Hey guys,
First of all, THANK YOU, LOST GIRL, FOR A WONDERFUL RIDE! I hope you'll go out in style.
Going back to the matter at hand, sorry in advance if any of you will feel like shooting a hole through a photo of Dyson or something after reading this. I didn't mean to make him such a dick, really, it just sort of came out that way.
Seriously now, this was a pretty difficult chapter to write. Probably because everything was so alive in my mind and I had the feeling I wasn't using the best words to describe it the way I see it. Probably because I don't want to see Tamsin hurt.
Anyway, our CopDoc girls (who were meant for each other, as characters go, and why can't the show's writers just see this and do something about it?) will finally come face to face in the next chapter. Just so you know. Looking forward to that!
What do you think of the story so far? Feel free to speak your mind freely, fellow Faenatics. Your thoughts are, as always, much appreciated.
Thanks again!
It was late in the afternoon that the wagon rolled into camp, drawn by two huge horses led by a bridge troll. Lauren had stepped out of the medical tent for a mouth of fresh air when she saw it. She realized something important was going on, as the Fae were moving hurriedly away from the wagon's path, leaving it wide open all the way to Bo's tent. Lauren's eyes traced the itinerary, and as her gaze landed on the tent, she saw Dyson getting out, flanked by two large guards. He was just buttoning up his shirt and she cringed as she noticed there was not a single scratch on him anymore. Of course, she thought bitterly. A thought crossed her mind briefly, rememorizing the wounds he had sustained. He could have been dead already if his abdomen injury had been even half an inch deeper. It was almost executed with surgical precision, she thought. The realization hit her hard, like an ice bucket dumped over her head. Tamsin had actually done her best not to kill the wolf.
As she inched closer to the gathering crowd she started making out bits and pieces of what they were murmuring, the look on their faces a mixture of fear and admiration. '…three berserkers and two trolls…' 'singlehandedly killed 500 of our own…' 'some sort of blood magic and wiped out an entire…' the stories seem to grow more preposterous as she was making her way through the mass of soldiers and trying to get to Bo's tent..
There was only one Fae who could elicit this sort of response other than Bo, she thought then, and felt her heart sag when she realized what this meant. It meant the end of war, so why wasn't she happy? It meant no more blood spilled and everybody could go back home and live their lives and be happy. Well, maybe not her, of course… Shit, don't even think that. But they'd just go home and maybe try for something peaceful and quiet, and maybe, just maybe, they would make it work…
But it also meant that her friend, no, former friend was in a pretty bad shape to let herself be dragged in front of Bo like that, in a cage of sorts, paraded in front of her enemies. She was thankful that the wagon didn't have bars though, for she knew how humiliating that would have been for the Valkyrie. Why did she even care? she asked herself. Tamsin deserved it, didn't she? She'd turned against her friends, against Bo? She had it coming, Lauren thought but realized that she only half meant it. It was wrong to think that, and she blamed it on that stupid dream and her stupid subconscious. She would be happy today, she tried to convince herself. Happy for Bo winning.
She couldn't help notice the smirk on Dyson's face when the wagon finally stopped in front of Bo's tent, with a heavy jolt. The shifter and the two guards headed to the back to open the door, and she saw them talking to who was inside, but she wasn't able to hear anything because the crowd's murmuring was getting louder, drowning out anything else. She did see one of the guards wince, as he was grabbing inside the wagon for something, she couldn't quite make out what it was… wait, it looked like a chain, yes, the end of a chain... and the other guard was also reaching in…both of them pulling hard… Whatever was inside was giving them a hard time, but then Dyson joined in and impatiently yanked one of the chains, forcibly pulling what looked like a pile of dirty, bloodied rags out of the wagon. There was someone still inhabiting those rags, Lauren thought in horror as she heard the thumping noise of… that thing falling on the ground. It hardly looked like Tamsin anymore, it was just a bloody mess of dirty hair and clothes, her armor torn and caked in dried mud and blood. It looked like a lifeless form tied up in heavy chains.
The crowd started jeering and yelling, as Dyson reached down and grabbed the Valkyrie by the throat, lifting her easily off the ground. Her body spasmed and her hands shot up to her throat, trying to tear away from the wolf's grip, but the chains prevented her from completing the movement. Dyson growled loudly, continuing to display the Valkyrie like a trophy, and the crowd was ecstatic. Lauren tried to take her eyes away, but she couldn't, it was as if some inexplicable, invisible force was not allowing her to avert her gaze. She felt ashamed for being on this side, part of a crowd that was enjoying this cruel display. She was terrified. And what scared her the most was a monosyllabic chant slowly rising from among the Fae soldiers, growing louder and louder: Death death death death…
She turned away briskly and would have broken into a run if it weren't for the fact that she could barely move through the crowd. Shoving bodies aside and muttering apologies she knew nobody cared about at that moment, she started making her way back to the medical tent. Kenzi would know what to do. She was grateful the Russian hadn't been there to witness the captive's arrival, but if there was anyone able to do something about this mess, that would be Kenzi, Lauren tried to convince herself.
Tamsin watched the doctor go, her white lab coat an easily identifiable point moving hurriedly through the sea of grey armors. She had blocked out the jeers, the pain, Dyson's claws around her throat even. While everybody else was yelling, Lauren's mouth had remained tightly shut, and there was something like a mixture of sadness and embarrassment on her face, Tamsin thought. Good, this was something she could work with. The doctor couldn't tell she was being watched, but the Valkyrie kept her eyes on her, studying every muscle twitch, her struggle not to allow her emotions bubble their way to the surface, until the death chant began and Lauren couldn't take it anymore and fled. Tamsin smiled, but nobody could see it under all that blood.
"It breaks my heart to see you like this, Tamsin." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, how the mighty Fae has fallen, right?"
The Valkyrie blinked repeatedly, trying to bring Bo into focus from behind her bruised eyelids and the curtain of bloody hair hanging loose in front of her eyes. She saw the Succubus seated behind a massive wooden table, a bowl of fruit and a bottle of wine resting on one side, while a huge map of the battlefield lay right in the middle, chess pieces marking various strategic points. Normally, she would have thought this was all for show, as Bo did not have the first notion of battle tactics, nor the patience for strategy. But this was not hotheaded Bo anymore, this was someone else, someone who had been around long enough to have all the patience in the world.
"Here you are, one of the strongest – nay, perhaps the strongest Fae in existence besides yours truly – battered, bloody and broken. And for what?" Bo went on, taking a sip of wine.
A drop of wine would have been good. Damn, she even would have taken water, anything so long as her throat didn't feel like being put through a grinder in the middle of the Sahara. Every inch of her body hurt like hell and she couldn't even think of what it would be like to try and stand up. Strangely enough, she was grateful to the guards who'd carried her in for dumping her on the floor instead of making her stand.
"Tamsin, let's face it." Bo's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "You've lost. You're done, there's nowhere to go from here." The Succubus continued looking at the broken Valkyrie, who was intentionally ignoring her and doing her best to study the surroundings without actually having to move her head too much. The guards from earlier were there, at the entrance. A third one, bigger than any Fae she'd ever seen, had joined them and was just standing there, taking up what seemed to be half the space in the tent. He looked dangerous. Slow, but dangerous. Dyson was right behind Bo, a serious look on his face.
"Your excuse of an army is gone, even they left you. I've already sent out word that if they join me they'll be shown leniency, of course. After all, they were just… misguided fools," Bo smirked. Tamsin made an attempt to open her mouth and angrily fought back the searing pain this simple movement had caused. "So tell me…" her voice sounded cracked and faint, more so than she would have liked. With yet another effort to push the pain away, she cleared her throat and continued, in a more confident voice, "you musta watched a lot of Game of Thrones reruns to nail this little scene of yours, amirite?" She even managed to twist her lips into a grin of sorts, feeling some of her usual cockiness returning.
Bo seemed positively amused. A wide smile plastered across her lips, she turned her head briefly to the huge Fae who had joined them earlier. Tamsin didn't even have time to react as the soldier moved so fast all she could do was brace herself for the heavy blow his sturdy boot landed on her stomach. The impact was so strong that it pushed her a few feet behind, still curled up in a ball of blood and pain. Fuck! Better make that uber-fast and dangerous, she thought, as she was trying to at least partly pick herself up.
The succubus was still smiling, her blue eyes fixed on Tamsin, in what looked like anticipation for her next move. Fine, she was not going to disappoint. "Oh my goodness!" she gasped feigning shock. "Don't tell me you've actually read the books! Well color me impressed, Your Succuness. They're like thousands of pages, you know, way beyond your pretty head's attention span!" This time it was Dyson who moved swiftly from behind Bo and punched Tamsin in the jaw, growling in anger. The Valkyrie reacted purely on instinct and letting out a guttural roar, she finally got up – she would wonder later what hidden reserve of rage she had tapped into to draw her strength – and allowed her features to sink and darken, determined to make the shifter regret the day he was born. They stood like that, facing each other, for several seconds, neither of them willing to give in.
"ENOUGH," Bo's voice boomed although she hadn't made the slightest effort. "Both of you, back the fuck off right now." Dyson obeyed immediately, lowered his eyes, and took a few steps backwards to where Bo was now standing up. Tamsin's anger could not subside this fast, and she could feel her rage bubbling up and threatening to burst open. "Valkyrie, you know your powers don't work on me. Stop right now or I will have to make you stop," Bo said and she sounded dead serious. And she was right, Tamsin knew. Even if she had been at the top of her game, she had no chance in hell to make Bo submit to her power of doubt. She took in a deep, painful breath and let her face gradually return to normal.
Bo shot Dyson an angry look – his punch was unsanctioned, Tamsin realized. "Get out." The shifter opened his mouth, probably to say how bad an idea this was, but he was quickly interrupted. "Leave us. All of you, now."
An uncomfortable silence settled in after the four men left. Bo continued staring at the door, completely silent and motionless, for several minutes. Looking at the Succubus more closely, Tamsin was surprised to see her features shift slightly into what looked like an expression of absolute exhaustion. Sadness, even. Bo was tired of everything, and she kept this well hidden from everyone.
As if reading her mind, the dark-haired woman again turned her blue eyes to the Valkyrie, not even trying to change her expression. "You done studying me?" Tamsin didn't bother to answer but instead lowered herself down on the ground again, attempting to at least maintain a sitting position. Her knees trembled like jelly and all her muscles were screaming in pain whenever she moved.
Bo stood up, wine glass in hand, and walked over to the Valkyrie who braced herself for another kick or punch. Neither came, she was surprised to discover. Instead, Bo crouched next to her and brought the glass to her lips, urging her to drink. She wouldn't at first, she was not going to break. The Succubus rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Tamsin? If we're even going to try and have a normal conversation, I'd rather you were actually able to speak," she insisted. "No strings attached, as the saying goes," she grinned, to Tamsin's surprise. To be honest, the Valkyrie did not really expect to see anything of the old Bo still alive after all this time, she did not think there was anything left worth saving, yet there it was, right in front of her. How much more of Bo is still in there, she wondered, her mind immediately going into third gear to start working on a new plan of action. She nodded slightly and accepted the drink, without a word.
As she finished, Bo kept looking at her, a sad look on her face. "I think you know just as well as I do that there are only two options going forward." Tamsin held her gaze, but refused to say anything just yet.
"Where is he?"
Tamsin shrugged. "Have no clue where your grandpa hangs out."
Bo chose to ignore the jab. "You know, there's been something bothering me all these years… Why did you leave, Tamsin? You could have had everything." She rose and started pacing slowly around the room, lost in thought. Tamsin was still silent. "You and I, we could have had everything. Together."
"Dude, do I fucking look like Hillary Goddamn Rodham Clinton to you?" the Valkyrie finally snapped. "You and me, together? Like you needed an extra wheel to your stupid geometrically shaped love life. And for what, Bo? To lead the Fae together – the formerly Unaligned Succubus and the fucked up Valkyrie – the Fae's new frigging power couple doing what, exactly?"
"Keeping the damn Fae on a leash and preventing them from offing each other and preying on humans, is what! That's a pretty good reason, wouldn't you say?" Bo shot back.
"And how's that working out for you, Bo?" Tamsin smirked. "Not so good, I imagine, seeing how I'm still alive and you're still trying to sell me on your little pacification project there," she scrunched her nose in defiance.
Bo sighed. "I'm asking you again: Where is he, Tamsin?"
"I don't know."
"You know I need both of you dealt with to end this thing." The Valkyrie nodded. She would have done the same if the roles had been reversed.
"Look, I really can't help you, I don't know where he went. I specifically asked him not to tell me where he'd go. We needed another ace up our sleeves, and another chance in case this battle went south. Which it obviously did"
Bo nodded. Tamsin watched the Succubus's expression change once again, any trace of exhaustion entirely gone and replaced by a wide smile. "All righty then. Then this leaves us with only one course of action, it seems."
"Yep," Tamsin agreed.
Bo continued staring at her for a few moments, still smiling. She nodded in agreement, then rose and headed to the table, her back on Tamsin.
"Tonight we celebrate your defeat. Tomorrow we break camp and head back to the city. Three weeks from now you will stand trial before the High Council and be found guilty of treason. Depending on how you choose to collaborate with the panel, we will determine the most suitable method of execution." Her voice was cold and even, as if she was reciting or reading from a book. "Is that clear?"
"As clear as fucking daylight, darling," Tamsin retorted, grinning madly like the Cheshire Cat.
