Life Is Good, I Can't Complain (c)

[Specs]

"What did I do?" repeated Ryan, feeling himself quickly getting irritated. "I told you where the bottle was! Maybe you just don't know how to open a door."

He sighed, gently pushing her over so he could get to the door. Grabbing the doorknob, he found that it didn't give.

[Tag Along]

"You locked us in! We're locked in here. Oh my word, we're locked in here." Lillian said quickly, pacing around and breathing heavily.

[Specs]

"Why do you always have to blame me? The door was open the whole time! I never once touched the doorknob until now," said Ryan, considering opening a bottle of wine as he looked around the pantry to see if there was anything he could use to pry open the door.

[Tag Along]

"Doors just don't close on their own!" Lillian shrieked, though she knew perfectly well they did sometimes. She started banging on the door and yelling for help, but she also knew perfectly well that the servants were all busy upstairs with the guests.

"I have to get out of here." She was taking huge gasps of air as tears of fright filled her eyes. "I have. To get out."

[Specs]

"It's a room," muttered Ryan, rolling his eyes at her as he tried to look for tools. A hammer, a screwdriver, anything... "Nothing'll happen to you."

[Tag Along]

"I'm terrified of small spaces, you idiot!" She cried, pressing herself against the door and leaning her head back to rest against it. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

[Specs]

Realizing that Lillian was definitely having a breakdown and not a show to irritate him, Ryan gently took her by the shoulders to face him.

"Alright, now just breathe," he said, gently wiping her cheek. "Close your eyes and think of riding Kingston outside."

[Tag Along]

Lillian tried to do so, but it only worked for a few seconds. Her eyes were shut tight as she shook her head.

"Not working." She replied, her voice strained. "Oh, god. I need... I need... Well, I need to get out. I need air."

[Specs]

"Stop. Talking," said Ryan sternly and keep your eyes closed. "Think of anything, whatever you want, as long as you're outside. Just keep thinking of something that always calms you down, something that you enjoy doing... pretend you're doing it now and don't stop thinking about it."

[Tag Along]

Lillian tried, she really did. She thought of picking flowers in the meadow, of reading under the warmth of the sun, of talking a walk in the gardens, heck she even thought of bantering with Ryan. But this only assuaged an iota of her fear.

She opened her eyes and gazed at Ryan.

"Ryan, please. Just get me out." She said quietly, pleading. "I can't. I just can't."

[Specs]

"If you can help me find something that looks like a hammer, I can possibly get us out," he said, letting go of her arms as he began searching through the pantry once again.

[Tag Along]

Lillian clumsily searched the shelf nearest her, but the only useful thing she found was a half-drunken bottle of champagne. She opened it and took a swig straight from the bottle.

[Specs]

Ryan found a cutting knife on the nearby shelf, a bit rusty but good enough to work with. As he turned around to see Lillian drinking a bottle of champagne, he shook his head at her, knowing he couldn't do anything to calm her down at this point. Grabbing the knife, he began working on the screws, hoping to get them off so that the door would become unhinged.

[Tag Along]

She noticed that he was somewhat successfully attempting to open the door. So, she took one last swig of champagne before grabbing the bottle of the blasted sherry and holding it tightly. This horrific experience wasn't going to be in vein, damn it.

((I've gotta shower! Back in 30ish))

[Specs]

Successfully taking one of the screws off, Specs stood up, now working on the last and other screw. He refused to look at Lillian for fear that he'd become even more stressed, especially now that things are finally under control.