of us when they attacked us. If that were the case, they could've just as easily started pushing us toward the exit and we could've both run for it. But they didn't, they tried to hurt us, so it must be more than just that they wanted us out. The troll certainly wanted me out, but he would've much preferred to have me out of the way by catching and eating me, I'm sure.
But if the monsters didn't get me out, and I didn't get me out, then either the City did it itself...or it was Peter that did it. And if it was Peter that did it, then either he got out with me, or--
Kazuki said I was the only one in the cave. I've been wondering about that ever since, really--why was it that I was the only one he found? I didn't have my bow, but I'd been holding it the last time I was conscious. And Peter was nowhere to be found. After we'd stayed together all that time, after he'd jumped at those monsters to put himself between me and them...why would he leave me there and go off somewhere else? Why would he walk away without going on the Network, telling people we were both safe, calling for help, anything?
That's the part that's been nagging at me ever since. And I didn't want to believe it, but--
No, I don't want to believe it. He couldn't have. Not for my sake. He couldn't have done it himself, gone and gotten me out at the expense of...
But if what Susan and Ed said about him is any indication--and what I saw myself, all those hours we spent together--he would. He wouldn't even let me put myself first with something as silly as tearing my skirt to make a torch, and he was always going first, walking first, jumping at them first--
Oh, drat it all...
[/Private]
Thank you again to everyone that came to visit me while I was in the hospital! I really do appreciate it, and it made things much more cheerful, having friendly faces around to keep me company. I'm back home in the Warehouse now, and getting plenty of rest, and seeing to things as best I can in the meantime. Oh, and baking up a storm to keep myself busy while I think things over, too, so if anyone would like a plate of cookies or a part of a pie or some quite chocolatey brownies, please do let me know and I'll be happy to share them. I'll make myself sick if I keep eating them all myself, I'm sure.
...It's just five days now, until I've been here two years. I remember Rue telling me last year that the first year of staying here always seems like the longest, and then every other year after it goes by faster and faster. I suppose that's true enough; it certainly doesn't seem like it's been two whole years away from home, now. It's strange, how so many things can change in a year. If I'd been told, on that day last year, of all the things that would happen to me in the twelve months to come...I don't know what I would've thought, honestly. And I imagine it'd be quite the same if someone were to tell me today about what all is in store for the next twelve months, as well.
It's August next month. August is always a bad month, just like October...
Mm, perhaps I'll have to go out and save someone from falling into the Fountain that day. It'd certainly be a better way of celebrating than to go throw myself into it, like I was thinking of doing last year!
[Private to Edmund Pevensie || Unhackable]
Kazuki told me the way to get to that cave I mentioned. I can easily take you there, whenever is best for you to go.
[/Private]
[OOC: Holy crimeny that turned out to be a lot of tl;dr. Thank goodness for LJ cuts! Long story short, Rosella's beginning to add up the pieces and come to her senses about how exactly her daring escape from the catacombs went, and she's not liking the implications of it at all. She'll also be staying well clear of the beach/mountain area because, well, she doesn't need any more battle trauma in her life at the moment, sob.]
It's been almost a week now, and Peter is still missing. I thought for sure we would've heard from him by now--that someone, anyone, would've at least heard something--but even his family doesn't know where he is, and...and I'm the last one to have seen him. And I haven't the slightest idea of where he could be, either. Or I do, but I don't want to think that--
We were trapped in the catacombs for two days. We called out after we found each other, and only stopped the once so that we each could have a few hours of sleep. It was chilly and the ground was hard and it was difficult to get to sleep at all, since I didn't want to let my guard down for even a moment. But it was better with Peter there, keeping track of the candle and hold of the knife and the makeshift staff we'd contrived for him to use...much better than if I'd been on my own. And there was no way of keeping track of time other than to watch the candles, so we just...
When must that have been? Kazuki said it was Thursday when he found me, and it was early in the afternoon when we went to the hospital. So we must've reached that exit either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. And it was Tuesday when we called out, so we must've walked around exploring for another day before we finally found our way out.
The ground started to slope uphill. That's what made me think it was an exit. Perhaps I was careless, getting too excited about the prospect of finally being out of there once and for all, but we headed for it at once and then all of a sudden there was that awful scraping and moaning, and all those monsters lunged out at us from nowhere...
He jumped at them to give me time. He had the knife and the staff, and I didn't have my bow at the ready as I should have. He jumped at them and started driving them back, keeping himself between me and them, and I backed up to give myself the space to shoot. It was hard to aim--the light was flickering everywhere, and there were so many of them all around him, and I wanted to help clear some of them away from him to give him a better chance, but my hands were shaking and I didn't want to shoot unless I was sure of hitting one of them and not him. It was hard to see, I remember that. I did manage to get one of them, at least, but there were so many...
But what happened next?
I have to try to remember...or at least to piece it together until something comes to me. I have to, for Peter's sake. I was the last one to see him. What happened?
I hit my head somehow. I had bruises on my arms. They had to take gravel out of some of the cuts on my hands. But I don't remember any of that happening, so it must've come after...
Someone grabbed me. It's the only thing I can think of. The monsters were popping out from all over, and I don't remember any of them getting behind me, but...could one have come out of the wall? From some hidden place behind me? I wasn't moving around enough to hit my head on my own, I don't think, so either something from the ceiling fell and hit me, or something grabbed me and moved me into it.
But how did I get out? Kazuki didn't come down after me. He said I was in the cave when he found me, so I had to have gotten up to the surface somehow. But if a monster really did grab me...could it have thrown me out the exit? Could it be that the monsters wanted us out of the cave? That awful thing implied as much, calling us trespassers and meddlers, so I suppose it's possible that they were just there to force us out.
But if they were trying to do that, why didn't they corner us before? Why leave us to wander the whole maze on our own, and then only attack us when it began to seem as though we would get free?
No, I don't think that could be it. They didn't act like they were trying to get rid of us when they attacked us. If that were the case, they could've just as easily started pushing us toward the exit and we could've both run for it. But they didn't, they tried to hurt us, so it must be more than just that they wanted us out. The troll certainly wanted me out, but he would've much preferred to have me out of the way by catching and eating me, I'm sure.
But if the monsters didn't get me out, and I didn't get me out, then either the City did it itself...or it was Peter that did it. And if it was Peter that did it, then either he got out with me, or--
Kazuki said I was the only one in the cave. I've been wondering about that ever since, really--why was it that I was the only one he found? I didn't have my bow, but I'd been holding it the last time I was conscious. And Peter was nowhere to be found. After we'd stayed together all that time, after he'd jumped at those monsters to put himself between me and them...why would he leave me there and go off somewhere else? Why would he walk away without going on the Network, telling people we were both safe, calling for help, anything?
That's the part that's been nagging at me ever since. And I didn't want to believe it, but--
No, I don't want to believe it. He couldn't have. Not for my sake. He couldn't have done it himself, gone and gotten me out at the expense of...
But if what Susan and Ed said about him is any indication--and what I saw myself, all those hours we spent together--he would. He wouldn't even let me put myself first with something as silly as tearing my skirt to make a torch, and he was always going first, walking first, jumping at them first--
Oh, drat it all...
[/Private]
Thank you again to everyone that came to visit me while I was in the hospital! I really do appreciate it, and it made things much more cheerful, having friendly faces around to keep me company. I'm back home in the Warehouse now, and getting plenty of rest, and seeing to things as best I can in the meantime. Oh, and baking up a storm to keep myself busy while I think things over, too, so if anyone would like a plate of cookies or a part of a pie or some quite chocolatey brownies, please do let me know and I'll be happy to share them. I'll make myself sick if I keep eating them all myself, I'm sure.
...It's just five days now, until I've been here two years. I remember Rue telling me last year that the first year of staying here always seems like the longest, and then every other year after it goes by faster and faster. I suppose that's true enough; it certainly doesn't seem like it's been two whole years away from home, now. It's strange, how so many things can change in a year. If I'd been told, on that day last year, of all the things that would happen to me in the twelve months to come...I don't know what I would've thought, honestly. And I imagine it'd be quite the same if someone were to tell me today about what all is in store for the next twelve months, as well.
It's August next month. August is always a bad month, just like October...
Mm, perhaps I'll have to go out and save someone from falling into the Fountain that day. It'd certainly be a better way of celebrating than to go throw myself into it, like I was thinking of doing last year!
[Private to Edmund Pevensie || Unhackable]
Kazuki told me the way to get to that cave I mentioned. I can easily take you there, whenever is best for you to go.
[/Private]
[OOC: Holy crimeny that turned out to be a lot of tl;dr. Thank goodness for LJ cuts! Long story short, Rosella's beginning to add up the pieces and come to her senses about how exactly her daring escape from the catacombs went, and she's not liking the implications of it at all. She'll also be staying well clear of the beach/mountain area because, well, she doesn't need any more battle trauma in her life at the moment, sob.]