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Is there any being in the universe more convenient than Lockjaw? He's better than an airline, even if he doesn't come with mid-flight snacks. And thanks to Lockjaw Travel, Medusa finds herself in this remote part of the world where she knows Attilan rests. She can't see the city, but she knows its there, and she places herself where she knows she will be seen. It's a risk, but so long as she doesn't cross the city's border, she's not in violation of her exile. It's just a matter of waiting, and she can do that for as long as she needs to.
*
Medusa waits. Its not particularly long. But, while she waits, it is bitterly cold. Then…suddenly, what appears to be an egg, appears, just hovering there in midair. The egg grows, larger and larger, until it is the size of a grown human. Then the egg suddenly pops, and standing there is a brunette man wearing a slightly different Royal Guard uniform than Medusa would remember. He blinks at Medusa, then dips into a shallow, couteous bow.
*
Medusa inclines her head in acknowledgement, drawing herself up to full height and letting her hair float around her like an aura. "Tell Maximus that Princess Medusalith wishes an audience with him. I can await him here if he wishes, or I can come to him, providing he gives me amnesty and permits me to leave unharmed." She doesn't say please.
*
The man looks tired. He blinks slowly and then draws in a deep breath. "I am Ravus, his personal guardsman. His…Majesty wishes to express…" Ravus looks to the side, like he can't believe he has to say all this, "that you are being dramatic. But, also, that he approves. Just have Lockjaw teleport into the ballroom of the palace and he'll meet you there. Oh, also, do you mind taking me with you? My teleporting takes several hours to recharge." To guess at an age, he's in his mid-twenties, not bad on the eyes, really.
*
Medusa's eyes narrow. No acknowledgement of her title, and that does not please her. She does not deign to reply for a long moment, then calls out for Lockjaw. "Very well." She tells Ravus, a tilt of her chin toward the giant bulldog indicating he may join them. She's watching this Ravus quite carefully, however.
*
Ravus steps up to Lockjaw and wets his lips, seemingly uncomfortable with asking for a ride from the princess. So, careful eyes just…tell the tale of the personal guard for a king who has unrelenting needs.
When they teleport to the ballroom, where Lockjaw went before, it is primarily empty, save for a couple of subhumans…who were never allowed into the palace before Maximus' takeover. They are simply standing by a corner, vacant-eyed.
*
Medusa looks around, frowning at the sight of…Alpha Primitives? She's uncertain what to make of that, and tells Ravus, "Tell him I am waiting." She is ill-inclined for the moment to send Lockjaw away, not wanting to lose her best way out if necessary. Her arms fold across her chest, and her brow lifts exectantly at the poor young man. The coiling, writhing nature of her hair becomes more prominent by the instant, reflecting her impatience.
*
"Yes, princess." Then Ravus scoots off towards the hallway adjoining. He is not gone long before he returns, this time, falling behind and into the background of things with Maximus present. He has bare feet, his body clad in a snug black and white suit, while a coat over it billows with the breeze of his walk. His hair is neatly combed over his brow and when he lays his sharp eyes upon Medusa, he smiles overly broadly. His arms spread out to the sides. "It IS she. HAH! And with Lockjaw, indeed. Yes yes. I was right." His voice speeds up with excitement. "Of course I knew I was right. Obviously I was right. Sssssssso." He keeps walking towards her, though he stops juuuust shy of the easy range of those locks. "Have you come home, delicious?"
*
"Hello, Maximus." Medusa regards him askance. She won't blame him from avoiding the easy reach of her hair, though she has no intention of harming him. "Perhaps. What I've come with is an offer. Not the one my sister brought you from Blackagar, but one of my own."
*
Maximus makes a gesture for her to go ahead and say it, then steeples his fingers, looking pleased and more than a little…dangerously maniacal. Tap tap tap tap, go his fingers against each other.
*
And that's why she's eyeballing him like she expects him to explode. Not for things around him to go boom, but like he's deadman switched himself. "Perhaps I presume too much," Medusa begins, "But if I did not try, I would not know. I offer you a prize, should you be willing to step down from your ursurped throne and allow Black Bolt to take his rightful place on Attilan's throne."
*
Maximus hisses faintly and recoils when she mentions stepping down from the throne. "What do you think there is that would make me do /that/?" he practically spits. No doubt, there's been a lot of pleading to his sense of fairness, and what's 'right', and the whole…rightful thing buuuurns.
*
Medusa faces him now, looking him in those terribly dangerous eyes. She's filled with the sensation of whether or not he's going to kill her, or try to rub soup in her hair. Knowing it is a gamble, knowing that he may outright laugh in her face, she makes the offer anyway, simple and to the point: "Me."
*
Maximus was not expecting this. Its clear on his face. He looks at her standing there, considering the pitfalls, the consequences, the offering. The /cost/. He turns away and paces some steps, thoughtful. "You would betray me. With Blackagar as King, he would do whatever he wished, including freeing you from me."
*
Medusa shakes her head. "No. If you agree and he becomes king, I will marry you before the Genetics Council. But only if he becomes king. No tricks, but I won't sell myself to you for anything less." She's firm on that, hands tightening into fists.
*
Maximus considers the offer, how much it would all annoy Blackagar. unless his brother had cooled on the woman. He wets his lips and the raises his hand to thread it through his hair. "It seems to me that I would have to give up everything, first. That is a poor arrangement. And you are meant to be queen…so would you marry the man you aim to depose, so he might have another queen? Has a human stolen his heart as well?"
*
"Blackagar does not love me. Blackagar does not want me." She manages to say it without flinching, or show the way it kills her inside. "If I am of no value to him, then at least I can be useful to him in some other fashion. Just because I am meant to be queen doesn't mean I will become queen. I am of the Royal House, what I must serve are Attilan's best interests."
*
Maximus listens while she delivers her heartbreaking news. He approaches her nearer and then holds out his hand for hers.
*
Medusa studies his hand a moment, before her eyes flick to his face. "Are you offering me comfort, or consent?"
*
Maximus smirks and tilts his head. He withdraws his hand and makes a gesture. "When I destroy everything else that you adore, including any humans left on the face of this earth, /perhaps then/ you will take my hand as the true strong King of Attilan. Until then, it seems you /hesitate/ to see the truth. I AM THE KING!!" He shouts at her. "Guards! Detain her!" And he tries to mind control Lockjaw, almost immediately, to 'heel'.
*
It's the smirk. The smirk is the indication that whatever plan she may have had, however well it may have worked, all is lost. As he speaks she backs away, her hand lifting to press against Lockjaw's side, with the hope that she has moved fast enough, or that the in influence of the Sorcerer Supreme's ring will extend to her canine companion. "Lockjaw! Home!"