She opened her eyes to a world of pain, the iron chains that crisscrossed her body burned with an unrelenting iciness into her skin. ?I think she?s awake!? she heard someone say in a lowered voice. She forced her eyes to focus, looking wildly around for the source of the voice and the gentle hum of other people nearby. She found the concerned brown eyes of a man gazing down at her. ?Don?t you worry miss. We?ll get you out of there in no time. Lucky I found you outside my shop. I didn?t want to try and get those nasty chains off till you were awake though. Couldn?t have you moving about and my tools cutting into that pretty face of yers.?

She whimpered, her big grey eyes filling with tears as she started to struggle against the confines of the chains that were wrapped about her from head to toe. ?Oh no dear, don?t you worry now,? an older woman?the florist from next door?appeared in her field of vision as she leaned around the black smith. ?You?re lucky it was ol? Tim here that found you this morning and not some of those local nere-do-wells that roam these streets. Tim here is a good good man. He?ll get you free in no-time and then we?ll get you over to the clinic and the Watch, find the criminals that did this tah yah.?

The bound woman nodded, attempting to wet her lips but even those were blocked by a length of iron that cut across her face. Still, she was able to murmur some rusty words to her saviors: ?Please.. help me?? It hurt too much to say anything more, the sudden onslaught of tears revealing her plight as they streamed down her dirty, bruised and broken face.

?Oh Tim, hurry!? The florist hit the black smith?s arm to urge him to action.

The man nodded, moving away for a moment only to return with a small saw. ?Now I need you to keep completely still dear.? The trapped woman nodded her understanding, sniffling as she tried to get her trembling under control. The black smith pressed his lips together, his features a study in concentration as he began working as delicately as he could with his large, well-worn hands to cut the chains that kept her prisoner. One by one he cut through the links, pulling the iron away from her to reveal the burnt, raw skin beneath. As each piece fell away, the bound woman became stiller, the nervous tremors fading away. The last piece of chain had barely hit the ground before she leapt to her feet in the dingy shop, causing the black smith to fall back on his behind. ?Easy now girl! I think they roughed you up a bit; no need to go jumping about.?

She just grinned as she stretched her stiff limbs out, her skin marked by ugly red lines wherever the iron had touched it. ?That won?t due,? she remarked, staring at one of her badly abused arms. She spun about on her toes and suddenly the bruised and abused woman?hair matted with dirt and blood?was gone. In her place was a shining beauty, blue hair cascading down her back, skin apparently flawless and shimmering in the low light of the shop, red-painted lips smiling as her grey eyes (Were they grey? The local merchants would later argue that there was a touch of something else to them, perhaps a hint of red) landed on Tim?the blacksmith?out of all those gathered from the little market square to see the goings-on of the day. ?My good peasant! I thank you for your assistance.? No one could keep their eyes from her swaying hips or the ample cleavage that pooled over the low-line of her dress as she leaned forward to kiss Tim on the mouth. She let her lips linger just a breath away from his afterwards, enjoying the stunned, glamoured look that had come over his normally clear, blue eyes. ?I?ll let you live for now as payment for your aid.?

She pulled away from him completely, glancing disdainfully at the small crowd. ?What land is this, fools?? No one spoke, prompting the woman to stomp one of her bare feet on the floor, ?Answer me!?

Only the florist had the courage to clear her throat at that and break the silence, ?Uh.. um.. it?s RhyDin, ma?am.?

?Really?? the woman purred out, lips twisting in an unpleasant smile. ?They must think it a joke to have sent me here. What fools!? Without any parting words of thanks, she left the shop; her laughter drifted back to them, causing a general chill to run over the crowd.

The locals gazed after the woman in silence, dumbfounded, not moving even after she was long gone. Finally, it was the florist who shook herself free from the spell that had fallen upon them all. She turned to the man standing next to her, Frederick the grocer, clearly puzzled: ?Was that just Jewell Ravenlock??

In with the cool night air, Jewell came down the stairs into the Annex and looked around a moment. Seeing Claire fighting against Matt in the ring, she called out to her: ?Go Captain Dirty!? as she moved towards the bar.

Rena wandered in, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket. She gave a nod to Andrea and Amanda as she headed barwards to fix her usual mug of coffee.

Noctis offered a nod to Jewell and Rena when they were spotted, followed with a sip of his own beer. ?Evening,? Jewell winked to Noctis as she took her beer and found something to lean against to watch the fights.

"Evening," Noctis gave a faint smirk to Jewell in return.

?Something hott about watching Lilly beat the crap out of people,? Jewell remarked, shaking her head as she lifted her beer up for a sip. She turned her attention to another fight then: Matt versus Claire, and whistled for Claire as she finished it up to win. When Rena wandered over from the bar, Jewell grinned at her, ?Evening Rena. How are you??

?I am good. You?? Rena lifted the mug to drink from it.

?Can't complain but nothing to brag about either, you know?? Jewell replied with a shrug.

?I know that feeling,? Rena remarked.

Matt pointed at Jewell, ?You should fight me. Because it's been a while.? He grinned.

Jewell?s brows went up as she looked for a moment from Rena to Matt. ?I should fight you? In what?? Then she pointed as one of the callers, Amanda, announced Matt?s fight against KC, ?I think you're fighting someone else..?

?I meant for you to keep it in mind for later,? Matt explained before heading to the ring.

?Mm I'll think about it if the kid,? Jewell upnodded to KC, ?doesn't beat you up too bad.? Then she returned to her conversation with Rena, ?You know I tried to talk to Anubis about Tara.? She paused a moment for a sip of her beer, ?It didn't work so well.?

Rena glanced to Jewell, ?What did he say??

As the fighting continued, another blue-haired woman entered just to keep things fun. This one looked a little different from the other: tousled blue waves, fairly revealing slip-dress, and dark red nails and lips. She paused just inside the door and looked around.

?Uh..? Jewell thought about it for a moment, ?well he didn't seem exactly thrilled that I was butting in to his private affairs.. but I guess it could have gone worse?? Like Anubis could have collared her right then and there.

Rena nodded slowly, ?She seems to think I want to bed him...she couldn't be more wrong.?

?I mean he is good looking,? Jewell conceded about Anubis, ?but...? Following Rena?s gaze as she says goodbye to Lilly, Jewell does an almost comical double-take towards the door. She shook her head but her double was still standing there oblivious to her presence at the moment, it seemed.

The other Jewell was busy giving Lilly a once-over with hungry eyes as she moves towards the door. ?Mmm..?

Rena greeted one of the other duelists then glanced to where Jewell was looking. She wasn?t alone as Noctis also gave a side glance for a moment to the dual Jewells, then looked back to the rings.

Once Lilly was gone, the other Jewell?s grey eyes scanned the Annex before landing on Jewell, ?Ahh.. how very interesting!!? She acted as if she had not come in search of this dimension?s version of herself.

The normal Jewell looked at her counter-part and then at the beer in her hand, ?I think.. I might need a stronger drink.? She took a few quick sips before things started to escalate.

The newly arrived Jewell swayed her way on over to Jewell Ravenlock, a somewhat dismissive glance for Rena standing there. She paused a foot or two away from her double and just stared. ?What do you want?? normal Jewell asked aside to the mirror of herself. It wasn't the first time she had seen her double in the last few months, so maybe this one would just go away as well. Just like Sapphire.

Rena remarked to the Jewell she knew: ?Didn't know you had a twin,? and chuckled softly.

"It's a small world." Noctis gave a side glance to Jewell and her twin.

Ignoring the others, other-Jewell growled as she suddenly closed the distance between herself and Jewell, using her fists to roughly pin her against the wall. Only she's really not that nice, and neither are the shards of ice that protrude from her knuckles and dig into Jewell's shoulders to hold her in place.

Jewell gave a little dry laugh for Rena, ?Yeah, neither did...? The air woosh'd out of her as her double shoved her against the wall, causing her to drop her beer! She hissed lowly in pain as the ice dug into her shoulders, grey eyes glaring into opposing grey eyes.

?You know..? The other Jewell drawled out slowly, ?I wondered at first why those two meddlers sent me here. Another RhyDin to lay to waste? Now that just didn't make any sense.? She twisted her hands a bit so the ice shards really hurt. Rena quirked a brow quirk at the double?s action before she moved to grab the womab by her hair. This caused a little pause in the conversation as not-Jewell?s head was yanked back. She just titled it back a little further to gaze at Rena, ?Really, my dear. I'm trying to have a conversation here.?

?Most folks talk with shoving or sticking ice shards in another person,? Rena countered. The Jewell double did not respond verbally, choosing to use her glamour and conjure up a horde of spiders that erupted from her hair and made their way towards Rena's hand. In response, Rena just dumped her mug of coffee on the double.

?UGH!? That did the trick as she let Jewell go. ?You little #$%^&* !? She pointed at Rena as she used her other hand to gather the spilt liquid into her hand and discarded it. ?I will not let this insult go unanswered!?

?I await whatever comes my way then,? Rena responded.

When she was free, the regular Jewell sunk a little against the wall as she rubbed her shoulder. ?Wait.. what the hell were you talking about? Two meddlers sending you here? Why are you here?? She didn?t seem overly concerned with the challenges flying back and forth between Rena and her mirror-twin.

?Oh I promise dear,? the double smiled cruelly at Rena, ?I will have such fun with you before I lick your blood off my fingertips. And you!? She pointed at the regular Jewell and dissolved into laughter, apparently finding something funny. ?I can't imagine why they would send me here with only you to stand in my way.? She looked Jewell over, seeing more than could be seen by the eye, ?You're pathetic, aren't you??

?Other have tried...so have fun with it,? Rena countered unconcerned.

Jewell rubbed at her bleeding shoulders. ?If you mean I do not have the same magical capabilities that you have, then perhaps,? she responded coolly. She hadn't failed to notice that this other-Jewell had some abilities that she did not.

The double just licked her lips at Rena before glancing at the other, pathetic Jewell once more. ?I suppose I should just do away with you now, but you know,? she spoke like she was having a conversation about the weather, ?I killed everyone so quickly last time that it just wasn't fun anymore. I mean to savor it this time!? She pumped her one clenched fist into the air triumphantly. ?And what fun we all shall have!?

Claire had been speaking with Noctis but suddenly catches on to some of the other action going on in the Annex: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's this business about licking blood off fingers?" Swings a look toward Jewell, Rena, and the...other Jewell?

Noctics looked towards the scene again. "I think the loudmouth one is an evil version of the Jewell that we know." Educated guess and all.

Jewell, ignoring everyone else, closed her eyes a moment. Maybe if she counted to ten and opened them, her insane mirror twin would be gone. Nope. No such luck. ?Right.. well.. you do that, and I guess we'll have the pleasure of seeing you later??

The evil-twin apparently had the attention span of a goldfish as she turned to look at Rena once more. ?I bet you will taste delicious! And him..? She apparently forgot about Jewell as she looked around the room and pointed at Padrick. ?He will make such a lovely addition to my house.? She looked around some more, ?Oooo!? She practically coo'd when she spotted Harris waiting for another fight, ?All that blue hair! I just want to pull it out and make him scream.? She sighed longingly. Harris sort of quirked a brow at... Jewell...s? He fluffed at his hair with both hands, then it's back into the ring with a half grin.

?Actually I heard that I don't,? Rena replied to Jewell's twin.

?Mother.. of .. nature..? Jewell murmured.

Claire arched a brow at Not Jewell, blatantly staring at the woman. "You're joking right?"

Noctics took another sip of his beer for a moment. "Rather mentally unstable." Mused.

?Yes. I think I'll quite like it here.? Not-Jewell smiled to her double, not at all put-off by anyone?s comments. But Claire got a once over, ?Oh don't worry honey, I would never leave an adorable thing like you out of my plans. You'll fit in quite nicely.?

Claire laughed at Noct softly, shaking her head. "And I thought I was bad, jeeze." Throwing a look toward the double Jewell, she laughed again, this time louder. "Um....yeah, no."

Noctis chuckled softly at hearing Claire. "She has you beat hands down." Then a glance to Not Jewell. "Yeah. She'll pass on that."

She seemed unconcerned by Claire's refusal! ?When I'm done with you honey.. oh you'll just wish your mouth wasn't sewn shut so you could beg for more!? Then she just laughed and laughed as she moved for the door.?

?I..? Jewell was grinding her palm into her temple even though the movement killed her shoulder, ?this is some really twisted joke.?

?Whips and spikes and everything nice..? The other Jewell sang her way up the stairs and out the door.

The woman was only gone for a moment before Jewell was muttering every curse in her repertoire, quite extensive after her stint as a sailor?s wife. ?*&*^ my shoulders and *&$*!! MY BEER!? The solution to her first issue was to pull her jacket forward more to cover the blood stains on her shirt. ?I need a drink.. or like fifteen or something..? She?s rambling, furious, to herself. ?I don't know what I did to deserve stuff like this, but it must have been something awful terrible bad.?

Claire blinked a few times and stared at Noct. "Was that chick for real? Like for real for real?"

Noctis looked back to Claire with a light shrug. "She sounded crazy."

Claire then glanced aside to Jewell. "I know people that can take care of that...problem." Noctis smirked faintly at hearing Claire on that as he chose to just take another sip of his beer.

Jewell took one step towards the bar and then stopped, ?Better yet, where the hell is my guardian knight? I just got assaulted by some freaky blue-haired chick, and he is nowhere to be seen!? She paused in her madness to look at Claire, ?Yeah? I think we need to take care of her quick because she's clearly nuts,? she starts to tick things off on her fingers, ?she doesn't belong in this time line, she is unstable and way more powerful than I am.?

?Come into the ring with me Jewell. I shall protect you,? Matt called out.

"Not belonging is this timeline is one thing. But if I had my mouth sewn shut, I wouldn't be able to eat ice cream very well. And that's problematic. Therefore, it needs to be solved." Claire gave a sage nod nod nod.

?Where were you ten minutes ago Matt!? And.. hey.. let's not forget,? it wasn?t exactly clear who Jewell was talking to anymore, ?that chick is going to make me look bad.? She shook her head,
?Mouth sewn shut.. I mean, who does that??

? In there,? Matt pointed to the ring he just left.

?Well.. you should have been talking to Jewell cause she was here and she wasn't very nice. And now I have to have words with my knight because he clearly doesn't deserve the bonus he got last week,? clearly not accepting Matt?s ?protection,? Jewell mumbled and grumbled as she moved towards the stairs. Then she paused again! ?Rena, you're my hero.?

Matt tried again: ?Come, Jewell. I will give you a blue bruise to match your hair.?

Rena winked to Jewell, ?My pleasure.? She chuckled, ?Now to fix another mug.?

Jewell failed to get the mug comment, ?And don't worry.. I won't let my evil twin lick your blood of your fingers.? She shuddered, ?Ew.? Then she moved up the stairs and out.