As The World Falls Down

ROSALIND: What does your ideal day entail?

ROSALINE: Which people from your past haunt you?

SEBASTIAN: Is violence ever the answer?

"Not far enough apparently."

"Sex. Food. Maybe I get to kill someone."

"I had a partner once. He died in the battle for the Feywilds."

"Always."

"It's crystallised flowers from the meadows outside of the city. This way you can wear them and they'll never die." Ruby explain as they handed over the necklace. "It took a second to get the magic just right but they should refract all kinds of colours when the light hits it." @mytarnishedsilver

Kimberley had always been very tidy, and the dressing room at the strip club was no exception to that rule. Even though it was late (or rather early) and she was tired from her shift, she couldn’t help but try to pull her belongings together—stacking glitter and hair products next to each other, organising her makeup bag, and putting all of her accessories in neat little boxes.

“Hey, Ruby?” Kim turned to the other woman in the room. Ruby was relatively new, and she hadn’t had a chance to speak to her much yet, but she seemed nice enough. They were also very beautiful, in that vaguely unnerving, intimidating way. “Have you seen my eyelash curler?”

(( @theoneandonlyruby​ ))

-

Ruby was painting her nails when she heard the other speak. Looking up she shrugged and was about to go back to her nails when something caught her eye. “It’s on the floor.” Ruby mentioned. And that was going to be all she said until curiosity got the better of her. 

“Your whole look. People go for that? You didn’t see a lot of that kind of aesthetic where I was before so I’m just wondering how popular it is.” Mostly because the innocent look wasn’t something Ruby vibed with.

Red didn’t appreciate the condescending tone, but she was hot and apparently super old, so he decided not to challenge it. “Well, how will you know unless you try me?” he asked with a confident smirk.

-

“Hm.” Ruby played with Red’s clothes for a second. “Alright, pretty boy. Convince me.” She challenged, a grin threatening to spread across her lips as her eyes lit up with wicked amusement. 

“I’ll throw Obsidian a bone and let her help set things up,” Opal said. “It’ll keep her from being too underfoot. I will need your help at the door, however. Make sure you don’t let anyone in who will ruin our fun, and be ready to throw out anyone who’s boring.” She paused. “I’ll have you and another guard on rotation so you can have fun yourself.”

-

She almost took offence. Almost. Because of course she would have to work it even if it was in rotation. Though she was suppose to be a personal guard not venue security. Still she smiled at her queen. “Of course. Need to make sure that you and yours are protected after all and that no one is trying to spoil the party.” It was all true. The only thing she hadn’t disclosed was her annoyance of being lured into thinking the party was so she could have fun. Ruby loved her job. She did. It was her whole being. Her only problem with it was when she was reminded she was not part of the court, she simply served it. 

“Why don’t you lie? You see, everyone lies at some point. If you say you don’t lie, that is a lie. Because any deviation or misdirection from truth is a lie.” Natalie smiled. “Truth is like a braided rope; you twist and don’t the individual strands until it makes a knot. But if I unravel it and braid it again strand A might be in a different location than it was on the first braid.” Natalie looked at them again and smiled. “Can I show you a something? Its a demonstration I saw in a college class on machining.”

-

“Perception of a lie and an actual lie are two very different things. Just because you believe someone lied to you doesn’t mean they did. When I say I don’t lie I mean I don’t lie. You don’t get to say otherwise. In fact to assume I was lying about not lying is such a mortal thing to do. And if you’re using metaphors I think the one you want is that the truth is water. Important, vital, and able to change it’s shape when necessary.” Ruby was long past the point where it seemed their very existence was causing this woman some kind of offense. Perhaps they needed to start limiting how many times they corrected people. “I don’t know what machining is but sure.”

“Really?” Red said with a faint smirk. “Well, if sexual prowess runs in the family, then they must’ve been amazing in bed.” He stepped closer to her, looking her over slowly and nodding some in approval. “Want to let me show you I’m just as good as they were?”

-

“Oh sweetie. If they were anything it’s because I taught them how to be.” She patted him on the chest. “And I’m not really in the habit of taking just anyone to bed. They have to prove themselves. How do I know you aren’t just some little boy pretending to be a man?”

Opal smiled, touching Ruby’s arm gently. “Well, we’ve always known that only fae know true beauty.” She moved her hand up to brush some of Ruby’s hair behind her shoulder. Letting her hand fall away, she continued forward. “We’ll just have to throw plenty of parties while we’re here. Show these peasants how it’s done.”

-

“You always know what to say to make me feel better.” Ruby smiled at the queen. “if we don’t end up trashing a few buildings while we’re here I’m going to call those parties failures.” Her smile became a wicked grin. “Do you need me to do anything or would you like to plan this yourself?”

★

“No, I haven’t been telling anyone anything,” Jester replied somewhat defensively, doing her best to stand up straight and fight against the urge to shrink under Ruby’s intense gaze. Perhaps it wasn’t the most confident she’d ever appeared, but at least she managed to look the older fae directly in the eyes when she continued. “You know me, I’m never on my best behaviour. But I’m as invested in keeping our presence a secret as you are, and I’m not stupid enough to do anything to cross the queen. Or her guard. I’m just here to have a good time.”

-

“It doesn’t hurt to check.” Ruby gave Jester a small smile though it didn’t reach their eyes. “You’re welcome to do as you please as long as it doesn’t get in the queens way, you know that. I do wonder why you spend your time masking as a human rather than simply a seelie fae. Wouldn’t it be easier to do than having to talk your way around lies?”

Red slowed as the woman spoke to him, glancing around to make sure she was really talking to him. She was one of the new dancers, and he hadn’t gotten to know her that well yet, but he also knew she was devastatingly hot so any attention was good attention in his book.

“My great-grandparents were royal guards for the Seelie Court,” he said proudly.

-

“Oh really?” His pride in that claim was more than a little amusing. “Well if that’s the case then I absolutely knew them. In fact now that I think about it. I’ve probably had sex with your great grandparents.” Ruby pursed her lips as she had a think about it. “Pretty sure I made my way through the whole guard house.”

“Wow, brutally honest and pretty. What a combination.” Nat shook her head before soeaking again, “Im having a bad day, everybody has bad days. What so interesting about you, you seem to be the authority on the subject, why don’t you enlighten me on the subject. I’d love to know how my patheticness compares to your achievements.” Natalie rolled her eyes as she drank. This person was really being a drag.

-

“I don’t lie.” They told her, missing out the fact that they couldn’t lie. “If I go based off what you’ve told me it’s been more than a bad day.” They wondered if the young women was hearing half the things she was saying. “Well you wouldn’t know if I was would you? Since you offered no achievements of your own. As for myself I don’t think I owe you that. I’m not the type to spill my life’s story to a stranger. I’d barely tell someone I knew.”

“Yes, they did throw beautiful parties too,” Opal said, thinking back fondly to a time when the Seelie and Unseelie courts mingled frequently. Sure there had been some tension, but nobody could resist a good party, even enemies. “All of this is so … gray and boring. I don’t understand why they want to mirror the human realm so closely. Force of habit, I suppose. They’re not fae, after all.”

-

“Fuck. I miss the parties. Well. What I was allowed to see of it. Honestly. The Seelie wonder why they were wiped out. Try mingling with those who serve you assholes. The underclass parties were superior anyway. Always messy.” She may still be a little bitter that she was never formally invited because she was a guard. “We’ve both seen the beautiful things humans can create and yet their homes are always so boring.”

★

Jester knew that the quickest way out of their interaction would be to smile and nod. Besides, while she didn’t entirely agree with what Ruby was saying, she didn’t disagree with it either. She was pretty indifferent to the Seelies and their nonexistent court. She didn’t really care who was or was not allowed into their own underground kingdom, but put simply, she wouldn’t be inviting any of her surface friends to visit any time soon. She could say that. She should say that.

“Then why are you all up here?” she asked instead, regretting the words as soon as they came out but pushing forward nonetheless. Might as well ride this train all the way to the bottom. “If your goal is to stay hidden, then why has the Queen come to the surface? That feels counterintuitive, if you ask me.”

-

“It’s hardly counterintuitive if no one knows who we are. Why? Have you been telling people the queen is here?” Ruby asked a level of threat in their voice. “As for why we’re here. That earthquake didn’t just effect upstairs. We felt it down below. The queen wants to investigate so we are here to investigate. Now that we’ve learned a barrier is closed? Well I think we’ll be sticking around for a little while. So be on your best behaviour little Jester. Mommy’s watching.”

“Well, leading with the fact that I’m a failing mechanic with a twin and that we had to run away from our family because they were abusive and that I’m a werewolf with alcoholic tendencies seemed more pathetic.” Nat shrugged at the other as they seemed rather like a prune stuck in the mud themself.

-

“Oh honey, no. That wasn’t an opportunity to tell me about your life. I was waiting for you to tell me what’s fun about you. Hence the “better achievements” part. I can see now that you’re not so I guess thank you for not wasting my time.” They gave her a sympathetic look that maybe wasn’t totally genuine. “Also not that you asked but having a twin isn’t exactly something that’s relevant if you’re talkig about how pathetic you are. All that aside, there’s nothing in your life you can’t change. So your business is failing and you’re an alcoholic. Get business advice. Join a support group. Maybe then your list of better achievements won’t consist solely of “survived abusive family.”

“That type of manipulation works on every species, I’ve found,” Opal said with a faint smirk. “I’m glad to see you’re putting your skills to good use. Keep me updated on your progress.” She made a face, waving her phone absently. “Don’t use these things. Contact me the normal way. Magic works just as well up here as it does down there … though we’d be stronger with the boundaries closed.” She sighed. “Ah, well. We make do and adapt like always. Those that don’t bend will break.”

-

“Of course. I only plan on using the mortal contraptions to blend in. I don’t see it as a useful tool otherwise especially when we have more effective and private ways.” She pulled her own “phone” out and looked at it. “I’m not overly fond of anything here just yet. At least with the old court there was a shared sense of beauty.” Ruby had spent more time up there before the fall of the court.