You don't really sleep. You just lie in the darkness and stare up at the ceiling. You're still hungry. Thinking about food makes you remember all the terrible food they'd serve at Castle Bleck. Nastasia always overscheduled, so there never was time for anyone to actually prepare a well-done, proper meal. You could have snapped your fingers, magically making a meal, but that food never tasted quite as good as food actually prepared by hand.
You think of all Nastasia's constant scheduling. It really did get annoying. You hated it. That, and the fact that you were always below the Count. No one was ever more important than him. He was always on top, and it made your blood boil. Especially when he didn't deserve to be on top. He didn't deserve it! He was a questionable leader at best, letting his own grief and emotions blind him. Grambi, you hate him. You're almost glad he went missing down here.
Although you don't understand how. Where could he go down here? You're all trapped!
Trapped, with no escape...
Speaking of Count Bleck, or as he was now going by, Blumiere, (You don't like using his actual name when thinking of him because you've known him as Count Bleck for so long. Calling him Blumiere seems unnatural.) Why exactly did he have a doll of you? It was pretty weird. What, did he just have a creepy obsession with you? You shudder at the thought, then go to reach for it, only to find,
"Hey, where'd it go?" You ask no one in particular when you find the doll is not with you. You look around the room when you see it lying in front of the boulder blocking the entrance to the cave. You sigh and get up to get it when you look at the small amount of purple light streaming through the cracks of the boulder.
The light purple glowing through the cracks almost looks brighter than before. You can see the shining light relfect of the doll's inaccurate eyes.
Go to the door...
You raise a masked eyebrow and look up from the doll at the rock in front of you. Then, without taking another moment to think, you push the boulder aside and start walking, leaving the doll behind.
You continue to walk, the purple fog seeming to glow. It almost looked pretty. It felt warmer than before too. More enticing. You feel almost... enchanted as you walk. It reminds you of what it felt like to be alive.
Although you don't know why. You're just walking.
You walk to that spot where the eyes are carved into the wall and stop. As if on instinct, you pull out the key, kneeling down to the tiny door and unlocking it.
You hear a quiet click, then you slowly pull the door open. It makes a quiet creaking noise.
Only this time, there's no brick wall behind it. Instead, once the door unlocks and opens, it reveals a beautiful, multicolored tunnel. A short gust of wind flows from it, and you feel the lively breeze surround you.
Your eyes go wide in amazement, as you begin crawling through. You mutter a soft, "Whoa," as the world seems to come alive. The floor is soft and bright, but not so bright that it hurts your eyes. It's a good amount of color. More than you've seen in a while.
The door slowly closes behind you, but the glow of the tunnel doesn't fade.
It's so bright. So beautiful. So... magical.
Once you reach the end of the hall, you find another door similar to the one you just opened. Without thinking, you reach for it and open it.
You crawl out, then stand up and look around.
"Huh?" You mutter, seeing the familiar layout.
It's..... Castle Bleck.
You slowly turn around yourself, getting a full look around. You appear to have come out of a small door that leads to the inner sanctum. You don't remember a door being there before, but perhaps being dead has made you forget?
You continue staying in place, taking in your surroundings, when you suddenly hear the distant sounds of.... humming? You jump a little, then walk towards it.
You try to float, but can't, so it's clear you're still dead. Dead people can't do magic, so you must still be dead.
But why do you feel so alive?
And if you're dead, then how are you in Castle Bleck?
Whatever. You ignore this for now and follow the sound of humming. It leads to the kitchen, which is odd. The kitchen during your time at Castle Bleck was hardly ever used.
You slowly walk through the doorway to see the back of the Count's head as he's... cooking? No, that can't be right. The Count never cooks!
You tilt your head to the side. "Count?"
He quickly turns to you, holding a cooking pot and stirring something.
"Ah! My King! You are just in time for dinner!"
You quickly gasp and step back upon seeing his eyes. He's wearing a bright smile which lights up his whole face, but his eyes...
They're yellow. Like the doll's.
You take a moment to look at him, then clear your throat, slightly nervous. "You..." you start. "You're not Count Bleck. The Count's eyes aren't... aren't...."
"Aren't... aren't... yellow?" He says, with a smile and a giggle. "Do you like them? They're made of gems! I'm the alternate Bleck, your Majesty. Now go tell your assistant to set the table. Dinner is nearly ready," He says while opening the oven and taking out a pie.
He's not speaking in third person either. For a minute you think you've found Blumiere, but his eyes... they're different.
You can't help but just stare at him with an incredibly confused expression on your masked face. You blink a few times, just frozen in place as he takes his oven mitts off.
"Now go on. I believe she's in her room," he whispers.
You blink at him again, before walking off, staring until you exit the room. You never had an assistant, so you haven't the slightest idea who he's talking about, but you look regardless. You're used to doing what the count asks of you.
You're not sure where to look, but you can hear the distant sounds of a piano, so you follow them. The notes are slow, and they seem to lack the lively spirit Bleck had.
Eventually, the music leads you to Nastasia's old room. You stand at the door, confused for a moment, before pushing it open to see the back of her head as she slowly plays the piano.
"Nastasia?" You ask, and she suddenly perks up, turning to you.
"Hello, Dimentio!" She says in a smooth tone, smiling and resting her hand on her cheek. She too has those sparkling yellow eyes.
You blink at her.
"Wanna hear my newest song?" She asks. You don't reply. You just stand there, baffled.
"Um... last I checked Nastasia couldn't play the piano," You mutter. To this, she laughs.
"Oh, there's no need! For you see, this piano plays me!"
Two magical gloved hands came out of the piano all of a sudden, strings keeping them attached to it. They inserted themselves onto her hands, then turned her around so she was facing the piano again. Then, she started playing a much happier, upbeat toon.
"I'm making up a song about Dimentio!!!
He's a peach, he's a doll, he's a real hero!!!
He's as grand as a gem in the eyes of anyone who's ever laid eyes on Dimentio!!!
When he comes around, exploring,
Bleck and I will never ever make it boring,
Our eyes will be on Dimentio!!!"
She hit another cord on the piano before you interrupted. "Um, yes. That was... quite an interesting number you had there, but the Count wanted me to tell you that-"
She giggled. "My King, you don't have to call him a Count. He's not a Count anymore. He's just one of your humble servants."
Your eyes go wide. "Excuse me, what?"
"He bows down to YOU, your highness. Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"
Your eye twitches for a second as you try to comprehend what she just said.
"I...uh... he said... that dinner was ready..." You stutter.
"Oh! Mmmm, who's starving?" She asked. The piano immediately raised both her hands for hee, causing her to laugh even more.
You let out a small nervous chuckle, then followed her down to the dining room table.
There, Nastasia had the table set. Then, you were sat where Count Bleck used to sit. He came up with mountains full of freshly cooked food and served you.
And it smelled so good.
You don't think you can remember a single time where the table was set like this. Both Nastasia and Bleck sit across from you. You look at the large steak in front of you and smell it. It smells delicious. You take a piece and put it on your plate, taking a bite. It tastes every bit as good as it smells. You also grab some steamed vegetables, some mashed potatoes with gravy, some bread rolls, and once that's all finished you take a slice of pie.
You see Nastasia on the other side digging in as well, commenting on how delicious Bleck's cooking is.
"You've really outdone yourself this time, Bleck," She says with a mouthful of vegetables. "Thank you for taking the time out of your day to do this for us!"
"Oh, it was my pleasure," Bleck says with a smile. Then he turns his attention to you. "How are you liking it, my king?"
"It's... incredible!" You admit. "You've cooked it exactly how I like it! The meat is medium-well, and the mashed potatoes have no lumps! I don't know if I've ever had a meal this exquisite!"
He chuckles and gives the warmest of smiles. "I'm very glad you're enjoying it. Is there anything else you'd like to request?"
You take a minute to think about it, looking at all the food on your plate. "Well..." You start. "I'm a tad thirsty."
"Of course!" Bleck chimes. "What would you like? Champagne? Perhaps a light soda? Juice?"
"Just water is fine," You say, lightly smiling. He beams and makes a class of water flip in front of you. You slowly take it in your hands and drink it. It soothes your dry throat. You can't remember the last time you had a nice, cool glass of water. "Mmmm," You mutter.
Once you've finished eating, he takes your plate and replaces it with a cake which has the words, "Welcome home," Written on it in fine cursive.
"Huh?" You manage to say, looking up at Bleck and Nastasia with a confused expression. "H-home?"
"We've been waiting for you, my king!' Bleck beams.
"For... me?" You ask.
"Yep!" Nastasia says. "Been waiting a long time."
"Really?"
"Yes!" Bleck says. "Now, as soon as you finish eating, I thought we'd all play a game!"
"A game?" You question? Although you've always had a fondness for games, you can't help but feel suspicious.
"Yes! A game! We can play anything you want!" Nastasia chimes.
"But," You start. "What about all your schedules?"
"Pfft, schedules? My king, there's no space for a schedule in your perfect world!"
"My... my what?" You stutter. "Did you say..."
"Or, we could get you healed up! I know a great healing spell to treat burns," Bleck interrupts, gently grabbing your arm. You slowly pull it back and hold it to yourself.
"I... uh... I..." You start, a little weirded out. "I um.. would love to stay and play, but I probably should be getting back to my other home."
"But you are in your other home," Bleck says.
"I-I mean my OTHER, other home. The first one. I... I think I best be getting to sleep."
Bleck just sighs and offers another warm, understanding smile. "Of course, your highness. We already have your bed made."
"But-" You start, when Nastasia interrupts, pushing you to your old room by your mirror hall. "Come along, your Majesty."
They take you to your room, but it's different than before. Instead of a run-down room with nothing but a bed and a desk for small items, it's a large suite with a balcony that leads to the outside of the castle, a king-sized bed, a walk-in closet, and a chandelier. You gasp upon seeing it all.
"Whoa..." You mutter as you look around the room. You lay a hand on the mattress. It's soft, just like how you like it. You lie down and find that the pillows are perfectly fluffed and the blankets are just heavy enough to make you feel secure, but not so heavy that they suffocate you.
Bleck smiles, then slowly takes your arms and chants a spell. Right before your own eyes, you see and feel your wounds begin to close. You gasp once he's done and hold your arms out in front of you.
"T-thank you, C-... Bleck," You say, astounded.
"Of course. Sleep well, my king."
You yawn and close your eyes. You were pretty exhausted, so it doesn't take long for sleep to find you. The last thing you hear from Bleck and Nastasia is a soft, "See you soon...."
Then, you drift off.