The Toils (Book One)

XII. A Crowded House

Thatcher's eyes bored into Ritty, sitting opposite her, Ruataupares desk between them. Both Agnes and Antonia flanked Ritty, watching the conversation unfold tensely.
"You were right", Ritty croaked, "we either have to defect, or die hungry".
"I'm happy, here, Ritty", Thatcher responded, "I don't need Gossfordshire anymore".
"Thatcher, there're people there, who are going to die - good people. Innocent people", Ritty implored. 
"They're your people, Ritty. Ritty the King", she scoffed, "That's you, isn't it?".
"I'm not the king. I never was, and the way things are going, I never will be", Ritty replied hollowly, "but with your help-".
"What?", Thatcher cut him off, "You will be?".
"It's not about me, Thatcher", Ritty argued back, keeping his cool, "It's about 30,000 other people on death's door because you won't help them".
Thatcher wanted to beat him. Her face grew hot, her eyes red with fury.
"I asked you, I told you what the stakes were, and you waited. You waited for Drew to step up, be a man, and take action!".
"Drew made things worse! The men he marched down here to have slaughtered? Some of them made it home!", Ritty informed her. 
"What?", Thatcher became visibly worried, the anger dropped from her voice.
"Yeah", Ritty nodded, "and now, that same cancer he wanted scrubbing from the guard - it's being celebrated, worshipped".
Thatcher clicked her jaw, perplexed.
"This is our fight, Thatcher. All of us", Ritty concluded.
"And what do you two think about this?", Thatcher asked stonily to Agnes and Antonia. 
"He's right", Agnes coughed, stroking the cat purring happily on her lap, "we need to organize ourselves into a unit, start planning".
Antonia nodded, knowing the shaky ground she and Ritty were currently standing on, appreciating that it could collapse under anything she might say.
"So you wanna - what, exactly? March up there, the three of us, and take down the entire guard?", Thatcher laughed coldly, "Or call more favors in from Ruataupare and Riwai. They've already done more than enough for us".
"You said you had favors to call in", Ritty responded, "call them in".
"I said that before we used the Motuekan army as our own personal cleaning service", Thatcher shook her head.
"Thatcher, unless you're prepared to step in and negotiate for us; Gossfordshire is as good as wiped off the map", Agnes spoke with a hint of a plea in her voice.
"We've known each other a long time, Agnes, longer than I care to admit", Thatcher placed her hands to her lips, "You know I've served my kingdom faithfully, to the best of my ability".
"I do".
"So, I need you to imagine how absolutely betrayed I felt when this little asshole turned me down when I wanted to rouse an army to take Gossfordshire in his name", Thatcher glared back and forth between Ritty and Agnes. 
"I get that you're annoyed at me-", Ritty began before Thatcher spoke over him. 
"I'm not annoyed - I'm on the verge of dragging you down the shore and drowning you", Thatcher sneered, "I want to throw you into a fucking firepit".
"Oi", Antonia interjected.
"And you? Who are you?", Thatcher jeered to Antonia.
"Can you two step out, for a moment?", Agnes looked to Ritty and Antonia to her right.
Without argument, they did as they were told, leaving Thatcher and Agnes alone.
"I know why you're angry, Thatcher, I really, honestly do", Agnes placed her hand out for Thatcher to take, but she didn't take it.
"Agnes, I like it here. I'm not going back to Gossfordshire".
"What about us? There're three of us that've been run out of our homes. Randall tried to kill me, the same way he would've killed you".
"And I'm sorry about that, but Gossfordshire and its problems aren't my problems anymore".
"If you truly mean that; then I'm sorry for wasting your time", Agnes pulled her hand from the desk. 
"I do mean it, Agnes".


"Sean?".
Sean groggily fluttered his eyes open. The sky outside the dorm room window was bleak, grey, and fundamentally miserable. 
A light flurry of slow sifted over the house, covering it in a light dusting of white.
"What?", Sean sat up to address Ry hovering over him. 
Since Drew had left, Sean had taken occupation in Gene's old bedroom.
"There's people, out on the lawns", Ry pulled a lock of hair from his face.
"Looking for the prisoners?", Sean sat up, the sheet exposed his torso as it slipped around his waist.
"No, worse than that", Ry said vaguely.
"What the fuck could be worse than that?".
"They're from Maxomontis, kids... animals... the elderly...", Ry paused, trying to word this in a way that wouldn't set Sean off. 
"What, looking for food? Ry just tell me what's going on", Sean spun on a dime. 
"Maybe you and Randall should come down to the lawn and have a look".
"Just tell me - what the fuck is happening?", Sean was growing agitated. 
"There're kids... Dead".