OTA

[impureheart]

[ Since they didn't get out of their cells until much later than usual, Anastasia was actually hungry by lunch time. Usually she could spend time sneaking around to get something and not have to worry about someone questioning who the hell the girl who looked kind of like the Queen but from an alternate universe was if she just sneaked little snacks back to her room for the day.

But no, she was hungry today with how late they got out, and she was going to go to the cafeteria and she's going to sit there and enjoy herself some shawarma. She may hate the guy who got her into Middle Easter cuisine but she doesn't dislike the food he introduced her to.

Of course, if you are looking for the Queen, it's unlikely that you've seen her in a couple of days. It might even take a glance or two considering she's speaking with an entirely different accent than the one she had before and she's no longer dressed in red-- no, she's got a rather different set of clothing and boots on. ]

{{ OOC: For reference, her voice as the Red Queen, her voice with her actual accent as seen in this log. }}

Comments

[goodgrace]

I'm pale enough at it is. Can you imagine?

[ Clicks his tongue ] No wonder.

[ A frown, he folds his hands in front of him and adjusts his seating ] He'll get over it. They always do...

[impureheart]

[ She pulls a bit of an expression like she'd rather not imagine what he looks like under his clothes, but doesn't comment on it, just moving onto the rest of the conversation. ]

I hope he gets over it before he does something we'll both regret.

[goodgrace]

Like what? Punching people? He's in enough trouble just being in here. How bad could it get without you monitoring him?

[impureheart]

After I left him, he went and got nearly everyone he knew to want his head on a platter.

[ Will doesn't handle bad news from Ana well, alright. ]

[goodgrace]

[ Pulls on his scarf. Shifts in his seat. Uncomfortable face ]

Right. So we're just going to ... make it up to him then. Be nice, your majesty. So he doesn't do something stupid.

[impureheart]

[ Sorry, Jefferson. At least Ana's not trying to behead anyone here? So far. ]

Hard to do that when he's mad at me for being honest with him so that he didn't find out about certain things in a way that looked like I was keeping it from him.

[ This place only causes pain in the end. The best she could do to fight that for the both of them was to be honest before it became something others could use as a weapon. ]

[goodgrace]

[ please don't ]

Certain things? [ What what what would Will be mad about? Is this about how she got the room? What else could it be? She wasn't exactly hiding anything else and has been pretty straight forward with her malicious intent prior.

He slowly makes that face. That one face. You know the one. He's not judging her or anything but -- Okay maybe a little. ] Oh. Things.

[impureheart]

[ Anastasia narrows her eyes at him when he makes that face, immediately going on the defensive. ]

I'm trying to be more honest with him. If it was something a while ago I wouldn't have told him since it wouldn't have been his business.

[ But that was literally like... Less than a week ago. ]

It's not like I wanted to tell him, but this place is the exact place you don't want to leave things open for someone else to take advantage of. The heart's a weakness, the only way to overcome it is to get rid of cracks where you don't want them. You should know that better than anyone. [ She knows about your daughter, mister. ]

[goodgrace]

I would've just... not said anything and let him think Second's a liar, to be honest. Who else is going to say anything to him about it? Really? But that's just me. I've never seen anything good go down when people confess to that.

[ Both hands slam on the table, palms flat. and he leans forward, glaring at her, teeth barred. ] We're not bringing my cracks into this, your majesty. This is different.

[impureheart]

Will has enough experience with me to know when I'm lying and to know I would do anything to get what I wanted. Besides, there's one other person I'm fairly certain figured it out. Second I trust not to say anything.

[ Ana doesn't flinch at that, though she does steel her expression slightly. ] I wasn't threatening you, calm down. I like you on my side, remember?

[goodgrace]

Who? ...But alright. I guess. Honesty is the best policy here. Nobody likes lies. He'll probably want to punch Second in the fact though, just a heads up. If there's an opportunity, I can't imagine why he wouldn't take it.

[ Deep breath. Leans back and runs a hand over his face, laughing to himself dryly. ] Yeah. I remember. ...Sorry. You're- [ hand wave at her ] just making your point.

[impureheart]

[ Ana looks to the side. ] Peter Pan. He figures things out faster than most people.

[ Still. An 'opportunity.' Second being drunk off his ass would definitely be one of those. ] You don't think he'd try now do you?

On that note, you might want to make use of some of those connections of yours to make sure the power goes out in her area around the next show.

[ See? She's doing him a favor. Make sure those TVs and radios are off so Grace doesn't see, even if she can't say more than that. ]

[goodgrace]

First of all, yikes because he knows your business.

[ :/ ] Yeah, probably.

... [ opens his mouth, then closes it and looks around then back at her. Ana, why do you know things? He looks so disturbed... not by her knowing things but that it would be something bad enough that she'd warn him to do that ] I don't... know if I can do that. -Was that part of your room deal?

[impureheart]

I didn't remotely hint at it, he just knew. I don't think he's as much of a child as he acts.

[ She doesn't question that look. She's frankly disturbed by it. The fact that she knows if she gets picked, she's going to have to lose is more than enough to piss her off. The idea that Will might get picked? Fear. ]

Find a way.

[ It wasn't part of that deal, but she's not going to go around talking about all of her business. She shouldn't even be giving Jefferson this sort of heads up, as vague as it is. If he thinks that's a part of it, then that's fine. ]

[goodgrace]

I'll say.

[ He knows not to question how people know things further. Business is business is business is their business and he's done a lot of that in the past. He doesn't question how he just wants to know "what" now. The queen doesn't insist things like that unless it's serious. That's probably not something she can share.

Yet. The little warning. Something big enough everyone would be watching that you'd have to kill the power. Which means it's probably completely awful on every level. Oh. He's terrified.

Find a way. Get it to work. This isn't FAIR. ] ...I'll see what I can do. [ He doesn't even know where she is ]

[impureheart]

[ The expression on her face says a lot more than "find a way" ever did. She doesn't look confident or demanding like she normally does. She looks upset. At least until her final warning, when her voice gets a little harsher unintentionally. ]

And don't you dare tell anyone that I even told you that much. I might be playing a game I can be proud of now, but it doesn't mean it's not a dangerous one.

[ She seems to loosen up a tiny bit, shifting as though she's trying to get a bit of tension out. ]

You even knowing I might know something might risk getting checked.

[goodgrace]

I wouldn't tell.

[ It's obviously a risk telling him. He's not about to go ruining both their chances here. His tone is scared. ]

Nothing I know holds any validity to it anyway. I know nothing you might know. You're fine. No risk. [ sharp inhale. he's looking at his food like he doesn't want it now. ] ...But thank you.

[impureheart]

[ Someone thanking her without any irony, sarcasm, disdain, falseness, or being forced to was something that Anastasia hadn't heard in the longest of time. It honestly surprised her. That's when she decided to press her luck just a little bit. ]

It's what friends do and you're the closest thing I've had to one.

[ It's true. He listened to her, got her what she needed, and even if he knew things he never used them against her. Maybe it's just professional courtesy, but it is the closest she's had. If she's being nice she might as well try to suggest it as a possibility. ]

[goodgrace]

...Really?

[ He looks at her like a deer in headlights for a moment then starts laughing suddenly, not mockingly or anything. It's happy and somewhat sad. He got a little choked up at the end of it and wiped under his eyes ]

You two, I swear. Calling me a friend. Last person to call me a friend before I got in here married me. Ha... [ shakes his head then mutters ] Must've not been talking to the right people for a while.

Alright. That's what friends do.

[impureheart]

Well I'm not marrying you so you don't have to worry about that.

[ She pauses for a moment, looking a little perplexed. She didn't know that bit, but if it's 'you two' it has to be him. ]

Will called you a friend too?

[goodgrace]

I would be surprised if you were. I don't think our friendship reached that kind of level here and you never even got me dinner.

[ A nod of confirmation ... okay we can drink this tea. mm. tea. ] He mocked me at the same time but yeah. You guys are funny.

[impureheart]

Surprise marriages are a thing of the past for me, too. There's only one person I'll be marrying ever, and even that's questionable given the circumstances.

[ Ana's just sort of picking at her food now. Eating in front of other people is fine when you have fancy food but it feels wrong to eat something you pick up with your hands in front of others. ]

I take it funny is a good thing in your book.

[goodgrace]

That's almost romantic.

[ Jefferson smiles at her then thoughtfully considers his definition of 'funny' ]

In this case, yes.

[impureheart]

I'll propose with an onion ring instead of diamonds if he ever stops being cross with me.

[ Was that just a joke that wasn't at someone else's expense? It's amazing. It was still a partial complaint, though, but.. well, even then she can't really blame him. ]

Fair enough.

[goodgrace]

...Less romantic. He'd eat it before you asked the question.

[ PROUD OF U ]