Black Jewels Fic + Geekery
Jaenelle was humming that song again. It was strange and eerie, and Wilhelmina had never heard it before - and when she’d tried to imitate it to Cook to see if she’d ever heard it, she found that she couldn’t hum it right at all. It didn’t sound the way it sounded when Jaenelle sang it. It almost made Wilhelmina shiver, a little, to hear Jaenelle, and when she looked at her sister’s eyes she hardly recognized the girl there. That frightened her, more than a little.
Wilhelmina glanced down at the embroidery Leland had suggested she try and was dismayed to see that she’d mixed up the orange and the purple and now it looked horrible. With a tired sigh, she went to pull the stitches out, feeling a little peevish. Jaenelle continued to hum, and to read, one of those books she’d made Wilhelmina promise never to mention to anyone. Wilhelmina didn’t like secrets - they made her nervous - but she knew very well that her younger sister was far cleverer than she would ever be, and so she trusted Jaenelle’s judgment and kept her secrets.
She kept humming, her voice seeming to harmonize with itself. It sent shivers down Wilhelmina’s spine. “Would you stop humming that?” She said, annoyed, “It’s driving me out of my mind.”
Jaenelle looked up quickly and met Wilhelmina’s eyes, looking startled, and Wilhelmina flinched back at a glimpse of something she knew not at all. Then her sister dropped her eyes and it was gone.
“Thank you,” Wilhelmina said scathingly, not wanting to admit how much Jaenelle’s deep, blue eyes unnerved her sometimes. Only a moment later, the humming began again. Wilhelmina groaned and put down the embroidery, turning to ask Jaenelle again, but then she cut herself off as Jaenelle turned to her, her face having that open and curious expression she got when she was going to ask questions Wilhelmina didn’t know the answers to.
“Wilhelmina,” Jaenelle asked seriously, “Do you believe in evil?”
“Evil?” Wilhelmina blinked. “What do you mean, evil?”
Jaenelle waved a hand descriptively. “You know. Things that are bad. Wrong by nature.”
Wilhelmina frowned, looking uncertain. “You’ve heard what they say about Black Widows…”
Jaenelle’s eyes snapped abruptly. “A pack of lies. I mean real evil. The kind of evil that destroys everything and eats away at the world, like - like an infection.”
Wilhelmina made a face. “Jaenelle, that’s gross.” Her sister’s intent gaze didn’t shift. “I don’t know, Jaenelle. Why are you thinking about it? Does it really matter?”
Jaenelle tilted her head to the side, her lips pursing. “If it’s there, don’t you think something should be done about it?”
Wilhelmina blinked. “What’re you going to do? You can’t just - Heal the world like you can heal a person.”
Jaenelle looked suddenly thoughtful. “Couldn’t you, though?”
Wilhelmina was struck silent.
“If there were such a thing, and it were just - creeping through the world, eating up all the good - you’d have to Heal it, or the whole world would just - die. Like someone with an infected wound. Couldn’t you just - take away the infection?” Her eyes were deep sapphire and so much older. Wilhelmina shrank back.
“Jaenelle?”
Her voice darkened, too. “You’d have to. To make the world clean again. Carve out all the bad from the good before a scar could form…that’s how you heal infections, right? So why couldn’t you do that with the evil in the Realms?”
“You talk about it like it’s there…”
Jaenelle’s head jerked up and her eyes were blazing with unexpected intensity. “You think it’s not? Look around you, Wilhelmina. This is all wrong.”
Wilhelmina shrank away from her sister more, fearfully. “You’re scaring me,” she whispered. Jaenelle jerked to her feet and paced to the window. It seemed to Wilhelmina suddenly that the room was much colder.
“Someone has to do it,” Jaenelle said softly, in a voice with the taste of midnight. “Before they destroy everything.”
“Jaenelle…please…stop it…” Wilhelmina whimpered, feeling the air stir around her ankles, tugging like a river current. Jaenelle’s head snapped up and she seemed to register for the first time that Wilhelmina was there. Her sapphire eyes faded back to blue and the lights grew brighter again.
“Wilhelmina? Are you all right?”
Wilhelmina nodded, not trusting her voice, and realized her hands were clamped on her upper arms. Jaenelle reaches to pry the bruising fingers away. Wilhelmina jerked from her sister, uncurling her own arms, terribly afraid she was going to cry. Jaenelle flinched and drew back, her eyes closing off as she turned away.
“I’m sorry, Wilhelmina,” she said softly. “I got…caught up in it.”
In what? Wilhelmina wanted to ask, but she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to know. “It’s okay,” she lied in a trembling voice. Jaenelle’s shoulders hunched and Wilhelmina could see her shrinking into herself again. She wasn’t sure whether to be guilty or relieved.
“I’m never going to hurt you, Wilhelmina,” Jaenelle said very softly, sitting down on her bed. Wilhelmina nodded, then cleared her throat to find her voice, realizing that her sister couldn’t see the gesture.
“I know.”
“Do you?” Jaenelle asked softly, and then she withdrew. Wilhelmina knew when she got in these moods she wouldn’t speak again, perhaps for hours, but she felt it was desperately important to tell Jaenelle one thing before she went to - wherever she went when she fled in her mind.
“Jaenelle, I…”
“Do you,” Jaenelle said in a feather soft voice, and then nothing. She was gone again. Wilhelmina picked up her embroidery, giving up the exercise as useless, and went to the door. Looking back at her sister, she could see the blank blue eyes, the mind within far away.
“Be careful, Jaenelle,” She murmured, and turned into the hallway. Alexandra and Leland were coming toward the room, Leland sniffling a little. Wilhelmina knew what that meant. She thought about going back into the room, to call Jaenelle back - Alexandra was always terribly angry when she found her doing that - but she instead bobbed a quick curtsy and fled.
Wilhelmina wondered, fleetingly, if there was anyone who would not laugh if she confessed that sometimes in her sister’s eyes she thought she saw the Mother Night, the Darkness embodied. She’d never told anyone, but…
Do you believe in evil? She’d asked, with earnest sincerity, and then said, If you could carve the wickedness away…
Wilhelmina felt a shiver run down her spine, a shiver of strange foreboding.
I so cannot focus this evening. At all.
Wilhelmina glanced down at the embroidery Leland had suggested she try and was dismayed to see that she’d mixed up the orange and the purple and now it looked horrible. With a tired sigh, she went to pull the stitches out, feeling a little peevish. Jaenelle continued to hum, and to read, one of those books she’d made Wilhelmina promise never to mention to anyone. Wilhelmina didn’t like secrets - they made her nervous - but she knew very well that her younger sister was far cleverer than she would ever be, and so she trusted Jaenelle’s judgment and kept her secrets.
She kept humming, her voice seeming to harmonize with itself. It sent shivers down Wilhelmina’s spine. “Would you stop humming that?” She said, annoyed, “It’s driving me out of my mind.”
Jaenelle looked up quickly and met Wilhelmina’s eyes, looking startled, and Wilhelmina flinched back at a glimpse of something she knew not at all. Then her sister dropped her eyes and it was gone.
“Thank you,” Wilhelmina said scathingly, not wanting to admit how much Jaenelle’s deep, blue eyes unnerved her sometimes. Only a moment later, the humming began again. Wilhelmina groaned and put down the embroidery, turning to ask Jaenelle again, but then she cut herself off as Jaenelle turned to her, her face having that open and curious expression she got when she was going to ask questions Wilhelmina didn’t know the answers to.
“Wilhelmina,” Jaenelle asked seriously, “Do you believe in evil?”
“Evil?” Wilhelmina blinked. “What do you mean, evil?”
Jaenelle waved a hand descriptively. “You know. Things that are bad. Wrong by nature.”
Wilhelmina frowned, looking uncertain. “You’ve heard what they say about Black Widows…”
Jaenelle’s eyes snapped abruptly. “A pack of lies. I mean real evil. The kind of evil that destroys everything and eats away at the world, like - like an infection.”
Wilhelmina made a face. “Jaenelle, that’s gross.” Her sister’s intent gaze didn’t shift. “I don’t know, Jaenelle. Why are you thinking about it? Does it really matter?”
Jaenelle tilted her head to the side, her lips pursing. “If it’s there, don’t you think something should be done about it?”
Wilhelmina blinked. “What’re you going to do? You can’t just - Heal the world like you can heal a person.”
Jaenelle looked suddenly thoughtful. “Couldn’t you, though?”
Wilhelmina was struck silent.
“If there were such a thing, and it were just - creeping through the world, eating up all the good - you’d have to Heal it, or the whole world would just - die. Like someone with an infected wound. Couldn’t you just - take away the infection?” Her eyes were deep sapphire and so much older. Wilhelmina shrank back.
“Jaenelle?”
Her voice darkened, too. “You’d have to. To make the world clean again. Carve out all the bad from the good before a scar could form…that’s how you heal infections, right? So why couldn’t you do that with the evil in the Realms?”
“You talk about it like it’s there…”
Jaenelle’s head jerked up and her eyes were blazing with unexpected intensity. “You think it’s not? Look around you, Wilhelmina. This is all wrong.”
Wilhelmina shrank away from her sister more, fearfully. “You’re scaring me,” she whispered. Jaenelle jerked to her feet and paced to the window. It seemed to Wilhelmina suddenly that the room was much colder.
“Someone has to do it,” Jaenelle said softly, in a voice with the taste of midnight. “Before they destroy everything.”
“Jaenelle…please…stop it…” Wilhelmina whimpered, feeling the air stir around her ankles, tugging like a river current. Jaenelle’s head snapped up and she seemed to register for the first time that Wilhelmina was there. Her sapphire eyes faded back to blue and the lights grew brighter again.
“Wilhelmina? Are you all right?”
Wilhelmina nodded, not trusting her voice, and realized her hands were clamped on her upper arms. Jaenelle reaches to pry the bruising fingers away. Wilhelmina jerked from her sister, uncurling her own arms, terribly afraid she was going to cry. Jaenelle flinched and drew back, her eyes closing off as she turned away.
“I’m sorry, Wilhelmina,” she said softly. “I got…caught up in it.”
In what? Wilhelmina wanted to ask, but she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to know. “It’s okay,” she lied in a trembling voice. Jaenelle’s shoulders hunched and Wilhelmina could see her shrinking into herself again. She wasn’t sure whether to be guilty or relieved.
“I’m never going to hurt you, Wilhelmina,” Jaenelle said very softly, sitting down on her bed. Wilhelmina nodded, then cleared her throat to find her voice, realizing that her sister couldn’t see the gesture.
“I know.”
“Do you?” Jaenelle asked softly, and then she withdrew. Wilhelmina knew when she got in these moods she wouldn’t speak again, perhaps for hours, but she felt it was desperately important to tell Jaenelle one thing before she went to - wherever she went when she fled in her mind.
“Jaenelle, I…”
“Do you,” Jaenelle said in a feather soft voice, and then nothing. She was gone again. Wilhelmina picked up her embroidery, giving up the exercise as useless, and went to the door. Looking back at her sister, she could see the blank blue eyes, the mind within far away.
“Be careful, Jaenelle,” She murmured, and turned into the hallway. Alexandra and Leland were coming toward the room, Leland sniffling a little. Wilhelmina knew what that meant. She thought about going back into the room, to call Jaenelle back - Alexandra was always terribly angry when she found her doing that - but she instead bobbed a quick curtsy and fled.
Wilhelmina wondered, fleetingly, if there was anyone who would not laugh if she confessed that sometimes in her sister’s eyes she thought she saw the Mother Night, the Darkness embodied. She’d never told anyone, but…
Do you believe in evil? She’d asked, with earnest sincerity, and then said, If you could carve the wickedness away…
Wilhelmina felt a shiver run down her spine, a shiver of strange foreboding.
I so cannot focus this evening. At all.