Late Night Scout - The Castle Under the Swamp

The King In Yellow nods as the tea kettle maid rolls in again carrying a tray ladder with cookies and steaming hot cocoa. Thick marshmallows float on the rich surface and the air instantly smells of chocolate.

"Such pretty little things! Can we keep them, sir?" She asks in a metallic, but friendly voice.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Pots. They only just arrived," the King in Yellow says.

"Pity, they are so pretty."

The King in Yellow laughs quietly.

"Mrs. Pots like Beauty and the Beast?!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly, finally coming out of her shell. Sitting on the edge of her seat, she grabbed her hot chocolate. "Why was that man blue? What did the symbols on your door mean? How do you have a robot maid?"

Claire giggled at her friend, quirking a curious brow at the work 'keep.'

"Why, I made her, of course. And long before Disney stole my idea."

He smile amicably, "And my guardians are blue and purple because I like those shades."

Mrs. Pots chortles quietly, petting the younger girls hair with porcelain fingers. "Such pretty eyes."

She sighs quietly.

"Tell me more about Addison, Claire. I am curious. You said she often says things that don't make sense. How old is she? And what sense does she not make?"

Rachel smiled kindly to the woman, to enamoured with the idea of her to object. "She talks really smart all the time, mostly she tries to make us feel better by dumbing it down. She said she was 7 when we met her, but..." She looked to Claire hesitantly. "Um.."

"But?" He smiles encouragingly.

Mrs. Pots begins braiding the younger girls hair and whispering in her ear about pretty ribbons and fine dresses of silk.

Rachel was sufficiently distracted, so Claire finished. "She keeps being 7.. she hasn't aged at all in two years."

"Interesting. Does she keep strange habits? Are you schooled or otherwise educated?"

"Strange habits like what? She doesn't smoke or anything, that's bad for you." Claire scratched her cheek. "She's kind of a night owl because of her business construct, so we are too. She homeschools all of us."

The King in Yellow smiled at her before looking to Mrs. Pots, "Would you show Rachel the kitchen? She might like Chef."

He chuckles quietly before turning smiling eyes to Claire. "I would like to meet Addison."

Little fingers reached for Mrs. Pots as she stood, a wide grin splitting her face. "Yes, please!"

The eldest of the two pulled her knees up to her chin, her heels pressed against the edge of the couch. "Addison doesn't usually leave HQ, do you wanna come home with us?" Hugging her legs to her chest, she smiled sweetly to the King.

The King in Yellow ponders a moment.

"Do you often bring strangers home with you?"

Something isn't right here, but he can't quite put his finger on it. Not that it matters. Anything to break the usual monotony of nightly living was not unwelcomed.

"Mm, no, not usually. But usually people aren't nice enough to bring us into their house and give us hot cocoa, and care enough to talk to us." Bringing the mug to her lips, she took a sip of the sweet, warm drink. A thin line of the melted marshmallow remained on her upper lip, though she didn't seem to notice. "I bet Addison would like it, I think she gets annoyed at us sometimes because we aren't as smart or talented or pretty as she is."

The King in Yellow rises smoothly and strides towards her carefully. He gently brushes the marshmallow from her lip with his thumb.

"I think you are quite lovely, Claire. You and Rachel both, but your eyes shine especially bright."

A shy giggle bubbled up from Claire's lips, and she hid her face behind her knees. After a second, she returned her gaze back to the King's face. "Really? You think so? Addison says I'm bland, she's the one who bought me eyeliner so I could make better sales."

The King in Yellow settles on the arm of her chair, stroking her hair gently.

"Oh yes, quite. If she labels you as anything less then stunning, I call her eyesight into question," he smiles at her, wiping away the last of the frothy cream. "What is it you intend to do after this girl-scout gig of yours?"

She seemed to revel in his touch, her gaze still shyly focused on him. "I don't know.. I know that Addison is very keen on us all doing things with the knowledge she knows, and is willing to teach us all one thing. I might be a doctor, or a scientist."

The King in Yellow cups her cheek gently and strokes to her temple with his thumb.

"Would you enjoy that, do you think? Being a doctor or scientist? Can she teach you to be a doctor or a scientist?"

His tone drops an octave and practically purrs from him, evident of years of training. A rich and velvety caress.

She felt her eyelids getting heavy, as she nodded. "I don't know, Addison says I would be best doing that.. she thinks I'd enjoy it." Her head rested into his touch, "But I'm not sure I'm even old enough to know what I want to do yet.."

The King in Yellow keeps cupping her cheek with one hand before raising a second to her head and running fingers through her fine hair.

"I am certain a beauty such as yourself could do anything she set her keen mind to," he purrs quietly. "But the young often need a strong hand to guide them. You have been lacking a father figure, poor dear."

He pets and soothes her quietly. "Such a precious girl. Are you happy with Addison?"

Her lips parted in a quiet yawn, as she relaxed fully against the arm of the chair he was sitting on. "I suppose so.. there's so many girls there, sometimes I feel like I get lost in the crowd, you know..?"

The King in Yellow nods, the palm stroking her cheek dares a finger running the length of her lower lip gently as a feather.

"I can imagine. A flower needs doting attention to blossom. And you seem quite worthy of attention. Such a good girl."

Slippery as a serpent, the King in Yellow slides as if he had no bones along the chair arm and wriggles ever so gently so that she is in his lap effortlessly.

She seemed to enthralled with the attention she was receiving from him to notice any stranger danger that may be present, curling her warm little body up against him once she was in his lap.

The King in Yellow drops the hand from her hair to settle on her knee.

"I've had a bath drawn for you, if you want to wash the swamp off you before we wander back to your home," his words are barely above a whisper, petting her as one would a particularly friendly lap cat. "Or you could lay down for a bit, if you are feeling sleepy."

She shrugged slowly against his chest, and as her eyes closed, she mumbled softly, "I could sleep.. or bathe.. or both, in whichever order you please.."

The King in Yellow nods slowly. Not a typical response. Not at all... this Addison just became infinitely more interesting.

He rises smoothly, her weight meaning nothing to his frame and strides smoothly out of the room towards the luxurious bathroom. The black marble was not native here, nor actually real, but had been magicked into existence long long ago. As he walks, he pets her cheek and cuddles her to his chest. The bathroom is warm and already steamy, the tub worked into the wall and corner.

"We are here, child." He settles at the edge of the tub and begins to slowly unbuckle her shoes.