A/N: As always,
Enjoy.
Disclaimer
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: RICHARD'S PLAN
Becca woke up to someone calling her name. A sound that vibrated through her head over and over, sincerely making her wish they would stop.
"Come on, wake up, Becca." The voice called. "I haven't got all day here."
Becca slowly shook her head a little, hoping to clear it a bit more. With equally slow moments she managed to get to her feet, although her stance was unbalanced and she nearly fell again if she hadn't managed to collapse instead onto the small cot just behind her.
"A little unsteady, are we?" The voice ask.
Becca turned to see Richard standing before her, his shape obscured by several large, green lines.
Getting back to her feet, Becca staggered forward, reaching out a hand which she hoped he would take and help steady her.
"I wouldn't do that." Came the warning just before her hand made contact with one of the green lines.
With a yelp of pain she fell backwards, landing in the dirt that comprised the floor under her.
"Well, can't say I didn't warn you." Richard muttered, looking down at her.
Becca placed a hand to her head, trying to stop the throbbing which had started up again. "Richard?" She moaned. "Where am I?"
"No need to worry, dear sister." Came the reply. "You're perfectly safe for now."
"Now?" Becca ask, looking up. Her vision coming more into focus, she took in her surroundings.
Seated still on the dirt floor, Becca realized that the lines she had seen before were actually bars, each set about four inches apart and forming four walls around her as well the ceiling.
Quickly her gaze shifted to Richard. "Richard? What are you doing? Why I am in a cage?"
"I explained that already." He replied. "I'm keeping you safe."
"Safe?" Becca stated, struggling up to her feet. "Safe from what?"
Inadvertently Becca reached out again, the tips of her fingers making contact with on of the bars before she snatched it back with a small cry of pain.
"Do try not to touch the bars, Becca." Richard advised her in a tone of someone trying to get a point across to someone they were pretty sure could never grasp the idea, no matter how hard they tried. "They're wards, you see. Set up to respond to contact with pure magic. A response, as you've seen twice now, is none too pleasant."
"I don't understand? Why are you doing this?"
"Because, Becca, I have need of your help."
"But I have been helping you. Of my own free will. There's no need to imprison me."
Richard walked across the front of the cage, crouching down at one of the corners as he stared at her through the pale green bars. "Yes, but you see, Becca, what little you've managed to do for me so far isn't really what I need of you."
Becca stared back at him.
"Power is all well and good, Becca, but for what I have planned I need more than I have." The man pointed a thin finger at her. "I need yours."
Becca pulled back slightly. "You.......you want my power?"
The man stood up, clapping his hands together. "You see!" He stated with a smile. "You're catching on now."
"But....but I would have helped you if you had asked, Richard." Becca stated. "I would have given you.........."
The man started pacing outside the front of the cage, getting agitated again. "I don't need you help, Becca." He stated in exasperation. "And I don't need you 'lending' me your power."
Becca stared up at him. "Then what is it you want from me?" She asked in a small, frightened sounding voice.
"I don't want you at all." He stated. "It's your power that I need, not you. Currently, you're nothing more to me than a storage place for that power until I have my plans in place. Then, when everything is ready, I'll take what I need from you."
Becca slowly shook her head. "But I would have given you want you wanted. I'd have given you my magic."
Richard stared down at her with a look of pure contempt. "Stupid girl." He stated past a disdainful sneer. "Don't you get it yet? It's your power that I need. Not just your magic, but the very thing that makes you what you are. And once I've taken what I want from you," he added with a none-the-less condescending smile, "I'm afraid there won't be much left of you."
Becca stared back at him with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
"Still not getting it yet?" Richard asked. "Well, I suppose a I can spare the time for a brief demonstration. A little taste of what's to come." He added with a wink. "As well as make sure you won't be leaving before I'm done with you."
Becca tried to pull back, to find some sort of shelter as she watched the other 'Power' raise his hand. But the bolt of light shot through the glowing bars and hit her directly in the chest, freezing her where she sat on the floor, unable to move.
Several agonizing seconds went by, or what could have been hours to her, before she could stand the pain no longer and a cry broke forth from her lips, filling the cellar they were in.
With the cry the line of white light broke between them, leaving her to collapse to the floor once again. It was the thirteen all over again, but even worse. When the thirteen drew power from her, the feeling it left her with was utter exhaustion. This time she had been left feeling as though some part of her had been physically ripped away from her.
From the other side of the bars Richard gave a long, drawn out sigh of satisfaction. "There is nothing in this realm or ours that even comes close to that feeling." He stated with pure pleasure. He leaned closer to the bars and leered at the girl behind them. "And if that is what taking just part of your power feels like, I positively hunger for what it feels like to drain all of it from you. But," he added, pulling back and adopting a more thoughtful expression, "I suppose it's best not to damage you too much before I really need you. It wouldn't due to have to try and find another source to draw off of before I reach my goals."
"Goals?" Becca muttered, pulling herself up slightly to stare up at him. "What 'goals'?"
Richard crouched next to the bars. "Now what interest would those be to you, dear sister?"
Becca stared up at him now through narrowed eyes. "I'd like to know what evil my power will be used for this time." She all but spat at him.
The other 'Power' gave a soft laugh. "I see. Professional curiosity then?" He asked. "And I suppose since it will be in large your contribution that helps me accomplish my goals, you have a vague right to know what your resources will be used for." He went on, resting his arms on his knees as he folded his hands in from of him. "You see, Becca." He stated. "We aren't the only ones in this realm of our kind. We aren't the only ones who were ever called. There are others." He said, his expression hardening along with his tone as he spoke. "Older ones. Ones' whose power is more than you ever even dreamed of. Ones who have more power then they even dare use for fear of exposing themselves.
So they sit in their holes in the ground and they do nothing. They could be gods. And yet they play themselves off as ordinary wizards and witches, living in this realm when they should be ruling it. They're pathetic!"
"But.....but it's not yours to take." Becca stammered out. "That power. It doesn't belong to you."
Richard got up and walked to the stone wall behind him. "It belongs to whoever has the will and the vision to use it!" He stated in a deceptively calm voice. But he suddenly slammed his hand into the wall before turning back to her. "And if the ones who have it won't use it, then they don't deserve it." He shouted at her.
"It was given to us for a reason!" He went on, his anger building like a wave. "To use it to better our circumstances. If the magic users of this realm are so stupid and short sighted to call beings like us to their realm, and then think that we are going to be content to serve them, they deserve what they get.
They've used our power for eons. Sucking off of it. Despoiling it. And still it isn't enough for them. They want more. Always more! So they call us, bring us here to this realm, where we are bombarded with sights and sounds and set upon by physical limitations. And to add insult to this injury, they think we would come here and serve them!?
Fools! Idiots! We do not serve! We rule! And it is far past time these grateful-less children...these thieves of our powers learned who their betters are. Look at your own 'master', Becca. If ever there was a king of fools, Heudros was it. He had you. Your loyalty, your service, and your power. All at his disposal. And what does he do with it? He lets it slip through his fingers.
Well, I am not such a fool, little sister." He added, getting to his feet again. "I have you. And I intend to keep you right here, safe and sound, until I need you. And then you will serve me one last time. Giving me your power so I can add it to my own. Then we shall see if the elder thinks he can stand against me."
Richard gave a soft laugh as he pulled back from the bars, leaving Becca with a disbelieving expression on her face.
"Do enjoy your new accommodations, dear sister." He called over his shoulder as he started up the stairs behind him.
Becca listened to Richard's steps as he climbed the stairs, pulling back slightly at the sound as he slammed the door at the top closed after him.
After a few moments she finally pulled herself back to her feet and backed over to the small cot, where she sat down before taking a good look about her new surroundings.
Of which there wasn't much to speak of.
The cell she sat in wasn't much more than fifteen feet wide from one side to the other in any direction, and the only furniture she had been given was the cot, which she noted wasn't very comfortable.
The floor at first seemed to be loose dirt. But as she dug into it with her heel she stuck a more solid surface that didn't allow her to dig any further. Most likely a heavy clay.
Sighing to herself, Becca turned to the back of the cage, noting a small window set high in a wall just beyond the glowing bars of her cell. From the angle she had to look out, all it afforded her was a view of the sky, which showed her it was now late in the day and the light was rapidly fading.
A sound suddenly caught her attention, and as she turned towards it, Becca noticed for the first time that her cage apparently wasn't the only one in the cellar. Next to her own was another cage of similar size, which used the bars from the side of her own cage to form the wall between them. Curiously, Becca pulled herself up to her feet and walked over the bars, wondering what was in the other cell. Standing near the bars, but careful to stay clear of them, She could see that this cell was actually comprised only of three walls made up of the magical glowing bars. The fourth wall was one of solid stone. A wall where, Becca was surprised to see, a figure was standing, chained to the wall behind it. The figure didn't so much as move as she stared at it. Leaving her wondering if the person was even still alive.
"Hello?" She called out. "Can you hear me?"
The voice that answered her, even though rasped and cracking and barely understandable, caused her to pull back slightly.
"Stupid girl." It croaked. "Stupid, stupid girl."
The figure slowly raised it's head and Becca let out a small gasp as she fell back away from the green bars between the cells, unable to believe the face of the man staring back at her.
"Heudros!"
Q&A
MasterLupin
:I feel that a lot was reviled in this chapter but being male, I missed 90% of the subtlety. I will need to read the last several chapter again to pick it up.
Actually, there was a lot in that chapter, but I feel fairly safe in saying that most of what was there was up front. A few things I am keeping under wraps, since it does, in fact make up the majority of the story. For instance, what Richard's final goal in all this is.
All reviews are as of 06/21/2009.
And remember;
A Happy Father's Day to all my dad readers out there, and especially to my own father. Much love from your youngest.
: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowing intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story Family Ties as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.A/N: As always,
Enjoy.
Disclaimer
: All characters of the Harry Potter series (hereafter known as 'legal property') are the sole ownership of J.K. Rowling (hereafter known as 'owner of said legal property'). No infringement on any copyright of owner of said legal property of the legal property is knowing intended. Published by author (hereafter known as 'other') for entertainment purposes only. No monetary or personal gain was knowingly made by other with the publication of this story, which was based on ideas and characters created by owner of said legal property as they pertain to legal property. No plagiarism of legal property or of any ideas of the owner of said legal property was knowingly intended by other. This statement is fully transferable and is legally held binding for all chapters of the story Family Ties as they are presented under different chapter headings and titles for individual chapters.CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: RICHARD'S PLAN
Becca woke up to someone calling her name. A sound that vibrated through her head over and over, sincerely making her wish they would stop.
"Come on, wake up, Becca." The voice called. "I haven't got all day here."
Becca slowly shook her head a little, hoping to clear it a bit more. With equally slow moments she managed to get to her feet, although her stance was unbalanced and she nearly fell again if she hadn't managed to collapse instead onto the small cot just behind her.
"A little unsteady, are we?" The voice ask.
Becca turned to see Richard standing before her, his shape obscured by several large, green lines.
Getting back to her feet, Becca staggered forward, reaching out a hand which she hoped he would take and help steady her.
"I wouldn't do that." Came the warning just before her hand made contact with one of the green lines.
With a yelp of pain she fell backwards, landing in the dirt that comprised the floor under her.
"Well, can't say I didn't warn you." Richard muttered, looking down at her.
Becca placed a hand to her head, trying to stop the throbbing which had started up again. "Richard?" She moaned. "Where am I?"
"No need to worry, dear sister." Came the reply. "You're perfectly safe for now."
"Now?" Becca ask, looking up. Her vision coming more into focus, she took in her surroundings.
Seated still on the dirt floor, Becca realized that the lines she had seen before were actually bars, each set about four inches apart and forming four walls around her as well the ceiling.
Quickly her gaze shifted to Richard. "Richard? What are you doing? Why I am in a cage?"
"I explained that already." He replied. "I'm keeping you safe."
"Safe?" Becca stated, struggling up to her feet. "Safe from what?"
Inadvertently Becca reached out again, the tips of her fingers making contact with on of the bars before she snatched it back with a small cry of pain.
"Do try not to touch the bars, Becca." Richard advised her in a tone of someone trying to get a point across to someone they were pretty sure could never grasp the idea, no matter how hard they tried. "They're wards, you see. Set up to respond to contact with pure magic. A response, as you've seen twice now, is none too pleasant."
"I don't understand? Why are you doing this?"
"Because, Becca, I have need of your help."
"But I have been helping you. Of my own free will. There's no need to imprison me."
Richard walked across the front of the cage, crouching down at one of the corners as he stared at her through the pale green bars. "Yes, but you see, Becca, what little you've managed to do for me so far isn't really what I need of you."
Becca stared back at him.
"Power is all well and good, Becca, but for what I have planned I need more than I have." The man pointed a thin finger at her. "I need yours."
Becca pulled back slightly. "You.......you want my power?"
The man stood up, clapping his hands together. "You see!" He stated with a smile. "You're catching on now."
"But....but I would have helped you if you had asked, Richard." Becca stated. "I would have given you.........."
The man started pacing outside the front of the cage, getting agitated again. "I don't need you help, Becca." He stated in exasperation. "And I don't need you 'lending' me your power."
Becca stared up at him. "Then what is it you want from me?" She asked in a small, frightened sounding voice.
"I don't want you at all." He stated. "It's your power that I need, not you. Currently, you're nothing more to me than a storage place for that power until I have my plans in place. Then, when everything is ready, I'll take what I need from you."
Becca slowly shook her head. "But I would have given you want you wanted. I'd have given you my magic."
Richard stared down at her with a look of pure contempt. "Stupid girl." He stated past a disdainful sneer. "Don't you get it yet? It's your power that I need. Not just your magic, but the very thing that makes you what you are. And once I've taken what I want from you," he added with a none-the-less condescending smile, "I'm afraid there won't be much left of you."
Becca stared back at him with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
"Still not getting it yet?" Richard asked. "Well, I suppose a I can spare the time for a brief demonstration. A little taste of what's to come." He added with a wink. "As well as make sure you won't be leaving before I'm done with you."
Becca tried to pull back, to find some sort of shelter as she watched the other 'Power' raise his hand. But the bolt of light shot through the glowing bars and hit her directly in the chest, freezing her where she sat on the floor, unable to move.
Several agonizing seconds went by, or what could have been hours to her, before she could stand the pain no longer and a cry broke forth from her lips, filling the cellar they were in.
With the cry the line of white light broke between them, leaving her to collapse to the floor once again. It was the thirteen all over again, but even worse. When the thirteen drew power from her, the feeling it left her with was utter exhaustion. This time she had been left feeling as though some part of her had been physically ripped away from her.
From the other side of the bars Richard gave a long, drawn out sigh of satisfaction. "There is nothing in this realm or ours that even comes close to that feeling." He stated with pure pleasure. He leaned closer to the bars and leered at the girl behind them. "And if that is what taking just part of your power feels like, I positively hunger for what it feels like to drain all of it from you. But," he added, pulling back and adopting a more thoughtful expression, "I suppose it's best not to damage you too much before I really need you. It wouldn't due to have to try and find another source to draw off of before I reach my goals."
"Goals?" Becca muttered, pulling herself up slightly to stare up at him. "What 'goals'?"
Richard crouched next to the bars. "Now what interest would those be to you, dear sister?"
Becca stared up at him now through narrowed eyes. "I'd like to know what evil my power will be used for this time." She all but spat at him.
The other 'Power' gave a soft laugh. "I see. Professional curiosity then?" He asked. "And I suppose since it will be in large your contribution that helps me accomplish my goals, you have a vague right to know what your resources will be used for." He went on, resting his arms on his knees as he folded his hands in from of him. "You see, Becca." He stated. "We aren't the only ones in this realm of our kind. We aren't the only ones who were ever called. There are others." He said, his expression hardening along with his tone as he spoke. "Older ones. Ones' whose power is more than you ever even dreamed of. Ones who have more power then they even dare use for fear of exposing themselves.
So they sit in their holes in the ground and they do nothing. They could be gods. And yet they play themselves off as ordinary wizards and witches, living in this realm when they should be ruling it. They're pathetic!"
"But.....but it's not yours to take." Becca stammered out. "That power. It doesn't belong to you."
Richard got up and walked to the stone wall behind him. "It belongs to whoever has the will and the vision to use it!" He stated in a deceptively calm voice. But he suddenly slammed his hand into the wall before turning back to her. "And if the ones who have it won't use it, then they don't deserve it." He shouted at her.
"It was given to us for a reason!" He went on, his anger building like a wave. "To use it to better our circumstances. If the magic users of this realm are so stupid and short sighted to call beings like us to their realm, and then think that we are going to be content to serve them, they deserve what they get.
They've used our power for eons. Sucking off of it. Despoiling it. And still it isn't enough for them. They want more. Always more! So they call us, bring us here to this realm, where we are bombarded with sights and sounds and set upon by physical limitations. And to add insult to this injury, they think we would come here and serve them!?
Fools! Idiots! We do not serve! We rule! And it is far past time these grateful-less children...these thieves of our powers learned who their betters are. Look at your own 'master', Becca. If ever there was a king of fools, Heudros was it. He had you. Your loyalty, your service, and your power. All at his disposal. And what does he do with it? He lets it slip through his fingers.
Well, I am not such a fool, little sister." He added, getting to his feet again. "I have you. And I intend to keep you right here, safe and sound, until I need you. And then you will serve me one last time. Giving me your power so I can add it to my own. Then we shall see if the elder thinks he can stand against me."
Richard gave a soft laugh as he pulled back from the bars, leaving Becca with a disbelieving expression on her face.
"Do enjoy your new accommodations, dear sister." He called over his shoulder as he started up the stairs behind him.
Becca listened to Richard's steps as he climbed the stairs, pulling back slightly at the sound as he slammed the door at the top closed after him.
After a few moments she finally pulled herself back to her feet and backed over to the small cot, where she sat down before taking a good look about her new surroundings.
Of which there wasn't much to speak of.
The cell she sat in wasn't much more than fifteen feet wide from one side to the other in any direction, and the only furniture she had been given was the cot, which she noted wasn't very comfortable.
The floor at first seemed to be loose dirt. But as she dug into it with her heel she stuck a more solid surface that didn't allow her to dig any further. Most likely a heavy clay.
Sighing to herself, Becca turned to the back of the cage, noting a small window set high in a wall just beyond the glowing bars of her cell. From the angle she had to look out, all it afforded her was a view of the sky, which showed her it was now late in the day and the light was rapidly fading.
A sound suddenly caught her attention, and as she turned towards it, Becca noticed for the first time that her cage apparently wasn't the only one in the cellar. Next to her own was another cage of similar size, which used the bars from the side of her own cage to form the wall between them. Curiously, Becca pulled herself up to her feet and walked over the bars, wondering what was in the other cell. Standing near the bars, but careful to stay clear of them, She could see that this cell was actually comprised only of three walls made up of the magical glowing bars. The fourth wall was one of solid stone. A wall where, Becca was surprised to see, a figure was standing, chained to the wall behind it. The figure didn't so much as move as she stared at it. Leaving her wondering if the person was even still alive.
"Hello?" She called out. "Can you hear me?"
The voice that answered her, even though rasped and cracking and barely understandable, caused her to pull back slightly.
"Stupid girl." It croaked. "Stupid, stupid girl."
The figure slowly raised it's head and Becca let out a small gasp as she fell back away from the green bars between the cells, unable to believe the face of the man staring back at her.
"Heudros!"
Q&A
MasterLupin
:I feel that a lot was reviled in this chapter but being male, I missed 90% of the subtlety. I will need to read the last several chapter again to pick it up.
Actually, there was a lot in that chapter, but I feel fairly safe in saying that most of what was there was up front. A few things I am keeping under wraps, since it does, in fact make up the majority of the story. For instance, what Richard's final goal in all this is.
All reviews are as of 06/21/2009.
And remember;
A Happy Father's Day to all my dad readers out there, and especially to my own father. Much love from your youngest.