[center][img]http://i57.tinypic.com/2116trp.png[/img][/center] [center]__________________________________________ Ran the Odd Job Man __________________________________________[/center] A gloved hand reached into the tin bucket. The big, black spider reared up as it began backing away. The ginormous finger and thumb pressed against each other to form a perfect circle then the index finger struck. The spider flipped onto its back as it was stunned by the blow. The hand grabbed it and stuffed the arachnid into the huge crack. Ran heaved a sigh of relief as he wiped away the sweat from his brow. Mission accomplished! He managed to return the spiders back to their nooks all around the castle. The man climbed down jauntily and hopped down the last three rungs. He grinned as he held out the bucket to the Nobody at the foot of the ladder. “There you go! Eighty spiders were caught and returned. None of them lost any legs.” His current employer nodded and paid him for his services. Ran counted the tiny stars in his hand. 1…2…3…[i]4[/i]! This place was even stingier than McDonald’s. Even though he ran around delivering last minute party invites, deshelled three hundred boiled eggs, hauled kegs of hot water and caught spiders, he only managed to earn a grand total of twenty stars today. [i]Don’t they have better paying jobs in Nowhere?[/i] He only managed to accumulate a hundred and twenty stars over the last week and a half. Still Ran smiled as he added the newly acquired stars to the small pouch. Maybe he might be able to do this. Twenty stars a day isn’t that bad. In fact it would take him approximately about a month to earn back the required amount. With some stars in excess. The kids would definitely love to have some extra money to spend. [i]And… maybe! Just maybe he could sell the wagons, the two horses and the lame mule after the castle guards return them to him.[/i] Better yet! Maybe he can return them to the farm. Which means all the stars he earned will be his to keep! Satisfied, Ran, put his hands into his pocket and returned to the room. “Toby! I’m home.” He shouted as he rapped the door. There was no answer. Not even a rustling or footsteps. Odd. Where was his young friend? “I’m coming in! Don’t stand in front of me without a towel wrapped around your waist, alright?” “Coming in 3… 2… 1!” The door swung open lazily and Ran stepped in. There was one messy bed and one neatly made bed. No one was there. He quickly closed the door and sat down on the edge of his neatly made bed. He was about to flop down when he noticed a tiny note with messy handwriting and badly drawn emoticons decorating it. He picked it up and read. Then stared. “Crap! The party.” He scrambled to his cupboard and flung it open. What was … God! [url= http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/362/872/776/776872362_881.jpg]He was not going to wear that![/url] Why is his tuxedo burgundy? Couldn’t they have given him black, grey or white? He searched the whole cupboard, but there was only one suit. What happened to the other sets of clothes? He finally found a note tacked to the door. “Do not forget to bathe and put on clean underwear.” [i]Yes mom[/i], Ran replied mentally. Shrugging to himself the man removed the suit and clean briefs before headed to the en suite bathroom. Tacked to the mirror of the bathroom was more instructions – how to style your hair and recommended cologne and aftershaves. All he did was quirk an eyebrow. Okay that second note was pretty awesome. He picked up the suggested bottle and sniffed. Compliments to the stylist. If there was one. The scent was lovely. [center]__________________________________________ May I have this dance? __________________________________________[/center] Ran walked into the hall pretending to admire the decorations. He stopped to greet familiar guests and compliment the ladies. Slowly he made his way towards the buffet table. He beamed and waved to the two familiar faces seated there. Songbird was it? And Brandy? The two definitely looked much more alive compared to two weeks ago. He studied the food carefully. All the tasty things looked like they had dairy in it in the form of some sort of cheese or cream. Fruits… fruits… ah ha! Celery sticks. Ran picked up the tongs and was about to grab several pieces of celery … [quote=Anna]"Oh you must try the queen's deviled eggs, they are to die for."[/quote] “They certainly look tasty,” he replied even though he had dismissed them a couple of seconds ago. He politely put one on the plate he was holding and offered it to the lady in question before putting one on another plate for himself. He tried his best not to stare at her cat ears and tail. Was she a neko? His eyes followed the swishing tail for a couple of seconds as she finished the egg in two bites. “Can I get you anything else?” He chatted happily with Anna as they ate. Being a gentleman he was far too polite to decline tasting whatever she recommended. He cringed inwardly at the thought of the copious amounts of dairy he just consumed. At least she was a pleasant conversation partner. It wasn’t too difficult really. She loved talking and all he had to do was provide a couple of words here and there. He noticed the group of ladies standing at the side of the ballroom. All of them seemed to be giggling, waving and blowing kisses. He turned around for a brief second as Mona went to pick up yet another macaroon and loaded it onto his plate. Damn! Those two – Songbird and Brandy – certainly are popular with the ladies. Not that he was surprised, really. They were quite good looking even for cartoon-like beings. He smiled and waved to them too. [i]This was almost as awkward as high school.[/i] Though nothing was ever as bad as the day his younger sister asked if he liked anyone in class on Valentine’s Day during his senior year. He named his only female friend, and all the girls started giggling. He still can’t figure out why. Of course he would like her, she was his childhood friend. There was absolutely nothing else between them. Anna giggled as she introduced the pointed the other ladies. He bowed to each of them in turn even though he was far away. Ran noticed another lady with cat ears and a tail. [i]Were they sisters?[/i] His lovely companion didn’t allow him to pay the other women too much attention for long. She had stuffed a strawberry into his mouth. [quote=Anna]"Say human, would you like to dance with me? I'm dying to have you sweep me off my feet." [/quote] Ran took a bite off the fruit and removed it teasingly before offering her a bite. He then bowed and offered her his hand. [i]Just like what they do in the movies.[/i] Now how do they dance? This was so different from dancing in the disco or at the club. “It will be my pleasure, Ms. Anna. I am honored to be your dance partner.” As he led her towards the other dancing couples, Ran desperately tried to see how the other people were dancing. Oh gosh! Must they actually stand so close? And the man had an arm around his partner’s waist too! No wait! Watch the footwork. He bowed as she curtsied and he stepped forward. Awkwardly he wrapped an arm round her waist and stepped to the side. She followed suit. [i]Oh! So that’s how it works.[/i] Guess I could try faking it for the rest of the night. Erm… just say it’s a modified version found… where he came from. He continued humming. His eyes flicked towards their feet occasionally. He already had two near misses. Nothing would be more embarrassing than trotting on the poor lady’s foot when she was wearing glass slippers.