I want to thank everyone who has supported this story: chaos Angel of Change, Cheesey Goodness, ChibiConfettiQueen, DragonsHope, Hwoarangsguardie, Koji Shindou, NaginiFay, Orochigin, Raxephon, Sakura Sama 101 (especially for being such a kind, funny person to talk personally with and for her spin off: Ninjas In A Nook), Shandathe, SilverAnaya, Soulflame917, Vornpeace and chaosxShion. You were there, reading, when I thought I wasn't going to get a single hit. Thanks! (And to all you I missed, I thank you for taking your time to review and say what you had to say; I love honesty, even if it's not what I wanted to hear...)
This story has come to it's end. I wasn't going to end it so abruptly, but after finding out this story was posted, along with MANY others from this website, on a LiveJournal community specializing in the bashing of Mary Sue Dragonlance Fics, I was shocked. After visiting this community (thank you, Kibby, for keeping up the search!), and reading the lengthy, cruel review, I was amused. There are people who take these things way too seriously and, after a lengthy period of time to think about this, I decided to end the story. It has been an enjoyable experience (except the community bashing, which was amusing after I read it a few times) and I just wanted to let everyone know that you should go check it out because the dude who runs it must have way too much time on his hands and I'm sure he'll appreciate it. You might just find your story there. (I never considered Kender In The Closet a Mary Sue, but different people have different definitions of what a Mary Sue is.) I'm not angry. I'm not upset. I'm just stating it bluntly because I really don't know any other way to say it.
From chapter one, I knew this story was going to be dedicated to my friend, ChibbiConfettiQueen. Kibby, this story is for you for all the times you've ever been there for me. You loved this story and it's yours! I only hope you don't kill me for making you fall in love with Dalamar. Here's to plot bunnies, sleepovers, and friendship! (hugs)
I present you with the follow up to Elves In The Shower and Pirates In The Pantry: Kender In The Closet
Enjoy!!!!
The Sudden Goodbyes
Time passed on, day after day bringing new experiences for the girls and their guests. After the night of the parade, life seemed to slow down, mostly because the companions had finally made themselves at home. Chaos was lessened as everyone worked out a schedule for each day, including who cooked, cleaned, and babysat the kender. Finally, on a sunny, bright summer day, the two weeks of the girl's vacation were almost up and the companions thought they had found a way home.
"The way it works out," Tanis said as everyone sat in the living room over dinner, either stuffed on the furniture or sitting on the floor, "is that we all appeared at a certain time in a certain place. If we're all in the same place we appeared when our hosts found us, one by one we'll go back."
"Why didn't we figure this out sooner?" grumbled the dwarf, who was throughly sick of having nothing to drink besides soda and juice, Chelsea adamant that they keep alcohol out of the house.
"It is just a theory," Dalamar said, sitting next to Kim, who was draped lazily over the couch. "Shalafi and I came to the conclusion this might work after we reviewed the-"
Flint snorted. "I don't want to know how it works, I was just wondering why it took so long! Weren't the wizards supposed to be figuring this out all along?"
"With all the excitement and entertainment we've had lately," Goldmoon said, laying a calming hand on Flint's shoulder, "I'm pleased it's only taken them this long to find a way back home."
"How do we know this will work?" Alicia asked, tapping her spoon on her empty dinner plate. "I mean, you haven't tried it, have you?"
"No, we haven't tried it and it's just a theory, but it is the most likely solution to our, um, problem," Dalamar answered, the elf nodding his head. He was strangely talkative and, since the blue sunburn had worn off, he was looking paler than ever.
"Tomorrow afternoon, I've gotta go home," Keira said, shrugging. "I hate to leave you, Chelsea, if you still have everyone here, but I have to. My family will be back."
"I have to leave tomorrow, too," Alicia said, scratching the top of her dog's head as Oz licked the dinner plate in front of her on the floor. "Same thing: my parents will be back."
"What about you, Kim?" Chelsea asked, looking slightly forlorn. "Do you have to go tomorrow, too?"
"Sometime tomorrow, I'm not sure when. I bet I could stay longer, but I feel like I've been a nuisance," she replied, half laughing. Dalamar put a hand on hers and, to everyone's surprise, she pulled her hand away.
"Well, I guess this is our last night together," Chelsea said, "My parents will be home the day after tomorrow. It'll give me enough time to clean and make it look like we never lived with anyone else the entire vacation."
"This is our last meal together, if the plan works out," Sturm said, bowing his head.
Things were silent and solemn until Tasslehoff, trying to show off as he balanced everyone's glasses on top of one another on his head, fell off the table that doubled as Sturm's bed. The sound of shattering glass snapped everyone out of their thoughts and, as the girls went to clean up the mess, the companions sat together and tried to think of a way to thank their hosts.
After dinner, Chelsea realized that the plate she had left out for Raistlin had grown cold and was untouched. The wizard hadn't appeared for dinner, which wasn't unusual, but considering he knew this could be everyone's last night together, she was just a bit surprised. Hadn't he changed, even a little bit? Then again, he was a mage and change was ordinary. How could such a thing as time travel disrupt his usual sulkiness? Well, he'll find out soon enough as his own series continued, Chelsea though, smirking as she grabbed his plate and headed to her sister's room.
Upon entering, she found Caramon playing with the bunny, laughing as the fuzzy animal tried to bite his fingers and he pet it gently. Raistlin, sitting on the mattress Caramon had dragged off the bed and onto the floor, was studying his spell books. Of course. What else would he be doing? Trying to suppress her aggravation, she said, "Raistlin, you didn't come out to eat."
"I do not need food," the wizard snapped, not looking up. "Not when I am so close to finding a way off this wretched world."
Caramon sat up and carefully put the bunny back in it's cage, leaving the room after giving Chelsea a glance that said "Raist-Is-Cranky." Chelsea shrugged and made to follow Caramon out of the room, but Raistlin looked up and snapped at her to wait.
Smiling in her victory after almost giving up the battle of getting him to talk to her, Chelsea paused, holding her breath. What was he going to say? Surely he must also be upset even in the slightest bit that he would be leaving, never to return. Probably never, at least.
"Yes?" she asked carefully after it seemed like the mage had forgotten she was even in the room.
"Make sure everyone is ready to depart tomorrow morning, at the earliest hour. I will not have my experiment botched because my apprentice is occupied with his wench. And make certain you're not in the same room as anyone who is departing because you might go back with them and I can not have that."
Chelsea stood there, angry. Dropping the plate of food before him, watching as broccoli went everywhere, she snapped, "You make sure of it yourself! You've been nothing but a pain! I've done everything I could for you and you're still calling my friends names and being difficult and- agh! I don't even care anymore! I hope you get back as soon as possible so I never have to even remember you were here!"
As his host stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her, Raistlin batted the spilled food away from his spell books and grimaced. Human women were so out of control. While the bunny struggled to reach a bit of celery only inches away from his cage, Raistlin shut his spell books. What was the point of studying when your work area smelled like a garden? Magiking the celery to where the eager bunny could reach it, the wizard listened to the frantic crunch as the last of the celery was devoured. Caramon had mentioned to him that he hoped the bunny wouldn't be lonely without him after the warrior left. Raistlin had sneered at this; the creature would probably be thrilled to be rid of the obnoxious man. But, come to think of it, could a rabbit get lonely? Could a rabbit be sad? As long as there were other things for the rabbit to do, nothing bad would happen. Would the rabbit even remember Caramon had been there?
Unlike the rabbit, though, the girl that had just stormed out wouldn't forget he had been there, Raistlin thought. Like Chelsea had said, she would be glad to get rid of him. But, did she mean it? Sighing, angry with himself that he was thinking such nonsense, Raistlin sat back and fell asleep. If his plan worked, he would need rest. And lots of it.
That night was a quiet one, stretching into the early morning. Alicia suggested that Kim, Keira, and Chelsea join in on another night of caffeine and sugar, which Kim and Chelsea promptly said no to. Kim and Dalamar sat in Chelsea's room, talking in hushed voices, Alicia trying to listen in with Tasslehoff on what it was exactly they were talking about. Raistlin was cooped up in his usual place, alone and asleep, and Tika, Laurana, and Goldmoon sat in the basement with Keira, laughing up a storm. Chelsea found herself at the kitchen table with the men, including Flint, Tanis, and Sturm. Riverwind grimaced as he took polite sips of his coffee and Chelsea kept avoiding both Caramon's and Sturm's glances. Caramon obviously wanted to talk about Raistlin and Sturm obviously wanted to say a private goodbye before he left the next morning. She didn't want to talk with either of them.
She had gotten almost fed up with everyone. Chelsea wanted them to go home and she had realized it just a few hours ago. Two weeks of mass chaos is enough. More than enough, in fact. She had bigger things to worry about now than where Tasslehoff was because, as Chelsea had learned, things Tasslehoff did could often be reversed by a bit of hard work and a trip to the store. Now, if this plan to send them home didn't work, what was she going to say when her family came home the day after tomorrow? "Hi, guys! Meet my storybook friends! They just suddenly arrived and I let them stay until they found a way home!" That wasn't working for her at all.
"I think it's time we got some sleep," Tanis said, taking one look at Chelsea's tired face and realizing it was very late at night. Taking a look at the clock as she dumped the cups of tea and coffee into the sink, Chelsea realized it was morning. Almost five in the morning, actually. Almost the time nearly two weeks ago when Alicia had woken up to find Tasslehoff in the closet!
"Oh, dear, oh, my-" Chelsea muttered, running downstairs to where Keira was talking up a storm with Tika. "Jess! It's almost morning!"
"Time just flew by, huh?" Keira said, shrugging. "I'm not tired. Is the sun up, yet?"
"No! Remember the plan? Everyone has to go back where we found them so they can go home?"
Chelsea stood in front of her friend like she was prepared to bowl her over, a wild gleam in her eyes. Keira blinked rapidly and remembered, jumping off the couch and shaking Laurana awake as Tika and Goldmoon gathered their things. Chelsea ran through the house, picking up anything that looked remotely Krynn-ish and putting it in a plastic bag, which she handed to Tanis.
"We've got to go!" Caramon exclaimed, rousing everyone who had fallen asleep and adding to the sudden burst of chaos. Chelsea shook her head. Had they really been so involved in saying goodbye that they had forgotten what time it was? They had talked long into the night, past any normal time where anyone would have noticed something was wrong. Well, sleeplessness HAD become the norm after the character's arrival.
The four girls escorted the characters to where they had first appeared, each of them giving a hug and a fond farewell to those they were particularly close to. As Raistlin had said, the girls make sure they were not present in a room where the characters disappeared. As the sun rose and the house was silent, the four friends sat together quietly, lost in their own thoughts.
"You know," Alicia said after a little while, "I was getting really used to having a ton of people in my vehicle. I'm going to miss Tanis organizing everything and helping us out. And laughing. Before I had to leave him, Tasslehoff gave me a big hug and said thank you."
"He said that?" Keira asked, astounded, Alicia nodding her head. "Before I had to leave Goldmoon, she said she was sorry my colorguard pole got burned. She said she had wanted to talk more often than we did, even though we seemed so... opposite of one another. I realize it was really fun getting sunburned together. I never thought that's what I would remember and miss the most: sunburn with Goldmoon. But, how about you, Kim? What did you do, saying goodbye?"
"I was with Dalamar, of course."
"And?"
"We 'broke up.'"
Everyone gasped and Alicia patted Kim on the shoulder. Kim shrugged it off and smiled.
"You know how long distance relationships don't work out? Well, relationships where the other person belongs to another world entirely doesn't work out, even. That's a very long distance relationship. We didn't want that."
"But you two were so tight!"
"I know."
As the sun rose higher and the bars of light streamed in through the windows, everything took on a golden hue. Chelsea sighed and Kim looked over at her.
"Who did you say a special goodbye to, Chels?"
"Sturm insisted on bowing over my hand one last time before I put him back in the cupboard," she said. "I gave him my necklace and the bag of things the companions had almost left behind."
"What necklace?" Alicia asked, reaching up to her throat where her leaf was from when Legolas had left so many years ago.
"It was silver with a little butterfly on it," Chelsea said. "It's a pity he has to die in the books. Maybe my necklace will go along with the elven princess he'll meet. She gives him a necklace, too."
"I didn't know the poor guy died," Keira said, running her fingers along the edge of her colorguard pole. "I would have talked with him a lot more."
"It's best he didn't know," Chelsea said, sighing. "Part of the reason I didn't want to even be around him sometimes was because I was afraid I was going to say something. He'll get a hint or two in the books before he dies, but he won't exactly know what's coming."
"I thought you were just being mean," Alicia said bluntly, Chelsea forgiving Alicia for the moment.
"What about the wizard?" Kim asked, "I thought he was going to say goodbye for sure."
"He did," Chelsea said, Kim jumping.
"Oh, tell me!" she said, bouncy and excited.
"I don't think I'll tell," Chelsea answered, giving Kim a hug. "Let's just say we both lost someone close to us today, even though Raistlin would have incinerated me in an instant if he had the chance."
"Look," Alicia said, digging under the couch and pulling out a small cloth bag. "It must have fell behind the cushions and gotten wedged under here."
Opening it in the middle of the circle the girls had made on the floor, they found a feather, a ring, several rocks, and an odd looking spoon. Chelsea, realizing what this meant, sighed.
"Tasslehoff is going to miss this bag the most," she said, picking up the spoon. "The Kender Spoon Of Turning."
"Oh, pretty feather!" Kim said, touching it softly with a fingertip.
"Um, Chels, would it be... I mean, we'll never see them again and, well, I really like that ring," Keira babbled. Chelsea smiled and Alicia, taking that as an okay, grabbed the rocks and turned them over in her hands.
"They feel so weird," Alicia said, "I mean, it's like they're magic!"
"They probably are," Keira said, putting on the ring and admiring it.
"I love this feather! It's so soft, I mean, it's just one feather, but it's so weird!"
Kim hugged Chelsea again for the sheer sake of hugging. Chelsea took the spoon and held it in her hands. In fact, the entire time the girls sat there, they held onto their gifts and, by the time the sun was high in the sky, Alicia got up and stretched.
"Well, should we go see if the plan worked?"
"We know it worked," Kim said, "No one is here. They would have all found us by now if they were still, you know, around."
All four of them, however, made their way to the closet where Alicia had first found the kender and, with a gathered breath, Alicia opened the door.
At the bottom of the closet, there was nothing but a few dust balls and the faint scent coming from the candles on the top shelf. Tasslehoff was gone, meaning everyone else was gone, just as they had hoped.
"Well, guys, I guess that's the end of our little adventure," Keira said as the girls went into the kitchen for breakfast.
"I guess so," Kim said, putting the feather in her pocket.
"I hope I won't forget about them!" Alicia said, dragging out the cereal as Keira got the milk out of the fridge.
"We won't, Alicia," Chelsea said with a grin as she remembered Raistlin's kind words at their final farewell, "We won't.
Thank you for reading, leaving me reivews, and being such nice people! Happy Reading!!!!