We're All Mad Here [DONE! Zelda!]

[AMY WINSTON]

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Amy could stand to get out of the apartment. Jon had been texting her, calling her, and facebooking her every twenty or so minutes for the last 4 hours, asking if she wanted to do something later. Go to the movies, go to dinner, walk in Hyde Park, go to the Art Museum (which had surprised Amy, Jon absolutely loathed art). She told him she was doing something with her roommate, but that wasn't really true. In fact, Eli had been out for the last three days, staying at a new beau's house, doing whatever Eli's did. Amy had told him she was fine with it, but the loneliness was starting to get to her.

In search of something to do that had nothing to do with her...whatever the hell Jon was, she combed her apartment for distractions. She considered reading out of 'The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll' yet again, but for some reason, when she came across the Jabberwocky Poem, her head started hurting terribly, and she inexplicably thought of Jon. Well, there's that plan scarpered. It was probably because she needed new reading material. The library wasn't far, and she could do with a nice walk, clear her head.

She was feeling very blue and eclectic that day, so she dug around her wardrobe until she found an item that she hadn't worn since her last Fantasy Fest. Lucky for Amy, her body hadn't changed one little bit, so the corset fit nice and snug over her torso. She tugged on her favorite black skinny jeans, that had started out as a nice pair of black pants she used to use for work back in Florida. Sooner or later, she wore them to parties in the woods, and the knee tore. She picked and prodded and poked at them until the rip grew, and then she had had an idea. She would make a cut, a new rip for every party she went to. Soon, the front of each pant leg was basically nothing but rips and tears, and she couldn't bring herself to throw them away.

Keeping with the avantgarde style, she decided on a nice pair of lovely blue pumps for shoes, which offered enough of a heel to make the corset seem in place, but not enough to make her look like a streetwalker. She certainly didn't need any more unwelcome admirers. She added light blue eyeshadow with a sharp line from stark black liquid eyeliner across her eyes, and checked the time. 3:36. Perfect.

She closed the door to the complex, thankful that she had decided to bring her jacket, since there was a distinct Autumn chilliness in the air. She tugged it on, and walked off down the street, buttoning the button closest to her waistline. Getting out of the docks, Amy then hailed a taxi. She loved the public transportation of New York. Back in The Keys, the only taxis were either creepy stalker-y rape vans on Big Pine, or cabs in Key West that charged up the ass for a quick trip across town.

She told the cabbie to drive to the library, which she had yet to visit. A feeling of excitement curled in her stomach as she watched New York fly past her. She had the feeling that today was going to be big. Momentous. She kept an eye on the sidewalks and alleys and was that a rabbit? She swivelled in her seat, trying to be sure, but all she saw was a crowd of bodies. No rabbits. Startled, she sunk lower into her seat and immersed herself in her iPod until the cab halted to a stop. She handed money to the increasingly impatient cabbie, and stepped out, wobbling a bit on her heels.

She climbed the steps, and walked into the library, stopping short. It was beautiful. High ceilings, arched windows, pillars and books. Books on top of books, on top of books. She wandered through wondering where to start. The further she ventured in, the more the smell of musty pages entranced her. Reference, non-fiction, children's, fiction. Then the sub-categories. Romance, westerns, sci-fi. She wandered into a small antichamber, a room full of mystery books. This room was odd. Instead of oak shelves, there were metal bookshelves. It felt almost like an office. She walked down one row, and then looked to the side and stopped short. There was a cat. And he was....smiling at her? He was sitting on a desk. Weird. Was this someones office? Who would have an office in the library? She stared at the empty chair and the files on the wall for a moment, and then back to the cat. Which had disappeared. Um. Odd.

She shook her head, and then wandered down the next row slowly, pretending to read the spines of mystery books Authors J through O, but she kept peeking through the shelves to find the cat. That may or may not exist.

Oh wow, she was being such a creeper. She shook her head, clearing her senses. The very last thing she needed was another guy to be 'intriguing' to her. She picked a book of the shelf at random and started reading. She hadn't really gotten into mysteries before, but she couldn't bring herself to really...leave it.

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WORDS ! 887
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Finally done!

[/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

I'm not the boy I was before
w h a t I a m i s j u s t v e n t i n g , v e n t i n g

[/color]


DEAR GRAVITY,
you've held me down in this starless city[/size]

- - - - - - - - - - -

Time for another day of "work."

Charlemagne had never really considered it work...he took a lot of pleasure in what he did, selling information to the highest bidder, frightening those who dared to wonder into his mystery section...no, it was hardly work. It was all a game, quite an elaborate and enjoyable game, and he was the main player. It was like a chess match, yes, quite like a chess match. He didn't know who it was he was playing against, but whomever it was, he felt as if he always had the upper hand.

After all, he had met few people in his time that could really pose a challenge to his wits.

On days such as today when the library was open, and on days such as today when he felt like going to "work," Charlemagne Fletcher pulled himself out of bed a few hours earlier than usual. The mansion was as empty as always, save for his cats, most of which slept on or around his bed. He would change quickly out of his striped pajamas, scoop up an affectionate (if sleepy) kitty or two, take his time eating breakfast and getting ready, and then throw on some startling costume that was sure to offend the eyes of anyone who looked upon it. Today, the startling outfit included a stripey purple blazer, a pair of tight pink plaid pants, surprisingly normal dress shoes (with yellow socks), and a black and white horizontally striped shirt (the stripes going the opposite way as those of the blazer). He didn't bother taming his bedhead; it looked wild enough the way it was, he concluded.

About two hours later, Charlemagne at last left the house. It was still dark outside.

He walked all the way to the library, seeming to ignore the chill of the autumn morning.

"I'm siiiiiiiingin' in the rain, just siiiiiiiiingin' in the rain, what a gloooooooorious feeeeeeling, I'm haaaaaaappy again! I'm laaaaaaaaaaughin' at clouds, so daaaaaark up above, the suuuuuun's in my heart and I'm reeeeady for love!"

Now, at this hour, not many people were around to watch the rather radically-dressed young man come sauntering into the library on a completely dry autumn morning singing such a song, but those who were were most certainly taken aback. Exactly as planned. Charlemagne grinned to himself, and, still humming the tune, made his way to the mystery section and took up residence on his favorite table.

"Another beautiful day," he drawled in his distinguishably faint British accent. Years in the United States had taken a bit of the color out of his Cheshire dialect, but something about the subtlety of his accent seemed appropriate, as if it kept it from upstaging the other qualities of his voice or the words he spoke.

Grinning his usual grin, Charlemagne Fletcher rolled onto his back and said to no-one in particular, "Riddle me this. What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?"
[/center]

[AMY WINSTON]

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She thumbed through the Agatha Christie novel, feeling like a bad cliche. She was reading, but not absorbing, her eyes still on the lookout for the cat. Suddenly, she heard a voice. It was a lovely voice, with that crisp lilt of British that was toned down from years of living in the states. She jumped a little and retreated into the shadows of the bookshelf. Peering between the books, she saw the owner of said voice sitting at the desk, and there was that cat again, staring straight at her. It was startling to say the least. Then the man started talking. Was he asking her? She closed the book and listened hard.

"Riddle me this. What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?"

She looked again, and where the cat had been, a man now lay. He was adorable, and so so so familiar. She stepped quietly from her hiding spot, and approached him cautiously. She knew this one. "Is it...a human? Crawls on all fours in the early life, learns to walk on two for most of the adult years, and requires a cane in it's elder years?" Her voice was meek, and timid. She was intimidated by this man who was so at home here. Was this normal for him? It seemed kind of crazy, going to a seemingly empty room and talking to nobody. He must have seen her, and decided to break the tension with a riddle. Which was odd, but made the most logical sense. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I've never been here before."

[/b] She kicked herself internally. He didn't want her life story, after all. He was probably just enjoying being alone, and she had to go and ruin it, because she didn't know how to do anything else, apparently. She was torn between leaving immediately, and waiting to see if he would answer her.

Her curiosity won out, and so she stood, waiting awkwardly, chewing on her lip and fumbling with the dust jacket on the book.

[/blockquote]

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WORDS ! 359. WHERE IS MY LIFE?
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Finally done!

[/size][/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

I'm not the boy I was before
w h a t I a m i s j u s t v e n t i n g , v e n t i n g

[/color]


DEAR GRAVITY,
you've held me down in this starless city[/size]

- - - - - - - - - - -

Charlemagne hadn’t been expecting a response.

He’d been lying atop the desk, staring pensively at the ceiling and tapping his fingers in some obscure pattern on the desk. He was waiting for something; he just didn’t know what yet. Charlemagne felt, sometimes, as if he were always waiting for something, but never did he know what it was. It was this strange feeling of anticipation, like he was waiting for a train, but he neither knew why he was waiting for the train or when it would get there. It was a… confusing feeling. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

"Is it...a human? Crawls on all fours in the early life, learns to walk on two for most of the adult years, and requires a cane in it's elder years?"

Whatwhat?

Charlemagne let his head fall over the edge of the desk, his wide blue eyes gazing at the girl who had spoken to him as he examined her upside-down. Brown hair. Pretty. Quite pretty. And achingly familiar… surely he had seen her before somewhere. Yes, that had to be it. What else could it be…?

His brow furrowed slightly before he decided not to let it trouble him. Then he grinned at her brightly.

“Well!” He seemed ecstatic to have someone to listen to his senseless riddling. “That would be correct, indeed. That’s the Sphinx’s riddle, you know, in old Greek mythology… though I forget to whom she asked it… I should look that up, of course.”[/b] He waved his hand slightly, still looking at her upside-down. “And how might you have come across the answer to that riddle? Hm? Or… did you just figure it out yourself? That would be far more impressive, I do say…”[/color] His grin shrunk to a rather playful smirk, and he tilted his head to the side.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I've never been here before."

Charlemagne chuckled and righted himself, turning over onto his stomach and resting his chin on his folded arms. His blue eyes were still wide as moons and fixed on her intently, fascinated, like a child examining a particularly interesting new toy. “We often say we don’t when we do,”[/color] he mused cryptically, “and we often say we do when we don’t. Needless to say, you’re not intruding, seeing as I clearly wasn’t doing anything.” He giggled and cocked his head to the side again. “It’s often in the places we’ve never been that we find the most interesting adventures. There’s a magic in the unexplored, don’t you think?”

[/color]
[/center]

[AMY WINSTON]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Oh, he had been talking to himself. He looked genuinely shocked. Or at least, that's what he would look like if he wasn't upside down. The left corner of her lips pulled upward in an amused half smile, and she studied him. His dishwater blonde hair was all kinds of everywhere, looking quite silly as he hung upside down, and his glasses were in danger of falling off his face. But, just as Amy was about to reach out to catch them, he straightened up and flashed her a grin she felt like she had seen a million and a half times. It took her by surprise, but made her smile in return. She felt as if she was running into a friend she hadn't seen in years.

He was a pretty excitable guy, she surmised. One little correct answer, and he was off like a flash, excitedly asking her how she knew. He wondered if she had worked it out for herself, and she chuckled self-consciously. "I'm not that clever. I can't work things out like that myself. I've heard it twice before. Once I read it, and another time was in a video game, but the answer was...a little different. More morbid I suppose."

[/b] She fiddled more with the dust jacket before she felt the tape holding it in place was giving a little bit, and she set the book on the desk, planning on taking it home. She almost missed his next quip, but it wouldn't have made much difference. It was a tad confusing.

“We often say we don’t when we do, and we often say we do when we don’t. Needless to say, you’re not intruding, seeing as I clearly wasn’t doing anything.”

She supposed that was true, and this sure did beat out searching out a library by herself. A bit longer and she might have felt slightly pathetic, a pretty young 20 year old, alone on a Saturday afternoon? The question was, why would this interesting gentleman like to spend his time with Plain Jane Amelia Winston? He giggled, interrupting her train of thought. Had she ever even heard a guy giggle before?

“It’s often in the places we’ve never been that we find the most interesting adventures. There’s a magic in the unexplored, don’t you think?”

"Magic indeed! This is turning out to be the most interesting adventure I've had all week, and we haven't even been speaking for five minutes!"[/color] Her eyes lit up as she grinned back at this most peculiar boy. He was such a paradox. So familiar a stranger. She almost forgot that he didn't know her name. "My name's Amy. Care to help me find something good to read?"

[/blockquote]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

WORDS ! 479. Better.
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Charmelia<3333333

[/size][/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

I'm not the boy I was before
w h a t I a m i s j u s t v e n t i n g , v e n t i n g

[/color]


DEAR GRAVITY,
you've held me down in this starless city[/size]

- - - - - - - - - - -

He examined the girl before him with some cross between innocence and curiosity. There was something mysterious and complicated in his expressionless blue eyes, but there was also an almost childlike quality of naivety. Or perhaps it wasn't naivety, but it was something uncorrupted, sweet, and honest.

Or maybe it was all just a trick of the light. It seemed far more likely.

He raised his eyebrows and let her speak.

"I'm not that clever. I can't work things out like that myself. I've heard it twice before. Once I read it, and another time was in a video game, but the answer was...a little different. More morbid I suppose."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so unsure of yourself," he mused with a grin. "And on the bright side, that you remember it proves you have a good memory, and that's some indication you have a good head on your shoulders." He giggled again, eerily. "Isn't that a funny expression? 'Head on your shoulders.' Because your head isn't on your shoulders at all, it's on your neck, and your neck is between your shoulders, not on them." He seemed almost lost in thought now, and he rolled upside down on the table again, staring at the ceiling.

"If your head was really on your shoulders, it would have to have been partially cut off so it falls sideways onto either of your shoulders. But that's terribly morbid."[/color] Charlemagne laughed again, a high-pitched, giddy sound. "Speaking of morbid, in what video game did you find that riddle? I like good sources."

"Magic indeed! This is turning out to be the most interesting adventure I've had all week, and we haven't even been speaking for five minutes!" He grinned. He felt just the same. This pretty young woman was so familiar, and he was already fond of her. "My name's Amy. Care to help me find something good to read?"

"Amy, Amy." He put his hand in the air and swatted at the glow from a lighting fixture far above his head, endearingly catlike. "Means 'loved.' French origin, English adaptation of the name 'Aimee.' Name of the heroine in a novel by Charles Dickens, as well as a character in Little Women. Your name has quite the reputation...Amy." The grin stretched wider, playful.

The question made him perk up, and he curled his legs over his head, quite literally rolling off the table and landing on his feet with his back to her. He swiftly turned around, impeccably light on his feet. "I'd love to!" he replied brightly. "Any genre in particular? I'm fond of mystery."

It seemed to occur to him at that point that perhaps a reciprocating introduction was necessary. He tipped his head to the side and added, "I'm Charlemagne, by the by."

[/center]

[AMY WINSTON]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Amy stared at him, this bewildering person, and there was a glint, a glimmer, a flicker for a moment of unflinching sweetness. She was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and familiarity that she blinked, breaking the contact. She looked again, and it was gone, had disappeared. Her eyebrows contorted into a curious expression, and she vowed to figure him out.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so unsure of yourself, And on the bright side, that you remember it proves you have a good memory, and that's some indication you have a good head on your shoulders. Isn't that a funny expression? 'Head on your shoulders.' Because your head isn't on your shoulders at all, it's on your neck, and your neck is between your shoulders, not on them."

Suddenly, figuring him out seemed like an extremely difficult challenge. But she liked his laugh. He was so...smiley. She felt like she hadn't smiled so much in her whole life. As he asked what video game she had heard the riddle in, she lowered her eyes. Amy was not very good at video games, but she had a special place in her heart for RPG style games. Single player, not too difficult, and with an interesting story. But, admitting that she was a nerd who both liked video games and comics seemed silly, especially considering that she was a nineteen (almost twenty) year old. But, she couldn't deny him an answer, that would be rude. "It was in one of The Riddler tapes in Batman: Arkham Asylum. He was joking with his doctor, asked her the riddle, and she guessed human, but he told her she was wrong, and that a baby was the answer to all three. 'It crawls on four limbs, then cut two off, and it waddles on two. Give it a crutch, and it hobbles on three legs.' Then she asks how he can say something so horrible and he goes: 'Easy! It's not my baby."[/b] Oh no. She was rambling. About video games. Jon used to make fun of her when she did that, teasing her relentlessly until she just decided never to say anything about them. A blush crept up on her cheeks, as she tried to look anywhere except her strange new companion.

"Amy, Amy. Means 'loved.' French origin, English adaptation of the name 'Aimee.' Name of the heroine in a novel by Charles Dickens, as well as a character in Little Women. Your name has quite the reputation...Amy."

The way he said her name, while playfully swatting at the light fixture made her heart flutter, because it was just too cute. Her grin stretched wide again, all prior feelings of embarrassment and chagrin gone. "Let's hope I live up to it then."[/b]

Without warning, he ninja-d his way off his desk, rolling catlike onto his feet, startling Amy. She stammered in her response to what she'd like to read. "W-well, I'm a fan of Alice In Wonderland, but I've read it too many times, and now I'm getting nightmares. But I've never read a mystery before. I'm always afraid I'll cheat and look in the back for the answer. I always try to tell myself not to, but I'm not very good at following my own advice, it seems." And she was rambling again. She stopped herself, and attempted to change the subject to one where she wouldn't sound completely pathetic. "Charlemagne? What a peculiar name. Not that I don't like it. It's very...fitting." Oh God, she was completely retarded. He was gonna think she was calling him weird, and stop talking to her. Ditch her in Ancient Mythology or something. She fixated her eyes on the floor, internally kicking herself.

[/blockquote]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

WORDS ! 660! Yay!
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Charmelia<3333333

[/size][/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

I'm not the boy I was before
w h a t I a m i s j u s t v e n t i n g , v e n t i n g

[/color]


DEAR GRAVITY,
you've held me down in this starless city[/size]

- - - - - - - - - - -

She was very pretty. And...he felt as if he had met her before, known her before, somewhere, sometime, though he knew, he KNEW he had not. Surely he would have remembered a girl like this...? But, thinking back, he realized he was giving himself too much credit. He had a tendency to ignore those who did not immediately catch his attention, put them out of his mind, and it was all too likely that he had met her before and chosen to forget her.

But, no. She was far too interesting - and far too beautiful - for that. He would have remembered a girl like this, and Charlemagne's memory (though highly selective) would not have failed him there. They had, indeed, never met. So why did he feel as if he knew her...?

A strange sensation indeed...

Is it so strange? cooed a voice in his head. After all, you're quite mad.

A very brief look of concern flashed over his face. He didn't usually hear unfamiliar voices in his head. That was a bit disquieting.

"It was in one of The Riddler tapes in Batman: Arkham Asylum. He was joking with his doctor, asked her the riddle, and she guessed human, but he told her she was wrong, and that a baby was the answer to all three. 'It crawls on four limbs, then cut two off, and it waddles on two. Give it a crutch, and it hobbles on three legs.' Then she asks how he can say something so horrible and he goes: 'Easy! It's not my baby."

Charlemagne couldn't help but laugh. It might be unusual for anyone to laugh at something like that, but Charlemagne was, after all, an unusual person.

"A bit more grim than the real rendition, but I suppose you can expect no less from the Riddler." He grinned. "I've never played that game, but I'd like to. I like Batman. Mostly for the villains. They're the fun part, don't you think?" He tipped his head to the side, clearly unfazed by her interest in video games, and continued to listen.

"Let's hope I live up to it then."

He chuckled. "I'm sure you will."

She was clearly a bit startled by his behavior, but most were. It was nothing new to him. "W-well, I'm a fan of Alice In Wonderland, but I've read it too many times, and now I'm getting nightmares. But I've never read a mystery before. I'm always afraid I'll cheat and look in the back for the answer. I always try to tell myself not to, but I'm not very good at following my own advice, it seems."

"I love Alice In Wonderland!" Charlemagne crowed, another ear-splitting grin crossing his face. "Such a fascinating book. Have you seen the new movie? Have you seen the old movie? I thought the new movie was rather interesting, the way they strayed away from the general plotline and all, but the book is always better, of course. The Disney version was a lot of fun when I was little, but I must say, I like the darker spin they've been giving it lately." He chuckled. "I did like the Cheshire Cat better in the new film, though. Most accurate in the book, of course, but he wasn't so...silly...in the new movie. I mean, I think the character has a tendency to be silly, but I also think he's mostly wise."[/b]

Realizing she'd said something else, he cleared his throat. "Nightmares, though? Yes, I've had a few like that. And mysteries are very fun, very fun indeed. Of course, I suppose it requires a desire for suspense...but then again, one does not need to look in a book to find a mystery." Once again being cryptic, he giggled in that odd way of his and continued to observe her.

"Charlemagne? What a peculiar name. Not that I don't like it. It's very...fitting."

"That's what most people seem to think," he agreed with a laugh. "My parents were awfully stuck up, you see. Named me after the first Holy Roman Emperor and all. Wanted greatness for me. But you know what they say about those who have greatness thrust upon them." His smile turned sheepish and almost a little sad, but it was very hard to tell. "As it stands, they're in no state to be berating my behavior anymore. But then again, no one really is."[/center]

[AMY WINSTON]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

She peered at him curiously, trying to remember where she had seen him before. Of course, the last three years had been spent pining over Jon, so other males went unnoticed, but still. He seemed ever so familiar. There was a nagging memory of her speaking to him while he peered down at her from a low tree branch, spewing riddles and nonsense at her. There was a flash of frustration flaring up at the memory, but a kind of fond frustration, the kind of loving annoyance that one would feel at a very best friend who was poking fun.

'Will you just open your eyes for a moment? This is dreadfully dull!'

There it was again, that small voice that nagged in the back of her mind, jarring her out of the certainly fabricated memory. Amy of course was used to this voice by now, but it seemed...stronger than it ever had before. More solid, more concrete. This new development puzzled her, and her eyebrows knitted together. 'Try not to act crazy around him Amy, he seems nice.' She said to herself, willing herself for once to follow her own advice. He laughed, and her brow smoothed, an easy smile stretching over her face. His laugh was sweet, and genuine. And highly contagious.

"A bit more grim than the real rendition, but I suppose you can expect no less from the Riddler. I've never played that game, but I'd like to. I like Batman. Mostly for the villains. They're the fun part, don't you think?"

She blinked, her soft blue eyes wide with disbelief. He wasn't immediately annoyed? He didn't think she was a nerd? He LIKED Batman for the SAME reason she did? Oh, this was Christmas. "Oh yes! I LOVE the rogues gallery. My favorites are tied for Harley and Ivy, but The Joker and The Riddler come in at a close second."[/b] How exciting! It was as if he KNEW her.

"I'm sure you will."[/color]

Her heart fluttered; he had only known her for all of ten minutes, and already he had more confidence in her than she did.

"I love Alice In Wonderland! Such a fascinating book. Have you seen the new movie? Have you seen the old movie? I thought the new movie was rather interesting, the way they strayed away from the general plotline and all, but the book is always better, of course. The Disney version was a lot of fun when I was little, but I must say, I like the darker spin they've been giving it lately. I did like the Cheshire Cat better in the new film, though. Most accurate in the book, of course, but he wasn't so...silly...in the new movie. I mean, I think the character has a tendency to be silly, but I also think he's mostly wise."[/b]

The more he rambled, the wider her smile grew. She felt very...kindred with him, and in a flash could see herself making excuses to come to the library, a very easy friendship developing between the two of them. "I have seen every incarnation of Alice in Wonderland, I've read everything about it, I've played the video games. It was my favorite book as a kid. And I don't care what anyone else says, I ADORED the new movie. What bugs me is when people expect it to be just like the old ones, but no. It's just a continuation of the same story everyone knows! Change is good, and I thought that this particular change was very refreshing. And don't even get me started on the Cheshire Cat,"[/b] she said with a dreamy grin, her excitement showing by the way her knees buckled and her head tilted toward the ceiling, "He was my favorite in the new film. Him and the Jabberwock." Her face turned pensive as her sentence dwindled to a stop.

"Nightmares, though? Yes, I've had a few like that. And mysteries are very fun, very fun indeed. Of course, I suppose it requires a desire for suspense...but then again, one does not need to look in a book to find a mystery." [/b]

His tone was enigmatic, and it piqued her frequent curiosity. She was so entranced by him, she spoke without thinking. "I've never found a mystery before-"[/b] 'You' her mind finished, her cheeks flushing bright red. Yes, he was a mystery, this strange man. And a part of her desperately wanted to unravel it. But the other part, the more sensible part, wanted to leave it untouched, let someone with less baggage (and a less psycho ex boyfriend) figure it out.

"That's what most people seem to think, My parents were awfully stuck up, you see. Named me after the first Holy Roman Emperor and all. Wanted greatness for me. But you know what they say about those who have greatness thrust upon them. As it stands, they're in no state to be berating my behavior anymore. But then again, no one really is."[/b]

She blinked, suddenly overcome with the urge to hug him. The curiosity was back, nagging at her to solve the mystery of Charlemagne. She got the feeling that he didn't talk about his family very often, and though his smile never left his face, it somehow changed. She probably wouldn't have spotted the sad overtones if she wasn't constantly masking her own sadness. Even now, she felt a twinge of regret, talking to Charlemagne. She could feel herself starting to develop a crush, but she couldn't tell if it was because she really was starting to like him as a person, or if she was just trying to get over Jon. The thought grew in her mind like a cancer, and suddenly Amy felt the familiar ache of her face trying like mad to keep smiling. The corners of her mouth twitched ever so slightly down, and the happy light had faded from her eyes. She cleared her throat, trying to keep it light. "Yeah, I asked my mom once about how she came up with Amelia, and she told me she just opened a baby book, picked her 20 favorites, and then had dad throw a dart at one."[/color]

[/blockquote]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

WORDS ! 763!
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Charmelia<3333333

[/size][/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

I'm not the boy I was before
w h a t I a m i s j u s t v e n t i n g , v e n t i n g

[/color]


DEAR GRAVITY,
you've held me down in this starless city[/size]

- - - - - - - - - - -

Well, memories tend to be more elusive to the keeper than his fellows, hmmm?

Charlemagne heard a low purring in the back of his mind, but shook it off, confused by this smooth voice. It had to be one of his own, of course. But since when had his voice in his own head sounded like that? How strange. And all because of this odd, but beautiful young woman...or, he assumed.

"Oh yes! I LOVE the rogues gallery. My favorites are tied for Harley and Ivy, but The Joker and The Riddler come in at a close second."

Charlemagne chuckled. "You know," he commented, "I've been called The Riddler before. I know a lot of riddles. Of course, I don't go prancing around in flashy green suit and bowler hat, though I suppose that's something I wouldn't mind trying sometime..." What with his eccentric sense of fashion, it seemed like something perfectly normal for him. "I have a hobby of confronting strangers with riddles on occasion...I feel as if I'm sharing my infinite knowledge with the rest of the world." A giggle and a grin.

"No, but in all seriousness, it is a lot of fun."

"I have seen every incarnation of Alice in Wonderland, I've read everything about it, I've played the video games. It was my favorite book as a kid. And I don't care what anyone else says, I ADORED the new movie. What bugs me is when people expect it to be just like the old ones, but no. It's just a continuation of the same story everyone knows! Change is good, and I thought that this particular change was very refreshing. And don't even get me started on the Cheshire Cat. He was my favorite in the new film. Him and the Jabberwock."

Something in him was endlessly pleased at her reaction to the Cheshire Cat, though he felt the hairs on his neck prickle at the mention of the Jabberwock. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son, the teeth that bite, the claws that catch," he recited with a bit of a smirk, leaning back against the table. "I believe in the unexpected," he added rather vaguely. "And the unexpected usually believes in me. After all, if you experience everything that you expect, you haven't really experienced anything at all, have you?" The smirk stretched back into that immensely cryptic grin he always seemed to wear.

"I was never fond of the Jabberwock. A bit too...mmm...violent in nature for my tastes." It was clear that Charlemagne was not the type eager to go around picking fights.

"I've never found a mystery before-"

"I'm sure we can find one together," he replied cheerfully, and began to walk; not in a specific direction, just "off," through the tall shelves of books and the ladders and the stacks and the chairs. The way he walked was hardly human - he was unnaturally light on his feet, and seemed to keep reappearing places once one blinked rather than walking there. Of course, it could not have been possible for him to be doing that, but in any case, he must have been very fleet-footed.

He looked over his shoulder at her as he perched on a ladder several shelves down. "Well?" he asked. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I asked my mom once about how she came up with Amelia, and she told me she just opened a baby book, picked her 20 favorites, and then had dad throw a dart at one."

He chuckled. "Well, sometimes chance is just what we need," he replied, swinging around the edge of the ladder and around the corner of a bookshelf, into the next row.
[/center]

[AMY WINSTON]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

"You know, I've been called The Riddler before. I know a lot of riddles. Of course, I don't go prancing around in flashy green suit and bowler hat, though I suppose that's something I wouldn't mind trying sometime...I have a hobby of confronting strangers with riddles on occasion...I feel as if I'm sharing my infinite knowledge with the rest of the world."

[/b]

Her eyes lit up, "Oh really? Strange man, running around, asking random riddles? Doesn't sound a thing like you."[/b] She winked at him, and poked her tongue out to accentuate her teasing. "Oh, Infinite knowledge eh? I don't know how you could even talk to someone like me. My Intelligence Quotient is just hardly above average, I must be boring you."[/b] She giggled back at him, her fingers absentmindedly fidgeting at her clothes. This was nice.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son, the teeth that bite, the claws that catch,"[/b]

She raised her eyebrows, in a gesture of accepting a challenge. "Beware the JubJub Bird and shun the frumious Bandersnatch."[/b] Her voice was quiet, her response automatic. As though she couldn't help but finish the line.

"I believe in the unexpected, And the unexpected usually believes in me. After all, if you experience everything that you expect, you haven't really experienced anything at all, have you?"[/b]

Another automatic response to him, a grin to match his. Her head was kind of spinning from the convoluted statement, but she nodded. "I suppose not. But once you start to epect the unexpected, wouldn't you then expect everything, thus leaving you experiencing nothing?"[/b] As she spoke, her smile faded, confusion taking over her features. Her brow knitted together, a small furrow developing in her forehead as she organized her thoughts. Amy's blue eyes had wandered away from him, traveling the wall, far away, trapped in her mind. She snapped back to attention when he spoke again.

"I was never fond of the Jabberwock. A bit too...mmm...violent in nature for my tastes."

An image assaulted her mind, inexplicable and unbidden. Charlemagne at the mercy of Jon, blood running from his mouth, as he kept escaping from Jon's grasp. She shuddered. "I was never much one for violence either, but the Jabberwock always seemed so...protective to me. Even though he was kind of a jerk to Alice in an awful lot of adaptations, I couldn't help but feel that if things were different, he'd be able to protect her from the many dangers of Wonderland."[/b] There was that serious face again, but she brightened up and smiled at Charlemagne. "But maybe I just have a thing for bad boys."[/b] She shrugged and busied herself with a paperweight on the desk.

"Well? Are you coming?"

Her head snapped up, and she wondered how he got so far away so fast. She stared at him curiously, before setting down the paper weight and setting off after him. "Yeah, I'm coming...how did you do that?"[/b]

"Well, sometimes chance is just what we need,"

Maybe she did need this. It was of course chance that they happened upon each other. And it was nice to have a friend, so that she wasn't constantly hiding in her apartment and avoiding Jon. She needed friends, she needed companions, she needed confidants. A small giggle escaped her as she turned the corner. She matched his pace, and laced her fingers together, staring at the shelves. Amy was determined to get to know him better. "So, I couldn't help but notice the accent. What brought you across the pond anyway?"[/b]

[/blockquote]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

WORDS ! 458
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Charmelia<3333333

[/size][/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

I'm not the boy I was before
w h a t I a m i s j u s t v e n t i n g , v e n t i n g

[/color]


DEAR GRAVITY,
you've held me down in this starless city[/size]

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Oh really? Strange man, running around, asking random riddles? Doesn't sound a thing like you. Oh, Infinite knowledge eh? I don't know how you could even talk to someone like me. My Intelligence Quotient is just hardly above average, I must be boring you."

Charlemagne chuckled, sweeping down another aisle in one fluid motion. "Oh, I've forgotten. Perish the thought. I'm nothing like him at all." The chuckle escalated slightly into a bit of a high-pitched giggle, and he cast her a fond look over his shoulder. "You're not boring me at all. Besides, you said 'hardly,' which implies that it actually is above average, despite being hardly so, an aspect of yourself you've certainly proved well enough to me. If I found you boring, Miss Amy, I would have stopped speaking to you by now, I can assure you."

Hopping over a pile of books on the ground, he swept one off a shelf without looking at the title and began to leaf through it, humming a few bars of 'Danny Boy.'

"Beware the JubJub Bird and shun the frumious Bandersnatch."

Another ear-to-ear grin.

"He took his vorpal sword in hand! Long time the manxome foe he sought!" he crowed, tossing the book over his shoulder as if it were nothing more than a scrap of paper. Humming a little more, he hopped on another ladder, using the momentum from his jump to roll it down a few shelves before he slipped off it again. "So rested he by the Tumtum tree, and stood awhile in thought!"

"I suppose not. But once you start to expect the unexpected, wouldn't you then expect everything, thus leaving you experiencing nothing?"

"Oh, but the glory of the unexpected is that, no matter how hard you try, you're never expecting it!" Charlemagne replied. "Come on, this way!" he added, pausing to pull a few more books off the shelves and proceeding to put them all back in the wrong order.

"I was never much one for violence either, but the Jabberwock always seemed so...protective to me. Even though he was kind of a jerk to Alice in an awful lot of adaptations, I couldn't help but feel that if things were different, he'd be able to protect her from the many dangers of Wonderland. But maybe I just have a thing for bad boys."

"Ah, but in the new incarnations, the Jabberwock seems bent only on killing Alice. But I suppose it is all a matter of perspective. I've only ever seen him as a beastie with big teeth."

The comment about liking bad boys made him pause, smile fading just slightly as he quirked his head to the side. "That's a shame," he said, and he half-grinned, only part of his mouth pulling upwards. "I'm not much of a bad boy."

His eyes watched her intensely for a moment, and the expressionless blue almost - almost - glittered. But then he turned away, and the light, and that odd expression that almost seemed disappointed, had vanished.

"Yeah, I'm coming...how did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked, seeming entirely oblivious to his rapid movement. Suddenly, he peered around a bookshelf and froze. In another movement, he was crouching, watching something on the other side of the shelf like a kitten watching the end of a cat toy.

"So, I couldn't help but notice the accent. What brought you across the pond anyway?"

"Shhhh!" he whispered, waving her over. "Nevermind, nevermind. Look over there." And he pointed at a small congregation of people, all of whom seemed very upset about something. Charlemagne looked over at Amy and grinned.

"Now there's a mystery. What do you suppose they're so upset about?"

[/center][/color]

[AMY WINSTON]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

"You're not boring me at all. Besides, you said 'hardly,' which implies that it actually is above average, despite being hardly so, an aspect of yourself you've certainly proved well enough to me. If I found you boring, Miss Amy, I would have stopped speaking to you by now, I can assure you."

The look he shot back at her had her staring down at her fidgeting fingers, hoping her hair was covering her blushing cheeks. "Thank you," she said, modestly. This whole being complimented thing was new. Or rather, it wasn't but this particular style of compliments was...different from what she normally got. Usually Jon was quick to tell her that she was more beautiful than the Botticelli angels, that her voice made jealous the finest opera singers...or at least that's what she chose to hear anyway. But she never heard compliments on her brains, or things that really mattered. Her heart panged for a moment, but, she was distracted by the eccentric boy running through the library.

"He took his vorpal sword in hand! Long time the manxome foe he sought! So rested he by the Tumtum tree, and stood awhile in thought!"

She got the strangest feeling as though she was being tested by Charlemagne, but in a playful way. She accepted his unspoken challenge, her eyes narrowing, but her lips turned upward in a competative smirk. "And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, came whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came!"

[/b] Amy bowed and flourished her hand towards him, indicating that it was his turn.

"Oh, but the glory of the unexpected is that, no matter how hard you try, you're never expecting it! Come on, this way!"

She followed him quickly, staring at his back, completely perplexed. "You have an answer for everything don't you?"[/b] He paused, and she nearly ran straight into him. He turned back to her, a peculiar half smile on his face, as though he had been personally affronted by something she had said. She racked her brain for her faux pas, but he answered the unspoken question.

"That's a shame, I'm not much of a bad boy."[/b]

Amy's bright blue eyes widened, and she blushed again, hard. She tried again to look down, but his eyes held her still, she couldn't look away this time. "Oh I-um. Well, tha-that's not to say that I don't, erm, like...not bad boys?"[/b] Her voice pulled up, as she searched for the proper thing to say. She hadn't been expecting that, it had taken her by surprise. That was an odd thing to say. I mean, someone so interesting could hardly be interested in Plain Jane Amy. He probably misunderstood her, thought she meant that she only associated with men of a lower caliber. Pity. She'd have to correct that.

She followed him, still a little shaken at the short exchange of feelings. This was certainly the most interesting first impression she had ever made or received. "Disappear and then appear somewhere else. It's like you're The Flash, except cute."[/b] she grumbled, only half paying attention to what she was saying.

"Shhhh! Nevermind, nevermind. Look over there. Now there's a mystery. What do you suppose they're so upset about?"

She grinned back and crouched next to him, curious. There was indeed a small group of people involved in a heated argument. She was completely lost. It seemed to be an even mixed group of middle aged males and females. The woman whispering at the moment seemed to be looking around her, hoping nobody was listening to the confrontation. Amy was at a total loss. "I'm not entirely sure. I can't quite make out the words. I'm assuming that it's a debate over who can make the best lemon meringue, but somehow I doubt that I'm right."[/b]

[/blockquote]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

WORDS ! 514
TAGS ! Zelda! Specifically, Charlemagne.
OUTFIT ! here
LYRICS ! lyrics from "Chelsea Smile" by Bring Me The Horizon,
NOTES ! Charmelia<3333333

[/size][/color][/font]

[CHARLEMAGNE FLETCHER]

Radiant. She was. Something about this girl was radiant, and Charlemagne hated to admit it, but he felt a very curious tickling in the back of his mind when he looked at her.

He wasn’t keen to admitting to emotion, oh, not him; not keen at all, not even a little. He was much better without that sort of nonsense. Perhaps he was just a bit off his game today...y-yes, surely that had to be it.

"Thank you," she said, modestly.

He smiled at the modesty in her voice and simply dipped his head to her in response.

"And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, came whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came!"

As he crouched by the bookcase, he grinned, seeming content that she had recognized and accepted his challenge so quickly.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he responded.

“One, two! One, two! And through and through! The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head, he went galumphing back!”

"You have an answer for everything don't you?"

“Just about,” he affirmed, flashing her a grin that reeked of fake innocence before his expression faded back to the odd half-smile as he awaited her response.

“Oh I-um. Well, tha-that's not to say that I don't, erm, like...not bad boys?"

He didn’t respond to this directly, just seemed to consider it to himself before turning back to the scene that was drawing his attention. Best not think about such things too deeply. They all seemed to get people into trouble, no matter what the situation, and he would not be drawn into that if he could help it.

"Disappear and then appear somewhere else. It's like you're The Flash, except cute."

That comment was reassuring.

He cast her a grin over his shoulder and shushed her softly again before averting his eyes to the mystery at hand. Ears almost seeming to perk, he listened to her answer.

"I'm not entirely sure. I can't quite make out the words. I'm assuming that it's a debate over who can make the best lemon meringue, but somehow I doubt that I'm right."

“A fair guess, though, for certain!” he whispered excitedly, his flat blue eyes now fixed intently on the group of ladies. “The best lemon meringue, you say? I’d have to disagree. I’d say by the rather sour expression on the face of that charming lady in that hideous floral-print dress that they are arguing, not about lemon meringue, but about key lime pie. Or perhaps chocolate pecan. It’s hard to tell.” He tipped his head to the side thoughtfully for a moment before his neck straightened again and he said, most decisively, “No, definitely key lime.”