No Rest for the Wicked [Nathalia]

[Kari Muffin]

Conway was miserable. This was nothing new. He was going to be miserable for the rest of his life at this point. Stuck here in the palace of Hearts until they got tired of him or he just finally fell over dead. From the looks of it, it would be the latter rather than the former.

He wanted to see his family and friends. He wanted to be free again. No, he just wanted to be away from this place. Anything was better than dealing with that woman and that horrible man. He had been tempted more than once to just end his life, of course at the time he had been wearing a collar that prevented him from properly attempting.

So now he was free to attempt such a thing.

But there was still the complicated matter of family and friends. Conway walked down the hallway silently, running his fingers along the wall as he went. He wanted to see the people he cared about again, and he knew it was impossible. He was going to die here without seeing them, even though he had made promises. So many broken promises.

The man froze when he heard a sound. His eyes went wide with terror. That sound had come from behind him. He remained frozen, praying that it was simply a loose bander.

[Nathalia]

"Master was right, then...".
George let the words he had whispered run through his mind over and over again, since speaking them outside ten minutes ago.

Mr. Whip...
Mr. Whip and his son were buried out there.
He didn't quite know what he was looking for, a sign...a hint of anything to show him he was wrong.
That the tombstone out there was only a joke, or a warning, or some sort of trick for the enemy....that somehow Mr. Whip would open a secret door. That he would, of course, know George was coming to find him (Mr. Whip knew everything, almost as much as Master) and would explain to him why he'd had to pretend...

To die.

Something rational in him knew it was no joke.
Perhaps it had been the sad look Ellen had thrown him as he stole out the door with two days worth of food.
Or the eye roll he'd received from Victor, when he'd confided in the Leveret.

Master wouldn't lie...usually.
He'd had to see, he had to make sure...Mr. Whip was very important. He was the closest thing to a father George had ever felt like he'd had, regardless of the short time he'd known him... Master would never be father... Master had made that quite clear some time ago.

His hands wouldn't stop shaking and his temples throbbed with the pain of constant worry and strain. He felt cold, and couldn't stop seeing the tombstone in his minds eye.
How could someone so wonderful...be dead?
He'd wanted to go to find him for so long, but he could really only get out when Master was away...he'd gone out recently to do business with some trader, and George had leaped at the chance. He'd be back in enough time...he had to be...

He slunk around a corner and kept himself pressed to the walls.
And there it was...
Just an office door to many, but it was the last place he'd seen Mr. Whip.
He'd seen it last on the night Master had brought him to the palace to rid the world of his real father. Master had left him, and he'd been trying to flee...and Mr. Whip had appeared.

....Right...there...
The door was open, and it was clear that the office had not been used in quite some time, even from a good five feet away.
It was not lived in, and lacked the lived in look, and the room in the back had been cleared out, he could see more tables and chairs back there...storage.

He moved toward it and leaned his head against the door frame with a small thunk, before letting himself slide around the frame and sink to the ground. His eyes burning, there was a new Queen, a terrible, mad Torque...or so Master had said, and he believed that, Master painted vivid pictures with his words, and he'd seen evidence of her in the court paintings that lined the halls.
So, Mr. Whip wouldn't be up in the Queen's suite...though...
Though he ought to be...

He huddled up against the door, hidden from the view in the hall and put his head in his arms.
He'd let himself calm down, then he'd poke around quickly for hidden messages...Mr. Whip was smart like that, and then...then he supposed he would go...

[Kari Muffin]

Conway took a few moments to recover from his heart fluttering panic attack. A sigh of slight relief escaped him as he leaned against the wall. Why was he so damn worried about someone finding him? It was the dead of night and he knew full well that the most dangerous people in the palace were asleep. Whoever was roaming around at this hour was....

His eyebrows arched at the thought. Normally when he walked around at this hour there was no one around. The only time he had actually come across someone was when that washer woman and the gardener had decided to have a late night romantic rendezvous in a closet. And what was anyone doing in this part of the palace? Most people didn't linger here for one reason or another.

So was it just something that happened to fall, or was it something else entirely. Conway bit the inside of his cheek in thought. He could go and investigate or he could just keep walking. What if it was someone dangerous? Perhaps someone had finally worked up the nerve to attempt to kill the Queen of Hearts? That would be lovely. Maybe they would try to put him out of his misery as well?

Taking several deep breaths Conway turned around to slowly walk down the small stretch of hallway. He wasn't expecting anyone to actually be there, it was only some vain hope. So when he passed the door and their was someone actually sitting there he jumped backwards. His heart skipped a beat as he stumbled backwards. Why was someone huddled by the door?

And then his eyes finally came into focus. The form was clearly someone he knew. He managed to catch himself on the wall rather than falling flat on his ass. "G-George?" was all he could manage to say as he continued to prop himself against the wall.

Maybe he was finally going crazy? Because this didn't seem like it was actually possible.

[Nathalia]

George sniffled slightly, wiping his eyes on his shirt sleeve and gazing blankly around the room, wondering mildly if it would be bad grace to take one or two mementos if he could find them.

He'd made it halfway up when a voice sounded out.
He barely even made out that it was his name around the shock, whipping about fast enough to smack his face into the door. He recoiled with a yelp and stumbled backward, losing his balance and hitting the floor roughly, staring up at the person looming over him.

He didn't know them.
The colors, didn't fit with anyone he knew and the moonlight was causing the shadows to fall across the face.
But somehting wouldn't just let him bolt...the voice was familiar...very...f-

"Who are you?" He muttered, allowing his voice to take on the slightest hint of a snarl. Hearts...he didn't like Hearts...except for Mr. Whip, Mr. Whip was practically an honorary Club himself, from what master had said.
His thoughts suddenly jumped back on track after a two second pause and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise slightly like hackles as he peered at the figure before him, standing slowly. "How do you know my name?"

He stepped forward very slightly, one hand slowly reaching toward a pocket, as the darkness fell away from the man's face.

And the world stopped.

"Conway?"

He was different, if this was in fact him.
Older, different colors, different clothes and the voice sounded so off...
The smell though...now that he caught a whiff of it...
That was right.

"Conway? I-...you are Conway, right? How d-did you get here, I-"
He paused, stretching out a hand to the man uncertainly.
His eyes never stopped moving around the room.
He sidled a little closer to the wall; if the Wolf took his hand, he would try to pull him further into the room, so that he could shut the door.

This wasn't possible.
But sometimes, the things that weren't were what you wanted the most to happen.
He'd take the fairy tale, if given the chance.

[Kari Muffin]

Conway's face fell slightly as he watched George. Of all the reactions, that was one he wasn't hoping for. He made an alarmed sound when the man fell and was looking up at him. Should he offer a hand?

But then he spoke. And Conway cringed. Of course George didn't recognize him. No one could possibly recognize him like he was. And the tone in his voice was enough to make Conway shrink back, his breath caught in his throat. Everything in Conway just wanted to walk away, but he couldn't find the will to do anything beyond stare pitifully at the man.

This was happening, wasn't it?

Conway remained silent, trying his hardest not to cry. Maybe he should have just kept walking in the other direction? He wouldn't have had to disappoint or deal with this awkward moment? He swallowed when George actually said his name, taking several deep breaths before trying to speak.

"Y-yes I am," he said after the second question. Conway couldn't help but hesitate when George offered his hand. It was always an awkward moment when he had to extend his own. With his right hand out of commission it always made shaking hands awkward.But this was George. It was fine right? He offered his good hand, though it was clear that his bracelet had no strand attached to it. And it was rather clear from Conway's grip that he wasn't exactly in the best of health.

He wouldn't put up a fight being pulled. He was just doing his best not to burst into tears.

[Nathalia]

George was shocked at how little it took to pull the man in after him.
He shut the door quickly and then pulled back to stare down at the man.

"Conway?"
He couldn't help it. Even the man's voice sounded so...awful.
Now that he had a clear look at him...he didn't know how to react. Conway, his friend...his friend, the only one he had besides Ellen and Victor.
The look on the man's wan, pale face was enough to force him, out of habit, to make his best attempt to pull the other into a hug.
It was what Ellen had always done when he wore an expression like that.

As far as George was concerned, there was nothing else you could do to help that.

"Conway...what, what happened? What happened to your back and your...your color, why's-?" He leaped back after reaching for the hand with the bracelet and grabbing the wrong one. "What happened to your hand?!"

He was shaking slightly from nerves and shock.
Conway looked so unhealthy, and so much older...
Master had told him to expect things to be different...but he hadn't expected this! He looked no different than before, neither did Ellen or Victor...how long had it really been?

"I- I'm sorry, I just...I d-didn't..."
His voice trailed off as he stood and quickly began to pull drawers out in the room, searching for anything, anything to remember Mr. Whip by.
The mission needed to end now.
Something more important had come up.

"Just a second, I came for something, then we can leave. You can come back with me to Master's for now, and I'll help you find someplace else to go. Somewhere that the Hearts can't find you. Just a second, I'm so s-sorry!"

Frantic digging produced a small cry of delight and a crumpled fedora.
"Here! Ha, I knew I would find something. I-"
He jammed the hat into a small satchel and turned back to Conway.

"How fast can you run?"

[Kari Muffin]

Of all the tings he had imagined happening in his life, this was not one of them. It really was unbelievable that George was actually standing in front of him, and looked the same. At least that meant things were going well for him, that or Conway was hallucinating. He prayed it was just the fact that George was doing well.

He nodded in response to his name. "Yes, I know I don't... look... like me. But it is me. I..." he trailed off. What was he supposed to say? That the King of Hearts had used some sort of magic on him and turned him into this? Not to mention all the horrible things that went with this. His nails dug into Conway's good hand as George attempted to pull him into a hug.

Choking back the tears took a great deal of concentration. And then... then George grabbed him by the wrong hand. It was enough to make Conway take several steps back and shove both of his hands in his pockets. A terrified expression crossed his face. This was going so badly. A rather pitiful worried sound escaped the man as he backed up a bit further.

"I lost it. But whatever this is cured one of my curses." He said shaking his head. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

When George started searching for something, Conway couldn't help but look confused. What was he doing? What had he actually come here for? And wait... wait what? Go back with him to...? This was...

This was actually happening. Conway wasn't entirely sure what to do. He could leave the Court of Hearts right now but what about... Conall? And what about... the whole... thing with Pale? Even if he didn't need him all the time now, he didn't know how long he could actually go without him.

Did he really care about that in this moment? No. Not one bit. This was his way out. This was his escape from that evil Queen and that psychopath King.

He ran his fingers through his hair as George asked the questions, his eyes rather wide. Well, his leg had been "fixed" a while ago but he never had attempted to run for the sake of running. He let out a rather long sigh, "Well, hold on."

He really wasn't fond of changing in front of people, but at the moment he wasn't about to duck into a closet. So right there and then he shifted into a smaller form of a woman who looked remarkably like his sister. Of course he didn't take any notice to the scars that were now visible. "Let's find out."

[Nathalia]

George felt a rather awful pang when Conway backed away from him, he hadn't meant to sound so...frightened by the..um..paw. It had just been...startling.
A paw on a Human...it...it gave him the shivers, to be honest.
But he could ignore that for right now, especially if it cured a curse. He supposed...perhaps Master could fix it later if he begged.

George watched his friend hesitate for a few seconds. Unnerved.
"Is there something you have t-to get? I cou- Oh!"
He smacked his lower back against the desk as his body tried to jump away of its own accord at the sudden flash of change...and the not Conway suddenly before him.

"Oh..." His face had gone rather white. "Oh, I- That's what being a Joker means..." He squeaked. Forcing himself forward despite his fears. "You told me, b-but I never thought it meant quite like th- What's that? He asked abruptly, pointing toward an odd looking collar around the man's neck, as his eyes drifted to the wide array of scars that had not been there before.

"Conway...? Are...are you okay?"
What had the Hearts done to him? Was he going to be alright?
"Let's find out."
Let's find out?
What!?!
George let out a Canine whine and tried to stop staring. What if his friend died on the way home? Could he send for help?
No, no he couldn't spare the spell...they might need it and...

This was the worst thing he could think of.

"I...ok. If you don't need anything, then just follow me, I'll tell you when you need to stop. Unless, do they..." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Do they have your sister too?"

He sincerely hoped not. Getting out with just the pair of them would be hard enough.

[Kari Muffin]

A warning probably would have been nice, Conway blushed slightly at the moment of idiocy. Of course George hadn't see him transform. And then George pointed to the collar around his neck.

The collar. He was still wearing the damn collar.

A brief flash of panic crossed the man's face. Oh no. What was he going to do? He had to get this thing off before they went anywhere. Why hadn't he realized he was wearing and wasn't actually talking? The man frowned as ran his fingers through the now long hair.

"No, I'm not really okay, but I'll explain after we get out for now--" He stopped when he actually processed the question that George had asked about his sister. He shifted awkwardly and crossed his arms for a moment. All right. He could do this.

"No, they don't have my sister because she... she's dead. But right now actually do need to go somewhere. This collar that I'm wearing is... kind of like an alarm. The King put it on me so I can't escape. I figured out that I can get someone related to him by blood to take it off for me." He gave a rather weak smile. "It's not that far from here.... I'm sorry to mess everything up. I just--You're the only way I can get out of here."

[Nathalia]

He couldn't help but continue his stare every few seconds, eyes sliding over the unfamiliar body that housed his best friend.
This...
This was bizarre.

He tried to repress a slight shudder at the idea. Were people around him every day masquerading as what they were? Or were they actually themselves?
This was something he could have lived without knowing.

The scars were catching his eye too, raised, pale, shiny, and new looking, they screamed for attention he couldn't afford to pay them right now.
What had these Hearts done to Conway?
Loads, apparently.
He needed to get Conway out, needed to take him somewhere safe.
Home was safe.
Master hadn't disliked Conway, had even encouraged his continued visiting, it should be fine...

"You're not ok? I, oh- alright." George nodded briefly, an explanation would have to wait, his eyes darted to the door and back as his thoughts slowly crept to who else might have been up and sneaking around.
He ducked his head as though almost expecting to be struck at the mention of his sister.
He hadn't known about that either.
Things had been happening and he hadn't known...
How long had he been unchecked in the Wood?
Now it was making him paranoid.

He turned his attention back to Conway with an awkward twitch.
"It's fine. Where, just lead and I'll follow. I can get us out after that."
His eyes darted to the door, then back to Conway.
"Can you trust them? Are they safe?"
He asked, even as he moved over to the door and cracked it open, sniffing briefly before gesturing the Wolf out.