Festered Lulluby: A Jerome Valeska Fanfic

#14- Sanctuary

Hello readers!
Attached is a video of the piano piece "Requim for a Dream" which is a song Aryion plays in this chapter. It's a pretty song and I encourage you to listen! Also, this video does not belong to me. I found it on YouTube and it has the kind of setting that I had in mind while writing this chapter.
Enjoy!
*********

Theo Galavan promised us weapons galore today. He was going to scrounge up the most exciting and menacing of torture tools available and allow us to tinker and play with them. Personally, I had taken a liking to the simple, yet messy dagger target practice method, but I wasn't going to complain.

I took the free time we had this morning to explore. I couldn't even figure out what exactly to call this place. It was like a palace, but in flat or apartment form. I found a room that had a pool table and a bar, and speaking of a pool I knew I smelled chlorine as I got further and further into this building.

I stopped in front of a large room with two glass walls. It had a piano, cello, multiple sorts of acoustic guitars, and more instruments that had been placed on their own stands. I observed my surroundings, curious as to why this room looked so much different from the others, and stepped inside. I hadn't played the piano in a couple months and I missed it's beautiful sound.

I looked around cautiously to make sure no one was watching and took a seat at the bench, softly grazing the piano keys with the pads of my fingers. Requiem for a Dream came to mind, as it was the song that sparked my interest in the piano back in middle school, and so I began to play.

There was sudden clarity in my mind and I was able to think clearly for once in this God forsaken place.

There were lots of loose ends here and I didn't like not knowing what was going to become of me or the Maniax. Obviously we were pawns in Galavan's plan to seize control of Gotham. We were all just letting him and I knew why: it was fun. But how long will the fun last? I just knew it was only a matter of time before he started plucking us out one by one.

Then there was Jerome Valeska who peeled the scales away from my eyes. He was hard to compare to anyone else. He took risks spontaneously. He was dramatic in every way and sought out an audience whenever he had something to prove or show. He was chaotic, fun, and inticing. No one compared to him. I knew however, that he only seemed perfect. I could sense something behind those dark eyes yearning to come out. Those vicious lips of his hid words which he longed to say. There was more to him and I was dying to know what it was.

What was it about me that he enjoyed? Now that I was like him, would he get bored of me? The thought of it sent a wave of anger coursing through me and I accidentally hit the wrong note, making my body cringe. I knew how to come back from that, so I inserted some of my own notes climbing back up to where the song continued and kept on playing. After taking a deep breath I had a sudden realization.

Who was this new person I had become? I didn't even know. I could've sworn I heard a voice in the back of my head respond with an amused phrase: crazy freak, but the stress was probably just getting to me.

The song ended and my hands just froze, fear gripping my heart. My name is Aryion Gordon, niece of Detective James Gordon, and I'm a woman who brutally slaughtered her drug addicted, alcoholic parents. I was now a killer. A music loving killer who was so close to being let off the leash.

Music loving freak, I love that.

A nasty smile started to creep up my face when someone began to clap loudly behind me. I jumped from my seat and spun around to see none other than Jerome leaning against the glass door.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" He grinned happily, walking up to face me. "What else can you play?"

I shrugged. "Lots of different things. I sing too..."

He will get bored of you.

I shook the thought from my mind and started to walk around him when he gripped my waist and pulled me into him. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you." I seriously replied.

"One night you can't get enough of me, the next you can't get far enough away from me. Come on, hotness, these games are killing me." His smile drooped to a slight smirk. I could tell that there was some annoyance in his voice.

"What is it about me that you simply had to have, huh?" I ripped away from him as I felt the anger boil in my stomach. "So what that we ripped a stuffed elephants leg off when we met as kids? So what that I ran into you the night they discovered your mother's dead body? What is it about these things that have you so obsessed about... me?" I finished, slightly flustered at my sudden outburst.

He shook his head, a smile still plastered on his face.

"Enlighten me." I demanded, almost sarcastically.

"It wasn't Ellie that got me hooked on the thought of seeing you again. It was the connection we had in just those few minutes of meeting each other as kids." He took a few steps closer to me as he continued. "We made eye contact before you came over to me. What did you feel in that moment?"

"I don't... I mean that was such a long time ago-"

"Lets keep from the games for a bit, Aryion, as hard as that may be." A cloud hung over his head casting a shadow over us. His voice masked a threat.

Coming to the agreement that I was in fact lying, I sighed and answered truthfully. "I saw a boy who was in just as much pain as I was. I felt... I felt a connection." Finally I caved. He was in fact right.

"Did you know that the reason why I was in tears was because my slut of a mom's boy toy had beat me that night? He thought red heads were funny and asked me to tell him a good joke. He didn't like it, so he beat me around like a stuffed doll." There was a pause as he leaned toward me, whispering the last part: "He was wrong though, I'm totally hilarious!" He lifted his arms out wide as if he was presenting himself in front of an audience. A toothy grin played on his face triumphantly. "Fact of the matter is... you and me, well I think we have something going here." I didn't respond as he shook his face violently. "Damn I'm good at this! Maybe I should've been an actor instead! I'm gonna kill it in front of the camera."

I stormed out of the room and down the hall. His childish game irritated me. Now I was more confused then before. Was he being serious or not? Then again, when was Jerome Valeska ever serious?