ten_of_swords | (no subject)

(no subject)

The door to the bar closes behind them.

Ruin wraps his arms around Miniver's waist as they stand in the living room. It's tasteful -- furniture carefully chosen, colours ideal, and outside the massive, clear windows roars the green-blue ocean.

He nuzzles Miniver's neck, smiling wickedly against his skin, and murmurs, "Welcome home, darling."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Miniver gives Ruin a look of innocent bafflement.

"Is he one of the servants?"

Ruin snorts.

"No. He's family. What are you doing here, Caden?" he demands, putting himself between Fortune and Miniver.

Fortune crosses his arms. "I'm here to stop you from ruining him. Do you know what he would do if -- and when -- he remembers this?"

"That's the point," Ruin hisses. "I'm having fun."

Miniver peeks over Ruin's shoulder, eyes wide.

"What's going on?"

Ruin glances at Miniver.

"Nothing, dear," he says sweetly.

Fortune, though, walks around Ruin and takes Miniver's hand. "You need to come with me now, before you do something you'll regret later," he says gently.

Miniver tries to snatch his hand back, standing up tall. "The hell? I'm the fucking Prince. This is my husband. Who are you to tell me to leave him?"

Fortune first looks at Miniver, then at Ruin. "What did you tell him?" he demands.

Ruin laughs, and it's a harsh, nasty sound. "What he wanted to hear."

Miniver continues to regard Fortune with a look of distrust and anger.

"He told me who I am. Co-regent of Greece and the surrounding territories. His husband."

Fortune, for his part, doesn't laugh.

But he does look like he wants to hit Ruin.

"No, Miniver, you aren't. You're Miniver Cheevy, you live at Milliways, and you just broke up with your lover, Draco Malfoy," he tells him. "You transcribe notes for a Mr. Robbie Ross for your pocket money."

Miniver growls.

"You're lying. This is an infiltration attempt."

He draws his wand and points it at Fortune.

"Back off. I can rearrange your anatomy so thoroughly you won't remember what species you are."

Fortune continues to try not to laugh.

"He, just as I, is a tarot card made flesh, Miniver." Fortune sighs. "He's married to the Queen of Swords. She's out of the house at the moment, but she's blond with very bright blue eyes."

Ruin snorts. "You have no proof of that."

The blond card looks at Miniver, eyes serious and honest. "A few weeks ago, our sister, Moon, kidnapped you from the bar in order to teach Draco a lesson. You were lonely at the castle, and very afraid. I took you up to the eyrie where you met Jinx, my favourite gyrfalcon, and your bird -- Dart -- hurt your hand when you tried to take him from my eagle and I took you to my room to tend to it, then... kept you... company... for the night. Ruin... has done nothing but seek to harm you, which is why you wear that moonstone around your neck. To protect you. So you could call to Moon if Ruin tried to hurt you."

Miniver closes his hand around the moonstone and looks at Ruin.

"If I call this Moon person, will she come?"

Ruin's smile is vicious.

"Yes. She's annoyingly loyal to you like that."

"Is he telling the truth? About you?"

"Fortune's annoyingly truthful," Ruin admits with a shrug.

Miniver scoots away from him, but no nearer to Fortune.

"Then... we're not really married."

"No," Ruin says with a deep chuckle.

Fortune looks worriedly at Miniver. "It's... the type of thing he does. He hurts..."

Miniver leaps and scampers across the room like a startled mouse, looking just as wild.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Fortune takes a breath.

"Nothing, thank God," he says. "Ruin would've..." He looks at his brother with a murderous glare. "Whatever he intended, Miniver, it wasn't good. It was to take advantage of you now so he could exploit it later."

Miniver presses his back to the wall, his mind and heart racing. His wand remains held pointed towards the other cards, his hand tight around the moonstone.

He can't use his magic. He doesn't know how. Not a single spell. He could shout things at random, but who knows what that might accomplish? Not necessarily anything harmful to them. Maybe worse for himself.

His options, at this point, are very, very limited. And he can't see the situation getting much WORSE if he takes the one they both claim will work.

He holds the stone so tightly his nails dig into his skin. "MOON!"

And she appears.

Midnight hair, inhuman green eyes, pale skin, and white clothing. She's barefoot, her skirt filmy and tattered a bit, and she's a bit confused.

She looks between the three men, then notices where they are, and whirls on Ruin.

"What the hell have you done now?" she demands.

Fortune says quietly, "Miniver's lost his memory and Ruin filled his head with nonsense."

Ruin just smirks. "Free will, sister-mine. He came here of his own choice."

She's even scarier than Ruin just now. And that thing with the appearing out of nowhere...

Miniver utters a tiny whimper and... faints.

Brilliant.

Moon rolls her eyes, Ruin laughs, and Fortune rushes over to pick Miniver up off the floor.

"What..." She pinches the bridge of her nose before skewering Ruin with her eyes. "You. Stay away from him. You come near him again, I will sink your body parts into nine different oceans -- and none of them on the same world."

She goes to Fortune. "Take him back to the castle. Best to deal with him there. Away from Ruin."

Fortune nods and walks through a door, disappearing with the young man.

Again, she turns to Ruin. "I mean it, Ciaran. I will hurt you," she threatens coldly, then she follows her youngest brother and leaves Greece.

Ruin hrumphs. "Such spoil sports," he mutters to no one.

"If you think she's going to hurt you..."

There's a rather pissed off blonde woman standing in the bedroom doorway.

And she sure as hell isn't the Queen of Russia.

Of course she isn't.

Russia hasn't had a queen in gods know how long!

Ruin visibly winces.

"Just amusing myself."

"'Amusing yourself' was jerking his chain in the bar," she says.

"Once you brought him here, it became about hurting people other than just Miniver." Her eyes are a dark enough blue so as to seem black. "You made our wedding rings just a prop for your game. You brought your lie into our home, Ciaran. And you're sadly fucking mistaken if you think I'm just going to forget that any time soon."