[Activity] Hail, Hail, the Princess Has Returned

[Katarina Karkov]

Symkaria wasn't that big of a country. It took less than two hours, driving through woods and farmland, for the squad to reach Aniana, Symkaria's captial and Katarina's home.

Katarina had spent much of the drive on the phone; short, clipped sentences in Symkarian giving orders -- she explained, for Jez's benefit, that she was arranging security to keep Prince Alex in check, contacting her intelligence services, and getting things prepared for her surprise return to the palace. It was good -- it gave her something to do rather than just drum her golden fingers on the center console; keeping herself occupied helped keep her mind off of Alex, off of her face, off of her father, off of...everything.


Aniana was significantly larger than the small village Jez and Nika had parachuted into. It didn't have the sort of skyscrapers of London or New York -- it wasn't that large -- but the cobblestone streets, bright colored buildings, and spire after spire on the rooftops gave it a pleasing combination of bustling and quaint. The Kline River wound it's way through the town, twisting and snaking through, and so dozens of bridges stretched across it, stitching the two halves of the city together.

The centerpiece of the city was Aniana Castle. Unlike the Sablinova's somewhat oppressive castle on a hill, Aniana Castle was near the very center of town -- clearly the central point around which the town had been built. It was still quite elevated and dominated the skyline -- you don't build a castle in a valley! -- but it seemed very much more a part of the city, rather than lording over it.

This was all very good and nice, though not necessarily different than any other European (and especially Eastern European) city that Jez may have seen in the past. Slightly less common was the presence of the Karkovs -- Katarina, especially, seemed to be on a poster nearly every other block as they drove through the city, smiling, with bright slogans in Symkarian proudly displayed underneath. Katarina clearly tried not to focus too much on them, but the contrast between her smiling face in print and her damaged face in the car was...significant.

[Katarina Karkov]

The SUV pulled through a security checkpoint -- Nika was known enough to the guards to get through with relatively little fuss, and having the princess in the backseat does tend to help one's bonafides.

Katarina had asked for as little fuss as possible for her arrival. This, apparently, translated into six guards in dress uniform with polearms, a pair of stewards in tails, and a trio of young women in dresses forming a procession for the car to drive through, much to Katarina's embarrassment. "At least they gave the trumpeters the day off," she quipped to Jez and Nika, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

To their credit, the guards and stewards kept their reaction to seeing Katarina's damaged face to a bare minimum. The women, on the other hand, gasped and rushed over, talking a million miles a minute in Symkarian at Katarina.

"English. English please," Katarina said, with a tired smile. "We have a friend who has not yet learned our tongue.

Jezabelle, these are Helena, Lenka and Svetlana. They are my handmaidens, and my good friends. They take care of me when I am here. Girls, this is Jezabelle, who has helped me immensely in my...studies of the West. She also, at great risk to her own person, has arranged for my safe return today. Please treat her with the same kindness you have always shown me."

The three women eyed both Jezes up and down somewhat, but Katarina's seal of approval was more than enough to help her pass muster -- and there were more pressing concerns than a mousy westerner in the palace, anyway. Even if there were two identical ones. They smiled at her, not unkindly. "Welcome, Jezabelle," one of them (Lenka?) said, motioning for her to come over. "You must be tired, to have come such a long way and done so much for our Princess."

The other two girls were whispering to one another -- Jez could make out "guska", but everyone else was Greek to her. Or Symkarian. Whatever.

____________________

Nika was given a full salute by the guards as she stepped out of the car. Some of them technically outranked her in terms of the military -- they were older, after all -- but royal security existed on something of it's own level. They stood at attention as the entourage exited the car, waiting for commands -- or just to ensure everyone got in safely.

[Nika Novak]

Nika returns the salute. Now that the need for action is done and she's faced with the palace guard in their regalia she feels exposed in the torn up dress. Ragged.

"Lt. Novak, relinquishing my duties as personal guard of Her Royal highness. I would like to request a formal debriefing with the head of the guard and turn myself in for aiding and abetting the treasonous plot of Prince Alexander of House Sablinova." She snaps her still-saluting hand back down to offer her weapons (which is really just a knife and magazine-sans-firearm at this point) to the guards.

[Narrator]

Nika's sudden declaration was met with an abrupt silence -- you could hear a pin drop.

That was followed by Katarina stumbling, and heading towards the ground; the strain of the day and Nika's sudden revelation becoming too much for her. She was only just saved from hitting the floor by two of the handmaidens (Helena? Svetlana?), as chaos burst over the scene.


Two guards, at first taken aback, swung their ceremonial polearms out in defensive positions -- probably not a real threat to Nika if it came to combat, but she wasn't exactly fighting. Two other guards roughly grabbed her by the arms, and quickly started whisking her away from the palace, away from the princess, away from anywhere she could do harm. Everyone else swarmed around the princess, trying to support her and help her inside.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez did her part as best she could - being a distraction when Katarina wasn't busy on the phone. Though she was less effective at her job once they started to approach the nation's capital. Both the original and the copy began to stare out of the windows at the scenery, taking it all in. New York had beautiful architecture, and bridges, and history; this was true. But this was DIFFERENT. The bridges weren't as big, but they were every bit the engineering marvels for the tools they were built with, and how long they'd lasted. The palace itself was incredibly impressive - and she'd been impressed with the Sablinova's residence. This was... what did you even do with something that big? She had many questions, but as they got closer and closer there grew fewer opportunities to ask them; the princess was a busy woman.

"Well, I mean, the car does come with a horn of its own." Jez pointed out, not missing the opportunity to slip in a joke, even if it didn't have the effect she had hoped for. This had been a rough few days for Katarina, and there was still some troubling news in store for her.

The girls stepped out of the car and stood awkwardly. They weren't used to such formality and the nobility aspect was still rather novel to her. What was a quirk when Katarina was in a foreign country was now an entirely new world to her, she was the odd one out here. Especially with a foreign language involved. With Katarina's direction one of the Jez's moved toward the handmaidens, while the other looked back at her with concern. She was about to ask her if she would be alright, if she wanted her to remain with her while she got her rest (because, you know, power), when Nika dropped the bomb. Her face went pale and her mouth became dry. This was not how she had expected the woman to make her confession. Her outcry of "Nika! I meant in private! Over tea or something!" was probably lost in all of the commotion that followed.

[Katarina Karkov]

"I am alright, I am alright," Katarina tried to protest, but when the princess nearly faints, that gets somewhat taken out of her hands.

She couldn't stop looking at Nika, her golden eyes filled with confusion, hurt, and betrayal, as her former bodyguard was taken away. One last dagger in the wound; the final straw, taking away any chance she had of finessing the situation. A final act of cruelty from one she had thought she could trust. Broken, she meekly allowed herself to be led inside the palace, supported on both sides by her handmaidens.

[Nika Novak]

Nika on the other hand can't bear to look at Katarina for more than a split second, but that's enough to crack her rigid expression and regret fills her eyes. Somehow the look on Katarina's face hurts more than the bullet she took for her. Whatever she has coming for her now, she more than deserves it. By the time she manages to mouth an "I'm sorry." her charge, her sole responsibility, her friend, is being led away already.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

With some coaxing, Jez was reluctantly led away from the security checkpoint and the princess' now former bodyguard. Telling Katarina the truth had already been a delicate balancing act before they had even arrived, but now it seemed like the table had been flipped. She thought in unlikely that she would get to see the princess again for some time, so she started to use it to go over her story again and again, trying to find the best way to phrase everything.

[Narrator]

The next few hours were not pleasant for any of the trio.

Katarina had protested, telling her handmaidens, and later the military security, that they were to take no action -- that Nika must have been brainwashed, that moving against Prince Alex now would let whoever was behind everything escape, that no news of her kidnapping was to be released. Nika's rather public confession had taken that power out of her hands, however, and into the hands of the military. With her father in the building, there was nothing Katarina could do to slow down or stop anything. With no other choice left to her, Katarina had been led to her room and given a sedative; she slept fitfully.


Nika had been taken away, roughly thrown into a jail cell and left to wait before several members of the military arrived, firing questions at her. Without Katarina to protect her, she was told, her fate was in the hands of the King; she was to be held here until His Royal Majesty got around to hearing her case. Considering the severity of the crime and the personal nature of it, she was told to not exactly expect things to move along quickly. The looks she received from the other guards, especially when she couldn't (or wouldn't) give a reason for her deception, were withering.


Perhaps to her surprise, Jez had been led inside the palace, rather than removed entirely. One of the stewards had brought her a glass of water, but for the most part, she had been left alone inside a Symkarian palace for the second time that day -- the chaos of Katarina's arrival had caused many things to get lost in the shuffle. This particular entrance wasn't as played up as the ones they had driven through to get to Prince Alex's -- the difference, one would assume, being that this was a private entrance for the Karkovs, more secure in their status and not needing to show off as much. That being said, what passed as understated for royalty was slightly different than elsewhere -- lush red carpet, gilded scrollwork along the walls that one suspected may well be actual gold, intricate carvings on the walls hundreds of years old. A far cry from the blank walls and lack of personal effects from Katarina's dorm room. As she wandered from room to room, she'd find many of the walls adorned with portraits and statuary, depicting Symkaria's history and the various royal families. Over one of the major fireplaces, a relatively modern portrait of a large man in traditional dress stood, looking out over the room with a somewhat superior expression. Flanking it was a portrait of a younger Katarina, nearly drowning in layers of dress and finery. The other side had an older woman, but it wouldn't take an art expert to see the family resemblance. Unlike most of the other portraits, this one was framed in black, with a carefully arranged strip of black velvet running across the bottom corner.

"Jezebelle?" a voice came from behind her -- the same handmaiden who she had spoken to outside (Lenka?) stood behind her, in a practiced and reserved stance.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez was a bit surprised that she hadn't been taken aside for questioning as well, but as it currently stood the royal guards really had no idea of her level of involvement in this, or at least they had bigger concerns than some mousey little American. She had taken some time to try and recover, down to just the single self, but her concern for Katarina and Nika both stoked her boredom and sent her wandering. Her jumpsuit made her rather easy to find, contrasting the formal attire of anyone else in the palace, so she shouldn't have been too surprised to find that one of the princess' closest servants had come across her.

"Oh, it's you! You're one of Katarina's handmaidens, aren't you? Svetlana was it? Or Lenka? Or... oh dear, I think I've forgotten the third name, I'm sorry. Oh, that doesn't matter right now, is... well no it does matter, sorry, but is Katarina okay?"

[Narrator]

"Yes, I am Lenka," she said, with a thin-lipped smile. "I am sorry you got...lost in the shuffle here. We were all so concerned.

The Princess is resting, fitfully. She is frightfully upset, as I'm sure you can imagine. This has come as quite a shock to all of us," she sighed.

"What happened? Her arriving in the country unannounced was a big enough surprise, but to see her face...and then to hear the Lieutenant's confession..." she trailed off. "Are you alright?"

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle returned Lenka's smile with a sympathetic one. "Don't think anything of it. I can't even imagine the kind of pandemonium that must be going on right now, it must be like someone knocked a beehive out of a tree."

The girl looked a little uneasy about the questions, though the knowledge that Katarina was getting some much-needed rest did make her feel better somewhat. "I... really am not sure how much I can, or should, say right now. But if it's any consolation, I believe that Lt. Novak was taken advantage of and used as a pawn rather than an active co-conspirator. And the princess is even tougher than she looks; she'll bounce back sooner than you might expect."

That last question did give her some pause. Was she alright? She rubbed her shoulder, phantom pains still there from when she got skewered. "I - I'm fine, for the most part. I'm just tired. It's been a pretty trying day for all of us.

"Will it be possible for me to see her soon? There's a lot that I need to tell her, about today."

[Narrator]

"The princess is supposed to be getting some rest," Lenka hesitated, looking around. "And I am fairly sure her father would like to see her, as soon as she can be made presentable..."

She paused for a moment, a frown fighting against the corners of her mouth. "Lt. Novak was so much better at this than I am, I am sorry. You are the Goose, yes?"

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle frowned. She really wanted Katarina to find out before anyone else, it seemed wrong to keep secret from her the details of the events preceding and following her kidnapping. But if she had to talk to the king first, then that was just what she would have to do.

She stifled a laugh by covering her mouth, it sounded so silly when said in English. "Ah, yes, that'd be me. At least, that's why she told me it meant. And don't apologize, I think you're doing great."

[Narrator]

"Oh, thank goodness," she said with a sigh. "I mean, I thought it was you, but the Princess was very careful in her letters. No names, no places; nothing that could be used for people to know where she was."

"Her personal staff wasn't totally in the dark, mind you," she continued. "But you can never be too careful about things -- as you now well know!"

Lenka gestured for Jez to follow her, as she headed for the stairs. "But goodness, she talks about podmukla guska so. It does not surprise me in the least that you are the one who came after her. Not in the least."

"Katarina made several arrangements for you, a few months ago. A liaison, I believe it was? Some sort of excuse of a position, I am sure. That makes you one of us, and the Princess protects those who fall into her orbit."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'd assume every piece of royal mail that isn't hand-delivered personally manages to get peeked at at least once before it reaches the King's table." Jezabelle followed Lenka closely, even though she didn't know where they were going - other than up.

"Yes, she thought that by having me become a handmaiden that this might raise fewer questions for some people, though I'm pretty sure I'm laughably bad at it compared to you and the others." Her cheeks were still flushed about the podmukla guska comment, she'd never heard that term said by anyone but Katarina, knowing that others knew her by this pet name made her a bit flustered.

"Um, Lenka? Approximately how much did her Highness say about her goose?" She didn't attempt to try and pronounce it in their native tongue.

[Narrator]

"Oh, she talked about you at some length. I believe she was excited to find someone who liked her without needing to know that she was the Princess," Lenka said. "No expectations, no ulterior motives -- just someone who liked her because she was Katarina. I don't believe she's ever had that, before."

"Between you and me, I suspect that's why she brought you into her circle," she whispered, conspiratorially. "If you work for her, she knows you will not go away. That is the sort of relationship she can understand; she does have a very different background to you or I. If she was truly looking for a handmaiden, she could have sent for one of us; you do not have the standard experience or qualifications. Perhaps she just wanted...insurance."

Nothing Lenka said implied she knew about Jez and Katarina's relationship-relationship, though nothing outright contradicted it, either. The other two handmaidens whispering to one another when they had first arrived implied there was some kind of gossip floating around, but if Lenka suspected there was more to the couple than just friends, she wasn't showing her cards just yet.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez wasn't about to spill the beans herself either. If Lenka didn't know the intimacy of her relationship with the princess, then it was for good reason. And if she did know, then she probably also had good reason not to say so outright. She was almost offended by the assumption that she wasn't good enough to be one of her handmaidens, but upon careful consideration she had to just purse her lips and nod her head in agreement.

"Yeah, I supposed that tracks. Uh, where are we going, anyway?"

[Katarina Karkov]

"You wanted to see the princess? Then we shall go see the princess," Lenka nodded, as they reached a door at the end of the upstairs hall. She knocked briefly, and then opened the door and walked inside, as if she was in her element. I suppose she was, at that.


Katarina's "room" -- actually what seemed to be a series of rooms, wrapping around the corner of the castle -- was the first room Jez had been in that didn't look like something from a museum, but instead an actual place where a real, live, breathing human might live. Oh, sure, the furniture in the room still looked massively expensive, old and elegantly taken care of, but they showed actual signs of clutter and life; and not just because there were people actually in here.

Above the fireplace on one side of the room was another portrait of a younger Katarina and the woman from the black-bordered portrait Jez had saw earlier, but that was the one 'royal' looking artwork in the room. Instead, the rest of the room was highlighted with posters and postcards -- a far cry from the deliberately blank walls of Katarina's dorm room. Movie posters -- and not fancy, award-bait dramas, but fantasy films and college comedies -- formed a collage along one wall, next to a bookcase over-filled with dog-eared paperbacks, shelved in way that implied that they had been in an order, at once, but had been put back higgledy-piggledy. Across the room on the opposite wall was an antique writing desk, with schoolbooks and notebooks and a laptop all piled atop one another. The wall above the desk was filled with postcards from around the world -- Big Ben, the Eifel Tower, Genosha's Magda Square, Kenroku-En, a collage of of some of the world's more interesting locations -- all very clearly professionally taken, rather than something Katarina had been to. Another collage was of more candid shots, all seemingly within Symkaria, showing Katarina and her handmaidens in happier times.

The wall opposite the door opened up to a balcony, overlooking the river and town below. They were high enough up above it that the curtains didn't need to be drawn for privacy, and several lounging-type chairs were available for enjoying the outside. Next to it, doors opened to other rooms, seemingly only accessible from inside Katarina's complex.

And then there was the bed, a massive, canopied thing, currently containing one (1) royal princess of Symkaria. On the floor in front of it was the dress that Alex had provided for her; at some point, she had changed into a sheer chamise; anything to get out of what she had been forced to wear. Next to her, one of her handmaidens (Svetlana?) was carefully examining her damaged face, frowning as she turned Katarina's head one way, and then the other, assessing the extent of the damage. On the other side, the other handmaiden (Helena?) was carefully trying to scrub Katarina's ankle, where a grey discoloration on the gold could be seen where she had been chained to the wall.

Katarina weakly smiled at Jez and Lenka as they entered the room. "Welcome to my humble home," she said, wryly. "I am sorry you were left lost for a while; it took me 45 minutes to convince Henri that what I did not need at the moment was an inquisition."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle picked up the pace, staying close behind Lenka once they told her where they were going, slipping into Katarina's multi-roomed living quarters just behind her. Still much more massive than most houses she'd lived in, there was a certain coziness to the space simply because it had been personalized to Katarina's tastes and interests. Replace the furniture with cheap stuff from Ikea, and maybe condense it all into a single room, and it might be the bedroom of any of the friends she had growing up in America. There was definitely a lot to take in, a tempting array for the girl to explore and learn more about her princess girlfriend, but there were more pressing concerns for her at the moment.

"Don't apologize, it's been very... educational, looking around." Jez approached the bed but seemed hesitant to get too close, as though the other handmaidens might turn on her as they tended to their injured princess. "Though I'm going to tell you right now that I don't ever wanna hear the phrase 'decadent west' ever again." She mage a general sweeping gesture with her arms, which probably got the point across as to why she thought it was now a little hypocritical.

[Katarina Karkov]

"Well, you know me. I have always been intrigued by your crazy Western ways," Katarina said with a wry half-smile. "And when you are worth your weight in gold, people seem to think your cage should match."

She patted the side of her bed, motioning for Jez to come closer, and nodding her head for Svetlana to scooch. "I am happy you are here. I was worried that you and..." she trailed off.

"Your jumpsuit is interesting fashion," she said, instead. "Work-related, or is that just the style in Genosha these days?"

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez knew better than to dispute that Katarina's quarters were definitely a gilded cage - she'd seen enough movies about princess to have at least some idea of the restrictions she must have faced as she grew up. She approached the side of the bed, giving a soft "thank you" to Lenka before she turned and sat herself down and leaned against the headboard. She was polite enough not to put her boots on the sheets at least.

"I'm happy to be here, but more happy to see that you're safe." She started to pull the red gloves from her hands, laying them on her thigh before gently placing one of her hands on Katarina's arm.

"Well, the suit is kind of a long story... you're not the only one with an identity you've been trying to keep secret, hmm?" She asked with her own little smile, though her eyes seemed a little sad. "I guess... there's a lot I've got to tell you. About me, and about what's happened. I'm not really sure where to begin."

[Katarina Karkov]

"Well, I could hardly blame you for hiding, after how I first met you," Katarina said, with a small frown.

"Why don't you start at the beginning, and stop when you get to an end? If you're worried you may get in trouble...everyone in this room is loyal to me first and foremost. I give you my word that no matter what has happened, you shall have my full protection," she said, solemnly. "For as long as you wish it to be."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"To be fair, I don't think you ever told me you WEREN'T a princess." Jez pointed out as she slid lower on the bed, resting on it more and staring up at the canopy above them. Katarina's trust in her handmaidens made her feel more at ease with spilling the beans, but then again she'd trusted Nika as well. But that was different.

"Well, I'll start with me, and we'll work from there." It seemed like she'd accepted the woman's offer, gently stroking her golden arm as she spoke. "When my mother and I moved to Genosha, things weren't the best. We weren't living in squalor, though there were a lot a people who were, but we weren't all that well off either. My powers had only recently began to manifest and at the time we really didn't know what they were or the extent of them - I really could only control one of me at a time, so while one was standing or sitting in a trance, the other was able to move around and stuff. And my range and motor skills were pretty bad. But as I practiced more and more I got better, and was able to do more; a lot more. And that started to attract the right kind of attention, or wrong kind depending on how you look at things. One day I just come back home from school to find all of our belongings had been loaded onto a truck, and my mom and I were being ushered into the backseat of a black sedan. I can't remember how they phrased it, something about recognizing our potential contributions to the nation, but that in exchange for my service we were moving up in the world. An apartment in the inner city with a beautiful view of the city and the bay, and a modest stipend to cover living expenses. It was like a dream come true, and all they asked in return was for me to undergo training to help develop my powers, with the promise of guaranteed work in my future.

"But it didn't take me long to start to see past the curtain. My building, and a lot of other ones, were only at half occupancy. Some of them had dozens of apartments with only one or two people living in the entire building. And yet not twenty miles away there were hundreds upon hundreds of people living in a makeshift shanty town. Some were able to start their own farms, their mutations making it easier for them to make tools, clear the land, till the soil. Those with mutations that were deemed "beneficial" were given better living conditions, better jobs, better access to services and products and whatever you might want. It was no different from the lives that these poor people had fled from. Only instead of your social status being determined by your bank account, or your lineage, it was all based on genetics and the luck of the draw. There was no need for it, there was more than enough for everyone."

Jezabelle's voice grew soft as she spoke, her eyes almost vacant. "I thought maybe I could try and talk to someone about it, maybe Magneto and those in his inner circle simply didn't see what the conditions were like for so many of us, too focused on warding off threats from the outside world. My mother warned me not to rock the boat. Her own mutation wasn't... useful enough for her to maintain her status in society. And I was destined for bigger and better things. Things like... the Acolytes." Well, that explained the outfit.

"Of course, I never actually got that title. Never finished my training. I was too at odds with the system, and the system didn't want me to be who I knew I really was. They said that I set a bad example, that wanting to change myself might encourage people to try and hide their powers, change who they were." She shook her head. "They wanted everyone to be themselves but wouldn't let me be myself - they wanted you to be the you that they decided on. I found out that they had started seizing the medicine dad was sending me. And then, well, the rest is history. My dad and I came up with a plan to get me out; you can't just LEAVE Genosha, they don't allow it. But I had been going back the US for summer vacations, and they allowed it 'cause dad would use his connections to arrange safe passage to Genosha for really at-risk mutants. Just another benefit of my social status. Only I didn't go back. I was enrolled at Xavier's Institute instead, and then I came to the campus in London - anywhere else in the world and they'd have come and got me, but I guess I'm not important enough for them to risk opening that can of worms. I only kept this thing because it really is an amazing suit to train in... and I thought if it came down to it I might be able to intimidate Prince Sabalogna with it.

"... which I guess leads into the next story, doesn't it?"

[Katarina Karkov]

Katarina remained quiet throughout Jez's story, occasionally nodding as she went along.

Coming from a very different place then Jez, it wasn't immediately clear how Katarina interpreted Jez's story. She definitely looked concerned and serious as Jez was describing the conditions she had grown up in, though whether she really got the unfairness of the social structure, or if she was more concerned by the coldness of Genosha's leaders was unclear. There was something in her eyes when Jez talked about her mother, a hurt that had been masked through years of practice; she at least connected on that personal level.

She nodded, her frown deepening when Jez mentioned her medication had been spirited away -- it looked, then, as if she wanted to interrupt with questions, but she left it alone, for now.

"If you feel up to the rest of it, yes," she nodded at the end, squeezing Jez's hand gently.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

A small smile crept across Jez's face when she felt Katarina squeeze her hand, breaking the gloomy expression that had overtaken her like a heavy blanket.

"You sure you don't want a turn? This next one is going to be... unpleasant in places. I... can't promise how you'll feel about me after it." She tried to keep her voice from cracking, legitimately worried that her decision that day might forever ruin their relationship.

[Katarina Karkov]

"I believe I need the full story, sooner rather than later, Jezebelle," Katarina said, quietly. "I am already lacking ammunition against my father, and I do not believe I can take any more...surprises."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"I just really hope you're up for this." Jez breathed in deeply and let out a deep sigh, steeling herself for what she had to say. This was not going to be pleasant.

"I... don't know all of the details. But from what I got from Nika, she had come into contact with Prince Alex once he arrived. It seems that she disapproved of our relationship. That I was, how did she put it... taunting you with something you couldn't have. That I was leading you astray and making you ignore your duties. She looked to him to help get you back on track, as it were."

She turned to offer a sympathetic look to Katarina. "I don't think she had any idea of what the Prince had planned. If she had even an inkling of it I'm sure she would have mopped the floor with him before he even raised his voice toward you. As much as I disagree with what she did, and what she believes... I know that she didn't do it out of malice. I don't know how much that's worth to you though.

Funny, Jez hadn't really said too much that'd make the princess hate her... yet.

[Katarina Karkov]

Katarina winced a little bit at the word 'relationship', but let it stand as was without challenging.

"I hear what you are saying," she said, cautiously. "But she swore an oath. An oath to protect and serve. If she...felt she could no longer live up to the standards of that pledge, she had options. She could have resigned. She could have told my father that I was being...led astray. She did neither of those things.

And now. You say she has done nothing out of malice," she continued, her hand curling up into a fist. "And yet, the moment we arrive back at the palace, the moment I am safely behind its gates once again, that is when she chooses to turn herself in. Not to me; not coming to me, but to the palace staff. The ones working for my father. She implicates Prince Sablinova, despite my best efforts to keep that secret for now. There are still so many unanswered questions -- how did Prince Alex find me to begin with, being first and foremost. And now, whoever was helping him? They will slip away quietly, as Prince Alex gets branded as the criminal mastermind."

Her voice grew stronger as her rant continued. "And, with my bodyguard having proved unloyal? After I had spent months and months trying to convince my father I would be safe away from the palace, that I could attend university incognito without the world coming to an end? I very much doubt I will see the other side of these gates any time soon."

"You say she did nothing out of malice. I have to say, Jezabelle, the evidence seems to say otherwise. If her goal was to separate me from...from Western influences," she hedged, "then she couldn't have done much better than she actually did."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez grew increasingly uneasy as Katarina spoke. It painted a very poor picture of Nika, and there were several aspects of it that she really hadn't considered. After all, she didn't know what life was like in the castle, or how things worked. By the end there was very little she could say to try and defend the young woman. Was this her fault? She had insisted that Nika herself was the one to confess so that she wouldn't wind up ratting her out... no, she had told her she had to tell Katarina, not to just turn herself in the first moment she got.

"I... I don't know Katarina. Maybe she...." She what? Couldn't face the princess? Felt too guilty? Was that excuse enough? Jez trailed off, not really having any sort of answer.

"Well, maybe she'll get lucky, and my sin'll outweigh hers."

[Katarina Karkov]

"And what is your sin, Jezabelle? What have you done this day?" Katarina said, turning her gaze once more to Jez's face.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle let out a little sigh through her nose, trying to focus her eyes on the canopy above to keep herself from looking at Katarina's face. She lifted her hands and began to count them off on her fingers one by one.

"Well, let's see. I cheated at the Spring's End dance-around-the-pole contest, which involved assaulting a couple of your citizens. Then I punched the prince in the nose, and dangled him over a balcony, and then hit him again. Oh and I took embarrassing video of him, that's a third one. What else..." Well, so far, all of those things could be forgiven.

"Oh, right, you were wondering how we managed to find you and get here so quickly. You'll never guess who was waiting for me in my dorm room. Actually, you might if I give you a hint; who's the absolute worst person it could have been?"

[Katarina Karkov]

"...My father was at the university?" Katarina asked.

Missed it by that much.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"Mmm no. Right job, wrong country of origin."

[Katarina Karkov]

Katarina looked at Jez for a moment, her face unreadable.

And then, realization dawning in her eyes, she groaned. "No. No, you are playing a cruel joke now. He didn't..."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

"If it wasn't him, it was a pretty damn convincing copy." Jezabelle assured her. "He is... terrifying. Even without uttering a threat, or raising his voice or a hand toward me, I - I wouldn't want to share a room with him ever again." Her voice was becoming less emotional and softer as she spoke.

"He knew everything. Who had taken you, where you were, and how to get us into the country. I can theorize why he didn't want you to marry the Prince, but that man's schemes are like 5th dimensional chess."

"And that makes your situation all that much more complicated."

[Katarina Karkov]

"Any other revelations to make? Was your father Helmut Zemo? Did Erik Killmonger teach you the dance of the Summer Queen?" Katarina said, exasperated.

"Victor is...difficult to deal with, at the best of times. It is a delicate balance of feeding his ego enough that he does not feel disrespected, and not so much that he feels you are weak. He is always, always running multiple angles -- he cares not if you lose, only that he wins," she continued, rubbing her forehead. "Terrifying? Perhaps. Complicated? Most certainly."

She sighed. "You were used by Doom, I am sure. But you also used him to come find me. And you have told me, almost as soon as you reasonably could. You are correct; this does make things more complicated. But it is not your fault that Lord Doom entered into your life; if anything, it is mine.

And Victor, if you are listening, it is considered poor form to bug a lady's handmaiden," she added, as an afterthought.

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jezabelle turned her head to watch Katarina as she spoke. "You're just letting me off easy because you think I'm cute." But that last remark elicited a groan out of her and got her to cover her face with her hands.

"Ohhhhhhhh my God, I am such an idiot." She tugged at one of the sleeves of her jumpsuit, producing the little remote-like device she'd been given. "Emergency card my ass. Doom, you dick." She swore as she worked to snap the thing in half.

[Katarina Karkov]

"He can sometimes be a bit predictable in his unpredictability," Katarina nodded, as Jez snapped the card with an audible fizz. "It may well have worked as an emergency card as well, but a gift from Doom rarely comes with no strings attached.

I am just glad it was something so easily found."

[Jezabelle Sherlock]

Jez looked to the sides and sat up a bit in search of a waste basket to put the pieces in, before eventually giving up and just handing it to her closest attendant.

"Well, unless he put nano-machines in my drink, that should be everything. Well, except for one more confession."