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

[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."

[goodgrasshopper]

She hums. "I don't know, there are plenty of wicked faeries in children's tales, too. Maleficent. Carabosse. And Mab can be a bitch when she's in a bad mood." Does that sounds like it's a little personal? It might.

[kingsroads]

That does sound a little personal and Strange wants all the details. "Do you mean to tell me you've actually dealt with Mab? What about Oberon? Or Titania?"

He is far too excited right now.

[goodgrasshopper]

Molly gives a smile that's half a wince. "I'm the Winter Lady, Mr. Strange, and Mab is the Winter Queen. A deal with her is how I got to where I am today, and I've been dealing with her regularly ever since, for better or worse. Titania is her sister. I don't know Oberon, but he may go by a different name. It happens sometimes." She smiles a little. "Different names and different personae for different situations."

[kingsroads]

"You see, that's the interesting thing," Strange starts, still bursting with excitement and nosiness. "That title? The Winter Queen? It means nothing to me, just as I suspect the name John Uskglass means nothing to you. But our worlds share Mab and Titania despite our differences."

[goodgrasshopper]

Molly gives him a curious look at that. "What, no Winter and Summer Courts where you are?"

[kingsroads]

Strange shakes his head. "Fairies mostly have their own private kingdoms or domains in my world. They are places with names like Lost Hope or the Castle of the Plucked Eye and Heart. There are some who obviously have more power and influence than others, but I haven't heard of kingdoms named the Winter or Summer Court before."

[goodgrasshopper]

She gives him a bemused look. "Really? Arctis Tor? Arctic Minora? The Ways? None of that rings a bell? That's so odd." She's not really used to people being familiar with the faerie realms but not he spaces she knows. This is... okay, weirdly fascinating.

[kingsroads]

Strange shakes his head. Nope, none of them ring a bell. "But to be fair, if I mentioned John Uskglass, the king's roads, or the kingdom of Lost-Hope, I suspect you'd look at me with confusion as well."

Which is something that he's kind of gotten used to.