A Departure
Brick found his father talking to King Dan at the base of the knighting podium. "What do you want?" he demanded. "I'd like to return to my previous engagement, if you don't mind."
"I do mind," Dan bit out. His bodily tension and expression of utter contempt put a shit-eating grin on Brick's face. The king had seen him sampling his daughter, and Brick made a point to run his tongue along his teeth to drive home the fact that there was absolutely nothing Dan could do to save Blossom from him. He was the one who had led his little lamb to slaughter in the first place. The Pixie took a deep breath to compose himself. "I would like to make you an offer, Prince."
"Go on," Brick gestured.
"When you threatened my kingdom earlier… you mentioned Hael was having trouble meeting its export quotas."
"Did I say that? I thought I promised that Blossom would be sucking my cock for the rest of her life."
"Enough," Lucifer said in a warning tone.
Waiting for the simmering to die down, Dan continued. "If you wish to bolster your workforce, I am willing to provide Florian prisoners for you to use as laborers."
Brick's brow rose, intrigued. "How many?"
"How many do you require?"
He thought for a moment. Hael lost about five workers per month due to accidents, but Fae would surely be smart enough not to collapse tunnels upon themselves or fall into a caldera by mistake. "We could make do with fifty for the first year, then we'll discuss additional numbers based on their productivity." The king dipped his head in agreement. "What sorts of crimes are Faeries prone to committing?" Brick queried.
"Theft, mostly," Dan answered. "Our prison is full of burglars and fences." Thanks to their lightweight frames and the ability to fly, Pixies and Sylphs were extremely adept at moving about undetected. One could break into a place, steal something, and have it sold on the other side of Erd before anyone noticed what had been taken. Knowing they were likely to get away with stealing because no one could catch them meant Floria was full of kleptomaniac Fae.
"Thievery, hm? I can deal with that." Brick waited for Dan to proffer his hand, then he leaned in after clasping it, smile-smirking. "If you think I don't know this agreement is an attempt to give Blossom some allies in Hael, then you're even more of a fool than you were for offering her to me in the first place." The king glowered, angry and shamed that Brick saw through his ploy so easily. "I'm not going to harm her," the prince assured, "I'm just going to corrupt her to the point where you no longer recognize the sweet little girl you once had." He sneered. "You should've heard the way she mewled with my hand between her legs."
King Dan turned red with fury from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head. "My daughter does not mewl," he spat.
"She does for me." Brick lifted his chin in triumph as the man spun on his heel and threw the curtain aside on his way into the palace.
"Are you quite finished?" Lucifer asked of his son, exasperated.
"Quite."
"Then we are going home now." The reception had started winding down anyway as lightweight Pixies staggered back to their domiciles, and those who attempted to fly only careened into awnings and eaves. Lucifer opened a hellmouth right where he was standing. The less-inebriated guests were alarmed by the black portal that popped up in their midst, scattering like a kaleidoscope of butterflies. "Butch, Boomer!" the Demon King called. "Come, we are leaving!"
"Nooo!" Boomer wailed. He fell to the ground with one arm around Bubbles' thighs and the other holding up his tankard. She couldn't manage a single step with him clinging to her. "I'm not leaving my wife! We just got married!"
"No more drink for you, boy." Cotta plucked the ale from his hand and downed it herself. "You shall see Bubbles tomorrow when she sails to your islands bearing plenty of wedding gifts."
"Presents?!" Butch regarded Buttercup in astonishment. "You come with accessories?"
"They are gifts from home to help her acclimate to her new one," Galanthus said, pulling his daughter into a drunken embrace. "Everything she could ever want or need to ease the sadness of leaving her family behind!"
Buttercup tilted her head away from his scratchy goatee. "You need not worry for me."
"Once you make that voyage, it may be many years before I see you again. By that time you will have grown even wiser and more beautiful, mastered your skills with the blade and bow, and learned things I could not teach you. And… and perhaps you will surprise me with children of your own, and I will be able to impart my knowledge unto them as I once did you, but as a grandsire…"
"Father, please stop." Buttercup extricated herself from his arms as he began openly sobbing. Shaking her head a little, she escorted her husband to the portal. Bubbles attempted to drag Boomer to it from the opposite direction, and Blossom stood silently several paces away. It was just as well since Brick disappeared into the hellmouth without so much as a word of goodbye. She rolled her eyes and followed in the wake of her siblings, who were beginning to feel the effects of staying up way past their bedtime.
"Farewell until the morrow, milady." Butch kissed the tops of Buttercup's hands and outstretched his own as he slowly backed into darkness. Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose: at least his theatrics were harmless. The Demon King then lifted Bubbles straight up and out of Boomer's hold.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said.
"Nooo!" Boomer protested some more. "Daaad, I wanna bring her with meee!"
"She will be with you every day from tomorrow onward," he returned. His middle son leapt to his feet and tried to chase after Bubbles as she walked off, but Lucifer snagged his tunic and yanked him backward. "That is enough! I am putting you on probation!" He grunted as the boy tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
"Let me gooo! Bubbles, I love you! I won't sleep until I have you in my arms! I'll be waiting for you at the harbooor!"
"Cotta…" Lucifer managed to trap Boomer in a bear hug. "Please do not send any alcohol with your daughter."
She winked. "I promise nothing." The hellmouth closed around the remaining Demons, then the Fauns sought out their footman and climbed into their carriage, falling asleep during the ride back to their kingdom. Once astride their kirins, Buttercup roped her father to his saddle so he wouldn't fall off in case he blacked out, then they too headed off into the wilderness.
Loud snores emanated from the guest rooms Blossom passed as she made her way to the second story of the palace, the royal quarters. She saw her brother and sister to bed, tucking in Ivy before continuing on to her own room. A ragged, breathy voice stopped her before she could walk through her door. "Blossom…" She went to her parents' chamber at the end of the hall where her bedridden mother motioned for her to come closer. "Let me see you." With plenty of moonlight streaming through the windows to illuminate her, Blossom twirled in her gown. "So beautiful."
"Thank you, Mother." Blossom perched on the edge of the mattress, folding her hands as the woman struggled to sit up against the pillows. She was too proud to ask for help.
Panting, Queen Reina smiled nonetheless. "I saw your ceremony… from the balcony."
Blossom tsked. "You should not have gotten out of bed."
"Yet I did… and it was worth it." Her grey lips separated, cheeky. "You forced that Demon to redo your sealing kiss."
"The first one was… ugh."
A dry laugh escaped the queen, the sound as frozen leaves skittering across cold stone. "Has he any… redeeming qualities?"
Blossom contemplated the ceiling. "None come to mind."
"His visage?"
"It is ruined the moment he speaks."
Reina wheezed again. With a shaky hand, she reached for a perfume bottle on the nightstand and placed it in Blossom's lap. Curious, she sniffed the stopper only for the bitter scent to elicit a gasp. "This is your laudanum!"
"Should you need it, take one sip to numb yourself… to the pain of your husband's advances," the queen explained. Blossom appeared conflicted. "If he makes you bleed more than once… use the spell I taught you… on your thirteenth birthday."
Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall her lessons from seven years ago. "The dominion prism?"
"Yes. You can suspend his spirit in this." Reina unfastened the crystal pendant from around her neck and surrendered it as well. The Pixie Queen had worn it for as long as Blossom could remember. "This is called the Tear of Iris. She wept when her brethren condemned Haiden to the Void… for he was her lover. Myth says a part of him remains within the crystal, even now. As descendants of Iridesca… we must bear this relic." The queen closed her daughter's fingers over the gem. "If you decide to use the prism… I am sure Haiden would be grateful… for his progeny's company."
Blossom sat agape. "I cannot take this from you! Or the laudanum!" It was too much information, too much responsibility. This was the longest conversation she'd had with her mother in at least three years, and to be told things she never expected to hear in her life… It was a lot to process after her wedding and reception!
Reina's mauve eyes beseeched her own. Once they had been as bright as the fruit tree blossoms that were her namesake. "Please accept these gifts, daughter of mine. They are all I can pass on to you… before my time in this world ends."
Blossom tutted at her mother playing the death card. The queen was dying, albeit slowly. She gave her a gentle hug. "Very well, you crafty witch. I accept."
A grin. "I prefer 'sorceress'."
