The house is picturesque, two storeys, with white columns running along the front porch. It's also standing in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Green grass stretches as far as the eye can see, a haze at the corner of your vision causing the blades to swim and blur.
But the house. The door swings open, inviting you in... and, equally inviting, a man with a rabbit's head, impossibly thin, in a perfectly tailored suit and a huge red bow tie. A top hat perches between his long ears.
When he speaks, his mouth doesn't... ah, it's a mask.
You hope it's a mask.
"Guests!" He enthuses, "Oh, I do love guests! There's nothing like visitors to make one's day!"
This must be the conducting rabbit you'd heard Rani speak about, you think.
You hope it's the conducting rabbit. You briefly wonder what your life has become, but your companion has asked a question and he's talking again. Confirming your suspicions.
"So you've heard of me? Well, it's a little embarrassing to be so... notorious, but I suppose it saves me the trouble of introducing myself. I am he- the conducting rabbit! Or rather, the Conductor, as I'm more usually known. Please do commit that much to memory, if nothing else. I'm going to be conducting you all on a magical journey. Assuming you have eyes to see my little friends, that is!"
"Your little friends?" No sooner has someone finished voicing the question you were about to say, when the entire structure shakes. Or, no, the entire world? You brace yourself, and manage to stay upright.
"Oh dear, oh dear. I rather fear we've attracted the attention of some unsavory sorts. Well, that will have to be all."
"But we only just--"
The bunny-headed man, the Conductor, continues on hurriedly, "Hoo hoo hoo! We'll meet again another sleepytime somewhere, I'm sure! If the fates see fit, of course! Until then!"
Your eyes snap open, giving you a brief look at your inn room, before the vision fades.
Memory Two
You are standing on a small wooden stage, dwarfed by the gleaming brass airship behind you and the motley army ahead of you. At your side, a young boy with catlike ears and a swishing tail watches the assembly with calm eyes. His outfit glitters with gold. You finish your inhale, and continue speaking, voice raised both to reach the soldiers and in frustration at their grumbling.
"Each tower is different! Each kingmaker is different! Without teams made up of specialists from each kingdom, we'll never take them out at the same time!"
"You expect us to work together?" The pilot's leather helmet is pointed in cat ears; he folds his arms as he shouts his interruption.
"Impossible," agrees a soldier in a mouse-eared iron helm.
"With foreigners? Never!" Shouts a merman, quickly joined by a comrade.
"As if the task were not difficult enough already! I just can't see how this is the best use of our resources."
You fold your arms, and silently shake your head, eyes closed. By the time you've opened them again, the boy has already stepped forward.
"Everyone! Listen! If the five nations cannot promise to work together, we have already lost!" He pants with the effort to shout loud enough to be heard across the golden fields. "It is promises that make us strong! I may be a king now, but if it were not for my promise to Aranella, I would never have found the strength to rule. If it were not for my promise to Aranelle, I would never have found the strength to build a new kingdom after being chased from my own! The promise I made... well, you could say that it saved me..."
A flash of further memory, a young woman, covered in wounds, palace uniform torn and dirty. The only thing holding her up is the ruined wall behind her. The boy, younger, thinner, holds her hands in his.
"For a time, I thought I heard her speaking to me... Begging me to avenge her... But I soon realised it was my own voice. It was not something Nella would ever have wanted. I let my own thoughts of revenge cloud my reasoning. I almost forgot my promise..."
Another flash. The boy in tears, kneeling. No. A third. The boy standing with his multitude of companions arrayed behind him, you at his side. Pride as great as the emotion filling you now, as he speaks.
"But I have grown. I have changed. I have built a kingdom, just as I swore I would. ...And I have met so many wonderful people. People who stood by me. Who fought at my side. Yes, there were times when I wanted to give up. To break down and cry. But I didn't- thanks to you. Thanks to all of you. And now I want to fulfill my vow more than ever! To build a kingdom-- no, a world-- where everyone can live happily ever after!"
The army is silent, but you sense the shift. Their stances are open, their expressions moreso. Nodding, rather than grumbling, is spreading through the ranks; you sneak a glance at the four rulers beside you, all smiling. Good.
"If we promise to work with one another, we can do this! If our nations are united... we can build a wonderful future for everyone! That's why we're fighting today. Why we have to keep fighting to the last!"
The boy steps forward one more time, hand resting over his heart. His gaze sweeps the crowd, eyes wide. Smile confident, trusting. "So please... make this promise... for the future of our world!"
A silence stretches, one second-- two-- and the plains explodes into cheering. As you knew they would.
Memory Three
The flag on the bonnet of the car flutters wildly in the wind, an eagle, wings outstretched over a globe. A shield, starred and striped. The word UNION in golden scrollwork. The motorcade is making good time down a motorway devoid of traffic, pedestrians, or a single other car. An older man with silvered hair leans idly against the backrest as the streetlights flash across his face. The bridge connecting the city to the mainland has been cleared for the convoy; he watches the scenery pass idly.
"We'll be arriving shortly, Mr. President," the driver speaks without turning his head, chatter from an earpiece fizzing against the sound of the engines.
The man - the president - hums, an acknowledgement to the driver, his mind racing with facts and figures, the third and final draft of the first of several speeches rattling around his thoughts. Are revisions needed? No-- and then another light flashes into his periphery. A comet in the night sky? No, it's too close. A plane? No, closer... Her lurches forward, trying to get a better look, brow furrowing.
"What in the world--"
It's a missile, streaking towards New York. In moments it's overtaken the motorcade, passed the bridge, and descended into the centre of the city in a graceful, burning arc. Everything stops, and, hideously, keeps going, all at once. New York disappears in a billowing dome of fire and smoke, the screams audible from across the water. Then the shockwave hits. The world explodes in sound and pressure and pain, and after an eternity, he gratefully slip away.
Roland Crane | Lexi
Themes: inspiration, hope, loss, change
Memory One
The house is picturesque, two storeys, with white columns running along the front porch. It's also standing in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Green grass stretches as far as the eye can see, a haze at the corner of your vision causing the blades to swim and blur.
But the house. The door swings open, inviting you in... and, equally inviting, a man with a rabbit's head, impossibly thin, in a perfectly tailored suit and a huge red bow tie. A top hat perches between his long ears.
When he speaks, his mouth doesn't... ah, it's a mask.
You hope it's a mask.
"Guests!" He enthuses, "Oh, I do love guests! There's nothing like visitors to make one's day!"
This must be the conducting rabbit you'd heard Rani speak about, you think.
You hope it's the conducting rabbit. You briefly wonder what your life has become, but your companion has asked a question and he's talking again. Confirming your suspicions.
"So you've heard of me? Well, it's a little embarrassing to be so... notorious, but I suppose it saves me the trouble of introducing myself. I am he- the conducting rabbit! Or rather, the Conductor, as I'm more usually known. Please do commit that much to memory, if nothing else. I'm going to be conducting you all on a magical journey. Assuming you have eyes to see my little friends, that is!"
"Your little friends?" No sooner has someone finished voicing the question you were about to say, when the entire structure shakes. Or, no, the entire world? You brace yourself, and manage to stay upright.
"Oh dear, oh dear. I rather fear we've attracted the attention of some unsavory sorts. Well, that will have to be all."
"But we only just--"
The bunny-headed man, the Conductor, continues on hurriedly, "Hoo hoo hoo! We'll meet again another sleepytime somewhere, I'm sure! If the fates see fit, of course! Until then!"
Your eyes snap open, giving you a brief look at your inn room, before the vision fades.
Memory Two
You are standing on a small wooden stage, dwarfed by the gleaming brass airship behind you and the motley army ahead of you. At your side, a young boy with catlike ears and a swishing tail watches the assembly with calm eyes. His outfit glitters with gold. You finish your inhale, and continue speaking, voice raised both to reach the soldiers and in frustration at their grumbling.
"Each tower is different! Each kingmaker is different! Without teams made up of specialists from each kingdom, we'll never take them out at the same time!"
"You expect us to work together?" The pilot's leather helmet is pointed in cat ears; he folds his arms as he shouts his interruption.
"Impossible," agrees a soldier in a mouse-eared iron helm.
"With foreigners? Never!" Shouts a merman, quickly joined by a comrade.
"As if the task were not difficult enough already! I just can't see how this is the best use of our resources."
You fold your arms, and silently shake your head, eyes closed. By the time you've opened them again, the boy has already stepped forward.
"Everyone! Listen! If the five nations cannot promise to work together, we have already lost!" He pants with the effort to shout loud enough to be heard across the golden fields. "It is promises that make us strong! I may be a king now, but if it were not for my promise to Aranella, I would never have found the strength to rule. If it were not for my promise to Aranelle, I would never have found the strength to build a new kingdom after being chased from my own! The promise I made... well, you could say that it saved me..."
A flash of further memory, a young woman, covered in wounds, palace uniform torn and dirty. The only thing holding her up is the ruined wall behind her. The boy, younger, thinner, holds her hands in his.
"For a time, I thought I heard her speaking to me... Begging me to avenge her... But I soon realised it was my own voice. It was not something Nella would ever have wanted. I let my own thoughts of revenge cloud my reasoning. I almost forgot my promise..."
Another flash. The boy in tears, kneeling. No. A third. The boy standing with his multitude of companions arrayed behind him, you at his side. Pride as great as the emotion filling you now, as he speaks.
"But I have grown. I have changed. I have built a kingdom, just as I swore I would. ...And I have met so many wonderful people. People who stood by me. Who fought at my side. Yes, there were times when I wanted to give up. To break down and cry. But I didn't- thanks to you. Thanks to all of you. And now I want to fulfill my vow more than ever! To build a kingdom-- no, a world-- where everyone can live happily ever after!"
The army is silent, but you sense the shift. Their stances are open, their expressions moreso. Nodding, rather than grumbling, is spreading through the ranks; you sneak a glance at the four rulers beside you, all smiling. Good.
"If we promise to work with one another, we can do this! If our nations are united... we can build a wonderful future for everyone! That's why we're fighting today. Why we have to keep fighting to the last!"
The boy steps forward one more time, hand resting over his heart. His gaze sweeps the crowd, eyes wide. Smile confident, trusting. "So please... make this promise... for the future of our world!"
A silence stretches, one second-- two-- and the plains explodes into cheering. As you knew they would.
Memory Three
The flag on the bonnet of the car flutters wildly in the wind, an eagle, wings outstretched over a globe. A shield, starred and striped. The word UNION in golden scrollwork. The motorcade is making good time down a motorway devoid of traffic, pedestrians, or a single other car. An older man with silvered hair leans idly against the backrest as the streetlights flash across his face. The bridge connecting the city to the mainland has been cleared for the convoy; he watches the scenery pass idly.
"We'll be arriving shortly, Mr. President," the driver speaks without turning his head, chatter from an earpiece fizzing against the sound of the engines.
The man - the president - hums, an acknowledgement to the driver, his mind racing with facts and figures, the third and final draft of the first of several speeches rattling around his thoughts. Are revisions needed? No-- and then another light flashes into his periphery. A comet in the night sky? No, it's too close. A plane? No, closer... Her lurches forward, trying to get a better look, brow furrowing.
"What in the world--"
It's a missile, streaking towards New York. In moments it's overtaken the motorcade, passed the bridge, and descended into the centre of the city in a graceful, burning arc. Everything stops, and, hideously, keeps going, all at once. New York disappears in a billowing dome of fire and smoke, the screams audible from across the water. Then the shockwave hits. The world explodes in sound and pressure and pain, and after an eternity, he gratefully slip away.