I USED TO DREAM THAT I WOULD MEET A PRINCE

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: May 7th
What: Feed me, Seymour

ARRIVAL.

you wake up when you hit the floor in a dark room, and the air is knocked out of your lungs. the carpet is threadbare, worn with use, kind of dusty. and you're not the first person to endure this crash landing. nor will you be the last.

once your vision rights itself, you can see the well-lit hallway through the doorjam straight ahead of you. not to say there’s monsters in the shadows, but something propels you towards that door and out into the bright hallway beyond.

and once outside your room, you can hear it: the steady thrum of rain outside.

MAIN LOBBY.

there's a staircase at the end of the lengthy hallway you tumble out of. grab your suitcase and follow the dull green exit signs on the ceiling until you reach the disappointingly bland stairs that lead you down to the ornate old fashion hotel lobby.

to your left is an richly crackling, rather excessively smoking fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, all three of them thrown wide open and welcoming. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain. once you leave the hallway you wake up in, you won't be able to return.

welcome to the hotel.

FRONT DESK.

though there is a bell and a plaque designating the desk to be the main desk, the customer service desk, there are currently no staff members behind it. none shall answer your calls, either. there is, however, a pad of paper and a pen neatly aligned with the desk edge. you know. for notes.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of alice in wonderland will be playing on loop. at the back of the room, between the neat rows of fold out chairs, mounted on a wobbly table is the old-timey projector, and mounted on the walls are some rather old speakers that warble out "terrifying" old music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl of chipotle cheese popcorn corn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, with a few cups and some old looking packages of apple cider mix.

DINING HALL.

is tragically, painfully empty.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently open, and the grand doors unlocked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the doors to the courtyard are unlocked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one and two. while there is an open elevator in the main lobby, and the buttons light up inside, the doors will not close. all in all, you'll be better off taking the stairs.

while they're the same stairs you undoubtedly came down to get to the lobby, the door to the endless hall everyone woke up in will not reappear between the main floor and the subsequent residential halls.

there are twenty rooms per floor. feel free to get to know your surroundings; or your neighbors as they trickle in around you.

EXISTING GUESTS.

are you dreaming of omlettes and regretting complaining about the constant pancakes and weak ass coffee yet?

Comments

[magicsprice]

He watched her quietly as she put things away, mulling over how to explain. Finally, he decided just to go with what he knew and present the theory he tended to believe in most. "They did for the first three weeks I was here, though it was just one meal per day. Then they stopped. Given what I've heard from others on what has happened previously, I suspect whomever is responsible for us being here are using the people within this place as experimental specimens." He's far from pleased by that thought and it somewhat shows in the way his tone of voice changes in the last part of the sentence, the words 'experimental specimens' coming out tersely. "If that theory is correct, we may just have to wait this week out and they'll begin feeding us again." Or they may wait and see just how they long could go without before restoring it, but he didn't want to frighten her more than he already had. Hopefully by the beginning of next week, the breakfast meal, or any meal would once more be served in the dining hall.

[a_chipped_cup]

"They don't feed us, they barely give us anything to survive and the new arrivals are the ones with the food?" It was a clever way to integrate those who are new with those who aren't. Everyone would be clammering to get near them for something to eat.

She sets out the bread and cheese, her mouth watering at the smell of the freshly baked loaf. It reminded her of home, in a way. "We'll ration then. Though...there was someone I met when I arrived. He's sick and I helped him to his room. I might take him a bit of bread later, if you don't mind?"

[magicsprice]

He mulls the question over for a few seconds, weighing the merits of such generosity before nodding once. "I don't mind. The bread is yours to do whatever you wish with it. I was merely offering advice when I suggested we ration it."

Turning his attention from Belle and the food, he looked down at the basket beside his legs and the bed. "If you like we can give him a couple of these foil wrapped candy eggs I have as well."

[a_chipped_cup]

"I'll ration it, I promise." She said, glancing back at him. "I just want to give a little of it to someone who needs it." The last thing she wants is to argue over a loaf of bread. Not when they were just reunited.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not sure candy eggs is a good idea. We should save them for ourselves. It would be a good fall back for when the bread gets low."

[magicsprice]

He merely nodded in response to the words. He had the fruit and he'd save part of the eggs back, though more for Belle's sake than his own. He'd make certain Belle got the lion's share of the food, she would need it more than him.

"Hopefully, they'll have ceased the starvation tactic by the time it's gone. Do you have any other questions? I'll try to answer them as best I can."

[a_chipped_cup]

"There's so many." She said, but not knowing where to begin. "Do you know anything else about this place? Why we're brought here? What they intend to do with us?" She comes to sit by him on the bed, looking at him carefully. "I just woke up on the floor, but I don't remember falling asleep or when I was taken. I was on my way to your shop."

As for him, she can tell he's not been eating. "You should have some of the bread." She told him, indicating she knew he wasn't doing as well.

[magicsprice]

"I know we're not in the world we were in, that this place is capable of dragging in the dead. I don't know for certain what they intend to do with us, but I have a theory. I think they might be using us to experiment with. Causing situations to occur that we can't escape or avoid, just to see how we react to them." He paused, looking over toward her quietly and reaching over to entwine his fingers with hers.

"I fell into this place just after--after I killed my father."

As for the suggestion he should eat, he refrained from saying anything. He'd already had half of an orange before he'd left his room. So it wasn't as if he hadn't had anything to eat today. If she insisted on him eating, he'd insist she ate with him.

[a_chipped_cup]

She placed her hand on his shoulder, surprised how long ago from their time he was brought. He didn't know that he was revived or that Neal had passed. He didn't know about Zelena or what she did to him.

How could she begin to tell him?

Maybe it would be better to leave that in the past. She disliked keeping secrets from him, but the news would be devastating. She couldn't break his heart, not about Neal. Taking away hope was dangerous.

Breaking a piece of the bread, she offered it out to him.

[magicsprice]

Given the only reaction was a comforting hand on his shoulder, he suspected that his earlier suspicion about her being from the future had been a correct one. He was partially tempted to ask her about it, but if she didn't know about Neal's demise, he didn't want to inflict that pain on her.

He accepted the bread, though he didn't eat it just yet. Simply holding it cradled in one hand as he looked toward her. "You should eat something as well." It would save him feeling the small nagging sense of guilt of eating without her when he knew he'd already eaten something today.

[a_chipped_cup]

She nodded, guessing this was how he was going to eat, only if she joined him. Given the rough morning she's had, she knows that she should have something as well. The excitement and worry would upset her stomach if she isn't careful.

So Belle breaks a bit of bread and cheese, coming to sit beside him, nibbling into it as well.

"I'm glad to see you."