Rules Don't Apply...

[Atticus Ravensdale]

"Thank you."

He continued walking, enjoying the silence and not minding too much when Rose broke it. She didn't seem to have many people to talk to anyway. At least she didn't seem to expect him to contribute much. He was always more of a listener than talker. Being that way had its advantages. Information was sometimes more valuable than material objects.

Atticus looked over at her when she asked him his reasons for working at a place like this. It was a valid question, after all. She didn't look like she would use his answer for ill reasons. He wouldn't give her the long answer, of course. No one else even knew his true reasons for coming here. Granted, all his superiors had to do was ask the military about him but the inmates had no such resources. He wasn't worried.

"It's to give me something to do while utilizing some of the abilities I've trained in. Most civilian work is unsuitable for me," he answered mechanically after she'd finished speaking. It wasn't an annoying chattiness. Atticus assumed that the girl didn't like silence for whatever reason. Strange, strange girl.

The young man wound his way through the halls and corridors, steadily heading lower into the Asylum. He thought of the inferno Dante navigated in his allegory and wondered which circle of Hell the Asylum would fall under.

'There's probably no set circle. Maybe it depends on what room or wing one is in,' he concluded. Some places seemed less pleasant than the others but it wasn't his problem. To the inmates, he was just one of many demons that worked here. A small smile formed at the thought. He'd never wished harm on anyone so long as they didn't harm him first.

"Here we are. Your cell is around here, correct?" Atticus indicated the cells numbered in the late teens and early twenties. The walk back to ward B went by so quickly with a companion to help pass the time. Rosemary certainly wasn't his friend, but she wasn't an enemy either.

[Rosemary-Louise]

"Most civilian work is unsuitable for me," she repeated, putting on a deep voice of an Englishmen - a very poor impression of both a man and a person of English decent. She giggled. "What kind of 'abilities' have you been trained in, Sir Atticus? Was it very hard while you worked to gain these abilities?"

She smiled softly before turning those cartoon green eyes on him. She appeared innocent, and the questions were innocent enough, but there was enough sexual innuendo in it to get even he most prudish person going. She liked to think it was a gift, turning the simplest thing into something dirty.

It was one of her abilities.

Rosemary nodded in answer to his question. "Cell 21, Sir Atticus."

She walked faster then, dragging him along with her, suddenly tired of walking. Rose found her cell easily enough and opened it, sighing in disappointment when it looked the same as when she left, except for the fact that there happened to be more moonlight.

"Here it is," she told him, stepping into the room. "My little home away from home. My tiny residence. My lovely little shack. My hut. My fairytale mansion. My pretty little lair..." And on and on she went, giggling madly as she tried to find more words to call it before she finally ran out. "When you think of some more, let me know."

The excitement of having someone new to talk to hit her once again and she rushed over to her cot, sat Indian style, and patted the spot next to her.
"Come sit down for a little while. You're keeping me company, remember?" She grinned at him. "I promise I won't bite. Unless you're into that sort of thing. Lord knows I am."

[Atticus Ravensdale]

Why was she emphasizing certain words? Was it sarcasm like what he'd said earlier? If so, he was unsure as to what she was being sarcastic about. There were lots of things he didn't quite catch on to, but his former troop members were happy enough to explain. It was always something obvious and it made Atticus feel childish for not understanding right away.

"I am a sharpshooter and survivalist. My swordplay is decent, though it does not compare to my shooting skills. It took hard work, yes, but I'm glad have these abilities. Even if they're not all useful here." It felt better to answer the question objectively than to try and pay attention to the underlying meaning. They were at her cell anyway.

He walked inside. It was just another cell like all the others. No distinguishing characteristics, no personalization. It was uniformity at its finest. Rose was spouting a whole slue of names for her cell. She must have said every synonym for it and she wondered if he had more to offer? Seriously? The girl was a walking thesaurus.

Atticus sat down next to her when she patted the empty spot on her cot. Sure, she was chatty but at least she wasn't unpleasant. The girl obviously knew better than to pry and she wasn't trying to test him.

"I wouldn't know if I was into biting or not, though please don't try to find out or I will become very cross. Is there anything in particular you'd like to talk about while I'm here?"

[Rosemary-Louise]

"Well, how are you ever going to know if no one helps you figure it out?" she asked him seriously, snickering. "A professional sharpshooter, hmm? That's cool. My dad liked to think that that's what he was. A professional and a sharpshooter. He was neither."

She turned so she was facing Atticus completely and stared at him for a while, seriously contemplating his words, all the while grinning at him. She didn't have anything in mind that she wanted to talk about. She was just happy he was willing to talk to her! And he was letting her pick the conversation topic!

"I know!" she began excitedly. "You can tell me about you. I'll tell you about me, too. I'll go first." She frowned and thought for a minute before she began to nod, decided. "Erm, you already know my name. Rosemary-Louise Avery Jones. I am twenty-one, an only child, a mother of a four-year-old boy, I've never been married and I've only ever had one boyfriend. If you couldn't tell, I'm from Georgia, though I have both a southern and northern accent 'cause I spent a lot of time in New York as well. I like to talk and I like to have sex and, apparently, if you ask everyone but me, I'm crazy."

Rosemary stopped talking then and nodded slowly, figuring she told him everything that was important about herself.
"How 'bout you? Any siblings? Children? Did your parents love you? My dad hated me. Why'd you become a sharpshooter? Were you in the army or something?" On and on the questions went.

[Atticus Ravensdale]

Calmly observing her, Atticus let her speak her piece. Once Rosemary got going, there seemed to be no way to get her to stop. Then... she stopped. Did she actually run out of things to say? Was she thinking of more? It was very odd. Rosemary could be silent if she wanted to, apparently.

Just when he thought he'd been adjusting to her silence, she began to speak again. The young man politely listened as she talked about herself. He felt her being an only child accounted for some of her talkativeness. Rosemary must have been lonely. It was interesting to hear her dual accents, each sometimes vying for dominance.

After she'd finished speaking, she asked him more and more questions about himself. As he'd done previously, he waited for her to finish asking her multitude of questions.

"I have no children of my own, but I've 14 other siblings. Our parents love us all and have high expectations for us, that we gladly meet. My family has a long military history, so naturally I joined too. That was where I learned sharpshooting. I was one of the best."

Atticus spoke with a certain amount of pride when telling about his army days. He badly missed those days, but being here had its own rewards. He had excellent superiors, a place to stay away from family, and he always had something to do.

[Rosemary-Louise]

"Fourteen siblings. Wo-ow," she mumbled, shaking her head. "That's a lot of people to live with. And love. I don't know how you did it. I was fortunate enough to be the only one." She shrugged, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at not having a sister to be her best friend, or a brother to protect her.

"It was only natural," she agreed. "Maybe if you talk to me again, you could show me sometime. That would be interesting to watch." She smiled at the thought, but Rose knew it would probably never happen. Both the talking again and seeing how well he could handle his gun. Crazy girl plus gun, to them, the doctors and chasers, equalled a whole lot of trouble.

Rosemary laid on her stomach and rested her head on her hands. She truly hoped he would talk to her again like this, at least say "hi" when they saw each other in the hallways, if they saw each other in the hallways. She didn't think Vaudier would much appreciate them striking up a friendship, but she would try to.

"So...What do you want to talk about now?" she asked him. "Oo, you can tell me a story about you and your siblings! Or, where are you from? Are you married? Dating? Single? Are you looking? I'm available. I could tell you about Nathaniel! He's four, he looks like me, he's extremely cute amd very adventerous. He wants to be an explorer. I think he'd make an excellent sharpshooter, too."

[Atticus Ravensdale]

The light incredulity in her voice did not pass his notice. Atticus was used to it. After all, 14 siblings was a lot. He could not comprehend being an only child and never having any siblings to play with or take care of as he grew. He chuckled when she asked about learning how to shoot.

"Maybe if circumstances were different. Even I'm not allowed a firearm on the premises, just my dagger and club. I disagree that it's improper for a woman to know how to use a pistol, though," he answered. He viewed relationships as a partnership, like a two-person troop. How would one be able to back up the other if she did not know how to shoot? There was nothing more infuriating to him than a helpless woman.

Engaging in conversation with Rosemary wasn't so bad. She asked good questions, even if there were a few that were a bit silly. Thinking about it, it was like she could have been another one of his siblings. The girl had a certain strength of character one did not often see in a woman and he liked that.

A very faint smile quickly passed when she spoke of her son. Since she'd asked for stories of his childhood, he did not bother to force down the nostalgia.

"I bet your boy would make a fine explorer if he has his mother's drive. As for me, I was born and raised in Bristol. We live on the outskirts, closer to the woods but my brothers and I frequently explored the harbor in the city. Usually we took to the woods but there were a few fair adventures in the city. Mother never liked us going to harbor; there are all sorts of strange folk there and she didn't care much for foreigners. Particularly those from the Orient."

[Rosemary-Louise]

"Oh, my. A man after the hearts of many 'no good, rebellious' women," said Rose, her seemingly ever-present grin on her face, big and wide and extremely happy. "If er'rbody disagreed about that like you, the world would be a much better place. I mean, who wants a woman who can't take care of herself?!" she asked him hotly, fully expecting him to answer the question. "Sir Atticus, that just made my day. Truly."

Rosemary found herself blushing at his words. No one other than her Lenore had, in a way, called her a good mother. Ever. Though it wasn't exactly the way he meant, she still saw it that way. It made her feel better.

"I think so, too, Mr. Ravensdale," she told him, nodding and smiling. Speaking of Nathaniel always made her happy. "Too bad your momma didn't like 'em. 'Em Orientals can be mighty...friendly." She snorted loudly at that, lost in her own thoughts for a moment. "Sure sounds like y'all had a lot of fun, though. That's good. Every boy needs to go off and have their own adventure of some sorts and use their wild imaginations 'fore they're forced to grow up and face the real world."

She sighed, her mood now taking a turn for the worst. "Tell me, Mr. Ravensdale, what is the world like now-a days? Its been a while since I been out there."

[Atticus Ravensdale]

Though he kept his expression neutral, Atticus was a bit surprised with how happy his opinion on women and firearms made her. He rarely voiced his opinions on such matters because the resulting arguments were rather tiresome. Especially since they tended to disagree with some of the standards that were set forth for men and women. Really though, some of those standards weren't at all practical in a life or death situation.

"Do people really grow up and face the world, though? We're all trying to escape from something this real world throws at us."

He hadn't meant to say it, but the words came tumbling out as they hit his consciousness. Even so, it was a truth he'd discovered earlier this year. It was an ugly truth he hadn't had to face before. No one informed him of it because no one wanted to talk about it. The only exception to that would be chatty drunkards, but who in their right mind takes the word of a drunk to heart? He looked at Rosemary, noting the slightly more despondent tone as she asked of life outside the Asylum. True to his nature, he gave her an honest answer with his own truths and observations.

"Honestly, it hasn't changed much. People still live without meaning, desperately clinging to life and resenting it at the same time. Routines are followed, atrocities are commited and no one bothers to look. People still deny the truth in front of them while a select few spin the truth to suit their own needs and sell it to the ignorant masses. Good law-abiding citizens head to church in the morning while commiting various sins at night, and even sinning constantly in their heads. You are not missing much, Rosemary."

[Rosemary-Louise]

"I think... once you're really old and can no longer run, or you just don't want to run anymore, you've officially grown up and faced the world," she said, frowning slightly as she tried to put her thoughts in order. "I mean, I would hope that once you're older you can say you've faced the world. I know a lot of older people who are wise, free and happy - they've let go of their demons so to speak, which makes me believe they no longer have anything to run from or be afraid of. So, yeah, I think we eventually face the world head on. We have to at some point if we want to become wise, free and happy when we're old."

When Rosemary stopped talking, she rolled her eyes at herself. That was an unecessary long-winded answer and she was sure she made no sense whatsoever.

"There are no true saints," Rose muttered, repeating what her mother always told her. It was how she justified Rosemary's "craziness." She shook her head at his words. "That may be so, Mr. Ravensdale, but it has to be better than living in here for the rest of my life, right?"

[Atticus Ravensdale]

Atticus listened to her response intently. Aside from having a sex drive that more than bordered on ridiculous, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Rosemary. She was quite intelligent and as she spoke, reminded him of some of the things the natives in Burma would say regarding their religious philosophies. That to achieve true happiness, one had to let go of their inner demons and material things.

'I've never felt ties to material things, but will the demons ever let me go? Or am I making it too hard on myself?' With all the running he'd been doing these past months, he wasn't sure anymore. He just wanted the nightmares to stop, both the waking ones and the sleeping ones. He wanted to let go of the guilt that gripped him so tightly but he didn't have the first clue how to start.

Closing his eyes, the young man took in a deep breath, held it, and let it out. It was something one of old men in Burma taught him. Said it would be good to meditate or to calm one's mind and heart. The old man had gone on to explain why it was good spiritually, but Atticus didn't believe in such things like he used to. Either way, the deep breathing worked.

"You're probably right. At least the air out there is fresher and you're not treated as though you're ill."

[Rosemary-Louise]

"Exactly!" Rose screeched, nodding her head vigorously, excited and angry. "'Specially when you don't even deserve to be here. Personally, Mr. Ravensdale, I don't think any of the girls here are truly mad - crazy! I think we're just different, and society can't deal with things or people that are different, so they ship us off to the dirtiest place they can find and call us crazy."

She sat up on his knees and smiled. "Take me, for example. I'm not crazy. I'm different and I talk a lot and my thought process is a little strange, but I don't deserve to be here! Now, while I've been told those aren't the only reasons why I'm here, I still don't think I deserve to be here."

"Do you think I deserve to be here, Mr. Ravensdale? Do you truly believe that I am a threat to society, a danger to my child?"

Rosemary tilted her head to the side slightly and waited for him to answer. She was merely curious as to what he thought of her. So far, he had been nothing but honest as far as she could tell and he was nice. Even if he did say yes to those questions, she'd still try and be his friend because he made her happy. She told him as much.

"It's okay, of course. I'm merely curious as to what you think of me. Had I been out of these walls and in the country or just back home in Georgia, I'd have made a much finer impression. Much, much finer," she said, winking suggestively, though playful. Mostly.

[Atticus Ravensdale]

Rosemary certainly was an opinionated girl. That didn't bother him like it would most men. Really, if she wasn't forcing her opinions down his throat, what did it matter? Plus, it was more interesting seeing the same idea from a different perspective. It was definitely challenging a several of his preconceived notions.

He listened to her as she spoke with a passion most girls here seemed to lack, for whatever reason. Was that reason madness or were they just sick? Different or not, most behaved just like cattle and some behaved less than that. He wasn't stupid, it was obvious most of the so-called treatments didn't work, but where else could they put them? These were women who could not function normally, had too much life, or got in the way of someone else's goals. As for him, he had a job to do.

Atticus would have said that, but then she asked if he thought she belonged in this place. It threw him and he was unsure how he should feel about that. He supposed there was no harm in answering as long as it didn't complicate his job. There was a minute pause as he processed how he would word his answer. He didn't want to give a wrong impression, but he wished to be honest as well.

"Based on how I've seen you behave so far, I do not believe being here is in your best interest, nor do I believe you represent any kind of threat. However, I am also well aware you could prove my impressions wrong at any given moment."

He watched her face, wondering how she'd react to his mostly neutral answer. She was smart though, so he knew she'd pick up on his true opinion. Being neutral was safer. Being neutral kept one alive. Although he wasn't sure why, Atticus wanted to stay alive as long as he could.

'Is that the innuendo again? I've already said no, so why? It's just wasted energy that could be better used for other things. Is that madness, too?'

Very briefly, Atticus wondered if he was the mad one here. He quickly dismissed the thought. It would only serve to compound his concerns and worries.

[Rosemary-Louise]

Rose tilted her head to side and gave him a small smile, satisfied with his answer. She realized he was staying neutral, being honest without being mean. She appreciated that.

"That was a good answer, Mr. Ravensdale," she told him. "It's nice to know there's at least once chaser here who actually thinks with their brain.

Rosemary laid down on her back this time, folding her hands acorss her stomach, and looked up at Atticus. She chuckled at the funny look he gave her when she explained to him how much of a finer impression she'd have made on him if she weren't in an asylum.

"Mr. Ravensdale, I don't particularly like the word 'no.' It bothers me immensely and I refuse to take it. It is unacceptable. Besides, if I don't have someone soon, I'm going to die. Really. I think I will." Rose shrugged and closed her eyes. "Talk to me, Atticus. Tell me more things."

[Atticus Ravensdale]

He nodded, courteously accepting the compliment. Yes, some of his associates weren't always the brightest, but they were certainly capable of learning. They were capable of thinking with their brains too. Why did people fall back on vices or carnal urges to dictate their decisions? Rosemary was an example of this as well. Atticus wanted to understand, though he'd rather not find out through demonstration. Words suited him just fine.

Rosemary was using her words now. She picked up on his confusion. He still didn't get it, but it cleared up most of the 'why'. Although now he wondered why she couldn't accept 'no' and was bothered by her being bothered by it. The young man shook his head a bit. Sex was now a life or death matter? He couldn't imagine trying to live out a life of survival based on those urges. Then again, it couldn't be any more maddening than his current methods.

'This is nonsense. Talking should keep my mind off silly ideas like that,' he thought, annoyed with himself.

"I'm not sure what things you wish me to tell. I could tell you about the colors of the night sky or about the strange French man that worshiped his wife's chamber pot as a god. Then again, there are always the sights at the harbor. It's much more interesting than it sounds."