Chapter 34, Rasputin

The Queen was in her chamber, sitting in a chair near the window. Her breakfast was untouched and she instead seemed more interested in watching the snow fall. When DG and Glitch entered the room she motioned for the chambermaids, Meredith and Kyra to leave.

After they left, DG asked, "Have you heard anything more about Jeb's and Samantha's death?" She rubbed her arms feverishly. Her mother's room was unusually cold.

The Queen did not look at her. She was covered in a royal blue wool blanket and her hands remained folded in her lap, on top of the blanket.

Glitch felt cold too and he walked over to the fireplace. With annoyance he asked, "Why didn't either Meredith or Kyra put some wood on the fire?" He stoked the coals and proceeded to stack some kindling on top of them. Even though he was occupied with trying to get the fire going, he heard DG walk across the room and ask, "Mother?"

She looked out the window and tried to see what the Queen was staring at. The city was quiet and a few guards patrolled the courtyard below. There was nothing unusual that she could tell.

DG noted how worn her mother looked. She was pale and it was evident that she had not slept well, if at all, during the night. Deep circles had formed under her eyes and her hair was undone. It had not yet been brushed, let alone pulled back in her characteristic swept-back bun. Her lavender eyes, those beautiful eyes that usually sparkled, were dull. Unbeknownst to DG, in her one hand she rubbed a picture disk between her fingers.

"Perhaps you should ask Major Cain about their deaths," she said quietly.

DG was puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

The Queen continued to stare out the window. "I have questioned Major Cain's judgment since the day that he murdered your parents."

DG interrupted her and stated quietly, "He had no choice."

The Queen ignored her. "I again questioned his judgment with his handling of Jill. He should have taken her directly to the precinct upon arrival in the city. Then she should have been taken in to military custody."

DG crossed her arms and sighed. "You know how Cain is. He helps anyone who shows up on his door step. He was trying to help both us and Jill find out who wanted her so bad." She paused and with exasperation added, "We've been through this before."

They heard a few coughs. Both of them looked over to see Glitch waving smoke out of his face. He picked up a pair of bellows and blew more air on to the coals. In an instant the fire took back off and began to crackle. He coughed again and waved the fleeting smoke away from him. He looked embarrassed and said, "Sorry about that. The fire should be okay now."

The Queen looked uncharacteristically annoyed with him. She turned back to DG and said sternly, "You would be wise to question his loyalty daughter." DG was stunned. Question my loyalty to Cain? What kind of statement is that?!

The Queen's voice grew tired. "You were not told why Cain was summoned back from the territories early."

DG thought back. Her mother was right. She was dealing so much with her own feelings for him that she never bothered to question why he had returned. It had been kept super quiet anyway. Not even the servants were whispering about it. "Okay…. So why was he brought back early?"

"He was on trial for treason."

Glitch, who had been watching the young fire, exclaimed with his jaw dropping to the floor, "Treason?!"

Both looked back over at him. He looked embarrassed again over his outburst. "Sorry." He put one last small log on to the fire and walked over to where they were near the window. DG had already sat in the chair opposite from her, across from her small table. He looked around for another chair, and finding none, leaned against the wall. The Queen sighed in displeasure at his act. The disapproval was evident in her voice. "Ambrose, a member of the royal court does not lean. You of all should understand that. Stand behind DG if you are to remain in this chamber."

Glitch was stunned. He looked in her eyes and in his most formal tone replied, "I'm sorry your highness," and then stood back up to take his place behind DG. He made sure to stand straight and held his hands loosely together in front of him. He cursed his momentary lapse in protocol.

"Mother, what's wrong?" DG asked quietly. She's never been like that to Glitch. And what's with the Ambrose crap all of a sudden?

The Queen ignored DG's question and continued with her story. "There were attacks from remnants of the Longcoats in the area. Major Cain was in charge of a protection detail for a nearby fort and small village. The fort was attacked and consequently both it and the small village were destroyed. Casualties were heavy. The Longcoats escaped and a regiment in another neighboring area had to be brought in to restore order. It was later reported by other officers that the attacks initially came from inside the fort and that they were by Major Cain's hand."

"There's no way that Cain caused that. You know better than to believe them Mother." She was amazed that her Mother gave those reports serious consideration. She found her herself clenching her hand in to a fist out of frustration and she forced herself to take a deep breath.

The Queen shifted in her chair. She had been annoyed before and now appeared to be getting irritated. "It is not your place to tell me what I should, or should not believe in, daughter."

DG was exasperated. Her mother was being uncharacteristically cold to her and to Glitch.

"The tribunal found him innocent of all charges." She paused and looked out the window again. Some of the staff shoveled a small pathway across the courtyard but it was quickly filling with snow again. "However, the tribunal was in deliberation for days. It was difficult for them to make a verdict."

"They made the right decision. Those officers,… somehow they got mixed up in the heat of the attack." DG still could not believe that Cain had been put on trial and that she never knew about it the whole entire time. Of course it wasn't like he was the type of person who would go running up to her and say "Hey guess what they think I did this time!"

The Queen unfolded her hands and placed the picture disk on the table.

DG recognized what it was. It looked like the same ones that Tutor had dropped for the mobats.

"A special envoy from the Provost Marshall's office came to see me. His name was Lieutenant Colonial Mitchell. He brought me that disk to review. It is a copy of the one that was found at the Poulton's."

"Glitch and I saw the Provost Marshall this morning and he never said anything about finding a picture disk." DG picked it up and held it up to the light.

"It was not his place to do so Dorothy," she replied sternly.

DG bit her lip in order to try to retain her composure. Dorothy? First daughter, and now Dorothy. She asked, "So, what's on the great and mysterious picture disk?" It came out a little more sarcastic than she had intended.

The Queen brow furled in anger and she hissed, "You will not be so glib with me daughter once I tell you what is on it!" The words dripped with hidden fury.

DG was stunned once more. She had seen her mother look angry at her before but this was on a whole new level.

The deep circles remained on her mother's face but the rush of anger had erased all evidence of her exhaustion. "It shows evidence of Major Cain setting the explosives used in the terrorist attack."

DG pushed her chair back so hard from the table it fell over. Glitch had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. She jumped up and began talking with her hands. She lost all patience with her mother. Jesus Christ! What is it with these people who keep saying that Cain is plotting against the O.Z. "How can that be?! You know that Cain would never, ever, do such a thing!"

Then she stopped. Oh…my…god! It show's Cain setting the explosives. Demilo tried to bribe him with a picture disk that showed him setting off the explosives!

The Queen remained steadfast. "I have already told you that he was on trial for treason. While he may have been found innocent, this is further proof that he is not as loyal to the royal line as he may have led you to believe."

DG paced back and forth. She implored her mother, "It can't be! It has to be some sort of trick! Mother, in your heart, you know he couldn't do such a thing! Demilo tried to blackmail him with a similar picture disk in the Wolfsangel Tavern!"

The Queen's eyes narrowed and she glared at her daughter. She asked slowly, "What…do you mean… that this... Demilo… tried to bribe him with a similar picture disk in the Wolfsangel Tavern?"

DG swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Before he and Jill were arrested, he told me and Glitch that they had been in the Wolfsangel Tavern the night before. Jeb was there too. Demilo wanted Cain to hand Jill over to him. He told Cain that he had a picture disk of him setting explosives and that if Cain didn't turn her over, then he would turn the disk loose." She paused to catch her breath and then she went on, "Glitch and I both met Demilo right before the witch was defeated. He was some sort of sleazy traveling entertainer. Cain knew him from before the witch and Demilo recognized him as an ex-Tin Man. Cain told us that Demilo had lost his business and that's why he went to work as a henchman."

"Is that really what Major Cain told you?" She was seething at the apparent ignorance of her youngest daughter. "A body was found outside of the Wolfsangel Tavern. He had been murdered. He was identified as Special Operative Amaury Demille." She stopped in order to let her words sink in. "And now you tell me that Major Wyatt Cain, Miss Jill Wilkins, and Major Jeb Cain were all in that tavern that evening?"

By then Glitch had set the chair back up. The Queen ignored him and went on, "The Lieutenant Colonial told me that Amaury Demille was a special operative working undercover. He was attempting to infiltrate a group believed to have intentions of overthrowing this government. It was believed that he had evidence of various plots before he was murdered. And now, you are telling me that it was Major Cain who told you that it was a person named Demilo trying to bribe him?"

DG adamantly shook her head. "Cain clearly said that it was Demilo. He didn't say that it was some Demille."

The Queen raised her head and said in a confident but quiet voice, "The Lieutenant Colonial assured me that the special operative was one of theirs. It is now believed that either Major Wyatt Cain and or Major Jeb Cain killed Demille because he began to acquire knowledge of the insurgency."

"NO!" DG began to pace the room and threw up her hands in despair. "WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TOLD ISN'T TRUE!"

The Queen stood up and let her blanket fall on to the floor.

DG continued her tirade. "Cain said that it was Antoine Demilo. It wasn't some special operative working for the PM. Demilo,.. Antoine Demilo… was the one working for the insurgency and he was trying to bribe him. Don't you realize that there are dirty cops in the 9th Street Precinct? Jeb told me that a cop by the name of Petey Staggart was working for the other side. Why else do you think that Cain and Jill were arrested? Petey set it up so that neither Cain nor us could protect her. Why else do you think that Jeb and Sergeant Costello were murdered? They got too close!"

She was done. She shook out of exhaustion, and frustration, and anger at her mother.

The Queen said nothing for a few minutes. The air was thick with tension and the only sound was the crackling of the fire.

"Mother, why don't you believe me?" DG quietly asked.

The Queen stared at her so intently that it was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. "There is also another matter to discuss. It concerns your behavior with various members of the House of Lords."

This is getting more screwed up by the minute. She rubbed her forehead and then wiped her eyes with her hands. She did not want to cry in front of her mother, no matter how bad she hurt her. With a mixture of frustration and annoyance she said "The only time I talk to those people is when we're at an official state function."

Her mother reached in to her pocket and tossed another disk in her direction. It landed on to the floor without a sound. She picked it up and looked at it. "Great. What's on this one?"

"It would appear that you see certain ones more often than that," the Queen quietly responded. "All along I believed that it was our tactful diplomacy that quieted the revolt by the House of Lords. It never occurred to me that my own daughter, who was also credited with achieving the peace settlement, did so by being nothing more than a two-bit whore."

DG threw her arms up and paced the room once more. Once again she shook her head in disbelief. It was so outlandish to her that she was left momentary speechless. Finally she blurted out, "That's just fucking outrageous!" She stopped. "Let me guess. Special Operative Demille had evidence of it. And you'll believe him over your own daughter." She let the words drip with her sarcasm.

Her mother screamed at her. "Your record of you behavior fell in to the hands of the insurgents! Why did you even record it to begin with?! For posterity?! To look back on with fondness?!" She paused to catch her breath. As she did so she looked back out the window. The scene had not changed. It was still snowing and the city was gradually going to sleep. She turned back to her daughter. "You should be thankful that Demille found the disk when he did."

DG was furious. The tears, born of frustration and anger, could no longer be held back. She clenched her fists so hard her nails dug in to her palms. "GOD MOTHER! I can't believe you right now!... I can't believe that you would think and believe that I did that!"

Without warning, the Queen started towards the door. "Come with me." It was not a statement, it was an order.

They left the Queen's chamber and went down the hallway. They turned the corner and the Queen opened the door to her private library. It was then that she realized that Glitch was still with them.

With hatred in her eyes she ordered him, "Stay out!"

Glitch swallowed hard and he gave her the same look that a dog has that has just been kicked. Your highness, what has come over you?

DG followed her inside.

The Queen walked to the middle of the room and turned around. It was then that DG saw the other occupants of the room. Dr. Addison, the Provost Marshall Collins, two guards, and another officer that she did not recognize were also in the room.

PM Collins greeted DG with a "Good morning again Princess Dorothy."

"Uhhh…. Good morning Provost Marshall," she hesitantly replied. His demeanor was so much unlike her mother's that it threw her off guard.

The Queen walked back over closer to DG and gently touched her arm. Her demeanor drastically changed once again. "You have not been acting like yourself for over two months now. And I've noticed that your behavior has become increasingly worrisome since your head wound." Then the Queen wrapped her hand, ever so gently, around her arm.

DG shook her arm free from her mother's grasp and took a step backwards. "Mother, what's this about?" She grew increasingly alarmed. She's turned in to a freaking Jekyll and Hyde.

The unidentified officer asked, "Your highness, how did she take the news of the picture disk?"

The Queen replied without taking her eyes off of DG. "Not well. Her response was the same as what Dr. Addison had predicted."

DG looked at her mother and the confusion was evident on her face. "What do you mean by how Dr. Addison predicted?"

Dr. Addison spoke. "The conversation that you just had with your mother was at her bequest. It was her last attempt at, as they say, trying to talk some sense in to you."

"Excuse me? She was trying to talk sense in to me?" She looked angrily at her mother. "Is that what you call that?"

"We're all concerned about you. We're concerned about what Major Cain has done to you," he replied.

The two guards moved to cover the door.

"He hasn't done anything to me!"

Dr. Addison looked at her with pity in his eyes. "One of the deans at the Royal Academy told me that he saw you, Major Jeb Cain, and Ambrose in front of my office door. I entered my office and found that I was missing three books." He then pointed to three books that were stacked on the Queen's desk. "Those three books were found in your chamber Princess Dorothy."

DG glared at him and her cheeks were flushed from the anger.

PM Collins asked her gently, "Was it Major Cain who told you to go after some books?"

DG walked a few steps over to him so that she could be closer to him when she spoke. With confidence she answered, "Not directly, but since he was in jail who else was going to go after them? He said that Jill spoke of these symbols and that she needed books from her world… my world, to identify them."

Dr. Addison raised his eyebrow. "Symbols?" He glanced over to the Queen to see her reaction. She sighed and nodded to him.

DG snapped around to face him. "Yes! Symbols! Those symbols might be the key to the insurgency and the longer that Jill and Cain are locked up the more time is being wasted…" She then added quietly, "Who knows? May be we could've prevented Jeb's death if we had identified them sooner."

Dr. Addison gave a slight nod back to the Queen.

The snow continued to fall heavier and heavier and it made for slow travel through Central City's streets. In the back seat Jill was nestled in between Lundgren and Petey. She was handcuffed. At least Petey had showed some empathy and cuffed her with her arms in front of her. She did her best to make herself as small as possible. She did not want any part of her body touching the two men on either side of her.

They pulled in to a rough looking neighborhood. All of the houses were run-down and obviously had seen better days. Pimps, whores, drug-dealers, and the homeless littered the streets. The old worn-down street lamps gave off a faint glow. They were back in Elysian.

Zero pulled alongside the sidewalk at the far end of the street. He parked the car in back of a small covered truck. The cover was made of waterproof canvas and it was a dull gray in color.

Petey got out first and Lundgren motioned for Jill to follow him. All four went up the front steps and entered through the front door.

The chaos inside the house betrayed the outside serenity. It was a buzz with men preparing themselves in anticipation of something. Jill thought to herself that whatever the something was, it was going to be big.

She felt something brush against her leg. She looked down and saw a black cat with vivid green eyes. It hissed at her and then ran down the hallway.

Lundgren pulled one of the men aside and commanded him, "Tell the doctor to look at Jill. There's something wrong with her leg."

Zero turned around and scowled at him. Lundgren snapped at him, "You forget what the Father told us before we left. He wanted Jill unharmed. To him that means perfect."

Zero's brow furled in anger but he restrained himself. Harshly he said, "Get upstairs. We need to review the plan again."

Jill was led off to a side bedroom and the man motioned for her to sit on the empty bed. There was no window and the single overhead electric light was bright. There were two beds and it took her a moment to recognize who was lying in the other one. It was Azkadellia. She was sleeping peacefully. What the hell? Jill thought. She was confused. How did they manage to keep that one a secret? She's a freaking princess! Then she realized with dismay. We both must have a one way ticket to this Oradour.

Her thoughts were interrupted by who she guessed was the doctor. He was older given the amount of thinning white hair that he had. His brown eyes showed a compassion that did not fit in with the other members of the group of men outside the bedroom door. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"I fell and twisted my ankle," she curtly replied.

As he proceeded to take off her shoe and examine her foot her thoughts drifted. That's why Jeb and Costello were killed. We were getting too close. I don't know why they want me, I'm definitely not royal. But they wanted Azkadellia bad enough.

"Ow!" She was snapped back to the present as the doctor rotated her foot around. "It's just a bad sprain," he told her. He slowly got up and his joints audibly creaked as he did so. "I'll go get some ice for you."

He shut the door behind him and she was left alone with only her thoughts and the sleeping Azkadellia.

A/N: The muse taught me a lesson on this chapter. The past couple came readily; so in my arrogance, thought that I would be able to write more frequently. Instead, the muse stuck out her tongue, went THPPPPT!, and promptly left. She ignored me all weekend and it took an insane amount of dark chocolate to bring her back.