tampered | Log; Complete

Log; Complete

When; Today. Early evening.
Rating; PG [For now]
Characters; Kurai [

anaguraruler] and Belial/Mad Hatter [

proudbutterfly].
Summary; After making a deal with Rosiel, Kurai goes to tell Mad Hatter about it.
Log;

She had been pacing for quite awhile, only occasionally having to move locations to avoid the stares of others staying at the Circus Carnivore. After ending up with her dragon, she promised him a good long fly after this mess was taken care of.

Biting her lip and smoothing her skirt, she stomped quite meaningfully towards where she guessed the Mad Hatter might be. She hadn't seen him out and about, so maybe he was in his room? Taking a nap? Kurai hadn't a clue what he did when by himself.

It took another minute to fully steel her nerves, and she lifted one lace-ornamented gloved hand to pound on the door...only to knock very quietly. She waited another second before calling out as steadily as possible, "Hatter?"

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Mad Hatter had taken care of cleaning the Circus early that morning. With the special guests gone, the arena had been washed and refurnished, the monsters and critters fed and taken into their cages.

It was restless, the job of the Ringleader, the duty of the Jester. Sinful as the demon was, physical sloth is something sie was unknown of, as well as spiritual for in hir thoughts the devotion towards Lord Lucifer never wavered.

It was evening when sie could find solace in hir private chambers, playing with cards, building a house with them. Then, the young ruler of Anagura interrupted hir concentration. Snapping hir fingers, the gates opened wide and sie jumped on hir feet, tipping a black top hat made of silk.

“Your Highness,” Hatter greeted with mocking respect. “What an honour to see your presence in one’s humble quarters.”

Mad Hatter's greeting offset Kurai's resolve only for a moment before she stepped in, chin held high. It was true that she was going back on her word to Belial, but in the long run she had to weigh who was more important to her.

She had no doubts in her head that if Lucifer Himself asked it, Belial would dispose of Kurai. It was almost a sad thought, but it was that connection with Belial that made Kurai positive he would understand.

"Mad Hatter," she started, attempting to sound as polite and professional as possible. After all, this had been somewhat of a business deal.

"I made a deal with the Angel Rosiel. He told me that if I attend to him and his silly desires, then he'll stop bothering Lady Alexiel. I know he causes her so much distress...even now...so I'm not going to stay with you anymore. You can take back the clothes you gave me if you want. I'll just wear what I came here with."

A deal with Rosiel~

Hatter’s expression changed for the worst. As heavy guarded the Jester’s face was beneath the great amount of make-up, it was obvious the fleeting upset displayed on them.

It soon returned to the former, deceivingly joyful self.

“But you can’t go, Princess. See, you gave one your word and to go with the Lord Protector of Heavens you need one’s permission,” sie explained amusedly. “Once your oath was made to a Satan, it’s unbreakable.”

That was truth, after all, and Belial quietly thanked whoever made the rules to deal with high ranked demons to avoid the naïve ruler become a lamb for the slaughter.

The reminder made Kurai flinch. Why hadn't she thought of that? Had she really thought Belial would just let her go?

...Well... Yes.

"Hatter!" She had obviously lost a great deal of composure thanks to that bit of information alone. The young Dragonmaster curled her hands into tight fists and shook her head from side to side. "That isn't fair! What use am I here to you? You don't NEED me to keep the circus going! I only agreed to it so that Lady Alexiel would enjoy my shows... But this is more important. This is so I can ACTUALLY make a difference, and help her out as best I can! Hatter, let me go."

In a blink of on eye Hatter was standing beside the Princess, looming her small frame with a mischievous smile. Sie offered the young ruler a card; it was blank without a defined suit and design.

“One keeps you because one can,” Belial explained, giving a light shrug. “And because your pretty Messiah gave one the duty to look after your welfare while she deals with the King of Hell and other matters.” Sie reclined, hir face approached Kurai’s. “Also, Lord of Heaven doesn't want you to braid his hair or arrange his robes. He wants you to blackmail yours truly to do his bidding.”

Belial sighed and turned around, shaking hir head. “Do you honestly think one will let you on his mercy? Even a demon isn’t as cruel.”

Kurai jumped a bit at Belial's speed, and had no choice but to accept the card offered. Tilting her head curiously, she turned it over to peer at the back, as if searching for some sign that would help her understand the meaning of it.

At the Mad Hatter's response, her hand lowered, and she turned to face him once again, only for him to turn away. Belial was concerned? Or was he really only doing this because Alexiel had told him to watch after her...

She didn't like other people making decisions for her! She understood that Alexiel wanted her to stay safe, but she wasn't a child, damnit! If only she could understand WHY all of this was happening now...

"Blackmail? Hatter, why would he blackmail you?"

With her back still turned, Hatter returned to hir position on the head of the table. Sie sawed on hir seat and smiled at Kurai, gesturing her to approach and to put the last card on the top of the castle.

“That is a secret~ ♥” Belial murmured, winking at the Princess’ direction. “You’ll have to trust one’s word in this.” Sie made a pause, allowing the shadows of the heavy hat hide hir blue eyes. “Who you would prefer to stay with? Not for your Messiah but for you and your dragon? Answer, your Highness, with the wonderful Lord of Heaven or the poor Jester of Hell?”

Mad Hatter looked up, waiting the Princess’ answer. It was also a matter of pride. Sie could not lose Kurai to an angel like Rosiel - a full-fledged Child of Heaven, a sworn enemy. Alexiel, sie could understand, for the Messiah was a fallen one.

Certainly, Belial also worried about the Princess’ welfare but that part remained buried deep in denial.

After staring down at the card for another long moment, she rubbed her thumb against a corner of the card before edging closer to the table. She appeared nervous, to be sure, but only because of the heavy weight of this decision.

Of course she preferred Belial much more than Rosiel. Rosiel she hated. She wanted him to cease to exist so that Alexiel could be happy...even if it was with the Lord of Hell. She herself still could not believe that, and wondered if Belial harboured some deep jealousy towards Alexiel for that. If so, then why would she carry out a favor for the Messiah? Even without the jealousy, Belial owed Alexiel nothing, and Kurai was well aware of that.

At the same time, she knew Rosiel wasn't trustworthy. He was mad. Insane. He obviously thought of nothing BUT Alexiel. Perhaps the only thing they had in common. In truth, buried deep within her hate, Kurai almost pitied him.

So then what was the purpose of this decision? Which would be the most beneficial?

Kurai glanced up to the castle, then with a sharp flick of her wrist, she sent the card sliding along the table, hitting the base and causing the castle of cards to collapse. She then turned her gaze on Belial, her resolve not wavering.

"We aren't in Hell. We aren't in Heaven. We aren't in a place where those old rules apply. You can punish me for breaking my promise if you want, but I've made a new oath. This isn't for my comfort. This is for Lady Alexiel's. I won't be a pawn in anybody's game... I won't let you use me for your plans, and I won't let Rosiel use me for his. If I can find a way to stop his insanity, then I will... And ignore whatever he has to say to you. You can punish me, Mad Hatter, but you can't stop me."

Turning, she headed for the gate. Her throat felt tight. How guilty she felt... This was a horrible feeling. But it was the best decision, she reminded herself.

Belial sighed and snapped the doors shut before Kurai could leave. Even as refreshing idealistic the Princess behaved, sie had to put some sense into her head. The demon stood, applauding at the courage but there was no smile for that would be dote her foolishness.

“And pray tell one how would be you placing yourself in a compromising situation aid the Messiah?” Hatter asked, lifting a delicate brow. “You can’t heal Rosiel’s insanity, Your Highness. No one can. And, even after those eons of infamous tales about her hatred, his sister loves him above most.” Sie stood and walked towards Kurai, taking hir hat and kneeling before her. “You’re so young, so pure, he’s going to hurt you and that would not just burden Lady Alexiel but will pain this black soul. Should one beg you to stay?”

The shutting doors caused Kurai to abruptly stop, but just as she whirled around and opened her mouth to say something sharp in response, only to stare slack-jawed when she saw him kneel.

She was thinking many things... She wondered why Alexiel loved Rosiel and Lucifer so much... She wondered why she couldn't be someone else's most important someone. She thought she most definitely wasn't as pure as Belial liked to claim, and while she hated to be treated as some burden, deep down she did like to be coddled on occasion. But MORE than that she wanted to help and to be useful, and it seemed that all she could do to make Alexiel happy was do parlor tricks with her dragon.

Above all, she wondered why Belial did things the way he did.

Kurai knelt down, the petticoat and skirt bunching in folds as she rested on her knees. Her eyes were sad, her muscles were tense, and her mind was jumbled. "Hatter... Your soul is far from black."

Belial watched Kurai’s reaction in silence. It vexed the demon the unspoken sympathy the girl triggered. It was really something that sie could not phantom. It started slowly with amusement and then the treacherous relief that, in the end, Kurai had been saved from the sacrifice.

But that little spark was eclipsed at the humiliation and mourning of losing Sheol for good.

As the Princess knelt beside hir, the Hatter placed a firm hand over her shoulder, pulling Kurai closer to cradle the miserable evil in her woes. Sie placed the hat over the ruler’s hat, pulling it down playfully. “Yes, it’s black. You have so much light that everywhere you look, your eyes project that lighting, even in one’s heart,” sie said, teasing and pinching the evil's nose.

“One knows you want to help but you already do. You and your dragon bring joy, Your Highness. That, in this City, is a weapon more powerful than any sword.”

The act in it's closeness surprised Kurai, but though it did cause her to feel rather flustered, in response she merely leaned into the partial embrace. Feeling something cover the hat she was already wearing, there was a tug, and suddenly she could not see. With a mock sputter, she reached up to pull it off of her head, causing the lace-rimmed hat she had been previously wearing to fall to the floor.

Kurai gripped Belial's hat around the rim, and she stared inside of it, as if it might house all the mysteries of this world and the next. At the nose tweaking, she used the hat to bat at Belial's hand playfully. Then she once again grew somber, staring down at her shoes.

"...I wish people would stop saying that. I'm not so pure or bright... I'm as selfish as any human, demon, or angel. And I won't be a child forever... And knowing that right now all I can do is smile and dance and fly with my Dragon...it all frustrates me. I'm not pure. I'm angry. Even now, though I have my people to take care of, I still can only think of one thing... And now here I am, away from my people and near that one thing, and still I have no chance. I never will. You... Are you really so happy with this arrangement, Hatter?"

When Kurai batted hir hand away, Belial smirked mischievously and pretended to lose balance, falling unceremoniously to the ground and pulling the Princess along with hir. Sie sprawled much like a large feline, watching the somber ruler explain her insecurities and pour her trustworthy heart towards the oddest of the confidants.

It would be easy to shatter that trust but there would not be pride to accomplish the deed.

The smile never left the Jester’s perfectly painted lips, nor did the amusement in hir blue eyes, even in that serious conversation, sie aimed to entertain, to distract and indulge.

“Away from the people you should lead but close and so far from the object of your affections?” Belial wondered, faking a thoughtful semblance. “Settled in a Circus to play one act when you could, by all means, do something more substantial but is denied by your superiors and where you feel that no one sees your real self.” Sie did a small pause as if deep contemplation before smiling goofily to her. “No, your Majesty, one’s truly sorry but this is too complicated and one doesn’t know what to do in such situation. It never happened to one.”

Irony thy name be Belial. The Hatter hoped Kurai caught they were in the same boat.

Kurai knew better. She knew that Belial was skilled in his wording, and skilled in the arts of deception and manipulation. And even knowing all this, Kurai still always found herself falling for traps and trusting him, and that was how she got stuck into a damnable oath that still couldn't bring her to be angry with the Mad Hatter.

Frustrated as she was, it was all directed at herself and at the emotions she couldn't control.

But she knew that the Mad Hatter was just the way he was, and to try to change that was foolish. So instead she tried a toothy grin and leaned over to very carefully place the hat at the top of the Hatter's head. It didn't' stay right, since he was laying down, but with the painted face and the way his hair fell, it looked quite artistic.

Realizing how suddenly very close they were, Kurai jerked back and climbed away to quickly stand. Clenching the fabric of her skirt in one hand, she looked over at the fallen castle of cards, and she leaned over to pick up the Ace of Hearts.

"What should I do? I already made my promise to Rosiel. Either way I have to break an oath."

Her grin was one of the best sights for the Hatter. Most of her expressions were so fascinatingly basic, real that were alluring. Even with all the emotional baggage, the Princess managed to be honest with her emotions and to bloom them - a rare trait nowadays.

Belial remained still as Kurai made her moves to return the hat in its proper place (or the best she could do with hir in that position). Still and quiet as a mime until the young lady finished whatever she had to say and sie calculated hir words.

“That’s yours to decide, Your Highness,” Belial pointed out, pulling hirself up to hir feet and striding towards Kurai and the fallen castle of cards. Sie reached out and picked up the Joker hidden between the clubs and the spades. “But, if you allow this Jester a small suggestion, pick to stay where you and your dragon feel the safest. Remember you have an obligation with your people and risking your life isn’t what a true ruler should do.”

The Hatter was right. Though while here it was hard to focus on anything but Alexiel, she needed to think about her people. Turning to face the Hatter, she reached up and slipped the card she was holding into his jacket's pocket. "The Fire Dragon likes it here. It's spacious, and I feel safe here."

Kurai rested her hands on her hips, looking amusingly stern about what she had to stay. "I've decided I'll stay. If I go and he starts causing trouble because of that, then I really will be a pawn. I guess for now until I can go home, I'll put on a good show and a smile on Lady Alexiel's face whenever I can. If I have to break an oath to someone...it will never be you. I'm sorry about earlier."

She leaned over to snatch up her hat that had fallen off earlier, then turned to walk off. This entire situation wasn't one to be fully satisfied with, but she could be content. For the greater scheme of things, it was necessary.

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