Neverquest – Part 154

Characters: Isaac, Mundo, Kim, Lucilla, Queen Isabella, Siarra, Gena, Roxanne, Michelle, Fallon, Cara, Mack, Jeff, Roy
Location: The streets of Felwinter
Time: Day 5 – Afternoon

Mundo and Isaac climbed out of the sewer grating to find themselves in the bustling streets of Felwinter. There were Women everywhere—walking and gossiping and browsing the marketplace for food and trinkets. There were little girls chasing each other around an enormous fountain and older girls giggling at them and shopping for clothes. There was life everywhere and not one of them watched where they stepped.

“Heads up!” Mundo said.

They quickly moved out of the way for a passing sandal.

Isaac watched the shoe continue down the street and let out a deep sigh. “…Yeah, this is great. We’re bugs in the New York City of this world and Kim could be anywhere. We don’t even know where to start looking.”

“There she is.”

“Dude, that’s not funny.”

“I’m serious. Move!” Mundo shoved him out of the way just in time. A huge leather boot slapped the cobblestone path where they had been standing.

“What is wrong with you people!?” Isaac screamed, shaking a fist at the boot. But when he saw who was wearing the boot—even from behind—his fingers slowly became undone. “Kim…” He ran towards her. “Kim! KIIIM!”

An iron boot crashed down next to him. The earth shook for only a moment, but the force was enough to send him tumbling across the ground.

“Ugh,” he grunted. “I’m really starting to hate this world and all the footwear in it.”

Mundo helped him to his feet. “Come on. Something’s not right.”

They watched the iron boot chase the leather one into an alley and they hurried to catch up…

“You have nowhere to run,” Lucilla said, blocking Kim’s only escape from the alley. “Now put down your weapon. You don’t want to hurt me any more than I want to hurt you.”

Panting, Kim shook her head and threw herself against the back wall. She had run into a dead-end. “No, you’re not real. This world isn’t real. I’m not supposed to be here. This is all wrong!”

“…Let me tell you something.” After a quick glance over her shoulder, Lucilla stepped into the alley and advanced towards Kim. “In about thirty seconds, the princess and about a hundred angry townspeople are going to be here, expecting me to bring you down. You think you’ll be safe? They’re going to want blood for this. Everyone at that trial saw you flee the courtroom and they can all testify against you.” She eyed Kim. Then, while still moving forward, she suddenly sheathed her blade and very cautiously withdrew her fingers from the handle. “Now, if you were innocent before—as I believe you were—then you have nothing to gain by any of this. Why do you want to make yourself look guilty? We both know that Gena and her creepy friend are the only ones who should hang today.”

“No…”

“I was there when they grabbed Isabella. I saw them…and I failed to stop them.” Lucilla stood still, an arms-length away from Kim. “I will be reprimanded in time, but it will be done by the real Queen in a fair trial. I will not see Isabella make a mockery of the criminal justice system again.”

Kim looked up at her. Her knees were trembling.

“If you come with me now, I can promise you the same. The Royal Queen will hear your case.”

“You don’t understand. You can’t protect me.”

“Yes, I can. Isabella is only fluff on the throne. As long as you don’t give me any reason to doubt your innocence, the worst she can do is give you a slap on the wrist and a few hours of community service. Beyond that, punishments are carried out by discretion of the Paladins during a time of the Queen’s temporary leave of office.” She held out her hand. “Let me help you. For three long months, I’ve taken orders from that brat. I’ve watched her turn this kingdom into a circus and I’m ashamed to say I’ve allowed it, but she’s gone too far this time. Don’t let yourself become a victim of her game.”

“I don’t want to be a victim and I don’t want to be part of this game anymore.” Kim’s fingernail scraped against the curve of her bow. “I just want to go home.”

“Then take my hand and let me bring you in quietly.”

Meanwhile, Mundo and Isaac had sneaked into the alley and found shelter behind a barrel of apples, where they were able to spy on the girls without behind seen.

“I never knew your girlfriend was jailbait,” Mundo said. “I wonder what she did to get the law after her.”

Isaac smacked him. “Shut up, dude. Kim didn’t do anything.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know how long she’s been away.”

“…Maybe you should just get out of here. This could get ugly.”

“Two hot girls breaking into a sweaty fight while we have a front row seat? How is that ‘ugly’?”

“Hey, one of those girls is mine.”

“It’s cool, man. I’ll take the other.”

Isaac stared up at Lucilla, who even looked like she had a stick jammed up her rear end by the way she was standing so stiff and upright.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s loads of fun at parties,” he said.

“Could be worse.”

“Yeah, it could be Gena.”

And they both had a good laugh.

“…No, really.” Isaac took Mundo by the shoulders and pushed him away. “It’s better if you aren’t around for this.”

“Why? What are you going to do?” He looked at his friend and saw the fire in his eyes. “…Dude, you aren’t thinking of saving her, are you?”

Kim shied away from Lucilla’s hand and backed into the corner. “If you really want to help me, you’ll let me go.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Lucilla said. “I have—”

“LUCY!”

The shrill voice made them all cringe.

When they turned around, they saw a huge crowd of onlookers gathered in the alleyway. A path was created and Isabella stormed through it, clenching her white-knuckled fists. Her dress was splashed with mud and she had lost one of her slippers during the chase, so she stumbled when she walked.

“…Lucy…” she hissed. Her breaths were unsteady. “Lucy, why is that maggot still alive?”

“Her only crime is fleeing from an unfair trial,” Lucilla said. She stood by as a crowd of onlookers made a semi-circle around the princess, but the mere presence of Isabella made them all vanish into the background, like stage props in a play. “You were ready to hang a lot of innocent people, princess.”

“Preposterous! I would never hang someone who didn’t deserve it.”

“Kim!” Siarra cried, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. “Kim, listen to me!”

“GET BACK!” Isabella screamed.

Hearing a familiar voice, Kim slowly pried herself from the wall. “…Siarra? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me!” Some of the onlookers tried to hold Siarra back, but their attempts were useless. She broke through them like water, until only Isabella was standing in her way.

“I forbid you from—!”

Siarra pushed past the princess too. “Kim! Oh, God, Kim.” She fell into her friend’s open arms. “Kim, you’re back. You remember everything.”

Flushed with red, Isabella raised her hands and wiped the tangled curls from her eyes.

“Lowly peasants!” she roared. “Kill them, Lucy. Kill them both!”

But Lucilla stood next to Kim and Siarra like an iron statue. “…I’m not killing anyone, princess.”

“What!?”

The crowd gasped. Some people even fainted.

“As royal captain of the Paladins and leader of this kingdom’s armed forces, I am ordering an immediate and complete coup d’état against the present matriarchal leader until the true Queen can resume her position.”

“What!?”

“You heard me.”

“I heard you, but I have no clue what you said.”

Grinning, Gena wormed her face out through the crowd. “She said you’re history, doll.”

“You can’t do that!” Isabella screamed. “I own you people. I own each and every one of you!”

“Not anymore,” Lucilla said. “Until your mother returns, the Paladins are assuming the throne.”

“You can ‘assume’ all you want, but you’re not getting my throne.” Isabella turned to the crowd. “Twenty silver pieces to the one who brings me her head!”

The crowd was silent.

“Uh…that’s only enough to buy half a loaf of bread,” one of them said at last.

“Ugh…” Isabella wrinkled her nose. “Greedy horse peddlers. Fine! Forty silver pieces for her head.

“That’s three cabbages!” someone else shouted.

“Face it, Isabella,” Lucilla said. “Even the good townspeople are tired of watching you abuse your power as queen. No amount of money is going to keep you on the throne.”

“Is that so?” Isabella raised an eyebrow and her lips began to curl on one end. “…One hundred million gold pieces to the person who delivers the killing blow to the former captain of the Paladins.”

Murmurs quickly ran rampant through the crowd. The sound of metal on metal could be heard and Lucilla’s blonde hair suddenly became gold bars in the sunlight.

The worried captain waved her hand. “Don’t listen to her, honest citizens of Felwinter! Not even the Royal Queen has that much money.”

Lucilla’s voice was soon drowned out in the commotion. She moved back, towards Kim and Siarra, and reached for her sword as the circle began to close.

“The Queen will hear of this,” she warned. “Any and all persons caught inflicting harm upon a member of the royal guard will be prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison.”

“One hundred million gold pieces!” Isabella cried again. Then she threw back her head and laughed.

But before they were upon her like a wild mob, one figure stepped forward and blotted out the sun with her glittering black armor.

“…I’ll do it for free,” she said.

With a smirk, Isabella folded her arms across her chest. “Well, now… I thought you had taken a vow of silence, Roxy.”

“I want to prove myself to you, …Your Highness.”

“Ha! You just don’t want to die.”

“I fully expect to. But it will be by your hand, milady—not by the sword of any do-gooder.” Roxanne rattled in her chains like a dog. “Release me and I will show this follower of the Light how helpless she really is against the dark.”

“Helpless…” Isabella laughed again. “You hear that, Lucy? You’re helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless!” Then she smiled. “…You’re also dead. Guards, release the Black Knight.”

Lucilla raised her sword. “You obey me, Paladins! Not Isabella.”

“Let her go!”

“…It’s okay, Your Highness,” Roxanne said. She stared down at the chains that were binding her and gently closed her eyes. The chains began to shake. They were quiet at first—like ripples in a pool—but they got louder and clattered against her armor. Her muscles began to stretch and so did the chains. With a thunderous snap, they broke away, one by one, and fell into coils at her feet. The Paladins holding her down were hurled away at once, slamming into opposite ends of the alley walls. She grabbed another guard from behind and threw her forward, cracking her helmet against the back wall where Lucilla stood.

“You should’ve listened to your queen,” she said, spitting on the fallen Paladins.

The rest of the crowd was in shock.

“Ha, ha!” Isabella cheered, clapping her hands together. “You’re proof that my mother did a terrible job in choosing the elite guard, Black Knight.”

“They’re pathetic. They fight with hope, even when there isn’t any.” She held out an empty hand. One of the remaining Paladins—the one who had been holding Roxanne’s axe during the trial—surrendered the weapon without a fight. Wrapping her fingers around it, Roxanne turned to Lucilla and her face went black. “…There is no hope for you, Lightbringer.”

“Your power…” Lucilla whispered. “It can’t be. What are you…?”

Siarra pulled her back. “Don’t try to fight her. You can’t win.”

“Child, I’ll have you know—”

“You can’t win!” Siarra screamed. “You can’t win because Roxanne is a filthy cheating whore. She’s cheated everyone here—including you, Gena!” She pointed into the crowd, where Gena was desperately trying to hide her face. “How does it feel to be betrayed? A few days ago, the two of you were best friends. We were friends, Gena! But somewhere along the way, we let our selfish desires turn us against each other. Don’t you see?”

“We were finding ourselves,” Roxanne said. “We were finding our place in this world.”

“But it isn’t our world. We don’t belong here.”

“I could’ve told you that,” Isabella scoffed. “Now, get out of the way, you pink-haired chipmunk, or I’ll feed you to the Black Knight for dessert.”

“No! I won’t let you hurt my friends.”

“Siarra…” Michelle appeared at the front of the crowd and motioned with one hand. “Listen to the queen.”

“No, Michelle. I’m not going to stand by while—”

“I really think you ought to listen to the queen.”

Siarra didn’t have time to respond. A sudden jolt pricked the back of her neck. Before she could swat at it—because it felt like a bee sting—something much sharper, more like an electric shock, worked its way up the stem of her brain and entered her cerebellum. From there, it began to surge through her whole body.

“I…will obey,” she said. The voice was hers, but those weren’t the words she had wanted to say.

Somebody had taken over her mind.

Unable to control her movements, she suddenly stepped away from the wall and walked towards the crowd. When she was there, she glared at Michelle.

“What was that for!?” she hissed. Fortunately, everybody had turned their attention back to Lucilla and Roxanne. “I thought you were on my side.”

“I am,” Michelle said. “But you won’t gain anything by fighting Roxanne. Her mind is too far gone.”

“Then why don’t you take control of her brain instead?”

“I tried that. Something’s blocking the way.”

“Yeah, probably her thick skull.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll have to resort back to our original plan by obtaining the password from Gena. But based on Roxanne’s sudden change in character, I don’t think that will be nearly as difficult as we first anticipated.”

“No, Gena will be glad to go home. She has to realize the dangers of staying here now.” She scanned the faces of the crowd, but something was wrong. “Wait… Where’d she go?”

“Who?”

“Gena! She’s gone.”

Michelle looked around. She was taller than most of the Women in the crowd, but even she couldn’t spot Gena’s trademark reddish-brown hair.

“You’re right,” she said. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

“What are we going to do? We need to find her!”

“Calm down. If we put our heads together, I’m sure we can come up with a rational plan that—”

Cupping her hands over her mouth, Siarra jumped in front of the crowd and began shouting. “We can’t let this happen! It’s time to decide. If you remain loyal to Queen Isabella during this attempted coup d’état, bow down to her now!”

Isabella cocked her head to the side.

“Show our merciful ruler that you won’t stand for this treason,” Siarra cried out, falling to her knees. The rest of the crowd stared at her with confused expressions on their faces. “…Go on—do it!”

“…Well?” Isabella asked. “Make with the bowing, people.”

In waves, the crowd began to lower their heads and drop to the ground. Michelle watched them and started to do the same, but before she was halfway down, she noticed a figure in a familiar robe making her way to the back of the crowd.

It was Gena. She was trying to escape.

“Stop her!”

Siarra didn’t waste a second. Springing to her feet, she hurdled over the fallen bodies and chased Gena into the marketplace. Screams were heard and barrels were knocked over, spilling fruit into the street, but they soon disappeared from sight.

Down on one knee, Roxanne looked up at Isabella. “…Shall I go after them?”

“Right after you take care of these two traitors,” the princess said, pointing to Lucilla and Kim, who were still standing.

The Black Knight began to rise. “As you wish, milady.”

“Wait, wait!” Isabella bounced on her toes. “I want to say your trademark line this time.”

“Of course.”

After clearing her throat, Isabella put her hands on her hips, scrunched her eyebrows together, and glared at Lucilla.

“…You should’ve listened to your queen,” she said in a voice far deeper than her own. But it didn’t last. As soon as she saw the grave look in Lucilla’s face, she was forced into a fit of giggles. “Oh, forget it. I’m too adorable to act tough.” She snapped her fingers. “Black Knight, dispose of this garbage quickly so that I may return to the castle in time for crumpets and tea.”

Roxanne raised her axe. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. This won’t take long.”