Week Four

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Comments

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[That's... A good point. A difficult point to refute. It gets Cassandra thinking, clearly she still wants to argue.]

But just because it's hard doesn't mean we shouldn't make the attempt. Sure, the Wizard can try and stop us, but we could all die here if we don't even try! We just need to be prepared and careful.

...It doesn't really matter if some of us don't get home anyway.

[themuseabandonsyou]

I agree. But it'll take a lot of planning, and we should all make sure we know what we're doing before we try it.

[ Which means it's probably time for another meeting, sooner or later. That last statement pulls him up a bit short, though, and he stops, raising his eyebrows at her a little. ]

Doesn't it? Do you... not want to go home?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[He's right on that much. Another meeting is going to be desperately needed - if just to make certain that everyone is operating on the same page.

Cassandra catches herself at his question, hanging from the edge of it. Pulling herself back up, she offers her best answer: a shrug.]

Maybe? I... think I might have to. [which is no small feat to express for her. It takes considerable, visible effort.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ That's a concerning answer. Orpheus's brow furrows a bit, looking worried. ]

I think it's complicated, for some of us here. Is it because you have promises you need to keep to people, back there?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

No... No. I mean, I'll have to stay away from the kingdom.

[He's worried, she's scared.]

I betrayed my friends! And... I think I understand why now.

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh.

[ That - sounds more complicated than what he was thinking. He almost asks outright what she means by 'betrayed' here, but that seems rude, and he just barely manages to catch himself. ]

Do you... want to talk about it? It's okay if not. But I can listen, if you need it.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I-I shouldn't. I'm not... good at this. At all.

[She knows he can immediately turn on her, even if he doesn't. They all can. So, why does she press on? Why?]

... Promise you won't judge?

[themuseabandonsyou]

I won't. I promise.

[ For somebody else, it might be harder to say that with sincerity, not knowing what they're getting into. But Orpheus can see how hard it is for Cassandra to talk about this, how upset it's making her, and even if she did something awful, if she regrets it now and had a good reason for it, then who is he to pass judgment? Sometimes that sort of thing happens, regrettable as it is. So he goes quiet and listens to whatever it is she has to say. ]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Some part of her visibly wants to stop there. That's enough. She can just get up and leave. But... she is upset. Very visibly, sitting here in the dirt, trying to collect herself after a mad dash towards... somewhere? Away from here, maybe.

Her voice starts hoarse, and she clears it.]

My kingdom, Corona, has a princess who was kidnapped in her cradle by a woman who wanted to use her magical hair for herself. They never knew what happened to her for eighteen years. I didn't know until the princess was saved and returned home.

[There's something there. More. It claws at her.]

It... I just had a dream; it was a memory of when I was a kid, one I couldn't remember... the woman who kidnapped the princess - she's my mother!

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh. That's not a reflection on you, though? Especially if you didn't even remember it until now. I mean, I've never met my grandfather, but from what my mom and everyone else tells me he's... not a very good person. But that doesn't mean my mom is responsible for what he does, or that I am.

[ He gets the feeling there's more to this story, but he just wanted to get that much out of the way. ]

You said you betrayed your friends, though. Was it... to help her?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

...No. No. It wasn't to help my mother. My mother's dead.

[Died before they could even meet. Before she even knew.]

It was to help myself. Help me find a destiny I've... always been denied. No one else was going to help me with it... They'd just keep ignoring me.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Oh. Orpheus thinks about that, quietly, before speaking up again. ]

I'm sorry. About your mother and about your friends. It's... difficult, when the people you love aren't there for you? Even when they have really good reasons not to be, it hurts, and sometimes the fact that they aren't necessarily doing it on purpose only makes it hurt more.

[ He... may sound like he's speaking from experience, here. ]