The Keep, Ebon Askavi, Kaeleer, THE FUTURE & One Universe Over, Saturday Afternoon, Fandom Time
Knowing that she was here a decade in her own future--or a future, anyway--was a little disconcerting for Karla. She wasn't sure if that unease was lessened or heightened by the fact that standing here in front of the Keep and it looked exactly the same as it did in her own time. Having Jaenelle as the Queen of Ebon Askavi didn't change the way the Keep looked, at least on the outside.
On the other hand, when she closed her eyes and opened her other senses, she could feel the dark power permeating the very stones of the foundation. She sensed Jaenelle and a vastly dark power. It dwarfed her, made her feel very small. How could the other-Raven possibly still be bothering the other-her when Jaenelle could simply bring all of this power to bear on her?
"Shall we go announce we've arrived?" she asked absently, shaking her head free of the seductive song she could almost hear, threading its way through the Darkness. Jaenelle. "Raven, you might want to keep your hood up for a bit. I doubt you're all that popular right now."
Raven
"That would be wise," Raven murmured, drawing her hood up over her head, keeping her face shadowed. Anyone who saw her might think she was her older self from this time and react badly. Which would be an understatement.
Dinah
Hugely so. "I'll try to keep people off you if they jump the gun, though," Dinah said reassuringly. "Here's hoping they aren't so tense we don't get to explain."
Karla
"I don't know," Karla said quietly. "I guess it depends on who is here. But if there was some kind of incident that endangered older-Me and Rook, Morton's going to be on a very short leash. No reason to cause him to strain against it any more than he already is."
With so much dark power resonating through the Keep, it was impossible to tell who was present and what the emotional undercurrents were. It was like trying to tell what was going on at the Hall by standing at the end of the drive. Both the place and the inhabitants were too vast for anything to stay.
"Here goes nothing," she murmured and rapped on the door.
Draca
The great blackwood doors to the Keep slowly opened inwards, revealing a slight form standing between them: Draca, the Keep's chatelaine. Draca was of a race long since forgotten and turned to dust; her obviously reptilian features making it very difficult for most humans to tell what she was thinking or feeling.
Now, however, there was no mistaking the surprise on her face. "Lady Karla," she said, the slight hiss that accompanied her speech more pronounced than Karla had ever heard it before. "How iss thiss posssible?"
Karla
Karla winced and tried to give Draca an unsure-but-game smile. "I'm not the Karla you think I am?" she said, holding up her Sapphire Jewel. She hadn't exactly prepared for what she was going to say on their brief trip here.
"I think we should all come in," she continued, shooting an awkward glance back towards Raven's hooded form. "This is gonna be complicated."
Draca
Draca's forked tongue darted out and hovered in the air before Karla's face for a moment. Her eyes widened and she also glanced in Raven's direction before her face one again became an unreadable mask.
"Yess, I can ssee that," she said, her voice dry. "Follow me, Lady Karla and...companionss."
In a journey that would have been familiar to one husk who'd lately fed the denizens of Hell, Draca escorted the three of them down several curving hallways until she came to a small drawing room. She opened the door and gestured them inside, recoiling ever-so-sightly away as Raven passed, so not even their clothing would touch. "Pleasse sstay here while I fetch the Lady," she said, once they were inside. "Make yoursselvess comfortable. Refreshmentss will be sserved ssoon."
And with that, she turned away, closing the door behind her. There was the solid sound of a lock tumbling in place and a key sliding out of the lock before her footsteps began down the hallway.
Raven
Raven sat down heavily in a chair, curling in a small dark ball. "I can feel the pain and unhappiness here," she said miserably. "Feelings that I have caused."
Dinah
"Feelings a version of you caused," Dinah said, unwilling to lie, but unwilling to let Raven take on the responsibility for crap she hadn't done. "And that we're going to fix, remember?" She darted a look over at the door, speculative. Hoping they weren't going to have to break out, but fairly certain they'd be able to do so.
Karla
"Depends on if they've shielded it," Karla said quietly, catching Dinah's look. "And, if so, who did. If that someone outranks me, we could beat on the door for a month and not get through."
An unhappy thought and one Karla didn't want to dwell on. Why would they get shielded in? They were friends! Of course, why would Draca even lock them in in the first place?
As soon as Jaenelle and the other Karla got here, they'd be able to explain everything and figure out what to do next. Fandom had sent them here for a purpose, obviously. Together, the five of them could figure out what that was, and maybe lift some of the dismal air that practically shrouded the Keep.
"They probably just don't want anyone barging in here," she added after a moment's thought. "That could get pretty hard to explain, after all."
Raven
"And they might react poorly to my presence without waiting for an explanation," Raven said hopefully. "This is protecting us." Really.
She had to wonder if she could teleport through the shielding. She really didn't want to try, though.
Dinah
Some part of the room would be unshielded enough, Dinah was sure, that the Canary Cry could break through it. Of course, that would probably also bring the ceiling down on them, so... last resort.
"They're not idiots, so they'll know you're not her after thirty seconds," Dinah said with determination. They'd better. If Lucivar came storming in here ready to kick ass, he was going to get a nasty fight. "I'm just hoping we can get some answers here, since Julian passed the buck."
Karla
A tray with tea, nutcakes, and sandwiches appeared on one of the tables close to the fireplace. Without thinking, Karla found herself probing the food and drink for any hidden surprises, they way she did when she was in uncertain territory. She blushed and tried to hide it behind a sip of juice, turning away before either of them would hopefully notice.
To have those instincts kick in right now was unsettling, to say the least.
"I don't think they'll do that," she said. "Well, not Jaenelle, anyway." Karla could admit to sometimes being a little hot-headed and she'd doubted she'd mellowed with age. "We can be very useful and, besides, I think I have a right to know what happened to an older me, don't you?"
Rook
Maman.
She was back! Rook could feel her, a warm, loving presence that called to her like the glow of a fire on a cold winter's day. There were others too, Auntie Dinah, it felt like, and another whose scent was naggingly familiar, but that Rook was unable to place. Perhaps another member of Maman's Court? Third or Fourth Circle perhaps?
The room that Draca had put them in was shielded all the way around. There was no way that Rook could break through. But that was all right. She knew of another way. Maman had forbidden her from using the powers she had inherited from Mother, afraid that such a blatant use of those powers would lure Mother right to them. But surely Maman would understand if she broke the rules just this once. She had been so desperately scared and lonely since Maman had disobeyed Auntie J and left the Keep. Just this once, it had to be okay, if it meant she could hug Maman so tight and promise to never let her go.
And even if it wasn't, even if she got in trouble, just seeing Maman again would be worth it.
Rook closed her eyes and concentrated, teleporting then teleported into the shielded room. "Maman!" she cried. "I have missed you--"
And then Rook opened her eyes to see her Maman was not who she'd thought. And, standing next to her, was Mother.
Raven
Well, that answered the question of teleporting through the shielding, at least.
"Rook!" Raven exclaimed, rising to her feet. Though she wanted to, she didn't try to run to the girl and hug her; she wasn't sure how she'd react to that now. She could feel the sudden spike of fear when the girl's eyes fell on her.
Dinah
Dinah had picked up a nutcake and started nibbling when it appeared; therefore she almost choked when Rookie poofed into place. Hacking, she managed to swallow and put the food down before beaming at the girl, arms out, as Raven said her name. "Rookie? Yay, I finally get to meet you!" Then a pause. "...uh, I hope you're not getting in trouble for this." Not that she wouldn't let Rook hide behind her if she was.
Rook
Rook's surprise at seeing exactly who was in the room was so great that she rocked backwards on her heels. Her eyes darted from one girl to the other. "Teeny-Maman," she said slowly, recognition dawning through the whirl of shock and anticipation and disappointment. "And...Mo--Raven, too. Teeny-Aunt Dinah?"
A silly question, perhaps, since she looked remarkably similar to regular Aunt Dinah, but Rook was processing a lot here.
"I...I thought that it was my Maman..." she faltered. "Real Maman, I mean."
Karla
...Okaaaay. Not the warm welcome she'd been hoping for, but Karla could work with this.
"Nope," she said, giving Rook her best unsure-but-game grin and also holding her arms out for a hug. "We're...kind of a surprise, I guess? A surprise for everyone. You should have seen Julian's face when he found us wandering around the estate."
Her smile widened a bit, encouraging Rook to find that funny, too.
Rook
Rook darted over and give Teeny-Auntie Dinah a shy hug, then followed it up by embracing Teeny-Maman as well. But when she drew away, her expression was solemn as ever and her shoulders slumped.
"I...I do not suppose you came here to help us get Maman back, did you?" she asked timidly. "I would be ever so grateful if that were true. It is good to see all of you again but..." Her face crumpled. "I miss Maman so much!"
Raven
"We seem to have been brought here much as you were once brought to our world," Raven said gently, holding her distance and jealous of the hugs Dinah and Karla received. But she didn't want to spook Rook more than she already was, and the sick feeling she'd had since they'd realized where they were grew even greater as she remembered what Rook had told them during her visit.
"What has happened to your maman?" she asked. "We thought she was here with you. But we will certainly help as much as we can."
Dinah
"We thought she'd be here," Dinah added, feeling more and more worried. "As well as your Aunt Jaenelle. But Rookie, you know we'll help. As soon as someone points us in the right direction." What else could they say to her? Poor kid.
Rook
"She is not!" Rook wailed, tears running down her face. "She and Auntie J had a big fight one day. Maman wished to go away for a little while. She was so hurt and so sad, she just could not stay here any more. But Auntie J said everyone had to stay, because it is not safe. But Maman is sick, she was not feeling right and so she ran away."
Okay, not really ran. Maman couldn't run anymore. She couldn't even walk. But she had her wheeled chair and Craft and that was enough, Rook supposed.
"She came into my room when I was sleeping and kissed me and told me to be good for Auntie J," Rook sniffled. "She promised she would be back very soon, but she just had to go away for a little bit. She said it hurt to breathe here; too many memories crowding too close. I wanted to go with her, but she said I would be safer here. And now Mother has her and will not give her back!" She clung to Karla, hugging her tightly. She knew this was not her Maman, but if she closed her eyes and just breathed a little, she could almost pretend.
*I love you,* she sent on a psychic thread. *Please do not leave me, too! I could not bear it.*
Karla
*I will keep you close by me, I promise.* Karla sent, clutching Rook tightly while she exchange worried glances with her friends.
This whole thing was...not at all what she'd expected to hear. Obviously things were tense, Julian had amply demonstrated that, as well as what she'd heard from Rook before, but she'd at least expected to find her older self still here. Was other-Karla's disappearance related to whatever 'incident' that brought them here in the first place?
*I love you, too,* she added, a little surprised to discover that was true. She was convinced this was not her future and had only known the girl a weekend--but like called to like and Rook had wormed her way into Karla's heart.
"It's okay, Rook," she said aloud. "We're here, now. We need to know more about the situation, first, but then--then then we can plan."
Raven
Of all the cruel things Fandom had done over the years, this was truly one of the worst. But Raven did her best to wall up her fear and remain calm.
"Are you certain your mother has her?" she said quietly. "Do you know where your maman went when she left?
Dinah
Oh crap, Karla, what have you done? Dinah bit her lip hard, trying to put the pieces together and not liking the picture they formed.
Rook
"One of Mother's creatures came with Maman's Jewels," Rook whispered softly. "He gave them to Auntie J as proof when he tried to make the trade."
Karla
"The trade?" Karla repeated blankly. It was taking a moment for everything to register. "Oh. Of course. Trade you for your Maman. Just like she tried to do with Warren."
Karla was just going to...sit down now. Yes. Heavily.
Bad enough being held captive by Rav--by Rook's mother who went around wearing people's wings. But to be her captive while Craftless? Something awful must have happened to the other-her in order for someone else to have taken the Jewels.
She couldn't help but shudder, thinking of the cold kiss of the knife through her midsection, the maenad's filthy hand yanking her Sapphire off and rendering her helpless...
Raven
Raven forced herself to move, kneeling beside Karla and taking her hands. "This will not happen to you, I swear it," she said, struggling to hold in the awful guilt she felt for actions she hadn't even actually done.
She'd already hurt Karla -- and Dinah, and Jono and Warren and Anakin and her other friends -- once before when her father had taken control of her. The thought of doing it again was unbearable.
"And we will undo the wrongs that have been done here," she added softly. "That must be why we have been brought here." She didn't look at Rook when she said that; she didn't want to include her in the wrongs, since she was innocent of the manner of her creation.
Dinah
Dinah reached over to take Rook's hand and squeezed it. "I can get behind that." And it would make sense that Fandom had sent them here to do it, wacky island hijinks being what they were.
Karla
Karla threaded her fingers through Raven's. "I know it won't," she said steadily, looking Raven directly in the eyes. "This isn't going to happen to either of us. This world's Raven isn't yours and never will be. No one can shake my faith in that, I promise."
She leaned forward to brush a kiss across Raven's forehead, then sat back. "Okay, so we're agreed. Find out what happened, then argue our way into whatever plan that Jaenelle's got for rescuing other me." She frowned a moment. "I hope we're not too late for all that. What day did you say the messenger arrived, darling?"
Jaenelle
"Five days ago."
The voice came from behind them all, Jaenelle entering on silent feet. Her ancient, sapphire eyes swept over all of them, lips tightening slightly. "He left the Hall, but did not return to his mistress."
Karla
For a moment, even Karla quailed under the weight of that stare and the hints of the abyss that lurked beneath them. She was still Jaenelle, still her friend, but Witch was not far from the surface. Even were that not the case, Karla's mind was reeling as she took in Jaenelle's Black--no, somehow Blacker-than-Black--Jewels around her throat and on her fingers. So much power thrumming there, it defied description.
"Where did he go?"
A stupid question, but she was just proud she managed anything.
Jaenelle
"I decided he would be more use becoming part of the ecosystem in Hell," Jaenelle answered simply, gliding over to the table of refreshments and pouring herself some tea. Her hands shook with repressed emotions--several of them. It had been a very long week and this little joke of Fandom's was vastly unappreciated.
"So. Rook has told you of Karla's disappearance." Her voice was carefully neutral, keeping them unsure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. "I will have to apologize to Prince Hagen when I next see him for keeping that knowledge from him. But with the state Glacia is in right now, I thought it best to keep that information to as few people as possible."
Karla
Karla winced. Leaving Raven's messengers to be devoured by the denizens of Hell was an unpleasant image to contemplate. On the other hand, so was the idea of being trapped and Craftless by an insane demon.
"Just what is the state of Glacia that has everyone so on edge?" Karla asked, only remembering to tack on a hasty, Protocol-inspired "Lady" at the last moment. "And what's been done to try to get me--well, her--back? And hopefully Warren, too?"
Jaenelle
"Nothing."
The word hung in the air between all of them.
"This is not a convenient time to mount a rescue operation," Jaenelle continued into the frozen silence. "Once the current difficulties are over with, I will see what kind of accommodations can be reached."
Dinah
Dinah stared, boggling. "Nothing?" Remembering Rookie was in the room, she took a breath, darting a look at her, then back at Jaenelle. "What difficulties? How soon can you do something?"
Raven
"Convenient?" Raven said. The word felt like a slap in the face, and she imagined it was worse for Karla herself.
"Who knows what...." She bit back the rest of that, not wanting to scare Rook more than she surely already was. Her future self had torn Warren's wings off, and if she had Karla now, she doubted she was treating her any less gently.
"She is your friend," she said instead. "She helped you in Agio. How can you abandon her now?"
Karla
Karla was glad that her friends were speaking up for her. She couldn't speak right now; it was like someone had wrapped a phantom hand around her throat and squeezed. Getting air in was hard enough; words out was a literal impossibility right now.
Jaenelle
The shocked and outrage in their expressions hammered at her and worse still was the utter disbelief on this younger Karla's, but Jaenelle stayed calm. She was too damn exhausted to try to respond to any of the spiraling emotions in the room--though she knew that the betrayal in Karla's eyes would haunt her dreams when she tried to sleep tonight.
"I told Karla not to leave the Keep," Jaenelle said in a steady voice. "She knew the dangers that were lurking, knew that she hadn't even begun to Heal yet from the attack. It was a risk she knowingly took, going against her Queen and her own common sense."
She wasn't angry at her Karla; she understood how, even now, the need to get away could crawl under her friend's skin and drive her hard. But understanding only went so far. It did nothing to mitigate the reality of the situation both Queens found themselves in now.
"It's not a punishment," she said, belatedly realizing that was how it might have sounded. "I'm not leaving her there to teach her a lesson. I simply cannot get her at this time."
Karla
"Right," Karla said, voice hoarse and eyes glimmering. "That inconvenience you mentioned. And what's Morton doing, in all of this?"
Rook
"Oh," Rook said in a little voice. "Uncle Morton is--"
Jaenelle
"--also ignorant of what happened here," Jaenelle said, cutting Rook off. She gave the girl a sharp glance and a mental message before turning back to the others. "He is at SaDiablo Hall right now."
There had been three Halls once, one in each Realm. Now there were only two and Morton was not in the one they were thinking of.
"Karla was not the only one injured that night," she said, voice crisp, and let them draw their own conclusions.
Dinah
Oh, Karla. Because maybe it wasn't meant as a punishment, but damn did that sound condemning, and everything in Dinah was wrenching to go find her, go save her, then shake her hard until her head wobbled, the way she'd had to after Raven died. Some things just didn't change.
She looked at her own Karla, and said slowly, "Do you know where your Karla is?" Ask why later. If Jaenelle didn't know, or no one could find out... then there wasn't a lot they could do. Or anyone could do.
Raven
Raven felt much the same as Dinah, and she had to struggle against the heightened emotions coming from everyone else in the room. This wasn't right, particularly if she was responsible. She had to make it right somehow.
"If you will not find her, we will," she said. Just try and stop her.
Jaenelle
"I have not been able to find Raven, no matter where I look," Jaenelle admitted with a slight slumping of her shoulders. "She is not in any of the Realms, even in Hell."
Which was yet another reason she couldn't go and rescue Karla right now. Even if she had the time to mount a rescue, she still didn't have time to actually attempt to find her.
"Perhaps you will have better luck than I do, considering your...connection," she said, eyes flicking over to Raven.
Karla
"Not convenient?!?" Karla snapped, voice cracking.
...She was kind of fixated, yes. "What could possibly be more important than rescuing your best friend!"
Jaenelle
Jaenelle bowed her head. "Doesn't that tell you how important whatever this is?"
Karla
"No," Karla snapped, her voice thick. "Because there is nothing that the Jaenelle I know would consider more important. I was with you in Agio. I stayed with you through the safframate. Hell's fire, I took your memories and relived your memories of Briarwood, dammit, so you wouldn't have nightmares any more! Not to mention whatever else your Karla has done for you! So, no, I don't know what you're considering to be more important than rescuing me!"
Dinah
Dinah gave Raven a low-key frantic look as she reached out and squeezed Karla's hand. She was betting that Jaenelle wasn't going to tell them anything more because of timelines, but Karla was in no shape to accept that. And could Jaenelle have been tiny bit more tactless, if she tried? She certainly couldn't be less forthcoming.
"So. We're going to work out a plan, and... do that. Thing. Rescue them."
Raven
Raven rubbed Karla's arm, trying to send her a wave of calm despite her own agitated state. "We will find her, Karla, I promise," she said. "Her and Warren both."
Her mind raced trying to figure out how. If Jaenelle hadn't been able to track her, she wasn't in Karla's world. Of course not, she wasn't bound to it, she could teleport anywhere. Perhaps if she meditated she could try to sense for her, or....
Her eyes darted toward Rook. They couldn't trade her as the Raven of this world wished, of course, but perhaps their shared connection could help locate her mother.
Jaenelle
"You're welcome to go after her if you wish," Jaenelle said, briefly rubbing her temples. "Not that I could stop you even if I tried."
She called in a necklace and a ring, both with an Ebon-gray Jewel inset in them. She handed them over to Karla. "These are hers," she said quietly. "Do you want them?"
Karla
Karla reached out and took the Jewels, holding the necklace by the chain and just looking for it for a long moment. Then she transferred that look to Jaenelle and her hand twitched by her side, a slap that was aborted even before it had fully formed. Even now, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Instead, she vanished the Jewels and deliberately turned her back on her oldest and best friend. "I'll give them to Julian before we go and try to find Rook's Maman," she said, talking to Dinah and Raven. "He should find out what really happened and it's probably better to keep her Jewels there."
Jaenelle
Jaenelle stood up, shaking out her skirts and giving no sign of how her heart was breaking right now. But the timelines had to be preserved; that was one thing that Karla had made very clear over the years.
"I must go," she said quietly. "I have things to attend to. I will have Draca make up rooms for all of you."
Karla
"Fine," Karla snapped. "Go. I'd hate to have you be inconvenienced any further."
She kept her back stiff and straight until Jaenelle left the room and even after she'd left, the tension stayed in her shoulders and voice. "All right. What do we do?"
Rook
Rook spoke up quietly. "I want to come with you. I want to help save Maman and Stepfather."
Raven
Raven looked over to Rook, remembering what she had said when she'd first sat with Karla and allowed Rook to see through her shields. She is me. She didn't understand the hows or whys, but she knew Rook housed the soul of the Raven of this world. It feels that creating you within your Maman was not an act of evil. There was some goodness in her, and she gave that part to your Maman to protect and hold safe. She could not stop the dark part of her from doing what she did, but she could do that much.
Her soul was in Rook, much like her own had been in Azar's rings when her father had ripped it from her body. Azar's training allowed her to separate soul from body, and restoring it had purified her, though she'd been dead by then. Her older self still lived now, but if they could do the same to her, then she might be freed of the evil controlling her.
"I think we do require your help, Rook," she said reluctantly. She hated to endanger the girl, but she was the key.
Dinah
"Wait, what?" Dinah said, sounding dismayed. "How?" She was little! And short! And -- "Sweetie, I don't know...."
Karla
Karla wasn't thrilled about the idea, either, but she could immediately think of several ways the little girl could be useful. "For one thing, she might be our only way in," she said. "Jaenelle hasn't been able to find Raven's hide-out--" if, you know, she'd actually even bothered to look "--and it's not like we know where she is. Rook might be our only way of figuring that out."
Yeah. Really not thrilled here. But if the other possibility was to wander around aimlessly through Kaeleer and hope to stumble upon some clue...or just give up and leave Karla and Warren to rot...?
Rook
"If someone had your family, you would wish to help, even if you were only little, would you not?" Rook asked, glancing at each of them in return. "And I am quick and quiet and would not do anything I was not supposed to. Promise."
Raven
"And you are able to teleport, like me," Raven said.
She didn't want to alarm Rook with just how much they might need to count on her for this. Taking a few steps toward her, she crouched down and said solemnly, "If you are to help us, Rook, you must promise to immediately teleport home if something goes wrong. No matter how afraid you are for us, you must come right home."
Dinah
Dinah pointed at Raven. "What she said. That. Yes. Coming home immediately."
Because clearly, the kid listened so well to her own parents.
Rook
Hey! There were some legitimate extenuating circumstances here!
"But--"
Karla
"No buts," Karla said sternly.
Having been a nine year old girl who'd had her parents taken from her, Karla couldn't really argue with Rook's logic. She would have done anything at that age for the opportunity to save them. Hell's fire, she still would. Did that make this a good idea? Hardly.
But she was finding it even more difficult to say no to Rook's request.
"If we're going to take you along, you must listen to us," she continued. "If we say run, you run. We say home, you teleport. You find yourself in a situation where you think one of us would want you to teleport, you do it. You get scared, you teleport right home. And you do not come back. That's the condition for you coming along. We protect you above all else and you accept it. Otherwise, you're staying right here in the Keep."
Rook
"But--" Rook said again and then she subsided. "Yes, Teeny-Maman. I will listen and I will run. No matter what."
Karla
Karla reached out to give Rook's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Good girl. In that case..." She felt the shield that had been encircling the room fall away. "What do you say we head back to the rooms that Jaenelle has set aside for us? We should eat something and see if we can't come up with a better plan than wander aimlessly around with Rook as bait after dropping the Jewels off in Sidra."
And then they could be gone. That sounded remarkably good to Karla.
Raven
Raven didn't think she could actually eat with her stomach twisted in knots as it was, but she nodded. "Yes, it would be wise to plan," she said.
And pray that it worked.
[NFI, NFB, OOC is love. Preplayed with blondecanary and trigons_child, using whateverknight's preplay coder! Warning for spoilers for Queen of the Shadows. Follows this.]
On the other hand, when she closed her eyes and opened her other senses, she could feel the dark power permeating the very stones of the foundation. She sensed Jaenelle and a vastly dark power. It dwarfed her, made her feel very small. How could the other-Raven possibly still be bothering the other-her when Jaenelle could simply bring all of this power to bear on her?
"Shall we go announce we've arrived?" she asked absently, shaking her head free of the seductive song she could almost hear, threading its way through the Darkness. Jaenelle. "Raven, you might want to keep your hood up for a bit. I doubt you're all that popular right now."
Raven
"That would be wise," Raven murmured, drawing her hood up over her head, keeping her face shadowed. Anyone who saw her might think she was her older self from this time and react badly. Which would be an understatement.
Dinah
Hugely so. "I'll try to keep people off you if they jump the gun, though," Dinah said reassuringly. "Here's hoping they aren't so tense we don't get to explain."
Karla
"I don't know," Karla said quietly. "I guess it depends on who is here. But if there was some kind of incident that endangered older-Me and Rook, Morton's going to be on a very short leash. No reason to cause him to strain against it any more than he already is."
With so much dark power resonating through the Keep, it was impossible to tell who was present and what the emotional undercurrents were. It was like trying to tell what was going on at the Hall by standing at the end of the drive. Both the place and the inhabitants were too vast for anything to stay.
"Here goes nothing," she murmured and rapped on the door.
Draca
The great blackwood doors to the Keep slowly opened inwards, revealing a slight form standing between them: Draca, the Keep's chatelaine. Draca was of a race long since forgotten and turned to dust; her obviously reptilian features making it very difficult for most humans to tell what she was thinking or feeling.
Now, however, there was no mistaking the surprise on her face. "Lady Karla," she said, the slight hiss that accompanied her speech more pronounced than Karla had ever heard it before. "How iss thiss posssible?"
Karla
Karla winced and tried to give Draca an unsure-but-game smile. "I'm not the Karla you think I am?" she said, holding up her Sapphire Jewel. She hadn't exactly prepared for what she was going to say on their brief trip here.
"I think we should all come in," she continued, shooting an awkward glance back towards Raven's hooded form. "This is gonna be complicated."
Draca
Draca's forked tongue darted out and hovered in the air before Karla's face for a moment. Her eyes widened and she also glanced in Raven's direction before her face one again became an unreadable mask.
"Yess, I can ssee that," she said, her voice dry. "Follow me, Lady Karla and...companionss."
In a journey that would have been familiar to one husk who'd lately fed the denizens of Hell, Draca escorted the three of them down several curving hallways until she came to a small drawing room. She opened the door and gestured them inside, recoiling ever-so-sightly away as Raven passed, so not even their clothing would touch. "Pleasse sstay here while I fetch the Lady," she said, once they were inside. "Make yoursselvess comfortable. Refreshmentss will be sserved ssoon."
And with that, she turned away, closing the door behind her. There was the solid sound of a lock tumbling in place and a key sliding out of the lock before her footsteps began down the hallway.
Raven
Raven sat down heavily in a chair, curling in a small dark ball. "I can feel the pain and unhappiness here," she said miserably. "Feelings that I have caused."
Dinah
"Feelings a version of you caused," Dinah said, unwilling to lie, but unwilling to let Raven take on the responsibility for crap she hadn't done. "And that we're going to fix, remember?" She darted a look over at the door, speculative. Hoping they weren't going to have to break out, but fairly certain they'd be able to do so.
Karla
"Depends on if they've shielded it," Karla said quietly, catching Dinah's look. "And, if so, who did. If that someone outranks me, we could beat on the door for a month and not get through."
An unhappy thought and one Karla didn't want to dwell on. Why would they get shielded in? They were friends! Of course, why would Draca even lock them in in the first place?
As soon as Jaenelle and the other Karla got here, they'd be able to explain everything and figure out what to do next. Fandom had sent them here for a purpose, obviously. Together, the five of them could figure out what that was, and maybe lift some of the dismal air that practically shrouded the Keep.
"They probably just don't want anyone barging in here," she added after a moment's thought. "That could get pretty hard to explain, after all."
Raven
"And they might react poorly to my presence without waiting for an explanation," Raven said hopefully. "This is protecting us." Really.
She had to wonder if she could teleport through the shielding. She really didn't want to try, though.
Dinah
Some part of the room would be unshielded enough, Dinah was sure, that the Canary Cry could break through it. Of course, that would probably also bring the ceiling down on them, so... last resort.
"They're not idiots, so they'll know you're not her after thirty seconds," Dinah said with determination. They'd better. If Lucivar came storming in here ready to kick ass, he was going to get a nasty fight. "I'm just hoping we can get some answers here, since Julian passed the buck."
Karla
A tray with tea, nutcakes, and sandwiches appeared on one of the tables close to the fireplace. Without thinking, Karla found herself probing the food and drink for any hidden surprises, they way she did when she was in uncertain territory. She blushed and tried to hide it behind a sip of juice, turning away before either of them would hopefully notice.
To have those instincts kick in right now was unsettling, to say the least.
"I don't think they'll do that," she said. "Well, not Jaenelle, anyway." Karla could admit to sometimes being a little hot-headed and she'd doubted she'd mellowed with age. "We can be very useful and, besides, I think I have a right to know what happened to an older me, don't you?"
Rook
Maman.
She was back! Rook could feel her, a warm, loving presence that called to her like the glow of a fire on a cold winter's day. There were others too, Auntie Dinah, it felt like, and another whose scent was naggingly familiar, but that Rook was unable to place. Perhaps another member of Maman's Court? Third or Fourth Circle perhaps?
The room that Draca had put them in was shielded all the way around. There was no way that Rook could break through. But that was all right. She knew of another way. Maman had forbidden her from using the powers she had inherited from Mother, afraid that such a blatant use of those powers would lure Mother right to them. But surely Maman would understand if she broke the rules just this once. She had been so desperately scared and lonely since Maman had disobeyed Auntie J and left the Keep. Just this once, it had to be okay, if it meant she could hug Maman so tight and promise to never let her go.
And even if it wasn't, even if she got in trouble, just seeing Maman again would be worth it.
Rook closed her eyes and concentrated, teleporting then teleported into the shielded room. "Maman!" she cried. "I have missed you--"
And then Rook opened her eyes to see her Maman was not who she'd thought. And, standing next to her, was Mother.
Raven
Well, that answered the question of teleporting through the shielding, at least.
"Rook!" Raven exclaimed, rising to her feet. Though she wanted to, she didn't try to run to the girl and hug her; she wasn't sure how she'd react to that now. She could feel the sudden spike of fear when the girl's eyes fell on her.
Dinah
Dinah had picked up a nutcake and started nibbling when it appeared; therefore she almost choked when Rookie poofed into place. Hacking, she managed to swallow and put the food down before beaming at the girl, arms out, as Raven said her name. "Rookie? Yay, I finally get to meet you!" Then a pause. "...uh, I hope you're not getting in trouble for this." Not that she wouldn't let Rook hide behind her if she was.
Rook
Rook's surprise at seeing exactly who was in the room was so great that she rocked backwards on her heels. Her eyes darted from one girl to the other. "Teeny-Maman," she said slowly, recognition dawning through the whirl of shock and anticipation and disappointment. "And...Mo--Raven, too. Teeny-Aunt Dinah?"
A silly question, perhaps, since she looked remarkably similar to regular Aunt Dinah, but Rook was processing a lot here.
"I...I thought that it was my Maman..." she faltered. "Real Maman, I mean."
Karla
...Okaaaay. Not the warm welcome she'd been hoping for, but Karla could work with this.
"Nope," she said, giving Rook her best unsure-but-game grin and also holding her arms out for a hug. "We're...kind of a surprise, I guess? A surprise for everyone. You should have seen Julian's face when he found us wandering around the estate."
Her smile widened a bit, encouraging Rook to find that funny, too.
Rook
Rook darted over and give Teeny-Auntie Dinah a shy hug, then followed it up by embracing Teeny-Maman as well. But when she drew away, her expression was solemn as ever and her shoulders slumped.
"I...I do not suppose you came here to help us get Maman back, did you?" she asked timidly. "I would be ever so grateful if that were true. It is good to see all of you again but..." Her face crumpled. "I miss Maman so much!"
Raven
"We seem to have been brought here much as you were once brought to our world," Raven said gently, holding her distance and jealous of the hugs Dinah and Karla received. But she didn't want to spook Rook more than she already was, and the sick feeling she'd had since they'd realized where they were grew even greater as she remembered what Rook had told them during her visit.
"What has happened to your maman?" she asked. "We thought she was here with you. But we will certainly help as much as we can."
Dinah
"We thought she'd be here," Dinah added, feeling more and more worried. "As well as your Aunt Jaenelle. But Rookie, you know we'll help. As soon as someone points us in the right direction." What else could they say to her? Poor kid.
Rook
"She is not!" Rook wailed, tears running down her face. "She and Auntie J had a big fight one day. Maman wished to go away for a little while. She was so hurt and so sad, she just could not stay here any more. But Auntie J said everyone had to stay, because it is not safe. But Maman is sick, she was not feeling right and so she ran away."
Okay, not really ran. Maman couldn't run anymore. She couldn't even walk. But she had her wheeled chair and Craft and that was enough, Rook supposed.
"She came into my room when I was sleeping and kissed me and told me to be good for Auntie J," Rook sniffled. "She promised she would be back very soon, but she just had to go away for a little bit. She said it hurt to breathe here; too many memories crowding too close. I wanted to go with her, but she said I would be safer here. And now Mother has her and will not give her back!" She clung to Karla, hugging her tightly. She knew this was not her Maman, but if she closed her eyes and just breathed a little, she could almost pretend.
*I love you,* she sent on a psychic thread. *Please do not leave me, too! I could not bear it.*
Karla
*I will keep you close by me, I promise.* Karla sent, clutching Rook tightly while she exchange worried glances with her friends.
This whole thing was...not at all what she'd expected to hear. Obviously things were tense, Julian had amply demonstrated that, as well as what she'd heard from Rook before, but she'd at least expected to find her older self still here. Was other-Karla's disappearance related to whatever 'incident' that brought them here in the first place?
*I love you, too,* she added, a little surprised to discover that was true. She was convinced this was not her future and had only known the girl a weekend--but like called to like and Rook had wormed her way into Karla's heart.
"It's okay, Rook," she said aloud. "We're here, now. We need to know more about the situation, first, but then--then then we can plan."
Raven
Of all the cruel things Fandom had done over the years, this was truly one of the worst. But Raven did her best to wall up her fear and remain calm.
"Are you certain your mother has her?" she said quietly. "Do you know where your maman went when she left?
Dinah
Oh crap, Karla, what have you done? Dinah bit her lip hard, trying to put the pieces together and not liking the picture they formed.
Rook
"One of Mother's creatures came with Maman's Jewels," Rook whispered softly. "He gave them to Auntie J as proof when he tried to make the trade."
Karla
"The trade?" Karla repeated blankly. It was taking a moment for everything to register. "Oh. Of course. Trade you for your Maman. Just like she tried to do with Warren."
Karla was just going to...sit down now. Yes. Heavily.
Bad enough being held captive by Rav--by Rook's mother who went around wearing people's wings. But to be her captive while Craftless? Something awful must have happened to the other-her in order for someone else to have taken the Jewels.
She couldn't help but shudder, thinking of the cold kiss of the knife through her midsection, the maenad's filthy hand yanking her Sapphire off and rendering her helpless...
Raven
Raven forced herself to move, kneeling beside Karla and taking her hands. "This will not happen to you, I swear it," she said, struggling to hold in the awful guilt she felt for actions she hadn't even actually done.
She'd already hurt Karla -- and Dinah, and Jono and Warren and Anakin and her other friends -- once before when her father had taken control of her. The thought of doing it again was unbearable.
"And we will undo the wrongs that have been done here," she added softly. "That must be why we have been brought here." She didn't look at Rook when she said that; she didn't want to include her in the wrongs, since she was innocent of the manner of her creation.
Dinah
Dinah reached over to take Rook's hand and squeezed it. "I can get behind that." And it would make sense that Fandom had sent them here to do it, wacky island hijinks being what they were.
Karla
Karla threaded her fingers through Raven's. "I know it won't," she said steadily, looking Raven directly in the eyes. "This isn't going to happen to either of us. This world's Raven isn't yours and never will be. No one can shake my faith in that, I promise."
She leaned forward to brush a kiss across Raven's forehead, then sat back. "Okay, so we're agreed. Find out what happened, then argue our way into whatever plan that Jaenelle's got for rescuing other me." She frowned a moment. "I hope we're not too late for all that. What day did you say the messenger arrived, darling?"
Jaenelle
"Five days ago."
The voice came from behind them all, Jaenelle entering on silent feet. Her ancient, sapphire eyes swept over all of them, lips tightening slightly. "He left the Hall, but did not return to his mistress."
Karla
For a moment, even Karla quailed under the weight of that stare and the hints of the abyss that lurked beneath them. She was still Jaenelle, still her friend, but Witch was not far from the surface. Even were that not the case, Karla's mind was reeling as she took in Jaenelle's Black--no, somehow Blacker-than-Black--Jewels around her throat and on her fingers. So much power thrumming there, it defied description.
"Where did he go?"
A stupid question, but she was just proud she managed anything.
Jaenelle
"I decided he would be more use becoming part of the ecosystem in Hell," Jaenelle answered simply, gliding over to the table of refreshments and pouring herself some tea. Her hands shook with repressed emotions--several of them. It had been a very long week and this little joke of Fandom's was vastly unappreciated.
"So. Rook has told you of Karla's disappearance." Her voice was carefully neutral, keeping them unsure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. "I will have to apologize to Prince Hagen when I next see him for keeping that knowledge from him. But with the state Glacia is in right now, I thought it best to keep that information to as few people as possible."
Karla
Karla winced. Leaving Raven's messengers to be devoured by the denizens of Hell was an unpleasant image to contemplate. On the other hand, so was the idea of being trapped and Craftless by an insane demon.
"Just what is the state of Glacia that has everyone so on edge?" Karla asked, only remembering to tack on a hasty, Protocol-inspired "Lady" at the last moment. "And what's been done to try to get me--well, her--back? And hopefully Warren, too?"
Jaenelle
"Nothing."
The word hung in the air between all of them.
"This is not a convenient time to mount a rescue operation," Jaenelle continued into the frozen silence. "Once the current difficulties are over with, I will see what kind of accommodations can be reached."
Dinah
Dinah stared, boggling. "Nothing?" Remembering Rookie was in the room, she took a breath, darting a look at her, then back at Jaenelle. "What difficulties? How soon can you do something?"
Raven
"Convenient?" Raven said. The word felt like a slap in the face, and she imagined it was worse for Karla herself.
"Who knows what...." She bit back the rest of that, not wanting to scare Rook more than she surely already was. Her future self had torn Warren's wings off, and if she had Karla now, she doubted she was treating her any less gently.
"She is your friend," she said instead. "She helped you in Agio. How can you abandon her now?"
Karla
Karla was glad that her friends were speaking up for her. She couldn't speak right now; it was like someone had wrapped a phantom hand around her throat and squeezed. Getting air in was hard enough; words out was a literal impossibility right now.
Jaenelle
The shocked and outrage in their expressions hammered at her and worse still was the utter disbelief on this younger Karla's, but Jaenelle stayed calm. She was too damn exhausted to try to respond to any of the spiraling emotions in the room--though she knew that the betrayal in Karla's eyes would haunt her dreams when she tried to sleep tonight.
"I told Karla not to leave the Keep," Jaenelle said in a steady voice. "She knew the dangers that were lurking, knew that she hadn't even begun to Heal yet from the attack. It was a risk she knowingly took, going against her Queen and her own common sense."
She wasn't angry at her Karla; she understood how, even now, the need to get away could crawl under her friend's skin and drive her hard. But understanding only went so far. It did nothing to mitigate the reality of the situation both Queens found themselves in now.
"It's not a punishment," she said, belatedly realizing that was how it might have sounded. "I'm not leaving her there to teach her a lesson. I simply cannot get her at this time."
Karla
"Right," Karla said, voice hoarse and eyes glimmering. "That inconvenience you mentioned. And what's Morton doing, in all of this?"
Rook
"Oh," Rook said in a little voice. "Uncle Morton is--"
Jaenelle
"--also ignorant of what happened here," Jaenelle said, cutting Rook off. She gave the girl a sharp glance and a mental message before turning back to the others. "He is at SaDiablo Hall right now."
There had been three Halls once, one in each Realm. Now there were only two and Morton was not in the one they were thinking of.
"Karla was not the only one injured that night," she said, voice crisp, and let them draw their own conclusions.
Dinah
Oh, Karla. Because maybe it wasn't meant as a punishment, but damn did that sound condemning, and everything in Dinah was wrenching to go find her, go save her, then shake her hard until her head wobbled, the way she'd had to after Raven died. Some things just didn't change.
She looked at her own Karla, and said slowly, "Do you know where your Karla is?" Ask why later. If Jaenelle didn't know, or no one could find out... then there wasn't a lot they could do. Or anyone could do.
Raven
Raven felt much the same as Dinah, and she had to struggle against the heightened emotions coming from everyone else in the room. This wasn't right, particularly if she was responsible. She had to make it right somehow.
"If you will not find her, we will," she said. Just try and stop her.
Jaenelle
"I have not been able to find Raven, no matter where I look," Jaenelle admitted with a slight slumping of her shoulders. "She is not in any of the Realms, even in Hell."
Which was yet another reason she couldn't go and rescue Karla right now. Even if she had the time to mount a rescue, she still didn't have time to actually attempt to find her.
"Perhaps you will have better luck than I do, considering your...connection," she said, eyes flicking over to Raven.
Karla
"Not convenient?!?" Karla snapped, voice cracking.
...She was kind of fixated, yes. "What could possibly be more important than rescuing your best friend!"
Jaenelle
Jaenelle bowed her head. "Doesn't that tell you how important whatever this is?"
Karla
"No," Karla snapped, her voice thick. "Because there is nothing that the Jaenelle I know would consider more important. I was with you in Agio. I stayed with you through the safframate. Hell's fire, I took your memories and relived your memories of Briarwood, dammit, so you wouldn't have nightmares any more! Not to mention whatever else your Karla has done for you! So, no, I don't know what you're considering to be more important than rescuing me!"
Dinah
Dinah gave Raven a low-key frantic look as she reached out and squeezed Karla's hand. She was betting that Jaenelle wasn't going to tell them anything more because of timelines, but Karla was in no shape to accept that. And could Jaenelle have been tiny bit more tactless, if she tried? She certainly couldn't be less forthcoming.
"So. We're going to work out a plan, and... do that. Thing. Rescue them."
Raven
Raven rubbed Karla's arm, trying to send her a wave of calm despite her own agitated state. "We will find her, Karla, I promise," she said. "Her and Warren both."
Her mind raced trying to figure out how. If Jaenelle hadn't been able to track her, she wasn't in Karla's world. Of course not, she wasn't bound to it, she could teleport anywhere. Perhaps if she meditated she could try to sense for her, or....
Her eyes darted toward Rook. They couldn't trade her as the Raven of this world wished, of course, but perhaps their shared connection could help locate her mother.
Jaenelle
"You're welcome to go after her if you wish," Jaenelle said, briefly rubbing her temples. "Not that I could stop you even if I tried."
She called in a necklace and a ring, both with an Ebon-gray Jewel inset in them. She handed them over to Karla. "These are hers," she said quietly. "Do you want them?"
Karla
Karla reached out and took the Jewels, holding the necklace by the chain and just looking for it for a long moment. Then she transferred that look to Jaenelle and her hand twitched by her side, a slap that was aborted even before it had fully formed. Even now, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Instead, she vanished the Jewels and deliberately turned her back on her oldest and best friend. "I'll give them to Julian before we go and try to find Rook's Maman," she said, talking to Dinah and Raven. "He should find out what really happened and it's probably better to keep her Jewels there."
Jaenelle
Jaenelle stood up, shaking out her skirts and giving no sign of how her heart was breaking right now. But the timelines had to be preserved; that was one thing that Karla had made very clear over the years.
"I must go," she said quietly. "I have things to attend to. I will have Draca make up rooms for all of you."
Karla
"Fine," Karla snapped. "Go. I'd hate to have you be inconvenienced any further."
She kept her back stiff and straight until Jaenelle left the room and even after she'd left, the tension stayed in her shoulders and voice. "All right. What do we do?"
Rook
Rook spoke up quietly. "I want to come with you. I want to help save Maman and Stepfather."
Raven
Raven looked over to Rook, remembering what she had said when she'd first sat with Karla and allowed Rook to see through her shields. She is me. She didn't understand the hows or whys, but she knew Rook housed the soul of the Raven of this world. It feels that creating you within your Maman was not an act of evil. There was some goodness in her, and she gave that part to your Maman to protect and hold safe. She could not stop the dark part of her from doing what she did, but she could do that much.
Her soul was in Rook, much like her own had been in Azar's rings when her father had ripped it from her body. Azar's training allowed her to separate soul from body, and restoring it had purified her, though she'd been dead by then. Her older self still lived now, but if they could do the same to her, then she might be freed of the evil controlling her.
"I think we do require your help, Rook," she said reluctantly. She hated to endanger the girl, but she was the key.
Dinah
"Wait, what?" Dinah said, sounding dismayed. "How?" She was little! And short! And -- "Sweetie, I don't know...."
Karla
Karla wasn't thrilled about the idea, either, but she could immediately think of several ways the little girl could be useful. "For one thing, she might be our only way in," she said. "Jaenelle hasn't been able to find Raven's hide-out--" if, you know, she'd actually even bothered to look "--and it's not like we know where she is. Rook might be our only way of figuring that out."
Yeah. Really not thrilled here. But if the other possibility was to wander around aimlessly through Kaeleer and hope to stumble upon some clue...or just give up and leave Karla and Warren to rot...?
Rook
"If someone had your family, you would wish to help, even if you were only little, would you not?" Rook asked, glancing at each of them in return. "And I am quick and quiet and would not do anything I was not supposed to. Promise."
Raven
"And you are able to teleport, like me," Raven said.
She didn't want to alarm Rook with just how much they might need to count on her for this. Taking a few steps toward her, she crouched down and said solemnly, "If you are to help us, Rook, you must promise to immediately teleport home if something goes wrong. No matter how afraid you are for us, you must come right home."
Dinah
Dinah pointed at Raven. "What she said. That. Yes. Coming home immediately."
Because clearly, the kid listened so well to her own parents.
Rook
Hey! There were some legitimate extenuating circumstances here!
"But--"
Karla
"No buts," Karla said sternly.
Having been a nine year old girl who'd had her parents taken from her, Karla couldn't really argue with Rook's logic. She would have done anything at that age for the opportunity to save them. Hell's fire, she still would. Did that make this a good idea? Hardly.
But she was finding it even more difficult to say no to Rook's request.
"If we're going to take you along, you must listen to us," she continued. "If we say run, you run. We say home, you teleport. You find yourself in a situation where you think one of us would want you to teleport, you do it. You get scared, you teleport right home. And you do not come back. That's the condition for you coming along. We protect you above all else and you accept it. Otherwise, you're staying right here in the Keep."
Rook
"But--" Rook said again and then she subsided. "Yes, Teeny-Maman. I will listen and I will run. No matter what."
Karla
Karla reached out to give Rook's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Good girl. In that case..." She felt the shield that had been encircling the room fall away. "What do you say we head back to the rooms that Jaenelle has set aside for us? We should eat something and see if we can't come up with a better plan than wander aimlessly around with Rook as bait after dropping the Jewels off in Sidra."
And then they could be gone. That sounded remarkably good to Karla.
Raven
Raven didn't think she could actually eat with her stomach twisted in knots as it was, but she nodded. "Yes, it would be wise to plan," she said.
And pray that it worked.
[NFI, NFB, OOC is love. Preplayed with blondecanary and trigons_child, using whateverknight's preplay coder! Warning for spoilers for Queen of the Shadows. Follows this.]