tampered | [ log; ongoing ] jezebel & megumi

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[ log; ongoing ] jezebel & megumi - truth and deceit

When; During the kidnapping
Characters; Jezebel Disraeli [

deadlyhealing] & Megumi [

roseblooms], possibly Alexis [

maitre_de_carte]
Rating; G-PG.
Summary; Megumi ends up facing Jezebel and tries to find a way to escape.

Two days. Counting them off didn't make them pass any more quickly, nor was it easy in this state at all to really focus. She was tired, thirsty and she could feel her magical energy growing weaker in a state where she was in such limited contact with water.

He'd done his homework, she'd give him that. Her hands were handcuffed to the bedposts of the room in the flat, and while she had a maid attending to her needs, such a prone position to be in was not something she liked, and struggling had only served to injure her. She was healing, slowly-- but so disconnected from her family, she wondered if anyone would ever be able to reach her. It was only fortunate that she'd managed to get her message sent out before Alexis knocked her out, but what good would it do if they couldn't find her? She had to keep her shields up, so that Alexis couldn't use her hair again-- so far, so good, he'd been unsuccessful at getting them by the root and that was her only relief here. She'd forced herself into a seated position, keeping herself calm-- it wouldn't do to tire herself out after all. The bruises had almost faded from around her neck and shoulders, and she was thankful for that at least.

Her eyes though, remained closed as she sat there on the surface of the mattress. She had to focus-- her friends would have things taken care of, but they wouldn't be able to find her here. And she had to find a way out before she reacted and hurt someone who shouldn't -be- hurt by her hand. Just how that would be, she still had to decide-- but she would do it.

And she swore Alexis would pay for this humiliation. There was no turning back now.

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Jezebel paused for a moment outside the room indicated to him by the maid. The fingertips of one hand pressed slightly against the door as he felt the weight of his medical case in his other hand. Here, finally, he would meet Megumi Yamamura again. How different the circumstances were this time. To think, that mere weeks before they had been playing together as children.

Yet now she was as any other patient to him. No, not as any other patient, more important than that, as she had been chosen by the Cardmaster himself, and as such she was an opportunity to prove himself once again worthy of his role in his father's organization. Strange, that someone he had almost brought himself to like was in fact in league with his half-brother. But perhaps he should not be surprised. It was in a human's nature to lie, deceive and conceal the truth, was it not?

He turned the door knob and entered the room silently, closing the door firmly behind him and setting his case on the nearest surface. He said nothing to the figure on the bed, but waited for her to notice him.

Finally the masks had fallen, and for what purpose in the end? She had wished, after having gotten to play with him as a child and having spoken to him after that-- that she wouldn't involve herself any more than necessary. There had been no need, and definitely no harm in continuing to converse with him.

Only now, she wished she'd met him with a straight face and not associated with him after that.

The click of the door opening didn't go unnoticed-- but she could tell by the shifting movements that this was neither Alicia or Alexis. That was when she opened her eyes, looking ahead of herself, but not at him.

"Death comes to greet a fallen Empress now, is it? How ironic." She couldn't help but say, feeling no need to hide what she knew now, on the assumption that he had been told about her former position in the organization.

Edited 2009-02-13 19:01 (UTC)

His mouth tightened at hearing his rank spoken of so easily - had the Earl been this forthcoming with her? His eyes grew colder, more distant, as she continued to speak. Another one of them? One of the Major Arcana, the Earl's pet indeed. What more had his father neglected to tell him?

"Miss Yamamura." His hands snapped open the latch on his case, drawing out instruments and vials, setting them neatly side by side before he turned back towards her.

A smile on his face now, slightly too pronounced, his voice steady and polite but always easily on the edge of veering off into something darker and less controlled. "And here I was, under the impression I was a mere doctor paying a visit to a...patient. Perhaps there is something else you wish to inform me of, now that you have decided to be somewhat more sincere?"

The snap made her raise her head, her brow furrowing when she noticed what exactly he was doing, something that made her blood run cold. This wasn't good at all... and being a doctor herself, she could only venture a guess as to what he had been called to do. And she certainly wouldn't put it past Alexis to have asked for it.

Her expression remained neutral when he addressed her, however. Panicking and losing her temper wouldn't do any of them any good, after all, and she shifted her wrists to ease the weight of the cuffs off them, the irritation on her skin beginning to show, and inhaled softly, wondering about those words. Of course he thought her a liar now, having put on a front... but there was something off in his inquiry that made her look back up at him with an incredulous look.

"And here I thought the Cardmaster would at least be forward with one of the Major Arcana." She still wasn't certain it was right that he did not know. Perhaps one front hadn't been needed at all.

"Especially one who is related to him by blood." She didn't speak of it in a way to mock, but there was genuine questioning in her tone as she met his gaze, finding the attitude more familiar than the one she'd been used to.

"Yes, indeed, one would think so." His irritation was clear, though what was less clear was that it was aimed at himself, for having expected anything better from the Cardmaster. From having wanted anything better. "I would also have expected that another of the Major Arcana would have thought to mention the fact during one of our several conversations."

Jezebel did not acknowledge or deny the question in her voice at first. He moved closer to where she was bound to the bed, slipping a hand underneath her chin and tipping her head up slightly. "I believe you would know that blood ties matter little in our organization. If you cannot carry out your purpose..." He gestured gently towards her, indicating what the result would inevitably be.

He wondered what it was that the Cardmaster wanted with her - and if, at the end, she would be just one more corpse to be dissected and studied. He still had jars to fill, and her eyes, while not golden, were a suitable enough shade.

But he shouldn't reach ahead of himself and forget his assignment in this way. Or at least, not quite yet.

"Former Major Arcana." She corrected him, her voice-- while remaining soft, holding a bit of an edge to it as she said so. "The Empress is no longer among you, regardless of what The Cardmaster would like to think." The defiance against him was clear in her tone as she looked away immediately. This wasn't going to be easy-- before at the very least, her communication was limited with Jezebel but this time around, there was a hint of regret in her expression. Cassian's words had been one thing, but to actually -get to know- Jezebel, however masked that interaction was, was still a weight on her nature.

And she never judged anyone the way she'd been judged her whole life, regardless of their sins.

When his hand came up under her chin, she only looked back squarely with her own-- her blue gaze holding nothing more than neutrality towards him. She wasn't a coward by any means, and she remained quiet for a bit before tipping her head back to pull her face away from his grip.

"I don't know what he's sent you here to do with me, and I doubt you cared either way, Doctor Jezebel. But my silence was maintained for my own personal safety." She turned her gaze back towards the sheets, falling silent for a bit.

"I doubt Cain would be happy to know that we had conversed the way we had, despite his warnings, as it stands."

"Of course." That information, strangely enough, was almost a relief. Jezebel had never got along well with others of the organization, Major Arcana or not. They always had their own goals, their own ambitions, and as such tended to thwart him in his. Not to mention taking away time and attention the Cardmaster could better spend elsewhere.

"I believe that the idea, now, is for your silence to be maintained whether you wish for it to be or not." It wouldn't make any difference if she knew what he was here for. And, he thought, there would be far more effective ways to silence her than drugs. For now, however, he does not give voice to the thought lest he somehow ended up acting on it.

He gave a dry laugh at the mention of Cain. "The Earl is rarely unhappy unless everything proceeds precisely as pleases him." There's bitterness in his tone, and something else. Perhaps, even, a touch of yearning. He remained where he was, looking down at Megumi, lost in his own thoughts.

"A bit too late for that, isn't it?" She remarked, in response to the statement about her maintaining her silence. She sighed, turning her gaze toward the foot of the bed as she continued to speak. "You'd think he'd finish me off for good. A pity this City doesn't seem to work in his favour." Her gaze hardened as she made that comment, and she paused as she listened to that laughter.

Lifting her gaze back to his, she couldn't help but give him a calmer look at those words. "I'm sure he realises that there are some things he cannot control." A dry laugh as she shook her head, before looking thoughtful as she turned her gaze ahead of her once more.

"Typical of humans, isn't it? Acting on their own errors, and setting others up for the fall?" A small smile, tired and resigned, appeared on her lips as she tilted her head back to look at him. "How exactly did he suggest you gain my silence, Doctor Jezebel? Surely you're not here to kill me."

"The Cardmaster tends to find uses even for those he has discarded. Or who, as it were, have removed themselves from play." He left her side and returned to his instruments, long fingers running over them almost lovingly, lingering slightly too long over the always present scalpel, which he had taken out even when there was no anticipation of using it.

Jezebel turned back towards her, scalpel in hand, hardly noticing that he had picked it up. "He realizes it, perhaps, but with an exceedingly bad grace." He smiled coldly at her comment about humans. "Most typical, and even more for them to attempt to talk their way out of a situation."

"And if I were, Miss Yamamura? What of it? We could, I suppose, slit your throat daily. I believe that silence would be more or less assured then." There was little she could to do to stop him, and true, there was his father's anger to think about, and punishment to be exacted in blood. But it was easy to push all that aside when he thought of the warmth of blood running over his hands and perhaps more, because why stop at the throat? He tilted the scalpel so that it could catch the light, and there was the ghost of a true smile on his face. Purposely being cruel in retaliation, perhaps, while also meaning it. Jezebel himself didn't quite known what he meant to do.

"Unless, of course, you have a better idea."

She turned her head as he moved away, watching him and the way he paid attention to the instruments of his profession. For a brief moment, there was fear-- fear that he seriously meant to hurt her in a way that she would not be able to restore herself for a long time. In a way that would become like that horror of seven days trapped in that well-- maybe even longer.

His last comment snapped her out of her paranoia, and she raised an eyebrow, maintaining her cool as he offered his suggestion. There was no fear, however. She knew better than to react when being taunted, and turning her wrists to lessen the weight of the metal rings over them once more, she tilted her head over at him, keeping her gaze locked.

"You could. It would buy you an hour's silence. Two at most." She saw no reason to hold that back, and a shrug of her shoulder indicated she could care less, when it was actually terrifying to imagine herself being cut open-- she didn't want it, but she would fight if it came down to it, and she wouldn't care if it did harm Jezebel in the process.

"And with whatever you're using to otherwise keep my silence, I'd give it about three hours for my body to completely reject and destroy it."

There was apology in her gaze, more than challenge-- not the way she would look at Alexis, and the honesty on her lips remained there only because of that one particular day where they'd played as though nothing in the world had mattered. This was going to be her payback for that one memory that had changed her opinion of him.

It had not been meant as a taunt, even if she took it as such. He was truly curious as to whether she had an alternate suggestion. His curiosity was piqued at her reply. Finally, a reason as to why his father would have inducted her into the Major Arcana.

"How so?" he asked. His interest in what could cause such rapid healing overcame any other thought at that moment. He wondered if with study the effects could possibly be replicated in other living, or even unliving, specimens. Potentially, it could eliminate the need for 'baptisms' for the deadly dolls he created.

He raised his eyebrows slightly at the limited effect time she mentioned. "Three hours? Ah...the Cardmaster will not be pleased. He specified twenty four." And Jezebel knew quite well the penalty for failure, even for something he had no means to know or predict. His eyes moved away from hers. A look of challenge would have been easier to meet. It was, in a way, what he was used to. Yet that look of apology...why ever would she apologize to him? With all she already appeared to know about him, the last thing he expected was any measure of sympathy.

It wasn't something she openly discussed, or willingly even. She knew how her abilities worked, but it wasn't something she was ready to ever speak about-- with the level of inhumanity that she realized she had when she thought of it.

At his question, she sighed and looked down at her sealed hands, before she shook her head.

"It's how I am." Was her simple reply. She didn't face him then as he spoke of Alexis, feeling her expression become one of distaste and she continued to look down at the patterned sheets. Then, she voiced why exactly her expression had taken on the look that it had.

"It's not something you'd be able to control, and he is likely to put that against you. It's how he is, isn't it?" More than that, there was one other person she owed this to, and a bittersweet look appeared on her face.

"Cassian would be just as unhappy with me if I were to let you take the fall for something that is out of your power, Doctor." A tilt of her head and she looked back at him, waiting for his response. Whatever came now, she knew she would have to take-- but it wasn't going to be the end.

The simple answer did not satisfy his curiosity, but he could tell he would receive nothing further by pressing the issue and simply inclined his head in acknowledgement.

A strange smile came over his face at her all too accurate observation. "Indeed. Unable to perform the simplest task assigned to me..." He knew too well the list of failings that he would be taken to task for. His complete lack of ability to fulfil his father's wishes, whether what was asked for was possible to accomplish or not - it was a cold comfort that as he was punished his father's attention would be reserved solely for him.

He turned his head sharply towards her at the mention of Cassian's name. "He was here as well?"

If Megumi had been paying closer attention to him, she might have noticed the increased gauntness to his face, the dark circles under his eyes. His hands may be as steady as ever, they were surgeon's hands after all, but his steps were slightly less so. Without someone there to remind him he needed to eat to live, to rest, to keep himself warm, Jezebel had been neglecting himself a great deal. On the rare occasions he was aware of it he somewhat missed the nagging voice, the meals left at his elbow as he worked, though it was more the novelty of having someone who seemed to care that he missed rather than anything else.

"That boy always concerned himself far too much over trifles." And he had left him in the end, as everyone did, in any case. If Cassian had been in the City, he would probably be urging Jezebel more than ever to sever ties with the Cardmaster.

But ifs did not change the way things were.

"Three hours will have to suffice, for now. Perhaps, next time, mutating chemicals to increase the duration..." He continued speaking, mostly to himself, as he filled a syringe from one of the vials.

"I doubt they were just trifling matters, if he was willing to defend you to the very end."

While Cassian and her didn't quite get along in the beginning due to the nature of their positions, he had told her enough to be able to be assured that there were some among them who had some sense of humanity, if that was indeed what it could be called. She had indeed noticed the weakness to his form, as opposed to what she recalled of him when Cassian was present.

As Jezebel turned around, her fingers in her long hair that fell past her waist over the bed tightened... and closing her eyes, she gave two strands a harsh tug that pulled them from the roots. She didn't flinch, but she prayed this would work now that he had decided to go through with what he was doing.

"It's all the same, Doctor. You're wasting your time." She told him, beginning to shift back on the bed as though to keep him from being able to reach any of her limbs. Not that it would help either way, with her being handcuffed the way she was, but regardless of what her body would do, she knew that it would still cause her problems during the healing process.

"Indeed so." Jezebel remembered well his surprise at the way Cassian sacrificed himself for him. Unexpected, and yet... "You knew him well, while he was here?" He couldn't quite keep himself from asking the question, even while he tried to feign disinterest.

Megumi moving away from him made the situation more familiar, if anything. Having his 'patients' shy away was too usual to be of any note. It never did any of them the slightest bit of good, of course.

"Perhaps I am wasting my time, but pray tell, Miss Yamamura. What else am I supposed to do?" He approached her once more.

It wasn't going to do her any good, but she couldn't let him get away from her before she managed to get her task completed. She managed to keep her expression neutral, and continued to speak-- even if it probably wouldn't have any impact on the end of how this meeting was to end.

However, the mention of Cassian did make her lower her guard just briefly enough-- and she sighed, looking away for a moment.

"He lived with me for a while," she replied as she thought back to him. They never did get along on the surface, but she recalled him repaying her generosity in his own way as it stood. "He thought highly of you. Enough to put his life on the line for you as well..." She looked back up at him, a hint of regret in her eyes.

"Enough to work for you without question. That kind of loyalty, I can't betray. Not to him. Not after he kept my family protected from Alexis."

She hinted at the fact that Cassian and her had probably acquainted themselves a lot more than one would think and she looked up at him, willing him to believe her.

Her arm tensed even as she attempted to keep her expression neutral.

"It's not me I'm worried about, Doctor. It's you and what Alexis will do when he finds this out. Will it be worth it?"

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[ log; ongoing ] jezebel & megumi - truth and deceit

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