"If you're going to do something, do it well, and leave something witchy." -Charles Manson
"HIDEY HO, KIDS!"
"Hidey ho, Weebo..."
"I can't hear yooou!"
"HIDEY HO, WEEBO!", There lies a strange undertone of uneasiness just below the surface of the childrens' shouts. It's then that an out of tune piano starts to play a jaunty yet discordant tune, and Avery, dressed from head to toe in star spangled motley, begins to sing.
"Ooooooh, I'm Weebo the Wacky Wizard,
And we're here to have some fun!
When it comes to making magic,
I know every trick under the sun!
Watch me walk through solid concrete,
Or make a table float.
Watch me break out of a lockbox,
Or hypnotize a goat!
I can pull a rabbit out of my hat,
Or a coin out of your ear!
And if you're a really special kid,
I can make you disappear!"
The music died down and the camera zoomed in on Weeb- Avery, who turned to face his audience. They looked all to be between the ages of four and ten. I took a sip of scotch.
"Today, we're going to be doing some card tricks! Now which one of you boys and girls wants to be my first volunteer?"
The camera pans to the children, who are fidgeting nervously in their seats. Two little girls exchange apprehensive glances. Not a single one of them looks at ease, let alone excited. There's something off about this...
"How about you, Billy!"
Avery seizes the young boy by his arm and pulls him to the center of the set before he has a chance to respond. The child's head lolls forward slightly and he seems to be unsteady on his feet, struggling to keep his balance.
"Pick a card, Billy, any card."
The camera zooms in on the boy and I can see his face. His eyelids droop and flutter in a struggle to stay ajar. He reaches a limp fingered hand out to the card deck, his motion sloppy and uncoordinated, as if he's been drugged...
"Hey, Severus.", I turn away from the television and flinch backwards, slightly startled. Avery never did understand the concept of personal space. I slide my chair over, putting a distance between the two of us. A distance I feel is comfortable enough for me to engage a man who dances in costume and calls himself Weebo.
"I've got all the goods right here. Maya's extra sweet tonight.", He hands me a zip-lock bag filled with a shockingly blue herb, unlike anything that would be found in nature. I crack open the bag slightly and give it a whiff. It's the real thing, as ever. A gram of blue maya, easily one of the most difficult to cultivate herbs on the face of the Earth. As much as I desired to control every aspect of the potions I made, I just did not have the time nor the patience for the intricacies of horticulture. It was simply more efficient to either purchase them or delegate the task to someone else.
"Do you want to see my dollhouse?"
I looked up at Avery, thinking I must have been hearing things."...Excuse me?"
"Would you like to come with me...to my dollhouse?"
I had actually heard him correctly. A moment of silence passed over the two of us. The dim lighting of the trailer glared off of his oversized, wire frame glasses. Below his ginger mustache, a crooked smile of brown, rotting teeth slowly bloomed. The only sound that could be heard was the unsettlingly off-beat whimsy coming from the television. Across the screen, the crawling silhouette of a cockroach could be seen. I drained my scotch glass in one, deep gulp.
"There's really...nothing else quite like it. It's beautiful, Severus. You seem like a man who can appreciate...unique things. Would you like to see it?", He spoke in little more than a whisper.
I could have said no. Among the myriad of pervasive, chiding, mocking, shaming, screaming regrets that would haunt my broken psyche for life, that one would always be near the top of my list. I could have said no that night. I could have...but not would have. I was the man that clogged up the highway going five miles an hour with his head turned so he could catch a glimpse of meat in a hideous car wreck. I was the man that watched Quidditch matches solely for the accidents. I was the man who's heart leaped at the sight of crime scene tape. I was not a man who thought that there would come a day when he got more than he bargained for in the realm of the obscene. Never did I think that when it came to morbidity, a time would come when I would bite off more than I could chew.
My better judgment tells me no, but my scintillating curiosity and burning hunger for the macabre says
"Yes. Fine. Show me this thing."
Avery breathes more heavily as his smile widens. "Follow me outside."
"It's outside?"
"Yes. It's only a few m-miles down the – down the t-trail in the woods out b-back.", He was becoming so over-excited that he began hyperventilating and tripping over his words. I had a strong inkling that I was the first person to ever agree to this. It wasn't every day that a grown man consented to seeing another grown man's 'dollhouse'.
I threw on my black cloak and followed him out the back door of his RV to a moonless winter night. Reflecting in the light of Avery's wand, a rusted, orange, 'NO HUNTING' sign with several bullet holes through it shone, posted on a telephone pole. Beyond that, hardly visible in the darkness, a narrow, dirt trail cut through dense woods. It was difficult to make out anything beyond the small scope of light that Avery's wand cast and the trail was an obstacle course of snaking, stray tree roots, holes, and the occasional broken glass. I was forced to stay closer to the man than I liked. For a time, the only sound was that of our footsteps, and Avery's heaving, overstimulated breaths.
"So, you collect dolls, I assume?", I finally asked conversationally.
"Oh y-yes. Lovely, darling little dolls. I've coll-collected so many over the years. They're p-perfect.", His shoulders became more hunched and his hands began to shake slightly. He started muttering unintelligibly under his breath, so quietly I couldn't make out a word he said. I really didn't want to converse with the man any further. I began to think back to last week.
"Avery is getting worse."
That was all Tom Riddle had said. It was at the same time a statement and a request. Someone needed to keep an eye on him, and I was the one to be commissioned for the job. As of late, he could be seen more often than not simply lost in God knows whatever went on in his own head, face locked in a thousand yard stare, muttering to himself and rocking back and forth. His skin was becoming even paler than my own and his ginger comb-over had thinned dramatically, along with his body. There were even times when he could be heard softly singing the theme song to the kiddie show he hosted...in empty rooms, with no one around to hear. He had also become sloppy and unfocused. Fortunately enough, he still managed to grow me the rare herbs I needed and make himself useful enough to me, but he just wasn't cutting it for Tommy anymore. He was a good enough dog, in his day, but even the best dogs needed to be...put down, sometimes. It truly would be a pity if it came to that, not everyone could grow blue maya.
No sooner did I think of it that Avery began to half whisper, half sing:
"Ooooooh, I'm Weebo the W-Wacky Wizard,
And w-we're here to have some fun...
When it c-c-comes to making m-magic,
I know every -heh heh- trick under the sun..."
At this point, I daresay that a cold pang of uneasiness crept into me. I wasn't even sure at that point if Avery knew I was there anymore as I caught a sidelong glance of his blank, practically bloodless face. The woods seemed to feel unnaturally still around me as I followed the quavering light source. My imagination began to project shapes in the surrounding blackness when I would peer into it. Like a reflex, I buried my hand in my cloak pocket and wrapped it around the steel inside.
"Watch me w-w-walk through -heh heh heh- solid con-concrete,
Or make a t-table float...
Watch me b-break out of a lockbox,
Or hyp-hypnotize a goat...heh heh"
I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster. We were several miles from any sort of civilization at this point and Avery's melodic whispers and deranged giggles were gnawing at my already on-edge nerves. I didn't know what to say to the man at this point. I just looked on in biting discomfort as he appeared to become more and more unhinged, simply unraveling before me. Lying on the ground beside me I spied something bright yellow. Curious, I picked it up and held it close to the light of Avery's wand. It was a picket sign that had been unearthed from the ground and tossed aside. It read in all capital letters: 'CONDEMNED PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSING.'
"I can -heh heh- pull a rabbit out of my hat,
Or a c-coin out of your ear...
There was a small clearing I noticed to my left, and the light reflected off of something shiny. Broken glass. A sooty pile of stones and sticks lay in the center of a semi-circle of logs. Vials...what looked like empty potion vials, some in-tact, others smashed to pieces, lay littered around what must have been a campsite. Amidst the glass, turned on its side, lay a discarded little buckle shoe...
"And if you're a really spe-special kid,
I can make you disappear..."
I felt my fingers turn to ice as the pieces wove themselves together in my head. I suddenly felt his hand on my shoulder and gasped sharply.
"Do you know what I like best about dolls, Severus?"
His blue eyes bore unblinkingly into mine and his face began to twitch. "What?"
"They stay tiny and perfect...forever."
"Avery...what did you do?"
"We're here."
I broke his maniacal gaze and looked ahead. In a wide clearing of trees there stood an abandoned two-story house, half taken back to nature by snaking, mossy vines, mold, and filth. It appeared to have been white...at some point. I squinted, trying to examine it in more detail through the darkness. Avery led me to the porch and produced a small key from his pocket. His hand was trembling so severely he could barely manage to insert it in the lock.
"Avery...what the hell do you have in there?"
"P-p-promise you won't t-tell anyone. This will be...our secret."
Without another word, he turned the key and opened the rotting door, the rusted hinges letting out a shrill shriek into the night. He stepped into the blackness beyond the threshold and I followed.
I will remember the way it smelled until my dying breath...
…...
The baking heat of the summer sun beat down through a cloudless sky on the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. The winding, narrow streets were packed with rowdy, overstimulated adolescents getting a jump on their back to school shopping. On the curb outside of Ollivander's, three boys sat comparing wand sizes. Across the street, a young girl fawned and fussed over her new brilliantly white snow owl. Strolling down the sidewalk, Eileen Prince held her son's hand, lost in a memory.
"You're joking! He couldn't have possibly made it through the whole thing!", Eileen had said through gales of laughter.
"Well, he did, and by God if his face wasn't greener than a frog's asshole when he was done with it. Then I told him I'd give him five more reichsmarks if he ate the other one."
Eileen playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Max, you are absolutely terrible, do you know that?"
"And you are absolutely beautiful.", He gently cupped her chin in his hand, locking her eyes on to his.
"There it is.", He whispered.
"What?"
"Your smile. It's something you don't do nearly enough."
"Why is it that everyone always says girls should smile all the time?", She rolled her eyes, a mock-annoyed expression on her face.
"I actually don't think that at all, I feel quite the opposite. Your smile is so lovely because it's rare. You walk around so cross and sullen all the time that when you do smile, you practically look like a different person. It's so rare and special I feel as if it's only for me."
"If I smiled often, then it wouldn't be rare anymore. Why would you want that?, She tilted her head to the side.
He moved his face closer to hers. "Because I'm greedy."
Without another word, he pressed his lips to hers and she reciprocated without a second thought. An aggressive tongue slid its way into an eager mouth. Muggle or not, it was the most magical thing she had ever felt. He ran his fingers through her shimmering midnight hair, raking his nails along her neck, her back, and then her rear end, where they lingered.
She was so lost to bliss she never even heard Dr. Prince enter the room.
"Mom!"
"What!?", She asked too loudly, startled out of her reverie.
"We passed Mrs. Greene's."
"Oh..."
She walked him back a few paces to a small building painted in obnoxiously clashing primary colors. In the window, she could see toddlers romping with abandon inside a large ball pit. When they stepped inside, she knelt down to her son's level and once again bid him to behave well before he disappeared into the horde of screaming children.
Knockturn Alley teemed with a very different sort of crowd. The moment she turned the shadowy corner, she was nearly knocked to her feet by a large, burly, bald-shaven man walking at an overly-brisk pace.
"Watch where you're going, slut!", He growled under his breath.
Eileen merely rolled her eyes and kept walking. Half hidden by discarded wooden crates, a mangy, filthy looking dog huddled and growled protectively over a slab of rancid meat. Up ahead, a hunchbacked, bearded old man wildly flailed a brass bell up and down and bellowed the word of God.
"WE ALL, LIKE SHEEP, HAVE GONE ASTRAY! EACH OF US HAS TURNED TO HIS OWN WAY! AND THE LORD HAS LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL! DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO IS IN YOU, WHOM YOU HAVE RECIEVED FROM GOD? YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN-"
She gasped as the preacher clutched her arm when she closed the distance between them. He shifted his eyes and held his hand over the side of his mouth, whispering so only she could hear.
"Lady, I got heroin. 20 galleons a bag. Best China White at the best price, you won't find a better deal."
His breath smelled like battery acid. "Thanks...but no thanks.", She pulled her arm free and quickened her step while the preacher continued his ringing and screaming. On a rusty bench a few paces forward a thin man all but consumed a woman's flesh with his tongue, her lacy blouse open and her breasts exposed to the wind, moaning and rocking her hips out in the open without a care. Adjacent to the lovers, the gaudy, bright purple and scarlet neon sign for Borgin and Burkes hung overhead. Eileen smoothed her dress, took a deep breath and stepped inside.
A dusty, cobwebbed, 4-bulb chandelier provided just enough lighting for the quaint little curiosity shop. At the front desk, a radio provided ambient music for the store. The current song playing happened to be Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar. Eileen took a moment to examine some of the items on the shelves. It was your typical fly-by-night wizard's fare: Various books on the dark arts and miscellaneous how-to guides relating to the nefarious, including Everything You Wanted to Know About the Unforgivables but Were Afraid to Ask, Horcruxes? More Like Bore-cruxes! Try This Weird Trick and Avoid Splitting Your Soul!, and Keeping it in the Family: The Ultimate Guide to Dating Your Relatives. Racks upon racks of potions lined the walls. Some were poisons, some enhancers, some "legal" alternatives to street drugs that would most likely make you go blind. Locked behind showcases were a plethora of magical artifacts, each bearing a plaque with a short summary of its history. Not wanting to waste too much time, however, she proceeded straight to the front desk, which was currently unoccupied. She lightly tapped the bell for service.
Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar.
Carried on porcelain bare feet, he seemed to glide out of the back room. His elegant, violet robes flowing behind him as he walked coupled with the warm, charming smile he greeted her with made him all but glow when he entered the room. The man couldn't have been a day over 19 and he looked at her with the deepest cobalt eyes she had ever seen. Atop his well-groomed, dark brown hair rested a curious looking woven crown of thorns.
"What can I do you for, my Lady?", His voice flowed from his lips in a soft, honeyed melody.
You're gonna go far, you're gonna fly high...
"I'm here for an interview with Caractacus Burke. My name is Eileen Prince."
"Eileen Prince...", He narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his index finger, as if he were digging for a thought. "Ah!", He snapped his fingers and pointed at her, eyes wide and smiling. "Now how does it go again...And so he rode, and so he rode, the King that knew no fear. From North to South, to East to West, until the death screams were heard by every ear..."
Had she been caught any more off-guard, her bladder would have let go then and there.
"That's how it goes, isn't it? The Ballad of Severus The Conqueror? You are of the Prince royal family, are you not?"
"I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about.", She was sure the fear in her voice betrayed her. The room suddenly felt suffocatingly small around her. She wished for nothing more than to run out the door at full speed.
"Really? I always assumed there was only one Prince bloodline in the wizarding world. Ah well, I stand corrected and embarrassed, I suppose.", He dipped his head slightly and chuckled to himself. "Anyway, where are my manners? I'm Tom. Tom Riddle.", He extended his hand to her.
You're never gonna die, you're gonna make it if you try; they're gonna love you...
Reluctantly, she took it. His skin was supple and cold. Very cold. As much as she wanted to run, she knew she wouldn't breathe easy until she knew exactly who this man was and what he knew about her family.
"Out of curiosity, Tom, what was that song you were just singing?", She asked him, trying her damnest to maintain an impassable poker face.
"The Ballad of Severus The Conqueror?", Why it's the song of the ancient ancestor to the Prince family – the one I had in mind, anyway. Brutal wizard, he was. Thousands of years ago he ruled the wizarding world with an iron fist. Some historians even speculate that it was he who invented the killing curse.", The more he spoke of it, the wider his smile grew, yet his voice remained amiable and reserved. "I'll somewhat embarrassedly admit, I played at being him when I was a boy, swinging around a wooden sword and wearing a paper crown."
Well I've had a deep respect, and I mean that most sincerely...
"Must have been fun."
"It wasn't for the other kids.", He tittered. There was something about the sound of his laughter that set Eileen's teeth on edge. It was laced with a high-pitched iciness, much like a drill or knives being scraped together.
The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
She yelped and jumped as all of a sudden she felt something cold and sleek slither across her ankle.
"It seems my pet is feeling a tad left out.", He smiled warmly.
She looked down to find a large, diamond backed rattlesnake looking at her with it's head cocked to the side like a scaly dog.
"It's alright, you can pet her if you like, she doesn't bite."
Despite the warmth in his voice and the sparkle in his eyes, Eileen somehow doubted that. Nonetheless, she dipped her knees slightly and gave the snake a light pat on the head.
"You know, I find it difficult to believe that you're not related to the royal family of Prince."
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? We call it riding the Gravy Train...
Her heart froze in her chest and the blood in her veins turned to acid.
"I mean, if I were you, I'd look into my lineage a bit. You might just find yourself a princess, never even having been aware of it. Fantastic surprise that would be, wouldn't it? You certainly wouldn't be needing to take a job in this old hole in the wall if that were the case. After all, I don't think I've ever heard of a stray Prince.", His voice and demeanor betrayed nothing. He dripped charm and oozed grace, yet there was a trace of something far less kosher lurking beneath the surface.
We're just knocked out. We heard about the sell out, you gotta get an album out...
"And how is it that you know everyone in the wizarding community?", She asked, trying to keep the edge out of her voice as well as she could.
"I make it my business to.", He replied, casual as day.
"Well, I doubt it, and I'd rather not get my hopes up."
"That's too bad, then. I hear those lucky bastards are in good with the Studworths. What I wouldn't give to be rubbing elbows with them. Merlin knows, I've tried."
You owe it to the people. We're so happy we can hardly count...
"What else can you tell me about these people?", If the Studworths even gave this boy the time of day he's close enough to my family to destroy me...
"To my sadness, not much firsthand."
She breathed a sigh of relief, hoping he didn't take notice.
"Though...I'd give just about anything to meet The Doctor. There's simply no potion crafter out there who is his equal. I was lucky enough to score a copy of some of his notes, and I don't even want to admit how much I paid for them. Of course, I'm all thumbs when it comes to alchemy. I attempted to craft some Xenochrome A and it turned into an absolute mess.", He said it with the carefree ease of someone discussing a recipe for apple pie.
Everybody else is just green, have you seen the chart?
"And how...would you have acquired the necessary ingredients for Xenochrome A?", She tried yet failed to keep a reproachful tone out of her voice.
"And what on Earth would you know about the making of Xenochrome A, Miss Prince who's not a Prince?", He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking in satisfaction. He was on the brink of catching her in her lie...or had he already caught her?
Eileen's discomfort at this point was palpable. She was locked in a game of chess with words against this eccentric and frightening boy and she was losing. She decided to change the subject.
"Why do you wear that crown of thorns? Are you an associate of the preacher outside, perchance?"
His features lightened and he laughed out loud. "Oh heavens, no. However, I do feel it's about time the wizarding world had a messenger of its own."
"And is that supposed to be you?"
"Perhaps. There are some who look to me as a Lord.", As pompous as it sounded, he uttered the words with earnest indifference.
It's a helluva start, it could be made into a monster, if we all pull together as a team...
She honestly didn't know what to say to that. "It must get terribly uncomfortable, wearing that all day."
"A crown should never be worn easily.", He remarked, cobalt eyes glittering.
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? We call it riding the Gravy Train-
SCREEEEEEAAAAAAARCH SCREEEEEAAAAAAARCH!
The both of them turned around startled when the radio began to emit hideous buzzing noises.
SCREEEEEEAAAAAAARCH SCREEEEEAAAAAAARCH!
Alpha. Yankee. Foxtrot. Alpha. Yankee. Foxtrot. Three. Nine. Seven. One. Five. Three. Nine. Seven. One. Five...
"Bloody hell, not this again.", He walked over to the radio and reached to change the station.
"Wait!"
He turned and looked at her, perplexed.
"That sound, those numbers...I feel like I've heard them somewhere before...", She turned her eyes to the floor, searching her memory, sifting through an assortment of broken images -I want everything- but it yielded no connections. "Do you know anything about them? Do you know what they are?"
"No one does.", He answered flatly. "They broadcast at random. It's some sort of code that nobody seems to be able to crack. Some say they're utilized by spies to discreetly transmit information. It's unknown whether they're used by muggles, wizards, or both. My pet theory is that it's a method of communication for remaining fugitive Nazis."
Her eyes shot up at him all too quickly, as she could tell by his sly, knowing grin.
"Not that you'd have to worry about that, Miss Prince that's not a Prince."
"Damn it, Riddle! Will ya quit ear fuckin' the poor girl!"
A scraggly, pot-bellied man who she could only assume to be Mr. Burke came tromping out of the back room. "I was supposed to be interviewing the lady 15 minutes ago!"
Tom Riddle put his forearm over his waist and bowed low. "My apologies. I became so caught up in her charms that I simply let time get away from me. She's an interesting one, Burke, you aught not to let her slip away.", He shot her a final coy glance.
"Alright, let's get on with this.", Mr. Burke said gruffly, ushering her inside the back room.
Eileen found she had no pre-interview jitters in the face of the relief she felt just to be away from that barefoot, thorn crowned, smiling boy.
An hour later she sat with Viserus at a table outside of Florean's, as she promised him. The boy eagerly licked away at a rainbow snow cone. For herself, she ordered nothing. She merely sat in silence, examining her hands and trying to block out the conversation she shared with Tom Riddle, which was playing on an endless loop inside her head. Now and then, she would nervously look over her shoulder , thinking she spied a flash of purple robes.
"Mom, are you okay?", His small features scrunched into a quizzical expression.
"I'm fine, sweetling. I'm fine.", She reassured him, lying through her teeth.
When they arrived back at the hotel room, Eileen changed into a more casual, form fitting yet modest blue strapped dress. Viserus was already tucked safely away upstairs, in front of Mrs. Snape's television set. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, applying makeup to her face. It had been so long since she used the stuff that she all but forgot what was supposed to go where. When she pressed her lipstick against her mouth, she unavoidably painted sloppy, jagged lines of crimson on and around her lips. Her hands would not cease trembling. She was powerless to stop the barrage of 'what ifs?' that scratched at the back of her skull and caused her heart to pound. With a sigh of resignation, she opened the medicine cabinet, popped a quaalude, then strode down the hallway to meet Tobias.
When she stepped into the dingy lobby, an endearing smile lit up the rough spun, five o' clock shadowed features of Tobias Snape. Eileen returned the smile as if it were a reflex. By typical standards, he wasn't a particularly handsome man. His hooked nose was dreadfully large, his teeth sat crooked and uneven in his mouth, and his hands were cut and calloused, yet she couldn't help but be captivated by his raw masculinity and the unadorned sincerity in his face. As he stood there in his jeans, plain t-shirt, and work boots, she mused on what a breath of fresh air it was to meet a man who felt no need to put on airs.
"Well I'll be, ain't you a sight.", His blue-gray eyes looked her up and down approvingly.
He held out his hand to her, and she took it, finding comfort in it's rough warmth. "So, where to first?"
"I figured we'd start at the river and make our way 'round, that way we can hike on down the trail through the woods just at sunset."
Her black eyes glittered. "That sounds absolutely lovely.", she had never pegged him as a romantic.
And so, hand-in-hand they stepped into the sunlight. Usually, one would be more likely to see a unicorn in Spinner's End than a cloudless summer day, but the sun beat down on them nonetheless. Masked in the sparkling glare of the light, the snaking, black river could almost pass for something pretty. She gently slipped her hand out of his and stepped towards it, her footsteps making crunching sounds in the dead grass. She had never gotten a such a close look at the brackish waters before.
"I wouldn't get that close to it if I were you, darlin'-"
"Ah!", By good fortune alone she managed to pull her foot away from the gelatinous feeling substance before it made its way into her shoe. She looked to the ground. Writhing in the brown grass a swarm of maggots fed on what must have once been a fish. The tail of the wretched thing was nothing more than a twisted pile of scale and bone; the head was a sickening mass of monstrous looking growths and tumors. A few feet away was another fish in a similar state, and another, and another. Beyond that, a pile of rot and feathers that was once a duck, and the empty shell of a turtle. Tobias retook her hand and pulled her away from the toxic filth.
"You didn't get anything on you, now did ya?", He asked, concerned.
"No, I didn't. I'm fine.", Out of morbid curiosity, she kept her eyes peeled on the riverbank, seeing how much more mutilated wildlife she could spot.
"The river is somethin' meant to be admired from a distance. Not that it's anythin' worth admiring."
"How on Earth did it get like that?", She asked, half disgusted and half astonished.
Tobias shrugged. "Well, I probably shouldn't be tellin' you this, but eh, the bigwigs down at the plant, you know, them bein' tight asses and all, they're always tryin' to cut corners wherever they darn can...and well...it ain't like the EPA comes around these parts anyhow."
Despite his rambling, Eileen grasped his meaning.
He lit a cigarette and sighed deeply. "If I had any say in anythin' it wouldn't be that way, but I don't."
"Don't they realize how dangerous that is?"
He chuckled. It was a deep, gruff, yet musical sound. She would be lying if she said it did not stir a kindling of warmth between her thighs. "Darlin', I hate to break it to you, but we live in a dump. Civilization ends at the other side of that river." He pointed his cigarette in the direction of the opposite riverbank. "Must be nice to be rich.", He remarked bitterly.
Coming from the life she had lived, in her eyes, the houses on the other side of the natural border of Spinner's End were far from wealthy. In comparison to the side her and Tobias walked, however, they might as well have been palaces to a hundred different kings. She was almost envious of his ignorance. As tedious as the mundane humdrum of working class, muggle life may have been for him, he would never have to know of the corrupt, unprincipled practices and obligations that came with 'status'.
"They're probably all just pretentious prats, anyway.", She offered him a shy, consoling smile. It seemed to please him.
"Maybe, but hey, they must be doing somethin' right."
The memory came to her again, unbidden.
The blue eyes met the black and her heart froze. She shoved Max off of her so hard he hit the floor on his hands and knees.
Dr. Prince only smiled. "Max, I think it's time for you to go home now.", He said the words with such gentle courtesy one would take him for a saint, yet the color drained from her lover's face in an instant.
The boy found his footing and backed away slowly. He took a breath to speak, but when he looked from her to him, he let it seep out of him in silence. He met her eyes one last time, his face a mix of fear and sorrow and pity, then he left the room and closed the door, leaving her to her father.
"Daddy...", Her breaths came in short gasps and she bit her trembling lower lip. "Daddy, I'm so sorry-"
He held his open palmed hand in front of her and turned away his face, a gesture she had known for the last 13 years to say 'be silent, now.' For a terrifying second the only sound that could be heard in the room was her whimpers.
"I see you've developed a taste for muggles.", He said it as plainly and emotionless as if 'muggle' were a variety of cake. She said nothing.
"Let me ask you something, Eileen."
She nodded, trembling.
"What do you think is of more value, love or strength?", He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side, never taking his stony blue eyes off of her.
"I...don't understand.", She tasted the salt of her tears as they rolled down her cheeks, into the corners of her dry lips.
"It's a simple question, princess. Just answer it honestly."
"I...I...I suppose love is more valuable.'
He knelt down to his daughter's level and cupped her face in his long, slender fingers, wiping her tears away. Bending forward, he gently pressed his lips against her forehead. "My little doveling...your innocence is so touchingly precious. It just truly is a shame that you'd be so willing to give it away.", His faux-soothing voice was sugar coated venom to her ears.
"Daddy, I swear, we weren't-"
"Ssshhh, my princess.", He stroked her ebony hair. "It's okay. This is my fault."
She looked up at him, red eyed and confused.
"It appears I have been so preoccupied with my work that I have been neglectful in educating my daughter on the more...important things in life.", He stood up and offered her his hand. She shrank away from it. "Oh come now, princess, I only want to show you something." Like a battered animal, she slowly and warily uncurled her body and let him help her to her feet.
"Where are we going?"
He grinned like a little boy struggling with every fiber of his being to keep an amusing secret. "You'll see, princess...you'll see."
"You're wrong.", She lifted the hand that was not intertwined with Tobias' and discreetly wiped a tear from her cheek.
"What do you mean? They got all that cash, nice cushy jobs, and pretty cars don't they?"
"Landing money and power doesn't depend on how 'right' you are, nor how kind you are, nor how just you are, nor how honest you are."
"What does it depend on then?"
She turned her face away from him, so he would not see, so she would not darken the only sunlit day they were apt to share all summer.
"It depends on how ruthless you are. That, and nothing more."
A/N: Good gravy I had entirely too much fun writing this chapter. I know that this chapter takes place before 'Have A Cigar' was written, but eh, semantics, semantics...A warm thank you to Hiest for the wonderful complement. There will be many more updates where this came from. Hope you all enjoy, and remember, when a man propositions you to see his dollhouse...just...say...no.