Elizabeth chuckled at the light joke and nodded. Though she nearly jumped at the sound at the end of the hall, not noticing that they had both stopped for a moment.
She was about to ask Farah if she was ok when she started explaining. “Oh… I see.” she said softly, gently rubbing her hand against the fairy’s arm in comfort. “Don't worry. She’s not down here. It's just you, me, Saul, and a pain in the neck witch. The three of us can handle him.” she attempted to smile.
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Farah inhaled swiftly and did her best to keep from trembling. She was soothed by Elizabeth's touch, and a deep breath released itself from her lungs. "I know," she murmured quietly. "But that can't stop the memories from repeating themselves through my mind."
A quiet laugh escaped her, and without thinking, Farah leaned against Elizabeth and sighed. "May I ask you something, Elizabeth?" she murmured. "How are you handling all of this so well? I've introduced you to not only fairies and magic, but a completely new world filled with dangers and pain. And you've hardly batted an eyelash. How?"
Elizabeth nodded understandingly at Farah’s comment and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Though she raised a brow at hearing her laugh before shaking her head. “Oh… That.” she chuckled. “Well, I guess it's because I'm used to being in places whose names I can't even pronounce, and since I'm a former Marine, I’m no stranger to danger.” she smirked slightly. “The magic and stuff… I’ll worry about after we get our current problem sorted out.”
group
"Alfea isn't that hard to pronounce," Farah quipped. "But that makes sense… I suppose you'll be wanting to meet Tinkerbell?" The tease was light-hearted, but at the sound of footsteps approaching the door, Farah stiffened again. But the face that appeared in the doorway made her drop her guard immediately.
"Ben!" she exclaimed. The earth fairy in question looked both relieved and worried at the same time as he hurried over to her and hugged her tightly. It wasn't as intense as a hug that Farah and Saul had shared, but the reunion was still clearly emotional for both fairies.
"Farah," Ben said as he drew back. "We were so worried about you. I mean, the note you left scared Saul half to death, and…" He stopped, noticing Elizabeth as if for the first time. "Oh, hello. Excuse me. I'm Ben Harvey."
“I meant back in my world.” Elizabeth clarified with a light laugh. “Well… We’ll see.” she laughed again at the idea of meeting someone she had previously believed to be completely made up.
Once Farah ran ahead, worry spiked her heart rate until she caught the name her friend called out and instantly relaxed when the two hugged.
“Hi, Ben. I’m Elizabeth Harper from First World.” she smiled, giving a slight wave.
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Ben's eyes widened with curiosity and excitement. "You're from the First World?" he asked. "Oh… wow… I-"
Farah quickly set her hand on his shoulder to stop him from continuing. "Ben," she murmured. "Give Elizabeth a minute. You can ask her all the questions you desire later. And I'm sure she has plenty for us. But in the meantime, we have somewhere to be."
Understanding flickered across Ben's face. "Right. Yes, of course. Saul's waiting for the pair of you. Follow me." With that, Ben started off through the door to the East Wing.
Farah took a deep breath and stiffened before looking back and offering her hand to Elizabeth. "Coming?" she asked softly.
“Yeah. That was pretty much my reaction when Farah told me about this world.” Elizabeth chuckled at Ben’s reaction. Though she agreed they had more serious problems to deal with at the moment.
She smiled when her friend held out her hand and easily accepted it. “Let's go get your magic back.” she agreed, feeling pretty ready for anything… She hoped.
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Farah smiled at Elizabeth's comment. "In not so many words," she teased lightly. But the feeling of Elizabeth's hand in hers helped to steel Farah as she led the way through the East Wing doors. Immediately inside was an immense war room. A large round table in the middle was meant to project cartographic images of the Otherworld, used for tactical planning. Rows of steel shelves were stacked with binders, folders, and boxes that were now beginning to collect dust. Everything was either gray or black in color, and it was unexplainably cold.
Another door was cracked open on the other side of the war room, with Saul and Ben standing just outside, waiting for Farah. As she headed for it, another flurry of curses could be heard from the other side.
"These hurt like godsdamned hell! Where's the fairy bitch? Tell her to get these motherfuckers off of me! Rosalind will have your ass!"
Farah stiffened, curling the finger of her free hand into a fist, and glanced at Elizabeth. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" she whispered. "You don't have to come in. I can handle him."
Saul cleared his throat from behind her. When Farah turned to look at him, he was frowning at her. "You're not going in there alone," he stated plainly.
She cast him a look and turned back to Elizabeth. "I mean it. You can just wait, if you want."
Elizabeth smiled a little at Farah’s joke but as soon as they stepped into the room, the former marine straightened. The room felt like so many of the war rooms she had been in before… With James.
She cleared her throat to push down the memories and followed her friend to the door. “Wow! That's original.” she scoffed when she heard the witch swearing.
“We took care of this guy before, we can do it again. I've dealt with uncooperative prisoners before.” she admitted, giving Saul an unimpressed flat look. “I’m sure we can handle this clown. But correct me if I'm wrong, but he just took your magic, right, not your fighting skills?” she asked Farah, more wanting to make sure that she would be ok if things got out of hand.
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Farah managed a quiet laugh at Elizabeth's comment. "We did," she agreed quietly. "And I have as well. But I don't want to put you in another dangerous situation, Elizabeth. I couldn't do that to you." Though at the question, the young fairy pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yes, it was just my magic. Nothing else. Thank the gods."
She turned to Ben and slipped something out of her pocket with her free hand – the one not still holding Elizabeth's – and placed the item in his palm. "Go and charge this at the Stone Circle," she instructed. "We'll need it if I'm to get my magic back."
The earth fairy nodded and headed off while Farah turned to Elizabeth once more. "I won't make you go in there if you'd rather wait here," she said, hoping one last time that the girl would accept her offer and stay back out of harm's way.
“Farah, I have been in many dangerous situations before.” she reminded with a slight smile. “I can handle going in there to deal with this guy.” Elizabeth assured. “Besides, I agree with Saul. You shouldn't go in there alone.”
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"I know," Farah sighed reluctantly at the same time Saul chimed in with, "Thank you!"
The mind fairy shot him a look, and the Specialist grinned back. "Come on, I need someone else on my side when I'm dealing with you. You're literally the most stubborn person I've ever met."
She shook her head and glanced at the door. "Alright, let's go then," she said, taking a deep breath, dropping Elizabeth's hand, and stepping into the room.
A large cage occupied the center of the room and contained nothing but a bed in it. Aside from its prisoner. As Farah entered the room, Sebastian looked as if he wanted to incinerate her where she stood. He had a white-knuckled grip on the cage and fierce narrowed eyes that blazed at her.
"Coward," he spat at her. "You do nothing but run from anything that stands in your way. You're weak and pathetic. A sorry excuse for the protégé of Rosalind Hale."
Elizabeth laughed a little at the way Saul and Farah reacted to each other. “Yeah, I think I got a glimpse of that stubbornness earlier.” she winked at the pair before following Farah into the room. “I’ll keep her safe.” she whispered to Saul as she passed.
The former marine straightened her posture and glared at the blood witch. “Big words from a magic-sucking leech.” she spat back. “And what do you really know about Rosalind? Five bucks says she’s playing you for a chump.”
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Saul's expression softened a bit at Elizabeth's words. "Thank you," he whispered back. His accented voice was low so that the fairy couldn't hear them, but Farah was sighing and shaking her head in response to Elizabeth's remark about her stubbornness. She easily missed the quiet exchange between them, especially without her magic.
All emotion left Farah's face, however, as she immediately became subject to the blood witch's insults. She remained silent as Elizabeth spoke sharply.
Sebastian's eyes tore away from glaring at Farah to glare at Elizabeth instead. "More than you," he growled. "Don't think I don't know who you are, Elizabeth Harper. Rosalind told me about you too. She can't wait for Farah to bring you down to the undercroft so that she can meet you. Once Farah gets over her cowardice, that is."
Farah quickly latched onto the snippet of information he let slide. "Rosalind's still in the undercroft. How is she contacting you?"
The blood witch scoffed before replying. "You of all people should know how Rosalind is contacting me, Farah." His eyebrows arched, and he smirked. "Magic."
Elizabeth’s blue eyes flashed ice as she met his gaze, though her heart leapt into her throat at the fact that he knew her name. “I'm also the one who knocked your sorry ass out cold without needing magic.” she couldn't help but smirk.
Though she rolled her eyes at his answer to Farah’s question. “Thank you, captain obvious. What kind of magic? And how is she using it when, if I’m understanding this right, she’s basically comatose?” she asked, casting a quick glance at Farah to make sure she was right.
“If anyone here is the coward, it's you.” she pointed out, her glare darkening. “You keep throwing Rosalind’s name around like it's something to be proud of, like it grants you immunity when really… It doesn't do a damn thing for you. Tell me something; how does it feel to turn your back on your people? To be a traitor? To claim to work for a genocidal maniac?” she smirked, pausing after each question just long enough to let it sink in but not long enough for him to answer.
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Farah felt herself fill with pride at Elizabeth's smart remark. She'd been so worried about the other woman while consistently forgetting that Elizabeth wasn't the same as any normal First Worlder. She was the same as Farah.
She caught the glance that Elizabeth sent her and subtly nodded in return. "She's in stasis," she supplied, glaring at Sebastian. "It's impossible for her to move."
"Oh, Farah… didn't you retain anything Rosalind taught you?" Sebastian asked smugly. "Rosalind is the most powerful mind fairy to have ever existed. Psychic communication is as simple as breathing for her. Stasis is imprisonment of the body, not the mind."
The blood witch inclined his head and arched an eyebrow at Elizabeth's questions. Slowly, he smirked again and shook his head. "I don't know what you think you're talking about. I have my motivations, Rosalind has hers, and we're working together."
Elizabeth kept her face blank as Sebastian basically told them that the stasis only minimized the threat that Rosalind posed. Even in stasis, her mind was active, and therefore so was that aspect of her magic. That explains why Farah froze up in the office. That monster was reaching out to her.
“Oh, really?” she raised a brow in reply. “So you don't know how much she hates blood witches?” she asked, letting a bit of genuine curiosity lace her words. “I really don't care what your motives are, you have to be able to justify yourself either way. But what do you think Rosalind is going to do once she accomplishes her goal? Do you really think she's going to help you reach yours? Personally, I think that's as likely to happen as a blizzard in hell.” she shrugged. “Chances are she’ll just toss you aside. If you're lucky.”
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Farah blinked rapidly, still trying to process the details of what Sebastian was saying. So Rosalind was still in the undercroft, still in stasis. That was honestly as good as Farah could hope for. And it explained why Sebastian knew so much about Rosalind. She was giving him the information. Or, at least, the information that she had to so she could keep him on a rope. Just like she'd done to Farah and the battalion.
Sebastian scoffed quietly, jolting the young mind fairy out of her thought process. "Trust me, I'm aware of Rosalind's… feelings towards what I am. But you must be really stupid if you think I'm going to tell you what exactly I'm being offered to put up with all this shit."
With that, he sighed, stood up, and walked to the edge of the cage he was trapped in. He inclined his head toward Farah and smirked. "Where'd you find this girl, Farah? She's about as much of a bimbo as Vanessa." Immediately, Farah's fingers curled into fists at her side. She was practically trembling with rage from the comment, and Sebastian's smirk grew. "Damn… touched a nerve, didn't I?"
Farah only clenched her jaw and glared.
Elizabeth shrugged with a slight smirk. “Hey, I’m only human. And, unlike you, I didn't grow up around magic… But I'm a fast learner.”
She tried to stay calm when Sebastian stood up, but her heart did jump a little. When she overheard the “private” conversation between him and Farah, as well as seeing Farah’s reaction to it, she marched right up to the cage, reached her hand in, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it against the bars. “Talk to her like that again, and I will open this cage just to introduce you to Firstworlds American style of whup-ass. You won't be seeing or walking straight for a week.” she promised. “And since Rosalind has a personal wiretap to whatever you call a brain, tell her from me that she can take whatever plans she has for me and shove them up her ass.” she added in a growl.
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Sebastian's cool composure immediately snapped when Elizabeth shoved his face forward into the bars. A panicked look flashed across his face, but it was gone in a moment.
"You're bold," the blood witch hissed, narrowing his eyes as he glared at her. "But you're still just a human." His gaze cut to Farah, who was shocked by her friend's actions and trying not to show it. "So I take your precious fairy magic, and you need to have a human defend you, Farah?"
After a moment, Farah steeled herself and slowly approached the bars. "Let him go," she murmured to Elizabeth. As she spoke, her gaze changed slightly trying to communicate that she had a plan without actually saying it. Hopefully, Elizabeth picked up on the look.
Elizabeth wanted to smirk when she saw Sebastian’s mask break at her actions, but managed to keep her expression the same.
“That's probably the nicest thing you’ve said to me.” she quipped, keeping a firm grip on the back of his head. She was about to shove his face into the bars again for the question when Farah stepped up. The soldier raised a brow at the instruction, but caught the message, and nodded as she let go and pulled her hand back.
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"Don't get used to it," Sebastian sneered back. The blood witch drew in a breath as Elizabeth released him, trying to be subtle, but his relief didn't last long.
Farah's hand reached through the bars, quick as lightning, and her fingers snared the collar of his shirt. Without hesitating, she pulled Sebastian roughly forward and slammed his face into the bars again. Her expression was cold, even as he cried out in pain.
"You know the reason why you're still alive," she hissed. "I will kill you if I have to if you don't choose to return my magic. That's entirely your decision. Think over your choice carefully. And the second you speak ill of Vanessa again, I won't hesitate to put a blade through your chest. Clear?"
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her, but he didn't speak.
"Clear?" Farah repeated, her voice edged sharply.
Sebastian smirked, then spit in her face. Farah jerked back, letting him go, and immediately brought a hand up to her face to wipe it all away.
Elizabeth was initially surprised by Farah’s actions, and how quickly she moved, but smirked proudly at her fairy friend and watched the exchange in amusement.
“Maybe he needs some time to think over the situation.” she suggested calmly, reaching into her bag for the small travel pack of tissues for Farah once they leave the room.
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Farah was fuming as they left. While she didn't speak to it, she was grateful for Elizabeth's calmness and took a tissue to wipe her face. "Thank you," she murmured.
Saul managed to catch her eye and gave them both a look. "What happened in there?" he asked warily.
Without responding to Saul, Farah turned to Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, but do you mind just staying here for a moment, please? I need to clear my head." Without waiting for an answer, the mind fairy broke into a jog down the hallway, turned the corner, and disappeared.
"What happened in there?" Saul repeated worriedly after watching Farah leave.
“A lot. A lot happened.” the soldier sighed as her friend left the room, not that she blamed her. “First of all, we didn't get her magic back. Disappointing but not unexpected, I admit. Then he told us that just because Rosalind is still able to use her mind magic despite being in stasis.” Elizabeth told him as she tried to stay calm over that fact. “I know I'm new here and all but I don't think anyone should go near her office until we figure out a plan.” she suggested quickly.
“Anyway, we failed. He got under our skin and… He mentioned someone named Vanessa.” she admitted, raising a brow as she watched for Saul’s reaction.
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Saul listened as Elizabeth described everything that had happened. "Well, the blood witch can't access the magic, even to give it back, with the limiters on. So they're staying on until we're absolutely sure that he will give Farah her magic back. I'm sure Farah told you about the alternative."
He stiffened at the mention of Rosalind. "You're right," he muttered almost under his breath. Not that he was trying to hide the fact that she was right. He was just pissed as hell that Rosalind could still speak to Farah, even though her body was in the prison of her stasis. "You're right," he repeated for emphasis.
The name drop made Saul tense a bit. "No wonder Farah needs to clear her head," he said quietly. He noted Elizabeth's arched eyebrow and the way she was studying his response. "I take it Farah hasn't told you about her yet."
“Ah. Right.” she nodded, having forgotten about the limiters. “I guess I‘m still not completely used to magic yet.” she admitted with a light chuckle.
Elizabeth sighed at the agreement, almost feeling a little bit of tension leave her. “I think you should know… she already tried. Farrah wanted to check that Rosalind was still in the undercroft and the hidden door was open. Farrah froze until I slammed the office door shut and pulled her away.” she explained, hoping she wasn't betraying Farrah by telling Saul this. “After what that blood witch told us… I’m almost sure that Rosalind was talking to her.”
“No. We've only known each other for a day. I’m actually surprised that we know as much about each other as we do.” she confessed. “But I don't regret telling her anything or learning about her.”
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Saul offered a reassuring smile in return. "It's alright, I don't blame you. I've been close to Farah for almost half of my life now, and I'm still not used to her magic sometimes."
He became very serious as Elizabeth explained their previous encounter with the undercroft entrance, and his fingers formed fists at the woman's assumption. "I have no doubt that she was," he agreed. "I'm glad you were there. Farah and Rosalind… had a big falling out at Aster Dell."
His eyes widened suddenly as if realizing he might have just made a mistake. "Did Farah tell you about Aster Dell?" he asked quickly.
Saul arched his eyebrows. "You've only known her for a day? I swear, I thought you two had met when Farah first ran to the First World. She was gone for… three weeks? Yeah, she left three weeks ago. But the story with Vanessa isn't mine to tell. Maybe Ben will. Or Farah, if you can somehow convince her to."
Elizabeth chuckled softly at the reassurance, glad that she wasn't so different from someone who knew magic as long as he did. “Thank you, Saul.”
“That doesn't surprise me.” she growled. “Yes, Farrah told me about Aster Dell. Whatever happened between them, Rosalind got off easy. The manipulative psycho bitch…” she let out a deep sigh to try to calm down.
She shook her and smiled a little. “What can I say, soldiers recognize each other, and we had a lot in common.” she admitted. “But no, we just met earlier on a run today. She’d been living on her own for those three weeks.”
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Saul grinned and nodded. "You're welcome. I'm just glad to have someone else looking out for Farah. She's often riskier than I'd like her to be."
The Specialist straightened and clenched his jaw for a moment before speaking. "Trust me, I know. And honestly, I know Farah hasn't told me the whole story. I'm not a mind fairy, but I can tell when she's keeping something from me. It only makes me more worried that there's something I wasn't seeing."
Another worried look flashed across Saul's face. "That's not exactly comforting to hear. I mean, I'm glad that you two met, really glad, actually. I haven't seen Farah so relaxed around someone else in a while. But… it makes me nervous about how those other three weeks went. Without you."
