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“Oh, good evening!” You awake to the sound and smile of a woman laying at your side, a two pairs of eyes on her face and many more watching and weaved into her long hair. Just behind her, you can see the folds of a tent shrouding a throng of wanderers and their voices bathed in cerulean, though everything about the red of the woman called for your attention as her gaze pierced further. She was dressed oddly, in a doctor’s lab coat and a five pointed tiara, red, red eyes all focused on you whether they were where they should be or not. In your ears a tiny din played itself out, the last bit of sunlight in an evening sky choking itself into being a violin. You were awake, you figured, but not where your bed lie and not where your room was. A puzzle worked its way to completion in your mind, though you were missing far too many pieces; perhaps this woman could spare a few of hers. Your pause clearly invited her to continue talking, so that was alright.
“First time waking up here, right? Hope you aren’t totally averse to strange women sharing your bed,” she continued, timbre welling through an old vase, cracking at the end of her question marks and periods like it was trying to escape. “I had decided to sleep here and see who showed up, so you are the lucky winner.”
A question wormed its way to your lips, but you couldn’t quite capture it to give it a name, though the woman seemed to hear it all the same. You could swear you didn’t hear yourself speak, but the intent behind the thought was clearly communicated, judging by her response.
“We call it the City at Midnight, Princess,” a foreign word, one you wouldn’t have asked to be called. “Just like everyone else here, you wake up as your desired self, and we winnow away the hours together exploring or sharing ideas. Come on, get up!”
She practically dragged you from the bed, and you caught a glimpse in a passing mirror at the unfamiliar dress decorating your figure, folds and frills and plates of metal dolling you up in a much different appearance than the woman had. At the very least you weren’t the only one, the crowds outside glinting in the pale moonlight in outfits of every type and color, some resembling yours, others resembling great beasts or a mix of the two, and others still closer to the many-eyed woman you were at the beck and call of. That was where the similarities ended, however, as the cheerful smile on her face was singular, and many of the others in the crowd turned and stared at the two of you, or more accurately her, a crowd of mixed feelings both negative and pensive as they did. You could almost make out an exact copy of her, standing at the edge of the area and staring into a throng of black leaves.
Taking you further along and into a less-peopled area, dew-kissed grass gave way to bricks and cobblestone, the boots she wore echoing off the walls, the colors upon them seeming to swirl when the sound struck. Every color you knew decorated each passing wall, and you realized each different color appeared to be a new structure, though doors were still far and in between on the path you walked. Far overheard a blue moon hung, the sole source of light in this City. On occasion, a group of Princesses, as you now knew, passed by, looking rather exhausted and carrying books and notes in either arm and stacked up to the sky. The sound of voices from the gateway slowly faded, and you realized that the woman had taken you quite some distance without either your resistance nor questioning. That thought was clearly enough for the woman to respond to, however, as she finally broke the silence otherwise punctuated with her footsteps.
“Caroline! Not a fan of crowds, so I wanted to get away before we talked,” the at-last named woman started. “Most courts are not a fan of me since I go at my own pace. Good Princesses like you should work in a team, so after indulging me tonight I’ll let you be on your own.”
You were puzzled further at this, since the groups that passed by were no fewer than five people strong, and there were surely enough people to follow Caroline’s trumpet.
“You’ll see in a bit, I’m sure. Every Princess has a different reaction to it, and none of the courts I work with are awake yet. A court is a cohesive group of Princesses, by the way!”
Wondering if just the two of you counted as a court on its own, you heard a laugh, piercing and sharp in contrast with her more calm voice. The pathway at last opened up to a courtyard, each brick a different color and expanding out in eight directions, including the one back to the gateway. Each path was bordered on each side by a storefront or display of sorts, with clothes of every color and more parchment and items than you could perceive peeking through the crystal glass. Emerging from the cracks in the stones and in alleys besides, little creatures and ‘things’ peered at you, and you could feel they were distinct from Princesses on a basic level.
“You could call us a court if you want, and you wouldn’t be wrong every night,” Caroline turned to gaze at you with her many eyes, her grin causing the extra pair on her cheeks to squint a bit. “I do a little bit of everything, so I can do whatever a court needs, whether it be note-taker, watcher, porter, or scout. Inside the City, you’ll find a bunch of these little guys.”
She gestured at a few of the creatures, and when focusing on them you could see they resembled bunnies, some waddling along with fishing rods and others carrying plates overhead. “Sometime long ago, Princesses knighted these as fairytales, and larger or more unique ones as myths. In particular, these are Peter Rabbits VII, which aren’t too common but are usually harmless. If you go down one of these paths, you’ll find others and in more variety, so go ahead and choose!”
It felt like Caroline was giving you a lot of information, but also holding back just a little more than she told. Overwhelmed, you figured you had to go with the flow or get a headache, and so closed your eyes (to which she responded with a giggle), and pointed in a direction to go. She clapped your hand with hers once more, letting you comfortably open your eyes while she took the lead. You could still see eyes on the back tresses that looked around, but whether or not she saw through them you couldn’t really say.
The path you had chosen led to an area of deeper blue than before, and the numbers of gazing Princesses petered out as did the rabbits as the gloom of fog took over. The buildings shifted from the now-familiar brick to stucco, the distant moon overhead still visible regardless of how thick the fog became. Eventually the path was broken by a river and a bridge, and Caroline stopped short of crossing it, talking to the air without turning to return your look, her voice more muted as the area had less of an echo.
“Here is a good place to continue. If you are here, you awoke as a Princess, and you have a dream you desire to bring into being, right?”
An agreement crossed your mind, as sure as sun rises you remembered the orange and gold that was your waking life. Only recently did you settle on what you really wanted to do with yourself after the years of following others.
“That goes for everyone else here. Good Princesses like you learn from others, making their work easier or their dream closer and closer within reach. We avoid things that aren’t Princesses and the nightmare forest right outside the waking area. You saw it, right? I’m hoping I didn’t take you so far without letting you take in the sights.”
You nod, the other Caroline coming to mind. As your mouth opened, you found yourself asking what the woman’s dream was that brought her here, if she was comfortable with sharing.
“----------!” Rather than one, a bundle of ten voices forced its way into your ear, completely deafening you to the form or meaning of the words spoken. Looking up and around, peeking from behind her silhouette, a whole choir of Caroline were sharing a gaze at you, each no different than the next. Almost as soon as you noticed them, an echelon peeled off and walked off, across the bridge, returning down the path, and so on, until only one remained. Their footsteps resounded in a discordant drumming, at last punctuated by the one who remained, doubling over with laughter that was near-deafening due to the echo.
“… ahaha, hooh. You might think it silly, but I’m desperate to ensure myself and those around me live forever,” her face was red with laughter and tears, causing the words to come out in strings rather than all at once. “I know what you’re thinking, but the only me is me. Everything I want to do, I will do myself, so you might see more of me than you think there should be.”
The explanation only made the confusion over it worse.
“I am referred to as a Toxic Princess. I do whatever I want, and I don’t work well with others, so other Princesses try not to associate with me unless they can’t find anyone who wants to do the same thing. I’m not the only one; some Princesses like to fight with each other or have a hard time in crowds, so wander on their own.”
Wringing your hands together, you try your best to accept it. The moniker given, on the other hand, was harder to accept, and a touch of violet worry twinged across your face.
“If it’s any reassurance, associating with me isn’t going actually to get you a label or anything. Exploring’s actually more dangerous for Toxic Princesses than an ordinary court since a court will look out for each other,” she trails off, giving you space to ask another question. “The dangers in the City are not going to take a swing at you. But, you see an area glowing gold or a fairytale dragging you along somewhere, you should head the other way instead, since those are signs of an Atelier.”
This time, however, Caroline doesn’t let you speak, taking you by the hand and at last crossing over the bridge before you have a chance to realize. Each step creaked as you moved and drew you further into a new area, the shade of light filling with green and blue. Music rung out from all around, with accordions and bagpipes joining in chaotic glee. If there were any creatures about, Peter Rabbits were not in their ranks, the pad-foot pacing of bunnies replaced with a tapping and rapping, adjoined with the music as a tinny backing noise.
All around, alleyways terminated with pools of water, and puddles bordered your path on either side, shimmering and shifting like they were being rained upon by an unseen cloud. The colors in this place were more muted but still present, pleasantly garish and dripping with ribbons. Lights dappled as you and Caroline dipped further into the area, every color aside from gold, and soon the walkway opened to a square. A couple Princesses flitted about, taking notes on every dry surface, while a pair kept watch in the center, immediately eyeing your partner with a gaze she happily ignored. Caroline was also in the crowd, imprinting sheets of paper with symbols that had long been carved into stone.
The lack of the one color mentioned was somewhat reassuring, even if you weren’t sure what an Atelier was to start with.
“Just avoid them unless you have another Princess who can help you escape. You’d have a better time asking at the archives.” Caroline spoke aloud, responding to your thought just as soon as it came to mind.
While Caroline lead you along, she was also ignoring you, humming as she worked on imprinting and piling the results on a metallic table to be further inspected by another Princess. The text, from what you could see, was unidentifiable, symbols or letters in a language long forgotten, or at least one that you didn’t know. The one examining the papers resembled some sort of regal dog, their eyes old and slow to review, pulling out a utensil of their own and inscribing them in yet another language, this one a bit more familiar. After each inscription, they folded the sheet into an origami crane and put them into their hat.
Balloons hung as punctuation for any corners, and the square, much like the previous one, divided in many directions, though each path was more open and less foreboding than the last. Stables, woods, and hay hung about anywhere there wasn’t water, obscuring the way further down. Your leader took you down one of the more orderly ways, and slowed the pace down a bit, many eyes looking left and right, studying the barns and doorways in a wordless manner. At last, she chose one and walk ed you into it, the threshold opening into a timeless parlor awash with the smell of moss. Caroline released her grip, digging under her lab coat and pulling out a tablet of wood and a silver utensil.
“What does this all mean to you?” Her voice broke the raucous din of the outside, forcing you at attention. “That’s a question I ask everyone. A dream is rather boring, so what is your interpretation of the City so far?”
Your fingers pressed at one of the plates hanging at your hip. It was too much to take in for now, so what were you to say? Caroline was already busy writing on her tablet, looking around and at you in turn.
“A non-answer is still an answer! If you wake up tomorrow morning and think about it, you might come up with a better one, and if not, I’d suggest finding a court and going as far as you can.”
Everything came back to tomorrow or tonight, and you wondered whether she was sick of dragging you around or not.
“Every night, I wake up with a different want or need, so I couldn’t say for tomorrow’s Caroline, but for now I like showing you around,” her voice had somewhat softened, the vase it ran through now thinner and shallower. “If you see me tomorrow, you can say hi but I might already be busy.”
With how many you saw tonight, you wondered how much of this she could remember or how they worked at all.
“Like I said, I am the only me. I’ll always wake up at the same time and same place, and go to sleep the same way. I have no clue what I am doing helping that court outside or watching the nightmare frontier, but tomorrow I’ll remember a little bit just like any other dream. Who knows if I’ll want to do ten things or two things instead!”
You felt your brow furrow just a bit, now wondering what was so special about Princesses aside from appearances. Everyone was different and a few were even furred creatures or more obviously a character from something you’ve seen before.
“We can define what we look like, and make whatever we want if we aren’t too distracted,” Caroline began, lifting up her coat to display a trio of metallic arms. “If you think real hard, you can produce what you desire. I desire robots and to be in more places at once, so…”
She trailed off again, one of the arms reaching further up the coat and producing a metallic object, much like a baseball dotted with red, glowing lights. Right after, a craft set’s worth of paint tubes fell to the floor from beneath her clothes. “… and if you’re a bit distracted, something else will come out. These can still be useful even if I didn’t want it, so I give them to others or keep them to write with.”
Seeing it happen made it seem more enticing. Closing your eyes, a whole pile of thoughts ran through, none of them seeming particularly desirable, but think them you did nonetheless. With everything swimming through you couldn’t even recall your dream that Caroline had defined as part of the reason you were here. Stone tablets, paper folded into bouquets of every flower, pencils, pens, and a number of different plushies, they each flashed but were altogether transient. The pressure started to build within, taking the form of violet frustration.
All of these different reveals were finally finding their weight upon you, deflating and dragging you in their many colors. The darkness of this room was comforting, same as Caroline’s presence, and your knees started to give way, wandering over to take a seat against one of the many walls. It was a busy night in a new place, and you couldn’t ignore the sense of jet lag that was crawling at the back of your throat. The woman continued her work as she watched you, smiling a farewell as you closed your eyes.
The next night, you awoke again in the tent, this time alone aside from the sound of people outside. The dress and the armor were light on your shoulders, and the Princesses dotting the gateway talked readily with each other in every language, most of which you couldn’t understand. It was a different crowd than before, with fewer beasts and more wearing (or maybe using) animal ears atop their head. Caroline was nowhere to be seen, with another court watching the blackened woods. One fo the Princesses went up and addressed you, this one clad in gold and weighted with many tomes as thick as any textbook. He clapped as he talked, pointing at the different areas and kiosks spread throughout the area.
Princesses headed over food stalls of every kind, foods you couldn’t have dreamed of being passed out freely on skewers by tall-hatted sheep folk and suits, some being used to teach others how to cook it. They kept things simple and appeared to have a stockpile of ingredients a the ready, something you decided meant that anything produced will remain even after you wake up in daylight. Dresses and robes were passed about and tried on, red-faced girls and boys pressing their noses to their looms and making even more than were being taken away, stitched designs of cartoon characters or other things accentuating the work. Your new lead took a long look at some of the dresses, as if contemplating having you try a few on with him, but he shrugged and continued the tour.
Largest among everything was the archive, chock full of texts from realms and times that had long passed. Stone and wood tablets that could not rot or erode, disks and USB sticks playing oral traditions and findings, you couldn’t see an end to the height or breadth of the library standing at the entrance. A court spoke quietly with one another at a receptionist desk, with another walking in carrying their findings to be sorted onto whatever shelf worked best. The Princess guiding you spoke at length of the importance of this place, that everyone should check this area first just to see the grand undertaking that you had inadvertently found yourself inheriting. Moving on, there were lodgings built for everyone, in every kind of way from huts to apartments to tents that extended far further than their size assumed.
Everywhere you looked, Caroline was not there, until at last you saw her wandering up the gateway with a number of other Princesses. She looked a bit bored but kept a wry smile on her face, hands behind her back as the others spoke among themselves. Seeming to catch your gaze, she turned and winked with one pair of eyes, but didn’t bother to wave or say anything else, and the sound of her voice echoed in the back of your head.
“Good Princesses like you should work in a team.”