InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "And I'm good at it, too!"

Primrose Everdeen (seeinghope) wrote in thereincarnates,
@ 2016-10-23 01:24:00

Entry tags:

!au, !fairytale, lana ross, lily ross

Who: Lana & Lily Ross
What: No matter what, Lily knows that Lana will always come for her.
Where: Dreizehn, in the villain's fortress.
When: Late afternoon.
Warnings: Some mild violence.

Lily wasn't anybody special. She wasn't a princess, or even a lady. She wasn't anybody's wife, or planning to be anybody's wife any time soon. She'd never done anyone any great kind of service, no one owed her any favors, there weren't any spells on her and she hadn't broken any spells on anybody else. All Lily really was, was a healing woman's daughter who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and convenient when someone had needed a hostage. She wasn't strong enough to fight him off, when he grabbed her and held her at the point of his knife, and so she'd gotten stolen away from her home, from her village, and tangled up in something that was far bigger than someone like her should ever have been involved in. She wasn't even sure why he'd kept her alive as long as he had. It wasn't like her family even had any money to give him for her safe return.

He'd mentioned something about a sacrifice, about needing the blood of an innocent on a certain day, in a certain ritual, that would give him... something. Lily had only heard bits and pieces of it, chained up in her cell. Lily hadn't been 'innocent' since she'd been old enough to figure out that boys were fun to kiss, but he probably wouldn't have listened to her, anyway, if she'd tried to tell him. That might not have even been what he meant by innocent, anyway. It had always seemed silly, that something you did out of love could ever make you into a bad person. Maybe Lily wasn't anybody special, but she did try to be a good person, as much as she could. She tried to help people, to be kind to them. Maybe, if what he meant by innocent was that he needed someone who hadn't hurt people, who didn't have anything dark and ugly on their soul, Lily counted for that. She'd never thought that would be the kind of thing that would make her special at all.

Things had changed, that morning. The man who had captured her, the man whose name she didn't even know, he'd started making things ready for something. Something bad. He'd kept Lily in her chains, dragged her from her cell and to some sort of balcony. He'd left her chained there while he worked, while he set up a stone table and started some kind of ritual. Some kind of long ritual, one that involved painting symbols on Lily's face, her arms, pulling up the skirt of her ragged blue dress to paint them onto her thighs, too, while she tried very hard not to squirm. That had been the only time that she'd been worried, then, that maybe he'd do something to her... but he hadn't, he'd smoothed her skirt back down after like he hadn't just had his hands on her in places that ought to make a good girl gasp and faint in shock, even if it was a nice boy doing it.

"Are you stupid, girl?" It was bothering him, she thought, that she hadn't cried. That she hadn't screamed for help yet, even when he was dragging her by the chains and binding her down on the table. "I'm going to cut you from here..." He placed his dagger, made of some kind of black stone, at the hollow of her throat, too lightly to do more than tickle. Her heart ticked a little faster, but Lily didn't twitch. "To here." He brought the knife down to her belly. "Be afraid, girl."

It was the first time he'd invited Lily to say anything at all. All she did was smile. "You won't be. I can't fight you. You might have a castle, and a knife, and know all sorts of things that I don't. But there's one thing that you don't know." He stopped, waited, distracted, long enough for Lily to tell him, "You don't know my sister."

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sparkingfire
2016-10-23 05:17 pm UTC (link)

The arrow sliced through the air with precision immediately after Lily's words reached Lana's ears, as though fate had deigned this moment for an audience, and sank into the ugly man's shoulder deep enough that he cried out in pain and stumbled back away from where Lily was chained.

It hadn't been easy for Lana to get there, not in the slightest. She had no gold to barter for information, and she was a woman in a land that put more importance on the opinions of men than strong women. She'd had nothing else to do than to work on her own stubborn will and intelligence, treating the entire situation the way she did the animals she hunted for food in the woods to feed their family. If she thought of the man like an animal, it was easy to put her tracking skills to use until they brought her here, to this castle, and the struggle that was yet to come.

Lana could handle it, though, she knew that. She was always willing to risk everything for her sister, ever since she'd had to step up to keep them both alive. When their father left and never returned, most people wrote their family off as a poor gaggle of girls who would die of starvation soon enough. They had no man to step up to the plate as head of their household, and their mother was a product of their environment. She could be a wonderful housewife, but a sole provider wasn't in her skill set. It was Lana who'd learned to hunt to provide food for them, who used what the forest had to offer in trade for other items they needed. She honed her skills until she was one of the best archers in the realm, but she kept her skills mostly a secret to help her family survive. It was unbecoming, after all, for a woman to do tasks that a man would do. Traditionally, it would have been expected that their mother remarried.

She was thankful for everything that had happened up to that point, however, because without it she wouldn't have been able to sink the arrow in its true mark. It had been a treacherous journey, plagued by dangerous woods and ended with a perilous climb up the side of the castle. She kept herself going with the reminder that her sister needed her, which was how she eventually ended up there, right there, standing on the stone rail of the balcony. She pulled the hood off of her head; she wanted this man to see her face before he died, to know in the depths of his soul that his plan failed and his life was taken by a woman.

"What she said," Lana nodded, notching another arrow into her bow and holding it steadily aimed at him. "You have until the count of three to unchain my sister or I'm releasing this arrow. Your choice."

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seeinghope
2016-10-24 11:58 pm UTC (link)

There were very few things that Lily had ever been able to believe in, in the world. The sun would rise, the sun would set, and she and her sister would always take care of each other. Maybe Lily couldn't string a bow, and she'd never be able to shoot a man, but that was alright. Lana could do that. They didn't both need to be able to shoot, and hunt. They didn't both need to be able to do things like... whatever it was that Lana had done to get up to the balcony, however she'd found Lily. Lana took care of Lily that way, and Lily took care of Lana in others. Right then, though, they needed to do things Lana's way.

Lily couldn't get out of her chains on her own any more than she'd been able to before Lana showed up, but now she didn't need to worry about it at all. There was hope, since Lana was there. That was all that Lily needed to know, except that Lana still couldn't do everything completely alone. "Lana! Be careful, he has—"

"Guards!" Too late. The man who'd captured Lily called out before she could warn her sister, voice loud and booming. Lily had known about the guards... she hadn't known about the ugly creatures that unfolded themselves from the tops of the towers, creatures she'd thought were just made of stone. Maybe they still were made of stone. Maybe it was some sort of sorcery that she and Lana had never seen before. There wasn't much magic, where they were from, enough that she'd been shocked at learning that he planned to use her for a ritual, because... what were those supposed to do? Was it actually supposed to be magic? Lily didn't know how it worked, didn't want to know how it worked. She and Lana should never have been faced with things like kidnappings and magic, but Lily firmly believed that if there was anybody in the world who could ever triumph over something like magic, it was Lana.

The guards were taking longer in coming, at least, than the winged creatures swooping down on them. Maybe Lana could take care of them first, before she had to deal with all of them at once. Maybe...

Lily pulled against her bonds, squirming even though she knew she didn't have a chance at getting free. That wasn't what she needed to do. She just needed to distract the man who'd captured her, enough that Lana had a chance. Enough that Lana only had to deal with one threat at a time. He'd dropped the knife, when Lana's arrow had hit him in the shoulder. Lily lashed out with her foot, as far as she could. She still couldn't reach him, but if she could thrash enough that he was afraid of getting close, he couldn't get past her to Lana, either.

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sparkingfire
2016-10-31 09:24 pm UTC (link)

Lana had dealt with quite the collection of wild animals in the woods when she was hunting for food for her family. Most of the time it was peaceful, and she was able to just shoot game, gather edible plants, and head home. Sometimes, however, her hunt was interrupted by a wild bear, or an angry wolf, which required her to waste arrows to chase them away. Usually her arrows stuck--but she was never attempting to kill them, just drive them away. She tended to stick to the rule that she only killed what they needed, and they had no need for a giant, dead bear.

It had, at least, given her some experience with hunting predators, so while she was a little shocked to see stone become alive, she was more determined to get Lily to safety. Everything had a weak spot, right? And she would find theirs. Effectively distracted from the man who would sacrifice Lily if he had the chance was not the position she wanted to be in, but she had no chance of saving her sister at all if she was killed by these monsters. So she aimed, and fired, her arrow flying true to hit one of the beasts right between the eyes.

Only for the arrow to bounce off ineffectually. She dove out of the way at last minute, rolling unceremoniously across the balcony as the railing she'd just been standing on exploded in a shower of rock and debris from the monster colliding with it. Some of the fly-away rocks bit at Lana's cheek, drawing blood that she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand. She took in her surroundings quickly, her blue eyes snapping between each threat as she tried to calculate a move. She couldn't take out the monsters, not with her bow. They were impermeable to arrows. The guards would be a little easier, though their armor meant that every arrow had to hit an exact mark. But the man... The man who was distracted by Lily? She could use him for leverage.

Abandoning her bow, Lana rushed up behind the man and shoved a sharp arrow point so close to his throat that a trickle of blood fell from the prick. She would use him as a human shield from the monsters and guards; as long as his life was in danger, they wouldn't come near her. And perhaps, in fear of his own life, she could persuade him to unchain Lily. Of course there was always the chance that he'd just find another sacrifice, but Lana couldn't pretend that they were as important to her as Lily was. She never wanted anything more than to keep her sister safe, even if that was a selfish goal.

"Unchain my sister or I'm sticking this so far through your throat that they'll be roasting you on the spit at the next bonfire," She hissed, teeth clenched.

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seeinghope
2016-11-06 01:21 am UTC (link)

No matter how calm Lily tried to stay, she let out a small, startled scream when Lana ran at the man holding her captive. It was dangerous, for her to do that. She was leaving herself open to... to almost anything, but of course Lana was going to do it. Lana didn't always think about what was safest for her, especially when Lily was in trouble. Lily knew it, too, knew that her sister would do anything for her, even if it put her in danger. It was nice, knowing that she was that loved, but... but at the same time, it made her worry. It made her more careful, because she knew that, whatever happened to her, Lana was going to be stepping between her and it, shielding her from everything that she could. Lily always knew, always remembered, but... sometimes, there wasn't a choice.

It wasn't usually like this, at least. It wasn't usually Lily getting snatched and not being able to do anything about it. Usually, it was someone needing help, someone being hurt. Lily wasn't a healing woman like their mother, not yet, but she wanted to be. She was practicing to be, but she wasn't, yet. Soon, she thought, and then Lana was probably going to worry about her a lot more. You couldn't always be somewhere safe, when you were trying to help someone. When you were trying to heal them. Sometimes, it was even more dangerous to move them from where they were, they could end up hurt worse if they weren't moved the right way.

This, though... Lily thought she'd rather never do this again. Even if Lana had come to save her, like she'd known she would. She watched the man who had kept her caged for days struggle, for a moment, against Lana's hold, until he felt the blood trickling down his neck. Distantly, Lily thought that she ought to get some bandages, sanitize it... but she couldn't. Not while she was strapped down onto an altar. Especially not when he wanted to kill her, to use her for things that she didn't want to think too closely about. No, she'd leave this one alone, let him take care of it himself. He probably had his own healer woman, or maybe even a real doctor, the kind that their village could never afford to have. Lily had wanted to be a real doctor, when she'd first heard about them. She'd never told anybody, because she'd known even then that it wasn't something for people like them.

He gritted his teeth in Lana's grip, raised his hand to motion everything to a stop. "Let me go, girl, if you know what's good for you." He wasn't moving to release Lily yet. He wasn't even reaching his hand toward the pocket where Lily knew that he was keeping the keys. She'd seen him put them into it, after he'd finished strapping her down. She held her tongue, though, because Lana couldn't hold him and pull the keys out of his pocket, too. She'd have to take care of him, first. However she could. However she could keep them both safe from everyone else around them, people that might not have seen the signal, or might try to stop Lana anyway.

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sparkingfire
2016-11-12 07:33 pm UTC (link)

Lana was angry. That was an understatement to end all understatements. Lana was livid, her blood boiling with loathing at the man currently in her grasp. She hated privileged men in their realm, had always hated them even when she was a little girl constantly dirty from playing outside in the dirt. She’d watched the noble men ride through their village on their horses, taking whatever they needed for this man’s castle and riding off again as they left most of the peasants to starve. She’d hated how they had no regard for the lives of others, especially the children in the villages that they were almost more likely to kill than the adults. They left them with nothing but harsh rules and empty bellies, but expecting to be worshiped as gods among people.

She’d grown up with this loathing for them, and it had only magnified the more she witnessed the effects of their harsh treatment on her sister. As much as Lana loved their mother, would protect their mother, she was a shell of what she once was and wasn’t nearly as important to her as Lily was. Her sister was everything to her; ever calculated move of Lana’s was in response to keeping her sister safe. Normally safe from the predators that tried to feed on their village; the wolves, the lions, the stray trolls and shifters. Today it was a man. A man and his army, where the odds weren’t in her favor, but when were they?

Lana kept the edge of the arrow against his neck, pressing in a little harder so that more blood trickled out. The man winced, but he kept his composure, clearly convinced that he was still in control of the situation. Even with an arrow to his neck, they were surrounded by gargoyles and knights, all of which could take a lone girl out easily. She may as well have been staring death in the face with all the chance she had to win this. But what she had that they didn’t was something much more important than riches or weapons. She had somebody she was fighting for. Sure, they were all fighting for their ruler, but it wasn’t the same type of devotion. Lana didn’t fear death because death didn’t compare to the loss of her sister.

“Let. Her. Go.” She said through clenched teeth, keeping the arrow to his neck while she slipped another out of her sheath. The one not against his neck she held steady in her hand, and slammed into his back so that it pierced through his clothes and into his skin. “I’m not going to tell you again. Unchain her.”

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seeinghope
2016-11-19 12:50 am UTC (link)

Maybe it had been easier to underestimate Lana when she was only threatening him with a single arrow, Lily thought, but whatever she did with the second arrow that she pulled free from her quiver prodded him into moving. It probably wasn't the way that Lana had expected, though. He reached into the pocket where he'd tucked the key to the manacles that held Lily to the table, gnarled fingers closing around the metal of it. Lily knew it wasn't going to be that easy... she was optimistic, but she understood people much better than she understood almost anything else. He wasn't giving up, not when he had guards on the way, and they were only two girls. Men underestimated girls, and what they could do. Lily had warned him, but he still underestimated Lana.

He drew the key out of his pocket, and then tossed it behind him, past Lana. Her hands were busy with the arrows; Lily knew she wouldn't be able to catch it, not unless she dropped them immediately. She wouldn't be able to get the key, either, unless she let go of him, risked letting him out of her sight so that she could turn around and fetch the key. He underestimated them, but he wasn't stupid. It would have been easier, if he'd been stupid, instead of smart, for Lana to trick him and get Lily out of there without anyone coming to any real harm, aside from Lily being hungry and thirsty.

"Unchain her yourself," he spat at Lana. He wasn't going to be intimidated by her, even when she had him at arrowpoint. Not when he still had guards, and magic, at his disposal, and they were just two girls. What he could do in the time that it took Lana to get the key and get back to Lily... he could be gone, Lily thought. He could go and kidnap some other girl, from some other place, one who wouldn't have a Lana. Who wouldn't have anyone to come after her and save her so that they could go home again, after. Lily didn't like killing. She couldn't do it, not even with an animal. That didn't mean that she didn't understand that, sometimes, it was what had to be done.

She shook her head, even though she wasn't sure Lana could see it. "Lana, no! Don't let him get away." Lana would do anything for her. Lily knew that. She just hoped that, this time, what she'd do for Lily would be listen, and not save her first. It was more important that Lana save all the other girls that he might hurt, in the future, if he got away. Even if it meant that Lily didn't get away at all, that didn't matter... except to Lana, of course. Lily wasn't nearly as important to anyone else.

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sparkingfire
2016-12-05 11:52 pm UTC (link)

People in their village thought that Lana was selfless, the way she worked so hard to take care of her small family, but especially in how she was with Lily. She was hard and edgy most days of her life, determined to hold the world at arm's length if she could, but she was different with Lily. She was gentle. Protective, yes, but it was just as easy for her to work to heal her sister's emotional wounds with a hug as it was for her to threaten and of the boys with an arrow to the knee for hurting her in the first place.

But they were wrong, all of them. Lana wasn't selfless. In fact, she was very, very selfish. She couldn't bare the thought of anything happening to her sister because she couldn't imagine life without her. She felt physical pain in her chest when she even thought of it, so while she wanted to protect her sister, it wasn't out of a place of selflessness. She wasn't a hero. If Lily wasn't the one captured, if it had been somebody else in her place, Lana didn't think she'd even look up. So the temptation to give this wicked man his win in return for being able to unchain Lily immediately was high, especially when it was the only currently guaranteed way to save her sister.

Her face screwed up with indecisiveness and Lily's plea. She wished above anything that she had the willpower to ignore her sister's request.

So she couldn't go after the keys, because that would let him go. And as much as she desperately wanted to kill him, with as many of his guards and creatures were on them, killing him would likely unleash their full wrath. While Lana was content with sacrificing herself for her sister's well-being, she had a sneaking suspicion that the stone monster would be just as hungry for Lily as they would be for her. Which left only one option she could think of...

Lana was tiny, but the stone railing of the balcony had been decimated when the monsters had attacked her. All it took was positioning her body the right way to cause him to lose his balance and topple over the edge. Of course he was able to grab onto the ledge, but his guards became preoccupied with saving him, and Lana could make a dive for the keys.

"I promise I'm going to take care of him," She whispered to Lily as she made fast work of her shackles. "But you need to run. Get out of here. I'll meet you at home." She pressed a kiss to Lily's forehead, already working to grab her bow and another arrow. "Go!"

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seeinghope
2016-12-10 08:08 pm UTC (link)

Lily didn't want to run. She didn't want to leave Lana to deal with all of this on her own, but she knew that there wasn't much that she could do to help her. Lana was the fighter. Lily... Lily wasn't afraid of getting hurt, but she couldn't fight. Not like Lana could. She wanted to help people, not hurt them. She'd just be in the way, if she stayed there while Lana fought, and Lana would have to worry about protecting Lily on top of everything else she had to do. On top of taking care of the man who had hurt Lily, who had probably hurt other girls before her, girls who weren't lucky enough to have a sister who would come save them.

By the time Lana had her shackles undone, Lily and made her decision. She wrapped her arms around Lana, pulled her into a hard, fast hug. "Promise you're coming home." That was the only way she could walk away. The only way she could leave. Lana had to promise that she was coming home, because she couldn't sacrifice herself for Lily. She was too important.

She let her arms slide away, pushed herself up all the way, instead, and and swung around so that she could get her feet on the ground. She hadn't really stood up, on her own, since she'd been captured. She'd been carried, or dragged in chains, hunched over and scrambling to keep up without falling on her face. They hadn't been nice about it, about getting her where she needed to be. She wasn't going to tell Lana that. She wasn't going to tell Lana any more than she had to, about what had happened while she was being held captive. Lana couldn't handle it, Lily knew that.

Pushing herself upright, onto her feet, didn't go so well. She stumbled, for a second, the blood rushing out of her head after so long of not getting to stand up straight. She braced herself against the stone table until the world stopped spinning, then she met Lana's eyes, fierce as she knew how to be. "Promise."

Lana was arming herself. She was ready. Lily had to believe that Lana was going to be okay, that she was going to get herself out of it. She had to believe that, and she had to get out of there so that Lana wasn't worrying about her when she should be worrying about saving herself. Lily took one more look at her, and then she turned and started running, ignoring the way the world seemed to spin around her. She wasn't in good shape, either, but she'd make it home. She had to make it home, because if she didn't, Lana would never forgive herself.

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