Chapter 12:
Tallulah sat down before the glowing image in the bowl, conscious of her latest watcher standing just over her shoulder. "The agent we hired secured the package," she declared. "And," growled Cenobia? Flushing, the young water-nymph murmured, "she's not in communication. She's on her way back from the east." "Isn't she using one of those conveyances," Catalina demanded? "Shouldn't she be there by now?!" "The agent indicated that she wouldn't take the train," Tallulah admitted. "She feared that it would be too difficult to hide the package. She was planning to ride back by horse. She should be back in a little over a week."
"This wouldn't have happened, if you were doing your job," Catalina growled! "Let her be," interrupted Jakinda. "We have a chance now. Keep things going, Tallulah. Don't fail. We need that child. We need Astartes and the child intact." "It will be as you say," the young nymph murmured. "My associates are thinking of going east to meet our agent. That would let us take custody sooner." "Then why are you still there," growled Catalina! "Get moving, dumbass!"
The Council broke the connection from their end, causing the image in the bowl to fade away to nothing, leaving Tallulah in darkness. She'd been lying about that last bit. Really, she'd been dancing around trying to sound as though she were in control of things, when she was anything but. Now, her attempt to control the direction of the conversation had put her in a trick-bag, because her associates were anything but interested in rolling the dice to risk going to meet the assassin in the wilderness.
On the far side of the ocean, Margarida found herself facing down her own rather animated council, as she struggled to regain control of her own government in the face of her family's failings. Her daughter was a failure. No, Margarida thought. Things wouldn't be so dire, if she was just a failure. Tallulah was a serial fuck-up, seemingly born without the sense to get in out of the rain. Forever spending her time and energy on things that brought her nothing of value, the princess of the Confederation had never managed to pull her weight across the length of her adult life.
"We need that child to be legitimate," growled Catalina! "We need her to be more than just the King's bastard with a J-Random wizard." Margarida flinched. They wanted her to adopt Astartes as her child. Cenobia had been edging up on it ever since they learned about Astartes' desperate action. Now, it was coming out in the open. Nodding, Daria declared, "she's right, Margarida. We need to move fast. They'll inquire into the records, and we need to get the right forgeries in place. The minute we announce Astartes' baby, they'll want to know her provenance." They were asking her to cut her own child out of succession. They were asking her to shove her child on a shelf in favor of someone who wasn't even from a branch of the family. Astartes was a nobody.
The Council was watching, and Margarida was conflicted. What choice do you have, Margarida, she thought. This could be the only hold we have on Finn. Cenobia reached into her purse–a stylish handbag made of waterproof leather from the swamps on the mainland. Before the High Lady's eyes, her nominal vassal laid out an official decree, neatly drafted and precise in its language. For a long, long few moments, the water-nymph matriarch stared at that contract before shoving it aside. "I'll consider it," she said. "I want to know that Finn is really the father of Astartes' child." Jakinda hissed curses. She was delaying! The evidence was there before her eyes, and she was pushing off salvation!
The meeting broke up then, with the various governors heading off to their own business. Cenobia and Catalina departed together, as usual, with the pair conspiring in whispered conversation as they exited the room. Dulcine was at the High Lady's side the minute the door shut. "This is dangerous," she declared. Margarida glared at her. "You know nothing," the matriarch growled. "I know that my guards can't stand in a battle against iron soldiers, my lady," Dulcine retorted. "The handful of wizards I can muster can't defeat such an assault, and I have no way to assail a castle flying in the sky." Margarida grimaced. She was between the proverbial rock and hard place, with no way to go forward.
Outside, Catalina followed her friend and mentor down the hall and away from prying ears. "Get on an airship," Cenobia advised. "Go east. Make sure they track down that wizard, Catalina." "Where are you going," Catalina demanded? "I've other irons in the fire," Cenobia responded. "I intend for the Confederation to prosper, even if Margarida is too blind to see the options on the table." The purple-skinned wench had been dropping hints for a fair bit now about some mysterious plan she had to make a gain on the sudden reappearance of humans on the mainland, but she'd never shared any of it with Catalina. Now apparently matters were headed towards fruition.
"What about Margarida," Catalina asked? "Even if we lay hands on Astartes, it does us no good. She's a nobody." In soothing tones, Cenobia responded, "Daria and Jakinda will be mounting a pressure campaign. They're going to have the delegates from all the major cities pile on that wench until she knuckles under. We'll get her signature, one way or another." Catalina smiled. That sounded ominous enough to suit her. She wasn't exactly a friend of their overlord, The wench was much too squishy to do the job.
Cenobia set off, her skirts swishing with every step she took. The bitch had quite the head for business. Whatever she'd cooked up would likely pay massive dividends. Get your piece done, Catalina reminded herself. You can get your fingers in the pie soon enough.
Hundreds of miles to the south, Hurletta Mertens woke to the soft sound of a pen skritching across paper. Blargetha was apparently already up and working, even though she'd gone to bed rather late the previous night. She was consulting on the new rocket from afar, and Hurletta was starting to become worried about her again. She was working too hard and pushing herself, when she'd only been permitted back at work for a couple of days.
Hurletta rose and went into their shared toilet to clean up, having basically moved in. She was gambling that whoever wanted her sister's hide would balk at going after Blargetha with a member of the Privy Council sharing space with her. That would, after all, trip over the Peace of Ooo. Royals weren't supposed to carry things that far. It was a gamble. They were well outside the parameters the Peace was meant to cover, with aliens threatening the planet and a small coven of madmen roaming loose.
Padding up behind Blargetha's chair, Hurletta stood over her shoulder, peering down at what her sister was doing. Frowning, she said, "ok... what is it?" "A winged capsule," Blargetha responded. "I'm cutting corners to get this done. I have to use as much of the original rocket as I can. This... will replace the cargo capsule." "I thought you said that the cargo rocket couldn't be trusted with a living creature." The younger princess fought down the urge to shout. She was trying. Her sister was really trying. "Layman's version, sister," Hurletta chuckled. "I may have to sell this to the Privy Council..." Blowing out a breath, Blargetha said, "it's the level of testing, 'Letta... That's what makes a rocket or anything else safe for a living creature. We... You have a bowl, yes? You could put it out and let your pet squirrel eat out of it and not care too much about how well you washed it, but if you were going to serve your house guests..." Strangely enough, Hurletta got it.
"How much testing would you have to do," the older sister asked? Blowing out a breath, Blargetha admitted, "rather a lot, 'Letta. It... It's going to cost a pretty penny. Everybody making a piece of the thing'll be checking and rechecking everything they make." Driving up the cost. Hurletta whistled. She saw now why this was bothering her sister so much. Truth? 'Letta didn't put it past her fellow airheads on the council to balk at the cost for a threat that they couldn't see. Kissing Blargetha's cheek, she said, "get some sleep. You were up late. I'll go out and see what's going on at the launch stand." The rocket was supposed to be going up to be stacked today. It was the first Big Event this week.
Hurletta stepped out into the clear early morning air and took a deep breath. In spite of the sometimes terrifying weather, the air here was nicer than her homeland. The plump woman spent a while looking around her before heading off. She'd been learning to drive, with patchy success. She'd really had no choice. With her sister confined, there was nobody really here to take her around to the various places. More on point, Blargetha was counting on Hurletta to be her eyes and ears. That meant lots of traveling.
Clambering into the jeep, she was a little startled to find a Coca-Person standing there between the shacks staring at her. He stood there for a good bit, staring straight at her, and the curvy woman began to get very nervous. Her eyes flicked to her sister's door. Blargetha was under instructions to lock the door and not let anyone in whom she didn't know. After a moment, the strange fellow turned and walked back in among the shanties. That bore watching. The Coca Peeps didn't come down here among the shanties anymore than they had to. Why was he here?
Setting out–doing her best not to grind gears–as she rolled in and out among the various buildings and down the road towards the launching stand, Hurletta's mind was on the things that had to get done today. The rocket needed to be moved up here. That meant a final inspection of the rails. That meant the track workers needed to get mustered. Casting about her, she was a little disconcerted to find that few, if any, of them were out and on duty.
Dodging ruts and craters in the overused road that ran through the site, the Slime Princess wound her way through the camp and up to the two massive launch stands that sat far above the camp. That was when she got the shock of her life. There was nobody working. Not the humans. Not the few slime-peeps. Not even Bonnie's candy people. Instead, the site was covered in Coca Peeps. As Hurletta came into view, they began to chant. It started in dribs and drabs, but it grew in volume until their shouts filled the air. Un-nerved, Hurletta turned and rushed back the way she'd come, very nearly stalling the vehicle as she tried to get it turned around.
Back in the Candy Kingdom, Bonnibel the Younger strode into the King's audience chamber bleary-eyed and exhausted after a sleepless night. She'd expected that, since her father was home now, he'd be taking these meetings on once more. Instead, she'd been awakened by the maids and told to prepare. Apparently things had not gone as well as might be expected with Orzsebet the Informer. Bonnie's father had spent a fair bit of the night at her bedside, watching little Zsuska get born. Mother and daughter were well, but Bonnie was paying the price.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Bonnie announced, as she sat herself on the throne. The audience was smaller today. A lot of faces had gone home to their own lands for a change. She'd been wondering about that. Woolcot's various squires and knights had been accustomed to remaining in their own manors and rarely came to Woolsock unless summoned, but her homeland didn't have the fantastic means of travel that Ooo did. If you traveled, it was usually on foot. The wealthy could count on riding in a cart, pulled by corduroy, and so few left their homes at all if there was no need.
Stepping forward, Lady Zagir remarked, "there is rumor that there was an... incident in Jungle Kingdom." Bonnie had been expecting that business to come up. She and the family had a well-rehearsed story to lead with. She'd hoped to be able to edge up on the matter, but that appeared to be a vain hope.
Nodding, the tall hybrid declared, "the criminal, Gumbald, did attempt by stealth and force attempt to seize precious fuel from the stores in my sister-in-law's domain." She was becoming better at speaking. Her various in-laws had been coaching her. More to the point, she'd been striving to do just what Fionna had admonished her to do. Step up, Bonnie, she reminded herself. The world was on her shoulders just now. In imperious tones, the plush pillow declared, "my sister, Princess Fionna, brought the raiders to battle, slaying many. Unfortunately, in the midst of the conflict, she was forced to seal the entry to the caverns. Much of the treasure has been sealed away."
As the whispers began, Bonnibel Mertens took careful note of who was whispering with who. In dribs and drabs, she let them have the news the Royal Family wanted them to have. The fuel was safe. It was beyond the reach of Gumbald's thugs now. There was sufficient quantity remaining in the old bunker to supply a few dozen reactor machines–and under guard of course. "And why isn't Finn here to tell us this himself," demanded one of those faces. "Why isn't Fionna?!" That brought a chorus of impertinent questions, with the crowd before the thrown insinuating that all was not quite well with the Empire. It took all Bonnie's will not to shriek at them.
"Princess Fionna was injured in the fighting," Bonnie allowed. "She will be unable to perform her duties for a time." "How long," asked Lady Mahila? She was a new face–come from the eastern lands to plead the case for her people to be given some of the Empire's wondrous technology. Her strange, striated skin glistened with the oils she washed in, and her gauzy clothing hardly seemed suited to the bitter cold of the season. "Until the Royal Physician pronounces her fit for duty," Bonnie replied in tones that spoke of patience and indulgence. That was important. Never get angry. Never show emotion. She'd seen her brother and sister in action, and they were very good at controlling these people. Of course, it was easy to promise she would control her temper. It was quite another to actually do it.
"And what of the reports in today's paper that Fionna is dead," asked Lady Henrietta? The plump peanut spoke those words in innocent tones, but she was one of the worst of the whisperers. "My sister is merely tired," Bonnie replied. "I thought you said she was injured," Lady Anwen remarked. Nodding, Henrietta insinuated, "it sounds to me as if you don't quite have the story..." Bonnie had been at her sister's bedside only the night before. It was like two blows at once–her sister laying there in that bed and her brother as the culprit. She was not prepared to have this batch of arrogant Saddletraps sassing her this way.
Henrietta Kirchner suddenly found herself literally nose-to-nose with Bonnibel Mertens. The alien woman's blue eyes burned into hers. The fat peanut-person came close to pissing herself at this terrifying demonstration of the pillow-person's power. Restoring the world to normal, Bonnie growled, "this discussion is over. You are dismissed. Get out." It wasn't the behavior that the various princes and princesses were used to. At the same time, they'd all seen and felt the world shifting as the strange woman exerted herself. The guards didn't have to lift a finger to get them to move. Indeed, they had to rush to get the doors open to prevent the resulting stampede from causing injuries. Shooting to her feet, the angry woman turned and strode out of there, ignoring Strudel's calls to stop.
Upstairs, the angry princess's father tracked down her mother for a much-needed conversation. Roselinen had been far more upset than Simone when the news came in of the ugly fight in Jungle Kingdom. She'd been inconsolable when she learned that Jay had hurt Simone's child. It was the sum of all her fears about what was going on with her son, and after the vigil around Fionna's bed, the pillow-person had retreated to Simone's office to hide her face. She'd been there most of the night.
Finn could tell Rosie was in a brittle mood when he came through the door. This wasn't something he'd really been prepared for, though he felt like maybe he should have been. Deep down, he'd always believed that Jay would hurt no-one. He'd hoped that his son would straighten himself out and come home. Now, he feared what Jay's actions were going to do the family.
Striding across the room, Finn took Rosie by the hand and pulled her out of the chair she sat in. Her eyes told the tale that she'd been crying most of last night. Now, as Finn embraced her, she began to cry once more, when she'd believed she was all cried-out. "Simone's worried about you," he said. Roselinen flinched. The others called her St. Simone behind her back. It had taken a bit to figure out what that meant. Now, Rosie feared it was all too true. Hadn't she said it? Simone was carrying the family on her back, while Finn carried the whole of the world on his. And it was killing them both.
"I raised him better than this," Rosie sobbed. "We raised him better than this," Finn responded, "but raising can only go so far, babe. Kids' gotta' go into the world." It was just what Quilton had said to him when he asked for Rosie's hand. "What will we do," Rosie murmured? "Just what Fi would have wanted," Finn replied. "We give him a chance... We give him every chance to come home, but we hold him accountable for the things he's done."
Taking her by the hand, he led her over to the couch where Simone customarily received guests. Getting her settled there, he went and got a wet rag out of his wife's bathroom and came back and washed Rosie's face. Sitting down beside her, Finn said, "it sometimes reminds me of the Lich..." Rosie frowned over at him. With a humorless smile, Finn said, "the Lich tricked me into giving him access to a wishmaster. He convinced me that I had to gather up all the magic gems from every princess on Ooo. He pretended he was my best friend, Billy."
Frowning, Rosie asked, "is that who William's named for?" Nodding, Finn explained who Billy had been and how he came to know the giant warrior. "He killed my friend to get at me," Finn murmured. "He used Billy to lie to me–to get me to do something terrible that almost destroyed the world..." As he spoke, he saw his wife's face grow more and more troubled, and he began to wonder if he hadn't just struck a nerve or something.
"Finn," Rosie murmured. "I saw him talking to a stranger down in the courtyard once. I... I was up in my room looking out the window, and I could see him talking to somebody I hadn't met before. For a moment, I thought it was a pillow-person, but that was impossible..." Frowning, Finn said, "not quite impossible." Now, he knew what was going on with his son. The big man shot to his feet. "W-where're you going," Rosie asked? "Playing a hunch," Finn responded, as he strode for the door.
Leaving his wife, Finn headed down to the garage. Laying hands on one of the Banana Guard trucks there, the big man admonished his bodyguard to sit down, shut up, and hold on. And then he was tearing through the streets at high speed with the lights on and the siren blaring. Finn the King tore across the square before the palace, with people stopping and staring in worry. Arriving at the capitol's freeway, the King stormed up the on-ramp, cut into traffic, and roared out of sight.
True to his word, the guard held on and kept his mouth shut, when the speed they were traveling terrified him enough that he wanted to scream. Not that the King was in any way paying attention to him. His mind was far away–on an ugly incident from his youth where he'd almost gotten ensnared the way his son had. He'd been alone and vulnerable, feeling as though nobody gave two fucks about him and really wondering if his troubles came from being an alien in a world full of people who weren't like him.
She'd always been in the background of his life, laughing and chatting with him like many of the other princesses. She'd stitched him up a replacement backpack when his original got destroyed. She'd stitched him up a suit, when he'd tried taking Bonnie on a date. All of that was just to get close to Finn, though. His quarry had been looking for a nice, sweet, innocent soul to claim.
Tearing across the grasslands, the big man rolled off the highway and down onto a long-forgotten road. The jaggedy, forgotten remnants of a long-dead town stood here. He'd passed by it and through it and even fought bandits here once or twice in his misspent youth. Now, he knew it as the haunted home of one of the most dangerous creatures on Ooo. Rose the Zombie Princess paled in comparison to the danger he faced in going to confront Annabelle the Raggedy Princess.
There were only a handful of structures standing in the heart of the old town–forgotten homes haunted by ghosts of a bygone age. Marceline's pals, Georgy, Wendy, and Booboo once lived there, preying on the unwary and anyone fool enough to spend time here. Finn had gotten a dose of the three once upon a time and exorcized the lot, sending them on to their reward.
Rolling up to a battered movie theater that looked as though it was in imminent danger of crumbling, Finn put the truck in park, announcing, "stay here." Hopping out, he strode straight through the door, flicking a coin at the specter of the attendant in the ticket-booth.
There was an old-timey romance playing on the screen when Finn entered the forgotten theater. Annabelle was sitting front-and-center there in the darkness, watching the show. "Raggedy Princess," Finn growled! Insolently, the demoness retorted, "you know my name, Finn... my real one." "Annabelle," growled the King of Ooo, as he came storming down the aisle. He could feel and see the shadows around them–terrible formless things that he knew were the shades of dead children who'd followed this creature into hell.
The demon that masqueraded as a doll was sitting in the middle of the theater, her face resting on the heel of one hand, as she stared up at the screen, mouthing the words of the couple there. "What did you do to my son," Finn growled? "Have a seat, Finn," she responded. "It's a good movie. You used to watch with me, remember?" The big man's face went hot. He hadn't been in a very good place back then.
"He tried to kill Fionna," Finn growled. "I want to know why." "Not sure why you're asking me," she retorted. "My wife saw you," Finn growled! "She saw you with him!" Finn stepped forward, his hands clenching into fists. A specter wafted by, slithering around him in the darkness–another fool who'd believed this creature's promises. He was in danger here. While he knew that demonkind was forbidden from touching him, he didn't know how deep Annabelle was wiling to go. Would she defy Marceline? Annabelle was far older than his wife.
Sitting up in her chair, the demoness muttered, "he dumped me, so I don't know what he's doing, now. All I wanted was Nagumo. That would have been enough, but Jay dumped me. He got butt-hurt over some stiffs who got in our way and walked out." It was unpleasant confirmation of where his son's mind was, if not where he was physically. He'd tip-toed around Jay's rage, praying that his son would recover from losing his only child. Instead, he'd left the door open for this creature.
"Stay away from my family," Finn muttered. Stroking her belly, the demoness chuckled, "but that would be impossible, Finn..." The big man felt his face go hot. Was that...? Running a slim finger around where her belly-button would have been if she'd ever been human, the evil entity chuckled, "we're going to be tied together for a good, long time, Finn. You know... my offer still stands... It wouldn't be the first time you've fucked your kid's ex-girlfriend..."
With a growl of rage, Finn turned and stormed out. Now, he knew, and he wasn't really sure what he could do with the information. He still didn't know if he had it in him to sanction his boy. Jay was still his boy. They'd gone fishing, and he'd taught his son knots and hunting–all the things a father did with his son. A voice inside him that sounded much like Joshua's advised caution. That voice was the tenuous thread of sanity, when he was gnoshing at the ugly, dark place in his heart. He can be saved, Finn, the voice advised. Don't give up. Fionna wouldn't.
On the far side of the ocean, Blargetha was at her little desk, wracking her brain for a solution to one of the intractable problems she had when Hurletta rushed back into their shack. The younger princess looked up as her sister slammed the door shut, her face showing panic. "Ok," she said, "that's worrying."
A terrified Hurletta tried to explain what she had seen, but she ended up leaving her sister more confused than when she'd come in. "You're babbling, 'Letta," Blargetha interrupted! "Slow down!" The younger sister steered the elder over to the bench that served as a rough couch. It had become something of a joke that they, who'd had every comfort their homeland offered, were living such a deprived existence.
Before Blargetha could start to quiz her sister on what had been going on outside, there came a knocking at the door. "D-don't answer," 'Letta pleaded. Ignoring her, Blargetha went to the door and unlatched it, opening it just a crack. Peering out, she found herself staring into the staggeringly ugly face mask of one of the witch-doctors. If she hadn't been familiar with the sight, she would have jumped back a dozen feet. As it was, she very nearly slammed the door in his face.
Opening the door, the plump woman rumbled, "ok. What the fuck is going on?" "I'm here for that one," he said, as he pointed at Hurletta. Glaring at him, the younger sister declared, "I'm here to sock you in the eye if you don't give me an answer." "She must come," the witch-doctor declared. "And you must tell me where you're taking my sister, or I must put my boot up your bottom," Blargetha snarled, emphasizing every word with a jab of her finger. Stepping into the doorway, Dr. Beto announced, "troubling questions have been raised Mocking Bird. Please come quietly." Fucking-A, thought the younger slime princess. As if she had the time.
Blargetha's eyes flicked to her sister and then back to the witch-doctor. "It can't be helped," Beto rumbled. "Come along." Swallowing her terror, Hurletta gathered herself to her feet and joined her sister in the doorway.
Wonder what's going on with the Coca-People? And, it looks like Finn has a grandchild that he maybe DIDN'T want.