The Other Me: Chapter Five

WRITTEN: 16 December 2012
==PART TWO: LILLIAN==
==Chapter Five: Let the Work Begin==
Even though Lillian still didn’t understand this whole different world scenario, she was determined to make this world the same as her own. As she headed towards the castle’s storage room, the one that contained all the records of court hearings and royal decrees made, she could see that she had her work cut out for her.
When Lillian arrived at her destination, she was surprised to see that there had so far been three rulers in this world instead of two like hers. She was not happy to learn that Logan had ruled before her.
No wonder I’m running the kingdom into the ground in this world, she thought bitterly as she began to pull boxes off the shelves. These boxes contained all of Lily’s decrees and decisions. Logan probably brainwashed me into following his goody-two-shoes ways.
Letting out a huff, Lillian pulled out the first folder containing Lily’s decisions and decrees when she first came into power and began to read its contents.
‘Hearing of Prince Logan, son of King Sparrow and Queen Hammer, former King of Albion,’ she began to read, ‘stands convicted of crimes against the people…’
Lillian paused in her readings, before reading back over it to make sure that she was reading it right. She was.
Could it be that Logan isn’t a saint here? Lillian wondered as she read on.
She was shocked to discover that Logan had been a tyrant. Her respect for him increased when she read about his deeds. His deeds to what he did to the Dwellers, how he made children work, and his unfair taxes – not that his taxes were anywhere near as bad as Lillian’s – just to name a few of his deeds. However, her respect soon vanished when she learnt that he only did it to protect the people from something called the Crawler and the darkness it would bring. He did it to protect the people.
He’s caring even when he’s being sinister. Lillian rolled her eyes.
She wasn’t impressed when she discovered that while Lily had the opportunity to sentence Logan to death, again, she yet again spared him. If it was the last thing Lillian did, she would rid the world of Logan.
Disappointed with the first folder, Lillian moved onto Lily’s next few meeting and decrees. She definitely was not pleased with Lily’s decisions. Lily had removed child labour and opened a school for them, not to mention she had repaired Bowerstone Old Quarter seeing as it was destroyed while overthrowing Logan.
She then went on to read about Lily raising the guard budget, making Aurora part of Albion and when she found the Desert Star, a priceless diamond from Aurora, she donated it to the treasury instead of keeping it to herself. However, Lillian’s horror continued to grow as she kept reading all the good and noble things Lily had done. She was even more horrified when she saw that Theresa had been telling the truth about Lily and Reaver not always seeing eye-to-eye. The Lillian of this world had disagreed with every idea, including the brothel! How could she disagree to a brothel? So what if those orphans and homeless people had nowhere to go? It was their own fault for becoming orphans and homeless in the first place.
Now, even though it seemed like Lillian was only reading about this kingdom, she was also making a list of items to change. To make these changes, Lillian would need Lily’s butler, Hobson’s help. She would need him to organise the court hearings with Samuel, Page, Sabine, Linda, Reaver and Kalin. The treasury would be groaning when she was finished.
With a plan in mind, Lillian set out in search for Hobson. She was not impressed when it took her an hour to find him, as she made sure to inform him.
‘I’m sorry to have disappointed and inconvenienced you, madam,’ Hobson apologised looking slightly on edge. He didn’t like this new Lily.
‘You should consider yourself lucky that I’m feeling generous today,’ Lillian informed him coldly. ‘If I didn’t have so much work to do, I’d fire you on the spot, which will happen if this happens again. Now, I need you to organise several court meetings with the following people and topics.’ She handed him a list of recipients and agendas. ‘I need these meetings held at the earliest possible time. I trust this won’t be too difficult for you.’
‘Of course not, madam,’ Hobson replied, before hurrying off. He didn’t want to be in her presence any longer than he had to be. He had heard about what she had done to her brother. In fact, everyone in the castle had.
Lillian watched as Hobson hurried away before heading back down to Bowerstone Market to sort out Lily’s wardrobe. This, of course, ended with dead guards and shop owners, all of who were not happy when she just went and helped herself. However, once she started threatening the lives of children, everyone just let her do as she pleased. This meant watching as she stole clothes, jewellery, make-up, money and two daggers.
Once Lillian had finished her version of shopping, she decided to pay Logan a visit to discover the location of the Resistance’s Headquarters. She knew that by now he would be willing to talk. After all, all her prisoners were ready to talk after a few hours of whipping and no water or food. She found them rather pathetic.
Already smirking at the thought of how much agony Logan would be in, Lillian entered the dungeons with her head held high, only to have her smirk wiped from her face. Logan was sitting up in his cell looking bored, worried and thoughtful at the same time. The only expression that was missing was agony. Looking at him, Lillian could see that he hadn’t been whipped once.
She turned her angry eyes upon the two guards outside Logan’s cell. They were the same ones she had given the whipping orders to.
As she marched towards them, they straightened up and tensed. They exchanged nervous glances.
‘Oh, I’d be nervous too,’ she said in a deadly whisper. ‘Didn’t I order you to whip him ten times every hour? And what do I come here to find? I find Logan sitting in there unharmed.’
Both of the guards remained silent. They were well-aware that they had disobeyed their orders and now they were prepared for the consequences, or so they thought. They assumed that they would either join Logan in a cell, be flogged, lose some of their pay, or lose their job. Neither of them thought that she would kill them then and there by shooting magic swords through their throats.
As the guards fell, Lillian looked at Logan and saw that he was watching her closely. He looked shocked.
Smirking once more, Lillian bent down and removed the cell key off one of the dead guards’ belts. She then unlocked the cell and walked gracefully inside.
‘Don’t look so surprised, my brother,’ Lillian said softly. ‘Shouldn’t you be glad that your little sister is following in your footsteps?’
‘You can drop the act,’ Logan informed her coldly. ‘I know that you are not my sister.’
‘Who would have thought that you staying in a cell for a few hours would slowly make you lose your mind?’ Lillian laughed. ‘I can assure you, Logan, you and I both have the same parents.’
‘You’re not my sister,’ Logan declared firmly. ‘I know you are not Lily.’
‘Why, is it because I’ve changed?’ Lillian asked mockingly.
‘People don’t just change overnight! I know you are not the Lily I watched grow up. So who are you?’
‘You’re smarter than you look,’ Lillian replied indifferently.
‘Where is my sister?’ Logan demanded. Lillian noticed the note of concern in his voice.
Could it be that this Logan actually loves and cares about me in this universe? Lillian thought distractedly, before pushing it from her mind, convincing herself that he was merely trying to trick her into lowering her guard. Her brother Logan had tried the exact same thing.
‘Nice try,’ she snarled. ‘As if you genuinely care about her.’
‘For your information, my sister is the most precious thing in my life!’ Logan snapped. ‘I can tell that you wouldn’t understand, though. I can see it in your eyes that you know nothing about love. You know not what it means to love and care about someone. You wouldn’t even know how it feels to be loved and cared for.’
‘I do to!’ Lillian yelled despite herself. ‘I love Uncle Reaver and he loves me! With him by my side I don’t need anyone else!’
Logan’s accusing glare became a look of disgust.
‘Please tell me you mean an uncle and niece love and not a sexual one.’
‘For your information it’s both,’ she replied, noting his look of disgust. ‘Besides, it’s not like he’s my actual uncle.’
Logan hoped that this Uncle Reaver wasn’t her godfather like his father’s friend was for Lily.
‘Now, for the real reason that I have come,’ said Lillian, getting down to business. ‘Tell me where your girlfriend’s secret headquarters are.’
Logan stared at her blankly.
‘My what?’ Logan wondered if he heard her right.
‘Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about.’
‘And that would be…?’ Logan trailed off expectantly.
‘I feel like I’m talking to a moron,’ Lillian muttered to herself before saying heatedly to Logan, ‘Where is your girlfriend, Page, and her secret Resistance hideout?’
‘What is with you in thinking that Page and I like each other?’ Logan inquired. The Resistance leader and the ex-king were rarely seen in the same room together.
‘Well don’t you?’
Logan shook his head.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Just tell me where the Headquarters are.’
‘Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn’t. I don’t know where the Resistance Headquarters are and I haven’t felt the urge to find out since Lily became Queen.’
‘Don’t lie to me!’ Lillian’s eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘If you do not tell me you will feel pain like you have never felt before.’
‘All the pain in the world will not help you make me part with the knowledge I do not possess,’ Logan replied wisely.
‘We shall see,’ Lillian said coldly. She did not believe what Logan said to be true. However, after hours of inflicting unbelievable pain on the man before her, she was forced to admit that Logan had been telling to the truth, especially when he started begging for her to stop, declaring that he did not know.
That didn’t go to plan, Lillian thought bitterly as she looked down at the shaking Logan who looked as though he was going to vomit.
‘Fine, I believe you,’ Lillian informed Logan, ‘however, seeing as you don’t know, maybe you could tell me where I can find someone else who does know.’
Logan didn’t respond so she continued.
‘Tell me where Captain Ben Finn is.’
‘Ben Finn is no longer a Captain,’ Logan managed to inform her with his eyes closed. His throat was red raw from screaming.
‘I don’t care what his title is and you are avoiding the question. Surely you haven’t forgotten the hours of fun we just had?’
‘How could I ever forget that?’ Logan replied with a hint of sarcasm. ‘But I cannot help you. I have no idea where he is.’
‘If you are lying –‘
‘I’m telling the truth! No one knows where he is. All we know is he had given up his life as a soldier and decided to travel Albion.’
Lillian clicked her tongue in annoyance.
‘No matter,’ she said eventually. ‘I’ll have Page in my grasp when she comes to court in a few days’ time.’
Logan opened his eyes and looked at her quickly.
‘There are going to be some changes made around here,’ she informed him. ‘Changes that will make the treasury groan with pleasure.’
‘You leave my sister’s kingdom alone!’ Logan snarled.
‘Or else what?’ Lillian laughed mockingly. ‘You’re nowhere near strong enough to stop me and everyone else thinks that I’m their Queen. Face it, Logan. This is how it will be for now on.’
Lillian then left the cell leaving a highly worried Logan behind.
Lily, wherever you are, please come back swiftly, he thought as he lost consciousness.
-----THE OTHER ME-----
Lillian was in a foul mood when she entered the treasury late that afternoon. Visiting Logan had been a waste of time, even if she did manage to inflict unspeakable pain on him and was able to enjoy the sweet melody of his desperate pleas for her to stop. It just proves that everyone has their breaking points.
Then there was the treasury. Looking down at the non-existence reserves made her even more angry and frustrated. How could a kingdom function with an empty treasury?
For five minutes she stood there glaring at the empty vault before Hobson arrived.
‘I have done as you have asked, madam,’ he informed her. ‘Over the next few days the court shall gather. Tomorrow morning I’ll have an agenda all finalised for you.’
‘Good, but I have some more tasks for you to perform before you retire for the night,’ replied Lillian. ‘I first want you to change the tax rate. It needs to be raised dramatically.’
‘While I approve and will do as you say, my Queen, may I say that I am surprised that you have changed your mind about the taxes. You said that Logan’s taxes were rather heavy and that it led to poverty, starvation and other societal ills.’
‘Let’s just say that I am not comfortable with an empty treasury,’ Lillian said casually. ‘True, many will suffer, but I will be able to protect my kingdom and run my fingertips over vast amounts of gold in this very room. Now, my second task for you is to lower the guard budget.’
‘Do you want it lower than what your brother’s rate or the same?’ Hobson asked eagerly. He was excited that his Queen was finally taking the treasury seriously.
‘Lower. There is an overabundance of guards that seem to have too much time on their hands.’
‘This will not be a popular decision,’ Hobson warned.
‘The people are never happy,’ Lillian responded indifferently. ‘They will always find something to complain about.’
‘Very well, your majesty. I shall see to it that the tax rate is raised and the guard budget is cut. Will there be anything else?’
‘Yes. I need you to write out a proposed law outlawing alcohol, and eliminate the child benefits replacing them with taxes for people with children. That will be all.’
‘Yes, your majesty.’ Hobson bowed before leaving the room.
Lillian then smiled. She could almost smell the gold.