Chapter 13: Never
[the beginning]
Morning couldn't come soon enough. What time Sue hadn't spent studying with Hound was inexplicable torture. She couldn't put her finger on what was making her so antsy exactly. She no longer felt as pressed for time as when she thought they wouldn't have a pence to their names, and they had the Earl's entire court walking them through the crossing test. The people were friendly enough, and they even managed to get the girl to open up a little to strangers, even if she was still wary. Sue even stopped having that nightmare, despite Hound's insistence that it was better for her to have her own room alone with the girl rather than set a bad example.
It was too much waiting, that must be it. Too much building up to what boiled down to walking across a short land bridge, and that only after a three-day ride by carriage. It felt as though so much of her life not spent in fear and loathing was spent... waiting.
But that day was the first day of the rest of their lives! They would set out at first light and head to the testing center in Gardiner, and from there-good luck providing-they would head to the border with shiny new passports in hand. She couldn't sleep for all she would open her eyes hoping to see sunlight streaming through the window, and she couldn't make herself sleep, knowing that she could simply sleep in the carriage. In fact, that would make her rest easier, being on the road rather than planted in one spot three days from her destination. So it was with great delight that she finally opened her eyes to the first glimmer of morning and sprung from her bed with the energy of a young girl on her birthday.
Even the pest didn't seem nearly as much of one. "Wake up," she sang, rousing her with a gentle touch. The girl yawned at having been woken so early, but she could also sleep in the carriage, if needed.
Sue dressed them both with an unprecedented energy, threw their remaining possessions in her bag, and rushed over to Hound's room, banging on the door with impatience.
"...ngh, comin'," he mumbled from deep within the room. After a tense moment, a groggy Hound threw open the door. "What?"
"It's time to go!" she cried, frustrated that he wasn't ready. "Get some clothes on and pack your things!"
"...didn't realize you were looking forward to three days in a carriage," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Hurry up!"
Shaking his head, Hound closed the door again. Well, it wouldn't hurt to get some breakfast, she supposed. Sue took the girl to the kitchen, taking some leftover biscuits from last night's supper. When they returned, Hound was sleepy but ready to travel.
Despite the Earl's hospitality, Sue was too impatient to wait for everyone else to wake up to make their goodbyes. Luckily, the carriage was waiting for them at the gate as promised, and they were on their way. Everything from that point on was a blur-she and Hound passed the test with flying colours, and they all posed for their shiny new passports.
"This 'photography' is a bizarre magic," Hound mused, examining the perfect likeness of his own face.
"I told you," she scolded, although with a lighthearted tone, "this 'magic' is called science, and it's perfectly understandable once you learn the basics." Though it was true, it felt strange to say it herself, considering Sue had only made it to sixth grade science before her mother brought her to the backwards nation. It was also mildly upsetting that her picture made her look so awful, but it was trifling in light of her dreams coming true.
As they returned to the carriage for the second leg of their trip, after Sue lifted the girl inside, Hound fell forward with a stagger. In the same instant, he reached behind him, grabbing and twisting the arm of his assailant, a young redheaded woman.
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted at her.
She screeched when she saw his face. "You!"
Baffled, Sue took a moment to register what had just happened. "Jen!" she cried, staring at the woman.
Flabbergasted, Hound looked at both of them in turn. "Did I miss something here?"
"I killed you!" Jen screamed.
"Who are you?" Hound shouted. "Why did you attack me?"
"I killed you over a year ago!"
"Did you push me off a cliff?"
Jen stared at him in disbelief. "...no."
"Did you hit me over the head?"
"No! I stabbed you!"
Hound looked puzzled. He examined the blade he pulled from his pack. "This is the same size as the scar on my back," he mused, growling. "You did a poor job of killing me."
She hissed in anger, struggling to break free of his hold.
"Why did you try to kill him?" Sue yelled, grabbing Jen's other arm.
"I have to kill all the dogs!"
The slur triggered a reaction in Hound. She didn't know if she could ever see a person so angry.
"Why are you doing this," he snarled in a low voice. "We've never done anything to you, have we?"
"He told me to kill all the dogs," Jen snapped. "No more dogs!"
"Why?"
"This is a big waste of time, Hound," Sue spat in contempt. "Jen doesn't understand 'why'."
"You called yourself Jen before," he noted. "Do you know her?"
"We're half-sisters."
Jen looked at Sue with a startled expression. "Sister?"
"My mother cheated on my father, and he kicked her out. She brought me here, but then she met some other chump and got knocked up from him. Jen here is the product of that. I ran away some time after she was born-I have no family loyalty to her."
Hound seemed at odds with her feelings, but at least Jen felt the same way as Sue. "I don't have a sister," she protested.
"But she just said-"
"That's why my mother didn't like her very much," Sue interrupted. "She has some kind of stupid or something."
"Don't call her stupid."
"But she is. Look-"
Sue took six coins from her purse. She put two in Hound's hand, and two in each of her hands. "Jen, the number of coins I have in each of my hands is the same. I have two coins in each hand."
"...okay," Jen said.
Sue closed one hand. "The number of coins I have in my open hand is the same number of coins as the number in his hand. We each have two coins in our hands."
"...okay."
Sue closed that hand. "Is the number of coins in this hand-" here, she raised her first hand, "-the same number as the number of coins in his hand?"
Jen stared at her. "I don't see how to tell."
"See?"
While Hound stared at Sue in utter bewilderment, Jen took the two coins from his open hand. Seeing this, Sue angrily tucked her money back in her purse.
"She doesn't belong out in the world by herself! She needs to be put in a hospice or someplace where they'll look after her to keep her out of trouble."
Hound looked baffled. "Are you proposing to pay for this?"
It frustrated Sue to see how many things had gone wrong with her plans from the outset. Finding Jen was the worst thing that could have happened, as letting her go meant letting loose an amoral terror into the world. Well, back into the world, but still someone who couldn't tell right from wrong. It didn't bode well for their excursion to have so many things foul up at the last moment.
"No, I have it," she shouted, having an epiphany. "Jen, you said 'he' told you to kill... canines. Who is 'he'?"
Jen struggled to get her arm loose. "Let me go!"
"Who told you to kill me?" Hound growled, catching on.
"Gaim!"
Though he didn't, at first glance it looked as though Hound was going to let go of her arm from the shock. "He's the one who killed my family," he muttered under his breath.
"Let go of me, you damn dog!"
"This Gaim," he snarled, "is he a large black cat?"
Jen hesitated at the words. "...yes."
"Why are you working with a cold-blooded killer?"
"I told you, it's no use asking why!" Sue gritted her teeth in anger, frustrated by the situation.
"Do you know where Gaim is now?"
If she did know, it was clear Jen at least had the brains not to tell him that.
"So, what are you going to do, Hound?" Sue asked, pouting, too mindful of the opportunity this presented. "Are you going to chase your killer to the ends of the world now that you've found his trail again, leaving us here in the cold?"
He seemed torn between the two. Of course, if he found this Gaim and somehow managed to do away with him without getting killed himself, that would of course free him to attend to Sue's every need. However, it could take him the rest of his life to carry out the task, and Sue had limited time to finish hers.
"I can do both," he answered.
He took Jen's knife from her and cut off a lock of her hair, tucking the hair into his purse. Then he returned the knife to her.
Sue stared at him in disbelief. "You're letting her go, just like that, and giving back the weapon she used to try to kill you?"
"It's hers. I don't want to take it from her."
"It may bloody well not be hers, did you think of that?"
"It's more hers than mine."
The three stood in awkward silence, until Jen apparently decided she wanted to do something else and ran off. "Fine, whatever," Sue hissed. "We have somewhere to be, anyway. Are you coming, then?"
Hound stared after Jen for a moment, then hoisted himself into the driver's seat, taking the reins. "Ready."
Smiling, Sue walked around to the carriage and stepped inside-
"Wait."
She just wanted to scream, as difficult as the trip was becoming. "What is it now?" she shouted, stepping back outside.
"If she was hunting nobles-" Hound mused, shaking his head in disapproval. "We have to return."
Sue looked despondent. "Return where?" They were so close!
"To the Earl's. If she goes there while we we're gone-"
"She's one stupid girl against a castle full of guards!" she cried. "How the Hell is she going to kill every one of them?"
"By killing just the 'dogs,' as she said. The Earl and half his court may be in trouble!"
"From the girl who failed to kill you twice now?" Sue shouted. "You said it yourself, she did a bad job of it!"
He looked unconvinced. "I don't like it."
"Neither do I," she lied. As far as she was really concerned, it was somebody else's problem. "We should be on our way, though."
He glanced one last time in Jen's direction, shaking his head. It was irritating, but at the same time Sue couldn't feel entirely bad that he had his own ideas about things once in a while. "Let's go."
Yet they made good time, even after making a rest stop in Saxton. By the time they reached the land bridge, Sue had pushed all of the bad parts of the last weeks to the back of her mind and felt like her heart was soaring, just seeing the tip of her homeland on the horizon.
"Stop here," Sue called as they reached the border. "We're going to walk the rest of the way."
Hound did so, but he wasn't sure why. "I thought we would take the carriage across."
"It will require searching the carriage if we do that," she explained. "The Earl informed me that security has gotten a lot tighter since I was last there, due to terrorist activity."
"Terrorist?"
Sue sighed, scratching her head. "I didn't realize how many words you wouldn't know. Well, it means they've had problems with certain foreigners coming in and causing all kinds of trouble-being terrors toward the people-so they have to be careful who they let cross. Anyway, there are better methods of travel available on The Other Side, and if we leave the carriage here, then one of the guards can have someone take it back to the Earl."
Hound disembarked with a graceful thump. "Fine."
They approached the border, walking side by side as they reached the fortress. "Present your passports," the guard ordered.
Sue took out her passport along with the girl's and handed them to the guard. Hound presented his.
"These seem to be in order," the guard said, making a note of it on his clipboard and returning their passports. "Welcome to Square One. Remember to keep your passports safe. They are your identification, and without them, you may have to be returned to Thadliste Serif. Will you be needing transportation?"
"Yes, please," said Sue.
"Follow this road." He pointed to the hills in the distance. "There is a brand new commercial complex at the end, with some restaurants, clothiers, and car rental services. There is also regular bus service as well as metro access, with the schedules posted in the central station."
"Thank you."
"Enjoy your stay."
Following Sue's lead, they hurried over to the complex. From her attitude since the trip began, Hound probably expected Sue to rush them straight to the metro, which she said would be the fastest way to travel, but once they reached the complex, she was in Heaven, possessed by the familiar sights and sounds of her childhood.
"Sue?"
"Hmm?" She was drawn to the clothing stores, eager to try on a new outfit. Even the lowest-grade shirt was so much softer than the crude fabric of Thadliste Serif. She picked up a tourist-oriented shirt and held it to her body, pleased just to be able to do it.
"I thought we were in a hurry. You said it might be too late...?"
Things were so much different now they were beyond the biggest hurdle, though. Of course Hound wouldn't understand how she felt. "I'm home again, Hound. I don't know if you'd know what that's like, but..." For the first time in a long time, she smiled with her entire being. "Everything feels right now."
Despite this, Hound looked disappointed. "Does that mean you were just in a hurry to get here?"
She wondered if he was usually a killjoy like this. "You're right," she admitted, replacing the shirt. "I did say it may be too late, but if we're too late, it's going to be by months or years, not hours. Plus, the Earl gave us a gift of time. Not a lot of time, because neither of us have a way to earn money right now, but more time than we would have had after paying those expensive passport fees. Now, we have a bit more leeway as far as expenses go."
Nevertheless, his disappointment didn't seem to abate. It was a little like being with a younger, scarred J.W., annoyed with her splurges.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she pouted. "You don't know what it's like to be afraid of losing a chance like this!"
He shook his head. "It's just that now it seems like you've been acting so selfish the entire time."
A tantalizing scent wafted through the wide corridors, distracting Sue from their row. Her toes curled in delight to smell the delicious odor. "Want to get a pizza?" she asked, licking her lips.
"What's that?"
"Oh, it's a real treat, after wild game. Come on, we'll have lunch." She led them to the food court, where the chef was tossing a fresh pie. "One large sausage," she told the clerk.
"Coming right up." The clerk changed her seven rio for six pence, handing her the receipt. "Order number 42."
Sue was so excited to be eating real food again that she even held up the girl to let her see how they made it. On the other hand, Hound seemed less enthusiastic about the wait. "It doesn't smell much different from food I've had," he commented as the chef finished their order.
She recalled he was sniffling quite a bit the past few days. "Do you have a cold? Can you really smell anything?"
"Oh, you noticed." He wiped his nose, looking embarrassed. She supposed it must have been a point of pride for canines to have superior scenting abilities.
"Well," she said, picking up the tray with their food, "why don't you try some and be the judge of it?"
They took a seat in the food court and, on Sue's lead, tucked into the pizza. Sue was so delighted that she nearly choked in her gluttony. Hound took a cautious bite, then smiled. "This is good!"
"See?"
"I admit it's rather overwhelming," he continued, taking in the view. "Perhaps it would be better not to rush things after all, to give me a chance to become acquainted with your country."
"That reminds me." Sue swallowed with some difficulty, thinking she needed to remind herself to breathe. "We're all going to need some new clothes while we're here. Thadliste Serif clothes are okay for walking about, but if we're going to see my father, we need to look presentable."
Hound seemed puzzled. "I have a dress uniform from-"
"No, that won't work," she interrupted. "It'll have to be a good suit and tie, even though I never learned to tie one, but maybe we can find a clip-on. Wait, you can just learn from one of the staff, it's not hard, is it? Anyway, we'll have to go to Herndon for a good clothier, but luckily that's also where my father will be."
Sue was met with the sight of a still-baffled Hound and a three-year-old girl happily burying her face in what was left of the pizza.
"Look, I'll go to the station really fast and get a map. You can stay here and finish eating, unless you're done already."
Hound seemed to be trying to figure out what answer was the right one. Shaking her head, Sue headed toward the main station and picked up a pamphlet showing the entire railway system. Excellent! The grey line ran all the way to Herndon, nonstop.
Things were bound to have moved around since she'd last lived in the country, however. She bought a map of Square One from the ticket counter, checking the layout. Tesoro moved to the Starset Plaza? That meant the business had been really successful, if they could afford to set up shop in the most expensive part of town!
That meant they really needed that makeover.
"Come on, come on," she snapped, rushing back to the food court. She wiped the pest's face with a napkin and lifted her up, shuffling them to the metro grey line.
"How does this work, exactly?" Hound asked.
"Well, first we buy tickets." Sue walked up to the nearest kiosk and pushed buttons for Herndon. "This machine knows we're in... 'Square One Crossing Complex,' so all we need to do is push the button for our destination, Herndon. It tells me how much the tickets cost, then I put the money in this slot on the side." She inserted five rio, and the kiosk spit out two tickets. "The prices are different for each stop, but we have to use the tickets at the gates where we enter and exit. If we get off at a different stop from the one I selected on the kiosk, the exit gates won't let us leave unless we pay the difference in price."
"What if we lose our tickets before we get to the exit?"
"...don't."
"What about her?"
"Children under six are free, she doesn't need a ticket."
To show him how it worked, Sue walked to the gate and inserted her ticket, carrying the girl through with her and taking the ticket as it emerged at the other side. Hound looked perplexed by the mechanics, but he followed suit, watching his ticket as it whipped through the unseen crevices in the gate.
"Now, see these ditches?" she asked, pointing to the tracks. He started to walk toward them, but she grabbed his arm. "Stay behind the line, it's dangerous! See, it says 'mind the gap' on the ground."
Hound looked at her in embarrassment. "I don't remember how to read," he admitted.
"What?" Sue slapped her head in astonishment. "If you had told me earlier, I could have been teaching you all this time! Well, the ride is at least an hour, let me get some paper, then."
"I still don't understand. What are we riding?"
A rumbling filled the area, and she pointed to the tracks. "Watch."
To Hound's astonishment, a bullet train zoomed along the far track, going faster than a mount at top speed. It gradually came to a stop, and they could see people moving about through its windows.
"We're going to get on the one that comes to this ditch," she said, looking around for another kiosk. With luck, one would sell some kind of writing utensil.
"How can anything move with such speed?" he asked, astounded by the notion of something moving on the ground that fast.
A-ha! Here was a kiosk with a small stationery kit. "I told you, it's science." She put in ten pence for the stationery. "You know how wheels on a carriage work?"
"Yes."
"Well, some scientists-magicians of science-figured out how to put together lots of smaller wheels in order to make things go faster. In addition, they learned how to make 'engines' to turn the wheels faster without needing animals to propel them. Put that all together, and one of the things you can make is a train!"
"One of...?" Hound looked at the train now leaving the station. "What other marvels can science make?"
It was indescribable just how amusing it was telling him about her world. "Almost everything you see here is made by science in some way!"
He took in the scene like a child in a candy store. "There's so much to learn..."
"Don't worry about it too much, Hound," she teased. "It's not going to be on the test."
"Which test?"
She sighed. "Nevermind."
Another rumbling, and the next train roared into view. Hound had learned to expect it after the first, but the girl was still jittery at the sight.
"Here's our ride!" Sue declared. "Wait for the people inside to get off, then we'll go in."
It was interesting seeing the look on their faces once they entered the nearest car. A few moments after they sat down, the train closed its doors and burst from the station. Hound in particular looked frightened by the speed at which a large chunk of metal could move. In a strange way, it was kind of endearing. Once he got used to the starting and stopping, however, she made a slipshod effort to teach him the alphabet. Luckily, he was a quick study and had mastered it before they were halfway there.
At the first stop in Herndon, Sue ushered them out the gate and into the nearest haberdashery, where she thrust Hound into the hands of the first available associate. "Do your best," she instructed, just before wandering over to the women's section.
Though they had just left the snowy Thadliste Serif, in Square One it was a more moderate temperature for early winter, so Sue felt entitled to trying out a light business suit, jacket, and a tasteful handbag. It felt so good to be wearing proper clothes again that she bought the first outfit she tried on, throwing away all her Thadliste Serif garb before she returned to check on Hound.
"Are you sure about this?"
Grimacing, he looked like he felt as awkward in a three-piece suit and tie as he would in a ballgown and tiara. However, Sue had to admit she was impressed, all things considered. She pondered splurging on haircuts and a full makeover for each of them, but it would have taken even more time and money she was already wasting in her excitement. It was better to stop while they were ahead.
Instead, Sue showed her approval by kissing Hound firmly on the lips. What concerns he might have had about the suit vanished into his vapid smile. "It's good," he mumbled, grinning.
"That's what I want to hear," she sang, beaming as she paid for his outfit as well.
"What about her?"
Sue looked at the girl. Though she had been slowly warming to the pest during the trip, she still felt it was like a chore getting clothes for her. "No need," she muttered, glancing around the square. Truth be told, the girl was already dressed better than the handful of other toddlers she could see... it was kind of sad, really.
From there, Tesoro was five streets away, not a difficult walk at all, compared to the rest of their journey. Sue found herself marvelling at how tall the buildings had gotten in her absence. The shortest one she could see was at least seven stories tall!
They entered the Tesoro building, looking for all the world like a bizarre trio of extras for a forgotten, failed sitcom. It couldn't be helped, to be honest-even with their windfall, they were on limited time and limited resources. It was best just to get the worst of it over with.
"May I help you?" the receptionist asked, giving Hound, especially, the evil eye.
"We are here to see President Aside," Sue stated with as much authority as she could muster.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"I'm his daughter, Sue," she declared, handing the receptionist her passport. "We've just come from Thadliste Serif, so I've been unable to contact him to arrange an appointment."
Unfortunately, the gossip must have been more widespread than she first realized, if even twenty odd years later lowly receptionists gave her the look that she gave Sue. "He's in a meeting," the woman snapped. "I'll leave him a message, but I can't promise that he'll see you once the meeting's out."
"We'll wait."
"Are you sure?"
Sue frowned, struggling to retain her composure. "I've waited over twenty years to see him again. I can wait a few hours."
The receptionist seemed taken aback. "Please have a seat, then," she conceded, with a tone that suggested she thought it a futile effort.
"Thank you." As she turned to sit down, Sue rolled her eyes in exasperation at the ordeal. At least it would be over soon.
Unfortunately, Hound planted yet another seed of doubt. "Are the people normally this mean here?" he whispered.
His assessment was a bit unsettling, because it didn't bode well for their meeting if he was getting bad vibes from his objective viewpoint. "I don't know," she replied. "I don't remember them being this way when I was a girl."
"What are we going to do?"
"What else can we do? Wait and hope."
Time passed like water torture, only serving to double her fears about the impending encounter. Well, it was too late to have reservations now. They had come so far-
There was a ring at the receptionist's desk. She looked down, raised an eyebrow, then looked at Sue. "He'll see you."
"Great!" she shouted, jumping up from her seat in her excitement. "Where's his office?"
"Top floor, the very end of the hall. The lift is around the corner to my right."
"Thank you."
It was hard to contain her anticipation and simultaneously fight her overwhelming fears. She almost wanted to freeze this moment in time forever, because it was the height of her power over the situation: with enough positive support behind her to suggest everything that would turn out as planned but before any possible negative outcome could occur.
Yet time wouldn't stop for anyone, much less her, and what was the worst that could occur? He would welcome them into his life and maybe say, no, she wasn't ready yet, but given time the company could have a new president, and everything would be tough for a while but work out okay in the end. There was nothing to fear but fear itself.
Thus, the three vagrants bravely marched on, entering the lift with astonished stares from both the girl and Hound, and walking with as much confidence as they could muster into the office of the man who held their future in the balance.
"Sue!"
With trepidation, they met the noble gaze of the president of the Tesoro company, looking for all the world like the perfect figurehead of wisdom and responsibility. It was a marvelous sight.
"Daddy," she whispered, tears of joy forming in her eyes. It was astonishing seeing her father again after all this time. She could barely recognize him, as old as he'd gotten.
As mean as he'd gotten.
"What brings you here?" he snapped. "I have a business to run."
Sue looked confused. "...what?"
"You picked a very bad time to come back into my life. This had better be very important to disrupt negotiations like this!"
"Daddy," she pleaded, her voice trembling with mixed emotions. It wasn't how she envisioned the encounter at all. "It's been over twenty years. I waited so long to see you... and you want to push me away?"
Reg scowled at her in disapproval. "This is no place for a family reunion. I have an important deal going down, and any hint of scandal could ruin everything!"
"Scandal?" Sue shook her head in confusion. "What scandal? I'm your daughter!"
"The daughter of my cheating ex-wife! Did she send you to try to tarnish my reputation again?"
"No!" It was unbelievable hearing these words from his mouth, from the gentle, caring man who had raised her for ten years of her life. "I ran away from Mum long ago! I haven't seen her since!"
"Then why did you come here? If you've managed to live without my presence for over twenty years, why come back now?"
How could the man be so suspicious of her? "I wanted to see you again, that's why! I haven't seen you in so long, and I missed you!"
"Is that all?" He crossed his arms, but he lowered his voice only somewhat. "So, you've just come from Thadliste Serif, and you've already gotten jobs and a home lined up? You've just dropped in to say hello and that's it, then you'll go happily on your way?"
So he did see through her, after all. "Well, no..."
"I knew it!" Reg scolded. "Look, daughter or no, I'm not giving you money out of my own pocket that you haven't earned. I've worked hard to get where I am, and you should do the same."
"But... you're supposed to help me!" she begged. "You're-"
Reg slammed on the table. "Legally, my obligations to you ended when you came of age and I could cease child-support payments, and don't try to tell me otherwise! Do you know what a laughingstock it would be for you to bring a case against me, just because I won't give nepotistic handouts based on 'It isn't fair that your mother got custody and took you to another country'? You won't see a pence from me, and you'll bring down the company at the same time with even a hint of scandal!"
"Scandal!" she shrieked. "All this fuss about 'scandal'! What is so wrong about my very existence that exudes scandal?"
Reg crossed his arms, looking as stern as an elderly business executive could possibly look. "The industry has fallen on hard times in recent years. Tesoro maintains a strong front in Square One, but other countries have had a declining interest in our products. The acquisitions in negotiation have a good chance of boosting sales, but if Skyhall Office gets any ideas that the company isn't going to do well, they'll pull out at the first chance they get. It's a dog-eat-" Here he caught himself as he recalled Hound's presence. "Well, pardon the saying, but it's not the fun and games you must have expected it would be. It's been hard work trying to keep the company going strong enough for me to retire."
"Who's going to run the company when you're gone, Daddy? I'm your daughter! These people are your granddaughter and son-in-law!"
The shock hit Hound with the same force it hit Reg, but the latter was quicker on the draw. "What? You... you married this scarface kid and pumped out a rugrat, and you think that qualifies you to run the company in my place?"
"Daddy!" Sue's face was streaming with tears by this point. "Ever since I was little, I dreamed of following in your footsteps! I wanted to work hard in school and learn what it took to be as good as you were, because you were my father and everyone respected you and I wanted to make you proud! Why don't you think I could run the company?"
"Because you've been gone for over twenty years! Do you even know what the company does now? We design and develop video games for the arcade market. I bet you don't even know what a video game is!"
"I can learn! I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Why bother? I have a son that already knows what it takes!"
That shock hit Sue in the gut, knocking down her plans in one fell swoop. "A... son?" she whimpered. "I have a brother?"
"Half-brother," he snorted. "Herb is double-majoring in Accounting and Business Law at Starset Technology Foundation Uni in Wallace, set to graduate in spring and take my place upon my retirement. Furthermore, he's already one of Square One's top players and knows everything there is to know about the games we develop. Herb is everything I need to continue Tesoro's legacy. You can offer me nothing."
It was horrifying having her father-the one man she idolized all her life-tearing her down so quickly, and before her husband and child, no less. Had she really been so blind to having a monster for a father?
"What about... family?"
"Family, bah! Your mother threw that out the window when she ran off with that germ-phobic Basil, for whatever she saw in him. It was a laugh when I heard she'd gone to Thadliste Serif, because I knew he wouldn't go there, so it's clear she went there and took you for some other nefarious purpose, and I'll have no part of it. If the company goes under over being associated with her schemes, I'll never be able to show my face in public again. No, as far as I'm concerned, Herb and his mother are the only family I have."
Sue was near breakdown. "You won't even... lend us money?"
"With what money? If I gave you money from the company, the shareholders would have my head on a stake in no time. My own finances have been arranged such that I plan to die broke, and I have no intention of putting off my retirement on your account. Even if I were generous enough to leave equal portions of my estate to you and Herb, it might be enough to get you a down payment on a house somewhere in... I don't know, one of those low cost-of-living suburbs, and then probably only if you bought one at current market value. You would still have to get jobs based entirely on your own merits, not based on who your relatives are.
"Of course, given that you grew up in Thadliste Serif, it means that even if you got a G.E.D., you would still be just about qualified enough to flip burgers or work retail-unless you somehow managed to get specialty training in the Outer Kingdom. If you didn't, I guess you could go to one of those technical institutes and get a two-year degree if you could afford the 15,000R tuition each year, plus room and board.
"I've already paid to put one child through college, my dear, and you should have long been able to support yourself without my assistance. Even with Herb, paying for his education was a gift, not a requirement, and for you to believe otherwise is selfish on your part. You would be better served getting a loan from the bank, or from somewhere besides me!"
"Fine," she snapped. "I know when I'm beaten. You won't have to worry about us anymore." It took all her effort not to explode on the spot as she burst from the room, falling to her knees some distance outside the office and crying into her hands.
The door burst open again a moment later, and Hound lifted her to her feet. "Why?" Hound shouted. "I would have understood! Why did you think you had to hide it from me?"
It was painful hearing him whine, cutting even deeper into her own shame over the failure of their journey. "I tried to tell you-"
"When? We spent how many days together? How many nights did we sit in silence, because you just wanted to think?"
"Stop," she whispered, choking back tears. Her voice was a high-pitched squeak by that point. "I was wrong. I was selfish and just wanted to use you as emotional blackmail. You don't have to yell."
"As what?"
"Just-" Sue took his hands in hers and gave him the most pitiful look she could manage. "I thought I might have a hard time showing my father I was valuable in his eyes, and until a few days ago, I didn't feel anything about you and our daughter, so it wouldn't have been a big deal to me to send you back with her if my plans worked."
Hound shook his head at her in disgust. "You were just going to abandon us, like how you said everyone abandoned you?"
"Until a few days ago... yes."
His glare was cutting, but rather than yell, he crossed his arms and turned his back to her. The silence was almost worse.
"Do you realize what it took," she asked, "being in my profession?"
He didn't respond right away, but when he did, it was cold, yet calm. "How do you mean."
She reached out to touch his shoulder, then thought better of it, retreating. "I had believed myself to be sterile, after I was... attacked as a young girl, yet I didn't bear children. It was scary, but it was also liberating. In fact, J.W. took me in and valued me especially because I couldn't bear children. Yet one day, you come along, and that one lousy night threw a wrench in my plans-"
"A what in your plans?"
"...nevermind. The point is, why you? Why of the thousands of men I've had, you-the miserable pup crying for his lost family-knocks me up with that little pest that had been nothing but a pain in my side since she arrived. It took a lot of effort to hide my pregnancy from J.W.-I had to basically run away for a year and claim the father thrust her into my arms and left me with her. That's actually not far from the truth, because that's what you did, even if you didn't thrust into my arms-"
"I didn't know," he snapped. "I mean, you said I believed you were carrying my child at the time, so perhaps I knew and you didn't. Yet you pushed me away, so what could I do?"
"You're right," she agreed. "It's not about you. It's about fate, and somehow this means I'm paying for the bad things I've done in my life. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I was so eager to blame you that I would have killed you on sight when I saw you again. Yet that wouldn't have served either of us, and the last few days have given me a clearer view of things as they stand."
Slowly, he turned to face her again, but with utter disappointment. "So, where do things stand?"
Sue grimaced in embarrassment. "I think... I like you, but I don't know if I love you the way you love me."
Hound seemed to have mixed feelings about this. "What about that night...?" he asked, hinting at the night when he confessed to her.
She looked at her feet, twiddling her fingers in discomfort. "After I was attacked, I was afraid of men for a long time. It was such a paralysing fear that my only defence became seeking it out instead so I sought to be dirty, rather than be dirtied by someone else's doing. The closest I could get to a man otherwise was to mon pére, but because he was three years older than me and not very intimidating.
"You, though-you treated me so kindly. I was the most precious thing in your world, something you even demonstrated to our daughter when she feared you just as much as any other man. You swept both of us off our feet, but that's not love. That's just realizing that there are exceptions to the rule, or that it's the rule itself that's wrong."
"...so where does that leave us?"
It was hard looking into his eyes, but she made herself do it, though the very act was like watching a tragedy unfold. "I don't want to hurt you ever again," she whispered.
A hint of a smile appeared on his sullen face. "Then there will be no more secrets between us, okay?"
She nodded. "No more..."
A wave of relief seemed to wash over them. Hound kissed her gently on the lips, stroking her hair in a romantic gesture. It filled Sue with embarrassment to carry on in such a fashion, especially right outside her once-father's office.
Speaking of, their daughter stood just outside the door, watching them with intense curiosity. It would be interesting to explain the scene to her, no doubt.
"Hey, princess," Hound said, walking over to pick her up. "Are you ready to go?" It was such an adorable sight, she had to admit, that she might have treasured it always. While he was distracted, she wandered over to the railing overlooking the central courtyard, marvelling at the sight.
Everything would be okay, right? Sure, it would hurt a lot at first, but Hound would be free to live as he wanted, free of her misery. No, she wasn't hurting him, really-she was setting him free, and this way no one would abandon her ever again.
With a twitch of her tail, she hefted herself onto the thin railing, staring into the open courtyard below. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and plummeted.
Morning couldn't come soon enough. What time Sue hadn't spent studying with Hound was inexplicable torture. She couldn't put her finger on what was making her so antsy exactly. She no longer felt as pressed for time as when she thought they wouldn't have a pence to their names, and they had the Earl's entire court walking them through the crossing test. The people were friendly enough, and they even managed to get the girl to open up a little to strangers, even if she was still wary. Sue even stopped having that nightmare, despite Hound's insistence that it was better for her to have her own room alone with the girl rather than set a bad example.
It was too much waiting, that must be it. Too much building up to what boiled down to walking across a short land bridge, and that only after a three-day ride by carriage. It felt as though so much of her life not spent in fear and loathing was spent... waiting.
But that day was the first day of the rest of their lives! They would set out at first light and head to the testing center in Gardiner, and from there-good luck providing-they would head to the border with shiny new passports in hand. She couldn't sleep for all she would open her eyes hoping to see sunlight streaming through the window, and she couldn't make herself sleep, knowing that she could simply sleep in the carriage. In fact, that would make her rest easier, being on the road rather than planted in one spot three days from her destination. So it was with great delight that she finally opened her eyes to the first glimmer of morning and sprung from her bed with the energy of a young girl on her birthday.
Even the pest didn't seem nearly as much of one. "Wake up," she sang, rousing her with a gentle touch. The girl yawned at having been woken so early, but she could also sleep in the carriage, if needed.
Sue dressed them both with an unprecedented energy, threw their remaining possessions in her bag, and rushed over to Hound's room, banging on the door with impatience.
"...ngh, comin'," he mumbled from deep within the room. After a tense moment, a groggy Hound threw open the door. "What?"
"It's time to go!" she cried, frustrated that he wasn't ready. "Get some clothes on and pack your things!"
"...didn't realize you were looking forward to three days in a carriage," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Hurry up!"
Shaking his head, Hound closed the door again. Well, it wouldn't hurt to get some breakfast, she supposed. Sue took the girl to the kitchen, taking some leftover biscuits from last night's supper. When they returned, Hound was sleepy but ready to travel.
Despite the Earl's hospitality, Sue was too impatient to wait for everyone else to wake up to make their goodbyes. Luckily, the carriage was waiting for them at the gate as promised, and they were on their way. Everything from that point on was a blur-she and Hound passed the test with flying colours, and they all posed for their shiny new passports.
"This 'photography' is a bizarre magic," Hound mused, examining the perfect likeness of his own face.
"I told you," she scolded, although with a lighthearted tone, "this 'magic' is called science, and it's perfectly understandable once you learn the basics." Though it was true, it felt strange to say it herself, considering Sue had only made it to sixth grade science before her mother brought her to the backwards nation. It was also mildly upsetting that her picture made her look so awful, but it was trifling in light of her dreams coming true.
As they returned to the carriage for the second leg of their trip, after Sue lifted the girl inside, Hound fell forward with a stagger. In the same instant, he reached behind him, grabbing and twisting the arm of his assailant, a young redheaded woman.
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted at her.
She screeched when she saw his face. "You!"
Baffled, Sue took a moment to register what had just happened. "Jen!" she cried, staring at the woman.
Flabbergasted, Hound looked at both of them in turn. "Did I miss something here?"
"I killed you!" Jen screamed.
"Who are you?" Hound shouted. "Why did you attack me?"
"I killed you over a year ago!"
"Did you push me off a cliff?"
Jen stared at him in disbelief. "...no."
"Did you hit me over the head?"
"No! I stabbed you!"
Hound looked puzzled. He examined the blade he pulled from his pack. "This is the same size as the scar on my back," he mused, growling. "You did a poor job of killing me."
She hissed in anger, struggling to break free of his hold.
"Why did you try to kill him?" Sue yelled, grabbing Jen's other arm.
"I have to kill all the dogs!"
The slur triggered a reaction in Hound. She didn't know if she could ever see a person so angry.
"Why are you doing this," he snarled in a low voice. "We've never done anything to you, have we?"
"He told me to kill all the dogs," Jen snapped. "No more dogs!"
"Why?"
"This is a big waste of time, Hound," Sue spat in contempt. "Jen doesn't understand 'why'."
"You called yourself Jen before," he noted. "Do you know her?"
"We're half-sisters."
Jen looked at Sue with a startled expression. "Sister?"
"My mother cheated on my father, and he kicked her out. She brought me here, but then she met some other chump and got knocked up from him. Jen here is the product of that. I ran away some time after she was born-I have no family loyalty to her."
Hound seemed at odds with her feelings, but at least Jen felt the same way as Sue. "I don't have a sister," she protested.
"But she just said-"
"That's why my mother didn't like her very much," Sue interrupted. "She has some kind of stupid or something."
"Don't call her stupid."
"But she is. Look-"
Sue took six coins from her purse. She put two in Hound's hand, and two in each of her hands. "Jen, the number of coins I have in each of my hands is the same. I have two coins in each hand."
"...okay," Jen said.
Sue closed one hand. "The number of coins I have in my open hand is the same number of coins as the number in his hand. We each have two coins in our hands."
"...okay."
Sue closed that hand. "Is the number of coins in this hand-" here, she raised her first hand, "-the same number as the number of coins in his hand?"
Jen stared at her. "I don't see how to tell."
"See?"
While Hound stared at Sue in utter bewilderment, Jen took the two coins from his open hand. Seeing this, Sue angrily tucked her money back in her purse.
"She doesn't belong out in the world by herself! She needs to be put in a hospice or someplace where they'll look after her to keep her out of trouble."
Hound looked baffled. "Are you proposing to pay for this?"
It frustrated Sue to see how many things had gone wrong with her plans from the outset. Finding Jen was the worst thing that could have happened, as letting her go meant letting loose an amoral terror into the world. Well, back into the world, but still someone who couldn't tell right from wrong. It didn't bode well for their excursion to have so many things foul up at the last moment.
"No, I have it," she shouted, having an epiphany. "Jen, you said 'he' told you to kill... canines. Who is 'he'?"
Jen struggled to get her arm loose. "Let me go!"
"Who told you to kill me?" Hound growled, catching on.
"Gaim!"
Though he didn't, at first glance it looked as though Hound was going to let go of her arm from the shock. "He's the one who killed my family," he muttered under his breath.
"Let go of me, you damn dog!"
"This Gaim," he snarled, "is he a large black cat?"
Jen hesitated at the words. "...yes."
"Why are you working with a cold-blooded killer?"
"I told you, it's no use asking why!" Sue gritted her teeth in anger, frustrated by the situation.
"Do you know where Gaim is now?"
If she did know, it was clear Jen at least had the brains not to tell him that.
"So, what are you going to do, Hound?" Sue asked, pouting, too mindful of the opportunity this presented. "Are you going to chase your killer to the ends of the world now that you've found his trail again, leaving us here in the cold?"
He seemed torn between the two. Of course, if he found this Gaim and somehow managed to do away with him without getting killed himself, that would of course free him to attend to Sue's every need. However, it could take him the rest of his life to carry out the task, and Sue had limited time to finish hers.
"I can do both," he answered.
He took Jen's knife from her and cut off a lock of her hair, tucking the hair into his purse. Then he returned the knife to her.
Sue stared at him in disbelief. "You're letting her go, just like that, and giving back the weapon she used to try to kill you?"
"It's hers. I don't want to take it from her."
"It may bloody well not be hers, did you think of that?"
"It's more hers than mine."
The three stood in awkward silence, until Jen apparently decided she wanted to do something else and ran off. "Fine, whatever," Sue hissed. "We have somewhere to be, anyway. Are you coming, then?"
Hound stared after Jen for a moment, then hoisted himself into the driver's seat, taking the reins. "Ready."
Smiling, Sue walked around to the carriage and stepped inside-
"Wait."
She just wanted to scream, as difficult as the trip was becoming. "What is it now?" she shouted, stepping back outside.
"If she was hunting nobles-" Hound mused, shaking his head in disapproval. "We have to return."
Sue looked despondent. "Return where?" They were so close!
"To the Earl's. If she goes there while we we're gone-"
"She's one stupid girl against a castle full of guards!" she cried. "How the Hell is she going to kill every one of them?"
"By killing just the 'dogs,' as she said. The Earl and half his court may be in trouble!"
"From the girl who failed to kill you twice now?" Sue shouted. "You said it yourself, she did a bad job of it!"
He looked unconvinced. "I don't like it."
"Neither do I," she lied. As far as she was really concerned, it was somebody else's problem. "We should be on our way, though."
He glanced one last time in Jen's direction, shaking his head. It was irritating, but at the same time Sue couldn't feel entirely bad that he had his own ideas about things once in a while. "Let's go."
Yet they made good time, even after making a rest stop in Saxton. By the time they reached the land bridge, Sue had pushed all of the bad parts of the last weeks to the back of her mind and felt like her heart was soaring, just seeing the tip of her homeland on the horizon.
"Stop here," Sue called as they reached the border. "We're going to walk the rest of the way."
Hound did so, but he wasn't sure why. "I thought we would take the carriage across."
"It will require searching the carriage if we do that," she explained. "The Earl informed me that security has gotten a lot tighter since I was last there, due to terrorist activity."
"Terrorist?"
Sue sighed, scratching her head. "I didn't realize how many words you wouldn't know. Well, it means they've had problems with certain foreigners coming in and causing all kinds of trouble-being terrors toward the people-so they have to be careful who they let cross. Anyway, there are better methods of travel available on The Other Side, and if we leave the carriage here, then one of the guards can have someone take it back to the Earl."
Hound disembarked with a graceful thump. "Fine."
They approached the border, walking side by side as they reached the fortress. "Present your passports," the guard ordered.
Sue took out her passport along with the girl's and handed them to the guard. Hound presented his.
"These seem to be in order," the guard said, making a note of it on his clipboard and returning their passports. "Welcome to Square One. Remember to keep your passports safe. They are your identification, and without them, you may have to be returned to Thadliste Serif. Will you be needing transportation?"
"Yes, please," said Sue.
"Follow this road." He pointed to the hills in the distance. "There is a brand new commercial complex at the end, with some restaurants, clothiers, and car rental services. There is also regular bus service as well as metro access, with the schedules posted in the central station."
"Thank you."
"Enjoy your stay."
Following Sue's lead, they hurried over to the complex. From her attitude since the trip began, Hound probably expected Sue to rush them straight to the metro, which she said would be the fastest way to travel, but once they reached the complex, she was in Heaven, possessed by the familiar sights and sounds of her childhood.
"Sue?"
"Hmm?" She was drawn to the clothing stores, eager to try on a new outfit. Even the lowest-grade shirt was so much softer than the crude fabric of Thadliste Serif. She picked up a tourist-oriented shirt and held it to her body, pleased just to be able to do it.
"I thought we were in a hurry. You said it might be too late...?"
Things were so much different now they were beyond the biggest hurdle, though. Of course Hound wouldn't understand how she felt. "I'm home again, Hound. I don't know if you'd know what that's like, but..." For the first time in a long time, she smiled with her entire being. "Everything feels right now."
Despite this, Hound looked disappointed. "Does that mean you were just in a hurry to get here?"
She wondered if he was usually a killjoy like this. "You're right," she admitted, replacing the shirt. "I did say it may be too late, but if we're too late, it's going to be by months or years, not hours. Plus, the Earl gave us a gift of time. Not a lot of time, because neither of us have a way to earn money right now, but more time than we would have had after paying those expensive passport fees. Now, we have a bit more leeway as far as expenses go."
Nevertheless, his disappointment didn't seem to abate. It was a little like being with a younger, scarred J.W., annoyed with her splurges.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she pouted. "You don't know what it's like to be afraid of losing a chance like this!"
He shook his head. "It's just that now it seems like you've been acting so selfish the entire time."
A tantalizing scent wafted through the wide corridors, distracting Sue from their row. Her toes curled in delight to smell the delicious odor. "Want to get a pizza?" she asked, licking her lips.
"What's that?"
"Oh, it's a real treat, after wild game. Come on, we'll have lunch." She led them to the food court, where the chef was tossing a fresh pie. "One large sausage," she told the clerk.
"Coming right up." The clerk changed her seven rio for six pence, handing her the receipt. "Order number 42."
Sue was so excited to be eating real food again that she even held up the girl to let her see how they made it. On the other hand, Hound seemed less enthusiastic about the wait. "It doesn't smell much different from food I've had," he commented as the chef finished their order.
She recalled he was sniffling quite a bit the past few days. "Do you have a cold? Can you really smell anything?"
"Oh, you noticed." He wiped his nose, looking embarrassed. She supposed it must have been a point of pride for canines to have superior scenting abilities.
"Well," she said, picking up the tray with their food, "why don't you try some and be the judge of it?"
They took a seat in the food court and, on Sue's lead, tucked into the pizza. Sue was so delighted that she nearly choked in her gluttony. Hound took a cautious bite, then smiled. "This is good!"
"See?"
"I admit it's rather overwhelming," he continued, taking in the view. "Perhaps it would be better not to rush things after all, to give me a chance to become acquainted with your country."
"That reminds me." Sue swallowed with some difficulty, thinking she needed to remind herself to breathe. "We're all going to need some new clothes while we're here. Thadliste Serif clothes are okay for walking about, but if we're going to see my father, we need to look presentable."
Hound seemed puzzled. "I have a dress uniform from-"
"No, that won't work," she interrupted. "It'll have to be a good suit and tie, even though I never learned to tie one, but maybe we can find a clip-on. Wait, you can just learn from one of the staff, it's not hard, is it? Anyway, we'll have to go to Herndon for a good clothier, but luckily that's also where my father will be."
Sue was met with the sight of a still-baffled Hound and a three-year-old girl happily burying her face in what was left of the pizza.
"Look, I'll go to the station really fast and get a map. You can stay here and finish eating, unless you're done already."
Hound seemed to be trying to figure out what answer was the right one. Shaking her head, Sue headed toward the main station and picked up a pamphlet showing the entire railway system. Excellent! The grey line ran all the way to Herndon, nonstop.
Things were bound to have moved around since she'd last lived in the country, however. She bought a map of Square One from the ticket counter, checking the layout. Tesoro moved to the Starset Plaza? That meant the business had been really successful, if they could afford to set up shop in the most expensive part of town!
That meant they really needed that makeover.
"Come on, come on," she snapped, rushing back to the food court. She wiped the pest's face with a napkin and lifted her up, shuffling them to the metro grey line.
"How does this work, exactly?" Hound asked.
"Well, first we buy tickets." Sue walked up to the nearest kiosk and pushed buttons for Herndon. "This machine knows we're in... 'Square One Crossing Complex,' so all we need to do is push the button for our destination, Herndon. It tells me how much the tickets cost, then I put the money in this slot on the side." She inserted five rio, and the kiosk spit out two tickets. "The prices are different for each stop, but we have to use the tickets at the gates where we enter and exit. If we get off at a different stop from the one I selected on the kiosk, the exit gates won't let us leave unless we pay the difference in price."
"What if we lose our tickets before we get to the exit?"
"...don't."
"What about her?"
"Children under six are free, she doesn't need a ticket."
To show him how it worked, Sue walked to the gate and inserted her ticket, carrying the girl through with her and taking the ticket as it emerged at the other side. Hound looked perplexed by the mechanics, but he followed suit, watching his ticket as it whipped through the unseen crevices in the gate.
"Now, see these ditches?" she asked, pointing to the tracks. He started to walk toward them, but she grabbed his arm. "Stay behind the line, it's dangerous! See, it says 'mind the gap' on the ground."
Hound looked at her in embarrassment. "I don't remember how to read," he admitted.
"What?" Sue slapped her head in astonishment. "If you had told me earlier, I could have been teaching you all this time! Well, the ride is at least an hour, let me get some paper, then."
"I still don't understand. What are we riding?"
A rumbling filled the area, and she pointed to the tracks. "Watch."
To Hound's astonishment, a bullet train zoomed along the far track, going faster than a mount at top speed. It gradually came to a stop, and they could see people moving about through its windows.
"We're going to get on the one that comes to this ditch," she said, looking around for another kiosk. With luck, one would sell some kind of writing utensil.
"How can anything move with such speed?" he asked, astounded by the notion of something moving on the ground that fast.
A-ha! Here was a kiosk with a small stationery kit. "I told you, it's science." She put in ten pence for the stationery. "You know how wheels on a carriage work?"
"Yes."
"Well, some scientists-magicians of science-figured out how to put together lots of smaller wheels in order to make things go faster. In addition, they learned how to make 'engines' to turn the wheels faster without needing animals to propel them. Put that all together, and one of the things you can make is a train!"
"One of...?" Hound looked at the train now leaving the station. "What other marvels can science make?"
It was indescribable just how amusing it was telling him about her world. "Almost everything you see here is made by science in some way!"
He took in the scene like a child in a candy store. "There's so much to learn..."
"Don't worry about it too much, Hound," she teased. "It's not going to be on the test."
"Which test?"
She sighed. "Nevermind."
Another rumbling, and the next train roared into view. Hound had learned to expect it after the first, but the girl was still jittery at the sight.
"Here's our ride!" Sue declared. "Wait for the people inside to get off, then we'll go in."
It was interesting seeing the look on their faces once they entered the nearest car. A few moments after they sat down, the train closed its doors and burst from the station. Hound in particular looked frightened by the speed at which a large chunk of metal could move. In a strange way, it was kind of endearing. Once he got used to the starting and stopping, however, she made a slipshod effort to teach him the alphabet. Luckily, he was a quick study and had mastered it before they were halfway there.
At the first stop in Herndon, Sue ushered them out the gate and into the nearest haberdashery, where she thrust Hound into the hands of the first available associate. "Do your best," she instructed, just before wandering over to the women's section.
Though they had just left the snowy Thadliste Serif, in Square One it was a more moderate temperature for early winter, so Sue felt entitled to trying out a light business suit, jacket, and a tasteful handbag. It felt so good to be wearing proper clothes again that she bought the first outfit she tried on, throwing away all her Thadliste Serif garb before she returned to check on Hound.
"Are you sure about this?"
Grimacing, he looked like he felt as awkward in a three-piece suit and tie as he would in a ballgown and tiara. However, Sue had to admit she was impressed, all things considered. She pondered splurging on haircuts and a full makeover for each of them, but it would have taken even more time and money she was already wasting in her excitement. It was better to stop while they were ahead.
Instead, Sue showed her approval by kissing Hound firmly on the lips. What concerns he might have had about the suit vanished into his vapid smile. "It's good," he mumbled, grinning.
"That's what I want to hear," she sang, beaming as she paid for his outfit as well.
"What about her?"
Sue looked at the girl. Though she had been slowly warming to the pest during the trip, she still felt it was like a chore getting clothes for her. "No need," she muttered, glancing around the square. Truth be told, the girl was already dressed better than the handful of other toddlers she could see... it was kind of sad, really.
From there, Tesoro was five streets away, not a difficult walk at all, compared to the rest of their journey. Sue found herself marvelling at how tall the buildings had gotten in her absence. The shortest one she could see was at least seven stories tall!
They entered the Tesoro building, looking for all the world like a bizarre trio of extras for a forgotten, failed sitcom. It couldn't be helped, to be honest-even with their windfall, they were on limited time and limited resources. It was best just to get the worst of it over with.
"May I help you?" the receptionist asked, giving Hound, especially, the evil eye.
"We are here to see President Aside," Sue stated with as much authority as she could muster.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"I'm his daughter, Sue," she declared, handing the receptionist her passport. "We've just come from Thadliste Serif, so I've been unable to contact him to arrange an appointment."
Unfortunately, the gossip must have been more widespread than she first realized, if even twenty odd years later lowly receptionists gave her the look that she gave Sue. "He's in a meeting," the woman snapped. "I'll leave him a message, but I can't promise that he'll see you once the meeting's out."
"We'll wait."
"Are you sure?"
Sue frowned, struggling to retain her composure. "I've waited over twenty years to see him again. I can wait a few hours."
The receptionist seemed taken aback. "Please have a seat, then," she conceded, with a tone that suggested she thought it a futile effort.
"Thank you." As she turned to sit down, Sue rolled her eyes in exasperation at the ordeal. At least it would be over soon.
Unfortunately, Hound planted yet another seed of doubt. "Are the people normally this mean here?" he whispered.
His assessment was a bit unsettling, because it didn't bode well for their meeting if he was getting bad vibes from his objective viewpoint. "I don't know," she replied. "I don't remember them being this way when I was a girl."
"What are we going to do?"
"What else can we do? Wait and hope."
Time passed like water torture, only serving to double her fears about the impending encounter. Well, it was too late to have reservations now. They had come so far-
There was a ring at the receptionist's desk. She looked down, raised an eyebrow, then looked at Sue. "He'll see you."
"Great!" she shouted, jumping up from her seat in her excitement. "Where's his office?"
"Top floor, the very end of the hall. The lift is around the corner to my right."
"Thank you."
It was hard to contain her anticipation and simultaneously fight her overwhelming fears. She almost wanted to freeze this moment in time forever, because it was the height of her power over the situation: with enough positive support behind her to suggest everything that would turn out as planned but before any possible negative outcome could occur.
Yet time wouldn't stop for anyone, much less her, and what was the worst that could occur? He would welcome them into his life and maybe say, no, she wasn't ready yet, but given time the company could have a new president, and everything would be tough for a while but work out okay in the end. There was nothing to fear but fear itself.
Thus, the three vagrants bravely marched on, entering the lift with astonished stares from both the girl and Hound, and walking with as much confidence as they could muster into the office of the man who held their future in the balance.
"Sue!"
With trepidation, they met the noble gaze of the president of the Tesoro company, looking for all the world like the perfect figurehead of wisdom and responsibility. It was a marvelous sight.
"Daddy," she whispered, tears of joy forming in her eyes. It was astonishing seeing her father again after all this time. She could barely recognize him, as old as he'd gotten.
As mean as he'd gotten.
"What brings you here?" he snapped. "I have a business to run."
Sue looked confused. "...what?"
"You picked a very bad time to come back into my life. This had better be very important to disrupt negotiations like this!"
"Daddy," she pleaded, her voice trembling with mixed emotions. It wasn't how she envisioned the encounter at all. "It's been over twenty years. I waited so long to see you... and you want to push me away?"
Reg scowled at her in disapproval. "This is no place for a family reunion. I have an important deal going down, and any hint of scandal could ruin everything!"
"Scandal?" Sue shook her head in confusion. "What scandal? I'm your daughter!"
"The daughter of my cheating ex-wife! Did she send you to try to tarnish my reputation again?"
"No!" It was unbelievable hearing these words from his mouth, from the gentle, caring man who had raised her for ten years of her life. "I ran away from Mum long ago! I haven't seen her since!"
"Then why did you come here? If you've managed to live without my presence for over twenty years, why come back now?"
How could the man be so suspicious of her? "I wanted to see you again, that's why! I haven't seen you in so long, and I missed you!"
"Is that all?" He crossed his arms, but he lowered his voice only somewhat. "So, you've just come from Thadliste Serif, and you've already gotten jobs and a home lined up? You've just dropped in to say hello and that's it, then you'll go happily on your way?"
So he did see through her, after all. "Well, no..."
"I knew it!" Reg scolded. "Look, daughter or no, I'm not giving you money out of my own pocket that you haven't earned. I've worked hard to get where I am, and you should do the same."
"But... you're supposed to help me!" she begged. "You're-"
Reg slammed on the table. "Legally, my obligations to you ended when you came of age and I could cease child-support payments, and don't try to tell me otherwise! Do you know what a laughingstock it would be for you to bring a case against me, just because I won't give nepotistic handouts based on 'It isn't fair that your mother got custody and took you to another country'? You won't see a pence from me, and you'll bring down the company at the same time with even a hint of scandal!"
"Scandal!" she shrieked. "All this fuss about 'scandal'! What is so wrong about my very existence that exudes scandal?"
Reg crossed his arms, looking as stern as an elderly business executive could possibly look. "The industry has fallen on hard times in recent years. Tesoro maintains a strong front in Square One, but other countries have had a declining interest in our products. The acquisitions in negotiation have a good chance of boosting sales, but if Skyhall Office gets any ideas that the company isn't going to do well, they'll pull out at the first chance they get. It's a dog-eat-" Here he caught himself as he recalled Hound's presence. "Well, pardon the saying, but it's not the fun and games you must have expected it would be. It's been hard work trying to keep the company going strong enough for me to retire."
"Who's going to run the company when you're gone, Daddy? I'm your daughter! These people are your granddaughter and son-in-law!"
The shock hit Hound with the same force it hit Reg, but the latter was quicker on the draw. "What? You... you married this scarface kid and pumped out a rugrat, and you think that qualifies you to run the company in my place?"
"Daddy!" Sue's face was streaming with tears by this point. "Ever since I was little, I dreamed of following in your footsteps! I wanted to work hard in school and learn what it took to be as good as you were, because you were my father and everyone respected you and I wanted to make you proud! Why don't you think I could run the company?"
"Because you've been gone for over twenty years! Do you even know what the company does now? We design and develop video games for the arcade market. I bet you don't even know what a video game is!"
"I can learn! I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Why bother? I have a son that already knows what it takes!"
That shock hit Sue in the gut, knocking down her plans in one fell swoop. "A... son?" she whimpered. "I have a brother?"
"Half-brother," he snorted. "Herb is double-majoring in Accounting and Business Law at Starset Technology Foundation Uni in Wallace, set to graduate in spring and take my place upon my retirement. Furthermore, he's already one of Square One's top players and knows everything there is to know about the games we develop. Herb is everything I need to continue Tesoro's legacy. You can offer me nothing."
It was horrifying having her father-the one man she idolized all her life-tearing her down so quickly, and before her husband and child, no less. Had she really been so blind to having a monster for a father?
"What about... family?"
"Family, bah! Your mother threw that out the window when she ran off with that germ-phobic Basil, for whatever she saw in him. It was a laugh when I heard she'd gone to Thadliste Serif, because I knew he wouldn't go there, so it's clear she went there and took you for some other nefarious purpose, and I'll have no part of it. If the company goes under over being associated with her schemes, I'll never be able to show my face in public again. No, as far as I'm concerned, Herb and his mother are the only family I have."
Sue was near breakdown. "You won't even... lend us money?"
"With what money? If I gave you money from the company, the shareholders would have my head on a stake in no time. My own finances have been arranged such that I plan to die broke, and I have no intention of putting off my retirement on your account. Even if I were generous enough to leave equal portions of my estate to you and Herb, it might be enough to get you a down payment on a house somewhere in... I don't know, one of those low cost-of-living suburbs, and then probably only if you bought one at current market value. You would still have to get jobs based entirely on your own merits, not based on who your relatives are.
"Of course, given that you grew up in Thadliste Serif, it means that even if you got a G.E.D., you would still be just about qualified enough to flip burgers or work retail-unless you somehow managed to get specialty training in the Outer Kingdom. If you didn't, I guess you could go to one of those technical institutes and get a two-year degree if you could afford the 15,000R tuition each year, plus room and board.
"I've already paid to put one child through college, my dear, and you should have long been able to support yourself without my assistance. Even with Herb, paying for his education was a gift, not a requirement, and for you to believe otherwise is selfish on your part. You would be better served getting a loan from the bank, or from somewhere besides me!"
"Fine," she snapped. "I know when I'm beaten. You won't have to worry about us anymore." It took all her effort not to explode on the spot as she burst from the room, falling to her knees some distance outside the office and crying into her hands.
The door burst open again a moment later, and Hound lifted her to her feet. "Why?" Hound shouted. "I would have understood! Why did you think you had to hide it from me?"
It was painful hearing him whine, cutting even deeper into her own shame over the failure of their journey. "I tried to tell you-"
"When? We spent how many days together? How many nights did we sit in silence, because you just wanted to think?"
"Stop," she whispered, choking back tears. Her voice was a high-pitched squeak by that point. "I was wrong. I was selfish and just wanted to use you as emotional blackmail. You don't have to yell."
"As what?"
"Just-" Sue took his hands in hers and gave him the most pitiful look she could manage. "I thought I might have a hard time showing my father I was valuable in his eyes, and until a few days ago, I didn't feel anything about you and our daughter, so it wouldn't have been a big deal to me to send you back with her if my plans worked."
Hound shook his head at her in disgust. "You were just going to abandon us, like how you said everyone abandoned you?"
"Until a few days ago... yes."
His glare was cutting, but rather than yell, he crossed his arms and turned his back to her. The silence was almost worse.
"Do you realize what it took," she asked, "being in my profession?"
He didn't respond right away, but when he did, it was cold, yet calm. "How do you mean."
She reached out to touch his shoulder, then thought better of it, retreating. "I had believed myself to be sterile, after I was... attacked as a young girl, yet I didn't bear children. It was scary, but it was also liberating. In fact, J.W. took me in and valued me especially because I couldn't bear children. Yet one day, you come along, and that one lousy night threw a wrench in my plans-"
"A what in your plans?"
"...nevermind. The point is, why you? Why of the thousands of men I've had, you-the miserable pup crying for his lost family-knocks me up with that little pest that had been nothing but a pain in my side since she arrived. It took a lot of effort to hide my pregnancy from J.W.-I had to basically run away for a year and claim the father thrust her into my arms and left me with her. That's actually not far from the truth, because that's what you did, even if you didn't thrust into my arms-"
"I didn't know," he snapped. "I mean, you said I believed you were carrying my child at the time, so perhaps I knew and you didn't. Yet you pushed me away, so what could I do?"
"You're right," she agreed. "It's not about you. It's about fate, and somehow this means I'm paying for the bad things I've done in my life. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I was so eager to blame you that I would have killed you on sight when I saw you again. Yet that wouldn't have served either of us, and the last few days have given me a clearer view of things as they stand."
Slowly, he turned to face her again, but with utter disappointment. "So, where do things stand?"
Sue grimaced in embarrassment. "I think... I like you, but I don't know if I love you the way you love me."
Hound seemed to have mixed feelings about this. "What about that night...?" he asked, hinting at the night when he confessed to her.
She looked at her feet, twiddling her fingers in discomfort. "After I was attacked, I was afraid of men for a long time. It was such a paralysing fear that my only defence became seeking it out instead so I sought to be dirty, rather than be dirtied by someone else's doing. The closest I could get to a man otherwise was to mon pére, but because he was three years older than me and not very intimidating.
"You, though-you treated me so kindly. I was the most precious thing in your world, something you even demonstrated to our daughter when she feared you just as much as any other man. You swept both of us off our feet, but that's not love. That's just realizing that there are exceptions to the rule, or that it's the rule itself that's wrong."
"...so where does that leave us?"
It was hard looking into his eyes, but she made herself do it, though the very act was like watching a tragedy unfold. "I don't want to hurt you ever again," she whispered.
A hint of a smile appeared on his sullen face. "Then there will be no more secrets between us, okay?"
She nodded. "No more..."
A wave of relief seemed to wash over them. Hound kissed her gently on the lips, stroking her hair in a romantic gesture. It filled Sue with embarrassment to carry on in such a fashion, especially right outside her once-father's office.
Speaking of, their daughter stood just outside the door, watching them with intense curiosity. It would be interesting to explain the scene to her, no doubt.
"Hey, princess," Hound said, walking over to pick her up. "Are you ready to go?" It was such an adorable sight, she had to admit, that she might have treasured it always. While he was distracted, she wandered over to the railing overlooking the central courtyard, marvelling at the sight.
Everything would be okay, right? Sure, it would hurt a lot at first, but Hound would be free to live as he wanted, free of her misery. No, she wasn't hurting him, really-she was setting him free, and this way no one would abandon her ever again.
With a twitch of her tail, she hefted herself onto the thin railing, staring into the open courtyard below. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and plummeted.