[M] Kindling Love {Karma & NotWhoIWas}

[.Karma.]

Her irritation quickly quelled when the young man came over asking questions. "No, sweet boy, I have to go home and doctor myself up!" She smiled softly to the young man, totally over not having her questions answered. "You are pretty handsome yourself. Are you the prince of this here castle?" She smiled and winked.

Glancing back to the two having a private conversation, she saw they were heading this way, giving names of the two she had not met yet. "Nice to meet you, Mark. And you too Prince Reg." She took the last bite of her sandwich and realized she was probably over staying her welcome by now. Mark had other duties to attend to. Reg didn't seem like he was feeling well.

"Well, I really should.." A crash and a bang made her jump a bit and look around. Doors were slamming and sweet little Reg was crying. "Here, my prince, do you like to draw?" She handed him a piece of paper and her favorite sketch pencil. "Why don't you draw me a picture for when I come back to visit again, alright?" She tried to give him a comforting smile and started to limp toward the door. "I'm really glad to have met you all, but I really must be going." Yep, she needed to go. Things breaking, people sick, words whispered. It was definitely time.

[Notty]

Reg nodded, tears rolling down his cheeks as he took the pencil and paper from Elena, his eyes following her as she limped towards the door. Mrs. Emerson had looked up from where she was standing, nursing her pounding head, and saw Elena heading towards the door. Quickly she followed her over, limping slightly herself from the pain, and tried to stop her. "Oh, uhm, dear, won't you stay a little longer?" she asked, giving her a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry, you've caught us at a bad time, please..." Mrs. Emerson continued, only to be interrupted by a voice booming through the house. "WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE!?" Jackson's voice echoed down the halls, another door slammed shut, and Mark's voice immediately following. "Nothing, please, let me go get your lunch. Perhaps a drink?" Mark continued, trying his best to appease his master.

Mrs. Emerson's eyes were wide as she looked at Elena, trying to figure out what to do. "I uhm, please dear, just come in and sit a little while longer, okay?" she said, trying to push Elena back into the living room, but the doors immediately swung open. Mark was there, his eyes wide and his face pale, he was nearly visibly trembling. But in front of him, the more threatening figure, was Jackson. His dark brown hair was ruffled, his green eyes fiery now. He looked almost wild. "Who....are.....you?" He spat to Elena.

[.Karma.]

Nope. She was thoroughly creeped out. Why was this woman trying so hard to get her to stay when obviously there was someone angry, and she had fallen out of the tree at a bad time. If there was someone throwing a fit in her house, she'd surely want company to leave. "No, no really I must go. This ankle needs ice."

The angry voice was getting closer. Putting her hand on the door handle quickly she gave a polite nod. "I do appreciate all the hospi-" The doors swung open and she stumble back a bit wincing out in pain. Her look of pain replaced with a fear as the man with the sad eyes stood before her. But he did not look sad right now. He did not look like any of her drawings. He looked frightening. Nearly feral. She backed up quickly away from him.

"I..I..I'm..." As she backed up her legs hit the coffee table and she fell backwards onto it, landing awkwardly, reaching for her already sore ankle. A fire lit up into her own blue eyes now. How many times did she have to introduce herself in this house. What the hell was going on here? "I'm ELENA. I fell from the tree AND I was just leaving! So if you would kindly excuse me!" Her eyes looked directly into his as she stood up, wincing only slightly, but her limp was worse as she tried to push past him this time. Her hands were shaking with thinly veiled fear, but she wanted out of this house. Now.

[Notty]

Jackson's eyes darted over Elena's face as she stepped back, obviously fearful of him. He watched, unflinching, as she stumbled back and into the table. Mrs. Emerson darted forward to try and help her, but she was up quickly and headed towards the door. "Elena..." she whispered, trying to follow her, but Jackson barked out after her instead.

"You can't leave!" he shouted after her, somewhat intrigued by the girl who had literally fallen into their lives. He was certain that the initial thoughts of all the others was that she was here to break the curse, but right now she was just infuriating him. Didn't he tell her she couldn't leave? And she was trying to push past him to go outside? "I said, you can't leave!" Jackson barked again, running a hand through his dark hair and scoffing, as if trying to wrap his mind around why this woman wouldn't listen to him.

Immediately Mark darted from behind Jackson, trying to do his best to smooth over the situation. "I...I think what he means, is that you are unwell and so you shouldn't leave..." But Jackson quickly countered, "No, I said she couldn't leave. She was stupid enough to fall in here, she's stupid enough to have to suffer with the rest of us!" With that, he turned on his heel, stomping up the stairs, back towards his room.

[.Karma.]

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. Who did this man think he was? She whipped around to meet his gaze. "I can leave, and I will!" Her blue eyes ablaze at the audacity of this man. She couldn't believe she had been intrigued by him. She was so stupid. He could stomp around and slam doors like a child if he wanted.

Elena knew the gate was locked, she had been here many times, but she didn't care if she had to climb the stupid thing with a sprained ankle. She was leaving. Turning on her heels, her dark hair waving out behind her, she walked as fast as she could for the door, slamming behind her. She didn't care who followed she was getting out.

When she got to the gate, it was locked as she suspected. If he wouldn't give her the key, she would climb. Her heart was racing, she would not be kidnapped. This could not be happening. With one more look up and down the tall gates, she jumped and gripped on as high as she could.

A sizzling sound could be heard and she dropped to the ground, grasping at her hands. What the hell? Angry tears came to her eyes as she looked at her hands that were red and seared. What was going on with this place. Now she was terrified. She just wanted out. She would try again.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Elena jumped. Gripping onto the bars again, she felt the searing but still tried to pull up, using her elbows to help give her leverage before crashing to the ground again. Cradling her arms and hands. Finally she let out a sob, she was stuck, she had fallen in here on accident only to be kidnapped in this insane place with gates that burned like a branding iron. Pain was shooting up her leg and her hands and arms were burned, but all she could do was sob in fear.

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" She shouted out of the gates, but she knew there was no one to hear her. This place was hidden back here and she had never seen a single soul around. Now she understood why.

[Notty]

Mark looked to Mrs. Emerson with a quick sigh, and then quickly turned to follow Jackson up the stairs, hoping that he would be able to make some amends, to calm him down- if he could. Mrs. Emerson quickly darted out of the house, Reg standing in the open doorway as she tried to hurry out after Elena. "Elena, no!" she cried out, her eyes widening with fear as she watched her reach out and grab the gate.

Mrs. Emerson knew what would happen- they all knew what would happen. "No, please.." she said, starting to jog towards Elena who was now trying the climb the gate again, only to fall back on the ground, crying. "Please, Elena, please just stop trying the gate..." she said, quickly kneeling down on the ground beside the girl, looking over her arms and hands. The burns were red and angry, and she knew all too well, that they were incredibly painful. "Here, please..." she murmured, pushing the hair from Elena's face. "Please, just....just stop screaming, okay?"

Reg was standing in the doorway, tears running down his cheeks as he watched everything happen. Mrs. Emerson leaned up and saw him, "Reg, go get Lucas, quickly!" She called out, and the boy turned and ran into the house. Moments later, another middle aged man, this one a bit more stout than Mark, came out of the house. He frowned, having heard the commotion, he was nearby. "Oh, poor dear.." he murmured, looking to Elena. "Please, help me get her inside.." Mrs. Emerson said, and Lucas nodded, leaning down and scooping up Elena in his arms.

"Just bring her inside, second floor there's a room we can let her rest in...." Mrs. Emerson continued, looking at Elena. "Just...just trust me for a little bit, okay? I'll explain everything, I promise..."

[.Karma.]

Elena heard Ms. Emerson, but didn't move. When her hair was pushed away from her face, she moved her head away from the touch. Looking up into the woman's eyes, her own full of tears. "Please, I won't tell anyone. I just want to go home." A sob shook her. "I just want to go home..." Her voice trailed off, looking back down to her hands and arms. The burns did look pretty bad, and they were quiet painful.

Through everything that was going on, she hadn't heard Ms. Emerson call for yet another man. Terrified eyes glanced from this new man to Ms. Emerson. "No, please, just take me home. Someone get the keys, just let me go home!" She was scooped up into his arms, she tried to fight a bit, but that just sent more pain shooting through her leg and her arms.

Explain? Trust her? She was being held hostage in this house full of nut jobs. As she was carried up to the second floor she was still pleading. "Please, I don't have any money!" She sobbed. "No one to pay any kind of ransom, I'm all alone. Please just let me go home!" She whimpered and cried out as she was set onto the bed in a room on the second floor just like Ms. Emerson had said.

The room was beautiful, gorgeous paintings hung all around her. There was a door to the left that was what looked to be a personal bathroom. The furniture was all wood and carved with beautiful designs. There was a full length mirror. The bed was kind sized and soft, full of pillows and a comforter that felt like it was full of feathers.

None of that mattered though. A beautiful cage was still a cage!

[Notty]

Mrs. Emerson followed the quite frantic Elena up the stairs, trying her best to assure her that she would be alright, but she continued to cry and plead. Once Lucas had set her on the bed, and Mrs. Emerson had sent him after some salve and bandages, Mrs. Emerson sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Elena. "Please, dear, we don't want your money, and I promise that none of us will hurt you...just....just take a deep breath, okay?"

A knock came at the door, and Lucas soon followed. He carried a tray with a pitcher of ice water and a glass, a jar of some salve and some bandages. Without a word, he set them down on the bedside table, his eyes meeting Mrs. Emerson's for a brief moment before he turned and left the room.

For several minutes, Mrs. Emerson worked quietly, applying the salve to Elena's arms and hands, and then bandaging them up. She looked over her ankle, and wrapped that up as well, before cleaning up and then setting the tray to the side. Her lips pursed slightly as she looked at Elena, her mouth opening a few times to speak before any words actually came out. "Elena, please, just....just listen." She smiled a little and patted her shoulder. She began to speak of Jackson, of the curse, of how they had all been here for years. About the gate.

Finally, she went quiet for a few moments, letting Elena take it all in. "Please, you....you must understand. There is no way for you to leave..."

[.Karma.]

Elena took deep breaths just as she was asked to. Wincing and crying out a few times as her burns were tended to. Ms. Emerson as always was motherly and kind, but she was still being kept here against her will. When she was finished, there were tears running down her face, but now they were silent. She couldn't get out, they had done something to the fence.

Then Ms. Emerson told her the tale of curses, the gate, and her eyes went wide. These guys were just plain nutty. She had heard of curses and of course magic as there was quite a history of it here. But she had always seen those as fairy tales or ways to scare your children into doing what they're told. Elena shook her head in disbelief, but if not that, then why. Maybe this was a cult! Her mind flew about a thousand different ways, but how had the gate turned into a branding iron, if not by magic? Maybe certain parts of it, but the whole thing?

"Just get out..." She said quietly at first. "GET OUT!" Now she was yelling through her tears, she needed to be left alone to think. Not just about this woman's story, but how to get the hell out of this nightmare she had walked into.

[Notty]

Mrs. Emerson looked at Elena, giving her a weak smile and then nodded, standing up and backing away slightly. "I'm sorry, please Elena, please just...just try to...try to understand, okay?" Giving her a brief smile, she nodded, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. She has to understand, she has to believe...otherwise...I don't know what we will do...

Jackson paced back and forth in his room, his fists clenching and unclenching as Mark stood before him, giving a weak smile, doing his best to calm him down. "Please sir, you do know that we are trying to see what we can do about the girl...." Jackson growled and grabbed a glass, throwing it across the room. "Why is she here? Why is she poking around?" He shouted, feeling like his body was on fire. "Please, I'll...I'll try and find out. But sir, you have to understand that...that you have to control your temper. Have you not considered...."

"Of course I have! Why do you think I'm so worked up! I want this gone as much as you do!" He shouted, pushing back an armchair so it fell with a loud thud. "Just...just tell her to go to dinner. Tell her to be at dinner."