thelizziebennet (
thelizziebennet) wrote2013-03-24 10:20 pm
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Arrival in Milliways
Uh.
...This isn't her advanced quantitative research methods classroom.
It's bigger, for one. Fewer desks for sure. And there is a distinct lack of other students.
Not that the place is empty. Far from it. It's pretty bustling, for a room that has replaced a small classroom in one of the oldest buildings on campus.
But the patrons do not really resemble her classmates. And Lizzie wouldn't exactly call all of the customers human. And then there's the view... (Lizzie's not even facing the Observation Window. All she sees are stars. That's more than enough.)
Lizzie swallows hard and sinks into a conveniently located chair.
"Uh."
...This isn't her advanced quantitative research methods classroom.
It's bigger, for one. Fewer desks for sure. And there is a distinct lack of other students.
Not that the place is empty. Far from it. It's pretty bustling, for a room that has replaced a small classroom in one of the oldest buildings on campus.
But the patrons do not really resemble her classmates. And Lizzie wouldn't exactly call all of the customers human. And then there's the view... (Lizzie's not even facing the Observation Window. All she sees are stars. That's more than enough.)
Lizzie swallows hard and sinks into a conveniently located chair.
"Uh."
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And that young woman? Is a newcomer.
Which is why she now has the Queen of a small (if quite prosperous, thank you), more-or-less medievalish European country coming over to her conveniently located chair.
"Are you all right?"
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She's not sure she knows her own name.
"I'm - I'm - I don't know," she says, waving her hands in front of her somewhat helplessly. "Should I be? Or should I panic?"
Panic doesn't seem uncalled for, all things considered.
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"You're fine, you're perfectly safe, you're just not where you were expecting to be. But you're fine.
"I'm Amy."
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"I'm fine," Lizzie says, testing out the words. "I'm definitely not where I expected to be, and I'm fine."
The deep breath seems to help, as she remembers both her name and manners.
The smile steadies a bit. Amy has that effect on people.
"I'm Lizzie. And I'm fine."
If she keeps saying it, it will become completely true instead of mostly true. Right?
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"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Lizzie.
"I assume I'm the first to say 'welcome to Milliways.'
"That's where you are, by the way. This is Milliways."
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Lizzie looks around again - something she's been too freaked out to do since her first glance.
"And - Milliways is? I'm sorry if I seem especially thick, but I was expecting my research methods classroom, not...this." A handwave indicates the bar, the stars, the customers. "It's disconcerting, to say the least."
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"Milliways is the bar at the end of the universe. People come here from all different times and places, some of which you likely won't have heard of, but that's all right. Most of them are perfectly lovely.
"It usually turns up when you're not expecting it, at least the first time. Some people it keeps surprising, and some people have doors they know where to find, and there's not any rhyme or reason to who gets what that I've ever been able to spot."
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Too bad she's about to fail miserably in that, as her story depends on it."And you? Are you surprised or are things more predictable?"
Not that it much matters, but maybe Lizzie can get an idea of...something. Anything.
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"It used to be in the pantry, and then it was in the broom cupboard. It's been very good about positioning itself conveniently, really, over the years.
"Also, time at home stops for most people when they're here. So you needn't worry too terribly much about missing your . . . whatever kind of class you said it was. It will most likely be waiting when you go back."
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She sighs in relief. "That's good. I need this class to graduate on time. It's awful but necessary for my final project."
"And - you said people come from all kinds of different places? Where are you from?"
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Unlike Phantasmorania and Plumblossomburg, which are of no help at all, as references.
"Where are you from, Lizzie?"
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From Amy's dress, Lizzie would guess she is also from a very different time. Or else has just come from a costume party of some sort. Hard to tell, and probably rude to ask.
"I'm from California - Fresno? You've probably never heard of it either."
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And this is a very strange land.
"I don't live near the ocean - I'm in another part of my state - but I do love to go and visit it. It is gorgeous. I wish I lived closer."
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It is such a hassle when you're a King.
"Let's see, what else do you need to know? You should be perfectly safe here. There's a very good security staff, just in case, and three very simple rules. No violence, no sex, and no outside business here in the bar.
"Rooms upstairs, if you need or want to stay longer than a few hours. That door leads outside to the lake, forest, stable, greenhouse, playing field for some game I don't know, and so on."
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"There's an outside? But..."
Lizzie's eyes flick to the stars, then back to Amy.
She takes another deep breath. "I probably don't want to think too hard about that, do I?"
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"There's a fair of bit of magic involved."
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Magic.
She's really glad she's not going to have to explain this to Charlotte.
"I'll do my best. I get enough headaches from school."
She surveys the bar again. "I can't thank you enough for your help. I would have been lost without you."
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"Oh! You need to meet Bar. She's a dear."
Everyone should meet Bar.
Even if it's not likely to help with not thinking about magic.
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What a strange name.
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"Come with me," she adds, leading the way across the room to the bar.
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Besides, she has no reason to mistrust Amy. If she's been lying about everything, Lizzie is in much, much bigger trouble than she would be walking across a room.
She follows.
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"Bar, this is Lizzie. She's new, and she's from California.
"Lizzie, this is Bar. She can get you just about anything you'd like, and the first drink is free. All you have to do is ask."
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It doesn't seem like the woman is punking her. Amy seems, just as she has for the duration of their conversation, serene, kind, and just a touch authoritative.
"Hello," Lizzie says at last. "It's - it's nice to meet you?"
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Amy believes in being polite.
She also believes that Bar, having been introduced, is probably more easily explained by showing than telling.
"Bar, could we have a pot of tea, please?" she asks.
It appears seconds later, with cups and sugar and lemon and milk, and there's even a plate of Amy's favorite ginger cookies.
"Thank you."
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Lizzie was a bit of a challenge - far too prone to saying what she really thought instead of...well. Anything even remotely polite.
"Magic," Lizzie says, awed.
Then, because she did learn - eventually - she says, "Thank you." She indicates both Bar and Amy.
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Magic does seem curiously absent in California.
(Amy, alas, has never been to Disneyland. And would, in all likelihood, not Get It if she had.)
"Let's take our tea to a table, shall we?"
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"Not like this."
Disneyland doesn't even come close.
Lizzie scoops up the tea tray and smiles. "After you."
Following Amy has worked out pretty well so far.
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Especially explaining the ins and outs of the end of the universe.
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"I'm the middle child. Lydia's the baby."
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"I'm the youngest of seven. My older sister Opal was always very fond of solving problems with tea."
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"I'm not sure I could handle more sisters. Two are enough for me. I love them - and yes, Jane is very wise - but they definitely drive me crazy sometimes."
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"I get along better with some than others. Opal is lovely. Pearl . . . well, she and I have very different interests," Amy says, as diplomatically as she can manage.
"She's the youngest-but-me."
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"Lydia - Lydia's tough. She doesn't care about many of the same things I care about and spends more time having fun than focusing on - well. Anything."
It's clear that this bothers Lizzie quite a lot.
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Which may help.
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Lizzie sighs and looks at her lap. "I just - I worry about her, you know?"
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"We worry about the people we care about."
It's just a thing that happens.
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Her smile dims a bit. "One of those things, I'm sure, is me. It's what older sisters do, I guess."
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Older brothers worry, too, really.
"Sometimes, I think that's the other part of caring about people. Letting them worry about you."
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"Caring about people gets pretty complicated sometimes, doesn't it?"
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Which is good, really.
Foe the entire Kingdom.
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"It sounds lonely," Lizzie says. "I definitely prefer caring about people. Even if I do worry."
"Do you do this a lot?" she asks, turning the subject to their current situation. "Welcome newbies?"
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Four children, a husband, a palace full of courtiers and staff, and the rest of the populace, to start with.
"But you're hardly the first person I've met when she'd just come through the door for the first time."
Amy pauses for just a moment and then adds, "You can still see the door you came through, can't you?"
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Lizzie looks around her. "Yeah. It's just sort of...hanging out over there."
In the middle of a booth. Huh.
"That's good, right?"
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"And, yes, it's a good thing. But if it ever vanishes on you, don't panic. It happens, sometimes. It's called being 'Bound.' It happened to me, once, but eventually the door comes back. I was told that you wound up Bound when there was something you needed to learn here. And some people it never happens to at all."
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She mulls over Amy's statement about "something to learn."
"What did you need to learn? If it's not too personal a question," she hastens to add. Because while she doesn't quite understand, any kind of lesson learning might be private, she supposes.
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"They have been very useful lessons, really."
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Those are the things most on her mind at the moment, but they really aren't the most important things she needs to learn.
So many lessons to come, Lizzie Bennet. So many.