Jane really, really hated this cell.
It was small and dim enough to be hard to see, but not pitch-black, just an irritatng grey tone everywhere that left her squinting even though she was still wearing her glasses—it was a wonder they didn't have more than just a few annoying scratches on the lenses—and the walls were just big enough to remind her of how alone she was but not big enough that she could feel anything other than claustrophobia.
Ugh... had she mentioned how much she hated this cell yet?
Huffing out a breath, she slumped to the ground after pacing for a good hour or so out of a mixture of boredom and nervous energy, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them before resting her chin atop her forearm so that she could sit in a tight ball against the wall that faced the door. By her estimation, it had been about two weeks, give or take a few days, since that awful, awful morning when they'd nearly branded her arm and Dirk had instead given them Roxy's name.
Jane still wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, she was very, very glad that that red-hot iron had stayed away from her—she still shuddered at the thought of it, instinctively shying away from the memory of the extreme heat—because to be honest, it had absolutely terrified her, to her very core. Perhaps she was weaker than she'd thought, or perhaps it was just that as a healer, the prospect of intentionally hurting others really, really didn't sit well with her. Or perhaps it was just that torture was scary and horrible in general. Yeah, that seemed pretty accurate.
But on the other hand... Roxy. Jane was worried sick about her best friend, the girl who'd held her as she sobbed about her father and grandfathers' deaths, who had always been by her side, ending up here in this awful Batterwitch prison alongside both of them—no, stop, she told herself sternly. It does you no good to fret about what may or may not happen. Stop worrying about her. She's out of your hands now.
She had been trying to tell herself this for days now. It wasn't really working. She couldn't stop anxiously wondering whether the other girl was alright. The Batterwitch was ruthless; surely she would hunt her down! But Jane couldn't accept the thought of Roxy being captured either. She didn't know what to think anymore, and it was kind of starting to drive her mad. She wanted answers, not this stupid, infernal cell! The days in between these questioning sessions were almost worse than the sessions themselves—not that she was in a hurry to be threatened with a branding iron again, no thank you. Keep those as far away from her body as possible, please and thank you! Dirk had saved her from it this time, but could she count on that for next time too?
Honestly, she had no idea what to make of Dirk, either. He'd been acting strange recently, as if wondering whether he would sacrifice her or Roxy was easy to ponder to begin with! At least, she reflected cynically, it was better that he had gambled Roxy than Jake. She loved them both dearly and it kind of felt like she was betraying Roxy with that thought, but from a completely objective standpoint, it made more sense to have said Roxy's name than Jake's because there was a much greater chance that the soldiers had seen her, considering the lack of warning before the march turned into a massacre. But at least this meant that they didn't have her yet, which Jane supposed was encouraging.
But Dirk! He was already somewhat an enigma, but now she felt like she didn't know him at all! He must have been playing some sort of mind game earlier, or something, she told herself again, though it didn't feel quite true. But what other explanation for his strange behavior was there? There was no question that they were friends... right? Surely he wasn't angry about something that she'd done. That would be stupid and counterproductive when they were here of all places. Was he angry that she was here too? Maybe he was mad at himself and just took it out on her? But that didn't sound like him, and it didn't make her feel much better either.
Earlier, when they were out in the small stone courtyard with the guard who'd conjured the branding iron and Doctor Scratch, who Jane was really starting to hate, their green-garbed captor had mentioned something about Dirk saying that he didn't care for her. She wasn't sure what to make of that, either. Argh, she wasn't sure what to make of pretty much anything at this point! All that she knew for sure was that she was tired, afraid, nervous, and kind of at her wit's end in general. And also that she hated this cell with a burning passion. Oh, if she could only just have a chance to talk to Dirk and find out what he was doing here, what he meant by all whatever he'd been doing, because honestly it hurt, it really hurt when he shunned her in her moments of need like he had. Hopefully whatever he'd been trying to accomplish had worked.
Somehow, she had the feeling it hadn't. Why? Oh, right, because possibly at this very moment soldiers were hunting Roxy down. Right. That meant that they had failed to protect their friends.
But she couldn't blame Dirk, not really. Yes, she was upset about Roxy, but she knew that in his place she would have screamed out before the iron had touched him, would have given in as well. It didn't portend well for the future, though, if they were going to continue like this. Jane didn't like the thought of it, but it was pretty obvious that if they didn't want to just go ahead and spill everything they knew to Doctor Scratch, someone was going to get hurt. No, they both were going to get hurt.
Oh, if only they could come up with a plan! At least they could come up with lies to tell, if only they were allowed to speak privately again. And also, despite his strange, cold, distant behavior, Jane really just wanted to see him. That had been one day, two weeks ago; probably her memory was exaggerating it, and anyway she just really, really missed him. Not dismissive, frigid Dirk, but the Dirk who had held her on the night Jake was stabbed, the one who had proudly presented her with Lil Seb a year or so ago, the one who was one of her best friends in the whole world and oh god she missed him, she missed him so much.
How long would it be until they were allowed to see each other again? Was it only going to be the next time that they were brought out for interrogation? Jane hoped not with all her heart, but a sinking feeling told her that it probably was.
The next day, however, she was distracted from her dreary, woeful thoughts when two guards arrived to fetch her from her cell. A jolt of nerves ran through her, leaving in their wake a pit of anxiety in her core. The shackles that they clasped on her wrists were heavier than ever as she wondered if this was going to be another awful session in which she was nearly branded with a red-hot iron or something similar. Hopefully not; she still remembered all too well how hot it had been, hovering right above her skin, and how scared it made her—no, she had to be strong now. She had to be strong, for Jake and for Roxy and for Dirk.
But to her surprise, they escorted her not to the stone courtyard but instead to a small antechamber or sitting room, not as lavish as the one she'd been in when Doctor Scratch first spoke to them but still much better than a cell, especially that stupid cell that she had been in earlier.
To her further astonishment, they removed the cuffs from her wrists and ordered her to remain in the room, not that she had anywhere to go, as guards were posted at each door and there were no windows. It was kind of disconcerting, actually, to be perpetually without a view of the outside world—the only time she'd really felt sunlight at all during this whole ordeal was when they were out in the stony courtyard, and she really was in no rush to go back out there anytime soon. But she disliked it nonetheless; something in her liked to see the sun and the natural world and just hated being so cut off from everything, on top of just being unsettled from having no idea of the passage of time.
Before Jane could continue pondering the location, though, the doors opened again to admit Dirk. He seemed to receive the same instructions before the doors were closed behind him; when he turned and saw her, his eyes widened. She looked up with a little trepidation, unsure of what to say or do around him now. He seemed to notice her hesitation and began to cross the small room to her, evidently about to say something—finally—but just as he arrived next to her, the doors opened once more and Doctor Scratch entered.
Looking annoyed at the interruption before he could speak to her, Dirk didn't say anything, but as he sat down next to her on the sofa, he gently pried her one of her hands apart from the other to intertwine his fingers with hers. Was he trying to say that whatever chilly way he'd been acting before was done and he was now her Dirk again? Jane felt a rush of relief and gave him the smallest flicker of a smile, squeezing his hand, just as Scratch once again settled into the armchair across from the sofa—were all the sitting rooms in this ridiculously magnificent prison that was a lot closer to a palace arranged in the same way?—and began to speak.
"Good afternoon," he greeted with that same oily smile that she now associated with him. "I have some excellent news for you, and a reward for your help in bringing this excellent happenstance about." He paused, examining both Jane and Dirk for a few seconds. Jane was pretty sure that the disgust she was feeling was evident on her face; Dirk probably looked impassive like usual, but his hand tightened on hers. "I am pleased to inform you that thanks to your cooperation in our last questioning period, we have come much closer to our goal. This 'Roxy Lalonde' you spoke of..."
Jane felt her heart leap to her throat, violently wanting to deny the words that she somehow knew he was going to say next.
"...is now in captivity. Thank you ever so much."
"No!" she gasped, barely able to stop herself from bursting into tears right then and there. Dirk squeezed her fingers again, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand.
"Prove it," he said, and Jane looked up in surprise. "If you really have her here, I demand to see her."
Scratch leered maliciously, taking obvious delight in their apparent distress. "Oh, but are you truly in any position to be making demands? I think not, Mister Strider."
"I refuse to believe that she is in your captivity until I see proof," Dirk replied frostily, pinning their captor with a harsh glare. However, the other man seemed far from cowed, instead continuing to grin like something was oh so very amusing.
With a gleeful shrug, he said carelessly, "I couldn't care less what you believe, Strider. I think you're forgetting something here." The carefree demeanor vanished suddenly, and he leaned forward intimidatingly. "You are under my control now. Everything you know belongs to me. And you have no choice but to accept my words. You're lucky that I'm in a good mood, or your impudence might have gotten your lady friend hurt. You've already threatened my patience once already by lying to me. Do not do it again."
Dirk stiffened ever so slightly next to her, and Jane found that it was her turn to squeeze his hand soothingly. "Don't you fucking touch her," he growled, glaring daggers right back at Scratch.
"Dirk," she interrupted hastily, shifting closer so she was close enough to touch his cheek gently, diverting his gaze so that his amber-colored eyes met her blue ones. "It's okay. Don't." She didn't want him to get into a fight with Scratch, not here and not now, especially now. It was already awful enough that Roxy—Roxy was captured, oh god. But she didn't need anything to happen to Dirk too! Not when she had just started to feel better a little bit because he wasn't being strangely distant again. She still wanted to talk to him, see what that was about, but overall she just wanted him to be safe! If that meant that she was going to get threatened, that was okay. She could take harsh words. If the threats were to be carried through... well, she wasn't sure what she would do at that point, but she would have to just cross that bridge when she got to it. In the meantime, she just wanted to protect Dirk.
Scratch smirked across the carpet at them. "At least one of you seems to have some common sense. Perhaps she acts from a sense of self-preservation, perhaps she acts from deference as she should, but it matters not. Either way, you are lucky that I am in such a good mood, and that made my mood a little better! You two are oh so very amusing, I hope you know."
Jane closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to remain calm as well. How she wished the man would stop rambling about himself and all this and just let her be! Ugh, she detested him so much. Right now, all she wanted was to talk to Dirk, alone, without this creep lingering and laughing in that obnoxious way of his as he watched her. It was unnerving and made her both unsettled and irritated.
"But I am a busy man, and as amusing as you are," Scratch was saying when she opened her eyes, staring at her and Dirk's intertwined hands rather than at him, "I must go. But as a reward for your complacency in allowing me to acquire another esteemed guest, I suppose I will give you something." He stood and swept out of the room; Jane looked up to her friend, mystified, as they both sat in his wake.
"What the fuck," Dirk muttered as the door opened again, admitting four guards.
"You both. Come with us," one of the four demanded. Jane hurriedly stood, Dirk a bit more slowly behind her. The guards didn't seem to bother with cuffs this time, instead taking them back down several flights of stairs into the dungeons that Jane really hated.
But there was a difference this time. She had no idea which cell of the many lining the walls she usually stayed in, or which one Dirk was in, or if either of them was even usually in this area, because everything down here looked the same, but something different happened. The guards roughly shoved her into a cell like usual, seeming to snicker when she stumbled down the steps, but to her surprise they also pushed Dirk in behind her.
The two of them stared at each other for a heartbeat as the guards locked the door and slid the deadbolt across and then walked away, keys jingling.
"Hey," Dirk said quietly, running his hand through his hair. It was a nervous habit that she knew by heart, having known him long enough to be able to see it for what it was. He wasn't meeting her gaze either, staring at the stones near her feet instead. "So... I kind of fucked up earlier... but I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry." He took a deep breath as if to steady himself, then finally looked up to her face, offering a tentative smile and holding out his arms just slightly, as if he was expecting a rejection. It made Jane's heart ache for him, and that was all it took for her to stop feeling rooted to the spot where she was standing and all but fly across the short distance between them, burying her face in his chest.
"Dirk," she murmured, feeling a lot better about being in this stupid cell as he held her tightly. "Oh, Dirk..."
"I'm sorry," he started to say again, but she cut him off before he could finish.
"I forgive you, I forgive you, don't worry, it's okay, we're okay," she said breathlessly, feeling his arms tighten around her as she did. They were both silent for a few moments, just taking in the other's presence and the fact that they were both alright, both here, together for at least a little while without all the worries of this awful place. Jane was pretty sure that she wasn't going to let go of him as long as they were both in the same cell, but at least he seemed to be of the same mindset, so she kept clinging to him and just assuring herself that they were going to be okay, somehow, somehow. Dirk bent his head to press a kiss into her hair, and she blinked back a tear or two that were just welling up from overwhelming emotion in general.
Finally, after a minute or two, she hesitantly broke the silence. "But... can I ask you why?" There was no need to attach an explanation of what she was asking why about; he knew, she was sure, and that thought was confirmed when he stiffened slightly.
"I thought... god, it was pretty fucking dumb in retrospect, but I thought that if I could convince that green piece of shit that we weren't close, he wouldn't try to either hurt you to get me to talk or hurt me to get you to talk. Son of a bitch outplayed me though. That fucker is good at mind manipulation." He sighed, pressing her a little closer, and Jane rubbed his shoulder soothingly.
"Dirk..." she started, not really sure what to say but wanting to assure him that it didn't matter, it was over, but she never ever wanted him to do that again because it had been awful and she couldn't stand the thought of losing him. Of course he'd been trying to protect her, even if it hurt her in the process. That was something she should have expected. How to communicate all this to him? "I love you," she said, and hoped that was good enough.
"I love you too," he mumbled shakily into her hair. Was he crying? Jane looked up quickly. There was a faint glimmer of tears in his eyes in the low light, and even as she looked at him one of those teardrops fell and rolled down his cheek. She reached up and gently thumbed it away, shaking her head.
"Shh, don't cry," she murmured, feeling helpless to make anything better. She was a healer of the body, but the mind was another matter. How could she help him stop blaming himself for this whole mess? Because he was, she knew he was, and there was nothing she could say that would make him stop wondering which strings he could have pulled differently so that they wouldn't be here, so that she wouldn't be here, so that Roxy wouldn't be here. "We'll... we'll figure something out. You, me, and Roxy, we'll all get home safe, okay?"
"He doesn't have Roxy," Dirk shook his head furiously. "He doesn't."
Jane felt a surge of hope suddenly, more than she'd been feeling for weeks. "He doesn't?"
"He had no proof," he said, removing one arm from around her to wipe his eyes. "He doesn't have her. He can't."
That surge of hope started to dissipate quickly. "Dirk..." Just because Scratch hadn't shown them proof of his capture of Roxy didn't mean it hadn't happened. She didn't want to trust the creep, but in this case wasn't it better to assume the worst? So long as Roxy wasn't used against them at least... to her, it seemed that Dirk was just trying his best to keep himself afloat in a sea of despair and this was his way, but she didn't want it to be something that would hurt him more in time.
"He can't," Dirk repeated, something that sounded suspiciously like a sob in his voice, and Jane pushed all thoughts of what mind games might be in store if Roxy was here too away and hugged him tightly again, reaching up to stroke his hair.
She still had no idea what to do, how to comfort him, what to think of anything that was happening anymore. "I love you," she said again, and hoped that it would be enough.
AN: Guys guys guys! With this chapter this story broke 100k words! I'm so excited! :D You know what this means? I'm opening fic requests again! I know I've still got two from last time waiting (plus a drabble from Pony on tumblr), all of which are in the works, but I just want to celebrate! So I guess that this means everyone who reviews this chapter between now and next chapter OR between now and next Wednesday, whichever comes later (in case I actually update fast, lol) gets a fic request! :D :D :D
Also, I looooved Snowy's suggestion of calling this Magestuck, so Magestuck it is! ;D
...also, no one suggested songs, so I'm going to tell you one that's on my writing playlist right now. Is it bad that I've got "Bleeding Out" by Imagine Dragons on there?
Pony - ...yeahhh. I was tempted to make a joke out of that but none of them really seemed like they were going to if they were going to remain in character at that point. :P What had you mad? Everything alright?
Snowy - I already said this, but in case anyone else reads review responses, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. I am looking forward to this. (evil authorial cackling in the distance I mean wait what) Yeah, the beta kids seem to do that! But they're used to always having a plan. Even though they're probably going to take it easy until Jade's more recovered, they're still looking forward. No, fangirl away, it makes me happy! :D Fruit helps in general. It has simple sugars but not sucrose; glucose is easily broken down to give your body a boost in energy so at least you can stay awake. Bananas are just easy examples, I guess. Thanks a ton for Magestuck, by the way!
LordParmesanut - I don't even know what I did with your name there but I am pleased with myself. B) I'm excited to write their meetings! Gah. And all the rest of what's coming, too. Man, I've been excited for this part of the story for a while! Who needs all those boring rallies, anyway.
Smartbrainmonkey - Hehe oops, forgot the dessert last time. Thanks though! I'm glad you like it! :)
I am not forgetting dessert now. This chapter's dessert is cookies, because I want cookies right now.
Also! Shoutout and promo to MLP Mike and his story "John: Try To Understand"! You guys should all go read it. :D