Indistinguishable From Magic

The Importance of Being Julia Wicker

First off, who was proud of Julia last night because I certainly was. That whole thing with her asking him to put it back was so awesome. And the ratings were pretty high, which is awesome since I like season 2 so far much more than season 1. I do fear they'll fall when the 100 comes back on though, I guess we'll see. Anyways I'm not sure how this turned out. I initially planned on this going a different direction but we ended up here. I was listening to Jaded by Aerosmith while writing this which I think is my favorite song of all time, especially to write to.

He had offered to take her Shade, whatever that was, and insisted that doing so would help her push past what had happened to her. She had been tempted, warry of his underlying motives, but tempted nonetheless; who wouldn't have been. She had expected to feel something when he finally did it, maybe some sort of pain from being separated from whatever part of herself comprised her Shade, but nothing had happened. Instead of feeling pain she had just felt empty, like he had taken something more from her than just her pain from that night.

She hadn't felt like herself anymore, it was almost as if some dark force within herself was finally free from whatever had been holding it back. She felt herself slowly losing control and had quickly told him to put it back in her panic of what could happen. Thankfully he had obliged and she had immediately felt herself coming back.

As she splashed water on her face, still a little shaky from the whole thing, she wondered if that is what had happened to Martin Chatwin. Had he given up his Shade in an effort to get rid of the pain from his memories of what had happened to him and inadvertently let out the dark part of himself that became the Beast. Of that she could never be sure and it wasn't like he was the most forthcoming person with information about his past, but she wasn't going to let him turn her into some evil sidekick as long as she could help it.

She had pain, a lot of it from that night and even some from before, but she wasn't going to lose herself in an effort to get rid of it. She was going to get through it on her own time, in her own way, and was going to come out a more well-rounded person on the other side, at least that's what she hoped. In reality she was lost without a clue of where to begin. She wondered if this is what Quentin had felt like after having one of his mental breakdowns, broken, lost, and unsure of where to go next. She wished he was around to talk to instead of the monster currently occupying her living room.

The Beast's words and tone of voice echoed in her head, "I'll be here if you change your mind," he had said as if he was certain she would. He wouldn't forcibly try to take whatever it was he thought she needed to get rid of, would he; of course he would, she would be an idiot to think any differently. She would have to be on her guard then if she was going to hang onto whatever part of her humanity he sought to take away.

"Julia," she heard his unmistakable voice call to her from the living room.

"What," she said once she got there.

"This Kady girl," he said and she instantly froze. "It's interesting she's so worried about you, considering your past with each other."

She stood there still stunned for a moment before asking in a tone not at all as strong as she had wanted it to be, "What did you do to her?"

"Me, I've done nothing," he said. "You on the other hand left her in quite a hurry without a word about where you were going."

"Reynard was out there, still is in case you're forgetting our deal," she said pointedly. "It was best we weren't together."

"Ah yes, it seems she wasn't aware of such a strategy," he said with a smirk. "Her level of worry is surprising, however, given your history."

"Our history is fine," she said defensively. "How do you even know she's worried?"

"Fine isn't the word I would use to describe it," he said. "As for how I know, that's not really important right now."

"If you so much as lay a finger on her our deal's off so I'd say it's pretty damn important," she said.

"Ah, Ah, Ah," he said wagging his finger. "That's not how it works I'm afraid, she wasn't part of the deal; I could snap her neck right now and you wouldn't be able to do anything to me, at least not with that blade and I doubt you'll find a suitable replacement."

She stood there for what felt like an eternity, the words "You bastard" hanging on her lips, but remained silent.

Eventually he said, "Good, I think we're clear now, away with you."

He shooed his hand in the direction of her room and almost without conscious thought she found herself making her way there. Her mind was a whirlwind as she laid face down in her bed. Kady was worried about her, that part wasn't necessarily a huge surprise though the way he said it made it seem like Kady was trying to find her which was admittedly a possibility she hadn't considered. If she wasn't currently in the company of such a crazy being she may even have tried to find her and tell her she was alright, but that wasn't a possibility now.

No, she would have to continue to keep her distance in case the Beast got any more brilliant ideas of how to fuck with her through Kady. She hadn't anticipated this and she mentally kicked herself for not seeing how little power she actually had. He could use Kady as leverage to get her to do anything he wanted and she couldn't do anything to him with the tools she currently had. He could attempt to let that dark part inside of her out again and she might not be able to stop it. She could lose herself. She buried her head in her pillow and tried not to think about it.

As he heard Julia shuffling around restlessly in her room the Beast couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. People were so weak and thus so malleable once you found out their weaknesses. It had taken only a little time and research while Julia busied herself in the bathroom to investigate the situation between Julia and this Kady. Admittedly he hadn't been sure his threat would work, maybe their relationship wasn't as close as it seemed, but no he had been right as usual and watching someone like Julia flounder was a distinct pleasure he hadn't indulged in in quite some time. She would be his before long now no matter how strong willed she was, because if there was one thing he had learned in all his research it was that Julia Wicker would do anything to protect Kady Orloff-Diaz and that was exactly what he was counting on.

So I hope I didn't hurt anyone too bad. Let's be honest here though Kady is Julia's weakness and the Beast would definitely see that and try to use it to his advantage. I hope this wasn't too all over the place.