Dark Birds
Title: Dark Birds
Main Story: Cryptomancy
Flavors: Pumpkin Pie #7: special effects
Word Count: 1444
Rating: PG-13 (some fairly disturbing imagery)
Summary: Bug and Chaill are summoned to have an audience with Lady Bloodrose. Crazy stuff happens.
Notes: Longer than I like to do them but I think the payoff is worth it. Writing this kind of disturbed the bajeezus out of me.
For three days, I thought we had gotten away with it.
I suppose that it did strike me as odd that Lady Bloodrose never commented on Thorne’s absence, but I thought that if by some miracle she hadn’t noticed then it would be the worst sort of stupidity to point it out to her. So I kept silent. So did Bug. We didn’t even dare to speak about it when we were alone, as though if we kept it quiet that it might make it all less true. Not that I wanted to take back what we had done, but I suppose that I wished to undo the fact that Thorne had come to Merry-Chase at all in the first place.
On the third day, Lady Bloodrose summoned Bug and I to her throne room early, before the sun had even fully risen. We met in the corridor on our way, and Bug said, “It is time.”
I had no idea how to respond, so I didn’t. We walked in step the whole way, not talking, until we arrived at the throne room. Rust was there, and he stepped aside without a word. There was something in his posture that filled me with apprehension, but I couldn’t say precisely what. I could tell he was nervous, though. I smelled his sweat mingling with the copper of his armor. I could almost hear him telling me he was sorry, though of course he had nothing to apologize for. By then, I think I had already figured it out. I just didn’t say anything, because sometimes speaking a thing aloud makes it so, and I wanted so desperately for the truth of what we had done to disappear.
“Come in, children.” The Lady’s voice was deceptively musical. I hated the sound of it. I reached out and took Bug’s hand, and wished desperately that she had eyes that I could look into. There was something I needed to find in them, but I never could. It didn’t make it any easier.
As we entered the room, it struck me that it was unusually drafty, and I looked around to see that each of the windows had been thrown open. The scarlet draperies twisted slowly in the wind, and the Lady seemed almost small on her throne, wrapped in grey furs. She was smiling, but there was nothing welcoming in it; her smile was menacing, full of malice. “Come in,” she said again. Together, Bug and I took a breath, and took another step toward her.
“My little treasures,” she said. “Come closer, let me see your faces. Your sweet, young faces. How many years has it been, Bug?”
Beside me, Bug swallowed, still holding my hand. “Seven years, ma’am,” she replied. “I think. Longer, perhaps.”
“Seven years!” Her eyes shot up in an exaggerated mockery of surprise. “That is quite a long time. Seven years we have been together, and I have treasured them all. Have you treasured our time together, Bug?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied without hesitation.
The Lady smiled, her face like a floating white mask in a sea of grey fur. She leaned forward, and her eyes sparkled. “Then why,” she asked, “do you repay me with betrayal the moment this boy comes to stay with us?”
Bug let go my hand then, and dropped to her knees. She pressed her face to the floor, genuflecting so dramatically I thought she would push herself straight through the tiles. “It was my fault!” she cried. My own mouth popped open. What was she saying? “I’m the one who set Thorne free,” she said. “Chaill told me not to, I’m so sorry!”
“What?” I shouted then. “That’s not true!”
Just like that, Lady Bloodrose’s crimson eyes were turned on me. “You will speak when you are spoken to, boy, and not a moment sooner,” she hissed, and whatever words I might have had died in my throat.
“Get up, Bug, I don’t believe you.”
Bug rose, her brow knotted beneath her mask. Her arms fell limply to her sides. She did not speak.
“I know you have a kind soul, Bug. You’re trying to protect your friend.” The Lady rose from her throne and closed the space between she and Bug quickly. She reached out her red painted fingernails, and I thought she was going to scratch Bug’s face, but her hand gentled and caressed her cheek instead. “You don’t have to tell me the truth. I already know. Show me your hands.”
Trembling, Bug raised her hands before her, soft, pink, unbroken. Lady Bloodrose reached out and took one of Bug’s little hands in both of hers. “See?” she said, holding it up as though Bug could look at it. “Perfect little hands,” she said, then dropped it. She turned to me. “Now, show me yours.”
I shook worse than Bug did, because the evidence was printed on my skin. I was, in a way, relieved. At least she would see the cut on my hand and know that I was guiltier than Bug. For some reason, I felt suddenly, fiercely protective of the little blind girl at my side. I showed her the cut right away, spreading my fingers to give her a better look.
“Well,” said Lady Bloodrose, as though the word itself were some sort of proclamation. “I must rest my case. Rust! Come here.”
I bowed my head. I had no intention of resisting. I waited for her word, for Rust to seize me by the arm.
“Take Bug to the dungeon,” she told Rust, and he took Bug’s elbow far more gently than I had seen any of the guards move.
“What?” I screamed.
“What did I tell you about speaking?” the Lady demanded, even as Rust began to escort Bug from the room, her head bowed. I remained torn, unable to wrench my eyes from either Bug or Lady Bloodrose, my head darting back and forth as though I were watching a tennis game. “Look at me!” she screamed, and by then Rust and Bug had gone, so it was much easier to obey her command.
I stood in stunned silence, my mouth opening and closing, but no words coming. “You two have become entirely too close, I think,” said the Lady, finally. She unfastened her fur robe, and shrugged, letting it fall to the floor. Beneath it, she was entirely naked, and I saw for the first time that the Lady Bloodrose’s belly was not from pregnancy. In the cavity where her belly should have been was a copper cage, inside of which fluttered three dark birds.
Without taking her eyes off me, she unfastened the small wire door and reached into her own abdomen, producing one of the birds. She snapped the cage shut behind it, and approached me as quickly as she had approached Bug moments before.
I was too terrified to move, and perhaps that is why she was able to catch hold of my face. She was unbelievably strong, and he red nails dug hard into my cheeks. I resisted a little, but in truth I was more afraid of what would happen if I did. Perhaps that is why I let her wrench my mouth open and shove the bird inside.
It did not go down easy. It squirmed and ruffled its feathers, its talons lacerated my throat, and its beak was the last thing to go in. It pecked at my face, until Lady Bloodrose shoved harder and the lump of feathers, claws, and beak finally disappeared down my throat. I dropped immediately to my knees when she released me, coughing, heaving, as though I could somehow get the thing out of me. Inside my stomach it was worse, twisting, pushing against my ribs, turning like a mad angel.
When I looked up, the Lady had replaced her furs, and was looking down on me coldly. “I can see I will have to watch you more closely,” she said. “I don’t want you corrupting Bug.”
“What…” I began, then lapsed into another coughing fit. The bird felt like it was fighting to get out, and I didn’t want it in me at all, but we were both denied our wish. “What are you going to do to her?” I finally got out.
“Bug is going to pay for your crime,” she replied.
“Why her?”
She stood a bit straighter, and wrapped her furs more tightly around her. “You have the White Lady’s name,” she replied. “You’re worth too much.”
And with that, she swept from the throne room, leaving me alone, still coughing on my knees on the tile floor.
Main Story: Cryptomancy
Flavors: Pumpkin Pie #7: special effects
Word Count: 1444
Rating: PG-13 (some fairly disturbing imagery)
Summary: Bug and Chaill are summoned to have an audience with Lady Bloodrose. Crazy stuff happens.
Notes: Longer than I like to do them but I think the payoff is worth it. Writing this kind of disturbed the bajeezus out of me.
For three days, I thought we had gotten away with it.
I suppose that it did strike me as odd that Lady Bloodrose never commented on Thorne’s absence, but I thought that if by some miracle she hadn’t noticed then it would be the worst sort of stupidity to point it out to her. So I kept silent. So did Bug. We didn’t even dare to speak about it when we were alone, as though if we kept it quiet that it might make it all less true. Not that I wanted to take back what we had done, but I suppose that I wished to undo the fact that Thorne had come to Merry-Chase at all in the first place.
On the third day, Lady Bloodrose summoned Bug and I to her throne room early, before the sun had even fully risen. We met in the corridor on our way, and Bug said, “It is time.”
I had no idea how to respond, so I didn’t. We walked in step the whole way, not talking, until we arrived at the throne room. Rust was there, and he stepped aside without a word. There was something in his posture that filled me with apprehension, but I couldn’t say precisely what. I could tell he was nervous, though. I smelled his sweat mingling with the copper of his armor. I could almost hear him telling me he was sorry, though of course he had nothing to apologize for. By then, I think I had already figured it out. I just didn’t say anything, because sometimes speaking a thing aloud makes it so, and I wanted so desperately for the truth of what we had done to disappear.
“Come in, children.” The Lady’s voice was deceptively musical. I hated the sound of it. I reached out and took Bug’s hand, and wished desperately that she had eyes that I could look into. There was something I needed to find in them, but I never could. It didn’t make it any easier.
As we entered the room, it struck me that it was unusually drafty, and I looked around to see that each of the windows had been thrown open. The scarlet draperies twisted slowly in the wind, and the Lady seemed almost small on her throne, wrapped in grey furs. She was smiling, but there was nothing welcoming in it; her smile was menacing, full of malice. “Come in,” she said again. Together, Bug and I took a breath, and took another step toward her.
“My little treasures,” she said. “Come closer, let me see your faces. Your sweet, young faces. How many years has it been, Bug?”
Beside me, Bug swallowed, still holding my hand. “Seven years, ma’am,” she replied. “I think. Longer, perhaps.”
“Seven years!” Her eyes shot up in an exaggerated mockery of surprise. “That is quite a long time. Seven years we have been together, and I have treasured them all. Have you treasured our time together, Bug?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied without hesitation.
The Lady smiled, her face like a floating white mask in a sea of grey fur. She leaned forward, and her eyes sparkled. “Then why,” she asked, “do you repay me with betrayal the moment this boy comes to stay with us?”
Bug let go my hand then, and dropped to her knees. She pressed her face to the floor, genuflecting so dramatically I thought she would push herself straight through the tiles. “It was my fault!” she cried. My own mouth popped open. What was she saying? “I’m the one who set Thorne free,” she said. “Chaill told me not to, I’m so sorry!”
“What?” I shouted then. “That’s not true!”
Just like that, Lady Bloodrose’s crimson eyes were turned on me. “You will speak when you are spoken to, boy, and not a moment sooner,” she hissed, and whatever words I might have had died in my throat.
“Get up, Bug, I don’t believe you.”
Bug rose, her brow knotted beneath her mask. Her arms fell limply to her sides. She did not speak.
“I know you have a kind soul, Bug. You’re trying to protect your friend.” The Lady rose from her throne and closed the space between she and Bug quickly. She reached out her red painted fingernails, and I thought she was going to scratch Bug’s face, but her hand gentled and caressed her cheek instead. “You don’t have to tell me the truth. I already know. Show me your hands.”
Trembling, Bug raised her hands before her, soft, pink, unbroken. Lady Bloodrose reached out and took one of Bug’s little hands in both of hers. “See?” she said, holding it up as though Bug could look at it. “Perfect little hands,” she said, then dropped it. She turned to me. “Now, show me yours.”
I shook worse than Bug did, because the evidence was printed on my skin. I was, in a way, relieved. At least she would see the cut on my hand and know that I was guiltier than Bug. For some reason, I felt suddenly, fiercely protective of the little blind girl at my side. I showed her the cut right away, spreading my fingers to give her a better look.
“Well,” said Lady Bloodrose, as though the word itself were some sort of proclamation. “I must rest my case. Rust! Come here.”
I bowed my head. I had no intention of resisting. I waited for her word, for Rust to seize me by the arm.
“Take Bug to the dungeon,” she told Rust, and he took Bug’s elbow far more gently than I had seen any of the guards move.
“What?” I screamed.
“What did I tell you about speaking?” the Lady demanded, even as Rust began to escort Bug from the room, her head bowed. I remained torn, unable to wrench my eyes from either Bug or Lady Bloodrose, my head darting back and forth as though I were watching a tennis game. “Look at me!” she screamed, and by then Rust and Bug had gone, so it was much easier to obey her command.
I stood in stunned silence, my mouth opening and closing, but no words coming. “You two have become entirely too close, I think,” said the Lady, finally. She unfastened her fur robe, and shrugged, letting it fall to the floor. Beneath it, she was entirely naked, and I saw for the first time that the Lady Bloodrose’s belly was not from pregnancy. In the cavity where her belly should have been was a copper cage, inside of which fluttered three dark birds.
Without taking her eyes off me, she unfastened the small wire door and reached into her own abdomen, producing one of the birds. She snapped the cage shut behind it, and approached me as quickly as she had approached Bug moments before.
I was too terrified to move, and perhaps that is why she was able to catch hold of my face. She was unbelievably strong, and he red nails dug hard into my cheeks. I resisted a little, but in truth I was more afraid of what would happen if I did. Perhaps that is why I let her wrench my mouth open and shove the bird inside.
It did not go down easy. It squirmed and ruffled its feathers, its talons lacerated my throat, and its beak was the last thing to go in. It pecked at my face, until Lady Bloodrose shoved harder and the lump of feathers, claws, and beak finally disappeared down my throat. I dropped immediately to my knees when she released me, coughing, heaving, as though I could somehow get the thing out of me. Inside my stomach it was worse, twisting, pushing against my ribs, turning like a mad angel.
When I looked up, the Lady had replaced her furs, and was looking down on me coldly. “I can see I will have to watch you more closely,” she said. “I don’t want you corrupting Bug.”
“What…” I began, then lapsed into another coughing fit. The bird felt like it was fighting to get out, and I didn’t want it in me at all, but we were both denied our wish. “What are you going to do to her?” I finally got out.
“Bug is going to pay for your crime,” she replied.
“Why her?”
She stood a bit straighter, and wrapped her furs more tightly around her. “You have the White Lady’s name,” she replied. “You’re worth too much.”
And with that, she swept from the throne room, leaving me alone, still coughing on my knees on the tile floor.