Captive of the Red Vixen, Conclusion
Oct. 1st, 2008 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalI'm not entirely satisfied with this. I meant there to be a slightly less morose ending to the bit with the Countess, but the old b*tch wouldn't let me do it.
“You know, this wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t the second time we’ve given the Farm Lord’s Council a reason to call a full session,” Rolas’ father said, looking around the circular chamber, tail half curled up underneath his chair. They were up in the petitioner’s gallery, waiting for the Master of the Speaker’s Stage to get to their business. Technically speaking it was their family’s right to sit in the same line of desks held by the Countess Highglider, being liegesworn to her, but no one had suggested that. Rolas was bracketed in his seat by his mother and Salli. If he looked over to the right towards the floor, he could just see Melika sitting beside the Countess, down on the floor below them.
“We didn’t call upon them this time, it was the Countess Brushtail,” he pointed out. “Anyway, this is a foregone conclusion I should think.”
“I’m not so sanguine,” Salli said. “Recall, no sitting Countess has been prosecuted for attempted murder since the Six Traitors, over five hundred years ago.” She looked on the Countess, her artificial eye focusing in on her.
“I don’t suppose you can see whether she’s sweating or not?” Their Countess was sitting alone, her expression dark as her peers looked her over.
“Sorry, Little Brother. Sensing heat patterns is the one thing my eye can’t do.”
“Pity.”
Their banter quieted as the Master of the Speaker’s Stage walked on, banging his cane on the floor to call the room to attention. As was traditional, he was senior retired officer from the Military caste, neither as high as a Farm Lord nor as low a commoner, but in the vital interface between them. “The business of the day,” he began, reading from the sheaf of printouts in his hand. An affection, Rolas suspected. The Master had a reputation for an eidetic memory and reportedly on at least one occasion carried on with his duties in pitch darkness due to a blackout. “Today is a special session, to address accusation made by the Countess Brushtail against the Countess Highglider.” He went on, reading off the Countess Brushtail’s charge of conspiracy to murder against Highglider, including the statement finally extracted from Hotclaw, after the poor, broken fellow had finally confessed, after being given assurances by Brushtail that at least his family would be provided for.
“I could almost feel sorry for the poor bastard,” Melika had said to Rolas yesterday, upon hearing the confession. Hotclaw had claimed that if he had refused to make the attempt to kill Rolas and his sister, that his own family in turn might have been murdered.
“You’re a better vulpine than I then,” he had admitted to her. “If he hadn’t gone down the path of betrayal in the first place, giving the Sallivera’s coordinates to the Red Vixen, the Countess wouldn’t have gotten her hooks into him.”
Once the Master had finished reading off the charges, Highglider stood up from her seat, fuming, “I call upon the Council to reject this baseless accusation. The evidence presented relies on the confession of commoner, who wishes to shift the betrayal of himself against his sworn liege lords to me. His word is not admissible evidence against a Farm Lord.”
“I ask that the accusation stand,” the Countess Brushtail said firmly.
“Countess Highglder has a point,” a voice spoke. It was the Count Longear, Minister of Justice, who oversaw the network of laws that were common to all districts. “A commoner’s confession alone cannot to be used as evidence against a Farm Noble.”
“Does the Countess Highglider deny then, that she has maintained a vendetta against the Darktails, in retaliation for her son being confined to a mental institution for his assault upon their daughter, Sallivera?” Brushtail countered.
“I have taken no action that was not within my power as the district’s lord,” Highglider said.
“Truth,” Rolas’ father grumbled, “at least as far as we can prove.”
“You hated the Darktails for what was done to your son, Kevilin, do you deny that as well?”
“Of course not,” Highglider answered. “The fact that I was forced to accept the Council’s judgment does not mean that I must be inclined to grant them mercy.”
The was pause, then Countess Brushtail asked in much gentler tone, ”I’m sorry, I don’t think I understood that. Do you mean you admit you’ve been deliberately persecuting the Darktails?”
“They’re my liegesworn. What I do to them is my business.”
Rolas felt something electrical pass through the air, as the gathered Farm Lords seemed to suddenly focus their full attention upon the two sparring countesses. Down below, he saw Melika sit straight in her seat.
“Even if it harms them?” Brushtail prodded.
“Especially if it harms them. I want them to hurt, as much as I hurt when I think of my son trapped in that blockhouse of a hospital!”
“You can hardly deny that Lady Sallivera was first injured by your…”
“Sallivera Darktail can freeze in the Cold and Dark for all I care!” Highglider shouted. “Why does she sit there with her family, while I am separated from my son? All she had to do listen to him and nothing would have ever have happened! It’s all her fault! All of this is! She should be the one in a prison cell, not my Kevi!”
Countess Brushtail turned away from Highglider, pausing for a moment before addressing the chamber as a whole. “For those of you who may not recall the nature of Lady Sallivera’s injuries at the hands of Kevilin Highglider, I would ask that you examine relevant case evidence entered by the Darktails two years ago. The attached images and medical reports should be enlightening as to the nature of their relationship. Myself, I don’t have the stomach to look at it today, much as I didn’t have the stomach to do what I should have done two years ago, when Evelina Highglider demanded a Council Seal be placed on the proceedings against her son. In a moment of moral cowardice, we permitted this, and in so doing we permitted secret wounds to fester, on both sides. Lady Sallivera spent many years in isolation, unable to face the world, her soul wounded by her husband as badly as her body had been, the injuries far more difficult to repair. Meanwhile, the sickness in Countess Highglider’s heart was permitted to grow in the darkness, until her soul turned near as black as her son’s. Had the truth been permitted into the light, perhaps Lady Sallivera might not have sought to hide for so long before receiving aid. And perhaps, in the light, the persecution of Countess Highglider against her and the rest of her family might not have gone on for so long unreported. So today I ask that those records be unsealed, as should be the records of Mr. Hotclaw’s confession and drag it all in the light of the Holy Den Mother’s Rose of Truth. If we cannot use Hotclaw’s testimony to prosecute her, let us at least give the commoners who pay their rents to Countess Highglider decide whether they wish to remain under her dominion after seeing that.”
“What! You cannot do that! It is an insult! It is an assault against my domain!” Highglider shouted.
“Oh, by the Holy Den Mother,” Salli breathed, as the countess continue to shout. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“If the case files go public, the district’s population is going to plummet, right along with her rent revenues,” their mother said gleefully.
The Master banged his cane on the Speaker’s Stage, silencing the growing murmur from the gathered lords. “Countess Brushtail has proposed opening the files from the case of the assault against Lady Sallivera Darktail by the Viscount Kevilin Highglider. Is there anyone who seconds this motion?”
“Aye!” Count Longear called out.
“Ha! Let’s see the old hag shout that one down,” his father noted.
“The proposal has been seconded,” the Master stated. “A vote shall now be cast, yea for the release of the records, nay for them to remain under Council seal. Would all gathered Farm Lords and their proxies please place their votes now.”
Rolas bit down on his lip as holographic faerie lights began to appear above the desks of the gathered counts and countesses, blue for Aye, red for Nay. By the time half of them had come into to view, the trend was obvious. In the end, the Ayes had won by at least an eight to two margin.
“The Ayes have it, the Council files on the Darktail vs. Highglider case shall be unsealed,” the Master announced.
“Justice done,” Salli said, tears rolling down from her one eye. “Years late, but justice is finally…”
“No! I refuse to accept this!” Countess Highglider cried out from the floor. “I will not accept this!”
“Countess Highglider, the vote has been made,” the Master said.
“Be silent, you worthless commoner! This is an outrage! This is a violation of the internal affairs of a Countess’ domain!”
“Both accusations, by the Countess Brushtail and by Lady Sallivera, were brought up in the Council of Farm Lords,” Count Longear told her. “That means they are subject to the will of the Coun--“
“Shut up! You’re not a real noble, you’re a Varn sympathizer! You’re their agent, sowing dissent to enslave us under the Dominion’s boot!” Highglider was gripping the edge of her desk, her eyes wide.
“Milady, I can assure you I am nothing of the--“
“I said shut up!! You’re worse than those servants I let go, always speaking behind my back, always plotting against me! None of you can be trusted!”
“What kind of a tactic is this?” Salli asked, her eyes nearly as wide as the ranting Highglider’s.
“It’s not a tactic,” Rolas said, leaning forward to watch as Highglider continued to rant. “I think it’s, as you said, the truth finally coming out.”
“How many of you are with the Dominion! How long have you been planning this!” the Countess shouted towards her peers. They stared back at her in silent, near universal appall.
Finally, Brushtail was the one to speak up, as Highglider paused for breath, “Countess, you are not well.”
“I am fine! Everything will be fine, just as soon as I get my Kevi back!” Her voice turned to a despondent wail, “I want my Kevi back!”
The sounds of her weeping echoed across the chamber. After a long pause, Count Longear said, “I hearby wish to make the proposal, that Evelina Highglider is to be stripped of her title of Countess, and then be remanded to the custody of trained medical personnel for mental evaluation.”
“The proposal has been made,” the Master said gravely. “Will anyone second it?” There was a scattering of quiet Ayes.
When the vote was called, the Ayes were unanimous.
* * *
“Good morning, Viscount,” Melika greeted cheerily, being waved in by a servant as she entered Darktail Manor’s foyer about a week later.
“That hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Rolas told her, coming down the stairs to meet her. Nevertheless he couldn’t help but smile.
“Good morning, Mel,” Salli said, coming on his heels. “Rolas is right, the vote still has to be taken in the Council, and there are a couple of distant cousins of old Evelina that have claims.”
“Piffle! You have the Holy Den Mother’s moral superiority, not to mention the Countess Brushtail and her whole coalition, on your side.” Melika met him with a warm embrace, and he spent few moments just enjoying the feel her body against his, smelling her scent.
“Mmm..” he murmured, breaking the embrace reluctantly. “I can’t say our parents are looking forward to the idea. A countess’ duties involve much more that what our little domain required.”
“Well, they’ve got you two to help shoulder the load.”
“Not for very long,” Salli said. “I’m leaving.”
Melika raised her eyebrows. “Where are you going?”
“Earth,” she replied. “Then maybe back over to Newspring, then Touvish Avier and Touvish Afore, then a couple of the Galen worlds, and maybe even Viene.”
“That’s a pretty ambitious tour. Has home become so confining now?”
His sister’s expression lit up. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m coming back. It’s just that I was thinking that I’d never even been offworld, except for that trip I took up to meet Rolas at the transfer station and that hardly counts. It’s a big universe, Mel, and I want to see as much of it as I can, before I must come home and get ready to be the Countess when it’s my time.”
“I hope you have a wonderful trip then. And even if you’re gone for years, I’m sure Rolas will help your parents out.”
“I’m not going to be here either,” Rolas told her. “I’m getting married.” He was rewarded for that declaration by the rare sight of Melika looking startled.
“Oh, really?” she said, regaining her composure. “To whom?”
“Oh, a wonderful vixen. Intelligent, assertive, rich, a non-linear thinker.” As he spoke, Salli slowly tiptoed backwards out of the room, giving him a good luck wave behind Melika’s back.
Her eyes widened. “Are you proposing to me, Rolas?”
“Now why would I propose to you? No offense, but you’re just a landed lady and I’m going to be a viscount. I can’t be expected to marry down, can I?”
Melika finally gave him a smirk worthy of her Red Vixen persona as she realized he was pulling her tail. “Well, consider the alternative: Kidnapped once again by the voracious Scourge of the Spaceways, the helpless Viscount Darktail finds that this time there is no escape.” She stepped forward as she spoke, pressing him against the wall and taking hold of his paws, pinning them over his head before planting a deep kiss on his lips.
“Help. Oh help, help,” Rolas murmured, once she’d let him up for air, though not releasing his paws. “You do know, once we get married, you can hardly get away with collaring me and parading me around in public like an exotic dancer.”
“Once we get married, yes. There’s a lot of time before then.”
“And of course there’s the honeymoon.”
“I’ll have a very private cabin set up for us onboard my ship, I promise you.”
“Hmm. I don’t suppose I’ll be able to unlock the door?”
“You let me worry about that, my handsome captive.” She kept hold of the ribbon bound to his wrist as they walked outside together, into the warm morning.
The End
“You know, this wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t the second time we’ve given the Farm Lord’s Council a reason to call a full session,” Rolas’ father said, looking around the circular chamber, tail half curled up underneath his chair. They were up in the petitioner’s gallery, waiting for the Master of the Speaker’s Stage to get to their business. Technically speaking it was their family’s right to sit in the same line of desks held by the Countess Highglider, being liegesworn to her, but no one had suggested that. Rolas was bracketed in his seat by his mother and Salli. If he looked over to the right towards the floor, he could just see Melika sitting beside the Countess, down on the floor below them.
“We didn’t call upon them this time, it was the Countess Brushtail,” he pointed out. “Anyway, this is a foregone conclusion I should think.”
“I’m not so sanguine,” Salli said. “Recall, no sitting Countess has been prosecuted for attempted murder since the Six Traitors, over five hundred years ago.” She looked on the Countess, her artificial eye focusing in on her.
“I don’t suppose you can see whether she’s sweating or not?” Their Countess was sitting alone, her expression dark as her peers looked her over.
“Sorry, Little Brother. Sensing heat patterns is the one thing my eye can’t do.”
“Pity.”
Their banter quieted as the Master of the Speaker’s Stage walked on, banging his cane on the floor to call the room to attention. As was traditional, he was senior retired officer from the Military caste, neither as high as a Farm Lord nor as low a commoner, but in the vital interface between them. “The business of the day,” he began, reading from the sheaf of printouts in his hand. An affection, Rolas suspected. The Master had a reputation for an eidetic memory and reportedly on at least one occasion carried on with his duties in pitch darkness due to a blackout. “Today is a special session, to address accusation made by the Countess Brushtail against the Countess Highglider.” He went on, reading off the Countess Brushtail’s charge of conspiracy to murder against Highglider, including the statement finally extracted from Hotclaw, after the poor, broken fellow had finally confessed, after being given assurances by Brushtail that at least his family would be provided for.
“I could almost feel sorry for the poor bastard,” Melika had said to Rolas yesterday, upon hearing the confession. Hotclaw had claimed that if he had refused to make the attempt to kill Rolas and his sister, that his own family in turn might have been murdered.
“You’re a better vulpine than I then,” he had admitted to her. “If he hadn’t gone down the path of betrayal in the first place, giving the Sallivera’s coordinates to the Red Vixen, the Countess wouldn’t have gotten her hooks into him.”
Once the Master had finished reading off the charges, Highglider stood up from her seat, fuming, “I call upon the Council to reject this baseless accusation. The evidence presented relies on the confession of commoner, who wishes to shift the betrayal of himself against his sworn liege lords to me. His word is not admissible evidence against a Farm Lord.”
“I ask that the accusation stand,” the Countess Brushtail said firmly.
“Countess Highglder has a point,” a voice spoke. It was the Count Longear, Minister of Justice, who oversaw the network of laws that were common to all districts. “A commoner’s confession alone cannot to be used as evidence against a Farm Noble.”
“Does the Countess Highglider deny then, that she has maintained a vendetta against the Darktails, in retaliation for her son being confined to a mental institution for his assault upon their daughter, Sallivera?” Brushtail countered.
“I have taken no action that was not within my power as the district’s lord,” Highglider said.
“Truth,” Rolas’ father grumbled, “at least as far as we can prove.”
“You hated the Darktails for what was done to your son, Kevilin, do you deny that as well?”
“Of course not,” Highglider answered. “The fact that I was forced to accept the Council’s judgment does not mean that I must be inclined to grant them mercy.”
The was pause, then Countess Brushtail asked in much gentler tone, ”I’m sorry, I don’t think I understood that. Do you mean you admit you’ve been deliberately persecuting the Darktails?”
“They’re my liegesworn. What I do to them is my business.”
Rolas felt something electrical pass through the air, as the gathered Farm Lords seemed to suddenly focus their full attention upon the two sparring countesses. Down below, he saw Melika sit straight in her seat.
“Even if it harms them?” Brushtail prodded.
“Especially if it harms them. I want them to hurt, as much as I hurt when I think of my son trapped in that blockhouse of a hospital!”
“You can hardly deny that Lady Sallivera was first injured by your…”
“Sallivera Darktail can freeze in the Cold and Dark for all I care!” Highglider shouted. “Why does she sit there with her family, while I am separated from my son? All she had to do listen to him and nothing would have ever have happened! It’s all her fault! All of this is! She should be the one in a prison cell, not my Kevi!”
Countess Brushtail turned away from Highglider, pausing for a moment before addressing the chamber as a whole. “For those of you who may not recall the nature of Lady Sallivera’s injuries at the hands of Kevilin Highglider, I would ask that you examine relevant case evidence entered by the Darktails two years ago. The attached images and medical reports should be enlightening as to the nature of their relationship. Myself, I don’t have the stomach to look at it today, much as I didn’t have the stomach to do what I should have done two years ago, when Evelina Highglider demanded a Council Seal be placed on the proceedings against her son. In a moment of moral cowardice, we permitted this, and in so doing we permitted secret wounds to fester, on both sides. Lady Sallivera spent many years in isolation, unable to face the world, her soul wounded by her husband as badly as her body had been, the injuries far more difficult to repair. Meanwhile, the sickness in Countess Highglider’s heart was permitted to grow in the darkness, until her soul turned near as black as her son’s. Had the truth been permitted into the light, perhaps Lady Sallivera might not have sought to hide for so long before receiving aid. And perhaps, in the light, the persecution of Countess Highglider against her and the rest of her family might not have gone on for so long unreported. So today I ask that those records be unsealed, as should be the records of Mr. Hotclaw’s confession and drag it all in the light of the Holy Den Mother’s Rose of Truth. If we cannot use Hotclaw’s testimony to prosecute her, let us at least give the commoners who pay their rents to Countess Highglider decide whether they wish to remain under her dominion after seeing that.”
“What! You cannot do that! It is an insult! It is an assault against my domain!” Highglider shouted.
“Oh, by the Holy Den Mother,” Salli breathed, as the countess continue to shout. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“If the case files go public, the district’s population is going to plummet, right along with her rent revenues,” their mother said gleefully.
The Master banged his cane on the Speaker’s Stage, silencing the growing murmur from the gathered lords. “Countess Brushtail has proposed opening the files from the case of the assault against Lady Sallivera Darktail by the Viscount Kevilin Highglider. Is there anyone who seconds this motion?”
“Aye!” Count Longear called out.
“Ha! Let’s see the old hag shout that one down,” his father noted.
“The proposal has been seconded,” the Master stated. “A vote shall now be cast, yea for the release of the records, nay for them to remain under Council seal. Would all gathered Farm Lords and their proxies please place their votes now.”
Rolas bit down on his lip as holographic faerie lights began to appear above the desks of the gathered counts and countesses, blue for Aye, red for Nay. By the time half of them had come into to view, the trend was obvious. In the end, the Ayes had won by at least an eight to two margin.
“The Ayes have it, the Council files on the Darktail vs. Highglider case shall be unsealed,” the Master announced.
“Justice done,” Salli said, tears rolling down from her one eye. “Years late, but justice is finally…”
“No! I refuse to accept this!” Countess Highglider cried out from the floor. “I will not accept this!”
“Countess Highglider, the vote has been made,” the Master said.
“Be silent, you worthless commoner! This is an outrage! This is a violation of the internal affairs of a Countess’ domain!”
“Both accusations, by the Countess Brushtail and by Lady Sallivera, were brought up in the Council of Farm Lords,” Count Longear told her. “That means they are subject to the will of the Coun--“
“Shut up! You’re not a real noble, you’re a Varn sympathizer! You’re their agent, sowing dissent to enslave us under the Dominion’s boot!” Highglider was gripping the edge of her desk, her eyes wide.
“Milady, I can assure you I am nothing of the--“
“I said shut up!! You’re worse than those servants I let go, always speaking behind my back, always plotting against me! None of you can be trusted!”
“What kind of a tactic is this?” Salli asked, her eyes nearly as wide as the ranting Highglider’s.
“It’s not a tactic,” Rolas said, leaning forward to watch as Highglider continued to rant. “I think it’s, as you said, the truth finally coming out.”
“How many of you are with the Dominion! How long have you been planning this!” the Countess shouted towards her peers. They stared back at her in silent, near universal appall.
Finally, Brushtail was the one to speak up, as Highglider paused for breath, “Countess, you are not well.”
“I am fine! Everything will be fine, just as soon as I get my Kevi back!” Her voice turned to a despondent wail, “I want my Kevi back!”
The sounds of her weeping echoed across the chamber. After a long pause, Count Longear said, “I hearby wish to make the proposal, that Evelina Highglider is to be stripped of her title of Countess, and then be remanded to the custody of trained medical personnel for mental evaluation.”
“The proposal has been made,” the Master said gravely. “Will anyone second it?” There was a scattering of quiet Ayes.
When the vote was called, the Ayes were unanimous.
* * *
“Good morning, Viscount,” Melika greeted cheerily, being waved in by a servant as she entered Darktail Manor’s foyer about a week later.
“That hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Rolas told her, coming down the stairs to meet her. Nevertheless he couldn’t help but smile.
“Good morning, Mel,” Salli said, coming on his heels. “Rolas is right, the vote still has to be taken in the Council, and there are a couple of distant cousins of old Evelina that have claims.”
“Piffle! You have the Holy Den Mother’s moral superiority, not to mention the Countess Brushtail and her whole coalition, on your side.” Melika met him with a warm embrace, and he spent few moments just enjoying the feel her body against his, smelling her scent.
“Mmm..” he murmured, breaking the embrace reluctantly. “I can’t say our parents are looking forward to the idea. A countess’ duties involve much more that what our little domain required.”
“Well, they’ve got you two to help shoulder the load.”
“Not for very long,” Salli said. “I’m leaving.”
Melika raised her eyebrows. “Where are you going?”
“Earth,” she replied. “Then maybe back over to Newspring, then Touvish Avier and Touvish Afore, then a couple of the Galen worlds, and maybe even Viene.”
“That’s a pretty ambitious tour. Has home become so confining now?”
His sister’s expression lit up. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m coming back. It’s just that I was thinking that I’d never even been offworld, except for that trip I took up to meet Rolas at the transfer station and that hardly counts. It’s a big universe, Mel, and I want to see as much of it as I can, before I must come home and get ready to be the Countess when it’s my time.”
“I hope you have a wonderful trip then. And even if you’re gone for years, I’m sure Rolas will help your parents out.”
“I’m not going to be here either,” Rolas told her. “I’m getting married.” He was rewarded for that declaration by the rare sight of Melika looking startled.
“Oh, really?” she said, regaining her composure. “To whom?”
“Oh, a wonderful vixen. Intelligent, assertive, rich, a non-linear thinker.” As he spoke, Salli slowly tiptoed backwards out of the room, giving him a good luck wave behind Melika’s back.
Her eyes widened. “Are you proposing to me, Rolas?”
“Now why would I propose to you? No offense, but you’re just a landed lady and I’m going to be a viscount. I can’t be expected to marry down, can I?”
Melika finally gave him a smirk worthy of her Red Vixen persona as she realized he was pulling her tail. “Well, consider the alternative: Kidnapped once again by the voracious Scourge of the Spaceways, the helpless Viscount Darktail finds that this time there is no escape.” She stepped forward as she spoke, pressing him against the wall and taking hold of his paws, pinning them over his head before planting a deep kiss on his lips.
“Help. Oh help, help,” Rolas murmured, once she’d let him up for air, though not releasing his paws. “You do know, once we get married, you can hardly get away with collaring me and parading me around in public like an exotic dancer.”
“Once we get married, yes. There’s a lot of time before then.”
“And of course there’s the honeymoon.”
“I’ll have a very private cabin set up for us onboard my ship, I promise you.”
“Hmm. I don’t suppose I’ll be able to unlock the door?”
“You let me worry about that, my handsome captive.” She kept hold of the ribbon bound to his wrist as they walked outside together, into the warm morning.
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 07:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 06:34 am (UTC)And they lived happily ever after.
Thank you for a very enjoyable ride.