paixaorpg | Lovely Little Lies [completed]

Entry tags:

Lovely Little Lies [completed]

Character(s): Marluxia and Nina Tucker
Content: Experiment preparation time! And a little puppetry on the side.
Setting: The world will never know
Time: Question mark?
Warnings: Marluxia's a creepy bastard.

Marluxia had done little to prepare. It was unlikely that he'd use any of the vials and devices around the room, and so he'd left them where they were. Words could do so much better, after all, and if any of the subjects decided to become violent, he could easily handle them.

Instead, he merely sat where he was, idly reading a book. After a few minutes, he glanced up and lazily waved his hand, sending some dusks off to fetch his assignment before returning to the book.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nina couldn't put up much of a fight against the strange creatures that came to fetch her. She had shrieked and kicked and squirmed as best she could, but a four-year-old was not built to fight off such things. As such, she was delivered easily, cowering and sniffling, a terrified little girl who had no idea what was going on.

She didn't say anything besides little, barely-voiced whimpers, and her first instinct was to crawl into a corner and hide there, in the shadows.

Marluxia paged through the book, looking for the start of the next chapter while the dusks brought the girl in. He placed a bookmark where he had left off, setting it off to the side before he got up.

Calmly, Marluxia looked over at the girl before a smile slowly spread across his face. She was young, impressionable; this would be easy enough. He ordered the dusks away and they shut the door on their way out.

Nina became aware of someone else in the room only after she had squirmed into a corner. And now that she saw him, this man with a smile she didn't like, one who towered over her in a black cloak like the one Demyx had--and Demyx had taken her here--she whimpered again and tried to push her way through the wall, with no success.

All the time she watched him warily.

Marluxia caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he began to walk over to the corner, looking down at her. "A corner isn't the best place to go if you want to hide," he told her. "You'll only end up trapped."

He sighed and shook his head. "And there's no reason to be afraid. I can only imagine just what terrible lies everyone must have put in your head." Marluxia crouched down to the girl's level. "As long as you're with me, you're safe."

Somehow his words didn't match what she had imagined he would say--it seemed the intimidating should not say kind things. And so she blinked at him, uncertain. "Bu-but..." she began, her voice very tiny. "He took me away and put me here and he had that thing on like you do."

Briefly, Marluxia wondered just what was so special about this little girl. She seemed normal enough, no particular reason why she should be here. Then again, appearances could be deceiving.

"This coat?" he asked her, tugging at a sleeve. "Of course I'm wearing it. It's a uniform after all. But does a uniform really make someone a bad person?"

"But..." And she seemed to smell the air like a dog, and then waited. "He says you smell funny. Like Demyx. You don't smell like anything."

She nodded as if to make the knowledge more firm in her mind. "Nothing and flowers."

Alexander was far away, but they were still connected. And then she addressed his question. "You wouldn't wear it if it was bad because... It's bad!"

Marluxia paused and the smile faded from his face for a moment. So that was it. The Nobody wasn't sure who "he" was, but it was obvious enough that this little girl wasn't just a little girl. Nothing and flowers indeed... He wondered what other talents the child had.

"Is it? I've always thought that people were good and bad. It's just a piece of clothing after all. Are all people who wear braids bad? If that's true, then you must be a terrible person for having two."

"I'm not bad!" Nina was quick to reply, shaking her head furiously. "Braids aren't bad, they aren't!"

But then, if someone could have braids and be bad, someone could wear that coat and be good, right? Maybe. She still wasn't sure, though. She still sat in her corner, but with more open curiosity and confusion. Demyx hadn't seemed bad at first, but then he had taken her here, away from Alexander and everyone.

"Did you get taken here too?" she ventured.

He watched with satisfaction as she thought over his words. Really, it was almost too simple.

"I'm here to protect you," he replied, skirting around the question. "As I told you before, as long as you're with me, you're safe."

Marluxia paused and then looked away, sighing almost sadly. "I only wish I could say the same about others."

He hadn't quite answered her question, and his words weren't ones she entirely understood. And so she could only watch him with a child's confusion and fear, hoping he would elaborate. She was still hidden in her corner, taking comfort in shadows, but her attention was on the man in front of her, and her easily-read face showed she was willing to give him a chance.

She gave many people a chance, after all.

He glanced at her face, seeing exactly what he wanted to see. "You're a smart girl," he began. "I can tell that just by looking at you. So... You must know that there are bad people out there. Terrible people. People out there just to hurt you."

He allowed his words to sink in before continuing. "You wouldn't believe how many of those people are in Paixao. It's... very sad, really. And sometimes... Sometimes it's hard to tell just who the bad guys are."

That she understood--and she appreciated being thought of as smart. Nina nodded, remembering her conversations on the journal. "Demyx was really nice! Or I thought he was really nice."

And then he had taken her here. So maybe he wasn't nice after all. And if there was one, maybe there were more in Paixao, wanting to hurt her. The idea was a terrifying one, that she might be surrounded by people who seemed nice but were bad.

And how could she tell the difference?

"Exactly."

He smiled again, all comfort and trustworthiness and kindness, and he held out his hand to her. "But I don't want to see such a smart girl end up in the hands of those evil people. I can help you find out who the good guys are. But you will have to trust me."

Nina watched him. He seemed to be telling the truth, and he looked nice enough. And why would he tell her about all the bad people if he was a bad person? He would want to help them, right?

She slinked out of her corner, still wary of her surroundings. When nothing appeared to bite her or knock her over or throw her into a portal of darkness, she took the man's hand.

And nothing happened to her still.

Marluxia merely nodded and stood, picking the girl up and setting her down so she was sitting on the table. "Now, unfortunately, I don't have very much time left to stay with you, but how about I tell you a story in the meantime?" he asked her, moving to sit back down where he was when she had first entered.

Nina smiled a bit when nothing happened just like he said. And though she stiffened a bit when he lifted her up, she perked right up at the mention of a story.

"A story!" she chirped, smiling. "A good story?"

But then the meaning of the first bit of his words struck. "Will... Will I go back to that dark place?"

"Oh, it's one of my favorites," he told her, ignoring her second question completely. Instead he began the tale.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. She was a kind, sweet girl who everyone loved. Well... almost everyone.

In a neighboring kingdom, there lived an evil king who was set on ruling every kingdom that he could, which included the princess's. In fact, she was the only person who stood in his way. He sent his minions after her, attempting to lure her away from her friends so he could kill her and take what she had.

But the princess was a smart girl, and she didn't believe the king's minions' lies, and quickly figured out what was going on. Immediately she told her friends, and they rushed to her aid. And then, in a brilliant display of courage, the princess lead her friends into battle. 'You won't lie to anyone anymore!' she cried, and together they defeated him, making the world safe for everyone to live."

Nina smiled a bit. "That's a good story," she said. And all Nina had to do was tell her friends and they would help her, right? But did they even know who she was? And as for the minions...

"How did the princess know who the bad guys were?" Nina asked, her eyes filled with curiosity. It seemed that in Paixao there were so many people who weren't how they seemed to be that it was hard for Nina to tell who was good and who was bad.

But maybe he knew? He said he did, didn't he?

"Simple. The bad guys were all liars," he said to her. "They said terrible things to her about her friends and wouldn't even listen when she attempted to tell her the truth."

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he continued, "And, of course, someone had taught her how to tell right from wrong."

Nina nodded. It made perfect sense--anyone who lied about her friends had to be bad, especially when she could tell them differently and they wouldn't listen. As for knowing right from wrong, her father had taught her that. But he wasn't here right now, and she needed to learn more.

"Who taught the princess?" Nina asked, eyes wide.

"Her family and her friends," Marluxia replied, acting as though he were astounded she hadn't figured it out sooner. "And, of course, she listened to every single word."

"But my daddy's not here," Nina said. "And--and I thought Demyx was my friend, but..."

But Alexander had said he smelled funny, right? But Marluxia smelled the same, so maybe that didn't mean someone was bad. So who was she supposed to believe? She frowned.

"Everything's different here."

"Of course it is. The world is a very, very terrifying place. Everyone scrambles to become better than one another, and those who are left behind are trampled. That, unfortunately, is just how things are. But you're learning that early, aren't you? I can see you won't be one of the ones left behind."

Marluxia stood and walked closer to her. "Just use that mind of yours. You'll know who to trust."

Nina considered his words. It didn't seem like things were all that scary, but that dark place had been really scary, and being sent through the dark opening was scary, and some things her father made had been scary. And her father had always said to be careful of strangers, because not all of them were nice.

So maybe that was how it was here? She just wished her father were here to help tell her who was who. But this man was here, right? And he was helping her. A bad guy wouldn't be telling her all this because she would have known he was bad then. She could trust this man, right?

"Then who's good and bad here?" she asked, looking to the man in front of her for guidance.

Such a good little girl... And just as gullible as anyone else her age, too. Even knowing that someone "kind" had completely betrayed her, she still trusted him. It would almost be sad if his state of being allowed him to feel such a thing. But no one would suspect someone so innocent of doing a thing, of telling the "bad guys" just what was going on.

The princess just wanted to defeat the evil king, and he, of course, would be the one who would help her. Just who the evil king was, however, only Marluxia knew.

"Well, I don't know everyone in the city just yet, but I can tell you a few things. Of course, those who want to hurt you are bad. And sometimes those who pretend to be your friend are bad, because they're just like those who want to hurt you. There are murderers around, after all." He looked thoughtful a moment. "Maybe this isn't something that a little girl like you should decide. How about you run the people you meet by me? I have a little more experience than you do, and I should be able to spot any bad guys."

"M-murderers?" Nina echoed. That was someone who killed someone else, right? And while she had heard of them when adults talked about it, it was never something she'd really thought about. Were there people who wanted to hurt her like that? She shivered and reached out to cling to Marluxia's sleeve.

"I'll tell you and then you can help me tell who's bad!" she said, nodding furiously once more.

And now, quieter, "Are the other people with that coat bad?"

Marluxia pat her head, giving her a reassuring smile. "That's a good girl. Just let me know, and I'll make sure no one bad will ever hurt you."

Now for the hard question. "Some are. Some only sometimes," he answered, deciding that being vague would be safest. "Like if you make them angry. It all depends."

"Well I won't make them angry!" Nina decided, still clinging to the arm that wasn't patting her on the head. "What about other people? Are they bad?"

Because some of them might have been, and if Marluxia knew, then he would tell her. And then she'd be safe, because he said she would be.

"Why'd I get taken away?"

"Yes," Marluxia nodded. "There are a few good people in the city, but sadly the majority of them are quite the deceivers. And some don't even bother to hide just how terrible they really are. It's very sad."

He would allow the next one to have the girl to explain the next question.

He summoned the dusks back into the room and frowned. "It looks as though we've run out of time," he said to her.

She cried out as the creatures--who smelled like nothing and only that--reappeared. She clung with more desperation to Marluxia's sleeve, making her best attempt to climb up his arm and away from the things.

"No, I don't wanna go back," she whimpered, even as the things got closer and grabbed her, her grip nothing compared to their strength.

Once she was in their grip, she shrieked and sobbed and tried to pull away to no avail. This only caused her to cry more, until she was swallowed up in another portal and returned to her cell.

Marluxia waited until she disappeared before checking his sleeve for any tears. No, it seemed fine--which was good, as he was certain the coats were made of more durable stuff than that.

That had gone quite well, he decided. And now he had himself an innocent little spy to tell him whatever he wanted to know, whether she realized it or not.

Her parents really should have taught her better when it came to listening to strangers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lovely Little Lies [completed]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject