Neverquest – Part 134

Characters: Queen Isabella, Gena, Roxanne, Cara, Lucilla, Michelle, Mack, Jeff, Roy, Siarra, Kim, Fallon
Location: The bell tower
Time: Day 5 – Shortly after dawn

“I’m too beautiful to die,” Isabella screamed, clawing at the floorboards with her toes as the noose began to tighten. She struggled to keep herself from tipping over the edge, but the power of the old bell was too much. With every earth-shattering clang, she felt the vibrations pour through her skin and she squirmed like a rat in a snake’s grasp. After the third ring, her face was as red as her bathrobe and she couldn’t hold on any longer. The knot around her neck was drawing her in.

“Get this thing off of me!” she yelled to Michelle, staring down the dark pit over shoulder. It was so far down that she couldn’t even pretend to see the bottom.

Michelle stood before her, looking her in the eye, but her arms remained at her side.

“You brat. You killed her.”

“That was not a request. I command you to release me, peasant.”

“Michelle...” Siarra said, stepping closer.

But Michelle still didn’t budge and Isabella only had time for one more yelp before her body was thrown over the edge. Before her neck snapped, she wanted to tell them how much she hated every last one of them, but she never got that chance. On her way down, she suddenly felt a cold hand wrap around her ankle and close tightly. It was Roxanne, pulling her back in.

“Yes!” the princess cried. “Yes, Black Knight. I always liked you.”

Roxanne didn’t say anything, but took her fingers, holding them firmly against Isabella’s leg, and yanked as hard as she could. The rope snapped. Isabella didn’t have time to brace herself. She tumbled forward, falling against the floorboards, and rolled until she came to a stop. Then she sat up and pulled her bathrobe over her bare legs.

“I ought to have you all thrown in the dungeon for invading my privacy,” she muttered. Then she looked up at Kim and Siarra, who were standing on either side of her. “...In fact, that’s where you two are supposed to be right now. Why are you here, breathing my air?”

“We sensed you were in danger,” Kim said, offering her a hand. “We didn’t want anything bad to happen to our queen. Please, let us help you.”

Isabella scoffed at the hand and stood up on her own. “It’s a wonder you people are able to feed yourself. I go missing for a couple hours and you’re all, ‘What are we to do? We can’t govern ourselves. We’re so poor and incapable of thinking on our own that we’re surely doomed if our mighty queen doesn’t come and tell us what to do.’” Then she sighed. “But worry not. Your queen is, for the most part, unhurt.”

“We bow before you, Your Highness.”

“What?”

Isabella looked down to see two Men—Mack and Roy—worshipping her feet. At least, she thought that’s what they were doing. They were really only bowing. She scrunched her nose into a ball and looked away. “Gross.”

Draping Gena’s robe over her shoulder, Roxanne stood up and turned to face Isabella. For a moment, it didn’t look like she was going to say anything. Her eyes were cast to the floor and her black hair hung like the legs of a spider over her face. Then she looked up, looking past everyone, and stared blankly into the rising sun.

“...Your Highness,” she said. “Forgive me.”

Isabella checked over her shoulder to make sure Roxanne wasn’t talking to someone else. Then she stared at the Black Knight and folded her arms across her chest.

“Forgive you?” she echoed. “I’ve had friends of mine beheaded because they beat me at cards. What do you honestly think I’m going to do to you, ...friend?”

“Nothing I don’t deserve.”

“Got that right. You not only tried to kill me, but you walked in on me when I was trying to bathe. For that, you deserve nothing less than unconditional death.”

Roxanne nodded.

“Ugh, stop agreeing with me! Get down on your knees and beg or something. Act like a dog and maybe I’ll let you live.”

“I can’t give up my pride. It’s all I am left with.”

Isabella threw up her arms. “You make killing you so much less enjoyable!”

“You must understand something, Isabella... Gena and I never had anything against you. We liked you.” She paused and corrected herself. “...I liked you. Gena wanted more. She thought...if we could get rid of you...that all this could be ours...”

“Aw, how sad. Now all you’re going to get is a hole in the ground—and I own that, too! Haha.”

With a shake of her head, Roxanne cradled the robe in her hands. “...I do not regret what I have done. I would do it again, to have what I want... I’m as selfish as any human can be.”

“Well, you should’ve known you can’t always have what you want. Only I can. That’s why I’m the queen and you can’t even bring yourself to kill me. You’re pathetic, but at least you know your place in this world.”

“Yes... I do. I understand now.”

Isabella laughed. “Looks like I broke whatever spell Gena had on you.”

“Wait,” Siarra said, stepping forth. “Roxanne, what are you talking about?”

“I’m tired, Siarra,” she answered. “I’m tired of trying to move the world. We can’t change anything, no matter how hard we try.”

“Then let’s stop trying and go home.”

“No. Nothing would be changed.”

“What do you—”

Isabella made a hand puppet and started to mock them. “Blah, blah, blah... I don’t remember inviting any of you to go home—just like I don’t remember inviting any of you into my private tower. But now you people just don’t understand the concept of privacy, do you?”

Suddenly, the door was busted open.

“Isabella!” Fallon cried, pulling out her rapier when she saw all the people in the room. “Back—back, you villainous cretins! Away from Her Majesty.”

“...I rest my case,” Isabella sighed. Then she smirked. “Oh, Fallon! I think they’re going to hurt me. You have no choice but to slay them all.”

Fallon prodded Roxanne and then pointed her rapier between Siarra and Michelle. “I said, ‘Back!’ All of you.”

They quickly moved out in a circle, leaving Fallon and Isabella alone in the center.

“Good to see you, Fallon,” Isabella said. “You’re just in time for the party.”

“Party...? Sister Aisha told me you were in trouble.”

“Oh, no. I’m quite fine. There was a little assassination attempt on my life, but I took care of it.”

“...Isabella, that’s not funny.”

“Do I look like I’m laughing?”

Fallon tucked her rapier away. “No... What happened?”

“Oh, it’s a dreadfully long story, Fallon, and full of such dull characters. I’m the only good part of it all.”

“Your neck... It’s so red. Were you hurt?”

Isabella rubbed her neck. It was red—very red—and she could feel the imprints of the rope still digging into her skin. “It’s nothing, Fallon... Although I suppose it wouldn’t hurt so much if you hadn’t rung the bell while I was hanging from it.”

“But I didn’t ring the bell.”

“What?”

“Well, I was going to, but Sister Aisha stopped me along the way. She said you were being held captive in the bell tower. I rushed up here to save you.”

Isabella shook her head. “Look, somebody rang that bell. I got the choke marks to prove it.”

“Well, it wasn’t me.”

“Then who?”

Standing side by side, they stared down the dark pit in the center of the room. The sun was higher now and its rays flooded the cavity with an orange glow, revealing a naked body dangling from the rope about a hundred feet down. At first, Isabella thought it was just a trick of the light, but then she saw the body move, laugh, echo in the darkness.

It was Gena.

“You should’ve joined me, princess,” she called out from below. “It’s so much better in the afterlife. You need to know what it feels like to be dead.”

Roxanne moved towards the pit, gripping the robe in her arms. “... Gena... ...Impossible...”

“Yeah…how she’s holding on without hands?” Roy whispered to Mack.

“Maybe she’s magic.”

“Pfft, yeah, right. Magic isn’t real.”

Gena continued to laugh. “This isn’t over, princess. Your world belongs to me. In time, you’ll understand that. Welcome to your own personal hell!”

Isabella reached over, taking Fallon’s rapier out of its sheath, and held the blade against her palm. “And welcome to yours, old friend.” Then she threw the rapier forward. It flew like an arrow, cutting through the rope in the center of the pit, and landed on the other side. Gena let out a scream as the rope broke away, sending her down into the blanket of darkness.

“Isabellllllllllla!”

Isabella didn’t stop smiling until Gena’s voice faded to black and she heard the sweet, harmonious sound of a hundred or more bones shattering like glass. “...Too bad. I almost liked you, Gena.”

“She was a Forsaken,” Fallon said. “She was no good. And neither is this one.” She turned to Roxanne and went over to get her rapier. “I was a fool for letting you have an audience with the Queen. I should’ve known your kind feel nothing but hatred and greed.”

Roxanne was silent.

“Why did you do this? Isn’t it bad enough you’ve ruined your own kingdom?”

“That’s enough, Fallon,” Isabella said. “As rulers of this great land, we must remember not to judge people based on who they are or where they come from. Everybody deserves a fair chance at serving me.”

Fallon bowed her head. “...Yes, Your Highness.”

“However...” Isabella continued. “That does not condone your actions, Roxanne. It is a capital crime to break into my bathroom while I am cleaning myself. Seriously, what kind of person does that anyway?”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“Yes, you are sorry. Lucky for you, though, I am a very forgiving person. Call it a soft spot of mine, but I almost have to be to be a ruler.”

“Of course.”

“No, don’t speak. As of right now, you and everybody else in this room are in contempt of court. The happenings of the past hour have disgusted me and I expect all of you to appear in court and plead your case. If you’re lucky, some of you won’t be sentenced to death before the day is over.”

“That’s not fair,” Siarra argued. “We didn’t do anything.”

“...As I recall, I already had a wonderful execution set up for you this morning. So the only truly unfair part here is that you’re alive longer than you should be. If you want to complain about it, though, you can follow Gena right down that big, dark hole. I’m not stopping you.”

Siarra narrowed her eyes.

“Good. Hate me all you want, but remember—your fate is in my hands.” Then she snapped her fingers to her courier. “Fallon. Go fetch Sister Aisha and have her revive Gena for the trial. I do so hate when the dead try to defend themselves.”

“Wait...” Michelle said. “You can do that?”

“And when she’s done with that,” Isabella continued, “have her revive those so-called ‘bodyguards’ of mine in the corner. I think Luci is about due for a demotion.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Fallon said.

“Oh, Fallon. You know you don’t have to address me the way commoners do.”

“Sorry, ...Isabella.”

Isabella sighed and nodded. “Okay. Let’s get some guards up here to escort the prisoners to the courtroom. I’ll meet you there after I get changed. I’m starting to smell like a peasant in these rags.”

Siarra looked like she was ready to say something again, but Michelle stopped her.

“Don’t,” she whispered into Siarra’s ear. “There’s still hope if Gena can be revived. We can still get that password and get you kids out of the game.”

“...Then you believe me now?”

“Yes. I apologize for doubting you before.”

Siarra lowered her eyes. “No problem... You were only being careful.”

“Hey... Come on, we’re not licked yet. We have some good people on the outside helping us to recover that password. We’ll find a way home.”

“I sure hope so. I’m starting to think that the longer we’re here, the less we remember about the real world...”

Michelle nodded. “It’s possible that the game waves are slowly overcoming your brain waves... Given enough time, your own perceptions of reality can change. The same thing can happen to a person when they come under a great deal of stress or emotion. The sudden build-up and release of energy is enough to change the way their mind operates.”

“Then they might explain why Kim doesn’t remember the real world.”

“I’m sure the virus isn’t helping her remember.”

“...How long before I forget?”

“What?”

Siarra looked up. “I’ve watched all my friends slip into insanity here. I think the same thing is happening to me. One by one, we’re forgetting who we once were. We only remember who we’ve become.”

“Well, nobody can strip you of your individuality. Even if your friends can’t readily summon the past, you have to remember that it’s there. You see, our bodies are like computers; once you program something into them, it can’t be erased. There will always be that memory, hidden deep inside, that still remembers.”

“So, there’s still hope?”

“Siarra,” she smiled, putting a hand on the young Mage’s cheek. “There is always hope. That’s something else you can’t ever take away.”

“...Isabella seems convinced that she can.”

“Well, just remember... You’re real and she’s not. Given that, you have a huge advantage over her already.”

Siarra nodded, but somehow, somewhere in the knots of her heart, that didn’t comfort her at all. She felt a chill as Isabella brushed by her, smirking, and the cold wind didn’t go away for a long time after that.

In fact, she was convinced it would follow her for life…