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"Is it just you today, Deacon?" Silver said to him as he climbed off of the ladder into the attic.
"Yeah, just me today." Deacon tried not to sound annoyed, but the sigh that left him afterwards wasn't helping. At least he could spend the afternoon with the keys since some people were stuck in their fancy house or busy keeping up with chores they should've done weeks ago..
Well, he can't be too annoyed about it. He knows why they were so busy after all.
"Chase told me to get Narratonin in his and Prunella's places, but it would feel awkward doing it by myself." He did not want to be stuck with Buddy for a whole story by himself.
"We could help you out, then." Bronze said, His head resting on his crossed arms as he lazily sat inside Terrence (the chicken oven mitt).
"Oh right!" Silver said, "Just like that time when I visited you in that book you like!"
Deacon's faced flushed, a hand bolting up to cover the lower half of his face. "Haha, yeah! Like- Like that!" He could never get her lovely face out of his mind, even if he wanted it to.
Goldie jumped up next to Silver, a grin plastered on his face. "A splendid idea! I could be of great assistance, Deacon!" He then goes and, with much effort, pushes over a royal blue book with a golden apple in the middle. In matching fancy text, The Snow White Princess is surrounding it.
Deacon picks it up. The title's a bit different from the average Snow White story, but.. it'll do. Chase probably bought it at some point thinking it was the same story as always.
"Alright then. Who wants to come with me?"
Silver notions Deacon to come closer, and cups her hands over her mouth like she's whispering.
"Watch what I'm about to do!" He can hear her trying not to laugh.
Silver then takes a quick look at Bronze, who's definitely dozed off by now, before shouting:
"Going-noses!"
She then puts a finger on her nose while grinning. Goldie yelps before putting a finger on his nose as well.
Deacon huffs playfully before also playing along. He didn't want to be the last one after all.
There's a silence, and then Goldie jumps up to where Bronze has unknowingly lost, keeping his finger in place (somehow).
"Bronze! You have lost!"
The loser is rudely awakened, and reluctantly comes out of his oven mitt.
"Silver, please don't make me be the heroine!" Deacon protests, holding the book high above his head. "Seeing Chase do it is one thing, but I don't think I can do it all on my own!"
Silver, in response, is pouting and being extremely stubborn! "You must obey the rules of Going-noses—"
"Noes-goes." Deacon corrects her (trying not to give too much of a tone).
"Yes, that's what I said! Anyways," She continues, "Bronze is the loser, so he has to go into the book with you! Also, I would love to give you a fancy prince outfit!"
Deacon pauses for a second.. and Silver takes that chance, giving him her best puppy-eyes look!
"Deacon, pleeease~?"
He's not hallucinating, right? Because he's definitely seeing sparkles and glitter..
He defeatedly groans. "Alright.. fine."
Hopefully, he won't regret this.
...
Somewhere in a land far away, a Kingdom lived with a beautiful princess. Fair as snow, heart of gold, and hair black as night. Her name was Snow White.
She lived under a vain and secretly cruel queen, and was the spark of jealousy in many who lived there.
This is the story of The Snow White Princess.
The one time he forgets to read the SparkNotes of one book is the time where its something completely new to him?!
Who wrote this version anyways? It's so depressing! It's wintertime, meaning it's cold as hell, and everybody he's seen dislikes him; snickering and mean looks follow his every move.
At least some things are normal. The evil queen's mirror keeps saying that "Snow White is the fairest of all" (he overheard it, apparently.. it's somewhere in his memory), and she's super pissed about it.
"I just have to find Bronze at the end of this, and then it can be over." Deacon mutters, pushing past people and walking out of the kingdom's gates into the forest.
As the princess leaves the kingdom's grounds, the shallow safety of that place leaves as well.
The queen wished for Snow White's death, and after seeing her departure, she hired a huntsman to strike her down and return with her heart still beating.
Deacon feels as if he walks for a long time.. he's even seeing the sun move in the sky.. but it doesn't truly feel that long. The story is just running its course, right?
Dramatically, he is then stopped in place by an arrow flying just past his foot.
That must be the huntsman.. who might also have bad aim.
Low and behold, guess who steps out of the shadows and up to Deacon?
He remembers this part. Deacon pretends to beg. "Listen, Sir, I know you want my- uh.." Wow, its been a while since he read the Snow White story, huh, "My.. something.. from me.. But please, search for the good in your heart to leave me alive!"
Not his best performance, but the story-vision will fill in the gaps.
Hearing Snow White's plea, the Huntsman let her live.
The princess' woes seem to be over, but as she stumbles upon a cozy house, what direction will her luck turn towards?
Deacon's found the Seven Dwarves. Or.. maybe they found him?
Regardless, he is brought into their home, and given a bed to rest in.
"We know how tired you must be, princess," One of the dwarves says, "So please accept our gratitude!"
They seem a lot more eager than he expected.
However, he is tired.. and his feet hurt. He would appreciate a moment to nap.
"Alright, alright, I will."
He wasn't given any alternate clothes, so he guesses he's staying in the fancy prince outfit.. the most he could do was take off his shoes.
The bed creaks as he gets onto the (surprisingly) comfortable mattress.
It's just a nap. It wont take him long, and he can get on with the rest of the story afterwards.
Yeah, he's just going to close his eyes for a moment and...
.... There's a tightness around his neck, like hands are gripping it tightly.
"Ack-!" He tries to squirm, but his hands and arms are being held down as well. His eyes shoot open to see the Dwarves grinning at him! He's been betrayed!
He feels dizzy as they continue holding him down, his vision darkening at the edges.
It's just a story, right? He's not actually being choked right now... He.. He'll be.. fine...
Deacon lost consciousness.
It seems lady luck has turned away from our Princess, as she has been deceived in the worst possible way.
The Dwarves bring her body back to the Queen, and it seems the fate for our Princess is turning into one of a tragedy.
Deacon sits up, coughing and catching his breath. Was that what was supposed to happen?! His pulse is racing as he wipes away some tears that fell from the struggle.
"Ugh.. that was awful! I'm never entering this book again!"
After that much needed moment, he gets up and takes in his surroundings. He's in a place somewhere like a garden in a castle. Everything is soft and blurry, like a dream. White Roses poking out from gray leaves and bushes frame the cobblestone under him, with fancy white arches at the front and back of this place.
A dried-up fountain sits in the middle, with benches at its sides.
"Am I.. alone here?" His voice echoes into the sky, as if it was showing him that he was.
He rummages under his outfit for the key he's been wearing this whole time. He could leave whenever he wanted. And if he tells the keys what happened, they would definitely understand.
No, no, he couldn't. He's the only one getting Narratonin today, he can't back out of this now.
Deacon sits down, looking up at the clear but white sky.
"Isn't the prince supposed to come and save me?"
---
Bronze has had the storyline in his mind as if it was written on the back of his hand. He honestly doesn't believe Chase read anything about this book before obtaining it.
It's a modern version of Snow White where the princess is hated by everyone in her kingdom for her beauty, due to jealousy. After being betrayed, the princess is eventually kept unconscious in the castle, and the world goes on without her.
To make matters worse? Nobody comes to save her. The prince tries, but not even he ends up finding her.
And him being the hero means he won't end up saving Deacon at the end of this.
So hearing the Queen announce that the princess has "passed away" is.. not a good sign.
As the people around him cheer in celebration for more things than one, Bronze thinks to himself. He doesn't mind too much if the story ends sadly, but what about Deacon?
He would care, since he's the heroine.
Being taken out and left to be forgotten, not knowing when or if you'll be saved... until the book finishes, of course.
Sigh..
In an act that "celebrates Snow White's life", the Queen has chosen to announce a banquet and invites all of the royals to come and visit. Which includes Bronze.
Well, time to get ready for a party.
...
The night sky is scattered with stars as the celebration commences, all the while Snow White's life slowly faded away.
Tucked away in a tower, with a long stairwell up to a white coffin is where the princess rests. Only a true love's kiss could wake her up.
Of course, this was seemingly impossible, being a source of hatred for so many.
But out there was a prince who had admired her from afar, despite her reputation. Will he be able to save her?
As Bronze enters the main ballroom of the castle, he feels a bit out of place with his yellow princely getup, even if no one else can see it. He doesn't really think yellow suits him, anyways. That's something only his brother can pull off.
Alright.. If I were a inconspicuous door leading into a tower holding my friend, where would I be...
Ah, that looks like a good way in. A door where butlers come in and out.
Bronze waits for an opportunity, and quietly slips through the door.
---
Deacon had slowly noticed that his vision was getting more grey.
Not from his already grey surroundings, but from skin looking less saturated than usual. Even his clothes are looking a bit duller from earlier.
To match this concerning thing, he was feeling more tired by the hour (if time did pass in here). It was like his life was slowly slipping away.
That sent a chill up his spine. If something really does go wrong, he can leave with the key. It's fine.. It'll be fine. Bronze is—
Wait. Is that..?!
It takes a bit more effort than he would've liked, but he gets up and walks up to one of the arches to see.. Bronze! But there was something weird about him. He was slightly transparent, like a shadow.
He was also far away, far past the white arches that kept him here. He'd tried leaving earlier, but it was like a glass wall was keeping him in.
"Bronze! Bronze, I'm right here!" He yelled at Bronze, and even that was becoming a strain on him.
The shadow then looked like he heard Deacon, glancing left and right to try and hear his voice.
"Over here! Over here! Bronze!" He waved his arms, like the shadow could see it.
Hopefully he could see it. Please, let him see it.
---
The Prince searched through the castle's halls, looking for the tower Snow White was being kept in.
It was almost as if he could hear the Princess's calls for help...
Yeah, yeah, fancy narration, he could hear Deacon's calls for help! It was like his name was being yelled at from far away.
He stopped and looked left and right, hoping Deacon would call for him again so he could follow the noise.
"Ov.. here.. Over here..! ..onze!"
There it is again! Through that door, that's where it's the strongest!
He dashes through the door, climbs up all the stairs (stops to take a breath at the top), and looks through the crack in the door to see a white coffin.
---
The shadow walks through the white archway, as if the glass was never there.
"Bronze?" Deacon says, his voice sounding weaker. The lack of color is now very obvious to him. If this kept going, then he might actually...
No! Don't think like that.
The shadow stops in front of him, looks Deacon up and down, and then grabs his hand.
And.. kisses it?!
Before he can react, a bright light floods his vision, and..
... Deacon's eyes flutter open to see.. a Bronze in shining armor.
The Prince could not have found the Princess, for she was hidden away too well. No matter how much she prayed, her prince did not arrive.
The End.
The Prince found the Princess.
Deacon slowly sat up, instinctively rubbing the back of his hair with his free hand, like he woke up from a long sleep.
His other hand was occupied loosely by Bronze's hand.
"Did you..?" He would've said more, but his brain was lagging behind due to how normal the colors were now.
Bronze simply nodded, a faint look of relief on his face. Deacon forgot how vibrant his hair and eyes could be.
And honestly.. he looked good in yellow. But he wouldn't say that to him.
He also feels perfectly normal now. There's no fatigue, no life-draining feeling, nothing. And he has Bronze to thank for that.
Deacon grasped his prince's hand in his own two. "Thank you. Seriously."
"Ah-" Bronze seemed to be caught off guard, his cheeks turning an unexpected shade of oxidized green, "Don't worry about it. Just doin' what I felt was right."
...
After Bronze helped him out of the coffin, he finally heard the party buzzing down below.
"They were celebrating my death? Not cool."
"Yep. And at this point, we're completely off track from the story, so.. how do you think this should end?"
"I think I've got an idea," Deacon grinned, "Let's go say hello to that Queen."
With the Prince and Snow White escaping hand in hand, they decided to pay the Queen one last visit before escaping into the night.
"Everyone! Listen to me!" Deacon shouted at the top of the steps leading into the ballroom. Music stopped and people turned to look in shock! The Princess was alive?! "The Queen locked me up! I never died of natural causes!"
Deacon took Bronze's hand and raised it in the air. "This Prince saved my life! Isn't it messed up how far she went to get rid of me?!"
He'll admit, after saying that, he cringed at himself. But he was never one for coming up with good dialogue on the fly. These things take time and thought, and— wait no, stop thinking about that!
The Evil Queen suddenly appeared next to him, anger growing in her face.
"You aren't supposed to be here!" She yelled, "You were supposed to be DEAD!"
The crowd gasped. She just admitted to her evil scheme!
"Uh-okay-well-we'll-be-going-now-BYE!" Deacon rushed out before squeezing Bronze's hand tighter and running down the steps of the castle.
As the pair ran out of the ballroom, the crowd had turned on the Queen. Planning and executing such a devious scheme was too far!
They were so focused on the Queen in fact that the two were free to run into the night, the moon illuminating both the path forward, and Snow White's freedom as well.
She was finally free to live without scrutiny or hatred with a man that she loved.
The End.
After that, both the keys and Deacon promised to double check the synopsis of any book that they choose, and maybe not to use noes-goes as a strategy to choose who goes in said book.
And strangely, he couldn't get Bronze's face out of his mind for a while afterwards.. that shade of oxidized green was pretty.