PLAY the PART (AIOxSyberia)

⟢CHAPTER V⟣

  Connie hummed to herself, noticing an old feather duster on the end table in the small library lounge. Picking it up, she decided to hand onto it. Would make for a great excuse if any other castle staff caught her wandering in and out of rooms.

  Feather duster in hand, Connie peaked around the room one more time. After, she left to see what the next room had in store. Stepping back into the hallway, she spotted Bernard also stepping out of another room. He had a look of bewilderment on his face. "Bernard? Did you find something?"

  "Hm?" He glanced to Connie, before then lightly waving her off. "No, nothin'. Just that the size of the fireplace in that room was crazy!" Connie gave him a slightly sideways look. "I mean, good grief, with a fireplace that size, I'd never have to pay another heating bill again in my life!" She laughed a little. "Gotcha." With that, the two continued snooping about the castle.

  Just as both were about to enter new rooms, Bernard caught a whiff of something. "Do you smell that?" Connie looked at him. "Smells like... roasted pork. We must be close to the kitchen." She concluded. Then, she went into a smaller lounge room.

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  "You may sit here, Sir Metlsner." The butler from before, who'd found him in the athenaeum, gestured to a seat at the King's table. The seat itself was several chairs from the head of the table, where Eugene assumed the King himself was to sit. "Thank you."

  "The King will be joining you shortly." The butler then told, going on to explain with. "His majesty has been in a strange, almost irritative mood today." Eugene gave the man a curious glance. "Anyhow, you do best to keep your conversation concise." The butler requested. "Very well, then." Eugene hummed. And with that, the butler took his leave of the Dining Hall.

  Now being left to wait for the arrival of the mysterious King, Eugene took a look at the table's set up. He'd never seen any like it ever. Even his own place setting was adorned with silk napkins, and silverware with small rhinestones embedded in the handles. The last time Eugene had seen a place setting half as fancy as this, was back when he and Katrina were first seeing each other. Eugene had been invited to join Katrina and her parents for dinner out of town, as her father had even made reservations for them. He remembered being somewhat nervous on that dinner, wanting nothing more than to impress the parents of the woman he would eventually end up marrying.

  Eugene smiled at the memory. The couple had come a long way in their relationship since then. The smile faded, Eugene's mind returning to reality—if he could even call it that. He was continually noticing the small things differentiating whatever this was from a normal, pre-programmed Imagination Station adventure. The moment Eugene finds Katrina and Buck, he'd try to find a way to undo this—to bring everyone home!

  Footsteps echoed down one of the hallways leading into the Dinning Hall. Looking up, Eugene directed his attention towards the sound, watching as one person was being led into the room by the butler. Upon seeing him, Eugene's eyes widened. "Here you are, sire. Dinner will be served shortly-"

  "Mr. Whittaker!" The older man paused from sitting at the end of the table, just as he saw the younger man shoot up from his seat. "Eugene!" Abandoning the chair altogether, Whit made his way around the table to greet Eugene. "Oh, are you alright? You were still unresponsive back at Whit's End!"

  "I appear to be. Other than a slight irritation, I feel well." Having clasped his hands on Eugene's shoulders, Whit couldn't help himself from pulling him into a brief hug out of relief. "Thank the Lord!"

  "Indeed!" Trying not to be too rude, the butler cleared his throat so as to gain their attention. "Apologies, but the kitchen staff will be bringing the food out any second. If I may, please take your seats."