(Originally posted to the Foreverknightfanatics list on 6/11/01)
Hi Everyone:
Well, here's another fic from me. In case you ever wondered what one of my story planning sessions was like, here it is.....
This story was inspired by our Divia debate of about 2 weeks ago. Warning, she breaks into the castle and runs into us in our meeting...<smirk>
Now, who forgot to lock both locks on the cellar door?? (sigh...)
Thanks
David (who's still rubbing his bruises)
Note:
Nick, LaCroix, Alyce, Vachon, and Divia are all characters from Forever
Knight which is licensed by Sony Tri-Star.
Xena, Gabrielle, Salamoneus, Hope, and Dahak are from Xena Warrior
Princess which is under Renaissance Studios and StudiosUSA.
Teri and Nay are of course are our listmoms.
For his part, Sparky insisted on a main role.
As for me, I'm the humble scribe who always manages to blunder into
trouble. And this time, I found it
in spades. Hope you all locked your
rooms before you left the castle....
***********************
It
was a pleasant Saturday evening. Outside,
the clear, moonlit sky beckoned to all of the castellans, enticing them to
wander and play. A gentle breeze
blowing across the flowing grasses also added to this mood.
Clearly, it wasn't an evening to stay indoors.
Despite
these pleasures, I sat in the sanctum, hurriedly scribbling away on yet another
manuscript. The next story meeting
with my characters was in about fifteen minutes.
"Okay," I sighed. "There...it
is! Nice synopsis!"
I hoped that Xena and Dave Dubois would agree to it.
Oftentimes, they were very hard to please.
Just
then, there was a knock at the door. "David?"
a voice asked.
I
recognized Nay's voice. "Yes?
Please come in, Nay. It's
open."
The
door swung open and she hurried into the room.
I noted the elegant dress and the way her hair was done up.
"Big date tonight?" I inquired.
"Right,"
she smiled. "Vachon and Lucien
are taking Teri and me to the theatre tonight.
We're going to see Romeo & Juliet."
A
quip came to mind about LaCroix, his stance on Nick's relationships, and the
Shakespearean play, but, rather than spoil the mood, I just chuckled and wished,
"I hope you have a great evening."
"Oh,
we will. But, I wish that you would
do something besides stay cooped up in here all of the time," the caring
list mom wished. "Maybe Alyce
would have gone with you and the rest of us.
You know Lucien still has that extra set of tickets...."
I
shook my head, "Thanks again, but Alyce is still a little leery of him.
And I do have my meeting with Dave and Xena coming up."
Nay
shrugged. She had tried.
"Okay, but at least...."
From
the top of the stairs, Teri's voice echoed down along the stones, "Nay!
They're here! Let's
go!"
"Coming!"
Nay responded and turned back to me. "Okay,
remember, you're the only person left in the castle.
I'd appreciate it if you could check on Sparky and do a few rounds of the
castle. We should be back by 2 or
so."
"Okay,"
I agreed. "Have fun and don't
worry. Everything will be
fine."
"Thanks,
David," she nodded. "I
hope your meeting goes well. Any
tidbits for Lucien?"
I
chuckled knowingly, "It's a surprise.
Tell him, no fair peeking. But,
he does get his just desserts...."
She
rolled her eyes at me. There was no
sense in starting THAT argument again. "Oh
well, have a nice meeting. The Dark
Forest cake's in the fridge," she closed, walking out the door.
"Have fun!"
"I'll
try," I grinned and watched her exit the room, heading for the stone
staircase. A few minutes later, I
got up and walked upstairs. It was
about that time....
A
sharp rapping came from the door. "David,
are you in there?" Xena's voice probed.
I
opened the portal quickly to allow the Warrior Princess and the librarian turned
professor into the citadel. "Glad
that you can make it!" I greeted pleasantly.
"Would you like something?"
"We're
fine," she noted. "Francesca
made her Fettuccine Florentine."
"Believe
me, we're stuffed," he agreed happily.
"She sends her regards by the way and dinner."
He produced a large plate with a cover over it.
"Wow!"
I gaped. "Please thank her for
me."
"We
will," she concurred. "So,
shall we get to it?"
"I
want to stop and see Sparky," the medievalist noted.
"Okay,
follow me!" I indicated, leading them down the stone stairs.
Once we reached the ground floor, we passed the sanctum and found
ourselves in front of the friendly dragon's pen.
Sparky
crooned softly almost musically.
"Hi,
Sparky," Dave greeted with a smile.
"Hey,
there," Xena added. "How
are you? Hopefully, everyone's been
playing nicely with you?"
The
dragon bobbed his head up and down. Everyone
in the Castle was always nice to him and played with him.
Sticking his head over the low barrier, he looked at the trio and his
eyes sparkled. Whenever these folks
visited, they always treated him well.
"We'll
be back, Sparky," I promised. "We
have to write another story."
The
dragon whined a bit. He didn't want
to be left with nobody to play with, but he understood. Besides, knowing David, there would be another tale to hear
soon enough.
I
shrugged, "Let's get cracking. I
have some stuff I want to go over with you both."
***********
Meanwhile,
a lone figure alighted on the pale moonlit lawn outside of the castle.
Divia snarled at the edifice in which everyone had the nerve to honor her
accursed father and his associates! For
a month, she had cased the place, looking for chinks in the stone and mortar façade
of the castle. Finally, she
discovered a loosely locked cellar door. "Perfect!"
she snickered and smashed her way inside, looking to cause mayhem....
************
While
my guests read over the synopsis, I walked the passages of the castle, looking
for anything out of the ordinary. While
everything seemed normal, I felt nervous about the eerie silence about the
halls. My instincts hinted that
something was amiss....
"I'll
do another patrol in 30 minutes," I promised myself, hustling back to the
sanctum where Dave and Xena had just finished reading.
"This
isn't bad," the Warrior grinned. "But
the title's wrong.... 'Facing One's Fears'?"
"How
about 'Children of Darkness'?" he added, flipping through the manuscript to
the end. "That would fit with
Hope, Divia, and my other half."
Pondering
this title change, I sat down and scratched my chin. Yes, that would work. "Sounds
good," I agreed.
"And
you got Eve into the storyline. Nice
job," she complemented.
Dave
frowned as he stared at a particular part of the work.
"I have a big problem with the final battle."
I
sighed knowingly. In the story,
Divia wiped the floor with the Child, leaving Xena to deal with her.
I guessed he wouldn't like it.
"You
want to tempt fate? I don't want to
deal with him when I get home," he stated.
"That's
true," she agreed. "Best
to let him have his way on that one. Besides,
it leaves me and Gabrielle open to take on Hope."
"Okay,"
I agreed and made red comments on my copy.
"That's done and what about?"
Just
then, the medievalist jumped out of his seat.
His face already tense. "Who
else is here?" he snapped.
"Other
than Sparky, no one," I replied. Then,
I remembered my earlier misgivings. "Something's up. Want
to take a walk?"
"Yeah,"
Xena agreed, putting her sword back in her holster and left the room in a hurry.
Dave
cautioned me. "Stay put.
If this is something serious, you don't want to be there.
If something comes after you, remember how to shoot the arrows?"
I
nodded, recalling our lessons.
"Good,
then I'm leaving these with you," he mentioned, placing the weapons by the
door. "Remember, stay put and
these are for an emergency."
"But,
who's going to write the story? I
want to be there for literary reasons!" I protested.
Xena
frowned and stuck her head back in the door.
"I'm going to tell you what I told Salamoneus.
Stay here," she advised firmly in a tone not to be ignored.
Then, she looked at Dave. "C'mon.
Let's check it out."
"Figures,"
I mumbled as they closed the door. For
once, I wanted to be in on the fun....
*****
Divia
stalked the ground floor for almost an hour.
There had to be something she could do to cause her father's admirers
dismay. But what?
A playful roar resounded off of the stairs.
"What is that?" she wondered and flew down the staircase.
Following the sound, she alighted in front of Sparky's pen.
The
dragon roared, retreating to the back of his pen. This girl smelled like the mistresses' favorite guest and he
didn't like the vampire.
"Well,
well...The pet," she snickered and smashed her way into the holding area.
"You will be my prize!"
Sparky
quivered indecisively. While he had
been told by his master not to use his flame in the castle, given the situation,
he had no choice. He blew a fiery
stream at the intruder, but missed his target. Once again, he called for help.
***************
Back
in my room, I heard the desperate roar. Despite
the instructions, I knew I couldn't let him down....
"Okay,"
I muttered, picking up the bow and arrows.
"Let's see if those lessons paid off."
Moving out into the hall, the flickering torch tapers lit the area in an
orange glow. Around the corner, I
spied a little girl climbing into Sparky's pen.
"What in the...?" My
hear t started to beat faster. "Whoever
you are, come out of there and we'll call your parents," I ordered.
"My
parents?" she snickered incredulously.
"Oh, yes...my dear father. I
know he'll come running for me. Probably
to try and kill me AGAIN!" She turned and let her ruby red eyes shine at me.
"Well, well...the scribe. This
is my lucky day!" She stalked
out of the area and flew at me, bearing her fangs.
I
recoiled, instantly recognizing her. "Divia,
aw crap! Figures....My night to
watch the castle and she has to show up!" I ranted.
In
mid-flight, she yelled, "Oh, shut up and stand still.
I promise to do it quickly!"
Although
my heart was pounding like a tripwire, I pulled a shaft out of the quiver,
strung the bow, and fired it. The
projectile went right through her left shoulder, dropping her to the floor.
"Man, what a lucky shot," I huffed fearfully.
"YOU
INSOLENT MORTAL!!!!" she exclaimed. "I'll
kill you slowly for that!"
I
turned for the safety of the sanctum, but, in a second's time, she knocked me
over.
"Now
to end your miserable writing..." she crowed. At that point, a burst of flame singed her right side.
"Arrgh! That stupid dragon!"
Turning, she fumed, "I'll
deal with you next, you overstuffed snake!"
Sparky
trumpeted his disdain. There was no
way he was going to let her kill me. After
all, we were friends and this was his home too! Another flame burst sent her scurrying for the stairwell.
I
managed to get to my feet. "Thanks...Buddy,"
I told my friend gratefully.
The
dragon roared in acknowledgement, stepping out of his pen, and meandering up to
my side.
"It
doesn't matter! I'll still..."
Divia snarled at us.
"You'll
what...?" Dave's voice snarled out of nowhere.
"You!"
she spat. "Come out, Dubois!
I owe you for the last time!"
In
response, a psychic burst hit her in the back, throwing her past us, and sending
her skidding down the hall.
"Look,
I know your father's not much of a role model," Dave hissed although it was
the Child in full control. "But,
here, the mistresses of the castle expect all guests to behave!"
"What
do you know about discipline??" she screamed. "I'll kill you!"
While
she was ranting, the Child looked at me and Sparky. "Ya did all right.
Now, get!" he ordered.
Just
then, he ducked and allowed Divia to fly full force into the wall behind him.
"GET
GOING!" he bellowed. "NOW!!!!"
"C'mon,
Sparky!" I directed. "You
heard him!" Normally, I
wouldn't have done so, but with the rematch between the Abused Twins coming up,
I wasn't about to expose Sparky--never mind myself--to that onslaught.
As
we sped through the door of the sanctum, I glimpsed Xena standing guard by the
stairs. She motioned with her hand
for us to get in there. Once we did
so, she slammed the door shut and stood guard outside.
*********
Meanwhile,
Divia had climbed to her feet. Still
hurting from the bolt in her shoulder and the other arm being burned, she let
out rapid, angry breaths, turning her attention to her opponent.
"Ya
know," he snickered, obviously enjoying her pain.
"Ya're not the only one with bad parents.
Wanna piece of advice? Deal
with it! We're both products of the type!"
"You...You!"
she growled and leapt again.
He
caught her by the leg and used her momentum to smash her against the wall.
Then, he repeated this action several times before flinging her to the
ground. "I forgot...how much
fun that was," he snickered. "Now,
get up, Brat. Unless ya've had
enough of a whupping."
Spying
the Warrior Princess down the hall, Divia challenged, "Why aren't you
jumping in, Xena? Believe me, I'll
kill you too!"
Xena
shrugged and deadpanned, "I figure that he needs to blow off
some steam. Don't worry, when I get
my turn, I'll be waitin' for ya!"
"Hey,
one partner at a time!" Dave baited, calling the vampire's attention back
to himself. Glancing at Xena, he
mouthed, "Get ready!"
She
nodded knowingly, readying her sword.
"So,
let's dance!" Divia snarled, flying in a blur towards him.
At the last second, he hit the floor and she kept going...straight into
Xena's outstretched sword.
"I
told ya I'd be ready," the warrior smiled saccharin-sweetly.
"Try not to make a mess on the floor when ya die.
The cleaning bill will be murder..."
Impaled
on the stake, she staggered and fell, "Impossible....not again...."
Then, she was swallowed up in flames, and a demonic laughter could be
heard.
"Some
day, Dahak!" Xena challenged but received no response.
"Nice
move," he complemented. "Now,
if ya'll excuse me...." He focused and Dave came back out.
"I must have missed something," the confused medievalist
wondered.
"Nah,"
the warrior shook her head. "Trust
me. You were right in the middle of
it." With that, the two
characters walked back into the sanctum to resume our story session.
**************
Two
hours later, LaCroix's driver pulled the limo to a stop in front of the castle
portal.
"Strange,"
the Roman general muttered.
"What
is, Lucien?" Nay probed. "What's
wrong?"
"I
sense trouble! Vachon, let's
go!" he ordered.
The
former conquistador, sensing the air, agreed, "Divia's nearby, so stay
put."
"Divia?"
Nay exclaimed. "But David's in
there! And...!"
"And
Xena and...." Teri continued, starting to wince.
"And
David Dubois," Nay sighed. "Oh,
no! I can just see what the inside
of the castle looks like!"
With
that, the two castle mistresses and their dates hurried through the portal and
into the main room.
"Strange...."
LaCroix surmised. "Yet, she's
here."
"Downstairs,
Amigo," the former conquistador indicated and flew down the stairs.
The
elder vampire exchanged brief glimpses with Nay and took off after his fellow
immortal.
Nay
gasped, "If nothing's wrong up here, then...."
"It
happened downstairs where David and Sparky are!" Teri agreed and hustled down to the lower level, her friend
following her. There, the ladies
found their escorts staring at the pile of ash still smoking on the floor and
Sparky's smashed pen.
"If...
that dragon...killed her...." LaCroix stammered angrily.
"Cool
it," I advised, coming out of the sanctum. "Sparky had nothing to do it. And she isn't dead. At
least, we don't think she is."
"Then,
Dahak still has her," the Roman snarled.
"That's
right, Lucius," Xena agreed, walking into the light.
"And since we don't want anymore trouble here, I guess you better
behave." Flipping the chakram
into her hand, she gave him the crazed battle stare.
"It's been such a nice evening, I wouldn't wanna ruin it for either
you or your lady friends."
Nay
shook her head at her immortal escort. "Not
tonight, Lucien. Please."
He
nodded, "For you, Nay." Picking
up her hand, he kissed it lightly. "Thank you for a pleasant evening."
Turning to his immortal companion, he asked, "Coming, Vachon?"
The
Spaniard shook his head, "No, I think that I'm going to stay around in case
Teri needs any more help."
LaCroix
sighed. The evening had started so
well....Now, with Xena here, and he sensed the insolent professor lurking close
by as well, it was time to leave. With
that, he took off towards his limo.
Nay
hung by the stairs for a second, watching her date rising into the upper levels
of the castle until he vanished from sight.
Then, she walked into the sanctum and asked, "So, what happened
tonight?"
"Hey,
we were having a perfectly good brainstorming session until Her Bratiness showed
up," Dave explained.
"She went after Sparky. I distracted her from him...and he pulled her off of me," I recounted, still remembering how close her fangs had come to me.
The
dragon nodded and trumpeted his opinion of the attack.
"Then,
Dave and I arrived and defeated her," Xena completed the account.
The
castle mistress looked at all of us. While
she wasn't happy about the fracas, at least, it had been contained down here
where the only damage had been to the lock on Sparky's door.
And nobody had been hurt. Best
of all, the two lone guards of the castle's residents had stood their ground.
Then,
Teri and Vachon hustled back into the room.
"Nay! The cellar doors
were broken in!"
The
other castle mistress nodded in response and turned to the others.
"Well, nobody's going to believe this story," she muttered.
Teri
requested, "David, can you...?"
"I'll
start on it ASAP," I replied.
Dave
snickered and rubbed my arm. "I'll
see you later. Work on rewriting
that scene, okay?"
Sparky
and I looked at each other knowingly. After
what we just heard, that wouldn't be a problem.
"Don't
worry," the Warrior Princess cracked.
"I think the Child proved his point. Well, we gotta be getting back.
See ya soon, David. Nay and
Teri, as always, it's been a pleasure."
With that, she departed from the chamber.
"Well,
since there's nothing else wrong here, I'd best be going too," the Spaniard
stated and kissed Teri's hand. "Thank
you for a wonderful evening," he slurred and left as well.
"We
secured the door," Teri informed us a moment later .
"So, I guess, we're all set for tonight.
If you'll excuse me, good night. David,
I'm glad that you and Sparky are all right."
She smiled and walked up the stairs.
Nay
yawned, "Yes, well...it is getting late.
David, are you and Sparky okay for the rest of the evening?"
Sparky
crooned at me.
"You
know us," I laughed. "We'll
just have a nice quiet time by ourselves."
The
list mom shook her head and smiled, "Thanks again, You Two.
I'm glad you're safe." With
that, she departed.
I
stretched drowsily and looked at my reptilian friend. "Want a blanket? I'm
out of hay, but this'll keep you warm."
Sparky
nodded and watched me put down the flannel quilt covering.
Lounging on it, he whined good night and fell fast asleep.
"Good
night," I whispered and, after turning out the lights, climbed into bed and
fell asleep myself. It had been a
long day after all...just another quiet, boring day in Paradise between a
scribe, his characters, and his next-door neighbor.
THE
END
(**I hope you liked it! Thanks again!**)
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