Beyond the Impossible! [Queen Quest] [Finished!]

[Bee]

Thalia nodded, and made a mental note to try to keep track of things. She didn't particularly care about being compensated, as such--between Mom's old business, Mama's skills at making her own currency, and her own little here-and-there ventures, she had more money at her disposal than a young scientist probably should--but she thought it would be a good exercise in keeping herself organized, and by the look on Sadie's face, she liked to keep the books well-balanced.

Thalia would love to just be able to fly there, or part way there, but that Diamond ability tragically ended up remarkably fail. Mom got half an hour of skillful air navigation, Helena could go as long as she wanted, and Thalia had ended up with five minutes of very sad, awkward flailing.

She briefly considered taking Monty along as company and a little bodyguard, but really she could manage herself, and Monty would prove troublesome once s/he came into contact with people s/he wasn't supposed to maul. Which really was a shame. Monty did so love to smell new and interesting places to dominate. But she wanted to offer Zuberi assistance, not a new set of scars.

She finished her cup of tea. She wondered if it were time to end things. She was not good at Ending Things. It would be nice to have another cup and tea and talk some more, but if there were Things to do, she felt like she needed to be doing them. "Is there anything else, or may I start out?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

The Queen leaned back in her seat, giving the woman a small shrug. "Nothing pressing, no. I expect that we'll have many chances to meet further as soon as you return.[/b]" A small smile appeared on the woman's lips as she regarded the potential new Queen. She liked Thalia, thus far. Polite without coming across as overbearing or irritating, quick and clever, female... So far, Sadie had a good feeling about this one. All that remained to be seen was how she would handle herself on a mission like this, one that had great weight attached to it.

"I'm looking forward to your return, Thalia," Sadie said, slipping out of her chair and extending a hand. "Be safe. It would be a shame to lose the first potential Queen that I've actually had any interest in.[/b]"

That was accompanied by a playful grin. Days of being cooped up and professional had taken its toll on Sadie, and she felt as though she could show the girl that there was hope yet. This would be a good matter to have taken care of, the mantis was sure.

[Bee]

Thalia smiled happily in return, put instantly and completely at ease with the introduction of a bit of levity--and the vote of confidence.

"Will do," she said. Anyone who attempted anything funny on the route--they claimed accidents never happened on the established routes out of the capitol, though Mom swore up and down that these people were full of shit, and Helena claimed likewise--would find themselves tentacle-slammed against a tree. "I'll be back soon, your Majesty."

It was easy to get a ride out of the castle, especially since it was a matter of Court business--a perfectly tame and uneventful trip, which was almost disappointing, because it was not a particularly short trip, and she had a feeling that being able to tentacle-slam a would-be mugger into a tree would have added a much-needed element of excitement.

She was identified as Minh-spawn more or less immediately, and the guards seemed to be expecting someone to show up; a telegram, probably, had been sent their way. She dispatched a couple of the people who greeted her to let the relevant royals know there was someone lurking about; the remaining volunteered to show her to Zuberi, apparently having gotten the permission to do so. There was a certain beauty in efficiency. Maybe she'd visit Queen Aderlass on her way out, too, after she'd found Mom.

But that was a worry for later. The room drew near. She could see Zuberi through the door--a dark-skinned, pink-haired human apparently sewing blue strands of hair onto a doll with great care--and knocked as soon as possible to avoid being a peeping peeper.

"Miss Zuberi?"

[Nako]

She'd gotten word that someone would be on their way. Zuberi had stayed at the Courts for that very reason; it was nowhere near as homey as the Midori, and she found herself chafing under the lack of something to do. She'd actually taken up working on her voodoo doll again, having finished the -heart- of the doll by using a few strands of hair wrapped into a tight ball that she put into the center. That was enough hair for the spell to be effective... but she wanted the doll to -look- like the man, which meant tending to a few.. aesthetic things.

She'd acquired so much of the man's hair that night that she found she had ample supply to weave into the bald doll's scalp. The image of him felt as if it were burning a hole through her skull as she looked back to it for some form of reference of hairline. Why did she even care? Goodness knows; perhaps she was bored; or perhaps she wanted to feel as if she were indeed stabbing -him- with pins and needles when she finished it, instead of a representation.

Her fingers slipped at the knock, her less adept left hand unable to compensate before she jabbed herself in the finger. Damnit! She hissed in pain before sticking the pained finger into her mouth, sucking on it to relieve the stinging sensation in the tip. These sorts of wounds didn't bleed long, and she wiped the finger dry as she walked to the door.

Zuberi's gaze dropped to the strange creature immediately, brows raising at the strange coloration.. the tentacles... That hair! And more importantly, the mark on her chest. "Oh.. good evening. Would you like to come in? Zuberi took a step back to allow her through the door. It was obvious who this was, so there was no reason for her to ask questions till the woman got settled.

[Bee]

Thalia gladly accepted the invite into the room--"Thank you, yes"--and tried to keep her eyes off the doll, no matter how much it interested her. Her sister-brother made dolls, but not of this sort, and not with the kind of intensity she'd seen on Zuberi's face. Sister-brother tended toward sunshiny cloud-brained glee while gently situating pastel frocks on porcelain parts, which this was decidedly not. But she supposed it was also None Of Her Business, so she found herself a convenient spot of rug and sat.

May as well launch into things, then. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Zuberi," she said, flashing a quick, bouyant smile. "I'm Thalia."

Ah ha, and now for the next part--should she get straight to the point or mosey on over after a vast stretch of small talk? It was a quandary. On the one hand, she had little patience for subtlety and liked being direct, but on the other, it was a sensitive subject, and in her experience nobles treasured their small talk like fine antique knick-knacks.

She supposed she could go right down the middle; you could be direct and vague at the same time, right? Right. Be straight without inadvertently hurting anyone's feelings. "You probably already know I'm here from the Diamond Court. We'd like to...extend our assistance."

[Nako]

Well, it seemed the girl already knew her name; she supposed she'd have to if she was coming to get her in the first place. Zuberi gave a polite smile before settling back down into the seat she'd been in before the girl had arrived. It couldn't have been construed as too terribly rude, since the feline had taken it upon herself to sit as well. Perhaps it would have been rude to keep standing?

"Nice to meet you." The squirrel said with a polite nod, waiting curiously for what the hybrid was about to say.

And when she spoke, Zuberi nodded. It perhaps it was the fact that she was in fact a diamond? She was only blind in -one- eye.. yanno. Aha. She'd keep that thought to herself, though the corners of her lips flickered with some level of amusement. "Ah-ye. As I'd like to extend my own. I hear your Queen wants to see a good three feet between this man's head and his shoulders."

[Bee]

She nodded. "And mount his head on a pike."

Barbarous, true, but probably in the same league of sentiment as what would actually happen to the killer. Thalia was morbidly curious about what exactly the Queen planned to do--so many abilities on hand, so many tools. But then, she was morbidly curious about everything. What had Mom called her? Oh right. Nightmare fetishist.

But maybe it wouldn't be gruesome at all. Maybe it would be a trial and life sentence, or a swift and painless execution.

There was no point cluttering her head with speculation. (At present.) She'd find out eventually, because Zuberi was going to help bring him to justice.

And, well, there were so many swift and efficient ways to go about that. Why should anyone bother with any of this messenger business? The sooner they apprehended the killer the better, Queen Sadie had said.

She smiled at the winged human. "You can talk to the queen yourself, if you'd like to come back with me."

[Nako]

Zuberi really couldn't say she was surprised by the invitation, but it would certainly be easier to recount the information directly to the Queen, especially if the interrogation was a long-winded one."Aye. I t'ink that be acceptable."

She stood up, gesturing to the bags that were still packed. She hadn't really had much time to settle down and maker herself at home; after all, she'd no intention of staying very long at the Court of Clubs. "Actually, that works to me advantage; it happens to be on the way home for me. I'm ready to leave when you are... but you may well want to rest after ya journey."

Yes, she certainly didn't want to rush the woman; but the sooner that she was able to contact the appropriate authorities and enjoy her peace and quiet at home, then the better off she'd be.

[Bee]

Ah, she was happy that went over well. Rest was not actually the first thing on Thalia's mind--enthusiasm and energy she had in plenty, and a carriage ride ranked only slightly higher than watching water boil on her list of exhausting activities--but she thought Zuberi was probably right. Best give the drivers and beasts of burden a chance to relax before making another journey. A meal and a nap would do them some good.

"I'll give our transport a few hours to eat and relax, I think," she said. She might grab a nibble herself; and Zuberi was already packed, it seemed, but she might use the time to finish out whatever matters she had going on at the Court of Clubs. It seemed like a win-win. "And I still need to talk to my mother. I hope that's not too long a wait. We can reconvene out front."

[Nako]

------- Time skip

It had been a long journey to the Court of Diamonds, and one that was more quiet than Zuberi would have liked. Sure, there had been some idle conversation at first, but it had ebbed in the long hours it took to cross the lands to get to their destination.

At the sound of hooves finally hitting cobblestone she woke; had she fallen asleep? Obviously so. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and holding her snoozing ace in her lap, her eyes took in the sights around her. Blue. There was a lot of that coloration, and becoming even more prevalent as they grew close to the Court itself. Sorgaire stone.. she'd heard of it but had never seen it in person.

Finally, the carriage came to a halt and Zuberi was helped to the ground. Charlie churred curiously in her arms and looked around, his avian head craning this way and that in a most amusing avian fashion.

The flora, Zuberi noted, was not as grand as that of the Court of Hearts, but it was certainly nothing to bat an eye at; a variety of colors of flora lined walkways and sat in hanging pots to accent the overall color scheme of the Court.

"So.. I guess we are here then." Zuberi murmured, though more to herself than anyone else.