by P. S. Power
"Wait!" The panicked word came out before they were dead, and for some reason the wave of death that should have been there just didn't happen.
That left them both standing there, facing each other, light eye locked with brown. Gwen waved their left hand, in control of the body again.
"Yep. Just like that Kate. Just like that. If you try to take over, other people can, and will fix this for me. If not Heather, then one of the others. Pete maybe." It sounded like a joke, but Katherine had to know that she wasn't going to be the kid's equal in a fight. For that matter, Gwen wasn't, and she'd taught him. The kid had been conditioned to win in any kind of unarmed battle, and Kate was kind of a wimp.
That one didn't even become a point of discussion.
"It isn't fair! I should have a life too. This is worse than prison. Worse than death. I'm stuck, just watching this... Person, ruin my life. At every turn she does the wrong thing. Always! It just isn't right." There was a huff then. It was a kind of thing that Gwen had never even seen outside of television. An actual high pitched grunt like thing, with a blowing out of air.
No one else seemed to be all that enthused about it, or swayed. Ethyl even waved her hands, clearly frustrated.
"Has it ever occurred to you, Dear, that you might have a better case if you showed some kind of improvement in your thinking?"
Beth nodded, "indeed. I'm not certain even that would be enough to gain sole use of your body, not after what you've done, but if you want to be allowed anything, being a better person could be of use. Coasting on the good will that Gwen has earned will only save you to a certain extent. You have well and truly pushed that boundary with your last mistake."
Katherine rolled their eyes again, which was disorienting, since Gwen hadn't been ready for it. It was like watching a movie from inside someone else's head. The room was shaking and disorienting, because she wasn't the one making things move. It made a difference as to how things appeared.
"What do you mean? I'm nice. The very measure of sweetness herself. I understand that you may not see it, being only a Westmorland, but just because you aren't as good as me, that doesn't mean I'm not kind to worthy people, does it?"
Gwen grabbed for control, before anyone could slap the girl, but no one moved. They really should have. If she'd been in Beth's place there would have been a beating going on at the moment.
She spoke then, trying not to sound like she was the bitch in the situation. They already had one, and didn't need a second portion that day.
"No one is beneath you, Katherine. No one in this whole world. I don't mean that as a joke, or a small thing either. Everyone is better than you are. As good, at least. They always were. The poorest person in the world was always worth as much as you. The dumbest one has a purpose, and the weakest..." It wasn't going to be enough.
The problem was that the girl wasn't going to be able to hear her words as being a philosophical argument. She sounded pissed off, and angry. That turned it into name calling, instead of the high brow lecture Gwen was going for. That being the case, there was no way that someone as stupid and ignorant as Kate Vernor was going to suddenly grow enough to get the point.
Gwen winced, realizing what she'd just been thinking. You couldn't change the mind of a person you thought of that way. It just wouldn't work.
"Let me start again. Can you act like people matter, even if you can't see it all the time? If you can't do that, you can't be allowed to do anything. If you can... Maybe we could work out a schedule? You'd still have to clear what you were doing with me, and you couldn't go around having sex or doing drugs or anything moronic like that, but... There have to be loads of other stupid things you'd like to do." She didn't know if it was a good idea, but Gwen was still surprised by the reaction of everyone else.
They didn't seem at all pleased by the idea. In fact, they all looked upset on a level that didn't seem normal for any of them. Why that was, she couldn't make out, really.
Bethany, who was normally a fairly sweet woman, glowered at her.
"No. I don't think so, Gwen. Katherine Vernor is a murderer... And a body thief. She can't be allowed to have anything good. Ever. Not even for a single moment. Besides, what if she uses her new freedom to do even more harm?"
Both the other women nodded, including her own mother. That probably wasn't a great sign, since Ethyl wasn't exactly a horrible person. It would mean most people there would see it the same way.
Gwen shrugged.
"Really? Out of the whole room the only person willing to give her a break at all is the person she murdered? Ouch." She waited for Kate to interject something. A defense, or perhaps some name calling, since she'd no doubt be pissed at them for not going along with her.
Instead she sighed, then took over again.
"I know, Miss Farris. You truly are a better person than I am. I know that. These others are correct, of course. I shouldn't be allowed to be in control. I was wrong, threatening your life like I did just now. I'm desperate, is all. I can't..." She sighed, and shook her head sadly.
Moving back to her finely carved wooden chair, Heather sank down gracefully, and slipped the silver bit of metal into a front pocket. It left a lump that was about the size of a pack of playing cards.
For a moment she didn't say anything, but finally she tapped the lace covered table top.
"Can you follow Gwen's rules, if she lets you have any freedom? It might be too much to ask for you to be a good person, but can you pretend to be one? You did a nice enough job right there. Can you keep it up? It isn't enough, but short of locking you both away, I don't see what else we can do."
The chuckle that came from her own lips was polite, and even friendly sounding.
"I can do that. I was trained to move in high social circles. I'll even apologize to you, and Bethany. I was being a bit improper there, saying that you were less than I was. Clearly that isn't the truth. I know the kind of torture you both have been put to, in the name of protecting people like me. Being moody isn't a good excuse for rudeness on that level. I'm sorry for what I said." It even sounded real. Like she meant it.
Gwen whistled softly, impressed that she'd gotten it right. After a fashion. It was a wet sound still, and too soft, but carried the idea well enough.
"You really are a good liar, aren't you? That was... Good. Better than I would have been able to do. So, can you keep it up? Otherwise-" There was nothing left, than to die. Really, if it wasn't for the fact that Beth had cleared the socialite, proving that she couldn't rift, even thinking about living would have been a poor plan.
As it was, she didn't doubt that she was going to end up regretting not doing it right now anyway. The truth was that she didn't really want to die. She'd do it, but that was different than feeling suicidal. Gwen had been there before, and could tell the difference now.
"All right. How about this... You can have seven hours a week. You'll have to clear what you want to do with Ethyl each day, or Bethany, and only get an hour at a time. If you try to take more, or do something bad or wrong, then the deal is off, and Heather will make sure of that. If that works, and you can keep acting like a real person, we might work out something more equitable later. For the time being, if I were you, I'd spend at least a few of those hours trying to help other people. I don't know how, but you have some people to impress here, Kate. Go forth and win them over."
Her own hands clapped a bit.
"Wonderful. Thank you, Gwen. I know that I don't deserve anything from you. I'll be good. I swear it. I have reason enough to be, don't I?"
She nodded then, totally back in control suddenly.
"Yeah. A death sentence hanging over your head if you don't is pretty good incentive. Now... I had been planning to rest for a few days, but suddenly feel fine. Tired and sore, but I can sit and talk. What's the topic right now? Finding assassins?" It would have been for her, but Ethyl shook her head.
"No, Dear. That's being looked into in two lands, by their highest leaders, and best oper
atives. Ferdinand set Consev on it here, and I've been assured that Europa is having their people look into it as well. No, I'm planning a party. It's the summer season, and the last one went over rather better than expected."
That was just the truth. The king had come, and so had the Marduk. That had meant that the Vernors, who were kind of social pariahs, because their daughter was a murdering bitch that stole Gwen from a different world, had a certain amount of cachet at the moment. Capitalizing on it before the high society people could forget about how great they all were was a good plan.
After a second, Gwen snorted, a full feeling practically hitting her on the right side of her head.
"Holy fudge. One of those society bitches tried to have you killed!" She slapped her own head, which only Beth understood, her eyes going wide.
"Oh, my. That's rather different than what I was thinking. Our entire investigation has been focused in other directions. Someone trying to push Vernor Industries out of business, by threatening Robert's family. An economic, rather than social line leading to the actual events of last week. How certain of this are you, Gwen?"
Slapping her head again, she smiled, and then shook her head.
"Pretty darned. This is one of them. The social crowd. They set it up, anyway. Someone local, too. Not from Europa or the Chinoise. No, this is a Western Kingdom thing. From here. Close by, I can feel that one. Really close to home here. Other than that..." She stopped, closed her eyes and focused for a long time. The feeling was really empty though.
That was one of the big issues with her kind of precog. She was geared toward fighting and battle so much that she really only got threats, day to day. She couldn't tell if the toast was going to burn, or what horse would win the race, even if it was only a few minutes in the future. She could understand where the danger was though.
This just wasn't that big of a threat to her, however. To Ethyl, perhaps, and that was clearly important to her subconscious mind now, as illustrated by what she'd gotten on the topic already. Pushing for more wouldn't help though. Doing that would just prompt her to make things up, even if she didn't mean to. It was enough to go on anyway.
For one thing, all they had to do now was find someone jealous enough, or so silly, that they thought killing a woman over having recovered from a social beating was a good idea. There had to be less than a handful of people that would fit that bill. There was a vast difference between someone willing to gossip a bit, or tear others down, and hiring hit men to actually kill a rival.
The older woman, who was, Gwen thought again, not old at all, being only in her mid-forties, looked worried. Even more so, which was different than what should have happened.
"That's not allowed! There are rules to such things. Who would do that kind of thing? Sabotage of another's social place is... Well, low and not exactly proper, but it happens. Even saying some unkind things, or starting rumors, might be allowed, if one were clever enough not to be caught doing it, but to have a fellow killed? That's insane."
Bethany grimaced, then stood up.
"It may well be. Simply having the funds and power to do a thing doesn't ensure that an individual will make the right choices, at all times, or be mentally stable. I need to pass this information on to the others. I believe Kirk has this case." She stopped at the door, to look at Gwen in particular before going on. They locked eyes, as she answered a question that hadn't even been dreamed up yet. "Adam felt that I might take this one a bit too personally. He left Heather and Peter here as guards however, until you're back up to speed. I don't want you to think that he isn't taking this seriously. He truly is."
"Ah. That makes sense. I should be good in a day or two. Not that having you all around isn't a good thing. Right now, we need to work out this party. Think of some ideas for it, for when you get back? Tell everyone I said hello, too."
It was probably just that everyone there knew her, Gwen decided, but no one suggested that they cancel the party based on this news. She had her own reasons, which ill thought out or not, were kind of important to her.
The main one was simply that giving into terrorism let the evil people of the world win without working for it. They should at least have to make an effort, if they were going to screw with her world.
As Bethany rushed out, she waved a hand at Ethyl.
"Odds are that anyone that hired assassins to get at you won't try to do it themselves. In public, either. It's a bit of a danger, but not that huge of one. We'll have some guards, and all that. For all we know, after failing once, whoever this woman is, she might just stop. I would. Don't you think that sounds reasonable, Katherine?" It was odd that she called the other girl out like that, but Gwen assumed she was trying to be polite.
Then, the very idea of killing a person for that kind of reason made Gwen want to punch someone, so she might not be the best judge of such things in the world.
There was a nod then, as Heather grinned. She had a good smile, and while her teeth weren't perfect, they were nicely white and well cared for that way. She also had a cute smattering of freckles across her nose. It worked for her, really well.
'You're only saying that because she's you. Truly, we're prettier than she is.' The thought held Katherine's voice, and went on, as if Gwen had asked for her input. 'Not that it isn't a wholesome look, but you don't have to feel bad about it. You gained a lot, becoming me.'
It was true, because being a good looking heiress was better than being a sickly and crippled hermit. That one wasn't too hard to beat, really. Rather than call the girl on her obvious sucking up, she thought back, trying to be nice about the whole thing.
'Do you want to help plan the party? I don't have any skill as far as that goes. It might work, you know, with the whole being helpful thing?' Which was true enough that Gwen didn't even feel bad about admitting it.
Katherine clapped her hands then, and looked at her mother.
"Gwen suggested that I help with the arrangements! Isn't that a splendid idea? If it's allowed, I mean, mother? I can only help for an hour, but if you think it's not a problem?" She went gently with it, which got a small, tired, nod in return.
"If it's fine with you, Gwen? I know that you find that kind of thing bothersome. Katherine always loved it. I'm still uncertain about the whole thing, given the current problems, but..."
Proving the bitch was as mad as a hatter. It was frightening to consider what kind of mind would actually enjoy party planning. Still, it was a good thing to help with, and she'd been the one suggesting time share on the body. Since it wasn't hers to start with, and Gwen was the squatter in this situation, it felt right.
"Go to. Don't eat anything though. No fair cramming food into our face or anything. I'm planning a run when we're done here. I don't want to get sick." She really was getting a jog in if she had time, as well as a full practice in armor. It had been several days since she'd done that, and like anything else in life, constant practice was useful if you wanted to be good at something.
The other girl in her head snorted at her.
"We're too thin by far, but even aside from that, you shouldn't do anything in that dreadful armor. You've been ripping your head apart for a week, teletransporting like you have. That evil woman said you needed to rest your magical skills. Run like a person hunted if you must, but-" Then the girl just stopped, since Gwen was sitting back, and letting her run the show. If she really wanted to waste her time arguing about things like that with her, she could, but it wasn't what she would have done with her free time.
It seemed that, after a fashion, Gwen had always had the wrong idea about Katherine Vernor. She'd thought her spoiled, lazy, and a bit stupid. She was only two of those things, as it turned out. Lazy and spoiled.
Her ideas for the party, such as when to hold the darned thing, what music to have for it and so on, were all fine. Actually, Ethyl clearly agreed with most of it, and they made decisions in near lock step so fast that Gwen felt like she should be taking notes.
Really,
that probably meant the girl wasn't totally lazy either. Just an evil witch.
A girl that had been more than a little brainwashed into thinking that one of the most evil people the world had ever known was her friend, and loved her. Literal mind control was used for it, too. Magically induced mesmerism. So it was probably mean of her to assume the girl was actually a bad person. She was just a person that had done bad things.
Gwen would have even been able to forgive the body stealing part of things, if she was nicer to people now. Write it all off as a young woman falling under the spell of a monster that had seduced her into being bad. It was hard to forgive bigotry however.
Worse, Kate was both smart enough to see that others being less than her wasn't a real thing, and to know that she should hide it, even if she really felt that way. It was made clear after about half an hour of planning things out. Meaning it or not, she did a heel turn mid-thought, that showed the girl was more than capable of learning.
"You know, mother, we should see if we can invite some of Heather's friends. Her Westmorland family? I found that Adam fellow charming enough, and if I'm not mistaken Kelvin Westmorland rather fancies Gwen." She was teasing a bit, but actually wrote the names down on the guest list.
It was Heather's turn to laugh though, which she did while shaking her head, almost as if rejecting the idea.
"You may be right about Kelvin. She's engaged though, to Duke Aubrey. Is it right to put temptation in their paths?"
There was a dual hand flip then, which required putting the pencil down first. Her own body moving like that, without her being able to stop it was strange still. Really, it probably always would be.
"More like putting temptation in my way? I don't think you have to worry about Gwen letting anything untoward happen. She's very good that way. Besides, other than flirt a bit, Kelvin has never done anything with her. He should have taken the chance, while he had it. Not that Gwen hasn't set herself up nicely that way in the end. She already has an agreement for both of them, the Duke and herself, to take lovers. I nearly passed out when she said that, but she really did."