Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2015 09:42:43 -0800
From: Sellar Dhor <sellardhor@gmail.com>
Subject: Blood In Blood Out chapter 58
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
If you like what you're reading, let me know: SellarDhor@gmail.com.
And let me know where you want the story to go and who you want Jake to end
up with.
And if you have any ideas for the future, let me know, I might include
them.
JUNE 21st
The next day, Jagger and I decided to stop bothering to go to
Sajan's trainings because of the way he absolutely failed to help us
improve, and decided to start training on our own in a different part of
the jungle.
"Look what I was working on last night," I said, dragging along our
two spears and handing hers to her.
"Oh my god, I can actually lift this for once without feeling like I
was about to throw out my back. This is incredible, Ma'am!"
"Glad you like it."
She threw it, and it soared through the air with ease. "Ma'am, this
could save me from passing my skill tests. Thank you so much for doing
this. Permission to totally embarrass you with physical affection of
gratitude, Ma'am?"
"Permission denied. Just pay it forward and bestow your love on
your new-and-improved spear. Sajan did tell us to develop a relationship
with our weapons."
"One of the only times I've heard Sajan stretch out of his safety
zone and employ a metaphor, in fact."
We created an X on a tree, and got really good, really fast at
throwing those spears at that X, totally making up for the wasted time of
the day before.
When we both were feeling confident, we put the spears away and
pulled out the Bhujes.
"Do you want to repeat Sajan's routine? Or, if you don't remember
it, do you want to just go to the combat?"
"Do I not remember Sajan's routine? I'm sort of obsessed with the
man, in case you haven't realized. Stalker level obsessed, Ma'am."
"Wait a second," I asked her. "You like Sajan?"
"Not like that, Ma'am! I don't want to bed your boyfriend! Gross!"
"So does that mean you are a homosexual, Jagger?" I asked. "I
thought you were attracted to Officer Wali?"
"Just because I'm not attracted to YOUR man does not mean I am not
attracted to any man, Ma'am."
"Ah, so you like men, but Sajan is not your type."
"How could Sajan not be anyone's type? He's so beautiful and
strong. No, he's my type. But he was around me more than any other male
growing up. As such, I see him more as a guiding paternal figure than a
romantic interest. Pursuing him sexually would be tantamount to you
pursuing your own father, if he was still alive."
"Just the idea of which makes me sick."
"Sajan is sort of my hero, Ma'am. He is as noble and true in his
duties as I always dreamed I would be. With all the other guards I've
known, they all act professional when they are around you, but you have the
feeling that on their down time, when it is just them around to hear, they
talk shit about you. Sajan is the one exception. He totally lives the
true ideals of his work life all the time."
"Yes, I can attest to that," I said. "Oh my goodness, I just
realize you call me Ma'am just like he does."
"I learned it from him. And it would please me to no end if I could
prove to him that I am strong enough for him to let me be one of his
guards."
She started doing the routine he had taught us, and I watched in awe
as she did it perfectly. I joined in.
When we had finished, I grabbed some battle armor from Sajan's
things and gave her half of it. "This is so we can spar with each other
with the Bhujes without cutting ourselves."
"I'm not afraid of a little blood, Ma'am."
"Wait a second, you are bloodthirsty, aren't you? That's why you
want this job."
"I don't crave blood. But I'm not grossed out by it either, Ma'am."
"Well I am. I hate blood."
"Isn't your choice of job then a little odd, Ma'am?" she asked. "I
actually enjoy the idea of being involved in all aspects of combat."
"I could not handle combat that was really bloody unless I can shut
my eyes or looked away from the worst of it. Really, I'm just doing this
to prove to Sajan that "women" can do this. And also to develop more
self-defense skills, since I've been physically overpowered by vampires or
werebeasts countless times."
We put away the weapons and the body armor, and started to spar for
the hand-to-hand portion.
"Wow, for someone who has no experience with this, you are insanely
talented at fighting, Jagger."
"Thanks Ma'am, but I would be lying if I tried to tell you I had no
experience at this. Ever since I was a preteen, I was inviting boys my age
into my room at night. People assumed we were having sex, but in actuality
I was having them spar with me. I loved it, and I knew it was absolutely
forbidden, so that made it necessary for me never to disclose until now.
You, on the other hand, have very little skills in hand to hand combat.
See?" She punched me three times hard. "You make an easy punching bag for
me."
"Please help me get better, Jagger."
"I will, Ma'am. You may have so much to teach me about the outside
world, but I have you beat in at least one skill. Your hitting is pretty
pathetic."
"That's because I'm looking at my friend, Jagger, across from me."
"I want you to close your eyes, Ma'am."
I did as she said.
"I want you to imagine the face of the one person who caused you the
most pain."
I almost laughed out loud. Trying to even count the number of folks
who attacked me and caused me pain was insane. I settled on Jericho
though, because he was still alive and lurking, waiting to attack me again.
"Alright, he's in there."
"Now, I want you to focus on him attacking you when I do this,
Ma'am."
She started hitting me, over and over again, causing me so much
pain. But in my head, she became Jericho, whose evil face was laughing in
my head as he hurt me.
I punched back, knocking him over and over again.
"Whoa, that's it! You've got it! We found our motivator, Ma'am."
"Thanks Jagger."
*****
"Please grab your Bhujes for the first elimination skill test,"
Sajan said.
All eleven of us grabbed our weapons. I was concerned when I
realized Sajan was not handing out body armor to fight with. Did that mean
Jagger and I were going to end up cut and bloody?
Sajan stood in front of us where he could see us all. "Let the
skill test begin!" he said. "What I ask of you is very simple. I told you
the first day of training that the Bhuj routine that I taught you would be
critical to your success. Here's the proof of that. I want all of you to
face me and show me the routine. If anyone messes up, they will be
permanently excused from Guard tryouts. Go."
We all began at the same time as he watched us. This was not at all
what I had been prepared for, and I hated not being able to prepare
properly for a test. Would I make it through?
I shut my eyes and focused on trying to remember all of it.
The first part of the routine was the easiest, and I knew it quite
well.
But as we got to the second half, I was sweating because I was
worried I hadn't memorized it enough.
I tried a move that I wasn't totally confident about.
"Wrong!" yelled Sajan. "Thank you, but you're dismissed from being
a Guard."
I was so upset at myself, I opened my eyes.
But Sajan wasn't standing by me. He was over by the vampire who had
refused to keep practicing the routine on the first day. I was so
relieved.
"But, Admiral, you never said this test would just be this stupid
routine! I am a great fighter!"
"I don't care, if you can't follow directions, we don't need you.
Please be gone. And you as well. You got it wrong as well," he said to
the guy's friend who had also stopped with the routine.
Sajan made them turn in their weapons and leave.
"To the rest of you, congratulations. You've passed the first
elimination trial, and you can feel free to put away your Bhujes. The next
elimination trial is Spear Throwing."
JUNE 22nd
"Grab your spears. It's time for your second elimination trial.
Spear Throwing."
All nine of us had our spears at the ready.
"Here is the tree with the X you will be trying to hit. Anyone who
cannot hit the X will be eliminated. And here is where you will be
throwing from."
He scuffed a line in the dirt with his foot.
I gasped. "That's longer than the line you had us use during
practice, Sajan."
"Yes, Ma'am, it is," he said simply. "I will be choosing by random
selection the order."
He picked the first one, a vampire man, who walked up to the line
with his spear. He threw it, but it landed a foot or so short of the tree.
He exhaled in frustration.
Sajan thanked him for his interest and wished him good luck. And he
called the next one up.
That guy took his time positioning himself, but he ended up getting
the spear into the very outside of the X.
"Yes!" he said.
"You are moving on, congratulations," said Sajan. He called another
man up.
The next man did even better than the last, and Sajan congratulated
him. He called up another one.
He threw his spear, and I thought I saw the spear hit the outside of
the X.
"I did it!" said the vampire.
"I don't think so," Sajan said.
"But I hit that X!"
"Actually, you are just about a centimeter outside of it. I'm
sorry, but you are dismissed."
Sajan was right, and the man huffed and stormed off
The next guy hit the tree, but was clearly nowhere near the X. He
was dismissed as well.
The next two guys made it closer to the center of the X, and moved
on.
"And that concludes today's skill test," said Sajan. "For those
still left in the running, the final skill test will be Hand-To-Hand
Combat."
"Wait a second, Sajan," I said. "You never called on Jagger and I."
"Called on you to do what, Ma'am?"
"To compete in this trial!"
"Well Ma'am, asking you to compete in this trial seems just cruel.
These spears are way too heavy for female hands. If you tried to hold one,
you could drop it and skewer yourselves to death."
"We are not going to drop them on ourselves!" I yelled.
"Well, even if you managed to throw the spear Ma'am, you could very
well injure each other unintentionally."
"Not going to happen, Sajan."
"Her Grace ordered you to let us compete, Admiral," said Jagger.
"Fine, I suppose I have no choice but to watch you put yourselves at
needless risk. Ms. Kaamat, you are up."
Jagger walked to the line. She threw her spear so quickly, I was
worried she would miss.
I watched the spear fly through the air towards that poor tree.
It landed on the X, just a couple inches from the center.
I took a sigh of relief.
"I cannot believe that, Ma'am," Sajan said. "How did you manage
this?"
"She didn't just pass your test, she did better than all the other
vampire men who went before her, Sajan."
"Alright, Ms. Groves. You're turn."
I walked to the line, spear in hand. Unlike confident Jagger, I was
worried that this moving back of the line would totally mess up all the
training I had done ahead of time. I felt my heart race anxiously as I
tried to line up my shot. I convinced myself that it was silly to be as
nervous as I was, considering that the last time I had to do something like
this, the Axe Throwing rodeo event, I had been so nervous because the
safety of my family was on the line. Here, the only real thing at stake
was my pride, and a chance to prove to the vampire men like Sajan us
regular folk could still have something to contribute.
That made me less nervous, and I was able to size up that X without
my hands shaking at all.
I threw the spear.
It flew through the air slowly. Had I thrown it hard enough? Would
it be short?
It landed on the tree.
"Oh my god, she got it dead center of the X!" said Jagger.
"Ms. Groves just rocked this event! I'd say that's a pass, Admiral."
"Yes, I suppose it is, Ma'am," Sajan admitted, sighing unhappily.
"Now, for the remaining six of you to move on, the final elimination skill
test is Hand-to-Hand combat. As is tradition, you will each have to beat
me in combat in order to prove yourself worthy."
"You, Admiral?" asked one of the vampire men, worry in his voice.
"Do not worry. I do not expect any of you to be strong enough to
beat me in an even match. Which is why I'll be lodging 4 Bhujes in my body
before the match begins, putting me at a severe disadvantage."
The vampire men took a sigh of relief.
"The one on one matches with me will take place in reverse order of
your placement in the Spear Throwing trial."
Which meant, Jagger was second to last and I was last.
"Good luck to all of you."
*****
I was packing my things up when Sajan came in that night.
"Sajan, I'm moving out."
"You, you're breaking up with me, Ma'am?" he asked, sounding so
scared again.
"That's not what I said. I'm staying with Jagger until my combat
trial is over. Ever since I started my tryouts, the only sex or physical
affection I've gotten from you has been angry in tone."
"Ma'am, you swore to me I wasn't hurting you."
"You weren't hurting me!" The truth was, even his angry sex had
been much less physical than any of Maxim's ordinary sex had been. "But it
still felt like you were trying very hard to act sweet and romantic, when
really, all that was pouring off your body was your anger at me. And now,
after how you treated us today, I'm afraid any sex we have now will be
laced with my own anger and competitiveness, especially since I know now we
will actually be fighting each other. I can't stay here, so I'm leaving."
"But this is your place. I should leave, Ma'am."
"This is your place! Remember? Your place! You stay here, in your
place, and I'll be the one to leave."
"But Ma'am."
"Stop talking, please!"
"Yes, Ma'am."
JUNE 23rd
When it came time for the first vampire man to face Sajan in the
Hand-to-Hand Combat trial, the first thing that surprised me was that I was
able to watch the match at all. Given Sajan was impaled beforehand with 4
Bhujes, I expected the whole thing to be much too bloody for me to even
watch without fainting. Instead, I realized that as long as I wasn't there
for his preparation, the fight was just fine.
The two men fought in round ring with a thick mat on the ground.
Sajan had a Bhuj imbedded into the back of each thigh and into each of his
thick lat muscles, but they were bound up with bandages so I couldn't see
much blood.
Obviously being impaled at 4 such critical parts of the body put
Sajan at a huge disadvantage. As soon as the two vampires began to fight,
it was clear Sajan's normal mobility and strength was so dampened that the
other guy soon won, which meant knocking Sajan out of the ring.
Sajan welcomed the man to his guard.
And then he went ahead and had the next combatant fight him so he
wouldn't have to take out the Bhujes.
The second Hand-to-Hand Combat fight was even more one sided than
the last, with the vampire male quickly knocking poor impaled Sajan out of
the ring.
*****
"Come in, Ms. Groves and Jagger," said Devanshi.
The two of us entered her large, gorgeous bedroom. Sajan was
guarding her inside.
"Your Grace, how is the dress making coming for the upcoming ball?"
I asked, looking at the pieces of cloth that were strewn all over the room.
"Horribly," she said. "And I keep looking at the clock over there,
knowing I'm running out of time. You see, there are three fashion critics
who get to tear apart my dress at the ball, but I only need the majority of
them to give me their vote in order for me to not have my crown removed.
Problem is, Oditi Benipal is the most influential fashion critic in the
city by far. Sadly, she has the first chair, and is always the first to
comment. The other two are really just sheep who blindly agree with
whatever Oditi says for fear they will give away their true lack of fashion
knowledge."
"So, basically, Oditi is the only opinion who matters," I said.
"Which could be a good thing."
"Except she is notoriously critical. Now, I knew going into this
that she has a strong preference for old-fashioned, traditional Shankar
Blood fashion, which my mother always excelled at. So, I started out
trying to make a dress that my mother would have done, as you can see
here."
She pointed out a dress to us that she had made.
"But it just didn't seem right. It seemed like a pale imitation of
a Chunni dress. So, I made this one, and then this one, and then that one
over there. Each one improved, but I don't think enough. I still look at
this dress, look at me in it, and feel like something is wrong. So, I made
this new dress, which is totally me, but I feel like Oditi will hate it. I
need both of your advice. I tried to get Sajan to help already, but he was
no help."
"Though, Your Grace, I did exactly as you ordered and tried so hard
to give you my opinion. But I am just a stupid male, and all I see when I
look at the dresses are bunches of cloth. I cannot even tell the
difference between then two of them."
"Sajan was so upset he had been no help to me that he begged me to
allow him to Bhuj himself in the thigh to rightfully punish himself. I
refused as always, and had to order him to stop asking me. What about you
two? Can you help me out?"
Jagger looked at all the dresses. "I'm in the same boat as Sajan,
Your Grace. I will be of no help to you. And just like him, I beg that
you give me permission to Bhuj myself in the thigh." She said the last
part with a dry sort of sarcasm that she used often.
"In your case, I DO grant permission to Bhuj yourself for once again
joking around when the circumstances are all too severe."
"Good thing for the continued wellbeing of my leg that you
technically gave me permission but did not order me to take action, Your
Grace."
"Quite right. Ms. Groves, you are my only hope. What do you
think?"
"I'm again warning you that I have no training in women's fashion at
all, and no interest, either."
"Given how everyone I trust as my true friends are in this room, and
two out of three have no opinion to offer me, I will take your opinion
gladly."
I looked at the two dresses. "Your Grace, I feel as you feel. The
more traditional dress, there just seems to be something off about it." I
pointed to the modern dress. "I feel like this dress is all you. It's
gorgeous. I feel like it's better to wear the dress that really tells
people who you are as queen than to wear a dress that is a cheap imitation
of your mother."
"That's exactly what my gut tells me as well. Which is why I am so
scared of Oditi Benipal's upcoming harsh critique."
I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the new dress. "Let me
pay a visit to this woman to see if I can sell her on this before the Ball
happens, Your Grace. Get her warmed up to the idea of accepting something
modern."
*****
I found Oditi Benipal's mansion in the city. It looked like men
were moving crates around, so I asked if someone had just moved in.
"Ms. Benipal has been in The Raajya West with the Menon's trying to
consult about replacing their Arabian fashions with the Indian ones. She's
been gone for a long time, and just got back today."
"Thanks for letting me know," I said.
I knocked on her front door, and asked the male servant who answered
to have his master give me an audience. He left, and came back quickly
with her refusal to see me. I had to tell him that I had a picture of the
queen's dress at the upcoming Queen's Ball to give her before she agreed to
see me.
I was led upstairs into her quarters. Oditi Benipa was a tall,
willowy vampire who was dressed even better than Chunni, but with
everything about her seeming traditional. Her face was very dour, and her
eyes squinted with judgment as she looked me over.
"Ms. Benipa, here is the picture I have of Devanshi's dress she'll
be wearing to the Queen's Ball."
She looked at the dress on my phone, then handed it back to me.
"Hmm. As offensively modern as your phone and your ugly clothes."
"You are being ridiculous. It's not like she has designed something
that is some modern horror that might be seen on some runway in Paris or
New York but, never ever worn in real life. This is a dress that is
totally Indian in design, but just a more modern take on it. I think you
need to let your old biases go and let yourself see the dress for the
masterpiece that it really is."
"And who are you to tell me you know Indian fashion better than I
do, you dirty male? I've been doing this job for over a century."
"Perhaps it's time to let someone younger take your spot. Someone
whose fashion taste isn't stuck centuries back."
"I'll teach you to speak to me with that tone, male."
Before I could defend myself, she had grabbed a Bhuj and slammed it
into my chest. I screamed in horror as I felt the blade slice through my
skin and go into my muscle as well, feeling like I would be faint. She
pulled out the blade, making me scream in horror again.
"What are you doing?!"
"Just punishing a filthy male animal."
"I am not a male!"
"What do you mean? Of course you are. Your ugly male clothes."
I pulled my ID out and showed it to her.
"I guess when you were out of town, you missed the part where the
queen passed a law allowing women to wear whatever clothes they wanted to.
I am a woman, and you have no right to assault me like that."
"Well, I didn't know."
"That's not my problem. You committed battery against me, and you
will end up in the Animal Spectacle because of it!"
"Luckily, no one witnessed this, and it's your word against mine."
"Not with this, it isn't," I said, holding up my phone. "I've been
recording this whole conversation. All I have to do is turn this in, and
instead of attending the Queen's Ball, you'll be having a different kind of
ball entirely as a pack of tigers rip your skin off."
"There must be something I can do to keep you from turning this in."
"Yes. When Devanshi comes out in her modern dress, you will smile
happily and gush about how magnificent you think she looks."
"But everyone will know that I would never get behind such an ugly
dress. I'd sooner applaud her if she came out wearing a garbage bag."
"Are you saying you would rather die than lie and give Devanshi your
approval?"
She had to process that one for a scary long time. "I suppose not."
"Then your review will be glowing. Glowing!"
"Yes, I agree!"
*****
It was all I could do to walk home without passing out on the
street. When I did get there, Devanshi herself healed my wound gratefully
with her blood before I passed out at Jagger's.
JUNE 24th
The third Hand-to-Hand Combat elimination match looked like it would
go just as the previous two had gone. That's why I was so shocked when
Sajan's punches seemed to actually hit the other vampire with more reaction
than the other two.
Was Sajan not using the same technique the 4 Bhujes stuck into
critical parts of his body? I looked him over carefully, and everything
looked exactly the same.
I asked Jagger how old the first two vampires had been. She told me
they were both of breeding age, which meant a hundred years or more. So,
in other words, physically very strong.
She knew this vampire and the other vampire male that had not yet
fought his match were both something less than being of breeding age. But
that still meant that they were both, as vampires, much, much stronger than
humans.
So why did the vampire end up unconscious on the ground, with Sajan
pushing him out of the ring? When he woke up, Sajan thanked him and
dismissed him from being a Royal Guard.
Once again, Sajan wanted to just leave the Bhujes in and do one more
fight for the day.
The last Hand-to-Hand Combat match with a male vampire was just as
scary as the previous one, only Sajan seemed to pummel the guy unconscious
much, much sooner.
I was terrified about the idea of Jagger and I facing him. How
would we ever manage to beat him?
*****
The Queen's Ball was so beautiful, it took my breath away. It was
in the grand Shristi Ballroom of the palace, a room filled with ancient
Hindu statues of Shristi Shankar and her four arms. It was at night, with
beautiful candles lighting up every corner of the room. I wore my best
suit, and all of the hundreds of attendees were dressed to the nines,
looking absolutely amazing. Chunni arrived looking as beautifully dressed
as I had ever seen her, refusing to even look at Jagger or I.
As was tradition, the Queen was the last to arrive. When she pulled
out into a royal balcony, looking absolutely gorgeous in her modern blue
dress, there were many gasps of horror from the audience. I could see
Chunni crack a smile.
"Fashion Mavens," said Halah, who was officiating the event, "get a
good look at Her Grace. The first task will be to ask if you approve of
her fashion tonight. Ms. Benipa?"
She said nothing for a long time. I gave her a look.
"She is beautiful. I love the modern look, and I give her my
approval."
There were gasps of surprise from the audience. Chunni's smile
faded.
The other two women quickly agreed, and Halah announced that the
queen had approval from the fashion world.
Chunni quickly disappeared.
I'd never seen Devanshi stand so tall or look so confident. She
started to give a speech that seemed like it was sort of a state of the
union address, giving a sneak peek into the changes she would be making in
the near future as their queen. All of them sounded wonderful to my ears.
JUNE 25th
Jagger was throwing punches and hopping around, warming up, looking
just as confident as she always did. Sajan came into the ring with his
Bhujes in. He looked at her, concerned.
Sajan turned to one of the guards who stood nearby. "Please seek
out Her Grace and see if she will come and grace us with Her presence."
"Yes, sir."
The guard left, and Devanshi showed up soon after. Everyone bowed
to her.
"Your Grace, I'm afraid I cannot follow this order and hit
Ms. Kaamat, and hitting Ms. Groves in the next match is inconceivable to
me. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Your Grace."
"But Sajan, I ordered you to give them both the normal chances to
make your Guard that you give your vampire men."
"I know you told me this, but this is an order I cannot complete,
Your Grace. I'm sorry, but I am ready to tender my resignation as
Admiral."
"Wait, no Sajan, you are being silly."
"Your Grace, my punches and kicks could do permanent damage to these
women, while the men all heal quickly, like myself. I am just too strong."
"Guards, wrap up Sajan and Jagger's hands until there is so much
cushion there, they won't be able to do any serious damage. We'll do that
for Ms. Groves fight as well. And I'm preventing any kicking in these two
matches."
Even when the guards had padded both their knuckles so much it
seemed to work as a more robust MMA glove, Sajan wasn't happy.
"This still won't suffice, Your Grace. Taking away my kicks or
softening my punches still will not change the fact that I am so much
stronger than these women."
"Sajan, wait. It seems at least part of my Special ability has to
do with turning supernatural creatures into just having the strength of a
normal man."
She used her hand to form that bubble that we had played with
before, and moved the bubble into his body.
"That is strange, Your Grace."
"I've taken away all your vampire supernatural abilities and turned
you into a normal human. You can put away those weapons now, there's no
need for them."
"Yes, Your Grace."
He removed the four Bhujes, as well as the bandages.
"Now, you can be rest assured that when you swing at Jagger or
Ms. Groves, you will do so with their own strength. And you will not be
able to heal during a match either, just like them. So, it evens the
playing field, and just the person with the strongest combat skills will
win."
"This is an improvement, Your Grace, and I thank you so much for
trying this with me. But I still cannot bring myself to strike Ms. Kaamat
or Ms. Groves. And because of that, I have failed my duties as your
Admiral, and I'm resigning, Your Grace. I'm sorry."
"No, Sajan," Devanshi said.
"No, Your Grace?"
"This is not some job that you can just quit whenever you want. I
am your queen, and I have the power to order you not to resign and follow
my order as I stated."
"But Your Grace."
"Not another word from you, Sajan! You will fight your match with
Jagger this second, and not pull a single punch, but give it everything you
have! These are your royal orders!"
He nodded angrily, but said nothing.
"Let the fight begin," Devanshi said.
As soon as she said it, Jagger's fists started to skillfully fly
towards Sajan. Seeing her speed and skill at boxing took my breath away,
so much more skilled than Alik had ever been, probably because unlike Alik,
she actually loved combat.
But then Sajan stopped just looking stunned at her speed and started
to react, showing his own skill as he countered her moves and started to
get his own hits in.
Slowly, the momentum slid towards Sajan.
I realized she was about to fall, and I shut my eyes, not wanting to
see it happen. I knew how much this meant to her, and she was about to
fail.
"Victory by knock out!" said Devanshi. "Someone get the medic."
I opened my eyes as was shocked to see Sajan on the ground,
lifeless, and Jagger standing over him, victorious. I felt so happy for
her.
Devanshi extinguished her sphere, and Sajan started to wake up right
away. He stood up.
"Your Grace, I beg you to require Ms. Kaamat and I to have a rematch
tomorrow. It was not a fair fight."
"What are you talking about, Sajan?" she asked.
"I hadn't realized my four Bhuj injuries wouldn't have healed like
normal once I extracted them before the fight began. As such, I fought the
whole match with deep gashes in my thighs and back. It gave her an unfair
advantage, Your Grace. I never would have lost to her if I had been given
time to heal from my wounds beforehand. If you give me a rematch, I will
for sure defeat her, I promise you."
"I'm sorry you had to play wounded, Sajan, but I cannot ask Jagger
for a rematch. She has done exactly what all the male guards have, she has
beaten you in Hand-to-Hand Combat. And she did not cause in any way your
injuries, I cannot allow her the indignity of asking her to have a rematch.
She is admitted into your Royal Guards."
"Yes, Your Grace. But I promise you, when it comes time for me to
face Ms. Groves, I will not be injured unfairly, and it will be a real
balanced match. I will not fail you then."
"Well see about that," I said, my pride keeping me from just letting
Sajan make me seem like a weak pushover in front of everyone like that.
*****
"Jagger, you have to help me. You absolutely blew Sajan away in
that match, and watching you do it blew my mind away as well. Now, I have
my dignity on the line, and this is my one chance to prove my worth to all
those doubters watching these matches. I am going to spend every free
moment between now and my match practicing, and I need you to try and give
me as much of your skill as possible."
"You are a gifted athlete, Ma'am, so this shouldn't be too difficult
to teach you all this."
And we started to spar.
JUNE 26th
This time when Devanshi showed up to officiate the final
Hand-to-Hand Combat Trial, she had Jagger present not as a participant but
as one of her new personal guards. Before the two of them arrived, I had
spent hours in the ring warming up for this fight on my own.
When Sajan arrived, he once again begged Devanshi not to make him
fight this fight against a woman, that it just wasn't right, especially not
the woman he loved, but she refused. She used her power to take away his
vampire strength, and had both of our hands padded. She reminded us no
kicking would be allowed.
"Sajan, I am ordering you to give your very best performance today,"
said Devanshi. "No pulling any punches just because this is a woman.
Understand me?"
"Yes, Your Grace." He looked at me. "I beg your forgiveness for
the hurt I'm about to cause you, Ma'am. You know I detest the very idea of
all of this."
"I know, and I forgive you ahead of time for all you are about to
do, so please don't let your guilt keep you from giving me your best
fight."
"Yes, Ma'am."
The fight began. At first, it was hard for me to look at Sajan's
handsome, familiar face and not feel weird about throwing punches. I
realized he would quickly win unless I snapped out of that feeling fast.
Just as Jagger had taught me, I shut my eyes. When he hit me, I
didn't see Sajan's sweet visage. I pictured Jericho sneering back at me,
with Giggles behind him.
That did it. I started to hit back with as much ferocity as I
could. When I did have to open my eyes, I kept my glances away from
Sajan's face to keep the villainous images intact.
As Sajan's blows came at me, I concentrated on not just hitting as
hard as I could, but more importantly, I used the skills Jagger had taught
me to string together action and counteraction.
He seemed to tire of my barrage of hits and he knocked me onto the
ground, locking me under him with his legs as he punched me with his fists.
I defended myself, trying to make his blows as least powerful as
possible. And then I slowly wormed my body around until I had my left hand
free. I used it to start to hit him back. Soon, I had both hands free,
and we were back on even ground as we both tried to overpower the other
with a wrestling match.
When I was worried he would overpower me, feeling like I couldn't
breathe and would black out soon, I deiced to play possum, going limp on my
stomach.
Sajan used the opportunity to jump on my back and put me into a hold
from behind.
I jumped to my feet, taking him up with me as he continued to hold
onto me.
He tried to bend his arms around to hit me in the face, but of
course he couldn't bend like that when he had his powers removed.
I jumped backwards, slamming Sajan's back into the floor, and
landing right on top of him. I followed this up with bursts of punches to
his face.
Sajan went limp, slipping into close unconsciousness.
I realized for the first time that I was absolutely certain I was
going to win this fight. That certainty felt incredible, but I couldn't
wait to prove myself to everyone else who was watching as well.
"Hmm, it looks almost like the Admiral is going to lose, doesn't
it?" I heard one guard close to me in the crowd whisper to another.
"Yes. Too bad."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the Admiral told me he had sent a letter to Her Grace before
the match in case he lost it. It contains his resignation, as losing to a
woman clearly means he is not fit to be a guard any longer."
"But Her Grace will just refuse his resignation again."
"That's why he included in the letter his avowal to commit suicide
if he lost. She cannot legally prevent him from killing himself, not even
with a direct order. And he thinks it's all for the best, and the loss to
Ms. Groves will show he has devoted his whole life to a cause that he never
was strong enough to represent anyhow, and without being a guard, he has no
reason to keep taking up resources with his life, as he has nothing left to
give this Blood."
"Makes sense to me."
And then the whispers became too quiet for me to understand.
I was so mad at Sajan for his plan. But I could find a way to
convince him even if he lost this battle to me, there was still value to
his life, couldn't I?
But doubt gnawed in my heart. I wasn't sure I could convince him
not to kill himself. That was the bottom line.
I so, so wanted to finish this match with a victory on my head, to
prove myself to everyone.
But my pride was not worth risking Sajan's life. And so I did
something that I never expected I would ever be able to do.
I stopped hitting and I threw the match, feeling my dignity seep out
of me as I shut my eyes and pretended to be unconscious.
Sajan recovered from his unconsciousness and started to hit me
again.
I acted hurt and let him carry me out of the ring.
"I'm sorry to say that Ms. Groves was just beaten in battle by the
Admiral," said Devashi as she extinguished her bubble. "Ms. Groves, I'm
afraid you are no longer permitted to try out for the Royal Guard ever
again."
"Yes, Your Grace," I said. "Sajan, take me home, please."
"To Ms. Kaamat's place, Ma'am?"
"No, to your place."
"You are relieved for the rest of the day, Sajan," Devanshi said to
him.
He bowed to her and took me to our old apartment.
I pulled off his clothes and pulled mine off too, dragging him into
bed. By the time I kissed him, all the anger had left me, and all I felt
was the knowledge that I had almost lost him that day.
"I want us to go back to how we were before, Sajan." I kissed him.
"I'd be honored, Ma'am."
He kissed me again, and for the first time in much too long, I felt
none of his anger there in the background. Just his sweetness.
Soon, I was pulling him inside me, and we had the most loving,
passionate sex that we had until that point.
JUNE 27th
I was just finishing unpacking the things I had taken over to
Jagger's moving back in with Sajan completely again, when Sajan came in and
looked surprised right away. "Where is that sound coming from, Ma'am? Is
this some spell you've cast?"
"No spell, Sajan." I pulled out my phone and showed him the source.
"My phone plays music when I want it to. This is Elvis Presley, a singer I
grew up listening to back home. This song is called `Jailhouse Rock.'"
"Very fine, Ma'am.
"Do you like this song, Sajan?"
"Ma'am, I am just a humble male, incapable of understanding art such
as this. But if you are a fan, I am sure she's a very talented musician,
this Ms. Presley."
"He is. He is a man, Sajan."
"Are you sure about that, Ma'am?"
"I am positive."
"Well then, he must have had female musicians and female composers
behind all of this, Ma'am."
"No women were involved at all, Sajan. Human history, my history,
is filled with men who are just as talented artistically as he is and more,
and most of them had no help at all from women. Just listen to this and
let it soak in that a man is capable of creating this."
He listened quietly, his mind almost visibly working. "Wait, what
was that, Ma'am?"
"That was the end of the song."
"Is it gone forever? Is that it?"
"No, Sajan, I can replay it. Do you want me to replay it?"
"Yes, Ma'am, if it wouldn't bother you."
"I would love to listen to him agan."
I started it up, and halfway through the song, I had Sajan
unconsciously nodding his head along to the beat.
I laughed, happy, and I hugged him.
*****
We were back in the Hall of Laws. "The men deserve far better lives
than we are giving them. Which is why I am calling for desegregation of
the Districts."
Devanshi had gotten so confident and commanding, by the time the
votes were being cast, it was clear we were going to win this.
"Wait! Do not pass this law!"
Chunni came into the room with a woman I recognized from around the
palace, though I wasn't sure why.
"Yes, Lady Menon?" asked Halah.
"I have the Royal Physician here, Dr. Sandhu, with a critical
announcement."
"Yes," the doctor said.
"Dr. Sandhu and I compared DNA samples between Devanshi and the
Vivek vampires. There is no match there, right, doctor?"
"She's right."
"How can this be?" asked Devanshi.
"You see, the truth is, I had an affair that I've kept a secret for
all these years. I never had any children with Yash Vivek. I'm sorry for
not coming clean with the truth until now."
"Until it serves her purposes, she means," I said quietly to Jagger.
Devanshi and Sajan looked absolutely shocked. Clearly they had
never heard this at all.
"There has to be proof," Halah said.
Chunni handed her some papers. "These are the attestations by the
doctor."
"Yes, these are in order," said Halah, trying not to sound upset.
"Isn't there some punishment to Chunni for lying about all this?" I
asked Jagger.
"If there was, she would never have come forward. The law prevents
important rulers from being punished for misleading the public. Which
means, as the head of the Menons, there's no punishment here."
"What about Gangi?" asked one of the women. "Is she too the product
of the same affair?"
"No, Gangi is the real deal," said Chunni. "Here's the DNA test
which shows her father is, without a doubt, Vivek."
Halah looked this over. "Yes, it seems to be in order here."
"Which means, Devanshi is not technically a Shankar, she is a Menon.
And one far beneath me on the seniority totem pole, which gives her
absolutely no decision making power in this Blood. Whatever law she was
about to pass needs to be thrown out. Gangi is the one true Queen."
"She's right."
"And since she's so many years removed from sixteen, that gives me
ruling power here as Queen Mother. Daughter, you have fifteen minutes to
remove your clothes, dress as a nothing more than the Lady you really are,
and relinquish the crown."
Devanshi's tears were falling down, as she ran out of the Hall.
"I have sword my allegiance to Devanshi as her personal guard,
whether she is Queen or not," said Jagger, standing up.
"Tell them to bring in Gangi," said Chunni.
People led Gangi into the room, and Chunni had already dressed her
in the blue gown and the hindu forehead mark
*****
I knew that any time with the Shankar Blood spent being ruled by
Chunni Menon was a disaster waiting to happen. I had a very odd idea at a
possible solution to this problem that seemed very likely not to work, but
I was willing to try.
I had Big Horn teleport me back to Krasnyj Sneg. I went to
Günter's workshop and looked at Günter's creation, Min. I had helped
him put on her arms.
I started by removing her arms, and then I started to work on what I
needed to accomplish.
JUNE 28th
It took me over 24 hours to complete what I needed. I boxed up my
creation, and teleported back to Pradhaan Desh. I showed it to Devanshi,
along with tons more blue body-makeup like the kind I had used on Big Horn.
"What do you think?" I asked her.
"I love it," she said, not even needing me to explain my idea at
all. "This has a real chance of convincing these people that I am the
second coming of Shristi Shankar. You are such a good friend for working
so hard on this, Jake. Thanks for believing in me."
"I figured we probably won't succeed, but what have we got to lose?
If the two of us are found out, nothing will happen to us. I cannot be
hurt because of the Vampire Council protects me, and you are a Menon, and
therefor immune to penalty for lying to the public, as your mother recently
proved."
"Actually, me being a Menon would not make me immune to the law, as
that exception only applies to those who are either ruling or House Heads,
as my mother and aunt are, since my aunt has now been assigned by my mother
to lead The Raajya West and bring the same sort of inequality we have here
to the desert. I am not a ruling Menon, so I would not be immune to the
law."
"Oh, that changes everything. I absolutely do not want you risking
your life on my strange whims. Just forget I ever brought this up,
please."
"My safety is not on the line, because I'm still a couple months
away from eighteen. Which means I am exempt from such punishments only
reserved for adult women."
"I suppose that's fine then. I purposely haven't told Sajan or
Jagger about any of this. Not because I don't trust them completely, but
because I knew that neither of them would be under the protections we are,
so filling them in on the truth could end up being dangerous for them."
"I agree totally."
*****
"Sajan, come look at this."
"What is this, Ma'am?"
"I made this for you."
"You made a book for me, Ma'am? Did you forget that I cannot read?"
"I made an alphabet book for you to help you learn your ABCs."
"That is such a generous gift you've given me, Ma'am. But I'm
afraid it was all for naught. I was told when I was younger that I was not
smart enough to learn how to read, Ma'am."
"Well, I want you to indulge me and try."
"Even though there's so little chance of success, Ma'am? I hate to
disappoint you."
"You will not disappoint me, Sajan. Sit down with me here and write
this first letter. A."
JUNE 29th
We needed a good public venue, and Devanshi found it. Chunni was
giving a public speech in the central square of the X Districts, in which
all non-critically employed women's attendance was highly suggested (AKA,
mandatory). When we got there, Gangi and her mother were on a royal
platform, and Chunni was telling the masses who had gathered below that she
would be the Queen Mother for a decade plus to come, and she meant to make
the most of it.
I hid on the balcony of a nearby restroom close to the scene.
As soon as Devanshi took off her cloak and came into the square of
women, everyone's eyes were on her instead of her mother's. Her blue skin
stood out immediately.
"Devanshi, what is the meaning of this interruption?" asked Chunni.
"As often is the case in puberty, my Special powers just activated.
Behold! I am the Great Shristi Shankar reborn! Look at me!"
Chunni scoffed. "A little blue skin does not make you Shristi
Shankar."
"No, but THESE do."
That was my cue. I pressed the button on my remote, and the two
arms came out of her back. I used the remotes in each hand to mimic real
arm movements.
"Oh my goodness!" women were saying.
"It's her! It's Shristi!"
"I told you once that I would return one day in another Special
vampire woman's body, and here I am! Lady Chunni, you and your daughter
have served me well when I was away, but now that I've returned, please
step down!"
"I will step down, of course," said Chunni. "All I need is for my
personal doctor to sign off that these arms are real, and I will be the
first to step down."
"I am sensitive about my new adult body being seen nude. I will get
a physician of my choosing to sign off on this." Yes, that would work. I
was already thinking about asking Della.
"No. It has to be the royal physician, the one doctor I totally
trust, or I won't agree to step down."
"Fine," said Devanshi.
"Dr. Sandhu, please give her an examination right now."
"Yes, Lady Menon."
"I'll be examined in the restroom," said Devanshi, purposefully
moving towards the restroom's balcony I was hiding in.
Devanshi and the doctor moved into the restroom, and I could hear
them but not see them. I kept my hands moving the remote control arms.
"Is there a way we can do this without removing my clothes?" asked
Devanshi.
"Yes."
"Oh, excellent."
"If I was a completely imbecile."
I heard clothes being pulled off.
"Mechanical arms! And this is blue paint, isn't it? What is the
meaning of all this madness?!"
"Alright, you found me out."
Dr. Sandhu came out of the bathroom.
"Lady Menon, I have made my medical evaluation."
"And?"
"Everything she is claiming is totally true. She IS Shristi reborn,
and her arms and skin are as real and true as the sun itself."
Devanshi came out of the bathroom as shocked as I was, but she shook
off the face quickly and took up her previous confidence back.
"As I told all of you."
"All hail the Great Queen, returned!" yelled the doctor, as she fell
to her knees.
"All hail the return of the Queen!" yelled the other people in the
crowd, including Sajan and Jagger, bowing down to Devanshi.
"You hear them, Mother? You made an agreement with me here in front
of the whole city. Well, you have an obligation to this city to keep your
word and step down."
"Fine." Chunni grabbed Ganngi and stormed out.
Devanshi ascended the stairs to the royal platform and put up her
hands. "Now that I have returned, it's time to make this Blood just as
great as it was when I left it!"
There was massive cheering, including from me.
*****
I walked in the room and there was a note on the bed. "I LUV U,
MAM." It was crazy that such a simple note with such horrible spelling
could move me to tears, but it did.
"Sajan, come here!"
"Yes, Ma'am."
He walked in the room.
"I am so proud of you that you were able to write this so soon,
Sajan. See how smart you are?"
"I have a brilliant teacher, Ma'am. I am so grateful for your
patience with me."
I kissed him. "Can't you see now that the woman who told you you
were too stupid to ever learn this was totally wrong?"
"Perhaps I have grown smarter as I have aged, Ma'am."
"Or perhaps her judgment was incorrect the entire time."
He made love to me, and along with the love he always poured into me
along with his endless seed, this time there was actual a trace of
self-worth there as well, making it all the more sweet.
JUNE 30th
Devanshi was giving a speech in the Hall of Laws, Sajan and Jagger
at her side, when I noticed a brown spot on her left ear where only blue
should have been. She must have smudged it somehow.
Before anyone else noticed, I made a signal to her, and she said she
had something to consult with someone and would be right back.
Soon, I was in the backroom with her, trying to fix the problem.
"Mrs. Farhat," I heard Sajan say from outside. "They have not even
given us permission to enter yet."
"It's fine," said Jagger. "Come on."
Before I could yell at them not to come in, they burst in and saw me
putting makeup on Devanshi.
"Whoa! What is going on back here?" asked Jagger.
"Alright, you caught us," said Devanshi. "Jake and I created these
arms and makeup to convince my mother to step down, since she was such an
awful ruler."
"If you really thought you two were being clever, you were wrong. I
totally knew this whole time exactly what you were doing, and I loved it."
"Wait a second," I asked. "Where is Sajan? Wasn't he right behind
you?"
"I thought so," said Jagger.
"Sajan?" I called. "Sajan? Is that you?"
I could hear someone outside the door.
The door burst open, but instead of it being Sajan, it was another
guard. He grabbed me, and then ten other guards swooped into the room and
moved towards Devanshi. Jagger stepped in front of her to protect her.
"Jagger, don't fight them, please!" said Devanshi.
Jagger stepped down and let the guards take both of them.
All three of us were pulled out of the dressing room and back into
the Hall of Laws. They held us there with our mouths held shut for a few
minutes in front of all the other women there.
Sajan reappeared, only this time, he had Chunni with him. I
couldn't believe how betrayed I felt by him.
Another guard came in holding Dr. Sandhu by force as well. Halah
stood by, watching all of this, trying not to respond.
"Ladies, let me show you the true face of this woman you so recently
bestowed as queen," said Chunni.
She grabbed a towel and wiped the paint on her head, showing brown
skin underneath. And then she ripped off the extra arms and destroyed
them, all of my hard work evaporating.
The women in the room were shocked.
"All of you lied and manipulated the public."
"Lady Menon, actually, Ms. Kaamat wasn't involved. She was just as
shocked as I was, Ma'am," said Sajan.
"Fine, she will be spared. The other three betrayers will be
punished. You, Dr. Sandhu. I have paid you so much money to be loyal to
me. Why would you ever betray me like this?"
"You poured money on me, but you never once ever tried to get to
know me. I have been treating Devanshi her whole life, and she has shown
me nothing but kindness. I knew she would make a far better leader than
you ever would."
"She can lead you into the Animal Spectacle. I sentence both of you
to die."
"You cannot kill Devanshi," said Halah. "She is still a minor."
"I beg to differ." She handed Halah some papers.
"What is this, My Lady?"
"Documents showing I lied before about Devanshi's birth because I
knew Yash would not have been around me when Devanshi was conceived because
I was on a trip. And then I left once I was pregnant so no one would
suspect the difference, but the village doctor who did her delivery
actually put the real date on there, which is here. Which means, she is
technically an adult and can be thrown naked into the Animal pits."
"Yes, this is all in order," Halah said. "She can be tried as an
adult after all."
"That may be," said Dr. Sandhu. "But there's something critical you
aren't telling them here."
"Which violates your privacy clause as my doctor!" Chunni said.
"What could a few more laws being broken possibly do to me anymore?
The full truth about Devanshi's conception is, she thought she was too good
to mate with Yash. He wasn't even as old and strong as Sajan, and she
wanted someone much older and more powerful. So, she went to find the
oldest vampire, Shah Jibril Bahar, or Marutuk. He was, well, sleeping at
the time, but she was able to sneak in there and drill into his testicles
in order to retrieve a sperm sample which she used to inseminate herself.
So, Devanshi is the daughter of the Shah. Which is why she has always
looked lighter than the rest of us."
Devanshi was totally shocked, as I was.
"Devanshi, do you legally renounce your status as a Menon and will
you take up the name Bahar?" asked Halah.
"Yes, I do."
"Then, as the only member left of that name, you are now Shah of The
Raajya West. Chunni's sister will have to rescind her authority there."
"Yes, she will," said Devnashi.
"And, as a ruler here, Devanshi will be under the same loophole
under the law that prevents them from being punished for misleading the
public," I said. "You cannot hurt her."
"No, you cannot," said Halah.
"Devanshi, please get out of here as soon as you can," I said to
her, not wanting to somehow get caught in her mother's machinations.
"I'm leaving for my new home now."
"And I'm going with her as her sworn personal guard," said Jagger.
They walked out, both of them looking at me and the doctor with such
gratitude.
"Send Dr. Sandhu off to be killed by the animals as soon as
possible," said Chunni. "I don't want her in any match that she can
possibly win in. I just want to watch as the tigers rip her betraying face
off with their teeth."
The guards took her doctor away.
Chunni looked at me with just as much hatred. "And guards, take
Jake Groves down to the Animal Spectacle to be eaten by the tigers just as
quickly as the doctor."
"You cannot kill me, I have the protection of the Vampire Council."
"I don't care about the Council anymore. I am killing her for
breaking our laws, regardless."
"My Lady, in order to go against Council law like that, you cannot
make that decision on your own, since it could be Gangi who pays the price
when she is of age. Gangi herself will have to approve that order."
"Guards, bring in Her Grace."
Soon, little Gangi appeared, looking at her mother.
"Gangi, Jake Groves has broken sacred laws here, and your mother
wants us to send her to the Animal Spectacle to play with the tigers, and
provide them much needed food. Do you agree to this?"
"Gangi, you can make up your own mind. Please do not let your
mother do this to me, I'm a good person."
"Silence the lawbreaker!" yelled Chunni.
A couple guards forced me into submission and covered my mouth.
"Gangi, you listen to your mother and allow me to send Jake Groves
to the Spectacle."
"Please, Your Grace," said Sajan. "I beg you to have mercy on the
woman I love dearly."
But she looked at Sajan with nothing but fear. She looked between
me and her mother. "Send Jake to the Spectacle."
The guards took Gangi away, with me feeling sick.
"There you go. Her Grace has ordered this, and so send Jake Groves
to the tigers at once."
"Yes, Lady Menon," said Halah unhappily.
"Wait, My Lady," said Sajan. "I know that Ms. Groves broke our law
and deserves to die for it, but it breaks my heart given our history to see
him die in this fashion."
"He deserves to die like every other lawbreaker here, having his
limbs ripped off one at a time in the Spectacle."
"I know that, My Lady, and I know my request is totally out of
bounds, but I've been so loyal to you for all these decades, I am begging
you allow me to take Mr. Groves to her room and kill her gently right now.
I'm begging you this favor."
Chunni huffed. "Fine. I'll agree to let you kill Jake Groves as
you see fit in the overnight. But come dawn, she better be dead."
"Thank you so much for your kindness, Lady Menon. This will be the
last time I see you, as I plan to follow Ms. Groves into the dark."
"No, you will not take your own life, Sajan! That is an order!"
"Lady, you cannot legally keep me from killing myself!"
"No, I cannot. But if you do, I'll just murder your entire Royal
Guard as punishment in my grief for your loss. Is that really what you
want to happen."
"No, My Lady."
"Then you will not harm yourself?"
"Yes, My Lady."
Sajan grabbed me and pulled me away.
He took me into our apartment, and shut the door behind us.
"Thanks for thinking of that rouse, Sajan." I pulled out my phone.
"I'm texting Big Horn right now telling him I need him to pick us up
urgently."
"No, you stay off your devices, Ma'am!" Sajan threw my phone across
the room just after I had hit send.
"But we need Big Horn to get us out of the Blood safely."
"Abandoning one's own Blood is a serious crime for vampires, Ma'am.
I would never really be safe as a refugee."
"Big Horn's reservation is a safe haven, Sajan. They can't get you
there."
"No, I am not abandoning my people as some runaway criminal, Ma'am."
"What are you saying? I'm going to have to leave on my own? You
aren't coming with me? That's a horrible idea. Who knows when we will see
each other again?"
"Ma'am, you cannot convince me to break the law and become your
accomplice. I am not leaving."
"Then I will be forced to leave on my own, as sad as I am to be
forced to leave you behind. I don't want you to feel like I've twisted
your arm into going on the run with me." I reached up and hugged him and
kissed him sweetly, knowing it would be my goodbye. "Do you think I can
slip out the window to the ground level safely, where Big Horn would be
waiting? I think I could if a make some sheets into rope."
"You will not be going through the window, Ma'am."
"Why? You have a safer way for me to get out of there? Are you
going to smuggle me out or something?"
"I am not letting you escape, Ma'am."
"What are you talking about?"
"I cannot become an accomplice to your crimes, Ma'am. I'm sorry.
Helping you escape would be a crime."
"Oh, I get it. You cannot help me. Just turn your back and cover
your ears, Sajan, and I'll escape without you ever even knowing how I did
it. You won't be caught doing anything wrong. We could even tie you up or
something so it looks like I overpowered you, perhaps with help of my own.
They will never be able to trace my escape back to you, and you will be
safe here."
Sajan grabbed my arm with his hand. "Even knowing I didn't do
everything I could to stop you from escaping would be breaking the law,
Ma'am. I'm doing the honorable thing, Ma'am, and being true to the orders
I was given."
I looked into his eyes. "You can't be serious, Sajan. This isn't
some game we are talking about. If you kill me, I won't come back to life
with any One magic. I'll be dead for good!"
"I know that, Ma'am."
"Sajan, you cannot betray me like this. You cannot hurt me. You
are supposed to protect me!"
"I was until you broke the law, Ma'am."
"You aren't being logical, Sajan. Gangi is just a child, and Chunni
is just a manipulative, vindictive, self-serving woman. Their word is not
holy. You do not have to follow them when they order you to hurt. Their
word means nothing. You need to make up your own mind and do what you
think is right!"
"I need to follow the orders of my Queen, just like I have my whole
life! You don't know how much I hoped she would pardon you, how heart
broken I was to hear your sentence. But she is my queen, and that makes
the orders holy and non-negotaiable, Ma'am."
"Sajan, you said you loved me!"
"I DO love you, Ma'am!" he started to cry.
"How can you do this to me if you love me like you say you do?"
"Because you broke the law, Ma'am. Do you remember how when I
thought I broke the law, I bravely submitted myself to be killed for it,
because I knew it was the right thing to do? Now, it's your turn to show
the courage I did and willingly lay down your life. When I broke my law, I
wasn't even aware I had done it, as I had been asleep. But you committed
your crimes fully aware of the crimes you were breaking, Ma'am."
"But I was just trying to help Devanshi! You said yourself that you
preferred Devanshi as queen over her mother!"
"My preference means nothing. I am just a stupid man. Shah
Devanshi is not even a Shankar. She cannot ever be queen here. Gangi is
the only queen, and her mother is the rightful decision maker. That's the
way it is, and all you've done is gotten yourself killed in order to keep
the truth away from the people."
"I don't care if you agree with my actions or not. You cannot kill
me. You love me, Sajan! You cannot kill someone you love!" I started to
cry.
"I can and I will, Ma'am, though it will break my heart so bad doing
it, I will never recover. Don't you see? Tonight, both of us will die
together. Even though I didn't get permission to kill myself, my soul will
be permanently dead after watching yours perish, I might as well be dead
too." He pushed me under him on the bed.
"No!"
"Don't you see, Ma'am? I am doing you such a favor by killing you
softly and kindly instead of the horrible, violent fate that awaits you at
the Spectacle. This is my last gift to you, my love."
"Gift, huh? I'd rather take a giftcard to a bookstore, fantasy
sports credit, or even a potted plant. Anything is better than the gift of
death, Sajan."
"How should we do this? Should I slit your wrists or cut your head
off, maybe? No, too gruesome and bloody for you. You hate violence. Any
suggestions, Ma'am?"
"How about death by old age, centuries from now?"
"No, Ma'am. I could snap your neck with my hands, but I don't have
any idea how painful a way to die that would be. Drowning you seems cruel
and too involved. I know. Death by strangling."
"How can you be looking at me with your loving eyes, Sajan, and yet
be about to kill me?"
"This will all be over soon, I promise, Ma'am. I love you."
He put his hands around my throat, and started to choke me, his
tears falling all over my face.
It took that action for it to sink in that there was no convincing
him not to. He was going to kill me, sooner rather than later, by the
black feeling that his hands were bringing to my head.
I thought of that text I had sent Big Horn. How long would it take
him to read it and teleport over to aid me? It could be hours. I needed
to buy time.
"Wait, Sajan, this is not how I want to die."
"We already covered that I cannot let you die of natural causes. It
has to be now."
"I want you to make love to me, Sajan. A long, slow love-making
session. And then after you come, I want you to then choke me to death, so
I can focus on you inside me with my last breath. That's how I want to go
out."
He let go of my throat. "Yes, Ma'am. It would be my honor."
And so, I had to pretend to want him to make love to me, had to
pretend I felt romantic towards him at that moment when the truth was, I
was so disappointed and hurt by him, I had no romance left to give. It was
all fake, all an act just meant to buy me time.
"Shall we get undressed, Ma'am?"
"You know what, Sajan? It's tradition in my country to have
prisoners sentenced to death be given one last meal of their choosing
before they die. Would you please let me make one last meal for the both
of us in the kitchen? We can eat together."
"As romantic as that sounds, I cannot allow that. We do not have
time, Ma'am."
"Will you at least find me a minister and let them perform the last
rights on me? I am a Christian man, after all, and I demand to be treated
like one."
"I cannot help you there. I'll give you the sex, but nothing else
before you die, Ma'am. I'm so sorry."
"Will you at least let me pee first, Sajan?"
"I suppose so, Ma'am."
But then he actually followed me into the bathroom to watch me
urinate, meaning I had no opportunity to delay.
Afterwards, he pulled me back into the bedroom.
"Time for us to get undressed, Ma'am."
He started to pull off his battle skirt.
"Wait!" I said. "I want to undress you!"
"Alright, Ma'am."
This meant I could take my time and pull his clothes off much more
slowly than he was.
Too bad he wore such few clothes. I pulled off his turban, and then
really only had his skirt. I tried to take it off as slowly as possible,
but there was only so much I could do.
When he was naked on the bed, I started to take my own, much more
robust set of clothes off as slowly as I could. He started to cry even
harder.
"Looking at your nude body is unbearable, Ma'am.. I keep thinking
about each of those wondrous pieces of you being snuffed out of this world
entirely, forever."
"You don't have to do this, Sajan!"
"Yes, Ma'am, I do! Please do not argue with me about that again!"
Once I was naked, I asked Sajan for a massage, but he refused.
He lifted my legs over his shoulders and started to lick away at my
hole. I couldn't believe that he was getting even more tears on me than
his own saliva.
I felt him kissing me, felt his hard head pushed against my hole.
"Lube. Could you at least put some on?"
He got the bottle out and smeared me with the stuff, putting it all
over his hard dick as well.
I felt his lips at mine again as he pushed slowly into me. Tears
were coming more and more as soon as he was inside me, his whole body just
covered in sadness, it was incredible to me that he could even stay hard.
He started to thrust back and forth, but this only set his tears
even more all over me.
I got a good look at the phone on the ground, and my heart sank. I
had been so rushing to get that message to Big Horn, I had sent the message
to the wrong person. Helina had received it, and of course, there was no
response from her, as she was still unconscious. My attempt to delay Sajan
killing me was totally in vain. Nobody was coming to help me.
I wanted so badly to knock Sajan out somehow. If I had been a
Shankar Blood vampire like he was, I would bite him with paralysis venom,
but I had no such tricks.
I reached down over the edge of the bed, and my hand stuck under the
mattress. There, it touched the cold metal of the handle of the loaded
pistol I had his under there without telling anybody in case I had been
attacked in my sleep.
I knew there was really one move at my disposal. I could grab the
gun, put it to his temple, and shoot his brains out, killing him. It was
the only way I knew I would leave this bed as the living victor. Any
other, less fatal attack would only be met with him pulling the gun away
and possibly killing me in anger in some worse way then he was at that very
moment.
No, killing him was the only way to save myself. And it wasn't like
this was Parker or someone under Shankar Blood mind control and about to
kill me. Sajan was not a passive victim here, just some tool. He was the
one who was choosing to kill me. It made logical sense to kill him.
And yet, when I tried to pull the gun out, I found my hand failing.
Not because my arm had lost the strength to perform the action.
Not because I was too squeamish physically to shoot someone in the
temple. It disturbed me greatly, but I had done it before.
No, it was because in spite of what he was doing to me, I cared
about him too much to kill him. So much so that I was willing to die to
keep him alive.
I dropped the gun and pulled my hand out of the mattress.
I focused on just letting death come.
I put his hands to my throat, letting him know I was ready.
"Yes, my love. Yes, let me deliver you to a place that I can only
pray is sweeter than this one, just as you deserve, Ma'am."
He squeezed hard, continuing to thrust into me, and I shut my eyes
and let the darkness take me.
"Jake! Either you have become infinitely kinkier since the last
time I was awake, or your new beau is trying to kill you again."
I knew that voice, I looked back to see Helina walk into the room,
blissfully conscious after all
"Princess, I'm warning you to back off! Ms. Groves has been broken
the law and has been sentenced by the Queen to die. Please do not
interfere!"
"Oh yes, that sounds perfectly reasonable after all, I'll leave you
to it. So nice to see you, Sajan."
"Yes, Princess, goodbye."
She walked out the door.
A second later, she came back in with a carpet flying in front of
her.
"What on earth?" asked Sajan.
The carpet flew through the air and hit Sajan hard above me.
And then she was on top of him, pulling his hands off my throat, and
I gasped for air.
He used his flexible limbs to twist around her like knots, attacking
her.
His fangs went straight for her throat as he took a deep bite.
Moments later, he fell to the ground and out of me, unconscious.
"Oops, did I forget to mention to Sajan that one of the best parts
about getting bitten over and over by venomous snakes endlessly is that my
blood has become toxic?"
"Because there are so many best parts about being snakefood, it's
hard to pick the best part, right?"
"Exactly. Good to have you back to your humorous self again. I
much prefer your witty retorts to your gasping for breath any day, a lesson
your new boyfriend could stand to learn. I know that pain. Why is it it's
always the hottest ones that always end up almost killing you?"
"Will he be okay?" I asked, looking at slumbering Sajan.
"Yes. Why, do you want me to kill him? Because I'd be all too glad
to."
"No. Let him live."
"Should we take Sleepy the dwarf with us?"
"And do what with him? Hold him captive? Even if I was able to
convince him trying to kill me was wrong, which I doubt I ever could, what
is there here to salvage? I still feel deeply sorry for the atrocious way
he was raised, and I know that's exactly why he could not be loyal to me.
I tried so hard to help him change, but I failed utterly."
"The sooner you realize that you cannot change someone who does not
want to be changed, the better. But I'm so proud of you that you would
never get back together with a man who tried to kill you, no matter how
much he apologized."
"I mean, I couldn't forgive your brother enough to get back together
with him, and he never, ever tried to kill me. And no, you are so not
telling Maxim about this. He will just hunt down Sajan and kill him, and
remind me over and over what better boyfriend material he makes."
"Don't worry," she said. "You may assume because I've been in
Russia for so long, that it implies Maxim and I are back as close as when
we were kids. He may have spent a huge amount of time in my hospital room,
looking after me, but all of that time was when I was unconscious. As soon
as I was awake, he was quickly forbidden from my room."
I grabbed my things really fast, and then we left the room.
On our way out, we had to go through the throne room, and we were
met by four armed guards.
"Is my head vision still murky from Sajan's worldclass chokehold, or
is there blackness flying all around us?"
"Jake, I'd like you to introduce you to Helina's admission of you
being right. Enjoy that flavor in your mouth while you can, because this
is not a flavor you are ever likely to taste again."
"You just stripped the dirt off of all the trees and plants in this
room with your power, didn't you?"
"Perhaps."
"I knew it! You CAN move dirt!"
"I swore I couldn't before. But I suppose either getting repeatedly
molested by a tank full of snakes, or almost having my best friend getting
choked to death will bring out fun new talents in a lady."
She held up her hands, and made the dirt surround and attack the
four vampire guards until they were on the ground, fighting.
"Mmm, delicious," she said, looking at the men squirming on the
ground before we left the palace. At least with more of these men
unconscious, it proved that I had very strong, outside help getting me out
of the palace, which took away any possible blame they may have left on
Sajan if we had slipped away unseen. I was still wishing the best for that
man, even if I never wanted to see him again.
Big Horn was waiting for us outside. He looked at my throat.
"Oh great, Lady of Darkness. `You just wait outside,' you told me.
`I'll retrieve Jake on my own. And yet, here is Crazy Man, just as bruised
as he always is whenever I leave him alone with you."
"Well, perhaps I'm just living up to your moniker for me. I can't
keep from causing dark wounds on this one's skin."
"This is not her doing, Big Horn. She saved me."
"There you have it. And how nice it is that Jake has somehow
managed to finally grow into a man in your mind, as you've stopped calling
him Kid. I only wish that you had managed to somehow grow up just as much
up as he did in my absence, as any real adult would find themselves a way
to suitably cover their nakedness with more than a shred of cloth. Sadly,
my long nickname for you will not be going anywhere."
"I would rather die than ever let my ancestors ways be tainted by
your crushing White Man modesty!"
"How on earth did you two ever manage to work together enough to
save me without throttling each other in the process? Oh, right, you do
have one obvious similarity."
"Our mutual affection of your continued existence?" asked Helina.
"Sounds right to me," said Big Horn.
"That's sweet, but I was going to say your mutual hatred of
hugging."
"See? I'm liking this friend of yours more and more with that
knowledge," said Helina.
Big Horn crossed his arms. "Hmph. That makes one of us. Crazy
Man, are you finished with this Blood?"
"Either that, or this Blood is through with me."
"Then onto the next one. Africa, here we go."
AUTHOR'S END NOTE:
This last chapter had some tough choices for Jake. I'm curious to know if
you would have thrown the match against Sajan, as well as choosing not to
kill Sajan even though he was about to kill you. Email me your choices
here: SellarDhor@gmail.com.
Also, this is the end of a major part of this story, and the next part is
still in my head, not on the page yet, so the next update won't be for a
while.
Thanks!