The Bribe!

[Guest]

Venis woke up and climbed out of bed. Kahn had already stirred for the day, he always woke before her. He was off doing this or that and had left her a note on his pillow. It simply said 'I love you, be back later.' She smiled as she slipped the note into a drawer in her jewelry box. If anyone ever opened that drawer they would find it full of little notes like that from Kahn over the years. He hadn't left many, but there were some in there.

She had a quest ahead of her, something of a bribe. She put on the oddest outfit that anyone had ever seen her in. She put on a black tank top, it was cropped. Then she dug to the back of her Armour and pulled out this article of denim clothing that she had worn so rarely that they still looked new. She stepped into the denim and pulled it up. Then she reached around behind her at an odd angle and pulled up the straps. She clicked them in the front. Yes, Venis was wearing bib overalls.

She dug around in her trunk of shoes and found a barely ever worn pair of work boots. She chuckled as she looked at them, they were similar to those that Benjamin wore. Shoes and socks on she was making mental notes on what she was going to need to be done. She had been out at Claremount for Valentines Day and it made her think that maybe her castle could use some fixing up. She knew someone who would love the chance to take a crack at it.

She looked around in another trunk and found some Old English furniture polish. She had some rags in there as well. So she grabbed up the rags and the bottle and headed from her room. Where was the Goddess headed dressed in such a way? She headed down the stairs, she even seemed to have a bit of a spring in her step. She only went as far as the second floor before she turned and headed down the hall. She had even started whistling. When she reached her destination she didn't knock, she didn't speak, she just opened the bottle and tipped it on the rag.

With some polish on the rag she reached up to start from the top and started rubbing the polish into the door. She didn't know what kind of a response she would get for this, but frankly she didn't care either. She was just there to do something nice for someone else. The question was, was she trying to do something nice for the door, or the person who the door belonged to. Or was it both?

[Epiphany]

Whatever response Venis thought she would get from the Door might not have been what she as expecting. As soon as the polish hit the Door and she started to rub, a high pitched scream came forth and there was a rumbling and a shaking of the small area around it. Could it be that the door even moved? Yes!

The door had indeed moved backwards, into itself, like a person shirking away from an unwanted touch. "My nails and timber what was that!" The voice came from all over the door and even some places around the hall.

"I don't know what type of wood you're use to rubbing up against, but I'm not that type! Geesh. Put that rag down Venis!" It could say her name because it had her name.

[Guest]

As the door shrieked and moved Venis pulled her hand away. She had to smile, but it wasn't because she was intending to laugh at the door. She was smiling because the door had actually caught her off guard and surprised her. "Oh, you're awake. I'm sorry if I woke you." She took a step back and brought her hands down to waist level.

She arched an eyebrow at the door's comment about the type of wood she was used to rubbing. Did that door know that it's words could be taken so wrong? But, Venis went the clean route. "You know, furniture. Tables, chairs, desks, Door's. I was just trying to give you a little conditioning and cleaning. I wasn't trying to hurt you. Do you have allergies dear?" Yes, once again, Venis was conversing with Epiphany's door.

[Epiphany]

There was a huff. Yes, the Door huffed and now the sound seemed more centralized, at the very top where it was the first time she came to knock upon it. "Feh. Chairs. I can tell you a few things about chairs. Ridiculous. Comparing me, me to a chair." Wouldn't take a magician to hear that aggravation in the doors tone. It was there. Obviously it didn't like being compared to other, so called 'normal' furniture. Especially chairs.

"Why do you want to condition and clean me anyway? I'm fine just way I am and look at this! Ha-ha!" The area she had wiped with the polish shimmered and the clean-up faded. "Maybe I like looking like this. Ever thought of that? Hmm? Hmmm! It's called being comfortable. Besides, you can't polish your way into my good graces. I know what you're about." Testy. Testy.

[Guest]

Venis laughed. Yes, she was laughing because of the door again. "Ok, ok, ok. I'm sorry." Hands went up in the air as a sign of surrender. Then she capped the bottle and put the rag over the top of it. She sat it down on the floor as she put herself down on the floor. She sat with her back against the wall so she could talk to the door. She had one foot planted on the floor bending her knee towards her chest, and the other leg she crossed over that.

She looked up at the door. Her foot was bouncing in the air as she spoke. "I didn't mean to upset you. But I am interested in hearing your theory as to what it is you think I am all about." She reached into the pocket on the front of her pants and pulled out what looked like an eyeball in a plastic wrapper. She removed the eyeball and bit it in half. The red juices from inside of it looked like they were ready to drip from it. She chewed on half of it for a moment before popping the other half into her mouth. She sat there gnawing on the eyeball like it was gum, maybe it was.

[Epiphany]

Sorry. Yeah they always said they were sorry, but whether they were or not.... that was another story. Besides, Venis never did answer the question as to why she had wanted to polish and condition the door, therefore the Door didn't what she was specifically sorry about.

It may be believed that the Door couldn't see what was going on outside because that small window at the top was closed, but it opening and closing was more for show than necessity. There were other ways of watching and the Door was using one of them now, that's how it was able to see Venis pop that eye into her mouth. Hey, some people liked to chew tobacco, others liked to chew organs. More power to them is what the Door thought of it all.

"You know what you're all about, and I know what you're all about, and therefore there's no n-e-e-d to discuss what the both of us al-ready know." All those stressed words. It could have been done on purpose, another part that was just for show.

"I charge by the minute you know."

[Guest]

Venis smiled at the door. She continued to sit there with her foot swinging and chewing her eyeball. She had forgotten to answer the question. "Well, I thought you might like to be pampered for a moment, a little wood polish, a good massage while it was applied. My mistake." Her leg stopped swinging as she sat up from the wall and leaned her leg over to the side so she was now sitting with her legs folded in front of her. On Earth it was called sitting Indian style.

No need to discuss what she was all about? How would the door know if it was right about her or not if there was no discussion? That deserved some conversation all it's own. "Well, if there is no need to discuss what I am all about, how will you know if you are right about me or not?"

She laughed at the charge by the minute comment. "Do you have a cash box so I can start paying? I'm liquid, I can afford it." Would that make the door have more questions? Like 'how long did Venis plan on sitting here talking' perhaps? Did the door know the phrase liquid as it related to finances? Not everyone did.

[Epiphany]

Did the Door actually take money? That was an interesting question and, added with the rest that Venis had said, it brought up an interesting comment and a chuckle from within the door! "So, let me get this straight," here it comes. "You pamper and polish wood with your hands, and then you pay it for spending time with you. Uh-huh. Right."

It was defiantly going to have to warn its furniture friends that a wood polisher was about. This only told more about what this female was about - all about rubbing wood and popping a few organs in her mouth.

She didn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon - not if she was talking about actually paying. "Put your homage to the Great and Powerful Door in the corner. It's your time, not mine, haha!" The Door could choose to humor her and stay, or slink about to other places while she spent her time outside. Aside from her wanting to massage wood the Door didn't know the other reason why she was there.

[Guest]

Venis smiled, a hint of fang peeking from below her upper lip. "You are the one who said you charge by the minute. I have heard no such thing from other pieces of furniture. Though, you are unique. I was simply offering what you asked for. You said you charged. I offered payment. I have doubt that you would even have a use for gold. So let me see, what could you use?" Her time with the door had been limited. So she had limited knowledge of what the door could use.

She thought about it for a moment while the door told her to put her homage in the corner. Then she had an idea. "Perhaps you could use this?" She reached into the seemingly flat pocket on the bib of her overalls and pulled out a note pad. It was 50 sheets, and if the door would notice such things, it was the exact type of paper that she had signed her name to on her previous visit. "And maybe even..." Also from said pocket she removed a box of pen's. The same kind she had used to sign her name to said paper.

She leaned forward and moved to where she was on her hands and knees. She reached over and set the items in the corner. "Is right here good?" She leaned back again and when she pressed her back to the wall she extended her long legs out in front of her and crossed her right ankle over the left. "So, question, does the great and Powerful Door have a name of it's own?" Come on, did the door honestly think she would never ask?

[Epiphany]

Gold, jewels, bottle-caps from coke bottles, the Door would take it all! Who knew what it wanted or didn't want? Either way it would take whatever it was given! The paper was nice, though it would never say as much.

"Yes, yes." the Door was looking at what Venis was doing and the gifts she had placed in the corner. It was where it was suppose to go and, after the items were placed and she pulled her hand away, the area shimmered and those items began to fade and then they were gone. What replaced them was a bit of manic laughter from within the door, like a kid who was just let loose in a toy store.

"Haha! Things, your things, I have your things! Glorious things, wonderful things, the things I can do with these things!" Sounding like a lyrical rhyme - if Venis listened closely she could even hear woodwind pipes.

What was that? Venis had said something about a name. "Yep, I have a name." That was all she was going to get.

[Guest]

Venis chuckled at the sound of the door singing. And was that a faint hint of woodwind pipes? Lovely, truly lovely. And the door even had a name of it's own, how wonderful. "Well, maybe someday, I will ask you what that name is. For now, I have a small request." Her hand again entered the pocket. Just exactly how much did one seemingly flat pocket hold?

When her hand emerged it held a note. And attached to this note was a pin/pendant. It was for Epiphany. It was a simple little note asking Epiphany to come and find her when she wasn't busy. She had an idea and wanted someone to bounce this idea off of who could maybe add to it and help it grow. "Can you give this to Epiphany for me?" This, too, she placed in the corner for the door.

[Epiphany]

Now here was something nice and shiny that Venis was putting out for the Door to take, too bad it was for Epiphany. The Door would give it to her. Eventually. "Of course I will give the message to Epiphany. When she returns." Where was she? Pft, the Door didn't know. Hadn't taken the time to look yet to see if she was inside somewhere. She may have been, or she could be off galavanting with the wind. She was odd like that at times.

Like with the other items, this new trinket would start to shimmer before it too faded and was gone. Gleeful giggling heard from within the Door.

[Guest]

Venis had no idea if the door would do the favor she had asked. But just for a little insurance, her hand went into the pocket again. "Oh, and maybe you can find a use for this. I have no use for it, maybe you'd like it." She leaned forward and placed a gold compact in the corner, she made sure to open it to reveal that it housed two mirrors.

Then she got up off the floor. "Well, I've bothered you enough for one day. I'll talk to you later. Good seeing you again." She smiled as she picked up the furniture polish and rag and walked away. She was headed back to her room to change. She figured she would see Epiphany eventually. And yes, she did just bribe the door with a shiny thing in hopes of getting her message delivered faster.

[Sponsored content]