039

[madamemoiselle]

{Diva appears on the Plane, wearing a white Ao Dai. Or, rather, it was probably white at some point. Now it's caked with mud (and perhaps dotted with a bit of blood) and soaking wet. On each of her shoulders, there's a bamboo pole with a large, heavy looking crate on each end.}

Ne, three hours...What a terrible time for that car to break. At least it was Karl and I, or else we'd never be able to get these back quickly.

{She sets them both down, which hit the ground rather loudly, and decides to take a seat on one of them. She kicks her feet lightly against the box to try and knock some of the mud off while she wrings her hair of some of the water}

But I guess it's a good thing anyways. I wouldn't have done this the first time. Ah, actually, Karl's face was really funny, since he didn't expect me to offer my help. My, my, I suppose that's just proof, isn't it? But we're lucky, since we haven't really met anyone since we left. Or the people that we've met know me as Quan Âm, so it doesn't really matter.

{Stretches, her limbs audibly cracking}

It's too bad about what I'm bringing them, but it's how the village survives. I don't want them to die early, at least. If only it weren't raining so hard, it'd at least be cleaner...

((ooc: Last progression of Diva's experiment! Vietnam, 1973))

Comments

[didorothy]

Stolen from American soldiers?

[it's not that unreasonable an assumption, okay?]

[madamemoiselle]

Not stolen. They didn't need them anymore.

[didorothy]

I would have thought, in a war, they'd always need them.

[madamemoiselle]

They died. I didn't kill them, but I'm pretty sure it was the Chiropterans in the village that Amshel "gave" to the government. They've been closer, recently, I guess since they wanted to get closer to me.

[didorothy]

[Sam can only be so grumpy about this]

I didn't think they were supposed to know about you.

[madamemoiselle]

Only the highest do. I mean, it was Amshel that arranged for Hồ Chí Minh's assassination, and since he had already been manipulating Lê Duẩn, then Amshel got into the government that way. So their general...I don't remember his name, and Lê know the truth about us. Cinq-Fleches is using the villages to test Delta 67, and because of that, it gets rid of the soldiers.

Karl and I are only in the jungles to supervise the villages and keep them under control. That's all.

[didorothy]

Is this Karl before?

[madamemoiselle]

{That cheers her up, so she starts again brightly}

Oh, yes! He's so quiet and shy, and I'd forgotten that. But he has such a nice voice. It's really soothing. Since we've been running, he's been telling me about a Vietnamese story. I don't really understand all of it, but it's the story of "me". Well, Quan Âm, anyways. She's the goddess of mercy and compassion. It's funny that they picked me to be that one.

[didorothy]

[slightly easing up]

You really love this goddess deal, don't you?

[madamemoiselle]

I guess! It's...odd, I think, because humans put so much faith in something they don't even know exists, you know? And me, someone that's really coming to kill them all, I'm mercy, and I'm compassion.

{She frowns} They shouldn't think that way, though. I really loved those people, but I didn't save them, even though I probably could have.

[didorothy]

[and there goes the frown again]

How can you save them?

[madamemoiselle]

{There's some distant emotion in her face, but what it is, that's hard to tell}

It was...They all died. The whole village burned for days, and we killed anyone that got away, because we were leaving. The Americans had taken Amshel's offer, so there was nothing we needed with the Vietnamese. So because that village knew, they all died.

[didorothy]

[Sam eyes widen, just a little. He does not speak because he cannot think of any response that would suit]

[madamemoiselle]

{She quiet in response, but after a few moments, she speaks up}

That's why I'm hardly Mercy, or Compassion. I killed them too, and...

{Her brow furrows, like she's trying to process the feelings, slowly} It...hurts. It actually hurts now.

[didorothy]

[quietly] Why do you think it hurts?

[madamemoiselle]

{Slowly} Because...Because they died. They were people whose children I took care of, or helped them pick their food, or...I knew them. All of their names, and their faces, I mean. They were people, but...I killed them because Amshel wanted me to.

They didn't have to die, but I killed them anyways.

[didorothy]

And knowing that they died, because of you, hurts.

[madamemoiselle]

...Does it? It does, I think.

{She puts a hand to her head lightly, running her fingers through her hair}

That is..."guilt". Isn't it?

[didorothy]

That sounds about right.

[madamemoiselle]

Is it a bad feeling?

[didorothy]

It isn't pleasant, but it's better than feeling happy about that, or proud, or nothing at all. It means you realise that they mattered.

[madamemoiselle]

{Diva bites her lip, then smiles slightly, reaching out to take his hand}

Then Sam is...happy for that. Right?

[didorothy]

It's hard for me to be happy about much when I think about all those people who died.

But I'm... glad that you do feel something. That it does matter to you.

[madamemoiselle]

{Her smile sinks and she looks down}

But I've still done something terrible.

[didorothy]

It's not the first thing.

But hopefully, it's not something you'll do again.