“No problem at all.” Their host said. “Oh and there is no need for you to come down to eat tonight. Your meals will be left at your door by the servants. Please ring a bell and speak aloud anything you need and the servants will ensure you have it. Now, I will bid you two goodnight.” Mika bowed slightly then walked back down the hall to the waiting elevator.
Robin and Roami watched him until he walked in and the doors shut behind him.
“Wow, unbelievable! Everything gets crazier and crazier with each second.” Robin said as she walked into her room and dove straight onto the huge king sized bed. It had a wooden frame and mounds of purple and blue pillows and covers. The rest of the room to her surprise had many of the same furnishings as her old room at Thisters’ home in the city of Fitz.
“It’s like they copied some things about Fitz and with others they went to the opposite extreme.” Robin said as she eyed jeweled vases, crystal side tables and small velvet sofas.
The room was very large and filled to the brim with unnecessary furniture, decorations and odd looking gadgets. Instead of perpetual patterns, the curtains and rugs shone the same advertisements that had been on the walls in the Akwo Tunnels. When she noticed this Robin grimaced, “I hope there is an off button for these… I don’t want to have my dreams filled with the latest shoes and hair products…” She rolled her eyes dramatically at Roami who just laughed in response.
“Oh, oh, ohhhhh!” She exclaimed as she felt how soft the bed was. “I think I will sink into it and never come out again!” she said in awe. Running her hands over the covers from her sprawled position, she noticed a pair of silk pajamas laying on the bed. It was just a simple silk tunic and pair of trousers. “Thank Goodness. I thought maybe they wore business suits for pajamas too.” She laughed at her own joke. The pajamas were actually very similar to the ones she had wore in Fitz except they were nearly every color of the rainbow and shimmered in the blue light of the metallic lamps in the room.
“Whatever. It cannot be all that comforta-” Roami sat at the foot of the bed and nearly fainted from the pleasure of its softness.
“See…” Robin said and threw a pillow at her friends head. Roami laughed and hopped off the bed to get far away from her silly attacks.
“Before we get comfortable we really must talk about all that has happened so far. Remember our goal is still the same. We need to try to figure out how to get out of this world once and for all. I am just confused now though. Has the riddle changed now that we are in another world within this world?” Roami thought aloud as he paced the gold colored carpet.
“Okay, look… I’m hungry. You can try and figure out the riddle while I order some food.” Was all Robin said as she got up from the bed and made her way to the golden bell near the wall beside her bed. She pulled it twice then remembering Mika’s odd directive she yelled out, “Chicken sandwich, Strawberry ice-cream sundae with rainbow sprinkles and a big cup of hot cocoa!”
Looking at Roami she nodded for him to follow suit. Rolling his eyes Roami said loudly, “I guess I’ll have the same.” Robin’s eyes alighted as she saw she was having an effect on her dear friend.
Roami stood up and was about to continue his thoughts on riddles and worlds when a slight tap came at Robin’s door.
“Who is it?” Robin called out cautiously. There was no response and so Roami walked towards the door to check it out. When he opened the door no one stood outside but a large golden tray of food sat on the ground before his and Robin’s doors.
“Wow, it’s everything we ordered! That was fast!” Robin said with delight.
Roami brought both trays into Robin’s room and placed them on one of her many wooden tables. They sat down in matching wooden chairs and the two dug in after ensuring themselves that it was edible and not poisonous. When they finished their food their bellies were full and they were quite tired.
With a yawn Robin said, “Roami I know it’s important we start figuring this whole riddle business out and everything but… I’m sooooo tired…”
Roami nodded, “Yes, you’re right… I guess we can work on discovering this world’s riddle tomorrow.”
Roami stood at Robin’s door prepared to bid her goodnight. Before leaving he smiled sleepily at her then said, “Tomorrow we will figure a way out of all this and back to Source One.”
“I hope so…” Robin stifled a huge yawn. When Roami closed the door she quickly slipped on her rainbow colored silk pajamas then dove into her bed and under the covers.
With another stifled yawn, she clicked off the crystal lamp on her bedside dresser which had been giving off a soothing sky-blue glow.
Robin then turned into her soft mountain of covers and dove into a fantastic dreamland that while exciting could not compare to her adventures since leaving the House of Intrigues.
***
Robin opened her eyes…
The first thing that came to her mind was why on earth would she have opened her eyes in the middle of the night? Especially given how tired she had been when she finally drifted off to sleep.
She remained quiet waiting to see if some errant sound had disturbed her rest. For a moment there was nothing but silence. Then she heard it; the sound that had awakened her. Robin looked towards the door to her bedroom. The blue light from the hallway lanterns beamed below the closed door. She stared at it to see if any shadows passed by, signaling someone was at or passing her door. Nothing. And yet she heard it; the sound of small feet shuffling nearby followed by the sad whistling of an incredibly melancholy tune.
The hairs on Robin’s neck stood up as she realized she would either have to cower in fear beneath her covers until daybreak or tackle her fear face to face. As always Robin chose the latter. Pulling the covers off, she dropped out of the comfortable bed, slipped on her slippers and made her way to the door slowly so as not to make a sound.
When she stood there, her ear against the wood, Robin noticed the sound had grown louder as if the perpetrator was just about to pass by. She swung open the door to come face to face with… absolutely nothing.
“What the fudge…” Robin whispered as she looked at either side of her in the hallway and even checked out the ceilings to see where someone could have quickly hidden.
“Hello?” She asked aloud. Her eyes went wide when she realized that was always the famous utterance in horror movies before some poor hapless blonde got slaughtered by a deranged killer. Robin had never been and would never be a blonde, hapless or not, if she could help it.
Running she made her way to Roami’s quarters. She threw open the door and flew inside.
His room was bathed in darkness but she quickly got readjusted to the blackness and walked towards his bedside. When she was just inches away she stopped and stared down at her friend. His beautiful blue skin shimmered where the street lights from outside his window shone in. His sculpted face which was usually set with grim determination or mounds of seriousness seemed for once to be completely at peace. Robin could not help but softly smile at the endearing picture he made sleeping.
“Who is that?” Roami’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Robin had fallen into a daydream without realizing she was just standing there staring at Roami. He was now wide awake and wondering why she stood at the foot of his bed watching him so intently.
Feeling uncomfortable and like a grade-A creep, Robin fumbled to explain why she had invaded his privacy. “I uh… It’s me Robin.” She said as she cut on a small crystalline lamp made of frosted blue and gray glass. The room lit with a light blue glow and Robin watched as Roami sat up and stared at her in confusion.
“Is everything okay Robin?” He asked as he wiped his face with his hand and blinked his eyes to force himself awake.
“I umm…. No. I woke up because I heard footsteps in the hallway and someone whistling. When I went out to see who it was there was no one there…” She sat at the edge of his bed.
“Well… maybe it was just the servants. Haven’t you noticed they
are sort of hard to pin down here?” He said with a yawn.
“Yes… I guess but… Believe me Roami, there is no way anyone could have just vanished into thin air like that. They were right outside my door then gone the next second… You know what I think? Oh my god, it’s so clear now…” Robin’s eyes grew large and Roami prepared to hear one of her great conspiracy theories.
“What?” Roami asked.
“I think this place is…haunted…” Robin said this and stared at Roami to gauge his response.
He just stared at her blank faced for a very long moment.
“Okay Robin… Um… I need to get back to sleep. Actually, so do you for that matter… we won’t be able to explore and figure out the riddle if we’re exhausted.” He said while yawning once again.
“Roami… did you hear what I just said? I think this place is…” Before she could finish her thought they heard an odd sound come from outside his window.
“Oh no… what now?” Robin breathed heavily in exasperation as she stood back up and stared at the window in fear.
As she spoke Roami made his way out of his bed and towards the window. “Stay there. Let me check it out first.” He said knowing Robin would undoubtedly, not listen. Almost immediately he was proven correct when he felt her arm bump into his back while he stared out the window.
They both stood there near the pane and quickly saw what the commotion was. The sound of tiny hard rocks falling outside was soft at first then grew faster and louder as each moment passed. “Is it hail?” Robin asked as she squinted to see what was falling from the sky.
As the fury grew they could clearly see the gold streets below them fill with what looked like tiny blue crystals.
“It’s raining…gemstones?” Robin looked incredulous as she looked towards Roami. Roami shrugged in response and was about to respond when they heard an explosive sound. It was a loud collective moaning that nearly shook the very foundations of the city. The intense moaning continued and was accompanied by shrill emergency alarms blaring across the streets.
“What is going-” Robin spoke just as Roami’s door flew open. There stood Mika in his black pajamas made in the same style as their own. He looked like he had just woke up as well since his silver hair was in complete disarray. His blue eyes appeared frantic but his speech was slow and measured.
“Uh, strange ones… I am glad to see you are both awake. I am sorry for the inconvenience but there is a…uh… slight emergency in town that is being taken care of as we speak.” He gulped noticeably then walked in. Robin noticed he was barefoot as he had probably forgotten his slippers in his haste to get to them.
“A slight emergency? It’s raining gemstones out there. Anyone caught in that will get sliced up pretty badly… I think that’s more than a small emergency…” Robin eyed Mika as if he had lost his mind.
“No, no! There is absolutely nothing to worry about. This does not happen often but it does happen from time to time. It is simply raining… uh…gems. It is a rare Blue Storm… Believe me, it will be taken care of quickly. By the time we all leave this building for the day every trace of it will be cleared away.” He said a bit breathlessly.
Roami looked at Robin’s expression and knew she was not buying any of it.
“So, what do we do now?” Roami asked.
Happy to be able to change the discussion to something he actually had answers to, Mika piped up, “For the time being, to ensure our own safety we must all go to the dining hall in the center of the house. It is the room farthest away from the windows. That way we are safe from being hit by these stones as they fall and potentially break through the glass.”
Robin and Roami nodded.
“We will just get dressed and…” Robin said.
“No, there is no time! Please follow me now Strange Ones.” Mika said as he stepped back into the hallway gesturing for them to follow.
When they stood beside him he explained, “Tika and Brifton are already waiting for us there. Let us go.”
They followed him down the hall, which Robin noticed was now silent and void of any whistled tunes. They took the elevator down to the main floor and entered the dining hall.
Tika and Brifton were already seated at one end of the table. Both were still dressed in their pajamas as well. Tika in white and Brifton in blue. Robin smiled when she saw the little baby. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek while Tika held the bubbling little boy in her arms protectively.
All along the table were mounds of every food imaginable.
“We ordered beforehand to ensure there was food waiting for you two. I hope you don’t mind.” Tika said with a warm smile.
“Of course not. Thank you.” Roami said. Robin echoed her thanks as well as they looked over the mouth watering bounty of food and drinks. From the dining hall they could barely hear the sound of the raging stone storm outside.
Mika sat beside Tika. Robin and Roami found their own seats, beside one another. They all ate quietly.
Tika was the first to break the silence, “I don’t know if you two have already made plans for the day… but I was wondering if I could take Robin away from you for a bit. Just for a little girl-time.” Tika looked at the two with a cautious smile.
“Um… what exactly would that girl-time include?” Robin asked in her usual no-nonsense fashion.
“Well uh… I actually am an author. A somewhat famous author here in Wongswited.” Tika said with a bashful smile then looked over at Mika. He beamed with pride and nodded his head.
Tika continued. “I will be at a local Bobble Shop for the book signing today. I figured we could go there, grab a nice cup of hot Bobble then maybe do some clothes shopping together. Just us gals.” She said with yet another toothy grin.
Roami looked at Tika then at Robin. He did not seem too happy about letting Robin out of his sight for even a moment let alone a few hours.
“I actually think that wouldn’t-” He began to share his thoughts on the subject when Robin interjected.
“Wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I’m sure there is a lot of information I could gather about Wongswited and the people here during our girl-time.” Robin looked pointedly at Roami, and then smiled at Tika.
“Perfect! Well if that’s all set, I guess it only makes sense for me to take dear Roami here out for some male bonding while you girls are out on the town.” Mika said with a smile and a nod before diving into his bowl of mint green Manna Pudding.
“Great… but what about Brifton? Who will watch him while we are all away?” Robin asked with concern.
“Ah… well I have already designated a nanny for him. Do not worry; he will be well cared for in our absence Strange Ones.” Tika said then planted a sweet kiss on Brifton's purple cheek. He smiled back and said, “Muh muh!”
Everyone smiled and laughed at Brifton's contribution to the conversation. Tika smiled in delight and held Brifton even tighter in her arms.
In that short moment of revelry, Robin wondered if this was the sort of connectedness people with family’s felt every day. Looking at Roami she smiled again.
***
“How does it feel to be living with Tika; famous author of "Purple is Beautiful"?” A tall and hefty woman with short pink curled hair and red eyes, was completely invading Robin’s idea of personal space. The space invader wore a garish orange business dress suit and yellow shirt beneath it. The combination of colors made Robin want to rip her eyes out.
They were in one of the most popular Bobble Shop’s in town. For the special occasion, Tika had worn the traditional dress suit made in a sky-blue color with a red undershirt beneath it. She was seated while signing copies of her best seller. Robin waited impatiently on the sidelines. One of Tika’s biggest fans had found her way over to Robin and was now shamelessly quizzing her.
“I uh… well; we just got here but so far so good…” Robin looked at the women with her eyebrow quirked in an effort to show her she was not welcome this close to Robin’s face.
R
obin was not sure if it was the women’s closeness or Robin’s stiff and uncomfortable wardrobe which made her want to scream at the top of her lungs. The Wongswited dress shoes she had been given were tight and pinched her feet. If that was not bad enough, she had been forced to don the Wongswited business suit as their Fitz garb was looked down on among the citizens. Her new short purple skirt and vest were nice but bound to get dirty given Robin’s penchant for making a mess. The gray undershirt was bland and really not worth mentioning. The only plus to the clothing change was that she was now able to float on the water channels in the Akwo Tunnels. She had giggled with glee the first time she stepped on the moving water path and hovered towards their destination.
Turning around Robin made her way to Tika’s side and whispered, “How much longer?” Tika laughed in response while signing a book then said, “Just a few more autographs and we’ll sit down to chat over some hot Bobble juice.”
Robin had learned that Bobble Juice was akin to Hot Chocolate on Earth. The one major difference being that the liquid was hot pink and looked like a ton of pink rose petals had been liquefied into a hot gooey cup of sweet nectar. From the wonderful smells filling the café she could not wait to taste a cup of it herself.
She looked at Tika’s now familiar book cover which read “Purple is Beautiful”. It had a cover with a Blue haired, purple skinned, pink eyed model on the front.
“Ah, well that’s it for today! Please no more autographs as I must attend to our strange guest. This will after all be her first taste of Bobble Juice!” Tika announced to the small crowd who applauded her then dispersed. Some left the café and others went and ordered some food and drinks.
Tika and Robin made their way over to the counter as well and Tika bought two cups of Bobble. They found a small circular wooden table near the glass window and sat down to watch the passersby’s.
Robin took a sip of the pink liquid in her mint green ceramic cup. “Mmmm…..” was all she could say as her senses were overtaken by the most delicious taste she had ever experienced. Tika laughed good heartedly. “Haha! Now you see why this is such a famous drink here in Wongswited.”
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