Cassandra Pendragon
“No, I refuse.” My voice was reverberating with a hint of eternity, but the sly vixen… former vixen, now dryad and apparently architect behind my newest bit of trouble, had apparently used my distraction to the fullest and I wasn’t amused. Not one bit. Especially since I seemed to be the only one who took any offence at her proposals.
Sera, back in her draconic form, the living cavern around the pond was large enough to accommodate even her oversized body, produced a sound like grinding rocks in her throat and filled the dimly lit grotto with the scent of molten gold and flames, overshadowing the sweeter fragrances of cherries and a few herbs I had never seen before but which were now flourishing along the banks of the magical spring. “You can’t have it both ways,” she interrupted me with more mirth in her voice than I thought appropriate. “If you don’t want to lead you’ll have to live with the decisions others make.”
“That’s just mean,” I complained. “So either I place myself on the throne or you lot push me onto it?” Somehow I was reminded of an old movie I had seen a few times. The Life of Brian. There was this scene where he was hailed as the messiah, trying to get out of it, but the more he struggled the more adamant his so called followers became.
“Cassy,” Mordred, of all people, intervened, “why do you have to make a mountain out of a molehill? Nobody is asking you to take a crown or become a queen, but… first of, I thought you’d be glad that no one asked why you suddenly have seven tails or where you’ve been for the last two hours and secondly…,” he sighed while I blushed, “it doesn’t change a thing. Come now, you know as well as I that you’d only humour anyone else for as long as they’d act just like you want them to. Once you’d be at loggerheads you’d just do as you please and none of us could stop you. Ahri, maybe, but she’s so besotted that she’d simply support you, no questions asked. We’re simply trying to prevent more trouble in the future since we do need some structure. I mean,” he spread his arms wide, “have you seen the size of this thing? For now we might get away with simply discussing everything we intend to do, but if you keep on adopting strays left right and centre, soon we’ll simply be to many to make that work. Someone has to make decisions.”
“Also,” Greta added to my chagrin, a wide smile plastered on her face, “I simply won’t listen to anyone else, so there’s that.”
I huffed but deep down I already knew that I was fighting a losing battle. In case you haven’t yet figured out what we were arguing about: the future, mainly how to organise a place that would, most likely, turn out to become a haven for a myriad of people. Someone had to make up the rules and while I was all for active participation, Mordred was right. If it came down to it, someone had to make the call and I wouldn’t accept anyone’s judgement, provided I didn’t agree in the first place. But that was still a far cry removed from… I couldn’t even finish my thought before my mom decided to speak her own mind.
“And you’re thinking about it the wrong way,” she explained. “Look, this isn’t about politics or power, it’s about practicality. Cassy, whatever else, this is your… house and while most of us would like to stay, it will always remain yours. Your power made it grow and its stubborn spirit has already made it plenty clear where she stands. So, simply put, your house, your rules. It’s just unfortunate that you’ll have to deal with more than a handful of people, considering how everything is developing, but in essence, you’re just a… landlord. Is that really too much to bear?”
“Depends, are you going to pay rent,” I scoffed. For a bit of context: ever since the tree had grown, every notion of Mordred and my mom leaving had been abandoned unanimously. The few kids, and it really were just a few, who would go with Arthur, as they were fed up with adventures, dangers and chaos, would be fine on their own. At least that’s what my family claimed. In truth, I thought they simply didn’t want to leave a place that looked just like Boseiju and was going to harbour a host of magical creatures. Also, I assumed they preferred dealing with me, who had no political ambitions, whatsoever, to my brother who had already shown his willingness to play games. “Also, do we really have to discuss this with everyone around,” I added.
“It concerns all of us,” Alassara replied, grinning. “Besides, technically speaking, we’re still on my land, so…” I just about managed to suppress a curse and massaged my temples.
“Fine. You all realise how much of a bad idea this actually is, right? I’m impulsive, emotional, easily distracted and, to top it off, won’t even be here for extended periods of time.” A few more smiles and quiet chuckling was my only response. Screw it. “Alright, here’s what I’m willing to do. Neither will I pretend to care about what you get up to, nor will I busy myself with any form of hierarchy. I will, however, get involved if anyone living here wants me to. On my own terms. That’s all you’re going to get. And I swear, the first one to ask for my permission or about titles, rights, rules and some such nonsense is going to have a very rude awakening. I’m prepared to lend my help, to all of you, which should actually be a given, but I won’t shoulder the responsibility for how you live or what you make of your lives. This isn’t a kingdom and I’m not a queen. I never will be.”
“We’ll see about that,” Arthur replied, his grin the widest of all. “I pretty much shared your views when we left Boseiju, but life, more often than not, has its own plans. For now, and that’s actually the question at hand, we can agree that it’s you decision who actually lives here and who doesn’t, yes?” When I nodded hesitantly he immediately continued: “In that case, I’d like to ask… well, not your permission, since I don’t plan on finding out what you meant by a rude awakening, but your blessing to leave some of my people here. We don’t need them to communicate but I’d still like to make sure we won’t drift further apart in the future. Quite the opposite. Maybe we can even find a way to move between Free Land and our home without having to sail for days. It’s about 2 weeks, depending on the winds, to reach our island from here. I’d like to change that. If you’re in agreement, of course.” The infuriating ignoramus even bowed form the waist. God. Damn. It. I should have seen it coming, but I really hadn’t. If it had been up to me I would have simply delegated the whole mess to my mom and Mordred, but the two of them had already made it plenty clear that they wouldn’t budge. My mom wasn’t able to properly interact with people, just yet, and my brother simply didn’t want to. “Your magic, your problem.” His words, not mine.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I am… as far as I’m concerned, everyone’s welcome.”
“That’s a relief,” Alassara chuckled. “I was already afraid I’d have to ask your permission and incur your wrath.”
“You don’t want to rebuild your own home,” I wanted to know, taken by surprise. She slowly shook her head, her eyes flickering towards the hollow trunk with a look of wonder.
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“I’ve thought about it, but… I’d like to start anew and, well, pretty much everyone I care about is here, so if you’ll have us,” she wrapped her arms around her daughter, “we’d be glad to stay.”
“Then we’d be glad to have you. Same goes for all of you. If you want to, that is.” My gaze traveled over the assembled circus but I was in particular trying to give the ones who didn’t know that much about us, namely the two barmaids, whose names I had unfortunately already forgotten, Pete’s little family and Madame Sinis and her enticing entourage, a chance to escape before it was too late. The two sleeping beauties upstairs… they wouldn’t be going anywhere, not if their soft snores, which had told me that they had fallen asleep without fear for the first time in forever, were any indication.
“We, or I, won’t live here,” the Madame immediately stated, “I’ve only come because we have unfinished business. Besides, I don’t plan on changing my occupation and I don’t see you appreciating me offering my services in your home. You’re, of course, always invited, I’ll even grant you a discount, the first time, at least, but I don’t want to live anywhere where I’m forced to play by someone else’s rules. But that’s just me.” She turned around and focused on the six girls she had brought along and added: “I can’t speak for them, of course.”
The one at the front, a tall, busty blonde whose face might even have given Serena a run for her money, timidly asked: “are we even invited? We… we’ve never much talked and you don’t know us. We simply came along because of what the Madame has already told us… she hasn’t been very clear but she hinted at a chance to change our lives… I, for one, would gladly take it and I’d also love to live somewhere where I don’t have to hide or fear for my life. But of course, we all understand if you don’t want us close by, especially with all the baggage we will bring along. I’m also… pardon my honesty, but while I’m quite used to hopping into bed with strangers, moving in with them is another matter. Could we… it seems like you’re going to decide on your own plans for the future. Could we just listen in? Depending on what we hear it might yet go either way. Don’t get me wrong, I am… we all are grateful for what you did for this town and also for us, we probably wouldn’t have survived, neither the fight against that demon nor the struggles that followed, if it hadn’t been for you, but still…” she spread her hands helplessly, too shy to meet my eyes. I tried for an encouraging smile but since the whole situation was grating on my nerves I wasn’t sure how well I managed.
“Of course. That’s probably the first reasonable bit I’ve listened to since I came down here.” I turned slowly on the spot, searching for Morgan and Auguros, whom I found close to Vanya and Will. “I owe you four, but if it’s alright with you, I’d like to get everything settled beforehand. A bit of privacy might be better for what we intend to do, don’t you agree? I can hardly throw this lot out the door before we’ve agreed on what’s going to happen now.” The two mercenaries shared a look and Will blurted out:
“Don’t you… shouldn’t we, that is all of us who haven’t arrived here with you, leave? Don’t you mind us listening in? I’m usually not shy but…” he shrugged noncommittally.
“Don’t be daft,” Greta grumbled. “That’s your town as much, if not more, than it is ours. Whatever is going to be decided here is going to impact your life. Why ever would you want to run?”
“Because that’s way above my pay grade,” he admitted helplessly and I really regretted that we didn’t have a dwarf among us. By now, one of them would have put an end to the entire nonsense about privileges and responsibilities since we had a few real decisions to make without encumbering ourselves. Ah well, maybe I could manage as much myself. I didn’t have an axe nor a shield, which I could use as a drum, but getting everyone’s attention was well within my capabilities. That part I might even manage better than our bearded friends.
“Enough,” I hissed, my words whistling through the room like a whip. “That’s exactly what I meant…,” I turned towards Will, my eyes glowing, “I didn’t come to know you as a coward or a moron but that’s exactly how you’re acting. Do you want someone to shoulder the weight so you can later on point at us and blame us for everything that went wrong? I’m not going…” Ahri’s hand on my arm made me pause before I could even get truly started.
“Not helping,” she whispered. “I know you’re miffed that you’ll probably be the one held accountable for all the shit that’s going to come, but, darling, you would be either way. It’s not his fault and,” she added loudly enough for everyone to hear, “we’re all pretty much out of our depths. Look, it’s pretty simple, isn’t it? By happenstance or design we’re now faced with a city without a leadership, a city that has been exploited and has suffered for years on end. Cassy has already agreed to keep an eye on everyone who’s going to live here,” I hadn’t, quite the opposite, but interrupting didn’t strike me as the best idea, “which includes some, if not most, of the people with any real power left. And… well, neither Serena, nor Emilia, nor Captain Nightshade are going to oppose us. Again… mostly thanks to her. We shouldn’t squabble about who’s allowed to and who’s barred from making decisions. We’ve got to find a way forward that works for everyone and power is by no means the same as wisdom. We’ve proven as much ourselves.”
“Pretty words,” Greta said while she made an opulent chair grow from the verdant earth and settled down. “But what’s your point?” I felt a jolt of heat against my skin when Ahri’s temper stirred but she remained admirably calm.
“There’s a simple question we have to answer: where do we go from here? This town needs structure, a leadership, someone to turn to. If we do nothing we’ll return to how things have been. Might makes right, isn’t it? With the 500 former slaves camping outside and the last vampires of Free Land assembled here, this place would become a sanctuary, a last resort but the way people live wouldn’t change. Not really. The whole idea behind creating the spring was to emancipate the people of this town, to give them a chance to defend their home against Amon but also the dangers they’ll have to face from within. And for that, they need a leader they can unite behind and that surely won’t be one of us. One of their own has to step up.”
“Richard,” Mordred quietly interjected. “He’s… good natured, knows everyone around here, is respected and has a pretty solid head on his shoulders. Let’s face it, whoever we’re going to push will most likely end up governing the place. He’s got my vote, for sure.”
“And what about me,” Madame Sinis croaked. “I wouldn’t mind taking the reins.”
“Then you’ll have a decision to make,” Alassara replied quietly. “Maybe I’ve misunderstood our guardian angels but to me it pretty much seems like they want to separate personal and political power.” I hadn’t thought about it like that, but truth be told, she had hit the nail on the head. “The ones who can pose a danger to this community individually shouldn’t be the ones to guide it, otherwise strife and bloodshed will surely follow. If you’re still interested in becoming a vampire, you’ll have to act from the shadows. That’s nothing new for you, anyways, is it? But it does beg the question… what about us, I mean pretty much everyone here. Dragons, vampires, mages… immortals. What are we supposed to do? Stay at the sidelines and watch? Protect this tree and only intervene when it’s absolutely necessary?” I shook my head slowly.
“We can’t remain apart… this is our home as well now. But we don’t need to rule to offer assistance. Tell me, even you and your brother, would you have dared to endanger this city with your war if you had known that you’d have been held accountable by us?” She smiled crookedly.
“Considering how he died, probably not. So we side with Richard or anyone else who’s appointed to lead and march wherever he points us?”
“That wouldn’t do,” I replied. “But… what about a city guard? It would even balance the scales. I mean… none of us would take to orders kindly. I know as much about myself and I’m pretty sure you aren’t any different. What if we simply formed a… militia. No, that’s not right… a guard probably fits best. I don’t think we should make the rules but we can make sure they’re followed.”
“And if we don’t like the rules,” my grandmother chimed in.
“We’ll have to make compromises either way but I have enough faith in each and everyone around here that I’m not overly worried. If push comes to shove… we’ll simply look for a new leader.”