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xp_logsGrace decides to pay a visit.
Topaz shivered, curling deeper into the corner. She didn't necessarily like cornering herself - no telling what would come after her next - but it wasn't like it mattered. She wasn't fighting. She was just trying to lock down, to keep her empathy - or her magic - from doing anything that would get her hurt more.
She wished they'd just kill her.
Grace had been standing in the same position for an hour, watching Topaz in the inky darkness. With no sounds, no lights, nothing but the ever-present blackness, time seemed to function on a completely different level.
There were odd moments where her anger would dissipate, and she'd wonder if this was maybe just a little too far...but the amulet never really let her forget. A wave of sadness would wash over her as she remembered every detail, so precisely, every single fucking detail. She wished she could forget it. She wished that when she closed her eyes, she didn't see her brother, his blood pooling around him as the life drained in his eyes. Grace had never been affected so profoundly by anything before. She didn't realize it was the blood magicks, souring her soul and tying her to that negative energy.
A smile twitched. Topaz looked so uncomfortable.
"Would you like a pillow?"
She received no answer, of course. Topaz was so wrapped up in her head, and Grace's mind was just subtle enough for the moment that she wasn't even aware there was another person in the room. She simply curled tighter into herself, into corner, closing her useless eyes. How long were they going to wait before they realized Taboo wasn't going to come?
...and what would happen to her then?
With a hum, Grace leaned back on the wall, her palms absorbing the cold happily. This room could stand a temperature change, but for the moment it was tolerable.
Even though Topaz didn't answer, it didn't bother the Destine. In fact, she preferred it. "Good, you're accepting your fate.". Grace could respect that. "It's better that way. I mean, Adam will make you scream anyways, but yeah. I like this side of you."
Something twitched in the back of Topaz' mind, like it was acknowledging the change in Grace's emotions. She ignored it. She didn't trust anything. If someone was in there they would have already done something.
Grace cocked her head before bursting out in giggles. "Oh right, you can't hear anything. Or see. Poor little Topaz," she cooed, reaching down to pat her captive's head. "You still rely on such base needs. You haven't been englightened like me." This set off another set of giggles. With no warning, Grace tugged on Topaz's hair, lightly at first and then harder, followed by her nails trailing down on Topaz's bare arm. "I bet you can't stand this. I bet you want to puuunch me. Well do it, ma petite. Allons-y." Nothing happened, but Grace wasn't expecting it. Now she was pushing down harder, leaving marks in the darkness. "I hope you're suffering in there. I hope you feel everything I felt when my dear Albert was killed. I hope you are writhing in the agony of it all. If I had it my way, you'd never leave your mind, but Adam ...... hmm... he has other plans for you."
Topaz jerked back at the pat, stunned, then there were fingers in her hair, pulling, nails dragging down her skin, and she choked out a high-pitched whimper. "Stop it!" her voice cracked as she cried out.
"Oooh la la, la poupee parle." Thrilled, Grace pushed down even harder, hoping to break skin but knowing she wouldn't. Didn't matter. The fun was in trying. "You don't need me to stop this, Topaz. You have the power to stop it, it's been in you alllll along," Grace sang, crouching down so they were practically face-to-face. "Don't you want to try? Deep down to your inner peace and beauty, allow that innocence and love to save you?" Her voice was going higher and higher, until it was as unstable as her mind. "Ha!" She reached out had slapped Topaz hard. "You think on that. Remember this moment and remember it always. This is it. You'll never leave here."
As suddenly as she came in, she turned to leave, heading back to the door where she paused. "You'll always belong to the Destines, Topaz. We're family, remember?"
* * * * * * *
There’s only so much a person can take.
WARNING: Torture
Topaz woke.
It was disorienting, and her head was spinning as she sat up, leaning back against the wall to orient herself. She scratched her arms absentmindedly with her uninjured fingers, grimacing. She wasn't strong. Not strong enough for this. She hadn't been expecting torture. She certainly hadn't expected questioning about the mansion. What was she supposed to do? She could give him Amanda's name, it wouldn't hurt anything. Adam already knew her, though. That wouldn't help her much...
"Hello Topaz. I see you've been sleeping more. Infection is starting to set in. I've suggested taking the hand, so it doesn't spread." Mister Smith again, as he took his customary seat across from her. "Lots of people learn to live with one hand."
"What?" Topaz tried to look at her hand. Stupid. Infection? "What're you on about? My hand feels...." Well, not fine, considering she had broken fingers. Wait. Had they always been broken? She shook her head, trying to focus. Infection?
"It's been several days in, well, let's just call your situation unhygienic." Considering her toilet facilities were a bucket and the only thing she had to wipe her hands with was her now fetid clothes, it was an overly generous description. "I'm going to start on the other hand today." He tapped the metal end of a hammer on the floor. "All the fingers this time. You've inconvenienced us, so it's only fair that you have a permanent reminder of the result."
Several....? Topaz shook her head, scratching her arm again, a bit more aggressively, tearing back into the skin Jasmine had healed... when? A shiver ran through her when she heard the hammer. "No, no, no, please..." she begged, backing up against the wall. the idea of trying to protect herself never occurred to her.
Smith cracked her head against the wall, a sharp blow which left her disoriented and her skull ringing. She could barely resist as he pulled her hand down flat on the stones. The first blow felt like her pinkie had exploded and it was a gentle precursor to the pain from the second blow.
"That's one. Might need a few more whacks to make sure the bones are thoroughly crushed. Now, before I start on the rest, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
The sound Topaz made was nearly inhuman. Breaking bones was one thing. Crushing them? Hot tears ran down her face, and she wiggled as if to pull away, although she wasn't fighting. "I.... Amanda," she finally gasped, hedging her bets. Maybe she could get a break. Maybe he didn't know that the Destines already knew her. "Amanda Sefton."
"We know who Amanda Sefton is. Adam's been in Amanda Bloody Sefton. Now you're just trying to piss me off. I think I'll tie your fucking pinkie in a knot for that."
Damn it. "No no no no," Topaz whimpered, shaking. "Please, please...." Her mind was racing. No public figures. None of the doctors. Who didn't go out much? "David Haller," she finally whispered, still shaking. It was the first name that came to mind.
"That's one. There's a lot more of them. A lot more of them than you have fingers. Tell me another." He tapped the hammer against her ring finger softly, punctuating his threat.
Topaz dropped her head, her hair framing her face and hiding it. None of the kids. She wouldn't sell them out. "Q-Quentin Quire." Pain and the fog in her head were making it hard for her to remember names. Who was that one that had ended up in her head? The redhead. Topaz hadn't seen her in a while. "Rachel?" It was a question at first. "I don't... know her last name." She felt worse and worse with every word she muttered. Five years of protecting her arse, and here she was selling the entire mansion out just to spare herself some pain. "Uh... Remy LeBeau...."
The pressure disappeared from her wrist and she could feel Smith's presence recede as she spoke. He took careful notes, prompting her for names, spellings and physical descriptions with each person that she brought up. The litany seemed to go on for hours, until he finally closed his notebook.
"Good Topaz. Now, before I go, I want you to know that I'm going to check these. There's ways of verifying each of the people you mentioned. And if any of them are made up or don't check out, well... do you like dogs?"
Topaz shivered, shaking her head. Her hand felt like it was burning, broken fingers throbbing. "They're real," was all she muttered. Every single name.She scratched her arm again with her uninjured fingers, breaking through once more.
"You didn't answer my question."
Her jaw twitched. "No. More of a cat person." She added that last part weakly. Some attempt to regain her composure.
"Then this is really not going to be your day. You see, I have two dogs who guard a little scrap yard I own. I'm going to check these names and if any of them are false, we're going to take a little day trip there. I'll handcuff your hands sticking through the chain link fence and call the dogs. You see, only after they're done tearing off your fingers and ripping apart your hands to eat them will you be able to pull your arms back to safety. So, anything you want to revise before I leave?"
Topaz flinched, pressing her cheek against her shoulder to dry it. "No." She hadn't lied. What did it matter? She wouldn't be alive for anyone to hate her.
* * * * * * *
Where’s the line between reality and fantasy?
Awake again.
Topaz jolted off, breathing heavily, head snapping around. Scratches were burning her arms, but her fingers… her fingers didn’t hurt. She flexed them, testing. Her fingers didn’t hurt. He had smashed them with the hammer, and somehow… they didn’t hurt. They didn’t even feel broken.
She groped until she found the half empty glass from whatever meal she had last eaten and grasped it tightly, picking it up. She put it down quickly again as she started shake. What was this? Were they having Jasmine heal her while she slept? That would have woken her up. She wasn’t a heavy sleeper, and healing magic had a distinct feel. She couldn’t sleep through that.
She gave one of her fingers and experimental twist. Nothing. It was fine. She scratched fiercely at her arms again, sinking down to the floor and curling into a tight ball. She didn’t understand. Why couldn’t they just kill her? She wasn’t doing them much good alive, especially not now. She’d pretty much handed them the mansion on a silver platter. And hell if that didn’t make her feel absolutely sick to her stomach. She’d sold them out just to avoid any more broken fingers. Like she needed her fingers anyways.
I really did try with you.
Topaz smiled bitterly. Yeah. Amanda had tried. Too bad it had been a lost cause from the start. What good was she if she couldn’t even suffer to protect everyone else?
* * * * * * *
Everyone’s use runs out eventually…
WARNING: Mention of rape
Topaz was sharply roused from her fitful sleep as Smith grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to her feet. Her one hand was hot to the touch and smelled back; the infection that he'd promised her already setting in. Her other one was numb, the broken pinkie dangling at an awkward angle. He pulled a leather strap around her neck, belting it like a collar at the nape of her neck and suddenly she found herself forced on to tiptoe as it yanked at her throat. She'd been shackled to some kind of line from the ceiling by it.
"Let's move. We need to get her ready for inspection."
"What the hell-" Was all Topaz could manage before reality roughly set in again. "I gave you names!" Her voice was high-pitched, terrified, panicked. "I didn't lie!"
"I know. That's why I didn't feed your hands to the dogs." Smith said as he pulled her arms behind her back, jolting her fingers painfully as he handcuffed them. She could hear the sound of liquid sloshing around and the ring of metal buckets being set on the ground. She flinched as the sound of a blade leaving the sheath whispered near her. "We're pretty sure you told us everything, luv, which is why it is time to take care of you now that you're no longer useful to Adam."
Instead of the blow from the knife she feared, it was instead tugged roughly up the sleeve of her ragged shirt, parting the cloth. Quickly and dispassionately, the filthy clothes were cut from her body, discarded with a small noise of distaste. Once she was naked, Smith made a gesture. "Right, scrub her off. Smells like a fucking sty in here." She was totally unprepared when the first ice cold bucket of water was dumped over her head.
Topaz screamed, more out of surprise than anything at that point. "Th-Then what's this?" She demanded weakly through chattering teeth.
"You don't want your new owner to throw up at the smell of you." Two hard brushes started to worked on her skin; rough and painful as they quickly scrubbed her. While torturous to her, it was ironically obvious that this wasn't part of her subjugation. It was simply a quick and impersonal way to clean her up. The second bucket of freezing water washed over her.
“Own-“ she was cut off by the second bucket. “Owner?”
"Paid a pretty penny too. One of Adam's magic friends. Maybe he wants to use you in some ritual or the like." Smith said, obviously disinterested. "Or just rape you to death. Doesn't really matter to me now that my job's done. Goodbye, Topaz."
Topaz was trembling from head to foot. Weirdly, her mind went back to another time, another universe, when she had faced this exact same threat. Amanda had saved her that time.
Amanda wasn’t coming now. No one was coming.
* * * * * * *
Out of one illusion, into another
Topaz woke.
It was becoming a common theme. But something was different. She was staring at a white ceiling — she could see. Beneath her hands she could feel something soft, something familiar. She turned her head found herself looking at a grey couch. Her parents’ couch.
What…?
She sat up, moving her hand to swat away whatever was brushing her cheek. Hair, she realized after a moment. Her hair. She grabbed it, examining the length. It was long, longer than she’d had it in a long time. She had insisted on cutting it when she’d turned thirteen, much to Alice’s dismay…
Her hand was small. She pulled her tiny fingers out of her hair, examining them. What in the hell…?
She bolted off the couch, into the nearby bathroom, and automatically hopped up on the stool in front of the sink to see herself in the mirror. A small face with wide, scared eyes stared back at her, black hair falling in a cascade down her back. She couldn’t have been any older than nine or ten.
“Topaz?”
The voice sent a jolt through Topaz; she almost tripped in her haste to back off the stool and run into the living room, where her mother was setting two cups of tea on the coffee table.
“Alice!” Her voice was almost a squeak as she darted forward, throwing her arms around Alice’s waist and holding her tight. No doubt Alice was surprised by the action — even as a kid, Topaz hadn’t been the most affectionate person.
Alice took it in stride, however, laughing and patting her daughter’s head. “Did you have a good nap, my little gem?”
Topaz pulled back to look at her mother, then look around. It was the house — her home — exactly as she remembered all of it. Pictures from family vacations and school photos hanging on the wall, the big, grey, fluffy couch she had fallen asleep on more than once, the fuzzy carpet beneath her bare feet…
“Yeah,” she said, a little stunned. This all felt so… real. Realer than anything had felt in a long time. Was it possible? Could everything — Alice dying, the Destines, Taboo, the mansion — have just been a dream?
“C’mon.” A gentle hand rested on Topaz’ shoulder, leading her toward the couch. “Can’t let good tea go to waste, and your father wants to go out to eat tonight.”
Her father. Luca. Not Taboo. Not the deranged, twisted man who had burned all his bridges in a fruitless attempt to get vengeance. He was gone. He had never existed. Topaz stopped to look around again, eyes wide…
“Love?”
She turned back to her mother — and found herself facing a grey-skinned, decaying corpse, eye sockets empty, mouth hanging open…
Topaz shot up with a scream, disoriented for a long moment by the darkness and silence she had plunged into once more. She gasped, trying to catch her breath, tears filling her ruined eyes.
And with nothing else to do, she curled back into the corner, pressed her face into her knees, and sobbed.
* * * * * * *
Kind people have their limits
WARNING: Mention of self-harm.
Black. Silent. Cold.
Topaz' nails were dug into her skin, as deep as they could go. Pain made no difference. She'd balled herself into a corner, her head resting against the wall, and every now again she would lift her head and bang it against the plaster. The whispers in the back of her head echoed, and she it harder.
Useless.
"Shut up." Thud.
Inferior.
"Shut up." Thud.
Spare.
"SHUT UP!" Thud.
Jasmine paused when she stepped inside, the four rings around her fingers glowing softly. She has been shielding more and more heavily to hide her actions from her siblings. Looking at the girl muttering and banging her head against the wall, she sighed. With a quickly gesture of her fingers one of the rings dimmed as the psi shield faded and Jasmine focused on projecting emotions that were as calm and soothing as possible.
"Shut up, shut up, shut-" Topaz broke off mid-word, head snapping up as her empathy picked up on a new preference. She didn't try to get away, or beg for her life. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.
"Just kill me," she whispered, burying her face in her knees. "Please, please, please..."
A wince stole over Jasmine's face as she approached and knelt down. "Cannot do." she muttered to herself as she removed a water bottle from the small backpack she was carrying and tapped Topaz' hand twice and put the water bottle in it.
Topaz very nearly through the water across the room. She'd stopped trusting the food they gave her and water - who knew what was in it? - but Jasmine... Jasmine had been nice to her before. Her fingers shook as she uncapped the water and took a long sip.
As the girl drank, Jasmine took the time to look a little closer at the scratches on her arms. They seemed to be getting more and deeper. Another ominous sign and with the sigh she set about cleaning and then healing the various scratches on Topaz' free arm.
The magic swirled in the air, and Topaz realized what was happening. "Stop," she muttered, trying to yank her arm back, but she was weak. She didn't want to be healed. She didn't want to kept alive longer for Grace and Adam to toy with.
There was nothing she could say, so Jasmine stopped her healing for a moment, gently patted Topaz' hand and then held her wrist so she could not move it. A thought started to form in the back of her mind though. If this became any worse, it was more then likely the girl would not survive and that would bring down the fury of that entire mansion where she lived and Jasmine did not desire to looe anymore siblings.
But still... to betray them in this way...
"Let go," Topaz whispered, trying to pull away. "Let go. Just kill me. Let me die. Let me go."
Finally coming up with an idea to communicate a bit, Jasmine finished the last bit of healing, then lifted Topaz' hand to face so she could feel her shaking her head 'no'. With her other hand she dug out another power bar and tucked it in the hand she still held before focusing her attention on the other arm.
Topaz immediately threw the bar away and tried to curl tighter into the corner, pressing her forehead against her knees. "Kill me," she whispered again, over and over. "Kill me, kill me, kill me...." If anything, Jasmine was worse than her siblings. She was keeping her alive to be tortured more.
"Looks like you leave me no choice..." she muttered softly against herself as Jasmine focused on the faint sense of regret that she felt. Then the rings on her fingers flared up and shackles of faintly glowing green light locked around Topaz' limb so so she could do her work. The girl could not die.
"Let go!" Topaz choked out a scream, struggling against the chains. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she tried to fight, tried to summon magic, tried to do anything. Maybe she could provoke Jasmine into killing her.
"Still no can do." she muttered as she ignored the struggles and quickly fixed the scratches on the other arm. Then folding her arms, Jasmine eyed the power bar and tried to figure out how to get the girl to take it. Topaz was already weak and no food and water at all would not improve things. Finally she put away the bar and reached for the smoothie that she had made for herself. Hopefully that would work.
Topaz tried to focus her magic, tried to summon up something, anything she could use to attack. But she was weak and erratic, and all she managed to do was send her head spinning. She slumped forward, forehead coming to a rest against her knees once more as she cried quietly. "Just let me die..."
Jasmine left she shackles in place as she tipped up Topaz' head and put the smoothie to Topaz' lips, making sure she drank the thick fluid. With oats, fruits and some nut butter for protein it should at least keep her going for a bit more.
It was either swallow the smoothie or choke. The latter was tempting, but Topaz' body was already reacting and swallowing the smoothie. She shuddered and pressed back harder against the wall, beginning to lightly bang her head again.
Scratches healed, sustenance given... Jasmine surveyed the girl, trying to figure out if there was anything more she could do to keep her going till... well... whenever this would end. She frowned when she saw Topaz banging her head against the brick wall behind her. With small sigh she reached out and cupped the back of Topaz' head, once more drawing from her rings. When she felt the contusions in the flesh and in the bone she frowned. Head injuries were always tricky... even with magic.
Topaz gave up fighting. What was the point? Clearly Jasmine was forcing her to live. "Always thought you were the nice one," she whispered to no one in particular. Jasmine had never seemed like much of a fighter. Of her siblings, she had always been the least threatening - and the least willing to get involved in conflict.
"If only you knew..." Jasmine channeled her energy into the contusions, feeling them knit beneath her hands. Finally she gathered up her supplies and looked over the girl once more. Letting out the deepest sigh yet, she refocused her shields and came to a decision.
She had a phone call to make.
Topaz shivered, curling deeper into the corner. She didn't necessarily like cornering herself - no telling what would come after her next - but it wasn't like it mattered. She wasn't fighting. She was just trying to lock down, to keep her empathy - or her magic - from doing anything that would get her hurt more.
She wished they'd just kill her.
Grace had been standing in the same position for an hour, watching Topaz in the inky darkness. With no sounds, no lights, nothing but the ever-present blackness, time seemed to function on a completely different level.
There were odd moments where her anger would dissipate, and she'd wonder if this was maybe just a little too far...but the amulet never really let her forget. A wave of sadness would wash over her as she remembered every detail, so precisely, every single fucking detail. She wished she could forget it. She wished that when she closed her eyes, she didn't see her brother, his blood pooling around him as the life drained in his eyes. Grace had never been affected so profoundly by anything before. She didn't realize it was the blood magicks, souring her soul and tying her to that negative energy.
A smile twitched. Topaz looked so uncomfortable.
"Would you like a pillow?"
She received no answer, of course. Topaz was so wrapped up in her head, and Grace's mind was just subtle enough for the moment that she wasn't even aware there was another person in the room. She simply curled tighter into herself, into corner, closing her useless eyes. How long were they going to wait before they realized Taboo wasn't going to come?
...and what would happen to her then?
With a hum, Grace leaned back on the wall, her palms absorbing the cold happily. This room could stand a temperature change, but for the moment it was tolerable.
Even though Topaz didn't answer, it didn't bother the Destine. In fact, she preferred it. "Good, you're accepting your fate.". Grace could respect that. "It's better that way. I mean, Adam will make you scream anyways, but yeah. I like this side of you."
Something twitched in the back of Topaz' mind, like it was acknowledging the change in Grace's emotions. She ignored it. She didn't trust anything. If someone was in there they would have already done something.
Grace cocked her head before bursting out in giggles. "Oh right, you can't hear anything. Or see. Poor little Topaz," she cooed, reaching down to pat her captive's head. "You still rely on such base needs. You haven't been englightened like me." This set off another set of giggles. With no warning, Grace tugged on Topaz's hair, lightly at first and then harder, followed by her nails trailing down on Topaz's bare arm. "I bet you can't stand this. I bet you want to puuunch me. Well do it, ma petite. Allons-y." Nothing happened, but Grace wasn't expecting it. Now she was pushing down harder, leaving marks in the darkness. "I hope you're suffering in there. I hope you feel everything I felt when my dear Albert was killed. I hope you are writhing in the agony of it all. If I had it my way, you'd never leave your mind, but Adam ...... hmm... he has other plans for you."
Topaz jerked back at the pat, stunned, then there were fingers in her hair, pulling, nails dragging down her skin, and she choked out a high-pitched whimper. "Stop it!" her voice cracked as she cried out.
"Oooh la la, la poupee parle." Thrilled, Grace pushed down even harder, hoping to break skin but knowing she wouldn't. Didn't matter. The fun was in trying. "You don't need me to stop this, Topaz. You have the power to stop it, it's been in you alllll along," Grace sang, crouching down so they were practically face-to-face. "Don't you want to try? Deep down to your inner peace and beauty, allow that innocence and love to save you?" Her voice was going higher and higher, until it was as unstable as her mind. "Ha!" She reached out had slapped Topaz hard. "You think on that. Remember this moment and remember it always. This is it. You'll never leave here."
As suddenly as she came in, she turned to leave, heading back to the door where she paused. "You'll always belong to the Destines, Topaz. We're family, remember?"
* * * * * * *
There’s only so much a person can take.
WARNING: Torture
Topaz woke.
It was disorienting, and her head was spinning as she sat up, leaning back against the wall to orient herself. She scratched her arms absentmindedly with her uninjured fingers, grimacing. She wasn't strong. Not strong enough for this. She hadn't been expecting torture. She certainly hadn't expected questioning about the mansion. What was she supposed to do? She could give him Amanda's name, it wouldn't hurt anything. Adam already knew her, though. That wouldn't help her much...
"Hello Topaz. I see you've been sleeping more. Infection is starting to set in. I've suggested taking the hand, so it doesn't spread." Mister Smith again, as he took his customary seat across from her. "Lots of people learn to live with one hand."
"What?" Topaz tried to look at her hand. Stupid. Infection? "What're you on about? My hand feels...." Well, not fine, considering she had broken fingers. Wait. Had they always been broken? She shook her head, trying to focus. Infection?
"It's been several days in, well, let's just call your situation unhygienic." Considering her toilet facilities were a bucket and the only thing she had to wipe her hands with was her now fetid clothes, it was an overly generous description. "I'm going to start on the other hand today." He tapped the metal end of a hammer on the floor. "All the fingers this time. You've inconvenienced us, so it's only fair that you have a permanent reminder of the result."
Several....? Topaz shook her head, scratching her arm again, a bit more aggressively, tearing back into the skin Jasmine had healed... when? A shiver ran through her when she heard the hammer. "No, no, no, please..." she begged, backing up against the wall. the idea of trying to protect herself never occurred to her.
Smith cracked her head against the wall, a sharp blow which left her disoriented and her skull ringing. She could barely resist as he pulled her hand down flat on the stones. The first blow felt like her pinkie had exploded and it was a gentle precursor to the pain from the second blow.
"That's one. Might need a few more whacks to make sure the bones are thoroughly crushed. Now, before I start on the rest, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
The sound Topaz made was nearly inhuman. Breaking bones was one thing. Crushing them? Hot tears ran down her face, and she wiggled as if to pull away, although she wasn't fighting. "I.... Amanda," she finally gasped, hedging her bets. Maybe she could get a break. Maybe he didn't know that the Destines already knew her. "Amanda Sefton."
"We know who Amanda Sefton is. Adam's been in Amanda Bloody Sefton. Now you're just trying to piss me off. I think I'll tie your fucking pinkie in a knot for that."
Damn it. "No no no no," Topaz whimpered, shaking. "Please, please...." Her mind was racing. No public figures. None of the doctors. Who didn't go out much? "David Haller," she finally whispered, still shaking. It was the first name that came to mind.
"That's one. There's a lot more of them. A lot more of them than you have fingers. Tell me another." He tapped the hammer against her ring finger softly, punctuating his threat.
Topaz dropped her head, her hair framing her face and hiding it. None of the kids. She wouldn't sell them out. "Q-Quentin Quire." Pain and the fog in her head were making it hard for her to remember names. Who was that one that had ended up in her head? The redhead. Topaz hadn't seen her in a while. "Rachel?" It was a question at first. "I don't... know her last name." She felt worse and worse with every word she muttered. Five years of protecting her arse, and here she was selling the entire mansion out just to spare herself some pain. "Uh... Remy LeBeau...."
The pressure disappeared from her wrist and she could feel Smith's presence recede as she spoke. He took careful notes, prompting her for names, spellings and physical descriptions with each person that she brought up. The litany seemed to go on for hours, until he finally closed his notebook.
"Good Topaz. Now, before I go, I want you to know that I'm going to check these. There's ways of verifying each of the people you mentioned. And if any of them are made up or don't check out, well... do you like dogs?"
Topaz shivered, shaking her head. Her hand felt like it was burning, broken fingers throbbing. "They're real," was all she muttered. Every single name.She scratched her arm again with her uninjured fingers, breaking through once more.
"You didn't answer my question."
Her jaw twitched. "No. More of a cat person." She added that last part weakly. Some attempt to regain her composure.
"Then this is really not going to be your day. You see, I have two dogs who guard a little scrap yard I own. I'm going to check these names and if any of them are false, we're going to take a little day trip there. I'll handcuff your hands sticking through the chain link fence and call the dogs. You see, only after they're done tearing off your fingers and ripping apart your hands to eat them will you be able to pull your arms back to safety. So, anything you want to revise before I leave?"
Topaz flinched, pressing her cheek against her shoulder to dry it. "No." She hadn't lied. What did it matter? She wouldn't be alive for anyone to hate her.
* * * * * * *
Where’s the line between reality and fantasy?
Awake again.
Topaz jolted off, breathing heavily, head snapping around. Scratches were burning her arms, but her fingers… her fingers didn’t hurt. She flexed them, testing. Her fingers didn’t hurt. He had smashed them with the hammer, and somehow… they didn’t hurt. They didn’t even feel broken.
She groped until she found the half empty glass from whatever meal she had last eaten and grasped it tightly, picking it up. She put it down quickly again as she started shake. What was this? Were they having Jasmine heal her while she slept? That would have woken her up. She wasn’t a heavy sleeper, and healing magic had a distinct feel. She couldn’t sleep through that.
She gave one of her fingers and experimental twist. Nothing. It was fine. She scratched fiercely at her arms again, sinking down to the floor and curling into a tight ball. She didn’t understand. Why couldn’t they just kill her? She wasn’t doing them much good alive, especially not now. She’d pretty much handed them the mansion on a silver platter. And hell if that didn’t make her feel absolutely sick to her stomach. She’d sold them out just to avoid any more broken fingers. Like she needed her fingers anyways.
I really did try with you.
Topaz smiled bitterly. Yeah. Amanda had tried. Too bad it had been a lost cause from the start. What good was she if she couldn’t even suffer to protect everyone else?
* * * * * * *
Everyone’s use runs out eventually…
WARNING: Mention of rape
Topaz was sharply roused from her fitful sleep as Smith grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to her feet. Her one hand was hot to the touch and smelled back; the infection that he'd promised her already setting in. Her other one was numb, the broken pinkie dangling at an awkward angle. He pulled a leather strap around her neck, belting it like a collar at the nape of her neck and suddenly she found herself forced on to tiptoe as it yanked at her throat. She'd been shackled to some kind of line from the ceiling by it.
"Let's move. We need to get her ready for inspection."
"What the hell-" Was all Topaz could manage before reality roughly set in again. "I gave you names!" Her voice was high-pitched, terrified, panicked. "I didn't lie!"
"I know. That's why I didn't feed your hands to the dogs." Smith said as he pulled her arms behind her back, jolting her fingers painfully as he handcuffed them. She could hear the sound of liquid sloshing around and the ring of metal buckets being set on the ground. She flinched as the sound of a blade leaving the sheath whispered near her. "We're pretty sure you told us everything, luv, which is why it is time to take care of you now that you're no longer useful to Adam."
Instead of the blow from the knife she feared, it was instead tugged roughly up the sleeve of her ragged shirt, parting the cloth. Quickly and dispassionately, the filthy clothes were cut from her body, discarded with a small noise of distaste. Once she was naked, Smith made a gesture. "Right, scrub her off. Smells like a fucking sty in here." She was totally unprepared when the first ice cold bucket of water was dumped over her head.
Topaz screamed, more out of surprise than anything at that point. "Th-Then what's this?" She demanded weakly through chattering teeth.
"You don't want your new owner to throw up at the smell of you." Two hard brushes started to worked on her skin; rough and painful as they quickly scrubbed her. While torturous to her, it was ironically obvious that this wasn't part of her subjugation. It was simply a quick and impersonal way to clean her up. The second bucket of freezing water washed over her.
“Own-“ she was cut off by the second bucket. “Owner?”
"Paid a pretty penny too. One of Adam's magic friends. Maybe he wants to use you in some ritual or the like." Smith said, obviously disinterested. "Or just rape you to death. Doesn't really matter to me now that my job's done. Goodbye, Topaz."
Topaz was trembling from head to foot. Weirdly, her mind went back to another time, another universe, when she had faced this exact same threat. Amanda had saved her that time.
Amanda wasn’t coming now. No one was coming.
* * * * * * *
Out of one illusion, into another
Topaz woke.
It was becoming a common theme. But something was different. She was staring at a white ceiling — she could see. Beneath her hands she could feel something soft, something familiar. She turned her head found herself looking at a grey couch. Her parents’ couch.
What…?
She sat up, moving her hand to swat away whatever was brushing her cheek. Hair, she realized after a moment. Her hair. She grabbed it, examining the length. It was long, longer than she’d had it in a long time. She had insisted on cutting it when she’d turned thirteen, much to Alice’s dismay…
Her hand was small. She pulled her tiny fingers out of her hair, examining them. What in the hell…?
She bolted off the couch, into the nearby bathroom, and automatically hopped up on the stool in front of the sink to see herself in the mirror. A small face with wide, scared eyes stared back at her, black hair falling in a cascade down her back. She couldn’t have been any older than nine or ten.
“Topaz?”
The voice sent a jolt through Topaz; she almost tripped in her haste to back off the stool and run into the living room, where her mother was setting two cups of tea on the coffee table.
“Alice!” Her voice was almost a squeak as she darted forward, throwing her arms around Alice’s waist and holding her tight. No doubt Alice was surprised by the action — even as a kid, Topaz hadn’t been the most affectionate person.
Alice took it in stride, however, laughing and patting her daughter’s head. “Did you have a good nap, my little gem?”
Topaz pulled back to look at her mother, then look around. It was the house — her home — exactly as she remembered all of it. Pictures from family vacations and school photos hanging on the wall, the big, grey, fluffy couch she had fallen asleep on more than once, the fuzzy carpet beneath her bare feet…
“Yeah,” she said, a little stunned. This all felt so… real. Realer than anything had felt in a long time. Was it possible? Could everything — Alice dying, the Destines, Taboo, the mansion — have just been a dream?
“C’mon.” A gentle hand rested on Topaz’ shoulder, leading her toward the couch. “Can’t let good tea go to waste, and your father wants to go out to eat tonight.”
Her father. Luca. Not Taboo. Not the deranged, twisted man who had burned all his bridges in a fruitless attempt to get vengeance. He was gone. He had never existed. Topaz stopped to look around again, eyes wide…
“Love?”
She turned back to her mother — and found herself facing a grey-skinned, decaying corpse, eye sockets empty, mouth hanging open…
Topaz shot up with a scream, disoriented for a long moment by the darkness and silence she had plunged into once more. She gasped, trying to catch her breath, tears filling her ruined eyes.
And with nothing else to do, she curled back into the corner, pressed her face into her knees, and sobbed.
* * * * * * *
Kind people have their limits
WARNING: Mention of self-harm.
Black. Silent. Cold.
Topaz' nails were dug into her skin, as deep as they could go. Pain made no difference. She'd balled herself into a corner, her head resting against the wall, and every now again she would lift her head and bang it against the plaster. The whispers in the back of her head echoed, and she it harder.
Useless.
"Shut up." Thud.
Inferior.
"Shut up." Thud.
Spare.
"SHUT UP!" Thud.
Jasmine paused when she stepped inside, the four rings around her fingers glowing softly. She has been shielding more and more heavily to hide her actions from her siblings. Looking at the girl muttering and banging her head against the wall, she sighed. With a quickly gesture of her fingers one of the rings dimmed as the psi shield faded and Jasmine focused on projecting emotions that were as calm and soothing as possible.
"Shut up, shut up, shut-" Topaz broke off mid-word, head snapping up as her empathy picked up on a new preference. She didn't try to get away, or beg for her life. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.
"Just kill me," she whispered, burying her face in her knees. "Please, please, please..."
A wince stole over Jasmine's face as she approached and knelt down. "Cannot do." she muttered to herself as she removed a water bottle from the small backpack she was carrying and tapped Topaz' hand twice and put the water bottle in it.
Topaz very nearly through the water across the room. She'd stopped trusting the food they gave her and water - who knew what was in it? - but Jasmine... Jasmine had been nice to her before. Her fingers shook as she uncapped the water and took a long sip.
As the girl drank, Jasmine took the time to look a little closer at the scratches on her arms. They seemed to be getting more and deeper. Another ominous sign and with the sigh she set about cleaning and then healing the various scratches on Topaz' free arm.
The magic swirled in the air, and Topaz realized what was happening. "Stop," she muttered, trying to yank her arm back, but she was weak. She didn't want to be healed. She didn't want to kept alive longer for Grace and Adam to toy with.
There was nothing she could say, so Jasmine stopped her healing for a moment, gently patted Topaz' hand and then held her wrist so she could not move it. A thought started to form in the back of her mind though. If this became any worse, it was more then likely the girl would not survive and that would bring down the fury of that entire mansion where she lived and Jasmine did not desire to looe anymore siblings.
But still... to betray them in this way...
"Let go," Topaz whispered, trying to pull away. "Let go. Just kill me. Let me die. Let me go."
Finally coming up with an idea to communicate a bit, Jasmine finished the last bit of healing, then lifted Topaz' hand to face so she could feel her shaking her head 'no'. With her other hand she dug out another power bar and tucked it in the hand she still held before focusing her attention on the other arm.
Topaz immediately threw the bar away and tried to curl tighter into the corner, pressing her forehead against her knees. "Kill me," she whispered again, over and over. "Kill me, kill me, kill me...." If anything, Jasmine was worse than her siblings. She was keeping her alive to be tortured more.
"Looks like you leave me no choice..." she muttered softly against herself as Jasmine focused on the faint sense of regret that she felt. Then the rings on her fingers flared up and shackles of faintly glowing green light locked around Topaz' limb so so she could do her work. The girl could not die.
"Let go!" Topaz choked out a scream, struggling against the chains. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she tried to fight, tried to summon magic, tried to do anything. Maybe she could provoke Jasmine into killing her.
"Still no can do." she muttered as she ignored the struggles and quickly fixed the scratches on the other arm. Then folding her arms, Jasmine eyed the power bar and tried to figure out how to get the girl to take it. Topaz was already weak and no food and water at all would not improve things. Finally she put away the bar and reached for the smoothie that she had made for herself. Hopefully that would work.
Topaz tried to focus her magic, tried to summon up something, anything she could use to attack. But she was weak and erratic, and all she managed to do was send her head spinning. She slumped forward, forehead coming to a rest against her knees once more as she cried quietly. "Just let me die..."
Jasmine left she shackles in place as she tipped up Topaz' head and put the smoothie to Topaz' lips, making sure she drank the thick fluid. With oats, fruits and some nut butter for protein it should at least keep her going for a bit more.
It was either swallow the smoothie or choke. The latter was tempting, but Topaz' body was already reacting and swallowing the smoothie. She shuddered and pressed back harder against the wall, beginning to lightly bang her head again.
Scratches healed, sustenance given... Jasmine surveyed the girl, trying to figure out if there was anything more she could do to keep her going till... well... whenever this would end. She frowned when she saw Topaz banging her head against the brick wall behind her. With small sigh she reached out and cupped the back of Topaz' head, once more drawing from her rings. When she felt the contusions in the flesh and in the bone she frowned. Head injuries were always tricky... even with magic.
Topaz gave up fighting. What was the point? Clearly Jasmine was forcing her to live. "Always thought you were the nice one," she whispered to no one in particular. Jasmine had never seemed like much of a fighter. Of her siblings, she had always been the least threatening - and the least willing to get involved in conflict.
"If only you knew..." Jasmine channeled her energy into the contusions, feeling them knit beneath her hands. Finally she gathered up her supplies and looked over the girl once more. Letting out the deepest sigh yet, she refocused her shields and came to a decision.
She had a phone call to make.
