Gravity Rises (S2)

NMS: Part One

Gideon stared at the curly grey hair of Mrs. Pleasure and tried not to feel nauseous.

She sat directly in front of him, blocking his view. Northwests didn't sit in the back, not usually. But they had arrived late, and Blind Lincoln had given them a look that told them to just sit in the back and not draw attention to themselves. Which was completely insulting — especially considering they were late because they didn't even know about the meeting until the last minute — but Blind Lincoln was the one person Gaston Northwest deferred to. So he and Gideon sat in the back. And now Gideon's eyes were drawn to people's heads every time they moved, which annoyed him more than he thought possible.

But that annoyance was the least of his worries. Everything about this meeting gave Gideon a nasty taste in his mouth.

"Miss Pleasure has a remarkable connection with our esteemed lord and will deftly handle any concerns you may need to take up with him," Blind Lincoln was saying. He stood at the front of the room and addressed the crowd, gesturing to the small figure standing next to him.

Pacifica Pleasure.

She was all dressed up in her show outfit, hair pulled up in her signature style, hands folded and resting on her huge skirt, looking more like herself than Gideon had seen in a long time. On one hand, he was glad to see her looking so happy. She practically glowed with pride. On the other hand, he wasn't happy at all to learn what he had just learned:

That Pacifica was now the leader of the Order of the Crescent Eye.

Gideon still didn't completely believe it. What was Blind Lincoln thinking? Pacifica had always been unstable, but recently, she'd taken a turn for the worst. And now she was being put in charge of the most important secret society in the world? So Blind Lincoln could go off on vacation?

There was more to it than that, though Gideon didn't particularly want to admit it to himself. He was jealous. Pacifica was younger than he was — she was younger than everyone in this room. Why didn't Blind Lincoln put one of them in charge? Why didn't Blind Lincoln put Gideon in charge?

Because Bill likes her, his brain reminded him.

Gideon grimaced. Yes, that was true. All of this was Bill's order, Bill's idea, Bill's insanity. Pacifica was his brand new puppet, and Bill wanted to play.

"Many of us know, of course, the unique circumstances under which I came into power," Blind Lincoln continued. Gideon forced himself to pay attention. "But the truth is that leadership of the Order has always been passed down through the Pleasure family line."

What?

"My predecessor and Pacifica's grandfather, Percy Pleasure, did not find his only son worthy of taking the reins. So he asked me to succeed him."

This was news to Gideon. He'd never thought about who led the Order before Blind Lincoln. Lincoln seemed like he'd been the leader for. . . forever.

"And while I'm so grateful for Percy's trust in me, I now rejoice in seeing his descendent once again rise to reclaim her birthright."

Pacifica beamed at the crowd as everyone applauded politely. Gideon had to peer through the gap between Bud Pleasure and his wife to see her.

That's when he noticed. They weren't applauding any louder than anyone else.

Gideon grimaced again. Another reason why he hated this meeting. Bud Pleasure didn't remember that Pacifica was his daughter. He didn't even seem to remember that he was the son of Percy Pleasure, considering how he didn't react to Blind Lincoln's earlier blatant insult. Pacifica's parents were very obviously wiped clean of their memory.