Time passes much more quickly in Rohandor and many long and happy years have gone by since the characters retired to enjoy their respective 'happily ever afters,' their greatest foes were imprisoned in the Forever Stone, bound in an eternal sleep. Until Now.
Happily Ever Afters takes place in Rohandor, a mystical realm on another plane of existence from our own. Here our favorite Disney heroes and villains live in a world all their own; Alive, but far from well. Heroes and heroines fight to keep peace while newly freed villains seek their revenge. Come join us in an epic adventure as the characters you love clash in a struggle that will determine the fate of Rohandor!
HEA is an AU canon-only animated crossover Disney Play-By-Post Role Play with minimal word count.
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4/24/21: We've been on hiatus for a number of years now. I don't know that I'm entirely ready to return BUT I have been cleaning up the site and working to update everything since a number of movies have released. There is still A LOT of work to do but if you see this update and were an active member of the site prior to the hiatus, please send the Yen Sid account a DM to let me know you're still interested in playing and if you wish to retain your current roster. I hope you've all been doing well and staying safe!
Happily Ever Afters is a play-by-post forum role playing game based on the movies and television series of Disney and Pixar. It was created for recreational and entertainment purposes only and not intended to step on any toes, offend, or infringe. We did not create nor do we own the content from the Disney and Pixar stories and movies. None of the threads and writing on this forum is associated or affiliated with Disney/Pixar in any way. We do not make any money off of this site or its content. The icons used in the Forum Information & Statistics and those like it throughout the board as well as the BBC buttons and smileys were taken from a layout called Absolute Madness made by PookyTart from Userbar Depot. All of the other graphics used on this board were found, created, or otherwise edited by Yen Sid or Te Fiti. Please don't steal or use any graphic from this board without explicit permission. All storylines and plots used in the threads/topics were created by the staff and members of HEA and should not be copied or used on another board without permission.
Curse these withered bones, she thought to herself venomously. She dare not mutter the complaint, because to do so would be to hear the dry, rasping voice of the grave string the syllables together. Grimhilde watched knobby knuckles and fingers curled by arthritis grasp a thorny root to steady herself. When she had downed the potion to disguise herself originally the Queen didn't realize that her new form would come with all of the disadvantages of an aged body on the cusp of death. Merely rowing and walking to the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs had been almost beyond her to deliver that fateful apple.
The black cloak that she wore was buffeted by a dry wind that rattled through the valley she was traversing. Grimhilde snarled to herself and gathered the fabric more soundly around a bent, hunched frame. Silver strands of hair were pulled from her risen hood by the gale and thrashed like strands of yellowed moonlight over her shoulder and chest. She felt utterly helpless, and that went beyond her current form. Grimhilde could not endeavor to reverse the spell that transformed her, because her spellbooks and apothecary were denied her.
When she finally slipped her way through strange and malformed lands to her castle, the Queen found it deserted. Boarded up. Covered in dust. Falling in on itself. Outraged, Grimhilde scowled at the strange rumors of the Sleep of Ages and Forever Stones swirling through the village and stole into her old lair through secret ways known only to her. The dungeon laboratory that she worked out of once upon a time, honing her talents in the black arts, was barren and wiped clean. Nothing remained from what Grimhilde knew.
The Queen hardly had time to be rightly outraged when the thought seized her. She hobbled as quickly as possible up through the dilapidated main floor of the castle and ascended the grand stair to her private chambers. Dust and cobwebs ensnared everything, what little furnishings remained were draped in worn linens. Grimhilde was not surprised, therefor, when It was not hanging on the wall. Still, the ice that grabbed her heart and the fury that funneled through her veins was no less potent. Back to the grand hall she went, and Grimhilde had only a moment's notice when the front doors creaked to throw herself into the opening of her dungeon haunt.
Strange, winged creatures trailing stardust and flower petals swept into the castle, chattering to themselves. The Queen knew that to be caught by them was not an option. She used that same sacred outlet through which she arrived to take her leave before they could make her. Grimhilde then took time to do her research. To ply the taverns and the busy street ways asking harmless questions to passersby and slowly piecing together some form of truth. Through this weaving of half-mentions Grimhilde found herself where she was now.
The Queen inched around an outlying arm of the high cliffs on either side of the valley, and there it lay ahead. The ground rose in a jagged spire before her, topped with a citadel of impressive design. Grimhilde reached down with one hand to quiet a tremor that shook its twin. Always her fingers quaked and itched, set with a fire that was in her bones, yearning to run over It's smooth, reflective plains and ornate, oval frame. Grimhilde steeled herself and shuffled on. This was the only way. The only way to reclaim her beauty. The only way to retrieve her Slave.
She needed her Mirror. She had a question she was dying to ask of it.
Post by Maleficent on Sept 10, 2015 13:56:30 GMT -5
Diablo's field reports were starting to shift. Before she'd been bound in the Sleep of Ages, there were never visitors to Maleficent's lofty stone home save for the ones she brought herself to imprison in her vast dungeon catacomb and even that was rare. Maybe the whole "Forbidden Mountain" thing discouraged those from dropping by. That was fine with the dark fairy. She reveled in the solitude she generally enjoyed in her secluded home but along with many things in Maleficent's long life, that was changing. She was receiving more frequent visitors as well as obtaining various house guests as her list of allies grew.
Perhaps she was starting to become too accustomed to the refugee like people that filtered into her domain because upon hearing that another such individual was making their way up the thin craggy rail of rock that lead up to her castle instead of preparing her defenses, she ordered one of her sitting rooms be prepared to receive a guest. Considering her goons probably had no clue what that meant, who knew exactly what the room would look like if she would be... hosting.
Maleficent had made it her business to know as much as she could about the individuals that had been bound into the stone with her and from the description she'd been given someone with the appearance of an old crone could be any number of people though she'd ruled out Narissa since she'd already appeared to her in a different form before.
She sent another of her goons out to the front gate to show in her new guest figuring if it was someone more hostile than she was prepared for she'd know soon enough. Maleficent on the other hand rose from the throne on which she tended to spend her time lost in thought and made her way toward the room that she hoped had been properly prepped for her guest.
Through much toil, Grimhilde found the steep, serpentine pathway that wound up toward the castle that was her destination. She was determined, but not a fool. The Queen continually cast her gaze, dimmed and dulled by cataracts upward and on all sides of her to ensure nothing was going amiss. For a strong and able-bodied woman or man, the trail would have been a great effort. An elderly woman was pushed well past her breaking point. Several times, Grimhilde had to stop and huddle on a boulder, or in a niche of the mountainous terrain to escape the foreboding wind for a few minutes.
Yet, her will was ice-clasped iron. Each trip, or fumble, or resigned break to catch her rattling breath increased the Queen's frustration and pushed her deeper into the frozen waste of her vengeful malice. Grimhilde made it to the top of one peak only to find a bridge that lead to yet another. Again a narrow way almost too steep to manage, where she crawled more than walked, lay before her. Once, finally, after hours of fervent work, the Queen reached the top and what was apparently a gatehouse that crowned this secondary pillar of stone. Beyond it, Grimhilde could see a proper bridge spanning a yawning chasm and going right to the feet of the grand castle that was her aim.
Grimhilde looked at the iron-bound doors that were closed at the gatehouse warily. Such a lofty height meant that the wind had increased to a gale and the Queen had to stay doubled over just in a bid to remain grounded. Before she could ponder even so much as knocking, the gate opened a crack and a strange, warty creature awkwardly ushered her inward. Grimhilde supposed that if she was unwelcome they would have flung darts or loosed arrows at her from behind the gatehouse walls, not allow her in. Her cautiousness did not evaporate, but she was placated enough by common sense - and urged by desire, moreover - to move inward.
Without more than a grunt and a nod to follow it, the creature set off at a shambling gait. The Queen was not much more elegant in her tread, and the two bobbed and hobbled along through the gatehouse and over the bridge, into the castle. Grimhilde was ever looking around suspiciously, waiting for something perilous to befall. Except, the creature showed her to a decently-sized stone chamber with windows lacking panes looking out over the thorny mountain range around it. "She will see you shortly." Grimhilde glared at her guide, who didn't wait for an answer to his statement and disappeared from whence they'd come.
The Queen gathered her cloaks around her to fend off the chill in the air. The wind danced and wove through the high, open windows, howling softly in the background.
Post by Maleficent on Sept 16, 2015 23:03:35 GMT -5
After tending to a few other details, Maleficent made her way down to her ‘receiving’ room. Since there hadn’t been any explosions during her delay she felt she was safe in assuming this was yet another ally had arrived and not someone looking to destroy her, ambush potential aside. She drifted through the cold drafty stone corridors that she’d become accustomed to over the decades. Despite the empty abandoned feeling they had, it had a... familiar, even cozy feeling for Maleficent.
When she reached the room she stepped through the stone doorway and inside. There hadn't been anything ultimately 'prepared' inside but at least it was not one of the crumbling rooms in need of repair. Maleficent's castle was enormous and generally so empty it didn't matter if one or two of the wings fell into disarray but it was clear that was something that was going to have to change.
"Forgive my delay," Maleficent said taking a fistful of her robes and shifting them so as not to trip on them. "Welcome to my castle at the Forbidden Mountain." She said with a small sweeping gesture. "I am Maleficent, though I suspect you already knew that if you've come all the way here." She motioned toward the sparse furniture that sat close to the open window. It was ancient, made of dark and sturdy wood and upholstered in dark velvet colors that matched the dreary keep itself. "Please, sit. Tell me why you've come."
Post by Grimhilde on Sept 19, 2015 14:20:08 GMT -5
Grimhilde glared at the bits of furniture clustered vaguely about the dangerous window accusingly. Despite the overall imposing atmosphere that permeated the entire region of Rohandor, centered within the walls she now stood, any surface upon which she could sit and take away from the agony in her knobby legs looked divine. Yet, the Queen refused to light upon one of the high-backed seats, ottoman or fainting chair. Not only would it be improper to do so without being bid - the former ruler and head for etiquette in her pointed out - but to meet her hostess while in any way prone would not do. Her pride would not allow it.
So the old crone stayed where she was, wheezing slightly and rocking just so to try to keep feeling in her bunion-bent toes. Grimhilde could feel her presence before she made herself known. Like falling twilight promising a clouded night, or an ember that was destined to be a raging inferno's precursor. The Queen looked up, one eye bulbous, the other nearly shut in scrutiny, as Maleficent appeared in the grand entryway to the chamber. He dark cloaks and robes fanned out from her, so long that they trailed into the dusky shadow of the corridor at her back.
There was power all about her, and a deep cunning that oozed from her emerald-tinged skin in a forbidding air. Grimhilde had never felt so threatened in her life. Not only was Maleficent powerful, which she could discern by simply beholding her, but there was a secretive and lethal kind of beauty about her, too, that was undeniable. Just as a dirge, though spelling out death and darkness by its very nature, was serenely, eerily elegant. Grimhilde was reminded of her present state in comparison to Maleficent's brooding majesty and hunched forward a little more in frustration at her plight.
Then Grimhilde was further astonished and intrigued by the delicate way that her hostess spoke. Polite and velvety in tone when, if the stories the Queen had heard of her were true, there was absolutely no reason she needed to act so cordially, with all the power she could unleash. "There is nothing to forgive," Grimhilde assured in a croak, falling upon her regal attitudes in the presence of a kindred spirit of poise. Even if her dreadful voice made sounding so impossible. Her eyes became more bitter after hearing her tone, in fact. Maleficent welcomed her, stated her name, and asked her to take a seat.
Part of the Queen still protested at perching on one of the chairs. A small, vindictive and very proud part. Still, she hobbled over and, grasping each arm with one claw-like hand, eased herself with a grunt onto the padded bottom. Grimhilde could not suppress a sigh of relief, either, and grimaced when it was half-formed, wishing she hadn't released it. "Your hospitality is admirable. Though, I did not think I would survive the climb." The Queen ran a hand over her face, and when she felt the whiskers that studded her chin she cast her limb back down quickly.
She took a breath and sighed, then leaned more heavily on one arm than the other and fixed her gaze on Maleficent. "I will tell you my name, for I expect few would think that my face belongs to it: I am the Queen Grimhilde," she put gentle emphasis on "the", because in her mind she was the only woman to deserve that title. The only true Queen with a capital Q.
Last Edit: Sept 19, 2015 14:20:58 GMT -5 by Grimhilde
Post by Maleficent on Sept 30, 2015 22:27:27 GMT -5
Maleficent had taken the gnarled appearance of the old woman in stride. Perhaps it was her villainous nature that caused her awareness and acceptance that evil came in all shapes and forms that there was nothing off or unusual about it. It was an oddly open frame of mind for the self-proclaimed Mistress of all Evil. Nevertheless her staff clacked lightly against the stone, a familiar sound, as she made her way further into the room and followed her guest's example, sitting down delicately opposite the old woman who was settling herself in.
The name struck her as familiar and since her release from the stone she'd had little to do but look into and research potential allies. Grimhilde and her mastery of potions seemed like someone Maleficent would find a rather inspirational addition to the team but she was correct in assuming that Maleficent would not have recognized her without the introduction.
"Grimhilde." Maleficent said more to herself than to her companion, a small amount of amusement trickling into her voice, "Of course." Her tone wasn't mocking, simply entertained by the unconventional plights she and her kind tended to find themselves in. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty. If there is anything my... staff can assist you with please don't hesitate to ask." She gave a slight incline of her head.
She hadn't intentionally foregone calling the other woman "Queen" though it seemed for the moment a little uncalled for given that she didn't seem to have a kingdom left but she certainly didn't wish to insult her guest by ignoring the title completely. In all reality Maleficent was clearly lucky her own mountain home had remained abandoned.
"I do apologize for your inconvenience," Maleficent told the other woman sincerely, "but the terrain is unfortunately something of a necessity. If the road to my castle were not rather testing, I fear I would be overrun with do-gooder princelings and as pleasant as it would be to make examples of them, I do not have the time for that just now." It also made her small kingdom rather undesirable therefore she didn't have to constantly fend off attack.
(OOC: If you want me to write more I can, I just felt like this was getting long and wanted to give you your turn lol)
Maleficent, in her soft, eloquent voice, repeated Grimhilde's name back to her in recognition. Name, not title. There was the subtlest of twitches in the wrinkled, sallow skin of the old crone's cheek but nothing more. Certainly she did not deserve to be called the Queen in that moment. There was nothing queenly about her, and the fact that Grimhilde was stuck so, in that vile form, only added shame and insult to her injury. The Queen was again vexed at herself, but above all she blamed anything and everything that was within the reach of her warped logic; and above those? Grimhilde blamed her stepdaughter.
The dark fairy's cordial use of "your Majesty" made the vague annoyance that had risen in Grimhilde drain away. Maleficent, she could tell already, was likely to be as dangerous in wordcraft and conversation as she was in the wiles of her sorcery. The Queen's hostess made sure to let her know that any need she required would be met by her staff, to which the peddler woman gave a nod and murmured thanks of recognition and grudging gratitude. Grimhilde was unused to relying on anyone but herself, but her present state had humbled her if only just.
It would not do to threaten or offend Maleficent. Not only was she the Queen's best chance of getting what it was she desired, but in the realm of Rohandor, Grimhilde would have no friends and few allies. Maleficent could be one of the latter, and a powerful one at that. Prideful, the Queen was, but she was not a fool, and would put a stopper on that pride - albeit with difficulty and much dragging of her feet - if it was advantageous enough. Maleficent's answer to Grimhilde's mention of the journey to her doorstep was as elegant as all her former words.
The Queen gave a grunt of acceptance when she was done, then coughed into the crook of one skeletal arm before she could find it in herself to speak properly again. "I see. The whole region quite compliments you," she said, sending the glance of her bulging eye through the gaping windows beside them, "which I doubt is by coincidence." Grimhilde shivered at a stray gust that moaned through the opening and rustled her black robes. The Queen was visibly struggling with something, try as she might to conceal that fact. Finally a resolve settled on her and she turned back to Maleficent warily.
"You are gracious, Maleficent. I come seeking sanctuary and... and aid. The tools of my craft have been stolen, leaving me stranded in this wretched form." Grimhilde could not keep her open disgust hidden, her lip curled with it, showing several mismatched yellow teeth and rotting gums. "As well, there is something else... Something dear to me that is missing. Taken." The Queen pressed a shaking hand over her chest, where her fluttering, aged heart picked up its tempo in longing.
Last Edit: Oct 19, 2015 9:24:39 GMT -5 by Grimhilde
Post by Maleficent on Oct 17, 2015 11:36:11 GMT -5
While Maleficent certainly enjoyed what solitude and safety she possessed living as she did, it certainly was not her first choice of residence. Having long ago been banished to this faraway desolate place she had resigned to the fate. The rest of her people would never know what she had given up, what she had sacrificed, to try and retain their homeland but if they were not to assist her or otherwise support her in the fight for what was rightfully theirs, she had no further use for them. They would find themselves collateral damage when she finally took it al back.
But that wasn’t the problem at hand just now.
Maleficent inclined her head in acknowledgement of the other woman’s plight. After Grimhilde had arrived and identified herself, Maleficent had jumped to her own conclusions as to why the woman had come calling and hadn’t been far off the mark at all. There had to have been a reason that she remained in her shifted form which clearly was just as debilitating as it looked.
“Sanctuary you already have. You will have a room prepared for as long as you feel you need to remain here. As for the rest, I’m not sure how immediate my assistance can be. I myself am not very proficient with the same types of… tools as yourself. There is a small lab in my keep that may have some things that might be useful but I am not certain.” Maleficent spell books and magical components were extremely limited. More often than not her power was wielded by using her staff as a conduit and she had little need for anything else. “Do you have an idea who might have acquired your possessions?”
There was a very large part of Grimhilde that dreaded that moment. Above having to force herself to admit that she needed aid, that is. She was entirely convinced that when Maleficent heard the parameters of her plight, she would offer no aid or empathy whatsoever. That she would scoff in the face of the Queen's dilemma and turn her away, still quaking with domineering laughter. Why she held so fast to this belief, Grimhilde did not know. Perhaps, because on some level she felt that, were the situations reversed, she may have done that very thing to someone whose fate relied upon her.
Maleficent was being cordial to those "villains" whose allegiance would bolster her cabal of sinister characters, though. Or, so the whispered rumors in the places no hero or noble would venture said. Grimhilde would not believe them - not entirely - until the proof was irrevocably unfurled before her: and it was.
The dark fairy was inquisitive about the Queen's state and the finer points of it, as she had been since entering that sitting room, but she dismissed the matter of sanctuary as though it was implied. That Maleficent would so casually allow Grimhilde to remain in her fortress without any immediate ulterior motive astounded the Queen and made her wary all at once. Grimhilde's skills were considerable, when she was in her right form, with her utensils and tomes within reach. Perhaps having someone well-versed in the dark arts as she was motive enough on Maleficent's end?
News of a laboratory in Maleficent's castle, and the fact she was free to use it made Grimhilde anxious. The odds were very slim, but perhaps something that the dark fairy possessed would allow her to undo the transfiguration wrought upon herself without needing to retrieve her magickal treasury first? Hearing, too, that the Queen's brand of black magic was of a sort that Maleficent did not have proficiency in further placated Grimhilde. Not only because it shored up her confidence when comparing herself to Maleficent, but it also soothed her continued anxiousness over some hidden agenda on her hostess' part that made her so accommodating.
Grimhilde would be valuable, in her own way. Her shoulders sagged down in a show of relaxation.
Maleficent's last question abolished that new comfort in the Queen. Her lip pulled up in a snarl. Her bulbous eye glared with abrupt loathing. "I believe they call themselves," Grimhilde hissed, "the Circle of Fey."
Post by Maleficent on Nov 13, 2015 20:12:20 GMT -5
Maleficent's lips pursed into a fine line. She had been almost certain that if Grimhilde did know who had raided her lair that it would in fact be the fairies, most likely Flora leading the charge as always. Well, except when it had truly mattered, of course, but that wasn't relevant now. She was lucky in that she hadn't had to go to great lengths to retrieve her staff. As her powers had come from the deepest and darkest powers of Hell, Hades had easily been able to conjure her a new staff. Or summon it back from wherever it was since it had become part of her when she'd changed into a dragon.
"An inconvenience, certainly but I have plans to pay them a visit as soon as I feel that we are strong enough." Maleficent moved to stand beside the doorway that led back into the hall. "I want to make sure they know exactly who they tangled with and exactly who will be repaying them for our incarceration for as long as it takes to make us even."
She made gesture toward the open door, "I realize the climb was a difficult one for you but if you would like I can take you to the laboratory chamber now or I can have one of my servants take you to a room in which you can rest and collect yourself." She offered both suggestions. As much as Maleficent was certain that the woman that formerly claimed the title of the "fairest in the land" would prefer to be out of that form as soon as possible, yet she also looked exhausted from the journey. "Or if you'd like to remain here a little longer I can have some... refreshments or anything else you might need brought."
The Queen was too lost in her own acidic fury when she muttered the name of those who had taken her belongings to pay close attention to any subtle reaction Maleficent had upon hearing it. Her glare turned to wariness when the dark fairy seemed almost dismissive of the Circle. Grimhilde quirked a bushy, silver brow when Maleficent moved to smoothly stand again. Once more, the sheer effortless grace with which she did so scalded and chapped Grimhilde, who knew when she ventured to do the same it would be a great and clumsy ordeal.
When Maleficent moved toward the doorway with clear intent to leave the sitting chamber behind, Grimhilde clambered to follow. She pressed hard against the narrow chair in which she sat with her claw-like hands. With a dry wheeze that slithered between her mismatched and craggy teeth, the Queen managed, but only just. She rubbed both hands over one another before her, trying to work some warmth into them, as she hobbled after the gliding phantom that was her hostess.
Maleficent spoke about her plans to pay those behind the Sleep of Ages back. "That is good to hear," Grimhilde said matter-of-factually. The Queen stopped a little too quickly, perhaps, when the dark fairy offered to either show her the laboratory or have a goon of hers show her to a room to rest. Every ounce of Grimhilde's being screamed to choose the latter. She felt as though she could sleep for days just then, and wondered how she was still standing at all.
The prospect of immediately seeing if Maleficent had on hand what was needed to revert her transfiguration filled the Queen with an inhuman and uncanny will. Her more dominant eye gleamed with scarcely muddled longing. "I am quite curious what this work space you speak of has to bear," she said in way of answer. Now Grimhilde's fidgeting hands were doing so out of anxiousness, not the bid to rub heat back into the knobby bones.
Last Edit: Oct 7, 2016 11:07:54 GMT -5 by Grimhilde
Post by Maleficent on Aug 21, 2016 20:55:22 GMT -5
Maleficent nodded, "Of course." She couldn't blame or fault Grimhilde for wanting to get back to her former self as quickly as possible. As tired and fatigued as her companion clearly was she still wanted to get started on a solution and Maleficent found that more than a little admirable. She gestured for Grimhilde to exit the room in front of her and she fell into step beside her carefully keeping pace with her and working to not move too quickly.
"I apologize for the distance, I realize this will be somewhat trying for you." Maleficent said cordially as they traversed the drafty stone paths. She meant her words but she also didn't want to make her companion think she was offering her any sort of pity. "I've taken some precautions to protect this space from unwanted guests so there are wards up that prevent any sort of teleportation or magical entry. While I would eventually like to secure my entire castle and land right now that is rather out of the question." Sustaining those kinds of wards would be difficult at best and right now she felt confident enough in her own securities without resorting to measures quite that extreme.
After a lengthy journey through corridors and halls followed by a rather long decent down a curling stone stairway, the pair finally reached the very bottom of Maleficent’s keep. A lone door greeted them and seemed to hum with power though whether it emanated from the wards and power melded into the door or the objects behind it, even Maleficent couldn't be sure. "Please wait there." Maleficent instructed, indicating the base of the stairs before moving forward and beginning the rather complicated series of soft chants, movements, and tracings on the door that would confirm her identity and allow safe entry to the sanctum.
There were actually a number of codes she could have put in including if she were entering under duress. One could never be too careful. As it was she entered the code that suggested that she was entering with a guest and the door swung open and she passed through. After she was inside she indicated that Grimhilde could follow. Another part of the security.
The chamber was vast and tall reaching from the base level they'd climbed to all the way back to where the floor of her castle began. Several shapeless shimmering forms of mystically conjured beings stood at the ready to retrieve whatever might be needed from the shelves so that there never needed to be an interruption to the occupant's tasks. They also kept the chamber clean and organized. There wasn't a speck of dust nor a page out of place.
Magical artifacts were set into the walls and into various cases and containments throughout the chamber. Five solid rectangular tables were placed around the room. Most were empty though some equipment sat diligently waiting to be useful. Magical tomes were also interspersed throughout the towering shelves. Maleficent indicated the formless beings of magic, the nearest looking like some kind of construct of purple iridescent crystal while another near it looked like a cloud of shimmering red. "The Keepers will get you anything you need if it is available here. Just ask."
(OOC: I took a couple of liberties if you'd rather back it up a little bit I can edit and delete some of the progress.)
Maleficent was nothing but pleasant about Grimhilde's choice. The fairy began leading the way and as the Queen followed, her hostess expressed her apologies for the distance as well as a reason for it. Grimhilde was further perplexed by this; for the Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent was showing more grace and proper etiquette than any of the nobles that had filled Grimhilde's kingdom before she plunged so deeply into her avarice and solitude to allow others entry into her castle. The Queen hated and cursed her current state with every step, contrasting it to the grace with which Maleficent swept through passages beside her.
She would have tried to respond to Maleficent's words, but she was too busy wheezing and putting all of her lasting energy into hobbling along just then. At first, Grimhilde's sour attitude had extended onto her hostess: despising Maleficent for her otherworldly serenity and able body. The longer their introduction lasted, the less quick the Queen was to cast stones upon the fairy, though. Her hospitality was so great that Grimhilde had a hard time believing it to be genuine - and warily regarded everything because of it.
Grimhilde was quietly grateful that the laboratory Maleficent held was in the dungeon and not a lofty tower or attic. Ascending stairs would've been beyond her, and descending nearly was. The Queen stopped at the bottom of the long, winding stair at Maleficent's bidding, and leaned heavily and laboriously against the outer wall of the well. She could feel the concentration of power rolling off of the portal, and watched with intermingled awe and suspicion while the fairy began unwinding the wards knotted there.
The laboratory itself, which Grimhilde was bidden to enter, left her astounded. Her shaggy brows raised, her yellowed eyes stared around while she limped to the nearest table and braced herself against it. The sheer immensity of the laboratory was nearly beyond fathom for her. The resources now effortlessly beneath her fingers outstripped and outmatched a thousand times the sparse collection of tomes and ingredients that Grimhilde had possessed on her own. She turned, grappling with all of it, to Maleficent, still stricken by wonder and not a small amount of disbelief.
"You offer this to me so readily," Grimhilde said, astonished. She worked along the edge of the table, supporting her weight with one hand pressed on its surface with each step, nearer to the large and majestic, burnished cauldron that sat in a circular divot in the heart of the room. The Queen's vain and self-centered mind tried to calculate. Her brow, like a craggy cliff face, riddled with grooves and creases deeper than seemed possible, furrowed. She reached out among several small, rune-inscribed vessels that waited nearby. The power in her ancestry - in her very blood - guided her when she snared between her stiff fingers a pinch of nondescript powder.
Finally, Grimhilde came to some form of conclusion. Plainly Maleficent was just making sure to outfit her allies in the best that she had to offer. Making them as formidable as possible for their common enemies. The fairy was being so helpful to help herself, in kind. Whatever level of truth there was in this, the Queen didn't care. Didn't even comprehend to ponder over. This solution made sense to her, and put to rest much skepticism that had jaded her since arriving at Maleficent's haunt. Grimhilde cast the powder into the dutifully arranged kindling beneath the cauldron and, with a hiss and a flash of color, it ignited. Smoke rolled over the edges of the pot and billowed upward, eerily curling over Grimhilde's bowed, hunched form.
She smiled up at Maleficent, which was an especially terrible thing in that firelight. "You will not regret your choice in allies." Then she cackled to herself, and the cackling redoubled and increased, until she was practically howling with laughter, clasping onto the nearest table in the fight to breathe.
Post by Maleficent on Oct 29, 2016 14:59:50 GMT -5
“I don’t believe I will.” Maleficent agreed, a small almost playful smile just barely testing the corner of her mouth. “As I have said, the keepers will assist you as well as they can and I’m sure you know how to use most of the equipment in here.”
“The wards on the room will allow your presence without any sort of countermeasures as they would for someone entering without my explicit permission. I also feel you should know that if you do start prying too deeply into my collection in ways that do not contribute to curing yourself of your illusion, defensive magic is in place.” Maleficent said her words politely and almost kindly. It wasn’t simply Grim that the precautions were in place for. Maleficent was no simpleton. Her vast collection of magical items and knowledge would be highly coveted by anyone and she wouldn’t allow anyone or anything to even get near it without a really good fight.
“I’m sure you can understand not allowing anyone other than myself full access to this vast library,” Maleficent added almost apologetically. “We are women of this cold and cruel world filled with unkind and untrustworthy souls. It would be foolish for either of us, or any of those that come here, to open ourselves up to such vulnerabilities. I hope that as allies and comrades we can come to trust one another in time. For now, know that you are safe here in my sanctuary. I have no desire for harm to come to any but those that have wronged me.”
Maleficent made her way back to the doorway. “You may come and go as you please while you work but if anyone else should find their way down here, it would not be... wise for them to try to enter. Should you need me for anything one of the keepers will be more than able to summon me. I shall leave you to your work.” Maleficent inclined her head slightly and then began to make her way back up the stairs.
[Exit Maleficent]
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Welcome to Happily Ever Afters!
Tony Dracon: Responded to your PM, Kat/Ratigan, incidentally.
Jun 27, 2018 20:25:02 GMT -5
David Xanatos: Kat's back. Hope the vacation was fun.
Jul 21, 2018 21:00:05 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: 'Twas a good trip! I'm sad it's over, but at the same time I'm glad to be back home so I can finish up my cosplays for a con next month and hang out with my cats
Jul 26, 2018 12:34:56 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Hope the cosplay goes well. I'm putting away a little extra for a con in a few weeks. and yay cats, they're always good company. Except for that one who slaps me unprovoked XD. So what cosplays do you have in mind unless they're secret?
Jul 26, 2018 17:07:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm cosplaying Pearl from Steven Universe and Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!
Jul 26, 2018 23:16:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm almost done both of them, I just have to finish styling Pearl's wig and fix up Joseph's gloves and wristbands
Jul 26, 2018 23:17:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Awesome. Had to look up Jojo because I'm not hip with the modern pop culture but I hope they turn out well.
Jul 30, 2018 15:33:15 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I only just started watching the anime last year and I haven't even touched the manga, so I'm barely hip with it lol. fortunately I have my cosplay buddy guiding me through the whole experience
Jul 30, 2018 22:29:38 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: also I finally finished the gloves! They were more of a pain to work with than I expected, but they'll hold together... I hope...
Jul 30, 2018 22:30:13 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Niceness. Hoping they hold also. Got the Dublin comic con next Saturday here. Hoping to meet Karl Urban.
Aug 1, 2018 19:05:32 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Cool! I think he's coming to my city in the fall, if I remember correctly. Hope you enjoy the con, Daryl!
Aug 2, 2018 19:10:23 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: I spoke too soon. Karl Urban had to cancel for schedule conflicts. They got Nick Frost though, I'm gonna ask him if he'll sign my Hot Fuzz.
Aug 3, 2018 18:08:47 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Dang! Nick Frost is great though, I love his character in Into the Badlands
Aug 4, 2018 22:54:36 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Enjoy your weekend Kat, hope the costumes came out as you wanted.
Aug 10, 2018 16:49:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Met Nick Frost and Michael Dorn at the weekend. Both very nice blokes.
Aug 13, 2018 15:22:59 GMT -5
Dodger: Happy 2019 everyone
Jan 1, 2019 10:54:04 GMT -5
Yen Sid: If anyone is passing by I posted a Hiatus update. Hope everyone is doing well!
Apr 18, 2021 11:31:09 GMT -5
Yen Sid: I've temporarily disabled account creation while I update the site. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience!
May 9, 2021 18:31:45 GMT -5
Owen Burnett/Puck: Checked the site again and saw the update! Here's hoping to a revitalized 2022.
Dec 15, 2021 14:41:27 GMT -5