Shattered Sanity

Roulette couldn't help but chuckle as he took the cup of coffee and gave it a sip. "That one's new," he said simply, finishing the coffee in a few sips. "Most people prefer Sam to me. He's the gentleman, after all. And the artist. The only art I enjoy is the art of blood being splattered on the walls." He shivered at that anticipation before his eyes went to the door. He could stay in a little longer. After all, that new curfew of theirs would make it so much harder for him to do anything.

"I saw some of his work, it's actually really good. The gentleman part... I barely saw that part." Ffion took a sip of her tea, and noticed how eager Roulette was to get out a go on his nightly killing spree. "Aah, go on then, have fun out there" Ffion said with a smile. She took his empty cup, and set it in the sink to wash it later. "Don't get caught."

Roulette had stood up at her invitation to leave and turned around with a dark smile across his face. "One thing you should know about me," he said, checking his gun for a second. "I never get caught." Those words were enough to make anyone shiver. He walked over to her for a moment, cupped her cheek and then disappeared out the door.

Once Roulette had gone, Ffion found the phone, and called a friend. Not long after, a young woman with white hair arrived with some things. She had brought Ffion some clothes, as well as a phone and what looked like a large violin case. The woman left after a few minutes, leaving Ffion alone in the house.
Ffion explored the house, familiarising herself with the layout.
When she was done exploring, she grabbed a set of clean clothes from her suitcase, and headed off to shower and change.
After her shower, Ffion made herself some tea, and curled up on the couch with her phone, searching for jobs and places to stay. Ffion passed out at about midnight, her phone open on an article of a fire in a village on the coast of Cornwall in 1856.

By one in the morning, Roulette returned with the stench of blood following him. He set his gun on the table, fingers bloody and the barrel was empty. He'd succeeded in his hunt. Now he went upstairs and cleaned himself up before he wandered his house for a while, finally settling in the kitchen to eat. He watched Ffion for a second before he picked up her phone and froze. That article....it was familiar somehow....what was it? It would kill him not knowing. It kept eating at him the longer he looked so he simply put the phone down and went back to the kitchen.

"From the looks of you, I assume your outing tonight was a success" Ffion said as she entered the kitchen. She studied him for a moment, as if she was making sure none of the blood was his. She made herself a special tea with some hot sherry and honey. Ffion sipped the drink slowly, enjoying the soothing sensation it provided. "I'll be outside if you need me." Ffion grabbed a rather odd looking instrument from its case, and headed outside. She didn't think that her performance would affect him...

(Just change robbery to murder)

As she began to sing, Roulette stopped what he was doing and turned his head towards the door, listening. Her voice was soothing, calming...calling...His head lifted slightly. It was almost like she was controlling him....just like before Jack had appeared...What was it about her voice that made him so calm, so docile so...sheep-like? Willing to obey every command she might give, hanging on every single note her voice touched...

When Ffion finished her song, she entered the house, and carefully packed away her hurdy gurdy before turning to face Roulette.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to affect you" Ffion said quietly. "I'm still trying to learn how to control it." She dipped her head low, hoping she wasn't going to get reprimanded for what she had done. Ffion seemed like she expected punishment for every tiny thing.

Roulette remained silent for a time before he cupped her chin between his forefinger and thumb, gently forcing her head to rise to stare into his eyes. Those eyes that, only this morning, were so calm and docile. Now they seemed cold and calculating with an underlying protectiveness to them and that touch of insanity sparking in their depths. "Why would I punish you for such a beautiful thing?" He asked in a more forceful tone than he'd intended, though it was soft. "If anything, I love hearing you sing. You're my pretty little songbird." Saying that made it seem like...he didn't want her to leave the house, or him, ever. It was almost like...he was inviting her to stay by basically telling her that she had to stay. He didn't know why he'd said it.

Maybe it was because she was the only one who could control him. Who could tame the wild insanity that sparked beneath his skin each and every night. Control, tame, subdue...something not even Jack himself could do the night Roulette earned the name Silent Roulette. He remembered giving the bastard a nasty scar because of it. Nothing could soothe his insanity at that point. But Ffion's songs...her voice alone seemed to tame him and he didn't understand why. Maybe the Assassins knew...maybe they could help. He'd ask them when he was....less of a killer.

Ffion didn't know how to react to what Roulette had said. Jack had always called her his little siren, and would force her to sing for him every day. He had made her destroy things, torture people, manipulate, and kill people, all with with her voice. He had taken the very thing she loved doing, and turned it into a weapon. Jack had turned her into a tool, a weapon, and he never even looked at her as a human. Of course, he had broken her down and belittled her so much, she believed him. She believed that she didn't matter, that nobody would ever care about her, let alone what happened to her.
"Jack would punish me for using my gift for anything that did not benefit him or the Order. He always said to me that he made me, that I was allowed to sing for him only, that I belonged to him..." Ffion closed her eyes as she took a deep shaky breath before looking up at Roulette. She wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping he didn't see her as a pathetic weak woman. "You weren't the only experiment..."

Roulette's arms went from her face to around her body, pulling her in a very tight embrace. It felt like the embrace of a killer and almost like the embrace a Shepard would give his sheep to reassure them that they were safe in his arms. He spoke again after a while, his voice gaining a dark undertone to it all of a sudden, as insanity sparked into his mind once again. "He dares touch you again," he growled quietly. "He'll die where he stands."

Why did he feel so protective of her all of a sudden? It was like his insanity was driving him to keep her safe, to protect when normally it drove him to kill, maul and maim. What was this? Why was he like this? What was happening to him!? Roulette closed his eyes as his mind began to hurt again, worse than normal. He kept ahold of Ffion through the worst of the pain, though, as though her presence alone would heal him.

"Thank you, Roulette."
Ffion had forgotten what it felt like to be hugged, and she liked the feeling that being hugged gave her. She wrapped her arms Roulette, just standing there with him. Ffion could tell he was in pain, so she kept her arms wrapped around him in a warm embrace. For someone so broken, she still had so much love to give. It was the one thing Jack was never able to strip from her, her kindness.

Roulette closed his eyes. The longer he stayed there with her in his arms, the more protective he felt of her. His little songbird. His music. His siren. His, his, his, his, his! No one was going to take her away from him. No one! And if they tried, he'd kill them. His insanity rose higher, higher, higher! Ffion was his! No one else's! Not Jack's, no one's. And he'd keep her safe. Why was he feeling like this? He was a killer! He shouldn't have feelings at all. Except the hunt, the kill, the feeling of blood between his fingers. What was going on?

Ffion could feel Roulette growing cold, and backed away from him. She pulled on another jersey on, and wrapped a blanket around herself.
"You need to take a hot shower, right now. Unless you want to freeze." It was a defensive ability, or something along those lines. Had she known how possessive Roulette was becoming, she likely would have fled without a moment's hesitation.

Roulette closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing mind, his racing heart. "Yes," he agreed quietly. "I'm....sorry..." He apologized? He never apologized! Not to anyone. And yet...here he was, saying sorry to a young lady, a lady he wanted to protect. "If I've made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry...stay....please..." Roulette turned and walked up the stairs to take his shower, to let the water roll down his back. He needed help. He needed answers, is what he needed. Why was he suddenly so protective of Ffion? What was it about her voice that soothed him? Why did he want her to stay so badly for? And most importantly...why was it that, around her, he felt sane despite his insanity?

As soon as Ffion was certain that Roulette was in the shower, she rolled up her sleeves, watching the frost spread along her arms. She raced to the kitchen, and ran hot water over her arms, trying to melt the frost. Jack hadn't got the chance to finish his experiment on her, so it wasn't deadly, just uncomfortable for whoever she exposed it to. Perhaps she could still beat it? Once she had warmed up, she headed to the bathroom, and rested against the door.
"I'm still going to stay, Roulette. I mean, I don't exactly have anywhere to go to, but I also happen to like it here." Ffion let out a sigh, and placed a hand on the door. She didn't mean to do it, she couldn't control it. Most of Jack's experiments couldn't control themselves. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

The water stopped and the door to the shower opened, telling her that Roulette had indeed stepped out of the shower. "I'm fine," he said simply, wrapping a towel around his lower half before stepping out of the door. "Just....a headache...you know?" Roulette faked a smile before rubbing his temples. This always happened. Each time he thought protective thoughts, his mind would hurt and threaten to explode on him. It's why Sam could never have a girlfriend. Because he was afraid he'd hurt her. He'd turned down all the girls who had fallen in love with Sam, afraid to get close to anyone. But Ffion..she was different. She could control him, tame him, help him. She made him less of a killer and more of a protector. Why? He wanted to know. He simply had to know!

"I've noticed you and Samuel are prone to those" Ffion said with a sigh. She brushed a stray hair behind her ear, and stared at her feet. She figured she owed Roulette an explanation as to why she was able to have such an effect on him, how she could basically control him, how she could essentially reach into his mind. "I know you're wondering... What makes her so special? How is she able to control me? How can she tame me?" Ffion sighed, and turned her attention to the glass she had brought up with with her. She slowly closed her eyes as she opened her mouth and began to sing. She increased the pitch of her voice until the glass in her hand shattered. Ffion looked up at Roulette, her eyes showing nothing but pain. "At first, he had me sing him to sleep, or sing away the pain. Then he wanted to make me a weapon. That's what Jack did to me... he turned my voice into a weapon. It works on everything, even people. For years, he's used me as a tool. Torturing people, killing them or controlling them, and destroying things..."

"But with me, it's different...isn't it?" Roulette asked suddenly, cutting off her sentence. His eyes sparkled like shards of diamonds, dangerous, hard and calculating but underneath there was a sense of normality, despite his situation. He knew it was different when she sang to him. He would feel calm and his headaches would disappear. Roulette thought he owed her that much to tell her, so he took a deep breath and spoke. "When you sing for me, my headaches go away. My mind stops hurting and I feel as though I can breathe again. Even when I'm out of Sam's mind, speaking to you, I feel calm. Normal, even. Now, I don't know if it's something that runs deeper than just your voice, or if it's just a chance encounter....but that's how I feel when you sing: normal." He couldn't believe he'd just admitted this.

Ffion fell silent for a moment, thinking about what Roulette had said. She made him feel normal, sane, and free from pain?

"But with me, it's different... isn't it... runs deeper than your voice..."

Ffion had felt it too. There was something different about Roulette and Samuel. It felt like she knew them once before, a very long time ago.
"I think so... You're more susceptible to my voice, like it works better on you. It's like it's... it's comfortable." Ffion tried to think of a better way to explain it, the way everything felt in her head. She saw no sense in hiding it from him as he was very observant, and intelligent, so he would likely figure it out rather quickly. He had confided in her, so she thought it only fair that she do the same. "It's like I know you, like I've performed for you before. I've been seeing and hearing things since I saw you. It was weird at first, but it's a bit comforting now." Ffion realised that poor Roulette was still standing there before her with nothing but a towel to cover himself. She looked away, hoping she hadn't been staring. "Sorry... I'll let you finish up here, and, oh, take care of the glass" Ffion said before quickly heading down to the kitchen where she made some tea for them.

Roulette watched her leave for a moment before he crossed the floor to his bedroom to dress. His hair had dried by now, only needing a comb-through. Roulette took a look at the time before he straightened out his hair for the return of Samuel and pulled on his favorite pajama pants. Each side of him knew the other's likes, dislikes and fears. And what Roulette feared....was Jack. In fact, they both did. He was ruthless, merciless, tireless...his head hurt again. A hand pressed to his forehead. Why was it that he only felt secure around her? He had to ask...tomorrow. He would ask. With a deep breath, Roulette settled into his bed and closed his eyes, waiting for the sun to come. He looked so peaceful...

Ffion kept an eye on the time as she cleaned the kitchen. She wanted to test something: she wanted to see if her singing could help Roulette and Samuel switch with less pain. Until then, she kept herself busy by scrubbing the kitchen counters, the stove, and the sink. She would pause occasionally to take a sip of her tea, but then she would get right back to it. Ffion looked at the time, and let out a sigh. It was time for the switch, to lose Roulette... Lose Roulette... Why the hell did she care so much for a crazed serial killer?! Ffion set her cleaning supplies aside, and headed upstairs to the bedroom, and gently rested a hand on the door before she began to sing. She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she wiped some tears from her eyes.

Roulette rolled over under his covers, his head pulsing violently the closer the time came. He balled up for a moment, tense. Then he heard her voice...his head began to calm and stopped pulsing. Roulette gave a soft sigh of relief, his muscles relaxing as the sun rose. Soon, it was Sam who rolled over towards the door. There was no pain, no hurting mind. There was nothing but her song. It lulled Sam further into sleep when he rarely got sleep anymore because of his problem. Problem... Was that what Roulette was? Just a pest? A parasite? No. Roulette was part of him, of that he knew. He just had to ask why Ffion's songs helped him. He'd ask later. Right now, he was exhausted...

Once the song was over, Ffion headed downstairs, and curled up on the couch with a blanket. She lay there, thinking about Roulette and Samuel. Why was she so drawn to them? Why did she feel like she knew them? Ffion shook the thoughts from her head, and put in her earphones, playing some lofi as she fell asleep. For once, her dreams were peaceful, without memories that were not hers.

As with the day before, Sam woke up and began to make breakfast once he'd reached the kitchen. This time, it was eggs, bacon and pancakes all on one plate. A filling breakfast, something not many people knew how to make anymore. And he even did a side of toast. He smiled to himself. Maybe this would win Ffion over. And he couldn't forget to ask the Assassins what was going on. One should have been visiting today...He'd ask then.