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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:06 pm
Alice Dwyre was an odd one, her mix of race made her an interesting creature to say the least. She tried her best to blend into the crowd though. However her attire did not help her cause in the slightest. Having lived for many long centuries, she had become accustomed to wearing old renaissance style dresses, which of course drew much unwanted attention. This was a hard fashion sense to feed, but with her voice, she was able to sing her way into almost anything, so in the end it worked out just fine.
However on this day, Alice was looking for a library that might contain and audio book of the book "Through the looking glass" by Lewis Carrol. For some reason none of the modern libraries in the city had this. And so Alice resorted to some old library that she had never heard of.
Reaching its doors she took a deep breath, and went inside.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:25 pm
"Stop it." The librarian called out to a wandering set of twins who seemed to be readying themselves to jump from bookshelf to bookshelf. Somehow, they had managed to climb up there and now the other children running amok were attempting to do the same "If you don't stop, the library will try and punish y-"
THUD.
He sighed as he lay on his back, a cat-boy standing on top of him "That's not funny, Hatter!" the boy yelled before running off without apologizing. He groaned. He loved children but.... really, sometimes they were a bit out of hand.
He rose up from the ground, lightly patting away whatever dirt might have clung to his robes before glancing over at the door which he caught moving from the corner of his eye. A person walked in, an it wasn't the usual human who wandered into the building. He paused for a minute as he thought as to what race she belonged to. he had seen many and he was old so his memory was a bit off.
Making his way to the front, he eyed her curiously but a smile played on his lips as he said "How may I help you?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:37 pm
The sound of all the children running about the library was a bit worrying to Alice but she shrugged it off, if anything she'd sing them all to sleep and then there would be nothing to worry about. She tried not to listen to what the voices were yelling to/at each other, because she really didn't want to be rude and eavesdrop. So when the apparent Librarian approached her and spoke, she nearly jumped. Nearly.
"Oh sorry. I was a bit lost in my thoughts sir. I um." She paused, collecting her thoughts once more, and then recalling why she had come to this place. "I'm looking for audio books, tapes, of 'Through The Looking Glass' by Lewis Carrol. Might you have it? I've been everywhere, and I can't seem to find it! Oh I've spent my whole day going from library to library..." At this point Alice was almost muttering to herself in a frantic rant.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 2:58 pm
"Ah, audio book was it?" The librarian echoed before thinking to himself. The library has more books than such things that used electronics but... "Maybe we do, I'll have to see. A lot of things have been moving around lately to avoid the children but... we do carry a lot of 'Lewis Carrol' essences, now a days." He said, his voice drifting into a mutter as he ended his phrase.
"Follow me please, it's easy to get lost in here." He said with a slight smile as the wandered down an aisle. The children seemed to hush a bit as they watched the two of them. They were always particularly quieter around company. It was strange but they didn't like strange but at the same time, they were so fascinated by them that they loved them.
"Ah, audio books." Ink muttered to himself as they neared a grand shelf of them. Quickly making his way over to them, he made quick work of shuffling past shelf after shelf as his eyes quickly scanned them. It was a wonder why it didn't take him long to say his conclusion out loud which was "I can't seem to find it."
He turned around to look over at the set of children who were watching from the many balconies that belonged to the second floor "Do any of you know where the 'Through the Looking Glass' audio book went?" He asked aloud and the majority of children shook their head. Except two.
"Alice." Two boys said in unison, one with curious red hair and the other with even curioser white hair.
"Alice, she took it..." Said the red-haired boy.
"She said she liked 'Lewis Carrol'." Continued the white-haired boy.
"Ah." Ink said before looking over at the woman "Looks like we need to find Alice before we get it. She's probably in one of the rooms upstairs, the children never wander far." He said thoughtfully before heading towards the stairs "Sorry about this...."
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:24 pm
When the Librarian said that he might just have it, a rather large spark of hope was lit inside of Alice. She was dying to read the book, but such things were hard to read, and she was adept at losing books. So the solution was if the audio book was kept inside of a tape player, she wouldn't lose it.
Following the Librarian, Alice studied the children as she passed them by, they seemed almost familiar, but she shook the notion from her head, deeming that impossible.
When the twins declared that someone named Alice had the book, she smiled, someone who shared her name! How cute. But these children really were mischievous. Following the Librarian up the stairs Alice grinned,"Nono, it's quite alright!" She hummed herself a small tune, not really thinking about the effect it might have on those around her, forgetting once again about her Siren heritage.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:41 pm
the children shuffled as they watched them climb up the long set of stairs, seemingly content with what they were hearing. They were quiet now but ti didn't stop them from staring. There were no more whispers or such, just the soft sound of a hum.
Ink was quiet too, he was mostly thinking to himself and it was along the lines of 'Ah, a siren.' It had been many years since he met one, they didn't often come by, not even halflings.
The two of them passed by a white haired boy who seemed like he was busy looking for something but stopped the moment they approached, looking a bit enraptured by the song. "What are you looking for Chase?" He asked the boy looked up, his loppy bunny ears bouncing a bit as he did and he gazed curiously at Ink with clear emerald eyes. He paused for a minute, as if he repeatedly forgot what he was just about to say "I'm looking for the Queen." he replied, after much effort.
"And where is her Highness?" Ink asked, chuckling.
"With Alice." He said, looking more dazed than before but then suddenly slipping back into a sense of panic "I was supposed to meet her at this time, but I'm late now and I can't find her. Do you know where they are? Oh, that Alice, she just had to confuse me."
Ink smiled, ruffling the boys here "No need to rush, Chase. We'll find her together, come." he said softly, taking the boy's hand and continuing on the walk.
The librarian laughed softly as he glanced over at the woman "Looks like we'll have to go on a small adventure of our own before we find Alice's story. We shouldn't be too far off from them."
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:32 pm
Half wondering who the Queen was and half wondering why this young child seemed so worried, Alice smiled at the Liberian. She didn't mind an adventure at all! Of course as long as that adventure didn't include going to all of the various libraries one could find of course. That would just be irritating.
Following the Librarian closely she wondered aloud," What is the boy late for?" Blushing when she realized that she had voiced this thought, Alice bowed her head, her red hair falling in front of her eyes, making it extremely hard for her to see. Which inevitably, caused her to trip and fall flat on her back.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:53 pm
ink laughed softly at her question and his eyed her knowingly "For the Queen, of course, she's never a patient girl. Always ordering poor Chase around, he often gets very perplexed."
The white rabbit glanced over at the woman before looking back at Ink "Who's she?" The boy asked timidly.
"A guest. She's looking for Alice."
"Why?"
"Because she has something that we need." Ink replied softly before looking over at the woman. The children laughed at her mistake exception to the White Rabbit who seemed rather stunned. "Be careful now..." He said as he pulled her back up "There are a lot of books here. The Library won't appreciate it if you wreck any of them and it won't do any good if you hurt yourself before the trip is over."
Taking the boy's hand again, they resumed their walk quietly as they ventured down a seemingly never-ending hallway covered in books. At the end of it was the door they were looking for.
The door was rather ordinary looking, wooden with a gold knob, it didn't seem to fit in the library. Ink reached for it and slowly opened it, revealing to young girls sitting at a table, looking ready to do something. The red-headed girl with a small crown perched on her head before she gave a huff and placed her hands on her hips.
"I told you not to be late, Chase!" She said angrily and the little boy recoiled.
"Now now, it's only because you went to a place where he couldn't find you. It's not his fault." Ink said and the girl quickly shut her mouth before looking at the woman beside the librarian.
"Who's she?" she asked abruptly and the other girl looked up as well, her long blonde tresses floating downwards along with the light blue ribbon in her hair.
"A guest looking for that audio book you girls have. I'm sorry Alice but you'll have to part with it."
The blonde girl frowned and didn't say a word. A clear rejection towards his statement. He sighed. She always was a stubborn sort of girl.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:18 pm
Blushing heavily as the Librarian helped her up she merely nodded, too embarrassed to speak. She wondered what he meant about the library not being happy. Libraries didn't have feeling. Or did they? Alice frowned and pondered to herself. When they finally arrived at the location of the Queen and Alice, it almost broke her own heart to tell the little girl that she needed to part with the audio tape. But she really did want to listen to that book, though the girl didn't seem quite ready to give it up. "Oh dear me. Little Alice, my name is Alice also, and I really would like to listen to that audio book." Alice frowned hoping not to upset the girl.
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:42 pm
"You shall not take it. it is Alice's audio book." The queen said as she stood up to the challenge, looking rather determined. Ink sighed. Not again. She was always particularly demanding, but she could be very regal when she wanted to be. A proper, fine young noble lady.
"She just wants to borrow it, Alice. You can have it back afterwards." Ink said to her softly, but the girl did not comply, she only held it tighter.
The man sighed once more before turning towards the woman "My apologies, she tends to get like this. Children like her are very attached to certain books, especially if it's their author. Lewis Carrol is practically her father." He explained before turning back towards her and speaking to her in soft, inaudible words.
After a few moments, the girl reluctantly handed it to the librarian who smiled down at her and pat her head gently "Thank you, Alice." He said, then turning towards the woman and handing it to her. "Be sure to return it, it's one of this girl's most precious treasures in this library. It holds a connection to her heart, after all."
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:03 am
Alice frowned feeling very ashamed at taking this girls treasured object from her, but what the librarian had said seemed very odd. Lewis Carrol had been dead for many many years, there was no way he could even remotely be a father figure to this child.
"What do you mean, practically her father? He's dead. And her author? you must mean her favorite?" Alice was very confused at all of this, though she supposed in a world where she herself was half faerie and half siren, anything could be possible. Maybe.
What this man was suggesting was a bit outrageous and perhaps she was just jumping to conclusions. Yes. She must allow him to elaborate.
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:15 am
"Have you noticed anything peculiar about the children?" Ink asked "The reason why I say he's practically her father is because... Alice is his creation." he said, whispering the last part to her, as to not startle the children.
"All the children in my library are called 'Book characters' because they, well, come from books. This library, as you might have observed, is not an ordinary library. It has emotions, it thinks, it gets lonely and it causes trouble. These children are the results of the library's emotions 'loneliness'. Unfortunately, it's not happy with just me roaming about these halls, it longs for company. the children give it but they also draw people here as well. The library only opens it's doors to certain people, and you are one of them. People have been more frequently coming in and out of this library, sometimes taking the children home with them. Chase is one of them, he's just here for a visit."
Little Alice wandered towards Ink before slowly shifting towards the woman, tugging at her clothes timidly "Please be sure to bring that back."
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:23 am
So her wild imagination had been right. She knew that there had been a very odd similarity to the children, but she hadn't thought it went that far. Though it was a very fascinating, Alice couldn't begin to imagine how a library could do such things. Lost in her thoughts she almost didn't notice Little Alice tugging at her skirts. Looking down almost made Alice burst into tears. How could she take something that from a child? "Alice... would you like to come home with me and listen to this tape together? You could even live with me if you like. Of course you could come back and play with the other children, I just can't bare to take this from you." Biting her lip she suddenly realized that she hadn't bothered to ask the Librarian, or really the Library if this was all right.
Looking up she smiled at the Librarian," Might it be alright if I take her home with me?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:39 am
Alice turned to look pleadingly at Ink. Apparently, she really wanted to go. At least, she did for the audio tape.
He sighed but smiled regardless "It seems she would like to go with you." he said softly before looking back at up at the woman "At least tell me your name then before your leave. It's easier to open up the library to specific people if I know their names and I don't think you told me yours as of yet."
"The library is open at all times so please feel free to visit whenever you can and we will always be here to help you if need it."
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Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:46 am
Alice grinned at the Librarian, nodding and taking in his words. She smiled down at Little Alice and then looked back at the Librarian once more. "My name is Alice Dwyre. And I'll be sure to come and visit often." Looking down at Little Alice again she smiled widely," Yes, we're name twins. Isn't that wonderful?" Taking the little girls hand in her own, she waved at the Librarian, thanking him for his help, and took her leave of the place. Alice in one hand, and the audio tape in the other.
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