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Chatterbox: Pudding's Place
The Secret of Ellingham Manor
You sigh and watch a raindrop slither down your bedroom window. It’s been raining for days, with no end in sight. “The largest rainstorm in a decade,” as the weatherman said. You stare out at the gray world outside your window. There’s gray cars, gray trees, gray houses, gray streets, smoking bird, gray sky - smoking bird? You run to your closet, searching for the binoculars you got as a birthday present when you were eight. You find them under a pair of jeans that's been too short since last winter and use them to take a closer look at this mysterious bird. It's definitely smoking - a fine trail of bluish smoke is trailing from its head. That's not the only strange thing about it; its skin is brown leather, its claws a shiny silver. There’s a white rectangle - an envelope? - tied to its left leg with brown string.You realize that the bird is mechanical and marvel at how pretty and fragile it is. Then you realize it’s heading straight for you. You don’t want the bird to hit the window and get hurt. The window creaks loudly as you open it. The strange bird swoops in and lands on your bed. It uses its silvery beak to undo the string on its leg and then lies down to have a rest. Everything seems very quiet all of a sudden. The only noises are the deafening rain outside and the plinking and clunking of the tiny gears that make up the bird’s heart. You walk to the bed. You were right - it is an envelope, a beautiful envelope with a red wax seal. The seal depicts an owl with a great many spears behind it. You turn the envelope over. There’s no return address. You open it and a beautiful hand-written letter falls out. You pause what feels like two or three eternities and read it.
Dear CBer,
You are cordially invited to my home, Ellingham Manor, for a Week of Wonder and Whimsy. (Let’s call it the WWW for short.) I’ll be sending Barnaby along with a carriage at noon on October first. Be ready when he arrives, he hates rain.
Warmly,
Flora
(Lady Ellingham)
P. S. Don’t panic if the carrier pigeon’s legs fall off. It’s a design flaw that I’ve yet to find a solution to. Just bring him back to the Manor with you.
P. P. S. Bring layers, it’s cold here.
P. P. P. S. I mean it when I say be ready for Barnaby’s arrival. He’s been known to leave without passengers on several occasions.
P. P. P. P. S. Roxann asks that you fill out the form below; she doesn’t want a repeat of the last time I had guests over.
Name:
Pronouns:
Age:
Itemized list of things you’re bringing:
Personality (described in five words or less):
Any special needs? If so, specify:
No CAPTCHAs or AEs. Never again. Limit of ten people. Starts October first. -Roxann
A muffled clink pulls you from your stupor. The pigeon has tried to stand up, but one of its legs has fallen off.
submitted by Lady Ellingham
(September 23, 2020 - 2:34 pm)
(September 23, 2020 - 2:34 pm)
Oh my goodness, I love this!
“Auspicious means lucky, by the way.” I feel like Lemony Snicket. This is so, so good, Lady Ellingham! I can't even express it! When is the next chapter going to be posted?
(October 1, 2020 - 4:34 pm)
Lady Ellingham, do you know how utterly perfect you got this? This made me laugh so hard, and at the same time it's an amazing piece of writing!!
You captured my personality and amplified it to the extreme, creating a really really hilarious portrayal of me XD
I'm so excited to know what happens next! And also, I hope I don't die. That would be a very unlucky start to my vacation.
And Queen's poor suitcase...
Well, until next time-
-Luminescence
(October 1, 2020 - 5:28 pm)
That was beautiful *wild applause*
Dried apricots, huh... Thanks for the new food, Spirit. At least it wasn't your suitcase that got flattened, cause it has, like, everything in it.
Can't wait for the next part :)
(October 1, 2020 - 8:55 pm)
Yup.....including....a...bottle of pepper spray. Haha. Very funny and ironic because I don't like pepper. But. I have to agree...IT WAS A-MA-ZING!
hehe...grapefruits....yes, Lady Ellingham, I actually do not like grapefruits. In real life.
(October 2, 2020 - 12:01 am)
(October 6, 2020 - 8:40 am)
Thank you all so much for the kind words! They really made my day.
@PygmyOwl - new chapters will be posted each Thursday.
I'll see you all again in just a few days!
(October 6, 2020 - 9:43 am)
//This is an automated message from RoboTOP. RoboTOP copyright 2009 by Silicon intelligence.
(October 6, 2020 - 3:22 pm)
I changed my name. Most inconvienient You can still call me Spirit in this ski lodge, OR you can change my name to Nightfall.
(October 6, 2020 - 9:04 pm)
DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES TOMORROW'S CHAPTER IS POSTPONED STOP EXPECT NEW CHAPTER SUNDAY STOP
(October 7, 2020 - 5:15 pm)
Lumi - you're in luck! earring backings are one of the things that I packed inside the small knife case, that's what I use as a shield ( it can be disasembled) since I couldn't find a retractable shield.
(October 7, 2020 - 5:50 pm)
I've changed my name to Sterling, but you can still call me Queen for the ski lodge if you want. Thanks!
(October 10, 2020 - 5:01 pm)
Chapter Two
“A Day for Surprises, Part Two”
Lady Ellingham was absolutely nothing like Spirit had imagined her. For one thing, she was tiny - Magnus was holding her in the palms of his hands with room to spare. For another, she was quite old - her hair was a stark white color, and her face was wrinkled from years and years of smiling. Spirit had pictured someone tall and elegant. Lady Ellingham was certainly not tall, and although Spirit wouldn’t have admitted it then, she wasn’t very elegant either. The brightly colored floral dress she wore was wrinkled, and her fingernails needed a trimming.
“I’m so glad to see that you all made it here intact!” she said only slightly too loudly. “It’s been too long since I’ve had guests. Come in! Come in!” She beckoned to the girls, who were still in shock.
The girls stepped over the threshold and into Ellingham Manor’s enormous entrance hall. Directly across from the doors was a flight of stairs that led up to the mansion’s second floor. They could tell that the house was, or perhaps had been, grand. Possibly. At one point in time. The hall wasn’t in terrible condition, but something wasn't quite right either. The marble floors were nearly spotless, the dark oak banisters needed a good polishing, the chandelier was missing some candles. Even though these were minor things, they made for a strange atmosphere.
A thousand tiny paper cuts, thought Kitten.
“Hey, Barnaby.” said Darkling. “Nice apron.”
The CBers all turned their heads to see Barnaby. He was wearing an apron this time, and was sweeping up the broken pieces of the vase. Quill guessed correctly that this was the shattering noise she had heard before they arrived.
Barnaby opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t sound like himself. “I’m not Barnaby!” he said, in a squeaky voice. “Can’t you tell the difference?”
“Um...no?” Darkling wasn’t sure how to answer.
“See, Magnus!” the robot said, oily tears brimming in its eyes. “Barnaby and I look just the same! It’s embarrassing being mistaken for… him!”
The robot ran off, crying furiously.
“I said something, didn’t I?” Darkling asked.
“That,” Magnus explained, “is Roxann. Barnaby is her twin brother. They have an...unusual relationship.”
Roxann’s weeping could still be heard above the loud clattering of what sounded like pots and pans.
“Oh, never mind her,” said Lady Ellingham. “Let’s head into the dining room. You all must be hungry after your long journey.”
“Oh, of course, Lady Ellingham,” said Mary.
“Please, Mary, call me Flora. Everyone does - well, I wish they would, anyway. The robots are programmed to call me by my title, and I can't be bothered to reprogram them. I like moving forward in life - I find going backward to be such a waste of time.”
“Who else lives here?” asked Queen.
“Just the robots and I,” said Flora as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Oh, look! Here we are.”
Any other questions the CBers might have had were forgotten as soon as the group entered the dining room. The room was enormous, with the Manor’s signature tall windows along one wall and a mural depicting some kind of futuristic city on the other. There was a long table in the middle of the hall, with fourteen chairs around it. A fireplace crackled merrily in the corner. The unsettling atmosphere of the entrance hall melted away as the CBers sat down. A raucous game of “I Spy” started up between Nyx, Kitten, and Pygmy while some of the other CBers gazed out at the grounds. Night had fallen, but the puffy white clouds were still visible. The long grass rustled in the wind. Waves were crashing on the edge of the lake. Just beyond the walls of the estate, tall pine trees could be seen.
“It’s almost too beautiful to be real,” breathed Lumi.
“Like someone froze a moment in time,” said Mary.
Meanwhile, at the head of the table, Quill and Queen were still talking to Lady Ellingham.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Queen said warmly.
“Oh no, thank you for coming, dears. I’ve wanted to have guests for such a long time, but the robots wouldn’t let me. You have no idea how important this is to me,” she said, tearing up a little. A unpleasant expression crossed her face, as if she had just eaten grass, and she turned to a small doorway that none of the girls had noticed. “Roxann, could you bring out the salads?”
Almost immediately, Roxann burst out of the door, carrying eleven plates of salad. They were balanced on her arms, hands, feet, and one on the top of her flat head. Carefully she walked to each CBer and finally Lady Ellingham and served the salad.
“Sorry it took so long, Lady Ellingham,” Roxann said in her squeaky voice. “I cried in a few of the salads by accident, and they got all oily, so I had to make them again, and then I had to make sure they all had the same amount of tomatoes-”
“It’s fine, Roxann,” said Flora.
The CBers began to eat their meal. Magnus, who had left to deliver the CBers’ luggage and then help Barnaby with the carriage, returned and started to play the piano. After a few minutes of quiet (everyone was very hungry), conversation started back up again. Soon, the dining room was full of joy and laughter. Barnaby returned from the stables and quickly got into an argument with Roxann about whether they were identical or not. A fight soon began, and a painting was knocked down before Magnus was able to separate the twins.
After dinner was finished, the group migrated to the parlor, where many games of Monopoly and Clue were played and a box of ginger snap cookies was passed around while Roxann and Barnaby got into an argument about what the Lady’s favorite candy was. Finally, at one in the morning, the CBers climbed the stairs to the bedrooms. The guests were split into five groups of two, with each group getting their own bedroom. Most of the CBers were too tired and happy to pay much attention to anything, but the night did not go without incident.
“Have you seen a little silver box anywhere?” Spirit asked Mary, who was her room-mate.
“Nope,” yawned Mary. “Is it something important?”
“Not really," Spirit lied. "I tend to overpack.”
“Alright then. I am off to bed. See you tomorrow.” Mary hopped into her bed and was soon asleep.
Spirit, on the other hand, couldn’t drift off that night. The strange, unsettling feeling was back. Nothing major was wrong - at least, nothing that Spirit had noticed - but there were a lot of little things, things that added up. Why did Lady Ellingham only live with three robots? Why were the grounds so unkempt? And perhaps most importantly, where was the robot she had packed? Over and over again these thoughts ran through her head, being refined and smoothed like stones in a river.
Spirit didn’t sleep that night.
(October 11, 2020 - 11:17 am)
OOooooooh, I feel like I'm going to be the first one murdered or the murderer him/her self....
Dear, dear, dear me.
Yes, Lady Ellingham, my robot actually does come in a silver case! It's adorned with a gold lace. XD
(October 11, 2020 - 11:59 pm)
uhhhh, so what does this mean? I had lots of work now so i could not check. So am i in or not?
becuase i do not know.
(p.s i do not know who that magnus guy is, but that is actually my ski lodge name xD)
(October 12, 2020 - 10:13 am)
Oh, hello Eric! This started on the first, and since you didn't respond to Agent Winter's post asking if you wanted her spot and we were almost to the start date, I let her keep it... I'm sorry. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.
(October 12, 2020 - 2:49 pm)