Moon Troubles and Meekal Mistakes

[Lord Tellurine]

The Arconian Royal Ball was a success. There were beautiful decorations, delicious food, great music and dancing, and only two attempts at the King’s life. King Arcon wondered aloud if even having a ball was worth all the trouble that seemed to come along with it.

Queen Zelda answered him, “Of course it is. To throw a party for our loyal citizenry was the least we, as the royal couple, can do. Besides, look at all the great plot lines we get out of it.”

“What?” asked King Arcon.

Before she could explain her odd comment a very concerned-looking Willow interrupted them. “Have you seen Lady Moon?”

King Arcon couldn’t believe she had missed the whole incident where Lady Moon had threatened the royal couple and then leapt out the balcony. Sadly, along with the delicious petit fours on the desert table, it had been one the highlights of the ball. He informed her, “She threatened to kill the Queen and myself. Before the royal guards could grab her she leapt out the balcony.” That balcony had been a source of trouble in the past. He momentarily pondered having the thing demolished before the next ball. “Do you have any idea what is wrong with her?”

She answered quickly, “Meekal put a spell on her. If you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty, I must try to find her.” She left them to find her best friend, Lady Moon.

Queen Zelda and King Arcon looked at each other. Both were thinking the same thing, but King Arcon said it first. “So… you take the prince out of Muu, but you can’t take the Muu out of the prince.”

Queen Zelda assumed the role of devil’s advocate and replied, “Now, we don’t know that he did this on purpose.”

“How can we believe otherwise? I’ve always felt leery of the boy. He talks to rocks you know. No, I’ve never gotten the same feeling of loyalty that I’ve gotten from Angel.” King Arcon turned to a royal guard. “Arrest Meekal, Prince of Muu at once.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard hurried off.

Queen Zelda asked, “What will that accomplish?”

“I want to question the boy on why he would put a spell on Lady Moon that would turn her against us. That is, of course, if he hasn’t left already.”

Meekal the Daft, Prince of Muu, hadn’t left. Instead, he was walking slowly around the ball scanning the floor for a piece of paper. He found himself over by the bar where his old Muu friend Kliff Fauldergraft, an unemployed geologist, stopped him.

“What’re you doing, Meek?” he asked, slurring his words slightly. Kliff had spent most of the ball wanting to dance, but was too nervous to ask any of the beautiful Arconian women. He eventually found himself permanently standing at the bar drinking with Wooden Bob.

“Looking for a paper,” Meekal said. “Excuse me, Wooden Bob.”

Wooden Bob had not intended on attending the ball. He certainly couldn’t dance, and these royal formal functions always seemed boring to him. Wooden Bob was going to spend the evening at the Bitter End, which is what he did every evening, but when he found that Steve had locked the place up for the night, there was no recourse but to go home, put on his best outfit (The one with the least stains), and go to the ball. So far, his experience at the ball had been a mix of good and bad. The fact there was a bar was good. The men’s room being on the other side of the ballroom so he was constantly fighting his way through dancing couples was bad. The food was good. The cheese dip that had fallen onto the floor that he stepped in with his wooden leg was bad. Ever since that unfortunate occurrence, things kept getting stuck to his wooden leg. Napkins, lady’s dress trains, and a lampshade. He still couldn’t figure out how that happened. “Sorry,” he slurred, putting Kliff’s slur to shame.

Kliff asked, “What are you looking for, Meekal?”

Meekal stood upright and looked at Kliff. “A piece of paper that I had gotten from Oddledoodle. It has a note to me and a bunch of weird words and I REALLY need to find it.”

Kliff offered, “Bob and I will help.”

Meekal smiled for the first time in a while. “Thanks guys. I could really use the help. If I don’t find that piece of paper, there could be a lot of trouble for Lady Moon, Arconia, and me.”

“Right now, you’re the one in trouble,” said another voice.

Meekal turned around. Standing behind him were three royal guards. “What do you mean?”

“Meekal, Prince of Muu, you’re under arrest for crimes against Arconia.”

As they led Meekal off he yelled, “I want my rocks!”

Kliff looked at Wooden Bob who was finishing off another glass. “This is terrible,” Kliff said.

“It sure is,” agreed Bob.

“Both of our glasses are empty! Bartender!”

Kliff and Wooden Bob enjoyed another drink and neither of them noticed the piece of paper with Latin writing stuck to the bottom of Bob’s wooden leg with cheese.

[ 09-07-2001: Message edited by: Lord Tellurine ]

[lochinvar]

Ya gotta love Wooden Bob...

[Willow]

Willow went looking for Moon, or Buffy, as she prefered to be called now. It was hard holding her anger for Meekal in check. She wanted to strangle him for what he has done. She hoped he could find the paper with the incantation on it. She HAD to find out what kind of spell this was. Of course, since it came from Oddledoodle, ANYTHING could happen. Something had either terribly backfired, or had been planned very cleverly. She wouldn't put it past Oddledoodle to have purposely given Meekal NOT a love potion, but something else.

It wasn't hard for Willow to follow Moon. After all, they had grown up together. Moon, herself, had taught Willow how to track people and animals. Willow just hoped that Nicholas wouldn't be upset with her for not letting him know where she was going. He worried about her too much, wanting to ensure that nothing happened to her or the baby she was carrying.

It seemed that Moon was on the outskirts of town. Willow hurried to catch up with her. Drat it! Why hadn't she changed before she left the palace? This dress, beautiful though it was, hindered her. Reaching down, she pulled off part of the skirt, making it easier for her to run. Suddenly, she saw Moon. "Lady Moon, please, wait up!"

Moon turned to look at Willow. "What do you want?" she growled. "Moon, I know you are not yourself. You are under a spell, put on you by that incredibly daft Meekal." Moon smiled, a smile which did not show up in her eyes. "My, my, imagine that," she purred, "I have never felt better, personally. And, Willow, you weren't smart to come after me. Actually, since I see you are alone, you are downright stupid."

Willow gasped. It was worse than she had feared. Moon was totally changed, totally out of her mind. Would Moon actually do something to harm her? After all these years? She looked at Moon with both fear and pity in her eyes, trying to distract her long enough so that she could summon some animals to help her, if need be. But Moon knew what she was attempting to do. Reaching down, she drew her dagger out of her boots. Holding the dagger, she approached Willow. "I won't let you get in my way," Moon said.

Willow screamed and quickly moved out of the way. Thankfully, practicing with Moon had given her very fast reflexes. She moved just as the blade arched down into the spot she had just been. Moon's eyes glowed red as she turned to face Willow, furious that her blade had not found its mark. Willow said, "Moon, please, think about what you are doing!" Moon growled, "I AM thinking about it. I've had it with you, always looking out for me, trying to protect me....if you are smart, you'll leave me alone and run back to your precious prince!"

Willow faced Moon and said, "I promised your mother that I would keep you safe, no matter what. I intend to keep that promise." Moon sneered at her, "I hope you are willing to die to keep it." "If I have to," Willow replied. Moon lunged at Willow again. But this time, as she approached, two hawks came flying out of the forest. They swooped down into Moon's face, distracting her long enough so that Willow could easily move out of the way. Moon tried to use her dagger on the hawks, but failed. She didn't see the wolf slinking out of the forest, but she knew it was there as she was knocked down, the dagger flying out of her hand.

Willow ran and picked up the dagger. The wolf backed away from Moon, ever watchful and snarling at her if she moved. Moon said to Willow, "Are you going to kill me now? That's the only way you are going to stop my plans." Willow looked down at the dagger in her hand and then back at Moon. She couldn't kill her best friend, her soul sister. Moon carefully stood up, her eye on the wolf. "I don't think you have the courage to hurt me," she told Willow. Willow shook her head...no, she couldn't hurt Moon. Moon stretched, her arms going up into the air. Suddenly, flexing her wrist, a sharp knife appeared. She flung it into the wolf, killing it instantly. Willow screamed, "NO!"

Moon laughed and ran off, into the forest. "See you later, Willow, we have unfinished business between us." Willow sank to the ground, exhausted, crying for her best friend and also for the wolf, who had been helping her. Nicholas found her there 15 minutes later. No dummy, he, he had known what she would do. All he could do was hold her as she sobbed. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

[Lord Tellurine]

Meekal the Daft was miserable. Of course the Arconia castle dungeons are not a happy place to be, so really Meekal felt right at home. He cursed himself for trying to use magic to make Lady Moon love him. Meekal took another look around his new home, his dungeon cell. What he didn’t know was this was the very cell where some time ago Lady Moon had been held captive by her arch nemesis Lord Tellurine beginning an adventure that would eventually lead to Meekal meeting her. That being the case, their fated love affair had really been born in this room. And now it was at an end. Not only did Lady Moon hate Meekal, as he now realized, but she hated all of Arconia. "Boy, when I screw up, I screw up." He wondered what King Arcon would do to him. Years of living with his father, the King of Muu, flooded his thoughts with images of torture, starvation, and execution. Meekal had to get out of his cell and find Lady Moon. He could snap her out of it. Of course he could. Maybe break the spell with a kiss.

With that happy thought planted in his brain, he pulled his blanket over his head and drifted off to sleep.

When he was shook awake he pulled off the blanket to find everything was dark, as if someone had extinguished all of the lights in the dungeon. “C’mon, Zarcon,” said a voice. “I’m busting you out of here.”

Meekal started, “But I’m not-”

“No time to talk,” said the voice. “The guards will be coming back through this way any moment. And when they see all the lights out, things are going to get messy.”

“Okay,” Meekal said into the darkness. The figure grabbed him and helped him up. He led him through the dark corridors of the dungeon, as if he knew the place by heart. A few moments later the part of the dungeon where Meekal had been imprisoned came to life with the sound of royal guards calling out, “He’s escaped!”

Meekal was dragged up a stairwell and through a door that led to the Royal Garden. The sky was overcast now, the only light there was came from the windows of the Royal Ballroom, but there still wasn’t enough light for Meekal to get a good look at his savior. They made their way through a hole in the garden wall that was hidden behind a rose bush. Even in the dark, it seemed vaguely familiar to Meekal. He was led into the forest and they stopped at a horse, where the figure grabbed a lantern and tried to light it.

Meekal jumped when the horse sneezed.

“Stupid horse,” grumbled the figure as he lit the lantern. He turned to look at Meekal.

“Hello, Lord Tellurine,” said Meekal when the lantern lit up his liberator's face.

[ 09-07-2001: Message edited by: Lord Tellurine ]

[Moonitic]

Ed. note

I'm SO loving this!!

[Lord Tellurine]

Lord Tellurine angirly asked, "What are YOU doing here?!"

"You saved me," replied Meekal.

"I know that!" He admitted, "I was supposed to save Zarcon! I got a message from him saying he had failed trying to kill his brother and needed help breaking out. ...I had offered my services to him previously, telling him I knew my way around the Arconian Castle dungeons." Something dreadful occurred to him. "Of course if he were to find out that I screwed up and saved you instead..." He gulped uncomfortably.

Meekal was about to ask how Zarcon could "get a message to him" while being locked up in the dungeon, but instead said, "You could go back in for him."

"Are you nuts?" He didn't wait for the answer. "That dungeon will be wall-to-wall royal guards. Heck, this forest will be swarming with them soon enough once they find you missing - Hey! Why were you locked in the dungeon?"

"I accidently used a spell to make Lady Moon evil. She wants to overthrow King Arcon."

Lord Tellurine smiled broadly. "Really?" he asked with glee.

"You gotta help me find her!"

The smile faded. "And why would I do that? Matter of fact, why don't I just turn you in to the Arconian authorities?"

"Because they'd nab you too," Meekal pointed out.

"Right." Lord Tellurine thought aloud, "What I need is a place to hide for the night to think this out."

"You can hide out at my place."

"And what happens when the royal guards come looking for you?"

"I'll tell them I'm not in."

Lord Tellurine thought about it for a moment. "Okay. Let's go." He pulled a cloak over his head and threw one at Meekal so he could do the same. The two men and the horse made their way to Meekal's house.

The first thing Meekal did was kiss his stones hello.

The first thing Lord Tellurine did was plot his revenge.

[Lord Tellurine]

A thunderstorm was raging outside the castle when Arcon, King of Arconia, had received the news that Meekal, the Daft Prince of Muu, had escaped from the dungeon. The good news was that Zarcon, his evil brother, was still locked up. Earlier in the evening, he attempted to kill Arcon, but now sat in a dungeon cell, wounded and under heavy guard.

Arcon sighed at the news of Meekal's escape. "I suppose now we need a search party to find Meekal." His fist slammed down on a table in anger.

Lochinvar, an old friend of the royal couple, interjected, "Perhaps that's not necessary. If Meekal is the one who put the spell on Moon, then perhaps they are now in cahoots. They could be meeting up at the same hideout."

Arcon brightened slightly at this and replied, "Perhaps you're right, old friend. Where we find one, we'll find the other."

The royal guard asked, "Should we search for them at his house in the city?"

Arcon shook his head, "No... Meekal would be stupid enough to make it his hideout, but Moon certainly wouldn't. They're probably hiding in the forest somewhere."

Meekal the Daft was staring out his front window into the stormy streets of Arconia City.

Lord Tellurine snarled at him, "Close those drapes! You want the royal guards to see you?!?"

Meekal closed the drapes and walked over to the table where Lord Tellurine was at, planning his next move. He sat across from him. A crash of lightning and a boom of thunder shook the house.

Lord Tellurine was mumbling to himself. "Now if Lady Moon wants to do harm against King Arcon, maybe she can help me spring Zarcon from the dungeon... No, everyone's looking for her. She'll never get in now. Maybe she be open to my earlier plan of marrying Meekal..." He looked at the daft prince who was intensly studying the end of one of his fingers. "No... she's evil now, not stupid..." He spoke to Meekal directly. "What we have to do is find her before any of these Arconians do."

"That's a great idea!" said Meekal enthusiastically. "How do we do that?"

"I don't know. I'm not a tracker and I certainly don't know these woods well enough to find someone."

Meekal replied, "If only Kliff and Wooden Bob were here! Kliff knows the land better than anyone! And when Bob's not at the Bitter End he's a trapper. He knows these woods real good I bet!"

Lord Tellurine sneered, "We're not going to be asking for help from anyone. The two of us are going to find Lady Moon and then the three of us are going to take over Arconia."

"No," said Meekal. "We have to help Lady Moon. We have to make her well again!"

"We'll doing nothing of the sort. And if you don't want me to turn you into the Arconia authorities then you better do as your told!"

Meekal thought about it for a moment then sighed mournfully. "Yes, sir."

Lord Tellurine added, "This two man project can be easily done with just one."

Suddenly, the front door swung open and the rain-drenched bodies of Kliff Fauldergraft and Wooden Bob stumbled into the house.

Kliff slurred, "Hey, Meekal, wasn't that a great ball?"

Meekal greeted happily, "Hi, guys!"

Lord Tellurine groaned unpleasantly.

[ 09-09-2001: Message edited by: Lord Tellurine ]

[Lord Tellurine]

Before Lord Tellurine could even say, "Meekal, throw these buffoons out of here," Kliff had sat down next to him and Wooden Bob had made a slight spin on his wooden leg and then collasped into a heap in the corner.

"Meekal, throw these buff-"

"Evenin', m'lord," greeted Kliff with a slur.

"Thud."

Meekal asked the heap in the corner, "Are you all right, Wooden Bob?"

He snored loudly.

"Meekal," repeated Lord Tellurine. "Get these two out of here!"

"I'm sorry," apologized Meekal, "but these are friends of mine. And any friend of mine is a friend of yours, Lord Tellurine."

"Lord Tellurine!" Kliff yelped, spraying the Lord with spit. He looked him right in the eye, which was one of the few parts of his face that was missed by the propelled saliva. "You're no friend of mine!"

"You have that right," agreed Lord Tellurine.

"Years ago," sprayed Kliff, "A Tellurine cheated a Fauldergraft out of the Fauldergraft ancestoral lands!" He drew himself up in his seat. "You, sir are a crook!" He wound back to hit him, but instead toppled off his seat backwards, landing on the floor with a thud.

"Kliff?" asked Meekal.

He snored loudly.

Lord Tellurine glared at Meekal and growled, "Well, if the plan involves snoring, we've got it covered."

"Oh good."

[ 09-09-2001: Message edited by: Lord Tellurine ]

[Swordsman]

Tellurine, you'd better come up with an evil plan, and quick! I'm running out of ideas to write!

[Lord Tellurine]

[Ed. note]

Uh oh, Moon! The natives are getting restless!

Have no fear swordsman and all citizens of Arconia, as a plan will be put into action today, and all we ask is that our evil Lady Moon avoids capture until she has released Zarcon from his cell. That way he will be availible for a future role as an antagonist.

Let me congratulate all who have been participating in this plotline as I have been very impressed with everyone's contribution. Especially Lochinvar, who I believe has raised the bar for us all.

Now back to the Evil Lady Moon, the Daft Prince Meekal, the plotting Lord Tellurine, the slightly wounded Lady Rosaline, the protective Angelo, the concerned Willow, the good King Arcon, the argumentive Queen Zelda, the counselor Lochinvar, the eavesdropping Serana, the wounded Jo (Who is still lying in the mud somewhere in the forest), the pointed-ear Naekos, and the snoring Kliff and Wooden Bob...

*Whew!*

[Lord Tellurine]

Dawn was breaking in Arconia, although the sun was obscured by the thick clouds that still lingered from the past evening's storms.

Lord Tellurine was pacing the floor of Meekal the Daft's two story house in Arconia City. He was devising a plan to hunt down and enlist the aid of the evil Lady Moon so that Arconia could be destroyed. He had nothing.

"For all we know," complained Lord Tellurine to a sleepy Meekal the Daft, "she could have been captured by now and locked up in the castle!" Another thought occurred to him and he lamented, "She might not even be evil anymore!"

"I doubt that," yawned Meekal, who was sitting on the floor between his sleeping buddies, Kliff Fauldergraft and Wooden Bob. "I haven't even found the paper with the words that made her that way!" He absentmindedly began picking at some crud that was stuck to Wooden Bob's wooden leg.

"And we don't need to," informed Lord Tellurine. "That Lady Moon has been a thorn in my side long enough. And now that we're on the same side, I'm going to use it to it's full advantage!"

"How are you going to do that?" asked Meekal.

"I don't know!" he answered back angrily. "The first thing we have to do is find Lady Moon! And that's going to be next to impossible!"

"I won't say that," said Lady Moon and she descended the stairs from Meekal's 2nd story.

[Lord Tellurine]

“Why, Lord Tellurine,” said Lady Moon as she stepped down the last few steps. “What a pleasure finding you here.”

“Likewise,” he said, bowing slightly.

“Lady Moon!” squealed Meekal as he stood, stuffing the crud he had picked from Wooden Bob’s wooden leg into his pocket. He started approaching her with his arms open wide as if to hug her. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“Stay away from me,” she said, brandishing a sword. He stopped and put his arms down awkwardly. “This isn’t a social visit. I need your help.” She looked at Tellurine. “Yours too.”

Tellurine’s eyes narrowed. “What do you have in mind?”

“King Arcon and Queen Zelda must not be allowed to rule this country anymore. Unfortunately, I discovered last night that they have many loyal subjects who would die for them. Some of them almost did.” She smiled an evil smile. “I cannot overthrow them alone… Nor can I do it with you two. But last night I was able to take a short nap to rejuvenate myself. While I slept I had a dream in which Zarcon talked to me. He told me he could get rid of the Queen and King and he would let me rule Arconia. He also told me how to free him from his cell. Security is tight in the dungeon now. Ever since there was a breakout last night the guards have been doubled.”

Meekal and Tellurine gulped uncomfortably.

“He told me what I need to do is cause a diversion.” Her evil smile returned. “That’s where you will come in. While you guys are diverting guards from the dungeon to the upper floors, I will be releasing Zarcon.”

Lord Tellurine noted, “We’ll be captured for sure. What about us?”

“I don’t care about you!” spat Lady Moon. “So what if you have to rot in the dungeon for a few months. When Zarcon and I return to take over you will be heroes!”

Tellurine smiled weakly. “How reassuring.”

Meekal gathered up what little courage he had. “And what if we don’t want to help you?”

Lady Moon paused a moment and then softened her facial expression. She said in a soothing voice through pouted lips, ”Oh, Meekal, you wouldn’t want to disappoint your true love, now would you?”

Meekal giggled slightly and replied shyly, “Of course not.”

Lord Tellurine rolled his eyes. “And what if I want to disappoint you?”

She glared at him and wielded her sword. “I’ll kill you right on the spot you stand.”

He took a cautious step back. “Understood,” he said weakly.

Wooden Bob snored and Lady Moon spied the two sleeping men on the floor. “What's their story?” she asked Meekal.

“Drank too much at the ball.”

“The BALL!” cried out Wooden Bob as he sat upright. He nudged Kliff next to him who stirred. “We got to get back to the ball! They said they were going to reopen the bar in the morning! A got a dance card for a Lady Mimosa that is filled!” He stood upright, using a lot of help from the wall. Kliff joined him a second later.

“Not so fast,” said Lady Moon. “You’re going to help me first.”

They both took a blurry look at the short determined girl with the sword and said, “’kay.”

[Zarcon]

"Damn these dreams." Zarcon awoke, he pulled on the chains that held him. The chains snapped tite just as he relized he was
still captive.

What did they mean? He'd seen a women,cloaked in black,hooded with red glowing eyes. She'd come to him in the night
speaking of his freedom and the fall of Arconia. Zarcon shook his head. He'd never believed in these things. This was witchcraft. It had to be.

He screamed, "Guard, damn you! bring me water."

His cell had one round opening about the size of a small sheild. He thought it strange that it was in a tear shape. Through the opening 15 feet above him he could see the shape of the nights full moon. He'd never been a man of art or science. These were things for the weak man,men of little ambition.
So why was the feeling so strong that the moon tonight had a meaning. To hell with it he thought as he screamed again, "Guard!!!!!!!!!! MY WATER!"

[arcon]

Arcon awoke from his sleep. These dreams were maddening. The black crow had always stood for his evil brother, Zarcon. The birthmark on his face, the left cheek would always bear the shape of the crow as foreseen by his mother in a dream before his birth. Arcons mother also knew the child would be evil. She'd ask Moons mother to take the child away and have it killed,but this had not been done. Zarcon had been spared, and for a reason that could not be shared at that time. The mother of moon was secretly in love with the father of Arcon she was tormented by his refusal of her.
So she spared Zarcon hoping that the day would soon come that Arcons father would unite with her....afterall, she would have his other son,Zarcon. He would love her, he had to.
Arcon could think of it no more. He had these memories locked away in his mind and thats where they should stay.
He just wished the dreams would stop.
He could deal with plots and one enemie after another but this enemy that invaded his mind was nothing like he'd ever encountered.
Arcon shook his head, he did not want to go there, the thoughts of his horrible secret must never leave his lips. He had to die with it ....there was no other way.

But to die with it he first had to live with it
....and it was getting harder with every hour, day, and year.

[ 09-10-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[ 09-10-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[its_me_mango]

only TWO attempts at the arcon? i'm surprised, there are usually several more. anyway have any of you guys read a book about famous swordsmen of like, all times? i have a book at home, its chronicles famous samuri over a 600 year period, it's sort of interesting, all the men fence with wooden swords, (ahem), unlike the gentlemen of the west who fenced with iron. in the meanwhile, have you noticed that in japan they had continuous warfare for nearly 400 years? it's incredible, 1200 to 1600 or possibly longer.

[lochinvar]

Not so unusual, Mango.

They had continuous warfare in Europe, also, for long periods--like, for example, the period 750-1250.

And even during the Daimyo period, leading up to Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieasu Tokugawa, there were large parts of the island that were peaceful for long stretches of time.