Theandric Thursday : Princess And The Closed Room - Part 1

This post is part of Theandric Thursday, a fortnightly whenever-she-feels-like-posting feature hosted by Ashna Banga.
The dictionary definition of 'Theandric' is 'Relating to the joint agency of divine and human nature'.

Sounds interesting? Write your own Theandric Thursday post and drop a link on her blog. You can write fiction, real events or a mixture of both. You may use the image on the right for the same. Happy Writing :)

***

I don't remember how it all started. It felt like jumping straight out of one dream and into another. We were in a quiet suburb street, me and Lily. It was afternoon and no one could be seen around. Dull, bland houses lined the alley on both sides. There was a peculiar grey tone to each one of them.

We were surely in a new place, but there was a strange feeling that we belonged there. We were there, standing, facing the garage of a house and waiting, as if expecting something to happen. And almost as if prompted, something did happen. The house in front, with us looking at it for some moments, started expanding  with a lot of grumbling and screeching and within a few moments, transformed into a bigger, higher form. Its garage door opened automatically to reveal a shiny vintage car and some tools behind on the  shelf. On the left wall behind the car and illuminated by a single small lamp above, I could see the only door present there, probably leading in to the house.

I stood fixed looking at the car and then the door wondering what lay inside. I was intrigued and excited to go in and explore. So I beckoned Lily but when she didn't reply, I turned towards her and saw her moved from where she was earlier and standing in front of another gate. A gate which simply took my breath away. Right next to the transformed house was the biggest iron gate I have ever seen. It was huge with intricate carvings  all over it. Lily was transfixed, looking at the bright mesmerising  yellow hue of light coming from it's inside and I too completely forgot for the moment, all about the house right next to it. This was far more interesting and we had to see it first.

We approached the gate tentatively and just as lily touched it, and I must say with a little hesitation, it flung open swiftly. Again, with some hesitation we went it and witnessed a view which made the view outside look like nothing. Plus inside, it was as if all the rules of science had ceased to exist. It was just the width of a normal house outside, but once in, all we could see from the narrow driveway that was led to by the gate, were vast, vast green fields stretching to as far as our eyes could see.

What we saw was completely unbelievable, yet it was there, right in front of us. The fields, the pond, the trees, the blue sky and the long driveway. It was all there, and at the end of the long driveway was a really big house, the magnificence of which could not be explained. It could have been a manor, but manors are too boring. It could have been a châteaux, but they are too dominating and unwelcoming. It was just a very big and beautiful house which blended with it's surroundings perfectly. But the thing that made the house even more beautiful and unique was the tree that came out of the middle of it. And it looked like it went straight into the sky, without stopping. That's how big it was.

Our eyes remained fixed at the tree as we approached the house, walking by the hopping rabbits and squirrels, a pair of young fawns and once, I think I saw a unicorn in the field. 

As we stepped on the porch, the front door of the house opened. It led to a semicircular lobby with complex geometrical floor pattern, ahead of which was another small flight of stairs. Beyond that was an opening in the middle and a huge pillar of a trunk stood there, rising all the way up to the roof and out. Stairs spirally ran along the tree and delivered to different levels. There was a whole lot of different levels, not at equal heights around of-course, to be seen from there. But just as we tried to move ahead a sudden thought about the other house(the neighbouring one)came to my mind and a little obtrusively. But it was so strong despite being so sudden that I told lily to go on and that I was going for the other house. And surprisingly, even she didn't have the slightest of objection to me leaving her alone then, so I bid her goodbye and left the place.

***           

I don't remember much after I left Lily at the house. I don't remember going to my seemingly magical house. I don't remember going to the puzzle filled rooms and playing lots of games which I thought I would, I don't remember when I arrived at home. I just remember that after two days of Lily not dropping by my place and me not hearing any word from or about her during that period, I decided to go to hers.

On my way to her house, when I took a familiar turn, I very strangely found myself standing in a street which didn't belong there. It was the street where her magical house stood, and where my magical house stood too some time ago, but now was gone. I could only see the huge iron gates intact, although a little out of shine. Guessing Lily might be in, considering it was afternoon, her free time and a little curious to see the overall state of gate and the faded light coming from inside, I opened the gates and went in.

The fields all around looked less green, the pathway was filled with fallen leaves from the trees, the house at the distance looked faded. I saw a white horse sitting in the field close to the house when I reached the door, it looked very humanly sad. Something was definitely wrong, I opened the door without bothering to knock. The inside of the house was the same dull hue as outside. It wasn't there for much long the last time but it definitely was much too unnaturally quiet inside. In fact, there was no noise at all, not a single voice.

I moved in and noticed apart from the broad trunk, a jungle of criss-crossing and winding sort of slide which looked like many small distinct ones at first but in fact were all part of a single big slide which connected to all the levels at so many places that it was almost impossible to count. It ended near the trunk of the big tree where I saw sitting, with his back to the pillar, a boy. I went up to him. Up close, he looked just like peter pan, except that his clothes weren't green and he didn't have a flute.

'Hi there,' I said, 'do you know where Lily is?'
The boy looked up slowly and asked 'What?'
'Lily Waters.' I put in, as if there could have been more than one Lily in the house. 'Girl. 13. Long hair, long face. Is she here? ... I am her friend!'
'No. I am afraid, I don't know a Lily,' he remarked sadly. Then suddenly looked up. 'Oh, wait! Are you talking about our princess?'
'Noo, I am talking about Lily,' I thought, but said, 'well, maybe yeah. If you call her that. I suppose there are not many 13yr old girls in here.'
He thought for a moment, then said. 'No, there aren't. And no, she's not here anymore, she left us long ago. Who are you, by the way?'
'I am her friend, I left her here two days ago and haven't heard from her ever since. So I came by to check'
'She didn't come here two days ago. It has been months since she left  us alone, abandoned us.' A slight edge of anger appeared in his voice along with sadness as he said this.
'Months ago? But err.. Did she say where she was going?'
'No! Not to me at least!'
'Okaay, did she say anything to anybody, about where she was going?'
'Maybe you should ask the dwarfs, after all they seem to be her favourite. She must have told them something.' Again, his voice had colours of anger and sorrow.
'Where can I find these dwarfs?'
'There at the third level, I'll take you but you;ll have to talk to them yourself.'
'Okay!'

While we went towards the dwarfs' residence through spiral stairs and corridors, I saw on my way, many different inhabitants of the house. There were a pair of spectacled squirrels, monkeys dangling by their tails on the hanging soft branches of the tree which they used as ropes, a group of multicolored pixies talking in hushed voices whom I might have missed while talking to Joy, had I not turn around to see some small big-watery-eyed and watery transparent sky blue creatures sitting quietly near the stairs. I have never seen those nor imagined existed. I asked Joy about them and he told me that they were called Frens and that they are one of the most happy and jolly creatures ever, but now they were quiet and sad.

We came around a door and Joy said that he'll see me later and left before I had a chance to stop him. He flew. I wondered if he actually was peter pan in disguise.

***

The door was open and led to a large room, which looked more like a big hall than a room, filled with wooden furniture and a fireplace. The dwarfs were having some sort of a meeting and had noticed Joy leaving. They have become silent now, watching me. An elder one, most probably the head came forward.

'So, did the boy brought you now to get the honey?' He said, then analysing me, added 'And who are you anyway? I've never seen you here.' 
'The honey? What honey?' I wasn't liking him already. 'And I am Leo, friend of Lily. I came to look for her.'
'Princess' friend?' His expression changed 'You know where she is? When would she be coming back?'
'I don't know. That's what I came here to check. To ask you.'
'Oh!' Disappointment masked his face and he become silent. Not knowing what next to talk about, I asked him about the honey.

'What's with this honey thing and Joy by the way?' I asked
'That boy is trying to get hold of our honey. This honey,' he pointed at an almost empty glass bottle resting on the shelf above the fireplace, 'was given to us by the Princess. It's the last thing that she gave to anyone here and it's the last thing that is left of her gifts. And that boy wants to distribute it to everybody so that they can be fed and happy.'
'I don't understand. Why only this honey? Isn't there anything left in the kitchen or in the garden outside?'
'The kitchen is full. But none of that stuff is given by the princess. Is it? Like I said, this is the last of what's left of the princess' basket'
'I still don't get it. Why should it only be given by Lily, I mean princess?'
'You don't know anything, do you?'
'Of-course not. I just came here.' I was getting a little irritated. 'Can you please explain a little more now.'
'You know who you're talking to?' another dwarf, offended by my comment started walking towards me. But the older one stopped him.
'Well,' the older dwarf sighed, 'this is her house. This is her kingdom. All of us exist for her, we were created for her. And it is her love for us that really keeps us alive. That is what keeps us happy. The gifts, the food that she gave us kept us happy, her mere presence kept us happy and alive because she too was happy. But now that she's gone, we don't get her love and we are not happy anymore. No matter how much we eat, we won't survive without her, and this place will slowly perish.'
'But Joy said that she left months ago. First, how is that even possible because she came for the very first time with me here two days ago. But even if it is, how are you all keeping alive without her, if what you said is the case?'
'Hope,' he said, 'which many of us have started to loose, Taffer the deer, is just surviving, but only for so long as..' he stopped mid sentence. Silence followed.
'Okay, so let me get this straight. All this while, when creatures are about to die and weak and sad, you have that bottle of honey with you and you guys refuse to share it with others, just because it was given to you.'
'You don't know anything. You don't understand..'
'Oh I understand pretty clear Sir. Joy is right, you should have given this away a long time ago, but you didn't. You only care for yourself. You are selfish and cruel people.' I was angry and I haven't made any attempt to hide it. This statement made a  furor amongst  the dwarfs, with angry calls and challenges and with some males coming with their fists, ready to thrash me. 

'Quiet!!' said the old dwarf. 'Quit now!' He stopped the angry ones and made them go back. He stayed silent for some time, while I tried not to look behind him at the angry faces and stares.

'You have greatly insulted me and my people boy.' The dwarf said after a long time. 'Still, I must not be offhand with you since you are Princess' friend and you should be really thankful that you are. I don't owe you or Joy any explanation but since you have called me selfish on my face, let me tell you that the honey is not used by any of us. Not a single drop is used by us ever since the princess left. We use it for those who are in desperate need of it and only that much which is needed. We can't give it away just to make the creatures a little happy for a day because then we wouldn't have anything for when we really need it. You know why Taffer is alive? He's alive because of the honey, and he will stay alive so long as the honey lasts. So yes, we have kept the honey with us and we will, in the future too, so go and think whatever you and that flying boy wants to, we are not going to hand it over.'

I didn't know what to say. I have surely made a mistake, so it was best for me to stay quiet. After a moment or two, the dwarf spoke up again.
'We are going to pray for the Princess' return now. You can stay here if you want.' He left one of his members back with me while they rest of them went out. I guess I wasn't on his trusted list yet.

***

I roamed around the room. There was a big picture of Lily on the wall above the fireplace. The rest of the wallpapered walls were also covered with frames, mostly containing photos of other dwarfs. The room was littered with plush sofas, rugs and chairs. I kept going on over the things I had heard and seen in the last few hours.


'So, I was thinking why did she leave you guys if you loved her so much!'  I asked the young female they had left behind.
'She was upset, Madame' Princess was. Very sad she looked, when she came out of that door.'
'Which door, and you saw her leave??'
'Why yes of-course, everyone did. Joy tried to stop her his best, but she was not to be stopped that day.'
'But which door, and why was she upset?'
'Well, the closed room's door, wasn't it the one. She came out and left the house straight. She didn't stop for nobody. She didn't listen to nobody.'
'What's inside this closed room. Didn't anybody go and check for why she was so upset that she had to leave the house altogether?'
'It's the closed room! Isn't it? It's closed! You can't go in there and nobody has ever been, except for the Princess' obviously. She had been inside it for weeks and for all we could, we couldn't get it to open at all. Then one morning, very early, the door opens and she comes out and leaves.'
'That is insane and rubbish. What do you mean you can't open it. I'll open it. Where is it?'
'It's at the top, but wait, you shouldn't...' but without waiting for her to finish, I got up, came out and started climbing stairs as fast as I can. Within minutes, I was at the top floor. 

There was just one door on the whole floor. It was pitch black and the area around it had a certain gloom in the air. I tried the handle first. It was bolted. I tried to force in my way, but it didn't budge. Instead some words in green ink started to form on the door. They read, The door opens only for Princess Lily. You are not welcome.
I got angry and started kicking the door. 'Open this Goddamn door,' I shouted. Nothing happened.
'That's no use,' a voice came from behind me. Joy was there. 'You can't open the door, you can't break it. You can't blow it. Nothing happens to it, whatever you do. Only Princess has ever gone in and only she can open it.' 
I saw that Joy was not alone, it looked like all the house had assembled there in a matter of minutes.
'Many of us have tried Leo, trust us. It's no help wasting your time here,' said the chief of dwarfs.

'All right, fine then. If only she can open the door, then I guess I'll have to find her, bring her back and get this over with once and for all. I'll find her, no matter what. I promise that!
'She went out, right?' I half-asked, half-commented and with that I came down and went out of Lily's magical house. 

***

P.S: Chocolate for you, if you read it all till here ;) :P I'll try and post Part 2 as soon as possible Here is Part 2, so do check it out if you liked this one. :D
P.P.S: The weather just became awesome. Have fun playing in the rain. :D

Comments

  1. Total love!! :D It's like a chapter out of a very interesting fantasy book for kids! I love this Princess and Leo and what-an-imagination!! I mean, I so like the sound of this kingdom! Unicorns and dwarfs and tall tree like Jack and the beanstalk, and magic?? Awesome!! ^_^

    It's wonderfully written and yes, I am eligible for a chocolate, but that's because it was so engaging!! :D I'm so looking forward to the next part. Write it asap! ;)

    PS- I love the name Lily ;) And also her mysterious description. She seems like someone awesome. And okay, Leo too. What a hero. ;) :D

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    1. And oh, PPS- I tried going out while it was still raining. I came running back inside like a chicken when it thundered like a bomb. o.O It was still awesome though :D

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    2. Oh, Lily 'is' someone very awesome and interesting because well, she's the Princess. And Princesses are always awesome, right? ;)

      I think you'll see more of Lily in the second part, and I hope it turns out nice and likable. :)

      Thanks for commenting Ashna, I know you'll read my long posts always, no matter how boring they get :P

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  2. First off, you made me super-duper happy with the P.S. part :P I was already super happy with adrenaline rushing through me after reading this enchanting story when you said 'chocolate' and everything became awesomer :P I will get a chocolate, right? :P

    Anyway, I loved-loved-loved this!!!! It's been so many days since I read some really amazing fantasy tale and here I am... it came as a breath of ... no wait, strike that, it's similar to the rains and "aah" kinda weather these days :P :D

    Oh and Ashna's comment reminds to mention that Lily Waters reminds me of Lily Evans and Augustus Waters and Leo reminds me someone too :P Anyway, excellent tale, beautifully penned, very engaging, hard to put down, I mean, hard to not scroll down and read the whole thing :P

    Looking forward to Part -2!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes ma'am, you'll get a chocolate, and so will Ashna. That is for sure. B)
      I am happy you found it engaging. It was a long chapter, if it was, but I am relieved a little to hear that it read okay. I'll sure bring out the part-2 soon, and I am thinking of experimenting with something this time, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. ;)

      P.S: Do tell who Leo reminded you of?

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