Once Upon A Time-[Advanced Roleplay] discussion

Behind the painting of The White Queen, lies a secret passageway, but be careful, no one knows where it leads.

Marian had grabbed a flashlight and was dressed practically in a long shirt belted at the waist and brown pants tucked into her boots. Her hair was mostly down but tied parially back from her face with a piece of string. She took a deep breath and looked to see if anyone was around before reaching for the edge of the painting of the white queen.

Prince Charming turned the corner and saw a girl standing in front of the huge painting in the hall. He knew that it covered a secret passage way but he didn't know anyone else who did. He stalked over to the girl. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Eeeek." Marian squeaked a bit when the stong masculine voice came from behind her. She immmediately thought of Will. She wondered what he would have been more mad about had been at the school. The fact that she hadn't brought him with her or the fact that she had gotten caught. Shaking the thoughts away she turned to face the voice. "Only admiring this painting is all." She said sweetly.

Charming stared at her. He could tell that se was lying. She was blushing and she wouldn't look him in the eyes as she answered. "I know your lying. Especially since you were so startled. You look guilty." Charming towered over her. He was tall, around 6'4. He had to tip his head low to look at her directly in the eyes.

Marina stood firm and tried not to look angry. He was tall but only stood over her by maybe six inches. "What does it matter to you if I'm lying or not?" She asked defiantly.

"I just want to know what your doing. It's a simple question. I may be able to help you." He said snidely. He was used to people just snapping to do his bidding and he didn't like her defiance.

"Of course you do. Because what perfectly normal guy wouldn't question a girl he's never met before for simply looking at a nice painting." Marian continued in a defiant tone. She wasn't going to reveal anything until he did. She put her hands on her hips and looked directly into his blue eyes.

Charming wanted to shake her. "Fine. Do you know what is behind that painting." He asked angrily. He hated that she wouldn't answer his questions. He was a prince for god sake.

Marian could see the visible agitation in his face. Who was he that he couldn't take a little argument. "I'll answer that truthfully when you tell me your name." She smiled, still refusing to break eye contact.

Charming growled. She kept defying him. "For your information I am Prince Charming. I am the heir to my fathers throne. Now I ask that you tell me who you think you are to refuse my question?"

"Prince Charming." She mused aloud. "That really doesn't seem like much of a name. Do people just call you Charming?" She paused again. "Alright Charming but now you've asked me a second question and have only answered one. Which would you like me to answer?"

Charming stepped forward. He glowered at the girl. "Just answer the questions." He said trying to keep his anger in check. He normally didn't have a problem with his anger but for some reason this girl provoked him.

Marian wasn't scared by his apparent anger. Even though he was almost twice her mass she could take him in a fight. But she could see that she was truly upsetting him and shr remember her father telling her that she had an amazing ablility to send people over the edge. She sighed. "My name is Marain Scarlet and I'm going to explor the secret tunnel."

Charming huffed. "Now was that so hard?" He quickly got his anger in check. "Why do you want to go in the secret passage way? I've tried to find so many people to go with me and they all refuse because no one knows where it leads."

It was so hard for Marian who hated to back down from a challenge but maybe having a partner in all this could make up for it. "What good is a passegeway if no one has the guts to find out where it goes?" She replied. "I simply want to know and for me that overrules everything else."

He grinned for the first time during this conversation. "You just took the word right out of my mouth." He walked around her and pried the painting away from the door. "So are we going to do this?" He asked peering down the dark passageway.

Marian's face lit up in an uncontrollable grin as she stepped past Charming and into the dark passage way. Seh pulled out her extra flashlight and hande it to him. "Now, if something terrible happens remember," She paused and grinned. "This was both of our ideas."

Charming laughed. "Nope I'm blaming it all on you." He joked. He took the offered flashlight and flicked it on. A steady beam of light shined down the passageway but got swallowed by darkness quickly.

"That is highly unfair your highness." Marian teased. The tunnel was dark but not damp or uncomfortable. It was straight and tall enough for Charming to stand up in, made of smooth stone. "So, how does Prince Charming end up here at this school?" She asked in an attempt to make conversation.

Charming started forward before answering. "There was a threat to my kingdom so my father sent me here so I was protected. Also my father was annoyed with me because I wouldn't pick a bride." He told her. The walls of the passageway were damp and Charming made an attempt to avoid them.

"Ahhhh. Annoyed parents isn't that always the case." She said thinking of her own family and reason for being here. She heard a dripping and realized that the passage was more damp than she had originally thought.

"What about you?" He asked. He wondered if all of the kids that went here were in danger. He felt a drop on his head and looked up. The ceiling was dripping. "Oh gross." He said wiping his face.

"What scared the water will mar you pretty face?" She teased, but her heart wasn't in it since he'd asked about her family. "My mother sent me away for what she claimed was a proper education. I was never the perfect lady my younger sister was and I spent far too much time with my brother. My father agreed that I should go because he said England wasn't safe for me anymore but wouldn't say why." She sighed. "My mom is hoping I'll return home the perfect dauhter that she can marry off to some rich young man. I would neve agree to that though." She slipped on puddle and screamed.

Charming quickly caught her arm and hauled her up. "Are you okay?" He panted. He was standing so close he could feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest. "What happened?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Marian answered breathily. He was standing so close and her heart was beating fast from the almost fall. "I just didn't see that patch of water. Thanks for the save." She caught up her lost flashlight and attempted to do the same to her breath. "Now, what were we talking about?"

Charming let her go and started walking again. "Family stuff. Although I hate that subject." He said. His heart was still beating fast. He shined his flashlight towards the ground now looking for spots to be wary of.

"Family's not so bad if you get the right one. If only we could pick our family." She thought about this. "I would keep my brother and my father but I would trade my mother and sister for almost anyone else. What about you? Is there any family you would keep?" She could see him watching for water and was oddly grateful.

Charming was silent a moment. "It's just me and my father. My mother died in childbirth so I never got to meet her. I think that's why my father is so hell bent on me finding a wife." He said quietly. He didn't like thinking about his mother. He didn't even have any siblings he could ask about her. His father was never any help on that subject.

"I'm sorry." Marian told him. Though she knew condolences never really eased the pain. "I lost a twin sister. She died on our first birthday. I don't even remember her name now." It was mostly true. She had buried her sister's name deep inside herself. "If you ever want to talk to someone who gets it you can talk to me. I'll even pretend to be your sister if you want to have a sibling." She cracked a grin but sister was the last thing she wanted to be to Charming.

Charming looked back at her. He had stopped walking and just stared. "Thanks." He said. He smiled faintly and turned forward again. He continued walking and thought about what she said. "I'm sorry about your sister. At least you got to know her a little bit." He was grateful to her offering to talk. He had never had that before. He knew she didn't have answers but maybe she could help ease the pain that he felt even after all these years.

Marian shrugged. "The memories I have are no more than stories. My family likes to pretend that she never existed at all. My older brother is the only one that doesn't dance around it with me." Marian stopped talking for a moment to compose herself. "Sometimes I wish I didn't even have the stories because it only reminds me that I never knew her at all. Survivors guilt I guess." They came to a flight of stairs that spiraled up into darkness.

Charming nodded. "I feel that way about my mom too." He said climbing the stairs. "I always think that f she never got pregnant with me then she wouldn't have died." He looks over his shoulder at her to make sure she was keeping up.

"Wow who knew we would go from enemies in the hall to spilling our guts." She said it soberly but with a tinge of humor. It felt good to talk to someone other than Will about this sort of thing. Someone on the outside of it all. "So are there any decent people here? Have you met that future queen to be yet?" She laughed.

He chuckled at her assessment. "I know right. How did that happen?" He continued up the never ending staircase. "Yes there are some pretty decent people here but I haven't met my queen." He said. He hadn't even been looking if he was honest.

"I know that tone. It's the one I used to use with my mother all the time." She said. "It says one thing but means another. In this case it says you haven't found her but it means you haven't and have no intention of looking. Can you become king without a queen?" She asked. she wasn't going to say more but the next bit just spilled out. "My mother says I won't inherit a thing unless I marry some boy of her approval. I think I'll end up on the streets in that case because I won't marry for anything but love and I could never love anyone she picked." She wanted to clamp a hand over her mouth but didn't.

Charming turned. He was a step above her so he towered over her even more. "I don't care if I become king. I don't want to marry someone just because I have to and it's convenient." He said. "And I would never envy the person who does." He tried to stop the next part but the words tumbled out of his mouth in their own. "And if your mother ever kicks you out you can come stay with me. You will never have to live on the streets."

Marian actually felt herself blush, hard, and hoped it wasn't visible in the darkened stair case. The offer was sweet beyond words and totally self less. She realized then that she had never really thought any man other than her father and brother could be halfway decent. "That," She stuttered. "That means a lot. I wish you could meet my brother. I actually think he would like you. I think you'd be the first." She told him.

Charming couldn't see her face very well in the darkness so he didn't know if she was lying but for some reason he believed her. "Even after I was a complete a** in the hall?" He half way joked. He didn't know why he was feeling this way but it made him really confused.

"Well, when I introduced you I wasn't going to mention that part. My brother is picky. One of the many reasons I was sent away was that any boy my mother picked that I didn't scare away my brother did. He's very protective of me." She sighed. "I miss him. Plus, the hall doesn't count I was being stubborn and you were being a royal pain. We understand each other better now." She smiled into the darkness.

He saw her teeth flash in the darkness. He returned her smile before turning around and climbing the stairs again. "That's a good brother though. At least you have someone to protect you from wackos." He said.

"Uh oh. Do I need my brother right now?" She asked with no sincerity at all. "Is, is that the out line of a door up there?" She asked.
((Where does this thing lead anyway? I haven't thought that far ahead lol.))

Charming shines his flashlight and sees that she's right. "Yeah I think so." He says stepping forward. He hesitated at the door.

(Idk. I haven't thought that far either. Any ideas?)

((It could have multiple branches. Maybe this one comes out in the ballroom? That sounds logical.))
"Before open it maybe we should listen to see if anyone's on the other side." Marian pushed past him and placed an ear to the door. It was quiet. "Oh and I saw another branch off back before we began climbing the stairs. Once we see what's behind here let me know it you want another adventure." She grinned wickedly.

(Okay)

He waited for her to see if it was clear. He then laughed at her grin. "Okay. I will." He placed her behind him again and placed his hand on the knob. "Ready?" He asked looking back at her.

Marian bit her bottom lip in anticipation. "Yeah, I'm ready. Open it Charming." She was fairly brimming over with anticipation. And if she was honest a bit of sadness. She had enjoyed her time stuck in the dark tunnels with Charming and didn't want it to end.

He nodded and turned the knob. Pushing open the door he peeked around it. He looked around and noticed that it led to a gigantic ballroom. He stepped out of the doorway and made room for Marian. "A ballroom?" He asked incredulously.

"A ballroom. Wait there's a ballroom here and you didn't know?" Marian asked. She stepped into the grand space past Charming. It was beautiful if a little dusty but she could imagine a grand party with beautiful couples spinning around the dance flood. It made her itch to dance.

He stared. "I at least thought it would lead to somewhere more interesting. I've seen too many ballrooms to count." He said. He looked over at her and noticed her fidgeting. He looked around the room again and then asked, "do you want to dance?"

Marian jerked out of her fantasy of a beautiful ball with a beautiful partner and wasn't quite sure she had heard him properly. "Really?" Of course really she thought to herself. He wouldn't ask if he didn't mean it. So now she has her beautiful partner. She could imagine the ball. "There's no music." She said but took a step closer to him.