four - place the moon at my eyes

[kingsroads]

[ the post goes up late Thursday, into the evening hours. and MAN is Strange so thankful for this magical journal system. He really doesn't want to have to write this multiple times. ]

One of our new visitors is an enchanter of some sort. He has cursed me and trapped Sabriel.

Francis, McGonagall, I shall need your help. I cannot save Sabriel alone. Likewise, I will need to help of any new magicians who might have arrived with the visitors. As I cannot tell the new magicians this myself, I am relying on the rest of the ship's crew to pass on this message as I cannot myself. Please meet me at my room—the proper one, not my cursed apartment.

Persson, Sheehan, I have a question of you. How can one dream up an item they had back home? Does it work the same as the communal dream of Goodsir and Jopson's rooms or can I do this by myself? I know the item's properties perfectly as I created it myself, I simply need it here. Do not come to me in person, simply respond with your journal.

As for the rest of the ship, I need a mirror and something dead—flowers, perhaps? Please leave them outside my door if you have them. There is a spell I can still cast, a spell to see what my enemy is doing. I do not know who my enemy is but the enchanter hurt Sabriel. Undoubtedly he is my enemy and undoubtedly he is on this ship.

Stay safe.

Comments

[kingsroads]

As Molly draws the circle, it becomes very apparent that standing still isn't exactly Strange's forte. He's not the sort of person who's good at stopping and staying still normally, never mind stopping and staying still when his mind feels like a thousand birds and the ground feels like rocks under his feet. He bounces in place, waiting impatiently until Molly finishes the spell and he feels the sensation of warmth.

He knows what to do. This magic is telling him to go. Strange gives Molly a thankful yet harried smile as he reaches over to grab her wrist and yank her behind him as he goes off in the direction of that fiend who cursed him.

[goodgrasshopper]

This is more or less what Molly had intended, so she's ready when Strange grabs her arm and starts moving. She is ready to go fuck this enchanter up after what he's done to Una (and after interrupting a very pleasant interlude with Jake).

[sssstephen]

The Gentleman has been lingering in the Great Cabin, his curiosity with the mortals at its limits in this second day. He’s even lost the taste for his usual tricks; the mortals are so dull and predictable in their reactions to him. Not to mention boorish — their reactions to his special gift of dear Sabriel were downright rude! Yes, the Gentleman is certainly done with this realm.

[kingsroads]

Strange practically drags Molly down the ship's corridors, following the feeling of the spell on his body. When they make their way to the Great Cabin and Strange sees that familiar white hair, his expression almost instantly changes to one of pure loathing as he just stares down that fairy.

Not knowing if she can see him (can fairies see other fairies? He'll have to ask her that later), Strange gestures emphatically in the Gentleman's direction as well.

[goodgrasshopper]

Oh, she can see him all right.

"Hireki!" she snaps, and slashes her hand through the air to dissipate his veil. "Knock it off," she says to the Gentleman. "Drop the enchantments or I will drop you." She doesn't know this faerie, but she can smell fae magic all over him. He's not subject to Winter, so he doesn't have to listen to her, but she is the goddamn Winter Lady, and if he decides not to, she will make him.

[sssstephen]

Rude. Rude, rude, rude. Unacceptably rude!

The Gentleman stares wide-eyed at the two interlopers. The magician he knows, but the other? What is she?

The longer he stares at her, the more amused he becomes.

“And who are you to tell me what to do?”

[kingsroads]

Strange opens his mouth, like he's going to tell the Gentleman who she is (despite the fact that Strange also has no idea who Molly is), but for like the fiftieth time today, nothing comes out. He looks intensely frustrated before looking back to Molly, then over to the Gentleman, eyes darting between the two fairies as he tries to keep everything in view.

[goodgrasshopper]

"I am Molly, Lady of the Winter Court, and you are pissing me off," she tells him. "Release your enchantments over the people on this ship. Don't make me tell you again." There's power in threes. If she tells him again--at least in her world--it's as good as a geas.

[sssstephen]

None of that means anything to him, and he takes a step forward as the space around them begins to darken and shrink. In any of the usual circumstances a challenger would either make him smile with delight - because what an amusing notion - or cause deep vexation that usually ended with a very Displeased Gentleman, but this is not the usual circumstance, and she is not the usual challenger.

"I will not release the magician," he says. That he refuses. "But if I cannot have my pretty portrait, I must be given compensation."

[kingsroads]

It's obvious the encroaching darkness has Strange a little on edge. He takes a step closer to Molly, listening intently. He seems a little resigned when he hears that the fairy won't release him and lets out a voiceless sigh. All of this has been focused on releasing Sabriel, freeing Sabriel, could he live like this and accept this curse if she's safe? He honestly doesn't know.

[goodgrasshopper]

Molly grinds her teeth. As a Queen, she's obligated to at least entertain the negotiation, even if he's not one of hers, so even though she wants to flatten him, she can't.

Yet.

"You will release the magician. That's not under negotiation. He is indebted to me, and I mean to free him and the others you've cursed." Whether you like it or not, you greasy little shit. "What would you consider just compensation?"

[sssstephen]

The Gentleman nearly pouts. What does a debt mean if not owed to him? But he relents, waving his hand to call the wind back to return the nasally, deeply unpleasant voice. He will not take away the other curse though, but he doubts she's aware of it.

"Released. Now as a matter of my compensation, Miss Sabriel's youth will do," he replies, adjusting his lace cuff. "10 years, at the very least."

[kingsroads]

The wind enters through his mouth and Strange takes a breath. He feels something dislodge in the back of his throat and knows that he can speak again. And so, he's going to take advantage of that: there's unchecked loathing in his voice as he glares in the Gentleman's direction.

"So you can trap Sabriel in your realm like you did Lady Pole? Like my wife? I can answer for the Lady of the Winter Court, those terms are not acceptable."

He's not going to let this fiend take anything of Sabriel's.

[goodgrasshopper]

Strange isn't entirely freed. Molly can still see the curse of darkness around him, trailing off into nothing, but she's not sure there's much she can do about that. It's... bigger than this moment. Bigger than the petty bullshit that's happening here.

She glances over at Strange and gives him a quick grin at his response before turning back to the Gentleman. "It appears that your terms are unacceptable." Not that she would have anyway. The Lady might not think that ten years amount to much, but Molly, who used to be mortal, knows better. "If the Magician won't accept them, then neither will I, and on a personal note, you will also lift the geas on Una Persson. She's not a part of this." This is a little trickier. Technically, neither she nor Una owe each other any more than friendship, and there's nothing she can hang her power on there. No debt, nothing owed. She's hoping that it will go unremarked in the other demands.

[sssstephen]

The Gentleman looks unimpressed as the Magician begins speaking. He tried to spare them all, he really did. Does no one appreciate a gift?

"That curse was ended the moment you lifted the veil," the Gentleman replies, becoming frustrated as the 'talk' continues. "But if you cannot give me her youth, perhaps something else might be more agreeable. A memory which causes her pain."

[goodgrasshopper]

Molly's glad that Una is going to be all right, but the Gentleman's terms are still not acceptable to her. "No," she says flatly. "The girl didn't make a deal with you. She didn't bargain away her youth or life or memories." She hadn't been present, but she doesn't See any debt owed, so she feels confident in her stance. "Your terms are unacceptable. You will end your enchantments now." She slashes her hand again, as he had when dissolving the veil.

Threes have power, and she's the Winter Lady. Ice creeps up and engulfs him, and within moments, he's frozen solid. She thrusts a hand out, Dresden-style, in a wave of force, and smashes the ice, the Gentleman and his enchantments along with it.

[kingsroads]

This is impressive, amazing, and damn terrifying. Strange can only watch as Molly engulfs the fairy in ice and outright kills him. It's a bit humbling knowing that his magic is only a fraction of hers. So as the dust settles, Strange starts to explain, choosing his words very carefully.

"He'll be back soon," Strange sighs. "The dream only lets you stay dead for a few days. But thank you, my lady."

[goodgrasshopper]

She gives the remains of the Gentleman a cold look before making a face at Strange. "Is he a permanent resident or a visitor?" If he's a visitor, coming back will be moot. He'll be gone before he can pull himself together. If he's not, he's going to be a problem later. She might be able to work out a lasting protection if he's going to stick around, but she's not sure if it will last after she leaves.

[kingsroads]

Strange wrinkles his nose a little in confusion before his mind sorts itself out enough in order to understand and answer the question. "Visitor, I believe. Does that affect anything?"

[goodgrasshopper]

She shakes her head. "Only that he'll be gone before you have to worry about dealing with him again. What an absolute asshole. Love the way he phrases his little traps as 'gifts.'" It's absolutely a faerie thing. She knows she'll eventually start falling into the same habits. But not yet. She might be far enough to follow their rules but she doesn't have to start talking like them.

[kingsroads]

"We have a history," Strange says, with a wry little smile. "And silence has never been my strongest suit. I suspect he honestly thought shutting me up was a gift."

He looks over at Molly, watching her for a moment. If the other fairy will be gone before he knows it, what about this one? What about this woman who breathes out frost with every word and who shines in a way that, oddly enough, makes him want to dance and forget? Will she be gone as well?

"You should appoint a representative." Which he knows doesn't make sense, so Strange scrunches his face up in confusion before continuing. "I don't feel comfortable letting this favor hang. You might leave and we might never see each other again. You should appoint a representative so that if you leave, they can fill the debt in your place—that is, if you want to, my lady."

Because Strange realizes that he's bossing around a supremely powerful fairy right as he finishes bossing around said supremely powerful fairy.

[goodgrasshopper]

Strange may not think he's making sense, but Molly is following along just fine--and what does that say about her? She gives him an amused smile--she's definitely noticed that he's trying to boss her--and nods. "If I'm not able to collect my favor from you before I disappear, it passes to Una Persson. Does that satisfy?"

[kingsroads]

"That more than satisfies," Strange says, with a very relieved little sigh. He's honestly glad to hear that and it feels reassuring in a way that he didn't know he needed.

"I hope you stay," he admits, with a little sheepish smile. "The other magicians know nothing of fairies. Do you know how much I've missed talking to someone where I don't have to explain simple concepts like a fairy ring?"

[goodgrasshopper]

She gives him a bemused smile. "Huh. Where I'm from, one of the first things I ever learned was not to fuck around with faeries." Completely disregarding the fact that she is one now. "I almost died in Winter before I was even an apprentice."

[kingsroads]

"That is what I learned as well," laughs the man who learned that and then proceeded to totally ignore that advice and fucked around with fairies. "But everyone else seems to think of them as something from a storybook or a children's tale."