Penthouse One/Alex and Brooke Pt. VII

## Thomas the Tank Engine (9/30)

Brooklyn C.

"Damn, Thomas the Tank Engine? How horrible *was* your childhood?"

Alex Bellrose

She laughed the question off, relaxing back into her seat. Crossing her legs over her knee, she looked at Brooklyn. "Okay," she said, "I realise my first attempt at twenty questions was a fail but let's try it again."

Brooklyn C.

"Alright, take two. What's the French national anthem?"

Alex Bellrose

"La Marseilles," she said instantly, "I don't know the words so I can't tell you more than that."

Brooklyn C.

"Aw, too bad. Sounds cool though. Know what it means?"

Alex Bellrose

"Something about liberty and freedom," she said with a shrug before pausing to think, "alright...I won't ask you what the American anthem is because I know it. What about..." she trailed off before a question hit her. "What did you want to be when you were a kid? Like I use to want to become a marine biologist until I was about eight."

Brooklyn C.

"Wanted to be an artist, until I realized I'm shit at art," she snorted, leaning her head back. "I can't even draw stick figures correctly."

Alex Bellrose

Her face dropped in surprise as she looked at Brooklyn, not expecting that answer. "*Really?*" She asked before smiling indulgently, "you know...no one's good when they start off. I was terrible as a kid. I think it took me a decade of knocking at it to actually make it look slightly realistic."

Brooklyn C.

"Took me a decade to figure out stick figure anatomy."

Alex Bellrose

"Fine," she said, trying to stop herself from laughing, "fine, if you want, I can help. In return for the tutoring, I'll try to teach you how to draw."

Brooklyn C.

"Aye, I'm going to be the worst art student in history. Trust me."

Alex Bellrose

"Don't worry, I don't have anyone to compare you to," she said, "you'll be great."

Brooklyn C.

"Well that's reassuring."

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes over at her, not sure if she was being sarcastic or not.

Brooklyn C.

"So, how long till we get there?" she asked, leaning over to peer out the window.

Alex Bellrose

"Another forty minutes," she said, "it's a long trip. But hey...worth it, I guess?"

Brooklyn C.

"Guess it's worth it if we're gonna see a palace," she said with a shrug, leaning back in her seat.

Alex Bellrose

She narrowed her eyes, clipping Brooklyn over the head, "you're making the 20 questions fail again."

Brooklyn C.

She swatted Alex's arm away, barely feeling anything. "Sorry, sorry. Sheesh. Did you go on vacations a lot as a kid?"

Alex Bellrose

She nodded slowly, "every other month, actually, went up to London or down to Italy usually," she said, "stopped when I was around ten or eleven?"

Brooklyn C.

"Dang. We went on two vacations. And it was literally to a city in a different state."

Alex Bellrose

"Was it New York? I've always wanted to go to that place. Only two, ever? Well, they're not that special."

Brooklyn C.

"No. St. Louis and Indianapolis. We didn't do much. Went to like an amusement park, stay in a hotel for a night, and then went home."

Alex Bellrose

"*Hey*, Amusement parks are great. Last night proved that," she said, "I had fun, by the way, I don't know if I said it but I did. Thank you."

Brooklyn C.

She grinned. "I did too. You make roller coasters much more fun."

Alex Bellrose

She narrowed her eyes. "Like hearing me scream makes it more fun," she said before biting back a yawn. "Alright...how many kids do you want?" She asked.

Brooklyn C.

"As many as you want. How many kids do you want?"

Alex Bellrose

She turned red, opening her mouth then closing it. "That's not an answer," she said before pausing to think about it. "I don't know, actually, I'm infertile so I've kind of written it off, you know? But...I want a couple, maybe three or four. All close together in age, too."

Brooklyn C.

"Then I want three or four children close in age range," she responded cheekily, crossing her legs and resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

Alex Bellrose

She shook her head. "Oh hush," she said, shoving Brooklyn lightly, before breaking into a small smile, slightly glad she wasn't pressed on that topic. "Two boys, two girls definitely, though."

Brooklyn C.

"Because I'll have to teach the boys how to defend themselves from the girls."

Alex Bellrose

She broke into laughter. "Or we could just teach them not to fight," she said, "that could work."

Brooklyn C.

"Who said I'm teaching the girls how to fight? They'll naturally be able to kick ass."

Alex Bellrose

"That is not genetic," she said, "my kids will not be going around beating each other up. Hell no."

Brooklyn C.

"If I exist, of course, it's genetic. I'm the teacher, you're the peacemaker."

Alex Bellrose

"*No*," she said making a face, "do you think I'd actually be any good at peace negotiations? No."

Brooklyn C.

"Ha, true. Guess that's both of my jobs."

Alex Bellrose

"That can't work out," she argued, "why don't we just settle with the fact our kids aren't creating a little fight club between themselves."

Brooklyn C.

"Yes it can. And no, defense is a necessary skill."

Alex Bellrose

"I have no idea how to fight and I doubt I ever will need to know how to fight," she said before sighing, "fine, if they want to learn how, they can but..." she trailed off before shaking her head, "your turn."

Brooklyn C.

"Can you and will you say five phrases in french?" she asked.

Alex Bellrose

She gave Brooklyn a weird look. "My first language is French. I can do a lot more than say five phrases in it."

Brooklyn C.

"Than do it!" she huffed. "Stop stalling and show me your bilingual prowess."

Alex Bellrose

She blinked slowly before raising her hand, counting off her fingers, "Je sais que trois langues sont trilingues," she said, tapping her thumb. "Vous pourriez être la personne la plus jolie que je connaisse," she said before pausing, "you don't know French, right?"

Brooklyn C.

"Well duh. I have no idea what the fuck you just said so like..."

Alex Bellrose

"Shh, I just have to make sure," she said before continuing. "J'espère qu'il a tort sur vous," she said, tapping her middle finger. "Nous planifions déjà notre avenir et cela m'impressionne et m'excite," she said before tapping her pinky a few times, "nous sommes à deux arrêts. There, five phrases."

Brooklyn C.

"Great, now tell me what they mean because I have no idea what the heck you just said," she replied with a grin.

Alex Bellrose

She jerked her from side to side. "Too bad," she said, "I'm not telling. What language have you always wished to learn?"

Brooklyn C.

She pouted, but rolled her eyes and shifted to the side. "Didn't have one until now. French."

Alex Bellrose

She went blank at the suggestion before frowning. "Of course you do," she said, "it's not that special."

Brooklyn C.

"Nah, just wanna know what you said."

Alex Bellrose

"Like you'll remember those phrases by then," she said, smiling lopsidedly.

Brooklyn C.

"Oh trust me, I will," she said with a widening grin.

Alex Bellrose

"I bet you've already forgotten them," she said, shaking her head.

Brooklyn C.

She recited all of them, with decent pronunciation. "Nope, I can still remember them."

Alex Bellrose

"Only you would memorise something easily as that, of course you would," she said, "do you have, like, photographic memory?"

Brooklyn C.

She smiled slyly, just shrugging as her response. "It's my turn, right? Hmm, name your favorite movie."

Alex Bellrose

"The chorus," she said instantly, "it's a French film so I don't think you've heard it. It's great though, the war of the buttons? That's great. Though, it was originally made in Ireland, then some reason the French stole it like 17 years later."

Brooklyn C.

"The war of the buttons?" she laughed. "Out of all the names they could've chosen... the War of the Buttons..."

Alex Bellrose

She smiled indulgently. "Well, yeah, it's literally the war of the buttons. It's about these two towns and their kids have this huge rivalry against each other and they battle it out for the other sides buttons."

Brooklyn C.

"Wow... I don't know if I should be dumbfounded or just... Wow. Ha, sounds like something I would've done when I was little."

OOC: it's actually a really sweet movie tbh should watch it

Alex Bellrose

She snickered. "Of course you would," she said, "I'm terrible at explaining things but it's good."

Brooklyn C.

"We should watch together sometime. Maybe have like an Earth movie night where we just watch earthen films all day for no reason."

Alex Bellrose

"I'm *so* in," she said, "just not the titanic or the boy in striped pijamas . I always start crying. It's actually a problem."

Brooklyn C.

"Then I guess we aren't watching the Titanic."

Alex Bellrose

She grinned crookedly, "good," she said, "say...what movies do you like?"

Brooklyn C.

"Anything that's entertaining. So basically, I'm up for anything that doesn't bore me to death."

Alex Bellrose

"Wonderful," she said, "be prepared to be binging comedy and romance."

Brooklyn C.

"I love comedy and romance! The relatable material is the best material."

Alex Bellrose

"Exactly," she said, breathing out slightly in relief, "I agree completely. Those two are the best."

Brooklyn C.

"So, how long till we reach this palace?"

Alex Bellrose

"Less than a stop now," she said before jerking her chin to the window, "see? You can see it from here." It was true, the gardens, the palace, the lakes, was just outside the window, standing in all its glory, as if it was ignoring the brutality that happened inside centuries before. "Palace of Versailles."

Brooklyn C.

"Damn," she breathed out, looking out the window to admire the beauty of the Palace. "I wish we had some lit historical palaces in America, but all we have is forts and the White House."

Alex Bellrose

"The white house is....impressive," she said, gazing at the scenery, "doesn't top this, though."

Brooklyn C.

"Well duh. This is a fucking palace. It's made to be more than impressive."

Alex Bellrose

Her lips attempted to tug into a smile but she stopped it. "I guess that's true," she said before the train halted to a stop and Alex pushed herself into the aisle.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke hopped out of her seat, following Alex as she tapped a pattern against her thigh with her fingers.

Alex Bellrose

Her eyes dropped slightly to watch her fingers, the movement catching her attention, but only for a brief second and she moved out of the patterns, periodically pausing to let other people go in front of them. Once on the station, she ran a hand through her hair before pulling it up into a ponytail.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke exited the train, taking a moment to stretch before turning to look at Alex. "So... How do we enter?"

Alex Bellrose

"Through the gates," she responded, "three are, like, four sections we can go?" She walked over to a wall, grabbing a pamphlet, "the gardens, the palace, the...trianon and the stables."

Brooklyn C.

"Oooh, let's go to the stables. Is there any horses~?"

Alex Bellrose

"Uh...." she said, flicking through, "*think* so, they have an...I don't know the English equivalent to that...a horse show happening at three, so they must have horses somewhere."

Brooklyn C.

"I want to ride a horse," she exclaimed. "I've never gone horse riding before."

Alex Bellrose

She turned to look at her with a blink of her eyes. "You've never ridden a horse before?" She asked, slightly surprised. "It's fun. If you can't here...we can go to a stable during the week."

Brooklyn C.

"My mom was a bitch and I didn't get much time to go horse riding in MW, y'know?"

Alex Bellrose

"Okay, yeah, true," she conceded, "tomorrow. I'll take you horse riding."

Brooklyn C.

"Love you too," she cheered, hugging Alex.

Alex Bellrose

She blinked in surprise but hugged back, "it's not..." she trailed herself off, stopping herslef, "come on, I want to see the palace. I heard they a Napoleon art exhibition going on in there."

Brooklyn C.

"Oh, art galleries. More memories of my crushed childhood dreams," she joked, letting go of Alex.

Alex Bellrose

She stuck out her tongue out at Brooklyn before grabbing Brooklyn by her wrist to drag her onto the path to the palace. "You can deal with them."

Brooklyn C.

"If you say so," she snorted, walking alongside her.

Alex Bellrose

"We have couple of hours to kill so, yes I do say so," she said, dropping Brooklyn's wrist as they walked.

Brooklyn C.

"I can't wait to see the hotel. Your dad won't mind if I trash it right?"

Alex Bellrose

"I don't know," she said. *Nor do I care.* "We'll see if he does."

Brooklyn C.

"You said that like you're planning world domination or something. Which reminds me, you'd be a horrible Disney villain."

Alex Bellrose

"Of course I'd be a horrible Disney villain," she said, turning to look at Brooklyn, "I'm the princess, duh."

Brooklyn C.

"Then I'd have to rescue you because let's be honest, you cannot pull an Elsa."

Alex Bellrose

"She's a queen," she corrected, "plus, I'm more of an Anna. And I don't need rescuing."

Brooklyn C.

"As long as I'm here, you're always getting rescued. Sorry hon."

Alex Bellrose

She chuckled, "what on earth do you need to rescue me from, anyway?"

Brooklyn C.

"Yourself," she snorted, walking past the other girl.

Alex Bellrose

She blinked at Brooklyn's back, taken slightly by surprise, before picking up her pace to match her. "I've survived well enough on my own the past few years," she pointed out.

Brooklyn C.

"Just barely. You show up to classes like once a year."

Alex Bellrose

She glanced up at her, frowning innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"You are a load of bull."

Alex Bellrose

She hesitated before giving it up, shaking her head. "If I knew you knew, I would never have turned up for maths," she said, scratching her chin, "and I've turned up more than once this year. I've been to a record number of math classes."

Brooklyn C.

"Congratulations?" she said sarcastically. "That's... not exactly something to be proud of. Go to school. Learn about the Mirrorworld. You'll understand everything. You'll feel included."

Alex Bellrose

She looked at Brooklyn for a moment. "Yeah..." she said, glancing away, "maybe." Tugging at a strand of hair, she gazed at the looming palace, trying to think of another subject. "How do you feel about a hotel that overlooks the tower?"

Brooklyn C.

"Towers, overlooking... Well, it's a hotel so like, as long as it's good quality and I can comfortably sleep in it... I'm good."

Alex Bellrose

"Well, fine," she said, "*I'll* choose it. If you just want a comfy bed."

Brooklyn C.

"Oh shush, shush. I like it, geez."

Alex Bellrose

She grinned back, "doesn't matter if you will or not," she said, "still living in there."

Brooklyn C.

"What...?"

Alex Bellrose

Her brows drew together. "Stay," she said instead, "live, stay, rest, same thing. Doesn't matter if you like it or not."

Brooklyn C.

"I... think I get the point."

Alex Bellrose

"Hey," she said, diverting her own attention, "we're here." They were indeed, the gates loomed above them and she peeked through the crowd to stare at the palace in the distance.

Brooklyn C.

"Ah..." she studied the palace. It reminded her slightly of the Empress' Palace, just a little bit more downscale and less modern. "...Cool. Let's go in."

Alex Bellrose

She didn't need to be told twice before slipping into the crowd and towards the gates.

Brooklyn C.

She followed Alex mainly, because she was preoccupied with things like analyzing their surroundings and the crowd ahead.

OOC: when you're on holiday but scared someones going to jump you and kill you

Alex Bellrose

After a minute, her hand reached back to grab at Brooklyn's shirt, suddenly realising the possibility of getting separated. "This place is strangely busy," she pointed out, "considering it's not a holiday."

OOC: basically all the assassins (including the former ones)

Brooklyn C.

"Eh, it's like a historical monument. No matter what day it is, it's probably always going to be a little stuffy out here."

Alex Bellrose

"That's true," she conceded< "though, you're in luck, the pamphlet says the stables aren't that busy. (ooc: true fact. Palace is most busy, according to the website.)." She glanced back to her, eying to her briefly.

OOC: rip

Brooklyn C.

"Let's head to the stables first then," she decided. "Lead the way."

Alex Bellrose

"I want to say 'don't I always' but I feel like that would be a big fat lie," she said, moving in the direction of the stables.

Brooklyn C.

"This is probably one of the few things you will ever lead me to in your life. Enjoy it."

Alex Bellrose

"It's just not in your DNA to be a follower, is it?" She asked, her tone dry but also slightly teasing.

Brooklyn C.

"Nope, I think I get it from my dad... Wouldn't know though, since he's deceased and shit. Definitely know it isn't from my mom though, ha."

Alex Bellrose

"Process of elimination," she said, "smart."

Brooklyn C.

"Nah, just obvious," she laughed.

Alex Bellrose

Her lips tugged into a small smile before gazing around, her eyes pausing at the extensive lake where people had hired boats to paddle around. After a moment of silence, she looked back to Brooklyn. "I'm getting this image that you hate her with all your heart."

Brooklyn C.

"How'd you tell?" she responded dryly, looking ahead. She slipped her hands in her pockets, walking slower.

Alex Bellrose

"Intuition," she joked, before looking back to the water, "it's September, isn't it? I can never remember."

Brooklyn C.

"How in the world did you forget what month it is?" she laughed.

Alex Bellrose

She blushed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I don't even know, but I manage it. Every time I remember what month it is, it changes so I gave up."

Brooklyn C.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how months work," she chirped, ruffling Alex's hair.

Alex Bellrose

She made a face at her, tapping at Brooklyn's wrist, "sure it does. One moment it's September then it's October in the blink of an eye."

Brooklyn C.

"Stop exaggerating. Time does go fast, but unless you're just not conscious of 99.9% of the stuff that happens around you, it does not go that fast."

Alex Bellrose

"Wrong, I'm conscious of about five percent of the stuff that happens around me," she said, only slightly joking.

Brooklyn C.

"Still more than 0.1%," she pointed out.

Alex Bellrose

She was silent for a moment, slightly confused and a little bit lost. "Yeah...I'm giving you that one."

Brooklyn C.

"You give me all of them. Name one argument that you've won."

Alex Bellrose

"We haven't had enough arguments to actually start counting," she said.