"So! In conclusion, with your twentieth birthday rapidly approaching, the initial list of invitees that I have compiled are as follows…"
Odval adjusted his spectacles, scrutinized the paper in his hand, before peering over the top of it to meet his queen's eyes.
"Pirate Queen Oona, Prince Derek, possibly King Zøg, and… that's about it. Now, Bean," he began with a sigh, "I know that you wish to invite the riff-raff from our kingdom but, since this is a stately affair, I must encourage you to reconsider this. Do keep in mind that there can be assorted festivities that can be arranged and a parade in celebration of your birthday for the masses. However, your true birthday event must be an opportunity for the nobility of the lands to come together and, hopefully, for alliances to be formed. I needn't remind you that the kingdom is in dire need of allies."
Bean sighed and let her head fall back upon her pillow. She was still on bedrest order following her near-death plunge into Foreshadow Lake. Thanks Steamland for that lovely yet perilous kidnapping attempt. Assholes. That had been a couple days ago now and the white-haired queen was beginning to go stir crazy. Oh well… today was the last day that she was encouraged to remain in bed, so she was stubbornly determined to at least follow some of her advisors' recommendations.
"I can't believe that my birthday invite list is that short," Bean admitted with a groan as she wiped her face with her hands. "Like… it's only family! Only kids and losers have their families attend their birthday parties, not queens, and I know for a fact that my birthday would be a whole hell of a lot more fun if I could invite the "riff-raff" as you call them… They're fun. They know how to party. They're not all stuck up jerks like those pompous noble idiots, who, by the way, are, like, so uncool and can't drink worth for shit."
"Yes, well…" Odval began, adjusting his crossed legs from his seated position in the chair next to the queen's bed, "fun is not the goal of a queen's birthday, I'm afraid, especially when our scanty list is the result of the majority of our allies having been either betrayed, insulted, or accidentally eliminated."
Shaking her head, Bean stared up the underside of the wooden balcony that hung over her bed.
"Yeah, and I know that in many of those cases where the kingdom's soured relations are partly my fault," she admitted dryly.
Lifting her hands, Bean began to go through the list of kingdoms or realms that probably didn't like Dreamland too much for one reason or another.
"Okay, just to be sure that we didn't forget anyone, there's… well, we have to invite the elves, and I'd liek to invite the fairies, and… oh! Let's try and invite the mermaids if we can."
"Yes, well, I don't believe that will be possible considering the lack of salt water in the castle," Odval replied bluntly and he added to the list.
Bean rolled her eyes
"Okay, fine…there's… Dankmire-"
"Who probably wouldn't wish to attend after the disastrous ambassadorial visit and the fact that Queen Oona, their princess along with her half-breed son, are now gallivanting around as pirates. However, I shall still send an invitation."
"Right, okay, and then there's, ah, Bentwood, who, as I mentioned before, tried to kill me, Elfo, and Luci by crushing us under like a tonne of gold coins, before, you know, we got away and stuff."
"Ah, ah, ah!" Odval tutted. "Don't forget that you were in part responsible for the coup that took place which deposed King Lorenzo I and his wife and sister, Queen Bunny, from the throne."
"Yeah, but like, that was mainly Merkimer's fault, and… well, other Merkimer, but that seemed to sort itself out as we were escaping."
"Indeed…" Odval commented, his tone clearly indicated that he didn't think this was the case. "I still say that it would be wise to still invite Bentwood as a means of a… an olive branch, an invitation to begin to try and recover some good relations."
Bean groaned loudly and rolled her eyes.
"Fine."
"Just think of it this way. If Bentwood does agree to attend your birthday celebration, then they'll be expected to bring gifts and we both know that Bentwood gifts are always quite lavish, and the kingdom's treasury could benefit with some hefty additions."
"Yeah, yeah, okay, okay," Bean chided, waving the triclops off. "Anyway… then there's… well, Steamland, but fuck them, am I right?"
"That is certainly one way to put it…" Odval replied rather disapprovingly, taking his quill to once again harshly cross out Steamland from his list. "The only invitation that Dreamland would be sending to that barbaric kingdom would be one of war, but, might I remind you, unfortunately Dreamland cannot afford to commit to such warfare at the moment."
"Yeah, shame really…." Bean mused, frowning. "Plus, like… Steamland technology is way too advanced for Dreamland to beat. Still, I can promise you here and now that I'll get my revenge on them one way or another. Too bad that that bastard Alva is dead…"
Bean continued to grumble under her breath and she sat up and readjusted her position against her pillows. Odval made no comment and remained oddly silent as he pointedly stared at his paper.
"Who was next? Ah yes, the Bozaks. Our former allies are probably still rather cross with Dreamland considering all that has happened between our kingdoms."
"Yeah… the destruction of their delegation and naval admiral when I was supposed to get married that one time, and how they raided our kingdom when it was petrified. Then I think my dad killed a bunch of them after that, so… yeah. They probably wouldn't want to come to my birthday. Hell, they'd probably try to raid us again if anything."
"Quite possibly, but, like with Dankmire, inviting the Bozaks could be a means to begin repairing relations of our former allyship."
Bean crossed her arms and sighed.
"I don't know… put them as a maybe for now."
Odval jotted that down.
"Okay… who else?" asked Bean.
"Let's see… There's the Borks? But, no one parleys with those brutes."
"Right," Bean agreed, "and no one has heard from the Kingdom of Hygeia in like forever."
"Odd how that is…" Odval muttered, before moving on. "Cremorrah is a dead land, and then there's Maru-"
"No! And that's final," Bean replied curtly, frowning and looking aside.
Odval looked over at her with his typically disinterested expression. "From what you have told me, Your Majesty, but considering your mother's origins and the fates of your aunt and uncle Clyde, the Emperor of Maru as you informed me…"
"Spit it out, Odval," Bean interrupted tersely.
"Well, all I'm implying is that considering your royal lineage and the death of the emperor, you may very well be the legitimate ruler of Maru."
Bean frowned and looked aside. She had revealed to her council… parts of what had occurred while she was in Maru, most notably that yes, her mother was of the Maruvian Royal Family, thereby Bean was also half Maruvian. She had also revealed how the last time she had seen her Aunt Becky and Uncle Clyde was right before they were consumed by a blazing inferno. Bean couldn't confirm if the pair were really dead because, well her mother had proved to survive, but Bean hadn't revealed that bit of information to her advisors. As far as Bean was concerned, her mother was in Hell and was going to stay there. But that also meant that as far as Odval and as the council knew, Bean was seemingly the sole heir to the throne of Maru.
That was a topic of discussion that Bean had strategically been dodging whenever it came up. Ruling one kingdom was proving to be difficult enough, let alone two.
"I guess… we should invite the Maruvian nobility, if they even exist. Can't say I know too much about the place, so let's just leave it like that. I don't want to hear anymore about me maybe being their heir for a while, 'kay?"
Bean's tone indicated that she was very much done with the topic, and Odval only gave her a nod and jotted down some more notes.
"Alright then, let's see… well Twinkletown is a guaranteed invite."
Bean groaned again.
"Now, now, Queen. They are our duchy and besides, Duke Worth has expressed keen interest in meeting you since you ascended the throne."
"Pfft, yeah! Only because he probably wants to marry me," Bean scoffed with disgust. "Probably just another pompous moron who can barely walk because of gout. Isn't that what killed the last duke?"
"No, I'm afraid that the former Duke of Twinkletown died after an unfortunate encounter with that large octopus monster, if you recall." Odval smiled a tight yet amused smile before he said, "From what I've heard, the new duke is rather charming and attractive. I should think that you might consider yourself lucky that he's possibly interested in your hand. After all, the kingdom will need a king and an heir, and-"
"Woah, woah, hold up there," Bean interjected, pointing a finger at the former prime minister. "I only just became Queen of Dreamland. I'm not just about to share it by marrying some random idiot who doesn't even care about the people. And, kids? Can't I just be a sole ruler for a little while before we start up that conversation again?"
"Queen Bean…" Odval began, setting aside his paper and quill on the small table that had been placed beside his chair, before neatly folding his hands in his lap and caught the queen's stubborn gaze with his bored eyes. "As a princess you were expected to marry, and this has not changed now that you are queen. With your father…. being out of commission, so to speak, and Prince Derek having abdicated his claim to the throne, you are technically the only member of the Dreamland Royal Family and, as such, are expected to start producing more members. If-" Odval continued, holding up his hand when Bean began to interrupt, "-if you are truly committed to the kingdom and its prosperity and people, then the Royal Family needs to continue to succeed and be strengthened by logical alliances and legitimate heirs. Besides! From what I've heard, you have had plenty of fun already, so it is high time that you settle down and allow a man to make an honest woman out of you. You don't need to trouble yourself with love yor anything. You don't even need to talk to him much, if you like."
Bean narrowed her eyes at her advisor and if Odval felt any indication that he may have crossed a line,then he didn't show it. He knew that he was right and he knew that Bean knew that he was right, even as much as she wanted to argue the point and find any excuse to say otherwise.
Scoffing again, Bean stubbornly looked away and pouted.
"My dad always did what he wanted, and I always thought that I'd married for love. Now that I'm queen, however, I don't get to do either. This is bullshit."
Odval lightly chuckled.
"Your father married for love, and look how that fared?"
Bean glared over at Odval, who continued to smile, until she rolled her eyes and begrudgingly mumbled, "Fair point."
"Rest assured, Queen," the triclops continued as he picked up his quill and paper once more, "I'm sure that you'll come to love your future husband eventually, or at least tolerate him long enough until you begin having children and then your maternal instincts will kick in and everything will be… well, tolerable."
With her mood soured, Bean bit her tongue to hold back the sharp retort that she wanted to say. There was no point in arguing.
"I think we're done for today, Odval. You have enough to go and plan my birthday. Just know! I want there to be a lot of alcohol, and I want you to promise me that my people will enjoy themselves… even if I won't."
Odval stood and bowed towards his queen.
"It shall be done, my queen. Now then, get your rest. Shall I send for Sir Pendergast?"
Bean glanced over at Odval and, after a moment, shook her head and gestured for him to leave. The man bowed again and took his leave with the guards outside quickly coming in to move the man's chair and side table out from the room and out of the queen's way. Once the men shut the door behind them, Bean was once again alone with only the piles of documents scattered over her bed that needed her attention and her thoughts as company. Odval could get under her skin fairly easily, but he had his uses, so Bean could handle his slight jabs and pokes here and there. She hadn't liked how he had said that she had "fun" or how he mentioned Pendergast, but, on the other hand, he wasn't actually speaking out of turn.
Bean herself had painted the quite lucrative picture that she had in fact had had a lot of fun over the past couple of years, and seeing Sir Pendergast by her side was an increasingly common occurrence. In fact, him sleeping in her bed was now a regular thing, which was not something that Bean wanted to be well-known, but the castle was full of gossipy bitches. Thinking about the knight caused Bean to sigh and suddenly caused small butterflies to flutter around her stomach. Even though the man now slept next to her in her bed, Bean actually hadn't spent a lot of time with the knight for the past few days, ever since he had rescued her from the lake.
Just as the knight, and Bunty, had assumed, Bean had no recollection of how she and Pendergast had softly made out while she was under the effect of her medicinal draught. Well, Bean did slightly remember kissing Pendergast, but had convinced herself that this had been a dream or something. Pendergast hadn't brought it up, and the man was always so quick to leave her side in the morning once she awoke. He seemed… preoccupied, but this was understandable as he was the leader of the Knights of the Tiabeanie Table (formerly the Zøg Table) and the Queen of Dreamland had nearly been kidnapped under his watch. It made sense that he was pretty busy these last couple of days, what with kingdom security and whatnot. Bean had been wanting to talk to him about the incident, but he kept making excuses not to, mainly saying that she should focus on resting and for her to get better. In fact, the man hadn't seemed to want to talk much at all in the evenings when he came to join her, which was usually fairly late, so that she could fall asleep. The possibilities of conversations also weren't helped by the fact that Bunty was also pressuring Bean to take healing draughts that caused Bean to get sleepy faster.
It was making Bean wonder if there was something that Pendergast wasn't telling her and, if this was the case, then why? Bean was starting to get suspicious that she was somehow getting screwed over and this of course, wasn't sitting right with the young queen. Or, maybe, she was just getting paranoid from being bedridden and out of action. Yeah, that was probably it. Still, having never been one to keep quiet, Bean decided that she was going to straight up ask Pendergast about it and see if he was hiding anything. He had assured her that she could trust him, and vice versa, so if that was the case then he would be honest with her. If anything, it was making her feel weird thinking about Pendergast, which was still weird by its own merit. Bean used to never give the knight a second thought, yet nowadays it seemed that her thoughts kept straying towards the tall and handsome knight.
Wait, handsome? No, no… Well, okay, he was attractive, but, ugh! Luci's teasing was starting to affect her, and clearly being cooped up in her room for days on end was driving her mad.
Speaking of Luci, Bean hadn't seen the little scamp yet that day, but she knew that he was busy down with the Trøgs and their progress with possibly rescuing Elfo. Everyone seemed to be out and about being busy and here Bean was, sitting on her ass, getting more paranoid and annoyed by the minute.
"Screw this! I gotta get out of here!" Bean declared, throwing aside her blankets and swinging her legs aside to step out of bed.
Coming to stand, the queen hissed a wince as a shock of pain spread through her back and she slowly and stiffly stretched. She was still bruised, but sitting in bed wasn't going to solve that. At least, from her perspective. Biting back her soreness, the queen grabbed her blue tunic and usual leggings and slowly got dressed. Her plan was to find Pendergast and finally talk about her whole kidnapping and what he's been up to. She was the queen goddamnit, so she had every right to do that.
Right? Yeah…
Fastening on her belt, Bean took a moment to regard her appearance in her mirror. She fixed her hair briefly before waving herself off. Why was she gussying up? Since when did she care about how she looked? Oh, wait, that's right… since she became queen. Grumbling slightly, she reached to grab her brush when a couple sparks of electricity shot from her fingers and zapped it, causing Bean to jump back. Rubbing her hand, the queen frowned and stared at her hands.
"I really need to sort this out," she muttered, deciding to deal with this later and grabbed her brush.
After quickly combing her hair, Bean tossed it aside and headed towards her door. Just as she was about to grab the door's handle, Bean paused when a knock echoed through the door. Blinking, Bean opened the door and expected to see a guard or Bunty or someone, but nope.
It was Pendergast, the exact person she was going to find, standing there with his knight's tunic on.
The one-eyed knight blinked in surprise to see his liege up and at 'em, though he immediately gave her a bright smile in greeting (even though he had seen her already that morning before he left her room, but that had been a few hours ago now).
"Oh! Hello, Bean! I'm glad to see that you're feeling well enough to get out of bed!"
"Hey, Pendergast…" Bean greeted, smiling a little in response to how genuinely happy the knight looked to see her. "Ah, yeah, I feel okay, and… actually, I was going to come and find you, so it's good that you're here."
Surprise coloured the knight's cheeks, before he smiled even wider and declared, "Well if that's the case, I consider myself rather fortunate that I chose now to come and see how you were faring, seeing as I've saved you from searching. How may I be of service, my queen?"
To be fair, Bean hadn't exactly decided how she was going to approach Pendergast about what he's been up to, and she had been planning to use the time in finding the man to better think of a way to do so. Pendergast appearing at her door sort of put a pin in that idea.
"Ah, well… I, ah… you know, I've been cooped up in my room for a few days, and I was wanting to go and…. Get some fresh air! Care to, ah… join- I mean accompany me? Since, you know, you're my knight and all and I was almost kidnapped, so I don't think that me heading off on my own is the best idea… right now."
If Luci was there to bear witness to Bean's stumblings, he surely would've made some sort of quip about her smoothness. But, he wasn't, so his loss. Pendergast, however, found Bean's stutterings and offer to be rather adorable. In fact, the notion of spending more one-on-one time with Bean, at her behest, roused a blush in his stubbly cheeks.
"I- it would be my honour, my queen! Did you have a specific place in mind?" he asked, before his smile changed into more of a smirk. "Same place as last time?"
Bean matched his smile and arched his brow.
"Yeah, sure, why not? This time, though, you go and get the food and I'll get the horses."
"And Luci, I presume?" the knight asked as he stepped aside to let her walk past him.
Pausing in her walk towards the stairs, Bean thought for a moment before she shook her head.
"Luci is busy with something," she replied, before continuing down the stairs.
Behind her Pendergast was allowed to reveal his pure joy and elation at the thought of spending some time with Bean alone. This was a somewhat silly thought because, come on… he was sleeping with her every night! But that didn't mean extensive conversations. In fact, ever since Pendergast had safely got his injured queen back to the castle, he'd been giving her some space. That was mainly due to the fact that they had freaking made out! But, as Pendergast suspected, it would seem that Bean did not remember that short bout of intimacy, so the knight hadn't brought it up.
It still wracked him with chivalrous guilt, though. She had been injured and drugged up! He had been weak, and for that he felt shame… especially because the memory of Bean's tender lips and soft skin still made his blood boil.
As they descended the stairs and parted ways, Pendergast licked his lips as a sliver of fear sliced through his happy-go-lucky mood. Slowly his smile died as he descended into the kitchen and asked for a picnic basket. What if… what if Bean was going to ask about their sweet kisses? Did she remember? Or, what if she actually didn't remember and he let it slip?
Oh fuck, don't fuck this up, Pendergast. Be cool, man, be cool…
It was just a little picnic.
Once Pendergast got what he came for from the kitchens, he headed up to the bailey, found Bean already mounted on her gelding with his black stallion ready to go, and off they went. The day was bright, the sky was cloudless, and the temperature was perfect. The ride up to the ruined tower seemed to take longer than it had last time, though maybe this was because Pendergast was both excited and anxious to get there. In actuality, however, it was because Bean had to ride slower because of her back and butt bruises. Once they arrived, it was the same as before. Bean left the unpacking and tying of the horses to Pendergast while she enjoyed the view. Once the blanket was laid out, Pendergast brought out two wooden cups and a bottle of wine.
The sound of the cork out of the bottle roused Bean's attention (not surprisingly).
Pendergast met her gaze with a smile and gestured for her to come and join him. A small blush coloured Bean's fair and freckled cheeks as she nodded approvingly and came to sit on the other side of the blanket.
"Wow, Pendergast. I gotta admit… this is nice."
"Yes, well…" Pendergast began, smiling as he filled her glass and then handed it to her, "I figured that since it was a nice day and you've been inside recuperating, that you deserve to be spoiled a bit."
Bean tried not to grin too much upon hearing that and simply drank her wine and looked out at the ocean. Pendergast was feeling pretty confident with himself as he sat back with his own cup of wine, though notably it wasn't as full as Bean's. Sighing, the pair made themselves comfortable against the cool stone of the tower and shared a couple moments of peace and quiet.
That is, until Bean spoke first.
"So, Pendergast. You've been pretty busy the last couple of days. Anything I should know about?"
Pendergast slowly took a sip from his cup, looking at the ocean's horizon, before he turned to her and smiled.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with for the time being, my queen. Just… lots of reports, security protocols, that sort of stuff. There comes a lot of work to be done when the ruler of the kingdom is nearly kidnapped, but it is necessary."
His tone was light and casual, while his smile was small and sweet. As much as Pendergast tried to argue with his sense of guilt that he wasn't completely lying to Bean, he knew that he was withholding information from her. It was basically the same thing, he knew this, but he was only trying to protect her. She had been through a lot recently and he just wanted her to have a bit more time as a buffer before he revealed who he's been visiting so frequently down in the castle's dungeons.
Until then, Pendergast wanted only Bean to relax and smile.
Bean seemed to accept his words, because all she did in response was shrug and drink her wine.
"Fine, but… let me know when I can help. I'm trying to be less of a "hands-off" kind of ruler, you know?"
Pendergast only smiled.
"I know, Bean, but, hey! I understand that I've been rather preoccupied with my duties as of late, and I just remembered that I never finished telling you about what I found out about my father and my own background, if you're still interested that is."
That's right: the best kind of topic change was to bring the focus onto yourself.
Bean's expression changed and she even shifted her position to better look at him.
"Oh! Sure. yeah… sorry, I totally forgot that we didn't finish talking about that. Or… wait. I thought we were done? I mean… you don't know who your dad is, right?"
"No, I don't," Pendergast admitted.
"And…?" Bean continued, clearly trying to think back to when they last talked about this. She'd been so tired then, so she was finding it hard to remember.
Pendergast gave her a sympathetic smile before he lightly chuckled.
"Don't fret, Bean. All you need to know is that no, I don't know who my father is, but I do know that he's alive, as is my mother. I know that because I didn't see either while I was in Heaven."
"Right…" Bean replied, slowly nodding, as her memory began to catch up with her. Why was he mentioning his mom? Confusion creased her expression a bit as she asked, "So… I don't get it? What else was in there that you found out?"
"Well…" Pendergast began, raising one of his knees to set his arm upon it. "After reading the journal of my mentor, Sir Boyd, I discovered that I not only don't know who my father is, but also… my mother."
Bean blinked and frowned, clearly confused.
"Wait, what? But… you told me that you saw your mom not that long ago."
The knight nodded as he stared into his cup and slowly swirled the liquid within it.
"I did, yes."
"So… I don't get it," Bean mumbled, looking at him still.
Pendergast opened his mouth but hesitated, having not spoken aloud the truth of his origins to anyone, not even himself. Licking his lips, the knight took a hearty sip of his wine, clicked his tongue, and took a deep breath.
"Well… according to Sir Boyd's journal, my mother is not my mother because I was found alone in the Enchanted Forest as a young child."
"What? Really?" Bean asked, looking the man over with curious eyes.
"Apparently so…" Pendergast mused softly, nodding slightly and looking over at her.
"You don't remember this?"
"No, I had no idea. Mind you, I was a boy no older than five or so when they found me, which, now that I think about it, means that I actually don't know how old I truly am… or when my proper birthday is." Smirking over at Bean, Pendergast added, "Though I am confident that I am still older than you, my queen."
Bean offered him a small smile before she drank more of her wine.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Pendergast. What were you doing in the Enchanted Forest all alone?" she asked, before slightly gasping and sucking in a breath. "Oh no… were you one of the children who were abandoned in the forest?"
Pendergast only shrugged and met her eye, his expression oddly serene and calm.
"I can't be sure, and neither could Sir Boyd. Apparently, the knights were out riding through the forest and then they stumbled upon a forest selkie about to eat a small boy: me. According to Boyd, they began to fight the beast but were quickly overpowered. Then, rather courageously I might add, I, a weak and small child, apparently distracted the beast long enough for the knights to get the upper hand. The beast fled, but the knights took me back to Dreamland and rather than take me straight to the orphanage, Sir Boyd brought me to the widow of his late best friend, Sir Jolon… That woman was my mother, and because of my courage, Sir Boyd would eventually take me on to be his page when I turned seven... or around seven, I suppose."
The Dreamland Knight fell silent, his gaze softly scanning Bean's puzzled expression, before he turned to admire the ocean. All in all, that was easier than he thought. It felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even though he was well aware that today might very well be his last day as a knight. After all, he was not the son of an esteemed knight like his record stated.
"Damn, Pendergast," Bean said finally before she puffed out her cheeks and lightly smacked his arm with the back of her hand, smirking a bit as she did. "You really are more interesting than I thought. You even have a cool backstory now."
The man looked over at her, blinked, and grinned.
"Well I'm glad that you think so, and I apologize for not telling you sooner, my queen."
"Well we have been pretty busy," Bean admitted, gesturing for him to refill her glass.
Pendergast obliged as he lightly chuckled.
"I appreciate your kind words, Bean, but I completely understand if you wish to withdraw my knighthood."
Taking back her refilled glass, Bean gave him the oddest look before she smiled and laughed. He was joking, right?
"Why the hell would I ever do that, Pendergast? You're by far the best knight that Dreamland has, and you have proven that on your own merit. I don't care that you were adopted. Well, I mean, I care… like, I think it's rather unfortunate for you, if you, umm, think that it's unfortunate…?"
It was Pendergast's turn to laugh. God he loved her.
"No, no, in fact… I consider myself to be rather fortunate. Possibly even the most fortunate person in all of Dreamland."
"Why is that?" Bean asked, though there was a smile and blush already brightening her expression.
Pendergast just smiled at her for a long moment and said, "Because there is no other place that I would rather be than right here and for that, I am most fortunate." The knight looked at his queen for another moment or so, before turning to regard the whole of the kingdom and the ocean.
Bean blinked at him while her face went red. She also turned away to stare out at the horizon while her heart beat fast and she gulped down her wine. She felt warm and slightly overwhelmed at the same time. Yet, a smile appeared on her lips and she nervously pulled at a strand of her hair.
Wow… who knew that Pendergast could be so… sweet. Like, seriously! Holy shit, dude! Bean did not know what to say at all.
Eventually the pair settled into another topic of conversation and sat up there on the hill in the sunshine and enjoyed their wine and picnic. After a couple hours, Bean decided that they had better head back. She conveniently didn't want to mention that her butt and back were beginning to hurt, but she legitimately was having a good time and it was nice to be out of the castle. The fact that she had been having a nice time with Pendergast was besides the point… coincidence, really.
Once dismounted from their horses, Pendergast bid his queen farewell before departing to continue his knightly duties. Upon entering the castle's keep, Bean found herself to be in a rather happy mood, which was strange because she had only drank about a half a bottle of wine, so she wasn't drunk in the slightest. Humming as she walked along, Bean passed the throne room before she paused and turned back around to get a better look inside.
Who she saw there by her throne was Mop Girl, or, wait… what was her name again… Umm, Miriam? No! No… shorter than that. It was, ah… Oh! Miri! Yes, that was it: Miri the Mop Girl.
Bean recalled the last she had seen Miri was when she, Luci, and Elfo had been escaping from the ogres and Miri had helped them. Something about a magical mop. Curious, Bean stepped forward and approached the girl. Miri, who noticed the queen approaching, stopped her cleaning and bowed.
"Your Majesty," she greeted. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Hey, ah, Miri," Bean replied, giving the shorter woman a small wave. "Umm, so like I was thinking about something weird that you had said a while ago and- well, you sort of said it, but it was when I was running away from those ogres and you helped me and my friends out. How did you do that exactly?"
"I had a magical broom," Miri replied simply. "I used it to barricade the door to give you time to escape."
Bean nodded and awkwardly set her hands on her hips, rocking on her heels a bit. "Right, right… Ah, yeah, thanks for that."
"No problem, Bean."
Miri moved to return to cleaning, but didn't when Bean remained standing there. Dropping her rag, Miri gestured towards the queen and asked, "Was… there something else you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Oh! Well, I was just thinking…" Bean began, reaching up to rub the back of her neck, "about, like, how… you did that, anyway? I mean the magic broom. Was that something you bought or did, you know, you do that?"
Miri blinked at her queen, with half of her face obscured by her messy hair. "I did it," she replied. "I enchanted the broom myself."
"Oh, wow! That's, ah… that's cool," Bean admitted with a nod, trying to play it cool. "So, like… was there a book that you read to know how to do that, or…?"
"Are you looking for a magic teacher, Bean?" Miri asked.
Bean shrugged and casually looked around.
"Ah, yeah, I guess you could say that. Well, I'm not interested in brooms, but, like, magic… yeah, that sounds cool, you know… how to control it, maybe, or find out how a person gets, or I guess, becomes magical… You know, I figured I gotta know more magic stuff, being queen and all."
Miri just stared at her queen as she fumbled terribly over her words, all the while trying to be all casual like. If Bean wasn't the queen, Miri would've laughed.
"Well to be honest with you, I'm self-taught, and I don't think I'm cut out to teach."
"Oh," Bean replied, a bit defeated.
"But, I'm sure that if you knew some magical people, which I can only assume that you do since you're the queen, then perhaps you could ask them to be your teacher. If, y'know, you asked them nicely."
Bean's expression. "Oh, yeah! I guess I do know some people who have real magic… I hadn't even thought about asking them. Wow! Thanks, Miri."
"Don't mention it," Miri replied with a small smile as she waved the queen off. Once Bean was out of sight, Miri shook her head and returned to cleaning. Royals…
There were a few people that came to mind as Bean walked through her castle and up some stairs. There was Gwen and her sister Bernice, and then there was Gwen's ex-husband, Malfus. Surely one of them would agree to help Bean figure out her weird electric-fingers and magic questions.
"I should just invite them to my birthday. That way I can ask all of them and not even leave home," Bean considered, before heading up some more stairs up towards Sorcerio's laboratory.
Bean's plan was to speak with Sorcerio and Odval to gauge what they thought about her getting a magic teacher. As much as she didn't want to advertise the fact that she had lightning fingers, she couldn't ignore the potential danger of not knowing the extent of her powers. True that she didn't have to ask for permission to get a magic teacher (she was the queen after all), but Bean also acknowledged that keeping in touch with her advisors and council was the best way for her to rule.
Since, you know, she barely knew what she was doing as it was.
Sure enough, when Bean opened the door to the castle wizard's lab, there stood Odval in addition to Sorcerio. Both men looked up from the documents they were looking at and Odval immediately smiled at his queen, clasping his hands together, while Sorcerio began to tidy up the table.
Bean narrowed her eyes in immediate suspicion.
"Good afternoon, Queen! Good to see that you're well enough to be walking around!" Odval declared with his faux happy voice.
"Indeed! I'm happy to see that all the remedies that I concocted have helped in aiding your speedy recovery!" Sorcerio declared as he joined Odval in smiling at their young queen.
Bean wasn't having any of it and crossed her arms and frowned at the pair.
"Okay, what are you guys up to?"
The two men and lovers exchanged looks and rather than face any possible negative repercussions (because, you know, Sorcerio's life was on the line), Odval sighed and stepped aside to gesture towards the table.
"We were simply discussing plans for your birthday celebrations, Queen. If you don't believe us, please! Come and see for yourself, but! I must mention that you risk spoiling some surprises if you do so."
Bean cast them both a suspicious look, before glancing towards the table and she considered taking a look. However, she decided against it and waved them off.
"Don't worry, I believe you guys."
It should be noted that both Odval and Sorcerio seemed to deflate a bit at their queen's assurance that they were off the hook. For now…
"Well, then! To what honour do we owe this unexpected visit?"
"Oh, right yeah. I just wanted to come and tell you that I have a few more people that I want to invite to my birthday party."
"Oh?" Odval tutted, before he grabbed a quill and paper and gestured for Bean to continue.
"Okay, I want to invite the sisters Gwen and Bernice, they're over in Fire Lakes Retirement Home, and Malfus. He's, ah, over in the Devi's Snowcone, in the Cave of a Single Trap."
"I recall…" Ovdal muttered as he finished writing.
Sorcerio rubbed his chin before he said, "If I might ask: why would Her Majesty wish to invite known witches and Malfus the Philosopher to her birthday? They don't seem like the usual party-types that you'd request."
"Well…" Bean began, gazing out the window and at other stuff in the room. Okay, how much did she actually want to say? "They're- Well, I would consider them to be my friends, and they've all helped me in the past, so I thought that I should invite them for my birthday. I want to have some friends at my party."
"Mmhmm…" Odval muttered, jotted down another note before returning to his small and tight smile. "It shall be done, Queen! Is there… anything else we can assist you with?"
Bean shook her head. "No, that's good. You guys… keep up the good work…" Bean stated, walking back out of the room backwards, casting them a slightly less suspicious eye.
"Oh, thank you, Bean! Be sure to rest up!" Sorcerio called as the queen departed, before he exhaled loudly and looked up at Odval. "Big Jo will be pleased to hear of such acclaimed magic uses being invited to the-"
"Shhshhshhshhh!"
Odval's hasty shushing came little too late. Bean, who was just barely within earshot, paused with her exit, and poked her head back into the room.
"What was that?" she asked, once again suspicious.
Odval quickly set his hands behind his back and opened his mouth to respond, but Sorcerio beat him to it.
"All I was saying was that Big Jo is still in the dungeons, and seeing as the occult is his profession and expertise, he'd be rather delighted to meet such magically acclaimed guests. If, of course, they show and even want to go and visit him in the dungeons."
Odval rolled all three of his eyes.
Bean only blinked and said, "Oh, yeah… I forgot that we still had him imprisoned. Cool." With that, Bean left.
Odval sighed and looked down at Sorcerio with a disapproving glance.
"I told you that the queen is supposed to be avoiding the dungeons, not being inspired to go down there."
Sorcerio covered his mouth and uttered a small, "oops," much to Odval's annoyance.
"Besides… you know I was planning on releasing Big Jo while the queen was preoccupied with her birthday. Now, this task has become slightly more difficult."
Sorcerio just shook his head. "All this walking on eggshells is not good for my heart."
"Indeed," Odval agreed with a nod, glancing at their documents. "And to think, we were only doing what we said we were doing. I'd rather have any of our secret plans remain secret, for now."
"Best to stay the course, play it safe, and remain on her good side. Personally, I rather enjoy living."
Both men nodded in solemn agreement and returned to their celebratory plans.
Just as Bean was heading up to her room for a nap, one of her guards found her and notified her that Luci was looking for her and waiting for her in the Orb Room. Sucking in a breath and rubbing her aching back, Bean sighed and climbed the stone steps up to the Orb Room and opened the door. There she found Luci, sitting on the table next to the Orb, smoking a cigar without a care in the world.
Upon seeing Bean, the former-demon simply nodded his head and said, "Sup? Where'd you and your boy-toy run off to? Buy me something?"
Bean rolled her eyes and took a seat at the table with a sigh.
"Okay, he's not my boy-toy, and… no. We just went up to the tower ruins to get out of the castle for a bit. I was tired of being in bed and now, that's all I wanna be."
Setting her elbow on the table and chin on her hand, Bean yawned and gestured to Luci. "So, any updates with the Trøgs and saving Elfo?"
Luci puffed on his cigar and nonchalantly tapped some ash onto the table. "Have I ever disappointed you yet? The tunnels are getting pretty close to Ogre Valley and should be infiltrating beneath where Elfo is being kept in the next couple days. I gotta admit: those lil dudes really like to dig. I was just up here to ask Orby the exact location as to where Elfo's being held. Apparently, the dork is being held in the dungeon beneath the ogre's…. I guess castle? I don't know, but yeah. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can, Beanie, because if everything goes well, we'll be having to deal with Mr. Green Marshmallow himself in a few days."
Bean smiled and waved him off. "Yeah, I miss him too, and this is great news! The gang is gettin' back together, and in time for my birthday too."
"But your birthday isn't for a couple of weeks," Luci pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but by then I'll be too busy to hang out with you guys like we used to. So the sooner Elfo gets here, the better."
"True…" Luci began, a smirk playing on his lips. "Plus, it'll give Elfo some time to have his drama queen freakout when he finds out that Beanie and Pendy are sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-!"
Bean reached over to swipe the cigar out of Luci's hands and her fingers accidentally grazed the Orb. Sparks of electricity erupted from her nails and danced across the sphere's surface, causing Bean to quickly take her hand back with a shout. The motion, however, was a bit too violent and the momentum rocked her chair back onto two legs, forcing Bean to desperately windmill her arms, before completely falling back.
Luci simply watched and shook his head, giving her a small "tst, tsk" as he finally stood up to walk to the end of the table to peer down at the Queen of Dreamland.
"That's what you get for trying to murder an innocent cigar. Shame on you."
Bean just stared up at the ceiling, still seated in the chair, though now it was lying on its back. She groaned and shut her eyes, her back thudding with pain, but now had the added benefit of her fingers also feeling numb and sore too.
"Luci… why am I such a freak?" she mumbled with an irritated point, lifting her hand to frown at her fingers.
Tapping his cigar, Luci hopped down to stand on her raised knees to look down at her. "Us freaks gotta stick together, don'cha know?" Sucking on his cigar, before puffing out a cloud of sweet smoke, Luci allowed for his tough guy facade to drop and he gave Bean a sympathetic look. "A couple more days and Elfo will be back, and then you won't be the biggest freak in the group. How does that sound?"
Sighing loudly, Bean shifted her position, forcing Luci to hop down to the floor, so that she could stiffly stand up. Groaning and rubbing her lower back and butt, Bean shuffled out towards the balcony to look down into the bailey. She saw servants and some guards going about their business and she watched with disinterested eyes. Luci walked up beside her and looked up at her, puffing on his cigar's nub, before tossing it off the balcony.
"Is our favourite knight down there?"
Bean closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Against her better wishes, Pendergast's face did pop into her brain and the words he spoke earlier fluttered across her mind: "Because there is no other place that I would rather be than right here and for that, I am most fortunate." The way he had looked at her as he said it…
Blinking her eyes open, her cheeks burning, Bean looked down at Luci, who was staring up at her with a smirk.
"What?" she asked defensively.
Luci chuckled and turned to strut his way out of the door.
"You just wait in here. I'll be right back, babycakes!"
Before Bean could call after him and say that she'd rather head back to her room, the former-demon-and-angel had slipped out of the room and was gone. Sighing, Bean frowned after him as she was trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks. Her eyes drifted over towards the Orb and curiosity overcame the woman's irritation. Once again Pendergast's words filled her mind, but of a different sort. Looking around cautiously, Bean approached the Orb and cleared her throat.
"Hey, so… I just found out that Pendergast doesn't know who his real parents are. Do you know who they are?"
'NO'
Bean frowned and sighed, racking her brain.
"Can you tell me how we might find them?"
'THE TRUTH… IN THE FOREST'
"The forest?" Bean repeated, briefly confused, before she blinked and looked aside. "Maybe where the knights found him?" she asked under her breath.
Looking back at the Orb, Bean opened her mouth to ask another question when she stopped herself.
'Wait… why do I care?' she thought as she bit her lip, before sheepishly looking up at the Orb.
"This is so stupid," she muttered, before asking in a quiet voice, "So… do I-? I mean… wow, I can't believe I'm asking this, but… can you tell me if I… do I… actually like, like like-like… Pendergast?"
It was hard enough to figure out what Bean was feeling on her own, so she might as well use the magical sphere at her disposal.
The Orb buzzed as its answer appeared on its surface and Bean's mouth opened and her cheeks bloomed red. Before she could say anything, the door to the room began to open and she hastily grabbed the Orb's cloth and covered the spherical glass. Her slightly panicked eyes met the surprised expression of the person now standing in the doorway, who immediately looked unsure how to process the scene before him.
"Ah… am I interrupting anything, Bean?"
"No! Nooo… Pendergast… I mean, hey! How's it- How's it going?" Bean replied with an attempt to be nonchalant, waving his off and trying to casually lean against the table. "What, ah… what brings you up here?"
The knight blinked again and gave her an unsure smile as he gestured to the door. "Luci came and found me. He informed me that you were wanting to speak with me, so… here I am."
"Oh! Did he now!" Bean exclaimed with a chuckle.
'Damn you, Luci…'
Pendergast offered her a small smile before he said, "I can return later, if you need. I mean, of course I shall be returning to accompany this evening once you're ready to sleep-"
"No, no…" Bean assured, waving him off again as she walked back over towards the balcony. "You're here now so we might as well talk. I, ah… have something that I wanted to… t-to talk to you about."
Leaning against the cool stone of the entrance of the balcony, Bean grunted as she slid down to sit on the floor, stretching out her legs, and sighing. Rolling her head over to look up at Pendergast, who remained standing by the door, Bean gestured for him to join her and the knight quickly shut the door behind him and came over to stand by the other side of the balcony's entrance. The man hesitated, but once he saw Bean arched her brow expectedly at him, Pendergast cleared his throat and settled on the floor opposite her.
Tapping his fingers together, the knight gestured towards his liege and asked, "So… what did you wish to speak to me about, Bean?"
"Well…" Bean started, not sure how to approach this topic, "I guess I wanted to thank you for how much you've done for me. Like today… it was nice to just… hang out, you know?"
Pendergast smiled warmly. "It is my pleasure, my queen, to assist you however I am able to! But.. surely, that's not why you summoned me? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but you already thanked me earlier after we returned to the castle."
"I know," Bean replied with a sigh, though she was resisting the urge to tug at her hair, "but I wanted to do something to show you just how much… I appreciate all that you've been doing for me."
Now it was Pendergast's turn to blush and he started to hold up his hands in protest. "Bean, honestly! I don't require-!"
"Stop, Pendergast. I want to help."
Making a bashful face, the knight lowered his hands before a small and happy smile tugged at his lips: like an excited little boy trying to hide his glee.
"Okay… well I cannot argue with my queen's command! What did you have in mind?"
"Okay, so…" Bean began, looking over at the Orb's table and gesturing towards it, "I asked that thing how we can find your parents, and it said something about 'the truth being in forest,' or whatever. So, obviously there's some sort of clue that we can go and find in the Enchanted Forest that'll help us find your parents. Maybe if we go back to where the knights found you as a kid and look around, we'll get lucky."
Pendergast's eye went wide and his cheeks turned red. A look of genuine sincerely softened his features and he reached up to rub his neck.
"You… would do that? For me? I mean- with me?"
Bean shrugged, ignoring how sweaty her palms were or hard her heart was beating fast.
"I mean… yeah. Could be fun! And besides… When have I ever ignored a mystery and not wanted to investigate?"
The queen smiled at her knight and he returned it wholeheartedly, looking at her with as much adoration and warmth as he had earlier that day by the ruined tower.
Cocking a brow at her, Pendergast chuckled and said, "Wouldn't an adventure such as this interfere with our duties?"
Bean waved him off. "It's only the Enchanted Forest and I'm the queen! If my dad can go out hunting then so can I! But… not actual hunting, but hunting for clues. I can do what I want, and you're my knight, which means I'm totally like your boss, so you gotta do what I say, right? And if I say that I want to go into the forest and that you have to join me, no one can argue with that."
The white-haired woman shrugged again and Pendergast laughed, nodding his head.
"You make a reasonable point," he replied as he lightly chuckled. "But, you know, Bean… that us going off into the Enchanted Forest won't be received well by the Council considering your recent-"
"I know," Bean replied bluntly, a touch of stubbornness filtering into her expression. "And I also know that as queen I can't be my foolhardy self who just runs headlong into danger."
"But that's why you have me," Pendergast declared with a confident smile. "To get you back out of danger."
Flashing him a smile, Bean finally reached up to tug at her hair as she said, "Well… you've done a pretty good job of doing just that so far. I admit, Pendergast: I'm impressed, which, if I think about it, I probably never would've said to you before you died."
Pendergast smiled and slowly nodded, a bit of his old cockiness shining through. "I've been granted a second chance at life and I plan on committing it solely to you and do right by you, Bean, no matter what."
Bean blinked and began to twist her hair. "Really?"
"I mean every word," Pendergast admitted with another nod. "I promise that with this life that I won't make the same mistakes again. I vow to never doubt or stand against you again. You have my word as a knight!"
"Yeah, well…" Bean began, increasingly flustered. She quickly reached into her boot for her emergency flask, unscrewed the cap, and took a hearty gulp. Smacking her lips and sighing, the woman looked up at her knight and offered him a sip. "I appreciate that, Pendergast," she continued as she reached over to hand him her flask and tried to ignore the shiver that went down her spine when her fingers brushed against his gloved hand.
Holy fucking shit, keep it together, Beanie!
"And, yeah… I admit that you've really proven yourself to be someone that I can rely on and trust, but I hope you know-!" she said, holding up her finger at him, "-that I'm not looking for another "yes man" to just agree to everything that I say. I don't need two Elfos in my life."
Pendergast chuckled and shook his head.
Bean glanced down at the ground. "I'm only asking you to be honest with me and that, I don't know… maybe together we won't screw up as much, b-but even if we do, we got each other's back, right?"
The man's features softened and he looked down at his hands as he idly pulled off his gloves; something that resembled guilt crept into his eye while his heart thrummed with hope and joy. Licking his lips, the man took a good swig of her flask and took a moment to savor the burn of alcohol down his throat.
"Bean, I… There's something that I need to tell you-"
"It's okay, Pendergast," Bean interrupted with a sigh as she stiffly stood up. "I already know."
Pendergast looked up at her quickly with shock and panic in his expression.
"Wha-?! Really? How-?"
"Dude, it's okay," Bean continued, reaching down her hand at him, to which he handed her the flask. The queen then laughed, exchanging the flask into her other hand, and offering him her hand once more. Finally Pendergast caught on and took it, allowing Bean to help him stand.
Cocking her brow up at him and wearing a sly expression, Bean nudged him and said, "You already told me and apparently everyone else has basically known for a while too."
The knight raised his finger to say something, then paused, before indecision creased his features and he gave her a wary look. "I… can't be sure that we're speaking about the same thing…"
Bean rolled her eyes. Men… you had to spell out everything for them.
"Dude… I know that you have feelings for me, like… strong feelings, and I bet that you were about to say that you weren't gonna try and court me anymore because I'm the queen now and blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada… yeah, we've gone over that already."
Pendergast blinked, stared at her for a moment, before slowly nodding.
"R-right… of course! And, ah, yes! You are correct… It would be most inappropriate of me to court you as I had in my previous life."
Bean smirked a bit wider and her eyes cast him an alluring gaze.
"And… what if I want you to court me? Would you then?"
The colour seemed to drain from Pendergast's face as a rush of blood steered toward his crotchal regional. He stared at her for a few more seconds until he remembered that he still had to breathe, before he began to cough slightly and laugh awkwardly. His brain then called in a code red and diverted blood back to his face so that the knight could flush a bright chagrin.
"O-oh! My queen, surely you jest!"
Bean gave him a lackadaisical gesture, indicating that she wasn't sure and that clearly she was enjoying teasing him.
"Maybe… but, hypothetically speaking of course, what would you courting me look like? More picnics by the ocean?"
Pendergast swallowed loudly and looked down at her with a half-smile; a bead of sweat tickled the back of his neck. The way she was looking up at him, how close they were standing… was this Heaven?
"W-well I… would take you… dancing! If that's what you wanted. Or out to dinner, while I showered you with sweet nothings. I would bring you fresh flowers to brighten rainy days, or simply be with you to provide you with company if you needed it. Really, I'd like to think, or rather hope, that I know you well enough, Bean, and because I do, I know that you know what you like: that you do what you want to do, so…. In the end, I would simply wish to be with you, let you decide, and try my best to make you happy. That's how I would court you, even if that means that we just end up at Luci's bar or sitting down by the docks watching the ships go by. I want to do whatever you choose to do, because then I know that you'll be happy."
Pendergast's tone started out shaky and unsure, but the more he spoke, the more he admitted, the more steady his voice became and the more tender his face became. With his one eye he watched Bean's expression shift with surprise and how a warmth entered her smile. She genuinely looked touched by his words and by the end of his speech, Bean looked down and rocked on her heels nervously, her hands shyly touching one another.
"Wow… Pendergast, I didn't… Those, um, seduction classes really paid off, huh?"
The knight laughed nervously and looked aside.
"I… didn't learn that from my classes. That was just.. The truth, plain and simple."
"Well," Bean began, tucking some hair behind her ears, and shyly looking up at him, "I have to admit, that plain and simple stuff sounded nice."
"Yet, it doesn't matter. This is all for hypothetical reasons, correct?" Pendergast asked, forcing a smile to hide how much his heart hurt.
Bean didn't immediately answer. Instead she turned away, opened her flask, and drank the rest of it down. Sighing loudly, she looked out at the castle beyond the balcony, giving herself a moment to think, before a smile slowly began to show on her lips. Looking back over at him suddenly, causing the knight to flinch back, Bean set her hands on her hips and walked over to him until they were chest to chest and she was staring directly up at his slightly scared eye.
"Okay, fine! I've made up my mind!"
"Y-you have?"
"Yes!"
"About what?" Pendergast asked cautiously, his voice squeaking slightly, not stepping back away from her, but tense and ready to run if need be.
The knight flinched again when his queen suddenly jabbed her finger roughly into his chest. The touch, while unexpected and rough, was welcomed.
"That I, Queen Tiabeanie The First, grant you, Sir Pendergast, Dreamland Knight and Leader of the Tiabeanie Table, permission to formally court me!" Bean arched her brow defiantly up at her stunned knight's expression, before she added in a sly tone, "Unless, of course, you truly do not wish to…"
His heart was thundering in his ears and it was only by some miracle that Pendergast had heard every word that Bean had just told him. This can't be real! Was this a dream? Is this what dreams were like? Had he died again? Was Bean high again?
He opened his mouth but no sound came out because his brain was having a mortal crisis. However, as Bean began to slide her hand down his chest and take it back, Pendergast was quick to reach up and grab it, causing his queen to blink and smirk, and it was this action that finally kicked his brain's ass into working again.
"I-I do… Yes, my queen- Bean! I do, with all my heart I commit to courting you and making you happy for all long as you allow me to."
Bean only smirked and gave him a single nod.
"Don't disappoint me now…"
Crunch.
Both Bean and Pendergast froze before they both looked over in unison towards the Orb's table and… lo and behold there was Luci, sitting on the edge, swinging his tiny legs, with a bag of popcorn. The former-demon waved them off and said, "Don't let me interrupt! Keep going! This is by far the crappiest and best soap opera I have ever watched, and I should know! That's all they show down in Hell, besides, you know, a person's worst moment and all that junk."
Bean dropped Pendergast's hand and stepped away.
Luci leaned back towards the Orb and whispered, "They should totally kiss now, right?"
The Orb chimed, but its answer was hidden by its cloth. We all know it said 'YES' though, just like we all know that earlier it confirmed to Bean that she did, in fact, like-like Pendergast because it was pretty bloody obvious to everyone but her.
"Luci… you have until the count of three…. THREE!"
Bean took off after the retreating figure of Luci, who was surprisingly speedy when he wanted to, and his cackles were mixed with Bean's string of curses. Pendergast was left standing in the room alone, blinking and stunned, before a smile slowly speared on his face. Did that… just happen? Did she actually grant him permission to court her? That… that meant that she wanted him to court her! Did… did that mean that he was actually dating Bean now?
Walking on air, the knight exited the room with a skip in his step and a whistle on his lips. Heaven might be Paradise for some, but right now Pendergast was in his own personal Heaven. Over and over his mind went over the exchange he'd just had with Bean, and it sounded more incredible every time! Bean was willing to accept his feelings! To an extent, of course, but she was interested in him!
Nothing could make this day better.
Well… maybe one thing.
Descending down towards the dungeons, Pendergast's smile finally faded and was replaced with an expression of hard determination and slight satisfaction. The sounds of tortured screams filled his ears and today they sounded as sweet as the harmonic music up in Heaven. Stepping off the last stair, the knight was met with the intimidating figure of the large form of Stan the Executioner. Stan, who was wearing his executioner's hood, had his back to Pendergast but turned around at the sound of his approach.
"Ah, Pendergast, perfect timin'! Care to have a go?"
Pendergast grinned wickedly as Stan stepped aside and the knight replaced his gloves as he eyed the form of the prisoner who was strung upright on a vertical rack.
"Don't mind if I do…" Pendergast breathed, smiling briefly and flexing his fingers, before delivering a well-aimed right hook directly into the prisoner's stomach.
The prisoner coughed out a gasp before weakly crying out in agony. Slumping forward, the man whimpered into a pathetic sob. Ongoing torture for three straight days after having survivied a fall from the air couldn't be good for one's health and wellbeing.
Pendergast smirked up at Stan before he said, "Tomorrow, I promise, we shall notify the Queen of our… esteemed guest."
The knight then looked back at the prisoner and reached up to grab the man by his curly brown hair, forcing his head up. The face of the Gunderson Steamwork Co. was heavily bruised, with one eye completely swollen shut, and tears flowed from his other eye. The knight regarded him with an icy cold indifference; Alva shuddered in pitiful fear.
"Until then… you will continue to beg for mercy… and receive none, Steamland bastard. You should never have touched Bean…"
A/N:
Hello everyone!
-cough cough cough-
It's only been... over a year since I updated this story last. And then... BOOM! I bang out a new chapter in two days. Not too shabby. I forgot how easy it was to write for these characters, how casual their conversations are, and how fun this story is.
Considering that I plan for the next chapter to be... spicy, it may not take long for it to get published.
As always, I welcome all comments and critiques, just remember to be kind: this is a fan's labour of love.
Stay tuned and stay classy, folks!
Cheers!
~Sheik