Disclaimers: I do not own anything out of Resident Evil. All of the contents belongs to Capcom
Chapter V: Rumors
'I was about to thank you today, but it seemed I had more than one way to do so.' - Jake Muller
The Queen's Hall, Evening
Sherry stared at Jake Muller Wesker in disbelief. She had not expected that the events unfolded last night was NOT just a lucid dream. And the mysterious man of hers was actually the Prince of Raccoonia himself. Now she understood why she had a familiar feeling that he looked like someone: he was the King's son. Of course she had seen him before.
But up close and brighten, he did look as handsome and charming as she had imagined last night.
Jake must have caught Sherry's prolonged stare that he grunted annoyingly, he hated to have people ogling at him and Sherry tore her gaze away with a deep blush. Glaring at the young woman beside his mother, Jake shoved his hips to the couch next to them, "Say, I remember you. You are that girl back at the lake last night... What's the name again? Cheryl? Cherry?" Third time's the charm and he finally got it right, "Oh right. It's Sherry."
"...Y-Yes, sir." Sherry replied timidly, still couldn't come to believe that the mysterious man was the Prince.
Gabrielle looked at Jake with a soft yet stern look, "Now, now. Stop scaring her, my son." The Queen stroked Sherry's shaky hand, "And you better remember her name from now on. Because she will be your personal stewardess starting tomorrow."
What came from the Queen's mouth had both Jake and Sherry eyed towards each other with widen eyes.
Jake was the first who protested, "What? No shit, mom? You know I don't like having someone babysitting me!"
"It's not babysitting, my son. Sherry will only provide you if you need any assistance you need. Please, Jake. For me?" Gabrielle pleaded with soft puppy eyes.
The frown on Jake's face deepened. He hated it when his mother did that; he just couldn't say no to those eyes. It was the same method that she had used to him multiple times and still it was as effective as ever. His always angry looking eyes hovered to the small, child-like woman next to the Queen - it made contact with each other and like a sudden jolt of electricity through her spine, Sherry dipped her head down again to look at her lap.
A vexing smirk suddenly grew on Jake's handsome face and he finally agreed, "Fine."
He breathed, almost like a whisper, "But just so you know, Sherry," He was talking to her directly instead of his mother, "You are not the first woman to be my 'lapbitch'." An evil chuckle left his lips, "And I doubt you will be the last." Crossing his legs, Jake kept his eyes fixated on Sherry who still hadn't the stomach to look back at him. 'She looked weak and easy. This shouldn't take long.' Jake thought with another sadistic chuckle.
The Queen scoffed at his Prince's foul choice of word but at least he had agreed to her terms without throwing a tantrum like the other day when he literally caused a havoc on the courtyard, "And... please be good to this little lady, Jake."
"Oh, I will." Jake said with a smug grin, "I am curious to see how long she will last. Unlike the other girl who just last for three hours."
Now Sherry was genuinely scared, 'What did he mean? Lasted three hours?' Gabrielle tried her best to ignore Jake when she turned to plead Sherry next, "You will be the Prince's stewardess, won't you, my dear?" When she first entered the hall, Sherry had made a determination to obey any of the Queen's terms.
But now, she actually hesitated, second guessing herself.
She had promised, didn't she?
Holding a breath of air on her lungs, Sherry used her remaining strength to nod which her head felt like a hundred times heavier to do so.
Finally releasing her hand, Gabrielle guided Sherry to a stand, "It is agreed then." Those words made Sherry's slim legs felt wobbly. "You may go to your quarters for now and get some rest. Meanwhile you should take your belongings along since you will be staying in a room next to the Prince's, Jill will see to it that you will be organized."
"Yes, your Highness."
And suddenly there was a glint of empathy on the Queen's gaze, "And if you need someone to talk to when you encounter any problems regarding the Prince, you can always come see me anytime. Anytime at all, my child."
Without further events, Jake strutted out the hall with a small wave of his hand. Not before leaving a sarcastic warning to Sherry, "Good luck, little girl. We'll see tomorrow if you can break the record."
And he added, "I was about to thank you today, but it seemed I had more than one way to do so."
At that moment, Sherry felt like she was the stupidest person ever. Or to be exact, the unluckiest one.
She felt like she had just made a pact with the devil.
To serve under a devil child.
Servant's Quarter, Evening
Per Queen Gabrielle's order, Sherry returned to her quarters at the courtyard alone in the evening. There was no one in the dormitory, everyone was out to work - and she desperately needed to talk to someone especially Sheva. She heaved, sitting on her bed which will soon to be vacated when she will move to the other room directly next to The Prince's starting tomorrow.
Sherry cursed at her own luck, the tragedy at her hometown was bad enough and now, she was forced into the life of servitude under the devil-may-care Prince.
It was only a while she had sat down and the women returned to the quarter for their dinner, surprised to find Sherry sitting there after her meeting with the Queen. All the looks they were casting her was sympathy, even the stoic Alyssa.
Sheva rushed forward to hug Sherry as if they were best friends already, "I heard that you will be the Prince's stewardess." She sounded like a big misfortune had fell onto Sherry, "I am sorry."
The news spread faster than she thought.
"Hey, why make it sound like it's a disaster coming on me? I got promoted! You should be happy for me, Sheva." Sherry forced an optimistic laugh.
All the other ladies-in-waiting sighed to Sherry's clueless state, as if they wanted to share Sherry's burden.
"Sherry, haven't you heard what the Prince did to his previous stewardess?" Helena asked morosely, "He had already tortured four women under his service... all whom begged for mercy from the Queen to release them out from his service."
"That's what I said about staying away from The Prince." Sheva added glumly
When night has fallen, everyone decided to stay in Sherry's dormitory, even the other maids next door.
Sitting on the bed side by side to each other, they circled Sherry as they told her what they had heard about the Prince. It's just like a nighttime ghost story that Sherry had heard from her mother. She suddenly realized how the ambiance of the room turned heavy.
The Prince's wicked deed.
To which all of them were too dark and cruel to be true.
Some rumors speculated that the first girl left because she had been overworked by The Prince that she had broke her spine one day. The second girl left due to the prince's torturous method of punishment for taking his empty bottle of ale away. The third, for unknown reasons had went semi-catatonic. And the last, Sherry's predecessor, was raped. The very first day she went into service. That further encourage the three hours by The Prince's statement himself.
But those are just rumors, right?
That forlorn yet good looking man couldn't really be a... monster by heart?
King's Study, Night
Albert Wesker chuckled darkly in amusement. Rather than an actual laughter out of happiness, it was more like a mockery, degrading laugh at his Queen.
"So, the newcomer had appointed to be my son's right hand. How amusing. Hadn't my Queen remembered how the last women ended up? Four of them? Five?" Even the King himself forget the number of the women who had once became The Prince's stewardess. Excella laughed along with her King, hands massaging the King's strong shoulders, Albert paid no attention to it.
"This poor woman will be the fifth, your Majesty." Excella said, "If I remember correctly, her name is Sherry."
Albert's smirk became wider when the images of the mousy young woman in golden hair formed in his mind. He had met her just days ago so he remembered her vaguely. In his mind, Albert was wondering how would it be possible for someone as fragile as her to survive the defiant Prince as Jake Wesker is.
Just then, the door opened to his study and Chris walked quickly to the front, presenting himself to the King late at night.
The curve on Albert's lips died on the sight of his enemy, Chris. But Albert remained as collected as he was. After a short greeting from the Grand General, Albert impatiently asked Chris for his business.
"I have come to inquire about The Prince's training," Chris stated "from what I have observed so far, his Highness is ready to wield a sword like a real soldier. He may proceed with the final test any time he want and to go on with the archery training with General Krauser. And I am very pleased to tell your Majesty that The Prince can easily overcome the test with his raw talent in combat."
"Hmm." Albert made a disapproving noise. He didn't reply Chris for a few seconds until he finally stood up from his seat, eyes shimmering, "I suppose my son had no problem with combat after all."
"Yes, your Majesty."
"But I have to say that you did a poor job training the Prince and I must demerit you for that." Albert sneered.
Chris pursed his lips into a fine thin line. He knew how much the King antagonized him and how many times he tried to be rid of him but never once he succeeded due to Chris' own flawless work; the Grand General put everything into details as he worked on them, never letting even a small flaw abandoned. Chris waited, listening what The King wanted to say this time - what he had to say.
"The reason I put my son under the three of you, is not only to train him in the basics of using a weapon; Jake had known how to wield a sword by its handle at the age of five without hurting himself. General Redfield, the reason I am appointing you as my son's combat tutor is not only to teach my son how to swing a weapon at his enemy. I am looking for you to train something more abstract out of him: I want you to teach him the meaning,"
Albert glared at Chris with his golden-red eyes burning, "of life."
The General might be cautious with his King but he found truth in the King's words. Jake Wesker was no stranger of self-defense, the combination of his strength that was not inferior to neither to Chris, Leon of Krauser, the supreme finesse he had in aiming a bow and his acrobatic agility made Jake literally better than any soldier in his age.
But it was the inside of The Prince that made him inferior to everyone else.
While everyone had a purpose to strife for the best, Jake had none in his life other than to spend his life and rot himself.
Chris readjusted his sword on his waist, "As you command."
The King now stood directly in front of the kneeling General, "Good, then I will extend the period of The Prince's training. By the time you pass The Prince to General Krauser for archery training, I hope that I will already seeing the difference."
"Yes, sire."
"Dismissed."
Rear Castle, Night
This time instead of stumbling upon the General in accident, Jill was waiting for Chris to come out from the King's study. She saw the deep scowl on his face, clearing indicating that he was unhappy with the brief meeting with the King. General's Redfield's eyes were unfocused as if his mind were thousand miles away that he walked past Jill in his state of trance.
"General Redfield!" She called after him which made him woke from his stupor and turned to look at the woman. Even with his moody face, Chris tried his best to force a smile out of himself, "Good evening, miss Valentine. Are you passing by?"
"No. I was waiting for you." Jill replied bluntly, not bothering to make an excuse for herself.
Arching an eyebrow in interest, Chris's tired smile became brighter, "Oh, is there something you need?"
Jill shook her head at him, "No. It's not about me. I heard that you are presenting your report about The Prince's combat training and... you are always unhappy when you see the King."
"You are worried about me?" Chris teased.
Baffled, Jill quickly defensed, "What? No. NO. I-I just thought that I could ask about it since... the Queen was always curious to know about The Prince's progress but his Highness never tell."
Looking at Jill's flustered expression was enough to make the always serious, down-to-business looking General cracked into a rare fit of chuckle. Only Jill Valentine can make him look this way. Luckily there was no one in sight to see the General's alter ego or else it would be awkward.
Coughing several times to stop the giggles, Chris apologized to the woman and summarized The Prince's combat experience to Jill. The positive remark about The Prince''s physique made Jill looked pleased like a mother would to his son. After all, she WAS Jake's nanny and the Queen herself would be proud to hear about The Prince's too.
"By the way, is it true that the Prince has a new stewardess? General Kennedy told me that she was the woman he and my sister rescued from the streets..." Chris trailed off.
Jill sighed then. Placing her hands on her lap, she gazed out to the window to the night sky, "Sherry was her name. She's... completely oblivious to the Prince's deed and she had once got the Prince to listen to her. The Queen was doing her best to find a girl whom the Prince can open up to, since the Princesses from the country couldn't stand up to the rumors circulating around The Prince, her Highness had resorted to lowly stewardess instead. It was always her wish that the Prince can become a better man." And she said ruefully, "No matter what it takes."
"We all know that the Queen love his Highness the most."
Valentine nodded, "Yes. And I do hope that this Sherry girl can at least make the Prince to stop hating the world."
They stood there in silence until Jill finally excused herself, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, General. And... good night, Chris."
"Good night, Jill."
It only took a moment after they had walked away from each other that they both instantly realized that they had called each other by their first name.
Then a stupid grin for the night.
Walls of the castle, Night
Jake was the least annoyed at his mother decision to find him a stewardess to follow him around. To him, anyone taking command from anyone was a 'dog.' This pretty Sherry girl was about to be his next 'pet' soon. Much to his own dislike. To him, having someone around him was more of a nuisance than a help. He knew that she was younger than he is from his small figure and he knew that it would be more like babysitting her than the supposed way.
But she was pretty. Those blue eyes of hers.
Jake grunted at his own discord, shaking off the pictures forming in his head as he touched the jagged line on his cheek - it is his reminder. Fortunately, the forming pixels of her smiling face shattered into darkness before it could be any clearer.
No, he can never trust people. Anyone at all. No. Just no.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow will he think of some way for her to walk away from him voluntarily. Just like how he had did to the four previous women.
Maybe he'll think of less harsher ways to 'thank' her.
But he will still try to get rid of her. Any way possible.
A.N: Oh no. Jake... was he as bad as the maids had said? I don't know. ;) What would he do to 'thank' Sherry?
I know the fic was more like a Chris/Jill fic than a Jake/Sherry fic, that's what it is for now. But as a reminder, this fic is still centered around Jake/Sherry and the good part will be coming up soon! XD Maybe not so soon, but it will. I got plans for them. :)
RFF!
Oh, and I had think of a one-shot lately and I'll try to see if I can bring it up any other day! Because you guys were right, it's easier to focus on one work than to have multiple things going on at a time.
But I will still try and write to see how it turned out! :) Ciao!