005 ♟ closed } { bombs are falling everywhere

[emojis]

Who: Drizella Tremaine/Freya Mikaelson + Regina Mills, Leopold Fitz, Natasha Romanoff, Klaus Mikaelson, probably some other people. It's a party!
Where: Various places in the mansion/love hotel
When: Last week of January through the event.
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: Drizella is trying to help Fitz out. Whether she is on the right path or not remains to be seen.
The Story:

Comments

once you want it to begin | for regina

[emojis]

[Drizella knew that this was ... a gamble. While things between her and Regina have been better lately, she knows that what she's asking for is going to be a big ask. She's gambling her vendor coupon and her ability to help Fitz on a woman who has no reason to help her whatsoever, but she's hoping, hoping that Regina will give her a chance.

So softly, quietly, she knocks on the door to Regina's room, hoping that she's alone.

(No offense intended to Michonne.)

When the door opens, she gives a small smile.]

Hi. I need a favor.

no one ever really wins | for fitz and probably everyone else eventually

[emojis]

[The mansion shifts, and Drizella sees this as an opportunity. If she's lucky, Fitz's location shifted too, and she doesn't have to worry about tangling with a more powerful witch. So she sets off through the halls, wandering as casually as she can and keeping an eye out for the boy in question.

She could probably do this faster with her magic, but she's trying not to attract attention.]

it's heartbrake warfare | for klaus

[deathlessness]

[Early in the morning, on the first day of the event, when Freya wakes up in a room with a giant heart bed and no closet to hide a certain mad scientist:]

I lost Fitz.

[hypoxic]

[The universe has given them a gift. The witch will be unable to find him for precious little time. All of it needs to count. He doesn't trust that the network will be useful in this instance; he can most likely be traced through it. Out of necessity, his search is more targeted. He checks the new rooms, but eschews the distasteful ones. Drizella would be somewhere dignified, he's sure.

It's pure luck and plot contrivance that has their paths crossing.When he sees her, he steps into view, but stays at a respectable distance. He nods his head toward the closest door, careful to keep from making a sound as he does so. It's more private inside.

She'd better have results.]

[madehervows]

[Things have been better, even if they're the last two from their world left in Wonderland. Perhaps that has something to do with it.

Fortunately for Drizella, when she opens the door, she is alone. A few minutes earlier and maybe not.]

Well. You did help me, so I'll at least hear you out.

[It's not a guarantee, but she does doubt that she would come to her asking for help with something nefarious. Stepping aside, she holds the door open so Drizella can enter.]

[poppycock]

( considering he and caroline woke up next to a sex swing, klaus is unsurprised to be receiving this message. doesn't make it welcome.

he sighs. vacation will have to wait. ) Lovely. Any idea where he might go?

[emojis]

[Drizella makes her way in, and places the thorn bracelets down on a table in front of them. She knows this is going to be a big ask, and she could still screw it up, but she's hoping that Regina will see the benefits in it.]

These are what Gothel used to steal my magic. I just got them from the vendors, and they still have my magic in them, but ... I need someone with magic to activate them.

[And she'll just let that sit, prepared to make whatever bargain's needed to get Regina's help.]

[emojis]

[Drizella nods and follows his lead, slipping into the room in question, and just ... making a face at the ridiculous that's surrounding them at every turn. She can't help the remark that slips out:]

And I thought the magical realms were extra.

[hypoxic]

[ it's not particularly amusing for him, to be honest. There are entire magical realms? Magical things should go back where they came from, then.

None of this sits well with him. He shuts the door behind them.]

I expected you would have reached out to me before now. Shall I assume unforeseen circumstances interrupted your pace?

[deathlessness]

Honestly, I don't know if he has any allies left. Did you see anyone speaking with him at the ball?

[emojis]

[Bossy bossy bossy. He probably doesn't care enough to notice that the criticism doesn't make her twitch the way it used to, and there's a little more confidence in her stance that wasn't there before.

Magic is good on her, even if she doesn't always do good things with it. Not that he's aware of what she's got at her disposal.]

I tried to find Ophelia the old fashioned way, and I came up with bupkis because Wonderland is a faerie knowe of misery and madness. So, I thought of another idea, and it took a little negotiating to put all the pieces in to place.

[She pauses, moving in closer and holding up a finger.]

I just need something from you, but it's a big something. So the real question is, do you trust me?

[hypoxic]

[ he hadn't initially paid any regard to the shift in her demeanor, but the lack of a flinch absolutely warrants notice. She doesn't withdraw the way she normally does. He's lost too much of his standing, surely.

But he needs her. The trouble is that she knows he needs her. It means she has him at a disadvantage. She wouldn't ask for something from him otherwise.]

I tend not to trust anyone as a matter of principle. [ trust is a vulnerability. ] But be direct about it. Ophelia is the priority. What do you propose?

[emojis]

[She sighs before placing her hand against his chest.]

In order to do a locator spell for her, I need something of hers. You don't have anything that she literally owns here in Wonderland. So I was thinking we could use something a little more ... figurative.

[hypoxic]

[ it's here that she's found a blind spot. He looks down at her hand, but the metaphor is lost on him. It makes his throat grow tight. Is she taking the piss right now?? ]

Why are you touching me?

[ for all of his life spent entrenched in data, figurative language sails over his head still. ]

[emojis]

[She doesn't move her hand. She just let's it rest there, seeing how long he'll hold still, knowing what he knows about her. While a lot of comparisons could be drawn between her and Regina in the way that they found their ways to their villainy, this is the one are where they're different.

Regina is brutal and unforgiving, willing to intimidate in order to get her way with fireballs and brute force. But Drizella insinuates, get close and under your skin so quickly that by the time you realize she's there, it's already too late, almost like a creeping vine. Gothel taught her well, after all.]

You say it's true love. And I get that you don't trust anyone, but do you trust me to have your best interests at heart here?

[Emphasis on heart, just a little.]

[hypoxic]

[ the contact is foreign. Even Ophelia doesn't linger this way with him. Everything he knows about witchcraft has come from this current imprisonment, where it is heralded with ointments and herbs, chanting and pain. This isn't it. ]

I trust that you took me seriously enough to embark on this in the first place. And I'm certain you know that if you fail me, it's only a matter of time that you're implicated next. By helping me, you'd be protecting yourself. I trust that you're clever enough to see that.

[emojis]

Good.

[And then she smiles.]

Because as I said, it's a big something.

[And it's at that moment that the hand that had been resting against his sternum plunges into his chest, curling her fingers around his heart and ripping it back out again.

She takes a few steps back before he can react, feeling the weight of it in her hand, and gives a small shrug.]

If you say she holds your heart, then maybe I can use your heart to find her.

[poppycock]

A few. ( he was watching, of course. ) Jessica, Cisco, some young brunette.

[hypoxic]

[For a long, horrible moment, there's more pain than he knows how to process. His eyes widen in mute agony, breath catching. Slowly, he gurgles something hoarse and wordless, knees weakening as she begins to tug at his heart, severing it from the system it perpetuates.

It budges slightly, but it's hers with just a bit more force. It emerges as a bright red orb, flecked with streaks of darkness but still pure enough to glow, black ribbons twisting within without diluting the color into a cloudy mess.

His nostrils flare, and he drops to one knee, panting. He pats his chest, expecting to find blood, or some other evidence of a wound.]

....you...

[He doesn't quite have the language to express what he's experiencing. It's weaponized sensation. Another betrayal?]

[emojis]

Oh, relax, you'll get it back.

[She has a box in her bag for it, and his heart will go there eventually, but for now, she keeps it in her hand, ready to use it against him if he happens to take this poorly.]

Honestly, this is to your benefit. It's easy to lie to your captors convincingly if you're not the one doing the lying.

[deathlessness]

[Jessica wouldn't help him - but she may kill him if she's given the opportunity. Cisco is questionable but he might take a question from Freya better than an interrogation from Klaus.]

I'll check with Cisco. You track down our mystery brunette?

[poppycock]

( who wouldn't take a question from freya better than an interrogation from klaus tbh )

Gladly. ( and with that, he'll be on his way. )

[hypoxic]

[It takes a moment for his body to adapt and recover, but he's self-conscious about how long he's been kneeling, enough that he rises back up while his legs still feel weak.]

Explain.

[He eyes the heart in her hand with suspicion. This feels like a trap.]

[emojis]

Me having your heart means I'll be able to see what you're seeing and experiencing through your eyes. Sometimes, I can even talk through you.

[As she said, it's a lot easier to lie when you're not the one with the tells.]

[hypoxic]

[It would sound like abject rubbish if he had any other explanation for it. Instead, he tilts his head at it, considering as he adjusts his clothes.]

You're saying that thing represents my heart? It's filthy. [He greatly prefers immaculate things.]