Banished Pt. 10

"I'm nothing like what you're making me out to be, Nate. I'm the pathetic girl who's never had a real boyfriend, and the first and only guy I was ever with on earth was the professor who supervised my research group; and he was married."

I frowned.

So, all she's ever been is the girl on someone's list, huh?

"You're not pathetic, Casey. In my eyes, that story doesn't even begin to change how I see you."

She stood up, and turned away from me.

"I know... but there was so much more that I wanted to do, and the instant I got sent to this place, my life came to a fucking end."

I moved behind her, and wrapped my arms around her, before placing a gentle kiss on her neck, just beneath her ear.

"You could look at it like that, or think about it like this; the moment you arrived here, your life began."

She scoffed.

"Even if you think about it like that, I did everything wrong from day one, and I paid for it too."

"Granted, you made mistakes," I admitted, "but you're in a much better place right now, aren't you? I mean, not to brag or anything, but you are in the presence of a future king, and he very much favors your company."

Casey laughed, though this time not quite as bitterly, and I kissed her again.

"There it is," I said. "See, this whole conversation would come to an end pretty quickly if you could see just how beautiful you look when you laugh."

Casey blushed, then looked away, despite a little remnant of her smile remaining.

"Nate, can you do me a favor?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Anything," I replied.

"When the hypnosis wears off... make me smile again? Even if I hate you?"

"Done."

We finished washing up, and I gave Casey one of my spare robes again as she laid out her council-robes on a nearby rock to dry.

At my insistence, however, Casey sat with me by the edge of the bank, and I felt myself relax a bit as I rested my head in her lap, and she ran her hand through my hair soothingly.

"We don't get to do this enough," I said, and she smiled.

"Thank god. Sheesh, if I knew you could be this needy, I would have never decided to comfort you," she complained teasingly.

Despite the complaint, however, she seemed quite content to sit there, lazily, holding me in her arms, and we stayed like that in relative silence for quite some time until eventually, I actually dozed off to sleep.

//

You're a piece of shit, Nate, and you deserve every last bit of what's to come!

//

"Gah!"

I woke up with a bit of a start, and Casey wrapped her arms around me, before cradling my head into her chest comfortingly.

"That was one hell of a bad dream," she said. "Who's Julie?"

I let out a sigh.

"My adoptive sister," I replied, and she eyed me.

"Huh... thought it was something else," she said, and I snickered a little.

"It was. She was the only girl I'd ever been with on earth," I said, and she frowned.

"Did you love her?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. Feelings are difficult for me to process, remember?"

Casey studied me for a bit, before a teasing smile crossed her lips.

"Did you spend a lot of time 'looking for her smile' then?"

I snickered a little.

"She smiled a lot when she was hurting me, so I didn't really look for it unless I was in the mood to be hurt."

"In the mood to be hurt?" she asked, and I nodded.

"I didn't have my pretty little advisor back on earth to run to when I felt troubled," I teased. "Sometimes, when I needed to feel something, anything... pain was the most reliable stimulus," I explained.

"Did you ever hurt yourself?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Not unless going to Julie knowing that she would hurt me, counts."

Casey tutted at me a little.

"Now then, would your mother be happy if she heard about that?" Casey asked teasingly, and I snickered at the jab.

"I guess not."

"You just did a lot of things that your mother wouldn't be happy with," she said suggestively, and I shook my head.

"Don't presume to think that my mother wouldn't want me to find intimacy," I replied, and she shook her head.

"Are you implying that your mother would smile if you knew you just roughly fucked some poor little girl in the ass?" she asked, incredulously.

"She doesn't have to watch, you know. She just has to know that there's this pretty girl; cute, sometimes, when I get her to smile; and the nasty things she's doing with me in bed puts me in one hell of a good mood," I replied, and Casey chuckled at me, even as she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I should tell your mom you're running around with every girl that looks at you twice," she said, and I chuckled.

"Well, my mother did always teach me to share," I countered, and she frowned.

"Got an answer for everything, don't you?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Not everything. I think my mother would have really liked you, though" I said, and she suddenly seemed flustered, her face going red.

"Well, my parents would have..." her words trailed off, and I took note of the sad look in her eyes.

"Were they still alive?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Probably think I'm dead, though. The company does that kind of stuff all the time... orchestrate disappearances, I mean."

"Probably wouldn't have approved of their daughter's psychopath boyfriend anyway," I added.

"Pfft, like I would tell them about that part. They would probably be worried about you being much older though."

I shrugged.

"I'm sure I could have won them over. I'm quite charismatic, you know? And I'm pretty good at winning people over," I said, and she shook her head.

"That kind of statement would have been outright terrifying, before all this," she said, and I smirked.

"What changed then?"

She shrugged.

"I dunno. Ever since I got here, I've just been going through the motions. So, maybe I'm not scared because I'm just living right now as if I'm already dead.

I frowned.

"I hate when you say things like that."

"Why?"

"Because I like you," I said. "And because I want you to be happy. It's fine though; I mean, I'm still seeing that smile from time to time."

"You can claim that victory if you pull that off when I'm no longer hypnotized... or distracted by these artificially planted feelings."

"I'll claim that victory," I promised, "even if it's the last thing I do."

I leaned over and rested a hand on Casey's cheek before giving her a little kiss, and she quickly looked away, a hint of longing in her eyes.

Casey threw on her robes, and I stowed the spare cloak as we prepared to head back to camp.

"Can I just walk for a bit," she asked, as I gestured to my back, and I frowned.

"I don't want that wound to act up halfway home," I countered, and she shook her head.

"It's fine. If it could handle all of that rough animal sex, it'll be fine for a walk," she reasoned, and I snickered a little at the imagery.

"By the way, you never explained how you can suddenly sense energy flow," she noted, and I sighed.

"Apparently I've been blessed with a unique skill," I answered.

Two, if you count my supposed intimacy skill, I thought.

"Unique skill? What is that?"

"Hnn~. I thought you'd know, Mrs. 'Inside knowledge'."

She shook her head.

"As far as I know, there are no unique skills. Anyone can learn anything, just to varying degrees."

I studied her thoughtfully, as we walked.

"I see..."

"Why do you think the skill is unique?" she asked.

"Danica said she's seen it only a few times before."

Casey frowned.

"So, a rare skill, basically?" she asked.

She thought about it for a while.

"Is that what you know them as?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"I mean, most people have some propensity to developing certain skills... like, artists or musicians? Even linguists. But you can learn all of those things with enough effort, and in most cases, the right instruction. Doesn't change the fact that it comes easier to some than to others."

"Danica did mention that, but about skills in general. She was pretty clear in distinguishing ordinary skills from unique ones, though."

Casey frowned.

"Maybe it's skills that you can't develop naturally, or through armor?" she suggested, and I shrugged. "So, what's the rare skill?"

"Skill mirroring," I answered, and Casey froze.

You've heard that term before, I thought.

She quickly shook her head, and I kept a subtle eye on her.

"That ring a bell?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"I think I've heard it mentioned, but I'm not really sure where it was," she answered, and I suppressed a frown.

I want to like you so much, Casey... but you can't lie to me like this.

I came to a stop, then let out a sigh.

I didn't want to play games... not with this relationship.

"Tell me the truth," I said, and she studied me with a confused expression.

"About what?"

"About skill mirroring," I answered.

She bit her lip nervously.

I have complete control over you, are you forgetting that? I thought. Or are you testing my ability to resist using it?

"Case... what could you possibly gain from hiding things from me again?" I asked, putting on the best pleading look I could muster.

My eyes even teared up a little, and Casey seemed to be caught completely off guard by that response.

"I, uh- I'm sorry," she said. "It's just... it's a major game-changing skill," she explained, and I shook my head at her.

"I know that; but why would you think you needed to hide that from me? Do you still think that one day you'll have to fight me?"

I focused all of my will into making my show of acting hurt seem genuine, and to my delight; a tear ran down my cheek, and Casey's eyes became watery.

"N-no, Nate. I-I don't know. I'm just... torn between how I feel all the time, and this instinctual fear I feel... not because you've done anything to make me distrust you, but because of everything that I know through the company about psychopaths and how they behave."

I bit my lip, then shook my head.

"That's not good enough," I said, biting my lip, and Casey studied me as I continued, "maybe we need to end this façade."

"What do you mean-?"

"Cassandra," I said, cutting her off, and Casey's eyes went wide.

"W-what're you doing?" she asked, as I advanced on her, and she backed away from me, an uncertain look in her eyes.

"You're scaring me," she said, and I shook away the complaint as I reached out and placed my hand against her chest.

"When you no longer feel the need to be in my service, the need for my protection, or even the need for my company, you're freed from your pledge to me," I said, and she blinked several times, studying me as she tried to process the meaning behind the words.

"What are you saying?" she asked, a pleading expression on her face.

"It's done; I've worked that clause into your pledge," I said, and with that, I turned away, then took a deep breath in as if collecting myself.

"Nate..."

"We should get going," I said, doing my best impression of a forced smile, and Casey blinked back her tears as she averted her gaze, a lost expression on her face.

We trudged along for a while in silence, when finally, Casey spoke up.

"My name's not Cassandra," she said.

"Hm?"

"I said my name. It's not Cassandra."

I frowned.

"I didn't really think it was; I just kind of took a shot in the dark that day that Casey was short for Cassandra," I explained, and she clicked her tongue at me.

"Cassie would be short for Cassandra; Casey is actually an old Irish name."

"Hnn~. I didn't know that."

"C-A-T-H-A-S-A-I-G-H," she spelled out, and I shook my head, my confusion visibly displayed on my face.

"What is that?"

"That's the proper Gaelic spelling of my name."

"Cathasaigh?" I said, struggling to pronounce the letters, and she clicked her tongue at me.

"Casey! It's pronounced Casey!" she chided me, and I laughed.

"You've gotta be kidding," I said. "Cathasaigh... can I call you Cathy?"

"No."

"Then, what about-"

"My name is Casey, jackass. Call me Casey!" she exclaimed, and I snickered at her.

"Fair Cathasaigh," I said, uttering the words with an air of regality, and she let out a frustrated groan before stalking off ahead of me.

"You don't know where we're going!" I called after her, and she waved a hand dismissively.

I chuckled a little as I followed her, and I caught her eyeing me cautiously, as if studying me for some kind of reaction.

Maybe she did feel badly about distrusting me... or maybe, there was still something that she knew about that skill that she was hiding from me.

I wasn't sure yet, but hopefully, it wasn't the latter of the two.

"As far as I can tell, I've copied three abilities so far," I said, and Casey cast a worried look in my direction.

"The sensory perception, was it?"

"Yeah."

"And what other two?" she probed.

"The night when you were stabbed, I went off with Eradne in the forest, and I copied a skill for moving through the forest more easily."

"Have you used it?"

I nodded.

"When Raul and I went off on our mission. It allowed me to run faster than he did even though we were using armor that gave us access to the same level of speed."

"Hmm. And what was the third one?"

"The Aufhöcker's tree swinging," I replied, and she stared at me disbelievingly.

"The monster? You copied a skill off of a monster?"

I nodded.

"When it was about to kill Nolan, I swung off of a branch the same way they did; it was what allowed me to land the attack that saved him."

She rubbed her chin.

"What about other skills?" she asked.

"Like what?"

"Like your princess' hypnosis," she probed, and I shook my head.

"I've tried to think about it, but there's something in my head that clicks when I figure out how a skill functions, or how to activate it, and I can't figure out when or how the princess actually performs the hypnosis."

She frowned, and I smiled a little to myself, as to even ask that question seemed a pretty risky move, from her perspective.

You're worried about what would happen if I ever gained access to that skill, aren't you?

Or, maybe that earlier lapse was just a small, momentary infraction...

I wasn't sure, so I would have to keep an eye on her.

"If you could learn to use hypnosis, handling the group would be much easier, wouldn't it?"

I chuckled a little, as if the idea made me nervous.

"I guess... but I'm not sure I'd feel okay with controlling people like that. I mean, maybe it might have been helpful in dealing with threats like Emily without having to resort to an execution, but it wouldn't really serve a function that we can't already achieve through pledges."

Casey nodded, before cracking a little smile.

"Honestly, I'm terrified of the thought of that kind of power in your hands anyway," she admitted, and I frowned.

"I think honest Casey hurts my feelings way too often," I noted, and she eyed me with a playful look.

"Oh? And what happened to the whole 'psychopaths have no feelings' thing?" she teased, and I frowned.

"I guess... it really isn't like me. But I've also never ran to a girl seeking comfort before either, so maybe you really are some sort of exception..."

Casey's expression was teasing, but I countered it with my best showing of a 'sadness behind this smile' look, and I could see her own eyes wavering a little as she studied me.

"Don't be like that," she said, and I tilted my head in response.

"Be like what?" I asked.

"Sad-ish... I think."

"I'm not sad," I countered. "I'm just... a little distracted."

"By what?" she asked.

"I dunno... lots of things. How to prepare for threats that are beyond our capacity to handle... how to deal with Palancar, given that they probably have Vanessa in their grasp."

She eyed me again.

"Then, talk to me about it. I'm your advisor," she said. "Or, did I just lose that special trust you had in me?"

She put on a pouty look, and I shook my head in response.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't that... I just, don't even have ideas to float to you just yet," I reasoned.

As we walked, Casey then surprised me by moving in and taking my hand in hers.

She quickly looked away, a hint of blush in her cheeks, but I noted, with some internal amusement, that she seemed to be actively trying to cheer me up, and I let a little smile show, as it wasn't altogether unpleasant.

"How about you leave Palancar to me, then? I can... work with Gisela," she offered, swallowing with some difficulty, as if she found the idea quite unpleasant. "I could probably find out more about the cultural dynamic at play here, and how we can deal with that side of things?"

I studied her with some curiosity.

"Hmm. Earlier, when we were discussing things with Gisela, you didn't seem all that interested in the politics at play here. Are you sure you're up for that sort of thing?"

"Sure. I mean, how hard could it be? And that'll leave you with plenty of time to train your skills, and get some of the others up to speed and ready for combat."

"That would be pretty neat," I noted, smiling a little, and Casey blushed as I brought her hand to my lips, and gave it a quick kiss, but as we continued on, I noted that her mood seemed to be much better afterwards.

"You know; talking about controlling the group with hypnosis... there was something that crossed my mind yesterday," I said.

"What?" she asked.

There were no inflections in her mood, I noted.

"Something came up with Leanna, and I kind of realized that the princess would use her hypnosis on her if I asked her to," I explained.

"What was the deal with Leanna?" she asked, and I recounted my experience with her.

Casey frowned.

"Fuck hypnosis, I say we imprison her... if she's fucking dumb enough to justify Emily committing murder over something as far-fetched as that conspiracy, she's a danger to us if left unchecked."

I nodded.

"Well, I don't know if she's actually dangerous, but using hypnosis if we can't reign her in did cross my mind."

She frowned.

"So, will you do it?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"I'm gonna try the diplomatic approach first; as long as we can keep a weapon out of her hands, it should be manageable."

"Are you sure you can manipulate her into staying in line, though?"

I shrugged.

"It might be easy, considering her propensity to believe far-fetched stories as long as they align with her ideology. Besides, it's only a temporary measure until we can really gauge what's going on with her."

"Are you sure you aren't just interested in playing spy games with her because she's pretty?" Casey asked, and I shook my head.

"Seriously, the number of women I'm being forced to entertain is already more than I can handle," I countered, and Casey shot me a glum look, as she withdrew her hand and folded them across her chest angrily.

"Am I on that list?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"I said forced, and if you let me finish; I was gonna say is that the last thing I need is another girl to take time away from the free time I get to spend with the people I actually want to spend it with."

"Like Cameron?" she teased, and this time, I chuckled nervously.

"You know, I was hypnotized into liking her," I explained, and Casey shot me a sharp look.

"Yeah... but you still like her," she said.

"Does that really bother you, or is your problem the whole 'being on a list' thing?"

She shrugged.

"It doesn't really bother me; I don't want to be your girlfriend, you know. I probably won't even want to be your anything when this hypnosis wears off."

"Well, I'll always want you to be my advisor," I countered, as I pulled her back and linked our arms together. "Maybe I'll just make it my policy that my advisors have to sleep with me," I teased, and she turned and shot me a dirty look.