Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop
Chapter Four
The kingdom was in shock. The news had spread like wildfire, and to no surprise, most did not believe a word. Queen Julia a traitor? Murdered, by King Spike? It simply could not be. Their lucid and charismatic leader would not do such a thing. So stubborn were their beliefs that they refused to believe the girl was even dead. She had obviously run off with someone in the middle of the night. She missed her family and had run away to her home – She would return. Some had even gone so far as to suggest that she had been kidnapped. They reasoned and reasoned, but rarely hit the truth.
Their conviction began to waver, however, as the servants who were on duty that night were let go. It was then that the real story started to hit the bars and taverns and homes all over the country, floating like some dark plague that ended smiles and killed laughter. The queen was dead at the hands of the leader they had put their trust into, whom they had loved like a brother. It was almost too much to bear. What would become of them? Would this path lead them to destruction, as it clearly seemed to be headed? A silent turmoil ran through everyone's hearts. Everything seemed to be so perfect for a brief moment in time. How foolish to believe it could have lasted longer than the few minutes of the Flower Waltz...
And as soon as a week later, king married another woman. She had auburn hair and deep, glass-brown china-doll eyes. As soon as she had come, she disappeared in the same fashion as the previous. This time, however, the auburn-haired beauty was gone within a day.
As soon as King Spike could find another whose family was willing to let go of their eligible daughter, he married her as well, only to have her disappear in the middle of the night once again.
It was dark. Not even the moon could be seen on a night like this, much to the dismay of the blonde-haired girl who was a new resident to this castle. She groped about the room for a candle, something, anything. It was much too dark.
She had married this king against her will; she had to admit, she had never been her father's favorite daughter (she was adopted), and therefore was sold off to this man she had never met for the bargain price of absolutely nothing. She knew not what awaited her when she arrived at her new home. They would have a small, private ceremony and then, well…
She missed her home. She missed her big brother, always looking after her when no one else would. Things would have been so lonely without him. And she missed her adoptive mother, who always wore rose perfume. The smell had always brought her an almost nostalgic feeling of remembrance of a brief and semi-sweet childhood. And now she stood in this dark room, scared witless, and so far away from the things and people she loved. As she tried to summon up the happy memories of her life, the only image she saw was the smug expression on her father's face as he handed her a small farewell gift, a heavy box wrapped in cheap brown paper.
"Goodbye, my dear. I daresay you'll get what's coming to you." He had kissed her on the cheek – the smell of malt beer and an uncomfortable scrape from his unevenly shaven face. Yes, he had never liked her much.
Now in this dark and terrifying room, she could feel the animal-skin rugs beneath her feet, and the cold marble floor spaced between them as she paced. She could oh-so-distantly smell rose oil... Tears began to well up and it was becoming hard to swallow… She heard the door open and close and she backed into a wall, trying to still her beating heart, which had leapt to her throat.
"You look so much like her…" the male voice commented quietly. It was deep and rich. He came closer to her. "Julia…" He breathed, trapping her against the wall with his weight. After a slow and possessive kiss, he reached for something at his waist.
What is it? The girl thought in a terrified daze. Please don't let it be what I think it is… Please don't let it be what I think it is… Oh god…
Almost as if to spite her, the man with the mismatched brown eyes brought up a gleaming silver dagger and stroked her throat with it for a moment, relishing in the sound of her sobs.
"P-please… I want to live, please!" She gasped. And as she felt the knife penetrate her skin, she saw brief moments in her life… Her brother, always so strong and caring, helping her up after she had fallen down a step… Her mother's haunted and weary gaze pointed out of her window, while the book of fairy tales in her lap lie forgotten (or more like ignored). Yes, she had always been trapped there, too… The small brown parcel her father had given her. Inside, she now recalled, was the handle of a dagger which had no blade. The note attached to it had read: "You wouldn't have a chance in Hell, anyhow, my dear." And as the blood drained from her body, she thought, her father must really have hated her.
The months had been rather rough on Faye. She simply could not get that green-haired man out of her mind. Actually, every time he entered her thoughts, she would have to restrain herself from screaming in anger. She now had quite a disliking for anyone with blond hair. Call it prejudice. Rather than sink into self-pity about the whole thing, however, she committed herself to the silk mills. Proud to admit it, she worked her ass off. Soon her business was booming, even more so than before. Her father had eventually given her the right to handle the books, claiming to be just "an old man of no more use to his over-independent daughter," with a wink and winning smile.
He was most definitely getting on in the years, which brought more than enough worries to Faye's mind. Yes, it was true, she had almost all the money she could want, but her father was her only living relative. And she didn't really have any friends, per se… What would she do if she was all alone? What would she do without someone like her father to anchor to? There would be nothing to keep her rooted in the world of reality. She would simply slip away…
It had happened once before, when her mother died. She had sat in her room, writing stories on sheet after sheet of blissfully blank white paper… She wrote of nothing but stories of how things could have been, might have been, should have been; of adventure, friendship, romance, happily ever after, and things of that sort. Even then, she had been a lonely girl, with nothing much to say about her life. And that had made her sad.
And as soon as she heard about the murderous, cruel king in the neighboring kingdom, it was dismissed and forgotten. Work was taxing, and as her father was getting sick, she needed to take care of him. It was difficult, but she needed to be strong, because if she wasn't, who would be? Survival was imperative. There were other things to worry about than some crazy tyrant who had no control over her. Faye couldn't help but feel a little worried, though, when a white carriage with a royal seal on the door showed up on her doorstep one day…
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Alright. So it's begun. I'm terribly sorry I had to delete everything earlier… Maybe it would have been better just to edit the chapters and then replace them. I didn't know ff.net allowed you to do that though (it had been a while since I posted, heh. ^_^;). So, sorry guys. ^__^; I've had this klutzy streak lately, hehehe… -_-;;
One more thing. I know those of you who reviewed before really don't feel like kissing ass once again, but… I'm holding the next chapter ransom. You guys, help Chapter5 out! Pretty soon I'll have to tie him to the train tracks and (dun-dun-dun)… Discontinue him! (gasp)
(holds a gun to Chapter5's head) Stand back! Hand over the reviews or Chapter5 gets it!
Muahahahaha hahahaha hahahaha hahahahah ahahahaha. =D
(Oh god, what is wrong with me!? XP)
