Self Drowning

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa tilted her head back to knock back the godawful drink. She felt it burn its way down her throat, till it merged with its brethren in her stomach. Wincing, Elsa put her glass back down on the counter, giving it a flick with her fingers. She looked up expectantly at the bartender. More amber liquid soon sloshed into the glass.

"Hey there sweet thing I---"

"You're picturing me naked," Elsa said, acid already dripping into her voice, "naked and---covered in feathers? Oh, that's quite an interesting little bit. Is it because of that time you caught mommy and daddy together? Forget about that one? how about the time that you wondered if you and your sister should be doing that? Oh, remembered that? Go find her: she'll be more willing."

Elsa leaned her head back again, letting more amber liquid slide down. She heard someone coming to sit next to her, and without looking up or over, she spoke: "I swear to several nonexistent gods that if you start flirting with me I will mindfuck you to your infancy."

[Ellen Banks]

“Well I wasn’t particular planning on it but I appreciated the creative threat.Very threatening. Well done” Ellen said wrinkling her nose at her surrounding, this place was not meant for the likes of Ellen Banks. The smell of stale ale stung her nostril and oh, was it strong and not particularly pleasant either. There was so doubt about it; Ellen was spoiled and she was pampered, which is why she choose to stay away from seedy bars like these and turn her nose up at them whenever possible. Give her a club any day, but a bar? She simply couldn’t abide the setting nor the company of leering drunks.

Fortunately she wasn’t planning to spend much time here.

She had heard tell, that after the fire not to mention stepping down in a very public way she wasn’t dealing with it well (Ellen always had her sources) Call her soft, and call her sentimental. maybe she was spending too much time around Frank Cox but Ellen couldn’t help but feel obligated to see what she could do. After all, Ellen herself went quite through a similar ordeal a few months previously where she was a shell of her former self, in a deep funk that would render her scared of her own shadow. (Not that Ellen could honestly say that she knew what Ellen was going through and it would be an insult to her)

Like Elsa said to her long ago; They were too close to each other and Ellen had too much respect for Elsa to see her go through the same thing. So she tracked her down to this bar and after carefully placing a cloth over the stool right beside Elsa. She sat right beside her.

She was well aware this was likely going to blow up in her face but no one could say she didn’t try

“But then again…” Ellen mused her voice casual shifting her position making herself comfortable “-I guess that threat would carry more weight if I didn’t hear it several times before since we were kids. In admittedly less blunt terms”

The body language in Ellen chanced ever so slightly as she turned to face Elsa smelling the alcohol on her breath “Elsa, What are you doing?”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa let out a dry laugh and focused her attention back on her drink. Ellen Banks: still as together as ever. Then again, hadn't Ellen been a shattered mess only a few months ago? Didn't excuse her from sleeping with Priya, but it did make Elsa feel a little less like simply turning and ripping the other woman's head off.

Only a little though.

"You act as though you've never seen someone attempting to drink themselves into a stupor before, Ellen," Elsa said, tipping back another drink. She winced at the awful flavor and taste, pausing for a moment, still holding the glass. It wasn't as though Elsa had picked the good stuff: this was the alcohol you drank when you wanted your drink to kill you one sip at a time. She sat it back down, tapping it for the bartender to refill.

"We both know that's not true. After all, we were both at prom," she smiled a little, pulling her next glass close to her. "The better question is what are you doing? If you're looking to screw your way through the heads of school, you're a bit late. Besides, I've never really thought of you that way," she swirled her drink, staring down at the sloshing liquid. No, she hadn't, which struck Elsa as odd but, well, what else could she say?

[Ellen Banks]

Ellen couldn’t help but to marvel at the sight before her, Elsa Bellefonte, always so sure and strong ever since Ellen was old enough to remember, giving up control and letting alcohol take of her away. She won’t lie, there was a tiny part of her that found the idea terribly amusing in a surreal kind of way. Like seeing an Elephant stand on his hind legs and practice Ballet.

The rest of her just found very discouraging indeed.

Ellen always had a way of reading people and she could tell that recent events have hit her hard, Ellen could relate (Which as you can imagine is a very rare thing for her, but then again Elsa was a special case)

“Oh, is that what you’re doing?” Ellen asked in feigned surprise rapping her knuckles on the bar top “Well, that’s a novel way to deal with ones problems I suppose” She wrinkled her nose just a little tossing her head back as she examined their surroundings "Still, you could have picked a more hygienic place to drown your sorrows” Ellen sighed pressing her finger against the bar and slide it slowly across the top frowning at the dust it left on her finger “How cliché…”

“Oh Elsa you wound me so” Funny enough Ellen never thought of Elsa in a sexual way, considering the fact that she had a deep burning crush on her sister all through adolescent. Thinking about her in the same way was just…Odd, like having relations with a mirror seeing as they were so similar in personality. “You know why I’m here Elsa…” She sighed turning serious once again even if she didn’t read Ellen’s mind (Which she could as Ellen’s defences were down) She was sure that she could put two and two together “…I’m sure a few people can put this a little more gentle then I ever could, I’m not a gentle person Elsa. You know that; but maybe that's a good thing, maybe Instead of coddling you. I can tell you what you need to hear. Tell you that-“ Ellen turned towards Elsa her eyes cold and serious as to was her voice as she gestured to Elsa first then to the glass “This? How you’re coping with what happened, What you’re doing. The road you’re going down. It needs to stop and it needs to stop now before you get too deep in it”


Well, lets see where this goes…

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa let out a little noise of confirmation at Ellen's question, and then she tapped her fingers for another drink. It was tempting to just throw another back, but Elsa had actually lost count of how much alcohol simmered in her system right now.

"Trash goes where it fits," Elsa intoned flatly, spitting each word. Yes, she definitely wanted another shot. The awful stuff went straight down into her stomach. Soon Elsa was pointedly ignoring Ellen as she began entering lecture mode. No coddling, no being gentle.

"Or what?" Elsa said, laughing. She looked over at Ellen. "Do you honestly think I don't know precisely where this road leads?" Elsa asked. She raised a hand, gesturing around her. "Do you really think I picked this place at random, Ellen? Like I said, the trash goes where it's wanted. There are no other roads for me, Ellen," she tapped the bartop, glaring at the bartender. This time, the man hesitated, looking over at Ellen instead.

Elsa looked at her as well. "Erika was always going to be the one in the spotlight anyway. I had my shot. I had everything," she spat the last word, "and it's all gone now. I didn't get shot and find out that everyone loves me so much," she spat the last words at Ellen, very nearly actually spitting. "instead, I got a lovely little disc detailing how everyone I thought I could trust was going behind my back. So yes, I'm heading down this path," she turned and picked up her glass, slamming it back onto the bar. "So give me another damn drink!"

[Ellen Banks]

Yes, Ellen was beginning to wonder that herself. How many of those had Elsa had now? Well, Elsa was coherent and she wasn’t sprawled out on the floor. So it can’t have been that many. A few but not enough to turn her into a mess. Even though it could be that Elsa had a higher threshold of tolerance then Ellen. Which honestly wasn’t saying all that much . Considering Ellen turned into an entirely different person when she was drunk

“Trash goes where it fits” There was something very unsettling for Ellen to hear coming out of the mouth of a Bellefonte let alone not Elsa Bellefonte, once upon a time, Elsa would slap her straight in the face as Ellen had said that. So it was just a sign of how dented her pride was after the fire “Trash goes where it fits. That’s quite a theory, you’ve cultivated for yourself”

Of course Ellen knew walking in here that either Elsa would ignore her or blatantly laugh in her face because the idea of anyone telling her what to do to do is laughable even more so considering that it was Ellen Banks that was trying to do the ordering and honestly if the positions were reversed Ellen would have done the very same thing.

“Ah.” Ellen noted coldly “So you’ve opted for self pity” Ellen face grimacing clearly not approving of such an approach and honestly she never thought that Elsa would take it this hard, she always thought she would be strong enough to handle anything that came her way. Clearly she was mistaken. “So, if I’m understanding your thinking. You, Elsa Bellefonte, the youngest headmistress ever to run a school and do so better then most meets failure for the first time in your life, so you instantly curl up into a ball of self pity and give up?” Ellen asked rising an eyebrow and moving a little closer “Tell me Elsa and tell me honestly; If the roles were reversed and you were sitting in my place and I told you that what would you say? Assuming of course you would say anything” Ellen shrugged conceding that Elsa might not even care, Ellen didn’t even know why she cared. It was her life, who was Ellen to say how she should spend her time? And for anyone else? She wouldn’t have, but like Ellen once told Elsa. She was in her families debt and that was not something she couldn’t take lightly. Besides this wasn’t just anyone it was Elsa who she had known all her life. That was different. “Taking this particular one is neither helping yourself or anyone around you, but I take it that’s low on your list of priorities at the moment”

Yeah, this couldn’t continue like this the more Elsa drank the less likely she could focus on what Ellen was trying to say and that would turn this into a pointless endeavor indeed, she could tell doing trying to hit Ellen where it hurt by bringing up the shooting. Ellen merely sat back frowning almost as if surprised by the flawed argument Elsa put forth “First off: no one loves me.” Ellen said blankly as if she was discussing mathematical fact, and to her maybe it was. She had accepted that part of life and had come to terms with it. “Tim Taweek lost the ability to walk, Guy Legrance died and Charity lost her father. All you’ve lost was being head of the school and you’ve suffered bruised ego because of it. You still have your health, and you didn’t lose anyone close to you. Some people weren’t as lucky.” Ellen head twisted towards to the bar keep and shot him with a look that could freeze water “Don’t you dare even think about serving her another drink. She’s had move then enough” She frowned at Elsa’s words “Disk?”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"I'm quite excellent in developing theories," Elsa said dryly, her voice still somewhat bemused, her words perhaps only a little less sharp than they would have been normally. She waved a hand slightly, in her usual mode of dismissal. However, without the near constant flow of drink sliding into her, Elsa could once again feel the weight of things, of her decision, of where she was, of what she'd become, or rather, unbecome.

Self-pity? Perhaps. But Elsa found that she didn't much care. Though she did let out a soft laugh as Ellen asserted that it was the first time that she'd faced failure before. Hadn't they met before? Elsa certainly failed; she'd failed so very recently with the SPECTRE events. Surely that proved so much that she wasn't who she should have been. She looked as Ellen moved forward, raising her attention back to the blonde girl.

"I'd most likely tell you to stop wallowing," Elsa replied, turning, "though--" she paused, mostly because Ellen continued. The no one loves me had Elsa laughing, shaking her head, nearly ignoring what followed. "Do you honestly still believe that? Your days of being a wholly unlikeable human being are quickly moving behind you, Ellen. The fact that you still keep the leech known as Frank Cox around is proof enough of that. Even my sister is starting to thaw toward you, though we both know that relationship's never going to be what it once was.

"As for everyone else: they didn't lose themselves. Tawfeek's apparently as strong as ever, Charity Legrange barely knew her father, and Guy Legrange went out precisely as he'd wanted: Helping protect other people. None of them realized that they aren't who they're supposed to be, and neither did you," Elsa took a breath, turning back, realizing that the bartender was going to listen to Ellen. It probably didn't help that Elsa very nearly looked as horrible as she felt, her hair disheveled and her eyes bleary.

"Kaur sent a disc," Elsa said bluntly. "It included a video of her and Vera having all sorts of fun in the reception area, along with references that the woman had slept with nearly everyone I put on my council, except Franck, of course," Elsa tapped her fingers on the bar, then looked to Ellen. "Including you, fascinatingly enough. I didn't think you were that vulnerable, but, well," she gestured around them, "I guess we were both mistaken in each other, hmm?"

[Ellen Banks]

Was it really that bad, that Ellen wanted to grab Elsa by the shoulders and shout at her? Because Ellen really did have to repress that strong impulse bubbling and stewing inside her. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe she shouldn’t have come down here when she did. Because to Ellen, Elsa’s reasoning as to way she’s doing this was sensible to her and her alone, Maybe if Elsa choose to spill out her deep seeded emotional trauma to her maybe Ellen might understand. Ellen almost had to laugh at the idea of Elsa confiding in her in such a way. Maybe to Erika she might. Possibly even to Roxanna but to Ellen? She could only assume that Elsa would rather die then open up to Ellen Banks of all people. She could understand that kind of thinking, she herself wouldn’t dare show weakness post shooting. It was probably the same for Elsa.

Only it seemed like it was eating Elsa inside and out…

“Exactly” Ellen nodded “You would tell me to stop wallowing” At least they had reached that level of understanding but before she had a chance she blinked taken aback by the sudden laughter certainly not expecting it considering her condition “Something funny? Care to let me on the joke?” Ellen could only blink in surprise at Elsa’s assignment, Really she didn’t know what to say for a moment. It never occurred to her that public opinion might be turning against her in some way or another. Really Ellen would have said the opposite of that.

And she didn’t know why but hearing Elsa refer to Frank as a leech she couldn’t help but frown. She didn’t know why but that rubbed her the wrong way. “I can count on two fingers the number of people the number of people that doesn’t hate my guts. One of them being…Well…You.” Ellen shrugged “How about that for irony?”

Ellen just sat in silence as Elsa tried to convince her that she was the biggest causality of the fire. Her hand resting against her chin as spouting her thinking at the moment. Lord, this really did hit hard didn’t she? “You want to know the crazy thing? You really believe that don’t you?” Ellen muttered almost in a concerned tone. “Only in your own head did you lose yourself. You’re still you and no amount of fires can ever chance that”

Well, well well. Miss Kaur did get around didn’t she? In a way gears clicked in Ellen’s head just a little. Vera…herself. Roxanna and she tried to work her charms on Franck. The connection was obvious. She was working her way through each and everyone one of the council, through the most influential of students.

Ellen shuddered to think what would have happened if she got to the Bellefonte’s.
But that wasn’t the only thing that came together in Ellen’s head, she shut her eyes for a moment and her mouth made a perfect O shape as the realization hit her “Oh, I see…You feel betrayed, the group of people you trusted above all else went and stabbed Ellen said all this in a very matter of fact way as if she was diagnosing Elsa’s feelings. To be fair if the roles were reversed Ellen might feel the same way as Elsa did, only Ellen would probably lash out at each one instead of taking it out on herself “If you’re expecting me to be flustered or embarrassed or even ashamed of what happened, I’m sorry to disappoint because I’m not.” Ellen stated bluntly “I know manipulation, you know that and can tell you right now. Kaur is a master at it.. I don’t know if she was somekind of lust manipulator or she used some kind of glamour but there’s no doubt in my mind she used some kind of power against us. Really I didn’t stand a chance, and I’ve no problem admitting that. She’s a very cunning woman whose reached the full potential of her powers, which makes her very dangerous.” Ellen said only now coming to with what kind of woman she was. “Do you really think Roxanna is capable of just jumping on the first warm body she saw. That doesn’t strike me as something she would do does it? And I’m sure she told you the same story and I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say if we weren’t being influenced there’s no way that would have ever happened” She paused a little letting her words sink in actually feeling a spike of rage towards the woman at her actions “Let me ask you something; Why do you think she sent the DVD. She was smart enough to keep under our radar for as long as she wanted. What did she have to gain by revealing herself?” Ellen paused as if letting Elsa consider any answer she might consider “She wanted this” Ellen gestured idly towards Elsa “She wanted to send a message. I did all this all under your nose and you couldn’t do a thing about it. What other reason could there be? She’s trying to hurt you and by the looks of it she did just that.”

Ellen was done playing around the smell of the bar was getting to her and if she wanted to get her point across to Elsa there was no time like the preset while she had Elsa’s attention. “I didn’t come here to indulge your identity crisis or your one woman pity party. And I most certainly didn’t come here to talk to this Elsa Bellefonte” Ellen shook her head in bemusement “I don’t even know who the hell this person is. I came to talk to Elsa Bellefonte who is the most driven, focused person I know, the person that would stab me without a second thought if it was for the betterment of the school. This? This is not THAT Elsa Bellefonte and I don’t know if she died in that fire or not but what I do know-“ Ellen broke off getting off her stool and moving slowly towards Elsa trying to force eye contact “But what you don’t understand is that you can’t do this, you can’t let yourself turn into this. We’ve had our differences, were polar opposites but the one thing that we have in common is that we’ed do anything for the school, our home. The school needs Elsa Bellefonte, Even if you’re not head any more, you know just as well that now especially the school needs you. So you need to wake up! Ellen eyes radiated coldness as she paused for a moment to let her tough words sink in her body language letting her know that she wasn’t backing down anytime soon her voice had begun to rise as she talked but now it lowered into a cold whisper “You can threaten me, you an try and hurt me with your words and you can go ahead and purge my mind of every secret I have, but one way or another you’re coming back to the school with me-Either you come willingly or I drag you there”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Oh, this whole thing was a joke, some cruel twist of Fate that sent them all writhing. Elsa was tempted to say as much, but she daren't interrupt Ellen, especially not when Ms. Banks was on such a roll. So instead she listened. And snorted when Ellen talkeda bout people that didn't hate her guts. True, some people still didn't like Ellen, but she was almost like one of those villains in children's cartoons that had been converted: the hate was less real and more a gut reflex, a reaction that nobody really put any effort or want into.

Elsa just raised her brows as Ellen said that she believed what she said. Of course she did: that was the problem. The reassertion just had Elsa shaking her head and turning back to her glass, wishing that she could will alcohol to reappear in it.

That desire only increased as Ellen kept going. Did Elsa expect Ellen to be embarrassed or flustered? No, not Ellen. The manipulation business didn't surprise Elsa overmuch either: she wasn't an idiot. That and she'd spoken with Franck, seen his thoughts, knew what was going on there, knew what Priya was capable of. Though it was somewhat surprising to hear Ellen admit to being weak, to being so susceptible to someone else's influence.

Did Elsa think that of Roxana? she didn't know. Didn't care much: that wasn't what upset her. IT was the lying after. And of course she understood what Priya was doing. Elsa had been outplayed, outmanipulated. She knew that. And no, she didn't know who this person was: that was the point. She'd lost what made her Elsa Bellefonte. The school didn't need her; Erika didn't need her; none of her people needed her. What purpose was there for someone like her? Who was to say she couldn't do this to herself? Especially someone like Ellen.

So Elsa met the cold look with a tired look of her own. And as she did, she realized something; "Well, I'm sober now," she drawled, tapping her glass. "Which means that there's no reason for me to stay here, now is there?" Elsa smiled at Ellen then slid off her stool, moving a little sluggishly, but not really having any issue with heading toward the door.

[Ellen Banks]

Well, at least no one could say that she didn’t try…

She knew that the only chance she had of getting Elsa to yield even a little bit was just hit her with a massive ball of logic as fast as she could and make it abundantly clear that Ellen wasn’t planning to be leaving this place without her. Either though there was a chance that she could just slap Ellen across the face.

…It wasn’t like that was a foreign concept to her anyway…

Let it be known that Ellen was not admitting to weakness, she would rather die then admit to such a thing, and besides it wasn’t true. It wasn’t like she was over powered by the woman (Even through the woman was clearly in control of her powers to a impressive degree) But she was blinded sided by it, she was caught unprepared and unaware and she was utterly floored with it. It wasn’t a fair fight and Ellen believed that was by design. If Ellen was in Kaur’s shoes she would most likely do the same exact thing, if you have an advantage why not press it for all it’s worth? But her fatal mistake was revealing herself, because now she knew what she was capable of…

…Let’s see how well her powers worked on Ellen when they were on even footing.

She didn’t like Priya’s chances…

Because that’s what Ellen seemed to register that Elsa simply didn’t, Mistakes were bound to happen, yes even to Ellen. Ellen didn’t make them herself but they did happen mostly through something she had no control over but when that happened Ellen does what her father does and her father before him did and everyone with that shared the name “Banks” did. Adapted. And made sure it never happened again. Never make the same mistake twice. Every mistake (As rare as they were) was a learning experience. It was simple as that

She was somewhat surprised that Elsa was learning she expected somekind of temper tantrum in some way or another which was find she could always used her powers in order to “Persuade” her to leave instead (But doing that she might as well start digging her own grave) but apparently that was unnecessary as Elsa staggered off the chair about to leave.

Would wonders never cease?

“Now that wasn’t so hard was it?” Ellen purred going to follow her out watching her so she doesn’t keel over suddenly “Also you might want to get some sleep when we get back…maybe some mouth wash too…”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

It did pain Elsa to even make it look like Ellen had won. There was still a part of her that wanted to rise up, claws out, and offer a few more rakes to the other girl. however, that part had been beaten down, beaten down and then drowned in alcohol. Elsa had claimed to be sober, but it was less "sober" and more "not as drunk." She could walk easily enough, would walk back to the family home, assuming that Ellen wised up and left her alone.

"I can still handle myself," Elsa drawled. She didn't bother looking to Ellen or offering more than that. She simply kept walking toward the door, with steps that definitely didn't speak to being a "Bellefonte" or anything short of a tipsy girl who'd had more than she could handle.

"You also don't need to worry about my mouth," she drawled, pausing to steady herself on a chair, her eye on the exit. Just a little more and she'd be out of this mess... and she could head home to another mess, a private one, since that was apparently what it would take. Ugh, to get drunk in her parents' house. That truly felt like a new low.

[Ellen Banks]

Oh for goodness sake. Was this was what Ellen was like when someone had to talk her down? Really Ellen pitied the people she had to deal with if this was the case. But then against it might have just been the typical Bellefonte blood rushing through her veins. Such a stubborn race of people indeed, and Elsa was a chief offender, maybe even the worse.

How the hell did Ellen become the baby sitter in all of this?

“Oh yes, clearly you’re handling yourself just fine” Ellen said looking Elsa up and down as she attempted walk out leave the bar. The emphasis naturally enough was on “Trying to walk off of the door” Because she was trying but she wasn’t exactly succeeding.

Ellen simply rolled her eyes at Elsa’s words. Really she was more likely to believe Elsa if it didn’t look like she could lean over and vomit at any moment. “Honestly…” She muttered as she took out her phone punching in numbers “I’m texting Roxanna…” She explained “You’re clearly in no condition to walk home and if you don’t want me to poke my nose in your business at the very least she can’t make sure you don’t collapse in a pool of your own vomit”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa rolled her eyes at Ellen's comment... which very nearly had her falling out of the chair. She managed at the last minute, grabbing it and steadying herself. The world kept spinning for a bit, and there was a moment there when Elsa wasn't entirely certain that she hadn't actually fallen to the floor. She had to hold still for several seconds, wanting to make sure that she was, in fact, still sitting.

She heard a phone beeping, and she turned to look, seeing Ellen dialing, dialing Roxana, apparently. Elsa opened her mouth to protest, but before she even spoke, she could already predict Ellen's response. Better to just let the girl do what she wanted. So instead Elsa turned away, turned and pushed herself back to her feet.

"I'll call a cab," she said, reaching down for her own phone, punching in the necessary numbers. She had to squint, trying to remember the number, and eventually realized something. "Or the family driver," She said with some smug satisfaction, holding the phone up for Ellen to view before pulling it back up to her ear. Elsa really didn't care if she'd gotten the number right or not: she was still going to demand whoever was on the other end send a car.