Apple's Heart

[dramatispersonae]

Your arrival is marked by the feel of sand under your feet, with the sound and smell of the ocean wafting in from behind you. A dampness hangs in the air and the sky is overcast. Directly in front of you the sand fades into a grassy hill, on top of which a white castle rests. To the left, a little ways off, you can see tall sandstone cliffs. Off to the right is a large field of sunflowers that stretches out into the distance. There are no paths or signs anywhere to be seen.

((#applecore))

Comments

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[stopping and setting a doll down]

Oh, you all want to play? I think we can come up with a game everyone can enjoy if we work together.

How does that sound?

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

"Yeah!"
"Let's do that!"
"I want a swordfight!"
"No, a dance!"
"What should we play?"

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

We can have a play with a swordfight, a dance and some music. No need to fight over it.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

"I get to be the knight!"
"Then I get to be the other swordsman!"
"I wanna be a lady at the dance!"
The children all rush for the wardrobe.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[...supervising the children and helping them with their costumes...]

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

All of their outfits are adorable and frilly. They look more solid, and you can hear their voices more clearly.
"So I can still be a knight?"
"I want to be a noble runaway."
"What do you want to be, miss?"

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

Oh. I'm a...a librarian.

[picks up a book from the chest and holds it close]

See?

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

"Oooh, that's cool! I want to be one too!"
"You can't be, she already is one!"
"But I want to!"
"I want to be a knight!"
"Do we have a library in our story? What's our story, miss?"

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

We're fighting back soldiers that are trying to take books away from the people. This is our final stand, to protect the last library in the world.

We can't let them win, can we?

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

There is a collective gasp of outrage.
"No, we can't let them take the books!"
"We'll fight everyone!"
"Take them all out!"
"And hold a dance party to collect money!"

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[pulls a fake sword and shield out from the toy box and goes to stand guard]

Everyone! You know what to do! To your places!

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

They all rush to grab toy swords and shields.
"To defend the books!"
"To defend the library!"
"Fight to the last man!"

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[rallying them all together and stopping when she realizes something]

...We need someone to play the enemy or it won't be much of a play.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

They all look at each other.
"I don't want to..."
"That sounds boring."
"That's dumb."
"So not cool."

A little girl with blonde hair jumps forward. "I'll do it! I'll be the bad guy. It'll be fun."
Five other kids immediately jump forward.
"Me too, me too!"
"I want to!"
"I want a cool weapon!"

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

Um...Half of you can be the bad guys and the other half can be the good guys, so long as the bad guys all see the light at the end.

[...How many children are there?]

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

A lot. Two dozen? They seem to vanish when they're not in your line of sight. There are consistently ten of them, sometimes more.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[points to the five that volunteered]

All right. You are now the bad guys in this play. Everyone else will fight against you -- but not for real!

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

"Got it!"
"Okay!"
"We'll win!"
"No way, we'll win!"

The children start fighting to determine who will win.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[supervising and ready to heal if necessary...]

Um, k-keep fighting! We won't let the library fall!

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

"For the library!"
"For the...not the library!"
There is proper swordfighting, at least.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[claps...and I think I've given the children enough things to play with.]

[Is there a way to continue on from here?]

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

There are...more sunflowers. There is a heavy mist off to the right, and a tiny path off to the left.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[...tiny path seems safer.]

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[appleofhiseye]

It is. It winds its way around the sunflower fields a long ways, heading towards the back of the castle.

Re: THE SUNFLOWER FIELDS

[fullmoonblooms]

[...CASTLE! Lets go to the castle now!]