this was supposed to go up a week ago and then my internet decided to die on me. i haven't written anything in months, so i'm sorry for the quality of this. i feel like it's a little different from the other chapters?
rating: t for swearing
warning: none.
notes: apologies for late chapter and crap writing.
cameos: shang and mentions of mulan from mulan (both will become permanent member of cast), eric from the little mermaid; mentions of the olympians from hercules.
okay, so i've got to make this very clear, because a lot of people have been confused about this. jack did not rape elsa. jack did not rape elsa. jack did not rape elsa. the psychological trauma of falling in love with your rapist is not something i wish to explore in this story. rape is very serious, and it's consequences will not be taken lightly here.
chapter seven: take control
Lies are heavy things. Truths are exhausting. How humans are even able cope is beyond me.
A lie needs commitment, and the truth is burning. What do you do when faced with a fork in the road, and one path leads to ignorance, and the other to pain?
As Loneliness, it is my job to tell nothing but the truth. I am the barest reflection of the human soul, the simplest form of negative emotion. That is why I am both the lightest and heaviest thing known to man, shown off or closed away, I am here.
As I watch these two sisters, it seems as if their whole relationship is nothing but lies. The only thing I know for sure is that these two love each other, and that all these falsities are a result of trying to protect the other.
Love. She's such an ugly thing.
Silly, silly humans.
Three days pass quietly, and the city is still reeling from the tremor of the Assemblea. Stella Morta's various gangs have settled down, skulking with their tails between their legs. There's a war coming, and shackles are raised like nervous dogs.
Elsa misses two days of work, only going to her job at the local bakery and another as a cashier in a small supermarket, but their savings are slipping low, and she resigns herself to a night shift at The Red Lily. She'd been looking for a different job, but no other place would pay as much as The Red Lily pays her.
As soon as she walks through the swinging glass doors, Shang is at her side in an instant, and the looming Chinese man places one callused, but still gentle, hand on her shoulder and asks her if she's alright.
"Yeah," Elsa says, and she feels a lump in her throat spring up, unbidden. The relief at seeing a familiar face is almost overwhelming, no matter how shocking his true identity, and Shang gives her a brief smile and draws her into a one-armed hug.
"Your answer?" Shang says finally when Elsa manages to force down her tears. She takes a breath, and Shang's brows furrow.
"I–" Elsa says softly, but she finds she can't really continue.
"You know," Shang says, cutting her off, "you don't have to say yes. We won't do anything to you. Gang life… isn't for everyone."
And then, as Elsa looks into Shang's eyes, she sees a sort of unbearable weight on his shoulders, a darkness inside of him that hovers beside his mind. Suddenly, Shang looks old, older than twenty-eight, older than she's ever seem him look before. His wrinkles, usually faint and unnoticeable, line his face like deep crevasses, cutting through his skin in rivers.
He cares, Elsa realises. He cares about her enough to warn her. The fact is enough to make Elsa start crying all over again, but she doesn't. Instead, she squares her shoulders and says a strong, definite, "Yes. I'll join the Red Crowns as their emergency medic, provided that I am given my payment."
Elsa isn't sure, but something flickers across Shang's face for a second, before he draws away and nods.
"We're opening for dinner in ten minutes," Shang orders, voice back to normal, and heads back into the kitchen, pulling out his phone as he goes, "get the tables ready, bring out the glassware. We have three reservations tonight: a table for two and a table for five at six o'clock, and a banquet for twenty-three at seven o'clock. Get them ready."
"Got it," Elsa says quickly, and shoves her bag under the counter just as two other waiters arrive for their shift.
"You said no, right?" Anna says later that night, at around two in the morning. Elsa is staring at her laptop screen, trying to finish off the last half of her assignment before it's due in four days. There are books and loose sheets of paper scattered around her in a small, messy circle, and highlighters and broken pens half hidden beneath.
"Um, what?" Elsa says absent-mindedly, typing out another few sentences. Then, she groans and deletes the whole paragraph, and frantically looks around for the draft that she'd written up a week before.
"Red Crowns," Anna presses. "You told them you weren't doing it."
"Yeah, yeah, I told them no," Elsa says distractedly, locating her draft and glancing over its contents.
Anna hisses and snatches the paper out of Elsa's hands.
"Hey!"
"Elsa," Anna says angrily, "listen. This is important! It's not a game."
"I know," Elsa snaps, and she runs a hand down her face. Her shoulders slump. Anna hadn't noticed how tired she looked until now. "Seriously, Anna, I told them no, alright? But I have to get this finished because it's worth nearly half my grade, and I don't know if I'll get it done in time, and my references are just ridiculous, and I have to go to work tomorrow and I have a double shift and I just–"
"Okay," Anna interrupts. She sighs quietly. "Take the day off tomorrow, Elsa, and finish off your assignment."
"I have work and we need money–"
"I took on a part-time job," Anna blurts out awkwardly. She fiddles with her fingers, peeks at her sister through lowered lashes. "You need the help, and I haven't pulled my weight around here; it's not fair for you."
Gaping, Elsa takes a few moments to recover. "A job? Where?"
"Um, it's just at a diner," Anna says, shrugging and flashing her a strained smile. "I'm a cashier. It's called Mal's Diner."
The diner is, in fact, one of Ange Noir's fronts for cocaine trade. Elsa doesn't need to know that.
"Okay," Elsa says blankly. "When are your shifts?"
"It's just a few weeknights, from four till seven," Anna says hastily. "Because, you know, I still have school. But I'll be fine."
"And how will you be getting home?" Elsa asks.
"Bus," Anna says promptly. "There are still heaps of people out at that time, so it'll be okay."
"Things still happen with people around you," Elsa says softly. She looks at up Anna, straight in the eye. "You won't be taking any shortcuts, understand? No going through dark alleys or empty buildings, no matter how late you're running or how quickly you want to get home. Always stay where people are."
"Okay," Anna says, a little taken aback by her sister's solemnity.
"And if any strange men start following you, just go into a shop or try to lose them in a crowd," Elsa says. "And if you get caught, just kick them in the balls, because that's their weak spot. And use your elbow to break their nose or something, because you can generate a lot of force behind it."
"I got it," Anna says gently. She smiles. "I'll be alright, Elsa."
Elsa exhales and massages her temples. "Just call me as soon as you get back."
"Okay."
"Now please give me my draft, because I really have to finish this."
Anna gazes at Elsa for a few more minutes, and she tries to hide the swell of happiness she feels in her chest. She and Elsa haven't talked this much for a very long time, and it gives her some hope for the future. Maybe they can start to mend their distant relationship; it's something Anna has always wanted.
The next time Elsa works at The Red Lily, Shang hands her an old flip phone and says, "Whenever you're needed, you'll be called on that. Don't ever turn it off or ignore it, otherwise the higher ups will be pissed at you. You've taken this job, now you've got to earn your keep."
The phone stays silent for two weeks, and Elsa keeps going on with her life as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Anna is happy with her new job, and to Elsa's relief, brings home a good sum of money.
(Elsa doesn't know that instead of taking orders, Anna has been downstairs watching drugs packages being moved from one truck to another. Elsa doesn't know that instead of serving customers, Anna has been discussing contracts with local dealers and sending men after those who haven't paid their stocks yet. Elsa doesn't know anything, doesn't know that Anna has hands that have wielded guns and taken lives, and uses those same hands to hug Elsa goodnight and help braid her hair in the morning.)
"This doesn't make sense, though," Jack says slowly, teeth clamped down on a cigarette. The nicotine sends a jolt down his spine. "Why would Pitch cause the roof collapse anyway? He knows he'll just make an enemy out of the hundreds of gangs of Stella Morta. It's a dick move, and also a stupid one."
"Who knows what Pitch is thinking," Bunnymund grunts. "That psycho kills people for fun."
Jack blinks at Toothiana, who's bent over her phone, nibbling at her bottom lips. "Tooth, what's up?"
"The King…" Toothiana says slowly. "The King wants to wage war on Pitch."
"Yeah," Bunnymund says blankly.
"Do you think we'll have the man power though?" Toothiana asks. She folds her arms, eyes bright in the near darkness. "Remember the last time we tried to do this?"
"Don't remind me," Jack says darkly. "War of the Centre Territories. Lost like half our people. Fucking bloodbath, that one."
"Exactly," Toothiana says. "And that was only five years ago. We're not ready for this."
Her phone blips at the same time Jack's and Bunnymund's does.
"North," Jack says grimly.
"Oho," Bunnymund laughs, excitement bubbling in his eyes, and Toothiana's worries are forgotten in the new turn of events. Nothing like this has happened in a long time, and he's been getting restless. He taps on the message and cackles. "Guerilla warfare, eh? My favourite."
"Send in the small fry," Toothiana says, running her tongue over the bottom of her dark purple lips. "We need to test the waters, and if they're caught they won't be able to spill much."
Perhaps it's a little chilling, the way Toothiana talks. She's grown up in a harsh world, and to her, life is very easily replaced. Even her own.
"We'll target Pitch's warehouse in the East end," Toothiana says. An old light flares up in her as she talks, a lifeless smile stretching her lips. "He's keeping all their old weapons there. It won't be much of a loss for them, but it'll be enough."
She wrinkles her nose when Jack blows out a smoke ring, and it blurs the edges of the room, softening the words that slit the air like knives.
"I'll relay the info," Bunnymund says, getting to his feet and cracking his neck. "Someone's gotta supervise those little fucks, after all."
"Yeah, well, I'll be heading back," Jack says, yawning widely.
"It's only eight," Bunnymund snickers. "Go check out our clubs, make sure the owners aren't doing deals under the table."
"Shut it, Bunny," Jack says calmly. "You can go fuck yourself."
Toothiana just rolls her eyes and hits them both on the backs of their heads.
Jack ends up wandering around Stella Morta, and he finds himself in front of The Red Lily, the restaurant that's a front for their gun trade. The cold bleeds into his skin, weaving through the fibres of his thin trench coat, and the hairs on the back of his neck raise as a gust blows through the empty streets. The lights of the restaurant are welcoming, and when Jack enters, a rush of warm air greets him pleasantly.
The Red Lily is busy tonight, with all the tables full and more patrons waiting in seats for their turn. Jack spots Eric the bartender looking frazzled as he tries to mix drinks for about ten different customers. He nods a greeting, and Eric barely manages a wave before he's back to work again.
"Sir," a waiter says blankly. Jack dimly remembers him to be a new recruit for the Red Crowns, only initiated two months ago. "Um, w-would you like a table?"
The waiter fiddles with his notepad nervously, and Jack takes pity on him. "No, no," Jack says, waving carelessly. "I'm just dropping by to visit an old friend."
Jack strides past the waiter and through the door to the kitchens. Shang, face glistening with perspiration and steam, effortlessly flips food in the wok, hands flying as he adds spices and sauce and salt and sugar.
"Shang," Jack says cheerily, leaning against the door to the freezer while three other chefs hurry around carrying vegetables and raw meat. He can barely be heard over the roar of the flames and the indistinct calls of Mandarin, and Shang doesn't even answer as he shakes food onto the plate, metal scraping against metal.
"What do you want, Jack," Shang shouts, his voice raised as something sizzles loudly in a clay pot. "I'm a little preoccupied at the moment."
Cheekily, Jack plucks off a cube of honey chicken just as Shang was about to sprinkle sesame seed over it and shoves it in his mouth. "Yum. Make me some!"
"Fuck off, Jack," Shang grumbles, waving for the dish to be taken away. "Bother someone else."
"Just dropping by, wondering how our business is going," Jack says. He lowers his voice, and the blast of fire almost drowns out his next words. "The King is initiating guerilla warfare."
Shang pauses, muscles bulging under the sleeves of his chef's uniform. "Seriously? I would've thought we'd go for the big guns right at the start; make a statement to Pitch."
"I don't know what the King is thinking," Jack murmurs. "But Bunny is in charge of this one. Tell Mulan to be prepared anyway; she'll be leading the siege later on."
Shang jerks a nod, turning down the stove with practiced fingers. "You gotta give her something to do soon, though. Mulan is getting edgy; she's been out of action for months." He chuckles lowly, sharp eyes crinkling at the corners. "I swear she's going to find a pub brawl soon and just jump into that, and you know how much she hates petty fights."
Laughing, Jack draws away and says, "She'll get her turn soon. Meanwhile, make sure the customers get what they paid for, eh?"
(Make sure the traded guns are no less than perfection, give the customers no reason to complain.)
"Of course," Shang says lightly.
Just before Jack leaves the kitchens, he calls out, "So, how's our new medic faring?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself? She's on shift tonight."
"Really? Didn't see her," Jack says, interest sparking as a pot clatters to the ground.
"What?!"
"Nothing," Jack hums. He prances out the kitchen. "See you later!"
Shang almost throws a saucepan at Jack's head when he sees the man stealing a bowl of leftover fried rice on the way out.
Behind the counter is a chair for the slower hours of the day, and Jack snags it, watching the mild chaos of the restaurant from his place in the corner. He keeps out of everyone's way, and he finally spots the new medic managing her tables on the other side of the restaurant.
She's pretty, Jack thinks absent-mindedly. She's got the same white hair as him, and her eyes are wide and blue. There is a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead as she tries to cater to all the customers, and he watches as a mother dumps her wailing baby in the medic's arms in favour of calming down her other child.
But the new medic is efficient, Jack notes. She's got quick hands, and is light on her feet. She has good expressions, able to appear charming and courteous whilst tired and fretful on the inside.
"She's a nice addition to the Crowns," Jack says out loud to a passing waiter. The waiter ducks his head.
Jack stays till the medic's shift ends at nine-thirty. The rush of customers has dwindled, and the medic calls out her goodbyes when she heads over to the counter to grab her bag.
"Hi," Jack says, waving enthusiastically at her. The medic jumped, startled, and her impossibly huge eyes snap up to him.
"You," is all the medic says. She slowly takes her bag from under the counter, keeping her gaze locked on him.
"Me," Jack confirms. "You're… Ellie, right?"
"Elsa," the medic says, and then winces, clearly regretting her correction.
"Right, Elsa," Jack says, nodding along. He stands up, and he notes, with a small flash of happiness, that he towers over her at full height. He has a complex about being shorter than females. "Are you heading home?"
"No," Elsa says unwillingly.
"Yeah you are," Jack says automatically. He grins at her. "You're a terrible liar; we're going to have to fix that soon, otherwise some scumbag is gonna kidnap you and you'll spill all our secrets."
Elsa just splutters at him.
Elsa doesn't bother hiding how uncomfortable she feels as Jack tails her all the way home. On the bus, he takes the seat behind her, and she can feel his eyes boring into the back of her head for the full twenty minutes.
"Okay, what do you want?" Elsa snaps, a few streets away from her apartment. They halt in the middle of the pavement. Jack is getting increasingly antsy, but that's the least of Elsa's problems. "Stop following me!"
"Well, I'm here as a precaution," Jack says, smiling down at her. She hates his smile; it's bloody and fake and full of lies. "I'm… your bodyguard!"
"The other gangs don't know about me yet," Elsa huffs. "If they see you around me, they'll start digging."
Jack pauses, head cocked. "True," he says. "You're smart, Elsa."
"It's common sense," she bites out. "I don't want you here; go away."
"Aw," Jack pouts, "but you let me come in last time."
"Last time you forced your way in! And I didn't know you were following me!" Elsa retorts.
(I stand at Elsa's shoulder, breathe gently against her heart. She's very afraid, even willing to use the small knife she's stashed in her purse against this boy. It won't do much, I know, because the boy will be able to wrestle it from her grip in less than a second.)
"I thought you were a Red Crown," Jack says, waving his hand carelessly. "You were wearing a Red Lily shirt, and we only hire people that are part of the gang to work there." He grimaces. "No one thought to inform me about you, as it seems. That's why I thought you could help me. Imagine my shock when you just ran off. I was planning to chop off your hand the next time we meet."
Elsa is at a loss of what to say. Her fear intensifies, and she shudders knowing that Jack is very serious about his threat.
"I'm going to check our your place," Jack says, voice low in the night. It settles like poisoned chocolate between her ribs. "I was pretty out of it last time. I need to see your apartment's positioning and facilities, and also have a word with the landlord."
Elsa struggles to keep up with Jack's mood swings; one minute he's a child, the next he's serious and calm and old, like Shang, in a way only gang members are old.
When she unlocks her apartment door, Jack is glancing up and down her hallway, a hand slipping into his right pocket.
"Who lives on this floor?" Jack asks, following her inside.
"Just me and my sister," Elsa says, hanging up her coat and setting her bag on the table. "The floor below us has a couple and a single man. I'm not sure about the other levels, and level one is just the reception area."
"Right," says Jack. "How often does your landlord come around?"
Nervous and unsure of how to act, Elsa says, "On the third of every month. Other than that, he doesn't visit. He's just here for the rent money. Our receptionist changes a lot of the time; mostly university students."
The apartment is empty, and when Elsa switches on the light, she sees evidence that Anna's been home earlier, only to have left again.
"My sister should be back in around three hours," Elsa tells Jack, wringing her hands together. Jack is suddenly a lot taller and more imposing in the cramped space of the apartment, and he observes everything with a sharp, meticulous gaze, his lips set in a thin line.
Jack doesn't answer her, just disappears into the bedrooms and the bathroom. Elsa can hear him clattering around, opening up the drawers and the closets, and she prays that Anna has nothing dangerous in her room.
When Jack heads back to the living room and peers out the filthy window, Elsa spots a lump where his back pocket should be, and she can see the faint outline of a handgun. Jack absent-mindedly fiddles with a knife in his left hand, throwing it up and down as he walks; every couple of paces, he switches to his right hand.
Ambidextrous, Elsa realises. Comfortable around weapons.
"Your apartment is pretty good," Jack notes. "But we're in the middle of Ange Noire territory, which sucks."
Oh, Elsa thinks, that's why he was so edgy on the way here.
Jack pauses, chewing on the bottom of his lip. "You know, your sister," Jack begins.
Elsa stiffens. "What about her?" she asks icily. "We're not dragging her into this. No way."
Sighing, Jack just shakes his head and walks to the door. Just before he leaves, Elsa thinks she hears him mutter, "Maybe she already is."
[police station, under the control of the olympians]
With hard wood digging into her back and tiny wrists bound in cold metal, Rapunzel lets out a huge, noisy sigh and turns over to her side. Now her hipbone is jutting into the bench and her mood worsens dramatically.
Rapunzel feigns sleep, listening as the guard at her door shifts his weight, and the plastic of his seat squeaks.
He's fat and pudgy, Rapunzel thinks. It would be easy to just reach her slim arms between the bars and take the keys from his hip. He would never notice.
The problem is outside the holding cells, where an entire police station is bustling. Most of the cops are under the influence of the gang Olympians, who are no friend of the Red Crowns.
"You could just kick down the door," a voice suggests slyly on her right. Rapunzel ignores it in favour of burying her face into the smelly pillow.
"Shut it," the guard croaks, banging on the bars, "or your face is getting smashed in."
"Damn, I thought I was supposed to feel protected by the police, not threatened," the voice says snarkily. Rapunzel sighs and sits up, turning her attention to the owner.
The man in the holding cell next to her slouches against the bars, idly scratching marks into the floor with his fingernails. Brown hair flops into his eyes, green and shrewd under the fluorescent lights.
"Who are you?" Rapunzel asks shortly.
"Nobody," the man grins. He's carving out a crude picture of a dick. Rapunzel feels the horrible urge to laugh. "Just a petty thief. What about you, oh fair princess? What have you done to land yourself in such a situation?"
Snorting, Rapunzel crosses her arms and rolls her eyes to the ceiling. "No idea. I haven't done anything. Just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
The man squints at her. "I have a feeling I've seen you before. Have we met?"
"Does that work on all the girls?" Rapunzel asks dryly.
His unwavering gaze is beginning is make her uncomfortable. And then recognition dawns. "Ah?" the man says. Then, he smiles eerily. "Ah."
"Not another word out of you both!" the guard snarls. He gets to his feet, double chins wobbling angrily at he spits, "I'm not above hitting women; shut the fuck up."
"Got a temper, this one," the man stage whispers.
Rapunzel narrows her eyes. "I think I know you," she says slowly.
"I definitely know you," the man replies. "You're a dog of the Red Crowns."
"And you're one of Ange Noire's little rats," Rapunzel sneers. "Flynn Rider, am I correct? The Heartbreaker. Fast mind and even faster fingers; you can break into anything."
"Wow," Flynn whistles, "there's a slogan right there. I'm honoured that you know who I am, considering your rank is far above the likes of me. Rapunzel, head of drug trade, the right hand lady of the right hand lady of the Red King."
"Last warning!" the guard shouts, finally fed up with the constant chatter. He stares at them both beadily, before glancing back to his game of Tetris on his phone.
Rapunzel turns away, but she catches slightly movement in the corner of her eye. Flynn raises an eyebrow, and mouths, Want to get out of here together?
(By the guard's side, I observe these events with a neutral eye. Before I leave, I look down at the guard, whose nervous sweat glistens at his neck, and I remind myself to follow up on these strange events that are unfurling. After all, it's rare that I get a story as interesting as this.)
Text message from: Tooth Fairy
To: Medic
Red Lily. Midnight.
Two days. On standby.
Come alone.
author's note:
so rapunzel is the right hand lady of the right hand lady of the red king, meaning she is toothiana's right hand lady, and toothiana is north's right hand lady (his second in command).
i lost the map i made of stella morta and now i'm struggling to remember where exactly all the gangs and their hideouts are located ;A; if something doesn't add up, please let me know and i'll fix it.
reminder 1: romance between jack and elsa will be very slow. like, seriously, really slow.
reminder 2: while i know three months is a long time to wait (and i apologise for that) i do have university work to complete, like assignments and exams. the ones over the last two months were my first pieces of assessment, too, and i was worried about how well i would do. so please, while i don't particularly care about the odd 'please update!' review, i'd appreciate if you'd not pm me constantly bugging me for updates. i have a life outside of fanfiction, and that comes first, before anything.
updated: 27 june 2014