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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 3:06:18 GMT -5
Diana went upstairs and drew herself a bath, she cast a protective charm around the baby so she could indulge in the heat and let it work at the tension she had created in conversation with Christian. She wanted him. Badly. Being around him made her skin feel tight and hot, her breath caught at just a glimpse of him, and an ache began low in her stomach that begged for his touch.
She played some music to get her mind off of him and charmed some candles as well. It had been a long time since she had been so indulgent.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 3:14:57 GMT -5
When she had gone from the stairs and he heard the water running in the bathroom, Christian set down his glass and moved to his jacket. He was surprised Diana hadn't asked for them the second he walked through the door, but he was thankful. Christian thought he hadn't asked any non-essential questions, but in his pocket was a pile full of answers.
He pulled the miniature folder from his jacket pocket and carried into his office where he shut and locked the door. He enlarged the file to its proper size as he sat at his desk and began thumbing through the pages. So much of it seemed of interest, but top of the list was the financial statements for her father's company. Their earlier conversation had set a spark that Christian was eager to fan.
What he found was almost nauseating. He gave an astonished half-laugh, rose from his chair, and stared out the window with his hands in his hair before coming back and taking a second look at the numbers. He gave a shocked "f*ck," and had to look away again.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 17:57:54 GMT -5
Diana felt relaxed, almost too relaxed, she felt herself drifting off, but she couldn't open her eyes as she was pulled into the dream world. Another voice told her to wake up, but the claws that held her suspended in sleep refused to relinquish their hold on her.
She opened her eyes and sat up, choking only slightly on the water. When she got her bearings she noticed a man next to the tub and jumped in fright, but it was too late to do anything as he pushed her head under the water with superior strength. She struggled and fought, but he was too strong.
Diana remained sleeping, thrashing about suddenly caught in the nightmare, her body slipped and sunk lower into the water as she panicked and then went still.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 18:09:56 GMT -5
The house was mostly silent as Christian attempted to fathom the money Diana was worth. The only noise was the ticking of seconds from the clock on the mantle in the sitting room and splashing sound coming from upstairs.
Christian's brow furrowed as he tried to place the sound and when he realized it was coming from Diana's bath he dashed quickly to the second floor. The sounds of her fighting against Merlin only knew what grew stronger as Christian got closer and when he pushed open the door he was met with a similar picture as Diana's last "nightmare".
Jumping to action, Christian pulled Diana up so that her head was no longer under the water but she continued to thrash about uncontrollably. He swore as he lifted her out of the water completely and set her on the floor of the bathroom, her wet skin and constant moving making it a difficult task to accomplish.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 19:45:00 GMT -5
Her eyes shot open once again while her body kept thrashing and yet her head was completely still, it almost seemed detached from the rest of her panic. The white film was back covering her eyes as she tilted her head and looked at Christian, then they widened in recognition before closing again.
Diana finally felt as though she had won the battle, her eyes opened and she was no longer in the bath tub, she coughed up the water that she had lodged in her airways thankful that Whistler had the foresight to train her against waterboarding. When she could breathe again she had rolled onto her side holding onto herself tightly. She was a mess of quivering nerves and exhaustion.
"W-what's h-h-happening to me?" she asked hating the fear and vulnerability in her voice.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 22:16:23 GMT -5
He was not surprised to once again see her eyes covered by the white film, just as they had been last time. He snarled at the intruder inside of Diana before her eyes widened in recognition and a moment later the real Diana was with him. Christian pulled a towel off the rack on the wall and covered Diana's wet, naked body as she curled on the floor.
"It's okay," he said comfortingly. "Calm down, you're safe now."
This second episode confirmed his hypothesis and now that he was certain of what was happening, she would need to know. Christian pulled Diana up to his chest, adjusting the towel around her as he did so, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He would let her get dressed and he would fix her some tea, then they would need to have a discussion about the intruder taking over her subconscious and how they were going to combat it.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 22:24:38 GMT -5
She let him hold her until her shaking was gone. It was a surprising gesture, but a welcome one none the less. When her breathing returned to normal and she realized her state of undress she sat up and looked at him, her heart ached, she wanted him even in the midst of the chaos, perhaps to quell the fear.
She moved to get dressed by some form of unspoken communication between them and met him downstairs wearing one of his shirts and a pair of shorts. Her hair was towel dried, but still hung around her face, she was somewhere between the cool confident lethal beauty and a pale wet kitten.
"Thank you." she said taking the tea he had made for her, "I'm fine." she said not wanting to show fear or vulnerability, "You know what's going on, I need to know."
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 22:34:59 GMT -5
He wondered if there would ever come a situation where he didn't look at Diana and have to suppress his animal urges. Even in the midst of a supernatural attack he found her absolutely spectacular. He almost felt dirty thinking of her in that way as he handed her a cup of hot tea and prepared to explain the fit she'd just experienced.
Christian sat in his usual chair and adopted the same posture he used when dealing with any business matters. This was not a personal attack and he would not be treating it as such. It deserved the same thorough planning as any other business venture, with the added attention that a personal attack would receive.
"It's one of the bounty hunters. He's entering your subconscious when you sleep and controlling you. I suspect he's trying to figure out where you are by taking over your body. He doesn't seem to like me much, though," Christian noted as both times the intruder vanished immediately upon noticing him.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 22:45:26 GMT -5
She sat through his explanation and took in the news. Was that even possible? How did one go about entering another's subconscious? More importantly how did one stop someone from going through their subconscious.
"How do we stop him?" she asked moving past the fear and disbelief straight to the plan.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 23:10:32 GMT -5
That was the same question Christian had pondered as he spent several hours pouring over text on spirit rituals earlier that day. He didn't have the answer, which bothered him o many levels.
"I'm not sure. I've been researching it, but I haven't found anything yet." His hand moved to his neck unconsciously as the thought of his research session brought on a phantom ache in his muscles.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 23:16:21 GMT -5
Once again she found herself gravitating toward him and working on his neck and shoulders, although this time she was aware of the motion and hoped it would ease him into accepting her suggestion.
"You once asked me what Derek is good for..." she began tentatively, "Have you asked him about any of this?"
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 23:30:37 GMT -5
Christian's hand moved to stop Diana's kneading on his neck as she suggested he seek out Burke's help. He pulled her around to face him.
"You mean have I asked the bloke who thinks you've gone into hiding, who doesn't know that I know anything about you, if he knows how to save you from a mental attack from a hit wizard I'm not supposed to know anything about?"
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 6, 2017 23:46:09 GMT -5
"Well...when you put it like that." she said on a sigh sitting in her chair where her tea was. She sipped on the tea letting it warm her, but kept her eyes on Christian.
"You wouldn't have to say it was me..." she said after a moment.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 6, 2017 23:58:00 GMT -5
Christian scoffed. "Right, I'll just hire a stripper to fill the roles while..." Christian's snarky remark was stilled as he realized he already had the solution to the Burke problem.
"You trust Burke with this sort of thing? You really think he can be useful?" Other than coming up with lies to trick a memory-less Christian into fighting his battles, Christian saw very little use in Derek. But Diana continued to spout his skills, so perhaps he wasn't completely useless.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 7, 2017 0:08:12 GMT -5
"Whatever forget it." she said crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't know anything about spirit rituals. She would have assumed another hit wizard to have used them before this, but Derek on the other hand was strangely connected to a lot of valuable information.
When Christian asked her if she trusted Derek she loosened up, "I trust him. I don't know if he'll know anything, but unless you have any other leads..."
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 7, 2017 0:18:05 GMT -5
Even if Burke didn't know anything, they wouldn't be out much other than the time. But having an extra mind on the problem would more than compensate them.
"I'll bring him in and see if he knows anything. But I'm wiping his memory before he leaves, either way." Christian didn't need two people buzzing around him, reminding him of the person he used to be. Even if Christian had no plans of killing Diana, the man was a nuisance and Burke's strange desire to be friends with Christian made him uneasy for some reason.
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 7, 2017 0:50:16 GMT -5
Diana perked up when Christian said that he was bringing Derek in. Relief, happiness, and a few other joyful emotions filtered across her face until Christian said that he'd wipe Derek's memory afterward.
She thought it over for a moment, disappointed, but she understood.
She sipped her tea quietly. She enjoyed her time with Christian, even if they weren't sleeping together and he couldn't remember that he loved her. Simply being around him thrilled her, but she was also going insane from captivity. She yearned for the company and camaraderie from the man she trusted.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 7, 2017 1:14:48 GMT -5
Christian saw the light in Diana's eye ignite and then flicker and die. She may not have ever f*cked Derek, but there was a clear connection there.
Christian stood and went into his office. He pulled a piece of paper and a quill, then scrawled a letter to Burke, asking for his immediate appearance. He gave the message to his owl, Archimedes, and sent him on his way.
"In the meantime," Christian said as he shut the door to his office and came back toward Diana, "no more naps without telling me."
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Post by Diana Ward on Jan 7, 2017 1:21:29 GMT -5
Diana was stunned as his words sank in, "But Christian...I wasn't napping I..." she shook her head, "I barely closed my eyes just to relax." she said chewing on her lip. She hadn't fallen asleep so much as she had been pulled into sleep.
She yawned then, but her eyes shot wide open. She was suddenly exhausted beyond words, her panic showed in her eyes.
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Post by Christian Ward on Jan 7, 2017 1:31:39 GMT -5
Christian's muscles tightened as Diana claimed she hadn't fallen asleep. Burke had better know something, Christian thought silently. Or we're in serious sh*t.
"Just stay with me, you'll be fine." He didn't quite believe it even as he said it. Christian didn't know how to keep the intruder at bay and the only thing that seemed to work in stopping the attack was seeing Christian and having the evil bastard withdraw willingly. But shortening the attacks wasn't the same as preventing them.
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