eachdraidh | 001 ♖ [video]

[Castle appears on the locket network looking concerned. It's been 24 hours since he followed faeries to the place, 24 hours since his car went off the road into an embankment and he had… died? Maybe. It's his assumption, based on the faeries, which makes this some kind of afterlife. It isn't what he was expecting, but he's pretty pleased with it. Who knew heaven was one epic renaissance festival?

One problem remains though, and that's the location of Kate. Of course, if this is the afterlife, she's not here. As far as he knows, she's alive and well, possibly mourning his death on what was supposed to be their wedding day. He feels guilty, but hopes that he made the right choice in coming here.

He's spent the day searching the castle and asking whoever he comes across whether they've seen a woman matching Kate's description. No luck so far. Castle is finally taking the advice of some and asking over the locket network.]

Hi there. My name's Richard Castle and I'm new to your land. It's awesome, by the way. I've got no complaints, really, except… I'm looking for someone and wondering if she managed to find her way here too. Her name is Kate Beckett. She's in her thirties, tall, thin, long brown hair, really beautiful. [He smiles in a way that makes it obvious he's describing his lover.] But also really stern. Like… probably waving around a badge and barking that she's NYPD and what the hell is going on. [That's Kate in a nutshell.] Anyway, if anyone knows of her or her whereabouts, please let me know. If she's here, I'd like to find her.

[Despite the odds, there's still a little glimmer of hope in him. He and Kate have a very odd connection and a tendency to find each other, even when it seems unlikely. She could be here, though Castle doubts that Kate would actually acknowledge faeries existing, let alone follow them to another world. But, he could still hope.]

Thanks.

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Oh. [Okay that makes more sense, sorry. He at least has the grace to look apologetic.] Sorry...at least you know that if she's not here she's safe at home.

Would you rather she be here though?

I... don't know.

[That depends on his life status back home. If he's dead, this is the only place they might be able to be together. But he wouldn't want her to have to leave everything to join him here.]

[It's not his business. It's really, really not, but...]

What makes it a hard choice?

[He gives a deep sigh before he decides that he might as well tell the kid. It probably won't hurt anything at this point.]

I might be dead back home. Not sure though.

[Only if you don't mind questions, man.]

Might be. [Ouch.] Would she know about you being possibly-dead yet back there?

[He nods slowly.]

Yeah. I think she would.

[She'd probably found him mangled in the car on the side of the road at this point.]

Then it'd probably be better for her to see you here. [How do you even go about sympathizing with that? Yes, it's awful, but he's pretty sure saying "sorry that you might be dead" is a little awkward.

So. Instead he changes the subject.]

This place really isn't that bad anyway. I'm still getting used to it because Earth's pretty much not like this at all but...it's got perks.

What kind of perks?

[He asks not because he doubts there are any, but because he's curious what the guy on the other side of the locket sees as perks.]

Every now and then you can ask them for gifts. Plus think about all of the people you can meet here and everything you can learn about them. [Or, in Ryan and Kelsi's case, write about them.]

Besides, pretty sure New York doesn't have a lot of castles for lease.

Good to know. [The gifts could be very helpful. And he's right: there's so much fertile inspiration here for a writer.]

There's Belvedere if you're interested in weather and bird-watching.

I guess the trade-off is that you actually have to do favors for them, but they're not too hard. [But that's because this is before the moon-plot…give him time, he'll change that answer soon enough.] And the limitations are pretty small.

Belvedere…[He's repeating it, mostly so he can remember to tell Kelsi later.] If I have time, maybe. School's really busy and I just started but I'll keep that in mind.

Wait so are you NYPD, too?

[The trade-off would have to be analyzed. Pros and cons would have to be weighed. If playing the court's game truly benefited him then he would do his best.]

Actually, no. Just NY. I'm a writer of murder mystery novels.

[Well as Ryan's learning you not only have to follow some of their specific rules, but you have to be very careful what you ask for. Oh well. He perks up a bit though at that though.]

Novels. Very cool. [And it is. Even if he's not big on reading it's hard to ignore the fact he's kind of impressed.] Wait wait a writer or a published writer? There's a difference.

[If he could ask for Kate, he might be willing to do anything. But did he really want Kate here too?]

Published. Have you heard of the Derrick Storm or Nikki Heat series?

It's possible. [A slightly embarrassed look follows that.] I'm not really a huge fan of reading. Kind of a huge part of why I worked so hard to get into Juilliard in the first place but I wouldn't be surprised if maybe some of my other friends have. If you can go around asking that and get a positive response in your world? That's awesome. That's fame.

[A beat.] If worse comes to worse, while you're waiting for her here you can start a new series.

[People in his world definitely know him. He's not a rock star or anything, but he's maybe Patterson level. Granted, a lot of is fame is more infamy for the crazy stuff he did in his thirties, but critics have acknowledged that he can write a good story.]

It's an option. Nikki Heat wakes up in Middle Earth.

Exactly. And when it gets popular here, then we can make a movie adaption. Sounds like a perfect plan. You'd be surprised how many people here don't know anything about pop culture. It's about time they started bringing in more artists.

Can they even make movies here?

[So far he hasn't encountered electricity.]

Probably only at the Station, actually. Seems to be the only place electronics work, but I didn't think to look for a camera the last time I was there.

Ah, yeah, I've heard of this Station. I'm planning a visit soon.

[Because 21st century technology, he misses it.]

It's not completely up to date but it's pretty close. Just remember it takes a few days to get out there so be prepared. Otherwise? I bet you could get a lot of work done out there if you really wanted to.

001 ♖ [video] | both courts

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