Pam Swynford De Beaufort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lazy_but_loyal) wrote2014-10-13 12:14 am
lazy_but_loyal) wrote2014-10-13 12:14 am
Entry tags:
OOM - Fangtasia pt. 3
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Water collected in stagnant puddles in dark corners of the dungeon.
The drip, drip, drip was the only sound in the dimness, and it was starting to annoy the fuck out of Pam.
Focusing on being annoyed was better than feeling the silver chains dig into her bare skin.
She couldn't tell how much time had passed since Eric left. A couple of hours, maybe more. It wasn't dawn yet, she was at least sure of that, as she didn't have the bleeds.
In those couple of hours, maybe more, the Magister had used the silver tip of his cane to carve the year 1478 into the flesh of her lower back when she said didn't know, and didn't give a fuck, when the Spanish Inquisition was established.
When she could no longer keep herself upright on the Wheel, he had his henchmen pull her down and lay her out on a table. They draped the heavy chains across her bare throat, shoulders, stomach, and ankles. And then the Magister continued his lecture, burning each of her fingertips with the cane as he counted off how many infidels and heretics he'd converted. She remarked how fortunate it was for her that there weren't very many.
The Magister eventually found her amusing. She had spirit, he had to give her that. But that only prompted him to come up with more ways to break her. And by doing so, more ways for Eric to feel just how much his dear little Progeny was suffering.
This quiet drip, drip, drip was a respite from that. An annoyance to distract her from the faded echoes of her own screams, still ringing in her ears.
A different kind of torment.
---
She hadn't slept.
She couldn't, not with the continuous agony of the silver embedded in her skin and weighing her down, draining her. Blood seeped from her nostrils and ears from the fatigue. Her body felt dead, leaden, paralyzed. A deep, gnawing hunger tore at her insides.
To keep herself alert, she thought of Eric.
Where was he? What was he doing now? Did he have a plan? Did he find Bill Compton? What was the King of Mississippi really like?
Hurry. Please hurry.
By now it was impossible to prevent him from feeling what she was feeling. Her pain was inextricably his. But if she could stay calm enough, he might be able to sense that she was okay. Despite everything, still okay.
She hated how they'd last spoken to each other, the night before the raid. And she hated to think that that might be their last conversation.
Blinking blearily at the concrete ceiling, her mind started to cloud around the edges. Her eyes were still dry. Besides not sleeping and eating, there was one other thing Pam hadn't done.
She hadn't cried.
The dungeon door slammed open and several pairs of footsteps made their way down the stairs. There was the tap, tap, tap of the Magister's cane on the floor.
"Rise and shine, Miss De Beaufort!"
She wouldn't cry.
---
A second nightfall comes.
The Magister, alone, once more descends the steps into the dungeon. He sheds his jacket and hangs it on a post, then rolls up his shirtsleeves before pulling on a pair of black leather gloves.
"I come bearing gifts, because I want you to know how rotten I feel about the way I've been treating you," he says, circling the table as he produces a small square box from his pocket. "I sent one of my minions to Tiffany's to pick up a little something for you."
At this point Pam is in a dull haze of pain, weakness, and hunger, yet she gathers up every bit of her wits about her to respond.
"How'd you know I was a Tiffany's girl?" she says, her voice an exhausted croak, her lips barely moving.
The Magister opens the box. It contains a pair of teardrop earrings. He lifts one out to show her.
"Most women are," he replies, smiling a little, "and those who aren't, just think they're not."
Pam stares up at the earring for a moment; it really is no more than a stylized silver hook, gleaming in the pale light with the promise of more pain.
"They're beautiful."
"They're sterling silver."
"Excellent. They'll match my chains."
The Magister chuckles darkly.
"Unfortunately, seeing you now," he then says, tilting his head at her, "I realize your ears are already pierced."
Pam gulps, her body defensively going rigid.
The Magister leans in and asks quietly, politely, evilly: "Would you object to my piercing your eyelids?"
She starts to tremble despite the fight that she's determined to keep up.
"Not at all," she exhales shakily.
The Magister smiles. "Very well."
Holding one earring in his gloved fingers, he pulls the other glove off his other hand with his teeth, tossing it aside. Then, with great care and delicateness, he pinches the thin skin of Pam's left eyelid between his thumb and forefinger...
[NOTE: Last part and following thread taken directly from True Blood episode 3x07.]
Drip.
Drip.
Water collected in stagnant puddles in dark corners of the dungeon.
The drip, drip, drip was the only sound in the dimness, and it was starting to annoy the fuck out of Pam.
Focusing on being annoyed was better than feeling the silver chains dig into her bare skin.
She couldn't tell how much time had passed since Eric left. A couple of hours, maybe more. It wasn't dawn yet, she was at least sure of that, as she didn't have the bleeds.
In those couple of hours, maybe more, the Magister had used the silver tip of his cane to carve the year 1478 into the flesh of her lower back when she said didn't know, and didn't give a fuck, when the Spanish Inquisition was established.
When she could no longer keep herself upright on the Wheel, he had his henchmen pull her down and lay her out on a table. They draped the heavy chains across her bare throat, shoulders, stomach, and ankles. And then the Magister continued his lecture, burning each of her fingertips with the cane as he counted off how many infidels and heretics he'd converted. She remarked how fortunate it was for her that there weren't very many.
The Magister eventually found her amusing. She had spirit, he had to give her that. But that only prompted him to come up with more ways to break her. And by doing so, more ways for Eric to feel just how much his dear little Progeny was suffering.
This quiet drip, drip, drip was a respite from that. An annoyance to distract her from the faded echoes of her own screams, still ringing in her ears.
A different kind of torment.
---
She hadn't slept.
She couldn't, not with the continuous agony of the silver embedded in her skin and weighing her down, draining her. Blood seeped from her nostrils and ears from the fatigue. Her body felt dead, leaden, paralyzed. A deep, gnawing hunger tore at her insides.
To keep herself alert, she thought of Eric.
Where was he? What was he doing now? Did he have a plan? Did he find Bill Compton? What was the King of Mississippi really like?
Hurry. Please hurry.
By now it was impossible to prevent him from feeling what she was feeling. Her pain was inextricably his. But if she could stay calm enough, he might be able to sense that she was okay. Despite everything, still okay.
She hated how they'd last spoken to each other, the night before the raid. And she hated to think that that might be their last conversation.
Blinking blearily at the concrete ceiling, her mind started to cloud around the edges. Her eyes were still dry. Besides not sleeping and eating, there was one other thing Pam hadn't done.
She hadn't cried.
The dungeon door slammed open and several pairs of footsteps made their way down the stairs. There was the tap, tap, tap of the Magister's cane on the floor.
"Rise and shine, Miss De Beaufort!"
She wouldn't cry.
---
A second nightfall comes.
The Magister, alone, once more descends the steps into the dungeon. He sheds his jacket and hangs it on a post, then rolls up his shirtsleeves before pulling on a pair of black leather gloves.
"I come bearing gifts, because I want you to know how rotten I feel about the way I've been treating you," he says, circling the table as he produces a small square box from his pocket. "I sent one of my minions to Tiffany's to pick up a little something for you."
At this point Pam is in a dull haze of pain, weakness, and hunger, yet she gathers up every bit of her wits about her to respond.
"How'd you know I was a Tiffany's girl?" she says, her voice an exhausted croak, her lips barely moving.
The Magister opens the box. It contains a pair of teardrop earrings. He lifts one out to show her.
"Most women are," he replies, smiling a little, "and those who aren't, just think they're not."
Pam stares up at the earring for a moment; it really is no more than a stylized silver hook, gleaming in the pale light with the promise of more pain.
"They're beautiful."
"They're sterling silver."
"Excellent. They'll match my chains."
The Magister chuckles darkly.
"Unfortunately, seeing you now," he then says, tilting his head at her, "I realize your ears are already pierced."
Pam gulps, her body defensively going rigid.
The Magister leans in and asks quietly, politely, evilly: "Would you object to my piercing your eyelids?"
She starts to tremble despite the fight that she's determined to keep up.
"Not at all," she exhales shakily.
The Magister smiles. "Very well."
Holding one earring in his gloved fingers, he pulls the other glove off his other hand with his teeth, tossing it aside. Then, with great care and delicateness, he pinches the thin skin of Pam's left eyelid between his thumb and forefinger...
[NOTE: Last part and following thread taken directly from True Blood episode 3x07.]
no subject
And there is a very real threat in that. Good cheer aside,
no subject
So he turns his attention to the Queen, who is standing beside Russell, and looking properly humbled.
Actually, she's staring at her toes, and wishing very, very hard that she were somewhere else.
"Is it true what Northman says?" the Magister asks her.
Aware that she's being addressed, she raises her eyes to him and bobs her head in a nod. "Yes, Magister," she replies, quietly humiliated.
Now, here is territory that the Magister is more familiar with.
"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you," he declares.
Sophie-Ann blinks, and looks to Russell and his stupid smiling face, and wonders why the fuck he isn't saying anything.
"By the powers vested in me by the authority I hereby--"
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"The authority? Are you serious? Who are the Authority? What gave them the authority? Nothing. No one."
This is a topic that apparently never grows old.
While Edgington is baiting The Magister Eric walks over to the slab where Pam is trapped.
"You okay?" he asks, very, very softly, as he strokes her hair.
Taking in the angry red burns and her smeared makeup.
"They took it, as I am taking it today," Russell continues, still pontificating at The Magister. "I no longer recognize the Authority."
And Eric starts removing the chains from Pam. Very carefully. He doesn't care about his own pain, but her torn and burned skin may cling to the silver as he removes the chains from her, so he has to take it slowly. His eyes full of unspoken apologies for the pain he is causing her. Have caused her.
Will cause her.
no subject
While Edgington talks, Eric moves into her line of vision. Her first instinct is to get up and reach for him, but she can't. Somehow that hurts more than the actual chains keeping her pinned down.
Eric touches her hair, his palm cupping the side of her face. And she nods, a barely perceptible movement of her head, but he'll feel it against his hand. Though her eyelids droop with exhaustion, she keeps her gaze locked with his. She's gotten this far, she can take a little more pain if necessary.
Meanwhile, the Magister is regarding Russell with quite a bit of incredulity. And growing anger. Nobody has ever spoken to him this way -- nobody who wanted to continue living, that is. With every word of sacrilegious contempt for the Authority, surely there would be no other sentence than the True Death. He is too old and too influential, with his radical ideas, to be allowed to live.
"You are aware--"
He hears the rattle of chains and snaps at Eric, "She stays on the table!"
Turning back to Russell, he resumes, "You are aware that just saying that is a cardinal sin."
no subject
"Honestly, it is kind of fun."
He chuckles.
Meanwhile, Eric is expending all his energy on not throwing himself at The Magister and tearing out his throat with his teeth. That and on keeping the hand still touching Pam, still caressing her face, gentle.
The only outlets he has for his rage and hatred are his eyes. Staring at The Magister.
no subject
And perhaps Russell doesn't understand the grave nature of the crime he's committing right now.
"You know I'm beholden by duty to convey your blasphemy to the Authority."
no subject
He's getting boring now. The Magister, with his goat like bleating, quickly wears out as amusement.
"But enough about you," he says, waving a hand in his face. "In exchange for the money she owes the IRS, Queen Sophie Anne," it tickles him, saying that, "has kindly accepted my marriage proposal."
Meanwhile, Eric is standing still, watching the proceedings, one hand still caressing Pam.
no subject
"I had no choice," she tells the Magister, resignedly.
At this point, the Magister sees where this is going. He's being backed into a corner, and he doesn't like it.
"Your Majesty..."
no subject
He's back to having fun again.
"Oh, we would be delighted if you would officiate the wedding for us."
Beaming.
Pretending to answer the question he is quite certain The Magister isn't asking.
But seriously, he needs him to perform this damned wedding, so they can get on with things. All this hewing and hawing is really annoying.
And he can taste whatever perfume Sophie-Ann has doused herself with. And all that from a tiny peck on the shoulder. Well, there will be no more of that.
no subject
As he wanders over to the slab, where he sees Eric has not taken the chains off of Pam, he attempts to explain,
"I am forbidden to conduct any rights of alignment unless specifically authorized--"
no subject
"Unless specifically authorized to do so by the Authority."
He walks over to the slab, joining Eric opposite The Magister. Giving him a look.
He likes people who catch on fast, he does not have time for slowpokes and the mentally underwhelmed. Of which The Magister is proving to be one.
Not like Northman. He seems bright enough.
"Yes, well," he continues, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Perhaps, you have not quite grasped the subtext of our earlier exchange, but there's a new fucking authority in town."
The last words are shouted in The Magister's face.
Eric tenses up. Edgington is mad and unpredictable. But he thinks he can predict what he is about to do now.
no subject
Suddenly Russell raises his voice and everyone is taken aback at his outburst.
There's a moment of tense silence as the echo of the words new fucking authority die away.
The Magister is flustered as his power and influence dwindles before his very eyes. Russell has no right. No right. With impotent desperation he sputters,
"I swear fealty now and always to the one true vampire Authority in whose wisdom and justice I--"
no subject
And then there's a shift in the air as two vampires move at once - and The Magister suddenly finds himself where Pam was a moment ago.
Chained.
Eric ignores him in favor of walking (not running - never show weakness in front of someone like Edgington) over to the wall Pam ended up against.
Reaching for her.
Keeping his face as neutral as possible.
Not his eyes though.
He cannot.
no subject
So before Pam knows it, she's literally deposited against the wall, freed from the chains--
her head spins and her skin feels as if barbed wire has been torn from it and her knees buckle and Eric is beside her and she reaches out to hold onto him so relieved
--and the Magister is flat on his back on the table, his flesh sizzling and smoking where a silver chain has been wrapped tight around his neck.
no subject
"Blindly doing the bidding of others, just like humans."
He grabs one of The Magister's discarded leather gloves and use it to remove the silver tip of his cane, revealing the deadly wooden tip inside.
"It's vampires like you who've been holding the rest of us back for centuries."
And then he sets to work, quickly abandoning the slab in favour of the chains on the wall.
Penetrating The Magister's torso with careful deliberation. Hurting, but not damaging.
And meanwhile, Eric retrieves Pam's jacket and helps her put it on, as unobtrusively as possible. Supporting her. Touching her.
He wants her out of here, but he dares not try and rush Edgington.
no subject
She looks up at him and all she wants to do is throw her arms around him and get the fuck out of here, but she's aware that some serious shit is going down.
The Magister's screams of pain echo throughout the dungeon.
Strung up with silver and pierced with his own cane.
He shakes and shudders, slumping weakly against the chains holding him upright.
Pam finds the whole thing kind of funny.
"You can dish it out, but you sure can't take it, can you, Magister?" she retorts.
She and Eric have quietly moved toward the rear to watch the spectacle, arms folded, their posture almost identical.
no subject
"You can always taunt later."
Edgington is a viper.
And Eric has made sure that he is closest to him. And that they are close to the stairs.
Not that it would matter if push comes to shove. He's too fast.
no subject
Still, Eric's right. There are too many crazy fuckers in this room right now.
And as much as Sophie-Ann is enjoying rolling her eyes at this game of Poke the Magister with a Sharp Stick, Russell's almost gleeful overindulgence is a bit much.
The Magister screams out again as Russell delivers another stab, blood oozing from the puncture wounds and staining his white shirt crimson.
"Can we hurry this along?" Sophie-Ann interrupts Russell with a snippy little smile. "I'm getting cold feet."
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He steps close to The Magister and says, "This could be so much less painful if you just said the fucking words! " ending in an unhinged roar.
Eric steps half a step closer to Pam. Just in case.
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"I am bound by duty," he gasps, "to uphold the sacred laws of--"
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Almost.
"Your call."
The threat need not be said out loud. And no one in the room doubts that he is willing to do it.
no subject
And finally...
Finally...
He gives in.
Slowly raising his head, with much pain and effort, he croaks out the official phrase:
"I hereby pronounce you...husband and wife."
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Eric daren't relax just yet though. There is still tension in the air. He can taste it.
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"Yes, thanks," she chirps. "So happy I could bleed."
The smile instantly fades as she glares at Russell, obligingly leaning in for air-kisses, one on each side, with a minimum of 12 inches separating his lips from her cheeks.
no subject
There is no need to overdo it.
"Congratulations, Your Majesties," Eric says from where he is still standing with Pam.
The wedding is over. Now, they just need for the King and Queen to leave, so Pam can rest and he can plan what to do next.
no subject
"Yes, congrats."
Ugh, seriously, can we GO now?
It does seem that they are all set to leave, keeping the Magister chained up to be dealt with later, when he insists on having the last word -- tiresome, bureaucratic oligarch that he is.
"You realize, of course," he growls out with what strength he has left at this point, "that the Authority will never recognize--"
no subject
If he has anything to say in the matter. The charade has been fun, occasionally, but it is starting to annoy him. All if it.
He holds the tip of The Magister's cane to his nose and sniffs it, saying, "Andalusia, the Iberian Peninsula. Mm - late 9th century," and then he continues in exalted Spanish, French "Ay, , que lastima!", this time cutting himself off with an "Well, whatever." Sounding bored.
Behind them, Eric is tensing up.
He doesn't like that Edgington is shifting this quickly between his moods.
Russell is still talking. Getting himself worked up again. "It's a long enough time for you to have outgrown your blind allegiance to the authority and their rule of law.There is only one law: The law of nature, the survival of the fittest. And we need to take this world back from the humans, not placate them with billboards and PR campaigns while they destroy it."
His voice has grown loud. His eyes are lit with passion.
"That is not authority! That is abdicating authority!"
This is not good.
"Your Majesty," Eric says. "Shall we?"
He wants him out of here.
"We shall," Russell says, turning away from The Magister.
And then he pauses.
"Actually, no."
Everything stops.
"Say hello to the true death," he says and with that he turns, swinging his arm.
The Magister's head is cut clean from his neck and tumbles in a neat arch through the air, exploding in bloody goo on impact as it hits the floor.
no subject
Sophie-Ann, wide-eyed, clutches at her pearls.
And the Magister...well. He didn't get the last word after all.
There's nothing left of him but a mess of congealed blood and tissue and an empty, crumpled suit.
And perhaps everyone but the most insane fucker in the room knows that there's a much, much bigger mess to clean up after this.
Pam looks up at Eric. What the fuck are we going to do?!
Sophie-Ann facepalms. I just married a psycho.
The Magister's remains bubble and gurgle and slowly trickle toward a drain in the floor. Drip, drip, drip.
no subject
Then Eric takes a small step forward and says, "With that taken care of, I assume your Majesties will be wanting to return to the King's mansion?"
He sounds like wading around in the bloody remains of the hangman of the Authority is something that happens every night.
It's a forced effort, but fairly believable.
"No," Russell says.
Eric freezes.
"We'll all head back," he continues. "I'm sure your Progeny can handle things here. Don't you think so, Eric?"
His lifted eyebrow and the sudden absence of any other kind of facial expression makes the question seen a hell of a lot more loaded.
There's a brief pause.
Then Eric walks over to Edlington, looking down at him. Lips slightly parted. "Of course, my King," he murmurs. "I did not want to presume-" Briefly running a finger down Edgington's upper arm.
Then he looks back at Pam.
"I'll just make sure that everything is in order upstairs. And get someone down here with a mop. I do have a business to run, " he says and Russell seems to buy it, herding Sophie-Ann up the stairs with a warning to Eric about not taking too long.
And then he is back at Pam's side, his arms around her.
no subject
Fucking Christ, what the hell happened in these past two days?
She holds her tongue. Because she's not stupid.
The newlywed royals make their way past her toward the stairs, and she politely smiles at them with a little bow of her head. Good riddens.
And then Eric's arms are around her-- and for a moment she forgets the mess they're in. She clings to him, closing her eyes and pressing her cheek to his chest, letting go of the torment she's endured. She's still weak and in pain, but the worst has passed. He came for her, and that's all that matters.
no subject
Because she is still weak and in pain.
And because he needs to.
He mutters, " This had better fucking work," as he walks up the stairs, down the hallway, and pushes the door to < a href="http://milliways-bar.dreamwidth.org/25669494.html">his office open with one foot.