A/N: I know, I know, I should be working on my stalled ongoing stories. But I had a burst of inspiration for a horror/supernatural story just in time for Halloween, and I couldn't pass on the chance to write it up. So, hope you all enjoy this spooky little tale, and are willing to hold out a little longer for my regular stuff.
Also, to give credit where credit is due, the inspiration for this story comes from QueenofDoomydoom and her wonderful Invader Zim historical AUs. Specifically, chapter 4 of her "Invader Zim: Through the Ages" anthology, which put the characters in a medieval period; it was a brilliant reimagining of the characters, but my imagination couldn't help but take the scenario in a different direction, and thus this story was born. So, if you like it, check out Queen's work too… hell, even if you don't like this story, check out her work regardless. It's all wonderful and well worth the read.
Oh, and I don't normally do this, but a couple of quick trigger warnings. 1) There's descriptions of gore at several points, so be aware of that. 2) There's repeated bits of era-appropriate sexism, which I don't approve of but needed to add for the sake of the plot. Just letting you know.
And a final quick FYI, just to get it out of the way now. I'm not even going to try to have everyone speaking with medieval English, because that's a pain in the ass to get right. This isn't a professional novel, it's a fanfic, so I'm not going to go to that much effort. Sorry if that disappoints anyone's sense of period correctness.
Anyway, all that said, read on!
Disclaimer: If I were to sell my soul to the devil, I'd probably end up owning Invader Zim. But I haven't, so I don't, and never will.
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Witching Hour
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The Kingdom of Doomsvillia was a small but powerful realm in Eastern Europe during the waning days of the Middle Ages and dawn of the Renaissance. Under the reign of the brilliant (if not necessarily wise)
King Membrane XXIII, it made leaps and strides in scientific advancement far beyond the average person's imagining, developing such wonders as indoor plumbing and coal-powered central heating centuries before the rest of the world.
Mind you, these wonders were just for the castles and manors of the aristocracy. Peasants were far too ignorant to be trusted with such things, obviously.
Anyway, Membrane had also developed easier means of mining, farming, and blacksmithing, giving his kingdom a large economic base and a wide variety of materials to export. This, combined with the kingdom's position on a prime trade route and skillful negotiation by Membrane, kept it neutral ground in the various pissing matches between its neighbors, which only led to further prosperity for the realm. All of which made Membrane incredibly popular among his subjects.
His children, not so much.
Oh, Prince Dib had grown up into a handsome young man (despite the obscene size of his head) and moderately skilled warrior. But no one would ever forget all the years he'd spent running around with claims of discovering demons, fairies, ghosts and all other sorts of otherworldly creatures. True, as this was a more superstitious time people — especially uneducated commoners and nobles less concerned with maintaining the wise and composed facade that decorum demanded — were more willing to indulge his stories, but the fact that he could never provide proof of his supposed sightings didn't due his reputation any good. At best, he was thought to be some kind of prankster, and at worst, thought to be mad (though those sorts of thought were kept to whispers in taverns).
Still, as much as Dib would get the stink-eye from his subjects, he was still held in a much higher regard than his sister. Princess Gaz had always been a girl who lacked social tendencies, staying withdrawn during court functions and having very little contact her fellow noblewomen. Most had shrugged this off as youthful shyness that would eventually fade, and watched as she grew into a striking beauty… "striking" in this case being an apt word choice, as it was what she tended to do to people who got too close to her, or interrupted her when she was preoccupied, or in some other way roused her anger. This quick temper and the violent acts that came with it had made her a source of both fear and resentment from pretty much everyone in the entire kingdom, though her position meant that she was pretty much untouchable. Therefore, everyone had pretty much come to the conclusion that the best course of action was to simply avoid her and her wrath as much as possible, and leave her to her whims.
That is where this story begins, the princess going about her regular routine, on what would be the last normal day for the kingdom for some time to come…
XXXXXXX
Princess Gaz stood on a forest path, wearing dark riding leathers and with several servants and guards keeping a respectable distance away, minding her horse and various items brought along for this hunting trip. She ignored them as usual, keeping her stoic gaze on the woods surrounding her, finally cracking a smirk as the foliage rustled right before a group of large hunting hounds emerged, dragging along a large buck deer by the iron grip that their jaws had on its limbs.
"Good girls," Gaz said praisingly as she approached the deer, pulling a knife from the sheathe around her waist, a one-of-a-kind custom-smithed blade with a hilt shaped like a clenched fist. Casually avoiding the wounded deer's frantic attempts to ward her off with desperate thrusting of its antlers, she quickly slit its throat with the knife, leaning back to avoid most of the resulting blood spray. Not bothering to watch it die, she turned back to her entourage and snapped her fingers, one of the servants running forward with a cloth that she used to wipe the blood off both her weapon and clothes.
"Your Highness, you really should allow someone else to finish off the animals rather than risk yourself like that," one of the guards said, only to wilt underneath the glare Gaz sent his way.
"Are you suggesting I'm too weak to handle a crippled animal?" she sneered, gesturing vaguely threateningly with her knife, "Think carefully before you answer, and remember that I've trained my dogs to eat human flesh on command."
The hounds all growled in unison at that, causing the guard to pale and start shaking.
"N-not at all, Princess!" he said quickly, "I was just worried that it might get a lucky blow!"
Gaz snorted at the guard's pathetic display, but chose to not waste anymore time on it. Sheathing her knife, she made a gesture to the other servants, who picked up the deer's carcass and carried it over to where several other slain animals — a few rabbits and a couple of boars — had already been collected. Looking this over, Gaz's stomach rumbled, causing her to glance up to check the sun's position.
"Hmph, just about noon. Guess I'll be needed back home for lunch. Let's go," she ordered. Not bothering to listen to the obligatory confirming comments, she climbed atop her horse Bitey and set out at a light trot, her hounds keeping pace while the guards and servants scrambled to catch up with her.
Before long, they'd reached Castle Membrane, Gaz not even bothering to acknowledge the guards who bowed in greeting to her, instead just handing Bitey's reigns off to a groomsman and giving a hand command that sent the hounds scampering off to the kennels. Then, after momentarily considering it, she decided against heading up to her personal chambers to change, instead heading directly towards the dining hall, emerging into the large room a few minutes later to find her brother already seated at the long table, wearing his typical dark blue tunic and black trousers, helping himself to the first course of fruit and cheese.
"Hey, Gaz," he greeted, "How'd the hunt go?"
"Meh, I've had worse," she shrugged as she dropped into a chair opposite him and started picking at the food herself while waiting for the main meal to arrive. Speaking of arrivals, a moment later their father entered the room, as always cloaked in white robes that concealed his face and crown encircling his huge hair.
"Good afternoon, children!" he greeted, though he grimaced a little as he looked them over, "Er, daughter, couldn't you have changed into something more appropriate?"
"Why? It's not like there's anyone else here," she snorted. Seeing her father's disapproving gaze, she groaned and rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll change before I go into the village later. Happy?"
"Yes, that's much better," King Membrane said with a nod, "While the commoners' opinion on noble fashion of course doesn't matter, you really much present a better image for our fellow nobility if you ever want to get a betrothal."
"Ugh, not more suitors," Gaz groaned, slumping as the main meal of roast pheasant was placed on the table between the three of them.
"Come now daughter, it's far past time for you to get married. You're 23; you're practically an old woman!"
"What about Dib? He's older than I am and your heir. Why aren't you more focused on marrying him off?" Gaz protested.
"Er, well, I admit that I'm having trouble finding a match for him," Membrane said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, "Seems not many lords are willing to wed their daughters to a prince if he's showing signs of madness."
"Oh come on, not this again!" Dib exclaimed with a glower, "I am not mad! Just because everyone too blind to accept the proof I've uncovered over the years, doesn't mean that the things I've seen aren't real!"
"Of course not, son, of course not," Membrane replied in a placating yet condescending tone, before quickly changing the subject, "Oh, and servants? Someone go find the fool, we could use some entertainment."
Dib groaned and muttered something under his breath, but didn't comment and turned to his meal. The family ate in quiet for a little while, before the doors were kicked open and in stomped their court fool, red and gold costume (complete with jingle bell-adorned hat) contrasting with his green skin.
"Zim is here, my Tall- er, I mean, my King," the fool said with barely hidden disdain.
Zim had arrived in the kingdom several years ago, claiming to have been exiled from some realm far to the East that he called "Farawayia". He had been greeted with immediate fear and suspicion due to the color of his skin and other physical deformities, with many (Dib being the loudest voice, naturally) accusing him of being some kind of demon come to torment them. However, once he'd explained that his appearance was the result of some plague he never properly named, King Membrane had been quick to offer him sympathy and protection, and even a place to live in the castle, despite protests from many. Of course, most of those protests had died down once Membrane had made it clear that he wasn't doing anything absurd like adopting Zim or granting him a noble title, instead making him a personal servant.
It had been Gaz's suggestion that they specifically make Zim their official fool. She didn't know what he really was or where he came from, and didn't care; she just found the green moron's antics, and offense at being made a mockery of, to be hilarious. Her father, for his part, ignored Zim's objections at the notion, writing off his screeching as a demonstration of his comical skills.
Anyway, after several years, Dib had come to accept Zim's presence. He was still quick to point fingers at the green fool whenever something unusual happened around the castle, but didn't actively try to find an excuse to have him locked up anymore. Zim, meanwhile, still made it clear that he hated everyone and everything around him, but he was a servant, so his opinion didn't matter.
In the present, the little green man was putting forth a half-hearted effort as usual, having climbed atop a chair and started juggling several wooden balls. Snorting as an idea came to her, Gaz grabbed a tomato from the fruit plate and chucked it at Zim's face, causing him to fall off the chair with a yelp, a sound which was repeated several times in quick succession as the balls fell out of the air and hit him as well. Snickering at this, Gaz returned to her meal and finished it, before standing up.
"I'm going to go change and head to market," she said, before pausing and turning to face Zim, who was shakily getting back to his feet, "You're coming too, by the way."
"Eh, why?" he asked, squinting an eye at her.
"To carry anything I buy, obviously," she said, narrowing her eyes at him not immediately doing what she said.
"But you already have servants specifically for that!"
"Yeah, but I prefer to have you do all the heavy lifting," Gaz sneered, "Now get ready. That's an order."
Zim glared at her, but clearly knew he wasn't in a position to argue, so he stomped off. Gaz watched him go with a satisfied smirk, then turned and left as well to go get ready as well.
XXXXXXX
An hour later, after having bathed and changed into a black dress picked out by her handmaids Gretchen and Sara, Gaz arrived in the village a mile away from the castle by carriage, escorted by several guards and servants, including Zim. The group made their way through the moderately-sized collection of houses, passing through the square, past the central well and currently-empty pillory, until they reached the general market space.
As usual when she went on these trips, Gaz focused more on books and trinkets than anything else, but also bought several large bolts of cloth just in case the castle tailors ended up needing them (more for the sake of making sure she always had new clothes on standby than consideration for them). All at a huge discount for her royal status, of course; the last merchant who'd tried to charge her the normal value had gotten accused of price gouging and been flogged for it.
After spending some time shopping, Zim struggling under the weight of her purchases like an overworked pack mule, Gaz decided to make another stop before heading home. Reaching Bloaty's Tavern, she walked under the hanging sign depicting the image of a large pig, kicking the door open and entering the squat building. The staff and customers looked towards her, then immediately looked away to avoid meeting her gaze, fearful of somehow rousing her ire. She snorted at this and took a seat at a table near the bar, while her guards and servants hung back, and Zim collapsed under the weight of his burden.
"Your usual, Your Highness," a barmaid said nervously, depositing a pitcher of ale and a bowl of nuts in front of Gaz. The princess didn't bother responding beyond a grunt, barely bothering to watch the other young woman fearfully scurry off before placing a handful of the nuts on the tabletop and cracking them with a blow from the hilt of her knife. As she chewed on her snack, she deigned to listen with half an ear to the inane chatter that had picked back up in the tavern once everyone realized she wasn't going to do anything to them.
"…And I'm telling you all, a shooting star under the night of a half-moon is a clear omen of ill tidings!" a man's voice, firm but with an undertone of mania, carried from the far side of the room. Recognizing it, Gaz rolled her eyes and turned to face the source, a tall middle-aged man with dark hair, wearing what were once fine clothes but had long since faded and spectacles.
Bill, more commonly referred to as Mad Bill because of his constant ravings, which made Dib's wild claims look rational. As far as Gaz could remember, no one had ever taken him seriously, and judging from the bored looks on the faces of his makeshift audience, they still didn't.
"Yeah, that's great Bill," one guy said in a deadpan, "So what is it this time? Vampiric werewolves or flesh-eating gnomes?"
"Mock me all you want, but mark my words — something wicked this way comes!" Bill proclaimed, before dramatically stomping off and exiting the tavern. Everyone watched him go with dismissive scoffs and returned to their drinks and food, Gaz included. The next few minutes passed more or less in silence, until the door to the kitchen suddenly burst open and out came a young man with a maroon hair, chasing after a rat with a net in his hands.
"Damn it, Nick, I told you to kill that thing already!" the bartender snapped.
"Working on it boss!" Nick replied cheerfully, wide smile contrasting with his manic eyes and the large scar on his head. According to the gossip, he'd been kicked in the head by a mule as a child, so now was always outwardly happy regardless of circumstance.
In any case, Nick chased the rat around the room, utterly focused on catching it, to the point of seeming oblivious to his surroundings… which is probably how he managed to bump into the back of Gaz's chair as he ran past her, jostling her just as she was taking a drink of her ale, causing it to spill all over her face and dress.
Everyone else in the tavern froze in shock as they processed what just happened. Then, many of the patrons quickly huddled to the opposite side of the room while the staff fled into the kitchen and Gaz's entourage (except for a morbidly curious Zim) quickly put distance between her and themselves, as an aura of rage emanated from the princess. Nick, though, remained just as oblivious, staying focused on the rat, which he finally managed to snag in the net.
"Yay! I caught- AGH!" he started to cheer, only to gag as Gaz suddenly shot to her feet and grabbed him by he neck, lifting him off the floor.
"You made me spill my drink," she snarled, before throwing him at the door, knocking it clean off its hinges and sending Nick rolling several yards across the dirt. Gaz stomped out after him, and found he'd landed near Bill, who apparently hadn't gone very far and was now talking to (or rather at) the village's magistrate, an older man with a white handlebar mustache named Prambly, and several of his men-at-arms. While Bill continued to rant unimpeded, the lawmen looked up in surprise at Nick's sudden arrival, and flinched as they saw Gaz walking over.
"Er, is there a problem, Your Highness?" Prambly asked, sweating nervously.
"He made me spill my drink," Gaz growled, gesturing to Nick, who was still sprawled on the ground, "Throw him in the pillory!"
"But, that's not against the law-"
"My family makes the law! No do it, before I have you flogged!" Gaz snapped, her guards having followed after her and now staring down the lawmen. Prambly grimaced, and with a sigh gestured to his men, who reluctantly obeyed, hefting Nick up with iron grips on his arms.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Nick asked, the strain to his normal cheerful tone being the only indication that he was upset at this turn of events.
"Sorry kid, but you bumped against the wrong person," one of the men said, as they swiftly dragged Nick to the pillory and locked him into it.
And so it was, that Gaz spent the remainder of her time in the village forcing her servants, the lawmen, and several unfortunate bystanders to fling rocks and rotten vegetables at the imprisoned Nick, under threat of being her next targets if they didn't do so. Only after Nick was reduced to a total mess (albeit with his ever-present grin still in place) did she finally relent and leave, though not without giving firm orders that he was to be left where he was for the next two days, and that anyone who let him out would take his place.
"Wretched brat," one of Prambly's men muttered as Gaz's entourage followed after her and the villagers quickly dispersed.
"Be careful never to say that where she can hear you," Prambly lightly scolded, not that he actually disagreed with the man in all honesty, "Just… we'll focus on doing our jobs and mitigating the harm she does, until hopefully she's either married off somewhere far away or is sent to a convent or something."
The men grumbled in agreement, only to groan as Bill stepped forward to regain everyone's attention.
"Yeah, that's terrible. Now, as I was saying, that shooting star clearly means that a witch is going to inflict horrors upon us, or possibly a demon of some kind-"
"Shut up, Bill," Prambly moaned as he walked off, his men muttering agreements as they left the square as well, the last person to leave being the overlooked Zim, who had been watching the spectacle with a mix of amusement and curious interest. As Gaz irately called after him to "hurry the hell up already", Zim gave Nick one last look and then followed after her.
As for Nick himself, he remained there where he was left, until well after midnight, when there was a sudden burst of light. When several villagers, awakened by the unexpected brightness, emerged to investigate it, they found to their surprise that Nick had disappeared from the pillory — which was still quite clearly locked in place — and was no nowhere to be seen.
XXXXXXX
Nick's disappearance, and the unusual circumstances of it, was naturally huge news for the village. Not so much for the castle, where the incident would have been completely overlooked if not for Gaz's anger at someone she'd ordered tormented had somehow escaped. She'd raged for a whole day, demanding that the villagers be beaten until someone confessed to helping Nick escape. However, Membrane had intervened and countermanded that order — the peasants couldn't work their fields if they were injured too badly to even move, after all.
Gaz had begrudgingly accepted this, and quickly forgotten about the incident. It wasn't like inflicting pain and humiliation on a peasant was unique enough an experience for her for this to really stick in her memory, after all.
After that, things had more or less continued as routine for the next week, until disturbing news reached the castle.
"The village's well has been poisoned?" Membrane asked in concern.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Prambly replied, kneeling in front of the throne, "We're not sure how or when it happened, but many of the villagers took ill before we realized what was going on and sealed the well off."
"Pft, whiners. It can't be that bad, I was just there yesterday and had some water from that well, and I'm not sick," Gaz muttered from where she and Dib were observing court proceedings in an alcove off to the side of the room, as per usual.
"Yeah, but that was one drink; we have our own water here that you usually drink instead," Dib commented, "The villagers drink from that well all the time, so they'd be more exposed to whatever tainted it."
"Whatever," Gaz snorted, barely listening him and returning her attention to the conversation.
"I'll have my healers attend to the people who have been afflicted, and my alchemists work to cleanse the well," Membrane stated, "In the meantime, ensure that the village only takes water from the river."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Prambly said with a bow, before leaving the throne. As he left, another petitioner came forward and court continued as usual, until Gaz eventually got bored; barely bothering to formally excuse herself, she made her way to her chambers and changed into her riding leathers. Before long, she'd grabbed her hounds from the kennels and a group of guards and servants from the courtyard, and was off on a hunt.
A couple of hours later found the hunting party making their way through the forest. Gaz's boredom had since given way to irritation, as nothing worthwhile had shown itself yet. She was just considering giving up for the day, when the hounds suddenly tensed. Growling, they all bolted into the trees, and with a grin of anticipation, Gaz stirred her horse to run after them, not bothering to register if her attendants were managing to keep pace; if they couldn't, that was their own fault. However, before long Gaz realized she was the one who couldn't keep up, soon losing sight of her hounds and finding herself alone as her horse slowed to a stop.
"Damn it, where'd they go?" she muttered angrily. Getting the horse moving again, she headed in the general direction she thought she'd last seen the hounds moving. For a while, this had no result beyond changing which trees and shrubbery she was looking at, but eventually she emerged from the foliage, finding herself looking at a wheat field. Realizing she'd stumbled onto one of the farms surrounding the village, she turned the horse around and started heading back into the forest, only to freeze at the sight greeting her as she turned.
Her hounds were nearby, next to a couple of cows… and they were all dead, dogs and cattle alike. From the looks of things, something had mauled them all, and quite recently too.
Gaz could only stare in shock. She wasn't emotionally attached enough to the hounds to be heartbroken by their deaths, but it was still a shock to see beasts she'd trained to be vicious killers cut down. If anything, it was more a blow to her pride than anything else. So, who or what was she supposed to dire her anger for this towards?
"Ye God, what happened here?!" a voice exclaimed, breaking Gaz out of her stunned thoughts. Turning on her saddle, she found that her entourage had caught up with her, and were now all staring at the dead animals in shock.
"I found them like this when I got here a few moments ago. Search the area for whoever's responsible, they can't have gone far. Now!" she snapped. The guards quickly jumped to obey the command, running off in search of the perpetrator.
Unfortunately, they ultimately failed to find anyone in the area, except a couple of startled farmers who proved utterly unaware of what they were being asked about. Which didn't stop Gaz from ordering them beaten extensively until she was certain that they were telling the truth. As such, she returned to the castle in a fouler mood than usual, everyone being sure to avoid her even more than they tended to.
Meanwhile, it was decided that the deaths of the hounds and cattle was the work of either wolves or a bear, and hunting parties were established to track down the beasts before they could claim anymore livestock, or worse, go after people. Needless to say, hearing that savage animals were on the loose, the same day they discovered that their main source of water was no longer viable, had all the villagers on edge.
And then came yet more bad news.
XXXXXXX
"First the well goes bad, now there's a blight?" Dib said in disbelief over breakfast a few days later.
"That's what the messenger said, yes," Membrane sighed, "I can only assume that whatever effected the well got into the ground water and poisoned the crops. Entire fields are reported to have withered and died… oddly enough, including the one where those cows and your sister's dogs died. Bad luck for them."
"Tch, serves them right," Gaz muttered as she finished her poached eggs and got up to walk away.
"Uh, Gaz, maybe you shouldn't go to the village today?" Dib spoke up as he watched her go.
"Why not?" she demanded, pausing and turning to shoot him a mild glare.
"Well, I mean, first the well, then the dead animals, and now the fields, the villagers are probably all on edge," Dib said, fidgeting under his sister's gaze.
"And?"
"And, well, maybe you shouldn't go and provoke them when they're already worked up?" Dib finished weakly.
"I don't provoke, I just remind them that they're lower than me. It's not my fault they can't handle it," Gaz scoffed, walking off before Dib could get another word in and making her way to collect her entourage.
Before long, her carriage and its guard escort reached the village. As Gaz got out and started walking towards the market, she paused as she saw that a large crowd had assembled in the square, at the center of which Prambly and Bill appeared to be in the midst of an intense argument. Curious, Gaz approached, unseen by anyone in the crowd, and listened.
"…the last thing we need is anymore of your mad ravings making things worse," Prambly was saying, glaring at Bill.
"The only one making things worse is you by refusing to accept the truth!" Bill snapped, "I'm telling you, we have a witch among us, and she's laid a curse on these lands!"
"That is utterly ridiculous!"
"Is it? I told you that that shooting star was an ill omen, and look what's happened since! First, young Nick vanishes from the pillory with no sign, and it's well known that witches abduct children to use them as fuel for their dark spells-"
"Nick was 20!" Prambly pointed out, only for Bill to ignore him and keep talking.
"Then, the well goes sour with no explanation, animals are brutally slaughtered, and a blight is visited upon our fields! All signs of witchcraft!"
"There are logical explanations for all of that-" Prambly tried to say, but was swiftly cut off.
"Oh yeah? Is there a logical explanation for this? I saw her!" Bill proclaimed. In response to the shocked gasps from the crowd, he turned from the magistrate to face them, "That's right! I was with one of the hunting parties looking for the so-called 'wolves' last night, and near Old Man Darkbootie's farm I heard an inhuman cackling from above me. I looked up, and there I saw her, illuminated by the light of the moon, a female figure riding a broomstick in midair, cloaked in black and with purple hair!"
"Purple hair?" Prambly echoed warily, the crowd muttering and Gaz's eyebrows shooting up. Was that lunatic actually suggesting…?
"That's right! Purple hair framing her face like the jaws of a beast! Does that sound familiar to anyone?" Bill asked with a firm scowl.
"You- are you actually accusing the Princess of being a witch?!" Prambly asked in shock.
"You're damn right I am!" Bill exclaimed, now fully preaching to the crowd, "How long has she tormented us, forcing us to obey her petty whims or suffer? She galavants about on hunts and acts like a man, showing her lack of moral fiber; is it so hard to believe she'd finally decide to sell her soul to Satan to torment us further?"
"You can't just slander a member of the royal family, you fool!" Prambly shouted, panic creeping into his voice as the crowd's mutterings turned to angry cries.
"Why not?" Bill sneered, "She was the one who ordered Nick to be brutalized right before he disappeared, she was seen drinking from our well right before it went bad, she was the one who found the slaughtered animals — oh-so-conveniently alone, with no witnesses that she didn't kill them herself — and then the field she found them on was one of those that withered! And I know that I saw her last night!"
"You were probably drunk! You don't know what you saw!" Prambly yelled, desperate to try and get this situation under control.
"Yes I do, and I say this! That wench is a witch, and must be made to pay for her sins, no matter wh-!"
SMACK
Bill was cut off as a rock suddenly hit him in his face, knocking him off his feet. Everyone turned to see where it had come from, and froze as they saw Gaz standing there, trembling with rage. The crowd quickly parted like the Red Sea, allowing her to stomp forward to where Bill had risen to a crouch, and grabbed him by the collar before he could recover.
"Care to say that to my face?" she snarled.
"You don't scare me, witch," Bill spat, "This unfeminine anger just proves my point and makes it clear to all what you really are."
Growling, Gaz pulled her knife from its hidden sheath in her dress and pressed the blade against Bill's cheek.
"Spread lies about me like this again and I'll doom you to a living nightmare you'll never wake up from," she said, scraping the blade across Bill's cheek and leaving a thin line of blood. Despite this, Bill kept matching her glare with his own.
"Exactly what I'd expect a witch to say," he sneered. Growling more, Gaz reversed the grip on her knife and slammed the fist-shaped pommel into Bill's face, knocking him out. Dropping his unconscious form to the ground, she turned and glared at the crowd, who were watching her warily.
"If I hear anyone else repeating this madman's claims against me, I'll have them begging to be flogged. Is that understood?!" she yelled. No one dared speak up, everyone just silently nodding in assent, though many of the wary looks didn't go away.
Suddenly losing all interest in visiting the market, Gaz put her knife back in its sheath and stomped back to the carriage, entourage swiftly joining her in heading back to the castle. All the while, many suspicious glares followed her.
XXXXXXX
The next several days were mind-numbing for Gaz. Once her father and brother had heard what had happened, they'd strongly suggested that she stay in the castle until things blew over and people's rationality returned to them. She'd reluctantly agreed, but it was no relief — she was certain that many of the castle's servants and guards were side-eying her when she went past, and she'd noticed that hushed conversations quickly stopped when she drew near. It was evident that rumors of the accusations leveled at her had spread from the village, and the simpletons her family was surrounded by were buying into them.
With this constant irritation rubbing against her, and her usual means of entertainment not available, her stress was constantly rising. As a means of trying to relieve herself, she'd searched for a new way to keep herself occupied. Currently, that meant standing in the courtyard, making Zim stand still while she shot apples off his head with arrows.
"Ngh, nice shot," the green fool begrudgingly admitted as another piece of fruit was removed from atop his hat.
"Like I care what you think," Gaz grunted, impatiently waiting for a servant to place another apple on Zim's head. This was not as much as a stress-reliever as she'd hoped it'd be, but right now it was the best she could do to keep her frustration at bay. Still, at least things couldn't get any worse.
"Yeah, nice shooting. For a woman," an obnoxious voice spoke up from behind her.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Gaz groaned, turning to face the voice and being greeted by a young man her age, overweight with green hair and bulging eyes. This was Lord Iggins, son of Baron Jiggins, one of her father's most influential nobles; as such, Gaz had had to interact him many times over the years, and her hatred for him only grew more intense with each encounter.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Tch, I see you don't have the decency to properly greet people," Iggins scoffed, "I suppose that's one of the first things we'll have to fix once we're married."
"…Excuse me?" Gaz asked flatly, desperately hoping she'd misheard what he'd just said.
"Oh, didn't your father tell you? Guess he realized your opinion didn't matter," Iggins sneered in response, "But yes, that's why I'm here. Our fathers are finalizing the details of our betrothal."
"No way in Hell am I marrying you!" Gaz snapped.
"Hey, I'm not happy about it either," Iggins shrugged, "Beautiful princess or not, you're still a wrathful little beast. Don't think I've forgotten about how you assaulted me for beating you in that hunting competition."
"You didn't beat me! I'm the one who caught and killed that white hart, you just grabbed it when no one was looking and pretended you caught it!"
"Well, obviously you cheated in order to bring it down before I could. How else could a woman have outdone a man at hunting, a thing that women aren't made for?" Iggins scoffed, "Incidentally, you'll be forbidden from that sort of thing once we're wed. Can't have you making me look bad."
"You can't tell me what to do, and we are not getting married!" Gaz snarled, seriously considering breaking her bow over his head.
"As if your father will let you prevent this marriage from happening," Iggins said with a condescending smirk, "My father's loyalty and influence are too important for the King to jeopardize by calling off the wedding at this point and insulting us. And besides, your family's reputation can't afford any more bad news right now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gaz demanded, eyes narrowing more than usual.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that Father and I heard some interesting stories on the way here," he replied, smirk widening, "Funny thing, but every village for miles seems to think you're some kind of witch. Can't imagine why."
"Shut up," Gaz growled, anger spiking.
"Now, I don't believe in witches, of course," Iggins continued, seemingly oblivious to her rage, "But all those dumb peasants do. And I imagine that they could cause a lot of trouble for your father if someone like me were to start saying that they were right to believe that sort of thing about you. So, what do you say you just play along and do what you're told for once like a good girl?"
CRACK
"Gah! Bitch!" Iggins yelped, clutching his broken nose.
"Drop dead!" Gaz snapped, dropping her bow and turning to stomp out of the courtyard.
"You'll pay for that, you little- GAGH!"
Gaz stopped in confusion as Iggins' voice cut off in a sudden gurgle. Turning around to see what was happening, her eyes widened as she saw him clutching his chest, eyes bulging even more than usual, and face paling. Then he went totally stiff, before collapsing into a heap on the courtyard floor.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then several servants and guards rushed towards the downed lord and tried to help him, to no avail.
"Good lord, he's dead!" someone exclaimed.
Gaz could only stare in slack-jawed disbelief at what had just transpired, all while everyone in the courtyard turned to look at her, eyes filled with fear and suspicion.
XXXXXXX
The rest of the day passed in a blur for Gaz after that. Word had quickly reached her and Iggins' fathers about what had happened, the Baron breaking down in grief at the news, which then turned to rage as he learned the exact circumstances of his son's death. He had screamed accusations at Gaz, claiming that this was proof of the rumors, that she was indeed a witch and had hexed Iggins' heart to stop. Membrane had managed to calm the Baron down somewhat, saying that his healers would examine the body and find proof of a more rational cause of death.
But that hadn't undone the damage. It now seemed that everyone except Dib and Membrane fully believed Gaz was a witch. Oh, no one was saying anything were any of the royals could hear it, but it was clear — they'd always been afraid of Gaz before, but that was of physical violence or of what her authority could allow her to order be done to them. The mix of terror and disgust in their eyes when they looked at her now made it clear that they were more concerned with her conjuring up some foul magic against them.
Not once in her life had Gaz cared what other people thought of her, and that wasn't changing now. But for as long as she could remember, her position and personality had kept everyone beneath her in their place, and had guaranteed that she could do whatever she wanted without consequence. But that was no longer the case — this strange series of events had everyone ready to pounce on her, and it seemed increasingly like her father was barely able to keep them at bay.
It was a thought that left her deeply unsettled even as she lay in the middle of what should have been a relaxing bath in her private chambers later that night. She had hot water and the best soaps and oils that Membrane's gold could buy, but the tension refused to leave body. Refusing to admit just how much things had gotten to her, but unable to calm down, she eventually gave up and got out of the bathtub, her handmaids helping her dry off and change into the shift she was going to sleep in.
As the three women walked out of the bathroom and into the main bedchamber, Gretchen tripped over the corner of a rug and nearly dropped the bottles of oils she was carrying. Gaz's eye twitched at seeing this; she was never in the mood for this kind of basic stupidity, but her current mood made it even worse.
"Watch it, you moron!" she snapped.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness! Please don't give me boils, or turn me into a frog, or-" Gretchen babbled, only stopping when Sara slapped a hand over her mouth. Gaz, meanwhile, blinked in confusion, only to grit her teeth as she realized what all that meant.
"I am not a damn witch!"
"Of course not, Your Highness, we know that, definitely!" Sara said, far too quickly and with a smile too strained to be genuine.
"Get out!" Gaz snarled, a hairsbreadth from bashing both their skulls in. The handmaids didn't need to be told twice, quickly darting out the door and passed the two guards that Membrane had insisted on being positioned outside Gaz's chambers for her own protection. Though given the looks of disgust they'd sported when ordered to do this, she was half-convinced they'd have no problem letting an assassin walk right in, if not enter the room in the middle of the night and kill her themselves.
Alone now, Gaz filled a cup of water from the pitcher on her bedside table and sipped from it as she walked over to stare out the window. Her chambers were atop a tall tower that granted her a view of the entire castle and the countryside for miles around, especially on full moon nights like tonight. Normally it was a comforting sight, but right now it just felt cold and foreboding.
"Damn it, get ahold of yourself," she scolded herself, "This is nothing. Sooner or later those idiots will all realize that witches aren't real and I didn't do anything, then things will go back to normal. Until then, I just have to… have to…"
Gaz trailed off as she suddenly felt lightheaded, vision beginning to swim. Swaying, she dropped her cup to bounce noiselessly against the carpeting while she braced herself against the window ledge, feeling the strength leave her body.
"Wh… what is…?" she muttered, unable to comprehend what was happening. She tried to cry out for help, but only a croak passed her lips before she collapsed to the floor.
And the last thing she heard before she blacked out completely was an evil laugh.
XXXXXXX
Gaz groaned as consciousness slowly came back to her. Her head was pounding, making it difficult to think straight, which was why it took her a few minutes to process a few things. Firstly, she was lying on something that, while still somewhat soft, was still much harder than her bed. Secondly, she was quite cold, shivering as a breeze suddenly blew over her.
"Did those idiot handmaids leave the windows open and forget to turn the heat on? And what am I lying on?" she mused as her thoughts started to clear, before wincing as something pungent hit her nose, "And what is that godawful smell?"
Finally managing to organize herself somewhat, Gaz forced her eyes open, only to wince and shut them again as a bright light greeted her. Reopening them more slowly, her brow furrowed in confusion as she found herself looking directly up at a clear night sky, the full moon looming down at her.
"What the… why am I outside?" she said, blinking in disbelief. Shaking her head to clear the last of her drowsiness away, she pushed herself to a sitting position and started to get on her feet so she could look around for an explanation, only to freeze as she got a good look at herself, shock and horror hitting her like a runaway carriage.
Gaz was covered in blood. No, not just covered, absolutely coated in it. Her dark grey shift was now bright red from all the blood and bits of gore that were sticking to it from mid-chest down to hem, with her hands and bare feet being even more covered in the foul substances. And it was only then that the princess recognized the odious smell she'd picked up as emanating from what was now all over her… and that an even stronger whiff of it was coming from somewhere separate from her but nearby. Looking around, Gaz lost what was left of her normally tough resolve and fell over onto all fours as she promptly emptied the contents of her stomach.
She was in a field, the outer edge of a forest nearby, trees trailing off into the darkness. But she barely registered that, in light of what else was in the field with her. Namely, what looked to be an entire herd of cows, though the exact number was hard to tell, given the condition they were all in. They had all been absolutely butchered — not a single one was still in one piece, all of them having been dismembered, heads and limbs removed, innards cut out, and the torsos torn apart. The entrails had all been stacked in a pile, the other organs in another, the heads and limbs in their own piles and the remaining body parts in a fifth… with a start, Gaz belatedly realized that the carcasses were forming the points of a pentagram, with her lying in the middle of it.
"Wh… what in the actual fucking Hell is going on?!" she screamed, her usual tough composure nowhere to be found as she tried desperately to grasp how she could have ended up in this situation. Once again pushing herself up, she paused as her hand brushed against something. Looking down, she saw the unmistakable sight of her knife lying in the grass next to her, just as covered in blood as she herself was. Not even questioning why it was there when she shouldn't be there, Gaz grabbed the weapon, comforted by its familiar weight in her hand as she finished standing up. Glancing at the blade, she frowned as she caught a glimpse of her blurry reflection on its stained metal. Wiping it off on one of the few clean spots left on her shift (what difference would a little more blood make at this point?), she took another look at her reflection and got a good look at her face. She wasn't surprised that there was more blood there, but she was surprised by the fact that there was only some on her forehead, specifically just enough to paint the shape of an inverted cross.
"This can't be happening," Gaz muttered, trying to convince herself that this was just a nightmare brought about by the stress of all the accusations. She couldn't possibly be standing here, surrounded by the remains of animals she'd apparently ritualistically killed, with no memory of the deed or how she'd gotten here. But deep down she knew it was all real; she could practically taste the blood, so thick was the stink of it, and the feel of the cool air on her body and hard ground under her feet was too real to be a dream.
"I need to get back to the castle," she continued talking to herself, trying to keep the panic at bay, "Sneak in, clean up, burn this shift before the servants find it. Then find out who really did this and put me here, before they actually succeed in convincing everyone I'm a-"
"WITCH!"
Gaz's head snapped in the direction of that sudden shout, and the color drained from her face. A large crowd of people, mostly on foot but with Magistrate Prambly and several of his men-at-arms astride horseback, were emerging from the woods. Between the moonlight and the crowd's many torches, she could easily see their faces, which were twisted in visages of shock, disgust, and anger. All save for Mad Bill, who was standing in front of the rest, practically hopping in place as he pointed excitedly at her.
"See? See?! I told you the royal wench was a witch!" the man exclaimed, "And here's all the proof you need! Enacting a black mass under the full moon to call up her dark lord so she could finish selling her soul!"
"No, I didn't, I'm not!" Gaz stammered, unable to form a coherent response to the accusation as the crowd roared in outrage at her. Normally she would have asserted her authority and cowed the peasants with sheer force of will. But she was too shaken already from finding herself in this situation to begin with, and having her social lessers have the nerve to actually act aggressive towards her was too far outside her experience for her to wrap her head around; for once in her life, Gaz felt legitimate fear.
"Your Highness," Prambly said firmly, one hand on the pommel of his sword as he and his men started approaching Gaz, "I'm afraid I have to ask you to put down the knife and come with us."
"To hell with that! The devil spawn needs to die!" someone in the crowd yelled, many other voices crying out in agreement.
Stomach dropping as panic finally overwhelmed what little courage she had left, Gaz did the first thing that came to mind, turning and bolting for the trees, the angry mob surging past the men-at-arms to chase after her, ignoring Prambly's demands for them to stop. Unfortunately, she didn't make it far, as her blood-soaked foot suddenly slipped on a stone, sending her stumbling towards the ground. Cursing as she hit the dirt, she tried to scramble back up, hoping that her fall hadn't cost her too much of a lead, only to freeze as she saw a figure in the woods ahead of her, hidden almost entirely by the shadows, with their only distinct feature being a pair of red eyes, one of which winked at her before the figure disappeared completely from sight.
Gaz barely had time to blink in confusion at that sight before her lack of movement cost her, a burly villager tackling her and grabbing her around her waist.
"I got her! I got the witch!" the peasant shouted, lifting Gaz off her feet.
"Get your filthy hands off me!" Gaz shrieked, kicking one of her dangling legs backwards and catching the man right in the crotch. As he yelped in pain and dropped her, Gaz spun around and lashed out with the knife she'd belatedly realized was still in her hand, slashing the man across one cheek, sending him falling backwards and screaming as he clutched his bleeding face. However, this was a brief respite, as the rest of the mob caught up and surrounded her, cutting off any chance of escape.
"Stay back!" Gaz demanded, waving her knife wildly in the direction of anyone who looked like they were trying to close the remaining distance towards her, "This is a conspiracy! I've been framed! And when I find the person responsible, I'll make them beg for death, and anyone who gets in my way will suffer the same! Now get away from-!"
WHACK
Gaz's rant was cut off as a rock suddenly flew out of the crowd and hit her almost directly on the temple. Stunned by the blow, Gaz stumbled, knife falling from her hand as she instinctively loosened her grip on it. Encouraged by this, the mob surged once more and closed in on her; the disoriented and vastly outnumbered princess only had time to throw one sloppy punch that failed to hit anything before she found herself forced once more to the ground, curling up in a protective ball as punches and kicks rained down on her.
She wanted to command them to stop, to assert her authority, to threaten them, a desperate part of her was even willing to beg them if it would make the assault stop. But she couldn't even do that, the unrelenting flurry of blows making it so that she could only cry out in pain. Pain which only grew as the beating dragged on for minutes that felt like an eternity, until it suddenly stopped.
One eye already starting to swell shut, Gaz looked up with darkening vision in the other one as Prambly and his men drove the mob back, their raised voices indistinct to her but the words "law" and "order" barely recognizable. Then they were lifting her up, and that was when she finally mercifully fell unconscious, drifting off into the darkness once more…
XXXXXXX
When Gaz awoke the next morning, her first reaction was surprise that she was able to wake up, considering her last memories. For a brief moment, she dared hope that it had all just been a terrible nightmare… only to then realize with a mix of horror and despair that it had really happened. Something that was clearly evident by the fact that instead of being back in her bedchambers in the castle, she was in the village square; worse, she was in the pillory, the soreness in her neck and wrists indicating that she'd been locked into the device for some time, probably entirely throughout the night.
"Oi! The witch is awake!"
SPLAT
And there was the same mob that had attacked her last night, gathered around the pillory stand, having apparently waited for her to wake up before starting flinging insults, stones, and rotten fruit and vegetables at her. The last bit was probably taken from the failed fields she'd been accused of cursing, she idly thought as the remains of a rotten tomato dripped down the side of her face, ironically alleviating the sting of her swollen eye somewhat. Speaking of which, between that eye and the dull pain echoing throughout the rest of her body, it was clear that no one had deemed her worthy of having her wounds from the beating treated.
Oh, and judging by the smell of dried blood assailing her nostrils and the amount of flies buzzing around her, they also hadn't bothered to clean her up from the state they'd found her in. Which, on the bright side, at least meant that none of the lowly peasants had seen her naked. That was a small mercy.
"Alright, that's enough!" Prambly demanded, he and his men forcing the crowd to calm down, "We've sent word to the castle. The King will be here soon, at which point we will get this trial formally underway."
"Don't be a fool, the King will just protect his devilspawn!" Bill proclaimed, the crowd roaring in agreement with him.
"Not even the King is above the law," Prambly replied firmly, "With the court as witness, the Princess will face her accusations and have a chance to prove her innocence."
"I am innocent!" Gaz snapped, but given her current condition, it like her usual intimidation factor.
"Quiet, witch!" Bill snapped.
"Your Highness, for your own sake, stop talking," Prambly said with a sigh.
Anything else anyone wanted to say was preempted as the sound of many hooves pounding the dirt heralded the arrival of the royal party. Membrane led the charge, Dib right behind him, followed by many guards, with servants of various stripes following them. Even Zim and Baron Jiggins were there, bringing up the rear.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Membrane demanded as soon as he laid eyes on Gaz, "What have you done to my daughter?!"
"Only what was needed in order to apprehend her, Your Majesty," Prambly replied, "I'm sorry about the bruising she suffered-"
"I'm not," Bill said smugly, everyone else choosing to ignore him.
"-but aside from that, she's unharmed," the magistrate said, "The blood is not her own, it's from the dead animals she was found surrounded by when we discovered her."
"That is not comforting," Membrane said with a scowl, "I command that you release her."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Majesty," Prambly replied, "While I've never believed in witchcraft myself, it's still a crime according to the laws of the realm, which not even royals are above — despite some claims your daughter has made over the years — and she was found in the middle of acts that were clearly an occult ritual of some kind. So no, I cannot simply let her go without a trial, no matter what you say."
"Membrane, if you force them to let that wretched girl of yours go without trial, it will be proof in my eyes of her guilt in my son's death," Baron Jiggins snapped, "And you know damn well what happens if I start telling the other nobles that I no longer trust your family."
"Hell, never mind that! If the witch walks free, we'll revolt right here and now! And I know that others across the realm will join us!" Bill yelled, the crowd's cries making it clear they were on his side.
Membrane flinched at that, no doubt imagining his kingdom crumbling as the nobility and peasantry all rose up against him at once, but quickly composed himself.
"Very well, get this farce out of the way so that I can take my daughter home," he stated.
And with that, Gaz's fate was sealed, it just took some time for that horrifying realization to dawn on her.
The start of the trial saw Prambly make it clear that the accusations and rumors from the past weeks would play no part here (much to the Baron's anger), and they would only focus on what Gaz had been found evidently doing and what it meant. At this point, Dib had tried to intervene and point out that there were ways to test someone for being a witch, but he had been overruled, the mob being unwilling to wait that long and Membrane being unwilling to subject Gaz to any of that. For her part, Gaz was glad of that — she knew Dib was just trying to help because he believed in her innocence, but didn't the moron realize that the "tests" would only result in her being tortured until she confessed, or drowned in a river, or at the very least robbed of her remaining dignity by having her naked body felt up by a bunch of lecherous old men on the pretense of looking for some blemish that could be passed off as a devil's mark? At least this way she didn't have to suffer any of that.
Then again, maybe she should have taken her chances, because this trial didn't go well right from the start. Aside from every single member of the mob testifying to finding her standing in the pentagram of slain animals, all of which were clearly killed by her unique knife, it was revealed that after she'd been caught they had found a broom propped against a tree. Along with it had been a dress and traveling cloak that several of the court servants (including those bitches Sara and Gretchen) had confirmed were also Gaz's. Combined with the testimony of the guards who had been posted outside Gaz's chambers that she had never emerged through the only door all night, it was quickly accepted by the mob that she must have flown from her tower-top rooms atop that broom in order to enact her Black Mass in the woods.
After this, Gaz had finally been allowed to speak. Unfortunately, her claims of having been drugged and placed in the field were not believed, not least of all because she couldn't explain how she'd been moved from the tower without being seen. And while she'd managed to then fire back by demanding to know how it was that they'd just happened to know to come looking, gaining an admission that no one could recall whose idea it was to go searching the woods, Bill had rebutted that everyone had been so worked up after all the recent strange events that it didn't matter. They'd all wanted to find a cause of their ills, and they had.
And despite things proceeding in this vein, Gaz held onto a slim hope. Her father couldn't let this happen to her, he wouldn't. He'd override whatever decision these worthless peasants came to, and she'd be home before she knew it… but that wasn't what happened.
"It is the conclusion of this people's court that Princess Gaz of Doomsvillia is guilty on all charges of witchcraft," Prambly proclaimed, reading from a scroll he'd quickly written the decision down on, "And as such, she is sentenced to be burned at the stake at once. May God have mercy on her soul, and may all those who try to prevent this sentence from being carried out suffer the full might of the law!"
Gaz's brain pretty much shut down at that statement. Eyes dull with shock swept over her surroundings, taking in the crowd now cheering for her blood, her father looking like he was about to faint, Dib being held back by his own guards as he tried to rush through the crowd towards her, and the Baron and other courtiers grinning eagerly in vindication and anticipation. And as Prambly's men began to pull her stiff body out of the pillory, he gaze finally fell on a smirking Zim… just as his eyes flashed red and he winked at her. Seeing this, Gaz's own eyes widened, and she was shocked back to awareness as she suddenly remembered the image she'd seen back in the woods just before she'd been captured.
"Wait, wait!" she screamed as the men-at-arms started dragging her towards a stake and wood pile that had evidently been set up on the other side of the square before she'd regained consciousness, "It's not me! It's Zim! He did all of this! He's the one-!"
"Quiet, witch!" one of the men said, cuffing her upside the head, "Everyone knows how you've tormented that lad over the years, you're not going to pin your crime on him now!"
"Stop, you can't do this to me! It wasn't me!" Gaz screamed desperately, too weakened by her ordeal to break free, the mob's own cries drowning her out as she was dragged off to her doom.
XXXXXXX
Zim watched eagerly as purple-haired she-beast that had humiliated and belittled him for so long was tied up for the humans' primitive execution method. Oh, the sweet catharsis almost made all his years of toil on this pitiful planet worth it.
It was very frustrating in hindsight. This planet was so low-tech, he should have been able to conquer it in under a week, but no. His stupid SIR Unit just had to cause him to crash land, wrecking most of his technology and leaving him unable to do anything. He'd had to lower himself to taking on the guise of a humble servant to the human ruler of the only kingdom that was anywhere close to being advanced enough to help, hiding GIR and the remains of his Voot in a cave (where thankfully GIR was constantly distracted by the resident flying vermin), sneaking away to make what minor repairs he could with the tools available, suffering for the sake of the mission until he could resume it.
But it had finally paid off. He'd repaired the Voot's communication systems, not enough to reach the Tallest (who must be worried sick by now, surely), but enough to order an equipment upgrade from Conventia, which had arrived a few weeks ago. It still wasn't enough to go on the warpath and take over, but it was enough to put into motion a plan he'd been scheming for years, to lay the groundwork for future conquests and get some revenge at the same time.
He'd spent years listening halfheartedly to both human superstitions and the disgruntlement towards Gaz, and he'd decided to use both. When Nick had been isolated the way he had, Zim had teleported him to his makeshift base and interrogated him for all the things that these "witches" were believed to do, so he could make use of those beliefs.
Speaking of Nick, Zim should probably double-check that his remains were properly hidden somewhere no one would find them.
Anyway, after that, it had been a simple matter of framing Gaz. Between her constantly dragging him around as a pack mule and his position meaning that the humans constantly ignored him instead of praising him, he was easily able to sneak about and carry out his plans. Dripping poison into the well after she drank from it; stalking her hunting party, luring away her hounds with a ultrasonic signal and slaying them alongside those cows; spraying the fields with more poison and then projecting a holographic image of her riding a broom while other humans were nearby to see it… and then there was his favorite (if initially unplanned) bit, zapping that fat human male with an invisible death ray when no one was looking, right after Gaz gave that perfect statement to make it seem her fault.
And then came his masterstroke. Climbing the tower with his PAK legs to sneak into her room and drug her drinking water while she bathed, then doing the same to carry her unconscious form and her belongings out to that field, where he slaughtered those animals and covered Gaz in their blood in the symbolic ways that Nick said were signs of witchcraft. After that, all he'd had to do was activate a hypnotic suggestion in the villages that had led them out to the field, and then all he'd had to do was watch events unfold.
Now he could proceed. The common humans no longer trusted their ruler; how could they, if he had fathered a witch? He would stir that anger until they rebelled, then take over the kingdom in the chaos that followed. With its relatively advanced technology to give him a boost, he'd conquer this planet in the name of the Irken Empire.
Yes, Zim thought with self-satisfied glee as he watched the screaming Gaz be lit on fire, things were going very well indeed.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The End
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
A/N: And there we go. Sorry if the ending scenes were rushed, but I was pressed for time.
Who saw the twist coming? Probably a lot of you, I'm no good with those sorts of things. Hope you all enjoyed it regardless.
I know I've been more lenient on Gaz since Enter the Florpus, but I couldn't resist doing this to her for the sake of horror.
Anyway, like I said, hope you all enjoyed it. Happy Halloween!
Please review!