"Is your hair still falling out?"
"No, I think the vitamins have helped with that." Bliss didn't look up
from the folder she was reading. With Hannah's help she'd managed to finally get
the school's files back in order.
"Good." The file cabinet door was shut with a bump from Hannah's hip.
"Files are in order. The children are back in class. You aren't going bald,
which is very good as I think would distress your Mik greatly if you were to
lose all those fluffy blonde locks." She plunked down in the chair, pulling
her legs up under her.
It was a small chair but Hannah still managed to sit in it with her legs folded,
something Bliss couldn't do. She eyed the diminutive woman. "My hair is not
fluffy."
"Yup, fluffy and soft, just like the golden down of a chick." A
wickedly impish smile spread across Hannah's features. "And don't you
forget it."
It was worth letting her hair be described as soft and fluffy just to see the
smile on the other woman's face. She smiled so seldomly since her fiancé and
Bliss' friend, Nic had been taken prison by the Nukes. It was so hard on Hannah.
Bliss knew that if word came of Nic's death that she would be burying Hannah not
too long after. The woman known to some as Sprite would simply lose her will to
live and there wouldn't be a thing that Bliss could do to stop it. "When
did life get so complicated and difficult?"
"You mean it hasn't always be this way?"
Bliss hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud. "Mine hasn't. Least not to the
degree where I couldn't keep 'everything' under control." She gave a slight
shrug of her shoulders. There wasn't any doubt when things had gotten more
difficult to control or why. It could be summed up in a single world, Ghostt.
Control was much harder to come by since his attack. So much of her energy was
being expended simply to produce the facade that others needed to see that she
had very little left to actually maintain control.
The simple act of walking from the Firehouse to the school left her exhausted.
Not from the walk but from the mental energy she had to expend to keep herself
from running back into the firehouse and hiding under her bed. It wasn't like
that every day for her but it was happening much too often for her taste. Living
in a near constant state of terror was not 'normal', not for her anyway and she
knew it.
Bliss set her hip against the desk, setting the file down. She couldn't discuss
her feelings with Ric, he was in worse shape and needed her to support him, not
the other way around. Roan and Mik, they needed all their energy to care for Ric.
He was their priority now as he was hers. She'd just have to muddle through
until she things out on her own. Wasn't like she wasn't used to doing things
that way but it was harder this time. Ghostt had taken so many things away from
her and the worst of it was she kept second guessing herself. Kicking herself
over every little lapse in judgment. Beating herself up over the tiniest error.
Self loathing and fear were ruling over her existence and if she were to be
honest, Bliss didn't like it one damn bit. Dark eyes caught a flicker of
movement. Bliss glanced up from the floor in time to see something else she
didn't like, her Aunt. "Well, hello, Patience, finally found your way back
from Kermadikk I see." There wasn't any warmth in her voice as she greeted
her elder.
Patience didn't even spare a greeting. Eyes of 'Lovejoy blue' settled on Hannah.
"Leave. I wish to speak to my niece in private."
Hannah's head tilted to one side ever so slightly as she regarded the much older
woman. So this was Bliss' infamous Aunt Patience. She was not impressed.
"No. It's my office, you get the hell out."
It took everything Bliss had not to laugh at the surprised expression on
Patience face. It was a near thing but she kept her attentions focused on the
man that had entered behind her aunt. Thirtyish, a hair taller then she was,
average build, and pale brown hair. Blue eyes met her brown in an appraising
stare.
"Excuse me?" It took Patience a moment to cover her surprise. Who was
this impertinent little snip of a female to order her out of her own offices?
Hannah waved a hand in the air, shooing the older woman. "Of course you are
excused. Now run along, Miss Lovejoy and I have work to do." She wasn't
sure which was funnier, watching Bliss try to contain her laughter or seeing the
vein in her aunt's forehead start to bulge out and pulse in time to her heart
beat.
"Bliss!" Patience turned her ire on her niece. "I wish to speak
to you in private, make this...this, individual leave."
"No." A smirk turned up the corners of her mouth. "It's Hannah's
office too. I'm not telling her to leave." This was one 'problem' Bliss was
going to take head on. "Speak your mind and be quick about it, Patience.
I've got other places I need to be."
Patience was not happy with this development at all but she'd let it go for now.
Let her niece think she had control. "I'd like you to meet Wez Geilss. He's
an instructor from Kermadikk. He'd make a find addition to the staff here at
your little school."
Bliss inclined her head by way of greeting. "Mr. Geilss, as I'm sure my
aunt informed you, I'm Bliss Lovejoy and this is Hannah Maverickk. She is
presently head instructor here at the school." Chew on that one for a bit,
Auntie dear.
Wez Geilss was no fool, he could feel the tension in the room. He nodded to each
woman in turn. "A pleasure to meet you both." Serious second thoughts
about the deal he'd made with Patience Lovejoy joined those he'd had about
leaving Kermadikk to journey to New Rydynn.
"Bliss, I've made an agreement with Mr. Geilss. He will take over as
headmaster here." Patience began pulling off her gloves. Her nieces
manner's needed some improving, that was for sure. She couldn't let her pride in
how far the young woman had gotten alone blind her to what needed to be done.
After all, she was doing this in the girls best interest. "We've only got
to finalize the last few details in the marriage contract."
A pale brow rose a fraction. "Aren't you a little old for Mr. Geilss, Aunt
Patience?" Bliss heard Hannah's soft giggle. Managing to keep a straight
face, she pulled herself from the lean on the desk. "Not that I'm one to
discourage anyone's romance. It's such a rare thing these days." She knew
perfectly well who her aunt planned to marry off to Mr. Geilss.
"No, no. I'm not going to marry Wez, silly Child, you are." She'd seen
each of her own daughters settled with good husbands and she was going to do the
same for her dear brother's granddaughter. "He's from a fine family."
Bliss glanced at Wez Geilss in time to see the man pull himself up straight.
There was something in his eyes she couldn't quite identify but she could see he
wasn't exactly overjoyed at the prospect of marrying her. "I don't care if
he's the king of K-land. I'm not marrying him." Her arms crossed over her
chest. The time for play had just passed. "I'm already engaged to a good
man from a fine family. You, my dear Aunt Patience, can take that marriage
contract and stuff it...in the nearest recycling bin."
"I figured you'd give me a fight about this, Bliss but I'm afraid I really
must insist." Patience paid little mind to her niece's rejection of Geilss.
"This marriage will be good for the both of you and good for our families.
You have to do what is best for the family, Bliss. It's what your grandparents
would have wanted for you."
"No." Bliss turned her dark eyes on Wez. "It's not going to
happen, ever. You might as well catch the next ride back to K-land. I've got a
fiance, a man I love very much." She saw the relief appear in his eyes.
"I'm beginning to think that meddling elderly people should be herded into
the nearest mine field." She was angry now. Patience had dragged this man
all the way from K and he obviously didn't want to marry Bliss anymore then she
did him. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had a woman back home he wanted
to marry. "Patience, my grandparents would have wanted me to be happy. To
marry for love as they did. I am not marrying Mr. Gielss, period. End of
subject."
"You will do as you are told." Patience narrowed her eyes, drawing
herself up to her full height which almost met that of her niece.
Looking into those stormy blue eyes, Bliss felt a smile form. "My dear, I
never do what I'm told. I do what I want, when I want and with who I want. I do
what is best for me and 'my' family, which I can assure you, you are not a part
of. You are related to me by blood but there is nothing else between us. Don't
think for an instant that a little thing like being blood kin will keep
you...safe." She felt it, something in a back corner of her mind, a switch
that had been off, clicked on. Her finger tips tingled. If felt like electricity
was radiating out from deep inside her chest, dancing it's way through her
limbs. She took a step towards her aunt, then another. "You are proving to
be a problem, Auntie."
Hannah watched as Bliss stalked her own Aunt. She'd noted the change in Bliss'
tone. What had been annoyance touched with anger had become something darker and
infinitely more dangerous. Hannah had heard this purring drawl before. She found
herself rubbing her hands up and down her arms as the goose bumps rose.
"Now, Bliss." Patience Lovejoy hadn't lived to her current rip old age
without some sense of self preservation but this was her niece and she was used
to a certain amount of respect from those younger then her, not to mention
obedience. "I'm only doing what is best for your future." She was
unaware that the closer Bliss got to her, the further back Wez retreated.
A mere foot from her aunt, Bliss halted. "You have no idea what is best for
me, don't think for an instant that you do." Her dark eyes caught Wez
ducking out of the room completely. If he was smart he'd run all the way back to
K-land right that instant. "Patience, you have two choices and only two.
Accept that I am charge of my own life, of the school, the firehouse, the
trading...." She paused. "My apologies, there isn't a choice here. You
can only accept that I am in charge. You don't have to like it. You don't have
to stay in New Rydynn and assist me but you do have to accept it." The
smile on her face shifted, becoming a feral parody of the original. "If you
don't accept it then you become a problem. A danger to my family." Her
voice lowered a fraction. "I don't allow anyone to endanger my family,
Patience. Don't... become... a... problem."
It was suddenly, frighteningly effortless. Patience wasn't anything she couldn't
handle. No big ogre lurking about, waiting to hurt her precious little boys or
the equally precious adult men in her life. Patience was simply a problem and
problems were something to be removed. Then she saw a flicker in her aunts eyes.
Fear. The older woman tried to cover it but it was too late. Bliss spun away
from her, strolling back towards the desk. "If it's any consolation to you,
Auntie, I'll be sure to bury you near my grandparents."
Patience had a slight problem finding her voice. "You are threatening to
kill me, your own aunt. I don't believe you would do such a thing" She
didn't believe her own words. She'd see the look in the younger woman's eyes,
Bliss would most certainly kill her.
"Oh, but I would." Bliss shot Hannah a wink before turning to once
more face her aunt. "It's my life, Patience and nobody tells me how to live
it. Not you, not the Nukes...nobody. If you become any more of a problem to me,
I will remove you. It's as simple and as complicated as that." The smile
she wore was almost sweet. "Get in my way and I'll remove you from the
picture. Bang, problem solved."
Patience stood there, staring at the lovely young woman who was her niece, her
brother's flesh and blood and knew that she would kill her as easily as she
would take her next breath. There would be no tears, no regret. Just a problem
solved.
Her aunt was still a lovely woman and Bliss watched that lovely face pale to a
chalk white. "Ah, so you finally grasp the truth of the situation,
good." Her eyes caught a glimpse of red at the open door. "Sheridann,
would you be so kind as take my Aunt to her room to lay down. She's had a long
trip and is looking a bit tired. Oh, and there is a fellow named Wez Gielss
wandering about the school, bunk him with Harrisonn. Tell him that I'll talk to
him later."
Sheridann took a hold of Patience's arm. "Sure thing, Bliss." She led
the older woman from the room, thinking her oddly quiet but saying nothing about
it.
Once Patience was gone, Bliss turned back to Hannah. "So, what else do we
have left on our list for today?"
“ This will not do. It simply will not!”
Bliss didn’t even bother to look up from the report she was studying. There
were so many reports these days. “What won’t do, Aunt Patience?” The older
woman had barged in on her meeting with Amiable like a woman on a mission. Bliss
had managed to stall her aunt long enough to get her downstairs to one of the
offices and well away from her children’s hearing. Although there was little
doubt that Keaghann had his ear plastered to the air vent in the office next
door. He still harbored the fear that Patience would manage to talk her into
sending him and the other boys away.
“This petty squabble you’ve gotten yourself into.” Patience let out an
agitated huff. “Amiable’s been shot because of it. The twins are in danger.
This place is like an armed camp. Peace will be here in two days. What is she
going to think of all this? Ami’s all bruised up. And where is your precious
husband? That is what I’d like to know.”
Amiable chuckled at her still pacing aunt. “I’m doing fine, Aunt Patience.
Bruised but nothing is broken. Aunt Peace will just have to understand that
things are a bit strained right now.” She shot a wink at Bliss.
“Mik is away on business, Patience. I am more then capable of dealing with
this ‘squabble’ all on my own and he knows that. Everyone knows that except
for you.” Bliss caught Ami’s wink and a half smile appeared on her face.
“Now, Patience, what exactly do you have up your sleeve?” Her brown orbs
came to rest on her aunt who had abruptly stopped pacing. “Don’t give me
that look. I didn’t just fall off the back of a vory’kk yesterday. You are
bent out of shape because my present situation is putting a serious crimp in
what ever you have planned.”
Patience’s mouth flopped open then snapped shut. It was greatly annoying to
her how easily her young grandniece could read her. And those dark brown eyes of
her always seemed to look right through her. Very disconcerting. “While I was
initially against your involvement with Mikkaill, the formal wedding he finally
got around to giving you impressed some of the finer families back in Kermadickk.
Old families of excellent bloodlines…”
“Who previously wouldn’t give you the time of day.” Interjected Bliss.
“Don’t even toy with the idea of arranging marriages for the twins. I will
not honor the contracts.” She could see by the way the older woman’s face
dropped that she had already considered the idea, if not started on making the
marriage contracts.
“No, no, they are much too young for that.” Patience looked at each of her
grandnieces. While Bliss was more stable in her appearance and manner, she was
just as much a wildchild as her mother Harmony had been and Amiable wasn’t
much better. “As I was saying, certain old families have expressed an interest
in aligning with ours. They are only interested in direct blood relations so you
needn’t worry about me trying to make arrangements for that street riffraff
you pasted our good family name on. Thankfully they’ll be taking the Gideonn
name so we’ll be well rid of their taint.”
There were times when Patience stepped over the line, then there were those
times when she sailed over it head first. Bliss’ voice lowered to a rumbling
growl. “Tread lightly, ‘Old woman’. My children are neither riffraff nor
are they tainting our family name. You will moderate your speech and behavior
regarding them or I’ll make sure you spend the next six months sucking your
meals through a straw and that’ll just be for openers. Clear?”
Patience nodded slowly. “Perfectly clear.” She shot a glare at the giggling
Amiable. “You find something funny about your cousin threatening my physical
well being?
“Oh yeah.” Amiable was unrepentant. “If it was me, I’d have already
knocked your block off.” A shameless grin appeared on her face. “Bliss just
has so much more patience then I do. I don’t know why she just doesn’t put a
bullet in you and be done with it.”
“And have to clean up all that blood, I have enough to do, Amiable.” Bliss
sighed as she leaned back in the chair. “Patience, get to the point please.
What does the fact that these old moldy Kermadickk families want to form an
alliance with our have to do with Great Aunt Peace’s visit? What does it have
to do with me as you won’t be using any of my children as bargaining chips?”
Patience cleared her throat and pointedly ignored the moldy remark. “Peace
will be picking up a few members of one of the older Kermadickk families.
“After all, there is safety in traveling in-groups. The family members will be
coming to visit and inspect the dowry.”
“Whose dowry?” Bliss had an odd sinking feeling.
“Why, Amiable’s of course.”
“Mine?” Amiable’s bright blue eyes blinked rapidly. “What’s a dowry
and how did I get one…and who do these people think they are coming here to
inspect it?”
Another time Bliss would have laughed but not this time. “A dowry was a
tradition of sorts in ancient times. Since in some regions women couldn’t
inherit land or titles, they had dowries. A treasure of precious items such as
gems, land, livestock…whatever was considered valuable. Upon marriage the
dowry was passed to the groom and or his family.”
“Sounds like a pay off to me.” Amiable found the idea insulting and let out
a derisive snort. “Here Sir, marry my poor pitiful daughter and I’ll give
you this bag of gold. Yuck!” She lifted her gaze to her aunt. “I don’t
have a dowry.”
“Bliss will provide you with one suitable to impress the young man and his
family.” Patience was quite please with the arrangements she’d made for
Amiable’s future.
“I will?” Bliss’ brows shot up. Great-aunt Patience has some serious
brass.
“Yes, you will. It is your duty as Amiable’s closest relation to provide a
proper dowry.” A smug smile spread over the older woman’s visage. “After
all you did accept responsibility for the girl after her parents died. You
can’t just shirk that responsibility now.”
“I’ve never been a shirker.” Bliss glanced at her cousin. “You want a
dowry?”
“So I can be considered acceptable in marriage by some dregs from K-land with
over inflated opinions of themselves. No thanks.” Amiable shook her head.
“If his family is so hot to marry into ours then they better pony up with a
bloody big dowry to give to ME.”
Bliss chuckled. “Okay, no dowry.”
“No! You will not disobey me on this matter, Amiable.” Patience marched up
to the desk shaking a finger at Ami. “I am the head of this family and you
will do as I tell you. Don’t you think for a moment you will be allowed to get
away with the same disobedience that Bliss has. The Garvynn family will be here
in a few days. You will be nice to them, you will have a dowry to show them and
you will marry Calder or….”
The whole conversation had an air of deja-vu about it for Bliss but this time it
was Amiable’s fight so she kept her mouth shut and let her cousin to handle
it.
Or else, Amiable could swear her aunt was about to say that. “Or what, Aunt
Patience? You’ll ground me? Take away my allowance? Never speak to me again?
And if it’s that, I want that promise in writing.” She picked up a sheaf of
papers from the desk. “No, I will not marry this Calder. I am an adult,
Patience. I have a job that keeps me fed and a roof over my head. I no more have
to take orders from you then I do from Sidd Neverr. So, in the words of a friend
of mine, bite me you skanky, old, wrinkly waste of water.” She turned her
attentions back to Bliss and completely changed the subject. “So, you think we
should go with Joshua’s idea as is or tweak it? I’m not sure about leaving
so many important elements to stringers.”
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Friday, June 04, 2010