Zephrun’s Imperium

She shrugged, utterly apathetic. "Well, it's your own fault for being selfless enough to drag my ass down here instead of leaving me and taking what was yours."

"You gave me the file on her to read, but now we have tag-alongs, so you may as well explain what you know about her to everyone here." Rose glanced up from her food to see Jahora's reaction.

Rose sighed inwardly. She didn't want to talk about parents and desperately wanted to change the subject. Unfortunately, she had little to no social experience. Her Aunt Riva had tried to fix that... And failed miserably. "Wonderful, you have lives," she grumbled. "Now, are we going to kill that woman or what?"

My parents left me alone. One commit suicide and the other started another life without telling us and then was pitiful enough to feel bad about it. Then she remembered that Kieran could hear her. Blasted child, you had better not say anything aloud that you hear from me. Maybe I'm stupid, but... I trust you for some reason. Perhaps that's because I don't fancy the idea of someone unsavory poking around in my head. Or because you're so young... "Parents are overrated," Rose mumbled between bites of her pie. @Fallapede

Rose took the pie and sat herself down, digging into it with a knife and serving herself a piece. The pie was blueberry and it smelled better than she would have liked it to; it was just another act of confusing kindness. People didn't just act this way, no matter what Jahora had said. There was something secret going on here, but she'd keep an eye open and make sure that whatever it was they were after, it would serve her own purpose. As she dug into the pie - trying not to think about the fact that it reminded her of a pie that Aunt Sophie (someone she'd never known existed until she came to Castle Celeste) had made on her last night with her family - she wondered about the words of the woman, Kess. Making her parents proud. Pshaw. Why should she care what he parents thought? She was her own woman, wasn't she? Just like Rose. I ran off on her. Just like she ran off on me. I wonder what Mother thought when she realized I was never coming back home and wanted nothing to do with her... Well, one thing was for certain. Narrator Star Celeste would not be proud of her oldest child.

Rose swallowed, her mouth watering. "Sure..." she muttered, unable to look up."I'll have some pie. And then we can go and kill that woman."

Rose walked up close to Jahora and stared at him. "I. Don't. Believe. You. People don't just act like that. What do you want from me?"

"Oh?" She turned around, her braid being tossed with the quick movement. "And how would you know? What have you seen of me that is worth any help at all?"

"I'm better left alone," Rose said dejectedly. "No one should want to 'help me.'"

I don't know what I want, Rose thought, knowing he could hear her.

For a moment, Rose only stared him down with fear-driven hated. She might not have liked her reality, but it was real. The physical cell she was kept in was better than the prison of her mind, for there were rules in the real world. Rules her mind ignored. You're sick, Rose... They have to take you away... She was about to shove Jahora away from her, but as she searched his eyes, she found herself faltering. There was no malice in his his gaze at all. He didn't think her strange. And... he wasn't lying to her. Nor was her mind lying to her, for that look wasn't something her mind could have made up. He was real. This was real. And that meant... Oh, child, they aren't hallucinations at all. The magic is part of you, part of your heritage. And not just from me; your father had powers too. They're not a scourge, they're a blessing. At least they're supposed to be. The thought that this whole time you've believed otherwise tears me up. I can teach you how to control them. They can be such an elegant extension of who you are, and you don't even have to take my word for it; ask your brother... Rose swallowed, limbs shaking, tears running down her cheeks. She shook her head and turned away from Jahora, forcing herself to pretend that no one else was in the room with her as she wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. If this was real, then that meant the world was a whole lot larger - and a whole lot scarier - than she'd been led to believe. Of course, it also meant that she wasn't insane after all. She had no idea what to think. "Help me," Rose whispered.

Rose's face fell. "Oh..." she mumbled, realizing what was obviously happening. "I'm hallucinating. Of course, that's it. Yes, I'm probably still unconscious." The young woman began to pace. "Maybe I've been unconcious. Maybe... mother wasn't real. Maybe I'm still... in the... asylum... Oh, dear... No, I don't want to go back there, no..."

"N-no..." She looked at her feet.

She paused. I'm not... normal... "I'm..."

"Just. Stop. Talking. About her." Rose grew angry once again and stood up. "Well, you know what I am now," she said. "You've taken me here to lock me up?"

"She's not important," Rose said quickly.

"How do you know my mother?" Rose whispered. "Did she send you to keep an eye on me?"

Rose looked up at him with wide eyes. "You... you just... But I didn't say..." Her mother. Her mother could read minds. She stumbled backwards, away from him.

Stay with me, you don't even know me, she thought. But she said nothing.

For a moment, she trembled slightly, terror in her eyes. And then she glared, suddenly grabbing Jahora by the front of the shirt and pulling him close to her. Her previously shy gaze was sharp, her grey eyes hard as stone. “If you ever speak of what you saw in the tavern to anyone,” she growled, “I swear on my father’s grave, I’ll…. I…” The anger drained from her face suddenly. She reverted back to the quiet young woman she’d been when they’d first seen her in the tavern, looking away, releasing him. Her breath came shakily and her eyes lost their hard gleam. She wasn’t angry; she was just frightened. Threatened. “Storm it all,” Rose whispered. She sat down on the ground and put her chin on her hands, staring forward sightlessly, feeling torn. “This was a bad idea, dammit, I should never have…”

Rose's mind finally felt it was safe enough for her to awaken. This was a decision she would soon come to regret. Slowly, she regained awareness of the world around her. New smells filled her nostrils, the muffled sounds of people shuffling around her evoking memories from years ago. She was home, in bed. By Jezrien, she'd had another episode, hadn't she? Uncle Darrin was sitting on her bed and when she opened her eyes, he'd give her that look. You shouldn't be here. You're not my child and your parents did something very unfair by forcing you and your brother into our home. And now we have to deal with you and your problems, your strangeness. He'd never say the words aloud, of course. But he thought them. Every action and every look told her as much. But she couldn't keep her eyes closed forever. When she did open them, she did so to find scenery drastically different from what she had expected. She paled, the three faces bringing to the forefront of her mind what had happened in the tavern. That boy, the man Jahora, and the strange woman who she'd hallucinated creating glass out of thin air. Rose sat up in fear, panicked. She was in a strange place, with strange people who made her feel strange things. She could do nothing but sit in shock.

Oof, that's okay.