[center][u]Somewhere in Kenan, Evening[/u][/center]

[b]Ashley and Olivia[/b]

Olivia’s mind scrapped against the wall of sleep which had blanketed her, thickened from stress and exhaustion, while memories and soothing lies warped within her head. Slowly, she had tried to peel away the images and desire to just fade away, her effort fell short terribly. It wasn’t until they arrived, did she manage to stir. Her eyes were the first to move. They fluttered and edged open and propped her torso upright. Already, the darkness had started to creep where the sun’s last rays had started to sink below the dark horizon near the wastes of Loom. It took some time for her groggy eyes to adjust and tenderly, her head tilted about to absorb her surroundings and realize she wasn’t in her room. It wasn’t a dream. She had been kidnapped, now trapped within the musty one room house and with a mad woman no doubt currently busy securing the exits. 
 
Her fingers flexed only to feel the stiff, sticky crust of her web cast stop it. Olivia’s eyes widened and jerked downwards, farther shocked at the engineered bandage. [i]No…NO![/i] She screamed insider her head, her face paler then before. This wasn’t happening. In moments, she would be screaming and her Uncle Darius would appear, his arms gathered her up shortly to sooth and wake her. Comforting her.
 
[i]This is real, you know it is.[/i] A small, voice of cold reason and logic spread its icy finger into her panic. It numbed her and slapped her with the hard dose of reality. 
 
Footsteps, Ashley’s, caused Olivia to jump while her head darted to face the source. Her body twisted about on the couch where she tensed, her eyes filled with fear watched as the strange woman reached for her casted arm. Olivia’s first impulse was to jerk it away. Followed by a protesting, frightening scream to get away from her. However her throat seemed to have sealed itself shut. Breath barely seemed able to escape her lungs let allow the thought of words, her mouth silently saw her arm lifted higher and gave a small whimper of pain at the jarring movements. Despite how gentle Ashley was, the muscles still disliked being moved too much. Instinctive Olivia pressed her back against the couch’s spongy surface as far back as she could, unable to put enough distance between the pair, letting Ashley thoughtfully look at it. She let out a small squeak when Ashley revealed her sword and made a deliberate, precise cut which caused the white material to wisp off revealing the slight bruising budding at her wrist, likely terribly twisted in her fall. She hissed in gritted pain when it was turned to reveal the ugly sprain. 
 
Noting the injuries, Ashley made her comments then wrapped it back up. Once more the sticky thread wove around and around, the skin vanished from sight in seconds before it hardened. Olivia tried to flex her arm and found it impossible. After it was done, Olivia quickly pulled her arm from the woman’s grip and held it closely to her chest. Protective though it was pointless. She already knew Ashley had been given strict orders by the man, at least Olivia thought it was a man, in the memory acquired not to hurt her. Or let any harm come to her. Each review of the memory had given her a headache, a slight throbbing already started, which only eased when she ceased. She hadn’t been very lucky in seeking out clues or hints about this man who had kidnapped, even worse she got a nasty fearful sense about him. Something that frightened her beyond any reason. For several minutes she remained silent. Her eyes examined the woman’s words, the elegant and graceful figure now sat down cross legged on the creaking floor before her. Though her words seemed genuine, Olivia found it hard to trust someone who had tried to kidnap her. 
 
The part of her that wanted answers breathed in deeply. A pitiful attempt to settle her worry and fear, its claws still sank ever deeper and threatened to control her voice. Stop it in its tracks. The evidence of its presence rattled her voice and poisoned the tone, the breath helped little in calming herself. “T-then why did you kidnap me? I want… I want to go home. B-back to my brother, back to Darius. What use am I to this Sir character , I’m just… just a kid.” 
 
She knew her voice sounded pleading. A faint hope the woman’s heart, which seemed earnest in its remorse, would try to see reason and let her go. Olivia even intended to forget this happened and move on. She wanted to forget this, all of it. Slightly she edged away from Ashley, her good arm sank a bit into the rotted cushions, then reached to rest on the arm. The corner of her eyes flickered around, a skill she learned during Emmet’s lectures, to examine the room. Her eyes never pulled off the woman’s position though. On her first sweep, she could tell it was a one room house, with three windows and a single door. Webbing covered the windows in a thick layer as well as the door, though that had an additional enforcement of a cabinet. The thing large, wobbly and old, it looked ready to topple down on its front at any moment. Olivia wonder if she put some force in the right direction, would it crash down? Would it be enough to trap the woman while she tried to escape? Was there another way out?
 
The last question lingered a moment or two. Olivia’s hopes faded when she knew there was only one way to learn. It meant she would’ve had to tap into her magic and see a wall or something’s history. A slight hope glimmered inside her heart but her stomach twisted into knots, farther chewed up with anxiety. 

Ashley gave a sad smile, though she approved of Olivia's scanning of the room. "I just want my old life back. Before Angels and Demons brought their war to the Surface. I want you to grow up in a safe environment free from Demons who use you to blackmail your brother, and rule over a section of Kenan with an iron fist. I want you to just be a little girl. But we can't always get what we want. I am bound to follow his orders, just as you are bound to Darius. Though if all goes well, you will be back in Darius's hands in a matter of days, or however long it takes him to deliver Mary." She paused, a slight confusion crossing her face. "But how did you know that I was sent here by Sir? I never mentioned who sent me, simply that I was under strict orders not to hurt you and to keep you safe." Periodically, Ashley checked the windows and the door to make sure nothing was breaking in while they were talking. A hand was never off of one of her swords. 

Olivia's eyes tightened when there was mention of her Uncle and blackmailing her brother, confusion filled her expression. [i]What was she talking about?[/i] For several moments she examined the woman's face, her body language, each time seeking any hope the woman's insanity included lies. Inside she wanted the words to be nothing more fabricated. Completely false and easy to shred into pieces. However a small, logical voice cried otherwise. Why would she lie? What gain or affect would it do to better this situation? Still...Olivia pushed down her unsettled emotions long enough to catch Ashley's expression match her own. 

Dread filled Olivia when the woman recalled her prior outburst. All the color drained from her face in the moment and felt herself sink farther into the crouch, partly wanted to fade into it. For several minutes she just sat there in silence, though the fact would never disappear, then finally lowered her head to hid her fear. "Remember what I said about the past? I wasn't lying. It affects me more then it will anyone else..." 

Ashley waited patiently, not saying anything when Oliva tried to out wait the fact and sink into the couch. Eventually, it came out. For a moment, Ashley had to think back to before Olivia called to the old man and she had to kill him. Then she blinked. Gently, she asked, "You meant that literally, didn't you? Does it have to do with what happened when you touched my necklace without your glove?" Ashley was legitimately concerned and worried about the girl. Despite the fact that she had kidnapped her, a protective bond had already formed. Past failures wouldn't be repeated. Almost unconsciously her free hand went up to the spider necklace. It was one of the few things left from her old life, when the world exploded and she realized just how little power humanity had.

Olivia’s eyes were fixed on her lap. She forced her mind to center on her hands, clasped together, which had edged to sit in front her. Already her legs hung over the protesting wood that creaked against her light weight to swing over the floor’s filthy floor. A tightness in her middle increased when she glimpsed the one covered by a sticky solution and quickly hid it under her other, the last glove remained. Though the woman seemed to spout sympathy Olivia had a hard time believing it was genuine. No one that good at heart would even think of kidnapping her or kill people, namely those innocent, in cold blood. It only showed how naive Olivia was to the shades of grey all around her despite her experience with the past not always hers. 

All this time, she had been watching out of the side of her vision, still determining a way out, only to spot Ashley’s hand shift to her necklace. Instinctively Olivia flinched in reaction. Her head shot upright only to realize her foolishness, her eyes wide and heart pounded heavily in her chest until it threatened to give. Slowly she relaxed when it seemed the woman wasn’t going to touch her.

“Yes… It’s not always terrible, but I don’t understand it myself.” Olivia sighed, inwardly decidedly to admit what she had saw. It might distract the woman enough. Gently, and warily, she moved off the crouch careful not to touch it for fear what she might see in its history. She seriously doubted it had been long enough here to help her anyways. 

“I only hurt whenever I touch an item with a violent history. It’s like the emotions fill me, take over and just…it’s hard to explain. When I touched your necklace, my first memory was when you…” Olivia felt her throat constrict and sour, her arms pulled close to hug herself, before she forced herself to continue. “K-killed Hank, someone I knew. I saw everything from your necklace’s point of view, from when you saw him… and right down to the moment his light left his eyes,” Her sour stomach seemed to worsen, her arms held closer while she inched around Ashley to walk past, slightly locked in her thoughts in her story. “The longer I held on to it, the more memories I can access but it's also more energy I use and it’s a heavy price. The last one, the one with Sir was the worst. I saw you two talking though I couldn’t see his face, then you shifted to see…” 

She trailed off. It was hard to relive that image, which now so easily leapt up to her mind, the naked body filled with blood, wounds and only essence knew what else. The girl shivered to push it way as she reached out, unintentionally, to touch the cabinet with her gloveless hand. For most it would’ve been a harmless gesture but with Olivia, the innocence had long vanished. 

Ashley winced as Oliva explained all that she had seen. Very clearly, the woman regretted exposing Olivia to such things, but it didn't change her duty. Orders were orders, and she owed Sir her loyalty, at the very least. She carefully watched her charge nonetheless. After all, she had seen the girl scanning the room. Chances weren't going to be taken. "Death is an unfortunate necessity in my...line of work. While I admit Sir is...brutal, and I apologize for what you saw, I give you my word that none of that will happen to you. You will simply be exchanged for Mary, and then you can go back to your brother, or Darius. Whichever is sent to pick you up. His experiments won't concern you or anyone else when word is given that Mary is on her way."

However, when Olivia reached for the cabinet, Ashley moved. Using her unnatural speed, Ashley was there in time to grab the girl, gently, by the wrist. "If just touching a necklace would bring up two memories, I think a cabinent will bring up quite a few. Let's not test that out, shall we?" She smiled, in a genuinely friendly manner.

Olivia knew what Ashley said was merely excusing her own actions. She felt the woman's eyes follow her yet she tried to ignore the sensation it left behind, the crawling of her skin and trembling. She had to be stronger then this. If she was going to make it out alive as she witnessed a blur of motion from her eyes corner, and in second Ashley was standing in front of her. Her head turned to see her wrist gripped in the woman's grasp. 

For a moment, Olivia felt a slight fear bubble up. However, that small bubble was replaced by anger and she impulsively shouted back at the cause of her current predicament. "WHY DO YOU CARE?!? You kill people, murder them, without any remorse. How can you have a heart when your hands are stained with blood willing? I don't want to be here, let me go!"

With the strength spurred by her fit, Olivia jerked her hand away. It stung when her whole side smacked into the cabinet, clipping in her push away from Ashley. It shuddered from impact, its wood protested at her touch. It was an old piece and it took little to make it moan, however one of the legs had been weakened when it was moved. Quickly it started to topple over. Right on top of Ashley. It crashed with a deafening noise and rattled through the floor, all the way up into her body while Olivia's eyes widened in horror. She took a step back. Her hand pressed over her mouth in stun silence. What had she done? The question poured in her head, guilt followed. She just killed someone and now their blood was on her hands, her thin trembling hands. 

"No..." came the soft plead then she turned on heel. Olivia knew she had to get out, her hand had been about to touch the wall when she paused. There had to be another way out then suffering another episode, anything besides that. Maybe she could pull away the threads or try to, a slightly better option in her head since they were newly crafted and appeared never to be reused. Slowly she tried to pull away the stickiness plastered to the nearest window, but it was very slow going.