Of Kings & Queens

You're A Heart Attack In Black Hair Dye

The brothers stepped away from one another to get a better look. Mikey had been so excited to see Gerard that he hadn't even thought his brother could be under Gervasius' control, but as he gazed at Gee, he saw no sign of the ghost. He saw hazel eyes filled with relief and slight fear, a kind face that he knew like the back of his hand, and everything else that made up his brother and not the mad king. This was definitely Gerard, no doubt about it.

"How'd you get away from him?" the younger Way finally asked after a long moment.

"I...I don't know." Gerard spoke with a frown, "I don't remember if he let me go or what."

"At least you're okay." Mikey gave his brother another hug as Pete, Joe, and Andy hung back. They were glad Gerard was okay, but were sharing curious and worried glances. Even though the guy acted like Gerard, they still kept Montresor's words in mind.

"And if one of those powers is of forcing Gerard to be a spirit while Gervasius takes his body for himself, then I would not be surprised." That's what the young ghost had said, so was it really possible this wasn't Gerard? Mikey was his brother and he seemed to be convinced, so maybe it wasGerard. Just to make sure, they could ask their ghost friends to sense Gerard, since they seemed to be able to sense different people without seeing them. Maybe they could also tell if the guy was really Gerard or was Gervasius somehow in Gerard's body.

"Now that we're together again, maybe we should head back." Pete suggested.

"Right." The others nodded, but before they could leave their sight changed to the fogginess of the memories.

"Fuck, are these gonna start appearing out of nowhere now?!"

"Quiet." Andy gave Pete a glare though he did agree. They looked around and found it to be a similar memory, if not the same one later in the day. The windows were dark and the chandelier was still up, lit as bright as could be. Music was playing and, with a jolt, the living men realized that the song was a classical version of This is Gospel, which was really weird, since the song hadn't existed until a few years ago. The ones playing it were a group of musicians who were situated on the empty platform as guests mingled. To the sides were tables piled high with food that made the men's mouths water because they hadn't had really good food like that in days (sandwiches were starting not to cut it). The middle of the room was cleared for dancing and whistles were made when Percival appeared, taking a pretty young woman with him to dance. Mingling with the crowd were Paul and Ferdinand (which could barely be seen because of his short stature) which Gervasius stayed off to the side, sitting on his throne while giving the proceedings a disinterested look. This must have been the night of Percival's coronation, which, frankly (no pun intended), looked a bit hectic. The living men expected something big to happen but were surprised when the memory changed, as well as its mood.

Chills shot down their spines as things brightened up and the crowd cleared, but their vision was still foggy. The memory before had been happy, but this one seemed to be filled with a bad feeling. This was exemplified by what they now saw in the ballroom. It was once again daytime and Percival and Paul were talking to others in the middle of the room. The thrones were still there, but two of them had black cloth cast over them, which were the ones of Spidantia and Scorxus. The living men guessed that this memory was from after Gervasius had been killed and immediately they all filled with terrible emotions, knowing what was going to happen. Percival had been made king here, but his reign was about to end.

"And the fields? Are they still producing?" Percival asked, Paul by his side. It had been several moons since the death of Gervasius, but not even a year had passed and things were taking a tumble. Gervasius had been the wisest as well as the eldest, taking care of trading for the kingdoms to the outside. And now, with him gone, Four Corners found itself paying more and receiving less than it had before. Paul, being second eldest, was trying to get things under control, but a bad winter was doing their crops in and now they barely had enough to survive themselves. The only things they were able to export for a profit were some poisonous plants and what their animal partners gave them: spider and scorpion poison, spider silk, phoenix feathers (though they could only get those if the phoenixes shed them without having the feathers burn up), and deer antlers. It was barely enough to get them by and the two kings realized that if something didn't change soon, all four kingdoms would be sent into ruin.