Chapter 4: In Which We Sort Priorities
But the reason she woke up was because she felt the bed sink in slightly. When she raised her head, she saw Harrison sitting on the edge, looking down at her with a slight smile on his face. (I would go into detail describing who he is and what he looks like, but I don't imagine it will be terribly important. Harrison is leaving pretty soon.)
Look, you can either describe characters or don't, and leave it up to our imagination. But if you do the former, don't lampshade it.
"Hi, Harrison," she replied. She never called him Harry, because his last name was Dottam, which would be Pottam if she replaced to D, which would lead to Potter if she replaced the AM. Then he would be Harry Potter, and that's unacceptable.
Okay, I sort of got a laugh at that, and it is sort of in-character.
She tried not to sound like a movie cliché when she asked the question, but it was difficult to help, since it was a movie cliché question.
No, it's a normal sentence that's commonly said. A cliche is like the main character with dead parents stumbling upon a fantasy world and turning out to be the Chosen One. Oh, wait.
"It's just that sometimes we go days without talking, and I'll be getting ready to go to bed and I'll realize that, hey, I didn't call Elena today, or even remember to call Elena today, and then I'll not really feel bad about it. And that made me feel really bad. I don't know. I don't think this is working."
Oh, the woes of a long-distance relationship.
I don't want to bore you with the following details, so I'll just say they continued their conversation, back and forth. Reminiscing about the first time they met each other, and various things they used to do together, and solidified plans that had been tentatively made. Elena didn't expect the plans to ever follow through. Even though Harrison said he wanted to be "real friends" and not just say it, she imagined they wouldn't really be friends.
WAIT. Slow down! You're skipping over backstory! It might not be very important, but it gives us an idea of the character's personalities! Don't skip it!!!
The door abruptly flung open. Not Uncle Ted or Aunt Jane, and not either of the cousins. It was Professor Milton Steinorth, brandishing his top hat, his circle glasses all askew and a bit of cloth torn off the elbow of his impeccable jacket.
Oh, this guy! The guy who... was like... the king's assistant, or something? It wasn't really clear. Either that, or I forgot.
Both Elena and Steinorth waited in anticipation. Elena felt understandably disoriented and perhaps a little offended. At last, she whispered, "You all said you would protect me…"
And you stood in a castle being attacked by cannonballs and didn't ask for help then. Yeah...
Elena stared up, open mouthed. There were two men standing over her with large, oversized weapons that looked old-fashioned, like they were made a hundred years ago. Their uniforms were similarly oldish but oddly hypocritical (I'm not sure if that's the right word, but wait for the explanation and maybe you'll agree) because they appeared to be some kind cross between a soldier and a groom. It was a strange mix of fancy coats and extra pockets for holding weapons. Ties and helmets. Fitted, hemmed, expensive pants and baggy, over-accessorized, designed entirely for comfort sweats. It was nearly indescribable, except I managed to describe it, so good for me.
I don't think "hypocritical" is the right word here. I mean, a soldier can be a groom. And nothing is indescribable, unless it's something humans can't perceive.
Elena was wondering what her aunt and uncle were doing during all this commotion. There wasn't time for wondering about that, however, because once the fancy soldiers dragged her through the open doorway, she found she was no longer at home. The doorway from her bedroom did not lead into the hallway that, up until this point, it had always led to. She recognized this new hallway; it was the one she had seen while she was on the Kingdom of Clouds. The red carpets, the torches lining the walls, the windows looking out to the vastness of sky; yes, it was unrecognizable.
Wait, she recognized it... but it was unrecognizable? How does that work?
She recognized the huge black mass in the distance. She had seen it before she disappeared from this strange delusion last time, just before the cannonballs hit. Could that be the Kingdom of Rain, that Steinorth mentioned? (Oh! Steinorth! Whatever happened to him?) Somehow she didn't think the two soldiers gripping her forearms tightly were prepared to divulge information.
Oh, I don't know. Could this kingdom anchored to the Ko C be the kingdom that Steinorth said was anchored to the Ko C?
And Elena was fairly certain that's where she was headed, bound to this corset and all.
Yes, folks, the backstory between Elena and Harris isn't important, but the corset is. I mean, the story would fall into shambles if it didn't have the corset in it!
Comments
