by Eric Vall
Edony’s lips puckered out, her violet eyes flashed angrily, and her small, delicate hands curled into fists at her sides. I knew she wanted to fly off the handle again, but she certainly couldn’t in the presence of Daisy Browning, another wealthy and influential aristocrat.
“Is there anything else you’d like to say to Charles before we return to the table?” the brunette raised her eyebrows. “We were trying to enjoy a nice luncheon with our new friends, and you interrupted us.”
Edony stuck her tongue into her cheek, scowled, huffed loudly out of her nose, turned on her heels, and glared at me.
“If you breathe a word about my experiments, about what I contracted you for, anything that we did together,” the blonde pointed down at the bloody fabric on my forearm. “Then take that as a warning. The next time, I won’t have mercy on you.”
The Duchess eyed Daisy with disdain, clicked her tongue, turned on her heels, stabbed her cane down on the cobblestones, and floated off down the street. The brunette and I stood in the shade of the awning for a moment until the horrible woman disappeared. I breathed a heavy sigh, slumped backward, ran a hand through my messy black hair, and then gazed over at the destroyed body of the innocent feline.
“Oh, my,” Daisy gasped. “What happened, Charles?”
“She threatened me,” I forced a smile. “And then killed the cat to show me the sheer strength of her power...”
“That poor innocent creature,” the brunette whimpered. “If only I’d known… I would’ve ripped that horrible woman limb from limb, right here in the middle of the street.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” I chuckled. “But you underestimate Edony’s power… I believe a lot of us do. She told me that she only used a fraction of her power to do this, I don’t want to imagine what it would’ve been like if she’d used one-hundred percent of it.”
“She can’t keep treating you like that, Charles,” Daisy grumbled. “We have to do something…”
“I know, but right now… there’s nothing we can do.” I shook my head. “Especially with the auction coming up… I can’t just kill her right now.”
“I bet I could take her,” the brunette smiled. “Maybe with Valerie’s help… she could knock her unconscious while invisible, and then I could just whip her around like a ragdoll. I could just shake her until her little neck broke.”
The brunette jabbed both hands out into the air, grasped the invisible woman, and swung her side to side, pretending to slam her against the brick pavers at our feet. I chuckled, shook my head, pushed off the side of the empty business, and brushed my hand against hers nonchalantly.
“How was lunch without me?” I asked as I led the petite bear-girl back to the table. “Learn anything new from the aristocrats?”
“They’d like to contract you,” the brunette stated. “All three of them.”
“Wait… what?” I grunted.
“Charles!” Lilliana cried, gestured to a chair, and grinned. “Have a seat, have a seat! We were just discussing with Ms. Browning how much it would be for each of us to contract you. She didn’t know the specifics because she said that you signed the contract with Edony before she arrived. So, let’s get down to brass tacks, how much will it be?”
“I will pay you whatever you need,” Adelia nodded. “I’ll even purchase the supplies for you.”
“I-I only need the elevator fixed,” Josephine glanced at the very eager women to the left of her. “But the mine is far from the city, I can provide you with money to get there and back, along with funds for supplies and other things you will need. The mine has been out of commission for six months, and I really need the money that it usually brings to me. If you fix it, I’ll pay you handsomely.”
Money… these women were willingly going to pay me money for services I could provide. Why was that so shocking to me? Was it because the three things they asked for were easily doable? They weren’t asking for anything outrageous like super-soldiers or anything like that…
“How… how much money would you be willing to pay?” I breathed. “Each?”
“I would pay ten-thous--” Adelia started, but Lilliana interrupted with a shriek.
“Let’s make it into a competition!” the woman in the middle guffawed.
“Oh, no,” Josephine grumbled. “Not this again…”
“Yes, this again!” the mousey brown-haired woman nodded. “You know you love these, Josie.”
“I really don’t,” the young blonde pouted. “The last time you did this, I lost seventy-thousand ducats, and you know I can’t afford to spend anything extra this month.”
“That’s what makes it more exciting, my dear!” the woman with glasses cackled. “If you don’t have enough money, then you don’t get to sign a contract with Charles, it’s as easy as that. If you have no money, then you’re the loser!”
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” the blonde grumbled. “I hate it so much… you know I don’t have the funds right now, and you two are sitting on fortunes that dwarf mine by millions.”
“It’s quite alright, my dear,” Adelia soothed. “I’m sure that once Charles finishes with either of our projects, he’d be willing to accept another one.”
“But, my elevator can’t wait!” Josephine sobbed. “I’m losing money by the second! My mother passed that mine down to me, and there’s gold worth millions just below the surface!”
“Stop complaining,” Lilliana chided. “How will we determine this test? Another foot race? Power and ability test? Consort jousting again?”
“Now, now, Lilliana,” Adelia shook her head. “I thought this was about money. There’s only one way that we’ll do this.”
“How?” Josephine moaned.
“Yes,” Lilliana exhaled. “How will we determine the winner?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the oldest woman snickered, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms over her chest. “What have we just heard about that requires money and involves Charles?”
Lilliana and Josephine glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes. The young blonde opened, closed her mouth, tilted her head, squinted, and thought hard for a moment. The middle woman ran a hand through her short hair, scoffed as if all of this was a joke, leaned on an elbow, and then stuck her tongue into the corner of her lip.
I wasn’t sure why this was happening. Had Daisy mentioned to the three women while I was gone? How had I not realized that the bear-girl was practically a genius when it came to getting out of things? Yes, she often said the best option was to kill people, but times like this… they were totally different.
“Well?” Adelia asked. “Do you have any idea? At all, ladies?”
“No,” Josephine grumbled. “Except I’m about to lose a shit ton of my money in a competition I didn’t even want to join. Why can’t we all contract Charles? At the same time?”
“Because that’s no fun,” the oldest woman snapped. “We can’t all contract him, we have to make it exciting!”
“I don’t want excitement!” Josephine threw her hands into the air. “I just want my damn elevator fixed!”
“Don’t be such a sore loser,” Lilliana snorted. “Now, how am I going to win this?”
“You don’t know if you’ll win it or not,” Adelia waggled a finger at her comrade.
“Could we please get to the point?” Daisy snapped. “What is your plan for this competition?”
Adelia blinked at my Mistress, kept the smile in place, but her eyes glowed angrily. She plastered on a grin, folded her hands, and then leaned forward.
“The auction.” The oldest woman giggled.
“No, no, no!” Josephine cried.
“Oooooh!” Lilliana cooed. “So, whoever wins the auction, gets the manor and gets to contract Charles for their project! How smart!”
“I’m withdrawing,” the young blonde murmured. “I don’t have money for it, and what am I going to do with a fifth manor? I don’t need it! I just need work done on my elev
ator!”
“Will you shut up about the elevator?” Adelia snapped. “You can’t withdraw, Josephine, you already agreed. So, whoever wins, is the best out of all three and gets to use Charles!”
“What if someone outbids the three of you?” Daisy offered with a crooked eyebrow.
“Well… then…” Adelia trailed off.
“Then, we are free to contract him!” Josephine blurted out. “I made the rule first before anyone could say anything else, so you can’t take it back! If someone else purchases the manor, we’re allowed to contract him, each and every one of us.”
“Hmmmm…” Adelia tapped her chin.
“You can’t change it!” Josephine protested. “I already came up with the rule, we can’t take it back now.”
“No, I like it,” Lilliana nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“How do you feel about it, Charles?” The young blonde probed. “Do you agree to it?”
“Yes,” I smiled. “As long as my Mistress approves, I’ll willingly work for one of you or all three of you.”
“Then it’s settled,” Adelia stood from her chair and offered me a wrinkled hand. “We will see you in two days’ time, and then we’ll find out who will be the winner of this little challenge.”
“Y-Yes,” I stammered, shook her hand, and then watched as she did the same with my Mistress. “We’ll see you in two days.”
All the women stood, brushed off their dresses, bowed to Daisy, and then hustled off in different directions. I sat in my chair for a moment, took a deep breath, and then turned toward Daisy. The brunette reached for her teacup, lifted it, took a sip, and then let a small, sly smile creep across her lips.
“What is it, my dear?” I asked. “Are you pleased that we finally figured something out? We may have the chance to purchase the manor from one of them.”
“No, Charles,” the bear-girl giggled. “We’re not going to purchase the manor back from them…”
“What do you mean?” I grunted.
“You’re going to work for all three of them, in the end,” the brunette reached for a sampling from one of the plates. “Because none of them are going to purchase the manor.”
“W-What?” I murmured. “We need them to purchase the manor… then I can get paid and possi--”
“Listen to me, Charles, none of them are going to purchase the manor,” the bear-girl grinned. “Because I am…”
“Daisy…” I shook my head. “How? How will that work?”
“You heard them, didn’t you?” Daisy asked. “If one of them wins, you only work for one of them. If all three of them lose, you get to work for all of them. They already said they’d pay you double or triple… The aristocrats have no idea, but they’ve played directly into our hands. Charles… we can save the manor by our own hands.”
It was brilliant. She was brilliant. My creation was brilliant.
Chapter Six
“We’re going to what?” Valerie squawked. “Can you repeat that for me just one more time?”
“Well, if all goes to plan,” I cleared my throat. “We’re going to buy back the manor.”
“Okay, Charles, it’s a great plan, really,” A.B. rambled. “But have you forgotten one thing? We have no money! We’re broke! We’re runnin’ on empty! If we were one of those new automotion machines, we’d be skirting around on fumes! If you opened up my wallet, moths would fly out! How in the world are we going to afford to purchase the manor when we don’t have two pennies to rub together?”
“If you would calm down,” I chuckled. “Daisy and I would explain it.”
Valerie nodded from her position on the floor, tucked her legs underneath her, rolled forward, hopped to her feet, and then settled herself onto my workbench.
“Go on, Charles,” the ash-blonde woman smiled. “We’re waiting.”
“Alright, so,” I exhaled. “Let me tell you what happened when we got to town first.”
“Everyone on the street was calling out to Charles,” Daisy started. “It was strange since this was my first visit to town, and from what I’d heard, most aristocrats hate men. It was very bizarre to hear them calling to Charles as if he were their creator or lover.”
“We went into the town square and headed for the mercantile, but were stopped by three ladies,” I explained. “As Edony said when she left here, once she made it into the city, she screamed the news from the rooftops, but I’m sure what happened after wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. The three aristocrats told us that everyone in the city wants what the Duchess has, even after she’s thrown it away, and that newly discarded item is… me.”
“Uhm, so, does this mean you’re gonna move away?” A.B. muttered. “And become someone else’s consort? I can understand why, you’re brilliant and handsome, but, uh, we need you here, Charles.”
“No,” I snorted. “They may be interested in me that way, but I belong to Valerie and Daisy, and whatever monster-girls comes after them. They want to contract me for work.”
“But how will this save the manor?” Valerie tilted her head. “I understand that if you work for them, you’ll make money, but we need it now… like instantly, in our hands.”
“I understand that,” I breathed. “But all three of the aristocrats are going to bid at the auction, but they’re doing something like a ‘bidding war,’ if only one of them wins, I can only work for that woman.”
“That sounds utterly stupid,” the feline-woman rolled her eyes. “Why do all the wealthy women in the city have to be so dumb? I don’t understand why they have to make everything into a competition!”
“But that’s where I come in,” Daisy giggled. “If I bid on the house and win, they’ll have to back out, and Charles can work for all three of them. You should’ve heard the prices they offered to hire Charles with, I may not know much about money, but it’s astronomical.”
“What do they want you to do?” Valerie asked. “Build a machine like the one you made for Edony? If you do that, it might take a long time.”
“No, they don’t want machines,” I stated. “One of them wants mustard gas, which may be difficult to make, but the ingredients are things I already have in my laboratory. The second woman needs black powder, now that’s easy to make, and I’ll be able to get out to her in a matter of hours if I started working on it now. The third, Josephine, she needs me to go out to one of her mines, and take a look at the elevator. She said that it’s constantly breaking down, hers might take a little longer, but it’s probably just mechanical work. Daisy, did they actually tell you how much they wanted to pay me? They never mentioned an amount in front of me, only that they’d double or triple it to beat the other women.”
“Well, I know some of the terms they used, but I’m sure they’re from Delphine’s memories,” the brunette explained. “Ducats, I believe that Adelia offered to pay you fifty-thousand ducats?”
“Fifty… fifty-thousand?” I grunted.
“Yes, fifty-thousand ducats,” the bear-girl reiterated. “Is that a lot? I know there were other monetary names mentioned, but that was the highest number used.”
“Ducats are the highest banknotes that the aristocrats use,” I whispered. “I’ve only heard of them, never actually seen one or held it in my hand. The Duchess used to write me checks for them but never put the actual bills into my hand.”
“I may not understand all of this money talk,” Valerie giggled. “But what were the other offers?”
“Well, Lilliana offered you thirty-thousand crown aspars,” Daisy tilted her head, brushed at an ear, and then pursed her lips. “Those are a bit smaller than ducats, correct?”
“Yes,” I nodded in disbelief. “But not by much…”
“Are you okay, Charles?” Valerie questioned. “Your face is a bit pale, why don’t you sit down for a bit? Maybe put your head between your knees?”
“Do you feel sick?” A.B. muttered. “Val’s right, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No,” I forced out. “I’m fine, g
o on, Daisy. What was Josephine’s offer?”
“Since she’s not as wealthy as the others,” Daisy breathed. “Josephine offered up sixty-thousand blancs. She only needs the work done on her elevator, which might not take as long as we think it will, it might just be an electrical problem or a malfunction in the gears.”
“Charles, are you alright?” Valerie cried. “You really don’t look so good, maybe we should take you upstairs and lay down for a spell?”
“No, I-I’m fine,” I murmured. “It’s just… it’s so much money.”
My whole world was reeling like a quickly spinning top, tipping, and turning with every second. The sheer amount of money all three women offered up almost tripled the amount that the Duchess had paid me during our entire time together.
And yet Edony was making it seem like she spent a lot of money on me. She must have had way more wealth than these three women.
She had undercut me because I was a man and desperate for work.
“I know it’s a lot of pressure,” Daisy soothed. “But if we can make it through this, we’ll be stronger than ever.”
“That’s not what I mean,” I tittered, ran a hand through my hair, and leaned back. “Do you realize how much money that is?”
I glanced at all three of them, Valerie made a face, Daisy shrugged, and A.B.’s surface wrinkled slightly as if he were furrowing his nonexistent brows. Just as I suspected, none of them did, and I was about to blow their minds.
“Factoring in the difference between blancs and crown aspars,” I uttered. “Altogether, with the banknotes changed, they would add up to close to ninety-five-thousand ducats. That’s more than enough to purchase the manor back and have enough left over to live comfortably for… probably the rest of our lives.”
“Holy moly,” Valerie breathed. “That’s a lot of money… Daisy! We could buy you more pretty dresses and hats! Maybe even one of those dainty umbrellas!”
“It may be a lot of money,” the bear-girl went on. “But how much do you think the manor will sell for at the auction? The price might be raised more than we’ve anticipated, especially if the aristocrats are going to have a bidding war over it.”