[ hello, ange! there's a knock on her door a little while after the execution itself, and standing there is xie lian, his hands folded in front of himself - and lup, right behind him. ]
It takes about sixty seconds for an adult to drown. During that time, they asphyxiate slowly. When on the verge of unconsciousness, they breathe in, filling their lungs with water.
They suffocate slowly in agony underwater, alone in the dark.
[...]
I was not going to put her through that. Dorothy... was my partner, and that is what we agreed upon.
xie lian's heart stops, for a moment. just a second. lup is standing close enough that she'll probably feel him suck in a breath.
and then, he just - shifts, and bows over, almost ninety degrees. his voice is steady, but he sounds... agonized, with every word that comes out of his mouth. ]
....Miss Ange. I am the person with the role to save others. I have successfully saved two people to this point - and the only way that my power works is when the other person believes they will not be saved. The fewer people that have known about it, the better - I have had to be extraordinarily careful every week to be successful at all.
Everyone had become so reliant on the fact that the execution would fail that they were beginning to whisper that she was going to be safe. And so I... I had to lie. I had to tell her that she wasn't.
[ his mouth tightens as he stops, and then, with the utmost conviction - ] I'm so sorry.
[Ange inspects them both quietly for a long moment. The pieces all come together plenty quickly, but it doesn't make the situation any better.]
That sort of stupid rule does sound like this place. [That's said flatly. The rule's idiocy isn't Xie Lian's fault. That said...]
Dorothy was framed and then scapegoated with the intent on saving her life after the fact, correct? That is quite the gamble to take with a human being's life.
[... Her mouth twists for a moment, eye narrowing, before she takes another breath and her expression is perfectly flat again.]
She is dead now. It is by my hand, for better or for worse, so the majority of the fault does lie with me. She also did, in fact, murder someone. By the rules of this place, she was guilty.
I didn't know anything about the framing, but I did think it might have been possible. The fact that my name was on the evidence - I think that was from Miss Ochako, but I cannot be sure. I asked which team's killer to protect, and was given Miss Dorothy's name as a tip off on Monday. Any details beyond that I learned either Friday evening or the day of.
[ xie lian curls his hands together in front of himself. he's steady, his voice quiet, shoulders tightly tense. ]
...Her life - every life here matters to me. It is why I did not say anything to you, either - there is no guarantee of who will be chosen to execute someone, and I didn't want the chance that the power could fail.
...Miss Dorothy told me, last night, that she wouldn't have wanted to be protected anyway. I didn't know what to say. [ with a soft huff. ] The entire nature of this place is to be cruel. That her hand was even forced into killing someone in the first place, and that we had to punish someone for doing what needed to be done to bring the others back is...
[ he cuts himself off there, and shakes his head. ]
That is true. She was guilty. [CAN'T DENY THAT FACT. She still did do a murder, and Ange isn't really the sort of person to look away from that fact.]
As for the remainder... attempting to work against and outside of the contraints of this place is hardly a deplorable choice to make. [It's the opposite, really. It's quite noble. It's a nobility that's pretty foreign to Ange as a person.]
I am not happy about the situation. [Obviously. Though her tone never really changes.] In truth, I am quite angry.
But it would be hypocritical of me to be angry at either of you, when you are not the ones who set up this scenario to begin with. I am...
[She pauses, and then just shuts her mouth and shakes her head. Feelings are hard and she is not sure what to do with hers at this point, so.]
... Rather, we should be looking forward now, to what will come.
[ xie lian is certainly angry with himself, but - he has taken on the weight of every failed save since they've happened, so. this is no different. (and there have been many, many failures.)
he dips his head again, briefly.] I agree with you, Miss Ange - my goal is and has always been to save as many people as possible in the Realm, and outside of it as well. My eyes are focused forward.
...Nevertheless, I thought that you had the right to know.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
w6, post execution
...Hello, Miss Ange. Can we talk for a moment...?
no subject
no subject
Ange opens the door, quirks an eyebrow at both of them, and obediently closes the door behind her.]
We can. What is it?
no subject
...Can I ask you why you did what you did, today?
no subject
no subject
It takes about sixty seconds for an adult to drown. During that time, they asphyxiate slowly. When on the verge of unconsciousness, they breathe in, filling their lungs with water.
They suffocate slowly in agony underwater, alone in the dark.
[...]
I was not going to put her through that. Dorothy... was my partner, and that is what we agreed upon.
That is why.
no subject
xie lian's heart stops, for a moment. just a second. lup is standing close enough that she'll probably feel him suck in a breath.
and then, he just - shifts, and bows over, almost ninety degrees. his voice is steady, but he sounds... agonized, with every word that comes out of his mouth. ]
....Miss Ange. I am the person with the role to save others. I have successfully saved two people to this point - and the only way that my power works is when the other person believes they will not be saved. The fewer people that have known about it, the better - I have had to be extraordinarily careful every week to be successful at all.
Everyone had become so reliant on the fact that the execution would fail that they were beginning to whisper that she was going to be safe. And so I... I had to lie. I had to tell her that she wasn't.
[ his mouth tightens as he stops, and then, with the utmost conviction - ] I'm so sorry.
no subject
This isn't - anybody's fault. [ she says, firmly, looking at ange. ] We got too confident, flew too close to the sun.
no subject
That sort of stupid rule does sound like this place. [That's said flatly. The rule's idiocy isn't Xie Lian's fault. That said...]
Dorothy was framed and then scapegoated with the intent on saving her life after the fact, correct? That is quite the gamble to take with a human being's life.
[... Her mouth twists for a moment, eye narrowing, before she takes another breath and her expression is perfectly flat again.]
She is dead now. It is by my hand, for better or for worse, so the majority of the fault does lie with me. She also did, in fact, murder someone. By the rules of this place, she was guilty.
[A breath.]
... And this is what she wanted.
no subject
I didn't know anything about the framing, but I did think it might have been possible. The fact that my name was on the evidence - I think that was from Miss Ochako, but I cannot be sure. I asked which team's killer to protect, and was given Miss Dorothy's name as a tip off on Monday. Any details beyond that I learned either Friday evening or the day of.
[ xie lian curls his hands together in front of himself. he's steady, his voice quiet, shoulders tightly tense. ]
...Her life - every life here matters to me. It is why I did not say anything to you, either - there is no guarantee of who will be chosen to execute someone, and I didn't want the chance that the power could fail.
...Miss Dorothy told me, last night, that she wouldn't have wanted to be protected anyway. I didn't know what to say. [ with a soft huff. ] The entire nature of this place is to be cruel. That her hand was even forced into killing someone in the first place, and that we had to punish someone for doing what needed to be done to bring the others back is...
[ he cuts himself off there, and shakes his head. ]
no subject
It wasn't a gamble, it was gonna be a promise. Just got screwed in the middle there, somewhere.
Besides. She'll come back soon. [ she folds her arms. and then, a little pissy: ]
... Xie Lian's been trying to help from the start. Just saying.
no subject
That is true. She was guilty. [CAN'T DENY THAT FACT. She still did do a murder, and Ange isn't really the sort of person to look away from that fact.]
As for the remainder... attempting to work against and outside of the contraints of this place is hardly a deplorable choice to make. [It's the opposite, really. It's quite noble. It's a nobility that's pretty foreign to Ange as a person.]
I am not happy about the situation. [Obviously. Though her tone never really changes.] In truth, I am quite angry.
But it would be hypocritical of me to be angry at either of you, when you are not the ones who set up this scenario to begin with. I am...
[She pauses, and then just shuts her mouth and shakes her head. Feelings are hard and she is not sure what to do with hers at this point, so.]
... Rather, we should be looking forward now, to what will come.
no subject
[ xie lian is certainly angry with himself, but - he has taken on the weight of every failed save since they've happened, so. this is no different. (and there have been many, many failures.)
he dips his head again, briefly.] I agree with you, Miss Ange - my goal is and has always been to save as many people as possible in the Realm, and outside of it as well. My eyes are focused forward.
...Nevertheless, I thought that you had the right to know.