Chapter 9:
"There is no zealot like a convert."
"Where are you going, little one," asked Larry Okonski? With a glare, Marysia retorted, "I'm eighteen. I don't need to tell you or anybody else where I'm going anymore." Olesia found herself tempted to remind the little bitch that this was Larry's house. His rules applied, should he choose.
Before anything dangerous got said, their mother swooped in, announcing, "those clothes are much too thin, kochanie. Won't you put something else on?" Before Masia could say a word, she found herself wearing a massive coat that all but swallowed her. Larry's lips twitched minutely, though he said nary a word. The teen muttered curses when her mother brought out the kalosze.
Glancing up from feeding her daughter, Olesia remarked, "mother's right, you know. You were deathly ill." The younger sister glared hatred at the older, and she stormed out of there, slamming the door on her way out.
Bogna glanced at her eldest daughter. "Don't look at me," Olesia responded. "I didn't raise her. You did." The older woman cussed her, though Olesia merely returned to what she'd been doing. Olesia knew her mother's antics and head-games were a major contributor to her sister's very bad behavior. If Masia had ugly habits, Bogna Okonski was a major contributor.
With Odessa seemingly pacified after being granted a Minister's chair in Finn's cabinet, Olesia was seeing less and less reason to stay here. There was a high likelihood that Nieve was safe from her grandmother's predations. In any event, she was in the West now and far from Odessa's power. Olesia was thinking of leaving, either to join her or to help out on King's Island. The fact that she'd get away from her mother and sister was just a bonus.
Outside, Masia snarled impotently at the house she'd just left. It was a cinch that she'd get a talking to, when she returned. She'd been tempted to just move into Princess Odessa's quarters permanently. The only thing that stopped her was the admonishment to learn what she could about what was going on from Olesia.
Of course, that was part and parcel of what was irritating her. Fat-ass had clammed up. From being the member of their household least able to keep a secret, Olesia Okonski now kept secrets with the best of them. If she even so much as talked on the phone, it was usually done outside in the garden, no matter the weather.
Hurling the coat into the bed of coals in front of their window, the pretty teen spun on her heel and stalked off down the road. That was another aspect of this place that irritated her. The damned taxi drivers refused to come into her neighborhood, requiring her to schlep down to the main road. A couple of them had taken one look at her and driven off, leaving her fuming by the roadside.
She absolutely refused to have Larry drive her anywhere. The ornate, wolf-drawn carriage was terribly out of place and archaic here. She wanted a car, like other girls her age drove, and she'd been hinting at her patron that she should be given one. While her head counseled patience, her heart wanted that car. One thing at a time, Masia, she told herself.
A quick fireshield spell and a bag of coins got her a seat in the back of a cab. Barking an address at the driver, the pretty teen settled into the comforting softness of the rear seat. It was another irritant. Olesia could fly. That fat bitch had the strength and fortitude to take to the skies. True, she had to be naked to do it, but it beat the hell out of walking! And who the hell would want to look at her anyway?!
On the far side of town, Princess Grace stepped out of her hired limo, looking haggard and harried both. The last few days had come as something of a shock for her. If not the ugly confrontation at the conservatory, there was the strange men following her from place to place as she tried to manage the business that brought her to the Candy Kingdom.
Just that morning, her boyfriend had hobbled on broken legs to her suite long enough to dump her before getting on a train, bound for the Engagement Ring Kingdom. Now, her ex was summoning her—summoning—as if she was a nameless 304 hanging around his orbit. And of course, there was a strange car hanging out across the street now—a terrifying reminder of the dangers swirling around every crown on Ooo.
Take it easy, Grace, she thought. Get through this shit with Kim. Get on the train and go home. She could find another boyfriend. While Antonio had been pretty and decent in bed, if he didn't have the balls to stand by her, well, she'd find somebody else. She was a princess now.
As she crossed the sidewalk to the door of exclusive Bigby's, a terrifying voice inside her suggested, they can take it, Grace. Half of the stress she felt was from her encounter/confrontation with the bitches in Finn's orbit. The curvy half-breed shouted that voice down. Finn wouldn't do that to her. He was a man of his word.
The restaurant was mostly empty, when the lady of the Sun Coast stepped inside. Kim Kil Wan existed in an island of empty space in the very center of the room. Various wealthy folk were scattered about the room, dressed to the nines for a night on the town. Involved in their conversations with their companions, all chatted away in hushed voices as they dined on the rarest of fare. Hips wig-wagging sensually, Grace strode over to Kim and stood behind her chair, waiting expectantly.
The dog-icorn stared up at her, his dark eyes burning into hers as if to say if she was waiting for him to do the gentlemanly thing, she'd be waiting a bit. The blonde's face went red hot in humiliation, as she drew her own chair and sat down. This was the kind of behavior that had caused her to walk in the first place.
Kim had behaved at the time as if her departure was less than a nothing to him, and Grace had spent days bouncing back and forth between rage and a fear that she'd made a drastic mistake. When he'd latched onto the fucking party-bear, she'd been almost certain of it. In the end, she'd come up aces with Lord Robard, locking him down with judicious use of the cookie. Now, she was Princess Grace.
So why did you come down here, Grace, she asked herself? Did she let herself admit it, she'd wanted to rub her old boyfriend's face in the fact that she had her own kingdom now.
"Grace," Kim rumbled, as she lay her purse on the table and shed her coat. "Kim," she responded. Silence reigned. He was being an uber-dick tonight. After her humiliating experience with Finn's wives earlier in the week, she wasn't much in the mood for the games.
Drumming on the table, the dog-icorn stared at her. Stroking his beard a moment, he gave her a shrewd look and said, "the world's accelerating down a road towards conflict. I need to know where you stand..."
In response, Grace offered him a look of utter bafflement. As far as she knew, there was no conflict beyond what Bonnie Bubblegum's relations were trying to drum up.
"Finn's got things under control," Grace responded. Staring around her, she remarked, "I thought you invited me here for dinner..." "Invited you here to talk about... matters," Kim responded. Her eyebrow climbed a notch. What was he on about?
"Not sure what matters we have to discuss," the pretty princess responded. "We broke up. You married Pat. You have a kid, and I have a kingdom." "For now," he allowed. "What, you looking to dump your wife," she asked? "I'm looking to build a kingdom," Kim responded. "You can be part of the process."
Grace grimaced. That sounded suspiciously like a threat. More on point, it sounded a lot like treason. "I don't think we should be having this conversation, Kim," Grace replied. "We both have a fair bit to lose, and there isn't really anything you have to offer me anymore."
"I'm going to be on the winning side, Grace," Kim chuckled. "You don't want to be on the losing side of what's coming." Grace's hackles went up. It really did sound like he was proposing treason. "I don't want any part of what you're doing, Kim," Grace responded. "I came down here to chat because you asked me. Old times and all that. If you're asking me to help you with some scheme..."
"Telling, actually," Kim chuckled. "I'm telling you that you'll help me, or... well you might not like the alternative." Grace laughed as if he'd told a very funny joke. "You doubt my word," Kim asked? "I'm going to get up and walk out of here," Grace retorted. "You're not going to touch me in a restaurant full of people..."
Kim chuckled humorlessly, sending a shiver of fear up Grace's spine. Where was Antonio when she needed him? As that thought filtered through her mind, Kim clapped, once. Momentarily, all conversation around them ceased. The small crowd of diners rose almost as one and decamped for the back door, leaving her alone with a man she couldn't say she knew anymore.
"I aim to crown myself Prince of Dogs," Kim declared. "I'll need a consort. You're still fertile. I'll keep you on for a bit until we've had a couple of children. You'll be allowed to retire to a nice estate on the beach..."
As if the earlier slap in the face wasn't harsh enough, he'd just told her he would pump her belly up until he got bored and dump her for somebody new! She wasn't sure whether to scratch his eyes out or laugh in his face! "And if I refuse," Grace asked? "You can be a consort, or you can be breeding stock," Kim responded.
Just then, four strangers came in—the very men who'd sat in the car across the street. Grace felt an instant's terror as their eyes fixed on her. She was about to be kidnaped!
Striding over, one of the men announced, "Your Highness! You really shouldn't be out so late like this!" Kim's face snapped up to the strangers, giving Grace an idea that these men weren't his. "Mr. Rainicorn," the leader greeted him. "I'll pass your regards to His Majesty..."
Grace felt the terror wash away, as she finally realized who these men belonged to. Rising, she gathered up her purse. "I'm sorry, Kim," said Grace. "This'll be the last time we chat. I... belong to somebody else." As if to emphasize those words, the green-skinned giant who appeared to be the leader enfolded her in her fur coat. In short order, Grace was headed for the door with Finn's soldiers gathered around her.
The four men escorted her to the limo that had brought her. She could almost feel Kim's eyes on her back. She could end him. The things he'd said in the restaurant were the sorts of things that could get you killed. Finn's his uncle, Grace, she thought. He won't waste his nephew, even if he's being a shitberg.
More to the point, Antonio's accident had been an unsubtle warning from Finn's wives. What would Roselinen do if she knew Grace had come down here to meet Kim? Let it go, Grace, she thought. She didn't need to have this fight. If Kim continued down this road, sooner or later he was bound to push his uncle too far.
If anyone asked, she'd remind them of Kim's extensive business interests in her kingdom. Truth be told, he and his friends owned half the Sun Coast, so it wasn't like she could just ignore him. The Royal Wives didn't need to know she'd banged Kim in the past, and they needed to know about his ugly proposal even less.
She'd been mad as hell, but now she saw advantages to being owned. Let it be between Finn and Kim, she decided, as she slipped into the limo's comforting interior. "Taffy Plaza Arms," Grace called out. It was time to gather up her belongings and get the hell out of town.
As the limo pulled away from the curb, Masia Okonski walked into the strange, combustible place the water-bags called a 'park', feeling a sense of wonder as she did. There were no such places in her homeland. Standing in that empty, cold place was like standing in the primordial past before the great burning of the north, and she feared speaking too much, lest she anger the Cosmic Beings.
"Impressive," announced a strange, yet familiar voice. Masia turned towards the sound to find one of the Bubblegum Princess's strange creations standing a short distance away, dressed in a dapper coat over his bulky, blocky frame. "You're the one who contacted me," the young elemental murmured.
The chocolate bar nodded. His dark eyes were still looking her over. There had been a time when Masia was eager for that. Though she hadn't dared do something so foolish as to let a man have her, she'd immersed herself in the adulation of the boys at school—at least before her mother insisted on moving down here to be near fat-ass. It was another irritant.
She'd been forced to finish school by correspondence course. She'd gone from straight A's to D-grade work because she couldn't get herself to sit alone in her room, studying. She'd tried begging Larry to do the work for her. After all, there was no-one here to see. She was on the honor system. Her brother had refused to help her, though, and she'd barely squeaked through graduation with a C average.
More on point, it had been a bit since she was the prettiest girl in school, with all the best boys chasing her. It made her angry to see fucking Olesia married to a man who stood to inherit the Crown of Ooo.
In prickly tones, she asked, "what did you want? It better be good. I spent a fair bit of money to get here." "You know what I want," the chocolate bar replied. Masia flushed. She'd put her contact information out there in thieve's world on impulse. Though the money she earned doing dirt for Odessa was really good, she'd hungered for more.
The chocolate bar's eyes burned into hers. "My fee...," she started. "One thousand coins for each name," the chocolate bar interrupted. "Collateral damage is free. Unusual terms..." Masia flushed again. She liked to burn the water-bags' fragile homes just to see the various entertaining reactions.
Her would-be employer slid a heavy bag across to her. He'd clearly planned ahead, as the bag was made of heavy asbestos cloth. There was a nice clinking of coins as she picked it up. "The names are on a sheet of foil inside," the stranger declared. "Kill them all. I don't care if anybody in their household gets killed. Make sure those three die." "They'll die," Masia growled. Spinning on his heel, the chocolate bar turned and strode off into the darkness.
The young elemental hefted that bag, licking suddenly chill lips. She was crossing another line. She'd justified her work for Odessa as nothing worse than what she'd done when she was 'helping' the scaly water-bags in the east. It was nothing worse than Olesia had done. "You've been paid," she told herself. She was committed now.
With the sunrise in Sonbong, Roselinen Mertens rose to greet the day feeling refreshed and at the same time out of sorts. That had been a problem for a fair piece now, as she struggled to get used to 'the new normal' of her life. She was an old soul in a young body, and the lack of morning aches and pains was jarring.
After bathing, the plump woman joined her hosts in Lord Seo Joon's dining room for a meal of black bean noodles and kimchi pancakes. Talk around her was of the journey to Tongchon in the south. Hae-Won and Ae-Cha had the wherewithal to be excited about the trip. This was Hae-Won's first journey beyond the fifth ring-road outside of town, and all she could talk of was all the things they'd see.
Rosie let them talk. One blessing of her new existence was that, having been a middle-aged woman—wrangling house, husband, and children, she was used to the stress. Did she flow with the rhythm of the world—getting things done when they needed doing—she would manage. It was a lesson that Hae-Won and Ae-Cha would learn in their turns as they grew older.
A glance at Hei Ryung showed that she was struggling just a bit. Her expression suggested she'd spent a sleepless night last night, likely because of the way her husband's world had changed. Seo Joon's choices had saved his city but delivered him into a deep pool of intrigue and anxiety. Rosie had done what she could to smooth her new friend's pathway, having come to terms with the change in her own husband's life. Still, at the end of the day, it was Hei Ryung who had to grow up. Rosie could do no more for her.
Haryati, the mermaid princess, asked, "so what's the plan for today?" With a smile, Rosie responded, "we're going south to meet up with my husband. You're invited to come along and visit. I'll break him away from work long enough for us all to spend time together."
Knocking at the door announced a visitor. Before her mother could say a word, Ae-Cha rose and went to the door. Momentarily, Vizier Dae Ho stepped in, as the guards shut the door behind him. Striding up to Roselinen, Lord Seo Joon's Prime Minister bowed deeply before the pillow-person, announcing, "there is a matter that awaits your attention, Your Highness..."
Frowning, Rosie responded, "what sort of matter?" Her eyes flicked to Hei Ryung. "Oh, we don't interfere in daddy's work," Ae-Cha announced. Rosie sighed heavily. Shaking herself, she said, "this comes with the job."
Turning to the Vizier, she asked, "is the audience chamber prepared, then?" "Yes, Your Highness," he responded, offering her another sweeping bow. "Attend, Haryati," she said, as she rose. "You'll represent the Privy Council."
Minutes later, the plush pillow sat herself on Lord Seo Joon's throne, with Haryati at her side. Roselinen announced, "bring Lord Baek Hyeon a chair. He'll stand as advocate for his father's rights." Haryati's eyes flicked to hers, suggesting this wasn't how she would've done things.
Momentarily, the Minister of Secrets clapped his hands. Over a dozen people were brought in, with some wearing unstylish iron jewelry around their wrists. "What's the meaning of this," Baek Hyeon burbled? With a grimace of unhappiness, the Minister of Secrets bowed slightly to him and responded, "the Lady of Spies has learnt that several denizens of our fair city may be in league with the traitor, Gordon Wells, and the madman, Gumbald."
Rosie sat up straight, her blue eyes fixing the folk there in the chamber. In a voice thick with her unease, she responded, "say on..." "The King of Ooo sent word that they were to be rounded up, Your Highness," the Minister explained. "He wanted them questioned as to their allegiances. Any who spoke honestly and without coercion are to be released. The rest... are to be punished."
Haryati inquired, "in what manner? Why is Finn not here to deal with this?" "This is how we must handle matters when Finn is absent, Haryati," Rosie murmured. "Matters are handled by the Crown and the Privy Council, working as hand in glove..." The mermaid grimaced as she realized just what she'd walked into. With a wave of her hand, the plump pillow commanded, "bring the first one forward. We'll hear his excuses."
The first man was brought forward, and even before he'd stopped at the bottom of the dais, the lies began. He was but a humble tradesman, repairing the homes of those who needed his services. He wandered the lands, sometimes helping those in need for free.
Gesturing, Rosie summoned the Minister of Secrets. Leaning towards the King's wife, the Minister told of the ugly things that the Agent Princess had found in the secret lair in the south in whispers that made Haryati shiver. The man before her was a very wicked soul. He'd committed innumerable murders on behalf of his hidden master, Gordon Wells. He and his fellows had once tortured a family to death to gain access to a treasure they owned.
Roselinen motioned for Lord Seo Joon's Informer to step back. In tones of icy finality, she said, "my husband would likely have commuted some of your sentence if you had admitted to your crimes. You might have found refuge in prison. Instead, you can find refuge with your fellows in the pits of inferno."
To the guards, she casually announced, "please take this man beyond the city walls. Strangle him until he is near death. Then open him at the seams and remove his stuffing. Hang the remnant for a lesson to those like him..." Haryati opened her mouth to complain and shut it again, when the plump woman turned those cold blue eyes on her.
Far to the south, Finn the King stepped out of his makeshift quarters, leaving Orzsebet sleeping in his bed. It was time for a run. His shadow immediately fell in at his back as the big man jogged off into the early morning light. Some of his minders had begun to complain that far from the restful experience they'd been promised, their time in his service was anything but. Finn was tempted to refer them to Maja. The witch apparently didn't want a decrepit spouse.
The King did a two mile loop around the camp before returning. He was a little surprised—but only a little—to encounter his son returning to the village just as he was. A corner of his mind toyed with strange thoughts. Did he use his unique power to cheat? The King quickly corrected himself. Why bother going out at all, if you were going to shortcut the business? Just sleep in.
A darker thought occurred to him, though. He imagined Annabelle as being no more excited by a decrepit spouse than Maja was. The demon was possessive and prickly, and she'd twice given Jay a ration in Finn's presence. It's the same old story, Finn, the King reminded himself. Jay's a man with blue balls because his wife is pregnant, and his eyes wander. And no wife, demon or mortal, had much patience for that shit.
"Jay," Finn greeted his son. "Dad," the younger man responded. The pair stood there, staring at each other for a time. Finn found himself hungering to reach out—to try and clear things up. At the same time, he wasn't sure what he could say.
"Bonnie...," Jay murmured. "Bonnie won't talk to me." With a sigh, Finn responded, "your mother and sister are angry about some of your choices, son." Jay swallowed hard and glanced away. Silence reigned, with Finn silently urging his boy to speak.
"I wanted to make amends," Jay whispered. "For fucking up people's lives, I wanted to make amends, dad..." Finn sighed heavily. "Son, sometimes we can't make amends," he murmured. "Sometimes we just have to go forward and try to do better. Simone's dad used to say the path to the night-o-sphere's paved with good intentions. You... you went a good way down that road, Jay."
The tall, slim fellow flushed to his yellow hair. He was down pretty far in a dark place. He was married to a demon, for fuck's sake! More to the point, he had done damage to his extended family. "Is she going to be ok," Jay murmured? His voice was barely a whisper, as if he feared the answer. "She's recovered enough to be screaming about getting out of the joint," Finn chuckled.
It took a moment. Usually, when people spoke of 'getting out of the joint', they meant prison. Jay couldn't help but laugh at his other sister's strange behavior.
Taking a deep breath, Finn asked, "are you sure you want to...?" "I don't have a choice, dad," Jay responded. "She's pregnant with my son. I... can't leave him to be raised by a monster, even if the monster's his own mother."
"She wants your soul, Jay," Finn muttered. Jay snorted. "She wants everybody's soul, dad," he retorted. "Yours. Mine. Every living being she sees. And when she's not doing that, she wants to fuck whatever pretty face she meets and get away with it. When she's not thinking of cheating on me, she wants me to worship the ground she walks on... Pretty much like every fucking woman in creation."
Finn barked a laugh, not least because that was true. It was part of the female condition to be fickle and mercurial at the same time they were possessive and self-centered. Simone was the least likely of all the women he'd ever met to behave that way, but even she would give him a dose from time to time.
Resting a hand on his son's shoulder, the big man said, "let's talk, Jay. My door's open. I'm a dude. I'm not here to give you the cold shoulder." Jay nodded. As Finn's bodyguard relaxed, the duo stepped off, walking towards the village, while they spoke in quiet tones.
Back in Sonbong, Haryati's foot was tap-tapping nervously on the floor, as she again pondered her reaction to this. She was a member of the Princess Privy Council, true enough, but she was having a great deal of trouble embracing the new, more active role that the crowned heads of Ooo had embraced. The woman at her side had sentenced seven men to death this morning, sanctioning them with a horrible fate. While the mermaid princess could see that some of them deserved what they were getting, this was a fellow woman dishing out such cruelty!
Just then, a shout announced something new had got added to the mix. A woman in a hospital gown pushed her way through the crowd to the front, dragging a man in the uniform and armor of the city guard.
"What is the meaning of this," growled Baek Hyeon? "My lord," the woman pleaded. "My husband has been entrapped by one of his relatives. We crave forgiveness for his mistake!" "This isn't the time," growled the Captain of the Guard!
Roselinen's blue eyes narrowed on the husband, who's face was pale. His brown eyes showed terror, suggesting that this was something she needed to hear. Interrupting the young prince and the guard captain, she interrupted, "we will hear the young woman..."
Throwing herself to her knees, the young woman pressed her face against the stone before announcing, "my cousin-in-law, Ha Bongseon coerced my husband into leaving his post in Kun-som." Baek Hyeon shot to his feet, shouting, "is this true?!" His eyes went to the Captain of the Guard, who was also now very pale.
"I know that name," Rosie burbled. "It's the place His Majesty asked us to guard," Baek Hyeon declared. "We were to keep the smashed war-machines safe until arrangements could be made for their destruction!" Turning to the young soldier, he demanded, "tell me you didn't betray us this way!"
Face gone hot, the young soldier said, "my cousin threatened to reveal that my wife was in hospital. She promised I'd be arrested for taking bribes." As he spoke those words, one of the soldiers at the back of the room strode forward, dragging a dark-haired young woman who's expression was one of hate.
"This one," declared the guard! "She plies her body and her wits to rob fools of their wealth, but she's too much the fool herself to hold onto what she steals." Hurling the young woman to the ground, the soldier declared, "she was on the list, the King sent."
"Tell me what was stolen," Roselinen murmured. "I don't know what you're talking of," Ha Bongseon retorted. "I'm a whore. Nothing more than that. If this one broke his faith with the Lord, it's no concern of mine..." "Tell them," pleaded the woman on the floor!
Hahm Chul-Moo declared, "she asked that I leave my post. She said I could take the money she offered, or I could be ruined by her lies. I... spent my family's savings to pay for my wife's surgery, but I feared I couldn't convince the Lord that I hadn't taken bribes, so I... did as she asked."
Looking up into the bleak expression of the woman on his master's throne, the young soldier admitted, "I watched from the shadows. A strange man and woman came. They climbed the tower. They were up there all through the night. I heard them working with tools... They left with the dawn, with bundles hidden under a tarp on a wagon."
"I wasn't there," Ha Bongseon flatly declared. "I have nothing to do with this." "Where were you," Haryati asked? "Who can vouch for you?" One of the men who stood under guard declared, "she's one of ours. I freely turn her over in exchange for my life."
When the strange, pale-haired woman glanced his way, the rogue gave her a sneer and said, "I do not favor having my insides become my outsides..." "Take him to the prison," Rosie growled. "He may have his life in a cell." The guards hustled the rogue out of there.
Turning back to the matter at hand, the plush pillow rumbled, "where did these men take the weapons?" "I don't know what you're talking of," Ha Bongseon retorted. Haryati's eyes flicked to Finn's wife. You wouldn't, she thought.
"Take the guard and beat him until blood is drawn," said Rosie. "Put he and his family on the road north and west into exile." Turning to the woman on the floor, she said, "I give you your husband back. Take him and go." Haryati swallowed as she imagined the pretty young thing standing there, staring at them in defiance having her belly slit open.
Indeed, the young woman began to realize that she wasn't going to bluff her way out of this, and she began to scream and shout. When one of the guards would have struck her down, Rosie motioned for him to stop. Rising, the plump woman glided down from the dais and approached the author of the young soldier's misery. As the girl shrieked at her, Rosie stared back steadily as if looking into her soul.
Finally, the plump queen announced, "take this woman out of town to a desolate place. Strangle her with a silver cord. Bury the body in an unmarked grave. Let her name be stricken and forgotten, never to be spoken again."
As the guards dragged the screaming, struggling woman away to her fate, Roselinen returned to the throne. Settling there, she said, "my husband must know of this. Return the others to prison to await judgment."
Unfortunately, my day job has eaten much of my free time these last few weeks. Hopefully, this update is satisfying to those who've been waiting.