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Chapter 52. Breaking point
by Pearl

Black plagues, line a fading sky.
A dying world stripped to the bone,
Intoxicated by the madness.
Blood weeps from open wounds.

And still the fires rage,
Consumed, now chaos reigns.
Our pride dissolved,
The rise and fall,
The breaking point,
Burned and crossed.

There were still a house full of 'guests' who needed attending. It was disturbingly easy: falling into the place of hostess, lounging on the arm of a sofa, chatting up some male. She hadn't even taken note of what species he was. What did it matter, after all, what his snout and ears looked like if he had all the right parts in his pants and was willing to pay for her attention to them? Or so she had once believed. . .

" . . . when my mate took the madness . . ."

Pearl hadn't really been listening to what the beast was even saying but that bit stood out to her. She could help this poor creature, ease his suffering. Her features softened and she started really trying to hear to his rambling.

" . . . went out to buy some food for the whelp . . ."

He had a young one! The vixen nodded sympathetically and ran a comforting paw over his brow.

"That's when those woodland chaps dragged me off."

"Leaving your little one all alone," the vixen crooned, caressing the beast once again.

The male giggled at her touch. "They didn't get my gold though. I've still got enough to pay ye."

Pearl stiffened sharply. "You think I would take food out of a babe's mouth like that?"

There was a time when she would have laughed with him. Taking his money meant that she could afford to keep Jasper in that fine house across town and continue his formal education.

"Ah," the male waved a paw to brush away her accusation. "The kit's prob'ly dead by now anyway."

Rising to her footpaws, trembling with rage, the vixen took the wineglass from the beast's paw and hurled it at the nearest wood paneled wall. "I won't . . . I would never . . ." she shrieked over the shattering glass.

Emma and Crystal, who a moment before had been involved in similar endeavors, were at her side in an instant. Between the two of them they managed to drag the hissing madam out of the main sitting room and out into the entry hall. They debated whether they could get her upstairs to the privacy of her own suite, but she was struggling so that it was all they could do to keep her contained.

"What did he say to her?" Crystal asked.

Emma grunted with the effort and then answered, "I don't know. I was on the other side of the room trying to talk to the wolverine."

The ratmaid patted Pearl's shoulder as the vixen began to calm down and spoke softly to her. "It's alright now, Ms. Pearl. You should be happy. You're home and you've got a houseful of guests to care for. That was always . . ."

"Guests to care for." The vixen snorted. "Do you really think that matters to me anymore?"

The wildcat sighed and relaxed her hold. "You've always taken great care of us girls," she encouraged.

Pearl looked from one of her employees to the other and shook her head sadly. "If I really cared for you I would have seen how much you and Dirano wanted to be together. It was selfish of me to keep the two of you apart. It was my fault that . . ."

Avoiding the unpleasant completion of the statement, the madam turned her attention to the other girl. "And I would have seen how much you wanted to have a family. I should have helped you to find your perfect mate instead of steering you away from rats for all these years."

Both of the younger females started to protest but Pearl raised a paw to stop them. "And that's not the worst of it. I let you all believe – let myself believe that a little momentary gratification, that making this . . ." She gestured around the grand hallway, "a profitable business was more important than spending time with my son."

The vixen wasn't sure when the tears began to fall again. She only noticed that her vision was starting to blur and her cheeks were wet when she brought her paw up to wipe her eyes.

"He's dead and I never. . . I never . . ." There were a hundred ways she could finish but she just dropped the sentence and went on. "All I have left of him now is Sandy, and I WILL NOT make the same mistakes with her." Pearl shot a look at the front door and then determinedly started to make her way towards it. "I'm going to find her. I have to find her."

"Ms. Pearl, you can't go out there!" Crystal threw out a paw to stop her.

"You don't even know where she is," Emma chimed in. "I – I could . . ."

The catmaid's tone stopped Pearl in her tracks. Could it be that the Felldoh's Heirs infiltrator knew something about where they were keeping her kit?

Taking Emma's arm in a tight grip the madam practically growled, "What do you know?"

"I – I . . ." the cat screeched in pain and tried to back away from the mad vixen.

She was interrupted from further explanation however but another howl of pain. This sound was coming from behind a closed closet door and could only have been uttered by some creature in great agony.

Pearl, frustrated by the disruption, let Emma go roughly and hurried to investigate. A few other beasts were gathered around the door but the madam pushed them out of the way and tried the knob for herself. Finding it locked so she pounded a fist against the wood. "Who's in there? What's going on?"

No answer came from inside the supply closet other than more cries of pain and the creatures who had been curiously trying to listen in were now backing away unwilling to appear involved.

Crystal ran up the stairs and began blubbering, "I meant to tell you Ms. Pearl. I was just coming to find you but you looked like you were busy and I near forgot all about it. It's that stoat, Mr. Antonio. He found a hare sneakin' around and he was gonna try and find out if he knew anything."

The vixen stopped only a moment to listen to the ratmaid and then went back to banging on the door. "Antonio! Is it you in there? I will not have beasts torturing other beasts on these premises! There are plenty of other ways to gain information without . . ." She wrapped on the door once again. "Mr. Antonio, are you listening to me?"

Then she turned back to Crystal, "My keys are on top of my dresser in my room. Go and fetch them, quickly." The madam gave her employee a shove toward the stairs and then turned back towards the door.

She knocked, tried the knob again, and gasped as another piercing cry rent the air. He was mad, truly mad. No beast could cause another that much pain and not be out of his own mind. Pearl decided that it would probably be better not to upset any further a creature in such a condition.

"My dear Mr. Antonio, surely you have received all the information that you are going to collect from this creature," she intoned more reasonably. "Perhaps both you and your subject could do with a little respite before you continue . . ."

The following shriek sent Pearl's paw fluttering over hear heart and she spun around to lean against the door, close to a swoon. As she turned however, she noticed the crowd that was still anxiously waiting to see what would happen next.

"What are you all standing around for? Somebeast go and find the sheriff or Aras or find something useful to do!"

Not wanting to see them all staring at her, the vixen faced the door once again beating this time until her paw felt bruised.

"Sorry, Ms. Pearl," Crystal ran down the stairs panting. "T'was dark up there and I tripped over Sandy's . . . Well it took me a while to find the keys but I got them." She passed Pearl a large ring of keys.

The madam snatched up the ring and began fumbling with one key after another trying to open the lock. Why did she have so many Fate's rejected keys? Why was this even happening? Why was . . .

The door opened and the vixen stumbled into the room only to throw her paws over her muzzle and want to run as far away as possible. There was blood everywhere. And the hare. . . well he couldn't even be called a hare anymore. He couldn't be called anything other than a mangled jumble of fur and tissue.

She vaguely heard the stoat apologize and knew she had to say something in return but she was afraid if she opened her mouth she would vomit. She managed, "Did . . . did he . . ."

"I am afraid he did not betray much information save what I obtained before."

Pearl nodded and turned away desperately trying to swallow down the bile in her throat.

"Rest assured, I will take care of this mess. You may go, unless you wish to stay."

The vixen shuddered. "No. No, please. You can . . ." She swallowed hard and continued without looking at him again. "But we need to speak about this, all of us: Brull and Rekkua and Sillisk and Aras . . . We need to have a meeting. Yes, you clean this up and then we'll . . . We'll all gather in the parlour and talk this over."

Then before she could wretch in front of everybeast, Pearl ran up the stairs to the sanctuary of her own suite.

~ ~ ~

The vixen had completely regained her composure before she descended to the parlour on the first floor. She was physically and mentally ready to leave this place as soon as she could . . .

"Mz. Pearl?" The monitor met her at the parlour door. "I waz told about yourrr meeting but I can not ztay. Kizaz iz not well. He iz mad at t'e Zattaka forrr locking him up."

Was the vixen imagining it or was female lizard also unwell? Rekkua's eyes darted about in a most paranoid fashion. She was tasting the air incessantly and scratching at her scales with her claws. It almost looked as if . . .

"I go back to him. I keep him in t'e bazement."

"Yes of course." Pearl nodded. "You do what you must for your family. That's what is most important."

The vixen watched worriedly as Rekkua weaved her way back through the crowd of mingling beasts in the hall. Fates, not now, not on top of everything else! She wished there was something she could say.

"Rekkua," the vixen called out before her friend was quite out of sight. "Be careful down there. I'm not entirely sure what might be down there in the basement."

"Oh look. Here she is. Now we can start." Brull's voice from inside the parlour brought Pearl back to pressing matters.

She entered the room and closed the door behind her. No beast else other than those assembled needed to be privy to this conversation. Even some of those who had found their way in she would have wished not to be present. But she supposed it couldn't be helped now.

Nelda was sulking in a corner, paw choking the neck of yet another bottle. Pretty Ears and a few of the other rescued captives were there as well. Crystal had even managed to drag in a slightly nauseous looking male rat. The core of the party were however, those who had been broken out of the tavern jail by the Red Dawn and thrown together by Sarkleyet's scheme; those of whom had survived thus far.

"Thank you all for coming." The madam addressed the group. "I know our priorities are different. Some of you still seek the Red Brandy, others only wish to have your revenge on Sarkleyet or Felldoh's Heirs or the Long Patrol. We have all learned a great deal more about the situation then the last time we were all together and I believe we would be at the greatest advantage to pool our knowledge."

Nobeast seemed to be forthcoming so Pearl continued. "I know this island. I've lived and worked here longer than almost any of you."

This earned a snort from Nelda but the other vixen ignored it.

"I would be glad to share what I know but I must tell you all that it is now my aim to find my kit and get her off this Season's forsaken rock as soon as possible."

"What? No!" Emma and Crystal said in chorus rushing over to their employer.

Pearl patted the ratmaid's shoulder and held out the ring of keys to the cat. "Sandy's safety is the only thing that matters to me now."