by Robin Roseau
It was a bloody knife.
I stared at my hand. The handle had been a mess, and now my hand was.
One-handed, and shaking besides, I managed to pull things together before moving to the sink. I began trying to wash my hand when I heard screaming from the hallway. I didn’t recognize any words until there were more noises, a lot more noises, and then I heard Olivia say in a frantic but clear voice, “I saw a woman running away. She had black hair and was wearing a green dress. She ran through that door.”
Three seconds later, the door burst open, and several people ran through. They froze, staring at me, and then they grabbed me.
I was wearing a green dress and have black hair.
“I didn’t do it!” I screamed. “I was in here. I didn’t do it.”
Two more people appeared dressed as city guards. It took them seconds to find the knife where I’d dropped it and only a few more seconds before one of them examined my hands. “What is your name?” he asked roughly.
“I didn’t do it.”
“What is your name?” he barked in my face.
“Allium,” I said in a dead voice. “Allium Cuprite.”
“Allium Cuprite,” he said. “You are under arrest for the murder of Tessarla Feldspar.” And then he produced manacles and shackled my hands behind my back.
I spent the entire time protesting that I was innocent, that I’d never hurt anyone.
The two officers took control over me, but one of them deputized one of the other men to, “Guard this door. It’s a crime scene.”
They pulled me from the room and marched me down the hall. It was full of people, everyone from the event and what appeared to be many of the serving staff. But the people parted, and that was when I saw Tess on the floor, her eyes closed, and blood drenching her tunic. Olivia knelt beside her, but someone spoke to her and she looked at me. “It was her!” she yelled pointing.
The police officers didn’t pause but marched me past the body.
* * * *
I was in shock, and for the next several minutes I thought I was honestly in trouble, realization we’d been involved in this event entirely fleeing from my mind. It wasn’t until my “trial” began three minutes later that I realized it was part of the story. I nearly cried in relief.
One of the guests was a judge. Well, he could have been an actor. I never learned otherwise. They kept me shackled during the amazingly brief proceedings. I was charged with premeditated murder. When I protested I was innocent, the judge threatened to have me gagged if I spoke out of turn and then looked pointedly to Yearly.
She had a gag ready.
I shut my mouth.
They presented witnesses. The first were the two men who had grabbed me originally. It took them seconds to describe how they had found me in the bathroom. Then the two police officers testified. They’d found the knife. My hand still was stained with blood, and they found drips leading from the knife to the sink.
And then nearly the most damning bit of evidence: a letter, crumpled up and discovered in the waste basket, informing me that my wife, Dee, had been having an affair with Tess.
Dee loudly said, “That’s a lie! I was utterly devoted to you, Allium. How could you believe that about me?”
Yearly made sure I saw her swinging the gag, and I had no doubt she’d use it if I said a word.
They brought Olivia forward. Her testimony took the longest. Tess had sent her on a task, and Olivia had returned in time to see Tess lying on the floor and a woman in a green dress and black hair running away. When she was asked if I was that woman, she said, “I only saw her from behind.” I was made to turn around, and then Olivia said, “I think it’s her. Green dress, black hair of the same length. I only saw her for a moment, but I think it’s her. Oh, who do I belong to now?”
They let me testify. The judge asked questions, all of them leading. I denied everything and was given about five seconds to explain my side.
Thirty seconds later I was convicted of murder and sentenced to spend the rest of my life, “Or at least the rest of the evening” in prison.
And then two members of the serving staff rolled in an actual cage. There was a mechanism to drop it solidly to the floor. I was led to it and locked in before one of the city guard removed the manacles.
They gave my family an opportunity for last words. Bee and Dee didn’t approach, but Claary did. “I’m innocent,” I told her.
“It was a pretty convincing story,” she said. She gestured. Dee and Bee were hugging. “They know it’s part of the story, but Dee is upset. She really enjoyed having you as her wife.”
“I was having fun, too. Claary, they’re both so…”
“I know,” she said. “I love them to pieces. Everything that has happened over the last eight years was made so much easier because of the two of them. I’ll explain that some time.”
“Don’t take it too far, but you can make promises in my name, if you think it will help.”
“Yes,” she said. “I think it will. Are you sure?”
“Did Olivia talk to you about what I told Lisolte?”
“Yes. I don’t think your decision was necessary, but I understand completely.”
“Use your judgment, but that’s the line, then.”
“You’re as sucked into them as the rest of us.”
I laughed. “You’re right. I can’t stand seeing them unhappy.”
“Neither can I. Thank you. I’m going to tell her that if you’re stuck in here the rest of the night, that you’ll be her wife for another night before we leave. Is that okay?”
“That’s good,” I said. “Claary…” I trailed off.
“I know. They’re entirely irresistible.”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Yearly is glaring at me. Good luck in there.” She grinned. “You look cute like this.”
“I’m sure.”
Claary stepped away. The staff returned to me. They lifted the cage back up and wheeled me to the edge of the room, then arranged some of the chairs in a barricade, the walls of the prison. After that, no one tried to approach.
Tess revived, so to speak. She made her appearance as soon as I was positioned, and I thought the timing was intentional so that it would happen before people returned to working through their own story lines. She had changed clothing and wore a wig. At first, I didn’t recognize her, but she asked loudly, “Where is my slave?”
Her new character was called Arla – the last half of her full name of Tessarla. She was Tess’s sister and had inherited all of Tess’s property.
Including Olivia.
At that, I had to laugh.
* * * *
Yearly let me stew for perhaps twenty minutes. It wasn’t comfortable. The cage was tall but small, and I couldn’t sit. But finally, she made her way past the barricade of chairs and smiled at me. “You look good in there.”
“It’s the latest rage,” I said.
“There is evidence you were framed. Interested?”
“Yes.”
“We’re not going to let your wife find it quite yet. You’ll be in there for a while, but we’re prepared to keep you in there the rest of the evening.” She smiled again. “Actually, that’s not true. We also have evidence you’re part of a terrible plot, and there could be a second trial. You will be judged guilty and sentenced to hard labor.”
“Do you mean to say deeply embarrassing labor?”
“I do,” she said. “Would you be a poop about it?”
“No,” I said.
“The person framing you won’t be able to finish fabricating her additional evidence if the first evidence is discovered.”
“You really want me to pay your price,” I told her.
“I’m only painting the full story for you. You get one chance to pay the first price.” She lifted a small sack. “You will change clothing into prison attire.”
“My entire outfit is in that little sack?”
“It is,” she said.
“We have screens we’ll move into place for exactly one minute. If it takes you longer than that, you’ll do it with an audience.”
“I see.”
“We’ll be taking your clothing from you, and you don't get any of it back until the event is over.”
“I think I take back every nice thing I’ve ever thought about you.”
She laughed. “Having fun?”
“I was having more fun being Dee’s wife.”
“Yeah,” she said, somewhat wistfully. “I wouldn’t mind that role, either.” She fanned herself. “I am to tell you; Claary has offered Dee her bribe. She’s fine, but she’s staying in character, so if she looks miserable, she’s acting.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“So, that’s the price for you now. If you pay it without being a poop, then in a while, your wife will find evidence you were framed. It will be convincing, and you will be freed.” She smiled again. “If you turn me down, in, oh, perhaps another three quarters of an hour, you’ll get a second chance. You’ll let yourself be sold to Olivia’s owner, and while she’s been having fun with Olivia, she’ll really have fun with you.”
“How late does this run?” I asked her.
“Oh, a while yet. This is the most people we’ve ever had, and we had fun combining several storylines into one evening.”
“How soon do I get out if I pay the first price?”
“Not immediately, but a lot sooner than the second price.”
“Give me the sack,” I told her.
“Once I hand it to you, you’re committed,” she said. “If you look and refuse to change, the second price is off the table. Don’t cheat me, Allium.”
“I won’t cheat you. Give me the sack.”
She did. The sack was heavier than it looked. I peeked then waited for the staff to roll several screens into place, Yearly and I together inside them.
Yes, she watched as I changed.
It was skimpy. Very, very skimpy. I had to laugh, though. Flarvorian prisoners are dressed in a garish one-piece tunic and pants with integrated steel cables at the neck, each wrist, waist, and each ankle. The idea is that it is impossible to take off the outfit, so if someone escapes, even if they cut off the rest, they’ll still be stuck with the steel cables until they can find sufficient tools to remove them.
My little outfit was similar. It used the same garish colors and included the same steel cables. Yearly had to help me, and they actually locked into place. When she was done, I looked as if I’d cut away most of a prison uniform, leaving only my more private areas actually covered by the garish material.
“I can’t believe this,” I told her.
She smiled broadly. “You’re a hottie.”
“I am not.”
“Yeah, you are,” she said.
“Ever worn this yourself?”
“I modeled it while we made it,” she said. “But I earn extra money posing nude for painters and sculptors. Do you?”
“No.”
“I bet you blush when we pull the screens away.”
“I bet you’re right.”
She was right.
* * * *
Bee and Dee really, really enjoyed seeing me in my new clothing. Dee blew me a kiss before they turned away to continue to work on our story line.
I actually served as a distraction, and three separate times I saw wives smack their husbands for staring at me, but at least one of them was laughing about it. Later, the same woman whispered to me, “He invited me to buy a similar outfit. He said I’d look good.”
I remained in my cage for another fifteen minutes before Dee burst into the room and loudly announced, “My wife is innocent! Let her go!”
Well, they didn’t let me go immediately. Instead, I was wheeled around the room, two full circles, before they brought me to a stop in the center of the room. Dee presented her evidence. She had discovered a secret exit from the ladies’ room, and stuffed into the exit was a green dress and a wig of black hair along with a note ordering Tess be murdered and I was to be framed for it. She’d discovered the evidence with witnesses watching, and no one complained that it was my actual dress they found, and that I was no longer wearing it.
Yearly smirked at me, but they let me out of the cage, and Dee immediately yanked me into her arms, kissing me soundly and hugging me tightly. I wrapped around her and told her I loved her.
I wasn’t sure I was still in character when I said it, and it was a long time before either of us began to release the other. After that, for the remainder of the evening, she didn’t stop touching me, and we were at the very least holding hands, and usually far more than that.
“I like you dressed like this,” she told me. “It’s a good look for you.”
I laughed.
* * * *
We now had two conspiracies to discover. We needed to finish unwrapping the plot to kill Queen Lisdee, and we needed to discover who had framed me. In the end, it turned out we really only had one conspiracy.
We had to buy four more clues. And around us, others were buying clues, some of them rather frantic about it.
From what I could tell, with perhaps one or two exceptions, everyone in the room had fun. I was able to laugh, even while blushing, as we paid for our clues. Not everyone was able to laugh at themselves, but they certainly enjoyed other people paying for their clues.
We solved our puzzle, but only because we paid for so many clues. Tess’s sister, Arla, turned out to be at the center of our conspiracy. She had murdered her sister in order to inherit from her. She had framed me not only to divert suspicion from herself, but to derail our investigation, as she was at the heart of the conspiracy to murder the queen. One of the Charthan men was also involved, but the other one had avoided getting sucked in, although I understand he was offered inducements.
We held a new trial for Arla. She was declared guilty and sentenced to be enslaved for it. As we were the most aggrieved parties, both Arla and Olivia were given to us. Bee and Dee were tickled pink over that turn of events.
Not all groups did as well as we did; some did better in that they solved their story lines without buying as many clues.
Then we were all invited for a light libation.
* * * *
Yearly approached us. “Did you have fun?”
Bee ran over and hugged her. Dee pulled me over, as she still wasn’t done holding onto me, and hugged her as well. The rest of us congratulated her on a well-executed event.
“Thank you,” she said. “Well. Two of you are still leashed, and I have the keys. One of you is wearing a rather intriguing outfit and is lacking her other clothing. I have those keys as well, along with the clothing.” She turned to Olivia. “Did I tell you to accuse Allium?”
“No,” she said. “There really was a woman in a green dress.” She turned to me. “It wasn’t you?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Allium, it had to be you. She was wearing the exact same dress. She was your size. Her hair was the same.”
“The wig.”
“That can explain the hair,” Olivia said. “But the rest?”
We all turned to Yearly. She smiled and said nothing. “So,” she said. “I am letting exactly one person buy the keys I am holding. I’m not physically holding a garment bag, but you won’t find it without me. What am I offered?”
I gaped at her. Tess laughed. And Olivia said, “I offer an invitation back to The Green Room with us. You will hold the keys and bring the garment bag with you, and you will give all of them to me later while you’re deciding whether to accept my formal invitation to Charth.”
“Olivia!” I complained.
“I’m pretty sure the duchess just bought three sets of keys and a garment bag,” Yearly declared. “Does anyone else think they can top that.”
“I can’t go outside dressed like this!”
“Su
re you can,” Yearly said.
“It’s autumn,” I complained. “I’ll freeze to death.”
“Not hardly,” she replied. “But I’ll let you buy a blanket to get you to and from the carriage.”
“But only to and from the carriage,” Olivia clarified. “If you argue when we take it away from you, I won’t unlock you until the night before we leave.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me.”
“I’m fairly certain you aren’t confident I wouldn’t,” Olivia said. “Going to fight about the blanket?”
“No,” I said sullenly.
“My price for a blanket is permission to everyone standing here to rub your bottom as much as we want until Lady Olivia unlocks you,” Yearly declared.
“Yearly!” I complained. “You’re at least as bad as she is.” I pointed to Olivia.
“Oh, please. She’s an amateur. I’m a professional.”
“We’re talking about the six of you,” I said. “Not everyone in the room.”
“The six of us,” she confirmed.
I looked at Olivia. “If I behave, when do I get unlocked?”
“Before you leave The Green Room,” she said. “Or when your wife asks me to unlock you, whichever comes first.”
Dee clapped happily at that and turned her eyes on mine. I caved in seconds. “I’ll behave.”
* * * *
True to their word, Olivia ordered me to give up the blanket the moment we arrived at the coach. I told her the seats were cold and asked if I could sit on it. She relented that much.
The coach was crowded with eight of us, but I found myself between Bee and Dee. Dee told me, “Hold Bee, and I’ll hold you.” And so, between the two of them, while I wasn’t evenly warmed, I didn’t freeze, either.
I looked at Olivia. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I certainly am,” she said. “But so are you.” She didn’t wait to see if I protested. “Dee, if I give permission for a slumber party, will you give Yearly the leashes?”
Bee and Dee practically threw their leashes to Yearly, transferring ownership of Tess and Olivia. Yearly laughed and happily took possession.