01: Snow White's birthday party

"Oh yes, I’ve noticed that Ariel appears to be missing. But she’s not answering her door and her room is a mess? This is troubling. I shall be happy to help," Père says as he begins trudging up the stairs. Stairs always got to his knees.

He wonders if they were just overreacting—perhaps Ariel had just overslept—but in any case he is glad to have something to distract him from just watching people eat canapés. (Which were very good, though, he has to admit.)

"Oh! So you are THAT famous bookwriter-seller. I waved at you accidentally when we were at the gate", said Rapunzel folding her hair at last to prevent further accidents, which could now affect individuals of third-age. "Pleased to meet you, Perè, sir (Perè, is it?). We might indeed need your curiosity here", she added, happy about this newly formed search party.

Genie was nowhere to be found, much to the relief of a dizzy Grumpy who was gathering his wits, but there was a blue Andy Warhol admiring Rapunzel's painting. He was musing aloud.
"Isn't life.... a series of images... that... mmmhh.... change... as they..... repeat themselves?"

As Belle approached him he changed to his own Genie self.
"Help? Help? What do you need? Waiters? Cooks? Cats?" At the mention of each a bedazzled blue genie-person/feline appeared.

Père replies Rapunzel as they make their way up the stairs, "Ah, Princess Rapunzel, it is an honour to meet you. How is your father? And you can call me Père, or simply Bob. I was not aware that I was famous!"

Merida bangs on the door with the pommel of the sword. "Ariel! Ariel? Are you in there?"

The gang goes up the stairs, with their respective entourages still at the party. Adam and Eugene chatting together.

Escorting the three princesses, Père and Genie, is Sneezy.

"Achoo!" his hat gets launched a feet into the air and lands on his head again. "Your highnesses, your bookness, your Genieness... The room of princess Ariel and prince Eric is this way..."

As Merida bangs the door, there is no answer. However, as she knocks it hard enough with the pommel of her sword, the door slowly creaks open. Behind the door is a fancy guest room, much like the one each of you had been allocated as well.

The chandelier is high decorative, although it lays broken on the ground.
The bed is very soft, although the feathers of the pillows are scattered everywhere.
The wardrobe is of luxurious wood, although the doors are open and clothes are scattered around everywhere.
The curtains are of a silverlike fabric, although they billow in the wind as the window is open.
The chair could be super comfortable, although it lays broken in a corner of the room.

"What happened?" Merida asks, looking around for signs of Ariel.

Not yet peeking into Ariel's chambers, Rapunzel continued talking to Perè. "Dad's okay. You know kings. As protective of Corona as he is of his family, which is why I read and paint most of the...", she said with a not-so-enthusiastic shrug, cutting herself mid-sentence once she saw the room.

"Oh."

She followed inside with the group, and took a time to pull herself together.

"Okay, okay, ookay. Let's ask the right questions so we can do our best to find Ariel and Eric", she said, producing a silver brush from her pocket, and splitting it into both a brush and a mirror. She approached the wardrobe and said "Would Ariel leave her clothes like this, even in an emergency situation? I would guess not!", and looked at each of them with one eye with the mirror for increased dramatic effect.

"Perhaps someone else messed with their things. Hopefully someone hairy." And she proceeded to carefully brush the clothes on the floor, to try to gather any evidence.

Père walls carefully into the room, his heart sinking. "Oh dear me… what could have caused this!?"

"If Ariel was supposed to be in here the whole time, the only way she should have left was by the window, right?" He walks over to the open window and has a good look at the window sill and the area around the window.

"Hmmmmmm."
Genie, in Sherlock Holmes attire, was looking over the scene with a looking glass.

You all enter Ariel and Eric's room.

Rapunzel's hunch that Ariel wouldn't leave her clothes in such a mess in a situation like this, does make sense. She takes her time to investigate the clothes. There isn't hair on them really... but... a fresh red stain... is that blood? Yes it is.

Meanwhile Genie marches around with his spying glass. Inspecting a part of pillow feathers that lay scattered around. All of them white goose feathers... except... Aha!... One feather, bright red... Most definetely not from a goose, but a more... tropical looking bird.

Père looks at the window. The painting of the frame seems exquisitely fine... except for one spot. The painting is most certainly damaged. Right at the place where the window would lock. If you'd try to force the window open from the outside with some tool, that damaged paint would be a wonderful spot to do so. And someone thought that it would be a good place to lay a ladder on the ground right below the window.

Looking at the window, and thereby also outside, Père could see a large group of figures in the far distance, like easily more than 2000 feet away. They are in the west of town. It is far away, so it is hard to see who they are or what they do. But somewhere in the middle between them he spots that someone has some long bright red hair.

Belle noticing the disarray of the room.
"She must have put up a fight at least. Perhaps they were looking.for something? What would Ariel have that someone would want?"

"My ladies! Genie! It has to be her! It’s Ariel! Père was hopping up and down and pointing out the window, "The window looks forced open, and there’s a ladder below, and they’re there! A group of figures with someone with red hair in the middle, far to the west! We must do something!"

"Quick! Anyone! Climb down on my hair and set the ladder!", said Rapunzel rushing to Père, and unfolding her hair outside the window. "Also, there is a blood stain on the clothes. I really really hope they are okay."

"Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power guide
Make her hands hold tight
Allow them to safely land",
she chanted quickly, sparking one strand of her hair with a dim gold light.

Père’s heart leapt into this throat at the idea of climbing down Rapunzel’s hair. And what could we do? Just run after her? We’ll never catch up!

"Princesses, go ahead, I don’t think I can- I need to get the… the… see they’re too far! No time to waste! No time, neigh!" Père stammered as he hurried out of the room as fast as his old frame would allow.

Once he was in the corridor he cleared his throat and began shouting as loud as he could, which was not actually that loud, "Ahem, guards, staff, anyone! Please help! Ariel’s been kidnapped we need the, what’s the word, horses! Fast horses!" And he headed for the stairs down.

Sneezy, having escorted everyone to Ariel's room is the closest nearby and the first one to pick up the warning?


"Ariel has been AAACHOOOOed?" He says in a tone of panic. "Oh no! We must warn lady Snow! And all the others!"

He rushed down with Bob (any anyone else?) downstairs, where the celebrations were still going strong.
People mixing and mingling. Snow White happily chatting with Mulan, Jasmine and Tiandra.

Belle tuggs on a rose petal of her badge. Her dress disintegrates into action traveling clothes. She leaps out the window grasping the hair ladder at the last moment.
"Let's go!" Belle yells as she pulls herself into the hair and releases to slide down the hair.
"Whoo!"
Reaching the bottom she tumbles out of the hair onto her feet in to a solid run after Ariel.

Rapunzel admired the style of Belle's jump, grabbing just at the last moment, and landing perfectly. And then running off. Forgetting. The. Ladder.

Rapunzel drew a blank face.
.
.
.

Then, she exploded.
"For the love of the twilight sun, Belle! The ladder! You forgot the ladder!", yelled Rapunzel while picking up her hair and passing it through the curtain support, to serve as pulley. Barely checking to see if it was strong enough, she jumped off the window holding her hair, and slowly let herself down. All the time, she kept ranting and grunting.

Once she got down, she set the ladder angrily against the window frame (probably further chipping the painting) and set to run after Belle, trying her best to fold her now-messy hair.