Comments | genessia: You can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness

leekspin in genessia

You can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness

Jan 04, 2013 21:48

WHO: Orihime Inoue, OPEN
WHAT: FOREVER ALONE
WHEN: January 4, 2013 - Dusk
WHERE: Genessia - Garden Park Apartments - Roof

( ...But you treat me like a stranger, and that feels so rough... )

orihime inoue

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frozenrosedrops January 6 2013, 02:42:41 UTC

"The...apple of my eye," Snow replied with one of her almost smiles.

She guided Orihime up the steps. And there were a lot of them. But it seemed as if she were doing something to help them, as it seemed like the were not even climbing, but walking on level ground for all the strain it caused. Up and up they climbed, to the very top of the tower, which scraped the clouds and had them drifting across the windows.

The tower room was beautiful, possibly more beautiful than the rest of the castle. Ice pillars were embedded with diamonds, the windows framed with blue and white stained glass. And in the center of the room was more than a pillar. It was a shaft of ice that went from the floor to the ceiling, spreading tendrils along the floor and roof.

Crystal clear, there was something floating in the middle of it. Not something, but someone. A boy was hovering in the center of it, young, perhaps eight or nine years old, with dark hair falling to his shoulders. Snow pulled Orihime forward, letting her approach what was essentially a vertical coffin.

"My beloved son..."

leekspin January 6 2013, 03:09:28 UTC

Of all the things Orihime had expected to see, this was not one of them. "Your son..." she repeated in a soft hush. She didn't question why she was being shown the child. She could think of a number of good reasons -- Orihime was adept at healing, for one; for another, Snow had said that she could see into the hearts of people so perhaps this was her way of sharing their regrets.

It was no wonder Snow smiled so sadly. It was a wonder she smiled at all.

Orihime stepped forward, looking at the child. "What happened to him, Snow-san?" she asked quietly. "Is he sick?" She didn't want to ask if he was deceased.

frozenrosedrops January 6 2013, 03:38:59 UTC

"He was cursed. I suppose we all were."

Snow released the girl's hand and stepped back, as if watching for something to happen. But nothing really did as Orihime stepped forward, closer to the suspended coffin. The woman behind her sighed quietly.

"He'll sleep forever, until I can find the purest of pure hearts. But it seems you are not the one to break the spell."

The air got colder in the tower, though the cloak would keep Orihime warm enough against it. Snow's fingers found her shoulder again.

"One more failure."

leekspin January 6 2013, 05:57:59 UTC

"So that's why you invited me here." Orihime looked at the boy's sleeping face. She couldn't feel angry or resentful because of that. Any true parent would go to any lengths to rescue their child, and no harm had been done.

Orihime looked over her shoulder with an apologetic smile, and inclined her head. "I'm sorry. I could try to use my powers, but I don't know if they work against curses." A lot of what she could do seemed to be lessened without the ability to utilize her willpower along with it.

"Ne...who delivered this curse? Are they here in this world?"

frozenrosedrops January 6 2013, 09:26:49 UTC

"A wicked queen, long thought dead, several hundred years ago."

Her expression had lost the warmth it once held, as little of it that there had been. Now it was just pain and suffering, whether it was over her child, over her failure, or Orihime's suggestion that she should try to help in some other way was a mystery.

"Only one thing will save him. A heart pure enough to love him on sight. It is not you, either."

Her fingers got tighter on Orihime's shoulder, and snow whipped around them with blinding speed once again. A breath, maybe a breath and a half later, and they were in a different room, still obviously in the castle, but far away from the tower. It was not a dungeon, but empty of windows or doors, save for prison cell bars of ice over the only exit.

In the room, there were several children huddled, most of them together in a group on the other side of the room. But none of them were without the warm cloaks, or looked to be harmed in any way. The queen turned for Orihime, releasing her shoulder and walked through the bars, which moved aside for her, then snapped back into place.

leekspin January 7 2013, 03:51:19 UTC

It didn't take long for Orihime to realize what was going on, once she saw the faces of those children. She just couldn't believe it, because to her, it didn't make sense. If they were failures, why were they being retained?

"Hold on!" she shouted after the queen, dashing after her. The bars of ice halted her in her steps.

"I said wait! There's got to be another solution!" If Orihime's powers didn't work, there was possibly someone else with a gift for curse-breaking in the city. And if not, they could try hunting down the evil queen, and then shaking her really hard and yelling at her until she took the curse back.

There were options!

frozenrosedrops January 7 2013, 21:15:20 UTC

The queen stopped for just a moment, looking slightly over her shoulder, "Oh Orihime. If there are other solutions, do you think I have not tried them? This is the only way. Enjoy your stay."

Maltese found her shoulder again and the Snow Queen disappeared, leaving Orihime alone with the children. One of them came forward, tugging on her cloak gently, looking up at her with sad eyes.

"Don't...she gets mad if you bother her. And then she'll take you away."

leekspin January 8 2013, 09:20:03 UTC

'But I've already been taken away,' Orihime thought to point out. She didn't, though. Instead she looked down at the child, then at the others.

How were they supposed to go to the bathroom?

That probably wasn't important right now. Instead she knelt down and smiled. "All right. I'll stay calm for now, okay? We'll find a way out of here much faster if we think carefully and watch for opportunities."

frozenrosedrops January 9 2013, 00:04:58 UTC

One of the other children shook his head, an older child, wrapped in his cloak.

"She doesn't come back unless she has someone else to put here. The food just appears a few times a day. There's a bathroom behind the little door there, but no window or way out."

He pointed at a small door, half hidden behind one of the tapestries on the wall. Shaking his head again, he frowned and crossed his arms. "And the grown ups that try? She doesn't want them being a worry. So they just disappear."

leekspin January 9 2013, 07:09:05 UTC

Orihime glanced around her, realizing that she was the oldest person in the room. Non-children were probably at greater risk, but still... She intended on becoming a worry, if it meant finding a way to return these kids to their parents. She couldn't imagine how sick with worry those mothers and fathers must have been.

"I see," she replied quietly, and looked again to the bars. There had to be some sort of way out. She just didn't know what it could possibly be.

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