queenofheartsrp | 001; action/video

001; action/video

[With Veigue being too preoccupied to have done much of anything but changed into her regular attire and read up on the bare basics, the Vine has taken it upon itself to showcase the newcomer. Alas, its timing leaves a bit to be desired.

The Vine zones in from behind, catching the woman's back and a frontal view of an approaching (and clearly hostile) harpy. Sword drawn, Veigue charges and raises her weapon in time to block the harpy's talons from clawing at her face. She wrestles with the creature, dead set on overpowering her foe.

She mutters a few words, gradually rising in volume until she's loud enough for the Vine to pick up her voice. There's a coldness to her tone that indicates she's in no mood to be dilly dallying with her opponent.]

. . . where is she? [Veigue knocks the harpy aside with a heave of her broadsword.] Where's Claire!?

[As though sensing the woman's temper, the Vine furls and sneaks away with the mirror. The recording ends with an abrupt screech from the harpy.]

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[Agarte wouldn't know about that. Unless Claire told her, but what would possess her to tell her kidnapper something like that? Why? And why would Agarte even try to pose as Claire?]

[the days they had Aunt Popura's peach pie were simple but intimate. They mean more than they appear.]

[it has to be her. It has to be. It can't be. It has to be.]

Claire . . .

[attaching her name to that body feels wrong, but it slips out as she takes a few steps forward.]

What happened?

[she lets out a breath, not realizing how tense she was until that moment.]

The Queen, she said all these strange things when I met her...but the reason she took all those girls from their homes was that she was searching for a specific one. She said...she said that Huma must think all Gajuma are ugly. There was something she wanted, something she thought she couldn't do as a Gajuma...so she wanted the body of a Huma.

[she's thought about it many times, but while she can work through the logic of it, she's never been able to understand completely. Her body has never stopped her from doing anything. It's a matter of will, not what other people think. But if Agarte felt bound and restricted by the wills of others, than maybe...]

I can't explain more than that. I don't remember much from the ceremony, just that I heard you calling for me, and--then I woke up, like this.

Searching?

[and that all Gajuma must be regarded ugly? Whatever Agarte meant by that and aimed to achieve with a Huma's body, if what this body is telling her is true . . . the queen must have gotten what she wanted. Because Claire wouldn't lie.]

[this is Claire, right? Veigue had called out to her during the climax of the ceremony. Not Agarte.]

Does that mean Agarte is in your body?

[but the one Veigue had reached for was . . . ]

Those men who came to the village, they asked for the most beautiful girl, right? And only Huma girls. So it fits...it's still hard to understand, though.

I--

[uneasiness makes her waver, but only slightly. What she had seen that time wasn't real. It wasn't the Queen.]

She must be, but I don't know for certain. I haven't had any word from home until you came here.

Are you all right, though? You weren't hurt, or...

Edited 2011-10-23 18:29 (UTC)

[if that's the case, then no one else from Callegea is present. It's reassuring, but also rather concerning. With her nowhere in sight, how would they react?]

[wait, then when did Claire get here? She sounds far more adjusted to this than she should be. Is she overthinking this?]

[but that thought is pushed aside when the mention of "hurt" reminds Veigue of the wound on her arm. Nothing severe, but a cut nonetheless, and there's a slight stickiness where a small amount of blood has oozed from it. She rests a gloved hand over the torn material of her shirt.]

. . . no. It doesn't hurt.

[it honestly doesn't. She's too preoccupied with the matter right in front of her to pay it much heed.]

We should go somewhere safer. But--

[she clasps her hands together, letting out a breath.]

Veigue, thank you--for believing me. I missed you.

[her smile is a little sad, a little relieved. The situation still doesn't feel quite real, just like when she'd first arrived in the Gardens. She keeps expecting to wake up.]

[she glances at the unconscious harpy nearby, and decides that they should go somewhere safer immediately. But she stops short at the words she'd been hoping to hear from Claire.]

[and they are coming from Claire.]

. . . Claire . . .

[she really can't say anything more than that. As though saying more would shatter this delicate image and tear Claire from her again.]

[she holds out a hand, both intending to lead her and wanting to feel her, make sure she's real.]

Let's go together, Veigue.

[she stares at the hand -- the hand that most certainly does not belong to the average Huma, though that's no surprise (and yet, it is). Slowly, Veigue takes it with her clean hand, the gloved one that hasn't touched the cut.]

All right . . . Claire. But to where?

The place I've been living. It's high up, it should be safe. There are some people who need protecting there, too.

[she just hopes Reno won't cause trouble.]

[living?]

How long have you been here?

[it couldn't have been for longer than a few hours at the most, unless Veigue was out for over a day.]

[she pauses, her face clouding a little, though it clears after a moment.]

It must be...almost five months now. A long time. Time is strange here. I've been told that when we go back home, everything is the same as when we left, no matter what happens here.

That can't be . . .

[five months and absolutely no sign of this back in Callegea? Veigue doesn't know what to believe.]

What's the last thing you remember from Callegea? After that battle . . . ?

I don't...I remember the ceremony, and this...light, and you calling my name, and then I woke up here. In the Queen's body. [she brushes her hands over her skirts a little self-consciously.]

For a long time, I thought it was a dream.

[in the Queen's body. She knows that. She can see that all too well, and it's . . . tiring.]

But this isn't a dream . . .

[is it? It's too cruel to be a dream.]

I know. I've come to realize that. This is just a place where the strangest things you can think of happen. [she smiles a little, despite the heavy conversation topic. Veigue's hand is warm, real.]

I'm just glad you're here. We'll go home someday, I know we will.

[Claire's words are soothing. As long as she's here where Veigue can be with her and take care of her, then this place will be tolerable. The strangest things can happen, but they won't matter.]

Yeah. We will.

[the only problem is the body . . . and it's that one heavy thought that prevents Veigue from feeling that much better, with her lips still pressed weakly.]

[the silence she's used to, even after months of living with Reno's chatter. Veigue's usual taciturn self is nostalgic and familiar. But Claire knows that silence isn't a normal one, so she can't be completely at ease. She points to the apartment building rising from between the trees.]

There it is. Come on, we'll be safe inside.

[she leads Veigue through the front doors into the lobby, breathing out a sigh of relief.]

A woman named Gabrielle Monsigny is the caretaker here. I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough. She's kind enough to let people stay for nothing at all. Then again, there's no gald here.

[Veigue takes the information in quietly. Eyeing the lobby from her position, she ultimately looks back to Claire.]

No gald . . . then what do they use?

There's no need to pay for anything. Food can be found easily. It's...strange, but the Queen provides for us, despite all the other mistakes she makes.

[she decides to take the stairs, since the elevator still makes her a bit nervous, and it's probably better to try to explain it to Veigue later.]

Mistakes . . . ?

[just as though every Queen is destined to make unforgettable mistakes. Veigue shakes away the thought of Agarte as she nears the stairs a little behind Claire.]

Yes, she says she wants what's best for us, but she can't seem to understand that taking us from our homes isn't. She's a little...childish, I guess you could say.

. . . she doesn't sound very different.

[from the other queen. The only other one Veigue knows.]

[she pauses for a moment, her hand on the stair railing, before continuing.]

Maybe you're right. When I first got here and was told there was a Queen in charge, I thought it was Her Majesty.

I thought so, too.

Has the Queen ever shown herself?

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