paixaorpg | An Unexpected Encounter [Active]

Entry tags:

An Unexpected Encounter [Active]

Character(s): Kuja and Yorda
Content: Yorda meets a resident of City Hall.
Setting: City Hall, the study
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: None.

She'd been hiding herself away, keeping to herself since Ansem had brought her here, and thus had yet to see another living soul besides the man who had snatched her away. Aside from Ansem's occasional visits, he'd allowed Yorda to roam about as she wished, so long as she kept to her word not to leave. But why would she? Yorda knew that if she left, Ansem would go after Mao, and she couldn't bear the thought of him being snatched away. So she stayed, and she obeyed, although she spoke rarely.

Today, Yorda stepped out of her room, bare feet almost hidden by a white Victorian dress - Ansem, for all his cruelties, had been a gracious enough host, and had provided her with anything she needed. The girl headed to the study - aside from drawing, she mostly read in order to pass the time, and so had learned quite a lot about Paixao's history, art and culture. As fascinating as she found it all, however, nothing could dull the knowledge that she was nothing more than a caged bird, as she had been back on her island.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of long silver hair, and the girl paused in the door way with a soft gasp; she had never seen anyone other than Ansem in here before. "Who are you?" she ventured, her voice soft and tremulous. Was this person a prisoner, too?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Engrossed in a set of what appeared to be building plans, Kuja was tilting his head to one way, and then the other. A hand was perched under his chin as he looked everything up and down -- wondering if any changes should be made... when he was quite rudely interrupted by the sound of a girl's voice.

The genome looked briefly appalled, as she questioned him. "Who am I?" his tone was rather indignant -- what right did this girl have to come into this place and ask him such a thing? For that matter --

"What are you doing here, child?" he looked down his nose, still weighing out how exactly to deal with this... unexpected guest.

Whoever this person was, he seemed offended at Yorda not knowing who he was. The glowing girl shrank back a little, hovering nervously in the doorway, but kept her gaze on his face. "I am Yorda," she told him, trying to placate him a little; the last thing she needed was to be frightened again in this strange place. Just looking out the windows at all the thorns terrified her, so she had resigned herself to pulling the curtains over the windows in the quarters Ansem had given her, and simply trying to avoid looking at the rest of them.

At the strange man's other question, the princess lowered her eyes. "I was brought here by Ansem," she said sadly, the words choking her a little as they escaped. Once again, she was a prisoner, and if she wanted Mao to remain safe, she had to stay with him.

Ansem! Kuja twitched at the mention of his name, he distinctly remembered telling that man to be careful bringing in... pests. "Oh he did, did he? Well you should do as any good little girl would, and have him take you back where you came from, straight away." The words, 'and out of my sight while I'm busy' came to mind, but he kept them in check for now.

For one reason or another, Kuja certainly didn't seem very fond of Ansem. Of course, Yorda saw no compelling reasons as to why anyone would, given the circumstances, but as Kuja - odd as it seemed - appeared to be a resident of this strange, desolate place, the thought surprised Yorda a little. She quietly shook her head, remembering the threat Ansem had made. "He will not take me back," she informed the strange man, shaking her head a little. Ansem would not let her go, not willingly. And who knew she was here? Who could save her when she couldn't save herself? Someone had to realize she was missing, but what if they thought she'd simply disappeared, like some of the other residents?

"Tch," was the sound that left his lips. Honestly, if Ansem was planning on keeping something like this in the castle, Kuja was under the impression that at the very least, he should be keeping track of its movements. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised," he spoke mainly to himself, rolling his eyes dramatically as he did so. "However, if you are to be staying here for an undetermined amount of time, you should do well to be careful. Someone like you is liable to get eaten, should you take a wrong turn~" he added, and although it was a friendly warning, he couldn't help but take in the slighest bit of amusement of the thought, making his tone more airy in the process.

Yorda, innocent to Kuja's ways, only gasped at the thought of being eaten. "Why would that happen?" she asked the man, practically hanging on his every word in her apprehension. As off-putting as Kuja's attitude was - perhaps he was only teasing her ? - Yorda was already on edge due to the strange experiments Ansem had been subjecting her to, as well as the questioning he made her go through nearly every day (and the princess tried to ignore the tired sort of strain that was aching in her chest from the magical barriers Ansem had been making her dispel). "What should I do?" she pleaded, looking at Kuja with large, frightened eyes.

"Well there are certainly some dangerous creatures running about. Surely you know that at least," in other words, he was working to find out just how extremely clueness this specimin seemed to be. So far, he was less than impressed.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you should do," he lifted his arms and shook his head; offering a solemn sway of his head from side to side. "Perhaps you should contact your little friends. Have them come and get you right away. You do want to go back to them, don't you?" And out of my hair.

At that, Yorda lowered her eyes, remembering the Heartless which had frightened her so. "I know about that," she answered. She looked back at Kuja, shaking her head. "I have no way to contact them." And even if she did, Ansem would only take Mao instead. She was trapped; there was nothing she could do.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, then remembered Genie's words about the way to making friends being in people's stomachs - or was that the way to a person's heart? But she did not understand why she should want someone else's heart. Even so, the princess was lonely and frightened, and really, anything was better than Ansem's company. "Would you like some tea and cake?" she asked him, looking earnestly at the strange man.

While he didn't appreciate the questioning in the least; he also didn't feel inclinced to give up the information that he was a resident of city hall. Instead, he opted to give vague answers, so as not to reveal his position. "I am going over plans for some of the buildings in this city. Of course, there is no better place to find such things than City Hall itself," he answered, eyes returning to their spot on the blueprints.

He cocked an eyebrow at her next suggestion, and looked over at her from the corner of his eye. Hm. Well, that wouldn't be entirely unwelcome. Why not use the girl as a servant for the time being? "Yes, why don't you mak yourself useful and fetch some, will you?" he didn't particularly care where exactly she retrieved it; either way it would mean peace and quiet if she was gone.

The glowing girl wanted to ask Kuja what he was planning, but at the not-quite request, she brightened, happy to be useful to someone other than that horrible man. Immediately, she nodded and went off, walking quickly towards the kitchen, where she busied herself with baking. She kept her concentration on her self-inflicted task, humming a song she'd learned from Genie - something about a cabaret (and oh, the explanations Genie had launched into when she'd asked what that was!), she thought - to herself. She tried not to think about the windows or the thorns lurking outside as she busied herself with preparing the frosting.

And so it was that Yorda eventually came back into the room, bearing a tea tray and carefully-frosted cakes. She laid it out at the table and sat down to pour the tea for the both of them. That was how she'd been taught to do it, after all.

With her out of the way, Kuja resumed his business and engrossed himself in the prints in front of him. He wore a bit of a satisfied smirk the whole time as he mulled it over; and found himself lost in his work until the girl returned.

He turned as she re-entered, slightly surprised that she would actually comply with serving him, though he wasn't about to dismiss the possibility of a servant. In fact, he was beginning to think such services might actually be of use to him. Being waited on was something he was accustomed to, and as he returned his attention to his plans again, he lifted one of the cups to his lips and sipped it gingerly as he continued.

The fact that he didn't complain seemed to be as good as praise.

Yorda remained silent for the moment as she sipped her own tea, too nervous due to the situation to ask her usual questions. Usually, she would be positively brimming with them, but given the stress and pain of her terrible situation, her natural curiosity had dimmed. The fact that the odd man wasn't complaining about the tea seemed almost a boon, given his attitude, so she didn't even ask whether he was enjoying it.

He looked like no one she had ever seen before. Mao and Urd both had white hair, but she had never seen silver before. The glowing girl refrained from staring at him, only allowing for brief glances at his face, but she couldn't help but wonder where he was from.

As he ignored her, and tried to bury himself further in his work -- it became increasingly difficult as she continued to glance at him. Well, not that she could be blamed of course, his perfection was clearly something to be admired -- and from the looks of her, it was his guess that she didn't often get to experience the finer things in life. Like sharing this space with someone as spectacular as he.

"Well?" he asked, with a hint of impatience, "What is it? Do you have something to say?"

"What is your name?" the girl asked timidly, at last. She knew he wasn't a prisoner - and what prisoner would act as he did, really? But at the least, she wanted to know what he was called. Yorda nibbled delicately at a cake, wondering if perhaps she hadn't made enough. She wanted to know who this odd man was and why he wasn't afraid in a place such as this. But she didn't want to pry, especially since he seemed annoyed enough with her as it was (and she'd already seen what Hades' reaction had been to her many questions; she didn't want to see what would happen here).

He sighed; though it seemed less annoyed than previously. He doubted this girl posed much of a threat; especially if someone like Ansem was able to get his grubby hands on her. Though, he had to admit, despite her -- glowing nature, she didn't exactly seem that bright, either.

"Kuja. And we've already visited the fact that you are Yorda, haven't we? Now we have our introductions out of the way."

For her part, Yorda merely nodded and took a sip of her tea, hesitant to ask very much due to the man's obvious impatience. He didn't seem too annoyed, however, and the fact that Yorda lived with Mao meant she'd grown accustomed to people being brusque, so after a few more moments of awkward silence, she tried again.

"Where are you from?"

"A place where my talents are wasted far less than they are in a dreary place such as this," he stated matter-of-factly, with a toss of his hair to the side. At least upon Gaia he could exercise his right to toy with the lives of those beneath him... here it was much harder, what with all the heroes just crawling out of the woodwork. "Where we aren't caged as animals in someone's -- ugh -- zoo. Honestly, it's rather degrading for someone such as myself to be found here."

Usually, Yorda would wonder why Kuja thought Paixao dreary. However, given her current circumstances, it wasn't hard to see why he would feel that way. She merely nodded, listening to him patiently as she sipped her tea. "I do not like being imprisoned, either," she told him at last, looking out the window at the thorns, which frightened her. She had liked the city before; she'd even been willing to consider Paixao her home. But now? Now, she didn't know what to think. But surely this place was better than the death which seemed to be waiting for her back in her own world.

"If you don't like it, you should never become one," he said it so simply, so matter-of-factly -- as though it was really that easy. It seemed like a haughty sort of confidence for someone trapped in the world of Paixao -- but the hypocrisy of the words didn't seem to reach him for now.

"There are those that were meant to be pawns of others... and those are clearly meant for better things, a far higher purpose."

Yorda blinked at Kuja, contemplating. For some reason, his words sparked a realization in her - she could have fought harder, but she hadn't wanted to hurt anyone. "I did not want to cause him harm," she told him, slowly, her hand curling into a fist. She knew she might have been able to, but she simply hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. She looked back up at the strange man, taking another sip. "I will fight back when the others are no longer in danger," she decided. Truthfully, had Ansem not threatened Mao, she would have fled as soon as his back had been turned.

"And why wouldn't you? Clearly he wasn't intending on giving you the same courtesy," it was as simple as that, Yorda. "You simply can't live your life entirely for the well-being of others, that's just foolish." Foolish -- and so... Zidane-like. "You'll be trampled in their wake; it's a dog eat dog world, surely you've come to realize that by now, haven't you?" He looked down his nose at the girl.

"I do not wish to hurt anyone," Yorda explained, folding her hands in her lap. But what Kuja was telling her made sense; she couldn't simply allow this to happen again if she ever got out. But what if she hurt someone? The princess didn't wish anyone to come to harm to begin with. "I wish to help others," she told the man, looking him directly in the eye, "but I wish to live for myself, as well." Even so, she liked looking after other people. She'd grown to enjoy cooking for her friends and loved ones and taking care of them.

Kuja scoffed, taking another sip of his tea, and allowing the silence to fall over them for a short while before he spoke again. "You don't seem to understand, given the situation that you're in, is it not painfully obvious that there are those that will not allow you to live for yourself? If you continue this... ridiculousness of not defending yourself for the sake of their well-being, you're doomed to fail every time. And not only failing yourself, might I add. When you have others that you wish to protect, and you cannot, no -- will not protect yourself... well -- surely you see how things are bound to wind up?" he tilted his head, a sardonic grin spreading across his lips.

Yorda didn't like the look on Kuja's face, but he did have a point. "You are right," she told him at last, staring listlessly at her cup. Her loved ones must surely be worried by now, and though Ansem generally allowed her to do as she liked here, she was still a prisoner. But how was she to get out without endangering Mao? And what did Ansem even want with her to begin with?

The princess remained silent for the moment, staring contemplatively into her teacup. There had to be something she could do.

"Of course I am," he answered nonchalantly. It was a small miracle that she was beginning to see things his way -- she certainly seemed like one of those... do-good types. "No one has ever gained anything by allowing themselves to be a doormat to others. The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

An Unexpected Encounter [Active]

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

sorry this took so long, argh!!

No problem! <3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject