A Week of Secundus Christmas, Day Three: Sleigh
I came up with the idea of a rocket sleigh shortly after the first two entries in this series, while trying to think of things that reminded me of Christmas. Richard seemed the most likely candidate for making said sleigh, so I wrote this idea around that. I originally intended this to involve just Victor and Alice, but then I realized I had no idea when Sir Christopher and Victoria would show up in the series, so I threw them in too. Besides, the way things end up, Christopher, Victoria, Emily, and Richard are all pretty close friends, so it actually makes sense for them to be here.
“Now, what do you think--”
“Mayday! MAYDAY!”
Victor and Alice both jumped backwards as something shot past them at incredibly high speed. Other pedestrians, vehicles, and horses ran for safety as the whatever-it-was rocketed down the street. “What the – Alice, was it just me, or did that sound like Richard’s voice?” Victor said, panting.
“Oh, God, what’s he invented this time?” Alice muttered, tone a mixture of annoyance and worry.
“Whatever it is, it’s apparently capable of quite a lot of forward motion,” Victor noted, looking at the melted trail of snow the whatever-it-was had left. He was honestly surprised there weren’t flames trailing out behind the vehicle.
Hoofbeats on the cobblestones caught their attention, and they looked up to see a magnificent white horse pull even with them. “Hallo!” Sir Christopher said from the saddle, a bit out of breath. Behind him clung a very nervous-looking Victoria. “Have you seen a tea-fueled rocket sleigh go past?”
A loud CRASH! at the end of the block made an answer unnecessary. “I think you’ll find it embedded in someone’s store front,” Alice said, shaking her head. “Let’s go see if they’re all right.”
“Quite right.” Sir Christopher urged his horse on, Victor and Alice trailing behind.
The sleigh was indeed in a storefront – that of a very unfortunate coffee shop. Richard and Emily were currently extracting themselves from the wreckage. “At least we couldn’t have picked a better place to hit,” Richard commented as the group drew closer. He glared up at the sign. “Pah, coffee.”
Emily’s response was to smack him with her skeletal arm – which was currently held in her other hand. “You told me the brakes worked!” she scolded her husband. “You promised me!”
“They did work!” Richard said, trying to fend her off. “I don’t know what caused them to fail!” His expression turned concerned. “Are you all right, my kettle?”
“I suppose I am,” Emily said, reattaching her arm. “Though if I wasn’t already dead, I think that ride would have killed me.”
“You were having fun at first! I saw you!”
“It’s easy to have fun when you don’t know that your brakes are going to take the day off without warning you! I – oh, hello,” Emily interrupted herself, seeing her four friends watching her and Richard. “You, um, saw us then?”
Victor nodded blandly. “We were coming over to make sure you were all right, but I think that’s been settled.”
“Just one more reason the mechanical and the Reanimated body triumphs over the organic!” Richard proclaimed.
“Honey, be quiet and help me get my leg out from under the steering column.”
“Mayday! MAYDAY!”
Victor and Alice both jumped backwards as something shot past them at incredibly high speed. Other pedestrians, vehicles, and horses ran for safety as the whatever-it-was rocketed down the street. “What the – Alice, was it just me, or did that sound like Richard’s voice?” Victor said, panting.
“Oh, God, what’s he invented this time?” Alice muttered, tone a mixture of annoyance and worry.
“Whatever it is, it’s apparently capable of quite a lot of forward motion,” Victor noted, looking at the melted trail of snow the whatever-it-was had left. He was honestly surprised there weren’t flames trailing out behind the vehicle.
Hoofbeats on the cobblestones caught their attention, and they looked up to see a magnificent white horse pull even with them. “Hallo!” Sir Christopher said from the saddle, a bit out of breath. Behind him clung a very nervous-looking Victoria. “Have you seen a tea-fueled rocket sleigh go past?”
A loud CRASH! at the end of the block made an answer unnecessary. “I think you’ll find it embedded in someone’s store front,” Alice said, shaking her head. “Let’s go see if they’re all right.”
“Quite right.” Sir Christopher urged his horse on, Victor and Alice trailing behind.
The sleigh was indeed in a storefront – that of a very unfortunate coffee shop. Richard and Emily were currently extracting themselves from the wreckage. “At least we couldn’t have picked a better place to hit,” Richard commented as the group drew closer. He glared up at the sign. “Pah, coffee.”
Emily’s response was to smack him with her skeletal arm – which was currently held in her other hand. “You told me the brakes worked!” she scolded her husband. “You promised me!”
“They did work!” Richard said, trying to fend her off. “I don’t know what caused them to fail!” His expression turned concerned. “Are you all right, my kettle?”
“I suppose I am,” Emily said, reattaching her arm. “Though if I wasn’t already dead, I think that ride would have killed me.”
“You were having fun at first! I saw you!”
“It’s easy to have fun when you don’t know that your brakes are going to take the day off without warning you! I – oh, hello,” Emily interrupted herself, seeing her four friends watching her and Richard. “You, um, saw us then?”
Victor nodded blandly. “We were coming over to make sure you were all right, but I think that’s been settled.”
“Just one more reason the mechanical and the Reanimated body triumphs over the organic!” Richard proclaimed.
“Honey, be quiet and help me get my leg out from under the steering column.”