Xaviers!

"I know at least one shapeshifter we could probably talk into that kind of shenanigans."

"Actually I meant more along the lines of if you were going to kick some ass I could make it so that there would be witnesses and maybe even CCTV footage of a redhead in your-style clothes in a very public place at the same time, so you couldn't possibly have assaulted someone at that time."

'I mean I'm willing to do a lot for you but "Jezabelle likes to dress as Katarina and date herself in public" is just a wee bit creepy.'

"Yeah, even I know that you don't fly your freak flag ALL the way to the top of the flagpole."

"Oh! Oh I see," Katarina said, with a giggle. "No, no, that's quite alright. You come from a very different world than I do. Do not worry about me.

And I do not think I could kick very much ass even if I was inclined to do so. I have people for that sort of thing," she winked.

"Man, I still can't believe I'm roommates with a for reals Princess. That's so bonkers!"

"A real princess over her head at the moment..."

She walked over to the bed and sat down on it, proper and upright. "We have two separate issues going on right now, and I do not want to give either of you short shrift. Unfortunately, I can not split into multiple people like Jezabelle, so I shall do the best I can."

She sat, resting her head in one hand, as she thought.

"...What exactly did the strange person say to you, Nailah?"

"And Jez, are you feeling alright? You're talking quite a bit.."

"Well first he said he was a reporter, till he figured out I was your roommate and dropped that charade. He said 'they' know the trouble we're in and that you have friends who'll see you through, the walls have ears and that there are operatives nearby to get us away quickly and that the button is going to summon a car down by the docks."

"I tried to look at what all of this means but my power's... being a little weird at the moment."

"Sorry, when there's more of me, the social filters get a little weak."

'You ever talk to yourself in your head?' The two half under the bed has become one at some point, which meant that the one in the middle of the floor wasn't the original. One which sat up after a moment.

"If the ears have walls... didn't they just hear all of this?"

"Jezebelle is correct -- if we're being listened to, they heard everything you've just said, Nailah," Katarina frowned. "I believe Nika checks regularly, but it is possible she missed something.

And no one who works for me would work like that. There is an emergency escape protocol in place, but it has nothing to do with the docks, and they would not change it without informing me. Curiouser and curiouser..."


She turned to Jez. "Social filters become weak, you say? And do others know this?" she asked, tapping her teeth in thought.

"Yeah, but like, it's not impossible to control."
'Being out in public makes us more reserved. Here we're safe, so we're more comfortable. More...'
"... chatty."

"Hrm. Well, what if it...was more difficult to control?" Katarina said, golden gears turning in her head.

Both of the Jezs looked confused and glanced at each other.

"Are you... do you think we let something slip, and that's how people found out?"
'cause I swear, we didn't blab, not a word!'
"Well, except for Basil, but that's only because he already knew."

"No, no, no," Katarina said, suddenly. "No, I trust you. I know you wouldn't do that; you knew how important keeping this secret was.

But...I mean, Prince Alex, you have to understand. It is so useful to have a servant who can split into multiple versions; multitasking is such an important skill to have. Unfortunately, she only has the one brain between her, so sometimes, when she slips into multiple copies, she can forget her place..."

"... and mix up which one is doing what!" the two Jezs said in unison, grinning widely as they caught on to Katarina's plan.

"It is really quite the bother, and have no fears -- she is being disciplined quite severely for her misdeeds," Katarina continued speaking to her invisible audience. "But it is so hard to find good help these days, you know..." she grinned.

"I don't know if that will work; it's possible Prince Alex has more...erm...scandalous blackmail material he's keeping in reserve, or a source willing to testify against us. But it's something we can play, no? Make convincing enough for the Prince to drop things?"

"It's definitely worth a shot. Though there is one detail we're overlooking."

'Who's going to play the role of the person I'm "actually dating"?' The Jez by the bed asked with air quotes.

Katarina's face fell a little bit. "I...had not thought of that. Erm....clearly, the, uh....love life of one of my handmaidens is....erm...below my notice?

Drat, that doesn't sound good at all."

"Someone with red hair, yeah?" Nailah says, slowly catching up to what is going on and piecing things together.

"It doesn't have to be, necessarily, though I suppose the more our, um, fake friend looks like me, the less...dumb? Confused? Jezebelle would look..."

"So we may still need a shapeshifter..."

"Well, maybe we can say they're just...back in Canada?" Katarina tried weakly, definitely not trying to come up with a way to not see Jez with someone else, nope...

"I mean, I could ask Colette. She could easily make her hair like yours..."
'It's not really hair though.'
"Well that goes without saying. But the prince probably hasn't done much research into her, so he wouldn't know what her look is normally. And we've been spending some time together, so if there is spying going on that may add some credibility to our story."

"Colette? Really? Your go to is the hardest-to-mistake student at the whole school? She's made of goop! Heck, you'd do better just putting a wig on somebody."

"She may be made of...'goop', as you say, but she's probably the least...objectionable shifter on campus," Katarina said, diplomatically.

"Well, pink is pretty close to red." Jez shrugged.
'I mean, do you have an alternative gal in mind? Because I think finding a boy for the role would be even more of a stretch.'

"Well, a boy would seem more natural and normal, but your mind would have to be quite foggy to mistake me for a handsome young man, I fear," she smiled.

"There's Samantha. She's into girls. Oh! Oh that's why... The guy, with the remote and the escape route thought cause we sleep in the same room... Oh no..." Nailah laughs awkwardly. Then it suddenly seems to turn into a smirk.

"He got confused. Because we're roommates. What if Jez had the right room but the 'wrong' person?"

"Oh, that's not good, either," Katarina groaned. "Because now YOU might be in danger, and it means more people know that I have a...that I am...with a young woman."

"Oh don't worry about me. I get myself into danger all the time and come out alright."

"I don't think people'd jump to the latter conclusion." Jezabelle eventually was just one, sitting on the edge of Katarina's bed. "Other than how my patience you have in your 'handmaiden' messing up on occasion, and she's gotten much better at it. Really, it's not a bad plan, if Nailah's really down for it.

"Of course, we're going to need to falsify some evidence. Pictures, text logs, being seen together, that kinda stuff."

"Well....I mean, if you're comfortable with this..." Katarina said, hesitantly.

"It's not exactly how I'd picture it but saving a Princess is definitely on my list somewhere." Nailah grins.

"Well, I mean, cheating on my girlfriend isn't exactly on the top of my list of things I wanted to get done this week, but I'd rather do that than see you lose your title."

"Well, I'm sure my new handmaiden can think of some way to make it up to me," Katarina said, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Right! If we're going to stage some pics then I need to go change into a different outfit or two." Jez got up from the bed and headed for the door, but also remained sitting on the bed - it was a little unnerving to watch seeing her "step out" of herself, it just didn't make sense to the logical mind.

"Do you..." Nailah blinks at the seamless exit from the room, turning her head back to the Jez still on the bed. "Do you want me to get a change of clothes or two as well?"

"It wouldn't hurt. It helps the narrative that we've been together for awhile. If all of our pictures are of us in the exact same outfits, that's not very convincing."

She turned to look at Katarina. "We shouldn't need to fake any risky texts, right?"

Katarina frowned. "I do not know what level of resources that Prince Alex would throw at this problem. I do not think he would attempt to hack your text messages, but I could see him trying to steal your phone?"

"Hmm, I could pick up a burner phone then maybe. 'cause if he tries to take my actual phone I'll break his Goddamn hands, and that wouldn't help matters any."

"Be careful, Jez. And the more you lie, the more you have to remember about a lie."

"She's got a point. There's such a thing as too much planning and detail."