Love is Blind (Closed to Amber Eyes and Members of the IK)

[Enigmatic Immortal]

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She stumbled several times. Her gait was broken, disheveled, and unsure as frightened hands pushed brush and tree limb away from her path. She felt the coldness of the wind test her endurance, shivering as she fell across the chilling river waters, washing some of the grime and dirt from her barely clothed body. Her feet made muddy prints in her wake, hair tangled in twigs and debris.

She clutched the over sized shirt to her chest for warmth, remembering all her training to keep herself alive as she fought to move towards the one safe haven she knew of. Her hands bled from the scrapes she earned tumbling over rocks, and her feet stung from the many infections her feet were attracting.

She cried out a warbled, unearthly howl as her knees skidded against the dried dirt. Her eyes wept crystal tears of anguish as she bit her teeth down, fighting to keep moving forwards. Her back ached and her muscles protested, but she silenced her pain with a mantra of cleansing. She had been taught ot endure this, no matter what, and endure she would. Her love was just a few miles away. All the pain in the world wouldn't stop her from reuniting with him.

She pushed the red streaks of her hair out of her face, sniveling as she tried her best to move onward feeling her wrists ache. She couldn't rotate her right arm without serious pain and she pondered for a moment if she broke it. She couldn't spend too much time thinking on it however. Soon the hounds would be on her, and she refused to go back to that hellish nightmare of a mansion.

She pushed herself past the clearing, walking through a grassy field as the storm clouds overhead gathered, preparing to rain out the Coronian woodlands. She had to get to the castle by then or she would die. She had pushed herself for three days straight without food and drinking water only when she face planted into the river. She shook with fatigue, but she had no choice. If she was caught again there would be no ending to her suffering. Three days of unending torment was worth escaping a lifetimes.

She had found the main road, eyes filled with tears as she collapsed in front of the entrance to the cave mouth. Two cobalt blue warriors, a portly fellow and his skinnier comrade, approached the woman and knelt down.

"Jaime," the portly man said.

"I see it, Pell," the skinnier man said, his voice a high pitched whine. He removed his coat and placed it over her shoulders, and the moment the warmth hit her flesh her eyes fluttered and she passed out. Pell took his larger coat and removed it, covering her legs as Jaime turned to the communication runes on the Cavern wall. He picked it up, testing the orb and a disgruntled watch guard answered bellowing about how it better be important. Jaime swore it was as Pell rubbed the woman's back, dipping his drinking flask into her mouth and helping her drink.

"We need to inform Sei Orlouge that Stephanie Odara has returned to the Ixian Knights."

There was a long moment of silence before the wind cracked like a popping cork and Misery appeared, Lord Orlouge in tow walking towards the body and looking down upon her. He knelt by her side, inspecting her like she was a piece of meat, but doing nothing to harm her. He wiped the blood and grime from her face, looking into her blue eyes and with a startled gasp he scooped and lifted her.

"Inform nobody of what you saw until I say so," The mute 'said' to the guards. They nodded stupidly as Sei returned to Misery. Another crack of magic in the air, and Jaime and Pell were left alone, jackets on the floor confused as ever.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“Medically speaking, she should have been dead. Her body temperature was far below human standards. Her infections should have collapsed her system and her muscles are so tense and deadened that she shouldn’t have been able to move.” Aislinn Orlouge, medical physician of the Ixian Knights exited the secluded chamber, a tiny black cat following her loin cloth’s tresses. Sei looked to his Nieces and nodded, eyes narrowed in concern and a little confusion.

“Realistically speaking, she IS dead.” Felicity, the telepathic cat, spoke in the same manner that Sei Orlouge spoke to those around him. Aislinn scowled to her sister as Sei gave her a dissatisfied look. “No, snap out of it guys! Stephanie Odara is dead. She was tortured beyond recognition by Cassandra Remi and whoever is in there is…is…[/I]” Felicity let out a howl of frustration, pawing the ground as her tail flicked lazily back and forth.

“I read her mind…she was weak, that was for sure, but her will was strong. Just as I remembered her aura before. I scanned the surface of her thoughts for any signs of duplicity, but it’s all just thoughts of her looking forward to seeing her friends, Azza, and Jensen. Her memories are events that have to be hers, there is no magic or power I know of that can reciprocate the love she feels here.”

“Without Ta’gaz here to put her through the ringer, I doubt we’ll see if physically she is who she once was. Lillith, the Oracle of Water will have to take her out and practice to see if she’s on the level.” Aislinn bent at the knee, looking to her sister, Felicity, and sighed in deep thought. Her instinctively lowered to her sister, scratching her chin.

“This is weird not telling Jensen,” Felicity purred. Sei nodded his head sympathetically, but turned to walk towards the castle grounds.

“Agreed, but Jensen is already losing his sanity in this war with the Cult. He’s lost his father, his friends, and most importantly, her. I want to be damned sure this isn’t another trick of Cassandra’s. I have already briefed Joshua Cronen on Stephanie, and he feels like he can interrogate her. When she is ready place her in the cell under the castle grounds. Until then, I’ll keep Jensen out on assignments.”

“What of Adolph?” Aislinn asked. “He is her closest friend. Should we trust him with this information?” Sei stopped in thought for a moment. He lowered his head to his chest and pondered the idea over before he shook his head slowly. “Very well, then perhaps it would behoove us to send him on assignment as well. The less chances they know of the situation, the better it will be for both.”

“A sound idea.” Sei said as he began to mentally conjure up the conversation with ‘the Breaker.’

[Breaker]

"My name is Joshua Cronen, Chief Investigator to the Ixian Knights" the Breaker said as he closed the cell door firmly behind him. The iron latch's heavy ca-clank echoed throughout the dungeon. "There's no need to be afraid," the broad shouldered man clad in black sifan finery said, "Sei just wanted me to ask a few questions."

"I've answered questions enough," the young woman replied waspishly. She gathered into a ball on her bed of straw, torchlight from the hall spilling shadows of steel bars across the slender frame. "Where is Jensen? Why can't I see my husband?" Josh stopped in his tracks and crouched fluidly, resting triceps on quads. He waited until the reverberations of her cries faded, until his face was only slightly above hers, as if they were standing casually somewhere and not in chambers secreted beneath Ixian Castle.

"I understand Jensen Ambrose was your fiance," Josh amended, "I'm just trying to establish facts. If what you say doesn't measure up to our records..."

"Yes, we were never married," Stephanie said, choosing her words carefully with eyes narrowed, "but if you just brought Jensen down here, he could have told you that." She loosened her grip on her knees slightly and leaned forward, desperate for his answer. Cronen grunted and planted a callused palm on the stone floor, kicking black boots out and sitting amidst a small cloud of dust. His hazel eyes met her gaze levelly.

"How much do you remember?" The chief investigator inquired, "about the Remis? You seem to recall Jensen clearly enough." He watched her bloodshot eyes and slumped posture closely.

"We would have been married if not for that witch Cassandra," Stephanie spat, a sob wracking the infamous clan leader's name. "She tortured me in every way possible and killed me when there was nothing left to take away." Chewed fingernails dug into her pale shins, drawing angry red lines. "And then she brought me back!" horror showed plainly on her face, eyes wide, and finally she released the curled legs she'd clung to like lifelines. "I don't know entirely why," her voice became soft as she toyed with a bit of straw that was the same color as her unwashed hair. "But Cassandra always has her reasons. Her dark, horrid reasons." The length of straw snapped between fingers that had not seen sun in some time.

Josh was fairly impressed. Her body line stayed relatively consistent throughout the diatribe, getting more open and obvious as she delved deeper emotionally. She was either telling the truth, or a very good liar. The Breaker decided to change pace. He spread his fingers wide and drew on the Eternal Tap, sending eight tiny streams of water at the young woman with winglike flicks of his wrists.

Stephanie perked up the moment he touched the Tap and pressed her palms together as the aquatic missiles approached. She swayed in the seated prayer position and the rivulets rippled and reversed their course.

Josh smiled as he dissipated the water effortlessly, sending the moisture back into the air and mildew thick stonework. His job had been fairly easy; he'd confirmed most of the known information about Stephanie Odara, and perhaps gleaned something new. He put his dust-caked palm back in the same place and kipped up to his feet.

"Wait!" Stephanie cried as he turned to leave, "how is Jensen? You seem to know him." She couldn't seem to decide between being accusatory and hopeful.

"Jensen's well. Still shoots a mean double-leg," Breaker replied, remembering the events of the Cell. "But I think he's a little scatterbrained since you've been gone. I'll do what I can do get you into better accommodations, Miss Odara." He said, glancing about the cell distastefully. "Thank you for your co-operation." He reached out and grasped the heavy iron lever and opened the door.