BagsNPockets

[joegoda]

Grizelda was woken in the night by the sound of sobs. She rose, checked on Bags, who was snoring softly, eyes partially open. That always disturbed her, but it showed that he was always ready for whatever came, and he had never failed yet. She leaned down and kissed his cheek.

She walked across the little kitchen and checked on Pockets. She had no idea what was going through his mind as he slept, so deeply. He barely breathed when he slept, something she had noticed before. His wounds were healing nicely, due to some salve that the healer had left, but he still had to sleep on his stomach. In a day or two, he might be able to talk without screaming or crying. Maybe. She started to rise when Pockets hand grabbed her arm. She gave a little cry in alarm.

"Pockets! You should be asleep."

"I'll go back in a sec, Griz." he hissed though clenched teeth. "This hurts like nothing I can describe. But listen." He breathed in and out sharply, fighting pain. "Bad guys are gonna try to kill the king, I think. Be careful, k?"

"Don't you worry, hon." She stroked his arm. "We know all about the Chancellor."

"Beware... Corwin. He's a beast." Pockets gritted out.

"We know, dear. He's a real bad one. We'll take care of him."

"Nooo." Pockets moaned. "Psychotic with no pain sensors. Only way to stop him," another sharp intake of breath, "kill him."

Grizelda leaned down close to Pockets ear and whispered. "Dear heart, after what he did to you, there isn't any way that Bags will let him walk the earth. Corwin did the one thing that nobody should do. He messed with one of my boys. I'll be careful, don't you worry. And I'll warn the king about what you said, ok? You go back to sleep." She kissed his ear and stood up, looking down at him, shaking her head, cold anger building.

She still heard the sobbing, so she followed the sound. In a corner of the kitchen, sitting on one of the chairs, she found Harv. He was sitting alone, face in his hands. Every so often a soft sob would escape from him. He didn't see her standing at the doorway as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.

She crossed over to him and said, "Oh honey. I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arm around him, passing the warmth of her overlarge heart to him.

He buried his face in her bosom and just sobbed quietly like a baby for a few minutes. "I'm so sorry, Griz. I'm so sorry. I wanted to be strong, like my Father, but I just want to kill the son of a bitch. I just want to cause him as much pain as he caused my father. He thought she left because of him. I just want to see him suffer." he broke into a new bout of sobbing. "I'm so sorry."

She patted the back of his head, letting him get it all out. "It's all right honey. I know exactly how you feel. I still feel that way, after seeing what that bastard Corwin did to Pockets." She cooed "Shhhh. Shhhh. It's ok, it's ok." She sighed broadly, and said, "Don't you worry, Harv. Between Bags and me and you, they'll all get what's coming to them. You have my promise."

Harv pulled his head away and looked up at her. "He's so incredibly strong, you know? My father. I don't know how he's held together."

Another voice came from the doorway. "Oh, not all that strong, son. Many are the time I thought about just ending it. I had means. I could have killed myself a dozen times over." Jorge smiled standing with arms crossed, leaning on the doorframe. He smiled sourly and added, "Of course, it would have only taken once."

Grizelda looked up at Jorge and said, "I think you and your son have some things to talk about."

Jorge nodded and said "I think so too. I know I may seem very distant to you, Griz. Understand though. I thought my wife had left me. I did not know what I had done wrong, I only knew that it was something I had done. Now I find out that she was murdered? And the man that did it was the man I put in charge? It's just hard to wrap around, you know? I'm trying to convince myself that I didn't kill her by proxy."

Griz snorted in derision. "You men and your guilt. Always looking for something to take the blame for, just because you think the world revolves around you."

She stood from her chair, walked over to Jorge and said, "Your Majesty." She took a deep breath, and said, "That's just crap. You didn't killer her. The Chancellor did. You had nothing to do with it, you didn't even know it was done. So please spare me your sad sack routine of 'poor me, I'm such a bad man'. You locked yourself up in that mansion and you just sort of ran from the world. Not because you are particularly brave. But because you AREN'T particularly brave. It takes guts to face a world that is mean and hard and harsh." She gathered up Pockets jacket and placed it over her shoulders.

"Now," she continued, "Pockets said that someone it going to try to kill you, your majesty. Pockets says a lot of things, and a lot of times there is no proof of what he says, but I'll tell you this. In all the years I've been with him, he's been crazy, he's been silly, sometimes he's even been stupid, but he's very rarely wrong. Unless he does it on purpose, that is. So you be careful. Don't open the door to anyone." She turned away, took a few steps into the other room, then came back.

"You two have hid away your pain for so long, that when someone scratched the wound, you didn't know what to do with it. Harv, you want to kill the man, but you didn't go running out and do it, like some mad child. You showed restraint. Maybe you should be king. Think about it." She turned to Jorge. "And you... you should take a lesson from your son. Get out in the world. Get out and start living. Quit making scary statues." She turned away from the door. "Couple bloody emotional retards..."

"Where are you going?" Harv asked.

"I've going to go have a little chat with a black widow." She left the Barracks, pulling the door shut behind her.

Behind the barracks was a small stable, and tied by a long cord to the center post of the stable was Chibi. Hands tied behind her back, feet hobbled by having them tied to a board, she could walk by waddling. She had been crying, her eyes red and rough, her nose running. Grizelda didn't care. She walked over to where Chibi was sitting and sleeping. Grizelda woke Chibi with a rough kick to the legs.

"Wake up, you snake. We're going to have a little tea party."

"What do you want, you bitch?" asked Chibi.

"I'm sorry, dear." Grizelda said. "You're the bitch here." She aimed a kick at Chibi's ribs and was gratified with a solid hit.

"What do you want?" Chibi cried. "I already told you I was sorry!" The tears leaked freely from her eyes.

"Sorry? You're Sorry!" Grizelda knelt down and grabbed Chibi's hair. "You almost killed one of my men." she said savagely. "You and your dog, Corwin." She slammed Chibi's head down onto the hard earth with a thunk. "Now, I'm not going to kill you. I don't kill anyone. But I want you to understand something, and I want you to understand it really, really good." Grizelda took Chibi's head in her hands and made sure the girls eyes were staring directly into hers. "Pretty soon I will loosen your bonds. I won't untie you, I'll just loosen them. You will escape. You will get away, and you will keep going. I don't care where you go, and I don't care how far." She let go of the girl's head and stood up. "If I ever, and I mean ever, see you face again I'm going to break my rule. Just once. Just for you." She looked down at the girl, tied up and crying. "I want you to nod. Once. Just to let me know you do, indeed, understand that your life is in my hands."

The girl nodded, once.

"Good. Now, I'm going out for a walk. I want to see what this town has to offer, since, thanks to you, I'm going to be here for a while." She stooped down and loosened the cords binding the girl's hands. Then she stood, turned away and left.

The night was clear, the moon was just on the side of coming off being full, and the stars shone twinkly down on her. "God, I love this type of night." she said.

She walked, angry and tense, hoping the night would take it all away, just for a little bit. In the short distance, she could see the Keep. Its lights were blazing and she could see evidence of activity. "Coronation... " she mused. She believed she knew what was going to happen, she just wasn't sure if it was something she wanted.

Her walks took her through the outskirts of the town, where some of the little cottages were that the townies lived in. Here and there were lights on, and as she passed by some of the houses, she could hear the sounds of laughter, adult and children. She smiled at the thought, and also felt a bit of sadness at it, like a dream that you remember but know you'll never reach.

There was one well-defined road that led into and out of the town to and from the Keep. She followed it at a leisurely pace, just thinking, or trying not to. Just letting the moon and stars bathe her with healing.

She wandered the trails of her memory while she walked, drifting back over the good, the bad, and sometimes, the very ugly. All of it brought good feelings, because they survived it. They always survived, sometimes because of Bags skill, sometimes because of Pockets' genius, sometimes because Grizelda just knew what word to say when and where. She rarely admitted it to herself, but the belief that they were either blessed or cursed by the Gods and Goddesses was always lurking in the back of her mind. She shrugged that thought away. "Doesn't really make matter in the end, does it?"

She walked down into the closed Midway. The various stands and shops were covered with large tarps, or shut down with panels of wood. It was quiet and oddly comforting. She was alone and wrapped in the night. Sounds filtered down to her from the pub, hidden in its alley way. She was tempted to drop in, just for a quick one. "Maybe later," she thought. She walked down the road in the opposite direction, through the silent shops.

After a few miles, she crossed to the far edge of the Midway. Turning around, looking back the way she came, she could almost make out the main gate. The road didn't end there, though. It continued further out, to where there were cottages and outbuildings, warehouses and other buildings used to support the residents. She walked quietly past these places, realizing that some were homes and farms. She passed a blacksmith's shop, which she noted so she could tell Pockets when he got better.

Her nose caught the scent of something floral, something familiar. It wafted towards her from a little bit further down the road. It was coming from a low building with a flat roof. Windows ran along the outside at regular intervals, four to each side of the front door. There was a small porch on the front, with a single lantern hung near the door. The lantern was lit and gave a soft glow. Grizelda went up to the steps and knocked on the door.

The woman who opened it raised her eyes in surprise. Her hair, shoulder length, framing an oval face, was a mousey brown, curled slightly. Her hazel eyes, bright and pretty were almond shaped. She had a smallish nose, thinnish lips covering wide mouth which opened into gentle smile.

"We don't often get women here... but it takes all kinds. Welcome, come in. I'm Stace." Stace held the door open for Grizelda, who stepped carefully in, looking around the place as she entered.

"I'm Grizelda, Stace. I'm not a customer. I'm a .. I used to be ... I used to have the same job." She didn't know why that was so hard to say. "I used to be a prostitute." See? Easy.

"Oh! Well, then, double welcome, Sister!" Stace gave her a tentative hug. "Are you looking for work, or just looking? Do you need a place to stay?"

"No, Stace, not looking for work." Grizelda smiled at the bubbly woman. "Not looking for a place to stay either. I travel with two men..." she saw the grin on Stace widen, "Two GOOD men, one of which I hope will ask me to marry him."

Stace shrugged, whatever. "And the other?"

"He's... he's more like a kid, really. Not stupid, just rather... no, I don't think I'd call him innocent, actually. He's just hard to explain."

"Sister!" said Stace. "No explanations required here. We all have things in our past, in our present and our future. Here, let me show you around a bit, and you can tell me what brings you here. We're rather small, but I'd like to think we're pretty clean."

The interior was, or used to be fairly pretty. Red and gold colors adorned the walls in patterns, and here and there were tasteful pictures hung. The room just to the left of the door, the parlor, had four overstuffed chairs, most of which were occupied by women in various stages of undress. It too, had the red and gold motive. There were small tables to the left of each chair. Lamps hung from the walls, turned down so that the light was subdued. Straight from the door ran a short hall, that turned left and right, and led to other rooms, used for business, and when not used for business, were the sleeping quarters for the girls. In the back was the kitchen, where the tour ended.

"It's very nice." said Grizelda. "It brings back a lot of memories." She and Stace sat over mugs of cocoa spiced with cinnamon.

"So, you and Bags are lovers, and Pockets is this madman genius who can make anything work. And you just travel around, city to city?"

Griz nodded. "That sounds pretty boring, doesn't it?" She smiled. "Oh, I could tell you some pretty wild adventures, let me tell you." Feeling a warmth toward the woman, Grizelda told Stace about Pockets' run-in with Chibi.

"Chibi?" Stace became interested. "Skinny woman, but five foot nothing? Snotty attitude? Not able to be trusted facing her?"

Grizelda nodded again. "That's the one."

Stace said, "Oh my... Did Pockets come out with his pockets intact? My advice is to stay away from that one, Griz. She's just bad news. Heavy into drama, and she'll drag you down into it if she can."

Grizelda debated telling the rest of the story, but decided against it. She didn't know this woman. "I'll keep that in mind." she said. "So what's the story on you're place?" she redirected. "With the kingdom so far away from every place else, you must not get very much business here."

"Oh, it's all right. We get a little business, and as you might imagine, we're not really popular with some of the townsfolk here. For some, that just makes us that much sweeter." She shrugged. "I don't know though. I keep thinking there's something not quite right here. Every year there are fewer and fewer customers." She leaned in closer. "If I didn't know better, I'd think this kingdom is just about to fold." She dropped her voice to a bare whisper. "I'm thinking about packing it up and moving on." Stace leaned back, draped on arm over her chair and asked, "What's it like to the east? What was business like?"

Grizelda just said "Not bad. By now they may be looking for some new blood.", and at the same time she was pondering just how much if anything to tell her new friend. Once again, she decided to say nothing. Tomorrow, she knew, would always be another day.

"Stace, I need to go. I just went out for a short walk tonight to clear my head... see the town. I didn't know this place was here, but I'm glad to find it. Almost like coming home, you know?" Grizelda rose to leave.

Stace saw her out through the front door. "Honey, you are welcome here anytime you want. I can't promise I'll be here when you come back, all things being the way they are and all. If I am, I may just have to convince you to stay on." Stace opened the door and gave Grizelda another hug. "If I'm not, you might find yourself with the deed to this place." She smiled largely and said. "Don't be a stranger, you hear?"

Grizelda, returned the hug and gave Stace a kiss on the cheek. "I won't. We're going to be here for a while." She turned and walked off the porch, waving to the woman behind her.

Somehow, she felt lighter, walking back through the town, and as she walked, she sang some of the songs she remembered from her childhood. The moon had shifted its position quite a bit, and the stars had spun a bit more, but they still shined down with a benevolence and guided her steps through the night.

She almost stopped in at the pub. Almost, but then she decided that she had spent far too much time with Stace. She trudged back up the path to the Barracks, and noticed the Keep dark and quiet now.

Before she went back into the Barracks, she stopped by the stable, and sure enough, Chibi was gone. She knew Corwin and his boys were still around, somewhere, and figured Chibi ran right to them. She went into the Barracks and made sure the door was barred, and the trapdoor to the drain was closed and also blocked.

She snuggled down with Bags, happy with her position in life, happy with the world, regardless of tomorrow. Right now, all was right with her world, and if she was right, it was going to just get better.

"Bags?" she whispered. Bags muttered in his sleep and shifted. "Bags." She poked him gently.

"What, Griz?" he said, a bit grumpy. "I just got done crawling through drains carrying a slut over my shoulder. Tomorrow I have to go kill some bad guys. Can't I get a little sleep first?"

"I just wanted you to know that, no matter what happens tomorrow, you have made me a very happy life, and I couldn't want any other." She said, leaning on one elbow and smiling. "I love you for it." She kissed him on the lips.

"I love you too, Griz." Bags' voice showed he was fading quickly.

"Bags?" She poked him again. "Bags?"

"What, babe? What do you want?"

"You are gonna kill the bad guys tomorrow, yes?"

"Fuckin a, hon. Now get to sleep!"

"And that just makes me smile", said Grizelda. She lay down next to her man, smiled and faded to sleep.

Comments

[shackrlu.livejournal.com]

Now THAT's a good bedtime story!!! I loved it!!

[journiey.livejournal.com]

Think Bags Has A Brother?

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

Dunno Darlin, he was left for adoption. Why?

[journiey.livejournal.com]

Cause If He Has A RL Brother Ye Can Make An Introduction Ta This Brunette Pisces Single Chick I Know........lol

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

If I happen to meet a RL brother to Bags, I will know a wonderful person to send him to. My opinion of Pisces are that they is da' bomb!

[capi.livejournal.com]

Mr. JoeGoda Sir?

At some point in time, will we be able to have these wonderful bits all together in one place?

*crosses fingers*

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

Yes BrightStar, I'm saving all the bit in one file. Not to worry. I'm a Cancer, I don't throw anything away.

[capi.livejournal.com]

*grin* YAY!!

Do you know, as i read these each day, i have to wonder, here and there, if these little things are *typos* or *intentionals*?

*hee* With you, it is hard to guess!

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

Gimme a ferinstance. I do tend to run spell check, but also I tend to leave the syntax to my ol' brain box. AND yes, there are words I make up. Each and every day.

Keep in mind, when I writes 'em, I don't reads 'em. So yes, please if a correction needs to be done, and of of youse out there catches it, let me know! Then I'll either say "sposed to be that way" or change it.

[capi.livejournal.com]

I will. But i will via e-mail, m'kay?

[journiey.livejournal.com]

Das A PERFECT Nick For The Angel Lioness Capi