⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 178 - B1: Day 6
Where: The Carnival and sometimes on top of the Heart of Stone.
What: Now that the Prince is dead and gone, there's a lot left to sort out. As the remaining servants are liberated and those captured by the Prince are tended to, it's time for recovery and goodbyes.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

HOME GROUND↴ At long last, it is over. The Prince is dead, and all of his stolen Names have been restored - all that's left to do is treat the wounds and move on. For the first day or two, the Ringmaster will be arranging passage for the servants that are left, all of which have remembered their names for the first time in years. The earth elemental that had been trapped and forced to serve as the Prince's manor, the Heart of Stone, is happy to help for the moment. It appreciates the Ringmaster's mercy, and is free after untold eons of imprisonment. Yet, there are plenty of aspects that are far from simple. There are still servants left mad and transformed into beasts, with no easy way to change them back. The Prince's spells outlive him, and those bearing his poison and his curses will have a difficult road ahead of them. Though most of the bestial servants have been rounded up, and a large number that had been reduced to unmoving statues returned, even the Ringmaster can't return them to normal so simply. The next week is for rest and for settling remaining affairs. If you want to bid farewell to any particular NPCs, or assure care is given where it's needed, now is the time to do it. ► A CURE: The Ringmaster will tell everyone simply - there is no simple way to undo another fae's magic. The Prince's powers were essentially on par with hers, which means that those who have been transformed to stone and those that were cursed into beasts and driven insane are not something she can trivially fix. It will take the work of the carnival and a couple weeks of treatment to shed the curse of stone, and the maddened servants are an entirely separate matter. She will do what she can, but for the most part she is arranging for the Prince's servants to be cared for elsewhere. At least for now, the Ringmaster will be animating the stone portions of people's bodies with magic, though those portions will still be a bit clumsy and numb feeling. ► THE NEW HEARTSTONE: In the absence of the prince, the Heart of Stone will be taking over the remains of the Prince's realm and preventing it from collapsing into void. As it turns out, the manor had been an earth elemental all along - a form of Wyld Fae almost on par to the Prince and Ringmaster themselves. How the Heart of Stone was enslaved is a long story presumably, but the Ringmaster considers it to be a sign of the Prince's own depravity. The Heart will be allowing visitors for the first couple days of this period through the portal, but keep in mind you are essentially just walking around on its body. At least the realm has a floor, now, instead an endless abyss surrounding it.

Comments

[sunflowerfields]

There's a brief pause as she waits to see if he'll accept, and when Lauren finally does speak she just gives him a smile.

"You don't have to eat it right away, of course," She says, handing him the basket of bread. "But it's better warm. There's a little jar of honey in there, too."

Next, she hands him the kettle. "We'll have breakfast ready at the normal time in the morning, but if you two are still feeling-" How does she put this without sounding insensitive? "-A little worn out, we can have someone bring some up here instead."

[wild_magic]

"Like breakfast in bed." His voice is quiet, and he still isn't getting out of bed (or even really sitting up), but it's still loud enough to be heard at the door. He looks to Lauren with a smile.

"That's really nice." Even if honestly right now he just wants to sleep, he still appreciates it.

[mylastchance]

Lauren appreciates it too, even if he's distracted by the feeling from how surprised he is at her thoughtfulness. He takes the basket and then the kettle, holding the door open with his elbow.

"Thank you." He's a broken record now, but he can't think of anything to do besides repeat himself. "But you don't need to go through any trouble like that."

[sunflowerfields]

Hinawa is delighted to get a response from Susan, and tries to get a quick peek around Lauren. But she's not going to push it.

"Of course we do, it's our job as cook staff." She insists. "You two have been through-" she pauses, just briefly. "-Through so much. You need rest and support more than anything right now."

[wild_magic]

"It would be nice, to not have to go down there..." Honestly right now he isn't even certain he'll be awake at anything resembling breakfast, he's completely exhausted, but if it's here then at least he might eat it.

He isn't necessarily trying to tell Lauren to accept it, but it would definitely be nice if Lauren doesn't turn down the offer.

[mylastchance]

She said it was her job, but it wasn't like she'd get in trouble for not offering. She was doing it because she wanted to be helpful, and Lauren doesn't actually know how to respond to that. He can't remember the last time someone had done something nice for him without him specifically asking them first. He thinks maybe his mother was the last one to do something like that for him. The realization makes it even harder to respond. He finds he's at a loss for words, but he does want to accept, so he just nods.

"...Thank you." He says, again. He just doesn't know what else to say. He looks away, finding it difficult to keep his expression plain.

"That would be... Great."