The tick tocks never stop. They’ve been ticking away forever, before the beginning of time. Even time itself doesn’t know where they came from, but they’re there, you mark my words. The tick tocks have been known as many different things to many different people, but tick tocks are what they are. A favoured place for the tick tocks just so happens to be a palace, naturally, they are a very refined sort. This particular palace, the palace of Maharajah Rakesh of Sylabub was a mysterious place indeed…
One day, a guest of the Maharajah came to the palace for tea, and as we walked through the decadent hallway of the east wing that was ridden with tarnished mirrored mosaic and carvings, he could hear something drumming down from above.
TAP TAP TAP TAP RAP A TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP RAP A TAP TAP TAP
“What the devil is this?!” the guest mused out loud as he looked up quizzically.
“No devil here sire” the footman said as he looked up sheepishly.
“It sounds like a small army up there? Small feet I mean, but many none the less!” the guest looked over at the footman expectantly.
The footman kept his gaze ahead. “Not feet sire, something else.”
The guest scowled at the footman. “Now listen here!”
The footman stopped in his tracks and looked over at the guest wide-eyed.
“You will tell me whats going on here, as how can I possibly have tea with the Maharajah without asking what on earth he has up there!” the guest stated as he looked up at the tiled ceiling.
“Well they’re not always on earth…” the footman said to himself quietly, but not quiet enough for the guest not to hear and raise an eyebrow.
Without any warning the footman swerved into another corridor with the guest in pursuit. “We’ll walk and talk, as you wouldn’t want to stay still for too long in these halls” said the footman.
“They’re tick tocks" he continued, as if it should suddenly be obvious to the guest.
“Tick tocks you say? Tick. Tocks.”
“Yes sire” the footman answered simply.
Exasperated, the guest breathed out heavily. “Tell me boy, what tick tocks are!”
The young footman adjusted his handsome blue and gold uniform and looked around sneakily. He nodded for the guest to follow him into another elaborate hallway.
The guest, a little disorientated as he side stepped into the hallway that he wasn’t aware was even there until a second ago, looked over at the footman with stern eyes. “The time is now boy..”
Just at that moment, seemingly out of nowhere, a tiny tick tock fell down from the ceiling and landed with a little thud on the side table at the edge of the wall.
“Quite right sire, now is the time” said the footman as he bent down to watch the tick tock, with the guest curiously bending down next to him to study the small creature.
The tick tock stood up and brushed himself off after his fall. The little beetle then scuttled over to the mirrored wall to inspect his body. His back shell twitched open and closed again, and looked rather like formal dinner jacket tails the guest thought as he stared at the small creature, recognising the manner of another gentleman, on a tiny scale of course. The curious creature was completely mesmerising to the guest. The little being then brushed off his soft speckled waistcoat that looked like it was made from delicate downy hairs, and resembled a fine tweed. His middle hands, as he appeared to have two sets, were occupied with his walking stick and the other holding a small leaf. They did appear to be gloved, in a similar fabric to his waistcoat.
The tick tock took a small bite out of the leaf, and after a few seconds of savouring his snack, he looked up at the two giant faces peering down at him. With no readable expression, the tick tock raised his stick and then brought it town to the table with a TAP TAP TAP, RAP A TAP TAP.
Suddenly the sound hit the guest right between the eyes. He knew this tapping and rapping that had led to sorrow before.
“Deathwatch Beetles!” he gasped.
The footman frowned and looked into the panicked face of the guest. “No sire, tick tocks.”
The guest scrambled backwards on his feet and stammered out “Send my regards to the Maharajah, please, to Rakesh! I..I..have to run!” and with that he ran to the end of the corridor and skidded into the next, trying desperately to figure out the way he came in. The footman calmly walked back the way he came and then saw the guest in the main hallway they had come from.
The tapping and rapping began from above and grew louder and louder with every second that passed.
TAP TAP TAP RAP A TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP RAP A TAP TAP
The guest’s wild eyes searched the mirrored tiles above as he covered his ears and looked both ways to make his escape.
As the din grew loud enough to cause the guest to retreat into himself, he cowered down onto the ground and pressed down harder onto his ears, squinting his eyes tightly shut. The footman looked over and innocently whispered “The time is now sire..tick tock” and with that, a thousand tick tocks rained down from the ceiling, through the cracks between the tiny mosaic tiles, and on top of the guest as he wailed out “RAAAAAKEEEEEESSSHH!!” but was quickly drowned out by the mass.
In the grand room at the end of the grand hall, the Maharajah looked around at his crumbling decadent palace and smiled. “We are all guests my friend, every one of us.” He then stood up from his golden chair and walked to the other side of the grand room, tapping his golden sceptre on the polished tiled floor as he went.
Fin.