Chapter 3:
There were six of them. Haruko's keen eyes assessed their potential assailants, calculating the odds here. That was what she'd been trained to do. In a world where your foes came with weapons–knives and swords and sometimes even guns smuggled in from elsewhere–while you came with your bare hands, it was very important to assess the threat you faced. You're not carrying a portable forcefield, she reminded herself. She'd surrendered that along with all her other equipment. She was no longer an officer. Akari was no longer her boss.
More to the point, the younger woman was down deep in an ugly place right now. Her mind was spiraling down the drain of madness. Haruko had awakened twice on the passage over from their homeland to find Akari out on the deck, staring out into the dark, dark sea. Akari was broken, and Haruko was in jeopardy of being pulled down right alongside her.
Indeed, as Haruko was wool-gathering, Akari strode straight up to the closest of the men. Throwing an openhanded blow to his temple, the ex-cadet leveled him, dropping him on the ground. It was on then. The second closest man fetched back a pace, but his neighbor, a burly westerner, hurled a massive fist at Akari's head. The young beauty ducked that blow, turning it aside with the skill of a veteran officer. The form was beautiful to Haruko's eyes. It would have been if they weren't fighting for their lives.
The furthest man drew a weapon–a pistol. That had become terrifyingly common these last few years. The wars in the west had spawned an industry in such things and the east had become a ready market. Haruko did a neat tuck and roll, coming up with a rock from the street. She hurled that rock with all the force she had, smacking the fellow right in the knuckles. It was a mistake born of muscle-memory. While it disarmed him, it didn't leave him out of the fight. Her kind didn't kill. They were pacifists. Not anymore, Haruko thought, as she swept the feet from her closest assailant.
Indeed, Akari was already bringing things to a close. Gathering her chi, the young woman drove the heel of her hand into the giant's belly, releasing the gathered force inside her. Abruptly, the big man staggered back. Shortly after, he was vomiting blood. Moments later, it came pouring out of his nose and mouth. He was dead. He was already dead. Akari was a murderer now.
Forbidden technique, thought Haruko. They studied them. They'd studied them in the academy. With weapons forbidden in the Kingdom for centuries, the gangsters used such techniques in their murderous feuds over territory and resources. The police had to be aware of such things. It was possible to simulate accidental death with such techniques. Since the taboo was broken, though...
Haruko leaped to her feet and waded into two more opponents, driving them headlong with strikes and kicks. When she had the smaller of the two isolated, the fallen cop drove the heel of her foot into his throat, crushing it. As the dying man knelt, clutching at his throat, Haruko turned her attention to the other man. "Surrender," shouted Akari! She had a second opponent on his knees, and she was clearly prepared to deliver the coupe-de-grace. "I want to see the spymaster," she said. "I want to be taken to Wells!"
The gunman had been scrabbling around in the dark for his gun. It was a tough row to hoe with busted fingers. Now, he paused, his eyes lighting up at that name. The remaining men stopped fighting. "Why," rumbled the gunman? "My master is dead," Akari announced. "Wells was supposed to help us find a way to defeat Finn the Human, but his aid came too late. I need a new master now." It was a pretty lie. Haruko almost laughed.
Gathering up his pistol, the gunman slipped it back into his waistband. Covering it with his coat, he paused a moment, his eyes betraying his thoughts. He didn't trust them, and he wasn't about to take them to his master. At the same time... he was curious. "Alright," he said. "You'll come with us. If you fight again..." Akari put out her hands. It was enough. They were one more step down the road.
Back in the Candy Kingdom, an unlikely trio exited a chauffeur-driven car under the lights of the capitol's brilliant street-lamps. For Tania Stanek, it was like the New York of her youth, and she was exhilarated in spite of the temperature. It was a chance to see and be seen for the daughter of New York's leader. The trio crunched their way through a dusting of snow and walked into Saunders' Social Club.
Inside the darkened space, people of all stripes were sitting with friends, having dinner or drinks. Standing in the doorway, Tania Stanek's keen nose scented the soft, subtle tones of good food, and her mouth began to water. She couldn't help her stomach rumbling, and there were moments she feared getting fat in this strange new world. On the Ark, food had been under rationing as far back as she could remember. She was rich enough that she'd never gone hungry, but she knew people who had. She wanted to resent these people and their prosperity.
Just now, the pale wax-person was scanning the space before them. They were here to meet somebody. The whole matter was very hush-hush, and Tania wondered just what the hell they were up to. She was supposed to be a member of their faction, and they seemed to be having rather serious trust-issues. As in, they didn't trust her. It felt that way, anyway.
The nymph, Tallulah, seemed just as uncomfortable, as if she feared someone would jump out at her with a knife, like in a video. She fidgeted, her eyes darting this way and that. Her face was constricted in a rictus of fear, and her hands kept twitching and toying with her dress as if they were itching.
"This way," announced Lady Anwen. The wax-hustler stepped off, threading her way through the packed restaurant. She was irritated. She'd wanted Henrietta or Nicia to come with her. She'd especially wanted Nicia. They were meeting Nicia's henchman. Anwen didn't know this person, and her trust was perilously thin.
Stomach rumbling in hunger, Tania was anxious to get this over with, and she immediately stepped past the nymph. Tallulah found herself bringing up the rear. She wanted out of here. They were going further and further off the reservation and deeper into treason. She was stained by treason. She was dipped in it like an ice-cream bar in chocolate, and she was terrified of what the ultimate result would be. There were moments she feared she wouldn't even be safe back in the Confederation.
The trio slipped through the afternoon crowd and up to a discrete door at the back of the restaurant. Anwen knocked softly, and, moments later, a server opened the door to them. Displaying a black playing card, Anwen whispered the code word, and the trio was admitted, with the server shutting the door behind them. Tania was a little surprised to find herself standing in a beautiful private dining room.
Lady Mallory immediately moved to the foot of the table and sat down. After only a moment's hesitation, Tania moved to the spot on her right. It was always good to see the door. She'd learned that in a gangster video. You wanted to be able to see who was coming in through the door. Then you could maybe react instead of getting knifed in the back. Hesitantly, Tallulah sat down opposite her.
The server placed menus before them. The wax-hustler didn't touch hers, though Tania didn't hesitate to order up something good. Having learned that she could have the bill sent to the palace, she'd been enjoying herself all over the town! Tallulah glanced to Anwen, finding the wench's expression suggesting that the food would come with a dose of poison if they even tried it. Swallowing on a mouthful of fear, the water-nymph ordered up a glass of water and slid the menu away.
The server took the menus and Tania's order and left them. The trio settled in to wait, though Tallulah glared at the pretty blonde girl. This wasn't a party! Why was this wench acting like she was out on the town?! Oblivious, Tania sipped at water and checked her new phone. She'd been making friends here, and her social life was finally returning to the level it had been in New York. She'd even had a few booty-calls from the hunky, green-skinned humanoids from the Muscle Kingdom.
The waitress came in and started laying out plates. Tania delightedly lifted the lid off the platter before her and found not the expected spaghetti and sausage but something else entirely. "This isn't mine," she howled! More to the point, none of the others had ordered dinner. "Really," the strange cat-person murmured? "I was sure it was an order of noodles with a side of red nightshade..." Popping the lid off the dish in front of Tallulah, she revealed a platter of half-cooked blowfish. Every dish on the serving cart was deadly poison, and Anwen Mallory found herself on her feet, backing away from the sinister woman standing at the door.
"You asked to see me," Me-Mow murmured, in her nasally voice. "What did you want?" "You're Nicia's assassin," Anwen murmured. "I do contract work," Me-Mow retorted. "Eight-hundred coins a day... Wet-work is extra." Anwen harumphed. As far as she was concerned, this wench was a bitter failure. She'd been contracted to take out Finn the Human, and she'd failed utterly.
The evil kitty stared the wax-hustler down and said, "I got paid to dump Finn the Human's train into a canyon. I did that." "He wasn't on it," howled Anwen! With a shrug, Me-Mow retorted, "not my problem. I did the job I was paid for." Nicia had tried to skate on paying her. At least she had until her favorite pet chipmunk ate some rotten walnuts and keeled over dead. That was the past, though. "What do you need," Me-Mow growled? She wasn't going to be asking again.
Anwen sat down again. Taking a breath, she said, "need someone found." "Listening," the killer-cat responded. "Four-feet, ten inches tall," Tallulah murmured. "A water-nymph like me... blue skin, curvy. Pale hair. Pregnant, but may not be showing yet." "Dead or alive," Me-Mow demanded? That was really the only thing she cared about. "Alive," Anwen said. "Alive and unhurt. We need the child." "Harder," Me-Mow responded. "She have friends? Any job skills?" "She's a wizard," Tallulah admitted.
As the trio of treasonous cuties talked to their hired-knife, miles away, another unpleasant customer listened and watched with interest. The candle-flames on the table were taking all Masia Okonski's concentration. They were almost too-tiny to be used as viewing portals, so mostly she was listening. She wanted to see the assassin. That would be her best view towards tracking down the mark herself. At the same time, making the portal bigger by feeding the flames would attract attention. Candles rarely burned so hot or bright after all.
The evil beauty did her best to try to get a glimpse of her adversary. Dressed all in black with a bonnet pulled up over her head, the cat was hard to read. One thing was certain, though. The cat was a professional. She knew what she was about. The questions. The things she was saying. It all added up to one thing. The cat was zeroing in on where she could find the mark. She was teasing out what the mark was up to and where she was going. The three dim flames were having trouble understanding what they needed to give their hired help to get the job done. Finally, the cat had what she needed, and the business began to wrap up.
Masia listened a few moments longer before releasing the two candles. Rising from her seat, the lithe figure went striding out into the other room. Her patron was sitting there at the table, reading. "I have a description," Masia announced. "I have a possible destination." Odessa looked up. The elemental gave her a sinister smile. "Your grandson's information was spot-on," she said. Odessa chuckled. The blonde girl was a slave of her base instincts, thinking with her stomach or her snatch, and she'd dropped her drawers the moment Emilio gave her a smile. Tania Stanek was telling him all sorts of interesting things about what Nicia and Anwen were up to. She'd been tempted to let some of it slip–just to inconvenience her rivals. "Tell me more," Odessa burbled. There might be something juicy she could let the King's secret policemen hear about that wouldn't be too costly for her.
Meanwhile, on the far side of the ocean, the two slime sisters were just meeting up after a morning spent apart. It had already been a whirlwind day for Hurletta. Blargetha had found a driver for her, and the older sister had been all over the site, looking in on this and that and chatting up the people here. She was showing the flag–showing the people here that Finn cared about them. She'd spent a chunk of time collecting and dealing with grievances both large and small, and she'd spent some time smoothing ruffled feathers of the representative of New York's Mayor. Now, she was done with work and anxious to meet up with her sister for lunch.
She found Blargetha packing a few of her things in a small bag, as if she were leaving. The younger sister was in her shack, standing with her back to the door looking through a list, and she had already stuffed a couple of her journals into the bag. They were supposed to be going down to the docks to get on a boat. This was supposed to be Blargetha's day off–the one day in the week she got to herself, and they'd planned to spend the time together at the beach, but there weren't any bikinis in that bag.
"So, where are we going," asked Hurletta? "I have to go into the jungle to meet with Blanca and the chiefs," Blargetha replied. She didn't sound happy about it. 'Letta's eyebrow climbed a notch. She hadn't missed the fact that she was excluded. Answering the unspoken question, the younger sister, explained, "something's come up. Chief Red Legs is refusing to allow us to dig a canal through his territory. I have to go get this sorted out."
Nodding, Hurletta said, "fine then. I'll get my bag packed. How long will we be there?" Turning to face her, Blargetha put her hands on her hips and said, "it's not a trip for you, 'Letta. It's... It's business. I'm going with Dr. Beto as Mocking Bird." She was going as the witch-doctor's apprentice. "And I'll be going as a visiting Princess," Hurletta retorted.
Blargetha responded, "you can't come, 'Letta. This is tribal business." "It's also business that affects the outside world, sister," Hurletta replied. Irritated, Blargetha shouted at her, saying, "you're going to wreck things! They're... They're not fans of outsiders!" "Is there a problem," Beto Cortez asked? The two sisters turned to face the door, finding Blargetha's escort waiting there. The witch-doctor was looking natty in a hide vest and a long tribal skirt of grass and leaves, though the phone tucked into his waistband spoiled the effect. Before her sister could say a word, Hurletta stepped past her, announcing, "I intend to attend your meeting, Doctor."
Elsewhere, Jake Junior settled the last dish of the set in her daughters' new cupboard, remembering, as she did so, that she was homeless. She'd made her family homeless. Behind her, Liz was chattering away at nothing–attempting to fill the silence that threatened to loom. After leaving the palace, Simone II had brought them back to the little apartment she'd rented not far from the palace.
The curvy pup had been a busy little beaver these last few days. Much like her namesake, she was kind, caring, and, more importantly, she was organized and put together. Hitting the ground running, Simone had acquired an apartment. She'd gotten a driver's license. She'd even gotten herself a job. She would have been fine on her own. Simone would have been fine if not for her sisters.
Interrupting Liz's babbling, Simone announced, "hey, sis... Why... why don't you go get showered and changed? We'll... We'll go have dinner somewhere nice... We'll celebrate being back together." It took a moment. Then Liz got up and went into her little bedroom. Moments later, she was headed for the shower wearing nothing but a towel.
When she heard the shower going, Simone rose from her place at the table and went to her mother's side. "What's bothering you," Simone asked? Much like her dad, the younger woman was very good at reading Jake. "I'm worried about you being in this place," Jake replied. "I liked it better when you were on King's Island." She was lying. Simone thought she was lying, but then her mother was a pathological liar. She couldn't help herself.
"We can't live our lives in a bubble," Simone replied. "I don't want power, and the minute I immerse myself in that scene, I'll be called upon to be part of it." It was a pretty accurate read of the situation. Hadn't Jake thought it herself? She'd climbed up on the tiger's back. It was her one hope of salvation. Her kids maybe had a different road to travel. "If you were on the island, Drew could look after you," Jake murmured. "There's a lot of me in you."
Now, they were getting somewhere. Simone responded, "I intend to make sure Liz stays on her meds. I asked Mr. Thor to look after Lady before I left." It was what she'd always done. She didn't complain of it. Much. They were her sisters. Feeling her mother tense, Simone slipped her arms around the shorter woman and hugged her. "You gave us life, momma," she said. "Life isn't a curse. It's a blessing."
Liz was only in the shower a little while. When she came out, she headed straight into her little room. Simone turned and went to the doorway. "I got you some things," the eldest pup announced. She'd dropped in on their dad, and Billy had given her a card to get Liz some new clothes. There were cute little shorts, and there were tight leggings, and there were hot little tops. It was all the stuff that Liz liked to wear. The middle sister almost burst into tears at the sight of it all. It brought back ugly memories. She'd gone in Simone's purse, and they'd had an ugly fight over it. "Sis...," Liz burbled. Stepping into the room, Simone hugged her sister. "C'mon," she said. "Let's go eat."
With Liz dressed, the trio headed down to the street. Simone led the way down to the restaurant where she now worked. Saunders' Social Club was starting to fill up when the three sauntered through the door. The scent of good food cooking quickly banished the bad mood. In short order, Jake was sitting with her back to the wall, with her two kids on either side of her, and there was a big, heaping plate of spaghetti in front of her.
Talk was of the goings-on within the family. Jake was a little embarrassed to be basically dating her kids' grampa. At the same time, they were going to find out anyway. It wasn't something she could keep a secret–especially if she was going to be giving birth to siblings. As the thin shapechanger pondered how to break the news that their future brothers/sisters were also going to be their aunts/uncles, a strangely familiar figure came out of a room in back.
Simone II was a little startled when her mother suddenly clammed up in the middle of their conversation. It wasn't the first that had happened. When the mood was thick on the older woman, she would just clam up and stare into space. It was a little eerie now, especially when both Jake and Liz were now on their meds and supposedly a little saner.
Liz Mertens continued to natter on about nothing. She had lots to say and seemingly not enough time to get it said. Jake's eyes were on the stranger crossing the room, and Simone zeroed in on that shape right away. Waitress outfit, thought Simone. Except she knew all the staff at Saunders. She'd been introduced. She didn't recognize this woman. A cat, thought Simone. Why is a cat here?
On her side, Jake was a little startled to see Me-Mow again. She and the killer-cat had tangled once, but that was ages ago. That was the life of a mafia hitter. You found yourself in conflict with people you didn't even know for reasons you didn't understand. Those reasons were somebody else's reasons, of course. Let it go, Jake told herself. That part of her life was done. She was living a new life. She was on her second chance. She watched Me-Mow go out the door, and if the killer-cat noticed her in that darkened corner, she gave no sign.
Of course, not long after Me-Mow left, three more people came out of that same back room, with one of them loudly complaining about not getting to eat. Simone II's eyes immediately locked on the face of the troublemaker who'd complained about Lady's service in Riley's Bar. The bitch had tried to throw her weight around and get Simone's sister fired. Why's the mayor's daughter here, Simone wondered? It was only when her mother was staring at her that she realized she'd spoken those words out loud.
Jake's eyes followed the trio as they crossed the room. Those faces looked familiar. She'd seen them before. Putting money on the table, Jake said, "get home, soon as you finish dinner. Stay there. I'll be back." It was her 'trouble' tone. Something was wrong, and it was clear that it was related to the quartet who'd just left the restaurant.
When Jake had gone, Simone lapsed into muttered curses. She'd hoped. She'd hoped her mother was going straight. "She's working for grandfather," Liz murmured. Simone frowned at her sister. With a sigh, Liz explained, "it's... that's how she found me. One of grampa's wives had contacts in the underworld. She works for him. She's his bodyguard now." That had Simone muttering curses for a different reason. She wanted to be out of that world. It was looking perilously like that was a fantasy.
On the far side of the ocean, Hurletta Mertens followed the witch-doctor, Beto Cortez, into the August presence of Princess Blanca, her mind alive with questions. Finn had been here. He'd wandered the world after his unpleasant falling out with Bonnie and Phoebe. He'd gotten lost down here in the jungle and been rescued by the Coca-peeps. And, just as he always had, Finn the Human had made friends here.
Wonder what she looked like then, thought the elder slime princess as she regarded the fat woman sitting up on the dais. Blanca was short and corpulent. Her hair was heavily pomaded, and that served to hide a little of the gray that was creeping in. The tide of years was washing down on her, just as it had been rolling over Hurletta and her sister.
A part of her was embarrassed by her current richness. She was rich, though not in the way most thought of the term. She was restored to her youth and granted a fabulous humanoid body with which to partake of all the world had to offer. Indeed, her sister had never been so effective. Blargetha had wrought not one, but three miracles in the last few years alone, beggaring the business with the tanks. Meanwhile, Blanca was going to seed.
Is that it, thought the younger sister, as she regarded the stranger on the throne? She could well understand the jealousy. She and her sister were separated by days, but they were, technically, as old as Blanca. But they were youthful and pretty, and Blanca was broken by her years and the weight of her crown. Play it close, Hurletta, thought the older princess. There was a lot riding on the outcome of this meeting.
The Coca Princess's servant stepped forward, announcing, "Her Highness, Princess Hurletta, Lady of the Slime Kingdom, has come in peace for parley in the name of the King. Will Your Highness receive her?" Blanca inclined her head, allowing the visitors to approach. Hurletta strode forward, declaring, "well met, Princess Blanca. King Finn sends his greetings and well wishes. He's unavoidably detained at this time, or he would have come himself." Blanca cut through that with a wave of her hand. She said, "we're having a meeting... It's business of Coca Kingdom. Best you come back later..."
Hurletta offered her a smile and a bow, but she didn't move at all. In calm tones that belied the seriousness of what she was saying, the plush princess declared, "I'm the King's Hand in the West at this time, Princess Blanca. I will sit in your deliberations." Blanca frowned at her. Her eyes flicked to her head minister. The elderly fellow shrugged.
The fat princess put on a scowl, but she motioned for Hurletta to be seated. The curvy princess found one of the open seats and sat down, crossing her legs artfully. Resting her hands in her lap, the elder slime sister waited for the business to begin. Dr. Beto went to a seat of his own, in a box on the side of the room, while Blargetha remained standing front and center of the gathering.
No sooner had the witch-doctor sat himself, than Blanca immediately denounced his apprentice, declaring, "you've been deluging my kingdom with endless demands! You behave as if this were your throne! Explain this latest outrageous request!" Gritting her teeth, Blargetha responded, "I have simply sought to meet my obligations as apprentice to Dr. Cortez. No more. No less. In His Majesty's Name, I have sought to restore what was taken from his citizens..." "A pretty speech," interrupted a burly fellow who sat to Blanca's right. Position of honor, 'Letta, the slime princess thought. A glance at his feet showed that they were shod in the reddish fur of some exotic animal. Chief Red Legs, I presume, thought the elder sister.
Chief Red Legs rose to his feet and announced, "the structures you've built look nothing like what was taken from us. Even a fool could see that." Hurletta's eyes flicked to the witch-doctors in their booth across the room. This was getting spicy. He was basically calling the witch-doctors fools. It was a bold challenge. In calm tones, Blargetha responded, "I daresay you'd hardly know what the temple is supposed to look like lord. Or did you steal glances at the sacred texts?" The chief tensed, and Hurletta's eyes flicked to the witch-doctors. Sacred text, eh, thought Hurletta. She'd have to ask about that later.
"You offer us no explanations for the things you ask," he snapped. "You take portions of our harvest to feed your army of invaders. You drive off the fish and the game with all the noise and those infernal machines..." "I keep my bargain," Blargetha replied. "The King has asked me to rebuild the temple... A temple that the chiefs let be destroyed..." That was too much, and the chief went storming across the room. The witch-doctors began to hum and sing in soft voices, and that arrested the chief in mid-charge.
"You want to destroy my river and take my people's fish," growled Chief Red Legs. "I see no need for water. There was no water in the temple that I can recall seeing. I don't need the texts to see that. I can only see some scheme to starve our folk in this madness. You say you're building a temple to launch the fabled sky-chariot, not a ship to go fishing!" Blargetha said nothing, as the chief continued on in that vein, though it was clear that the younger sister was nearing the end of her patience.
Before Blargetha could go on a tear, Hurletta intervened, announcing, "you don't even know what you're talking of, Chief Red Legs." Nodding at her sister, the older princess declared, "my sister there is the only person alive on Ooo who's actually built a functioning sky-chariot. If anybody knows what's needed to make one work, she would be the one." Nodding at Blargetha, the older sister said, "continue..." Blowing out a breath, Blargetha explained, "the sky-chariot's roar will shake the ground. It will shake the very air itself. That roar is strong enough to turn men's bones to jelly and shatter stone. The chariot will literally shake the Temple of the Sky to pieces, leaving no stone upon another."
"And what will all this water do," shouted the chief! "You ask me to let you divert my river, and what good will that do?!" "The water will calm the roar of the chariot," Beto responded. Resting his hand on the sacred text, the witch-doctor declared, "it's in the sacred text." "She's playing you," muttered Blanca! With a smile, Beto responded, "my apprentice has never seen the sacred texts, Your Highness." He gave Blargetha an indulgent smile.
"Let's all be calm," Hurletta interrupted. When the gathered chiefs were looking her way, the older sister said, "I know my sister. She's abrupt. She's vain. She's not used to explaining things..." Blargetha was gritting her teeth now. All of that was true and then some. Smiling indulgently at the younger sister, the older declared, "at the same time, most people are incapable of comprehending the heavy thoughts that whirr around in her head. Let's remain calm and talk through this like rational, enlightened people. We can come to an accommodation. My husband wants to help restore what was taken. He wants to help bring about your prophecy of a return to the skies. Surely we can find common ground there...?"
It was hours later–after a long and often contentious meeting–that the two sisters found themselves alone once more. They were sharing one of the long-houses of Blanca's palace, and Blargetha was agitated. The younger sister had immediately settled in to pacing, and it was clear that this whole thing was affecting her more than she let on.
"Penny for your thoughts," 'Letta chuckled. "Something's wrong," Blargetha muttered. "We hadn't been having these kinds of headwinds before this..." She didn't really like mysteries. Admittedly, Hurletta wasn't a fan either. "What's going on with that book they were talking about," she asked? A lot of the argument had centered around what was or wasn't in that book, and it was clear that Blargetha's alterations to the temple's plans hadn't gone unnoticed. "It's their sacred book, 'Letta," Blargetha replied. "Near as I can tell, it's scraps of old schematics and technical manuals that have been copied and recopied for centuries along with prayers and ancient proverbs. It's... It's a mad mish-mash of religion and science." She couldn't help laughing at the thought of what Bonnie would make of it.
"Why aren't you allowed to see it," Hurletta asked? "You're his apprentice..." Hurletta didn't like the idea that Dr. Beto was holding out on her sister. It felt a lot like he was hanging Blargetha out on a limb. "It's a test," Blargetha replied. She didn't like it either, but she was starting to understand what Beto was up to. Blowing out a breath, the younger slime princess said, "he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't... If... if I look at the texts... they can claim he's manufacturing his messiah. He and the witch-doctors are seeing what they want to see. If he keeps me away from them, they complain that what I'm building doesn't match up. He's... he's splitting the baby... making me prove my words one finished structure at a time."
It was a helluva way to live, and Hurletta could see the pressure her sister was under. It wasn't just Finn that she was afraid of. Rising, the curvy woman went to her sister and, for wont of a better idea, offered the younger woman a hug. Coming so soon after their reconciliation, it left Blargetha shocked and in tears.
On the far side of the compound, Blanca walked out into the Princess's private garden and stood there a moment, taking the measure of her surroundings. All she could hear were the cawing and chirping of the native birds and the clatter of insects. The fat woman went on a stroll–something she should have done much more often. As she made the third circuit of the garden, a voice called out to her from a bush.
The fat woman did her best not to show any surprise, as she surreptitiously slipped over to the bush. "And did it go," asked the voice? In irritated tones, the fat princess responded, "the chiefs backed down." They always backed down. At least enough of them did. They were cowed by the witch-doctors. The shamans had the power to cause a general revolt among the people of the kingdom. It was a power they never exercised, but the threat was there just the same.
"Didn't you point out that the temple has been changed," the voice asked? Blanca found her face growing hot. She and her allies had relentlessly pointed that out. The witch-doctors had insisted that their messiah was doing the right things. They trusted that bitch, and nothing Blanca had been able to say would change their minds. "We'll have to try something more drastic," the voice rumbled.
Blanca's head whipped around, and she peered into the bush to see her 'benefactor'. "If you could supply someone with the knowledge you spoke of...," she said. She'd been pointing that out since her friend arrived. The chiefs weren't interested in mysteries. They wanted hard proof that the temple could be rebuilt. The people of the kingdom were very restless and angry. That sort of thing led to revolts.
"Perhaps," the voice allowed. "We may have to move to stronger measures." Truth be told, the person with the knowledge he'd been speaking of was the very person he was trying so hard to sabotage. Insight had bits of knowledge, including portions of the witch-doctors' book stolen from the home of a now-deceased shaman. What they lacked was the ability to tie it all together. Princess Blargetha had that knowledge. She would have been an asset to Insight's leadership.
"What are we going to do about this canal," Blanca demanded? "Stall her," the voice replied. "She can't be allowed to go forward with it. It's important that she be kept from finishing the temple." Blanca frowned in suspicion. That was new. Was he saying that the nasty little bitch was actually capable of doing what she'd promised? One of the very reasons Blanca had been opposing Finn's bitch was to get the shamans and the people off her back!
As if he could read her thoughts, her mystery supporter said, "if she builds the temple back, she'll have the support of all the people of Coca Kingdom, Blanca. Can you trust that a woman who's twice usurped her own sister would simply stop there?" The Coca Princess gasped, and her fat face flicked back to the palace walls. "She's birthed a Royal Heir," the voice said. "An heir that Finn needs to find a throne for..." He let Blanca draw the conclusions herself. "I'll kill her with my bare hands before that happens," the Coca Princess grated. "Stall the project, while I work on alternatives," the voice insisted. Blanca nodded, but it was clear she was thinking about Princess Blargetha. That was dangerous. Insight wanted the younger slime princess alive. At the same time, they didn't want Finn's rocket-base seeing completion.
Updates may slow down. I have received the analysis of my manuscript, and now i have to read it and make edits, so that will be taking a lot of my free time.