The Pawn and His Queen

ZARIAH

I haven't been falling all this time - I've been flying

Zariah laughed at the notion of everyone turning against her. Clearly it was not something she was concerned with. "You think the people so alike in thought and experience to you? Hardly. There are people here literally called Abandoned, people who have been forsaken by the gods, people treated like less than dirt by the favored. There are those who crave order. There are those who wish for someone of power to hide behind. There are those who simply don't care. Where there are those who hate me, there will be those who love me." she said with a wicked grin. Remi was so naive and understood so very little of the human condition.

His little lion act was indeed amusing. Perhaps she should start a coliseum, and pit him against some real animals. What a show that would be.

From her pocket, she produced two clear crystals. Nothing terribly large or special, but perfect for what she had in mind. "I would like you to transmute these, so they can be charged with magical power to be used by the carrier at a later time." she said, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I've given you the base objects, so perhaps you won't faint this time."

bring back the water

The alchemist knew nothing of politics, it was true. And yes, he was indeed naive enough to think that the ploys Zariah used on him would be the same she used on everyone else. Still, he didn't comment, merely grit his teeth as the first prickling of tears appeared behind his eyes.

Looking up at the objects in her hands, for a moment Remi's snarl only increased. Quickly though the green banished the gold, and the alchemist merely looked up with a boyishly wounded and disheartened stare.

"I defended you." He said in a voice hardly more than a whisper. "I said you would never threaten children. That because of Beatrix ... " Trailing off, he shook his head. "... I told them you were better than this." Remi added, taking the crystals and swallowing hard. Light bled from his palms, sweat beading across his brow as a tear slipped from his eyes.

"Ronin—" He placed one crystal into her hand. "—and Aoife—" The second crystal. "Will not be harmed."

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ZARIAH

I haven't been falling all this time - I've been flying

Zariah smiled, seeing his eyes welled with tears. Clearly he had been pushed to his limit, the sign that she had to change tactics once more. As he worked on changing the stones to what she needed them to be, collecting them from him in silence, she softened her features. "Oh, Remi." she said with a sigh, as if she were a mother, tired of a child's antics and misunderstandings of situations beyond their comprehension. Quietly she pocketed the newly made items, pleased he had obliged, if with a little prompting.

"Since I am letting you in on secrets, I shall let you in on another." she said, tilting her head a little. "I get very little joy in threatening you or Ronin or Aoife. Anyone really. And your defense of me warms my heart, and makes the reality of what I am forced to do all the more painful" she said, her voice soft, lacking the sharpness it usually held, as if she had capacity for untainted, human emotion. "I am in a tough position. This place needs order, but they do not realize it. Those who do not like me would act against me and those, they would do you and Ronin and Aoife harm simply for spite. I have no wish to harm those who had served me well - but if there is doubt that you will turn against me, what choice do you leave me Remi? It is the unfortunate reality of politics." she said, a hint of sorrow in her tone.

"I apologize. I should not have gone so far with you. Ronin and Aoife will indeed be unharmed, as they are so close to my most reliable ally" she said, sounding fully sincere in her tone.

bring back the water

"Then stop." Remi pleased, shattered sea-glass gaze rising as he shook his head. "No one else has threatened them, save you. Needing order aside...you could just ask." He said, exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. As for turning against her? It was not really something he had considered until precisely this moment.

Swallowing down relief that he wasn't sure he was owed, Remi merely nodded as his eyes continued to puddle. Raising his chin ever so slightly, confusion and upset colouring his features, Remi turned to move behind his desk.

"I have your report to write." He said simply, voice clogged with emotion, the closest to a hint that this conversation was over as he could get.

---

Zariah has received

Magical Crystal x2 | What (abandoned) magic is cast at these devices, they can store the power and reuse it as controlled by the wielder.

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ZARIAH

I haven't been falling all this time - I've been flying

She had broken a piece of Remi in that moment. It was a good thing, for now she could begin the real work of rebuilding him. Though he felt over with the conversation, she did not. Zariah let him walk to his desk and sit, before following. From her other pocket she pulls a soft handkerchief, and gently she dabbed at his eyes, tilting his head up with fingers on his chin. "The report can wait, Remi, dear. In fact, I shall wave it for you this month."

"Do not mistake a lack of voiced threat for lack of threat." she said, her voice almost motherly, counseling. "You are an Outlander. You are with the man who instigated the falling of the barrier. There are certainly many who smile to your face and plot behind your back. Such is the way of people." she said with a light shrug. "But perhaps, there is something I can learn from you...what is it I should ask then? What must I stop?"

bring back the water

Leonine fur appeared in the alchemist's curls as Zariah once again placed her hands on him. With eyes wary he simply watched her as she dried away the few tears that had fallen, the sharpened teeth in his mouth hidden behind lips pulled quite tight.

"Not everyone responds to disagreement with threats of death." Remi countered, and then, looking properly surprised, fell silent as she invited him to give his opinions.

Thinking back to conversations he had had, the things people had said about Zariah, Remi swallowed nervously. It seemed like the sort of moment where perhaps he could do some good, and yet...

"This...is not Northaven, as I have been reminded over and over. I do not disagree that leadership might be good here, but going from nothing to...well, you is more excitement than some of these people have experienced in their whole lifetimes." Remi said softly, warily. "I would have helped you Zariah, but you did not ask me to. You merely threatened. The laws set out? There was no explanation. No warning."

Then, as if realizing it for the first time, Remi paused and looked up at the queen. "Don't you want them to hate you? Do you really prefer fear over respect?"

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ZARIAH

I haven't been falling all this time - I've been flying

Zariah tilted her head as he spoke, pocketing the little square of handkerchief she had used to dry his eyes. "Would you have, Remi? Truly? Without Ianto to save, would you really have continued to aid me in the wake of all the hate people spew about me?" she asked lightly. To her it seemed an unlikely situation. He had agreed to help her before in return for her own assistance. If Ianto was out of the picture, surely he felt his own service no longer needed - which was clearly not the case.

"And if there had been explanation, would it have been read or torn down with the rest of it? If there had been warning, would anything have changed?" she asked, clearly doubtful. "As you say, this shift is a lot for people who have never known order. It is clear they have no desire to evolve or change. Yes, I expect a lot, but even were someone more lackadaisical to have seized power the reaction would have been the same." she said, almost sadly. These people were barely more than savages, untamed, wild beasts of a people.

His question gave her pause, as he hit on a slightly more complex situation. "Respect alone wavers. It is more fickle than love, and easily broken. This I have witnessed time and time again. However, respect borne from fear is everlasting. It is built on a foundational understanding of where the boundaries of respect are, and the consequences of going beyond them." she said quietly. "It is human nature to respect that which we fear, and to act against that with which we are comfortable. It is a sad truth, but truth nonetheless. Only the most fit of leaders can bear that burden successfully."

bring back the water

"If it was really to make this place better for everyone, why wouldn't I?" Remi replied, the genuine altruism in his voice easy and apparent, colouring his words just as surely as his accent did.

Biting his lip and shaking his head slightly, Remi pulled in a breath and held it for a moment. "It...it is not always about whether it makes a difference, if it is the right thing to do." He said softly, stumbling over the ideas in his mind, half-formed ethics he didn't quite understand.

To her last sentiment, the alchemist could only sigh, his eyes dropping to regard the water-stained papers on his desk. He could never threaten, especially not the lives of children. Nothing was worth that. Only...he supposed that was why some—like Zariah—were destined to become rulers, while those like him were not. "I know nothing of politics." Remi admitted. "I...please leave Aoife out of this. The children...please leave them alone." The alchemist pleaded, more than happy to fall onto his knees to underscore his case.

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ZARIAH

I haven't been falling all this time - I've been flying

She smirked at his answer, a light chuckle escaping her lips. "You surprise me, Remi. So few have hearts like yours, brimming with genuine altruism. I shall bear this in mind in the future." she said. Genuine altruism, another easily manipulated trait. Despite his bones, the alchemist was hardly more than putty. And he further proved that point with his next statement. "But what is right? And if you can decide what that is, and it still makes those unhappy, is it actually right? Or just right to you?" she said with a light laugh. "You can talk yourself into circles second guessing such things, trying to find the one path or righteousness. But sometimes one can only act. Consider this." she said as she straightened.

Again he pleaded she not bring the girl into the matter and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Had she not said already she would not harm the child? "I will indeed leave the children out of this. Aoife especially, for you Remi, dear." she said sweetly. "Let that be the end of your worries for them. I am a woman of my word, after all. Have a good day." she said, before turning on her heel and heading out of his office, raising her hood to disguise herself once more.

bring back the water

That...was precisely what Remi didn't know. It was the argument of dictators everywhere, that the popular opinion was not necessarily the right one. It was precisely why Remi thought that just because things were unfair for him, that didn't necessarily mean anything about the validity of the laws.

Bristling against the click of Zariah's heels, Remi all but held his breath until the queen was finally from his office. As soon as she did though, he exhaled a shaky stream, his hands immediately going to the burned markings on his chest as he finally let himself whine at the radiating pain.

~FIN

let your ships roll in

Coding base by Sky!