Holding All The Cards - Zaphias [SEE THREAD]

[Flynn//Gauche]

Holding All The Cards
Starting Point: Zaphias
[Alexei, Gauche, Droite, Yeager, and Duke]

[Turning over slowly, Gauche groans as she starts to come to. Her entire body is throbbing in pain and she gasps as she sits up, clutching her side. Something is wrapped tightly around her middle, and through the fabric of her clothes she can feel what appears to be bandages. Her left arm is covered with them also, all the way from her shoulder to the tips of her fingers, as well as her right leg from the knee downward and left ankle. Her head throbs as she looks around in confusion, not knowing where she is or how she got there. Just from first glance, it's obvious she is trapped in a cage.

She clumsily pushes herself to her feet and walks forward, stopping just short of the bars around her. From what she can tell, the room she's in has no windows or doors, which makes her question how she was placed in here. All she can remember is going shopping with Droite and suddenly being stopped by a group of knights. A fight followed, but they were overpowered and Droite was hurt, but she was knocked out before she could hear her poor sister. It doesn't appear as if Droite was brought here as well, and there is no sign of her air signature. All she can assume is that she is alone. That means Droite must have been left behind... but why?

Realising that it isn't worth the time right now, Gauche pushes the thoughts aside and looks around the room she's in again. It is obvious she can't escape, but why would she need the cage. She reaches out to touch the bars, but just before her fingers touch, she notices that the choker around her neck is a little tighter than normal. Her hand stops and she touches her neck instead. A chill runs down her spine. It isn't her choker. It feels more like a collar. It isn't hers, she knows that for sure.

In a blind moment of panic, she grabs the bars, hoping to get out, but as soon as her fingers brush the metal, the collar around her neck vibrates and she screams as a sharp bolt of electricity races through her body and causes her to call to the floor. It is painful, but she manages to crawl away from the bars and sit up, gasping. Her weapon is gone, meaning she can't use that to bread out. Instead she forces herself to her feet and focuses her mind on an arte. As she begins to charge her spell, the collar vibrates again and she is met with the same agonizing shock and her scream pierces the silence of the room.

Gauche is trapped and she knows it. She's in pain, scared, and has no idea what is going on. Curling up into a ball, she feels something wet against her hand and looks down. Whatever that shock was has reopened the wound on her side and she's bleeding. Healing artes are out of the question; she doesn't want to be shocked again, but she doesn't know what to do otherwise. Instead, she remains on the floor and shuts her eyes tightly.]

Droite... daddy...

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[Alexei]

"Ah, you're awake."

[Apparently Alexei has excellent timing with his entrances: no sooner does Gauche regain consciousness than the Commandant walks into the room. In truth, the soldier has her under surveillance at all times: he has a video feed in his office, and once sure she was awake again he'd started off for the room. Which was not that far, really, just hidden behind a bookcase in his office.]

"If it's any comfort, your sister looked much better than you did when we left her. She ought to be limping home to Yeager by now, if he hasn't found her yet."

[He reaches into a pocket, pulls out a tiny roll of bandages and tosses it between the bars.]

"You look rather as though you're going to need those, young lady."

[Droite / Cedric]

"Yeager. . .! "

There was heavy breathing, wheezy, raspy gasps for air as Droite ran, or in this case limped as best she could back to the Manor.

" YEAGER!!!"

As Droite stumbled back, rain and tears continued to obscure her vision. She tripped and landed in the mud with a sickening SLAP. Slowly her shaking arms pushed her up from the mud. The front of her clothes were stained an earthy brown with small watery patches of red from the fight she regretted escaping from.

Gauche. . .I have to help Gauche! I have to tell Yeager. . .I have to hurry and get back to the Manor before its too late. . .too. . .late. . .

Droite slowly got to her good foot to lift herself up, but felt a jolt of pain in her abdomen, probably from a broken rib. Gabbing her side and wiping away some of the rain and tears, Droite had a very confident look on her face.

"No, it won't be too late. I'll get to Yeager in time and we can both save Gauche."

Taking one foot forward at a time, Droite tried her best to get a faster pace through the mud and rain back to the manor, still calling out to Yeager every couple of steps hoping he was that much closer.

"Yeager. . .Yeager. . . . . .daddy. . ."

[Yeager]

[Yeager meanwhile is outside, heading towards the manor with one of his advisors, who had decided to join him for dinner before Yeager headed back to Zaphias. Yeager had been on business there with the girls, but an issue with a supplier had called him back to Dahngrest for the day. He chatted idly with the advisor as he walked towards the front door]

The frustrating thing, you see, is that they don't think I know an inflated price when I see it. I've been in the business for this long; I know what a good semi-automatic rifle is supposed to go for. That, and they expect me to be loyal to them regardless. I don't have that mentality. If it's more profitable to contract with Platinum's Armory, that's what I'll do. Business is--

[He cut off, hearing a cry from somewhere nearby. He turned his head, gazing across the grounds, spotting an unmistakable spot of bright green between the trees.]

Is that..?

[He took the umbrella the advisor had been holding over him, walking briskly towards the green, his steps quickly accelerating into a run.]

Droite! Droite!

[Flynn//Gauche]

Alexei... [Seeing this man of all people is confusing. She has only met him a few times, but they were enough to earn warnings from Yeager to stay away. Despite not knowing much about her situation, common sense says that she is in a great deal of danger right now.]

What do you want? Let me out of here. [She knows the questions are useless, but she asks anyway. Maybe she will get something. Her voice is soft, weak. Her body is still hurting and she reaches slowly for the bandages, not planning on using them until he leaves. He already has the upper-hand with this strange cage; she doesn't need to give him any more control.

Her side throbs again and she clutches it, trying to put as much distance between herself and Alexei. Maybe if she's far enough away from the bars...]

Aer shot! [The moment she tries, she regrets it. Instead of firing a shot of air like it's supposed to, the spell activates the cage again and she falls to her knees, holding back a scream.]

[Alexei]

"Ah, so you do recognize me." [Alexei chuckled, knowing the girl couldn't hurt him as long as the cage was still operational.] "Spells and artes will only activate the shock, I'm afraid. I would have offered a First Aid otherwise, but that would be less than productive under these circumstances.

"As for what I want, I believe that should be obvious. There is little you are exclusively capable of, especially while locked in a cage, which means I must want something from... someone else. There is little you can do but wait and see what unfolds, young lady, so I suggest you be a good girl and do so quietly."

[Hopefully the other twin would indeed make it back to Yeager more or less unimpeded. While the guild leader would certainly notice his daughters' absence and go looking for them eventually, it would be much easier for everyone involved if Droite pulled through. Then the full extent of Alexei's capabilities could also be made known, with little to no explanation necessary. It was very convenient, really.]

[Droite / Cedric]

Droite's pace quickened when she heard the faint sound of Yeager's voice.

Yeager!! YEAGER!!

She stumbled towards his figure in the distance. She held her side tightly with one arm and reached out with the other.

Yeager! They took Gauche! Th-they took her somewhere. . .I-I couldn't help her. . .we have to go save her right away!

Droite's voice drifted and wavered as she tried to regain her composure. She didn't even think to heal herself at the time, only focusing her attention and priorities to getting her sister home safely.

[Yeager]

What? [He held out an arm as he reached her, pulling her into a protective half-embrace. Noting the way she'd been clutching her side, he lifted her shirt partly to examine the wound. Gosh, that was an awful bruise there.]

Marion, come over here. [He beckoned to his advisor--he didn't have the aeric capabilities to heal Droite himself, but that man had some ability.] Look at this. Do you think...?

[The advisor did a quick inspection of his own, confirming that she probably had a rib fracture. Which meant that a quick heal wasn't going to solve the problem. That sort of thing typically required surgery, as the bone had to be repositioned before aer was applied to close the break and drain the bruise. Yeager touched Droite's face, tilting her chin up so he could look seriously at her.]

Explain to me what happened. Where is Gauche? And what in the world were you two doing that got you so badly hurt?

[Flynn//Gauche]

[Holding the bandages close to herself, Gauche looks away from Alexei. She won't give him the satisfaction of knowing she is scared and uneasy. She knows she can't get out of the cage, and artes have already proven to be useless. All she can do is wait and pray that he was serious about letting Droite go. If anything, she's glad her little sister is safe. That is of some comfort to her.]

Yeager will never be blackmailed into your demands. [Her voice is harsh as she speaks, trying to sound convincing. Part of her doesn't want to believe that Yeager would be so easily black-mailed, but another is terrified that he might not be. Her father wouldn't really abandon her... would he? He isn't like the other people who tried to adopt them before. Yeager cares; he always cared. That's what she tells herself.]

You should give up. He won't do anything you tell him just because of me. There is no reason.

[Alexei]

[Alexei laughs at that. Whether that was a bluff, or what she truly believed, Alexei knew better: Yeager never did anything without a purpose, and what practical purpose could those two girls serve? That left sentimental value as the only possible explanation.]

Oh, we shall see about that, young lady. If nothing else, your sister will be very upset...

[Alexei crosses his arms.] Or are you implying that he would leave you here, at my mercy? Not a very caring 'caretaker', is he?

[Droite / Cedric]

Y-Yeager. . .

Droite wiped away some of her tears as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Gauche and I went to the market this morning. After we were finished we started on our way back home until we were confronted by some knights.

She took another deep breath, holding her side again.

We fought back, but I must have gotten hit really hard in the head or something because I blackout and when I came too Gauche wasn't there and neither were those knights so I ran b-back home. Please Yeager! W-w-we have to s-save Gauche!!

Droite started to cry again out of her own weakness. How could she let her guard down? How could she be so weak at a time like this?

[Yeager]

Knights? [Immediately, his mind starts flitting through possibilities. Who would have a bunch of knights at their disposal--along with the certainty that they wouldn't talk or ask questions about arresting two young girls? He had a few clients with that kind of authority, but those with that guarantee of loyalty were few. Besides, it wasn't all that often that he brought the girls across the border, and he times he mentioned them were few. When his clients decided to play dirty, they ordinarily sought to undermine his staff or his shipments, not any aspect of his personal life.

There is, of course, another man who is both high in rank and quite aware of Yeager's family situation. What his motivation might be was unclear, but goodness knew Yeager had been slipping around his commands for years, so perhaps Yeager had just finally managed to do something daring enough to piss him off. Yeager's mind fills with rage at the thought of what he might do to Gauche--Yeager knows quite a few self-serving, power-tripping bastards, but that man is one of the worst.

At least he knows exactly where to find him. He sighs, muttering to himself.]

What a way to get my attention. He could have had the decency to confront me in person.

[Keeping his expression calm, he turns to the advisor] I'm going to need you to take Droite to the hospital for me. Call ahead to Zaphias and tell the guards that I want an armed three-man escort to the palace waiting for me at the barrier. It would be best for me to deal with this mess quickly.

[giving Droite a kiss on the head] Don't worry, darling. I'll handle this. Everything will be all right.

[Flynn//Gauche]

Don't insult Lord Yeager. You know nothing about him. [frowns and looks away, not wanting anything to do with this man] He's a much better man than you; and more talented. Especially if you have to resort to using threats just to get to him.

[Turning away from Alexei, Gauche sits in the far corner of the cage and glared at the floor. She is not going to allow the man who had taken her to have any satisfaction from this. She is going to sit there as long as it took for him to leave. Her hand is still grasping her side, trying to slow the new flow of blood from her reopened wound. She can't bandage it until she leaves. No clothes are coming off in front of that man.]

[Alexei]

I'm afraid I do, young miss. Perhaps almost as well as you do? Hm. I'm simply using the most effective means possible. I'm sure you'll find that he does the same.

[Alexei smirks at her obvious discomfort and turns to leave. No use allowing her to bleed out and waste his only bargaining chip.]

Now, as long as you behave, you will come to no further harm. We're simply waiting for your dear father to arrive. Do try not to cause anymore damage, hm?

[That said, he's not actually going until he gets one more rise out of her.]

[Droite / Cedric]

Y-yeager! I want to accompany you though to save Gauche!!

Droite wiped away her tears and clenched her fists trying to ignore the pain.

I won't feel comfortable until I see Gauche safe, even if that means I can't fight off some knights. I know I'm being selfish, but Gauche has always been there for me and. . .

Droite felt like she was rambling now. It was inevitable that she would be sent to a hospital and told to wait in comfort while her sister could be lord knows where in a dark room and uncomfortable. . .Droite needed to make up for her mistake of letting her guard down.