Sorry, True. I just haven't had the time (or possibly the brain cells) to write this. But yes, I'm now on YWP as Anne Shirley101. I got a friend request from dancingshoes. What's your YWP name? And yeah, the current queen is likely deceased. So I guess since it's far into the future, we can make it up.

Dehlia ~

We slipped in, and took out the guards before they even knew we were there. I was really beginning to like this gun. We decided against a grand front door entrance, deciding instead on going through a servant's door. We walked down a long hall, lined with hooks for coats and whatnot. We entered into what I figured was the kitchen. The floor was a hard, patterned stone. The walls were a pristine white, with shining metal boxes lined against the wall that hummed quietly with power. We passed through a door on the opposite wall, and came into another long hall. This had multiple doors leading off into various rooms. One like a library, another a sitting room, a third a study, a fourth a tea room, and a fifth a grand dining room. It had a long, mahogany table, beautiful paintings hanging on the walls, red, white, and blue drapes hanging, and finally, two large, ornate fireplaces with the Royal Crest hanging above each. Errol sighed.

"With this many rooms, it'll take forever to find the Queen's bedroom!" He said.

"So divide and conquer?" I asked. He nodded.

"Fine. It makes sense that the royal family's bedrooms would be on an upper level. You and Felix will check the second and third floors. Dora and I will search the fourth and fifth. We meet back here in half an hour."

We all agreed, and headed up. Dora and I headed up to the fourth floor. I was nearly worn out by the time we reached the landing. We slowed our ascend. Two guards stood at the top of the stairway. Dora and I each took out our guns, and within the blink of an eye, the two guards were slumped on the ground. I glanced around. A long hallway reached off in either direction, and heading behind us to another hall opposite. But no other guards were visible. 

We started off, quickly and as quietly as possible opening doors. Many were beautiful bedrooms, but appeared unused. We found another library, not as big as the first, and another study. Finally, we made our way down to the east wing. At the end of the hall, there was a large, beautiful bay window, looking out over a vast garden. The doors on this end were different.  They were double doors made out of mahogany with shining handles. Plus, two more guards stood at the door. I looked at Dora. She nodded. We pulled out our guns and pulled the trigger. Both guards slumped soundlessly to the floor. I looked at Dora, putting my finger to my lips. 

On three, I mouthed.

One. Two. Three.

I threw open the doors, Dora holding the gun, ready to stun any assailants. The room was huge. We had entered into a large sitting room, with plush sofas and chairs. Large windows lined the wall, looking out over the main courtyard. I pulled out my own gun, and slowly walked in. I didn't see or hear anything. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I spun around. A girl, not much older than me, stood there, looking completely calm. 

"I am Queen Alice. What business do you have here?" 

Got it! And actually, I was reading, and could see where you were going with the guards. I wouldn't have thought of that! Genius, I love it!

Dehlia ~

Her Highness kept screaming for the guards, which was rather getting on my nerves. I was tempted to stun her and be done with it. Finally, I could hear footsteps echoing down the hall. Dor and I exhanged a look. The guards entered, wearing ridiculous bright, red coats. 

"Yes your Majesty." One said. I glanced at Dora, my eyes wide, and could tell she was thinking the same thing.

"Take these brats," she said, pointing to Deliha and I, "out. And keep away from the fifth floor. You know why." 

"Yess'm," they said. The taller of the two moved toward Dora and scooped her up. The other moved toward me as if to grab me, then lifted me off my feet.

"Felix!" I cried in surprise at the same moment Dora cried Errol's name. They both winked at us. 

"Where did you get those silly looking costumes?" I demanded, though I couldn't disguise my grin. 

"Oh some guards we stunned," Errol replied nonchalantly.

"And besides," Felix continued with a mischievous grin, "we couldn't let you girls have all the fun!"

I glanced over at Alice, who was taking all this in with a dazed yet angry sort of look. She finally managed to find her voice. "You're not my guards!" She shrieked.

"Yes," Errol replied, putting Dora back on her feet. "You're very observant, aren't you? Well, don't worry, you may not even remember any of this!" And with that, Errol stunned the Queen of England.

"You certainly have a flare for dramatics," Felix said to Errol as he placed me back on my feet.

The two quickly shed their coats.

"Well, now we know where the time tears are," Dora said. "The fifth floor."

*********************************************************************

I thought our characters could use a bit more personnal interaction. And I still love the whole guards being Errol and Felix thing!

Will do! Have fun in Japan, and tell me about it when you get back! ;)

Dehlia ~

I never knew an attic could be so huge. And I never knew a royal attic could be so filled with... junk. I mean, it was expensive, royal junk, but it was junk all the same. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with thick, dust covered, leather bound books and journals. I doubted anyone could read them all in an entire lifetime. Neat stacks of boxes stood everywhere, reaching almost up to the ceiling.

"Look for a locked box, a secret panel, something to hide the time tears," Errol said, starting off. We felt along the walls, and tested every crack in the floor. Most of the locked boxes contained jewelry, or some other such thing. Dora and I met up at the back corner of the room. 

"Nothing," I said. "Yet I feel it's right under our noses." Dora's head shot up.

"Wait, that's it!" she cried, looking excited. "If you're looking for something, but can never find it where you expect it to be, where is it normally? Where do you hide something that you absolutely don't want to be found?" 

Then it hit me.

"In plain sight," I replied as it dawned on me. We shot off, peering in open boxes and nooks.

"Here!" Dora shouted. We ran over. She was pointing to a to top shelf where a book leaned against another, creating a dark space just big enough to hide a small...

"A bottle of time tears," I said, smiling. "Felix, give me a hand." He cupped his hands and bent down, providing a footstep. I stepped up, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady myself. Even with Felix's boost, I couldn't see on the shelf. I cautiously slipped my hand inside.

"Ouch!" I yelped, quickly drawing my hand back. "Well that was clever," I mumbled, holding my finger.

"What?" Dora asked, looking up.

"They rigged a nail trap so when you break a thing string, a nail shoots out. Thankfully, it just scathed my finger." I cautiously reached back into the dark, feeling for any other traps. Thankfully, there was nothing else. My fingertips suddenly felt a cold smooth, surface. I gripped it, and pulled it out.

"I got it!" I gasped, holding it up. Felix let me down, when I noticed the book leaning over fall completely. I noticed yet another string broken. 

"Run!" I shouted.

__________________________________________________________________________________

So, what will the booby-trap be and what will it do?

So, L messaged me back through Camp Nano. Here's what she said;

"That sounds like a really cool idea (sorry I haven't been on as
much as I should). The only thing is, the characters I use for roleplays
I commonly use as characters in other stories published elsewhere on
the Web. To circumvent copyright jiggery-pokery I'd need to be
recognized as a contributor (which I am). Do you think we could put it
all together in a document that I publish on the same website already
with Errol's whole thing and attribute you guys with" ~ L

Thoughts? 

Dehlia ~

I pulled furiously on the door, but to no avail. It remained shut fast. I leaned against it, slid down the floor, and ran my fingers through my hair as I was apt to do when frustrated. I thought hard.

"We can't wait for sunrise. And Her Highness will probably be awake and screaming again by then." I stood up and flicked open the communicator. It cast a faint blue light.

"Elexhiia," I said, and her ace soon appeared. "A trap was set off when we retrieved the time tears, and now we're trapped in this attic." Elexhiia calculated the situation, then said; "Hang on." She carried the communicator out of the woods and into a patch of sunlight. The light provided by the screen increased.

"Use the light from the communicator. I don't know if this will be enough, but you don't have a lot of options." 

I looked at the others. Nobody seemed thrilled, but no one objected either.

"Ready?" Elexhiia asked as I held the comunicator in the middle of our huddle.

"One, two, three!"  we all shouted in unison, "I wish to go back to Elexhiia!" 

All light, even the communicator's, disappeared. All the air seemed to be sucked away too. I felt like I was, floating, falling, and drownig all at once. It seemed to stretch an eternity. At times I though I could hear the others, but it passed just as fleetingly as it came. My lungs started to burn. I started to think it wasn't enough light, that I was going to die here, when finally it was if I came to the end of a tunnel, and the world appeared around me. I fell to the ground coughing and gasping in deep gulps of breath. I blinked open my eyes. Dora lay nearby, as did Errol and Felix. All seemed to be in the same state I was.

"Are you okay?!" Elexhiia asked, kneeling beside us. She sounded panicked.

"Yes," I said, my voice rasping. She still looked panicked, and when I looked at my own flesh, I saw why. I'd always been pale skinned, but now my skin was white, almost grey. My hair was discolored too. I felt dizzy, light headed, and slightly nauseous. My eyes blurred as I tried to sit up. The others seemed to be suffering similar symptoms. I sat back against a tree, Felix sitting beside me.

"What happened?" Dora asked. 

"The light was only just enough," Elexhiia said. "Any less, and you all would have just faded away all together. We've got to be far more careful."

I nodded. Though I was already feeling better, and the others looked it. The longer we sat in the light, the better we felt. 

"Where next?" I asked, standing up.

"Paris, France," Elexhiia supplied with a grin.

@ True:

I guess since Errol was a character on a previous website, we can't really publish him anywhere else. When she said "I publish it", I think she simply meant since she's already established on it, she'd put it on there for us. But yes, I think she'd say it was written by us all, yes. It is a bit long, but it might work, depending. It depends on what site she put it on, etc. I'm not sure how to get in touch with Quintus, and SC hasn't replied to my Nano message, so we'll have to see. This idea might have to go on stand still for awhile at least. But at least its here on the CB!

@ Tovah: 

Glad you're back! Yes, True and I were thinking of publishing this. But we need consent from the other writers. So you, L, Quintus, and SC. What do you think?