Monday, October 30, 2017

It Is Time.....!




The Dark Times Have Come.....

Helen and Charles were among the first to Arrive at the Annual Castle Halloween Party, Dear Readers, because Helen was afraid they might be late and Charles was always willing to reassure her by being early. But it did not take long before most of the other guests had also arrived.

The Aileen's came dressed as a Pirate and a Fair Lady....
and their son Jasper came as a Musketeer....

Pollyanna and Arthur arrived soon after....

With Sally May and Chip right on their heels....

Along with Annabelle, Victor and Joanna.

Fleur brought Juliet... 
but couldn't persuade the girls to leave the Gypsy's Table....

so she left the girls in Gabrielle's care
 while she and her husband Daniel joined the dancing in the Hall.

She had barely left when suddenly the Gypsy's Crystal Ball grew to twice it's size....
And the Gypsy began to chant in an eerie voice...
 
"Two who have been Found will find One who is now Lost.....
Two who have been Lost will Find One who has been searching....
Three must leave with Two Before Two can Find their One....
All will Find their way before This night is Done....."
 
She stopped as suddenly as she began....
 and the little Princesses just stared in fascination.... 
unsure of what had just happened!

Meanwhile in Another Time altogether... 
Caroline had just arrived at the Castle hoping to find Tommy and Beatrice.


She was relieved to find Prince.... 
but neither Beatrice nor Tommy were there!
She did not want to search the old Castle Ruins....
 it was getting late and dark...
but Snowy had other ideas.....

and went dashing off into the dark old castle... 
leaving Caroline to try and follow him!

And you may recall, Dear Readers, 
that Tommy and Perry had crossed paths
 in the empty old Castle Kitchen 
and had decided to search for Treasure together!

It was not long before they came across 
an old abandoned chest in the Lord's Council Chamber...

They weren't afraid to open it....

They couldn't quite believe their luck.....

It was full of old weapons!

And I am sure you will Understand, Dear Readers, 
when I tell you that Old Meg was Alarmed!

She stood in the empty Old Kitchen and stared into the fire.
 
 
It had been a Very very long time since she had felt the need 
to cast a Spell of Protection over the entire Castle!
But the Darkness was encroaching.... 
reaching its tentacles into the very Fabric of Time...!
She was going to need help....

She summoned her Sister Witches...

They would need to Guard the Portals of Time....
while Old Meg went back....
 
 
as far back as she could go....
 
 
 to a Time before the Castle even stood....

To the Sacred Grove.....

and the Spring of Faith....
Wherein she might see the certainty of that which she would Dream...

And with that Certainty...
 ignite the Sacred Fire....

Without which there would be no Future....
No Dreams......
 
Only Darkness.....

And Drawn by her implacable Faith... 
the Little Dreamers appeared....

And Bound with a Magic as Old As Time itself.....
they were once again inside the Ancient Castle Kitchen.... 
for the Little Dreamers were not tied by Time....
They could go where Old Meg could not.... 
even if they could Not see what Old Meg could!
Their task was to find the Young child 
who had strayed out of her Time and bring her Back!

And Lest you think I have forgotten the two young boys 
and left them too long alone with sharp weapons...
no time has passed since they chose their swords.

"We could be Pirates" declares Tommy excitedly as he holds up an old saber!
"I want to be a Knight" replies Perry as he flashes his sword.

"But this is a Cutlass" said Tommy... "it can't be a Knight's sword!"
Perry glanced at the chest and saw another hilt.....

He leaned into the chest and grabbed the hilt and pulled... 
just as Tommy leaned in and grabbed the sheath...

The sword came free in Perry's hands.... 
he could feel the weight and strength of this sword...
"Hey... this is a real Knight's sword...." he said in awe!
Tommy just stared.... "Let me have a try..." he said after a minute.
But Perry wasn't listening.... 
he was imagining all the feats of valor 
such a sword could perform.....

He turned and swung the heavy sword in a mighty slash through the air......

And to his utter amazement... 
it sliced through the air cutting right through into another Time.....
And there stood the Wizard!

Right in this room .... where before it had been empty!
 
 
"I see you have brought 'Harbinger'" declared the Wizard....
"or has It brought you....?"

Suddenly Tommy wanted to go home.... 
 he turned and ran back through the empty Castle...

where he found Caroline coming through the Kitchen.
He was very happy to see her, 
even though she was looking annoyed.
 
 "Where is Beatrice..." she said?
"I don't know..." said Tommy... 
"She didn't come with me..." he added.
"Well, she must be here somewhere" said Caroline... 
"she left home right after you... "
"I haven't seen her at all... 
and I've been all over the place" declared Tommy.
"Well, Snowy just went running off too... "
 said Caroline, beginning to feel worried.
"We have to find her!"

Well, rest assured Dear Readers,
 that Beatrice had hardly moved from the same spot
 since she had arrived at the Castle with the Gypsy Lady
 and discovered the Castle was filled with strange people!

And in fact, such was the Fickle nature of Time, 
that the Gypsy had hardly finished uttering her baffling prediction 
before the Little Dreamers were there by her side!
Beatrice did not know them at all.... 
but they had been told who she was... 
and no sooner had they arrived then
 the air about them began to shift.....

And all the strange people disappeared.
And in the very next second.... 
 
 
 Snowy was running into the room...
 
And jumping up to greet her!
"Snowy!" cried Beatrice "where did you come from?"

But Snowy just turned and ran back the way he had come..... 
so they followed him.....

And there were Tommy and Caroline..... 
just getting ready to look for her!
"Let's go home" said Caroline "before it gets too late!"

And back in the Guard Room, 
the Crystal Ball is just its normal size 
and nobody seems to have noticed anything strange at all. 
The Little Princesses are having their Fortunes told,
 and Gabrielle is looking after them.

The Deadly Nightshades are filling the Great Hall
 with all your old Favorites and even a few new ones you haven't heard before.....

The Guests are Dancing.....

The Night is young.....
You are welcome to stay as long as you like, Dear Readers, 
and I do hope you are enjoying the Party!
Yes, The Dark Times have come....
Happy Halloween!


Saturday, October 28, 2017

Who Goes There.....?




The Dark Times......

The Wizard was Weary, Dear Readers. He was Tired of trying to keep the years from bleeding into each other and spilling over one Time to the next. The Eras seemed to change and shift and pile up around him.... and all the while he was trying to locate one missing lad. It was not so much a matter of Where Perry had gone as When he had strayed to!

The Wizard could feel in his bones that the Lad was alive and well.....
But he was adrift in Time....!
And no matter how often he searched for him in the Scryving Basin, 
he could not see him anywhere!

And that bothered him deeply..... 
because he could not understand Why the spell of protection 
had not kept him safe in the boat.... 
why he had not returned to the same Time he departed from.....
What had gone wrong....
 There were too many unanswered questions! 
And he could not rest easy until the Lad was home!

 
I am sure you will understand that Perry had no such concerns himself!
The Selkie Maid had brought him to shore quite near to the Castle
 and he had little trouble finding the path up the cliffs.
He knew the Castle well so he was quite comfortable there...
 even if he never could find the Wizard!
He wandered the Castle at will... 
 
 
sometimes it was filled with people....
 
But they never seemed to see him at all!

He could pass through their midst as though he were a ghost...!

 And other Times it was quite empty.....

As though nobody had been there for a very long time!

He never knew what he would find as he passed from one room to another......


But he felt no fear at all and had no idea he was "missing"!

The same was true of Tommy.
 He never knew what he would find when he came to the Castle.
Sometimes he found the stables full of horses and people in the kitchen...
 other times it was a vast and echoing ruin.
There were no horses in the stables today when he arrived on Prince.
But he was determined to search the Castle for Treasure...
 especially since he did not have to worry about his sister Beatrice! 
Today he was alone....
 
 
 or so he thought!

"What are You doing here..." demanded Perry?
He remembered this boy... and the trouble with the Book... 
and his missing Fairy... 
although to be fair, he had traded the Fairy for the Key of Time.....

"I've come to look for Treasure...." declared Tommy.
"My name is 'Tommy'" he added.  
"I come here a lot, but today I'm looking for Treasure."
"I'm Perry" said Perry. 
"I 'll help you look for Treasure..." he added.

And off they went to search the Empty old ruins!

But they were not the only ones Searching that afternoon, Dear Readers!

Caroline, Tommy and Beatrice's sister,
 had noticed they were gone and was sure she knew where they were!
She headed out to find them with their dog Snowy.

She was very annoyed with them both 
because they knew they were not allowed to got to the Castle Ruins!
The afternoon was getting late and there was a storm coming!
She had overheard Cook say so... she could always feel it in her bones!

Snowy would help her find them.... 
and even if it got Dark before they were home again.... 
Snowy would know the way!
They didn't want to get caught in the storm!

When she reached the Castle, 
she was very relieved to find Prince waiting in the stables....
 but there was no sign of either Tommy or Beatrice!
It was getting dark and was very gloomy in the Castle... 
she did not want to search the ruins!
Perhaps she should wait here... 
surely they would come back to get Prince!

And in another Time altogether, Dear Readers,
 the Castle was beginning to fill with those who would be attending 
the Annual Halloween Castle Costume Ball!

Ken had been decorating the Great Hall for days....

He was filling the banquet table with treats.... 
and had invited a few "atmospheric" fellows!

The guests have begun to arrive....

Our Favorite Band "The Deadly Nightshades" are tuning up 
for an evening of  Howling Halloween Classics....

The Gypsy has arrived to entertain with telling Fortunes and reading palms....
 
 
Perhaps she will be able to "See" what others cannot...!
And Beatrice is beginning to worry that she will have to search for Tommy after all...
she couldn't see any sign of him or Prince when they arrived at the stables!

Meanwhile, at the Lovely Old Dollhouse, 
Helen and Charles are preparing for the Ball!
Helen has decided to try going as a Witch this year.... 
and so Charles is a Wizard to keep her company.

Pollyanna decided to go as a Princess.... in a lovely blue velvet gown!
Arthur is accompanying her as a Prince.
It is not his favorite costume,
but he is always willing to wear what pleases Pollyanna!
 
Annabelle is once again a Fairy.... 
everyone agrees that she makes an adorable Fairy!
Sally May has decided to go as an Old Fashioned Lady.... 
she loves to wear such a fascinating hat!
And Chip is going as a "Regular Guy"..... 
(he says there needs to be at least one of them at every Costume Ball!)

They had to wait a few minutes for Joanna....
 
She's going as Maid Marion... again... 
and she couldn't find the veil!
Victor is Robin Hood this year too...
 he says he is becoming fond of the hat!
Is everybody ready now....?

Well, Dear Readers, the sun has set 
and the Dark Draws in early now....
Travelers, Revelers and Searchers 
are all gathering at the Castle.....
Who goes There and
What they will find remains to be seen....!
 
And I Do hope you will come to the Party!