#ANYWAYS I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE VERY END KSJHDFKJSHDF I LOVED EVERYTHING ELSE THO I'M AAAAAA

[gnawingteeth]

@unblot​ asked:    there's a voicemail left on jade's phone from rielle. when it plays the prince sounds strangely panicked. "jade. listen to me. whatever happens don't come looking for me. for your own good. i promise i'll be okay. just keep yourself safe. in case this is goodbye i want you to know that i-" there's the sound of yelp followed by a dull thud. the new voice that comes onto the phone is low & unfamiliar. "a message to your paps don leech. hand over the money & little princey won't be hurt. got it?"

jade’s expression is unflinching as he listens to the voicemail — the first seconds of rielle’s panicked tone are enough for him to understand that this isn’t one of rielle’s usual voicemails. this is serious, and jade’s unreadable expression only shifts when he hears what he knows to be rielle being struck and injured, and it hardens further when the strange voice comes onto the line with its terms.

so that’s how this is.

paps won’t be getting the message — if any lesson has been imparted to the leech brothers by their parents, it’s this: fight your own battles. and this is, very clearly, jade’s battle. for someone to have had eyes on him enough to know about rielle... that tastes bitter. of course, there’s also the chance that eyes had been on rielle and someone was feeling lucky and opportunistic, but —

no matter. 

face still painted with the same darkly impassive expression, he lowers the phone. “ floyd, ” he calls, and his twin can pick up on what hidden meaning lurks behind narrowed mismatched eyes as they flick in his direction. floyd smiles darkly, and jade nods. concern gets buried behind familiarity, and his own lips pull into some sort of knowing smile that doesn’t meet his eyes.

               - - -

magic wins some battles, but brute force wins others; the leech twins are known to be adept at using both to suit their needs, and for someone nameless like this to think crossing either of them would be successful?? it’s laughable, really. ( floyd does laugh, quite a bit. jade laughs less. laughing or not, the two are quick and deadly, acting without hesitation that any other teenager would likely possess in such a situation. )

and when a familiar voice pleads for his life as jade leans over him, he does laugh — it’s a dark sound, quiet and deliberate as he grabs the apparent mastermind of this entire ordeal by the collar with one hand, magic pen jabbing up into his chin with the other. “ now, where is he?? ” jade asks, and he knows the blood splattered across his face and clothes only enhances his terrifying countenance. his eyes glint oh, so dangerously, the light catching in his gold one — or perhaps it’s glowing from within. shock the heart. there will be no lie here, if the way this bastard is trembling is any indication.

“ th — the next room, ” comes the response, and jade smiles. it’s a sickeningly sweet thing as he tucks his magic pen into his disheveled jacket pocket then pats his cheek.

“ thank you, ” he says almost pleasantly as he stands up, letting him drop to the ground gracelessly. he straightens his jacket before reaching a hand out to take the stray plank floyd picked up from somewhere in this shitty building. humans can be so tasteless.

there’s more blood on his face and his clothes as he gets into the next room ( floyd stays outside to watch for any stragglers ), striding briskly from the door to where rielle is bound to a chair, looking mostly unharmed except for a bruise on the side of his face — likely from where he was struck when leaving the voicemail.

he feels relief flood through him, although it doesn’t show on his face. his expression is too serious, too somber; he’s still caught in the adrenaline and intensity of getting here. “ rielle. ” wordlessly, he kneels down and flicks open a switchblade brought from his pocket, cutting at his bindings. he can’t bring himself to look at rielle while he works. he thinks it might be guilt, but he isn’t sure. when he finally looks up at rielle and those bright blue eyes, his own are wide and bright when compared to the deep red of drying blood against his pale skin. “ i — ”