The Keep and then Askavi, Monday Night (Fandom time)
Karla was heading to the courtyard of the Keep, where a portal had been ordered for her return to Fandom. It still felt wrong, oh so wrong, to be heading back to safety and comfort while Jaenelle and Lucivar were out in the wilds of Askavi, circling each other in a dark and dangerous dance. She was supposed to just go home and focus on class while she was wondering if Lucivar still walked the living Realms? If Jaenelle was still suffering from the effects of the safframate? Or--worse yet--wandering the Twisted Kingdom? Even if they needed her and had to summon her back home, it would be days and days until she could return--Kaeleer's time flowed at double the rate of Fandom. Should they discover they needed her skills tomorrow, the earliest Karla could expect to return was next week.
This was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. Maybe if she talked to Saetan once more, this time he would see reason. Or at least get so tired of arguing about it, he'd just let her stay.
She veered off, down the hallway that led to Saetan's suite, marshaling all of her arguments. Presented logically and impartially, she would get through to him. That had been the problem before. She'd let herself get worked up, too emotional. Saetan had seen her as a child, not a witch fully in control of her Craft. Change that and maybe--
"I am so pleased to see the Dark Council has sent a representative to talk about the grievous injuries inflicted in Little Terrielle during Lady Angelline's visit." Saetan's voice floated out of his door, sharp and smooth, like a knife wrapped in silk. Karla stopped--Hell's fire, he wasn't alone. She wouldn't be able to plead her case with him if he was already speaking to someone; especially not a Dark Council representative. But she didn't have time to delay. Her portal was scheduled to arrive in minutes!
Lord Magstrom
"The Dark Council is quite distressed over the whole matter." Lord Magstrom shifted uneasily in his chair. "Though I am not the official representative. Lord Jorval is still choosing the, ahhh, appropriate delegation." Magstrom was almost certainly unaware of the brief flicker of dislike that crossed his face when he said Jorval's name. "I was hoping to come here and find something that could...mitigate the concerns of the Council."
Saetan
Saetan looked like he was holding onto his temper through sheer force of will, deliberately reminding himself that the male sitting on the other side of his blackwood desk had done nothing to deserve his rage. In fact, Magstrom was their only ally on a Council increasingly packed with Jorval's toadies. "The Council isn't alone in its distress."
Magstrom
"Yes, of course. But for Lady Angelline to..." Magstrom faltered.
Saetan
"Among the Blood, rape is punishable by execution. At least it is in the rest of Kaeleer," Saetan said too softly.
Magstrom
"It's punishable by execution in Little Terreille as well," Magstrom replied stiffly.
Saetan
"Then the little bastard got what he deserved."
Magstrom
"But...they were newly married," Magstrom protested.
Saetan
"Even if that were true, which I doubt despite the damn signatures, a marriage contract doesn't excuse rape. Drugging a woman so that she's incapable of refusing doesn't mean she's agreed to anything. I'd say Jaenelle expressed her refusal quite eloquently, wouldn't you?" Saetan steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair. "I've analyzed the two 'harmless substances' Jaenelle was given. Being a Black Widow, I have the training to reproduce them. If you choose to insist they had nothing to do with Jaenelle's behavior, why don't I make up another batch? We can test them on your granddaughter. She's Jaenelle's age."
Magstrom
Clutching the arms of his chair, Magstrom said nothing.
Saetan
Saetan rounded the corner and poured two glasses of brandy. Handing one to Lord Magstrom, he rested his hip on the corner of his desk. "Relax. I wouldn't do that to a child. Besides," he added quietly, "I may lose two of my children within the next few days. I wouldn't wish that on another man."
"Two?"
Saetan looked away from the concern and sympathy in Magstrom's eyes. "The first brew they gave Jaenelle inhibits will. She would have said what she'd been told to say and done what she'd been told to do. Unfortunately, that particular brew also has the side effect of magnifying emotional distress. A large dose of safframate and a forced sexual encounter were just the kind of stimulants that would have pushed her to the killing edge. And she'll remain on the killing edge until the drugs totally wear off."
Magstrom
Magstrom sipped his brandy. "Will she recover?"
Saetan
"I don't know. If the Darkness is merciful, she will." Saetan clenched his teeth. "You didn't see what that bedroom looked like, Magstrom. The largest part that remained of the bastard was a finger. The gold ring was partially melted into the flesh, the Jewel shattered into powder. That was the largest--and the only recognizable piece--of what had been a full-grown male. The rest of him was quite literally spattered across the room. The bed was completely demolished, almost to splinters. Nothing else in the room was touched. The rest of the furniture, although ruined by bone fragments and blood, was intact. Do you understand what that says? One dead male, one ruined bed, everything else untouched. What does that say to you? About what happened?"
Karla
Karla covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. She'd known it was bad. Hearing just how bad it had been...And Jaenelle had been alone, all alone to face that.
Magstrom
Lord Magstrom bowed his head and looked away. He had no words.
Saetan
"Yesterday, Lucivar took her to Askavi to spend some time with the land, away from people," Saetan added, shoulders slumping a bit.
"Does he know about these violent tendencies?"
"He knows."
Magstrom
Magstrom hesitated. "You don't expect him to return, do you?"
Saetan
"No. Neither does he. And I don't know what that will do to her."
Magstrom
"I see." Magstrom was silent for a long while. "I saw another young witch, here at the Keep today," he said very carefully. "The same female I met last year, when Lord Friall and I first met your daughter. She's, ahh, very spirited?"
Saetan
"Yes?" Saetan's voice was deceptively neutral. Hopefully Magstrom knew to tread very delicately here.
Magstrom
"I couldn't help but notice she bears a striking resemblance to Lady Karla, the niece of Lord Hobart in Glacia." Magstrom cleared his throat a bit nervously. "Though Lord Hobart has recently had Lady Karla declared dead, he had importuned Lord Jorval quite strenuously in the past to help him find her whereabouts."
Saetan
"I fail to see what this has to do with me." The silk was withdrawn, there was only the sharp blade of the knife in Saetan's tone now. "As you said, Lord Hobart declared Lady Karla dead."
Magstrom
"I was simply mentioning this, because while I realize that the resemblance to the young witch I mentioned and Hobart's missing niece is passing at best, some of my more, ahh, enthusiastic colleagues might not. Should they see Lady Angelline's friend at SaDiablo Hall, they might draw the wrong inferences about her identity and presence there."
Saetan
Saetan relaxed again, understanding the warning Magstrom gave. He finished off his brandy and nodded. "I see. Thank you, Lord Magstrom, for your courtesy. I assure you, my daughter's friend will be leaving for school again shortly. No one needs fear she will be spotted at the Hall. The issue at hand is already quite emotionally charged. No reason to add yet more fuel to the fire."
Karla
Karla drew away from the door. There was no reason to linger--Saetan would never give her leave to stay, not after that. But she didn't continue towards the courtyard and the portal that was surely waiting by now. No. She had too much to do to go now. Jaenelle needed her, she truly did, and Karla couldn't turn her back on her best friend. But if it was too dangerous to go back to the Hall, then fine. She would do what she'd wanted to do in the beginning. She'd follow Lucivar and Jaenelle into Askavi.
Back to the suite she'd been assigned upon arriving at the Keep. She had a few preparations to make before she left.
Meanwhile, in the wilds of Askavi...
Lucivar
"Dammit, Cat, I told you to wait." Lucivar threw an Ebon-gray shield across the game trail, half-wincing in anticipation oh her running into it face first.
Jaenelle
She stopped inches away from the shield and spun around, her glazed eyes searching for a spot in the thick undergrowth that she could push her way through.
"Stay away from me," she panted.
Lucivar
Lucivar held up the waterskin. "You ripped up your arm on the thorns back there. Let me pour some water over the cuts to clean them."
Lucivar gritted his teeth and waited. She'd stripped down to a sleeveless undershirt that offered her skin no protection in rough country, but right now sharp pain didn't hurt as much as the constant rub of cloth against oversensitive skin.
"Come on, Cat," he coaxed. "Just stick your arm out so that I can pour some water over it."
Jaenelle
Looking down at her bare arm, Jaenelle seemed surprised at the blood flowing freely from half a dozen deep scratches. She cautiously held out her arm, he body angled away from him.
Lucivar
Stepping only as close as necessary, Lucivar poured water over the scratches, washing away the blood and, he hoped, most of the dirt. "Have a sip of water," he said, offering the waterskin. If he could coax her into taking a drink, maybe he could coax her into standing still for five minutes--something she hadn't done since he'd brought them to this part of Ebon-Rih, yesterday morning.
Jaenelle
"Stay away from me." Her voice came out low and harsh. Desperate.
He shifted slightly, still offering the water.
"Stay away from me." She whirled and ran through the Ebon-gray shield as if it weren't there.
Lucivar
He took a long drink and sighed. He would get her through this, somehow. But after the past day of unrelenting movement, he wasn't sure how much more either of them could take.
[NFI, NFB, OOC=love. Text adapted from Chapter Thirteen of Heir to the Shadows. Warning for discussion of sexual assault and violence. Sometimes c/p'ing sections of Anne Bishop's dialogue and text makes me want to cry. Part 3 of plot. Parts one and two found here.]
This was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. Maybe if she talked to Saetan once more, this time he would see reason. Or at least get so tired of arguing about it, he'd just let her stay.
She veered off, down the hallway that led to Saetan's suite, marshaling all of her arguments. Presented logically and impartially, she would get through to him. That had been the problem before. She'd let herself get worked up, too emotional. Saetan had seen her as a child, not a witch fully in control of her Craft. Change that and maybe--
"I am so pleased to see the Dark Council has sent a representative to talk about the grievous injuries inflicted in Little Terrielle during Lady Angelline's visit." Saetan's voice floated out of his door, sharp and smooth, like a knife wrapped in silk. Karla stopped--Hell's fire, he wasn't alone. She wouldn't be able to plead her case with him if he was already speaking to someone; especially not a Dark Council representative. But she didn't have time to delay. Her portal was scheduled to arrive in minutes!
Lord Magstrom
"The Dark Council is quite distressed over the whole matter." Lord Magstrom shifted uneasily in his chair. "Though I am not the official representative. Lord Jorval is still choosing the, ahhh, appropriate delegation." Magstrom was almost certainly unaware of the brief flicker of dislike that crossed his face when he said Jorval's name. "I was hoping to come here and find something that could...mitigate the concerns of the Council."
Saetan
Saetan looked like he was holding onto his temper through sheer force of will, deliberately reminding himself that the male sitting on the other side of his blackwood desk had done nothing to deserve his rage. In fact, Magstrom was their only ally on a Council increasingly packed with Jorval's toadies. "The Council isn't alone in its distress."
Magstrom
"Yes, of course. But for Lady Angelline to..." Magstrom faltered.
Saetan
"Among the Blood, rape is punishable by execution. At least it is in the rest of Kaeleer," Saetan said too softly.
Magstrom
"It's punishable by execution in Little Terreille as well," Magstrom replied stiffly.
Saetan
"Then the little bastard got what he deserved."
Magstrom
"But...they were newly married," Magstrom protested.
Saetan
"Even if that were true, which I doubt despite the damn signatures, a marriage contract doesn't excuse rape. Drugging a woman so that she's incapable of refusing doesn't mean she's agreed to anything. I'd say Jaenelle expressed her refusal quite eloquently, wouldn't you?" Saetan steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair. "I've analyzed the two 'harmless substances' Jaenelle was given. Being a Black Widow, I have the training to reproduce them. If you choose to insist they had nothing to do with Jaenelle's behavior, why don't I make up another batch? We can test them on your granddaughter. She's Jaenelle's age."
Magstrom
Clutching the arms of his chair, Magstrom said nothing.
Saetan
Saetan rounded the corner and poured two glasses of brandy. Handing one to Lord Magstrom, he rested his hip on the corner of his desk. "Relax. I wouldn't do that to a child. Besides," he added quietly, "I may lose two of my children within the next few days. I wouldn't wish that on another man."
"Two?"
Saetan looked away from the concern and sympathy in Magstrom's eyes. "The first brew they gave Jaenelle inhibits will. She would have said what she'd been told to say and done what she'd been told to do. Unfortunately, that particular brew also has the side effect of magnifying emotional distress. A large dose of safframate and a forced sexual encounter were just the kind of stimulants that would have pushed her to the killing edge. And she'll remain on the killing edge until the drugs totally wear off."
Magstrom
Magstrom sipped his brandy. "Will she recover?"
Saetan
"I don't know. If the Darkness is merciful, she will." Saetan clenched his teeth. "You didn't see what that bedroom looked like, Magstrom. The largest part that remained of the bastard was a finger. The gold ring was partially melted into the flesh, the Jewel shattered into powder. That was the largest--and the only recognizable piece--of what had been a full-grown male. The rest of him was quite literally spattered across the room. The bed was completely demolished, almost to splinters. Nothing else in the room was touched. The rest of the furniture, although ruined by bone fragments and blood, was intact. Do you understand what that says? One dead male, one ruined bed, everything else untouched. What does that say to you? About what happened?"
Karla
Karla covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. She'd known it was bad. Hearing just how bad it had been...And Jaenelle had been alone, all alone to face that.
Magstrom
Lord Magstrom bowed his head and looked away. He had no words.
Saetan
"Yesterday, Lucivar took her to Askavi to spend some time with the land, away from people," Saetan added, shoulders slumping a bit.
"Does he know about these violent tendencies?"
"He knows."
Magstrom
Magstrom hesitated. "You don't expect him to return, do you?"
Saetan
"No. Neither does he. And I don't know what that will do to her."
Magstrom
"I see." Magstrom was silent for a long while. "I saw another young witch, here at the Keep today," he said very carefully. "The same female I met last year, when Lord Friall and I first met your daughter. She's, ahh, very spirited?"
Saetan
"Yes?" Saetan's voice was deceptively neutral. Hopefully Magstrom knew to tread very delicately here.
Magstrom
"I couldn't help but notice she bears a striking resemblance to Lady Karla, the niece of Lord Hobart in Glacia." Magstrom cleared his throat a bit nervously. "Though Lord Hobart has recently had Lady Karla declared dead, he had importuned Lord Jorval quite strenuously in the past to help him find her whereabouts."
Saetan
"I fail to see what this has to do with me." The silk was withdrawn, there was only the sharp blade of the knife in Saetan's tone now. "As you said, Lord Hobart declared Lady Karla dead."
Magstrom
"I was simply mentioning this, because while I realize that the resemblance to the young witch I mentioned and Hobart's missing niece is passing at best, some of my more, ahh, enthusiastic colleagues might not. Should they see Lady Angelline's friend at SaDiablo Hall, they might draw the wrong inferences about her identity and presence there."
Saetan
Saetan relaxed again, understanding the warning Magstrom gave. He finished off his brandy and nodded. "I see. Thank you, Lord Magstrom, for your courtesy. I assure you, my daughter's friend will be leaving for school again shortly. No one needs fear she will be spotted at the Hall. The issue at hand is already quite emotionally charged. No reason to add yet more fuel to the fire."
Karla
Karla drew away from the door. There was no reason to linger--Saetan would never give her leave to stay, not after that. But she didn't continue towards the courtyard and the portal that was surely waiting by now. No. She had too much to do to go now. Jaenelle needed her, she truly did, and Karla couldn't turn her back on her best friend. But if it was too dangerous to go back to the Hall, then fine. She would do what she'd wanted to do in the beginning. She'd follow Lucivar and Jaenelle into Askavi.
Back to the suite she'd been assigned upon arriving at the Keep. She had a few preparations to make before she left.
Meanwhile, in the wilds of Askavi...
Lucivar
"Dammit, Cat, I told you to wait." Lucivar threw an Ebon-gray shield across the game trail, half-wincing in anticipation oh her running into it face first.
Jaenelle
She stopped inches away from the shield and spun around, her glazed eyes searching for a spot in the thick undergrowth that she could push her way through.
"Stay away from me," she panted.
Lucivar
Lucivar held up the waterskin. "You ripped up your arm on the thorns back there. Let me pour some water over the cuts to clean them."
Lucivar gritted his teeth and waited. She'd stripped down to a sleeveless undershirt that offered her skin no protection in rough country, but right now sharp pain didn't hurt as much as the constant rub of cloth against oversensitive skin.
"Come on, Cat," he coaxed. "Just stick your arm out so that I can pour some water over it."
Jaenelle
Looking down at her bare arm, Jaenelle seemed surprised at the blood flowing freely from half a dozen deep scratches. She cautiously held out her arm, he body angled away from him.
Lucivar
Stepping only as close as necessary, Lucivar poured water over the scratches, washing away the blood and, he hoped, most of the dirt. "Have a sip of water," he said, offering the waterskin. If he could coax her into taking a drink, maybe he could coax her into standing still for five minutes--something she hadn't done since he'd brought them to this part of Ebon-Rih, yesterday morning.
Jaenelle
"Stay away from me." Her voice came out low and harsh. Desperate.
He shifted slightly, still offering the water.
"Stay away from me." She whirled and ran through the Ebon-gray shield as if it weren't there.
Lucivar
He took a long drink and sighed. He would get her through this, somehow. But after the past day of unrelenting movement, he wasn't sure how much more either of them could take.
[NFI, NFB, OOC=love. Text adapted from Chapter Thirteen of Heir to the Shadows. Warning for discussion of sexual assault and violence. Sometimes c/p'ing sections of Anne Bishop's dialogue and text makes me want to cry. Part 3 of plot. Parts one and two found here.]