A House is Not a Home(Open)

[Anastasia]

Now that she was finally earning a little bit of money she decided that she would use that hard earned cash to get some furniture for her little studio flat. Since it was so little that it had one room and a toilet in it and that was just about it, she realised that she wasn’t going to need that much, otherwise she would have more furniture that floor space. All she needed was, one bed, one wardrobe/dresser, one sofa or armchair, and a table of some sort. Currently all she had was one horribly uncomfortable single bed, one drawer and a fold away picnic chair. Luckily the kitchen adjoining to the same room had everything she could possibly need, cooker, fridge, microwave and kettle, so clearly that’s where all the money went when the landlord was kitting out the flats.

However she wasn’t being completely honest with herself in that it wasn’t all her completely hard earned cash she was using. With the wages she had earned she had attempted to go back to the council to give them back the ‘starter’ money they had given her when she arrived completely out of the blue in Tintagel. They had refused to take it back and indeed, gave her more so that she could improve the place she was staying in. She didn’t like taking handouts from other people…but she really did need the money. If she had a little left of it she was going to use it to buy another outfit as well which would bring her up to a grand total of three different outfits. It would be enough.

She wandered through the store wearing a large red jumper which hung loosely over her skinny frame, with a pair of black jeans on and red converse that already looked like they were falling apart. The strange clothes had been in some kind of sale and were just the right price, they didn’t look too bad either although she wasn’t sure she was wearing the right combination. The furniture store, attached to the mall was massive and apparently had a one way system. A man with an interesting accent had given her a tiny wooden pencil and a bit of paper so she could write down the number of whatever beds or wardrobes took her fancy.

There was just so much, and most of it was quite affordable which was the main reasons he was smiling so much. There was just an endless choice that she was having difficulty just choosing one bit of furniture. And the way they laid it out, they gave you so many ideas for saving space by just adding something on to what you already had. It was fascinating. She had already been in their an hour and had completely lost track of time. Once she had reached the ‘beds’ part of the shop she began testing them out and found that they were all rather comfortable. She flopped down on to one and grinned.

“I could get used to this…”

[Deleted]

Now, Eric was more than willing to accept the fact that his dog was no longer, well, a dog, but the fact remained that it all meant that he couldn’t just stay at his dorm room. They sort of frowned on girls sharing rooms with boys over there. Was it kind of silly? Yes, especially considering the fact that said girl used to be his dog. Eric was open-minded, but not that open-minded.

Now, he didn’t need to completely start over when it came to furniture like some people who just randomly appeared here (not that he knew about them yet; his mind was already blown enough by his dog turning into a girl, thank you very much, it would be best to keep the magic coming in baby steps for him). He had some basics, but…to be perfectly honest? The idea of having a new place to live, the first time he had ever really lived on his own, without Grimsby or any of the servants, just him and Max? Well, that was something special. Like a way to just…well, he didn’t want to say completely start over, but it certainly had the trappings of a new beginning for him, didn’t it? And what better way than to start looking to see if there was any new furniture that he wanted for his new domain.

Which is why he found himself sort of strolling by the mattresses, hands stuffed in his jean pockets, and humming a tune that he had heard on the radio on his way here (he really loved some of the new artists that he was hearing about here. Sure, he heard plenty back at home, but it was often some time later. People didn’t pay all that much attention to their little island nation, it seemed, not even radio stations). It was just so catchy, and he could honestly say that it had been a while since a pop station had played a song like that, as far as he knew anyway. This Adele woman had some serious soul in that voice of hers, and it was really earning Eric’s respect and he was fairly certain he’d be downloading the song as soon as he got home. It was just so freaking addictive.

As he was still a bit unsure if he wanted to try out new mattresses, he wasn’t quite testing out some of them like, say, that redhead over there. At least, that’s what he was assuming she was doing. The truth was that he had never had to do something like this before. All the more reason for him to do it, right? I mean sure, he was going to be living in his palace for his entire life after school, but why shouldn’t he get the experience of buying his own furniture, right? No need to be so snobby about errands like that.

Being a rather curious prince by nature, he approached the girl, hands still in his pockets and sort of stood over the mattress that she was lying on. “Someone’s comfortable,” he remarked with a light laugh, not at all one that’d be mistaken as mean (at least he hoped).

[Anastasia]

Without opening her eyes Anya smiled and said in a completely satisfied tone, “Oh you have no idea. I have never been more comfortable in my life. It’s like it’s made of clouds, or candy floss, or thousands and thousands of little fluffy bunnies and kittens covered in cotton wool.”
 
Her eyes opened as she thought about that one and frowned, “Alright, scratch that last one, that was either too cute or too morbid. Those poor squished creatures.”
 
Sitting up she smiled and looked at him, and then looked at him again. This one was very handsome, and smiling, he was smilingly handsome. It seemed this was her lucky day, comfortable bed, handsome guy smiling at her, give her a cup of warm coffee and a croissant and the moment would be perfect. She swung her legs off the mattress and said, “Sorry, where you wanting a turn? I highly recommend it.”

[Deleted]

Well would you look at that? She wasn’t even creeped out by his appearance, which he would admit had crossed his mind as he was approaching her, but Eric was a sociable guy, you couldn’t just stop him from being so, especially since this girl seemed pretty interesting. Definitely friendship material if he was lucky. And the fact that she had apparently “never been more comfortable in her life” just made him smile all the more. “Wow, glad to hear it,” he noted before she scratched away the bunnies and kittens comment. That definitely made him laugh a bit.

“You’ve got a point there, yikes.” He shuddered a bit, but in a way that indicated that he was mostly joking. Eric was actually pretty good at keeping morbid mental images at bay, and the worst he got out of the redhead’s comment was the sounds of something squishing…soooo he was going to pretend they were galoshes on a rainy day or something. Yeah, that was much safer, especially since he was one of those weirdos who actually liked the rain. It was as close to being underwater as humans could get without having to come up for air. How could he not enjoy that?

Being ever the gentleman, he was actually surprised that she was planning on ending the most comfortable experience of her life (if she was to be believed) on his account. “What, me? Oh please, you looked way too comfortable for me to want to stop you. Not even sure if I’m going to be buying a mattress,” he assured her with a shrug. “Truth is, I um…” Okay, so maybe now he was going to seem a bit weird? Or maybe she was the social type too? He kind of hoped so.

“Just noticed you there and thought I’d say hi, basically. I do that kind of thing a lot, to be honest. Hope I didn’t interrupt too much…”

[Anastasia]

He just came over to say hi? Well it didn’t sound like a chat up line but there was something so wonderfully corny and sweet about it that it made her smile. In a strange way she could actually see what he was talking about as well. She wondered if he was another one of these ‘displaced’ citizens of Tintagel, that had been snatched from their world and put there…or maybe he was voluntary. Either way, same result, your in a new strange place all by yourself, you just want someone to talk too, you want to engage with someone. Yeah, she got that. Such a shame that one person had run off leaving her with no job and a perplexed expression.
 
However this guy was appearing to be much nicer and a little bit less touchy feely. The other guy had kissed her, and sang to her before making a dramatic exit…Actors, what were they like? Well this guy seemed harmless enough so she didn’t the randomness of the situation.
 
“Well…hi, and no you’re not interrupting anything” she said smiling happily and holding her hand out to him to shake, “I’m Anya.”

[Deleted]

Eric was a pretty optimistic guy, so he was hoping that his previous luck in not creeping the pretty girl out would continue. So far he hadn’t gotten any suspicious scowls or blackened eyes from her. In fact, she seemed to be smiling, pretty glad that he had gone over just to say hi. It wasn’t like it had ever been too much of a problem before. The thing was that the reason was probably because everyone knew him back at home. It was a little difficult to not know the prince, especially when said prince was as sociable as Eric, wanting to get to know the people that he was supposed to reign over someday. He liked to think that he was at least friendly acquaintances with most of his subjects because of this.

But here? No one knew him, and from his limited time at Tintagel, he was finding that royalty wasn’t all that special around these parts. It was probably part of why Grim sent him here. It was just good diplomacy, meeting up with other countries after all those years of just being around his own little island nation…besides, this also meant there were dozens of princesses that he was hoping he’d pair himself off with. Although at this point, Grimsby probably wouldn’t have objected to him getting hitched with some girl off the street, that was how desperate his old friend was getting.

Honestly, he wasn’t interested in that unless he could find whoever had that voice…what he was interested in, however, was hopefully making some friends. Would it frustrate Grimsby to no end that a good amount of them, so far, had been very pretty girls who could’ve easily been eligible if he had only asked? Probably, but Eric had to live his own life, had to make his own choice about this, and his choice was her…wherever or whoever she was.

So it was merely a friendly smile he sported when he shook Anya’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Anya. I’m Eric.” He thought for a moment if he should mention the whole prince thing. He had never really been in a position where someone didn’t know that, after all…was that customary? Letting people who didn’t know you were royalty that you were, in fact, royal? Eh, it seemed a little braggy, now that he thought of it. If the subject came up, whatever, but really, the title was just a part of whom he was, and why should he mess with Anya’s judgments of him by pointing out something that didn’t matter too much?

“So, are you new around here too? I’m just guessing, what with the mattress shopping.”

[Anastasia]

“Is it that obvious?” she said looking down at herself in mock seriousness, scrutinizing her hands and legs as if her ‘newness’ was so apparent on her outer appearance, “I mean I’ve tried to hide it, but you don’t have to lie. I know it’s not just the mattress shopping. I’m so obviously…” she looked around as if others could over hear and whispered, “new. An outsider!”

She grinned and got to her feet, laughing a little as well, “yeah I’m not exactly from around here, but then it doesn’t seem many people are. However I am special in the case that not many others appeared to have had no choice in coming here. No one else has apparently been ripped from their time and world and thrust into the weirdness that is this place. That’s just me. I wonder if they have a name for that yet? Maybe I should make one. The Anya effect. Yeah, I like that.”

Clasping her hands in front of her and grinning asked, “sooo, Eric. Did you come here for some home decorating or just to pick up girls? Not judging, just curious, and I could really do with a second opinion on these mattresses…and just so we’re clear that wasn’t a chat up line.”

[Deleted]

As it turned out, Eric must’ve picked a very good person to talk to, because Anya was proving to be pretty funny. As innocent as Eric was, he was more than capable of seeing that the redhead was joking around with him, and he was actually laughing by the time she was whispering, “I’m so obviously…new. An outsider!” Once the joke was over, he was about to assure her that she was hardly alone, that if she was an “outsider” so was he, but then she started telling him something that was…interesting, to say the least. He didn’t want to say that his smile fell off of his face upon hearing about the very weird story, but…well, he wasn’t quite laughing either.

Not that he thought she was nuts or anything! It just wasn’t everyday that you heard about someone pulled straight out of their own time…or your own dog turning into a human, for that matter…and Anya had mentioned that this place was weird. What else had happened to her? Eric was suddenly thinking that there was the possibility of this sort of thing being status quo around Trenale and Tintagel…

Eric was suddenly wondering what he had gotten himself into when he agreed to come here.

Still, he wasn’t about to cut the conversation short over some apparent weirdness, that would just be rude. Eric was hardly perfect; his head was often in the clouds and that made him somewhat oblivious, and admittedly he drove Grimsby crazy with how very little he cared if his room was clean…but one thing he definitely wasn’t was intentionally rude. So he mentally slapped that surprised look off of his face and nodded. “Yeah, the Anya Effect sounds pretty suitable,” he noted, managing a slight laugh.

In spite of the loop he had been thrown in for, he was still very capable of a wicked grin. “Aw darn it, you found me out,” he teased, and after laughing at himself for a moment, he shook his head. “Believe me, I wasn’t going to assume that was a pick up line, although I would’ve been pretty flattered if it had been…and as for picking up girls, it’s not really my style…” Then his expression grew slightly more pensive. “Unless there was…” But then he shook his head. “Although out of all the places I’d find her, I doubt it’d be here…but anyway, yeah, I’d be happy to help. I really just need to decorate my new place…living in the dorms has proven to be a bit difficult…” Which was of course the easy version; he could have said “my former dog is now a girl, and they don’t exactly allow girls in the dorm, so I need to skedaddle” but somehow it seemed like a bit much. “But it’s not like it can’t wait.” Because Max was probably going to nap and stay away from his strategically hidden homework, right? Right.

Maybe if Eric hadn’t just implied that his heart was otherwise occupied, he would’ve felt a bit awkward about the whole “testing the mattress” thing, but he actually felt pretty at ease, settling himself on the other side of it and lying down.

After a pensive moment, he noted, “You weren’t kidding Anya, this is great.” And he lived in a palace most of his life and now that he thought of it, he supposed that made him something of an authority on the subject. He hoped this didn’t mean that he was spoiled, though.

[Anastasia]

Good, clearly this one had a sense of humour, which was always a good start. She knew too many people that seriously needed a sense of humour transplant, but this guy seemed alright. His shocked expression however at her explanation was just more proof that she was clearly a rare case. Of course maybe h hadn’t been here long enough o know what she was talking about. That could be it as well. Yeah. Maybe. But proving more that he had a sense of humour he was back into smiling and joking mode in no time.
 
She listened as he spoke about how he was flattered but picking up girls wasn’t his style, then he muttered something about finding a girl, all the while grinning a little evilly. Once she was sure he was done and back to talking about decorating the flat she said, “Oh you don’t have to worry, I won’t tell anyone, you’re secret is safe with me. Not picking up girls, eh?” she winked, “don’t worry, I know what you mean. I used to hang out with bohemians in Montmartre. I know what not picking up girls means.”
 
There was no way this guy batted for the other team, she was pretty good at being able to tell these things and she just wasn’t getting that vibe. But still it was fun to tease and she only hoped he got the implication she was making and knew she was joking.
 
When he lay down beside her and exclaimed that she was right she turned him and said, “I know right? It’s soooo comfy. And if you’re moving out of dorms you’ll need a new bed. And I imagine it is pretty difficult living in dorms. I used to have this little bedsit and I had to share a toilet with like 10 other people, it was not fun. Really, really not fun. Especially if you had to go in after Mr LeMans from downstairs had been in and the place stank of his awful aftershave.”
 
Turning back to stare at the ceiling she said, “You know, you’re the first person I’ve spoken to the longest that hasn’t been a) introducing to me to the town of Trenale b) been my employer or c) Sang at me and then kissed me.”

[Deleted]

It actually took longer for Eric to get Anya’s joke than he was proud of, but come on, he was a little sheltered, and the one guardian he had grew up in a time when that sort of thing probably got you beaten up, if not killed. Blinking, he started saying, “Oh, no, I’m not…” But then he caught the look on her face and recognized her tone and he started to laugh. “…completely clueless that you’re joking, of course,” he tried, although he knew there was no possible way that would save him from being found out for actually being quite clueless. He took that in stride though, letting out a laugh. Because why waste time being embarrassed when she was clearly such a nice girl?

Besides, it was becoming pretty clear that they were already building something of a rapport, which Eric definitely called a stroke of good luck. As of right now, he didn’t have that many friends. Not in a tragic, “woe is me” way, just in a “I’m still kind of new” way, and if he could become fast friends with Anya (cross fingers), he was pretty confident that it was a very good thing.

…and oh jeez, she had a point about the mattresses, didn’t she? “…jeez, I am bad at this, I didn’t even realize it wasn’t optional,” he admitted, laughing awkwardly once more as he shook his head. “But seriously, this is great…but you saw it first, so you get dibs.” He sent her a wry smile, but he genuinely meant what he said. Perhaps Eric wasn’t perfect, but he was a gentleman, and a deep believer in “Ladies first”, and that even went for mattresses.

Then she went on to talk about a place she used to live, and for a guy who had barely left the island kingdom he grew up on apart from going out on the ocean (even then that was never more than, what, a hundred miles away?), it was utterly fascinating, just that tiny little tidbit of life in France of all places. Even if it was probably the part that people didn’t want clouding their Eiffel Tower and “City of Lights” fantasies about the place. He laughed a little. “Wow…uh, thankfully I didn’t really have that problem…it was really just me and my…dog…” It was still hard to say that, and he hated himself for it. Hadn’t he promised he wasn’t going to let their hurt his relationship with his best friend in the world?

“But yeah, Max kind of hates it there,” because that was a good enough lie, right? “So I’m getting my own place, like I said…” That seemed good enough…and wait, did she just say she was being kissed and sung at by a total stranger. He let out a little laugh: “Uh, wow, even I wouldn’t go that far if I found…uh, never mind.” Not that he minded talking about it, of course. He just didn’t want to bore her, because Anya just seemed like such a fun person.

[Anastasia]

Huh. So this one was verging on the innocent was he? Well that made a nice change from the other guys she usually met. She grinned as he began to realise that she was joking, laughing good naturedly, not wanting him to feel embarrassed or anything. God knew she had been on the receiving end of a few of them back in Paris. It was endearing and she found that it definitely made him go up in her estimation.

“Don’t worry about the mattress, I think they keep these things in bulk, and I wont hold it against you if you buy the same mattress as me,” she said smiling happily at him, “I mean it’s a fairly androgynous mattress, no one can accuse you of having a girly mattress.”

She liked the way he spoke about Max, you could tell that he really cared which was refreshing, that and she was glad he wouldn’t go so far as to sing and kiss if he found…. She grinned a little slyly, “Found who?”

[Deleted]

Eric had no doubt that when Anya laughed, she was laughing with him and not at him. She just seemed way too nice to be mean spirited about the fact that he was, perhaps a little too sheltered for his own good, which was part of what had brought him to Trenale in the first place. Honestly, she seemed like the sort of person you could really count on to make you laugh when you needed one, and to be equal parts friendly and snarky. How could you have a problem with that, right? Even if her jokes left you looking like an idiot for a second? It was all in good fun, and it wasn’t like she had meant it. So he just laughed, easy going guy that he was.

As if to prove his point about the fact that she probably was good at making people laugh, she pointed out that the mattress seemed pretty androgynous from where she was standing. “True,” he agreed, unable to stop grinning now, because seriously, this girl was funny. “And hey, Max is a girl anyway, so even if it were a girly mattress—“ Oh wait, he had said she was a dog…then again, people spoiled the hell out of their own dogs, right? Considering he was a prince, actually, Max was kept pretty grounded. Because there were people who put their dogs in their purses for God’s sake. And held doggy bar mitzvahs. That was just out of line beyond any worldly definition of the phrase.

“Well, you know, she winds up on my bed about 95% of the time, so I’m sure I could use her as an excuse if anyone gives me grief,” he continued, managing his lighthearted tone, which he felt he deserved some kind of award for. But apparently, he had brought the subject onto a very different girl in his life, one who had yet to have a face he could match the most heavenly voice he ever heard to.

“…all right, I’ll tell you, but you should know that you just opened up the Sap Gate,” he started, a half teasing, half absolutely lovesick grin on his face. “See…there’s this girl…and she saved my life, but I never saw her face, but…” He wound up sighing like a stereotype and he lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “That voice…I can’t get it out of my head, and I’ve been looking for her ever since. She was singing this song…and…I think she was trying to say that she wanted us to be together…” Then he glanced back over at Anya with a sheepish smile. “You think that’s silly?”

[Anastasia]

It was nice to hear him talk about his dog, like the animal was more like a person, like a real human best friend than just some pet. That was how you could really judge a person, by how they treated their animals, and Eric appeared to love his dog. It just reminded her of how much she wanted her own little pet, her own little puppy to love and adore and spoil till her hearts content. She should really look in to that…

“Wait a minute,” she said holding up a hand as he told her the story of him and the girl, “so there was this girl…and she saved you…and now you cant get her voice out of your head…and you’re asking me if that sounds silly?”

She grinned and continued, “it’s one of the most bizarre things I have ever hear and yet at the same time sounds like one of the most amazingly romantic things as well. How did she save your life? Why were you in a position you needed saving? What was so great about her voice? How do you know she wants you both to be together? How are you going find her? You need to work out all these things or those absinthed up bohemians will never write about it.”

[Deleted]

Truthfully, Eric hadn’t told anyone besides Grimsby and Max about the voice, and that was only because they were around at the time…well, that and the fact that those two were his best friends. He realized that some people would find that sad, a butler and a dog for best friends, but it just never bothered Eric, really. It was about quality, or at least it should have been, and those two had been there for him during very difficult times, were the ones that knew him best, even back when Max was a dog. She had still felt like a person who really understood him…so he supposed it was weird how now that she was a person, it was driving him nuts. He really needed to keep that in perspective before he wound up doing something stupid.

But anyway, it seemed that Anya was insanely intrigued by his story, and…well, Eric was surprised. Very happily surprised, of course, because, well..he had been hoping that he could really talk about this, and as much as Grim tried, he just thought this was a figment of his imagination, and while Max was the best listener, there was only so much he could accomplish by talking to her about it. So he sat up, eyes alight as she bombarded him with questions, and he had to laugh when she made the comment about absinthed up writers. Clearly, this was a girl that appreciated a good love story, which he really hoped this was. He didn’t even mind the fact that there were so many questions to answer, he was just glad he could finally tell someone besides his dog without annoying them!

“Well, see, back a home I spent a whole lot of time on a ship, just enjoying the open ocean, the salt spray in your face…anyway, I had just been talking to Grimsby, he’s my butler, but he’s also kind of like a father to me. He was saying how I really needed to find a girl to marry, but I just…I had never found a girl that I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. Grimsby suggested that I hadn’t been looking hard enough, and I said, ‘Believe me, Grim, when I find her, I’ll know. Just..BAM, it hit me. Like lightning.’ So of course, what should happen but a storm actually happening. This wasn’t just any storm either, this was one of the worst I had ever seen. One thing led to another, and I guess I nearly drowned, at least, that’s what Grimsby said.”

But then…” He laughed a little, because this whole thing happening was still mind boggling. “The next thing I know, I’m waking up to this…gorgeous voice, I mean…to be honest, since the sun was right behind her and her voice sounded like an angel’s…I thought I had died, and the craziest part is that I knew I wouldn’t mind as long as she was just there…so I guess the lightning did hit me…” He managed a sheepish smile there, because that was probably a lame way of putting it, seeing as he had almost died because of that lightning hitting him, but at least there was a much preferable, metaphorical meaning behind that. “And…well, I remember the lyrics, basically…isn’t that crazy, though? That I remember her voice and what she was saying, but if I got a good look at her face, I don’t remember it…apart from blue eyes, that is…at least, I think they were blue…but yeah…I mean, I’ve actually played that song on my guitar thousands of times, like I’m hoping that maybe that will be how I find her because…I mean, I looked all over that island and didn’t have any luck…”

And with that, he let out a final sigh, lying back down, staring at the ceiling. “But I’ve got to find her, Anya…even if it takes the rest of my life, I’ve got to.” And with that, he glanced back at her with a weak smile. “So you think the absinthe and the writers approve?”