Chapter 41:
The warehouse had an almost sinister air to Finn Mertens. It was a nondescript place like a few dozen other such places in the shadowport. All were hosts to sinister and clearly illegal activities. The former policeman knew the signs well. The building down the street was a dust-lab. The walls were stained with odd substances and a strange chemical funk hung about the place. The warehouse across the street grew wacky licorice, tended by a portly lollipop with bad teeth. This was the place where damnation grew.
The warehouse before him practiced an older, uglier trade. Its defenses faced inwards, not outwards. It looked a lot like a crumbling, mud-brick prison. This place kept humanoid cargo. It was the one place that truly enraged him. No-one was forced to snort dust. The licorice man wasn't holding a gun to anyone's head. You didn't need to buy the product. Slavery was a different story. "Ok," said the King. "Let's do this." He was planning on returning. He was going to return and some ugly people were going to die.
The Lady of Spies keyed the phone in her pocket. Moments later, the warehouse on the far side erupted in flames. The men inside were bought off, and now they came rushing out shouting fit to wake the dead. The cry was soon taken up in neighboring buildings. In the shadowport's close-packed streets, fire was serious business. At the same time, this was a den of pirates and thieves. As many men went out the door to deal with the threat, just as many stayed inside, guarding against raiders. Of course, the guards would be focused on the outside world. Taking Finn's hand, Bronwyn drew a deep breath and leaped.
Hundreds of miles to the west, the Boss of Bosses sat staring at her ledgers, combing over them one more time. It was always 'one more'. She was deep in hock with Bonnie, and she knew that problem was only going to grow when the Bubblegum Princess found out that Cherry's agents had looted the treasury in the former Wildberry Kingdom. The gold had been deposited in an account in Engagement Ring Kingdom under Finn's name. It was a fait accompli, and Bonnie Bubblegum was going to go berserk. Shortly after, Cherry expected to be at war with her former overlord.
With the crisis in the bunker handled, the diminutive crime boss had returned to her quandary. She had to get her taxes filed–accurately–or risk a humiliating trip to jail over the smallest of pretexts. Unfortunately, noise outside the door announced another interruption. "Come in," announced the little gangster. The door opened, and her visitor stepped in, shutting the door behind herself.
"Sarah," Cherry burbled. She was only half paying attention. Most of her attention was on the papers spread out before her. The android goggled at her. Frowning, she murmured, "you can tell us apart..." "Sarah doesn't walk around with her head in the clouds," Cherry rumbled. The android-girl flushed to her hair at that damning assessment of her creator. Setting aside her papers, Cherry asked, "what brings you?" She had her ideas. There was plenty of unresolved baggage between them. Marshall Lee wasn't the only person she'd wronged. Having heard Braco's reputation, Cherry didn't think much of the man, but he had still been Sarah's husband.
"I want to understand grief," Sarah murmured.
If you had asked Cherry what she thought the android-woman would ask her, that was pretty far down the list. She understood that this strange living machine was a person. She understood that Sarah was a person in the same manner that Nadia or Marshall were people. At the same time, she'd never given much thought to the play of emotions behind that pretty face. Face hot, Sarah babbled, "I... I don't have anybody else to talk to about this... Bonnie suggests I close myself off." "She would," Cherry snorted.
Sitting back in her chair, the little woman murmured, "tell me something... Why do you need to understand grief?" Sarah frowned at her. "I'm not challenging your personhood, honey," Cherry replied. "What I don't understand is why you're grieving..." "You're going to die," Sarah blurted. Staring down at the desk, her face hot with the shame of having said that, the android-woman nonetheless said, "you're mortal. You're all mortal..." "...and you're going to live forever," Cherry agreed. "Maybe." Sarah's face snapped up. "Y-you're suggesting suicide," she howled! "I'm suggesting that nothing ever goes quite the way you think it will," the crime-boss replied.
Leaning forward, Cherry said, "what you're feeling ain't grief, honey. It's anticipation. You're worrying over what could be instead of living with the what is. I get it. I spent decades living with what I wanted the world to be instead of living with the world I had. Finn... could have been my husband decades ago. Simone would probably still be crazy and living with the Ice King. Maybe this whole crazy business would never have gotten started. I wasted a lifetime on grief and might-have-beens instead of living it up in the now that I had."
Sarah opened her mouth and shut it again. Softly, Cherry murmured, "I can't tell you how to live with grief, honey. No more than you could teach me how to fly around a computer network with my mind. You're going to grieve. Someday. Maybe that's for Finn. Maybe it'll be for Betty. Or maybe it'll be somebody else you haven't even met yet. I can only ask that you keep your wits and keep going forward instead of sitting down in the ugly to drown like I did. Keep going. Live. That's my advice to you."
Sarah took a deep breath and let it go. As Cherry watched, she did it again. And then again. Rising, she said, "thank you for your time." "Thank you for the love you give this family," Cherry replied. Sarah flushed. She'd been... bad with that lately. She'd been neglecting the kids. She'd been neglecting the other members of the family. She'd even been ducking Finn and Betty. That has to change, she decided. Shaking herself, she rose and turned to go, announcing, "you mistyped line seventy-five on your tax form. Your calculations are off by ten-thousand coins." Cherry goggled at her backside. She'd been racking her brain for weeks on why her taxes weren't adding up.
Back in the shadowport, Finn stood in the silence of the darkened basement stairs listening to the bedlam let loose in the warehouse above. Orzsebet's hired thugs were mounting their fake attack on the warehouse's front door. The bandits were in chaos. Meanwhile, Bronwyn was investigating the cell where she'd heard the noise. "Finn," she hissed. "It's her! I'm sure of it!"
Turning away from the stairs, Finn hustled down the darkened passage to Bronwyn's side. The big man glanced through the narrow window, but he could see nothing. Taking a breath, the big man thought about his options. When he broke through the door, the enemy would hear the commotion. They'd be neck-deep in enemies afterward. This could be their one chance. Come too far to do nothing, he decided.
Motioning for Bronwyn to step aside, the big man jammed his metal fingers into the lock and tore it off the door. As Bronwyn flicked on her flashlight, Finn went striding into the cell. Finn's eyes fell on his dear old friend, sitting on a hard stone bench wearing only the tattered nightgown she'd been wearing when kidnaped. Striding forward, the big man swept Breezy up and hugged his old friend fiercely. She began to cry softly. Of course there was little time for a reunion. Bronwyn cleared her throat, reminding Finn that they needed to move. Breezy glanced down, drawing Finn's attention to the chain around her ankle. Bronwyn chuckled, "not a problem..." Taking both their hands, she focused on the window to Finn's rented room and leaped.
Back in the Jungle Kingdom, the Court was wrapping up another long, late session. The whole business had been contentious with much of Ooo's royalty lined up against the Jungle Kingdom, leaving Billy in the unhappy role of moderator. Abieuwa did herself no favors, flip-flopping between insults and tears. She almost reflexively refused to do what she'd promised in providing an assessment of what was in the bunker even as she'd gotten cornered into agreeing that it was sorely needed.
Just now Desert Princess and Crab Princess were both railing on her. It stood to reason. They were going to be most affected by a cataclysm. And Billy? He was letting them. The lesson needed to take. The world was different. The world had moved on from the one his wife had grown up in. It was different even than the world Billy had grown up in. It was useless for Abieuwa to sit on her high-horse, behaving as if nothing had changed when the evidence was figuratively slapping her in the face.
The pressure was mounting. Abieuwa had been squirming all through the evening–basically since they'd gotten back from a rather silent dinner. Now she was all but dancing in her chair like she had ants in her drawers. She was on the hot-seat. She was on the ragged edge of having the Privy Council vote to take her people's legacy. They could very well force Billy to enforce the decree. While the King of Ooo had a lot of power, he also existed in a space at the whim of the Privy Council. They had the power to remove him if they could find the will–and the consensus–to do it.
Finn the Human understood it. He understood it better than the princesses themselves. Now, Billy was starting to see it. He was starting to see just why it was that his father still stepped so carefully around the feelings of the princesses, only daring to smash them when they were so clearly in the wrong that everybody could agree with the act–indeed often with the other princesses cheering him on. Abieuwa was tripping across that ugly reality. Her Royal Husband couldn't help her squirm out of this one–not without alienating a lot of people who had very real grievances with what she was doing.
Just now, they were talking of 'nationalizing' the death-metal stores. They were talking of the Kingdom of Ooo taking control of the whole thing–just moving it into the King's hands, where presumably they could tell Finn what to do with the problem. That was a little too far, and Billy decided to intervene before some things got said to permanently disturb the peace.
"It's a little early for that, I think," Billy interrupted. The Desert Princess's mouth snapped shut in mid-ramble. "I would no more take the legacy from the people of the Jungle than I would take the kelp-beds from the Crab Folk," the big man announced. "Just as Rozamond's people have ably managed their kelp-beds for centuries, so have the Jungle People held up this burden. I think that what we need to do is help them manage their awesome responsibility." Abeiuwa flinched. She knew just how that management was going to occur, just as she knew that she was all but helpless to prevent it. She'd maneuvered herself into a corner. Instead of being a shrewd ruler, she'd shamed her house by being the Princess to fuck up and lose control of the Legacy.
"What're you planning," Bonnie burbled? Her voice sounded... worried. Billy knew that his stepmom had issues with the way his dad often handled things. Finn often flew by the seat of the pants–just doing it, consequences be damned. Billy didn't have the track-record that his father had. "Let me sleep on it, Your Highness," Billy said. "Let's all sleep on this matter. We're going to, all of us, take action, but let us sleep on the matter and come to an idea of what's fair." Bonnie blew out a relieved breath. "Ok," she said. "We'll meet again at ten sharp tomorrow. The meeting stands adjourned."
Billy rose and offered Abieuwa his arm. For a wonder, she accepted. He was in for a shouting match when they got back to quarters. Behind them, the rogue slime princess lapsed into muted swearing. She didn't understand why they were doing so little. As far as she was concerned, the situation was still dire. There were tons of highly-enriched death-metal just miles away in a volatile enough state that just jostling a few containers could cause a catastrophe. Just a minor earthquake could shift the stores enough to cause doomsday.
Rolling her eyes, Hurletta interrupted her sister's ranting with, "then do something, Blargetha." The evil genius's mouth snapped shut. Nodding, Hurletta said, "you're the genius, Blargetha. Be useful for once. If there's a problem, go find an answer." Without a further word, the plush princess turned and strode out, leaving the younger sister staring at her back.
Out on the sea, a ramshackle freighter took advantage of the tide to scramble out of the shadowport and out to sea. At the rail, Finn the human stared at the chaos running wild through the streets. He thought Cherry would be angry. The fire had spread to the dust-lab, which had exploded, likely taking all hands. The fallout had set the licorice grow-op on fire. A whole crop of high-quality ganja was burning.
And a lot of angry gangsters were butchering each other in the streets.
Finn had taken advantage of the pointing fingers–and thrusting knives–to get Breezy, Orzsebet, and Bronwyn out of the town. Now he found himself worried about the fallout. He didn't want more bad men in the Bandit Princess's camp. A worry for tomorrow, he decided, as he turned from the rail. He had Breezy back. His flank was secure. The wall was up. He had space to turn outward–to hunt down Peihong the Bandit Princess.
Heading below, the big man stopped first at Bronwyn's room. Knocking on the door, the King waited for the half-bear to answer. "Just a minute," Bronwyn sang out. Finn waited as the rustle of cloth announced that she was making herself presentable. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Kim's daughter dressed in a tatty robe. Her long, blonde hair was wet, announcing that she'd just had a wash. Taking note of the way the big man's eyes slid away from her, she remarked, "all they had..." It wasn't the raggedy condition. It was the fact that the robe gave his fertile mind dangerous thoughts. Nevertheless, when she stepped aside, he walked in.
"We should be in Jungle Kingdom tomorrow afternoon," said the King. "I can have you taken home." Her eyes said it. Her trust for her dad was in the toilet. "You'll have to deal with him sometime, B," Finn reminded her. "Think about how to do this..." The half-bear nodded. It appeared that was all he was going to get. "Thanks," he said, sincerely. Taking her hand, he gave it a squeeze. Shocking him, the younger woman hugged him. "We'll get to the bottom of this," he promised her. "He's probably worried..." She gave him a harumph. Letting go, Finn turned to go.
Standing in the door, he reminded her, "even if he made a mistake, he's your dad..." "Is he still your nephew," Bronwyn retorted? Finn flinched. She knew it was the wrong thing to say when she said it. Her dad had kicked this man out of his home. Her dad, aunts, and uncle had pissed on Finn repeatedly. Recovering, the King stepped out the door, shutting it behind him. Shaking his head and muttering curses, the big man headed up the hall to Breezy's room. Jake's family was self-destructing, and there seemed little he could do about it.
Knocking on the door to Breezy's quarters, the King announced, "it's me, Finn..." "Come in, please," announced the Queen Bee. Finn opened the door and stepped inside to a wonderful sight. Breezy stood in the center of the cramped space wearing a nightgown every bit as tatty as Bronwyn's. They certainly hadn't had time to buy anything better. Two steps forward and they were embracing.
"You look great," Finn whispered. "How did you find me," she sobbed? "Aerwin," Finn replied. "Barton showed her a picture of you in chains..." Breezy's eyes went wide, and she gasped in fear. He knew what she was thinking. "She's ok," Finn rumbled. She could hear the rage in his voice. There were things he wasn't telling her, and she called him on it. Face a mask, the King of Ooo declared, "I'm Regent until you get home." Cupping his squared-off chin in her hands, Breezy responded, "the fact that you suddenly know how to pronounce 'regent' doesn't change the fact that you're hiding something."
"I fucked him up," growled Finn. It came out angry. He was angry about what Bart had done. Breezy found herself wondering just how badly Bart had gotten 'fucked up'. There was a bottomless capacity for rage in the big man's heart, usually unleashed when someone hurt people he cared for. Breezy lay her head on his shoulder. The big man flinched. He was a little prickly, but she understood it. "I love you, Finn," she sighed. "I always have. I always will."
Whispering to her delicate little ear, the big man said, "I thought you just liked the grass-sword..." He was teasing her. It had started that way. Until she fell in love with the man himself. "I used to get so fucking horny listening to you getting those bitches off," Breezy muttered. It was a not-so-subtle reminder of the attraction that had been growing between them the last year. Turning to face her, the big man took her lovely face in his hands and kissed her plump lips. This was it. There was nothing in the way, now. His eyes seemed to say it. Now he was going to get her off.
Indeed, Finn slowly stepped forward, subtly making the Queen Bee step back until she sat down on the narrow bed in a rush. Leaning down, the big man continued to kiss his lady, his hands stroking her shoulders gently. It was a far cry from those long-ago days where he had fumbled things a couple of times. He touched her so nice, and she was only barely aware of him laying her back on the bed. Her senses were focused on the feel of his big hands on her boobies. Laying beside her, the big man caressed and stroked those fat knockers, flicking the hard tips for the pleasure of her sighs. Finn kissed his way across her cheek and teased her ear with his tongue, causing her to shiver.
Reaching down, the big man put a hand on her knee, stroking her shapely thigh. At the same time, he caught her lips with his, and, in short order, they were enthusiastically kissing. Showing that his hands were just as fast as Breakfast had said, Finn's rushin' fingers seemed to be everywhere at once, caressing her breasts and stroking her thighs. Breezy found herself pawing him. Eyes closed, she remembered. The night he'd come close to screwing Breakfast Princess. He'd gotten Breakfast off three times while she watched from a corner, wearing a magic disguise.
She remembered the night he'd gone down on Engagement Ring Princess. It was the first Breezy had ever seen a man do that, and it had been the beginning of her own obsession with Finn. Constance had been making so much noise, Finn had stuffed her own panties in her mouth to shut her up. Of course, there had also been the train-wreck with the Lizard Princess. Finn had beat-feet when he caught sight of the claws hidden in her fingertips. Breezy had used magic to distract the horny lizard-girl, while Finn made good his escape. She'd learned as much about sex as Finn had in those crazy days.
Barton had never touched her the way Finn did. "Oooaaah," moaned the bee-girl, her fingers clutching at his hands, where they were touching her joy-button and her heaving left breast. Nibbling at her ear, the big man told her that she should have shed the disguise earlier. Seeing that bangin' body, he would have been hers at word one. Pawing at his shirt, she answered that challeng with, "I'm not wearin' a disguise now...!"
Together, they got his jacket off. That ended up in a corner of the room. His shirt ended up atop the tiny dresser. Bending down, Finn rolled the nightgown up her legs, baring her broad hips and shockingly narrow waist. She was the definition of wasp-waisted. Jerking her legs apart, the big man went for the Y. Breezy freaked, wailing, "F-iinnnnn..." Likely the entirety of the ship heard her. Not that it stopped the big man from going at her hard. She lost track of how many orgasms she had under his expert touch, and she was dripping with sweat when he quit.
Of course, when she became aware of her surroundings again, her new man was climbing up over her, naked as she was now. Somewhere in the middle of things, her nightgown had come off completely. Breezy wrapped her arms around Finn and grabbed his ass, shouting, "oh, baby... Give me that big flashlight..." Finn was happy to oblige.
Their bodies were crashing together, and Breezy was at full cry. Her fingers were clawing at the sheets, pinching his shoulders, and even pulling on his ass, as he gave her the works. She was vaguely aware of something banging and thought it must have been the bed hitting the wall. It was only as Finn was shooting off the first time that she realized that she didn't have her diaphragm–not that she cared at all at the moment. She'd been getting the punishment all these years. Now she had the pleasure of the sin to go with it.
Her plump lips nipped at his ear as she said, "I don't have my diaphragm in..." Finn felt a surge of heat to his face as he realized that he'd just shot a thick load of his goo into his 'bro' and maybe knobbed her belly with his baby. At the same time, he was turned on. Honestly, he couldn't really help being turned on. His hips made little fuck-bump motions, sliding his semi-hard cock in and out of her slimy snatch. "Oooh, baby," moaned Breezy. "You like it, don't you..." He did indeed. His pecker came roaring back to life at the thought of getting her preggers.
Grabbing her long, legs, the big man pushed her ankles up by her head and started to pound her good. "M-more, baby," howled Breezy?! "Gonna' make sure," Finn grunted. "Ooooh," she howled as that thought sent her crashing over the edge again. It wasn't going to be an accident now. He was going to make sure her belly got big! In moments, they were one big nasty, Finn riding her hard and fast in almost manic fashion. It was the knowledge that he shouldn't be doing this–taking them down this road–and the certain knowledge that Simone and Cherry would be delighted by this development that drove him on.
It was only after he'd gone over the edge the second time that the big man noticed the pounding on the wall. Bronwyn was shouting at them, reminding Finn that it was stupid to get caught up banging a girl in a tiny room with paper-thin walls. Rolling over on his back in the tiny bunk, the King of Ooo drew his Queen Bee in against him and drifted off.
It was well after Finn had gone to sleep that it occurred to Breezy just what Finn had meant. Bart was dead. Finn had killed him. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. She hated her husband, but she hadn't wanted to kill him. Of course he had sold her out to be kidnaped and murdered, so there was that. On top of that, she was quite possibly pregnant now. She found herself blushing as she thought of Finn 'making sure'. How was she going to explain that? Part of her didn't care. Finn was King, and he'd already more than proven his worth to her people.
The ship was tieing up at the docks the following morning when Finn woke up. Maybe it was all the stress, and maybe it was the sweet release of being at the end of this crazy road, but he'd gone down hard and slept like a baby. It was Breezy coming back from the toilet that finally roused him from his sleep. "Morning, B," he greeted her. The Queen Bee gave him a smile, as she approached. Her eyes seemed to say it. She wanted to jump him some more. A corner of his mind realized that Orzsebet had quite possibly been waiting on him in the other room last night–and heard the whole thing. It was nasty–like Simone's story of watching him do it with Phoebes.
Breezy sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the covers, saying, "I'm not in a big hurry to get off the boat. Are you?" Nope. He wasn't in a hurry at all to get back to work. Truth? Breezy was the one he hadn't realized had gotten away. Why hadn't he noticed? Too busy feeling sorry for myself, he thought. Pounding on the wall startled the pair, reminding Finn of his vow last night. No more stupid shenanigans. "We...," he started to say. "...better get dressed," Breezy sighed. Nodding, she got up, grabbed one of the outfits he'd brought for her, and headed for the toilet up the hall.
Bronwyn was glaring at Finn's back when they got off the ship. A part of him wanted to remind her that he could put her on that plane for home if she was really so uptight. The Agent Princess said not a word as they walked down the pier towards the shore. A wagon was waiting there to whisk them immediately to the palace, and the quartet piled in.
No sooner had the wagon jerked into motion than the King got down to business. "She's going to go to ground," Finn said. "I suspect she'll maybe go west to throw us off." The Lady of Spies replied, "my network is weak in the southwestern continent. It will take time to find her." "Start working in Blanca's kingdom," Finn commanded. "She was messing with an ancient temple in Coca Kingdom. I'll be sending Bill to take charge and get Blanca into line. You'll have the access that you need." "It will be as you wish," rumbled the Agent Princess.
The King drew his phone, dialed Aerwin's number, and shoved it in Breezy's face. Orzsebet glanced away, and Bronwyn found herself fighting back tears as the reunion unfolded before her eyes. "I'm ok, baby," Breezy swore. "Be home soon. Keep an eye on Ariadne and Timothy... Sure, honey..." The Queen Bee handed the phone back to Finn, saying, "she wants to thank you..." It amused Bronwyn to watch the big man squirming in embarrassment at Aerwin's profuse thanks.
Rolling into the Royal Compound, they found three figures waiting on them. Cherry, Simone, and Drew were standing before the palace doors as the wagon rattled to a halt. Finn alit from the wagon, moving to embrace his wives as he did so, but Simone and Cherry were far more interested in Breezy. Brushing past Finn's outstretched arms, the pair snatched up the Queen Bee, with Simone hugging the stuffing out of her. "B-b-breaking the ribs...," Breezy wheezed.
Releasing her, Simone turned to her grand-niece and said, "your mother's been asking if I could have Finn intervene in finding you. I guess I won't have to." Drew moved in then. Grabbing the two kidnap victims by their wrists, the doctor strode off, half-dragging the pair behind her, with Finn and Cherry rushing after them. Finn was left alone with Orzsebet. "Well, that was interesting," rumbled the Agent Princess. Finn shrugged. There was work to get done.
Court was already in session when the pair arrived at Abeiuwa's throne room. Much to the Agent Princess's surprise, it wasn't the Lady of the Southern Jungles on the throne. It was Finn's son. The Ice Prince was in the middle of laying out just what it was that needed to get done. Far from stepping forward, Finn actually held her back, keeping them just out of sight of the people at the far end of the room. It took a moment, and then the Lady of Spies realized that her new patron was watching his son. And grading him.
"It won't wait, Your Highness," Billy told Nadia. "We're not where I'd like to be with either the barrier in the north or the smaller barrier for Jungle Kingdom, but this has priority. I need an accounting of the cooling system for the bunker. It's essential. I want to be sure that the accident has done nothing to impede cooling of the lower levels. The only way we're going to get that done is with your people's forcefield tech. I'll be sending Lady Olesia north tomorrow to secure help from the Fire Kingdom."
"I don't know that I agree with this plan," announced Bonnie. "Given the distressing effects on an elemental's physiology, using their life-force to sustain a forcefield machine..." "If you have an alternate idea, Your Highness, I'm all ears," Billy interrupted. Bonnie stopped in mid-sentence and blinked at him. "This isn't the path I'd choose if we had a better way to sustain the machine," Billy continued. He'd neatly used Bonnie's own pride to shut her down, offering her a chance to hang herself. It was smooth. It was smoother than Finn might have done it.
"Olesia reckons that four elementals, taking turns, can run one of the forcefields for at least three hours," Billy continued. "It's risky, but it's a reduced risk. This can work, Princess Bonnibel." Bonnie took a deep breath and let it go. Nodding, she said, "I think that we should contract for at least twelve elementals, giving them the opportunity to do this in shifts." "Agreed," Billy said.
Moving on, the big man declared, "that at least gets us an idea as to the condition of the cooling system. We need to look at evacuating the upper levels of the facility..." Abieuwa glared at him but said nothing. Billy went straight at her, asking, "what is the state of your treasury?" That question brought a frown of puzzlement out on her lovely face. "Gonna' have to split the treasure, babe," said Billy. "It's your legacy. I don't want to take it from you. I only need it to be safe. We need a place to store the legacy so that the machines in the bunker can restore the bunker to its original balance. We're buying time..." With a sigh, Abieuwa admitted, "there are caves, William... The same caves where the yellow dust is mined. Some of the old tunnels. We could store the casks there."
"But that leaves the risk of Bandit Princess getting her hands on the casks," Hurletta howled! "We can't go that way!" "They can't stay here," shouted Desert Princess! "We can't risk an explosion! The material has to move! It should be confiscated! We... the barrier machines need the fuel anyway!" That precipitated another round of shouting. Hurletta's eyes flicked to her idiot sister. Blargetha said, "working on it... Gimme a couple of days. I'll have an idea..." Hurletta groaned. They didn't have days. They needed an answer before these idiots went at each other's throats.
Finn stepped forward then, announcing, "Princess Nadia will arrange an airship to transport one of the storage containers for the machine army to the caves..." The argument cut out in mid-cry. Every face there looked to the King, as he came striding up the aisle. Billy came off the throne like his ass was on fire. The King waved him to a stop. Standing in the middle of the aisle, the big man declared, "you've done good work taking care of things. Thanks, son." Billy's face went hot. Abieuwa's hand caught his and gave it a squeeze.
Turning back to the matter at hand, Finn the King declared, "we will have the machines on patrol at the caves in three days time. As Knight-Marshal of the Southern Jungles, Prince William will be given charge of them. As soon as the machines are on guard, the emptying of the bunker will begin..." Turning to the nervous-looking elder standing near Abieuwa's seat, the King said, "the Guild will have their men on hand to account for every cask, and each should be weighed and measured according to the guild's standard and then recorded as is custom. A Master from the Guild will accompany each shipment as it is sent for interment." Clasping his hands together and bowing, the Guildmaster declared, "it is fair, King. This is fair. We thank you." Abieuwa relaxed visibly.
As the gathering was relaxing–climbing down off the ledge–Drew appeared, startling everyone. Grabbing Orzsebet by the ear, she said, "I'm told you drowned! Come along. Time for a checkup..." Not that she gave the Agent Princess a choice. As the gathering roared laughter, the Royal Physician dragged the Lady of Spies out the door by her ear.
And Breezy is rescued. One more thread is done. Now time to take care of some 'problems'.