The children stirred slightly when a tray was wheeled into their room with food, but they didn't get up. Around nine o'clock they awoke to the sound of distant doors slamming and the sound of something being dragged along the floor. At one point there was a thud and a groan and a voice going "Son of a~" They covered their ears to keep from hearing the rest. And they shivered themselves back to sleep.
Around twelve their hunger was too much to ignore, so they fumbled around in the dark room until they found some chairs. Then they sat at the tray and lifted the covered lid to reveal a tureen of soup. The soup was cold, but still tasty. They ate in silence by the dim light coming through the window.
In the morning, a soft knocking came from the door. Dipper got up first, rubbing his eyes. In the daylight he could see how fancy their room really was. Against one wall was a sofa, a vanity with a big ornate mirror, and a massive wardrobe. The floor was covered by a thick Persian rug. A crystal lamp hung from the ceiling. And the room was huge. It was like the room of a queen.
"Come in." he said as Mabel slowly roused herself. The door handle shook and in came Soos, Wendy, and the feather duster from last night. (In the light, he could see that some of her feathers were bright purple.) "Morning Dudes! Good to see you!" Soos called out, hopping down from the handle he'd opened with his head.
"Uh, good morning." Said Dipper, still adjusting to talking tools. "What's up?" Wendy came up to him. "We're here to give you a wake-up call, and invite you to the kitchen for breakfast." She said.
"Can we really come down?" asked Mabel, getting to her feet.
"Oh sure," said Soos pulling on the hem of her dress with his prongs. "Be our guest." They were about to step out when a voice called out "Hang on!" They turned to the vanity in which their reflections were replaced by the image of a blond girl in a fancy purple dress. She glared at hem with her arms crossed.
"You can't go out dressed like that." She said matter-of-factly. "Those are the same clothes you wore yesterday." She turned to the wardrobe. "Grenda wake up! We have people to dress!" The wardrobe made a snorting sound and two eyes opened up on top. "OH! Hi friends!" she said in a surprisingly deep voice. Dipper took a step back while Mabel grinned ear to ear. "Hi!" she said. Grenda looked her up and down. "Oh, we can work with this." She opened herself up, revealing several dresses. "Hey Candy, get over here!" From the opposite corner, A black coatrack walked towards them. She had a feminine face with wire glasses, hair woven into a bun, and her four arms each ended in tiny doll-like hands. "Pleasure to meet you." She said, giving them an Asian-style bow. "My name is Candy, and you have met Grenda and Pacifica. We will help you get dressed for the day."
"Pacifica?" They turned to the vanity. The girl in the mirror gave her hair a becoming toss. "As if you're one to comment on names."
Mabel was excited for this. Dipper not so much.
"It doesn't look like you have anything for me." He said, backing away. "So I'll just~"
"Wait." Said Pacifica and turned to her comrade. "Candy, go to that... one room and bring back as many clothes as you can carry." Candy nodded. "I'm on it." As Mabel was shuffled behind a room divider, Dipper sat back on the mattress. "What's up with them?" he asked Wendy. "We're not sure." The axe replied and Dipper found himself smiling.
"So," said Pacifica, looking Dipper up and down. "I take it long hair has come back into fashion for boys?"
"No. I don't know. My hair doesn't grow very fast."
"Hmm." She raised an eye brow
A few minutes later, Candy came back with her four arms full of boy's cloths. They were all very fancy, and old-fashioned, like something he'd see in a painting. He decided on a pair of breeches and a salmon colored shirt, which he put his special vest on top of. Mabel after much deliberation, came out from the divider wearing a long skirt and a turquoise riding jacket.
"Very nice." Pacifica said in approval. "Much better."
"Okay. Let's go eat."
Soos lead them down to the kitchen, where a medley of pots and bowls hooped this way and that. Against the wall stood a giant cast-iron stove with the etching of a pretty girl on the piping. Soos introduced her as Melody. The one in charge of all this was a coffee pot who told them "Sit down" in a cheery old woman's voice. At first, they thought she only had one eye because her left eyelid kept drooping.
"Hi kids!" she said brightly, "I'm Susan Wentworth. But you can call me Lazy Sue. What can I get you cuties? I'll cook you anything."
"Anything?" the twins asked in unison. They looked at each other and smiled. "Pancakes!"
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As the kids enjoyed their breakfast, back in town, Gideon was giving one of his performances for the people. The people of Gravity Falls were honest, hard workers who were content with the simple things. But as far as Gideon was concerned, that didn't make up for the fact that they were all dirt-brained idiots. Anyone with proper observation skills could've see the cold front coming. The only reason people heeded him was because of his familys' standing. But he smiled, he listened, he sang and danced to earn their trust.
I can see what others cannot see,
It aint no sideshow trick, it's innate ability.
Where others are blind, I am futurely inclined
You too can see,
If you was widdle ol' me!
Suddenly, who should come rushing through town but Old Man McGucket. And he seemed especially manic today. "Help! Help! He's got them! We got 'a save them!" He grabbed onto the sheriff and started pulling on him. "C'mon, if we leave now, we can retrace the tracks!"
"Whoa now, ol' feller," said Gideon atop his stage, "What are you trying to track?"
"THE BEAST OF THE WOODS IS REAL!!" McGucket screamed, "I found the old castle... Beast is in there... Now the kids are in there... And we've got to save 'em!"
He rambled on, heedless of the people snickering behind him.
"Right..." said Sheriff Blubs derisively, "Are you sure they didn't just go in another room and you forgot where they were?"
"HEY!" McGucket flicked around and jerked a finger at him. "That only happened once and I was really tired." He turned to the growing crowd of sceptics
"I'm telling you, he's real and he's big and..."
"Did he have grey fur and a red cloak?" asked Tad. Durland nudged the man. "Don't encourage him." He whispered.
"Yes, red cape big horns, sharp teeth, have you seen him?"
"I haven't, but some of my colleges have. There are a lot of sightings on the road."
People started murmuring to each other. It was one thing when the town madman saw things, but when respectable salesmen saw the same thing, that was a different story. McGucket was thrilled to find someone who believed him.
"Oh this is good. We can get supplies, and form a posse, and head strait back to THWACK!" Out of nowhere, a soup pot knocked the old man in the head. He smiled, staggered, and fell to the ground. The crowd turned to see a young pale man in a black tunic standing there awkwardly.
"Uh, hey. I'm with the Old Kooks' Home in the next town over, and I was sent to pick up our latest patient." The youth chuckled nervously. "Yeah, poor guy had a breakdown so we were called over to... take care of things." The people all sighed in relief.
"What about the kids?" asked the librarian from amongst the crowed.
"Hmm, oh yeah, they're fine. They're... they're... they are with a relative." He kept chuckling as he walked up to McGucket. "Come here you." He said, taking the senseless man by his feet and dragging him off.
Gideon stood on the stage, eyeing the scene. "Hmmm."
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After a pancake breakfast with lots of syrup, Dipper and Mabel pushed back their plates with utter satisfaction. Patting his stomach, Dipper looked around. "So does the "Master" not eat this early?" he asked.
"He prefers to eat in his room." Lazy Sue replied as she poured more cider in his mug. "If you want to speak to him, he'll hear you from the upper rooms."
Neither twin really wanted to speak to the Beast, but they knew they would eventually have to, so they got up and went back to the main foyer.
"Mister Beast! Are You Up There?" Dipper called out. No answer. He was about to try again when "BOO!"
They shrieked and leaped away. Behind them, the Beast leaned against the door frame, half-hidden by shadows. He laughed until he started coughing and pounded his chest. "Hagh, hagh. Worth it." He rasped, then straitened up. "Sorry about that. I couldn't resist." He turned to the kitchen. "Soos!" The green hammer bounded up to him and leapt into his outstretched 'hand'. In the daylight his fur looked even paler and his cloak looked more ragged; with little bones and feathers woven into it.
"Come on, the north stairs are coming loose again." He set Soos on his shoulder and made to leave.
"So, what kind of work do you want us to do?" Dipper asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, ummm..." he pointed at Mabel. "You go help in the stable." Then he pointed at Dipper. "And you go help Wendy chop firewood." He walked off. "You can take a break at lunch."
Dipper followed Wendy to the boiler room, which housed a massive boiler the likes of which he had never seen before. Even the latest models used by nobles weren't this advanced. Dipper stared at it a full minute before focusing on his task.
"Here," Wendy said, directing him to a sharpened, non-sentient axe, "Just split the logs we give you in half. If it gets too hot in here, there's a chopping stand outside you can use."
The work was exhausting. It took him ten minutes to chop one log. After an hour he was running outside, gasping for breath. Wendy assured him there was no pressure. She and the other workers had trouble when they first started.
Mabel reunited with Gompers in the stable. She also met a bunch of farm tools that were too excited about having someone in one of their stalls. Halfway through raking leaves, a wooden bench covered in hay waddled up to her. It nudged her dress while making snorting sounds. She loved it immediately.
At lunch, the twins went back to the kitchen where the staff happily made them fried ham sandwiches. They were very attentive.
"I hope you don't mind," said Susan, "It's just been so long sense we actually got to take care of somebody."
"No problem." Said Mabel, "We love being taken care of."
At one point, they saw the Beast make his way outside.
"Where are you going?" Mabel asked.
"Hunting." He said bluntly, and closed the gate behind him.
After work, they were too tired to do any exploring. So, they nibbled at dinner and followed Soos back up to their rooms where Grenda, Candy, and Pacifica had made them both some night clothes. The next day, it started snowing. And the twins were told to salt the pathway. When they were done, they spent the rest of the day catching flurries.
The day after that, they were made to clean the vents. That was fun because they got to crawl around between the walls. But they also got absolutely filthy and had to be washed (the bathrooms in this place were phenomenal).
The days lapsed into a steady pattern. When not working, the kids were introduced to other castle staff. There was Tambry the duster, of course, and Thomson the coach. They also met two candlesticks named Nate and Lee, a shy grandfather clock named Blendin, and a quintet of white enameled instruments (that Mabel utterly adored).
They didn't see much of the Beast. He spent most of his time hunting or holed up in his room. Once while chopping wood outside, Dipper looked up and saw the Beast watching him from one of the balconies. He almost thought he saw him smiling. It seemed they would spend their time at the castle without interacting with their host.
Then after a week, they got lost in the hallway. And wandered into the West Wing.