Month Nine: The Weight of Promises

...

It was highly unfair of Walter and Ben to double-team her like this. It seemed as though they had waited on purpose until she was on her own so that they could ambush her with remonstrations.

Until now, both the soldiers had been surprisingly permissive of her harsher actions. Lucille had expected it of Walter, who always seemed to accept her no matter how badly she behaved. The same was true of Jasper. Ben on the other hand, she had expected to speak up before now, especially since she had driven Page off.

They cornered her in the war room – her favourite haunt lately – as she read a note from Reaver. It seemed as though her arrangement with him was finally filling her coffers at a delightfully rapid rate, even if it remained morally unsound.

Lucille folded her arms, ready for whatever they threw at her. She also had Sir close at hand to fawn at their feet and make them feel like thoroughly bad people for judging her.

"What's your concern?"

"You turned the orphanage into a whorehouse," Ben said bluntly. "I know you've got to be cruel to be kind, but isn't that a bit far?"

"You've seen how much money the new establishment is making," Lucille pointed out. "And if you want to blame someone, blame the depraved sexual appetites of Bowerstone. Apparently, despite not having enough money to feed themselves, people still have enough to pay for sex. The brothel's making a fortune, so it's obviously giving the people something that they want – and perhaps a few things they don't want."

"And the children?" Walter reminded her. "The homeless?"

She frowned, before gesturing to the castle as a whole. "They can be housed here, if need be. The south wing of the castle is mostly deserted. Add a bit of furniture, and they can go there. In any case, this will only last a few more months, then I can reopen the shelter, better than it ever was before. A few months, compared to the rest of my life in which to make up for my harsh regimes. A little longer and they'll see it was all worth it."

"Assuming they live long enough to see it," Walter breathed.

Lucille looked at him sharply. Then she reminded herself who she was glaring at, and tried to soften her expression a little. Instead, her next words just came out wearily. "Was there anything else?"

"About Kalin and Sabine..."

Oh, of course. Lucille had had a rather miserable week, choosing to turn down both of her allies' proposals in favour of Reaver's. Despite Lucille honouring her promise to rebuild Aurora, Kalin had apparently not considered that enough. She was coldly furious not to receive her fortress, claiming that this was the second time that the rulers of Albion had failed her – they were happy to take her people as colonists but refused them equal rights, something like that. The laugh of it was, Lucille's rejection had placed the Aurorans on equal footing to the Albions; agreeing would have shown favour to the desert people whilst the citizens on her doorstep starved in the street. Sabine was similarly furious, though she had expected it. The Dweller had only asked for one thing, and she had not given it. Lucille felt guilty, but she couldn't have passed up the opportunity for more gold. Despite offering both Dwellers and Aurorans refuge elsewhere in Albion, both leaders had angrily deserted.

"I'm ashamed of breaking my promise," she sighed. "But Kalin was asking for a lot of money, after I already spent a great deal rebuilding her city."

"It was Logan's broken promise that lead to this," Walter explained. "I don't think the Aurorans are going to trust Albion easily, not when they've been let down again. They probably won't support us when the Crawler attacks."

"Neither will the Dwellers, but that's probably because they're going to be drifting for a while until they find a new home," Ben added.

Lucille frowned. "They can move to Driftwood. I'm sorry for turning my back on them, but Reaver's scheme is producing a lot of gold and useful resources. I don't regret my choice."

Ben and Walter exchanged glances.

"What?"

"Well, that's another thing," Walter said, seeming cautious. "We've noticed that recently, you seem to be approving everything Reaver puts forward."

"The man has a lot of helpful ideas lately," she replied with a shrug.

"Look, are you sleeping with Reaver?" Ben asked.

Lucille choked slightly. She was about to laugh, but then she saw the serious expressions on their faces. "No! Of course I'm not! How little do you both think of me?"

Walter shook his head, perhaps in relief, or disbelief. "A few servants and guards have noticed him coming and going from the castle late at night. He seemed to be making a half-baked attempt to be discreet, but Reaver and discretion have never mixed well."

She groaned. Bloody idiot – how hard was it to sneak into the castle? She'd managed to get out on various occasions as a child and teenager, and that was under the watchful eye of her older brother, not a few sleepy guards.

"I was hoping no one would see him."

"So he has been meeting you then?" Ben asked, seemingly uncomfortable at the thought.

"Yes, and the conclusion you jumped to thrills me no end, I assure you," Lucille replied waspishly. "I've been meeting Reaver to discuss business arrangements. The people seem to have such little faith in me at the moment as it is – I don't need them to know I'm actively working with Reaver."

"Why are you?" Walter began. "The old Queen–"

"My mother knew that Reaver was a useful ally, if an untrustworthy one," she said, reminding her old guardian of the truths she now knew about her mother. The old 'your mother wouldn't have stood for this' line didn't work so well now. "I'm working with Reaver until the day we march out against the Crawler. After that, I'll do all I can to stop the man – I've got no qualms about breaking my promises to him."

Her friends didn't look convinced. She reached out to them. "Please, stand by me. You're the only people left I can count on."

Walter's troubled expression softened, and he dropped a meaty arm around her shoulders. The tension in Lucille's body eased at the gesture of solidarity. "We'll be with you every step of the way," he assured.

Ben gave a friendly half-shrug. "We're just worried about what we're all getting into."

...