queenofheartsrp | first stanza [video]

first stanza [video]

[The Vine opens on a curious scene. Something has transpired in the new arrival area. A broad swath of garden has been destroyed. The scarred area is not huge, but it is not insignificant. It's not immediately clear what the cause was, but smoke is rising from the ground, and three large bears have gathered to deal with the problem.

Standing watching the animals is a woman wearing the familiar white shift of a newcomer. Her back is to the mirror. Her long hair is silver with a lavender tinge, a tall feather rising from the midst of it. Beneath the hem of her shift, a tail can be seen, twitching in agitation as she watches the animals and the blasted earth. She hadn't meant for anything of the kind to happen. Suddenly, the world had changed. All her strength had come rushing back in a single moment. When had her control grown so tenuous?

She speaks. She might be addressing the bears or talking to herself.]

Absurd. I shouldn't be here. What is this place? Death should not be a garden. It should be an absence of sight, sound, self. A perfect void. [Others' souls might live on, but that is what her death should be, what she wanted. No, not what she'd wanted, but what she'd asked for.]

[She takes a step toward the bears. One turns to look at her. Perhaps she is addressing them after all. Though they don't speak, it's possible she has some way of communicating with them. Her tone is imperious, yet strained.] Such stubborn brutes. You can't blame me for that. When you throw a spark on dry grass, certainly it will blaze. Fire burns. That is its nature.

[She turns at last, showing her face to the Vine, searching her surroundings for something she does not appear to find.] Zidane! [She pauses. She must be able to see the mirror, but she doesn't take it in. It's clear from her expression that she is not entirely present, perhaps disoriented.] He couldn't have done this. Then did he go...? Good. [Yet she looks almost disappointed.]

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[She nods, totally understanding this.] Rather unfortunate, that is.

I don't rightly understand, myself... I'm told she seems interested in... having us marry one another, but I still can't ascertain a reason for two ladies to marry. It makes little sense.

Oh, well... hm... what were they...? [She racks her brain for a moment, trying to root out information that isn't plant-related.] We are not to attack one another, or any creatures that aren't normally prey... We are, of course, not to cause destruction in the Gardens... and we are to come to Her Highness's aid when called, though I can't say I've ever seen such a thing happen.

[Kuja laughs at the sheer absurdity of it.] I most certainly will not be doing any marrying. How very foolish. Male or female, I'm hardly interested in such matters. [She shakes her head.]

Simple enough rules. I have no desire to harm others, and no need to slaughter any prey. I don't feel much inclined to go to the queen's aid, so I hope such a situation will not arise. I have had enough of queens and their whims. Though she may have brought me to this stage, I will not dance for her. My strings have been cut and cannot be pulled.

And where did you obtain your clothing? I have no desire to spend another instant dressed in a child's nightgown.

It certainly does seem strange, doesn't it? Why, she hasn't even obtained permission from Papi, so I certainly couldn't do anything of the sort, were I even to find someone here to interest me. I'm sure her plan cannot work, and yet we haven't been freed.

You were a servant before?

Oh! Do forgive me! My mind wandered... your clothing and any items you might carry should be somewhere nearby. Er... unless you happened to... destroy them accidentally...

I need no permission, but I have no such desire. If her stated purpose is true, she is a regent of great idiocy, though regents are often so. Perhaps the she is mad, or deceitful, or both.

Hm, a servant? [Kuja frowns. Her tail twitches again.] No, I had occasion to work with a queen, but I did not serve her. I serve no one. I mean to say that I will not serve this queen, either.

The affected area was open, and I saw none of my possessions there, so that is unlikely. [She would not search for cats, but her clothing is another matter. She disappears into the bushes.] Ah, here. [There is a pause. At some point, Kuja makes an irritated noise, having discovered that the spell disguising her tail has been broken, but she reapplies it at once. When she reappears she is dressed in her her usual clothing (http://foxaloxa.laleeloo.com/rp.html/289684.jpg), though her tail is now absent.] Much better. At least I am now spared that indignity.

[WHOA that is a different outfit there.]

Er... is- is that all of it?!

[Kuja glances down at herself, but all seems quite usual to her.] Yes, these are all my things.

It is unfortunate I do not have one of my dragons with me, but it cannot be helped. [She pauses. How odd. She does feel a certain--fondness--at the thought of her dragons. Perhaps there is something that can be done about that.] Are there many monsters here? Dragons, perhaps, or even--Eidolons? [As she asks the question, she knows it might be unwise to consider such matters, but it is only a question after all, and not an action. She should be familiar with the fauna of her new habitat. It is not as if she needs Eidolons any longer.]

But your... your midsection...

And... what happened to your tail?! [aaaaa what is going on here aaaaa]

Monsters? No, I don't believe so... I've seen neither dragons nor spirits here.

I assure you, this garb is the height of fashion where I am from. [Kuja smooths her fingers over the white robe at her hips.] Even in Treno, where silk flows like water, you could find no one more perfectly dressed.

[However, she scowls at the mention of her tail. She does not need to disguise it to hide her identity, if this place is so far from home, and yet-- How distasteful, how animal it is. She cannot yet conquer her vanity.] I have no tail. That was an aberration.

[She takes the news about dragons and spirits calmly. It may be best to be away from that temptation.] No matter. I do not need them. I am self-sufficient.

Isn't it... drafty? [She has trouble with this whole "less modesty than her" thing.]

I'm sure I've never seen such an aberration on the Vine before... Its movements were quite in keeping with the normal motions of a tail.

Well, that is good, then. It would certainly be poor manners of Her Highness to keep us captive and then deprive us of things we need!

I am not troubled by drafts. They have no effect on me. [She says this haughtily. She's not some weak human, to worry about such things.]

[She frowns again.] There are many phenomena that defy explanation. Perhaps someone was playing a trick on me.

Her Highness has already displayed poor manners and lack of breeding in herding us into this enclosure as though we were her livestock.

I suppose it might be all right, here... since there are no men...

Er... well... [She considers her words.] If you are not human... you needn't hide it from me. [Shawl goes down, gills pop up.] There are a few others like us here.

I suppose so... yet, she does seem a fairly gracious captor, all things considered. We are at the least provided for and left to our own devices. [Given that this is slightly more freedom than at home, Vitalia is happy as a clam!]

[Kuja laughs.] If a man laid so much as a finger upon me without my permission, he would shortly find himself without the hands--or arms--to touch another woman. [He would probably find himself burned to a crisp.]

So you are a different kind of creature. [She examines Vitalia's gills thoughtfully. It seems pointless to deny the truth now, as this place has seen to it that her illusion was broken.] It is true that I am not human, and I will not claim to be. [She thinks of Zidane, so careless about showing his tail--even proud of it.] But that does not mean that I wish to display myself.

As prisons go, it is a pretty enough cage, I cannot deny it. [After all, she had been about to die. Perhaps she should have died, but she cannot find it in her to complain about being taken from death.] For the most part, we may do as we wish? As long as the rules are not broken?

My, you must be powerful, indeed! Papi always warned me to take care never to be alone around strange men. I'm sure I would suffer terrible consequences, were I to find myself in a place like this but with mixed company!

Oh, do forgive me, then... I didn't realize it was improper to comment on such things! I'm afraid I've never been educated in such affairs; it's not a common thing where I come from, after all.

Yes. So long as the rules are not broken.

[Calling Kuja powerful is a sure way to put her in a better mood.] No man ever dared treat me with such disrespect. [She must agree that this girl might have difficultly in such a situation, as she seems quite the innocent.] Yet women can be brutes and murderers as well as men.

No need to ask my forgiveness. [Kuja waves a gracious hand.] You are merely ignorant.

[This place does seem to allow more freedom than her last "prison". Yet it chafes, and she expects such a place to be more than it seems.] The queen appears to be almost too lenient. There is no more to it than that?

[Vitalia is good at flattery. Mainly because she is very easily impressed.] I have met some ladies here who seem more, er, physically inclined... but surely the fairer sex is much more gentle than that! Why, I can hardly imagine it...

I have seen precious little to demonstrate otherwise. The library is quite lacking, unfortunately, and there seems to be a distinct trend toward... certain themes in the way things appear, but I have yet to find myself forbidden to engage in any activity. The only limitations seem to be those rules and the ability to leave.

Until we are rescued, I see no reason not to make do with the facilities we're provided.

I have known women who killed as many people as any man, if not more. [Surely she is not talking about herself. Actually, she is, in part, but she doesn't seem to be. Regardless, it is not in her nature to focus on the good in humanity.] You shouldn't underestimate them. Women, too are capable of great cruelty and depravity.

A trend? Themes? What do you mean by this? [The promise of a library does interest her, though it is unfortunate if there is nothing of worth there.] How is the library lacking?

[Kuja is not about to trust the judgment of this woman. She is well-spoken and even tolerable, but clearly knows little of the world.] I will gladly make use of whatever is provided, but I will not trust this queen. As I said, women can be as cruel as men.

There must be something very different about where you come from, then... I have found no documentation of such proclivities in my own homeland. [And OBVIOUSLY, if neither Papi nor books told her about it, it CAN'T be true!]

Themes of... florals, hearts, very feminine things. It appears to be an automatic trait of nearly everything here; even the equipment I have created has taken on such designs, though happily it has not interfered with the underlying function.

The library... er. [She turns red and becomes very interested in smoothing down her shawl.] Well, it is particularly educational in the realm of... romantic interaction between ladies. That seems to be the sole focus of the entire collection.

It is possible you live in a land of weak, docile females. [Kuja shrugs. That wouldn't be too surprising.]

Florals and hearts-- [She laughs, sharply.] I don't see why such things should be associated with women. As a female, I am almost offended. [She dismisses this, however, but she is interested in something else Vitalia said.] What equipment have you made?

[Books are even more interesting to her.] More of this nonsense about romance? I'll have to see this library for myself. [If there is literature there, she will judge it on the quality of the writing, not content.]

I suppose that could be the case.

Oh, not much; merely the base necessities for my scientific work. [Zappy things, flashy things, dials, knobs, switches... You know, the basics.]

Yes, I'm afraid it's rather a common element in this place. While the decorative aspects are quite pleasant, I find the rest of it rather less than accomodating.

What types of experiments are you conducting? [That is a bit interesting.]

I myself am not even an animal. [She fluffs her hair, a bit scornfully. Genomes do not reproduce sexually.] Such--fleshly pursuits are beneath me. [It is not that she has never had such a thought, or that Genomes are incapable of such a thing, but that is not the issue.]

At the moment, I'm investigating the properties of the local flora, and exploring how to best take advantage of them.

If you are not an animal, then... how would you classify yourself? You certainly seem to have flesh.

Exploiting plants--and will you make them into monsters? Or medicines, perhaps?

[She smiles.] Appearances can be deceptive. I am alive, yet I am no animal. I was never born, yet I have a soul. I defy classification. [She also defies straight answers, at times.]

Oh, no, merely finding a way to explore and advance their development and speciation. [It's the monsters thing.]

A species unto yourself, then? How very interesting! I suppose that is something we might have in common as well.

[Kuja takes this to mean probably monsters. She knows about such things.] I have interest in such matters. Perhaps I will inspect your work.

Do we? [Such variety here.] You said you are not human. What precisely is your nature?

I should be quite pleased to share it with you! I'm certainly happy to hear the opinions of another versed in science. [Particularly if those opinions are not "THIS IS BLASPHEMY WHY WOULD YOU EVEN DO THAT?!"]

I was created as a hybrid of human and aquatic traits.

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