Isobel Brandt \\ Persephone (praxidike) wrote in thegalaxy, @ 2016-07-01 14:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !locale: rori, glasya ren, issan ren |
love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage
Who: Glasya & Issan
What: Following Dee's capture, Issan turns to Glasya and discovers a startling revelation.
When: After this.
Where: Rori.
Rating: G.
Issan had given Glasya few details beyond that there was an emergency with the Nightsisters that put their plans in jeopardy and that she required his help immediately; she didn't trust the holonet with the information that bounced around in her head. It had barely sunk in -- Dee, in the hands of the First Order. Her student's first brush with Kylo Ren had seemed like a distant memory. Issan wasn't entirely sure why the Master of the Knights of Ren had continued to seek her fellow Nightsister, but now... Now all their plans would be undone if they could do nothing to rescue Dee from his clutches.
She had gone to the nearest planet she dared to Naboo, Glasya's last known location; Rori was one of Naboo's three moons, and Issan felt at home on the swampy, battle-scarred rock. She had landed on one of the decimated landing pads that was on the far outskirts of Restuss. Her eyes roved over the ruins, the somber lesson of the battle played out here sinking into her bones. After the place had been leveled, few had returned to rebuild. Was she a fool for wanting to do the same on Dathomir? Was there nothing left to regain? Surely the fact that none had returned in the years falling the Empire's demise should say something.
Doubts do not suit you, inimioară. We do not have time to dawdle here.
"And we will get nowhere without his help," Issan snapped in return. Deep lines etched under each eye spoke to the little sleep she was getting. Her arms were crossed over her chest, the folds of her robes hiding everything, though one hand scratched spider-like at her elbow. She turned her gaze to the skies, seeking out the familiar sight of the Wraith and the man it carried.
It appeared as though summoned, sinking down from the sky like a predatory bird alighting upon its prey. A portion of the landing pad crumbled beneath its weight. The Wraith shifted slightly, then righted itself with a slide of one stabilizer. The gangplank descended, and Glasya Ren followed soon after. He twitched a smile at the sight of his apprentice. It disappeared as quickly as it had come.
He did not speak until he reached her side. He raised one hand as though to touch her; then, thinking better of it, he let his hand fall to the black folds of his robe. He raised his chin, studying her, seeing something in her mien that troubled him more than he would say.
"What's happened, Issan?"
Her own face was stark in its expression, worry and anger warring therein. The sight of him seemed to offer little comfort. She wasted no time in outlining the dire situation. "Kylo Ren has one of my Nightsisters. A woman named Dee; they captured her on Virmire, where I sent her to gather supplies for another spell. If we don't do something, he'll know everything."
Even with their connection weakened and the once open doors between them closed, Glasya's true reaction to this news was immediately and abundantly clear. His gaze did not fall from hers, though a shadow seemed to pass over the bright blue of his eyes. "Delilah," he said. It was not a question. "A Nightsister."
The truth of the matter did not wholly sink in for a moment. Issan's worry and anger changed to confusion, the hand on her elbow falling to her side as her mind did what it could to grasp what he had unconsciously betrayed.
"You...did this?" Her brow knotted, eyes blinking slowly as her gut turned. Everything they had shared before this; every touch, every kiss, every unspoken word between their mental beings had told her that he cared for her, more than as a simple asset. All of that was thrown into question with that one revelation. "How could you do this? How could you do this to me?"
"I did nothing to you," he said. "I only gave you room to work. I never asked who your Nightsisters were and you never offered. I had faith you could protect them, Issan, and no reason to believe my path would ever cross theirs until we moved against Kylo." He took a step closer to her. Something akin to sorrow showed in his face; sorrow, but no remorse.
This is where no trust gets you, my inimioară. Betrayal, even if by accident. Issan's hands went to her face, her body stepping away from him. Nails slid back through her hair and along her skull, trying to quiet the voice inside as her gaze fell to the ground. You have brought this on yourself.
"They only knew enough to follow me. I thought...I thought Kylo might see from you who they were. I did this to keep everyone safe. Why didn't you tell me that he was hunting one of the refugees? I could have...I could have taken precautions, I could have..." She grasped at explanations, at something to prove why she had done what she had done, even as all the pieces turned to sand and fell through her fingers. Exhaustion weighed down her shoulders.
But he had a part to play, the voice whispered, nudging her thoughts in a different direction. He should have done more. He is your "master," is he not? Now he feeds you and yours to the wolves to protect himself. Her gaze turned back to him, tears welling within even as anger colored her face.
"Do you know what he'll do to her? Raid and rape her mind until there's nothing left. Tear apart everything that she is, looking for whatever it is he wants. And then he'll know everything about my family, what's left of my coven, about me.
"Do you know what he'll do then, Glasya? Master? He will hunt them down, and then he'll hunt me down." The words kept coming, the anger forcing it all out. Wet stained her face. "Was this your plan? Ingratiate yourself to them with the corpses of their enemies?"
"How dare you," he snapped. He closed the distance between them once more. Anger radiated from them both, anger and hurt and the knowledge of something done that could never be undone. "You cannot possibly believe that to be true. You who know me best, who has seen firsthand what I want. I have no desire to ingratiate myself to him or any other. I meant only to buy us both time. She was nothing to me. An easy sacrifice to make to help us both throw off suspicion. Were she not holding such leverage over you, I would feel the same even now.
"You did not trust me to keep your secrets safe. That is why she was captured. Do not attempt to alleviate your guilt by placing it all on me."
"How could I tell you these things, when you return to me torn to ribbons? You wouldn't let me help you! How could I know you wouldn't let something slip." The voice in her head laughed, pleased by the discord sown. Anger laced with guilt ran amuck in her head, her thoughts confused. "I had to keep them safe, from even you. And now I know how little my dreams meant to you, other than as a way to serve your own purposes." Reason tried to cut through the muddle of thoughts, but she battered it away.
"That's all I am to you. Another stepping stone, another weight cut away from you on your ascent. You were always so good at tearing people apart. You've outdone yourself this time." A wave of pain reverberated in her chest. Savor it, inimioară. Heartbreak will only make you stronger.
"No." He shook his head, his jaw set to an unyielding line. His voice was firm in spite of the ache that lanced through it. "You will have Dathomir and I will have Kylo Ren's corpse at my feet. We cannot have one without the other. I have asked you to trust me and I will deliver everything you ask and more, but you want someone to blame instead. You don't even care about righting this. You haven't even asked for my help. I did not know, Issan. I would never have done this, had I only known."
"There is no way to right this!" Her anger overshadowed all else, emboldened by the presence in her head. "I can't trust a word you're saying. I came here to seek your help, and I find that you were the facilitator, Glasya. It goes both ways. If I am to tell you, you must tell me." Her face was streaked with tears that she could not stop, nor cared to. "I cannot read your mind; you shut me out of there already. Was that the first step? Cut me from there, and then from your heart, or was that first? Or was that all a lie, too? After all these years, you let yourself have me before you cast me away?"
"Issan." His voice broke on her name. His own ravaged mind, with wounds so fresh from his recent interactions with his vampire captive, hastened to fill the silence in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut against the voices, opening them only when he felt he had pushed them back enough. "I could more easily cut the Force itself from me. Be angry with me. Hate me as long as you need. But know that I have never lied to you. I would still have you with me in every way if I could, but it is not safe right now. For either of us."
He would still keep you under his thumb. Better to cut yourself loose now, before he drags you down further. Issan stared at Glasya, torn between his words and what the entity in her head would have her believe. She could see pain in his eyes, though without the comforting presence of his mind she could not tell if they were from the hideous words they threw at one another or from the lingering effects of her ring and its attachment to his captive. So she chose.
"Then I will do what I must for myself and my own. You are useless to me." Wrenching her gaze away from him, Issan turned on her heel toward her ship. What was perhaps the most surprising was that she found she felt nothing -- every muscle in her body had gone numb, unable to handle the overwhelming fear that crowded her mind. She would have to plot a course, find some new avenue to free Dee before it was too late, even though she worried it already was.
You know that you have only to ask for my assistance, inimioară. You know what I am capable of.
This time, Issan did not outrightly reject the offer. With her options so limited, it was clear that she would have to consider every possible avenue.
Glasya watched her go. There were so many things he might have said, but every word died in his throat. Some truths were best left unspoken. But there was one final cut he could make, one that would wound them both more than even he could have intended.
I will be here when you realize what you have done.
His shoulders slumped. His hand raised to the black ring that hung against his chest, still warm with the heat of her magic and power. Then he turned away, agonizingly alone but for the innumerable spirits in his head, and disappeared into the silence of his ship.