The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[Fappy]

It wasn't until the crowd had dispersed and the two veterans had left the room that Sprout noticed Amy. She was standing on the other side of the room, previously concealed by the crowd. Before he could make any kind of move towards her, however, one of the new recruits approached him.

"Looks like someone finally came out of hiding."

"Who me?" Sprout asked.

"So since everybody else is taken, fancy slummin' it with yours truly."

Sprout grinned. "I reckon you've seen what I've been doin' to y'all since yer trainin' started, ya'? You sure ya' wanna get yer ass handed to ya' that badly?"

She was cute too.

And then the harem fantasies began.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

"What you're doing is different, you're only trying to protect yourself. I can respect that."

Elizabeth smiled. "I can tell the truth when it counts," she assured him. "Actually, to be quite honest, I don't have much experience lying." She chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm a quick learner."

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

The walk to the ballroom was not a quiet one. Tsubaki would have been content to forget what she had heard and continue forward in silence, but it was clear neither Contessa nor her son were capable of shutting their mouths for more than five seconds.

"So," Contessa began as she followed closely behind Tsubaki, "Commander Saburo, was it? You don't happen to be that young woman Lord Basilio rescued from the yakuza, are you?" There was a hint of amusement in her voice.

Tsubaki had no choice but to humor her. "I am," she said simply.

Contessa giggled. "And now you're his lapdog?" she sighed. "He makes you kill for him because he saved you?"

"I chose to serve," Tsubaki argued.

"Just like you 'chose' to share his bed?" Contessa said with a smug grin.

Tsubaki's eye twitched.

"Mother! You haven't even started drinking yet!" Franz observed in a humorous tone. "Why must you grill this poor woman?!"

"You're right, I am sorry darling," the Golden Queen said.

Tsubaki said nothing.

"You made her angry, mother," Franz said with a sigh.

Contessa laughed. "She can take a joke! If she's spent this much time with Dio already she can withstand any kind of abuse."

"Lord Basilio does not abuse me," Tsubaki finally said, her words dripping with venom. "Please don't speak of him in such a way."

"My apologies, Commander," Contessa said in a flat tone. It seemed her fun was ruined. "How much farther?"

I am going to strangle this woman.

"We're here," Tsubaki said.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"I reckon you've seen what I've been doin' to y'all since yer trainin' started, ya'? You sure ya' wanna get yer ass handed to ya' that badly?"

"I don't reckon you got hands big enough to handle half my ass, little prince." Gale scoffed. Yeah, she could give smack talk out too, what of it?

"So come on." She started undoing the strap that kept her ankle long skirt in place and rolling it up into a ball, revealing the cut up cargo shorts she had on underneath. "We gunna dance or are you gunna creep on back to the spank bank?" She threw the bundle of old fabric down by way of marking their spot and took up the basic stance they'd been shown a few days ago.

Gale waited for him to make the first move. Cus hell if she knew how to do it and not get a mouth full of hard Whiskey.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Don't worry. I'm a quick learner."

Asad frowned. "That's not really what I meant." Just then, an entourage entered the ballroom, headed by Tsubaki. The Major's eyes were drawn over as a small smirk curled his lips.

She didn't look happy.

"I suppose I better be thankful I get to be in such pleasant company." He looked back at the girl as he finished his meal.

 

[The Funslinger]

"I reckon you've seen what I've been doin' to y'all since yer trainin' started, ya'? You sure ya' wanna get yer ass handed to ya' that badly?"

"Oh damn!" Whiskey exclaimed. "Gale, you gonna take that shit from him? Huh?" She turned to Sprout. "Careful, kid. Them Gypsies'll fuck you up!"

She was having an extraordinarily good time.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"Don' go whippin' yer gun out unless there's gonna be a fight. Alright?"

"So wait until it all goes to hell." Aesop chirped winked. "Aye Aye."

 

[Fappy]

"We gunna dance or are you gunna creep on back to the spank bank?"

Sprout laughed. "Only one of us is gonna get spanked 'ere, Gale," he said with a wink. "I'll try not ta' leave a bruise."

As the two fighters prepared themselves Whiskey and the others began barking and hollering. Suddenly, they were the center of attention.

In show of masculine overcompensation, Sprout threw his shirt off and tossed towards the crowd, at Whiskey's feet. He grinned and flexed his lean, yet defined muscles. The scar he'd received from Gorgon's bullet was impossible to miss.

"Like what ya' see, sweetheart?" Sprout taunted.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

"I suppose I better be thankful I get to be in such pleasant company."

Elizabeth nodded with a modest smile.

It wasn't for another half hour that things began to happen. Tsubaki had left Contessa and her son to socialize with other nobles and joined the rest of Dio's entourage out in the hall. After a quick roll call, Ortega led them all back into the ballroom where they stood at attention by the door. Moments later, Dio was striding in.

The entire room erupted in applaud as the man of the hour made his way across the room, shaking hands and exchanging greetings friends and acquaintances. Eventually, he made it to the back of the room and stood by Elizabeth's side at the large dining table. Asad had long since gotten up and was now standing at attention near Elizabeth.

"Friends," Dio began, his voice as commanding as ever, "thank you all for making the trip here. I hope that you have all been treated well thus far." A series of enthusiastic replies sounded from all over the room. Dio laughed off their false praise. "Well rested assured, we are grateful for your attendance." He looked to Elizabeth, who was still seated, and smiled. "Today is a special day, after all."

He extended his hand to her and she took it. "Lady Maribel," Dio said as she rose to her feet, "she is to be my wife."

Another wave of excitement washed over the room. As the young woman acknowledged her guests, Tsubaki made her way to Asad's side. Leaning in close, she whispered into his ear. "And boredom commences in, 3, 2, 1..."

"Thank you all for coming here today," Elizabeth began. "You have no idea what it means to me and my family." Dio took a small step backwards to let her take the stage. He smiled smugly as he watched her. "As many of you know, I have had an... 'exciting' time these past few weeks. I've been kidnapped, beaten, shot, betrayed and..." She paused for the briefest moment as her eyes found Lady Tigereye among the crowd. "I've lost friends."

She clenched her jaw and looked to Dio. She had to force a smile. "But all that's behind me now," she lied as she turned back towards the crowd. "Before Lord Basilio's men rescued me, I had almost lost hope that'd I'd ever live to see this day. But you know what happened? In those dark hours I spent in despair, I found strength. I recalled my elder sister. I remembered her beauty, intelligence and resolve. I told myself I wouldn't let it end 'here'. That I would live to become a woman worthy of her legacy."

She looked back towards Dio. "While I cannot expect to achieve that within this next month alone, I do intend to pursue it with everything that I am so that I can be a woman worthy of her," she faked a small sob. "So that I can be a woman worthy of her husband." Turning back towards the crowd, she nodded. "Thank you all for coming here today. It means so much to me."

Again, the room roared in cheering. After another nod, Elizabeth sat down.

"Now," Dio clapped, "the gifts!"

Mila came up from behind Tsubaki and Asad. "That's one fuckin' dangerious girl," she whispered to them.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Aye Aye."

Pixie cocked an eyebrow and looked to Cameron. "Keep an' eye on 'im," she said. "I don' have enough to go around."

"Will do," Cam replied with a small chuckle.

5 minutes later...

Spoiler: sleepy sheepy

They entered the bar at different times. First Carlos and Pixie and then Cameron and Aesop. Cameron and Aesop sat at the end of the bar while Carlos sat at a table in the corner of the room. Pixie bee-lined straight to the center of the bar. Her arms crossed, the bandit queen planted her elbows on the bar and leaned over it.

"Hey, barkeep," Pixie barked, "gimme' some'a that Cogburn-shit."

The fat, balding man scratched his head as he got up from behind the bar. "Cog-what shit?" he repeated, dumbfounded.

Pixie sighed. "Fuck man," she said, "you know---"

"Hey," a small voice suddenly interrupted, "I'll take this one O'Neil." A short, slender blonde woman suddenly appeared and stood behind the bar, across from Pixie.

"Yeah, sure," O'Neil said. "Whatever you say, Bonnie."

"'Cogburn', right?" Bonnie asked sarcastically.

"The fuck is Cogburn?!" One of the nearby patrons blurted out. By his demeanor Pixie figured he was a regular.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and laughed. "This guy," she said with a scoff.

"What?"

Pixie turned to face her neighbor and shot him a suspicious grin. "You really don' know?" she said.

The man shook his head.

Boonie suppressed a giggle as she watched Pixie lean in close to the man. Their lips now only inches apart, Pixie stuck her chin out. "It mean I want to fuck Ms. Bonnie," she announced.

"O-oh," the man stammered. "Can I have a Cogburn too?"

"Not on your life, sweetheart," Bonnie immediately chimed in.

As the man withdrew to silently brood, Pixie turned back towards Bonnie. "Well?" she asked.

"Backroom. Now."

Pixie emulated an orgasmic moan and got to her feet. "Oh," she whispered, biting her lip. "I thought we could do it out here."

"Too many eyes," she argued. Though, Pixie knew she had really meant 'ears'.

"Alright, it's yer product," Pixie relented before following her into the backroom.

"There they go," Cameron said. "Now we're blind." She scanned the room as subtly as possible. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then... "Where'd Carlos go?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Everybody was all of a sudden yellin' out there own words of encouragment or unthinking tactics as Gale and Young Master Axel found themselves the centre stage attraction of today's beatdown bust'em up. This had escelated way faster than she'd expected. Not that ol' Gale couldn't stand an audiance, but fightin' crowd was pretty far from havin' a song an' dance at the evenin' gathering. Then again, given all the shaking fists and cussin' maybe it wasn't. So it was same as usual, she just had to give as good as she got.

Granted, she couldn't use the strip off tactic as well as he could. Though it might offer a distraction to her opponent.

"Like what ya' see, sweetheart?"

"Yeah." Gale grinned, putting her arms up in a guard. "The single chest hair really pulls it all together." Fella could keep himself lean though, Gale had to give him that.

 

[The Funslinger]

"The single chest hair really pulls it all together."

"OHHHH!" Whiskey exclaimed, cupping a hand over her mouth as she pranced theatrically past the two teenagers. "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Shit, it's a good thing Maria's here, 'cause you're gonna need some medical attention for that burn!" she yelled.

 

[Terratina.]

"Shit, it's a good thing Maria's here, 'cause you're gonna need some medical attention for that burn!"

It was hard not to get worked up and all too easy to go along with the hollering of the crowd. Not doubt that Whiskey had totally lost herself in the excitement, judging from her behaviour. But it was pretty funny - witty one-liners made up half a friendly fight after all and Gale didn't disappoint. Maria folded her arms and laughed before replying with:

"Again!?" Maria exclaimed, "I swear that's all I do around here. You sure you wanna go through with the fight after that, Sprout?"

***​

This was not a good day, Astor had decided.

Even if he could count all of the misfortunes on one hand, that was still too many! The crude crowd wasn't particularly helping his sour mood either. Cheering on a fight... Maybe some of the Nobles were fight, common folk may have some noble spark within them steering them to a path of honour, but that spark was simply a piece of pearl stuck in a piece of pork - they couldn't escape their breeding. The same went doubly so for bandits.

"Show him the might of the desert winds, oh gallant Gale!" He shouted out with false vigour.

Nothing to do but feign a small smile and cheer the exotic ashen flower on. How boring.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"And boredom commences in, 3, 2, 1..."

Hands held behind his back, Asad stifled a grin as Tsubaki's whisper tickled his ear.

"Behave" He whispered from barely parted lips. She was right though. The Major really didn't care for the pomp and ceremony of the entire situation. Had he not known Elizabeth personally, he would have thought her the same as all the rest.

"That's one fuckin' dangerous girl.

Asad rolled his eyes as he turned to face the woman. "You're not still angry about being shot in the neck are you?" A wry smile curled his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Mila did not look pleased. Not one bit.

"They're all dangerous," Tsubaki remarked with a sigh. "There isn't a single honest man or woman in the bunch."

"You two are being very judgemental today." Asad quipped as he raised an eyebrow.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes. "Am I wrong?"

"Don't even bother, Saburo," Mila argued. "This one's already under the girl's heel from what I hear."

"'From what you hear'?" Asad furrowed his brow with amusement. "This information wouldn't happen to come from the same source as the oh so witty quips at the Commander's expense, would it?" He glanced at Tsubaki, winking at her subtly. "Because frankly, Lieutenant, I wouldn't trust any of those fucktards to wipe their own asses without messing it up."

"Gossip's gossip," Mila said. "It comes from everywhere."

Tsubaki crossed her arms over her chest and looked over to where Elizabeth and Dio stood. "He's just doing his job, Lieutenant," she said, obviously a little pissed of.

"You'd have to be blind not to notice it."

"Notice what?" Tsubaki shot back without prying her eyes away from the main event.

"His newfound loyalty," Mila said. "It's written all over that stupid smile of his."

Asad's expression hardened slightly as a tinge of anger rose in his throat. "If you have something to say Lieutenant, then say it, because I've only been doing what I've been ordered to." He clenched his jaw as he straightened his posture, holding his hands behind his back. "Please, tell me what you've heard."

"You're too sympathetic," Mila said without missing a beat. "It's fine to be passionate about you job, but in this case... you're only going to hurt yourself, Harel." She clenched her jaw. "Or someone else."

Finally, Tsubaki shifted her focus back to Mila. She stared daggers into him. "You're not his CO," she said.

"Last time I checked, neither are you," Mila countered.

"You're right, heaven forbid I treat a child like a child." He clicked his tongue. "That always ends with a high body count." He smirked. "Corpses everywhere."

Looking at Tsubaki, the man shook his head incredulously. "Is this what it's always like? No wonder you hate everyone. I get it now." He chuckled.

Tsubaki simply shrugged and looked back towards Elizabeth and Dio. She was done with this conversation.

Mila scoffed. "Whatever, Major," she said. "Just forget it. I'm not one to say 'I told you so', anyway." And with that she walked off to join Ortega on the other side of the room.

"How has she been?" Tsubaki asked once Mila was gone. "Lady Maribel, I mean."

Asad scoffed as the Lieutenant took her leave. Stepping closer to Tsubaki the man sighed as he followed the woman's gaze to Elizabeth. "About as well as one would expect." He smiled sadly. "She's in a pretty crappy situation, Tsutsu, I wouldn't judge her too harshly."

"Is she still resisting?" Tsubaki asked.

The Major shrugged his shoulders. "I doubt she'll ever be happy with the deal. But she's gonna try and make the best of her situation, I suppose." Looking down at the Commander, Asad pursed his lips. "How about you, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tsubaki looked to him and cocked an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"I dunno, the Lieutenant wasn't helping matters." He shook his head as looked around the ballroom.

"Gossiping pricks, the lot of them." The man muttered. The accusation seemed to annoy him more than he would have liked.

"Ortega's been whipping some of the smart asses into shape," she said. "He's a good soldier. A true professional." Tsubaki hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Asad... Dio wants me to replace Ortega on Chimera squad. I told him no..."

"Yeah?" Asad frowned as he looked at Tsubaki. "Why'd you refuse?" He smiled slightly. "Still hanging on to hope that Samsara will get back together?"

"Hope?" Tsubaki scoffed. "You kidding me? We took down the Cook. Samsara will be up and running again in no time. I promise you."

"That's good." He smiled. "The sooner things get back to normal, the better."

He crossed his arms over his chest as a thought entered his mind. "I know we're here in a professional capacity, but we could just... You know." He looked at the woman, a glint in his eye and a grin on his face.

Tsubaki pursed her lips. "Asad," she whispered. "We have to be more vigilant than ever. This may look like just another noble circlejerk, but Lord Basilio's life is in real danger."

The man sighed, "Isn't it always?" He coughed as he placed his hands behind his back and resumed his professional demeanour. "Who is it this time?"

As subtly as possible, Tsubaki nodded in Contessa's direction. "Lady Contessa," she said. "Paradiso's Golden Empress. The worst kind of enemy to have."

Asad followed Tsubaki's gaze. "Oh, that kind of danger." The man stifled a mock yawn. "The boring kind." He gently nudged the Commander with his shoulder. "Can we just shoot her?" He muttered from the corner of his mouth.

"She's the most powerful woman in the world, Asad," she told him. "Besides, I doubt she's the only threat here."

Asad smirked. "Sure, why not, everyone else might as well have a crack at the big boy." Asad narrowed his eyes slightly. "They're all here to move themselves up in the world, I doubt there's more than a handful of people in this room who are here for honest intentions."

"What about Lady Maribel?"

"There's a difference between lying through your teeth to move up the Ivory Tower." The man furrowed his brow. "And ensuring you're not a liability to be disposed of."

Tsubaki nodded. He had a point. She wouldn't argue it.

The two of them watched the proceedings awhile longer. "Hey," Tsubaki whispered before pointing at a woman standing nearby, "that's Lady Tigereye. She's the mother of the woman that was kidnapped alongside Lady Maribel. The one who died."

"Her kid was killed when the Iron Maiden got hijacked." The man pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Lady Maribel doesn't really talk about her, but I knew they were friends."


"It looks like she's next in line," she said. "What's that in her hand?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Sprout laughed off the taunts from the others, focusing soley on Gale. "You ready?" he asked with a smug grin.

Gale took a deep breath, then another, then another. Her feet spread out to a shoulder width apart and she became just a little less conscious of the hollering crowd around her. Just a little less. "Ready."

Sprout crossed the gap between them in the blink of an eye. "I warned you," he barked as he sent an open palm straight for her chest.

Gale gave a quick yelp, looking like a deer in the headlights as she quickly jerked an arm down to meet his, by way of a rookie deflection (this was maaaybe like Bennie had done it?). He still hit way harder than his size would have made gale think though as she backed off fast.

"Right for the boob, guy, really?" She called over to him over the din, trying to get her form back.

Sprout laughed. "If I wanted ta' cop a feel I'd have been more gentle," he said with a wink. "Come one, let's see what else you got."

"An' struck under cover of darkness." Gale said through light pants.

Well it was like folks said, the best offence was a good offence. 'Wait- ah fuck it!' There was no chance of her catching him off guard with speed, so may as well go with it an' see how things went from there. Maybe slow and steady would catch him off guard. Playing to her strengths, Gale sent out a firm kick aimed for the lower side of Sprout's leg.

Sprout chuckled obnoxiously. Just before her kick landed, he stepped forward, right over it. Absorbing the blow with his other shin, Sprout thrusted another open palm to the same spot as before. The force of the blow knocked her backwards, causing her to trip over the leg she had attacked.

Sprout whistled as she flopped over onto the floor.

And Gale hit the floor in a most undignified way, weird little ouchy noise an' all. The whistle did not help her injured pride. She clambered to her feet, brushing herself off and giving a quick rub to the sore spot on her chest. Well it was on, now.

Gale moved back into the fight faster than she had before, trying her hand at a feint; doing her best to mimic the movements she'd seen Whiskey use to lure a dozen rookies to their ass beating doom. Charging in for a light jab to the right before throwing her weight into a low attack to the left. Her heart was in it a little more at least.

Sprout raised his eyebrows in surprise. he hadn't expected her to recover so quickly. Sprout saw through the feint too late to counter, and evaded instead. As she pressed the attack he stepped backward and weaved in and out of her punches. "Come on, you can land one blow, right?!" he taunted.

"Wouldn't you like to see the kinda blow I can land?" Gale retorted, her voice light as her breathing got more rapid. Yeah his jibes were getting under her skin a little, but it was pretty cool too. This was what she'd wanted, right? 'Least the guy was actually talking to someone besides Glitter for a change.

She kept going, aiming a bunch of quick hits for his exposed torso. She didn't have the size or weight that the older maidens had to bring to this kind of attack, wasn't like she could open with it like the chief or Whiskey could but if she kept crowding him then maybe she could throw him off balance like they'd kept doing.

As cocky as ever, Sprout continued to evade the assault, stepping backwards with each new blow. Eventually he felt his heel hit the wall.

Uh oh!

Gale must have known she'd cornered him at that moment, so before she could press the advantage Sprout went all in. Crouching low, he dived forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and took her to the floor.

His face got buried between the girls when they hit the ground.

The world fell away for a quick second before coming back with a vengeance and knocking the wind out of gale, big time. She blinked back the stars in her eyes and tried to shake the ache from the back of her head.

It was after getting her senses back that she became REALLY aware of the sweating, heaving, weight that was sprawled out on top of her and the warmth of heavy breath on her chest.

She didn't really have a comeback for this one.

In fact words kind of failed her right now as she looked down in silent confusion at the form of Sprout. Her hand (which had briefly been resting on the top of his head) moved round to poke/push his face back as their eyes met. gale, for her part, just looking kinda lost.

"Uuuh..." Was all she managed to say.

"SHIT!" Sprout blurted out as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. Waving his hands out in front of him, he blushed bright red. "S-s-s-sorry! Totally unintentional! I promise!"

"Aw no, cus- y'know - but-" Her wit was failing. Why was it failing so hard?! Oooh now she was blushing, that was just great. Gale sat bolt upright - and almost put her face right into his chest - oh it just got better!

Blushing her own pink tone and suddenly REALLY aware of the crowd of onlookers she scooched away from Sprout as fast as she could and scrambled to her feet.

"Anyway! We were fighting!" Gale shouted, ready to get hyped and violent... oh and fix the fallen shoulder strap of her tank top.

"We were?" Sprout asked with a small, nervous laugh. "I'm purdy sure only one of us was actually fightin'!" As the extra blood began to drain from his face, he gave her wry smile. "You ain't bad, Gale but I think we're still on different levels. Why don' you whip Jesse's ass fer me instead."

"Aw an here I thought that the spankin' was about to start?" Gale gave here own little nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah... I guess that's what the trainin's for, right?" He did have a point, wasn't like she had him on the ropes from the get go. Besides she couldn't rely on the gals to win her every fight.

"I'll, ah. get right on that..." She backed off, ready to go for some regular training again. Or maybe just crawl in a corner and die.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"There they go, Now we're blind."

"I figured I'd always see better with two eyes..." he then contemplated his statement. "Below the belt?"

Cameron ignored his statement as she looked around. "Where'd Carlos go?"

Aesop slowly turned around and leaned his elbows against the bar, looking as relaxed as he could, though the smell of booze in the air and stained into the walls wasn't doing him any favours. He could manage though, everyone on the maiden was drinking constantly. No, it was Carlos's absence that got him more.

"Maybe he's gone for a 'Cogburn' himself." Aesop shot her a suspicious look. He knew his outlook on the man was skewed, but everything he had learned was making him trust him less and less.

 

[Fappy]

"Thank you, Lord Bolton," Elizabeth said with a forced smile. The jewelry was nice of course, but ultimately meaningless. This man was known for his mistreatment of his subjects and the betrayal of his own brother, the former Lord of Silverpine Dome. His generosity was not at all genuine. "I will be sure to treasure it. Perhaps I will wear the necklace to tomorrow's ball."

"I would be honored, M'Lady," Bolton said. "And, of course, my wife sends her regards."

Elizabeth nodded to him before he turned on his heel and walked back into the crowd. Once he was gone, Elizabeth handed off her gift to Raphael and turned to greet her next guest.

Is that...?

"Darling, this is Lady Tigereye," Dio said as he beckoned the woman forward. "She's come a long way to see you."

"U-uh, i-it is nice to finally meet you, M'Lady," Elizabeth stammered. It took everything she had just to meet the woman's gaze. She was quite beautiful and looked eerily like that of her late daughter. She had that same air of confidence about her.

Josephine...

The noblewoman stepped forward. "Lady Maribel," Tigereye said with a small smile. Though she sensed a hint of sadness in the woman's demeanor, Elizabeth couldn't help but envy her resolve. "I must apologize. We dishonored you and your family when you visited my home. I hope you understand that it was a... difficult situation."

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. "She was an amazing woman and a great friend," she assured the mourning mother. "I have yet to meet someone as worthy of being called 'noble' as she."

"Your words are kind," Tigereye said. "Thank you."

"If you ever need anything from me you only need to ask," Elizabeth promised her. "Your family will always be my friend."

Lady Tigereye's smile grew warmer. "I will remember that," she said. Elizabeth returned the gentle smile. "Now, to the matter at hand." Bowing her head, the noblewoman produced what appeared to be a sheathed saber, adorned with a golden trim and a white finish, and extended both of her arms out for Elizabeth to receive the blade.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "A-a sword," she muttered.

"This blade was forged for Josephine," she announced. "She was to receive it from me when she took a husband as is our tradition. It is yours now."

"I-I-I don't know what to say," Elizabeth said.

You sound weak. Don't do that.

"Thank you," the young noble said, her voice suddenly more firm. Reaching forward, she took the weapon in her hands. It was heavier than it looked. Their eyes met once more. "I will forever treasure this gift. It means more to me than you know."

Tigereye nodded. "Make my daughter proud, M'Lady," she commanded.

"You can count on it," Elizabeth assured her.

Dio looked to Elizabeth and cocked an eyebrow as Lady Tigereye turned to leave. Elizabeth had slid the sword partially out of its sheath to inspect the blade.

There was a curious grin on her face.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Maybe he's gone for a 'Cogburn' himself."

"Noway," Cam began, "you think he slipped into that backroom before they did? I mean, Pixie says he's a sneaky mofo, but I didn't take him for a fuckin' ninja. That's Cranston's gig." Cam scanned the room once more.

Nothing seemed out of place, but she was getting really bad vibes. She couldn't quite place it.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Patricia Giovanni, a.k.a. 'Bonnie', was definitely Pixie's type as far as women went. Small, slender and blonde. In fact, she did look a bit like Amy in some ways. She kept her somewhat wave-y hair at shoulder-length, with bangs that reached past her eyebrows and wore a royal blue and black, old west-style barmaid outfit that suited her more than Pixie wanted to admit.

She was damn fine as far as the Bandit Queen was concerned.

"Holy shit, don't sneak up on me like that!" Bonnie shouted just as Carlos appeared around the corner with a bottle of brandy in his hand. They had just closed the door behind them when they realized they weren't alone. "How did you get in here?!"

Pixie chuckled. "He's damn good at 'is job," she said. "I reckon that skill's why yer aunt wants 'im fer this hit."

Carlos simply smiled as he poured them all drinks. "She's primarily concerned with you, Monroe," Bonnie corrected her.

Once they were all seated around the small table in the center of the cramped room, Pixie replied. "Yeah, well, Contessa needs his B-an'-E skills," she said. "I'm good, sure, but I don' reckon I can break into Basilio tower without 'is help."

"Right," Bonnie muttered before sipping her drink. "So, this deal."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Pixie leaned back in her seat and smiled. "I wanna speak ta' Contessa," she demanded.

"Out of the question," Bonnie said. "That's why I'm here. You talk to me."

"No Contessa, no deal," Pixie shot back.

"Look Monroe, you---"

"Don' 'look Monroe' me, kid," she interrupted in a condescending tone. "I've been at this game a long time an' I know yer boss. I know she's gotta ulterior motive ta' every visible move she makes on the board. Despite what I may 'er may not owe her, there ain't no way I can make a deal without talkin' ta' the woman herself. I need ta' know fer sure I ain't gettin' played."

"We've discussed this at length, Bonnie," Carlos told her. "She will not compromise."

Bonnie glared at the smug woman before her and finished her drink in one swig.

This was going to be tougher than she thought.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Oh Jesus..." Asad muttered, making a very deliberate attempt at not bringing his palm to his brow. "A sword?" He looked at the ground. "I hope it's fake." He chuckled slightly as he glanced at Tsubaki. "Please be fake."

The last thing he needed was the girl badgering him for fencing lessons.


============================================

Lilith and Bennie returned to the training room, both holding a bottle of beer. The pair had tossed back a few whiskies and had decided it was time to see if anything the man had said had sunk in. Sprout had just finished pulling his face out of Gale's chest.

Glancing up at Bennie, Lilith smirked knowingly. "Oh, he's good."

"Aye, was a good scrap."

Lilith jumped slightly, squeaking. It's as if the little redhead had appeared out of thin air. "Er, yeah, sure, the fight." Lilith chuckled. Allie looked a little worse for wear, but at least she wasn't muttering incoherently.

"Reckon mah lass could have had 'im, jus' dinnae wanna emasculate the poor boy." The girl nodded her head sagely.

"Mhmm." Lilith smirked. "Manage to find the elbow grease?" She bit her bottom lip as she raised the bottle to her mouth.

Allie looked up at Lilith, an unamused expression narrowing her eyes. "Oh aye, very funny." The girl sighed, stretching her arms above her head. "I figured it out. Thanks for helping, by the way." She nudged Lilith in the ribs gently.

"I promised Ruffles I wouldn't, but hey, if he still thinks you're running around the ship searching for fictional lubrication, you might as well take a breather."

"What do ye think I'm doin'?" The girl smirked, winking.

 

[Terratina.]

Astor simply stretched after watching that wreck of a wrestle. His mind wasn't focused on the noble-eater's son's lewd behaviour, oh no. It would be pointless getting mad at a base animal, after all. In fact, there was only thought going whizzing through the boy's mind: 'I see, an opportunity has presented itself.'

Of course! It was so simple! Out of the female Maidens, he could count the ones who didn't mind his advances on one hand; Lilith always repeated that silly catchphrase of hers, Amy was... Amy (besides, there was simply no sport in being led on like that), Maria understandably seemed to prefer men over a certain age range while Allie was a bit below Astor's and didn't appear to comprehend the whole business of romance yet... Gale, on the other hand, was easygoing and Lord Ivan always said that one should aim for diversity with these things. If only he had thought of it sooner!

Sprout had already made himself the bad guy, so it was a simple matter of adding a few embellishments to the story. Spirits slightly lifted, 'Jesse' made his way over to Gale every bit the gentleman. He then placed his arm around her shoulders and gave his best solemn, serious and sympathetic look.

"You fought valiantly, but of course he had to turn it into... a mess." 'Jesse' said in a low whisper, "My sympathies. Know that I'm always here for you, whether I am to be your punching bag or your teddy bear."

 

[Dogmatic99]

"My sympathies. Know that I'm always here for you, whether I am to be your punching bag or your teddy bear."

"I...uh... thanks, I guess." Gale rubbed at the back of her neck, the raw feeling of embarrassment was dying down but not quite going away, more like it was just turning stale.

Public acts of physical affection may not have been a big taboo in the caravan but this wasn't home quite yet, and who could say how a motor boat tackle could be taken in any society. Just another new experience to add to the list Gale was building up over her travels.

"I mean I don't think the fella meant for things to get so... steamy." As good a word for it as any. "Pretty sure pervs don't turn into tomatoes the moment they get a handful." She forced a little laugh, trying to seem more chilled out than she was.

Not that Gale felt any shame over the matter but scanning the faces of the onlookers she got the idea that she wouldn't be hearing the end of this for a while. 'Way to make a good first impression as a force to be reckoned with, hun, that's not gunna hurt your bandit credentials at all.'

"Besides, I might need a few minutes before I can go a few rounds as a punching bag again, myself." Sprout had put her through her paces big time, no doubt about that.

 

[Terratina.]

"...Besides, I might need a few minutes before I can go a few rounds as a punching bag again, myself."

"Come now, making excuses for someone else simply won't do." Astor replied, batting away any suggestion that it was an innocent accident. Really, it was all too easy to twist into something sinister. Before Gale had a chance to interrupt defend Sprout even more, Astor continued onwards, "Anyway, I think this'll help you limber up."

Suddenly, both his hands were spread wide on her shoulders. His thumbs began to move in a circular motion in what would mark the beginning of a much needed massage. His well-practiced hands got into a steady rhythm as they moved back and forth from neck to shoulder to her back, being ever so gentle each time but not too gentle. There was plenty of tension to ease, after all.

Seriously, did Sprout even recognise how embarrassed he had made her feel?

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Come now, making excuses for someone else simply won't do."

"Come on it's not like-"

"Anyway, I think this'll help you limber up."

"Oh - okay so this is happening but you- oooohh..."

Gale got cut off again, not by words but by some very fancy finger work... it was... ooft! Some good stuff! Though she'd certainly started building up a good quota of 'boy feels'. Again, not really the kind of reputation she probably wanted to make among a group of hardened criminals. Hell, the ex-Austinites might eat her alive, she was already getting a few weird looks from over there way as it was.

She tried to make some prolonged eye contact with the gathered vets (and Allie, standing cool and firm like a tiny guardian). 'What do I do?' She mouthed over at them, flicking her eyes sideways in Jesse's direction.

 

[The Funslinger]

Whiskey put a hand over her mouth to hide her smirk as she watched Jesse grope Gale. Surprisingly, she seemed to be enjoying it. The kid had probably learned to rub backs by doing it for his mother, because she'd be damned if the cringey little Romeo actually had any experience with women.

Noticing the pleading look Gale was casting around, Whiskey straightened her face and approached the pair. "Alright, alright," she said. "As one of the adults in the room, I'm breaking this up. Either cool your jets, or take it somewhere private. You'll scar the kids in the room for life, otherwise." She cast a hand in the direction of Allie, who was still smirking next to Lilith, completely unperturbed. "Look at her, this one's clearly traumatized."

 

[Fappy]

"What do ye think I'm doin'?"

"Smart girl," Bennie remarked before taking a swig of his beer. "The key to productivity is knowing when to take breaks and for how long. You start overworking yourself now and you'll end up like 'Roofles'. I don't reckon you'd want that, now would you?"

Sprout laughed as he approached the group. "What's so bad about Jake?" he asked. His face was still a tad flushed.

"Good point," Bennie said. "At least he's got more manners than you. You probably scarred that poor girl." The big man laughed.

"Ah, she'll be fiiiine," Sprout assured him. "I bet she---" Sprout went silent the moment he turned to look at her. Jesse was there... massaging her.

You sly mother fucker...

Bennie whistled. "Looks like someone's already moved in to comfort her," he said with a shrug. "You blew your chance, kid."

"Look at her, this one's clearly traumatized."

Bennie glanced at Allie and chuckled. "Pretty sure Sprout's the traumatized one here," he said.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Please be fake."

Tsubaki pursed her lips. "I know my way around swords," she said, "and that blade looks real to me."

Tsubaki's eyes wandered from the glistening edge of the saber to the crowd gathered in front of Elizabeth and Dio. Contessa appeared to be next in line.

"That's her," Tsubaki whispered.