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“It matters to me. Mary Ann, how far along were you?” I snap, my patience waning. Not at her, at always having half-truths.
“Four, maybe five weeks,” she steps closer to my back, molding herself against me for comfort and I roll my fucking eyes. You’ve got to be kidding me. Without moving too quickly, trying not to spook the misguided girl at my back, I glide us forward a step and then stamp on the fox’s foot.
“You’ve got your wine, get the fuck out of here before I really lose my shit.” The fox-tender yelps, holding her sneaker and shuffles over to the barrel. Rolling it into a small dumbwaiter, she hops on top before slamming her claw on the red button. Both glide upwards until out of view, the muttering of me being a crazy bitch trickling through the shaft. Now is no time for compliments. Turning, I keep close and take both spindly hands in mine.
“Mary Ann, look at me,” I order with just enough of a sharp tone. She immediately complies. “What you did was prevent another innocent life from being born into the abuse you were suffering. You also stopped another tyrant following in its father’s footsteps and repeating the pattern. Do not feel ashamed for taking back control of your body and life. You did the right thing, and I’m so sorry you’ve been punished for it.”
Tears well in her eyes, the urge to look away making her head tremble.
“It’s-it’s what I deserve. I killed my baby; I need to be punished. To be unhappy.”
“What?!” I shout and she flinches. I blow out a calming breath. “No. No, no, a million times, just no. You may have been scared and acting out of fear, but you’re here. You survived and its bravery that pulled you through. You’re so strong Mary-Ann…on the inside at least. Promise me you won’t let anyone make you feel ashamed again. It’s your body, your choice. The most insignificant thing in the world is other people’s opinions. You got that?”
She doesn’t respond and I can already see I’m wasting my breath. One different opinion isn’t enough to rewrite the scorns she’s heard for years. If there’s something I know, it’s overcoming ridicule, and this girl hasn’t got the balls for it yet. She’s too fragile, too innocent. Not a lot riles me in day-to-day life, but this sort of shit makes me fierce with rage.
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
Moving away, Mary Ann grabs my arm in the weakest hold I’ve ever felt. My grandma could have squeezed me harder, and she’s dead. I pat her hand and sit her on a crate. “It’s fine, I’m going to fix this. I promise.”
Waiting for her faint nod, I climb the stairs and throw the wooden hatch open, uncaring of who might be behind it. Hopping up on ground level, my feet are moving. A woman on a mission. I cut through the rows of seats, barge between the crowd now gathered in front of the stage and jump up onto it. Cash spins around the pole, his pants dangerously low on the horizontal length of his thick cock and stops suddenly at the sight of me standing there, arms crossed and lips pursed.
“I need a favor.”
“Can it wait?” he narrows his eyes, a tick beating in his jaw. I don’t move. Clicking his fingers, the music dies and house lights go up. A groan of disgruntled customers follows until one observant bean shouts “oh my gawd! Look, it’s Alice!” A shudder rolls through me but with my task in mind and anger already burning, I manage to shove an impending episode to the background for now. The women whisper and gossip, Cash’s eyes fixed on mine.
“Well? What the fuck do you want?”
“Mary Ann is to be released from her binds and set free,” I nod matter-of-factly. A smirk graces Cash’s face, joined by the laughter of the crowd watching on. I scowl at them all.
“What makes you think-”
“You have power,” I cut Cash off and gesture to the crowd, “and…connections. I believe you have the leeway to get whatever you want. And you. Want. Me.” I jerk my chin, challenging him in front of his adoring fans to deny what he said in his bedroom. It’s like a double test, wrapped up with a ribbon and tag that says, ‘I dare you to back down now.’ Smirk slipping, fury seeps across Cash’s face, his nostrils flaring but with one smooth stroke of his hand through his hair, it’s gone.
“As you wish,” he mutters for my ears only. Swooping low, Cash drops to one knee and silence falls around us.
“I declare the slave, Mary Ann, is to be released from her eternal sentence. Consider this as a gift of the Queen of Spades to her newest ally,” Cash announces loudly and those watching gasp once more. His blond eyebrows raise, the cunning smirk back in place. Whatever. I got what I wanted. Turning to stride down the stage steps, his arm bands around my front and Cash tucks my hair behind my ear to talk into it.
“You may have freed her, but there isn’t a soul in this land that won’t be out for her head. She won’t make it through the night.”
“Is that a threat?” I ask, twisting my head to the side. Hot or not, Cash does not want to be on my shit list. If he so much as touches Mary Ann, I’ll sever his fingers and fuck him with them individually.
“Not by me, Crazy One. I’m merely giving you all the facts. She was protected at the farmhouse. Not all fights need to be fought.” I frown, ignoring how his fingers trickle over my shoulder and patter towards my cleavage. Batting him away, I push out of his hold. Now’s not the time. Through the club, I see a tiny pale face peering out from the curtain of dark hair reaching her shoulders. The fox-tenders are creeping up behind her with a hammer and spanner in their hands.
Jumping from the stage, the females dive aside, giving me a wide birth as I race through the club, grab Mary Ann and tug her into Fantasy Walk.
“So, I-I belong to you now?” she asks from behind me. I whip her around by a large wooden door decorated with vines and small purple flowers.
“No, sweet pea. You belong to you. I’m sending you somewhere you can find the help you need. A sanctuary for women like you, they’ll give you a fresh start.” Whipping a notepad and pen out of the pockets of her dirty dress, I write down the details I know by heart. If there’s one thing a girl in the human world should have, it’s options. Too bad for deluded psychos like me, the only option was to kill my father and dance on his grave. Oh well.
Handing her the notepad, I clasp Mary Ann’s hands tight around it. A warm fuzzy feeling grows in my chest.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she says and for the first time, a small smile pulls at her cheeks. It changes her entire face, brightening her brown eyes to enticing pools of chocolate. I reciprocate her smile.
“No thanks needed. Go, live your best life.” Pressing my hand to the door, I believe the room behind to be of the human world. Mary Ann throws herself into my arms, giving me her best version of an awkward hug and twists the handle, disappearing from view and my life. It’s a shame - I reckon I could have used a girlfriend. Also, a tad ironic that place I would rather see burn is her salvation, but life works in mysterious ways.
“Cook isn’t going to be happy about this,” Cash strolls up behind me. I fold my arms and give him my back, still pissed off. Sure, he may have allowed me to set Mary Ann free, but the fact she was enslaved in the first place – and for so long – irks me. I amirked.
“Yeah, well, I’m not fucking happy. How can you all be so archaic? How can I have spent so long wishing to return to a realm that sells and imprisons women for their freedom of choice?!” I huff. Those arms wrap around me again and this time, I don’t fight him. I can’t continually punish Cash for the laws he had no say in creating. It’s all the power-hungry kings and queens who weren’t told ‘no’ enough as children.
