[COR vs CAR II] "Her Majesty's Melodious Musings"

[Captain Dee]

Greetings Eurobricks and Brethren of the Brick Seas. I present to you Corrington's Part 2 of the Corrington vs Carno build-off: Her Majesty's Melodious Musings.

For Corrington:
Part 1: "Potecting Her Majesty's Honour" by Puvel
Part 3: "In Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service" by Bregir

See spoiler for more contest content

For Carno:

Part 1: A Brilliant Idea! But... by Maxim I
Part 2: Dashing Out by Garmadon
Part 3: A Matter of the Heart by Jacob Nion

Contest Information:
Corrington vs. Carno Build-Off Rules and Sign-Up
Corrington vs. Carno Build-Off Voting Topic

*Cue the Royal Musicians*









In the capital city of Belson in the grand and glorious nation of Corrington, deep inside the magnificent chambers of the Royal Palace, Her Majesty Annetta, Queen of Corrington was taking her daily recess. She was resplendent in her regal red robes and had retreated to one of her private chambers along with two of her favorite royal attendants, Miss Olivia and Miss Trudy. As they silently prepared a dish of the finest fresh fruits she stepped upon the marvelous gold turntable that held one of the numerous grand pianos on the estate. As a child she had studied all the great composers - Ludwig von Brickthoven, and Johann Sebastien Brick, and Wolfbrick Amadeus Mozart and so on. Playing something calm and relaxing was her favorite way to unwind during a busy day, and on this occassion she had selected one of her favorites: a lengthy

of Johann von Pachelbrick's Canon in D. (Many years before Sir Dee was born, the Dee family patriarch had commissioned Pachelbrick to compose the piece, with complete freedom to use any key he wanted as long as it was the key of D!) High above them, the narrow balcony overlooking the chamber was crowded from end to end with more of the queen's attendants, who were permitted to listen as long as they kept completely quiet.


Once the refreshments were prepared, Her Majesty sampled the tray, saving a banana for last. Marvelous she thought to herself as she lifted a small piece to her mouth with a fork. Those rascals at the silly King's Port Advertiser had so outrageously suggested that she craved bananas as a result of being with child - a shocking disgrace and an insult to her unwed propriety and royal dignity - but she wasn't about to let that prevent her from indulging on occassion. She would see to it that a plantation be established closer to home, and then everyone would see who had the last laugh! After a moment she daintily picked up another small piece with her fork. It was so impractical, she thought, but her attendants nearly fainted the first time they saw her peel and eat one with her hands - it was just too vulgar, too common, they had declared, and insisted that she use proper utensils thereafter, never to touch a banana with her fingers again.

When finished, she turned her gaze back to the tray. Could it really be?! Chocolates?! It was! Fresh from the island of Cocovia, and then to the royal confectioners who transformed the bitter cocoa into something so sweet and smooth and creamy... She could barely conceal her excitement, for despite being Queen of Corrington the delectable treat was still an exotic delicacy. The attendants beemed, delighted that they'd been able to surprise her, and were both astonished when she insisted that they have a piece as well.

Annetta gently placed one of the small round pieces on her tongue and closed her mouth and eyes. Divine she thought as it slowly melted. Dream heavenly angels! And then she turned back to the piano and began to play the Canon, eyes still closed as her nimble fingers tickled the ivories from memory. The notes reverberated throughout the chamber and she shivered gleefully. There was no better feeling in the world.


Some time later the music neared its end, and as she played the last few notes she thought it would be a lovely song for a wedding. Her wedding. But not played by a piano - no, only the violins of the original score would do... As the last note sounded, in a rare moment of indulgence the matrimoniously-minded maiden murmured, "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

As if on cue, the melodious and melancholy musings of the majestic monarch were interrupted by the sound of tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at her chamber door. She opened her eyes suddenly, annoyed at having been jolted so rudely from her daydream, and doubly so since no one was to interrupt her recess unless it was something terribly urgent. She looked at the two attendants, both of whom looked surprised by the intrusion, and nodded her head for them to answer the door. As she stepped down from the massive turntable she thought, interrupt my recess? Quoth Annetta: "Nevermore."


Miss Olivia quickly moved to open the door. "Won't you come in?" she asked the men standing patiently in the hallway. They, too, were members of the royal court, and often handled tasks such as weren't befitting the ladies, who were exiting the balcony at that very moment. The men stepped into the chamber and bowed deeply, removing their hats to address the queen.

"Your Majesty," they said in obeisance.

"Your purpose?" she asked cooly, striving to appear as stately as possible.

"Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but we've just received a couple of urgent letters from a messenger hailing from the nation of Carno," one of the men said. "He insisted that we deliver them immediately, as the matter is of the utmost importance." With that he stepped forward, bowed again, and delivered the letters into her hand before taking his place back beside the others.

Her Majesty showed no emotion despite being puzzled by the developments. She slowly broke the seal on the thick packet and produced two documents: a letter and a card. "Thank you kindly," she said to the men, which they understood as their dismissal.

"Milady," they said in unison, bowed again, and turned to leave. Once the heavy door had clicked shut behind them she began to read the documents. The letter was addressed to Queen Anetta.


How quaint she thought. Can't even spell my name correctly. She paused. Or was that intentional? She continued reading silently as Miss Trudy and Miss Olivia gathered up the tray of fruits and left. Her Majesty's eyes widened slightly as she realized the message was about the Corry ship Bullshark captured the month prior by that scoundrel of a Carno sailor, Captain Whoknowswho. Reading on, she was amazed by the tone of the message before her. Such impertinence! she marvelled. Thou surly knave. One passage in particular really caught her eye: "Thank you so much for your generous contribution to my retirement fund. As a token of my sincere appreciation, I'll be sure to send you some flowers." The entire letter was an insult, as the captain gloated over the fact of his captured prize. What she didn't know was that the captain's faithful and loyal scribe had embellished the original dictation considerably; the captain likewise knew it not but would surely have approved had he known.

She read on: "I tremendously value our friendly business arrangement, but if the all-powerful nation of Corrington insists on making routine charitable contributions to my personal fleet, I feel compelled to offer my assistance in return, despite my limited abilities. Please accept my most humble offering of young pine saplings, which should grow tall and true like any proper Corry until they reach such size as is suitable for masting." Pine trees?! she wondered. Oh, you're very clever. Scurrilous scandalous scurvy scalawag scoundrel! But curiously, there were no trees to accompany the note. She read on through the end of the pompous, grandiose and generally arrogant letter before opening the card. It was beautifully detailed with little ornate printings of birds and flowers and a dreamy azure sky floating over a manicured garden... and she opened it to reveal just the one simple phrase:

Thinking of you in your time of loss.


It was too much. Despite being the elegant, graceful, dignified, collected, courteous and otherwise ladylike Queen of all Corrington, she simply could not let this stream of crude insults flow on unbroken. She quickly glanced around; she was alone in the gilded chambers, and felt inexorably drawn to a decorated black chest sitting on the floor by the polished ornamental marble throne. It contained numerous personal effects that had belonged to her late father, King Arlin, and she carefully lifted several items aside until she found her quest: his brace of beloved pistols that he'd always taken with him whenever he went out with the royal hunting parties.


Her Majesty hadn't touched the pistols in many years, and they felt wondrously heavy in her hands. They were still loaded, just as he'd left them, and as she turned back to the chambers she realized she'd moved in haste: the piano was sitting right in the way, and would have to be moved. Feeling rather bold, she stuffed both pistols into the neckline of her corset and proceeded to slowly, cautiously shove the heavy piano from atop its perch on the golden turtable. Then she stepped swiftly across the room and propped the ridiculous letter and card in one of the windows before returning to the turntable. It was meant to carry the weight of a piano and pianist, and moved with minimal effort minus the instrument. Annetta took a deep breath, cocked both pistols and stepped unto the turntable, pushing with all her might as she moved into the center. She spun around once, twice, and then stretched her arms out in opposite directions, aiming and firing one pistol forward and firing the other blindly backward at the offending documents as she whirled quickly around. She looked up long enough to see a gaping hole in the middle of the profane parchment, then dropped her arms by her sides, closed her eyes and waited for the carousel ride to end... and for the mayhem that was sure to follow!


A second later an explosion of shouting voices accompanied by pounding footsteps echoed through the smoky chamber, and the massive chamber door yielded to a ferocious blow and crashed to the floor with a screech of strained hinges despite having been unlocked. Several guards burst into the room, jumping over the fallen door, muskets and cutlasses ready to defend their magnificent monarch -

"Your Majesty!" They shouted in alarm, looking this way and that for some perceived threat. Instead, they were astonished to see the beautiful young queen standing in place of the piano, and as the turntable slowed to a stop she opened her eyes, lifted the two pistols' muzzles to her lips and gently blew across them both. With a mischievous and coy look on her face she asked:

"Whatever seems to be the problem?"


The guards stared in wide-eyed surprise as Her Majesty stepped down, handed them the pistols and moved gracefully across the room to fetch the pierced papers. The royal attendants who had delivered them had rushed into the room as well, and she handed the letter to one and the card to another. They stared in disbelief before quickly skimming and reading the two documents, respectively. "Poppycock!" The first exclaimed. "Why, the arrogant prick!"

"Cocky-pocky!" The other shouted. "Sonofabrick! Uh, pardon my coarse language, Your Majesty."

Queen Anetta merely smiled, and handed the two documents to the guards, who noisily voiced their own displeasure and began suggesting suitable retribution, much to the amusement of the lady sovereign.


The commotion was presently interrupted by the sound of heavy, ragged breathing and uneven footsteps. Another of the royal attendants staggered into the room, sweat pouring off his face; and partially succeeded in standing his armload of tightly-bound pine saplings at the base of the polished throne before collapsing into the floor at their feet. His iron morion helmet clanged against the floor and rolled lazily to the side before stopping in front of the queen.


Several of the guards rushed to attend the fallen man, and she glanced from his helmet to his powdered wig and back again. Surely a fashion faux pas she thought. Men! Helpless! They helped him to his feet while she turned her attention to the saplings. Their roots were bound in white fabric and appeared to be moist; she had half expected them to be dead. The thin limbs and needles had also been bound carefully and tied off with red ribbons. Someone put some effort into this she thought as she fingered the ribbon on one of the plants.

By then the exhausted attendant was able to speek, and he procurred yet another letter from his pocket. The queen resisted the urge to roll her eyes - queens just can't do certain things - and graciously accepted the note. It read: "To the most High & Noble Anneta of Corrington: A gift of goodwill in recognition of our mutual interests. Any resemblance to a not-yet-invented toilet accessory is strictly intentional coincidental." She handed the note to one of the guards, and looking over the trees saw yet another note attached to one of them. She turned it up and read aloud: "When you see a package/ all gaily wrapped and tied/ don't ask too many questions/ cause a Secret is inside."


"Secret?!" One of the guards shouted, horrified anew. "Everyone back! They must have bombs planted on them!" He extended his arms and attempted to shepherd them out of the way. "We'll see to it that they're disarmed, Your Majesty!"

"Nonsense," Annetta replied cooly. "Judging from the limited intellectual capacity displayed in his writing, I would further trust this scalawag with planting a tree in a bomb than planting a bomb in a tree. It's nothing more than yet another of his crude attempts at humor. Now please remove them to an appropriate place in the garden and see to it that they're transplanted properly. They're getting the floor wet."

"But... but..." the guard stammered.

"That's an order," she said sternly, lifting an eyebrow.


"Ah... uh, yes, yes, Your Majesty," he snapped to attention, and the other guards began loading the young trees in his arms. He took a step and staggered into one of the golden doorposts under the ungainly weight of his load. Backing up, he tried again, only to bump into the post on the other side. The other guards rushed to assist him, and after much stumbling, fumbling, bumping and muttered curses they finally made it through the doorway and disappeared down the hallway.

Bumping posts Her Majesty thought, barely able to suppress a smile. Naughty little habit.

As she turned to address the remaining attendants, her eye lingered on a small red cloth object wrapped in a red bow that had apparently fallen from one of the trees. The men followed her gaze and one of them picked it up and silently presented it to her. She carefully unwrapped it and unfolded the cloth to reveal a thin lacy purple piece of silk that had the unmistakable form of... Lingerie?! she wondered in shock and remembered the phrase "A Secret is inside." And then she saw the note, written in a different hand than the others - Captain Whoknowswho himself, rather than his faithful and loyal scribe - and it simply said "Fit for a queen. Naughty Naughty. XOXO"


She gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth as her face turned as red as the dress she was wearing. "Why, that insufferable buffoon!! she shrieked without thinking, losing her dignity for the first time as her embarrasment turned to anger.

The royal attendants had observed her full reaction without knowing what she was reacting to, and looked rather concerned. "Your Majesty, is there a problem?" one of them asked. She looked up at the sound of his voice and quickly wadded up the whole affair in her hands to conceal it from them. After taking a moment to collect herself she said tersely:

"Fetch me a pen and paper."

"At your service, Milady," one of them said, producing both items from on his person. She gave him a brief gracious look before beginning the dictation of her reply. That dirty Captain Whoknowswho would never get the best of her, any other Corry or any part of Corrington except for the ship he had illegally seized.


The attendant-turned-scribe sat atop the turntable and furiously scribbled to keep up with the fast pace of the queen as she demonstrated her full and prior knowledge of the troubling event:

"To the High Council of Carno,

It has come to Our attention that the nation of Carno has issued letters of marque against Corlander shipping. This became evident last month where it resulted in the cowardly attack on one of Our peaceful merchant convoys. Shocked by such dastardly aggression from a vessel flying neutral colours, and unwilling to cause diplomatic incident, the honourable captain of Her Majesty's Ship Bullshark let fly the Corlander colours, as soon as he saw his charges had made it safely away, only to be taken prize and led to captivity by your state-sanctioned pirates."

Queen Annetta paused. "Am I going too fast? " she asked the attendant.

"No, Your Majesty," he said without looking up despite being about five words behind at all times. She smiled to herself, paused until he was finshed and continued with her dictation:

"Corrington will suffer no such provocation, and requires immediate return of the vessel and crew, as well as permanent suspension of all letters of marque against Our shipping. Failure to comply to any of these demands will be considered an act of war, and we will react accordingly.

In service of peace and order,
Her Majesty Annetta, Queen of Corrington, Duchess of Balondia

June 616 AE
Belson
Corrington"

The attendant finished writing, stood up and bowed before the queen. "I will have this written out properly, Your Majesty."

"And please select a suitable representative to deliver the news," she said. After a brief pause she added: "And send those other letters back with whoever you choose."

"Milady." He bowed again. "A thousand pardons, Your Majesty. I'm terribly sorry about all this. We never would've interrupted your recess had we known the true nature of the occasion."

She smiled. "I understand, no one knew it was a prank, but next time - perhaps waiting a few minutes for my return would be in order. Oh, and would you all be so kind as to place the piano back in its proper position before you depart?"


"At your service, Your Majesty," the men bowed, rolled the instrument to the turntable and carefully lifted it back in place. Then they left the room, leaving the queen alone with the two girls.

"Trudy, Olivia, I do believe it's about time for my daily recess," she said with a mischevious smile. "Now be a couple of dears and bring me a banana and some chocolate."


Their eyes widened slightly and they cast furtive glances at each other. "Yes, Milady," they said and quickly left the room, giggling gleefully as they rushed to carry out her wish.

Queen Annetta stood alone in the private chamber and unfolded the garment wadded up in her hand. It was full-length but so thin and flimsy that it scarecly weighed anything at all. Scandalous she thought. It was unlikely that even the ladies of the night in that pirate stronghold of Bastion would wear something so shockingly bold. She would have one of the royal seamstresses turn it into something useful... As she felt of the material, she saw the words Victorious Secret embroidered in tiny gold letters along the hem.


Victorious she thought, smiling to herself as she hid it away. Corrington's proper place in war and diplomacy.


And then, in a burst of spontaneous creativity, she approached the piano and

of a piece that would eventually be known the world over for its adoption to that theatrical masterpiece, "Pirates of the Carribrickean."

The End

The notes and bonus pics were cluttering up the topic so I opted to put them in spoilers instead.

General Notes:

I've wanted to do a palace interior for some time, and this is as close as I've come to doing it. It isn't quite what I have in mind (due to the 20x20 stud size limit - I hate size limits!!!!

) but overall I'm rather pleased with how this turned out.

I didn't really have the time for this build-off but the basic plot idea came to me almost immediately after reading the rules in the sign-up topic - and I figured if I was ever going to participate in one of these it might as well be while I had a good idea that I could enjoy building and writing. And it was also high time for me to contribute something to the Corry cause...

This is also my first significant attempt at storytelling on Eurobricks. It isn't perfect but it isn't terrible, no?

I'm not at all ashamed to say that I parted out a couple of the Friend's Grand Hotel sets to help build this. There are a lot of good parts there, especially the gold columns and modified bricks, plus the piano is really nice. The piano I used here is just a lightly modified version of what comes in that set; whoever designed it did an exceptionally good job of it.

I finally got a chance to show some of my lady minifigs in printed dresses. There are 250+ more where those came from!!

The chandelier was challenging to build and even more challenging to hang. I first stacked two of the long chain ends where they connected to the stem of the chandelier - but stacking those ends always causes things to hang crooked, and it looked bad in photos. So I took it apart and spent some time devising a way to mount the chains seperate from one another to avoid the issue and now it hangs straight. If anyone wants, I'll be glad to show a breakdown of the chandelier and its mount.

Oh, and I can play a nice piano version of Canon in D - and it's about the only thing I can play!

Rebuilding the original concept.

This project is a complete rebuild of a MOC built last year in honor of the Pirates Forum staff members.

Here is a pic of the original:


And for comparison here is a pic of the new build:


I wanted the rebuild to look as similar as possible to the original, with the biggest variations being story-related. Make no mistake, it is a new creation. The original was built on a light-grey 16x16 base, which turned out well enough but was too small for some of the planned items - notably the chandelier. The rebuild is much bigger on a dark-grey 20x20 base (400 studs vs 256 studs surface area) and much taller as well (43 bricks and a tile tall; I don't know how tall the original was but you can get a pretty good idea just from the minifigs in the two pics above).

I demolished the original before starting the rebuild; only the throne, hanging baskets and one layer of plates in the balcony remained intact and all were modified before being reused. I reused most of the dismantled bricks but also needed lots more to increase the overall size to what you see here; more windows, columns, white bricks, floor tiles etc. The chandelier was built for the original but just wouldn't fit, but it fit the enlarged area of the rebuild almost perfectly, although I did redesign it slightly to look better overall.

The arch atop the throne was replaced and its support columns modified with replacement parts. Some of the decor was changed and the curved gold bricks on the front were swapped for white, which looks a lot better to me.

I added more drooping vines to the hanging baskets; otherwise they're the same, except there are 3 instead of 2 like the original. I wanted to use 4 but didn't have enough room.

The windows are mounted at the same height as the original but the spacing between them is different. I saw no reason to dismantle the columns of gold round plates or cones, since most of them would be reused, but I broke some that weren't needed down for use elsewhere.

The balcony floor is similar but the full layer of plate supports underneath was rearranged to allow the necessary enlargement. The fences are the same, just spaced out with the stacked cones between them.

I reused the gold columns on the top floor, but I needed lots more than the original had on it. The arches atop them and the gold-plated white Technic bricks on the very top are new.

The door and doorway, piano and (functioning) turntable, curtains, flags, smaller potted plants and jewelry sculpture in the back corner are all new.

In short, this is much closer to what I originally envisioned; fortunately the larger size helps but it could still be better!

Bonus pics:

Hell hath no fury...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yes indeed!


The Chandelier: built on a ship's wheel, approx 168 gold pieces, reasonably sturdy and finally hanging straight after a few redesigns.

And in conclusion a special "Thank you" to my fellow builder, Bregir, for supplying the Queen's letter at the end.

Happy building and thanks for viewing!!

Edit: updated photos

Edited September 25, 2016 by Captain Dee
forum updates

[TitusV]

Gorgeous! I love all the details, like the chandle, the piano, the use of these Windows as walls, the aweqome figs, the balcony and it's plants... Overall my favourite from you!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

It is good to see that you are not obsessed with the colour of gold, as many others, and so this ... hang on...

I'll start again.

I was reading the story with great interest when suddenly the story stopped but the pictures continued.

So what is she doing with those pistols?

Who is the guy that gets killed and lies flat on the royal floor?

Is Queen Annetta about to set up a gang together with her maids to become a second Dennis Moore?

Or will she become the famous "Dancing Queen"?

So many questions

Otherwise fine

[Captain Dee]

Gold?! Where?!

As for the story, my browser kept freezing up and I finally gave up (it was well past my bedtime by then...)

I hope to get the rest posted today, so no hints just yet except to say the man sprawled on the floor ain't dead.

[soccerkid6]

Very royal looking chamber! The piano, hanging plants, and throne are the highlights for me. Great story too, looking forward to seeing it completed

[Kai NRG]

Really like the story so far! The gold on this makes it look really rich, and the curtains and the overhanging flowers and vegetation and stuff are excellent!

[Maxim I]

I instantly recognised your previous build in this! (the one with the pirates staff). It is a bit too bad you recycled some stuff. Otherwise, the new stuff is really excellent!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Ok, fine, now we seem to have 2/3 of the story

I'll keep checking for the rest.

(I think that all these computers miss the feature that you could smack them when they don't work properly...)

Keep on with your "Calamity Queen".

Your next build is going to be about the great gold rush? Or was it the grand copper craving? The strange silver search?

One more question: Is it van Bricktoven or Brickhoven?

[Captain Dee]

Thanks for the comments.

TitusV - This is based on this build (as Maxim pointed out) but nothing was carried overly unchanged; it's mostly all new. I'll edit a full explanation into the first post later.

soccerkid6 - Words of praise from a talented builder, though I must say it's built almost entirely studs-up. It's still not quite as royal as I'd like, thanks to that 20x20 size limit. But I'm happy with how it turned out.

Kai NRG - Well, the story is finally done. And I think any palace interior should have lots of rich-looking details! But I almost forgot the curtains, and adding them was difficult, but worth it in the end.

Maxim - Good eye. I wanted this to look as similar as possible to the original, but besides a few details it's all-new, and nothing was unchanged.

Captain Braunsfeld - Of course I am not obsessed with the color of gold.

As far as "Calamity" is concerned there's a Calamity Drone (with appropriate head and hands of course) on the balcony. I could've filled the entire scene with them.

Judging from the looks of this MOC, I think the great gold rush already happened!

Good eye on Beethoven's name. I'm not sure how I goofed that. But... Pachelbel's was also missing the "h" so apparently that key wasn't working when I typed those names!

Thanks again folks!

[blackdeathgr]

Exquisite build and i reeeeeally enjoyed the story!

[Garmadon]

Quite an impressive build, Captain Dee, but an even more impressive story! Quite the tale!

Back on the build - very nice work with the piano (and turntable), and I dare say that dangling so much gold from the ceiling on that chandelier was some feat! The architecture and throne are excellent as well, and really my one nitpick would be that I would think that the hanging baskets would look better if there were one or two less colors with the leaves or flowers - they are just a bit overpowering as it is.

Excellent job overall though, and I'm looking forward to more builds from you!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

I always thought that bad jokes were my domain, but those victorious secrets of the Carribrickean were really fine

[Captain Dee]

For your viewing enjoyment, I've added about 10 more pics to the story. Posing all those scenes was a lot of fun, which hasn't always been the case with my builds.

Blackdeathgr - "Exquisite" might be overly generous but I'm glad you like it. I enjoyed building it and enjoyed writing it just as much. I got a good laugh on both counts which is the most important thing. I wanted a mix of drama, action, and humor, rather than just trying to be funny.

Garmadon - Thanks. The story grew considerably; I added parts on the fly as the idea evolved.

As mentioned elsewhere, the piano came from the Friend's Grand Hotel and is only lightly modified for this build. I tried to imagine a way to make it substantially better/different without losing the minifig scaling and couldn't do much better; it's just about perfect in its original form. I replaced the black telescope legs with the modified gold bricks and put the round gold brick in the center to attach it to the turntable; the other changes are cosmetic. One thing that could be improved is the bottom plate layer - it would look better in black rather than grey, but I didn't bother. I should've built a stool or bench for the queen to sit on but didn't have my curved red slopes handy to show her sitting minus the big dress piece.

The chandelier is indeed heavy (and perhaps a bit gaudy...) but it attaches really sturdy with those chains. Without a true wall structure to support it, the columns of white bricks on the corners pull in under the weight, especially if I move the build around much, so I had to straighten the outer top corners often when setting up for photos. Interestingly, it doesn't sway much at all when moved, perhaps due to the chains being pulled back at such a sharp angle. It was a struggle to get it to hang straight but in the end I was pleasantly surprised. Now I need to build one that looks a little better!

I believe you're right about the colors of those hanging baskets. I should've just used red and white flowers which would be a lot easier on the eye than that riot of colors. Good idea and I'll have to remember that for next time...

Captain Braunsfeld - I'm always looking for clever ways to include existing words and phrases. (And, thanks to you, alliteration as well! ) Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe should be obvious. I understand the "Secret" is most well-known here in North America, so I had no idea how well an international audience would get that. At least someone understands it's good to be Victorious! But there were actually 2 referrences to that: the first appears early in the story. *Sniff sniff* Oh, and apparently bumping posts isn't funny here on EB, even as part of a story...

If you didn't check the music links, I urge you to go back and listen - at least to the second and third ones. Those violins are amazing and Jarrod Radnich's virtuoso piano performance of the PotC theme is simply phenomenal.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[Elostirion]

This MOC is absolutely gorgeous. Really unique approach, and just turned out amazingly well!

Taking out a single part wouldn't do it justice, it's really about the overall appearance.

[Captain Dee]

Ahoy Mateys!!

Here is Part 2 of the story that I promised about a month ago, right after the results of the build-off were announced. This is mostly an exercise in writing dialogue, and I’d like to know what you think about it. Feel free to comment on the images as well, but all I have to say about the B&W pic is that the final product will look slightly different than what you see here. Enjoy.

At the Royal Palace in Belson, Her Majesty Annetta, Queen of Corrington, stood along her uncle, Admiral Woodbrose, on the balcony overlooking one of her private chambers and shared a moment of quiet conversation.





Below them on the polished tiled floor several of the royal attendants were busy dusting and cleaning the large chandelier that hung from the center of the room. He was in a festive mood - the case of Corrington vs Carno had been ruled in favor of Corrington, and he was about to share the news with the young queen. But first he had a treat to share with her.

“Glass of wine, Your Majesty?” he asked while taking a bow.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied. “But you don’t have to call me that, you know.”

“Of course I do!” he exclaimed. “If an admiral won’t, then who will?”

“An admiral who happens to be my mother’s brother,” she said with a smile. “I would prefer you simply call me ‘Annetta.’”

He smiled back. They’d had that conversation before. If ever a modest or graceful queen had ruled Corrington it was she.

He poured them both a glass and held his up to offer a toast. “To our continued health and the destined might of our great Corrington.”

She touched her glass gently to his. “Yes. And to Corrington’s natural position as ruler of the seas.”

“Naturally,” he said and they both took a sip of the wine. After a moment he said, “What do you think? It’s my own vintage, and I’m rather proud of it.”

She made an awful face and looked down into the glass. “I don’t know about drinking it, but I believe it would be perfect for the groundskeepers to clean their paintbrushes in.”

He laughed heartily and shook his head. “Annetta, you’ve always had your father’s sense of humor.”

“Who said anything about humor?” she asked, her face still twisted into an awful expression.

“Oh, come now,” he said with a chuckle. “Have another sip.”

She smiled, pleased that she’d gotten him to laugh - he had such a jolly laugh after all - and said, “No, no, I jest. It is really quite lovely.”

“Why thank you,” he said, bowing again. “And I think so myself.”

They were silent for a moment as they each took another drink. Finally she asked, “What was it you wanted to see me about?”

He took another sip, paused, and finally began by saying, “I hear you were directly involved in that case against the nation of Carno.”

“Yes,” she said softly, giving him an amused glance.

“And I thought it might interest you to know that we rightfully won the case,” he continued.

“Rightfully, yes,” she said, pursing her lips. “It couldn’t be any other way.”

“Of course not. Outright piracy if ever I knew it,” he said, shaking his head.

“Outright,” she echoed.

“Although...” he said, then allowed his voice to fade off.

“Although?” she questioned after a brief pause.

“The scoundrels agreed only to return the captured ship, but otherwise made no promise to cease and desist from their lawless activities.”

Her left eyebrow arched high upon hearing the news. “Most unfortunate,” she finally said, shaking her head. “Most unfortunate indeed.”

“It is in essence provocation to war,” Woodbrose continued. “Unless the absence of such a full statement was simply an oversight on the part of the court. I cannot believe that Carno would risk engaging us directly when there is simply no other reason for hostilities.”

“An oversight?” Annetta asked. “That would be rather strange. But it seems everything involving Carno escalates into a carnival before it’s over. If all her citizens are as ridiculous as that Captain Whoknowsnothing fellow, or even that eccentric king himself - why, anything would be possible.”

“About this Whoknowsnothing fellow...” he said with a questioning look on his face.

“What about him?” she asked tersely.

“I understand there was direct communication between the two of you.”

“Yes,” she said flatly but offered no more explanation.

“I can’t understand why, considering that he was responsible for the whole affair,” he said, fishing for information that she didn’t seem willing to reveal.

After a short pause she said only, “He seemed keen to insult.”

“Insult? Who? You?” Woodbrose asked, incredulous.

“All of us, myself included,” she answered. “I gather he fancies himself a witty fellow; I dare say he’s an oaf and a dim-witted dunce.”

“And you took it to heart,” he suggested.

“Absolutely not,” she declared. “But the matter was to be addressed by the court of law, and seeing as he had begun the pleasantries, I thought it only proper to respond.”

“Ah, yes. I see,” he said, nodding his head. After a moment he said, “I hear you responded in part with a pair of pistols.”

A tinge of color appeared in her cheeks and she admitted, “Yes.”

“Your father’s, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“They found their mark?”

“Yes.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, then admitted, “I don’t know.”

“One hole?”

“Yes.”

“So it’s possible they both fired dead true, one following the other.”

“It’s possible, yes.”

He was silent for a moment, and then, with a look of mischief on his face, he said, “A crack shot, you are. Remind me never to engage you in a duel.”

She laughed at the absurdity of the thought. “You needn’t worry. I don’t even know how to reload them.”

“Oh, so that’s all that’s stopping you,” he said with a grin. “That’s no consolation.”

“Oh, stop it, you,” she protested, swatting him on the arm.

He chuckled to himself. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“A bit childish, perhaps?” she asked.

“Well, I don’t know what he said, but when the dignity of the throne is challenged...” his voice faded off. “I suppose that judgment is best left to you.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, feeling relieved.

“As I understand it he was rather impertinent about the whole situation,” Woodbrose continued.

“You could say that, yes,” she agreed. “Arrogant and cocksure to the core.”

“He seems like a rather colorful character then. And the king as well, as you already said.”

“It appears that way, yes,” she nodded. “But entirely too colorful for my taste, both of them.”

“Naturally,” he concurred, “we being Corries, they couldn’t possibly measure up.”

“Naturally,” she agreed. “But I was speaking more for their absurd behavior.”

“Oh, but of course,” he replied. “I know very little of Carno though. I wonder what the rest of her citizens are like?”

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a brick separator,” she quoted forcefully.

“Annetta!” he exclaimed, chuckling to himself. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Honesty is the best policy - correct?” she asked.

“Why yes, of course, but that delivery had all the finesse of a china cabinet tipping over,” he said, still chuckling. “That was as blunt as a brick through a stained glass window.”

“Good,” she said tersely. “I meant for it to be.”

“Oh, come now, Annetta, give them a chance,” he said. “They can’t possibly be an entire nation of crazed idiots. Most of them, perhaps, but surely not all!”

“I suppose you’re right. I suppose the ones still in their mothers’ wombs haven’t gone completely mad just yet,” she stated.

He laughed again and finally continued his prior thought by saying, “Annetta, my dear, you’ve been attending theatre again.”

“Possibly,” she said cooly. “Possibly."

“And that line came from - uh, let’s see, don’t tell me - that Brett Brickler fellow in Gone With The Window.”

“No, no, no,” she said, rolling her eyes. “His name was Rhett Brickler and it was Gone With The Win.”

“Aha!” Woodbrose exclaimed in triumph, punctuating his remark with the short jab of a finger.

She blushed faintly in recognizing that she’d fallen for his trap. “You wouldn’t enjoy teasing me at all, now would you?” she asked, smiling.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” he asked, feigning ignorance. Then he took a deep bow and said slyly, “Guilty as charged, Your Majesty. Guilty as charged. As your father isn’t here to do it, I freely take it upon myself.”

“Freely and abundantly, yes,” she smiled. After a moment a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as she decided to turn the conversation to him. “Tell me, what do you know about toppling china cabinets and bricks going through stained glass anyway?” she asked.

“I was a boy once, you know,” he said with a grin.

“What?!” she exclaimed, astonished.

He chuckled. “Oh, nonsense. I know nothing of the sort. They were just the first two examples that came to mind.”

“Oh,” she murmured.

“But... I may know a thing or two about crashing chandeliers.”

“Uncle!” she gasped, struggling to suppress a giggle.

“Oh yes. You know your father and I practically grew up together. We were very close in age and I spent much of my childhood in the royal court.”

“Yes, I know,” she replied.

“But you don’t know the story of the chandelier?” he asked.

“No, I don’t. He told me lots of stories, but none of them involved chandeliers,” she said curiously.

“I suppose it never hurts to be a little mysterious,” Woodbrose said. After a brief pause he continued. “It happened right here in this very room, with this very chandelier,” he said. “Seeing it on the floor from this balcony brings back those memories.

“We were about six or seven years old, as I recall. The room was typically used for private recesses then, just as now, and was rarely occupied for very long. For reasons that were never clear to me, your father and I were briefly left alone, and as boys are apt to do, we got into a little mischief, despite our upbringing to the contrary.” Annetta smiled knowingly.

“One of us - I don’t remember which - had the idea to sneak in here and swing from the chandelier. I plainly remember your father went first. We could just reach it by standing on the outside of the balcony - rather foolhardy for sure - and we pulled it back as far as we could and away he went. When it came back we grabbed hands and I pulled him off, and when the chandelier stopped swinging I took my turn. It was quite a thrill, I assure you, and I remember briefly being fearful for my life as I went soaring out over the room. After I’d taken my turn, he suggested that we both ride at once, and that’s when it happened.” Woodbrose stopped.

“And?” Annetta asked.



“As we swung out over the room it started creaking and groaning under the weight of both of us, and we’d barely made it back to the safety of the balcony when the whole thing broke loose and went crashing to the floor. It made a horrible clanging noise which we were sure half the kingdom must have heard. Then we saw the bottom had snapped off, and we fled the scene. We raced back to the study, making sure no one saw us. When they found us” he paused, chuckling to himself, “we were diligently studying our books and had absolutely no idea what had happened.”

“Oh!” Annetta gasped and then laughed. “That’s awful!”

“It was indeed,” he continued, “but we were fearful of having our hides tanned if the truth was known, and we promised each other to never tell anyone as long as the older generation was alive.” He chuckled again. “I suppose your father kept his word if his own daughter didn’t know.”

“Apparently so,” she said. “I wonder if he ever told mother?”

“Now that I can’t say,” Woodbrose said with a twinkle in his eye. “But knowing him, I doubt it.”

“It seems the chandelier suffered no lasting effects,” she mused. “Pity. It’s such a gaudy thing.”

“Yes, perhaps a bit gaudy, but that’s just a reflection of the times it was built in," he replied. "I’ve always liked it, if for no other reason than it was the key to my little secret. They toiled over it for a while but finally pieced it all back together until it was good as new.”

“No one ever suspected anything?” she asked.

“I don’t know. We weren’t too keen to ask questions, your father and I. But they did secure it with extraordinary care after that.”

“I should think so,” she said. “But you never told anyone?”

“Not until now. Annetta, this will be our little secret,” he said with a wink.

“Our little secret,” she agreed with a smile.

“Good, good,” he nodded approvingly. After a moment he noticed a couple of books stacked up beside them and changed the subject entirely. “Tell me, did you ever finish reading The Art of War and Peace in Our Time, or do you need a little more time? There’s no rush, but I want to keep track of it. It was terribly expensive.”

“Well, actually... no,” she admitted. “I didn’t make it through more than the first few paragraphs.”

He smiled. “I understand. Not exactly your cup of tea?”

“Not exactly,” she said. “It’s quite a tome. A bit weighty for my taste.”

“Weighty reading, yes, both literally and figuratively. But despite being very well-written it’s just a bit dry if I may say so.”

“Just a bit dry, yes,” she agreed. “Pair it up with a dry wine and a dry cheese and you’ll be all set. I think it would take a lot of both for me to ever read it in its entirety,” she smiled. “But I suppose it’s good reading if you’re an admiral.”

“On occasion, yes. It requires a certain mood,” he said with a grin. “I see it’s on the bottom of your stack.”

“Yes. We can retrieve it before you go if you wish.”

“Splendid,” he replied. As he looked over the other titles in the stack his eyes lingered on the top one in particular. “Fifty Shades of Bluish Grey. Interesting title. What’s it about?”

“It’s about... it’s scandalous, that’s what it’s about,” she replied sharply.

He picked it up, opened the cover and exclaimed, “All the pages are missing!”

“They made a lovely fire,” she mused.

“Oh my!” he teased. “I’d better start screening my books before I loan them to you, or I might end up with a big collection of empty covers!”

“Knowing your interest in books, you needn’t worry,” she smiled. “But there’s one title you won’t have to worry about screening, because all the pages are completely blank.”

“Oh?” he asked suspiciously. “What’s that?”

“The Wit and Wisdom of King Philip of Oleon,” she stated.

Woodbrose erupted into laughter, pressed a hand to his face and shook his head. “You’re going to get us both in trouble,” he finally managed to say, still chuckling. “I hear he has a particularly fragile ego.”

“Who’s going to tell?” she asked.

“You’ve got a room full of maids below us,” he reminded her. “They have ears, you know. Word travels fast.”

“Yes, I know, but no word leaves this room if they value their positions, and besides, I think they’re too busy to notice anyway.” In fact they had perked up at the sound of Woodbrose laughing, but none of them had heard what Queen Annetta had said, and so they were left to wonder...

“It’s a good thing he’s already married,” Woodbrose teased. “I’d hate to break his heart by informing him that you aren’t interested.”

She rolled her eyes but couldn't keep from smiling. “I can always count on you to look out for my best interests.”

“You’re not getting any younger, you know,” he said in a more serious tone.

“There’s plenty of time,” she countered. After a brief pause she said, “But what were we talking about? Oh, yes, books.” She returned to the prior subject. “Another title you don’t need to send me is The Economic Policy, Military Strategy and Intellectual Secrets of the Eslandolan Empire.”

“Why not? That sounds like an excellent read,” he said.

“Uncle!” she exclaimed, as if the thought was absurd. “It’s a connect-the-dot coloring book.”

He burst into laughter once again and finally said, “Annetta, Annetta, my dear Annetta, what am I going to do with you, what am I going to do with you?”

She smiled but said nothing.

“I believe you’ve been eating too many bananas,” he teased. “Eat enough of them, and they’ll make you act just like a monkey.”

“Oh, really? Weren’t you just talking about swinging from a chandelier?” she teased back.

“Ooh, touché,” he grinned in surprise. “But I’m too old for that anymore. You’re still young and spry, so I’m going to tell the chefs to limit your consumption just to be safe.”

She smiled and shook her head. “It won’t work. I have other sources.”

“Really?” he asked. "You sneakly little devil, you."

“The black market has everything,” she stated.

“Annetta! Tell me you’re joking,” he said.

“Oh, stop it, you,” she smiled, amused. “Of course I am.”

Relieved, he studied her expression for a moment and then said, “Actually, I must correct you on one thing: the black market doesn’t have everything.”

“No?” she asked.

“No. It doesn’t have this.” He reached into his coat and produced a small white box with a ribbon wrapped around it. “Chocolate, fresh from Cocovia.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, you spoil me so.”

“Anything for you, my dear,” he said and handed her the box.

“Thank you,” she said graciously and gently tugged at the bow, loosening the ribbon. She carefully lifted the lid to reveal the sweets.

With a twinkle in his eye he said, “Don’t eat them all at once, or you’ll ruin your figure.”

She looked up at him and immediately replied, “If that’s true, I think I’ve already ruined it.”

He laughed. “You’re too quick for me. Enjoy the chocolates.”

As she gently returned the lid to its perch on the box, she noticed a slip of paper on the floor. “What’s this?” she asked and reached down for it. The upturned face was blank, and she flipped it over to reveal a drawing of an enormous ship.



“Oh, that,” Woodbrose said upon seeing the illustration. “I’ve been carrying it around for some time it seems. It must have fallen from my pocket when I retrieved the box.”

“The new class of first-rates under construction, I assume?” she asked.

“Yes it is. But this was an early drawing, and they look a little different than what you see here.”

“It looks gigantic,” she said. “And all those gunports...”

“Yes, they’re big,” he agreed. “And powerful. We’re naming the class Sovereign of the Seas for a good reason.”

“This says HMS Eternal Sovereign of the Seas,” she said, sounding confused. “That’s a mouthful.”

“That’s the prototype. She’ll be commonly known as simply HMS Eternal Sovereign. Her sisters will be called Majestic Sovereign, Royal Sovereign, and so on.”

“Ah,” she said. “That sounds better, and it’s certainly easier to say.”

“I gather you haven’t been to the naval yard to observe the progress?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t,” she said. “Of course I will attend the launch ceremony, and will also attend the departure ceremony when the fleet sails.”

“Excellent,” Woodbrose nodded. “Perhaps I can accompany you, if I am on hand at that time.”

“I look forward to it,” she smiled.

“As do I,” he returned the smile. “As an admiral, those things bring out the boy in me. But I must confess that I hope we don’t have to use them. Carno returns to mind, unfortunately. And the far-flung nature of our growing empire lends itself to confrontations, whether we like it or not.”

“Unfortunately, yes. I suppose those ships are like young children – best seen but not heard from?” she asked.

“Something like that, yes,” he agreed. “It’s only peaceful when the guns aren’t firing.”

“How are they progressing?” she asked.

“Slowly. Very slowly,” he replied. “But that’s just the nature of large ships, and large warships especially.”

“Yes, I know. Patience.”

“Yes, patience,” Woodbrose said. He checked his pocket watch. “Oh my, look at the time. Well, I’d better be going. I’ve got several things to tend to before the day is out.”

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for stopping by.”

He smiled and nodded. “You’re welcome. And I rather enjoy our little visits myself.” Then he cautiously moved aside the stack of books to retrieve the one at the bottom. As he turned to leave, he said, “Oh, Annetta?”

“Yes?”

“Promise me you won’t be out dueling anyone in my absence.”

She laughed. “I promise.”

“Good, good,” he said. “I’ll see you at dinner then?”

“I’ll see you at dinner,” she replied.

And with that he bowed, excused himself and left.



The End

Notes: I’ve added a few more bonus pics to the original post (in the spoiler), including a breakdown of the main components of the chandelier.

I hope you enjoyed the dialogue. I just kept writing until I ran out of ideas! If I don’t hear howls of protest from some of you, I’ll know you didn’t read it!

We finally get our first glimpse of King Arlin, albeit a young and mischievous version of him.

I have deduced that Queen Annetta is a very photogenic individual. And Woodbrose is a handsome fellow himself.

Happy building and thanks for viewing!!

Edited September 25, 2016 by Captain Dee
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[Sir Stig]

Nice lingo. Appropriate for the time. Great view into the inner circles musings. Fifty shades of bluish grey..

Edited July 10, 2016 by Sir Stig

[Capt Wolf]

Wonderful dialogue! I couldn't stop reading. (Really!) Fantastic insight into the goings-on in the palace in Belson.

What is the next theatrical performance in Belson? Like Bananas for Chocolate?

[Kai NRG]

Good job on the dialogue, it really was interesting. Annetta is quite a character, I'd say. Fun to be around.

[SilentWolf]

This was a fun story to read and truly added to the history and story of the going on so in the palace. Excellent job on the dialogue. Though it was rambling it did stay interesting enough that I kept reading.

[Captain Dee]

Thanks for the additional comments.

I knew I was forgetting something in my last post. First, I need to thank Ska for allowing me to use his charater, Admiral Woodbrose, in this story. And I failed to identify him in the chandelier-swinging pic: he's on the left, with the future King Arlin (Queen Annetta's late father) facing him on the right. (Using Photoshop, the saturation of color is reduced to -50 in that pic, if you're curious).

Regarding the conversation, I wanted to show that Queen Annetta is a normal person and would have normal conversations with the people she's close to when talking privately, away from the stiff customs of the royal court.

The long book title is a combination of The Art of War, War and Peace, and Peace In Our Time.

I have never read that Fifty Shades nonsense and I never will. (Carve it in stone - I said it and I ain't taking it back!) But I wish LEGO offered 50 shades of bluish grey! Well, okay, maybe not 50 - perhaps 40 would be more reasonable. No, in all seriousness, one or two more shades would be awesome!

The next theatrical performance in Belson will probably be Macbrick. Or Hamletgo. Or Romeo and Julego. Or...

I really need to do some more/better palace interiors...

Thanks for your input. And patience.

- Captain Dee

[Ayrlego]

I somehow missed part two when you posted, good job you bumped the thread!

Excellent story, very well written and it gives insight into the going ons of the Royal court. I look forward to seeing those Sovereign class first rates!