Took You Long Enough
Nov. 23rd, 2012 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feredarStory: Took You Long Enough
Year: 986 FY
Characters: Desshiri, Rema
Warnings: Implications of torture, brief internalized ableism, enslavement
Notes: This takes place in the Desshiri AU
It took a moment for Desshiri's vision to focus properly. The lady from the warehouse had finally showed up, and was seated on a chair in the doorway, waiting calmly. No way of knowing how the hell she'd managed to convince the guards not to come in here with her.
"Oh. S'you," she managed to get out.
"It's me." She smiled faintly. "I apologize for taking so long. I thought my interest in you would leave you safe until I could make contact."
Desshiri just stared at her. Even I knew it wasn't going to work like that, and you're the one that lives here!
"I've been thinking," she continued, either oblivious to or ignoring Desshiri's reaction, "about how we're going to play this."
And now she was obviously waiting for a response. Okay, so I guess I do get some say in this. "Right."
"Smuggling you out is going to be difficult. If my sister were still alive...maybe. But my niece doesn't have as much influence with her father as she did, and my nephew who's with us...it's hard for him to act."
So the royal family here is just as much of a tangled mess of who-backs-who as mine is. Good to know. "Promised you'd get me out," Desshiri said, a little wary. I don't know how much more of this I can stand...
"I will," the lady said, soothingly. "Of course I will. It's just going to be difficult." She paused. "There is a resistance--an underground, and there are a few Islander ships patrolling our border as best they can, extracting people who can get that far. It will take time and planning to set it up, but in theory I could put together a massive distraction, and get you to the underground while things are still up in the air."
Desshiri nodded. She'd expected something like that.
"The problem with that option is, of course, that you can't move very quickly and there is a strong chance of collateral damage."
Desshiri flinched. The other prisoners... She wasn't so much worried about moving fast--even if she had been whole, that would be a problem right now. And that was this lady's fault, so it was her job to find a way around it. But the others...
The lady smiled slightly--at what, Desshiri had no clue. "The other workable option would be for me to tell my brother-in-law who you are."
"What?"
"Sorell is not a fool," she went on, frowning. "He'd be easier to handle if he was, to be entirely honest. Telling him he's been holding a foreign royal will make him cautious. It will certainly keep you alive. On the other hand, we don't exactly want to give him so valuable a hostage as you."
Desshiri dropped her eyes. That was definitely true, and the whole reason she hadn't tried to convince anyone of who she was. "So what do we do?"
"Give me more time," was all she said. "I need to sound Sorell out, get a better idea of how he'll respond, and I need to work up a distraction plan. There may be other avenues, too." She paused. "If you are held hostage, if we go that route...how will your uncle react, do you think?"
She shrugged. "Depends. Got sent here t’see if s’really as bad as the rumors said. Wanted proof before he declared war. He'll prob’ly try t’extract me before a campaign. Mother might persuade him otherwise, but it's hard to tell." Depends on what Kira sees. Not that she was going to tell this lady her little sister was a seer. She wasn't as good at this as Riluke, but even she knew that would be a dumb, dangerous move.
The lady looked a little disappointed, but nodded. "Good to know." She smiled at Desshiri, a brittle smile that somehow rang false. "Have faith. This won't last forever."
Desshiri nodded. She didn't have many other options. She listened, but didn't watch, as the lady went away, then let out a long slow breath.
"Kira," she whispered, "f'you're seeing this--think she wants me dead. Please help."
She closed her eyes and prayed that she was wrong.
Year: 986 FY
Characters: Desshiri, Rema
Warnings: Implications of torture, brief internalized ableism, enslavement
Notes: This takes place in the Desshiri AU
It took a moment for Desshiri's vision to focus properly. The lady from the warehouse had finally showed up, and was seated on a chair in the doorway, waiting calmly. No way of knowing how the hell she'd managed to convince the guards not to come in here with her.
"Oh. S'you," she managed to get out.
"It's me." She smiled faintly. "I apologize for taking so long. I thought my interest in you would leave you safe until I could make contact."
Desshiri just stared at her. Even I knew it wasn't going to work like that, and you're the one that lives here!
"I've been thinking," she continued, either oblivious to or ignoring Desshiri's reaction, "about how we're going to play this."
And now she was obviously waiting for a response. Okay, so I guess I do get some say in this. "Right."
"Smuggling you out is going to be difficult. If my sister were still alive...maybe. But my niece doesn't have as much influence with her father as she did, and my nephew who's with us...it's hard for him to act."
So the royal family here is just as much of a tangled mess of who-backs-who as mine is. Good to know. "Promised you'd get me out," Desshiri said, a little wary. I don't know how much more of this I can stand...
"I will," the lady said, soothingly. "Of course I will. It's just going to be difficult." She paused. "There is a resistance--an underground, and there are a few Islander ships patrolling our border as best they can, extracting people who can get that far. It will take time and planning to set it up, but in theory I could put together a massive distraction, and get you to the underground while things are still up in the air."
Desshiri nodded. She'd expected something like that.
"The problem with that option is, of course, that you can't move very quickly and there is a strong chance of collateral damage."
Desshiri flinched. The other prisoners... She wasn't so much worried about moving fast--even if she had been whole, that would be a problem right now. And that was this lady's fault, so it was her job to find a way around it. But the others...
The lady smiled slightly--at what, Desshiri had no clue. "The other workable option would be for me to tell my brother-in-law who you are."
"What?"
"Sorell is not a fool," she went on, frowning. "He'd be easier to handle if he was, to be entirely honest. Telling him he's been holding a foreign royal will make him cautious. It will certainly keep you alive. On the other hand, we don't exactly want to give him so valuable a hostage as you."
Desshiri dropped her eyes. That was definitely true, and the whole reason she hadn't tried to convince anyone of who she was. "So what do we do?"
"Give me more time," was all she said. "I need to sound Sorell out, get a better idea of how he'll respond, and I need to work up a distraction plan. There may be other avenues, too." She paused. "If you are held hostage, if we go that route...how will your uncle react, do you think?"
She shrugged. "Depends. Got sent here t’see if s’really as bad as the rumors said. Wanted proof before he declared war. He'll prob’ly try t’extract me before a campaign. Mother might persuade him otherwise, but it's hard to tell." Depends on what Kira sees. Not that she was going to tell this lady her little sister was a seer. She wasn't as good at this as Riluke, but even she knew that would be a dumb, dangerous move.
The lady looked a little disappointed, but nodded. "Good to know." She smiled at Desshiri, a brittle smile that somehow rang false. "Have faith. This won't last forever."
Desshiri nodded. She didn't have many other options. She listened, but didn't watch, as the lady went away, then let out a long slow breath.
"Kira," she whispered, "f'you're seeing this--think she wants me dead. Please help."
She closed her eyes and prayed that she was wrong.