"Hullo, hullo! Who's ready for the big night, eh?" He struts into the room, a big grin on his face, sharply dressed as always and twirling his cane.
She looks at him with blurry eyes, trying hard to bring him into focus. "Wha' the fuck d'ya even need a cane fo'?" Her speech is slurred, heavy with all the alcohol she's been ingesting for the last 24 hours. She can't even remember when's the last time she had something to eat.
"Oi, are you drunk?" He doesn't need to wait for the answer though, as Tamsin just gives him a stupid smile. "For fuck's sake, darling! How daft are you? You can't go up there like this, what the fuck were you even thinking?"
"Course I can. I'm gonna go up there… and fuckin beat on his stupid mug… and those little cunts will go wild and cheer and clap and… shit," she finishes lamely after she pauses briefly to think of an epic way of ending the sentence and failing. She takes another swig of the bottle of vodka.
"Ya, well, I think you've had enough, luv," he says, visibly worried. "C'mon, you can't go up there in this state, you gonna get yourself killed."
"Won't."
"Sweetheart, give me that, you've had enough," he reaches out and pulls the bottle out of her hand. It takes her a few seconds to process what's happened.
"Oi, give it back!"
"No. Let's get you all sobered up, a'right? Fight's on in 20 minutes, gotta get you on your fucking feet."
"I said give it back."
He ignores her and tries to help her up, but she moves faster than he expected - hell, faster than she expected given how numb all her senses are right now, she grabs him by the throat and pushes him against the wall, holding him there in a steel grip.
"Don't you ever fucking do that again," she growls, staring him in the eye. He lifts up his hands defensively and holds them up until she loosens her grip.
"Fine, no need to get all worked up, you can 'ave it back," he says and hands her back the bottle. She takes another large gulp and lets out a satisfied grunt. "I just don't wanna watch yerself gettin killed," he explains pleadingly.
"'kay," she whispers meekly.
The sudden change in attitude confuses Vex. He pulls up a chair and sits down in front of her, starting to wrap her hands.
"Look, you better be careful with this one, he's a sneaky little bastard. I hear he likes to pretend he's left-handed, and get you to work more on that side, and then bam! deal a blow with his right when you least expect it. Don't know if that's true, but just… be careful, a'right? Keep your eyes on both his sides." She nods eagerly, although she's already forgotten what he said. Her mind, still clouded by alcohol, is elsewhere. Focused on someone else.
"And I also hear he's keen on making a name for himself tonight," Vex goes on, but she can barely hear him, as if he's miles away. "He'll do all he can to bring you down, luv, he's been goin' around telling folks about how he's gonna smash your teeth out and leave you lying in a pool of blood, a'right? And this is his chance, tonight, he won't get another, so he'll give all he's got."
Tamsin nods. She only understood half of what he said, but she feels sorry for how she treated him, for taking out her rage and heartache on him, so she pretends she listened.
He keeps silent for a while, focusing on getting her hands wrapped tightly. "I thought I saw Lauren as I was coming in, she finally agreed to see you fight?" She doesn't answer, she just looks at him and takes another gulp of vodka. He understands though, he always does, the pompous fool. "Look, all I'm saying is, give yourself a proper sendoff. This is your last fight, so you better bloody make it a good one, eh?"
It's not that she doesn't try. She's pretty sure she isn't doing anything wrong, but they've been in the ring for more than ten minutes already and she only landed one punch so far.
She's barely standing up, unable to focus on the large man in front of her. He's an ugly piece of work, this one. Huge, ferocious and faster than expected, he's already managed to apply a couple of blows so powerful to her ribcage that she almost stopped breathing. She's trying to find her footing, but runs directly into her opponent's right fist. Pay attention to both sides, you stupid goose.
Her eyes keep turning to the stands, to the dozens of unknown faces in the crowd, all of them contorted in an ugly, fierce expression Tamsin is all too familiar with. She sees it every night while she's fighting, what the smell of blood and the thrill of violence do to the crowd. All of them shouting, all of them wanting more.
Well, almost all. Her gaze finally lands on Lauren, who's in the VIP box, and she does not seem thrilled at all. Wide eyed, hand over her mouth in shock, Lauren meets her eyes, and for a second Tamsin thinks that she may be asking her to stop fighting. But it's all gone, in the blink of an eye, when Lauren looks to her left, and as Tamsin unwillingly follows the trajectory of her gaze she remembers how come they all got here in the first place. The Yankee. Tamsin looks at her briefly, before taking another punch to the face. Bo seems completely transfixed as she sits there quietly next to Lauren. There's a look of both disgust and fascination on her face, as she cannot take her eyes off the ring. She is completely under the spell of the fight and the smell of blood, mixed with sweat and tobacco, that permeates every corner of the old warehouse. The two men who are with them have joined the rest of the crowd in shouting and jeering.
She waits for a good 30 minutes before deciding. "Fucking pussy," she compliments herself as she starts climbing the stairs, three at a time, convincing herself with every step that everything is fine, that the pressure she's feeling inside her chest since she saw Lauren and Bo getting out of the car is nothing more than her being exhausted. Nothing an excellent glass of wine and a good night's sleep won't cure. Keep lying to yerself, lassie.
She takes a deep breath before going inside, making one final effort to push the memory of Bo touching Lauren out of her mind.
"Evenin' fair lady," she says in a cheery tone.
"Evenin' to you too, me bonny lass," Lauren jests in response, smiling.
Tamsin tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
"Here, I got you something," she says coyly, handing Lauren the candy box. She takes out the bottle of wine as well and goes to open it and take out two glasses.
Lauren looks pleasantly surprised. Just for a quick second, until she realizes how much money that cost. "Tamsin, you shouldn't have, really. I appreciate it, but… this must have cost a fortune," she says quietly.
"Nonsense, mouse. Tonight we're celebrating, so we're having the best." Lauren raises an eyebrow questioningly but Tamsin stops her before she can ask for more details by shoving a glass of wine in her hand. "You worry too much, luv. I always said to let me worry about the finances, a'right? You just mind your studies. C'mon, bottoms up!"
Lauren can't not worry. She never knew exactly how Tamsin earned their living, besides fighting. She's worried that one day whatever she does will come back at her and she will end up in jail or worse. Every time she brought the topic up before, Tamsin shut her off quickly, assuring her it was nothing illegal. 'Fine, but don't count on me bailing you out of the Crown's jails when they lock you up,' she distinctly remembers telling Tamsin a while ago during one of their arguments.
But now there is something different on her face, a look of hope and confidence, something she doesn't remember having seen before. There's a beautiful light that radiates from Tamsin's usually frown-heavy green eyes to her facial features, making her glow. It fills Lauren's heart with joy for there are so very few moments, if any, when Tamsin looks this happy.
They drink the wine, eat candy and make small talk about the weather and Lauren's classes. She knows the topic bores Tamsin, so she moves to her colleagues – most of them arrogant young men from well-off families who still consider her beneath them. It hurt like hell at first, but she got used to ignoring them and they slowly stopped making fun of her as well. It must have had to do with the fact she had been top of her class and her teachers' favorite student since the very first year. She had a somewhat amicable relation with most of her colleagues now, which was fortunate because otherwise Tamsin would have broken 'every fucking bone in their puny little bodies' as she had threatened on numerous occasions when Lauren would come back from school hurt and crying.
As they talked, Tamsin was having second thoughts. She was waiting for the right moment to bring up the topic of her new employment, but the moment never seemed to come. Maybe she should wait, maybe she should see how it went before telling Lauren everything she could about Madam Marquise and how much money she would be paid for… keeping the woman's daughters safe.
Little did she know that Lauren was going through exactly the same situation. Trying to find the right moment, having second thoughts about bringing up the topic. But she had promised. She took a deep breath and, taking advantage of a pause in conversation, when a calming silence had settled between them, she just went at it. Consequences be damned.
"When's your next fight, Tamsin?"
The question catches her off guard. It's actually the last thing she'd expect Lauren to ask, since she usually tries to stay as far away as possible from her… business.
She studies Lauren's face for a few seconds before answering, trying to understand where this was coming from and to anticipate what would come next.
I thought you didn't want me to fight anymore.
"Umm, sometime next week, I reckon. Why do you want to know?" is what comes out instead, and she throws back the whole glass of wine in one long gulp. She needs something stronger.
Lauren lets out a sigh, and Tamsin realizes in surprise that the other woman is wringing her hands and struggling to speak, something highly uncharacteristic of her. Tamsin can't remember ever seeing Lauren embarrassed in front of her.
"I have a favor to ask, Tamsin, if possible."
Why does it feel like the world's coming down on top of her all of a sudden?
"Anything, luv, you know that."
Her palms were sweating profusely and she felt a faint tremor in her knees whenever she tried standing up, so she eventually resolved to remain seated, at the expense of seeming to be a rather rude guest. Not that Bo cared about any of this. Better like that than risk fainting or Lord knows what else. The image of Bo and the butler trying to pick her up and carry her to a sofa or worse, to the hospital, was worse than any nightmare imaginable.
Surely not worse than meeting the closest friends of the woman you're… fond of, right? Lauren took in a deep breath and turned her gaze to Bo, who was busying herself packing the gifts she had brought her friends from New York. Literally five minutes before their arrival, which seemed so typical of Bo that Lauren was hardly surprised.
When the butler came in to announce Hale and the other guests Bo let out a squeal of joy, while Lauren wished the ground would just crack open and swallow her whole. Why was she this nervous? Why was she so desperate to make a good impression? To gain their approval?
All worry dissipated though as she met them and shook their hands, as it turned out all three of them were quite marvelous people. Hale, in his funny looking top hat that he kept on at all times, to the butler's despair, and only took it off briefly when he was introduced to Lauren, had a way of making everyone feel welcome and turning almost any topic of conversation into a joke, without hurting anybody's feelings in the process. Dyson, the son of a Scottish lord and dear friend of the McCorrigans, was quite the dandy, but although he pretended to be a shallow, good for nothing sod, he was harboring a heart of gold and was the most loyal friend you could ever hope for, as Bo said. They'd known each other since they were little children, before Bo left to America. Ciara, Dyson's fiancé, was soft-spoken and elegant without being intimidating, and she went out of her way to make Lauren feel accepted and a part of their group.
As the hours passed and all five of them talked about virtually any topic conceivable, from American politics to Lauren's studies and Ciara's horse farm, she started feeling more at ease. She smiled and joked, and laughed, not remembering when was the last time she had felt so carefree.
They moved to the study for tea and drinks after lunch, and Lauren tried some liquor from Mr McCorrigan's personal reserves for the first time. The liquid was strong and went to her head as soon as she took the first sip. By the look on everyone else's face, they were experiencing the same sensation. A stupid grin on her lips, Lauren kept her eyes on Bo and how she was moving graciously between her friends, making sure their glasses were filled and they had everything they needed. When Bo reached her, she looked into the American girl's eyes and smiled sweetly. She was feeling more courageous because of the alcohol, and allowed her hand to linger on Bo's one minute too long as the girl handed her a glass of brandy. Bo smiled back, a hint of red coloring her cheeks all of a sudden, then seated herself next to her.
The conversation had steered to more mundane topics in the meantime, such as what one could do in London for fun. Lauren wasn't even sure when and how the topic of underground fights came up, but she jolted out of the reverie of touching Bo when she heard Dyson mention an all too familiar moniker, the Iron Maiden.
"Do you know about her? I hear she's bloody fierce, she'll grab you by the balls and literally wipe the floor with your arse!"
"Nah, get out of here!... Really?"
"I swear, Hale! Apparently she's one eyed, she lost the other in some fight, and has the muscles and strength of a gorilla!"
"Get out of here! I heard some boys talking the other day about this beast, but I thought they were joking. The way they were talking, it sounded like this brute of a woman was raised in the jungle or something. Probably ugly as hell and not a single bone left intact in her whole body… Can you imagine that?"
Bo and Ciara just rolled their eyes, trying to continue their conversation separately and to involve Lauren in it as well. But she couldn't. She wasn't sure if she should say anything, yet the rumors and gossip annoyed her.
"Actually, she's nothing of the kind," she cut in, taking everyone by surprise. Everybody fell silent and looked at her. "She's neither one-eyed nor hideous," Lauren went on, aware that she couldn't stop there.
Dyson gave her a strange look, his mouth still half open as he was preparing to say something.
"You know her?" Hale asked eventually.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. She is my… roommate."
"No way! Really?" Lauren just nodded in confirmation. "That's unbelievable! Why didn't you say something sooner?" Hale asked excitedly.
"You think you could introduce us? I mean… she's a living legend," Dyson inquired, almost sheepishly.
"Maybe take us to one of her fights? Is she really all that people are saying? Undefeated? Invincible?" Hale was so excited that he took off his hat and moved closer to Lauren.
"Oh, I wouldn't know, I've never seen her fight, actually." Lauren was starting to dislike the attention, and the unexpected turn the whole discussion was taking.
"How can you not? You weren't even a wee bit curious? I heard she's bloody amazing, has the longest string of victories in the history of underground fights." Dyson was acting like an enamored schoolgirl.
Lauren felt increasingly awkward and was really starting to regret having said anything in the first place. Bo and Ciara had a reassuring smile on their faces, not sure whether to intervene in the discussion.
"All right, I think that's enough, leave poor Lauren be," Bo eventually cut in.
But Dyson was not going to give up. "Oh, come on, what harm can it do? Seriously, Lauren, do you think you could get us into the next fight? We'd pay, of course. It's just that we've heard so much about her that we would really like to see her fight. Please? Pretty please?"
"I want no part of this," Ciara scoffed. "It's just not right, that poor girl is probably fighting because she wasn't able to find anything else decent in this market, this bloody economy choking us all. You know how privileged we are, right? Most people out there don't even have half, no, what am I talking about, even a quarter of our wealth, and they have to make do, and it is getting increasingly difficult, especially how the government…"
As Ciara got carried away voicing her distrust of the authorities and criticizing their lack of involvement in ensuring jobs and social welfare for all, and Dyson and Hale tried to stop her politely, Bo remained silent, watching Lauren intently. There was a strange glint in her eyes, half of amusement and half of surprise that the sweet medical student would not only know but would be a sister of sorts to the fiercest fighter in town.
Lauren returned the gaze, at a loss for how to react, looking for some sort of opinion or approval in Bo's eyes. The American girl just smiled and reached out to touch her hand in reassurance. Lauren felt her heart stop.
"This is your call, sweetheart," Bo almost whispered close to her ear. "As intriguing as it sounds, if you don't feel right about this, then by all means refuse, all right?"
She nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "All right, I suppose I can give it a try. I shall talk to her to figure out when the next fight is and how to get in." Her voice sounded clear and steady, although her mind was already constructing an elaborate argument to convince herself what a bad idea this was. Hale and Dyson were happy though – one gave her a quick hug, the other patted her on the shoulder and couldn't stop thanking her and grinning stupidly in excitement.
Ciara just rolled her eyes, whispered something along the lines of "bloody idiots" and took another sip of brandy, while Bo kept her eyes on Lauren, a mysterious smile still playing on her lips. The way she was looking at her made Lauren's stomach flutter and her cheeks turn red, so she did her best to avoid looking back.
Bo's smirk grew even wider. "That's great, Lauren, thank you so much," she said eventually, reaching out to touch Lauren again, this time on her knee. "I look forward to seeing this… what was it?... right, Iron Maiden, right, in action."
Tamsin's heart sinks. She places the glass of wine carefully on the table, keeping her eyes down all the time. She bites down on her tongue, so hard that she tastes blood, to refrain herself form saying something she'd regret later. Something that she would never be able to come back from.
"Right well… I'll have to check with Vex but next Tuesday, 8 o'clock should be right," she hears herself speaking in a strange, distant voice, while inside her head she is screaming. "I'll give you the exact address and time, just remember to tell the boys at the entrance you were invited by me. The Iron Maiden, not Tamsin, alright? They only know me by my stage name."
She finally finds the strength to look up and sees Lauren's facial muscles slowly moving into a warm smile. Her eyes, though, are as sad as always.
"Thank you, Tamsin, that means a lot."
"Don't mention it, mouse, happy to help." She turns her head briskly, hoping she has moved fast enough to hide the tears. She gets up and heads to the back room to change but instead ends up crying her eyes out for the first time in an eternity.
She fucking hates crying. She's raving and raging inside, but if Lauren asked her to fight, she'll fucking do it. No matter what.
Vex seems to be yelling something at her, but she cannot hear a thing, there's no other noise coming through besides the heavy pounding of her own heart in her ears. She's out of focus, out of patience, out of any desire to keep on fighting.
Her opponent continues to take advantage and is driving her into a corner, raining blow after blow on her.
Maybe this was it. The one time she would lose. The one time she would be crushed. The thought appeals to her, if only for a minute, as she revels in the idea of being rid of the burden she's been carrying for what feels like forever. Not having to worry anymore. Allowing herself to be weak and vulnerable for a change.
In between hits, she sees Lauren averting her gaze, not being able to witness the bloody spectacle anymore. The movement seems to jolt Bo awake of her hypnotic state and the American turns to Lauren right away. Tamsin can see her soothing Lauren, whispering in her ear.
No. Not today.
Another strong punch to her stomach, and she almost doubles over, but manages to get back upright. Just in time to see Bo wrap an arm around Lauren's shoulders protectively. She tries to take a step forward, but her opponent throws an uppercut that sends her right back into the corner. Her eyes fall on Vex, who has stopped shouting and is looking at her with a mixed expression of worry and compassion.
She looks to where Lauren is seated and notices she has completely hidden her face against Bo's neck, while the Yank is holding both arms around her, mouth close to her ear. Tamsin doesn't know if she's still whispering something in Lauren's ear or kissing her. It doesn't really matter, does it?
Not when rage starts bubbling up inside her like Mount Vesuvius. She can literally hear her blood starting to boil, and her heart pounding louder and louder until it takes over her entire being, setting an unnerving rhythm that pushes new strength through her muscles and veins.
Not today. Not with Lauren here.
The thought acts like an adrenaline boost, and just as the other fighter is halfway to dealing her a final blow and call victory, she ducks to the left as fast as she can, cutting it closer than she likes, and counterattacks with a vicious punch to the man's ribcage. He's thrown off balance, as the blow and the absence of impact with Tamsin's face leave him hanging strangely in the air for a second before he almost falls face over. He catches himself on the ropes and is back on his feet in no time.
A fast fuckin bastard, this one. But the episode has given her plenty of time to snap out and clear her head. She's ready for him now, and her whole body and posture reflects this new found determination. The crowd senses it too and they start cheering for her and chanting her name rhythmically. Vex is shouting something so loudly that it's indistinguishable.
She spits a mouthful of blood but doesn't bother to wipe any more of it off her face. Without looking towards Lauren or the audience again, she starts counting slowly, her eyes set on her opponent. The man has a wicked grin, as he charges her, still certain of victory. That's his mistake, and Tamsin knows that by the time she reaches 8, he will be struggling to pick himself up from the ground.
Not today, you sad little fuck. Whole world be damned, no way she's going out with just a fucking whimper.