Lena:

A few days later, at their evening meal.

Eleanor is here again! Does she like talking to me so much?

I suppose I don't mind.

The conversation at the table turned to the latest news: the forthcoming execution of that lowlife.

"So the king has decided to execute someone. In public." said Alice, "How horrible."

"Yeah. But what that man did is also horrible," said Cassy.

"Can't they just imprison him?" said Bronsen.

Lena caught a glance of Aragon's expression.

Yeah, he thinks the same. Why should the town spend all of that money supporting a useless shit like him for who knows how many years?

Aragon didn't say anything, nor was Lena intending to. However, Eleanor was willing.

"Considering his crime, why would anyone want to keep him alive?"

The Misfits looked between themselves. Eventually, Drayden decided to have a say.

"Well, back on Earth, in our society, it's a matter of deciding not to condone any murder of another person, not even if it's justified. After all, to execute someone, you have to have someone do the killing. And once that someone has killed, the difference between them and the person they are killing is only a matter of degree. So it's a matter of morality; you just ban murdering someone no matter what the cause. I mean, you can always lock someone up for life."

Always lock someone up for life? That's expensive!

There were no replies from Aragon, Eleanor, or Lena. Eventually, Eleanor spoke up.

"While I'm sure that your society back on your 'Earth' place is exemplary and just, unfortunately, here on Felixerra, it's a bit more difficult. Maybe we're not as advanced in our morals of something?"

"Well, maybe," said Alice.

"You said something about a man deliberately setting that bus - whatever that is - rolling down towards the cliff. Surely you don't think that man should live?" said Eleanor.

"Ah, well, I hope he spends the rest of this life in prison!" said Alice.

"And if he wasn't operating alone, I hope everyone else also rot in some prison cell!" said Cassy.

Lena looked at Eleanor.

I think she's decided to quit for the time being.

"Well, whatever. Unfortunately, that man will be garroted in the public square tomorrow morning. May I suggest that you don't attend? Although I believe Aragon has to, as part of his guard duties?" said Eleanor.

Aragon nodded his head.

Various Misfits said they had no intention of being anywhere near the place.

And there's no way I'm going, either - a horrible sight.

Wait a minute...

"Say, Eleanor, do you intend to go?"

"Yes, I certainly do. It's a very disagreeable sight, but I feel I should bear witness to how the new king runs the country, including the public spectacles he puts on."

No kidding.

After a while, after Aragon and the Misfits had cleaned up, everyone except for Lena and Eleanor left.

"That's clever of you, getting Cassy and the others to put your orphans to bed," said Eleanor.

"Well, now, they did offer. And the kids love them."

"That is amazing. But, still, they are definitely looking to you as their mother."

That took a lot of hard work, lady!

"Yes, I am pleased that they are. It is also pleasing that you take the time out of your own busy life to have meals with us."

"Ah, yes, my not so busy life. I don't have all that much expected of me; the Treasurer pays me a pension merely because I'm the old king's daughter. So I make myself known to the public and try to help out here and there within my limited powers."

"That's quite noble of you."

"Yeah. The people, many of them, still have some vague feeling that I'm someone important merely because of who my father was. And, I suppose, maybe some of them are sorry for me."

"Well, you are nobility."

A snort of derision from Eleanor. "Rapidly fading nobility, no longer have any connection to the current king, in a dying kingdom."

"It's good that you know your place and don't have ideas above your current station."

"Thank you, Lena. It's good to be reminded of such things. I wouldn't want to become too unrealistic about my future life and prospects, would I?"

"Of course not. And I'm quite happy to keep on reminding you."

"Then, in that case, I will definitely keep on coming to these little gatherings. Meeting you is a tonic for my soul," said Eleanor.

"Is it indeed? Probably not a very strong tonic."

"Oh, I don't know. You know, people might regard me with some tepid warmth and interest, but I have no friends or family."

Does that mean that she regards our group as some sort of family?

"Is that so... Say, do you regard me as some sort of friend."

"Why, I guess I do. I wouldn't say that in any tepid way, either."

A backhanded compliment?

"Then, I suppose, I don't have any adult to talk to either. Aragon and Esther are too busy fumbling towards some sort of relationship, while as for the Misfits..."

Lena rolled her eyes. Eleanor laughed.

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"I agree; they are so naive and pure," said Eleanor.

"Except for the sex part, they certainly can't be considered pure when it comes to that!"

"You bet. They seem to have absolutely no attractions to anyone outside of their group, but within it..." said Eleanor.

Eleanor paused, then added, "Frankly, I don't think I ever want to be in a relationship with a man again."

Now we are getting serious.

"I suppose I can say the same about myself."

"So, we are both failed women, are we?" said Eleanor.

"It looks like you will have to keep coming here so that we can commiserate with each other. Certainly, no one else is interested in our woes," said Lena.

Eleanor agreed. They said their goodbyes, and Eleanor left for her own house, leaving Lena to see how well the Misfits had tucked the children in for the night.

As it turned out, the orphans were sound asleep, both clutching their stuffed toys.

Those teenagers...

The Treasurer:

Over the next two months, the new king favourably impressed the Treasurer. He worked hard and never shirked the more boring and tedious parts of his duties. In the Treasurer's opinion, the new king was neither creative nor intelligent, but he wasn't too bad either. And most importantly, the new king was willing to listen to the Treasurer's words of wisdom and, as appropriate, act upon them.

This is good, all good!

The Treasurer had just picked up another pile of completed reports from the king's desk. He flicked through the papers.

Yep, mostly good choices here - well, not all, but maybe he has the better idea sometimes.

And if I keep plying him with the wines from the old king's wine cellar, he will probably keep listening to my ideas while thinking they are his own.

I have almost as much fun being the power behind the throne as he gets from being the king. Plus, it's a lot safer. Nobody thinks that I'm of any importance.

There was only one little irritant in the Treasurer's ordered little life - the continued executions. Oh, and also the king's obsession with the popularity of Eleanor.

I'm sure this latest accused is innocent. Well, mostly innocent. He doesn't deserve to be strangled to death.

On the other hand, Kalitran seems to be reading the mood right - the people, in general, are going along with all of it without any visible dissent, and he has managed to gather a core group of guards who are happy to carry out his orders.

Hmm - it was no surprise when both Jane and Aragon eventually extricated themselves from having anything to do with organising the executions.

Let's hope that Kalitran didn't notice.

A week later.

The Treasurer pursued the latest records of the work done by the Misfits.

I'm pleasantly surprised. They may goof off a lot and don't seem to take anything seriously - except for their weird and wonderful four-way relationship - but they manage to get through a respectable amount of work. I'm running out of fields and roads to clear of rocks, and trees to fell, and wells to dig. How about something more ambitious, say making a stone arch bridge over that little creek where the old wood bridge collapsed?

If they make a hash of it, no problems. And I can send that old man Mr Kachraine to help them; he used to be an excellent stone mason before old age got to him.

He made the arrangements and then sent the request off to the Misfits.

An hour after this, the king requested his presence.

Narrator:

The next day, they were walking out to their new work location, as in, all of them.

Lena had decided that walking out to a creek would be a healthy outing for her orphans.

Eleanor decided that she might as well keep Lena company.

Evereena begged Mum to let her go, and Esther decided she might as well go along.

So, of course, Aragon decided he'd tag along.

Finally, there was Mr Kachraine. He was in high spirits, looking forward to a day out of his house, and he had four youngsters willing to listen to him all day as he imparted his wisdom about constructing stone bridges to them.

The Misfits also carried about a ton of lumber and some tools for making stone bridges. Their Bonded Implements didn't cover all requirements, you know.

The Misfits:

“Say, isn't something missing?” said Drayden.

He looked to the back, where there should have been a couple of guards discreetly strolling along after them, keeping an eye on the four slaves.

But he didn't see any.

"Hey, has anyone noticed that the accompanying two guards are missing?"

Aragon looked around in surprise.

"So they are. That's a bit slack; I must mention something to Jane when we return."

" Aragon, exactly why are the authorities so concerned about the slaves? They don't appear to be in any more danger than anyone else."

"Ah, well, because... Perhaps you should ask someone else?" said Aragon.

He looked at Lena. She looked puzzled, and she then shrugged her shoulders. "How would I know?"

He next looked to Eleanor. With a perfectly blank and composed look on her face, she said,

"Perhaps I can tell you at some later stage. Just not right now, OK?"

Four Misfits look at each other.

“Ah, OK,” said Drayden.

Lena:

The actual creek was only a metre wide. In a small gorge, two metres deep and four wide at the top. So, the bridge needed to span somewhat more than four metres. It was a pretty small bridge, well within the Misfits' capabilities, as long as they listened to Kachraine.

"OK, kids, first you need to excavate the footings on either side of the creek..."

Eleanor and Lena, sitting next to each other and watching Mason and Becky amuse themselves by picking flowers and climbing a (small) tree, were suitably impressed.

"I never knew that Bonded Implements could have so many variations!" said Lena, "I don't have even one."

"Ah! I agree. And, actually, I do have one." said Eleanor.

"What sort?"

"Don't tell anyone, but it's a throwing knife."

A what?

Lena raised her eyebrows. "Why should such a refined lady like yourself need a - throwing knife?"

"Perhaps I'm not a refined lady after all? Unlike yourself, of course," said Eleanor.

So, are we using words to spar with each other? It might not be as deadly as sparring with a sword, but I don't like deadly.

"Well, perhaps I should try to get something like that? It might make me a refined lady since I'm obviously not one now. Although, knowing my luck, it will probably be a stirring spoon for cooking. Or something equally bland."

"Oh, I'm sure you are good enough just as you are now."

Evereena:

Evereena was dividing her attention between the Misfits as they dug out soil and cut through rock with alarming rapidity and her mother and Aragon as they sat together and talked to each other.

She was overwhelmed by how fast the Misfits were moving.

And the girls are exactly as strong as the boys! Look, Cassy just then cut her way through a bolder that's as big as her. And then she picks up the end bit and casually tosses it out of the gorge! I wish I could be like that.

And that old man Kachraine appears to be having the time of his life. He's like a slave master, ordering them around. But it's not like it, is it? They are not compelled to follow his orders, and in fact, they argue back all the time. He takes it and answers their queries, and eventually, they all move on.

This is so different from being in a slave society.

She was also eavesdropping on her mum as she talked to Aragon. She was startled at how fast their relationship appeared to be going. Startled but not overwhelmed.

How far have they progressed in their relationship?

I mean, surely Mum doesn't want to have sex with him? Or, at least, not yet?

Surely she remembers all of the times our master 'called' her to his bed?

She did her best to suppress a shudder of disgust.

She was reasonably confident that it hadn't happened yet; after all, she did sleep in the same room as her mother.

Sigh. Perhaps I should stop worrying about such things. It's much more fun watching Cassy and Alice show the two boys who's boss.

Right at this point, Cassy was having yet another argument with Drayden.

"No, no! We need to cut through this rock on a slanting line from here! That gives more support area for the footings, just like Kracher said."

"Look, if we do it from the other side, it will be easier to start the cut and still give the same amount of area," said Drayden.

Their voices were starting to rise.

"But it doesn't need to be any easier; it is already straightforward from this side!"

... after several iterations of this argument ...

"Fine, fine, we'll do it your way," said Drayden, looking pissed off and disgruntled.

Bronsen and Alice exchanged glances. They had just finished an equivalent task on their side of the creek.

"Hey, kiddies! Isn't it a bit early in the day to be engaging in foreplay?" said Alice.

Bronsen giggled hysterically. Cassy glared at Drayden and Bronsen while Drayden turned away and started cutting the rock.

Another strange word. What does foreplay mean? Probably, Mum won't know. I could ask Lena or Eleanor... Wait a bit; this is the Misfits we're talking about. If I know them, it's probably got something to do with their constant obsession with sex. So, foreplay is - arguing about whether or not to have sex? And, of course, sex is done at night, so right now is too early - so Cassy is arguing about something else as a substitute? But, going by what the girls keep saying, they like sex. So why are they arguing about it?

Evereena put her hands up to her head and massaged her temples.

I‘m missing something here.

I think I should stop trying to work out this sex thing. At least not until I get older.

After all, it's got nothing to do with me.

I'll continue being friends with Cassy and Alice. Err, and also the boys.

Yeah. Just forget about understanding the sex stuff.