Ch. 25

The stage was set near the center of the carnival. Everyone met there for food, speeches and entertainment. Shortly after, Act I, portrayed entirely by elaborate puppets, began.

Lady Kavi watched as Alice rushed out. After a moment, she stood in the open doorway and knocked. She saw Oland sitting at his dresser, rubbing the back of his neck. On the side sat an open bottle of whiskey, a fifth already gone.

"Oh no," she muttered. "Randy, what the hell? Already?"

Oland glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "Please don't start."

"Before the performance?"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am-er, Milady…they're getting worse. I gotta dull the pain somehow…I just need to take the edge off, that's all."

"Yeah, that's what a lot of drunks say…and I should know, big guy."

Oland growled, but put the bottle away, albeit begrudgingly. Kavi chuckled and patted his back. Although she was worried, she knew not to press the issue. She decided to change the subject.

"So…" she said, wiggling her eyebrows, "what did you think of her?"

Oland smiled shyly and shrugged. "She's…cute. She seems nice, down-to-earth…I didn't expect that, not from a noble. Where did you find her? Is she really almost twenty?"

Kavi laughed. "She was on the train," she replied. "She's here by special invitation."

Oland looked at Kavi with a critical eye. "So…she is who she says she is? She's from one of the Imperial Grand Houses?"

Kavi nodded. "That's not all! She's not just representing Imperial nobility. She's also part of the Imperial Army!"

Oland looked up, stunned. "Impossible! That…that tiny little girl is…is a-a soldier?"

"Her House has a long, glorious history. She chose to uphold that tradition."

A thought suddenly struck Oland. "Wait…she was that girl you had brought with you at ringside!" At her assent, he looked rueful. "Wow…I really thought she was a kid in a costume…shows what I know. No wonder she called me by my rank." He gasped and looked at Kavi. "Please tell me she has a desk job!"

Kavi wore a smug expression that was also strangely apologetic. "Nope."

Oland frowned. "You can't tell me she runs around with a rifle in her hands. What does she do?"

Kavi thought quickly. "She…wanted to keep that a secret."

Oland was equally puzzled and disappointed. "Oh," he said. "I guess…I guess that's why she didn't want to take her mask off." He mused for a long moment. "You chose her because of how she looks, didn't you? I told you, it's not going to work."

Kavi raised her eyebrows. "What about how she looks, and what won't work?"

"You're far too smart to play dumb, milady," Oland said with a wry grin. "Quit trying to jog my memory. It's either gone for good, or it will come back on its own." His eyes took on a tired glaze. "I will say it's pretty uncanny, but…there's something strange, and it's not just that she reminds me of my Valkyrie."

Kavi inhaled slowly. "She does? Aww…no wonder you…uh…nevermind."

"Wait, what were you gonna say?"

"Oh, nothing," she said in a singsong voice, "you just seem a little…discombobulated."

"Discom…wha?"

"Nevermind, it would take too long to explain."

"I'll dis-com your bobulate!" Oland grumbled, taking on his wrestling persona. "Then I'll tell him, 'Bob, you late for the last time!'" They looked at each other and cracked up.

Kavi smacked him. "You are avoiding the subject! You said she was cute. Now what was so strange?"

Oland grinned at her, then calmed down. "Well, she knew who I was…but…but she didn't act like the usual fan would."

"Well, that might be because she's a noble. They're supposed to act a certain way."

Oland shook his head. "No, this one was different. The fact that she is a soldier could explain why she was so…relaxed with me."

"What do you mean by 'relaxed'?"

"Well…the way she looked at me was so…sad. You see, I took off my mask."

"You did?" Kavi said. "I know you do that, but why do you bother?"

"It's not that I want to scare people," Oland said. "God knows I don't need to take it off for that. Most people stare at me anyway…they stare, and judge."

"Randy, people can't always help having a natural sense of curiosity. It's not every day someone like you is invented. And you know they don't judge, not all of them."

"Yeah, I know," Oland said. "It's my own fault for deciding to wrestle for a living. I can't change it now. But that girl, that little soldier…she saw my scars close up, and…"

"And?" Kavi prompted.

"Nothing," he said, frowning in puzzlement, fascinated the more he thought about it. "No fear, no horror…she was neither surprised nor shocked. She was…used to them. It was as though she was expecting to see them."

"Well, she went to the academy. She's probably been around soldiers and war veterans for most of her life."

"Yeah, maybe…but…it was the sadness that got my attention."

"Sadness?"

Oland nodded. "It wasn't pity, I'm certain of that. It was…loss. That's it."

"Loss?"

"Maybe someone close to her died recently." He shrugged. "Maybe I remind her of someone she lost because of the war. She's far too young to have been active in it."

"Perhaps," Kavi said. She wished she could shake him and tell him the truth, but she worried about not only the migraines but the odd personality switch that sometimes happened. That just wouldn't do right before Act II.

"She wasn't afraid of me at all."

"Your Valkyrie has never been afraid of you," Kavi murmured.

Oland blushed. "Yeah, but she's…not real."

"I'm really starting to wonder about that."

Oland looked at her. "You think that…she might be based on a real person?"

"I think it's very possible," Kavi said, determined. "I'm going to take you back to the Empire, big guy. Believe me when I say this, that I'm being kind: You need your head examined."

Oland laughed. "The Empire? But...I know that place triggers the migraines…I'm not sure I want to go back."

"Big guy, sometimes good things don't feel so good," Kavi replied. "I'm telling you, I think the pain might be a sort of mental block, or at least in part. Don't worry about it tonight, but someday soon you will need to push past the pain and see what's on the other side."

That seemed to resonate with Oland. He nodded, and she left him to his thoughts.

In another dressing room, Lionel Taylor at last sat alone, alone for possibly the first time in years. All of his life he had been catered to, fawned over, served and trained. A constant stream of attention was given to him from sunup to sundown. His life hadn't exactly been planned out for him, but when they'd discovered his genius, his father had expressly commanded that it be stimulated. This solitude…was irritating.

It was almost as unpleasant as being told no. He marveled at her brevity. No one had ever told him no. He'd had whipping boys for whenever he went against his parents' wishes. It was always understood that he could have anything he wanted, achieve anything he wanted, so long as he played the game long enough.

The game, yes…nothing else mattered. Alice had to be playing her own game. To think she would rather be with that oversized freak of nature…! It just wasn't possible, and yet…

He recalled her face at the ball, the way her eyes suddenly clouded over and she looked up and beyond him. It irritated him further. He'd always charmed everyone, everyone except her. She recognized the mask he wore…perhaps being in the military, where emotions were constantly running high and low, taught her to see it. Or perhaps being a part of the 13 Grand Houses taught her to look for it. Maybe she was the only one who really cared to look at all. In any case, Alice was the only one to see right through him for what he really was.

And just what am I? he wondered. Perhaps I'm the one who is truly a freak of nature. Are you just toying with me, my princess? It's not over, is it? No…not until I say it is.

"You'd better have a good explanation, milord," said a muffled voice. Lionel gasped and shot to his feet.

"Jack!" he hissed. "What are you doing here? How did you…"

"Did you really believe I'd leave you unattended? Do you realize what you have done?"

"I have done nothing," Lionel countered. "The plan hasn't changed. Quintus is and will remain the focal point, not I."

"Oh, and I'd believe you except for that one tiny detail-that little Sergeant-Major brat knows everything!"

"Certainly, if anyone believes that harebrained, hyperactive little fool. Besides, I have that covered. She's spoken for tonight. She's at the top of the list."

Sterling Jack paused mid-tirade. "So you haven't changed the original plan, then? You merely added her and 901-E to the hitlist?"

"Naturally," Lionel said smiling. "I thought you'd be pleased-well, I know Dr. Caplan will be disappointed, but once we get his body back to her lab, she'll be satisfied, won't she? After all, she always expected him to go out fighting. What difference does it make, if it's sooner rather than later?"

Jack sighed. "She was hoping he'd die from natural causes. Oh well, she had to know it was a long shot. We'll have to invent something so the blame points elsewhere."

"Already worked that out, too," Lionel said, smiling. "Everything will be fine. If anyone goes looking, all they shall find is a disgruntled ex-mercenary with a grudge, and a band of half-crazy Imperial soldiers. The new King of Rodelia will proclaim the discovery of genetically enhanced soldiers, Frost will declare the Thin Ice Treaty broken, and voila! Instant chaos. No one will even think about The Silver Wheel after that! All three kingdoms will be pitted against each other, and no one will win."

"And your Princess?" Jack asked quietly. Lionel's smile vanished.

"Once she sees 901-E's true form, his true nature, she won't want to have anything to do with him. Then I'll come to her rescue."

"What do you mean? He's used his lantern dozens of times as part of Section Three!"

"True, but he was merely shooting to defend. She's used to the shooting, but she's never seen the slaughter he's capable of. The lantern activates his rage, but also controls it. He figured that out, unlike the rest of his unit, who switched them on and then left them on for hours at a time during battle. Now that we have the lantern, he won't have a choice but to keep fighting. The longer he fights, the sooner he will completely lose control and start destroying all he sees."

"And the 906 shall be the catalyst."

Lionel nodded. "It's all arranged. Some were told to keep him busy while the others take out the king and the rest of the royal family. Quintus will be sequestered until it's all over."

"And if your Princess insists on involving herself?"

Lionel frowned again. "It has to be part of the game she's playing," he mused to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, and shrugged. "It would be tragic, but then, she's not going to be the Contessa anyway. If she won't have me, then I'll make damned sure that oversized buffoon won't, either. Not that he even remembers her existence."

Jack thought hard. "It seems you have accounted for everything, but I must remind you that your actions may still cost us our anonymity. If that happens, I will have no choice but to kill you and start all over again."

Lionel snorted. "It amuses me that you believe you can. But you're right. I shall try to restrain myself from now on, until I discuss my plans with you."

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when Jack spun around to strike him. Lionel blocked him, and pinned him to the floor.

"You taught me well, remember?" Lionel grinned. Jack sighed, and moved like lightning. Soon, it was Lionel that was pinned.

"Do try, milord," Jack panted. "Remember, I can still foresee things you cannot, and I haven't taught you everything."

He pulled Lionel to his feet. "When are you going to teach me how you do that?" Lionel grumbled.

"When it feels safe to no longer have to use it on you."

I'm still here! I'm getting there, I promise I am! ^^