"The threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
Seeing red again."
Chapter 8
"Stayne!" A shrill voice screeched, causing several birds that had been resting in the overhead trees to scatter.
"Yes, my Queen?" the named man hissed through clenched teeth, telling himself for what felt like the hundredth time that morning that no, he couldn't kill her yet; not until his plan was fulfilled. Then, and only then, could he wrap his gloved fingers around the horrid woman's neck and squeeze until there was no breath left in her disproportionate body. Oh, how he longed to watch her face turn another color than the angry red that so often covered it. Blue… or purple, maybe. Both rather delightful colors once the meaning of them on a person's skin was considered.
"How much longe'w do we have to wait? I'm getting ti'wed of all this hiding out!" Iracebeth whined, looking for all the world like a spoiled little child as she stomped her foot in frustration. The little sleeping boy next to her stirred, but did not wake.
"As soon as we receive word from my brother as planned – which should be any day now, my liege – we shall make our move." He responded. It had been two long, painful years in banishment together, during which the Red Knave had been able to concoct a plan that would ensure both his escape from the Outlands and his instatement on the throne of Underland. The greasy-haired man gave a feral grin as he thought of the future that lay ahead for this wretched world.
Sometime in the early days of their punishment, the mangled pair had stumbled across a small, foreign town. They had called it 'foreign', simply because it had managed to stay tucked away in the beach-lined forest far to the South of both Salezun Grum and Marmoreal. It was free from the influence of either Queen, and it was there that they had discovered the secret trading that went on right under Mirana's nose. Apparently, there was still connection between the mainland of Underland and its surrounding islands, though it was strictly an underground, black-market operation. Most of it, that is. As Iracebeth and Ilosovic stumbled through the small streets, they had been awed at the sights that surrounded them. So awed, in fact, that the bulbous-headed monarch managed to walk right into the only civilian on the sidewalks at that time of night.
"Watch where you're going!" She had complained rather loudly, swinging her scepter at the figure in the dark.
The man, however, had only tipped his hat and given an apologetic, "'scuse me, miss," before moving on, head down. The Knave, however, would have recognized the voice anywhere.
"Dunmharu Stayne," he had laughed coldly, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. "It has been such a long time." Ilosovic had taken a step forward (inadvertently dragging the Red Queen with him, as they were still chained together), and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Ah," Dunmharu's voice had come out somewhat strained, "How nice to see you again, brother." The statement, however, clearly meant otherwise. The Knave had chosen to ignore that, and continued.
"How fortunate it is that we've found each other in my desperate time of need. Now, tell me, where are you headed this time of night?" With another step forward, the unnaturally tall man had placed an arm around his brother's shoulders, discreetly making escape impossible. The brothers in youth, you see, had been complete opposites, much like the royal sisters. While Ilosovic had grown in sadistic and greedy ways (much like his father), Dunmharu – despite his name – had leaned towards their mother's side; not quite gentle, but more passive. The younger was content to live out his life on the neutral side, work an honest job, and come home every night to his family.
"To the docks," had been the reply, though the Knave could sense the lie.
"Now, now, Dun-Dun, you know better than to stretch the truth. Mother taught you better than that!" the elder had laughed somewhat manically, tightening his grip on the other man to the point where he winced at the pressure. When he had received no further explanation, however, he simply grinned. "Take us to your home then, and we'll discuss things further once we're—"
"Tell me what is going on this instant!" the Red Queen had finally yelled (miraculously not waking anyone up), as she had apparently been asking the same question all throughout the conversation between siblings.
"My dear brother, here, has agreed to shelter us for the night… and any other services we might require." He had hissed, smiling. "Lead the way, Dun-Dun," with a flourish of his hand, the Knave had roughly started the man forward again, and they were off.
After walking for several minutes in strained silence – Iracebeth, for once, sensed that it was not the time to be talking – they had finally stopped in front of one of the small townhouses that lined the streets. Dunmharu had unlocked the door carefully, and his brother noted with no small amount of glee that his hand was shaking as he had inserted the key. Oh, how he had missed making people fear. The moment the entrance to the small home was opened, a voice had called out, "Love, is that ye?" in a strong Outlandish accent. Suddenly, a young woman appeared at the end of the hall, "Ah got worried when ye di—" she had stopped midsentence when she saw Ilosovic's arm around his brother.
"Ah, and this must be the Mrs.; pleasure to meet you, my dear," the greasy man had grinned, his voice dripping with a sweetness that could only be described as deadly.
"Love, what's going on?" the woman had asked worriedly, backing up when Stayne had taken another step forward.
"Put little Johnstone to bed, dear, and you go upstairs with him." Had been her husband's response, a tremor evident in his voice no matter how hard he tried to cover it up. "I'll be there in a minute." The woman only nodded, and retreated back into the next room.
"You've made quite a life for yourself here, brother," Stayne had cooed. "Now, is there someplace we could talk?" Another feral smile had crossed his lips as the frightened man led them into the kitchen.
"Have a seat," he had gestured toward the little table in the center of the room. There were three old, wooden chairs around it, and the Queen had happily obliged by taking a seat in one.
"Whe'w aw we, Stayne?" she had asked as the Knave took a place beside her, still bound by the chains that kept them together. Her question, however, had been ignored.
"Would you like some tea, brother? Or you?" he addressed both seated at the little table.
"Yes, that would be lovel—" Iracebeth had started to say, but the Knave cut her off.
"Business before pleasure, Dun-Dun; you know that." He shook his head, chastising, but the younger had continued to heat the kettle anyway. "Now, first things first," he had rattled the chains that bound he and the former Queen together, indicating that he wished to be freed. There had been a pause as Dunmharu thought of some way out of the whole ordeal. This silence, however, had made it easier for the trio to hear someone descend the stairs. Soon, the Knave's sister-in-law had appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"Mari, I thought I asked you to stay upstairs," her husband had hissed worriedly.
"Nonsense, love; if yer goin' tae have guests over, it's only right that the lady of the house be present." She had smiled at the two seated at the table - though the gesture was a bit forced – and made her was over to the stove. "Let mae get that fer ye, while ye discuss whatever was so urgent that ye had tae come home so late fer." This had left Dunmharu no choice but to take the remaining empty chair, and he had sighed as he sat down.
"Now, where were we…?" Stayne had prompted, rattling his chains again.
"If I agree to release you, will you swear to leave and never return?" the brother had replied after another pause.
"Indeed; we shall depart, and you will never hear from us again." Stayne promised, grinning. "After, of course, some lodgings for the night and a good meal." There had been another pause, and the kettle squealed.
"Fair enough, brother," the younger had replied, resigned. "Come with me." The three had made their way back outside, then down around to the back of the small house where there was a small yard and a little stable that held one horse and three pigs. There was also a small chicken coop, but the animals inside had long since turned in for the night. They had made their way over to the stable, and the younger brother had entered. After searching the hay-covered floor, he had finally found what he was looking for, and lifted a small wooden panel in the floor. Out of it, he had produced a metal box.
"A keepsake container of stolen goods? You're getting more like Father every day, brother." Stayne had teased as Dunmharu retrieved a small key from the box. Using it, he had unlocked the shackles that bound their wrists.
"Whe'we did you get a key?" Iracebeth had asked as she rubbed her sore and chaffed wrists.
"Pilfered it off a guard during an esc—er, rescue mission." He had shrugged. "I didn't think it would work. Now, you'll be off first thing before dawn, correct?" the trio had begun their walk back to the house, and they made their way straight to the kitchen as soon as they entered.
"That's what we agreed, brother, and I never go back on my word." Stayne had replied as they sat back down at the table. Mari had placed a cup of tea before each of them without a word, before going back to cleaning several pots.
"You'll sleep in the foyer room, then. Mari will prepare your food for your travels, and you'll be on your way." Had come the response. Another nod from Stayne had confirmed it, and they had sat in silence and sipped their tea.
"This is delightful," Iracebeth had complimented after a few moments, and Mari had only smiled slightly in response, her eyes wide and worried.
The next morning, however, had not gone according to Dunmharu's plan. When Ilosovic was involved, though, nothing ever really seemed to go the right way. He should have expected as much, but, alas, he had – for once – trusted his brother. When he had woken just before dawn, intending to retrieve the bundles of food that his wife had prepared the night before and send his brother and the Bloody Big Head on their way, he had noticed immediately that something was wrong. The man of the house had brought his son to sleep in the same room as he and his wife, just as a precaution, and had intended to stay awake the whole night, keeping watch. That was his first worry: waking up. That meant that he had fallen asleep in the first place, allowing an opportunity for something to happen. His second worry: his wife was not lying beside him.
Frantically, the young man had shot out of bed, noting with some measure of relief that little Johnstone was still curled up on the padded chair along the wall. Where, though, was Mari? As quietly as he could do so without waking his child, he had crept from the room, heart racing. The moment he hit the bottom of the stairs, he had broken into a run, skidding to a halt when he entered the foyer. There, sitting on the sofa, had been the Red Knave, grinning insanely as he stroked a gagged Mari's hair. Iracebeth had looked on jealously, but it had been explained earlier that this was all part of some plan that had been formed in the night, and that she simply must go along with it.
"What are you doing, Ilosovic? We had a deal!" Dunmharu had cried frantically, taking a step forward to free his wife. As he moved, though, his brother had produced a blade seemingly from nowhere, and held it up to her throat.
Ignoring the question, Stayne had simply proceeded to explain how things were going to go from there on out. "You're going to listen, brother, and listen well, because the life of your pretty little woman here depends on it. I've learned in the last hour that people here don't know who you really are. You go by a different name, and work on a trading ship that goes between the islands and the mainland. I've also learned that you will be departing shortly for a voyage into the Otherland, am I correct?" Dunmharu had only nodded, watching the blade with wide eyes all the while. "I have a task for you while you're on that ship of yours, and you had better carry it out, or things won't end well for anyone involved.
"You're going to find the Champion Alice while you're at sea, and you are going to bring her to me. I don't care how you do it, or how long it takes. I just want her back here, with me, alive. The minute you have her, you are to send word back to me in any way you can. Once you return to the mainland with the girl, you can be sure that your family will be safe. You must follow my orders, exactly, though, or a very unfortunate… accident might occur." To prove this point, the silver knife had come a little closer to Mari's neck, drawing a drop of blood but doing no severe damage.
"Anything; I'll do anything! Just, please, don't harm my family!" At a loss of what else to do, the youngest Stayne sibling had fallen to his knees, begging for his loved ones lives. This had brought a kind of sick satisfaction to the Knave, and he released the woman.
"Lovely to hear, brother. Now, we'll be staying here a few more days, just to see you off. Then we'll be on our way." He had wiped the little dab of red off his knife as a slightly confused Dunmharu had unbound his wife.
"That's it?" Iracebeth had asked, a little shocked, herself, that the Knave had just let her go like that.
"Well, she very well can't cook for us if she's bound, now can she? And, besides," he had grinned, giving a pointed look towards the stairs, "There's still a little one here. We can't have him getting worried, now can we?" With a strangled gasp, Mari understood just what it was that he was implying.
"Yer not to lay a hand on him, ye slurvish thing!" She had cursed him, attempting to take a step forward. Her husband held her back, however.
"Why, I don't believe you have a choice, my dear." He had grinned, and that was that. They had become prisoners in their own home, and were forced to live out the remainder of the time before Dunmharu set sail in a sort-of forced normalcy. Little Johnstone became well acquainted with his new 'Aunt Racie' and 'Uncle Stayne', and had remained blissfully ignorant of the tension that was ever-present in the house. And the day his brother had left, the Knave, the Queen, and their little prisoner had retreated back into the forest. It had become too dangerous for them to stay in one place that long, and they needed to move on.
Suddenly, a loud caw broke through the Knave's thoughts, and the sound caused both adults to jump in surprise and the child to wake from his fitful nap. The trio all turned their eyes to the sky in time to see a messenger hawk swoop down. Stayne held out a gloved arm for the bird to land on, and – the moment it touched down – demanded for word of his brother. This bird had been their primary method of communication the moment Dunmharu entered Underlandian seas, when he had been first informed that his task was successful. "Grave news, my Lord," the bird replied, panting slightly from his frantic flight. "Your brother has been taken to Marmoreal, and the Champion discovered. She is residing in the White Castle as we speak, along with her daughter and two other Otherlanders, as well."
"What?" The Knave exploded, causing the hawk on his arm to adjust his footing nervously. "He failed?" With a furious shale of his hand, he tossed the animal from his person. He then turned his gaze to the uneasy Queen, who was clutching protectively to the little boy next to her. After so long with Johnstone, she had become quite attached to him, and they shared a bond that sickened the Knave to even think about. His nephew loved 'Aunt Racie' like family, and, in turn, the Queen had calmed down considerable. She still acted like a spoiled girl at times when the boy was either asleep or not present, but when he was there, she seemed almost… mature.
His brother's failure, however, meant one thing: there was no further need for the little brat, or his substitute mother. He was going to have to continue his plan alone. The Red Knave advanced on the two, fury and bloodlust darkening his eyes as he relished the utter terror upon his victims' faces.
AN: Uhm, okay, well, uh, that was a little darker than I intended... and a little longer. It was supposed to only be a little insight into the plot before going back to Marmoreal and the goings-on there, but I reached my limit of 3,000 words before I got there. Whoops. Sorry. Anywho, I hope that clears a little bit more up. The big question that poses itself: Who is Stayne's brother, really? Dun- dun- DUH! (I'm sure many of you already know, though...) Also, this chapter hasn't been beta-read, so any constructive critisism would be awesome! (That means you, Audrey! :D)
Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon! Thanks for reading!
Oh, and REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY! (*hint-hint-wink-wink-nidge-nudge*)