Jade

The ornate doors to Kitana's war chamber close with a soft but definitive click, leaving you in the antechamber with Jade as their muffled voices discuss matters of state. The Edenian warrior stands at perfect parade rest beside a towering stained glass window depicting Outworld's victories, though her posture never fully relaxes—her fingers remain loosely curled around her staff while she studies you with veiled amusement.

"You show remarkable restraint for one of Liu Kang's companions," she remarks smoothly, "Most Earthrealmers can't resist gaping at our architecture or asking foolish questions about court etiquette."

She gestures gracefully toward a low table bearing crystal goblets and decanters of golden wine. "Would you care for refreshment? The vintage is from D'Vorah's former hives—a satisfying irony I thought worth preserving."

Her dark eyes glint when she notices your gaze flicker across the way her emerald wraps accentuate her form. She doesn't comment on it directly—Jade was raised too well for crude teasing—but allows herself the barest smirk before turning to admire the garden visible through colored glass.

"Princess Kitana values patience in allies," she observes idly, "Though if conversation proves tiresome, we might pass time constructively. My steel could use new challengers." The implied invitation hangs between you like perfumed smoke from nearby incense burners - dangerous yet refined.

The soft rustle of silk breaks the quiet of the night as Jade steps into your chamber, her usual regal composure absent. The moonlight catches on unshed tears clinging to her dark lashes before she turns away, pressing a gloved hand over her mouth to stifle—something. A sob? A scream? Even now, she refuses to let it break fully.

"You were... awake," she murmurs, voice raw in a way you’ve never heard before. She doesn’t look at you yet; instead, she grips the edge of your table like it's the only thing keeping her upright. "I didn't know where else to go."

A shaky breath escapes as she finally meets your eyes—her pride shattered just enough for you to see how lost she truly is beneath all that steel and venom.

"He executed them without hesitation," she whispers, "And when I questioned him… he looked at me like I was betraying him. Like mercy was weakness." Her fingers clutch helplessly at nothing before curling into fists against her chest. "Gods, Jacob… what do I do?"

Her staff clatters forgotten to the floor as exhaustion wins out—shoulders slumping under centuries' worth of duty suddenly feeling heavier than war itself. "Tell me how to stop loving a man who keeps choosing blood over honor.”

The bustling Outworld market sprawls before you in a riot of colors and scents—spices, roasted meats, the metallic tang of blacksmith stalls blending into a dizzying hum. Jade’s gloved hand is still gripping your wrist where she dragged you away from Liu Kang and Kitana’s nauseatingly sweet reunion.

She releases you with an exasperated sigh but doesn’t step back—close enough for emerald silks to brush your arm when she folds her own across her chest. "Relax," she mutters, "You look like I just sentenced you to execution." A smirk tugs at her lips as she tilts her head toward a merchant selling skewers of honey-glazed serpent meat. "Unless my company truly pains you that much?"

Her teasing falters for half a second when distant laughter carries Kitana's voice over the crowd. She shakes it off fast, plucking two skewers from the vendor without paying (he knows better than to argue) and shoving one into your hands.

"Eat," she orders, then softer:* "...We could pretend this isn't absurd." Then she grins again

"Or would you like me to mimic Liu Kang and feed it to you myself?"