The Ultimate Storybook (3)

Lucinda~

I looked over at Edward, who had sat down next to me, and smiled. He didn't smile back but I didn't mind, he wasn't the type that expressed much.
His hair was all messy. I quickly leaned over to fix it without anyone noticing. He looked over at me and I gave him a nervous smile.
I turned toward the queen. "So you're coming with us so that the mage will take us serioulsly?" I asked her.

**Sorry, I know it's not much. I can't think right now. They'll become longer, I promise **

Edward-

He sighed, Lucinda had always been by his side for over a month. She had become used to his lack of emotions, and Edward became used to Lucinda's energy.

**of course they can, Bella, I knew that, and I think reading someones mind is a bit more intrusive than just talking to them with your mind, no?**

Richard:

"Ha ha ha ha!" he laughs, "the Queen herself will accompany our expedition?"

"Yes" she answers him, "but please, call me Lady Elanora"

"This is most interesting, Lady Elenora" he replies

He seated himself at the table, and ate his meal in silence, not initiating an conversations, and answering others in short, curt, answers. When they brought the food, he spoke quietly to the server,

"I'll take no meat, please" he whispers, the man nods, and continues along, serving the other people, the person sitting next to him leaned over, and whispered

"You're a vegetarian?" he says

"No, Im a half lamb biological freak, and I felt that eating lamb would be cannibalistic." he says sarcastically

the man looks away quickly, his face flushed in anger.

Bella

I ate as much as I could, while at the same time trying not to look greedy. It had been quite some time since I had had a decent meal.

Noticing that the queen was watching me, I straightened up a bit. Lady Elenora chuckled.

"You don't have to worry so much," she said, smiling gently. "I'm not going to eat you if you act slightly unlady-like."

"I know, milady, but it seems only fitting to act proper when dining with the queen."

"This is true, but as I am part of the expedition, perhaps it should not be thought of that way," Lady Elenora said thoughtfully. "This is not to say that I would allow you to act like barbarians, of course."

"Of course," I agreed, laughing. "Milady," I let my tone become hushed. "Are you sure we need all of these people?" I glanced narrowly toward Richard, careful not to let him into my mind again.

"I believe so, yes," Lady Elenora nodded slowly, as if mulling this over.

**Gasp! you dont want to get rid of me, do you? {smiles} **

Richard:

feeling mischevious, he decided to play a small joke (ha ha) on the vampire who had been so rude to him earlier. using telekinesis, he started to slide the vampires plate towards her, pushing it towards the edge, as the vampire was busy talking to the queen. as it neared the vampire, he gave it a final touch, so that it was totering on the edge, and at last, the vampire nudged it in just the wrong way, causing th plate to spill over the table, right into her lap.

Richard quickly looks away, as the vampire is covered with the remains of her meal.


{one more for me, Vampire} he tells her in thought-speech


**by the way, i know he's acting immature, childish, it's totally intentional, thanks. an dby the way, if both of us have telepathy, then we can communicate with each other, without saying anything, right? cool. **

Bella

As my food fell in my lap, I growled.

"Pardon me, milady," I said, grinning as i slipped passed the queen and found my way to the bathrooms.

That was completely uncalled for! I snapped telepathically to Richard, while I cleaned off my bodice. He chuckled, but said nothing in reply.

As I turned to leave the bathrooms, Lacy entered.

"Hi," I said, smiling to her kindly.

"Hey," she replied. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine," I asnwered. "Slightly stained, but i'll get over it."

"Here, let me help," she walked over to the sink, grabbed a damp towel, and began dabbing at my dress. "He shouldn't have done that."

"No, probably not. It's a horrid way to act in front of the queen." I agreed. "But that won't stop him."

You're right, it won't, He agreed, slipping into my mind again.

"God! Stop it!" I said loudly, both mentally and vocally. Lacy stared at me for a moment. "He's been getting into my mind, using telepathy to listen in and all those other things," I explained, rebuilding my mental blocks so he couldn't intrude again.


**Travis, notice that the walls are up, so Richard shouldn't be able to get into Bella's mind again. He could try, but wouldn't be able to unless she let him.**

Lucinda~

I sighed looking at my wine glass. I was totally bored. I was the youngest here and no one really wanted to talk to me.
I made a bubble rise from my glass and popped it in my mouth. Edward looked over to me.
"Watch showing off your powers here." He said softly.
"Why? They have powers and special abilities too." I said, looking confused.
"Yes, but some are more accepting than others." He said, looking towards Richard.
I raised an eyebrow. "Richard? He is fine; a little rude but fine."
I made another bubble and popped it into my mouth again.

**we obviously have different concepts of telelpathy. I was not listening to your thoughts, i was merely projecting my own in a speech-like manner, i view these as different things, different part of the same ability. sure, you can block people from reading your thoughts, but can you block them from talkign to you? i dont think so, but we will have to talk about what the limits of telpathy actually are, but not on here, Ok, ill talk to you in person, that will be much more clear & faster, Ok?**


Richard:

Richard was not feeling any better for his joke. in fact he felt worse. now everyone thought he was an asshole, and rightly so. It was that damn vampires fault.

Of course he would never consider the possibility that it might have been his fault. Never.

((Lacy))

Both of Lacy's eyebrows raised, "Pardon?"

Bella sighed loudly and took the towel from Lacy, "He's going to be getting on my nerves if he keeps acting like that."

The taste of lamb in Lacy's mouth reminded her of the rest of the group back in the dining room, "We should get back."

A quick look in the mirror and they left the bathroom to return to their seats. Lacy gracefully sat and pulled herself up to the table. Lady Elenora nodded to acknowledge her and Bella's return. Lacy picked up her utensils and scooped up a piece of lamb from her stew. It took all her etiquette classes to keep her from wolfing down all of her meal.

Buttering her roll, Lacy looked around. She caught Bella's eye; she did not look happy. Bella broke her eye contact with Lacy, only to catch Richard's stare. Richard shrugged, a smile across his face. Bella exhaled sharply and looked away. She picked up her spoon and started eating.

"Is anything wrong?" Lady Elenora had noticed the display.

"No." came from Bella's and Richard's mouths simultaneously. They looked at each other with curiousity.

Smiling Lady Elenora replied, "Good."

**after the meal, i dont know if we were planning on leaving straightaway, or if we are given time to prepeare, but my character needs some time to prepare... thanks**

Richard:

alone again, after the meal, in his quarters, he sits on teh bare wooden floor. after sitting a moment, he begins an exercise, which has kept him sane for the last decade.

He opens his mind, first a little, and then more an more, encompasing every living thing in the area, it spreads out and out, a bare thread of consciousness brushing against all creatures. his live envleopes theire, and he knows them, sees them, but for the fleetest second.

most people never noticed when he did this, the tendrils of thought barely touching them, but a few of the more psychic of them would object and even most of them never knew. When they did notice, more often then not, they blocked out his blanketing thoughts.

Richard would do this on very rare occasions, usually only in times of great stress, to become one with the society that he was no part of, to know these people in such a way as they knew themselves, surely it was intrusive, but without it, without this bare companionship, he would have succumbed to madness' cold grasp long before.

**OK, you have to realize, he is not reading their thoguhts, only brushing them, to gain a glimmer of emotion, he can read entire comunities like this, he becomes one with everything, expanding his consciousness to the max. But he knows not the individual. as i said, most people would never notice, excepting those who have telepathic powers. peace**