by Kimbra Swain
He backed away from me to the door. “Goodnight, Glory,” he said.
“Don’t call me that,” I said.
I heard him laughing down the hallway to his room. After all the sadness and fear of the day, I went to bed with a smile, because my bard was exactly what I needed. And he fucking knew it.
As I unfolded the metal chair, Mable watched me intently with a smug look on her face. Was it bad that I wanted to see her squirm? She had no idea what I was capable of. She would think my father was a teddy bear compared to what I had planned for her red-cloaked ass. I had chosen a sweet sundress to wear. It was black but covered in a floral pattern. The days were turning colder, and I wanted to wear it one last time before I needed to break out the sweaters.
I sat down in the chair, crossing my legs like a proper lady.
“So good to see you, Gloriana,” Mable said indicating my blonde hair and turquoise eyes. She had no idea that I hadn’t reverted to my glamour since Dylan had died. I had a few questions as to how she obtained the jar. I wanted to know what she intended to accomplish by throwing the jar in the bonfire. I knew what the result had been. The death of my daughter. The death of my fiancé. Thankfully, Winnie was alive. It didn’t lessen the wrath that seethed inside of me for Mable Sanders.
“Good morning, Mable,” I said with a smile. “Is there anything I can get for you?”
“Oh, so diplomatic this morning. Aren’t you sweet in your cute little dress? At least it is black, or are you finished mourning your fiancé already? I’m sure Levi is chomping at the bit,” she said.
“Actually, I am,” Levi said as he walked into the room. “But not for what you think, Mable.”
“Oh, do tell. This should be interesting. I always loved soap operas,” she said.
“I can’t wait to see you get what is coming to you,” he said, leaning on the wall next to me.
“You do realize that you can contain me on your own, right? You don’t need the bard here to do it,” she taunted.
The cell she was in was part of the old sheriff’s department complex. We had taken turns at warding the cell, and she couldn’t access power at all. She was a sitting duck.
“Oh, I’m not here to contain you. I’m just a spectator,” I said.
“Really?” she laughed. “There is nothing you can do to make me talk.”
“That’s just it. I don’t want you to talk. I want you to scream,” I said as Tennyson and Jenny came into the cell block, locking the door behind them.
“Mable, it is so good to see you,” Tennyson grinned as he cracked his knuckles.
“What are you doing here?” she spouted. “You can’t interfere like this.”
“I’m here to contain her,” he said nodding to Jenny who shimmered to a muddy green color and slid through the jail cell bars with a squishing sound. “Oops! She got away.”
Mable backed away from Jenny. “Ask me questions, Grace. I’ll answer.”
“I told you. I don’t need you to talk. I already know that you’re the crone in a triad of fairy witches known as the Order of the Red Cloak. You have no loyalties except for those of the mother and maiden. It is only a matter of time before I cut Robin’s throat. I’m not sure who the maiden is, but I want to find out myself. You don’t have to tell me,” I said.
Jenny’s arm turned into a glossy tentacle which reached across the cell wrapping itself around Mable’s throat. Mable tried pulling it off of her, but Jenny tightened her hold.
“That is a thing of beauty,” Tennyson said.
“Weird tastes,” Levi said.
“To each his own,” I replied.
“Please, Grace, I’ll tell you anything,” Mable gasped. “What will Nestor think of you torturing me?”
“He will be jealous. He wanted to do it himself,” I said, standing up to walk to the bars of the cell. Her eyes bugged out of her head as Jenny held her tightly.
“Ask whatever you want, Grace. I’m willing to bet she will answer. If she doesn’t, I’ve got seven more of these things that can find new cavities to explore,” Jenny said with an evil glint in her eye. She was starting to scare me.
“Fuck a duck,” Levi said.
“Give a whole new meaning to Hentai,” I said. Levi started into a coughing fit, but I focused on Mable. I did have questions about the jar and Dylan.
“Why don’t you just tell me things, and then I’ll decide if they are good enough to let you die? Living is no longer an option for you, but the method of death will depend on what information you provide,” I said.
“I left the fake jars for you around town,” she exclaimed as Jenny formed another tentacle. It slithered up Mable’s skirt wrapping around her calf. She stumbled but kept from hitting the floor.
“Already knew that,” I said. I didn’t exactly know, but I suspected it was her once she was caught.
The night of the bonfire, Mable was tackled by Astor who turned her over to Amanda and the wolves while I confronted Dylan with Winnie. They brought her here, and this was where she would stay until I had all the information I wanted.
“I don’t work for Brockton. Neither does Robin,” she said. “We serve a higher purpose.”
“Oh, good. Now he can have a snake in the grass,” I said. “What higher purpose?”
Jenny formed two more appendages which grabbed Mable’s arms forcing her against the concrete block wall.
“We wish to see the veil between the worlds torn apart. Samhain is approaching. The veil thins. It is only a matter of time until all that is wild in the Otherworld slips through the barriers. I have a feeling some of them will be coming for you,” she smiled, but only briefly. Jenny’s noose tightened on her neck. Mable gasped for air.
“The wild do not dare cross en masse,” I said.
She coughed and laughed at the same time. “You’re a fool. There is no monarch to keep them in the Otherworld. Did you think your father’s job consisted of fucking his concubines and drinking wine?”
I knew my father had duties in the Otherworld. The wild fairies respected my father and abided by his wishes. Mable was right. My father wasn’t there to stop them from charging through the veil and wreaking havoc among the humans. But she was also wrong because I would stop them.
“Jenny, have your fun. Just don’t kill her, yet,” I said as I stood up to leave.
“Thank you, my Queen,” Jenny grinned. Her golden teeth sparkled under the fluorescent lights. Tennyson bowed to me as I passed him with Levi on my heels.
“Grace, wait! Please! Don’t leave me here with her. I beg you for mercy,” Mable pleaded.
“I’m not in a merciful mood at the moment, Mable. Unless you’re ready to spill your guts,” I said without looking at her.
“It was Robin’s idea to throw the jar in the fire. We thought he would kill Levi! Winnie wasn’t supposed to get hurt,” she exclaimed.
“That’s your defense? Robin did it? I’m not an idiot, Mable. I understand the power of the three. There isn’t anything Robin can make you do without your consent. Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining,” I said while walking out the door.
She started to speak again, but it mixed with an awful sounding garble. I didn’t tell Jenny to leave her where she could speak, perhaps I should have specified. Too late now. The scary part of the whole confrontation and walking out of that room knowing that Jenny was going to have fun playing with her was that I didn’t care. She had deceived this entire town, my father, my grandfather, and my family. She sat in on private meetings because my father considered her a trusted servant. She could rot for all I cared.
I wanted to rip her limbs off and beat her with them. A dusting wouldn’t do. It just wasn’t enough for the pain and heartache she had caused. She was a villain. A betrayer. My anger swelled up inside of me as we stepped outside of the old jail.
Suddenly Levi’s arms surrounded me as he muttered, “Office.”
We appeared in my office which was actually a trailer. I jerked away from him
.
“What the hell are you doing?” I spat.
“You need to calm down,” he said. His eyes focused on me, and his face tightened. He wasn’t afraid of me at all. At the moment, I thought that was a bad thing. I could rip him apart with a few words. “No, you can’t.”
“Dare me,” I said with a growl.
He grabbed my wrist, dragging me through the main room into the bedroom where my desk was, then further into the bathroom. Spinning me around to look at the mirror, I jerked back involuntarily from the mirror. Looking down at my hands, I saw that they were blue and transparent like ice. My face was pale, and my lips had turned deep purple like a frozen corpse.
The blue swirls on my skin pulsed with power. All of this was happening, and I didn’t feel it at all. I felt no different save the anger inside of me toward Mable. Levi’s hand slid down my arm to my wrist, resting above my tattoo. He didn’t play music, but I could feel the calming spell radiating out of him into me. I watched myself in the mirror as my normal complexion returned. I lifted my left hand to see the ice fading away.
“Shit,” I muttered.
Levi’s breath brushed through my hair as he spoke, “You never have to worry about going too far. I’m here, and I won’t let you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I said, but it had no fire behind it.
“No, you don’t. You need a bard,” he said. I could hear the smile on his face without looking at him. I dared to meet his eyes in the mirror. His cobalt eyes stared back at me. For a moment, I could see the power in them as if I were hypnotized.
I gasped pulling my hand away from him. Burying my face in my hands, the bravado left me, and I shook with the realization that I had tumbled off the edge that I had walked for so long. The evil inside of me had welled up and poured over. I remembered this part of me vividly now. I remembered being so angry at Finley once that I struck him with my icy hand, breaking his jaw.
Levi stepped between me and the mirror, leaning on the vanity. He pulled me to him, and I didn’t protest or try to stop him.
“I’m sorry,” I said into his chest.
“You have nothing to worry about with me. You know that. No apology needed,” he said.
“I’ve been like this before. I remember it now,” I said.
“It comes with being part of the Unseelie,” he said.
“I deserved to be banished from the Otherworld,” I said.
“No more than anyone else, Grace. You were a pawn in a game played between your father and Morgana. Now you’re the Queen. The most powerful piece on the board,” he said. “Like that? A chess reference. Bet you didn’t know I can play chess?”
“Your abilities never cease to amaze me,” I said as my mood changed. Levi wasn’t using magic now. He was just being himself.
“There is more where that came from,” he teased.
“I have no doubt,” I said.
“One day I’ll show you,” he said turning confident.
“In your wildest dreams,” I said pushing myself away from him. I had always flirted with Levi, but now it made me uncomfortable.
“You have no idea how wild,” he grinned.
“Please,” I scoffed. “Fairy.”
“Grace.” His voice became sober.
“Huh?”
“I’ll always bring you back if it is needed, but one day, you are going to have to unleash that thing inside of you. Don’t be afraid to be who you are,” he said.
Your true self.
Levi was working on a theme now. “What’s your point, Dublin?”
“Just that I know as do you that to be Queen of the Otherworld, especially the Unseelie side, that things might get nasty. You might have to do things you wouldn’t normally do like torture a servant. I want you to know that I stand behind you no matter what you do as long as you’re being true to yourself,” he said.
I pondered his words before responding. Levi wasn’t giving me a pass to be ruthless and brutal. He was giving me the support I needed for when times called for the more distasteful parts of ruling. I had tasted those times with the snap of my finger. Extinguishing lives in the Vale. I gave him the only response I could muster because the truth was the darkness inside of me still scared me, and I wasn’t ready to accept it.
“I’d rather you stand beside me than behind me,” I said.
“Same difference,” he shrugged.
“No, it isn’t,” I replied. “If you want me to admit it, I will. I need you, Levi. I can’t do this without you. For all the fronting, I’m still afraid of myself, and you’re that safety blanket that I know will point me in the right direction. I had two, but Dylan is gone now.”
“You can do it yourself. I don’t want to be a crutch. Which if you think about it, is technically beside you, but you still depend on it to walk. You don’t need me to do what you do. I know my place here, and I don’t think you get it sometimes,” he said. “I’m not a safety net. I’m your cheerleader.”
“I bet you’d look good in a skirt,” I smirked.
“I look good in anything,” he said. Damn. He was getting bold. Or perhaps, he was finally feeling more like himself after the events in the Otherworld.
“And nothing,” I said, then clasped my hand over my mouth. “I did not say that!”
“Yes, you did,” he laughed. I was thankful he kept his distance. My emotions were a big swirling mess. Between the cold hatred for Mable Sanders and the ORCs, the confusion overtaking the right actions as a leader, the grief over Dylan, and the impending disaster of my emotions for Levi, I was a wrecking ball waiting to be unleashed. I just hoped I hit the right wall on the first swing.
“Momma, I love Mr. Luther,” Winnie proclaimed at the dinner table.
“That’s great. What is he teaching you?” I asked.
“Lots of things,” she said.
“Like?” Levi asked.
She sneered at him. “Wynnona Riggs, manners, please,” I scolded.
“I shouldn’t have asked,” Levi said.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. She’s got to learn control. Not just of the fire, but of her emotions,” I said.
“She is a child,” Levi said.
“Which makes it more difficult, but not any less important,” I returned.
“Yes, ma’am,” she muttered. “We are working on using my fire a little at a time. He lined up some dried leaves on a table, and I had to just set one of them on fire instead of burning them all.” She lined up small pieces of lettuce as she told her story, pointing at each one as she talked.
“How did that go?” I asked.
“Not very well the first three times, but by the fourth time, I didn’t burn the table. Still working on just burning one leaf,” she said as she chomped down on a taco.
“Just take your time, Winnie. Your father gave you an important gift. I’m sure you will make a great phoenix,” I said.
“Or she will burn the town down,” Astor interjected.
“Astor!” I exclaimed. Levi laughed.
“I will not!” Winnie protested, but she giggled.
“You might. Fiery little one,” Astor said winking at her.
“Maybe just a few buildings,” she laughed.
“I’m pretty sure I’d lose my job if you did that,” I said.
“Nah, Momma, you will always be the Queen,” she said.
“Hear! Hear!” Astor said lifting his sweet tea glass. Winnie lifted hers and they touched them together. Levi joined them in the toast. Aydan who sat in a high chair next to the table smearing mashed potatoes over his tray stopped to clap with potatoes between his fingers. I closed my eyes to push back the tears. Dylan should be here for moments like this, but he wasn’t. When I opened my eyes, everyone continued to laugh and talk, but Levi’s face lost the joy of the moment. I shook my head to brush it off, then joined back into the conversation about Winnie learning to use her powers.
She kissed both of her keys before taking off her necklace and laying it beside he
r bed.
“Are we still having a birthday party?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” I said. “Do you still want unicorns?”
“Duh!” she said with a smile.
“Then we shall have unicorns,” I replied. “We will do it this weekend. Is that alright with you little Phoenix?”
“Yes, ma’am. Momma, I know I wanted to be a fairy like everyone else, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” she said.
“Ain’t that the truth,” I laughed. “But your daddy thought you could do it.”
“I’ll make him proud,” she said with the confidence of a child.
“I’m already proud of you,” I replied.
“Are you?” she asked.
“Of course, Winnie. One day you will learn to control the gifts that were given to you. I believe in you,” I answered.
“Thank you, Momma. Did Daddy go away so I could stay here?” she asked. She had asked the question before, but I think sometimes she just needed to be reassured that he made the decision to take her place. As if, perhaps she had done something wrong. She hadn’t, of course, but sometimes I couldn’t understand the mind of a child. Especially Winnie.
“Yes, Daddy gave up his life for yours,” I said. “He wanted to do it because he loved you so much.”
“I figured he did. It would take a lot of love to give up your life for your daughter,” she said. “He let me live, and he gave me his power, too. Makes him the best Daddy ever.”
Suddenly, I felt as if a semi had plowed over me. The best Daddy ever gave up his life and power to save his daughter. Had she died within the Vale, she would not have returned. For Winnie, that was Dylan. For me, it was a king.
“Yes, it does,” I responded as I kissed her on the forehead. “Goodnight, Winnie.”
“Night, Momma,” she said.
I quietly left the room, then dashed down the hallway to my room. Shutting the door behind me, I gasped in the realization that since my father’s death I had varying degrees of hatred for him for lying to me. However, the fact was that he had done exactly what Dylan did for Winnie. Exactly. And I was an ungrateful child. How did I thank him now? Just march out there and tell him. I hadn’t been to see him since Dylan died.