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Marcus (marcus_cole) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-03-08 22:04:00

Entry tags:

arrival, complete, day two, giselle, marcus cole

WHO: Marcus and OTA
WHAT: Marcus' arrival
WHEN: Day 2
WHERE: In the middle of a sword-fight
RATING: PG, I expect
STATUS: Complete

Marcus threw a stone at the lake in frustration. Life on Mirage had become a routine, and it was starting to get under his skin. Every week, a new resort; people came, people left; but never him. Why? Even the Planet's occasional shake-ups didn't faze him anymore. He had become convinced, after all his time there, that the Planet really wasn't terribly sentient after all. Its actions seemed more instinctive than deliberate, and it had never once tried to communicate with them. Marcus had begun trying more and more outrageous experiments to test the Planet's willingness to provide for its guests, and he never felt any consequences.

At least Tonks was still there with him, thank Valen. No matter what else the Planet did or did not throw at him, at least he had her.Getting to his feet, he hefted the one last flat rock he had to throw. Pulling his arm back, he was in the middle of his swing, when a great hole opened beneath his feet, and he was pulled through the dimensions.

When light returned, Marcus blinked, heard a clang as his rock hit something metal, and widened his eyes in surprise as a man in full-plate armour charged him, wielding a longsword. Well-trained, the Ranger reached into his pocket for his retracted Minbari fighting pike, and in one motion he had extended it and lifted it to block a sword-blow.

Where in Valen's name was he?

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keoughr
2009-03-09 11:23 pm UTC (link)

Giselle had decided that if she was going to keep being pushed and pulled into different worlds she might as well make the best of it. This meant that the horrid bedroom she'd been given had also been given a makeover. With the help of her animal friends, though she'd suspected most of them of being goblins, she'd managed to drape her room in gauzy pink fabrics, find flowers for vases here and there, and she'd even sewn a bedspread and some curtains. She still wasn't terribly fond of it, but it would do.

This morning when she'd risen from her bed, she'd felt refreshed, surprisingly enough, and she found that the closets and drawers here were as magical as they had been on Mirage. There was no need for her to sew her own dresses, the closet was full of them. She selected a pale pink one for today and slipped it on, pulling her hair only part way up and sliding her feet into a pair of matching pink ballet flats. Afterward, she'd skipped out of her room to find something to eat.

She followed her nose to a tent from which delicious smells were wafting. "Good Morning!" She quipped cheerfully to the man who stood behind the counter. She picked out an apple and a hot croissant with ham and cheese in the middle. She gave the man a smile, but when she turned around she couldn't remember what he looked like. She shrugged and continued on her way. Munching on her food, she wandered through the village, watching different demonstrations, listening to the music, clapping at shows.

Even if she didn't choose to be here, there was fun to be had. She sat down to watch a joust and when that finished she watched a sword fight in another part of the field. She was about to turn away, not sure that it was really her thing when a man suddenly popped out of thin air, right between the two men. She gasped and put a hand to her open mouth. "Oh no!" She cried and rushed to the fence that separated the spectators from the fighters. Her large blue eyes widened and she shook her head. "Get out of there! Oh, do hurry!"

She rushed around the perimeter of the fighting area and found a gate with a latch. She opened it and held it open for the man to rush out when he was able to get away. He didn't appear entirely defenseless, not with that strange stick. But he certainly wasn't in full battle armor the way the other two were. "Over here!" She cried out above the clanging of swords and clash of metal.

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marcus_cole
2009-03-10 10:42 pm UTC (link)

Marcus had just blocked the blow of the first swordsman, when he turned to find another running up behind him. Swinging his pike in such a way that he caught the second man in the gut, he decided to make his getaway while he had a chance. Trained as he was in Minbari martial arts, he wasn't reckless enough to assume he was a match for two armoured warriors. Dropping to the ground, he retracted his staff, and somersaulted out from between the feet of his opponents, standing and running once he was out of their reach.

Now that he had his first chance to look around, he saw that he was on a sort of fenced-off field, surrounded by cheering people. They were all wearing rather old-fashioned clothing. One of them in particular was waving enthusiastically to him and calling him over to her. She looked familiar, actually, so he decided to accept her offer. Looking back over his shoulder, Marcus saw that the sword-wielding combatants were standing with their helms off, watching him with an angry expression. At least they weren't chasing him.

Reaching the gate, Marcus rushed through it, to safety, he hoped. Stopping to catch his breath, he addressed the beautiful woman that had already proven herself to be predisposed to assist him.

"My eternal thanks, beautiful lady. I would surely have been sliced to ribbons had you not provided such a convenient avenue of escape. My name is Marcus Cole. Have we met before? You look rather familiar."

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keoughr
2009-03-11 07:27 pm UTC (link)

Giselle slammed the gate shut once Marcus was safely on the other side. She took a step away from it, dusting off her hands. She turned to him to find that he was speaking to her. She smiled almost shyly as he thanked her and complimented her in the same sentence. "I think my day might have been ruined if you'd been hurt." She was thankful that hadn't been the case. She was far too chipper to be down for long.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Marcus. I'm Giselle!" Her voice was a bit too high pitched to be within the normal range of human voices, but it suited her rather than made her appear strange. She frowned lightly as she thought if she'd ever met this man before as he seemed to think. She shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think so. Are you from Andalasia?" There were two other places he could be from that he might recognize her, but she'd go through those once he'd answered the first question.

She really didn't think he was from Andalasia. His clothing didn't suit her little world. But there were many strange people in New York and she wouldn't have been surprised to learn that he was from there. How she missed it there. The hot dogs, the balls, Robert and Morgan... Oh! If he is from New York, perhaps he knows Robert, I would love to know how he is doing, she thought to herself, smiling at the man before her.

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marcus_cole
2009-03-11 10:49 pm UTC (link)

Marcus smiled at Giselle, and wondered at her effervescent manner. Her dress was more pink, he thought, than anything he had ever seen in his life, and there was something almost impossibly optimistic that pervaded her entire manner. He didn't mean to think there was anything sinister behind it, but her positivity was almost unbelievable. If she was sincere, it was rather impressive and he was sure he would be glad he had met her.

"Andalasia? No, I'm sorry. I've never heard of it. I'm from a place called Arisa, initially. Most recently, I'm from a place called Babylon 5. I don't imagine you've heard of either of them, since I haven't heard of Andalasia."

In truth, Marcus was 'most recently' from Mirage, but he had never really accepted the planet as his home. Though he had often come face-to-face with the real possibility of spending the rest of his life there, he had always resisted the urge to make a new life there, as much as possible. Even now, however, he wondered whether this was truly a place other than that one. He had never heard of a country called Andalasia on that planet. He had never heard of any other country there, but he had only seen a very small part of the entire world. Maybe he had been somehow transported to the other side of Mirage.

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keoughr
2009-03-12 07:22 pm UTC (link)

Giselle lifted a slender shoulder in a shrug. It seemed that no one knew of the place called Andalasia. No one she had ever met had heard of it. She wasn't surprised, at all, but every time she felt a little twinge of disappointment. How she would love to meet someone who had heard of her home world. "Oh, well no one has." She shook her mane of red hair at his question and bounced on the balls of her feet. "No, the name is pretty, though. What about New York, have you heard of that place? Or Mirage, perhaps?" Those were all the places Giselle had been and she was hoping for some recognition, no matter how slight.

"Would you like for me to show you around? I have only been here one day, like most everyone else, but I did a bit of exploring. I am sure you have a room key and a journal waiting for you somewhere." She suddenly giggled and put her hand to her mouth. "Silly me, I suppose you're wondering just where you are, aren't you? Well, as far as I can tell the place doesn't really have a name. I've sort of just been calling it the City." She shrugged lightly and chattered on. "Anyway, when we first arrived there was a rather strange looking man and I almost couldn't tell if he was a man or a woman for a second, until he spoke of course. His hair was very ... big." She gestured above her own head with her hands. Apparently, the meaning of "big" was huge because Giselle had volume for days herself.

"As I was saying this strange man welcomed us here and said that we were here to stay. Like we are his prisoners, or something." At this, she actually frowned and it looked so very out of place on her normally cheery face. She shook her head and then smiled brightly. "But he did say that if we solve the labyrinth, we might be able to get home!" Giselle wasn't entirely sure where that was for her anymore, but she certainly didn't like feeling like someone's prisoner.

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marcus_cole
2009-03-13 12:45 am UTC (link)

Marcus found Giselle rather fun to talk to, and fun to watch, too. She had an irrepressible and irristible energy that came out in everything she did. The Ranger found himself smiling as he listened to her, but stopped in complete surprise when she mentioned the place he had just been torn from. Being the considerate man that he was, he politely waited for her to finish the rest of her explanations before responding.

"...Did you just ask if I've heard of Mirage? Have you been there? Are you telling me you're from there? I've just come from there. I lived there for five months! Oh, and yes, I have heard of New York, though I've never been to Earth."

Having gotten his incredulity and amazement out of the way, he felt it would also be impolite not to respond to her offer of guiding.

"I would love to accept your kind offer, my lady. You may have only been here for a day, but you seem to know quite a bit about the place already. If I am an 'invited' guest like yourself, then I am sure there is a room and a key and a journal waiting for me somewhere, too. Did this big-haired man offer his name, or any clues as to how to get started with the Labyrinth?"

Even though he had only just arrived, the Freedom Fighter in Marcus already chafed at the bonds of his new imprisonment, and his ears had immediately latched onto the bit about solving a labyrinth to get home.

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keoughr
2009-03-15 06:25 pm UTC (link)

She nodded effusively. "Oh yes, Mirage. I've been there. I was brought here from there just yesterday. Well, I'm not from there but that was where I was before I was brought here." She paused, looking at him agape. "Have you really lived there for five months? Stars, I didn't think anyone had been there that long. I was only there for five days." It had seemed like much longer, but in reality had been less than a week. She smiled and nodded when he said he'd heard of New York, though he'd never been to Earth. She had to wonder if he was one of those aliens, like Max. But she didn't ask.

She clapped her hands lightly. "Wonderful. I've only been here since yesterday but I did get a chance to look around a bit. I will show you what I know." She bit down on her lip and thought for a moment about his question of the King giving clues to starting the Labyrinth. "Um, no, not specifically." She pointed toward the stone wall that held the labyrinth within. "There's a gate along the wall further down where you go in, I suppose. The only things he said were that we couldn't kill anyone, couldn't go into anyone else's room uninvited, couldn't leave and that maybe if we solved the labyrinth we would be rewarded, possibly with freedom."

She gave him a halfhearted attempt at a smile. She knew she wasn't being all that helpful. "Oh! But he did say that if we had questions, we could ask his servants. But talking to him is impossible unless the Labyrinth is solved." She smiled more brightly now, pleased with herself for remembering that bit of information. She only hoped that it would help Marcus in some way. She led him into the center of the village and pointed out the larger buildings. "That's the main building. I think if you go inside you may discover what your room number is and receive your key and journal. The smaller buildings around it are where people will be living if they don't try the Labyrinth right away. I'm in that building." She pointed to the one with the huge "B" on it.

"I had my breakfast from that tent this morning, and I saw a few people painting and doing other things in that tent. You saw the sparring rings." She giggled a little and lifted her eyes to his face. "This place is strange. Different from Mirage. The rooms are not the same. They don't change. I think they all look similar." She lowered her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. "But I changed mine a little with some fabric. It's pink!" She grinned and straightened. "Oh, if you're from Mirage, do you happen to know Legolas? A tall blond elf? I haven't seen him and I'm afraid he's still stuck there."

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marcus_cole
2009-03-16 01:46 am UTC (link)

Marcus continued to be amazed by some of the things Giselle was saying. To have also lived on Mirage was almost incredible, unless there really was a connection between the two places that was more than coincidence. Perhaps it really was on the same planet, or perhaps this was where everybody went when they left Mirage. His heart lurched at that thought, as he realized simultaneously that he had been separated from his beloved Tonks, possibly forever, and also that she might yet be coming here. He hoped he would not have to wait long.

"Only yesterday, you say? Funny. I don't remember you. Of course, if you were only there for five days, I suppose I could have missed you. I did meet Legolas, but it has been a long time since I saw him. I'm afraid he's not stuck there, to the best of my knowledge. I'd thought he had left that place months ago."

Marcus's reasoning seemed to rule out the possibility that everyone who left Mirage came to this City, but something wasn't right. If Giselle had only been on Mirage five days, and had met Legolas, who had been gone for months, how was that possible? Were there two Mirages? More likely there were two resorts on Mirage, and Marcus had been in a different resort from the one Giselle visited, where Legolas had gone. Perhaps this City, too, was a resort on Mirage...

"Well, the rules are similar to the last place, but the bit about winning our freedom is new. I wonder if he means it, or if it's a trap." Marcus turned the possibilities over in his head. "Well, I suppose I have time to consider the options. That building does look important, thank you." Two goblins ran past, and Marcus took note of them for the first time. "Are those his servants, there?"

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keoughr
2009-03-16 06:32 pm UTC (link)

She nodded just as exuberantly. "It is strange. I remember most of the people I saw there. Let's see... Max was an alien, but he was also a very cute boy. Katara was a waterbender, she could control water. It was amazing. And there was a man, the Doctor, who could travel through time! And there was a lovely girl, a tall blond woman called Ayla. I think she was from the distant past. There was also a warrior woman, she wore lots of dark leather and carried a sword. Mmmm... that's about all I can name. Did you know any of them?" She looked up at him, her brow slightly furrowed in her query. "He's gone? Not in Mirage? Oh." Her face fell a fraction and she could only hope that it meant he was here instead. But the possibility that he'd been sent home also struck her.

She brightened before long, however, and attended to his other questions and musings. "I don't know. I'm not sure if anyone has tried to go in just yet. I think many of us are still trying to gather our bearings in the city first." Giselle wasn't at all sure she was going to go into the big scary Labyrinth. Not alone, anyway. Who knew what was lurking in there? The last thing she wanted to encounter was another dragon.

She nodded, agreeing with him about the rules. She hoped that if Marcus tried the Labyrinth that it wouldn't be a trap for him. She liked him, and had only just met the man. She watched the goblins run past and stopped in her tracks, hiking up on her tip toes as if a mouse had run past. If it had been a mouse, more than likely she would have dropped to her knees and scooped it up, but these goblins were not cute little mice. They were ugly and they growled. They reminded her of small ogres, and she wasn't very fond of ogres. "Oh, yes, I believe so. The one he spoke of at the first gathering was a bit taller. But I'm sure any one of them could answer your questions."

She dropped back to her heels and continued to walk once the goblins had gone past. She smiled sheepishly up at him and clasped her hands in front of her, skipping lightly. "Would you like me to accompany you into the main building?" She had nothing to do. She wasn't home, or even in New York. There were no pressing duties. She spent her day anyway she chose, and guiding Marcus around was as good as any other activity.

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marcus_cole
2009-03-18 02:24 am UTC (link)

Marcus listened to Giselle's recitation of those she had known in Mirage with growing wonder. He recognized most of the people she mentioned. All of them were people that had been on Mirage when he had first arrived, but had not been there for several months before he had left. It seemed to stretch the bounds of credulity, not to mention Occam's Razor, to assume that they had all, along with Legolas, been whisked off to a second resort, where they had met Giselle. Marcus took another look at the beautiful young lady. She did look awfully familiar. Now that he thought back to the people who had originally been around him on Mirage...

"I do remember you! You were there. We didn't meet, but I remember seeing you. But that was months ago! How could you have only been there yesterday?"

It was a mystery, and it was really going to bug him, but he didn't suppose it was actually as important as getting oriented in his new surroundings. A trip to the main building seemed the perfect place to start his new residency. Mystery or no, he was finding Giselle's company rather refreshing, and was glad to accept her offer of companionship.

"Well, my lady, even if these goblins are both ubiquitous and useful, I would rather get my answers from someone kind and well-mannered, like you. By which I mean to say 'I would love to have your accompaniment to the main building.'"

Enjoying the opportunity Giselle seemed to effortlessly and unknowingly offer him to play the gentleman, Marcus gave a slight bow to the rosy-garbed woman, and offered her his elbow. He meant it as a friendly and somewhat playful gesture, and hoped she did not find it too forward or read too much into it. Having only just been torn from the same dimension as the woman he loved, and facing the real possibility that they would never meet again, his mind had shut itself off from the pain of that fresh wound; however, it would be far from false to say that he was not quite ready to consider a new romantic companion.

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keoughr
2009-03-23 08:09 pm UTC (link)

She stopped to look at him in wonder and surprise and looked at him equally carefully. Her gaze narrowed thoughtfully and a look of dawning recognition lit her entire face accompanied by a smile. "Oh my, yes! I did see you out and about once or twice, with that woman with the strange colored hair. No, we didn't meet, I would have remembered that." Her brow furrowed as he went on to explain that it had all taken place months ago. She shook her head. "But it was only a day or two ago that I saw you. I am certain of it." This was all rather disturbing. She didn't like the idea that so much time had passed between Marcus' memory of her and her memory of him. Something strange was going on and she could only hope that she hadn't been stuck in some strange wicked witch's idea of beauty sleep of which she had no recollection.

She beamed under his praise and compliments. She liked Marcus and regretted now that she never got to meet him when they were on Mirage together. She had a second chance at it now, though, and that was all that mattered. "Well, then. It's this way." She skipped lightly toward the largest of the cluster of buildings and pulled the door open. She held it for him and led him inside. There was a big desk in the lobby, much like there had been in Mirage and a key and journal lay atop it, waiting for Marcus to pick them up. Seeing as there was no one else in the lobby at the moment, she assumed they were his and pointed to them. "Those must be yours!"

She grinned and clasped her hands in front of her. "Where have you been put?" She stood on tiptoes to get a glance of the number etched on the key. She remembered something suddenly and dropped back down on her heels. "Did that woman with the funny colored hair come with you?" She had no knowledge of a relationship between the two. She had seen them wandering around Mirage together several times, but they always appeared to be exploring, searching for ways out. It was nothing but business with them. At least from a distance. What had transpired over the next several months was completely lost on Giselle.

She pointed to the journal. "That's magic. Everyone gets one, and you can read what anyone else writes in their own. You can speak with others that way, by replying to their entries, or if they reply to yours." She hoped that she was being helpful. She didn't like to feel like a burden although it was sometimes lost on her when others were put off by her personality.

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marcus_cole
2009-03-25 10:49 pm UTC (link)

Marcus was comforted, in a way, to know that Giselle was as mystified by the circumstance of their temporally-divergent memories as he was, though he did find it more than mildly distressing to see her discomfort with the thought of the matter. She seemed so pure and innocent, Marcus found he wanted to protect her from any source of sadness or hurt, much as he would a child; which wasn't to say that he didn't respect her independent adult nature.

Following the pink-dressed lady into the lobby of the main building, Marcus looked about and took in the décor of the place, which seemed to match the generally medieval look of the outside areas. He immediately noticed the very large and ornate desk that dominated the room, before Giselle excitedly pointed it out, and took the key and book that waited there for him. They were not particularly fancy, but he was sure they did their job just fine.

"It seems I have been put in room 102. What about you?" Marcus' composure rippled at Giselle's next question. "The girl with the funny-coloured hair? Um, no. No, I'm afraid not. Her name was--is--Tonks."

Marcus looked at Giselle with a melancholy expression. Her question, and his polite personal compulsion to answer it honestly had stirred the emotions he felt at being torn from his lover, emotions he had put aside for the moment, to be brought out later, when he was in his room, alone. He tuned back in to what Giselle was saying in just enought time to get the gist of it.

"Oh, I see! Well, that's handy. There was something like that back on Mirage, too. Do you remember?"

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keoughr
2009-03-26 10:38 pm UTC (link)

She took a peep at his key and saw that he was in the E dorm. "I have room 112 in the B dorm." She pointed toward the building that was just outside, within view of the window. She turned back to find that his face had fallen somewhat and she worried that she'd said something wrong. Her smile faded and her eyes widened somewhat. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I didn't mean to..." She trailed off, sure she would just further embarrass herself if she spoke. She put her hand to her mouth in a further effort to keep herself from blurting out something else that would make such a melancholy look appear on his face.

When the subject turned back to the magic book, she shook her head. "I don't remember, but I was only there for a five days." If Marcus had been there for five months, he would have had a bigger opportunity to find out all the secret bits than she had. "This building does have many rooms, like the building on Mirage, did. I've seen a swimming pool and a library. I haven't opened all the doors yet, though." She smiled at him again.

"Are you hungry or anything? I think there's a restaurant in here somewhere..." She felt all kinds of stupid now, and wasn't quite sure what to say. She'd recognized the look as longing and fear, hopelessness. Mixed in there was love, and it had been torn from him without reason. She knew how that felt, and couldn't begin to try to comfort him. There was just nothing she could say.

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marcus_cole
2009-03-29 12:31 am UTC (link)

Marcus took another look at his key, noting the dorm letter. 'E' meant there were at least five dorms. He wondered how many rooms each had. How many people did the king of this place plan to bring here? How many had he brought already? The Ranger wasn't sure if he would get along with the new community he found himself part of, but if he could, he would very much like to get them all working together; well, those that had the same goals, anyway.

"I guess we won't be next-door neighbours, then. Tell me, are we given room-mates, as well?" Marcus was slightly distressed when Giselle's raised hand made clear her own distress. "No, it's okay. You can ask what you like. I'm glad you remember her. That makes two of us. I wonder if Legolas will, as well. He was a good man--elf, I should say."

Despite his words of reassurance, Marcus found himself drawing on his Ranger training of meditation and courage to suppress and divert the strong emotions their conversation about Tonks was arousing. It seemed wrong to him to speak of her nostagically, as a thing to be remembered, but he supposed he would have to get used to it. He only half-heard Giselle's words about the recreational opportunities available in their residential complex, not being much in the mood for fun; his ears perked up, however, at the mention of food. Though he had only eaten a couple of hours ago, he had been through a lot in that short time, and there was a Tonks-sized hollow void in his gut that he would very much like to fill. He wasn't assuming that food would do it, but it was worth a try.

"Hungry? Yes, I would love something to eat. Would you join me?"

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keoughr
2009-03-30 08:54 pm UTC (link)

She shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. I have a room to myself. I'm not sure about everyone else, though." She was grateful for his reassurance, but she didn't feel as if she had quite made up for it yet. His comment about Legolas made her long for him and she nodded. The ranger seemed to draw into himself and Giselle was mildly surprised when he agreed to getting some food.

"I'd be delighted." She smiled at him and then led him away from the large front desk down a large corridor with doors leading off of it. As they came within sight of the transparent double doors, the odors of food hit them. It smelled like a mixture of fresh breads, stewed meats and seasoned vegetables. It smelled delightful to her. Breakfast had been good from the tent outside, but she was looking forward to something a little more substantial for lunch.

Pushing through the double doors she was met again by the strange people who seemed to work in all corners of the city. They had faces, albeit rather plain and rather unattractive features, but they were immediately forgotten upon glancing away. She didn't understand it, and at first hadn't noticed it, but she did now. When she tried to cement one of the workers' faces in her head and then glance away, it was gone. She didn't know how it was done, or why, but it troubled her.

She seated herself in a booth along one wall and pointed to the opposite bench. "Have a seat. They serve us here, much the way they did on Mirage." She handed him a menu and then began to peruse it herself. She'd only been here once before, but the food had been good then. She expected the same thing now.

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marcus_cole
2009-04-02 12:10 am UTC (link)

Marcus followed Giselle down the hall and into the dining room. Goblins scurried this way and that, carrying food or on errands. They were odd creatures, not too tall, ugly, but not ugly enough to be memorable. Marcus supposed they were Jareth's "golems", doing his bidding and enforcing his will. Well, they seemed harmless enough, though there were an awful lot of them. One of them might not be able to pick a man up, as a Mirage golem could, but Marcus didn't want to find out what would happen if they swarmed him.

Sitting on the wooden bench at the wooden table, Marcus smelled the aroma of stewed and roasted meats and vegetables, and possibly fresh-baked bread. It was a change from the delicious-but-anonymous scent of Mirage's dining hall, and it made his stomach rumble. For a moment he stared at his menu uncomprehending, before he realized this was an a la carte restaurant, but the carte wasn't infinite in scope.

He read the menu. It felt odd, but it came back to him easily enough. After all, five months wasn't enough time to unlearn all of the habits of his former spacefaring life. "It smells great, and there are loads of things on the menu that sound simply delicious. Have you ever had roast pheasant? When I was a boy, I didn't even know what a pheasant was. I've certainly never eaten one."

Marcus gazed up from the menu to regard the woman across from him. Dressed as she was, the Ranger found it difficult to imagine she had not been served all of her life. Her rosy regalia appeared better suited for a fancy-dress ball than a goblin-run public house such as this. Nevertheless, Giselle smiled as if this were the most wonderful place in the world.

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