The Ballad of the Red King: Chapter 2 – Against the “Lawful” and Unlawful

 

Chapter 2 – Against the “Lawful” and Unlawful

“Sargrantina…Sargrantina,” I hear the Red King say.

“Mmm?”

“You couldn’t stay awake for an hour?”

“I guess not. Are you done your meditating?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Is it darker in here or have my eyes not completely adjusted to waking up yet? Before I know it, priests and other gunmen surround us with shooters in the confessional, adoration room, pews, and above where the organ is.

“What’s going on? Father?”

“I’m sorry Red King, but you know there are sinners inside the Church. I could only do so much,” the wounded priest says before thrown to the floor.

“That’s fine. Then you will be the only one I spare.”

“I’ll give you one last chance, king. Join us or die,” a mobster says.

“How about I give you an offer?”

“Really? What kind of offer can you give me that will convince me to spare you?”

“Repent now or die and go to Hell.”

“Hahaha! What kind of offer is that?”

“What’s your answer?”

“I refuse-”

The Red King shoots the mobster in the head to everyone’s shock.

“Anyone else refuse?” Our attackers fire on us as we take cover. “Try not to damage the church, Sargrantina.”

“I’ll try not to.”

The Red King’s marksmanship is impressive. He lands headshot after headshot with his Jackpot pistol that manages to kill his targets without blowing their brains onto the walls. His Jackpot pistol was given to him as a reward from his bounties just like most of his weapons with the exception of the revolvers that he started out with and has gotten rid of. Jackpot’s previous owner was a man who was said to be half-demon, half-human with how he could somehow dodge bullets, dance between them while fighting, and take damage from them. His luck eventually ran out when he faced the Red King who took him down with the owner’s serious brother.

Jackpot contains more bullets than his other guns and they’re smaller because of this. It’s why he hasn’t had to reload and why the bullets don’t come out the other side of their targets. I hardly have the same results with my shooting even though I aim for the chest and head. Moving between cover and covering the Red King when I think he’s going to get shot makes me a bit inaccurate.

“Try not to damage the church.”

“I heard you the first time!”

The Red King is taking out everyone so quickly that you’d think that he doesn’t trust me to take them out on my own or that he’s filled with a righteous rage because of the gunfight in the church or both. All our attackers are dead within three minutes and the church is hardly scratched. Most of the damage is caused by either me or our attacker’s missing their shots. The Red King heads over to the injured priest who’s still alive despite the big gunfight.

“I’m…I’m glad you’re alive, Red King,” the priest says.

“Same to you, father,” the Red King says.

“You…you’re not going to shoot me for selling you out?”

“They tortured the information out of you, so no. Cleaning the church is a good punishment for your venial sin anyways.”

“You’re right…”

Hmm. I wonder what’s on these guys.

“Sargrantina. Didn’t you just confess the sin of looting the dead?”

“Yes, but I just wondered who sent these people, so we know who to look out for. Look.” I move aside one of the men’s coats to reveal an officer’s badge. “Government mafia. I didn’t even need to pick it off him. You have enemies in high places.”

“I have greater help in even higher places.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Oh! This pistol with a golden look is amazing. I also like the crucifixion painting on the grip. This could sell-I feel an ominous presence behind me as I reach for the gun. It’s the Red King breathing down my neck with a mean look on his face.

“Haha, I just like the design on the pistol,” I tell him before he starts pinching and stretching my face cheeks. “Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! I won’t take it.”

“Good. Now, let’s leave. More are bound to come for me.”

“Hmph. I can’t believe it. Bullying a lady in a church.”

“Chastising and stopping you from sinning is an act of charity.”

“If you say so.”

As soon as we step outside the church, we are shot at from the rooftops, so we head back inside for cover-or at least I do while the Red King runs for cover underneath some nearby wagons.

“What are you doing?!” I ask.

“I don’t want any more damage done to the church.”

Figures.

“Make your way over here. I’ll cover you.”

The Red King covers me by dual-wielding two pistols, Jackpot and Brandon. Jackpot keeps the shooters down with its semi-auto rate of fire while Brandon pierces through cover and kills whoever is shot. Brandon is more of a handcannon than a revolver. Named after its owner, the bounty he got it from was a man known for tanking bullets even without body armor supposedly because he had survived so many serious wounds, but the human body can only take so much punishment before it reaches its limit, which gave the Red King an easy kill. With Brandon in his hand, cover is nothing, and the recoil, deafening noise of the shots, and numbing pain of using the gun are probably worth it in exchange for using such a powerful revolver.

The shooters on the rooftops are probably scared now because they’ve seen what such a powerful gun can do to a person in a single shot. This allows me to get to the Red King fairly easily.

“Fall back! The cavalry is here-”

The Red King and I manage to shoot the last couple guys before we see their backup arrive in the distance. Several officers and their backup who I’m assuming are either mobsters or rival bounty hunters. They’re all riding on horses with their guns already drawn.

“Come on, Red King! We have to hide in the church for cover!”

“Isn’t there any place else?”

“There are the nearby houses and businesses, but they’re small and don’t offer as much protection, and I’m sure you don’t want to get anyone else caught in this crossfire.”

“Hold on. I got this.”

The Red King takes out his rifle called MacMillan and situates the gun on a barrel so he can steady it better. MacMillan was obtained by a bounty that the Red King had a ten-minute fight with, but it wasn’t a fight with constant shooting. Only one bullet was fired, and it wasn’t the killing one. The entire fight was them hiding in a forest trying to find each other and the sniper who wielded MacMillan shot the Red King in the arm, and it was his best arm that he used to shoot. This was back when he had only one gun. Since he couldn’t shoot well, the Red King used his instinct to find the shooter and killed him with a hunting knife to the back of the head.

The rifle shoots through three of the Red King’s targets, and with just three bullets, he kills nine people. It’s quieted down for now, but the people after us probably have more.

“We have to leave town while we have the chance,” I say.

“We’ll get back to chasing after Black Jack then. The last place I heard he was at was the casino by the shore. We’ll take the main road there and hopefully, we’ll catch him in a couple days.”

“Why would you want to take the main road when we being chased by the ‘law’ and unlawful? How about we take the backroads in the forest instead? It’s shorter and there are fewer people that go that way, which means we'll run into less trouble.”

“Because it’s cursed. Don’t you know that dead men walk those roads?”

“I’m sure it’s just a rumor or superstition and I’m sure it’s a sin for a God-fearing man like you to believe in superstitions.”

“…okay. Fine. We’ll take the backroads to get to the shore.”

Yes! Finally got him to agree with me on something. This’ll teach him that he should listen to my advice. Together, we buy a horse and head out of town and in the direction of the shore. While riding, I look at the map of the area that I have.

“So, tell me why this bounty is personal to you,” I say.

“It’s a personal reason. Besides, you’re just interested in the money. Why do you want to know?”

“I know all about you and Black Jack, but I’ve never heard about anything between you two that would make this a personal bounty. The only thing I can guess is that he’s your father…am I right?”

The Red King is oddly silent.

“What makes you think that?”

“In the tales that I’ve heard about you, I’ve heard about your father and how you’ve hated him for not giving your family a better place to live.”

“Is that all that makes you think that Black Jack is my father? What else have you heard about him?”

“Not much. He’s just a character in your story that lacks a name and backstory.”

“Figures.”

“Do you still hate him?”

“No, I don’t. Is there a place along the path that we can rest at?”

“Yes, this is one place after we exit the forest. You’re not tired already, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“So, when we get a room, do you want to sleep together or…”

“We sleep in separate beds in the same room.”

“But what if the room we get only has one bed?”

“I’ll sleep on the floor. You can have the bed.”

“Such a gentleman. Wait, are you saying that sleeping on the floor is better than sleeping with me?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph. What makes you say that?”

“Because only married couples should sleep together.”

“Oh, of course, you would say that.”

A gunshot goes off. I look around to see if we’re being followed and it looks like we have a few more troublemakers on our tail except they’re pretty far away.

“Are we being chased?”

“Yeah, but they can’t hit us from here with their pistols. We can probably outrun them and lose them in the forest-wait, what are you doing?!”

The Red King turns around with his rifle and uses my head as a rest for his rifle. He takes one shot then another before turning around. My head feels shaky now. I turn around to see that he’s taken out our pursuers.

“Good shot, but why did you have to use my head as a rest for your rifle?!”

“I didn’t have anything else and I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, but still!”

“I’m sorry,” he says while turning around to pet my head.

“Hmph. You may be one of the best bounty hunters, but you need to learn a lot more about how to treat a lady.”

“I’ll try to.”

I’d say that was a sarcastic response, but the Red King is too blatantly honest as a man to be sarcastic, so I’ll believe him. Wait a second, wasn’t the Red King just dodging my question about his father being Black Jack? He never gave me a straight answer on it. Hmm. This bounty might actually be personal for him. The adventure I’m on just got more interesting.

The Ballad of the Red King: Chapter 1 - A Golden Opprounity

 

Chapter 1 – A Golden Opportunity

Never let an opportunity pass you by is the saying that I live by. Well, the biggest opportunity of my life is here. The Red King is here in this casino. He’s one of the best bounty hunters on the hunt for one of the biggest bounties on a man called Black Jack. He was an old outlaw who faked his death and recently remerged for more fame and glory. If I can help the Red King, then I’ll be loaded with cash because the bounty on Black Jack’s head is sixty million dollars. It doesn’t matter if the Red King takes most of it. With even a portion of it combined with my current funds, I’ll be set for life.

All I need to do now is find a way for the Red King to notice me. He’s a stoic kind of guy that rarely teams up with people. This room is full of people with bounties on their heads. It’s the rule of the West to hide your identity if you have a bounty on your head otherwise the law won’t step in to save you. The country is pretty much ruled by gangs who have opposing agendas and will take any excuse to make the other side look evil. If you ask me, it’s just politics like any other country. People ally themselves with political parties and gangs for protection. What’s impressive about the Red King is that he isn’t allied with any political party or gang unless you count the Church, where he gets his guns blessed and for confession.

I could talk to him when he goes there, but he’s been on the move for a while and not every town has a church in it. I could also call him over to my table to play cards. It’s a common way that people offer deals to others incognito. These are a few of the options I have, but I think I’ll take a dangerous one. Snitches get riches in the West and I’ve snitched on every person who has a bounty here. Even though people may hide their primary features, they can’t hide their fashion sense and the subtle details about them like the little marks on their faces, their way of walking, and tone of voice all of which can be found on the bounty’s description. Normal people don’t take these into account when going after a bounty unless they’re really itching for money.

The management in the casino is locking the doors right now and I’m just waiting for the first shot to go-there it is! The casino owners and guards open fire on their bounties. Other people in joining in the fight as I assume that they either overheard our conversation or they have connections to the casino. While this fight is happening, the people who don’t know what’s happening are either running to find an exit, hiding, or firing back thinking that the casino has gone crazy. A musical band is playing music that can be heard over the gunfire while being protected by bulletproof barriers. Most gunfights like this have bands playing music over the fighting since bounty hunting is more or less a sport. It’s illegal to kill anyone in the band even if they are playing terrible music and automatically places a bounty of a million dollars on your head.

Meanwhile, the Red King is taking cover while drinking a glass of red wine. He’s on the lookout for anyone who might have it out for him and there appears to be some. As he defends himself, a group of people try to attack him from his blind spots while he’s distracted. It’s a simple but effective tactic for targets as famous as him. I know he has bulletproof armor that should mostly protect him from their bullets, but I need him in my debt. This is my opportunity, so I shoot them and get his attention. He looks my way and I wink and smile at him. I then help him by covering the places he isn’t looking until all the bounties have been taken and the casino calms down.

The Red King will have to at least thank me, and he does. He’s at least seven feet tall if I could measure. To most people, he’s an imposing man, but to me, he’s just another business opportunity.

“Thank you,” he says with a tip of his hat, “I’ll buy you a drink for saving me.”

“Thank you, but I want something more than a drink for helping you.”

“What would you like?”

“Red King, my name is Sargrantina, and I want to help you with your next bounty, Black Jack.”

“…no. He’s too much for you to handle.”

“I-ah!” A man was playing dead and was about to shoot the Red King in the face, but I quickly stab him with one of my bunny ear blades before the Red King gets a shot off. He’s a bit quicker than I thought. “Gotta watch out for the ones who play dead.”

“I know.”

“Come on, this at least proves I’m competent,” I say while cleaning my bunny ear blade.

“There’s no doubt that you are, but you aren’t ready to face a man like Black Jack.”

“How about this if you don’t mind looking?” I say as I unzip my shirt to show all the guns, ammo, and pouches for money that I hide.

“Useful, but the answer is still no.”

“Consider this then. I set all this up. I knew all the bounties here and told the casino managers about it so they could start this gunfight so you could see my ability.”

“You started this massacre?”

“Yes-ow!” He slapped me across the face! “What was that for?”

“Does the value of life mean nothing to you?”

“No, I know the price and I got paid in advance-ow!”

“I’m not working with someone as money-hungry as you. I’ll buy you a drink or two for saving me from being shot, but that’s it.”

“Wait, wait! How about this? You’re a God-fearing man, aren’t you? How about you take me to confession after this so I can confess my sins and then you take me as your help and teach me how to live correctly as part of my penance?”

“God doesn’t forgive people who aren’t sorry for their sins.”

“But I do fear Hell and it’s not like an imperfect contrition isn’t forgive in the confessional. Think about it. You don’t want to see a sinner like me go to Hell, do you? I’ll probably do worse things until my evil deeds catch up to me and that’ll be it.”

“…okay, fine.” We go to sit at the bar where people are already drinking and cleaning and reloading their guns. The whole casino goes back to normal while the bodies are being cleaned up. Before they can take some of the bodies, I snatch up some of the belongings on their corpses. “You really have no respect for the dead, do you?”

“People don’t know that the real rewards are found on the dead bodies of their bounties. It’s how I survive. What? Is it something else I have to repent of?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I’ll just add it to the long list.”

“Don’t take it so lightly. So, I’m assuming you want a fair share of the bounty?”

“Yes! How much are you willing to split? Thirty percent? Twenty-five?”

“You can have it all as far as I care.”

“What?! Are you serious?!”

“Yes. This is a personal bounty for me. As long as Black Jack dies, I’ll be fine, so you can have the whole sixty million.”

“Oh, you are so generous! You truly are a saint sent by God!”

“I’m far from it.”

The Red King orders a red wine and I order the same. He pays for both upfront. He quickly drinks his wine and turns to leave.

“What’s the rush?”

“I don’t like drinking with corpses around me. Besides, the church is closing soon so you need to hurry to confession.”

“Let me enjoy my drink before-hey!”

He pulls me away before I can finish my wine.

“Let’s go.”

“I thought you were supposed to be a gentleman!”

“Saving your soul is part of being a gentleman.”

I grunt in response. I can worry about saving my soul when I’m comfortable with money to waste. Anyways, I can have the whole sixty million dollar reward! I didn’t expect this, and it feels like a dream, but it’s real! Sixty million dollars all for me! This is more than enough for me to do whatever I want for the rest of my life. I’ll have enough to live in a place far away from all this death and treachery up in the North.  It’ll definitely prove my parents wrong.

The Red King takes me to the church he goes to and makes me recite prayers over and over again until he thinks I’m ready for confession. I feel like I’m being belittled by my parents when he talks to me about my mistakes. He goes over the list of sins and I write them down and tell them to the confessor. What is this a therapy session or something? I get people want to not feel guilty for what they did, but this is a bit much. Anyways, after that, I…I feel strange. Maybe it’s just because I confessed everything I did. It feels like a weight fell off me and now I feel light and my eyes seem to see clearer now. I can hardly describe it. The priest tells me to say a set amount of prayers every morning and night while listening to what the Red King has to teach me for a penance. Okay, I guess that’s simple enough especially since the priest tells the Red King what I’m supposed to do so he’s going to bother me about it until we part ways.

This may be annoying to deal with, but I’ve dealt with worse. Besides, it’ll all be worth it in the end.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask the Red King.

“No, I want to stay for adoration.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll sit here with you. What should I be doing?”

“Praying in silence,” the Red King says while kneeling.

“Okay…”

Sitting in here in silence should be easy enough. Kind of boring though. So, God is supposed to be in front of me in that little wafer, huh? That’s neat. It’s more boring than I thought it would be. So boring that I’m falling asleep…

Latest character redraw

 Zita redrawn by @yummy_mealzz on Twitter.

Also, check out the story she's based on for free on Smashwords!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/905559

Check out my latest dark musical on Smashwords!

Download for free - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1037682

Jane is just a normal maid in an orphanage that she grew up in after her family was killed. One day, she is given an extraordinary blessing by an angel while the people in the orphanage are unjustly evicted. She gains the power to summon insects to enact God's justice on obstinate sinners.

Can this simple woman bear the responsibility of being the princess of justice?

Beauty in Justice: Chapter 4 – Mercy in Justice

Chapter 4 – Mercy in Justice

Jane and Jareth are woken up by Mors’ sudden turning.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Jane asks.

“The orphanage is under attack by the people you spared,” Mors says.

“What?! We have to hurry there!”

“We’re on our way there now.”

Jane anxiously looks forward while Jareth hopes that everything is okay. Things don’t appear to be okay as they see smoke in the distance they are heading. It gets even worse when they arrive at the orphanage to see that it’s on fire with the officers from before burning it to the ground. The windows and exits are blocked by barricades and screaming can be heard from inside. As soon as Mors lands, an ambush of officers, soldiers, and people come out with weapons to attack them. Not wanting to waste any time, Jane uses her insects to swarm those who get in her way as she charges to the orphanage.

“You guys handle the people outside! I have to go in to save everyone!” Jane says as she removes the barrier to the front door.

“Jane, wait!” Jareth says before being blocked off by a soldier.

Jareth, Mors, and Mr. Spider fight off the small force while Jane heads into the orphanage. Inside, Jane can hardly see anything with intense flames all around her. She calls her insects to aid her as they cover her with themselves to act as pseudo armor to protect her. The fire prevents her from going into certain places of the orphanage and forces her to go up the stairs. While in the building, she covers her nose to keep out the smoke and horrible burning smell that she doesn’t want it’s from. The screams continue to echo, and Jane follows them until she reaches the top floor. There she finds an orphan on the other side of a wall of flames. Jane struggles to get around the flames and her insects aren’t immune to the fire.

“Hey! Get out of here!” Jane screams to the orphan.

“Jane! Can you save me?!” the orphan responds.

“I can’t find my way around!”

“Then I’m going to die…”

“Don’t say that! There has to be another way!”

“There isn’t. I prayed to God. He didn’t listen. I prayed that you would come to rescue me. And you can’t. I give up.”

“No, don’t!”

The orphan walks into the fire as the floor beneath Jane breaks and she falls through the floors of the orphanage until she reaches the bottom where Jareth finds her and saves her from the orphanage by breaking through the walls. He runs with her in his arms as the orphanage behind them collapses in on itself. Jareth then lays her on the ground while holding her up. Mors and Mr. Spider gather around her.

“Jane! Are you okay?” Jareth asks.

Jane looks at Jareth and cries in his arms.

“It’s all my fault, Jareth! If I didn’t hold back, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Don’t say that. This was their evil choice that they made.”

Jane then wipes away her tears and leaps up to her feet.

“We shouldn’t waste any more time. Their time is up. Mors, bring us to the cities.”

“Yes, Jane.”

Jareth puts his hand on her shoulder.

“Jane, don’t hate them.”

“As ridiculous as it may seem, I don’t. It wouldn’t do me any good and it won’t change anything.”

Jane and Jareth get on Mors as he carries Mr. Spider with them to the same spot that overlooks both cities.

Mors looks up to Jane and says, “Jane, you may begin their sentence. Sing the song to bring justice to the wicked.”

“Yes, Mors.”

Jane holds out her hand as she begins to sing. The sky opens up and an angel descends from it. This angel doesn’t have a body, but it does have four large wings with many eyes on them with four insect-like legs connected to where its body would be. It has five mouths in the center of it that spews a continuous army of insects that invades the cities to destroy whatever and whoever is left. Every obstinate sinner who lays their eyes upon the angel is blinded as insects grow inside their eyes and eat their way out. Meanwhile, Jareth watches in amazement at what he is watching and at Jane as she sings.

 

“This is the final call

You decide

Whether you live or die

Heaven and Hell are in sight

 

Is there anyone good left?

Are they all extinct?

Anyone just?

I'm afraid to know the answer

 

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance”

 

The angel’s insects not only destroy the cities below, but they destroy everything around them and quickly spread to the rest of the nearby cities, settlements, and other places where obstinate sinners are.

 

“It all ends now

Are you satisfied with your filth?

Pray to your gods if you think they can save you

Heaven or Hell

It's time to decide

 

Am I one of the few who isn't blind?

Is there anyone else like me?

Will I fall like you?

I'm afraid to know the answer

 

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance

 

Heaven or Hell

Servitude or slavery

It's time to decide

 

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance”

 

Once it is finished, the angel disappears in the blink of an eye and Jane sits down to rest. The devastation done to the land looks as if the state were hit by a meteor storm that contained a plague of insects in it.

“Are you okay, Jane?” Jareth asks.

“Yes, I am,” Jane responds with a sigh.

“You did amazing. I’m not sure if I would be able to sing like you did while also calling for those sinners to repent, especially after what they did to you.”

“It was the right thing to do, but at least it’s all over.”

“Not exactly,” Mors says.

“What do you mean?” Jane asks.

“There are many more obstinate sinners that need to be brought to justice.”

“If that’s the case, then we should get to work. What do you say, Jareth?”

“As long as I’m with you, I’m ready for anything.”

Jareth moves to kiss Jane but puts her finger on his lips.

“Are you sure that you want to kiss this face?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s just…not exactly the face of a princess.”

“And my face isn’t exactly the face of a prince. It’s just like the justice you just dealt. It may not be pretty, but it’s good and right. There is mercy and beauty in justice in that we stopped those people from damning their souls further and harming anyone else.”

“You’re right.”

“So, does that mean I can finally kiss you?”

Isn’t of letting Jareth kiss her first, she kisses him.

“Are you done yet, you two? You can have all of the romantic moments you want after marriage,” Mors points out.

Mr. Spider looks up to Mors and shakes his head.

“What? Okay, fine. They can have their romantic moments here and there.”

Jane and Jareth laugh before they head off to the next location that requires the judgment of God. After a couple days, a duchess walks the halls of her castle at night with a torch in her hand.

“Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet?” she wonders, “No. I have to stop worrying so much. It’s not good for my health. Ever since those insects came to the state, business hasn’t been the same. My associates have either switched sides to the Church or gone missing. Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet? No. I have to stop worrying so much and stop talking to myself.”

The duchess enters her throne room to find Jane sitting on it.

“Ah! Who are you?” the duchess asks.

“Come closer and I’ll tell you,” Jane answers.

The duchess slowly walks up to Jane and jumps back in fear when the fire illuminates Jane’s face.

“What are you?!”

“A simple servant of God.”

“What are you doing here? I’m not going to submit to your God. I have my own.”

“That’s why I’m here. Justice requires it.”

“I’ll let you know that I have many servants who will hunt you down!”

“Oh, I know,” Jane says while pointing up.

The duchess looks up to see her servants hanging on the ceiling with Mr. Spider who has hung them up. She watches in horror as dozens of spiders dig their way into the cocoon to eat their prey. This sight makes her fall down and drop her torch. Jareth then busts through the wall with four servants in tow.

“You took your time,” Jane says.

“I’m sorry. They were afraid of me for some reason and ran.”

“I don’t see why they would be afraid of that handsome face.”

“Ple-please, spare me! Your God is the God of mercy, isn’t he?” the duchess says.

“He is, but your sins require that you die now so you don’t harm yourself or others now. This is His last act of mercy in making you fear your death and reap the rewards of your evil actions. I hope you can make a perfect confession before you take your last breath.”

Mors comes out of the darkness from behind the duchess and says, “I sense the fear of death in her rather than the fear of God. What a pity.”

He then kills the duchess with a single strike from his stinger.

“Are you ready to move to the next target, princess?” Mors asks.

“I’m ready to serve,” Jane answers with a smile.

 

The End

Final Repentance - (Song/Poem Attempt #81 from Beauty in Justice)

This is the final call

You decide

Whether you live or die

Heaven and Hell are in sight

Is there anyone good left?

Are they all extinct?

Anyone just?

I'm afraid to know the answer

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance

It all ends now

Are you satisfied with your filth?

Pray to your gods if you think they can save you

Heaven or Hell

It's time to decide

Am I one of the few who isn't blind?

Is there anyone else like me?

Will I fall like you?

I'm afraid to know the answer

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance

Heaven or Hell

Servitude or slavery

It's time to decide

This is the time for penance

You sinned for your independence

This is the time for God's vengeance

This is

The call for Final Repentance

The inspiration for this song/poem is In Time by Demon Hunter.

Beauty in Justice: Chapter 3 – Unlikely Romance

Chapter 3 – Unlikely Romance

While flying to the prison, Jane pesters Mors with questions about the man who she is meant to be with.

“Is he handsome?”

“Yes.”

“Is he caring?”

“Yes.”

“Can he sing like me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you just saying yes to everything I ask?”

“Yes, I have been answering yes, but I’m not saying yes for the sake of answering your questions. You shouldn’t be worried about who you’re meeting since you know God puts the right people together.”

“I’ve been wondering. Are you an angel, an insect, or a mix of both?”

“You can say both. It is not a question I have an answer for. What matters to me is my purpose rather than the specifics of my existence.”

“Is that why you didn’t mind me referring to you as my imaginary friend for so many years?”

“Yes. I taught you what you were supposed to know about good and evil while being content with the possibility that you didn’t believe in my existence.”

“Thank you for that. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize the obvious.”

“It’s okay. It was worth it watching you be happy and have fun while learning.”

Jane smiles and hugs Mors. He leans up his head to touch hers as a way of returning his affection. They then arrive at the prison where Jane’s husband to be is and land nearby to get a good view of the place. It is a heavily fortified castle with multiple layers and a tower that appears to reach to the sky like the Tower of Babel. An army of officers guard the outside of the prison with multiple archers on every layer that light fire posts as the sun begins to set.

“My husband is in there?!”

“The sinful always wrongly imprison the innocent. He’s been in there for too long, and yet, he’s been steadfast in keeping his soul pure.”

“He does sound like a strong and good man. How are we going to get to him?”

“Even though I can break through the walls while being unaffected by arrows, you aren’t as invincible. We are going to have to call a friend to help us.”

The ground beneath them shakes until it breaks to reveal the face of a spider. Jane and the spider look at each other with curiosity until the spider breaks out of the ground and closely examines Jane. She falls off of Mors in a panic and tries to calm herself.

“You weren’t as afraid of me when we first met,” Mors points out.

“I’m not used to seeing huge spiders up close like this.”

“Don’t be afraid of him. He’s just curious.”

The spider looks into Jane’s eyes until he closes them and touches her head with his. Feeling his affection, Jane slowly pets the spider until she feels comfortable with it. Because Jane returns his affection, the spider rubs his face against hers and makes purring noises.

“Haha, it’s kind of like a cat. So, it’s going to get us into the prison?”

“Yes. He will dig underneath the prison and get you to your husband to be. Meanwhile, I will stay outside and be ready to bring both of you out of the area. I will confront the enemy if you are discovered. We are trying to keep this as quiet as possible because there are pure souls among the guards.”

“Got it. Well, let’s go Mr. Spider.”

The spider nods as Jane gets on his back.

“Mr. Spider? Is that the nickname you’re giving him?”

“It’s not that creative, but it’s cute. Don’t you think so?”

“He’s your spider so I can’t complain.”

Mr. Spider wraps Jane in a protective layer of silk when she settles herself on his back. This silk protects her as they go into the ground and dig their way to the lowest level of the prison. In the basement of the prison, they find a section of dead prisoners who appear to have been put here to starve to death as a form of punishment.

Jane is horrified by this and tries to ignore it, so it doesn’t get to her. The sound of approaching footsteps makes Mr. Spider jump to the roof. Officers come to investigate the hole they left only to be wrapped up in spider silk.

The two then continue along the wall and carve their way through the prison’s walls to avoid officers and the attention of the prisoners. Since the sun is setting and the prisoners are heading back to their cells with the guards going to their homes within the prison, there’s more darkness to hide in and fewer people to avoid. Along the way, they come across two guards beating and mocking a prisoner as he crawls to his cell. Jane’s anger builds, but she holds back.

The higher they go, the more animalistic the criminals seem with the top layers holding people with satanic markings on their bodies. Mixed in with these people are normal looking people who silently pray to God.

“They really mixed up the wrong kind of people together.”

They eventually reach the top where most of the cells are small cramped rooms with a small window in them. Mr. Spider brings Jane to the cell at the end of a long hallway and silently opens the door for her, unwraps the silk from her, then points inside of the dark cell.

“My husband to be is in this cell?”

Mr. Spider nods and keeps pointing.

“Who’s there?” a man’s voice asks from the darkness.

“Um. My name is Jane. I was sent to rescue you.”

“Ah, yes! The woman I was promised to marry. I’m unbelievably thankful for you coming here to get me. I’m sorry that you had to meet your prince this way and in this condition.”

Jane struggles to see the man in the dark even as the setting sun slowly illuminates him. From what she can see, he has bandages on his head, eyes, and body with his blonde hair being the only attractive thing about his appearance. His cell has marks on the walls as if he were trying to break them down with his fists and legs.

“Don’t worry about it. What’s your name?”

“Jareth.”

“...”

“Is something the matter?”

“N-nothing. It’s just that I can barely see you.”

“I’d step out of the cell, but I’m chained to the wall. You don’t happen to have the key to them or a way to break them, do you?”

“Mr. Spider, break his chains.”

“Mr. Spider? That’s an odd name for a friend.” As Mr. Spider enters the room and breaks the chains, Jareth can sense the spider. “Oh, so he is a spider. That’s interesting. God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t He?”

“Yes, He does. Can you step out into the light?”

“You’re going to have to lead me to it. My eyesight isn’t particularly good to put it lightly.”

Jane reaches into the darkness and brings the man outside into the torchlight outside of his cell to fully see who he is. Her vision wasn’t playing tricks on her when she saw that he was mostly bandaged with bandages also on his feet in addition to the other areas already seen.

“What happened to you?”

“My family did this to me when I was little. They carved satanic symbols into my body, eyes, hands, feet, and tongue so demons could completely use me to kill a family. It was a horrifying experience as I had no control over my actions, words, and thoughts. Fortunately, I was stopped before I could kill everyone. I wonder how the last surviving girl is doing. I hope she doesn’t hate me.”

Jane’s face splits open to reveal her hornet face as she screeches in shock and attacks the wall next to Jareth with her claws. She barely misses him as her claws make deep marks on the stone wall.

“It is you!”

“What? Who is me? Are you…are you her?”

“Yes! How could God bring us together?”

“Maybe it’s why we were driven apart at such a young age. Surely, us being reunited is a good sign that I’m still worth being by your side.”

“I guess, but…”

A group of night guards arrives at the cellblock since they heard the noise of the door being opened. Mr. Spider is ready to fight, but Jareth steps forward ahead of him.

“Stand aside, Mr. Spider. I can handle this.”

Jareth faces the guards and manages to fight them without being hit. He flows through their attacks like an agile ninja and knocks them out with several hits to their head.

“Woah! How can you fight with those bandages over your eyes?”

“God gave me an increased sense of awareness and sent me an angel to train me to fight. We better leave fast because the rest of the prison will be on alert.”

“Can you get us out of here, Mr. Spider?”

Mr. Spider nods his head and breaks down the wall in Jareth’s cell.

“That is one strong spider.”

“You better hold onto him.”

Jane helps Jareth onto Mr. Spider. She expects them to crawl down the wall, so she holds on tightly only to be taken by complete surprise when Mr. Spider leaps out of the hole. They plummet to the ground until Mors catches them in the air.

“First a giant spider and now a giant wasp?”

“I am more than a giant wasp,” Mors points out.

“And he talks too. God is truly great in creating extraordinary creatures.”

Mors lands far away from the prison as Jane and Jareth catch their breath.

Not long after they land, Jane asks Mors, “Why didn’t you tell me that Jareth was my husband to be?”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t want to rescue him if I did.”

“Why? It’s not like I hate him or anything.”

“But you also haven’t completely forgiven him. You’ve just put the issue to the side for your entire life.”

“Jane, I-”

“It’s fine. My problem isn’t with you.”

“Jane, let him talk.”

“Okay…”

“Jane…

 

The past is dead and gone

My sins forgive, penance done

A new life, a new dawn

I'm no longer the devil's pawn

 

I'm not who you think

Because I'm

 

Your Prince, Your Chosen One

Your devoted love until death

I will stay with you through it all

I will suffer for you and never withdraw

 

I may not be who you expected

But I will be the one you deserve

I promise that I've changed

Your needs I will serve

 

I'm not who you think

Because I'm

 

Your Prince, Your Chosen One

Your devoted love until death

I will stay with you through it all

I will suffer for you and never withdraw

 

Let me prove myself to you

My love for you is true

Let me prove myself to you

My love for you is true

 

Because I'm

 

Your Prince, Your Chosen One

Your devoted love until death

I will stay with you through it all

I will suffer for you and never withdraw”

 

“I get it. Okay, I’ll give you a chance.”

“Thank you, so much, Jane. I’ll do everything I can to be faithful to God and you. You’ll know if I do something wrong if I bleed.”

“You bleed if you sin?”

“Yes. It’s one of the holdovers from my parents’ curse on me. That’s why I have to keep these bandages on. Plus, I heard my scars, especially the cuts on my eyes are shocking to look at.”

“Can I see?”

“Okay.”

Jane moves closer to Jareth and touches his face then slowly moves her hand down his chest. She stops and her face turns red for a second.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“What are you embarrassed about? You aren’t touching me for lewd reasons, are you?”

“N-no. The thought just popped up in my head.”

“You shouldn’t let temptations get to you.”

“Jane. Jareth. It’s been a big day. You should get some rest.”

“Where are we going to rest at? Back at the orphanage?” Jane asks.

“No. You need to rest while I fly you back to the cities. By the time we get there, the cities will receive its last judgment. The ones who managed to repent are out of the area while the others who didn’t are still clinging to the rubble of their worldly possessions.”

Jane and Jareth lay down on Mr. Spider while being wrapped in his silk so that they don’t fall off him. Mors then takes Mr. Spider and flies off to the cities. While laying down together, Jane looks at Jareth who is trying to sleep.

“What’s the matter, Jane?”

“Oh, it’s uh. Nothing really.”

“I did tell you God gave me an increased sense of awareness. Something is wrong.”

“It’s just that this whole day has been so much. I’m a princess of justice who has an army of insects at my disposal that I’m supposed to use to punish a countless number of sinners and now, I have my husband to be with me.”

“It’s a lot I know. After recovering from my injuries and exorcisms, I thought about taking my life, but then an angel came to me and gave me a reason to live. God had let me be possessed, almost wipe out a family, and then came to me and asked me to do something for Him in prison. I spent days in my cell thinking it over and over until I realize that I should do what He asked. If God sends you many responsibilities, it means that He thinks a lot about you and that you can handle it. It’s we who doubt the abilities and potential that He’s given us. God and the angel taught me this.”

“I see. Thanks for the reminder.”

“So, does this mean you trust me, and the past is long gone?”

“There’s no reason to hold onto it, so yes. It does.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I was getting worried that you’d never accept me. We should get some sleep now for the big day tomorrow.”

As Jane and Jareth begin to fall asleep, Jane moves closer to Jareth and cuddles up to him as much as the silk allows as he does the same in return.