by Dasrim Hasik
He couldn't forget her tired face, still filled with tears. She hugged him tightly and said, "I want her back, but I know what Bridget truly wanted: a City that she could be proud of. We can't let her down, Jackson."
It felt like he was betraying her by just going back into business and political life, as if that was all there was to his life. He couldn't escape the Bridget-shaped hole in his world, but he knew the truth in the older woman’s words.
This was her mother -- of course Essie wanted her back. Of course she wanted the child that had so much potential to be legendary, so much potential to be amazing. He wanted to tell Essie so many things but when he began to speak and couldn't, she would just pat his shoulder and nod.
"I know, my darling. I know everything you want to say. She knew it too." Then they would go back to their silent posts, understanding yet needing to say so much.
Walter missed his breakfast buddy as well, and made sure Jack didn't go a day without knowing it. "I wish Lady Bridget were here. She always had things for me to do."
Jack didn't know this world, not like that. Bridget had handled so much while he handled business. He began to get lost in the day to day business affairs. It was always off to one part of the City or another part, watching the development take place.
New dry cleaners and bakeries dotted the streets, along with new movie theaters. It felt like everyone was taking a stab at rebuilding the economy, and that made his heart feel good. He wanted desperately to believe that everything would be okay, but he didn't really know.
He wondered about the rebels. Could they have her? He dismissed the idea a few times because it just didn't make sense to him. Alara was a lot of things, but he didn't think she would betray the entire City this way. Could her father have put her up to this?
It was no secret that Alarius didn't care for him, and he didn't really care for Alarius. Any man that could take advantage of his daughter's obvious need to please wasn’t anyone that he could safely call a friend and mean it. He wanted to believe that it wasn't the case but when no one ever heard from Alara, he wondered if the father was hiding the daughter.
Even with the new reforms, it wasn't like the leadership class had changed. They still had their estates, they still wielded strong power in the mental arts, and that meant that you couldn’t just penetrate their strongholds. Even if they were hiding something, they could make anything look the way they wanted it to look.
There were other concerns to deal with as well. Many of the new structures he had built had begun to show signs of wear, and that bothered him. The hospital had begun to sprout deep cracks in the foundation, and the windows had begun to crack as well.
These were things that upset him because he just couldn't figure out why. No one that knew the answer would tell him, leaving him only with riddles. Essie and Frederick knew, he suspected, but they didn't seem to really want to say anything to him either.
"When you need to know, you will know where to look. We cannot tell you what you already see right in front of you." It made him angry, but he had to admit that they were right. It was time for him to stop counting on other people so much.
He had counted and depended on Bridget to the point where living without her was sheer agony. It wasn't just his heart, but his whole life revolved around her assistance. I wish I could make it up to her. I wish I could make things right… I am so tired of wishing! Why can't I seem to hold everything together?
Giving up already, my young king? I'm disappointed. The male voice was back, and as smug as ever. It was enough to make Jack so crazy. Two weeks of peace and quiet, where he finally had his thoughts somewhat under control. The mocking tone infuriated him.
Do you think this is a joke? Really? She's gone and...
I never joke with serious things, Jackson Stonewell. But you were chosen for a purpose. You know why things are breaking, if you really think about it. What happened when you first came here? Go back to that point. Start with the fundamentals again. If it helps, I would like Bridget Garwicke back as well. She suits you. But the chess game can still be won, even when the queen has been captured.
He didn’t want to listen to any of this. Bridget was a lot of things to him and her departure did leave him empty. He needed to get on with his day, but it wasn't like things were going to just fall into place like that. He would need to make sure that things were taken care of in a certain way, which meant that he needed to control the scene around him.
This was not a time to play games, nor was it a time to really get too caught up into the way things were. It was just time to work hard, think about the road ahead, and make sure that his City could still be protected. He vowed that he would indeed get Bridget back. He would make it up to her.
He would commit to her publicly, make sure that people knew that she wasn't just a temporary pleasure in his life. She would be his wife someday -- if she were still alive. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a few moments out of the late morning to just think freely and clearly. Bridget, I'm coming. I will never stop coming until I have you and the City put back the way they were meant to be. You have my word.
What a glorious morning! Though I could have done with less sleep. Raest stretched, reveling in the sweep of fall that rushed around him. Schaler was still on the same region map as the City of Reversia, which meant they directly shared the double sun like the rest of the planet.
Yet there was something about Schaler that still made him feel good in a thousand different ways. It was a place where one could start over, and he felt that was important. No, Schaler wasn't stuck in the dark ages where there was no light, no innovation. It wasn't a place that thumped its chest -- it was carefree and easy, content to lightly pat itself on the back. It lacked the arrogance of Reversia, and it certainly lacked the power structure of the City.
There were no classes to deal with. Just because you were born as a nobody didn't mean that you couldn't become somebody. He had risen to power in a very typical and predictable way, but that didn’t mean he didn't have sharp goals for the city. It was all about trying to get things to flow into a certain pattern.
Once that pattern was achieved, there would truly be peace for everyone. Sicknesses that killed thousands would be pushed back. There wouldn't be anything to fear, and there wouldn't be any reason why anyone couldn't be successful.
The rejected child in him rejoiced at the thought, but the bitter, cynical leader in him chided the inner boy spirit. Things would not flow that smoothly. He was convinced he would need to set examples.
Reversia was an arrogant, prideful nation and that meant that there would be rebellions. The army would have to be crushed completely. He would need to be cruel for a while in order to be benevolent later, and that was a thought that he had mixed emotions about.
He remembered cruelty and fear, the pain that he suffered at the hands of the leadership class. When he would allow himself, he still remembered the cruelty his mother had faced just because she had dared to carry him and birth him into the world.
She had been beaten for her defiance, and forced to raise the child mostly on her own. She lived on whatever odd jobs she could get, and he remembered her tiny prayers of gratitude.
They angered him as a boy, and when she finally died from all of her injuries at the hands of the last house master she served, he wept over her tiny, starved body. She had been full of life when he was a young boy, but it was slowly sucked away.
He couldn’t stand the idea of hitting a woman, as it felt they were too fragile and delicate. Of course, he would never say anything like that to Delise Ridgeway, because she would have beaten him just to prove her point. He liked her fire and felt that she was an exception. He would have Delise handle the women, a compromise that left his conscience free to pursue other things.
Speaking of fire filled women, his mind checked in on his new captives. Alara Reversio and Bridget Garwicke were high profile women and the media hadn't bothered to give up the story yet. He could still
turn on the viewing screen and hear a story about their strange abductions.
He even saw her mother get on the viewing screen to cry fake tears and demand that whoever stole her little girl to just return her. "We have money," the false woman pleaded, "and we just want our little girl home safe, where she belongs."
He had to laugh. He howled the first time she got on the viewing screen, because it was so obvious to him that she was putting on a show. They had clearly put up Alara to this round of espionage, not realizing that Alara was putting her own self in harm's way. He didn't really want Alara, because of the indifferent nature of her parents, but she would serve her purposes well.
He knew that the Reversios would simply have another child and pay to have her forcibly accelerated. It was supposed to be an outlawed practice by the former king turned new again, but the leadership class had their own secrets.
Bridget had struggled from the very moment she landed into captivity, kicking and clawing at anyone that was ridiculous enough to get close. Even pointing pulse weaponry at her and threatening to shoot wasn't enough to bring her in line. They tried everything to get her to turn on Jackson Stonewell, but she refused.
She spent most of her time in her cell, pacing and shouting various praises for the young king. She would only eat if she was forced to do so, and she would never let anyone forget that she was resisting. "I eat only to keep my strength up, so that I may escape and return to loyally serving my king!"
He did not permit the men to get too close to her, keeping a stern watch over them. Violence against women was too blunt force to him. He knew that Bridget was expecting such a thing, and it would only serve to keep her thoughts inward. He was actually surprised by how deep her power well was. Two weeks of constant interruptions and interrogations, and she was still close to her top power levels.
Either she was more skilled and trained than he first imagined, or she was running on pure energy and tension from being captured. He knew that eventually, he would have to break her. He just needed to find out how.
"My my, Commander. Daydreaming again?"
Raest didn't move, knowing exactly who would be speaking to him so casually. Delise was curled up on the window ledge still dressed in her full soldier's attire. She smirked at him, jumping off suddenly to face him.
"Always in a reverie, you know. It seems very strange to me that you are so complicated. Your life should be simple. We have Schaler now, and eventually Reversia will fall into our hands. They cannot resist, it's gone too far now."
Delise was very smug about the occupation of Schaler, for reasons that Raest never understood. One day, he would need to deal with her too. She had to learn that her place was to assist him and that was it. He could tell that she had dreams of overthrowing him and sitting on the throne in his place. That would never happen, but he had to indulge her.
"Yes, well, you know me. I don't assume this is a social call? You know, using me to ease your frustrations?"
She laughed a harsh sound that irritated him. He wondered if she was always so low on the feminine scale, or if she worked at it. "Men are so predictable. Worried about your basic needs? How Earthling."
He ignored the insult and coughed. "Have you handled the latest interrogation round with Miss Garwicke?"
"I have. Still nothing. Why is she so madly in love with that boy king? He provides nothing of value."
"Love is what it is. I just wonder how we can exploit it."
Delise smirked. "I am sure we can figure something out. By the way, have you located where the secret Weavers dwell? I may need their help."
"They'll speak to no one."
For a moment, it looked like Delise hadn't even moved. However, Raest had seen the move a thousand times and knew what to look for.
He whirled around to grip her hand just in time for the blade that was in it to narrowly miss his chest and come out through the crook in his elbow. He knew that his second in command timed it that way, and he grinned.
"You're fortunate I can anticipate you, otherwise I'd have you put to death." The blade was deeply curved and serrated, designed to inflict a massive amount of pain. There was a deep green stain on the sharpest edges of the weapon, which indicated dried life force. She smiled.
"Let me handle the Weavers. I will leave you to your reveries. I just hope, my dear Commander, that there are no regrets?"
For a moment, he wondered how much to tell his Second. Clearly, he should tell her everything, but since she withheld information from him all of the time, he didn't see the need to actually be upfront with her. He smiled.
"Of course not, Delise. Handle what you must."
The sadistic grin on her face would have left another man cold, but he was quite the opposite. She vanished the blade and the outer layer of her soldier's jacket. "Since that's how you feel…I think I just might have some frustrations for you to ease after all."
Raest shut his eyes. It was going to be both a long and an interesting day.
Alara tapped her nails together. It was high time for a manicure, but she didn't see any nail salons nearby. She knew that she was in Schaler, a bare City that paled in comparison to the greatness that was Reversia.
Of course, being a citizen of Reversia, she always thought that way. It was the only way to think. She didn't want to imagine any other world than one where Reversia stood tall and proud over the other cities.
She had made a heavy mistake, one that she regretted severely. She had betrayed the entire city through this mistake, and she didn’t know how to fix it. She had hoped that Raest would keep his word, but why would a rebel dog keep his word when it was so easy not to do so?
She was trapped in this compound, without any way to call out. Apparently there was some sort of mental shieldwork around the cells, because she couldn't tap her family pin. They allowed her to keep it as an act of mockery. It was an empty symbol to them.
Her dress had gotten ragged from being worn constantly. They made her take it off to wash it herself, laughing at her shivering in her long underdress that she wore for modesty's sake.
She was glad that it was a day that she decided to take her Mother's lessons seriously. Had she skipped the underdress, she would have had to wear nothing but a chest covering and a slim loincloth to handle her washing.
Still, the underdress didn't leave much to the imagination, and men would walk by whistling and making rude comments. She had told them on the first day that she was an important woman from a legendary family, and that she would not tolerate such things.
That only made them laugh harder and threaten to use one of their weird curved blades to cut out her tongue and eyes and send them back to her oh so important father.
It was Bridget that pushed them back, angrily telling them that when she was free, she would align with the king and rain a thousand angry stones upon them. They backed up, and left them alone.
Except for a tall woman that never seemed to leave them alone for long. The other soldiers backed away when she started walking towards them. Her good looks startled Alara, but Bridget was not fazed by it.
They would go round after round, insulting and fighting each other. She never let go of her faith in Jack, nor her desire to go back to his side. When they were alone, Alara had asked her if she realized that they were going to kill them both.
"You may believe that, but I will believe nothing less than the return of my body and spirit to my king. I will not believe any other outcome. If you do, keep it to yourself."
Her brown-green eyes flashed, and her freckles turned a hot red. She knew the other Reversian woman was heated, but she wondered if it was a show. It had to be a show, a display of defiance that was designed to get them out.
But the mental energy that radiated from Bridget felt so thick and heavy. She had nothing but regrets and a few reveries. As odd as it sounded to her, she really hoped that Bridget would escape. She wasn't sure if she could say the same for herself.
Chapter 5: Count the Hours
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There was a lot of empty time on Jack's hands, and he figured it was high time that he began to fill it. There were still other things to take care of. His company needed his attention, and the Council kept him busy. Over time, he had begun to actually have a slight bond with the Silent Sages, to the point where they seemed actually happy and pleased to see him.
He doubted that he would ever be to the point where they wanted to honestly spend lots and lots of time with him, but he figure that he would take whatever time and attention that he could get.
Remembrance Hall became a second home, a place where he could gather his thoughts better. Walter began to follow him outside Quiet River, as did Essie Garwicke. When they were at the Hall, she was quiet and reflective. The only time that she asked him anything in public was when they were in the car together.
"The clock ticks -- we merely count the hours, my good king. Bridget will come back to us."
She had suggested that he start touring the other Cities, aside from the rebel colony of Schaler. It was time to learn the extent of his dominion, in order to control the Cities better.
Even though he was the King of Reversia, he was more than just a regular king. He was a Dreamer, as it had been said to him a thousand times. He didn't really know what that meant. He had heard the Silent Sages talk about Dreamers and all of the power that they had, but he didn't really see that in himself. If he was so powerful, why did he feel so helpless?
Why did it feel like everyone was able to move on except him? He ached and didn't really know why. He had never felt so strongly for anyone in his life. Even when they were on Earth, he felt so drawn to Bridget. Of course, he was very shy and not really sure he wanted to face another rejection. He had watched her from afar, always hoping to be part of her world.
She seemed to understand him even when other people just found him weird. She was incredibly intelligent, something that he didn't always see in the women around him.