Girls Only (24 Jul 2001) Rebecca is attended by Agatha and Alice as she prepares for her journey.

Rebecca's Room
A tastefully decorated room dominated by shades of green with white and pastel accents, furnished with a bedroom set of white canopied bed, nightstand, dresser, chair, and desk, it looks thoroughly middle-class. Bookshelves are built into one wall, filled with books, stuffed animals, games, and other toys, while a padded green-and-white trunk doubles as a seat at the foot of the bed.

On top of both the bed and the trunk rest open suitcases -- a very large and rather masculine-looking one on the bed, dark brown with reinforced corners, and a medium-sized case, white with green trim on the trunk. A small satchel sits open on the floor, its color proclaiming it part of a set with the smaller suitcase. Clothes, books, toys, and games peek out of the half-packed cases, while Rebecca stands by her closet door, pruning through her dresses and skirts.

"Are you sure you want to bring the games and stuff, Rebecca?" Agatha asks, sitting on the chest at the foot of the bed. "I figured you'd want to do whatever it is they do in Ruritania for fun."

During the course of the packing, the young blonde haired girl had been busily ferrying objects from closet to suitcase, and now waits by Rebecca's side as she makes further selections. "Do they play games in Rur- ... Ruritania?" she asks the girl beside her.

"Of course they do, Alice. People from everywhere play games, of one sort or another." Rebecca removes an impractical but pretty Renaissance-styled dress from her closet, and holds it against her body, looking in the mirror. "Besides, Agatha -- I bet the people in Ruritania would like to see what we do for fun, too."

"I guess so," Agatha says, admiring the dress. "I'm sure you'll have lots of friends there. Are there any restrictions on what you can wear? I mean, you can wear pants or shorts if you want to without causing a scandal, right?"

"I've never been far away. You're very lucky, Rebecca!" exclaims Alice, joyful for her friend. She smiles at Rebecca and then to Agatha. "When you get back, will you tell us all about it, oh please? I want to know everything and everywhere!"

"I don't know. My parents don't like it when I wear pants here. I think I'll bring a pair of jeans anyway, but don't tell Mom." The red-haired girl sways before the mirror, the skirt of the dress swishing around her legs. "I'll tell you both everything!"

Agatha checks the smaller suitcase, and says, "Hey yeah ... you're bringing a camera and plenty of film right?"

Rebecca beams, then tilts her head at Agatha's query. "I don't have a camera. I wonder if Dad would let me take his?"

"Want me to go ask him, Rebecca?" queries Alice.

"Geez, you've got to bring a camera!" Agatha states. "Maybe even some photos of your room and friends and family and stuff to show them over there too."

Rebecca starts to nod, then hesitates. "No ... I'd better ask him myself. That's a good idea, Agatha. I'll bring my scrapbook." She opens one of the drawers to her desk and pulls out a large, slightly battered cloth-bound book.

Agatha sits back down, and says, "It'll be cool to find out what girls over there keep, as far as diaries and stuff. It's got to be different. I bet they all have their own ponies even."

"Okay," says the blonde haired girl. She steps backwards to move from Rebecca's way and holds out her hands in preparation to accept the scrapbook for packing. "Ponies! I always wanted a pony. It must be so very different far away."

"I don't think so," Rebecca says, sliding the scrap book into the larger suitcase. "About the ponies, I mean. It's pretty mountainous country. I don't know that they have the grazing land for horses. I'm sure it'll be very different from here, though." She sighs, looking dreamy-eyed for a moment.

"I think I read somewhere that everyone drinks wine in Europe, even the kids," the taller redhead says, "because of bad water in the past or something."

Alice puts her arms down and remains where she was. She wrinkles her nose. "Ew. I heard wine is old grapes. And the older the grapes are, the better it is," she says with girlish distaste.

"You're silly, Alice. There's nothing wrong with wine. It doesn't taste moldy or anything. It's just got a funny taste to it from the alcohol," Rebecca answers, authoritatively. She smoothes down some of the clothes in the suitcase, then moves to the door. "I'd better ask my dad about the camera before I forget."

"Well, it probably isn't terribly strong wine, if they drink it all the time," Agatha figures. "If they don't have ponies, maybe they'll have hunting hawks or homing pigeons or something ... or pet goats. Goats are good in mountains. Will you be staying near any castles there, Rebecca?"

Alice looks faintly indignant at being to referred to as "silly", though she wrinkles her nose again, giving the effect of someone making a funny face. The expression vanishes at the mention of castle. "Castles! I bet Lord Mel lives in a big castle! And angels, and princesses, and all sorts of important people always live in castles."

Before she leaves the room, the other redhead nods. "Mm-hm! There's a big castle right over the town I'll be staying at. The family that owns it has been living there for a thousand years! They used to rule over the whole area! But that's all changed with democracy and everything." Rebecca's tone suggests this change was not an improvement. "You can read about them in the brochure in the satchel pocket," she adds, then steps outside to look for her father.

Agatha digs out the brochure, and opens it on top of the bed. "Imagine living in the same house that your great-great-great-great-great-grandparents did, Alice. I hope Rebecca gets to bring the camera, can you imagine how cool it would be to have her picture taken at a castle in one of her fancy dresses?"

"That would be really neat. I bet they'd have a lot of old clothes, and towers, and ... and lots of old neat things to look at, like in Kia's Restoration." The littlest of the three girls walks over and eases herself to sit on the edge of the bed. "I can't wait to see what pictures Rebecca takes."

"And suits of armor too!" Agatha says, grinning. "I bet they had knights. If they've still got royalty living in the castle, maybe they have big parties or grand balls and stuff still."

Alice beams at the idea. "Knights, and ladies, and dancers -- and music! Just like from a book!" she agrees.

Agatha lays back on the bed and crosses her arms behind her head. "We need a castle around here. Even just a small one would be okay. If it was up on One-Eye's Hill, you'd be able to see the whole town from it, I bet."

"I bet Tommy and the other boys could build a castle. Maybe Mr. Ryland of Avarre would come visit us," offers the little girl. "I'd have to bring more cookies."

The door opens again, and the Lady Sorceress Nymuae enters, bearing a curiously shaped black leather case. "I have succeeded, my ladies," she pronounces. "Though it was no easy feat, I have obtained the Optikon." She holds the case aloft, securely between both hands, then walks to the big suitcase.

"Alright!" Agatha cheers, sitting up again. "You've got to have some pictures taken of you in your fancy dress up at the castle then, Rebecca. A picture like that would just make everyone turn absolutely green!"

"Oh, please take lots of pictures of the castle. And some of the town too. And the ladies, and knights, and ... " Alice seems at a loss for what else to take a picture of, leaving her sentence to trail off as she screws up her face in concentration for a moment. Finally she just says, "Well, everything!"

Nymuae smiles, though there is a serious tinge to her expression. "Lady Knight, I must assure you that this device is no mere toy." She packs it carefully amongst her clothing, using folded shirts and light sweaters as padding around it. "With it, I will miss no clues. I am certain that when I return, I shall have gained much valuable knowledge to share with you. Perhaps, I dare hope, even the whereabouts of the King."

Agatha's eyes go wide for a moment. "Hey, that reminds me," she says, and gets up to rummage through her book-bag for the old flute. "Maybe you should copy the design off this flute, in case you see it over there," she suggests, holding out the flute with it's key-and-roses engraving.

"What is this?" the sorceress asks, accepting the instrument and studying it closely.

Alice leans over a bit to look at the flute. "That's very neat, Agatha," she says, smiling. "Where did you get it?"

"I washed and polished it," Agatha says, "since it was buried in that jruuh nest for who knows how long, and then Tom probably spit in it too. I haven't tried to play it yet, though."

The little girl wrinkles her nose again. "Tommy is such a meanie sometimes. But ... do you know how to play it, Agatha?"

The lady sorceress looks grave, turning it over in her hands. "That may be as well, lady knight. 'Jruuh' ... I must remember to ask Explorer Thomas of such creatures. Surely he has encountered them before." She examines the engraving on the flute, and shakes her head. "This looks to be of great value, and it may be a source of equally great danger ... or power. You must be careful with it. I ... shall record it for further study."

"Can you sense any glamours on it, Lady Sorceress?" Redmane the knight asks, then shakes her head to Alice.

"I bet it plays really pretty. But I wouldn't want to touch it with Tommy cooties all over it. Ew," remarks Alice. She shivers delicately at the idea.

After setting the flute on the bed, Rebecca gingerly unpacks her father's camera. "I ... have a sense of an aura about it, my lady. But as to its exact nature.... Well, The Optikon will tell me more -- its power allows it to pierce even the most cunning of illusions, even those which could deceive the most powerful of sorcerers." She uncaps the lens on the camera.

"I was going to bring it to Lord Kuning of Harcourt Manor for an appraisal," the Knight remarks. Then in a more casual, Agatha-tone, she says, "Tom and I are gonna help clean up the place while he has it fixed up, and get to keep any old junk ... err ... ancient artifacts ... that the Lord doesn't want anymore."

"Ah! That old manor holds many secrets, I am sure. Look closely while you are there. You may find the whereabouts of the King even before I do, if you use your time wisely." After fiddling with the flash for a few moments, Rebecca snaps a picture of the flute. She holds the Optikon in place for a moment afterwards, then lowers it to chest height.

"Wow, really? Everyone's been so busy lately," Alice says. She eases herself off the bed and glances over at her backpack. The ever-watchful eyes of Lord Mel return the glance from where the Lord's head sticks out of one side of the backpack. "I've been busy with homework and things at home, but we finished our big tests yesterday so I can go do more things again. Could I help, Agatha? Help you clean?"

"Well, I was going to be working in the garden and stables mostly," Agatha tells Alice. "I guess if your mom says it's okay we could ask the new Lord of the Manor. There's a lot of dusting and polishing to do."

The little blonde haired girl seems happy enough to do just that. "Okay. I'll ask my mom when I go home," she tells Agatha.

"Not the most suitable work for a Princess," Lady Nymuae observes, "but you may do well to be in the company of the new Lord." She touches her fingertips to the engraving on the flute. "It is used for opening locks," she says.

"Magical locks?" the Knight asks, slipping back into character. "Since it was being kept at the Siege of Stone and Water, I thought it might be used at the Siege des Anges."

"Locks? Like ... ar-cane locks?" the youngest girl asks, echoing Agatha. "I think so too. Or maybe it works at the Siege of Stone and Water to go where Mr. Ryland did. I read that ravens are the biggest songbirds in the world, and maybe that's why he doesn't need a flute."

Folding her fingers around the instrument, the sorceress lifts it and pivots to return it to the knight. "That it may be. Those details I will leave to you to discover. I trust you will not be idle in my absence. Much more remains to be done than mere mundane work on Harcourt Manor. You must keep the Princess safe, and search for the King."

Agatha bows her head as she accepts the flute back. "Of course, Milady. I pledge that we won't be idle in our duties."

Alice then turns to Rebecca and smiles. "Everyone has to be clean. The queen says so! Or no cookies," she tells her quickly. She then seems to try to nod seriously, though the extra effort causes the nod to come off as far too deliberate. "I've been trying to study at the library about things. But I think we should try the flute at the Sieges -- after you wash it a lot more, though. Ew."

"And Ryland of Avarre ... watch for him. He knows many things that we do not, and I would have you discover them, my ladies. To say nothing of the mysterious jruuh ... " Rebecca shakes her head soberly. "So many unusual events, so little explained or understood! But I must go where my search leads me, and that is to Ruritania. Your part will be played out here -- satisfactorily, I trust. You must promise to write and me tell me all that you discern."

Agatha hands the flute to the blonde princess to examine, and says, "I'm pretty sure it's fully de-con-Tom-in-ated, Princess." At the mention of writing, she asks Rebecca, "Do you have the address where we can send you mail?"

Alice eyes the flute as if it were made of mud. She holds it far away and between two fingers as she examines it, and she seems to find it lacking in cooties, for she brings it closer and holds it in both hands. "Maybe I should ask my singing teacher how to play a flute?"

"That would be helpful," Agatha agrees. "Then we'd just need to figure out what tune is needed to activate the key."

"Okay," says Alice, flute in hand. She lifts the musical instrument to be even with her lips and scrunches her face up to peer at it, considering. "I'm sure she knows all about flutes. I'll ask about it at school."

"Indeed. It may be that such information is nearer at hand than we realize," Sorceress Nymuae remarks mysteriously.

The flute is lowered, and Alice nods. "We'll miss you Rebecca!" she tells the Lady Sorceress.

Agatha ponders the mysterious remark, and gazes at the suitcases once more. "Ah ... you may want to include a supply of ...," she fumbles for a suitably romantic phrase to indicate shampoo, "... ritual hair-cleansing ointments. It may be difficult to obtain the proper sort in foreign lands, Milady."

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