Marrok cut her off. “You are a thousand times more likable than me. Ask anyone.”
“I would agree with that.” Avenant agreed.
“See?”
“What does he know about being likable?”
“Hey!”
Scarlett ignored Avenant’s protest and looked around at the others. Marrok could see her resolve strengthening at their expectant expressions. “Alright, here’s what I think.” She took a deep breath. “We escaped together and we should finish it together. If we do this media thing, we all do it. Side-by-side.”
Esmeralda rolled her eyes. “Cue the inspirational music.”
Scarlett arched a brow. “Or we could just cower in the shadows and let all the Good folk think we’re afraid of them. That they’ve won and that we’re hiding. You like that idea better?”
No one liked that idea better.
“Is that what a badass witch would do?” Letty pressed. “Or the rightful Prince of the Northlands? Or an insatiable bridge ogre? Or the infamous Jabberwocky?” She shook her head. “I think those people would fight every fucking Good folk who’s trying to destroy us. Who locked us in cages, and told us were weren’t pretty, and stole our magic, and abused us because we weren’t powerful enough to fight back. Today we proclaim our freedom and we bring our enemies down. Today, we take back our happily ever afters.”
Jana stared at her. “Damn… That’s a good speech, girl.”
“Told ya.” Marrok shrugged. “She can talk people into anything. It’s like a super-power.”
“Oh, fine.” Esmeralda sighed. “Hell, I’m always up for starting a war. Let’s do this.” She waved a hand over her face and glamored herself a makeover, complete with fresh black lipstick and a dramatic cone-shaped hat. “But if we’re going on camera, I want to look my best when I tell all those Good folk to kiss my shapely green ass.”
Chapter Twenty-One
It’s trite but true: There are no good Bad folk.
Psychiatric case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae
It happened so fast that Scarlett wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it.
The speech she gave was basically a slightly polished version of what she’d told Esmeralda. About happy endings and freedom and stopping the oppression of Bad folk. Once she got started, it was surprisingly easy to list all the reasons why Baddies deserved rights, too. It was a subject close to Scarlett’s heart.
“I’m not saying it will be easy, but we have to change the laws in the Four Kingdoms. We have to be counted and equal and heard. Working together, we can achieve that. It’ll take time, but we can get it done. And, in the meantime, we’ve made a deal with the Jabberwocky.”
Behind the camera Jana had rolled her eyes, but she hadn’t interfered. Letty had taken control of the family business and, even if she wasn’t totally onboard with the new management initiatives that Letty had planned, Jana was still thrilled to see her granddaughter taking command and inciting riots.
“As of right now, the Enchanted Forest is a fifth kingdom.” Letty had said proudly. “We’re free. Bad folk and Good folk are welcomed here, but all of us have the same exact rights and rules. Anyone who doesn’t like that can talk to the Jabberwocky’s Lollypop Guild Mafia and their sledge hammers.”
“They can talk to all of us.” Marrok had put in from beside her.
The other members of the Tuesday share circle stood around them and they’d nodded, too.
Scarlett had smiled at them and kept going. “So far, all we have is a whole lot of land and work and ideas. If that sounds good to you, you’re welcome to come join us. If you want to stay in the Four Kingdom, that’s fine, too. I’m not going to rest until all the lands welcome Bad folk, so you can wait it out and I’ll get to you.” She’d paused. “Except for the Westlands.”
“Here it comes.” Esmeralda had drawled.
“Because, Cinderella?” Scarlett had stepped closer to the camera, her eyes intent. “I have the glass slipper and I know it doesn’t fit you. You have no right to that kingdom. All this time you’ve been lying and I can prove it.” She held it up. “Guess who this does belong to?”
“It that thing really just glass?” Avenant had rolled his eyes. “Jesus, for all this trouble, you’d think it’d at least be made of diamonds.”
Letty had marched towards Dru, who was sleeping in Benji’s grasp. “Let’s do a close-up for the folks at home, grandma. They can see who the actual princess is and who’s been duplicitous bitch.” She carefully lifted her sister’s limp toes into her hand and slipped the shoe into place. The glass effortlessly molded to Drusilla’s foot.
Perfect fit.
Jaws had dropped all over the Four Kingdoms.
“Dru is Charming’s bride.” Benji had murmured. “She really is.”
“Damn right she is.” Scarlett had flashed the camera a triumphant grin, imaging Cinderella’s scream of rage. “Too bad, Cindy. The castle and tiara and the handsome prince belong to my sister. …And we’re going to take them all back.”
That would have been a great and dramatic ending for her PSA. But, of course, Avenant couldn’t let someone else have the last word.
“We’re also going to kill Belle.” He tacked on as if Scarlett had just forgotten to mention that step of the plan.
Scarlett and Marrok turned to glower at him.
“Oh for God’s sake…” Esmeralda had snapped and, thanks to their subpar editing skills, that’s where the video ended. Still, it was certainly good enough work to convince everyone watching that Cindy was a phony.
And that the Enchanted Forest was a real up and coming neighborhood.
From the moment their video hit the internet, people started arriving. More people that Scarlett had ever anticipated and she was an optimistic girl by nature. More than the winged monkeys could ever hope to stop. The flying apes beat a hasty retreat as they were massively outnumbered. Also, they might have realized that Cindy wouldn’t be in a position to pay their salaries for much longer.
When it was safe to go back to the surface, Jana led them through a network of tunnels that brought them to a cheery glen where it was easy for the other Baddies to find them. Scarlett quickly saw that Marrok had been right. The Bad folk thought of her as their leader, now. They shook her hand and gathered around her and listed all the reasons why she was an inspiration.
But it wasn’t really about her.
The discontent had been simmering for so long that all they needed was a spark. Someone to tell them that it was time to stop the oppression. Witches, trolls, wolves, ogres, goblins, cats, and every other species ostracized and despised for simply being different poured into the Enchanted Forest. Baddies from all over the Four Kingdoms listened to her message and… believed.
They believed that she was going to lead them.
Scarlett wasn’t sure what to make of that. Hell, night was falling and she wasn’t even sure where they were all going to sleep.
Unsure of what to do in a kingdom with no houses, she’d put Avenant in charge of setting up some sort of temporary shelter. He was intimidating enough that he somehow scared the new Baddies into digging up some Renaissance Faire-style tents. As per his exacting instructions they were now being set up in neat concentric circles, while he stood with his arms crossed over his chest and snapped out orders.
To ensure that Avenant didn’t drive their citizens to a rebellion on the very first day, Letty put Esmeralda in charge of protecting the new arrivals from his “leadership.” She’d put her grandmother and the Lollypop Guild in charge of security. And she put Benji in charge of watching Dru and of organizing some dinner for the troops. Thanks to Jana’s paranoia, they had supplies in place to feed an army and plenty of blankets, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. They needed beds. And a school for the kids. And buildings with roofs. And some kind of store…
Letty needed to start making plans.
First, though, she needed to get rid of Cinderella. Her stepsister would be out for blood now, with o
r without her team of soaring simians. If Scarlett didn’t do something to stop her, Cindy would destroy them all.
Marrok glanced down at her. “You have that look on your face, again.”
“What look?”
“The same look you had right before you whacked Ramona with the chair. The ‘I’ve-made-up-my-mind-to-do-something-crazy’ look.”
Scarlett sighed. The man really could read her thoughts. She took his hand and led him away from the others so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I need to go to the Westlands tonight.”
“No, you don’t.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of that. “Yes, I do. Cinderella is going to come after us. We’ve bought maybe a day or two, but she’ll want revenge. I just outed her to the world. She’ll never take that lying down.” Letty shook her head. “I have to stop her.”
Charming had been kidnapped and his palace guards had done zilch to save him. No other volunteers were dashing to the front of the line, either. Apparently, Scarlett was the only one who would stand against Cindy and her army of rats.
“You’re not just going to start walking towards the Westlands, Letty.”
“I have to.” She turned to meet his brooding gaze. “Why are you fighting me on this?”
“Why am I against the idea of my wife wandering into a trap? Let’s start with all the sex I won’t be having when you’re dead and work our way up to the fact that organizing all this was your idea,” he waved a hand around the makeshift camp, “so you need to be here and organize it. You’re not leaving me with this mess.”
“I’m not leaving you, at all.”
“Oh, so I’m invited on this suicide mission?” He arched a brow. “Thanks.”
She blinked. “You want me to go alone?”
“No, I don’t want you to go, at all. You don’t think Cinderella will be expecting you to show up and try something crazy? She’s met you, Red! She’s going to have her men scouring the Westlands for you.”
He was probably right. That didn’t make her feel any better. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“When haven’t I been on your side? At your side?”
“Right now!” She was hurt by his sudden change in attitude. Marrok was usually the one who pitched in and make all her plans possible. “Are you regretting becoming mixed up with this?”
“I’m in love with you, Scarlett.” He said simply. “I will spend the rest of our lives beside you, getting mixed-up in crazy shit and loving every minute of it. But, I’m thinking ‘the rest of our lives’ should last at least a week. So, we’re not going to the Westlands without some kind of strategy.”
“I have a strategy: I’m going to walk into the castle and kill that bitch.”
“I meant a strategy with like with maps and stuff.”
“Did I need a map to get us out of the WUB Club? No.”
“We had the element of surprise in there. Here, you announced what you plan to do all over the internet.”
“That was your idea!”
“It got rid of the monkeys, didn’t it?”
She nodded. “And next we’ll get rid of Cinderella. Everything will be much more peaceful when she’s gone. I promise.”
“Around you nothing will everything will be ‘peaceful,’ baby.” He dipped his head closer to hers, his hand coming up to caress her face. “Seriously, if you want to rescue Charming and save the kingdom, we’ll do. I’d do anything for you, no matter how embarrassingly noble. But, we need to do it right.”
She made an aggravated sound, her defenses crumbling under his touch and annoying logic. “I guess we could setup surveillance of the castle first, if it would ease you mind.”
“It really would.” He kissed her. “Now, hurry up and figure out how we can pull this off without getting killed, so I can get you naked, again.”
Scarlett let out a sigh. God, he was just impossible to resist when he got all flirty and gentle. “You’re very hard to stay mad at.”
“Tell that to my coach. I’ve spent weeks at a time in a cage, because he found it so simple to stay mad at me.”
“I’d be glad to tell him. Right after I shoot the bastard.”
Marrok chuckled and kissed the top of her hair. “God, you’re adorable. I would help Cinderella keep the Westlands forever before I risked losing you.”
She dropped her forehead onto his shirtfront. “Since I can’t very well go anywhere without you, I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
“Well, you could go. I’d just have to follow you.”
“No, I couldn’t.” She lifted her gaze to his. “None of my ideas would work without you there to help me. We’re partners. It would be pointless to even try and conquer the Westlands without you beside me.” She hesitated. “Actually, it would be pointless to do anything without you beside me, Marrok.”
Topaz eyes stared into hers, promising her everything. “Now would be a good time to tell me you love me.” He murmured.
Letty made a face, feeling awkward. She’d never said those words to anybody before, because it had never been true before. “You already know I love you.”
“Tell me anyway. I like the words.”
Her awkwardness faded at his dazzling smile. “I love you.” She said sincerely and went up on tiptoes to brush her mouth against his.
He kissed her deep. “Again.” He ordered hoarsely.
“I love you.” She nipped his lower lip. “I’d have bludgeoned you to death with my feelings journal long ago if I wasn’t totally smitten with you, Wolf. Instead, I just documented how much you irritated me in excruciating detail.”
He looked delighted. “My feelings journal is fifty-some pages of dirty limericks and conjectural sketches of your naked body. It’s a real work of art.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Hey, do you have any idea how challenging it is to rhyme ‘Letty’ with a new word in each poem? There’s only so many times we can make love on a jetty or you shout ‘I’m ready!’”
She snickered as his mouth trailed down her neck. “Just because I love you, doesn’t mean I don’t also hate you.”
He moved to nuzzle her temple. “There was also one with you in a teddy. That was my masterpiece.”
“This dress I’m wearing is the current extent of my wardrobe. Cinderella just turned everything else to ash, including the rest of my underwear. So, I don’t think you’ll be seeing me in a teddy anytime soon.”
“God, Cindy really does need to die.” He decided. “You’re the brains of the outfit, Red. Go ahead and think of a plan.”
“Why do you sell yourself short, even when you’re just joking around?” She frowned at him. “I’m not the brains of this. You’ve had just as much to do with us getting this far as I have.”
“What did I do?” He scoffed.
“You showed me how to disable the security cameras. How to handle Dr. White. How to get into the dungeon. How to get out of the dungeon. How to cut the power. How to deal with the wolves. How to do the PSA…” She shook her head. “You’ve saved me about fifty times, so far.”
He looked bemused. “You saved me, Scarlett. In so many more ways than that.”
“We saved each other. I told you, we’re partners.”
Marrok watched her for a beat, his expression going grave. “I really do love you.” He finally whispered.
“Keep saying it. I like hearing the words, too.” She paused meaningfully. “In fact, now would be a good time for you to propose.”
He grinned. “And steal your big moment?”
“I’m not going to be the one who proposes! Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because, I’m pretty sure that my part of the partnership is the seducing you part.” His mouth found the curve her throat, again. “Your part is the everything else part.”
“Your part is going to be a colossal failure then, since I’m not about to sleep with you out in the open and Avenant is never going to waste one of his precious tents on us.” Still, she couldn’t
resist tilting her head to give Marrok better access. “His royal pain-in-the-ass-ness is mad because I told him we won’t help him kill Belle.”
“Well, let’s just kill her, so we can have some privacy and I can do Bad things to your Good little body.”
“We’re not killing Belle! That poor girl was completely justified in kicking Avenant out of the Northlands and you know it. He’s a tyrant. Besides, he doesn’t even want her dead. All his whining to the contrary, Avenant just wants her.”
“Yeah, I noticed that, too. But, I really want to rip that dress off you, so I’m willing to play along with his mania and…” Marrok’s teasing trailed off, his gazed fixed on something over her shoulder. “Shit.” He quickly set her away from him and straightened his clothes.
Scarlett turned and spotted her grandmother headed towards them. She had no idea why Marrok bothered to stop their make-out session for Jana. Knowing her grandmother, she would’ve just cheered him on. “Something wrong?”
“I told her I was going to help you with the Cinderella plot. I don’t want her to think I’m trying to get you into bed, instead.”
“You are trying to get me into bed. And it’s working.”
“I know, but I want your grandmother to see me as husband material. I’m supposed to be helping you plan, right now. If she doesn’t think I can be a real part of this business, she’ll take you away.”
“Marrok,” Letty moved her head, forcing him to look at her, “no one could take me away from you. I swear to you, I’m yours for forever after.”
He let out a long breath. “I know you are.” He touched her hair. “I just want to be worthy.”
“You are!” She rolled her eyes when he remained visibly unconvinced. The whole conversation struck her as ridiculous. “Come on! You can’t possibly think I’m too good for you.”
“I know you’re too Good for me.” He intoned.
“That’s…” She almost said insane. “That’s untrue. You are so smart and funny and charming and protective and loyal…”
Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale) Page 22
