|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 13:52:30 GMT -5
If all Christian had to do to be a better father than Mr Crawford was to not lock his child away for four days and think nothing of it, then Christian knew he'd be a success. Though, to be fair, he had locked Diana away and forgotten to feed her for longer than was appropriate. It wasn't four days, but grown Diana made more of a fuss than six year old Diana.
Christian froze as the child-Diana turned toward them, looking pointedly at the woman standing beside him. He felt his heart sink and simultaneously lurch into his throat as the young girl shifted appearances and he saw for the first time his daughter. He knew it wasn't really Alyx, it was Diana's subconscious manifesting as what she thought Alyx might have been, but it was jarring nonetheless.
"Diana," he said compassionately as she began banging on the door, but when she didn't stop he grew more stern. "Diana, stop!" He grabbed her arms as she flailed them at the door and pulled her close to him. "That's not Alyx. You didn't abandon her like your father abandoned you. She was stolen."
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 12, 2017 14:11:21 GMT -5
Diana's panic began to recede with Christian's words as she felt his body surround her. While being locked away and forgotten as her mother died wasn't a big deal to Diana, she would never wish for her own daughter to be so hard. She couldn't justify what was done to her with any defense.
"What's the point Christian? What's the point in being angry or hurt at what happened in the past? How do you deal with it? My dad was a tosser, I admit that. I still loved him. And yes, I do remember my mother, she was kind and gentle." Diana swallowed, "I know that I loved her very much. I know that my father loved her too much so did the staff. I remember what life was like before she got sick. I was happy. But when she left, it was like the life in this pile of concrete went with her."
Diana didn't learn to be hard with Whistler, she had learned to be hard at six years old. She had learned to be deadly with Whistler and to use the hardness to conquer her enemies. At some point with Christian she had begun to soften, to hope that she could be soft again for their children, but his betrayal cost her that progress and she wondered if all that was left was hardness.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 14:21:59 GMT -5
"You can love a man and still hate him at the same time, Diana." Christian was case in point, but ignorant to this fact. He still didn't believe Diana truly had loved him. Believed wasn't the right word. Trusted? Understood. He didn't understand how Diana had loved him.
"Obviously the point is figuring out what's gone wrong up here," he lightly pressed his index finger against her forehead, "so you can move on. You won't be able to if you don't admit that this was a sh*tty thing to have happened to you, and you won't be able to if that assassin kills you. So stop bloody fighting it."
He smiled at her, part sympathy and part cleverness. "Maybe if you can make little you turn into our daughter then you can go find your father and tell him off for being such a total f*ckwhit!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 12, 2017 14:37:20 GMT -5
Diana wanted to laugh when he gave her permission to hate and love someone at the same time. She found it incredibly ironic that he of all people would tell her such a thing.
She did laugh as he called her father a f*ckwit.
"I never got the chance to do that. He died before I could really say any-"
The walls around them began to fade as Diana let go of the memory, it had been a sh*tty thing to have happen to her, but as Christian pointed out she was capable of loving and hating someone. If she could love her father after everything that he had done, if she could love Christian after everything that he had done, then she wasn't completely hard. She'd be able to love her children, and she would try to give them lives that wouldn't require the struggles she had been through.
So where were they now?
Diana didn't have much time to dwell on the question as a flying hex came toward her and Christian. Forgetting it was a dream she pushed him to the ground, "Down now!" she called.
"Sh*t...it's Steele." she said giving name to the assassin who had fired the hex at them. Steele had been the fourth assassin, and perhaps the closest before Christian. He was known within the community and disliked for being exceedingly ruthless if not a little psychotic. He took pleasure in the kill and was never clean about it. No one knew why he had disappeared, but most were grateful.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 17:43:03 GMT -5
Christian saw it coming too, but he wasn't as invested in this memory as Diana was. She had lived it, the danger was real to her as she pushed him backwards to avoid the curse. Christian was still holding Diana and her body toppled onto his as he landed on his back.
Diana's words caught his attention moreso than the curse. "Steele?" he asked, intrigued.
In Christian's profession, as with any other, there were certain celebrities. Steele was one such man. The professional hit wizard was known for his skill almost as much as he was known for his flair .
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 12, 2017 18:15:51 GMT -5
Diana rolled to cover and pulled on Christian to follow. She was wandless and suddenly injured. Her leg was bleeding pretty badly, her shoulder was dislocated, and her face was dirty from ash and sweat and tears.
"How did he find me so fast?" Diana asked, caught up in the dream. She only took a moment to panic before looking at Christian, but Christian wasn't Christian any longer, not to her eyes. "Hold on Simms. Please hold on."
Diana was choking on the smoke from the fire that surrounded her.
"Come out Diana. Come and play with me. It's no fun if you don't play..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 19:21:54 GMT -5
Christian's eyes grew wide as Diana was suddenly injured. Their fall was barely more than a roll and yet she was bleeding and needed her arm set. She was filthy, too. Christian realized suddenly that they were not simply witnessing this memory, they were living it.
Who the f*ck is Simms? he thought, almost jealously before Steele's eery taunt drifted through the smoke.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 12, 2017 22:09:06 GMT -5
"I'm going to get us out of this Simms." Diana promised, "Just hold on."
Suddenly Diana was crouched around a body, a badly bleeding man who was in deep agony, "K-kill me..."
Diana's eyes widened, "K-kill me Diana."
"No!" she gasped pulling away from him.
"S-steele." Simms shivered. Diana looked between him and where their attacker was waiting and taunting them.
"K-kill me and r-run..."
"No! I won't!"
She understood Simm's request, he wanted to die before Steele had the chance to get his hands on him. If Steele got to him then death would be a long time in coming and it would be beyond pain. Diana knew. From experience.
Simm's closed his eyes and went limp. Diana was too shook up to tell if he was unconscious or dead, but she knew that she was alone and she cried.
"Diana... Diaaaannna..." Steele sang, calling her to him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 22:42:45 GMT -5
Steele's taunting voice came through again but Diana wasn't moving. It was a memory, he knew that, but Christian was angry watching Diana wait around for some bloke to either wake up or die. He moved to pull her up by the arm and make her run but he had no effect on her.
Christian was stuck watching the scene play out. He reminded himself that Diana survived this encounter, then recalled that she had told him about the several assassins that had come for her and failed. At the time he felt she may have been overselling herself, but Steele hadn't been seen in a long while and the puzzle pieces were now falling into place.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 12, 2017 22:51:51 GMT -5
Diana was terrified. Steele was a different caliber of man all together. If she hadn't been the one to kill him she might have assumed the recent strings of attacks were his work, there were certain similarities.
"Diana...I've missed you. Have you missed me?"
She closed her eyes and once again the dream world around them shifted. She took a few deep breaths.
"Christian?" she asked confused for a moment. It had become too real and she had been sucked into the dream. She couldn't see or hear Christian. But now that the dream had shifted he was back.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 23:04:07 GMT -5
Christian was confused and felt helpless to do anything as Steele approached because it wasn't really Steele and Diana wasn't really in trouble. But tuere was a weakness here somewhere that they needed to find. There was something here that the dream assassin was able to exploit. Christian tried to keep an objective eye out but the dream shifted again and suddenly his Diana was back.
"It's alright. It wasn't real, just a memory. Are you okay?" He didn't know why he was asking her if she was hurt. This was her subconscious, she hadn't been physically injured. But dealing with a man like Steele would have been emotionally scarring.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 12, 2017 23:13:46 GMT -5
She nodded after taking a shuddering breath. She caught his eyes and gave him a faint smile until her mind processed their location and her facial expression changed drastically.
"No." Diana swallowed, "Oh God..." she groaned more from shame than fear, but the fear would come, "Not here."
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 12, 2017 23:56:11 GMT -5
Christian looked around as Diana did, but he didn't recognize their new location. He wouldn't recognize most places in Diana's memory.
"Where's here?" he asked, intrigued by the tone of her voice. There was a hint of embarassment in her words.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 13, 2017 0:16:55 GMT -5
"This is where he brought me." Diana said solemnly, her head bowed.
"Damn it!" She cursed looking at Christian, "You're not supposed to be here. You shouldn't be here." she looked around the room for an exit but she knew very well she was stuck with him, and he would witness one of her darker moments.
Diana turned and saw herself her arms were bound on either side of her head and stretched taut. She was tired and hung limply by her arms. She was also naked.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 13, 2017 1:49:05 GMT -5
Anything that might have been intriguing about the hint of shame or embarrassment in Diana's voice was quickly diminished as Diana began to panic when she realized what Christian would be witnessing. His eyes narrowed as he looked around, and when Diana's eyes fixed on something he turned in that direction.
"F*ck," he said as the memory-Diana came into view. She was stripped and restrained, the sight was jarring and infuriating. Christian's muscles stiffened and he clenched his fists. "Did that bastard...?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 13, 2017 2:01:21 GMT -5
Diana stayed silent when Steele came in the room. She averted her eyes as the man went to the dream version of herself.
"You have a beautiful body Diana." Steele whispered, his lips on her neck. There was a brief look of distress on her face, but she quickly schooled her features as his hand hovered over her skin, but not quite touching her. She yelled out when his hand finally touched her and seemingly burned her skin. He traced small patterns on her stomach, arms, and legs, but carefully avoided more intimate areas.
"Christian please..." Diana, the real Diana, said putting a hand on his shoulder. She was deeply embarrassed, as well as infuriated at her helplessness. She had survived this, so why was she here? Why did Derek bring her here? Why did her subconscious bring her here?
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 13, 2017 2:23:25 GMT -5
He pulled his glaring stare away from Steele and his victim and looked to Diana. He found nothing for her to be embarrassed by here, other than getting caught in the first place. But she clearly managed to escape so there was no reason for the shame in her voice as she pleaded with him. There was nothing he could do, Diana needed to figure out why they were brought here so she could deal with whatever trauma she had tried to ignore.
He gave her a pointed look. "For f*ck's sake Diana, there's nothing here to be ashamed of. What this bastard does...did to you, whatever he did..." Christian's lip curled into a sneer as Steele's hand grazed over a naked Diana once more. "You kicked his ass, didn't you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 13, 2017 2:41:09 GMT -5
Steele's 'caress' wasn't what shamed her. She nodded when Christian asked if she had kicked his ass, but she had to escape first.
She closed her eyes as her image cried out again in pain. The shame was coming.
"What do you want?! Why don't you just kill me! We've been at this for days!" she cried. It was true, Diana shouldn't have gotten caught, but she allowed herself to be captured to stop Steele from chasing a lead that would have led to Simms. Diana couldn't allow that after all Simms had done for her.
"I thought he would make it quick. I thought it was over when he found me, but he drew it out. I'd been here for days. He tired quickly of the standard torture techniques, he was no stranger to the cruciatus, but he was careful to keep me alive. He got inventive...I didn't know why he didn't just kill me. I wanted to die. I gave up."
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Jan 13, 2017 2:51:34 GMT -5
Steele wasn't known for quick or painless. His techniques were much more arduous, the man was sadistic. Steele would have wanted her to find nothing but despair and then taunt her with the release of death. Apparently he had gotten his wish.
"Did you?" he asked, taking her by the shoulders and turning her away from the scene. "If you gave up I doubt we would be here now to relive it. So what happened, Diana? What's so shameful and unresolved about this event?" His eyes flicked back to the scene. It was perhaps the only time a naked Diana did not elicit a physical response.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Jan 13, 2017 3:04:21 GMT -5
Diana's brow furrowed as she struggled with the frustration, shame, and anger that she had to relive the memory.
***
"I don't want to kill you." Steele said almost horrified, "Not you Diana." he said and brought his hand to her face gently. It burned and brought tears to her eyes.
"You're like me Diana, you're a survivor." he said with twisted admiration, "I love you."
Disbelief marred her pretty features until she could see that he was completely serious and confusion followed.
"I can see you're not convinced, but I've brought you a present to show my sincerity. Close your eyes...come on...close them." Diana refused almost on principle until he lifted his hand to touch her face, rather than being burned she closed her eyes.
Steele left the room and then returned with an unconscious man bound and gagged. "Alright my love. Open your eyes."
She did, tentatively still terrified at what Steele would consider a gift. She was entirely surprised to see Daniel Redding, one of the board members responsible for her being on the run.
Steele lifted the man's unconscious face for Diana's viewing pleasure.
"Redding..." she whispered still surprised.
Steele burst into laughter pleased that he had pleased her. "I brought him for you."
"You..." she was still so confused, "I don't understand, why do this? Why bring me here? Why torture me if you were on my side?!" she cried out. Steele confessing his love and changing the game board had thrown her off more than being tortured had.
|
|
