Chapter 2 is going to be the real start of the story, as I really just wanted to set foundations and a bit of background. Details about the girls, John, Herald (HIM), and others will come to light soon. Thanks for the review xbriannova! Enjoy Chapter 2 everyone!


John lived a dangerous life in the Underground, and wished to forget the time were it was killed or be killed.

He tried to forget the blood that was so very warm as it licked at his hands, arms, and right below his eyes. He remembered the way the man struggled to rip John's hands from his throat. The man couldn't believe that he was about to die by the hands of a child. A child with no emotion or apparent remorse. John's eyes were stotic, cold, unreadable. Clawing at young skin and grabbing anything he could, John admitted that this man showed a true will to live. Why? What was there to live for? The man had money and women, he had connections to the Elite, but did any of that matter? None of it protected him from the hit on him. Someone wanted him dead, and John was going to make sure of it.

The first man he'd ever killed, one countless faces that haunted him with restless nights and decades later; an unwavering guilt. The Utonium boy was just another poor soul of the wasteland. Just another killer for hire, just another angry twelve year old.


He was good at it. Extremely good at it. He would even go as far as saying that his skill was feared by the few people that recognized the shadow of a young man. Killing was natural for him, it was instinctual.

"Do you like killing, little one?"

John snapped his head to the side, zeroing in on the voice of a man he saw once in passing.

"Do you enjoy watching the people you kill struggle? It seems so. Your not the cleanest killer, but then again, murder is usually messy."

John let his eyes roll, he was hardly "little". At fifteen, he didn't take too kindly to being called anything he wasn't. Killer? Yes. Demon, Monster, Angel of Death? Yes, Yes...Yes? That last one was something a sorry older man called him with a small smile and a deep chuckle right before John's blade connected with his neck.

"Councilman Regins. What brings you to this tavern? The wonderful ambience? The women? Ah! Could it be you have someone you need disposing of?"

"I'm here for you, John. I know you have interests other than killing, so why kill?"

Taking a seat next to the young man, he placed his large hand on John's shoulder. Leaning in, he whispered.

"I've been watching you son, I know you steal the piss poor medical books in Merchant Square. I've seen you treating the children's wounds, and overseeing the deliveries of this season's children."

The thought of being watched and not noticing made John oddly upset. Violated was a good way to describe it.

"Fuck off! You know nothing!" He hissed bitterly.

Pushing the man's hand off his shoulder and standing up abruptly, he made his way to the tavern doors.

"I'll teach you John. I can get you out of here, out of this forsaken place of death and loneliness."

John would laugh at his own misery decades later when he realized he left the underground just to be thrown back in. The man who saved him, would be the same man to take his daughters away from him. He would find companionship and love only to lose it. He decided Karma was a witch he would greet at the gates of Hell.


What made a good King? A good King loved all of his people and they lived him right back. A good King ruled diligently and fairly. A good King didn't throw an entire section of his Kingdom into an rat infested shithole just because they opposed his forceable take over of their land. By popular opinion, HIM was a horrible king. He was feared, more than loved.

King Herald on the other hand believed he was a reasonable person, and a fair King. He knew he wasn't the most...compassionate at times, but who truly was? An eye for an eye; A life for a life. That was something he lived off of.

"Father, do the Ladies of the Court have to attend this affair? I thought it was my ball. Im the one looking for a proper husband. Every suitable man would be distracted by their awful presence."

His daughter was quite frankly...unamusing. The young woman was over twenty-three and couldn't even get one man to commit. Even with the thoughts of becoming King, they strayed away.

An eye for an eye, I give you the title of King, you take the unappealing daughter. Fair right.

"Princess, it's been decided." He cooed. Mockingly loving as he was with his wife. The poor broad.

Leaning back in his chair, he mused. His daughter looked exactly like her useless mother. Frizzy copper red hair, small beady little brown eyes, and a face full of freckles, she had none of his looks. If she did, she would look more like her bastard sister, Seduca Lorrett. A young woman born from one of his favorite concubines. With her wavy Jet black hair, and hazel-green eyes, she took after him in the best of ways.

Seduca was already married to a Duke. A Duke! Not a common man or member if the Royal Court, but a Duke of a partnering land! He fell in love with her smile, but HIM believed she bribed the man with her body as any good concubine would. She took her mother with her, and despite his efforts to bring his concubine back, he could do nothing as she was proprotected under foreign law. That would be the second time such a thing happened.

"Father! At least put a different dress code in place! They dress like slu-" She was cut of by an attendant.

"My King, arrangements are going as planned. There is a young man here to see you. He says that you two made contact already."

HIM swallowed the rising anger in his stomach.

He couldn't allow his true colors to show now, he would deal with the brat later.

"Allow him in." Turning to look pointedly at his daughter, he hissed, "Leave. We will discuss this no longer. Out of my sight."

She walked out as if fire was at her heels, and as she left, the man he had been waiting for stepped into the room.

The air turned hot, it was as if there was a flame in front of him.

"Your Highness. It is nice to finally meet you." The man drawled. It was smooth and dripping in charisma. There was something in the young man's eyes that HIM truly couldn't not understand. It wasn't foriegn, but it wasn't truly familiar.

"Brick Kingsely, War strategist at your service."


Buttercup sighed. This ball thing was something she would rather sit out, it's not as if life would change for her and her sisters. They were permanent members of the Ladies Court. Until they lost their appeal or died, they would be property of the King. They were show pieces. Bodies to be ogled and touched, but never to be set free.

"Oh how I wish to leave this place! To really leave. See things and places beyond these Castle grounds and even further to new lands. It would be such the adventure, wouldn't it?" She thought out loud.

Turning to face her sisters as they dressed for the night, she saw the far off look in the youngest sister's eyes. She imagined the girl was thinking of "everything being nice". It was just like her to do so.

Buttercup craved freedom and action as much as her sisters did, but she believed she could handle a bit more than they could. She wasn't afraid of getting a little dirty.

"It would, but we all know it won't happen."

"Don't be so pessimistic Bloss. You never know."

"Yeah Blossom!" Bubble chirped. It seems she was finally out of her reverie.

"Just don't get your hopes up, turn around Bubbles let me help you with your dress..."

It wasn't even an hour later when Buttercup found herself among shimmering lights and low laughter. The dress she wore was one she wore often and liked very much as it covered as much skin as possible. It was a pale green and gray that poofed out at her hips and ruffled towards the end. It hand long sleeves that elongated towards the end. Nothing too extravagant, wouldn't want to outshine the Princess.

Bubbles and Blossom wore dresses that were similar with the only real difference being the color.

Buttercup studied each face that passed. Keeping herself grounded, and not maintaining direct eye contact with anyone; she stood with her sisters off to the side. Keeping to themselves was the best option right now, and the green eyed girl honestly loathed the idea of dancing with some grimy man with a fake smile and wandering hands.

Don't get her wrong. Not all of these men seemed horrible, but she wouldn't take any chances. Romance wasn't her cup of tea, and even if it was, she wouldn't be allowed to truly Court a man. Again, her and her sisters were for show.

A shadow to her left caught her attention, and two more followed. Whispers of Ladies and men alike invaded her ears.

'What's the point of whispering if you were going to be so loud?'

"I heard that man over there is the King's new war advisor."

"Him? But he is so young."

"Quite handsome if you ask me."

"Who are the other two?"

" Not sure. His attendants? Guards? The green eyed one looks dangerous."

"I like them dangerous. You think he'll invite me to his room tonight?"

She could hear every word, and by the narrowing of his eyes, the ink haired green eyed man could too.

The striking blond next to him nudged his arm slightly. He spoke lowly to the man. So lowly, Buttercup almost couldn't hear, and that was saying alot. The woman heard everything and anything. It was a skill she was glad to possess.

"Calm yourself Butch. No need to get upset. Live a little tonight. Before it all turns to shit and chaos."

Buttercup wondered what the man meant by that. She turned her head away from the trio in an attempt to seem as if she was uninterested.

"Not that easy when they look at you like wolves after meat. That one over there want to get in my pants. And that one is definitely suspicious of us. Pretty sure she can hear everything I'm saying."

Did he read her mind? Shifting to place majority of her weight on her other leg, she fought the urge to look at him again.

"Butters, you ok?"

Bloosom looked at her sister with concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm good." She looked her sister in her eyes and then looked down, silently guiding her sister's eyes to her hands. Bubbles was watching too as Buttercup made signs with her fingers and hands slowly. A thing they learned in the underground and something their father made sure they were well versed in give if they need to communicate without their voices for some reason.

As discreetly as possible, she signed to her sisters.

"Those guys are making me feel...nervous. They know something that the rest of us don't. The one with green eyes, Butch. He knows I can hear him. He noticed, no one ever notices."

Blossom made a face and carefully signed back.

"That's odd, but don't worry too much Buttercup. What ever happens won't involve us."

Bubbles nodded in agreement and took a quick glance at the three men they were taking about.

"Hopefully it won't." She signed.

They didn't think anyone would be able to decifer their code. As far as they knew, there was no one from the Underground near and even if there was, many didn't learn said code. Their father told them it was something used by trained killers and guards of the shady organizations that ruled the cesspool. He admitted he used to use it frequently during his youth, and yes. The girls knew their father's past. They knew it all, and truly couldn't bring themselves to dislike their father for it. He never killed again after he met their mother, she made him promise not to. On her deathbed, she asked John to ensure that their daughters never have to kill as long as he was alive.


Well they don't look like killers. They don't look like informants either.

"Yeah, I see them too." Bricks voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Boomer let his head lean back in a lazy sort of way and smiled.

"They might be useful though. They're not killers, but the know the code. We can get them to cooperate, tell us what they know." The blue eyed boy grinned. Things were becoming more exciting by the minute.

"Yeah, I think so too Boomer." Turning to look that the three girls once more, he spoke his second sentence just a bit louder.

"You'll cooperate with us right, Buttercup was it?"

Said woman went cold.

'How does he know my name. No one said it out loud...'

"Don't worry too much. We wont involve you three too much." The way the red eyed man mirrored her sisters silent words shocked all three girls.

'They know the code!'

The look in the three men's eyes was something Buttercup remembered from a time she'd rather forget. Those were eyes of well versed killers.

Butch watched as the three stood their ground and the pink eyed sister signed slowly and methodically. Fluent in the language.

"Who did you come here to kill?"

Boomer let a small snicker escape and signed back.

"Kill? No. Slaughter is more appropriate, but not right now. We have other things in motion."

Brick continued after.

"You three are from the Underground as well. You should know what we are here for."

Bubbles gave uncharacteristic eye roll.

"We haven't been down there in fourteen years, so no. We don't."

Boomer met her gaze and moved to meet her. No longer signing, he made the short journey over.

She couldn't help but step back as he got closer. Leaning in close, he answered her.

"Revolution my dear. A day of reckoning for our beloved king."

War started with the underground and will end with it.