Chapter 39, You Can't Pick Your Relatives

Jill spent the rest of the meal in silence while the Father, Lundgren, and Zero discussed business. To her horror and then dismay, she realized that it was the business of war. They discussed in great detail the deployment locations of their troops, weapons and supplies. When she first understood that it was the business of war she thought that it was foolhardy of them to discuss such things in front of her. She was a prisoner after all. But then she realized that if they had no problem chatting in front of her, did that mean they were confident that she could not escape? Or did it mean a far worse fate was in front of her? She shuddered at her drifting thoughts and did her best to instead concentrate on their conversation.

The waiters had long ago removed their dinner plates and the fire burned low in the fireplace by the time that they were finished with their discussion. The Father motioned for Zero and Lundgren to leave.

He glared sternly at them as he gave his final order, "We will meet again in the laboratory in two hours. Do not be late."

Lundgren simply nodded his head in acknowledgment. Zero tersely replied, "Of course." His eyes burned in to the Father's. I brought back your fucking "daughter" and this is how you repay me? Not even the Sorceress had ever treated me in such a manner. The Father glared at him once more but said nothing. He sensed Zero's anger. His ego had been bruised and he was still smarting from his behavioral correction. The Father's eyes flashed and it was Zero who had to look away first. Coldly, the Father said to him, "Do not forget General Zero that it was I that freed you and gave you life. That makes me both your father and your mother." He smirked as he looked over to Jill, and said to her without expecting an answer "Is it not true that in the other world there is an expression that goes honor thy father and mother?"

Zero glanced back up and glared at him. He looked as though he was ready to spout off something, anything. But he held his tongue and instead turned to leave. Their footsteps, Zero's louder than Lundgren's, echoed off of the floor as they left. The Father and Jill watched them leave and were soon left alone. He turned and extended his hand to her, "Please come with me to my study. It is more comfortable there and I can begin to answer your questions."

Jill slowly rose from the table but did not take his hand. She did not trust him any farther than she could throw him and he knew it. She tossed her napkin on to the table.

He smiled gently. "As I expected, follow me."

He started towards the door and then after hearing no footsteps, turned to find her still standing near the table. "When you are in my direct company, guards are not needed. Would that not be obvious from this evening's earlier demonstration?"

Jill gazed at him one more time and then walked towards him. "Obviously," she answered him sarcastically.

They left the dining room and headed towards his study.

The Father held the door open for her as they entered his study. The fire in the fireplace had already been stoked and it crackled merrily. Two high back chairs were placed in front of it. Again, the familiar motif of animal heads lined the walls. By now she had grown used to it and paid them no attention. She had no idea why these people felt so compelled to mount heads on walls but given the situation that she was in, she no longer cared.

The Father motioned for her to sit down and she did. He walked over to a small bar near his desk and asked, "Would you care for a drink?"

She curtly replied, "No thanks." Both of her arms laid flat on the arms of the chair but she gripped the ends ever so slightly. And the bad guy says, "Would you care for a drink?" which really means, "Would you care for a drink before I kill you Mr. Bond?"

"Of course not. It does sound a bit cheesy as they say, does it not?" was all that he answered with. He finished pouring his own drink and then carefully put the bottle back in its row alongside its brethren. He walked over to the other high back chair and sat down.

He said nothing for a moment and only gazed at her. The amulet tucked inside his clothes burned. Patience, it will happen soon enough. Jill continued to grip the ends of the chair. It made her uncomfortable with him gazing at her like that. Perv, she thought.

"There is so much to tell you that I am unsure of where to begin," he finally said as he swirled the contents of his glass.

Unlike the Father, Jill did not hesitate. She told him with a slightly raised voice, "You can start by telling me why I'm here."

He stared in to the fire. He took a sip of the brown liquid and then asked, "Did you know your Uncle Bill?"

Her expression of defiance turned to one of pure confusion. "Wha..?" Then she recomposed herself as her initial shock and confusion turned to suspicion. "How do you know about Uncle Bill?"

The Father rose from his chair and took a few steps to the fireplace mantle. He reached for a small wooden box, turned, and handed it to her.

She hesitantly took it with both hands and held it at a slight angle to see it better. On the lid were the engraved letters of WW.

As the Father sat back down he said, "That is one of the few remaining belongings of William Wilkins. Your Uncle Bill as you called him."

She turned it over and from side to side a few times. Other than being stained a light brown color there was nothing else unusual about it. With a mixture of suspicion and accusation she asked "How did it get here?" They probably stole it from one of those travel storms.

He looked at her with a bit of amusement. "Why... when he arrived in the O.Z. it was one of the few items that survived both the tornado and the drop from the sky."

"What?" Jill asked as she cocked her head in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that the reason why Uncle Bill went missing is that he ended up here?" She put the box down on her lap.

"Yes. Why does that surprise you so? Think for a moment and you will see how the pieces fit together." He paused then added, "And no, he was not brought here intentionally. He was brought here by a naturally occurring tornado, in much the same manner that the Lord Ahamo, the Queen's husband, arrived here."

"Yeah right."

"Is not the American mid-west so famous that it has its own tornado alley?"

She shook her head and quietly snorted in disbelief. Could it have happened? Maybe, maybe not? She still was not convinced.

"Open up the box," the Father ordered.

With ever so slightly shaking hands she lifted off the box lid and put it on the arm of the chair. She reached in to the box and pulled out the first paper. She carefully unfolded and it began to read it. Her eyes grew large and her mouth opened a little as she recognized the writer. It was her dad. He was writing to tell Uncle Bill of their mother's death. She gently put it aside and pulled out the next few papers. They were all letters to him, some from other relatives, but most from her dad. At the bottom of the box were two faded black and white photos. That first was of her dad, her Uncle Bill, and some other relatives. The second made her gasp. It was of her Uncle Bill but there was also a young woman surrounded by people in royal garb. She held the picture up closer to her face. The young woman was the Queen in her much younger days. She narrowed her eyes thinking that if she did that, some other detail might pop out to squelch her conclusion. She stared at it some more. There was no doubt about it, it was definitely the Queen.

The Father broke the silence by saying quietly, "Your Uncle Bill was a very intelligent man."

Jill's eyes shifted from the photographs to him.

He continued, "He had so much knowledge that some said it was mystical in nature." He finished off the contents of his glass.

"What do you mean by that? By mystical in nature?" she asked as she carefully put the letters back in to the box. She kept the photograph of her dad and his brother in her hand though and gazed at it once more.

"Your Uncle Bill did not go by William Wilkins in the O.Z. He was soon known as the Mystic Man. Some referred to him as a wizard, others thought of him as a great sage. But in the end, no matter what you thought of him, everyone knew him as the Mystic Man."

Jill carefully put the lid on the box and wiggled around in her chair so that she could put the photograph in her jean pocket. She looked up at the Father and demanded, "Where is he now? I want to see him."

The Father played with his glass for a moment. "You cannot see him."

"Why?" she loudly demanded.

The response was very matter-of-fact. "Because he is dead."

Jill sat back in her chair and then stared in to the fire. Without looking at him she asked, "How?"

He answered quietly, "The Queen killed him."

She glared over at him and said defiantly, "Liar."

By now the Father had put his glass down on the floor and brought his hands together in front of him. "The Queen that you speak of is not the true queen that I served. I served what most of the populace referred to as the Sorceress."

She gripped the arm of the chair tightly and demanded, "Why did she kill him?"

He quietly replied, "Because he would not use his knowledge for her. It was unfortunate. With more time…"

She leaned forward again in her chair and interrupted him, "With more time what?" Then her voice grew louder. "You might have convinced him to help you guys? But it didn't work out that way did it? So you brought me here in his place."

And with that she had had enough. She held her Uncle's box of letters in her hand and stood up. She pointed her finger at him. "You and your little band of men are the traitors to the Queen." Then she turned and walked away from him. She knew that it was fruitless. He was not going to let her go walking out the door, but she had to get up. Being so near to him sickened her. It was one shock to learn that her Uncle Bill had ended up here in the O.Z. But then to be considered a wizard? And then to be killed for not helping the enemy? It was too much.

The Father turned his head to look at her. "I did not agree with all of her actions, but she was the true ruler of the O.Z."

Jill looked at one of the animal heads on the wall. It was a bear and she thought that it was sneering at her. "True ruler of the O.Z.? I find that hard to believe," she answered sarcastically.

He ignored the slight sarcasm in her voice and went on, "When a new royal house takes over the O.Z. it is not always by peaceful means. The historic actions of the House of Gale are not lily white."

She turned to look at him and snorted in disgust. "So what now? Are you going to get on your soapbox to try to justify that witch's true claim to the throne?" She paused and then continued to challenge him, "Why don't you try to justify her existence and why she did so much killing while you're at it?"

The Father said nothing and his expression was nearly passé.

Seeing him sitting there infuriated her. She had been brought in to a world against her will, only because of a relative that she never knew. Because of that these people thought that she was going to be their salvation for their own twisted desires. Because of her did they kill Jeb? Who else did they kill in order to get to her? In that one moment she no longer cared whether she lived or died. She crossed her arms and told him, "You wanna' know something?... Fuck you. I don't care about historic actions. I don't care how much you admired that witch. Uncle Bill died because it was better than helping her. And guess what? You must as well go and kill me right now too. I'm not helping you now, or ever."

The Father stood up and walked past her. In a gentle voice all he said was, "Follow me."

Author's Note: Thanks to all who continue to follow this little story! :D