The Crown Of Which Grows and Dies (1/2/2023)

 Violet wakes up and turns off the running tv over the night

Grass is in the shower

Violet sits down on the couch with the crystal powder, thinking out loud

"What if I ate it... that does not seem healthy... touching it does nothing..."

Grass comes out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel

"What time are Lema and Blally arriving?"

"I'm unsure... hmm do you think I have time to try and go grab what I saw? A grab and go?"

"Go ahead. I'll hang back in case they show up."

"Alright! Thank you, Grass."

Violet closes her eyes and try's to imagine Lavender Tower 4... pretending she is walking in it... the lobby... the apartments... and lastly the storage closest, focusing on that 

Violet is suddenly in the tower lobby. The time and date are uncertain. Gen walks by Violet, hurrying to the elevators.

She still hasn't mastered the time sync.

"Shit... when is this..."

Violet mutters as she rushes to the elevators as well

"Hold it please!"

Gen stops, holding the elevator.

"Where to?"

"Um apartments please?"

"Color?"

"Lavender."

She gives Violet an odd look.

"You new here? I've never seen you among the Purples."

"Yea I'm new here. First day!"

She giggles

Gen seems suspicious of Violet.

"Why do you seem so familiar?"

"Maybe I have a recognizable face? I'm unsure?"

She hates lying, wanting to say everything to Gen but knowing for the best it's good to keep her mouth shut

"Huh..." 

She remains quiet until the elevator stops on the Lavender lodging floor.

"See you around then"

"See you around!"

Violet quickly walks off the elevator as she looks for a storage closet, or perhaps her own apartment

She sees many Lavenders exiting and entering rooms. Seems this is a busy time of day as she notes that there are storage closets between each 6 rooms, labeled as such

Violet searches all of them looking for the box 

Someone places a hand upon Violet's shoulder after the 4th one. 

"You lost?"

Violet turns around to see who it is

"I'm not lost... I don't think I am. I'm just looking for a box"

"What kind of box?", asks Heather, head of production 

"Oh! Um I'm unsure... all I know is that it is in a storage closest and it is... glowing? I was tasked on finding it."

"By whom?"

"To be honest I don't know. It came in a vision."

"A vision? What are you talking about? Does Ashen know about this 'vision'?"

“I’m unsure… say what day and year is it?”

"Uh, June 6th 2022. You sure you're okay?"

“Look, I had a vision of this box that was glowing while I was in the realm of Mara. I quantum jumped here and now I’m back in time. I don’t know if the box is still but I need to find it.” 

"Huh... Well, that's not the weirdest thing to happen today. Let's split up and find this box."

“Thank you so much.”

Violet continues to look for the box

After several minutes Violet hears, "Hey, Lavender! I think I found the box!"

Violet RUNS over to Heather and looks

There is a glowing cardboard box on the floor in front of Heather. She seems afraid to approach it

Violet approach it, looking inside

It's empty

“It’s… empty?”

Violet grabs the cardboard box

Suddenly you and Heather are shifted into the halls of Mara. This appears to be the room with the spiders but there are no spiders this time, simply dozens and dozens of crystalline roses. 

"I...I-I I'm not supposed to be here..." 

“Woah… wait what do you mean?”

"This is your vision... You are from a different time right? You reacted funny when I said the year."

“Yea… I see…”

Violet looks to the roses, counting and seeing how many there are, touching one after she counts

32 roses

As soon as Violet touches one, the colors in the room vanish, including Violet's eye color and hair color.

Heather freezes in place

“What… what just happen?”

Violet hears a distant scream. It sounds like Heather, but she hasn't moved an inch 

Violet looks to Heather

“Heather? HEATHER?”

Cracks begin to form on her forehead. A rosebud emerges from it

“What in the world?”

Violet wants to touch it but hold back, not wanting to do any more damages

The bud opens and suddenly Heather disappears and reappears on the other side of the room. She is now wearing a crown made of various flowers.

“The crown… but why does Heather have it?”

Violet walks up to Heather and trying to take to crown off her head, trying to put it on her own

It seems adhered to her and won't come off. Violet hears the distant scream again.

Violet unsure of what to do, just backs up onto the other side of the room, starting to tear up

“I’m sorry… I’m selfish… I just wanted to help…”

"T4K3 TH3 CR0WN.", the words appear in Violet's mind.

“I can’t! I tried! I don’t want to hurt her!”

Violet looks to the crown, looking for any ‘weak spots’ of how to take it off

"1F Y0U D0 N0T HURRY, SH3 W1LL D13."

Violet hears another muffled scream.

Violet try's YANKING it off her head, with all the force she can 

It comes off... Along with the top of Heather's head. Violet has basically scalped her. Heather's form starts to distort and become blurry, as she screams bloody murder and begins making choking noises.

The scalp falls to the floor and shatters into crystalline pieces.

Violet now holds the crown.

Heather's form slowly vanishes from existence.

"HEATHER?! What do I do what do I do what do I DO?!"

"VOICE WHAT DO I DO?! IS SHE GONNA DIE?!"

The room around Violet blurs and distorts. As the world around Violet clears again, Violet notices you are back in the living room. Grass is on the couch waiting. 

"Hey, that was quick!"

She looks to your hands.

"You got it!"

Violet is crying and breathing heavy as she rushes to the bathroom, locking the door as she looks to crown, wanting to put it on... it's her destiny right? But is it the right things to do 

Grass follows to the bathroom door.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Violet?!"

Violet thinks, screw it and puts it on

The sound of a sword being drawn fills Violet's mind, followed by the sound of rain. It stops. Violet feels strong. Violet feels calm.

Violet calms down as she unlocks and opens the door to the bathroom, some left over tears streaming down her face

"Check... check if Heather is alive... message her or something..."

"What? Violet, what happened?"

Violet hears Grass compliment how Violet look in the crown in Violet's mind.

"I... I went back in time... Heather found what I was looking for and grabbed it... Heather was near and we both got sucked into Mara's realm... 32... 32 roses were there... I touch one and color was lost... Heather was frozen and started to scream... She got the crown before I did... she was... is... I don't know. She was going to die and took the crown, and now... now I'm here"

"I...uh... I'll give her a call."

"Thank you..."

Violet looks in the mirror, looking at the crown

It fits Violet perfectly, like a glove.

Violet touches it with curiosity, waiting to hear back about Heather

It feels warm, like a Spring morning, yet fresh like dew.

Violet thinks

"Voice? You still there?"

Violet takes a moment to study the crown. It is composed of a bunch of various Spring flowers, with thirty-two raised edges that resemble the morning sun around the sides. 

It smells of lavender and honey

No one replies

Grass is still on hold, waiting for Heather to take her call.

"Hm... Hey Grass? Do you know whos number is 32? Like how Blally's is 53? Is there like a database with stuff like that?"

"Yeah, I think... I don't remember who was what though. You can ask the Licorice when they get here."

Someone picks up on the other end.

"Hello, Grass, how have you been?"

"Uh... Hey, Heather, you doing alright?"

"I can't complain, I suppose. Why?"

Heather sounds fine, but her voice lacks emotion. She sounds a bit tired, maybe?

"No reason... I just had a bad dream, and it's been a while since I've seen you. We should catch up soon."

"Yeah, we should. Well, I'm sorry to go so quickly, but there is an issue down in receiving. I'll get back to you about hanging out. Okay?"

"Okay.", Grass says hanging up the call.

"Well at least she is alive... that's reassuring."

There is a knock at the door.

Violet walks to the door, opening it as she sees Blally and Lema are standing there.

"Ah, Violet, dear! You look stunning with that gorgeous headpiece. Is it new?"

Blally pushes past you and lets herself in. She sits on the couch beside Grass. 

"Um yea. You can say that..."

Violet turns to Blally

"Hey Blally? Do you know who's number is 32?"

"In the Mara family line?"

"I think? Who is it in the Mara family line? If not the Lavenders?"

"32-39 are reserved for the inverse side... The children of Saule... Why?"

"Do you know who 32 is?"

"Saules Meita, the firstborn. 32-39 are all dead."

"All that remains of them are their relics... Wait, is that what that crown is? You found it?!"

"Yea. That's what this is, The Crown Of Which Grows and Dies."

"Where did you get it?"

"Um... In a box back in time in a storage closet in Lavender Tower 4... That took me to Mara's realm where I found it."

Lema walks past you and stands near Blally.

"What's all this about?"

"The crown is suppose to help defeat Raga."

"What? I guess it does something then?"

"Would you like a demonstration, Lema?"

"Demonstration? How so?"

Blally walks to the front door.

"Follow me."

Violet follows

Grass and Lema follow as well.

Once outside, Blally asks Violet to envision any weapon.

“Hmm alright!”

Violet envisions a one sided axe

The crown makes the sound of a metal beam being bent. Vines stem down from the crown and wrap around Violet's arm. When it unwraps, Violet is now holding that same axe.

"Now, envision fighting me with it... and winning."

Blally's arms split into the blade-like divisions. She rushes Violet.

Violet does just that, envisioning her fighting and winning the fight against Blally with her new axe

Violet quickly dodges the strike and slams the back of Blally's knee with the blunt side of the blade. She falls, and Violet quickly repositions and holds the blade to Blally's face.

"Good job... Now, try this... cup your hands together and envision any animal between them." 

The axe wilts, crumbling and contorting into a bramble, as Violet's thoughts shift away from it.

Violet cups her hands, envisioning a squirrel, thinking that nothing bigger could fit in her hands

A vine comes from the crown and nestles between Violet's hands. Violet feels something fuzzy beginning to form between them.

Violet opens her hands to reveal a small, red squirrel. His ears and tail are super bushy. 

"Be careful what you wish for...", she says as the squirrel jumps from Violet's hands and scurries away.

Lema and Blally, after some training of instances and crown training went back to the hotel, Grass and Violet back inside their home