Fantasy Emptying the Golden Throne

[CJWrites]

Ada's face turned purple, and although the door was closed she shouted back through it. "I didn't ask for any of this! All I wanted was to rescue my sweetheart and he can't even be bothered to respect my boundaries."

Val's just being hysterical, Ada reasoned. Arthur would understand and they would be fine. Still, a doubt in the back of her mind said otherwise. Ada climbed onto the bed and rolled over and tried not to feel guilty. She had no problem being a coward, but she did have one with abandoning her friends.

Abby was making tea in the living room when Val slammed the door. She blinked.

"Is something wrong?"

 

[StoneWolf18]

Val wouldn't respond to Abby at first, just move silently over towards the living room, sinking into the nearest piece of furniture with her head held in her hands.

"She wants to say..."

 

[CJWrites]

"Oh," Abby said simply. It wasn't surprising. Win wouldn't be happy but they had plenty of room for her in their lives. Her mind started whirring about how to get Ada the proper documentation. It shouldn't be hard. Her father still sat in the house of lords after all. Maybe as a refugee? Or a relative of her mother's?

"I'm sorry," Abby said. It must be hard for Val to leave her sister behind. "But I'm assuming you'll want to go back?"

 

[StoneWolf18]

"We don't belong here..." Val muttered. "And if we don't go back, specifically if she doesn't go back, I'm going to be arrested and executed."

Her tone was low, clear annoyance and frustration in her voice but various other notes of desperation as well.

 

[CJWrites]

Abby sat down beside Val and offered her a cup of tea.

"I mean... you think you don't belong but maybe Ada feels like she does. Who is to say who does or doesn't belong anywhere but yourself?"

Her eyebrows raised. "Woah... what do you mean executed?"

 

[StoneWolf18]

Grasping the warm mug of tea with a sigh, Val would then explain what she meant.

"Ada can stay here as much as she likes, but she had to know her decision has consequences..."

 

[CJWrites]

Abby nodded as Val explained everything. Her stomach churned as she thought of Win on a noose, the trapdoor beneath him about to fall, and she shuddered.

"Well, if she's anything like me..." Abby thought, "She's probably trying to convince herself everything will be ok. In CS we always have backups. We can always undo. And if she's royalty, she's pretty used to doing what she wants, isn't she? But see... when you argue with her, then people tend to get more entrenched in their own beliefs."

She had heard Ada shout through the door.

"Look at it from her perspective. She's finally happy and she believes you can all be happy too. In her mind, you're trying to drag her back to a life of misery when you don't need to. You have to convince her that you aren't trying to make her miserable but acting in her best interest instead, not shout her down. There's still time. It shouldn't be that hard to convince her to rescue and get back with your brother. She's obviously still on it."

"Or," A thought struck Abby. "When we find a way for you to return, drag her with you"

 

[StoneWolf18]

Abby's first response made her feel worse, Val gripping the mug in her hand tightly, ignoring how hot it was. But her second suggestion...

"That's how we'll do it then." Her voice was flat but oddly determined.

 

[CJWrites]

Abby frowned and was about to start protesting before the door slammed open.

"Surprise!" A woman cheerfully shouted. She looked surprisingly like Abby, although her face and eyes were more angular and her hair was long straight and straight in contrast to Abby's curls.

Abby's jaw dropped. "Mom! Dad? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"See, Abigail dearest," The man said. He had blond hair and blue eyes which twinkled with mirth. "Your beautiful mother has a conference at your humble university."

"I didn't get the impression we were humble" Abby muttered under her breath. If her father heard, he didn't notice.

"And we simply could not resist dropping by!"

It almost made Abby regret twenty years of matchmaking to bring George and Isabella Byron back together.

"Don't you have... poetry to write and parliament sessions to sleep through?" Abby pointed out.

George waved them off, "Poetry can be written anywhere"

"Oh! This is Win's sister right?" Isabella turned her attention towards Val. "She's a lot shorter than I remember"

 

[StoneWolf18]

As the door was slammed open, Val jumped, almost spilling her mug of coffee as her eyes widened at the arrival of what seemed to be Abby's parents. But her gaze was locked onto the older man.

Aside from a bit of modern clothing he was a splitting image of the king.

Absolutely terrified by this thought she would freeze, paling at the thought of him still living and not quite able to convince herself that this was someone else entirely.

 

[CJWrites]

"Uhh....." Abby entoned. "No, this is Val's cousin. Although her name is Val too. It's kinda confusing"

But she knew that excuse would not work for Ada. How was she going to explain Ada?

The poet got a concerned look on his face. "Darling, are you alright?" He moved towards her

 

[StoneWolf18]

At the moment, she wasn't listening to anything being said but focusing on someone who looked like the man that nearly had her and her brother killed (and not to mention countless other people.)

And so when he moved towards her, to Val, her reaction was more than justified.

She gave a strangled scream, the mug falling from her hands and shattering along the floor as she tried to back away.

 

[CJWrites]

"What the?" Abby jumped up and the poet had a look of hurt confusion on his face as his hands stopped. "What's wrong with you?"

"Val!" The door to the guest bedroom opened.

Ada's eyes first landed on who she recognized as the king and her expression turned to one of horror but as they swept through the rest of the room, Val pressed against the wall, Abby on her feet, and finally...

"Mother," Ada whispered. She was much taller than Ada remembered, her face was showing signs of again and she was wearing contemporary clothes, but Ada saw her as clear as the day her own mother had died, looking back with determination as she went out to guide more people and the shelter doors swung shut. And then broken, her limbs mangled and her body covered in burns and soot.

Isabella's jaw dropped. "Abby," she said sternly. "What is going on?"

All stories of students down on their luck with amnesia faded from her mind.

"You'd better go back inside," she told Ada and Val. Ada reached out a hand for her sister, their previous disagreement gone from her mind. She turned to her parents. "You're not going to believe me...."

 

[StoneWolf18]

Val wouldn't protest as she was mutely lead back into the guest room, numbly moving towards the bed and taking a seat on its edge.

"I-it isn't him..." she mumbled, mostly to herself. "B... but it looks like him..."

Win had heard the commotion from his office, opening the door to the room and peering out. He was about to greet Abby's parents when he realized who they had most likely seen. "Well this is going to take some explaining..." he grumbled with a sigh, moving to stand beside his future wife.

 

[CJWrites]

Ada sat beside her and hugged her sister. "I know"

She had gotten chills up her spine when she saw him. She couldn't imagine what Val was going through.

--

Abby gave a brief rundown of what had happened. Her mother's face grew more and more concerned as her frown deepened while her father's morphed into one of dreamy wonder. If either of the otherworld siblings had been there, they would probably have been reminded of their old adversary.

"So... we don't really know how to get them back, so they're stuck here for now. Its... well... the best way to describe it is Victorian but their tech is a bit better. And geopolitics is apparently totally different."

"And ahh.... why did the young lady, what do you kids call it nowadays, freak out? when she saw me?"

It occurred to Abby, maybe Ada didn't have the best home life growing up. She never talked about her father or being royalty, but mentioned once her mother died in a bombing when Abby brought up her own mother.

"Umm..." she shuffled her feet and avoided her father's gaze. "I dunno"

 

[StoneWolf18]

Val leaned into the hug, closing her eyes, trying to take her mind off of the subject but finding herself unable to do so.

--

Win would provide a little input and a few comments here and there before speaking up to answering the poet's question.

"It could be that they had a rough childhood. Or-" he was cut off as his cell phone began to ring. "I gotta take this..." stepping aside to answer the call, he would frown as he listened to the voice on the other end.

 

[CJWrites]

They held each other for a while but eventually, Ada started squirming and feeling a bit uncomfortable. She pulled back.

"Feeling better?"

--

The poet sighed. "Honestly, darling, I don't know what you see in that man.... he's so..." he waved his hand and gazed at Win's back with a forlorn look. "Dull"

Abby rolled her eyes. She and her father rarely saw eye to eye.

"Dear...." Isabella put a hand on his arm. "Win is a fine young man and Abby is an adult now."

"He's still here!" Abby hissed. "I'm pretty sure he can hear you" Then again when did that drama queen care what other people thought of him.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Val didn't protest when Ada awkwardly pulled back, the woman giving a hesitant nod. Although she was certain she wouldn't feel better until they were back in their own time...

--

Win heard them, but didn't bother responding. It was something he had dealt with time and time again, her father never seeming to let up

"Is this really necessary? Am I the only one?" He asked his employer, unable to give any more protests before the call was disconnected.

A sour look was upon his face as he walked back over towards Abby. "Apparently there's something going on over in America and I'm the only one available to go report on it..."

 

[CJWrites]

Ada's fists clenched and unclenched. "We'll find a way back. Promise."

--

Abby's expression morphed into one of disappointment and sadness. She took Win's hand in both of hers and drew close.

"And you can't convince him otherwise?" She asked, but her tone made it clear she knew the answer.

"Alright then." She drew in for a kiss. "Be safe. I'll be sure to read the resulting article."

 

[StoneWolf18]

"I hope so..."

--

"I'm sorry..." Win sighed. "I leave on the first flight out tomorrow..."

Leaning in for the kiss, he lingered on a moment longer before giving her a smile and moving to their room so he could pack.

 

[CJWrites]

Turns out Mark's situation was close to his, having just come back from a tour in Afghanistan. So he spent most of his time reading books from the library. He looked up from "The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won" to see Allen open the door and greet Mark, who was cooking dinner, with a brief hug.

Matthew suspected they were trying to keep, but anyone could see the tender affection between the two. It made his stomach squirm, but not in the way the two men imagined. When he saw them interact, he remembered Alan's sheepish smile after he told a corny joke, usually stuttering more than usual. Afterwards, his heart would flutter, but rather than laugh, he'd turn red and make an excuse to leave. When he closed his eyes, all he can see is Alan's expression of resigned sadness. Like a kicked puppy. It was stupid. Why'd he keep trying?

"Yeah? Abby?" Mark pulled that rectangular box from his pocket and held it to his ear.

He briefly pulled it down "Abby's parents are in town and want to take us to dinner."

Allen nodded "Sounds good,"

Meanwhile, in another apartment, Abby knocked on the door of her second bedroom. "Hey! We're going out for dinner, coming?"

 

[StoneWolf18]

The knock was unexpected and startled Val a bit, they asking if they wanted to go to dinner.

Unsure how to respond, and if it would be a good idea, she looked towards Ada, hoping she would answer for them.

 

[CJWrites]

Ada's eyes widened. "Uhhh...."

She saw the look on Val's face and instantly knew what she was thinking.

"Uh.... will your father be there?" She asked.

Abby hesitated before responding. "I mean... he's paying... but we have so many people that you won't have to see each other."

Ada looked back at Val.

Meanwhile, the muffled music of Beethoven filled the living room.

"Hello? What?" The poet's face paled. He turned to his wife "Darling, I apologize profusely but I must be off. Some idiot decided to accidentally shred my manuscript," His nose crinkled

"Perhaps not so accidentally" Abby muttered under her breath, before turning back to the room "Nevermind, he's got to be somewhere else"

Ada's shoulders relaxed and she looked at Val. "I'm going." She was dying to see her mother again.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Val was about to refuse if the poet was going, but once Abby stated that he had somewhere else to be, she would slowly stand with a nod. "I'll be going as well then..."

 

[CJWrites]

They all piled into two cars and drove to a nearby restaurant where they met up with Allen, Mark, and Matthew.

Matthew, Ada and Val squeezed into a booth together.

"How've you been?" Ada asked.

"Alright," Matthew admitted. "I've been reading. This world is fascinating. You?"