Brass Automaton

01 - The Brass Automaton

"Sire, may I see it?"

"The automaton?" The king sighed. "You've seen it before, Jarvis."

"Yes Mi'Lord, I ask only to allow a young artisan to sketch it. We may learn to augment the infirm."

The king rose from his desk and turned his attention to Jarvis. "Do you believe that wise?"

"Mi'Lord, she destroyed the automaton."

The king looked over Jarvis' shoulder. "Where is Snow?"

"Mi'Lady is supervising construction of an orphanage in the northern reach of the kingdom," replied Jarvis.

"She is not to know about it. Ensure your artisan knows the penalty for defying me."

Jarvis nodded first to the king, and then to a royal guard. The guard opened one of the ornate doors, and a young woman entered. The trio walked to a stone wall off of the throne room. The king withdrew an apple made of solid gold and placed it in an ornamental set of scales on a pedestal prominently displayed against the wall. Its purpose was to be a symbol of the king's fairness when resolving conflicts among his people.

The artisan's eyes grew as the apple weighted one side and, as the tray sank, an audible click echoed off the tall ceiling. A section of wall slid aside, brass wheels squeaked as they revealed earthen steps leading down into the very mountain the castle was built upon.

After Jarvis and the artisan had disappeared down the steps, the king removed the apple and watched as the wall restored itself. He returned to his desk and removed a fragment of glass from a hidden drawer. He held the broken glass fragment up, staring at his reflection, the edges rough as if it had been smashed from a larger piece.

"Magic mirror in my hand..."

The fragment's reflection began to cloud, and a blurry face materialized. Tendrils of magick materialized over the king's reflection. "Master?" the replacement face asked.

"Let me know when Snow returns to the castle."

"It is done," the magical mirrored face responded.

"Show me the automaton's chamber."

The face faded, and the king's reflection morphed into a view of an earthen chamber, its details blocked from view by the artisan's pale features. Her lips moved, but no sound came from the glass fragment. The king leaned the fragment against a leather-bound book and his eyes repeatedly darted to it as he tried to complete paperwork.

* * *

"Is this...?"

"It is," Jarvis replied. "The mirror was cracked into seven fragments when the evil queen hurled a goblet at it. His Majesty is undoubtedly watching us from another fragment."

The artisan glanced furtively at the glass fragment as Jarvis inserted a key into a simple wooden door, and threw it open. Past the door frame was a brass clockwork automaton. It stood six feet, the brass components reflecting light from a surface so perfect, it couldn't have been forged in this or any other kingdom that the artisan knew of. It perfectly mimicked the human body with bones and muscle. The only thing missing was the head and right arm. Where they would've been ended in mangled metal.

The artisan reached toward the automaton and jerked her hand away when she heard grinding metal.

Jarvis let out a belly laugh and dropped a piece of brass to the floor as the artisan whirled toward him. He stepped away from the wall where he had scratched it with the brass.

"Forgive me, young artisan, it's sort of a tradition when someone sees it for the first time."

The artisan let out a breath. "I thought it was alive."

Jarvis exhaled his own breath, the mischievous smile faded from his lips. His features became a shadow, and a morose frown replaced his fading smile. "It was," he whispered.

The artisan raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

"What you see here is a killing machine," Jarvis continued.

"A killing machine?"

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until its target is dead."

The artisan stepped away from the automaton. "Who was its target?"

Jarvis leaned against the wall. "His Majesty was the target."

The artisan stepped back again and nearly tripped over the door jamb.

Jarvis sighed. "I'll tell you a story, but you will never repeat it. Especially not to the queen."

The artisan nodded conspiratorially.

"What's your name, girl?"

The artisan swallowed a lump in her throat. "Sarah."

"Well, Sarah, this story happened when his majesty was still a young boy, a huntsman to be precise. It's the story of a clockwork machine from the future, with a mission to terminate his Majesty to prevent him from meeting his queen." Jarvis paused for effect. "Queen White."

Sarah sat on the earthen floor mute and waited for Jarvis to continue.

* * *

"John!" The voice echoed off nearby trees. "John!"

John looked up and skittered away from his tutor. He moved continuously, to keep the pigs and their mud between them.

"You're late for your studies," his tutor declared, crossing her arms over her chest.

John moved again as the tutor circled the pig pen. "I've decided I'm not studying today," he announced.

The tutor examined the distance between them. "I shall inform your father of your decision."

John stopped circling the pen, and a smile crept across his lips as the tutor turned to leave. The tutor spun and leaped over the pigs, landing in the mud and splattering John with pig filth. John reeled back and fell on his back. She jumped again and crashed against John as he sputtered about the indignity of the situation. She knelt with one knee on John's chest.

Leaning forward, she whispered into John's ear. "I've been watching you for many years, and the time is near."

"Time..." John squirmed under her knee. "Time for what?"

"The beginning," the tutor whispered. She shrugged emphatically and continued, "The end."

"What are you blathering about, Reese?"

"The evil queen," Reese replied matter-of-factly.

"What evil queen?"

"The evil queen who will cast a spell on your wife."

"Are you stupid, woman? I'm not married."

"You will be." Reese stared at the surrounding forest. Birds scattered from the canopy as a crashing noise was heard. Lightning flashed repeatedly and started small fires in the underbrush. Something large was advancing toward them.

John stared as wildlife thundered frantically from the bushes. "They're terrified," he screamed to Reese.

With steam escaping from articulating joints, a gleaming brass man emerged from shadows along the tree line. Clockwork parts were partially visible behind its brass chest plate. The automaton tore a tree trunk from the ground, roots littering clumps of soil, and launched the tree like a javelin. Reese pushed John out of the way, barely avoided the projectile herself.

John scrambled back on all fours and stared up at Reese's outstretched hand. Reese met John's gaze and she uttered the words that would start an adventure through time and tale, "Come with me if you want to live."