Courting Crazy

by J G Jerome

  Trina, Megan, Corrina and the Ravens, and my guard detail are arrayed behind Myra as I wait for feedback. “Any issues or questions?”

  Megan pipes up, “Jack, maybe I should stay here. Christie’s mother hates me. It would just inflame things. I can hang out with Morgan and Mother. They are both taking the rest of the day off unless something goes sideways. Sowie, Solange, and Selene can go along with you.”

  “Sounds good, Megan. Give the family my regards. If all goes well, I’ll stop by on the way back out for goodbyes.

  Trina asks, “Can you think of any reason I shouldn’t give Jessica her gear back, Jack?”

  I shake my head, “No, Trina. I can’t think of any reason you shouldn’t. You’re staying to watch over her, right?”

  Trina nods, “I am staying.”

  “Anyone else?” I ask.

  Grace raises her hand, “Jack, your Goblin slaves are going to probably have the same impact as Megan’s appearance.”

  “Grace, I view you all as family. I freed you. You disagreed. Rather than arguing, I welcomed you all to the family and brought you all with me. You can stay or go as you please. If you want to leave, you are free to go. I will ensure you have enough money for a couple of months‘ rent and transportation to wherever you want to go. Or, you can stay with us as your family who supports you and cares about you. If you plan to go, I’d like you to stay until we get back from the Summer Court. Is that okay?”

  “Oh! Jack, I would never leave,” she exclaims with big, moist eyes. “The only way I will leave you is as a corpse! I was just concerned about upsetting the Seelie as Megan mentioned it.”

  I beckon Grace to come to me. I release Myra and Chelsea and pull the meek Goblin beauty to me in a hug. “I apologize for going off on you. Apparently the ‘slave’ label struck a nerve. I think of you as family. Not slaves. Regardless, you are my family and my guard detail. The ladies and gentlemen of the Summer Court will just have to accept that.” She smiles up at me tentatively, and I kiss her lips and pat her firm bottom. “You look good in a Raven uniform, Grace.”

  She does smile and blushes as I let her go. She kisses my cheek and pats my ass. She looks over my shoulder as she steps back to her post saying, “You look mighty fine yourself, Master.” She puts a little extra motion in her motor as she walks to her position in the formation, winking at me over her shoulder when she sees me watching.

  Chelsea wraps me back up. Myra follows shortly thereafter, saying, “I’m guessing there will be a Goblin wife before too long, Chelsea. What do you think about that?”

  Chelsea responds, “Hmmm. I was thinking maybe there would be five of them.”

  “You two are bad,” I say as I smack both asses. ‘Not a horrible idea,” I think to myself. “Okay. Any other discussion?” I give it a moment. “Okay! Let’s go!”

  Myra gives me a wet kiss before she sashays towards the corridor housing the portal to the Summer Court. “Looking good, my Queen!” She flashes me a grin over her shoulder. Then her stride changes to all business as Corrina takes point, Daphne and Charli in a wedge behind her. Liesel and Sowie flank Myra, Marisol and Selene fall behind them. Solange and Geri take the trail. All are in standard Raven tac gear except Corrina. She’s still wearing the skirt and blazer uniform like the Goblin ladies are wearing.

  Zelwyn leads the escort, with the other five knights and the other female carrying the stretcher. Christie and Tiphanae follow.

  I fall in behind them with my detail. Frannie and Grace are out front. Supreet, still in hybrid form, is next to L’liana behind them. Karla and Sherrine flank me to my rear with Louis and Trinity taking the trail. Sera slides up next to me, still in her Raven skirt uniform, but with her sword belt back on her hips. She opens her lapel to show me her shoulder rig, but I must admit that my attention was pulled to her erect nipples pushing out the fabric of her camisole top. She gives me a big smile when she notices where my attention is, then she slides in to mirror Chelsea’s position on the right side.

  Chapter 49 - Stepping into Summer

  We pass the guard post on the Winter Court side as our party starts to disappear through the portal. Finally, Chelsea, Sera, and I walk through in time to hear Myra tell the rather casual guard, “Let the Summer Queen know that the Faerie Queen has arrived with her daughter.” He slowly gets up from the stool he’s sitting on.

  Zelwyn barks an order, “Move, soldier! We’re not slowing down, and our Queen had better not be surprised when I arrive!”

  The lackadaisical soldier snaps to attention, shouts “Yessir,” and dashes down the corridor in front of us.

  Myra keeps on at a steady pace as if she owns the place. Actually, she kinda does.

  After a short march, the corridor opens up into a hall about the same size as Ariana’s. Here, instead of hall carved from a cave, this appears to be outdoors. Stately oaks, elms, and black walnut in random ranks are lining the hall. Instead of a stone floor, there is cropped grass. There are shrubs and flowers interspersed among the trees, and I see some birds, squirrels, and rabbits as we march right up the center of the ‘hall’. Looking up, I see there is some type of metalwork lattice holding glass in place over the tops of the trees. I’m guessing the glass ceiling is 50-60 feet above the ground.

  Looking back over my shoulder, I see the corridor we emerge from is carved out of a small stone hill. There are only two other corridors coming out of it. I’m assuming they lead to the elves and another sith somewhere in Europe.

  Myra leads us confidently to the dais at the end of the huge hall. It’s made of marble, and it’s surrounded with young poplar trees. A throne sits at the pinnacle of the dais.

  The throne is occupied by a beautiful, slim, blond matron in a white gown. She stands to reveal the satin fabric of her dress covers her breasts and closes in a V just below her navel. The satin fabric is covered with lace that covers her bodice and shoulders up to the base of her neck. The lace also falls down over the ankle-length skirt of the gown. There is gold and green filigree between the satin and lace. The woman looks like she’s been crying for days.

  Next to the throne is a small stool on which a auburn-haired woman sits. She is wearing what looks like a tan bodysuit with an ankle length, embroidered, green vest. She has a sour expression on her face and a bracelet like Trevor’s on her left wrist.

  Sera squeezes me. I look down and mouth ‘mom?’ She nods at me.

  Myra stops about fifteen feet in front of the dais and bows slightly to the woman on the dais. She says, “Queen Titania, with regret I bring to you the body of your eldest daughter.”

  “What did you do to her, you cold-hearted cunt?” The Summer Queen demands.

  Myra doesn’t take any crap from her. “Well Titania, let’s set some things straight. Despite your daughter’s plans, she was never going to be the Faerie Queen. She went so far as to put my mother under influence repeatedly to get her support for her claim. When that didn’t work, and she learned that I married the Green Lord, she tried to influence my husband to recognize her regardless. When he rebuffed her efforts she swore to kill us. Her exact words were, ‘You will recognize me, and then you will all die.’ Then she threatened to kill my husband and drew a sword on him. The Winter Court puts up with a ton of shit from you and yours. They will not stand for that.”

  Titania sneers, “You say that like you are no part of the Winter Court, Lady Winter.”

  Myra responds calmly, “Queen Titania, I ceased being Lady Winter when I married my husband, Jack Jerome. He is the Green Lord. I am his first and currently only wife, and I was the Winter Lady when we married. Ask your trusted historian, Jory, or your Crystal what that means, Titania.”

  Titania rails, “We have no Crystal. She left us.”

  “And yet I am here, Mother. I had to escort Laurel home whether I want to be here or not,” Christie calls.

  Prudence sidles up to Titania and whispers in her ear while an elderly Sidhe joins her on the dais one level below the queen.

&n
bsp; The Summer Queen consults with them both before saying, “We suppose you are claiming that you are the Faerie Queen.”

  Myra cleary says, “I am. I would have your oath of fealty and support.”

  Titania gasps, “I will not. You killed my daughter to turn the Green Lord’s eye from her.” Thankfully she appears to have dropped the royal pronoun.

  I let loose a bitter laugh. “Hardly, Queen Titania. Your daughter made me sick when I first I met her. She was a spoiled, petulant child in a woman’s body. She had no chance of winning my hand in marriage. Just so we are all clear, I’m the one that killed her.”

  “Who are you?” She demands.

  I chuckle, “Well Titania, I am the Green Lord.”

  “No! The Green Lord is a European. Prudence introduced me...er us,” Titania insists.

  I let the flame rise in my eyes. Prudence backs away from Titania as I tell her, “Prudence serves the Dread Lord, Queen Titania. She has for at least…” I look to Sera to confirm, “...23 years.” Sera nods to confirm I’m in the right ballpark.

  Prudence points her right index finger at me with her left hand on her hip, “Lies! He’s lying, your Majesty! I would never serve the Dread Lord.” My eyes open wide in shock as I see the bracelet drop down into a suddenly visible hand.

  “Guards,” I call softly. My entourage closes a circle around me. Jessica appears in front of me with in her dark bodysuit outfit.

  Jessica whispers, “I’m to take this back to Trina. I need someone to distract them when I go through the portal, Jack.”

  I call with my mind, *Lili! I need you to escort Jessica back to Trina’s quarters in the Winter Court. Ensure the bracelet she just nabbed is deactivated. Then come back here. Would you do this for me please?*

  I hear back, *Of course, Lover. I’ll be back in a jiffy*

  I growl at Jessica, “Get your ass back in bed, sweetheart. You need to rest!” She grins and hugs me quickly before she blinks away. L’liana blinks out a moment later.

  “You, Prudence Waterlilly, are correct.” I say. “Someone is lying. It’s supposed to be impossible for a Sidhe to lie. Even trying is supposed to drive you insane. But the Dread Lord made you his creature. Lying and subversion are probably the two things you do best. Who else has a bracelet like yours in the Summer Court?”

  She looks down and gasps when she notices the bracelet is gone. “What bracelet are you talking about, Lord?”

  She’s good. I riposte, “Your master will be quite wroth with you when he finds out you lost it.” That one landed. I can see the fear in her eyes. I keep working to keep her off-balance.

  “I’m curious, Prudence. Are you the one that sent Gary Owen to murder my family?” I ask.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she blusters with a smirk. She’s not even trying to hide her deception.

  “Who did I supposedly murder,” I hear from a voice from my nightmares.

  I look around and see the smug bastard. He still looks like a college frat boy. I step out and call out, “Since your memory seems deficient, let me help you along, Gary. How about Scott Jerome? Guillaume Jerome? Maryanne Jerome? Ringing any bells, Gary?”

  He looks at me for a moment. “The one that got away,” he finally says. He seems remorseful, but over what I can’t tell.

  I reach out with my mind and lift him in the air by his throat, “That’s right, Gary. The one that got there too late to kill you. The one that watched you get convicted. The one that is trying very hard to let you live because your daughter loves you for some unfathomable reason.”

  Sera squeezes my arm gently and then stands beside me. I squeeze his neck just a little bit more, and he extends his arms and gasps out, “Sera!”

  “Why, Daddy? Why did you kill Jack’s family?” she asks him.

  Gary hangs his head and drops his arms. Then he looks at Prudence and slowly raises his right arm to point to Prudence. He croaks, “Prudence said the Queen wanted me kill them all. I got caught before I got to Jack.”

  “LIES!” Prudence shouts as I lower Gary slowly to the ground. Then I put Prudence asleep as the headache starts to come on again. ‘Note to self. Lifting adults off the ground leads to headaches!’

  Slowly the headache fades as I hear in my mind, *That should help, Lord.*

  *Thanks for charging me up, Eliana,* I send back.

  *I live to serve, Lord,* she responds.

  Sera kisses my cheek, “Thank you for keeping him alive, Jack”

  I think to myself, ‘A “thank you” from a Sidhe. In public, too. Highly unusual!’

  I tell Sera, “Go let him know you love him, Sweetie. My dad always enjoyed hearing that his kids love him. I bet yours does too. I suspect he’d especially like to hear it right now.”

  She kisses my lips briefly and runs to wrap her father in a hug.

  I address the Summer Queen while I apparently have everyone’s attention. “Queen Titania, did you tell Prudence to send someone after my family?”

  “No sir, I did not,” she replies angrily. She’s not showing any of the tells of deceit. She adds less angrily, “I guess you have some sympathy for how I feel over the loss of my daughter.”

  “I do, Queen Titania. Even after all these years, grief still reaches out and smacks me periodically. I regret your daughter left me no choice but to kill her,” I tell her.

  “I don’t believe you had no choice,” she replies coldly.

  “It’s true, my Queen,” Zelwyn speaks up. “She drew her sword and attacked. Lord Jack put us all to sleep right after she attacked him.”

  “So why didn’t Laurel fall asleep?” the grieving mother asks.

  Sera steps forward, “That was my fault, Queen Titania. My mother ensured that I went with Princess Laurel. My purpose for being there was to use my bracelet to siphon off any effects generated by someone using abilities on Laurel. Lord Jack was stronger than I thought. I was able to bring Laurel back around the first time he put her asleep, but it was difficult. She attacked Jack with her sword, and Jack shield-checked her. He tried to put her asleep again, but I was better prepared and pulled his energy away from Laurel. She got up, and when we in the guard detail started to pull weapons, Jack put the guard detail, including myself, to sleep. My bracelet woke me up in time to see Laurel working to find an opening again. Jack tried to put me asleep again, but I mostly shrugged it off. Then he teleported in front of me and cut off my arm. That interrupted my control of the bracelet. At that point he pivoted and drove his sword into Laurel’s back and then cut off her head. L’liana, the Elf in his guard, did something to the bracelet to ensure it was inactive and then put it in a pouch. I suspect she’s doing the same to Mother’s bracelet as we speak.”

  The Summer Queen clarifies, “So, your mother did have a bracelet from the Dread Lord until just recently.”

  “Yes, Queen Titania,” Sera confirms. “It was composed of multiple metallic strands with four dark stones. Based on what L’liana said about another one I saw that looked identical, it’s a communication device that allowed her to converse with the Dread Lord. I’m assuming telepathically as I never saw her talk to it. That may not be accurate.”

  Titania asks, “Were you also serving the Dark Lord, Sera?”

  “Yes, Queen Titania. I didn’t get much choice in the matter. If he had been kinder to me, I might have fallen under his spell like my mother did. I met him on Spring Break last year. Apparently Mother vectored him to my location. We hooked up, he beat and sodomized me, and embedded a bracelet into the flesh of my arm. Fortunately, Lord Jack cut off my arm rather than tried to pry it off. It was set to explode if someone tried to remove it,” Sera explains.

  “You appear to have complete and whole arms and hands,” the Summer Queen observes.

  “Yes, Queen Titania. Lord Jack had mercy on me. He healed me by growing a replacement hand. My father is the fourth person he’s let live today that he has every reason to kill. Being around him makes me want to be a better person. So, I
swore my service to him. I’m considering giving him a token of ownership, your majesty,” Sera says shyly.

  I think to myself, ‘Damn! The girl is chatty, but also very poised. Especially considering how young she is.’

  The Summer Queen looks at me with a sour face, “You sound like a saint, Lord Jack.”

  I shake my head, “Sadly no, Queen Titania. I just keep working hard to be worthy of the people that love me or have committed to my cause.”

  “There’s not a lot of difference, is there, Lord Jack?” the Summer Queen observes.

  Myra speaks up, “No, Queen Titania. There is not. The more time I spend with him, the more convinced I am that marrying him was perhaps the smartest thing I have ever done.”

  Titania looks at me thoughtfully. “I still am leery of taking the word of only your family on what happened to my daughter, Lord Jack.”

  From the back of the hall I hear, “Would you take my word, Queen of Summer?”

  I think ‘O’ren to the rescue again!’ L’liana pops back into her position in my guard’s formation. She sends a quick, *I’m back, Lover! Your pet assassin is in bed as she should be.* I can hear the laughter in her voice. I’m just not in the mood to play right now.

  Titania calls out, “Welcome, O’ren Lightbringer, it is always a pleasure to see you.” Her tone of voice and facial expression indicate she’s walking the razor’s edge of an emotional breakdown.

  O’ren responds, “Sadly, my visit isn’t at a happier time. My condolences for your loss, Queen Titania. Having actually witnessed the events leading up to Laurel’s demise and her death, I would say that Lord Jack didn’t have much wiggle room. If not for the Dread Lord’s power in Lady Waterlilly’s bracelet, he could have just put her to sleep, bound her, and returned her to you to deal with. However, considering her behavior, beloved Queen, I suspect she was on a short road to her death even if Lord Jack had managed to avoid killing her.”