[center][img]http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o620/Vicier/Vicier%20-%20OUAT%20RP%20-%20Characters/Viciers%20Character%20Gifs/Colab-Post%20Gifs/Pinnochio%20-%20Gif_zpsry5fcwbw.gif[/img][img]http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o620/Vicier/Vicier%20-%20OUAT%20RP%20-%20Characters/Viciers%20Character%20Gifs/Colab-Post%20Gifs/Elsaacute%20Driacutefta%20Bryndiacutes%20-%20Gif_zpsgn3snuiu.gif[/img]
[h1][color=BurlyWood]Alan Woodard[/color] and [color=MediumTurquoise]Eliza Brie[/color][/h1]
[h3]Present Day ~ Earth ~ Lake Tahoe[/h3][/center]

The familiar sound of her alarm going off began to fill the room, the vibrations of her phone causing it to slowly begin to make its way across the bedside table and towards the edge as it continued to try and awaken her, though it was all for nothing. She wasn’t asleep. She [i]couldn’t[/i] sleep. There were just too many things that were running through her mind, keeping her from the very thing that she knew that she probably needed most right now… Relaxing her arm from around her legs where they had both been resting, she didn’t even bother to lift her head from where it rested upon the top of her knees as she reached out to take a hold of her phone, her finger quickly pressing against one of the buttons on the side to silence the awful tone before it could truly begin to get on her nerves. She didn’t need to be reminded of the time… she didn’t need to be reminded of the fact that none of what she had been told the night before had been a dream; the proof was sitting upon the sheets, right in front of her very eyes- the beautiful gloves that her father had given her so long ago when she was only young, and her mother’s tiara.

She couldn’t take it anymore… she couldn’t just sit on her own any longer; sitting around and doing nothing more than staring at heirlooms from her past was going to drive her mad. She needed to get out of this room… she needed a hot shower; a change of clothes- anything that was going to help her think about exactly what had happened last night. Making sure to take a tighter hold over her phone, she finally made a move off the side of the bed until she felt the balls of her feet touch with the soft carpeted floor below. She’d gotten changed; at least, she had gotten changed out of the dress that she had bought the day prior… but the thought of walking around in the same old clothes, for what was now going to be the third day in a row, wasn’t the most appealing one that she had ever had... She needed her sweater, and a pair of her jeans… or even a pair of sweats, or shorts; she didn’t care, just as long as it wasn’t another skirt.

Grabbing up the bag that she had shoved almost all of her things in the minute she had changed out of it, she looked back over at the large bed, the small glint of gold against blue causing her to hover nervously over the spot- none of it had been a dream. So, she really was supposed to be royalty… the Princess Elsá Bryndís of Arendelle… There was still some part of her that wished she could wake up to find that none of this was real; that it was just another morning in her normal life… but her life was far from being normal; and now she had no chance of it ever being so again. Hesitating for only a few more seconds, she finally moved back to the bed before she leant over the sheets, her hand reaching out to pick up not only the tiara and the gloves, but also her phone before she straightened herself up and made her way over towards the door. There was no point in hanging around; she could always send Alan a text letting him know where she was and where to meet her. Lifting her free arm up as she grew closer to the door, she pushed it open, her head turning and her bright ice-blue eyes flicking about the room one last time before she turned and slipped out the door, her body turning slightly as she made sure to close it behind her before she began to slowly make her way down the familiar hall; her mind seemingly too focused on other things to allow her the pace that she normally kept.

Having to dig his heel into the floor beneath him to be able to stop and turn the corner before missing the hall altogether in his haste, Alan spread his arms out in an effort to keep his balance, the unbuttoned dress shirt billowing out at the sides exposing the white, form-fitting wife-beater he wore underneath. He had been reduced to wearing the same dress clothes he had worn the night before, though much less casual and missing almost half of it. Somewhere in Daria's room was his suit jacket, shoes and tie, but he couldn't have been bothered with searching the whole damn suite for something he'd never wear again. So he settled for the tank top, dress shirt he refused to button on the account he didn't want to [i]look[/i] dressed up, and slacks.

One thing Alan wasn't counting on, however, was while his arms were pinwheeling to keep him from falling forward, a body had connected with his, pushing him back. Everything his body had been working for to keep him on his (socked) feet had been reversed, and with the few shots of vodka in his system making his movements less than ideal, Alan was sent back onto his ass with an audible "Umph!" He took a moment to blink the stars away before his eyes settled on what- or [i]who[/i] he had run into and felt his chest tighten uncomfortably.

"...hey..." Alan crinkled his nose, the alcohol on his breath even giving even [i]him[/i] slight pause to think that maybe he should get himself cleaned up a bit before going through with this. But that would just be doing what Alan was best at - putting things off until later. And later never came. This had to happen, and now that Elsa was standing right in front of him, being the one person fate had decided to literally throw at him, he knew he had to do it now.

Feeling her body hitting up against something unexpected within her path, she tightened her already firm grip over the items that she held fast in her hands, doing all that she could to keep them in her hold as she tried her best to keep herself standing upright; her shoulder lightly grazing up against the wall for only a few moments of support before she once again stood up tall, her brilliant ice-blue eyes first flicking down to both the tiara and the gloves that she held so delicately to make sure that they were not damaged before, finally, she looked over to what she had hit in the first place, “..Alan..?”

He looked a right mess… his shirt was undone and his hair all over the place, his eye now a darker shade of purple, worse than she had ever seen it; he was missing half of the suit that she had bought him the day prior… it was almost exactly like she had found him after she had first received the call to go pick him up from the police station the morning before, save for his lip which seemed to be healing better than she had expected. She couldn’t help the flicker of worry that crossed over her features as she continued to stare at him a moment longer, the thought of him being hurt causing her heart to tighten within her chest before she soon managed to snap herself back to the present, quickly gathering the items that she was carrying into her left hand before she held her right hand out for him to take, “..Alan, I swear that I was going to send you a message letting you know where I went… I needed to get out of that room, and out of these clothes; so I was actually going to go home and change into something that isn’t a skirt... you can come with me if you want to; I’m sure that I can find you a spare pair of clothes that you can use…”

Clothes? He had spent the last how many hours stressing over the decision that he now faced and she was worried about changing clothes? Alan wanted to laugh, but his heart wasn't in it. He reached his hand out to take hers, though he used the strength of his legs to help him back up rather than to rely on her, but the gesture was certainly appreciated even if the only way he showed it was by taking her offered hand. He dropped it quickly though once he was back on his feet, his excuse being to try to pat out the wrinkles in his slacks but truly, he could have cared less about the damn things. If he [i]truly[/i] wanted a change of clothes, he'd rather just take the time to get a cab and get back to the hotel room he hadn't used the last few days to change. But there were more important things to do than that.

"Hm? Oh, no. No I'm alright." he excused, keeping his head down to examine the work that his hands were doing in 'ironing' out the crinkles in his suit pants - though they didn't seem to be doing anything but it kept him from having to look at her. Gods knew this was hard enough already. Holding eye contact with the woman who he was sure he was just about to break the heart of... Sure he had done it before without even blinking, but she was different. She had [i]always[/i] been different.

[i]C'mon![/i] he could hear himself thinking; to give himself that extra push of confidence to get through what he needed to do. [i]Just tell her! Why aren't you talking?[/i]

"So, uh, you and Dominic had a talk last night?" Alan ended up saying, hearing himself screaming in his head for not just getting right to the point. But at least the detoured conversation allowed him to finally be able to look up at her, and hold her gaze.

“..huh..? Oh, yeah…” At the very mention of her uncle’s name, she dropped her attention back down to the items that she held in her hand, the one that she had offered out to him once more returning back to the other as he let it go, seemingly much too preoccupied with straightening himself up, however she could see that there was something more with the action… something just wasn’t right, something was… different with him; though maybe he just didn’t want to worry her too much. Biting her lower lip softly for a few moments as she let her finger tips lightly brush over the delicate metal of the tiara that she had been given the night previous, she nodded her head lightly as though to answer him even though she had already done so moments beforehand.

“..it seems that he knows me just a little too well… he knew that I wasn’t going to believe what he had to say; hell, I still don’t completely believe what he told me… I’m not like the others… So he did what he could to try and convince me; gave me the gloves my father had made for me, and the tiara that my mother used to wear- he said that I’m supposed to become Queen when I get back, but I-… I don’t want to be Queen; I [i]can’t[/i] be Queen… I just want to be happy…” Closing her eyes for but a few moments as she let a soft sigh fall through her lips, she shook her head lightly, her shoulders seeming to slump over ever so slightly before eventually, she lifted her head back up, her gaze meeting with his own once again, “..like I am now… like I have been ever since we met…”

His heart sunk, and Alan couldn't help but to shake his head. This was why he had been sent to Earth in the first place, to guide the children back to where they belonged. Of course it was their choice to return if they so wanted, but he had to at least do his part to try and convince them. Hell, it worked with Dar- Jasmine. At least he could rest somewhat easy knowing that at first, his intentions were strictly honorable.

"Happiness is only what you make it out to be." Alan said, reaching forward to delicately take the tiara from Elsa. "And you, you can make happiness out of anything if you truly want it. Even in the worst situations, you have to hold on to that shred of light to pull yourself through..." Now, reaching out, Alan placed the tiara on the top of her head, but just for good measure, to try to assure Elsa that he was okay and still his quirky-self, he tilted it on her head a little lopsided, like how someone would wear a baseball cap if they weren't truly committed to the 'normal' way or wearing it backwards. "And you [i]can[/i] be happy being Queen. Hell, you do a good enough job bossing me around. You organized the Snowfest. You're a leader to your sister and friends... You already have the qualities. Don't be afraid, and just let it shine."

Alan retreated his hands then, opting to stuff them into his pockets before he did something with them that he would regret, but he did manage a small shrug of his shoulders, his lips twisting in a lop-sided sort of smirk before he finished with, "You just gotta... [i]let it go[/i]."

She couldn’t help the small though warm smile that crossed over her lips as she felt the weight of the tiara once more resting upon the top of her head, or the way that she rolled her eyes at just the very mention of the words that slipped out through his lips- he was referencing that movie… but not just any movie, he was referencing [i]her[/i] movie in particular; Frozen. As much as she loved the Disney franchise as much as the next person, now that she knew the person who she was meant to be; who she truly was, she was more than a little perturbed by the way that they had portrayed her…

“..please, don’t start singing that song… I love it as much as the next person, but now it just kind of scares me to think that it might have some stronger meaning behind it…” Pausing for a few moments so that she thought about what she had just said, she lifted her hand up from in front of her, the tips of her fingers touching lightly against the edge of the tiara as though to make sure it was really there before she lowered her hand back down, “..please, what happens if I go back, and I’m destined to end up just like her? What if I go back there, and I end up in isolation- alone and scared, and with no one… what if I go back, and I don’t have you with me anymore, I don’t want that…”

Alan took a moment to think his answer over carefully. If this was even remotely what Dominic had to go through the night prior, then Alan couldn't help to feel at least somewhat grateful towards the man - that it hadn't been [i]him[/i] that had to deal with these stressful questions at an even more stressful time.

"One thing I can say... from personal experience, anyway, is that however our old lives are portrayed [i]here[/i] isn't at all like how it really is." he started, trying to chose his words carefully to avoid from having to answer something he didn't want to - like with Jasmine. "I was just a kid when I got asked to come along with you guys, so I don't remember much about the lore of our world. I spent most of my time in- well, I didn't get out much in terms of meeting any Kings or Queens. But I know that things are different. Or not explained fully in those movies, or stories, or old legends. I mean, if Disney told the truth, you think you would have remembered Anna and Elsa being sucked into a magical portal and sent to this world, now wouldn't you?" He tried a smile. "You are not just some carbon-copy of [i]that[/i] Elsa. You are [i]you[/i]. Now... if you [i]wanted[/i] to be a miss pissy-pants and throw yourself into isolation for the sake of being an overly-dramatic character, then fine. That's on you. But it's what [i]you[/i] make it out to be. Not Disney. He doesn't control you. No one does."

“..I might have a tendency of over-reacting at times, but I’m not always like that; and I certainly don’t go around singing ballads at the top of my lungs… well, at least not in public anyway... besides, was it wrong of me to react how I did at the station..? Or now..? This is my life… or well, it’s supposed to be…” Lowering her gaze from his as she slowly let her sentence trail off into nothing, she took a step closer towards him, her hands lifting up from her sides to rest lightly against his chest as she tried her best to seek comfort from him- the mixture of emotions twisting around within her body causing her to tighten her grip over the shirt she had gotten for him the day before. She was scared… nervous… uneasy… and so much more she didn’t even want to begin to delve into; however, she knew that as long as he was with her by her side, then she could do what it was that everyone was telling her she was destined to do… with him there with her, she could do anything…

“..I-I’m scared, Alan… what if I choose to believe, and everything goes wrong..? That this is all just a sick dream or joke, and everything that happened was never real..? I can handle the fact that I wasn’t a Princess; it would be a little harder to get over someone making up stuff about my parents… but I don’t think that I could handle losing you too…”

Sighing, and taking a half-step backwards, Alan moved his hands to hers, pulling them from his chest but choosing to hold onto them for that moment longer, letting his eyes bare down into hers, showing her just how serious he was being.

"I promise. This is not a dream, or any kind of sick joke. This is real whether we like it or not; whether we like who we are or not." He paused. "You once told me that you trusted me. Now I need to know... after all this... after everything that has happened and told to you, do you still?"

“..yes…” Curling her fingers lightly around his hands as she tightened the hold that the both of them were sharing with one another, she nodded her head softly as though to further push the point of the answer that she had already given him- she trusted him completely; both of them knew it.

“..you know that I trust you; with my heart- with all of me… I know you would never lead me astray… never lie to me; I know that you would never hurt me…”

"Then trust me when I say that you can do this." Alan said firmly. Finally, he softly let her hands go, pulling his own hands back into him and stuffing them back into his pockets, finishing taking his step away from her to put distance between the two of them. "And that you don't need me to do it." He waited only long enough for the weight of his words, and their meaning, to sink into her before he turned his body away from her, ready to head back in the direction he had come. "At some point you need to go and speak with Dominic. He'll help you and Anna to get back home. I gotta do what I was only sent here for and help the others." Stopping in his steps, his back now to her completely, he turned his head, looking over his shoulder at her and tried to smile, but the corner of his lip gave out before it could become anything. "Take care, Princess."

Pain seemed to shoot though her heart as she felt her chest tightening under the weight of his words and the meaning she still wasn’t completely sure of- she… could do it without him..? Panicking ever so slightly as he said something that she could only seem to take as a ‘goodbye’ of sorts, she quickly closed the gap that was between them; the bag, her mobile and the gloves that she had been holding onto long forgotten as she let them all drop to the hallway floor, her hands both reaching out to take a hold of his wrist in an attempt to stop him from walking away from her, “A-Alan… I don’t-… I don’t understand…”

Tilting her head slightly in an attempt to look into his eyes, she tried as best as she could to get him to turn around so that he was facing her, her heart sinking lower and lower with each moment that he refused to meet her gaze, “Why are you saying these things..? I don’t want to go and talk to uncle Dom; you’re the one that I trust… I chose you- I want to be with you, and you said that you wanted to be with me too… so, why are you walking away from me…”

With a defeated sigh, Alan let his head hang, though still he refused to meet her gaze. He gave himself a few moments, pushing back his own pain he felt attacking his heart which he was sure he left a few feet back when he had vocally ended things with her. Then, still keeping his head down, he answered.

"Because this isn't going to work. It was never meant to work." He was debating with himself. Did he tell her the truth? The reason as to why he had agreed to go out with her in the first place? Or did he fabricate a lie to soften the blow? She cared for him deeply, he knew she did, because he cared for her just as much even though he still refused to admit it to himself. He didn't want to hurt her more than he had... but he also didn't want to lie...

"I did what I had to by getting you to listen to the truth. And now that you have, my job is done."

She couldn’t believe what he was saying to her… it was a lie; it just [i]had[/i] to be a lie- he could have done his job well enough without starting a relationship with her; without making her feel the things that he had caused her to feel… so why was he lying to her now? Closing her eyes tightly as she felt a sting run through them, she tightened the grip that she had over his wrist, her body moving closer to his own until she was able to press her forehead against his arm, her head shaking lightly from side to side in her own disbelief.

“..no… no; why are you lying to me..? If you were just with me to do a job, then you could have done it without us getting involved..! Without getting me to feel these things for you- without having me fall in love with you..! I mean... at least, I think I have...You-… you can’t tell me that I was nothing more than just some job to you…”

"That... was never my intention." Alan replied once she offered up her feelings towards him, that she thought that she had fallen in love with him. And that was the truth. He never meant for that to happen. He didn't mean for [i]any[/i] of this to happen. It was best to sever the ties now, rather than to allow them to grow. She needed to understand that it was done, and that there would be no going back.

With a quick twist of his wrist, he pulled himself free of her, lifting his head to meet her ice-blue eyes and felt his throat starting to swell shut, but he pushed through it and hardened his gaze on her.

"Enough, Elsa." He turned his body once more. "I'm done." His footsteps started again, turning the corner nearly knocking over Sebastian who seemed to have been headed their way. Alan didn't even so much as look at the boy he now knew to be Peter Pan. He was Eliza's friend anyway, he didn't come to this hall for him.

A pain that she had never felt before seemed to rip through her heart as he lifted his head so that his eyes could meet with her own- his gaze was so hard… so cold... she had never seen anything that was quite like it before. A shiver ran down her spine, though compared to the massive ache that she felt shoot through her chest at his words, it was nothing. It was done; he was gone… the one person that she had thought she could rely on throughout this whole experience; the one person she had believed that she could trust, and he was gone in the blink of an eye… leaving her behind as though she meant absolutely nothing to him…

No matter how much she wanted to run after him, no matter how much she wanted to talk to him, to find out and to know that this was all just some big mistake, she couldn’t… her feet just wouldn’t let her chase after the man who was, by now, long gone from her side. Feeling yet another sharp pain shoot through her heart, she lifted her hand up from her side to press it as hard against her chest as she could, as though in some sort of attempt at causing it to stop; however when it didn’t, her body fell lightly up against the wall closest to her, her eyes shutting tightly once more as she turned herself around so that her back and her head were pressed against it… There was no way that she could do this now... not when she had just lost the one thing she thought would be able to get her through it all…

Feeling her legs shaking slightly underneath her, she slid her back slowly down the wall until she felt herself hit the ground below her feet; the tears she hadn’t realized that she had been crying, slowly and silently rolling down her face before dropping down to stain her top as she wrapped both of her arms around her knees, her body hunching over and becoming as small as she could possibly make it as she dropped her head down into the darkness her arms created, giving in to the pain that was pulsing through her body.