Chapter 20
Without a second thought, he brought his hands together in a loud, resounding clap and then parted them slowly, forcing the women apart and everyone else out via one door or the other.
"NOT OKAY, YOU KNOW BETTER!"
"HEY!"
"WHAT THE HELL TAKER?"
Just keeping Abigail and Susan in the room while making the others leave was a chore, he ignored the others. When the doors shut behind the last person, Taker let his arms drop. Probably shouldn't have done that… he had to sit down.
"W-What's going on?!" NOW Susan was really frightened, especially since she couldn't move toward Abigail and vice versa. "A-Abigail?"
What the hell was Taker thinking doing something like that?! The poor girl was scared out of her mind as it was! "It's alright, Susan. Just breathe, okay? This is…Undertaker. He's the leader of Wonderful and…you can trust him."
"W-Why can't I move?"
That was a damn good question because Abigail was wondering the same thing, seeing that abuse of power he inflicted had sucked the energy out of him. "I'm not sure, but everything's gonna be fine. Tell me how you escaped the castle. How did you find this place?" Keeping Susan talking would calm her down and get her mind off the fact they were both frozen besides their mouths.
"P-Papa…he got me out. Told me to look for you in Wonderful and not to trust anyone else. He gave me a map on how to get here, but I don't know where it is." Susan explained, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice and sniffled, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I-I'm scared, Abigail…"
Damn it, Malcolm, she thought, not believing the old man had relied on her to take care of his granddaughter and took a deep breath, nodding. "Okay…"
He watched them go back and forth, a black eyebrow slowly rising. When his arms had dropped, so had the magic. They were holding themselves back, that was amusing. Mind over matter, he supposed.
"Abigail, tell me again about her mother." He ordered, his emerald green eyes locked on Susan.
This would be hard for Susan to hear because she hadn't been…developed enough, or out of her baby phase, when Lily was killed. "Lily. Lily Calaway is the daughter of the sorcerer, Malcolm Calaway…and Lily was…"
"My Mom." Susan was afraid to go toward Abigail for fear of this giant using his powers again. "I-I thought Papa was the only one who had magic in Vesperia…"
"Lily was…killed, right after Susan was born because she…had too many girls in a row." Abigail could not believe he was forcing her to say all of this in front of Susan, not when the girl was traumatized enough as it was. "I'm sorry, Susan…"
"It's not your fault, Sister Abigail…"
"Please don't call me that." Now her voice was filled with pain as she shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm not Sister, Queen or Queen Mother of anything or anyone here. I'm just Abigail and you can call me Abbie, alright?"
"O-Okay, Abbie…Abbie…" Susan tested it out with a small, sheepish smile. "I like that better."
"Me too, kid." Her eyes moved back to Undertaker, who looked thoughtful. "What else do you wish to know about Lily? I'll be honest, Bray kept me away from the women and children a lot, so I don't know a great deal about her…"
"Lily had daughters." He echoed, a faraway look on his face as he stared into the fire. She'd been murdered because of it. "Lily was the youngest of 3 children, she had 2 older brothers." Taker admitted in a quiet timbre. "Glen… and Mark. She was born before the great uprisings and war, but she was only a little girl when it happened… when her father took her away to hide her." He finally looked at Abbie and Susan, mostly Susan. "Even back then, girls were targeted. But in those early years, there was no serum to force the pregnancies to accelerate, or the babies to grow within the span of a year. It was all done… the old-fashioned way." His mouth twisted into a dark, bitter smile.
"Wait a minute, what? You…knew Lily? You knew her brothers? So that means, you know Malcolm, too?" Abigail had to sit down, her head beginning to spin and felt Susan grab her hand, joining her at the table. Lily had been taken away to be hidden, but that hadn't done any good. "Malcolm and Lily were…captured and brought to the castle. Lily was…16, I think, somewhere around that age. When the women turn 16, they are immediately bred with someone in the DOV. It was taking too long, so that's why Bray tracked down the only remaining sorcerer in Vesperia, captured him and has used him ever since to come up with the serum that forced Lily to birth 3 daughters before her death." Her eyes moved to Susan, the last of Lily's bloodline. "Your sisters…"
"Dead." Susan sniffled, squeezing Abigail's hand and didn't bother holding her tears back. "They were killed…when they couldn't produce. That's what Papa told me."
Abigail shut her eyes, afraid of hearing that, but already knew it was the truth. "Heartless bastards…" She hissed out, the anger overtaking the pain over everything Bray had done and caused.
He realized right then and there, their family, their blood, and the magic, it would die with him. Glen was dead. Malcolm wasn't likely to have any more children, given the state of things. Susan was fixed. Lily dead. He had never naturally possessed magic, so Taker couldn't pass it on. He felt both a strange combination of relief and sadness, closing his eyes.
"Abigail, excuse us, please." He ordered somberly. "I wish to speak with Susan, alone."
"N-No, please! I-I don't know him and…"
Abigail pressed a finger to her lips and smiled sadly, looking back at Undertaker, before her eyes locked with Susan again. "You can trust him. If you trust me, which I have no idea why you would, other than Malcolm instructing you to, you can definitely trust him. He won't hurt you. He just wants to talk to you, ask a few questions. If you need me, I'll be just outside, alright?" She spoke in a quiet, soothing voice, squeezing the girl's shoulder.
"O-Okay…" Swallowing hard, Susan watched Abigail walk out of the building and slowly moved her eyes to the giant, keeping her distance in case she had to make a run for it.
Breathing in the fresh now night air, Abigail had a hard time breathing and looked up at the night sky, the stars glittering back at her. Why were they going through this? Why was this happening to these innocent people? Why couldn't Bray see the error of his ways?! Abigail wanted to scream and rage, ripping the hairband out of her hair to let it tumble down her back and over her shoulders, gripping it between her fingers.
Taker watched Susan put distance between them, not overly blaming her. She had come from a place where women weren't even valued as much as cattle. They were simply objectified to be used and then discarded. And then his own magical show of force, which had just been a bad idea all the way around, didn't help matters any with her trepidation.
"You resemble your grandmother very much. Did Malcolm ever tell you that?" He asked conversationally, taking in the curly auburn hair. She was the spitting image of his mother.
Papa had told her that quite a few times. She resembled her mother and grandmother, both of them having the curly auburn hair and green eyes. "Y-Yes…"
Her head tilted slightly, seeing his own green eyes and wondered how he knew her Papa, her family. It was very rude to ask a stranger a personal question like that, not mention he was a man and he was a woman. Women were not allowed to question men and had to do as they were told. Susan was scared, not bothering to hide it and wiped a few more tears that fell from her eyes, not wanting to be punished. She had no idea this place was the polar opposite of the DOV.
"Come sit with me." He requested softly, aware thanks to Abigail just how fucked the women in the DOV had it.
They couldn't disobey, never question. They basically had to sit there and take it, literally. He extended a hand, frowning when she slowly, grudgingly moved towards him. Scooting, he gave her space on the bench, watching her sit down cautiously.
"I told you your mother had two older brothers." She nodded in acknowledgment. "Glen… he died, in a fire." He said slowly, not wanting to delve into that too much because it stirred way too much grief. "And Mark, who survived the fire." Another slow nod. "They had been left behind that day by Malcolm, because boys were safe back then. They were recruited, but they lived. Girls, not so much. So, Malcolm thought the brothers would be safe until he was able to return, except he never did." Now that puzzle piece had been filled for him. Slowly, Taker let his illusion drop, revealing his actual face, which wasn't much different from the 'disguises' he wore on a day-to-day basis, minus the faded burn scars. "Glen died, saving me. And until you came… I never knew what happened to my father, or my sister."
Susan's eyes widened at the face staring back at her, her jaw-dropping. This was Mark? Papa had told her stories about his sons, her Uncles, but never did she think she'd meet either of them. Glen had died in a fire, she knew that, but Papa had been under the impression Mark joined him.
"Y-You're supposed to be dead…" She whispered finally, swallowing hard at the sadness in his eyes that mirrored her own. This was her Uncle…the Undertaker…the leader of Wonderful. "P-Papa told me you and Glen died…he gave me a family history one night, after sneaking me out of my chambers to bring me down to his." She'd been 6 months old at the time. "So…that makes you my Uncle then, right? We're family?"
At his nod, Susan hesitantly reached out to touch the scars on his face, which were very faint and didn't take away from his ruggedly handsome features at all. Even though Papa told her to only trust Abigail, he had no idea who the Undertaker was or else he would've retracted that statement. She was sure of it – family over everyone else, no matter the circumstances.
"W-We have to save Papa…he's in trouble, Mark…"
"We're going to save everyone, Susan." He promised, reaching up to capture her hand in his. Taker had a niece, who physically was too old to be his actual niece. He had missed out on her short life and she'd had a very, very horrible life at that. He was going to tear Bray Wyatt to pieces, with his bare hands and his eyes flashed acid at the thought. It hit him, as he stared into her very familiar, yet unfamiliar, face. He still had family left. His father was still alive. Knowing she was probably going to freak out but unable to help himself anyway, Taker pulled her against him and buried his face in her hair.
Trembling at first, Susan had to fight the urge not to push him away and slowly relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. The big man was shaking against her as well and she had no idea why, still very new to not being struck down for speaking out of turn or…anything, really. It didn't take much for the women in DOV to be abused by the men, no matter how true and good their intentions were.
"Thank you, Mark." She whispered in his ear, sniffling as fresh tears slid down her cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness. They were full of happiness and relief that she had family beside Papa to rely on.
It seemed like they had sat there for hours, and eventually, Mark pulled away from his niece. Only a year… that was all Susan was, but she was physically so much older. "You will never have to go back to those bastards, Susan." He vowed darkly. "And if I can save Malcolm, I will." However, it wasn't Malcolm as a single entity that was a priority, it was all of them – everyone trapped in the DOV. Though… if they pulled Malcolm from there, he would bet Wyatt's super army stopped growing, providing they didn't have stores of that serum.
"I-I understand, Uncle Mark." Susan smiled somewhat sheepishly at him, the innocence radiating off her due to her age. "I won't be mad if…if you can't save him. But other people are hurting. They need help." He nodded to show he understood what she was saying and hugged him again, this time without hesitation, feeling as though she could trust him. It went against what Papa said, but…they were family.
"COME ON, TAKER, PEOPLE ARE STARVING OUT HERE, HOMIE!"
"Homie?" Susan began laughing, in spite of the situation, and saw her Uncle roll his eyes, her own green orbs sparkling. "You're in trouble, aren't you?" Her tone was full of mirth and life, the fear evaporating into thin air.
"No darlin', I'm usually the trouble."
Taker chuckled, standing up and walked over to open the doors, immediately being swamped as people rushed in for the evening meal. Including Stephanie, who looked ready to scold him. She just gave him a once over, sniffed, and headed towards the kitchen. Because Susan might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the men coming in with the women, he stepped back to offer his silent support, watching as she edged closer to him.
"I AM STAR- Hello." Jeff stopped, blinked, and eyeballed his part-time patient.
"H-Hi…"
Abigail came in next and headed straight for the kitchen to resume cooking, trying to get back into the swing of things. She had no idea the revelation that just took place and was glad Susan seemed to be a tad more comfortable around Taker. The man had the uncanny ability to make anyone calm and soothed around him; she wondered if that was a magical ability or just…him. Popping the rolls in the oven, which was the last batch to go in, Stephanie bustled about along with Trish and Amy. She'd had a very small breakdown, cried, and then proceeded to push it in the back of her mind for the time being. People were going to hate her, even more so now that Susan was here.
Just focus and get it over with, she thought, mentally coaching herself, and proceeded to help with whatever Stephanie needed.
"Jeff, not right now."
"I just had some questions…"
"Jeff, not right now."
Jeff was torn between medical and personal questions, staring at Susan intently, taking in her auburn curls with a smile. "I-"
"Jeff. Not. Now."
"Hardy, help set those damn tables." Melina ordered, coming through with her toddler on her hip, a little boy named after his Daddy.
Ever since Abigail had shocked her out of her grief, she had thrown herself into living with new vigor. She took turns with Jeff, and a few others, manning the medical area. Apparently, she was a great nurse.
