Chapter 299: Monarchy Smonarchy
When Cass left the room, he was already on a mission. Ser Hune scrambled to follow after him, as did Fiona. They left the room in a state of disarray, none of the snacks touched, and Cass didn’t give a fuck.
"My Lord! I-It’s late, you should go to bed." Ser Hune suggested but Cass couldn’t even hear her over the sound of his own blood in his veins.
"Cass! Ser Hune is right. You really should go back and have some more tea and wind down for the evening." Fiona sounded desperate. "N-Not that I’m not pleased that you are so willing to help out, but I just think that maybe right now isn’t the best time for you to-" Cass let out a harsh laugh.
"It’s nothing to worry about. I was already working on bringing down several of those who were in power. I just didn’t anticipate that I would also be bringing down the monarchy so soon." Cass said calmly and Fiona and Ser Hune shared a look behind him.
"Uh, not that I’m not all for destroying human society, I have a question. Do you have a back up plan? Because power vacuums are a thing, my Lord, and I worry that you haven’t fully thought that part through." Ser Hune’s words did cause Cass to pause. Then he let out a heavy, deep sigh. He paused in his gait, stopping and pushing his hand through his hair. He looked over Fiona, looked over Ser Hune, and gave Fiona another look. It held some pity in it, and Fiona stiffened.
"Tragically, Fiona, you might have to become Queen. But, you’ll get your lover safely in your hands. Does that sound like a fair deal?" Cass asked and Fiona flushed.
"Cass!" She glanced around the hall, checking to see if there was anyone else around. There wasn’t, but Cass appreciated that she was looking out for both of them. "I’m still the damn hero! You know how bad I am at-at paperwork! I can’t be the head of a Kingdom! I’ll be the first to admit that the nobles are going to push me around!" Fiona was not afraid to throw herself under the bus.
Cass scanned her, taking in her words. He chewed on them for a long moment before he sighed, disappointed. She was right.
Cass himself had noted that before. Fiona probably wouldn’t be good as a Queen, Princess, or otherwise. She was great as a hero, great as a travelling mercenary, and great as a lesbian. Not so great as a straight wife, but probably a lot better as a lesbian wife. Cass knew that his facial expression was speaking for him, given the startled look Fiona had on her face, and the way that Ser Hune was desperately trying to keep herself together.
"We can have someone else do all the paperwork. If I find them, you know that they’ll be loyal. I’ll make sure they sign a contract so that they can’t betray you." Fiona looked ill.
"No, Cass. I am not going to have you do that! I’m not going to allow that! A-As your wife, and fellow, ugh, compatriot, that’s not okay!" Cass could tell that she was thinking about the blood that was in his veins. The blood that shouldn’t be there, but was.
Cass felt his lips curl up in a devious smile as he stepped towards her, meeting her gaze. He only stopped when they were only a few steps away from each other. Cass wasn’t that much taller than Fiona, maybe an inch. Fiona was tall for a woman, Cass was average height for a man.
Fiona was looking at Cass with a mixture of awe, and fear. Cass could understand why. He was sure he was channeling a lot of Lord Blackburn energy right now.
"While I appreciate your concern, dear wife, they are the ones who are crossing the line. It is only fair that I meet them exactly where they’ve taken this fight. As a fellow...compatriot, that’s my duty, isn’t it? I am the clean up man, and you’re too good to be able to do it right." It was the truth.
Fiona knew it, as did Ser Hune and Cass. Fiona wouldn’t be able to get down and dirty with these fuckers. That was why she had come running to Cass. She didn’t want him to do anything, kind of expected that he wouldn’t be able to.
But Cass wasn’t going to let this stand.
He would fight tooth and nail to get what he wanted. Even if it was against himself. Hell, it was probably a good thing he was getting signs of the hell week early. Maybe he could micro dose this shit to keep his sanity long enough to save Lady Ava and Fiona.
Cass had made a promise to himself when Lady Ava hadn’t been as bad that he was going to protect his family. Now was the time to do so.
"Bring me Lucian. I need to speak to him." Cass said, turning to Ser Hune. She jerked her head in a nod, running off to grab him. She thankfully knew when to push it, and when to listen to his orders. Fiona looked unwell.
"Cass, I didn’t tell you this so that you would react like this." Fiona said, her voice growing quiet. Cass reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
"A part of you hoped that I would react like this, and that’s okay, Fiona. I’m not upset with you. I’m actually thankful that you told me in advance. There are some things we’re going to have to do to strike fear into their hearts. The first one is..." Cass grit his teeth, sucking in. "We’re going to have to bring Lord Ridgewood into the manor. We need to show a united front, and the lot of you can’t be beating the shit out of him. Ban him from certain areas, like the basement, and keep an eye on him, but don’t beat up his face." Cass said calmly while Fiona’s face fell, grew angry, and then she clenched his jaw.
"How can you even suggest that after what he did to you? What he attempted to do?" Fiona demanded and Cass watched her. He felt his lips curl up slightly.
"We are the hero party. We cannot have him snitching on anything, can we? Friends close, enemies closer, Fiona. I’m sure you’re aware of that." Fiona’s face flushed before she closed her eyes. She was shaking. Cass wasn’t sure if it was because she was angry, or overwhelmed. Probably both.
Ser Hune came back around that time, with Lucian and Edgar on her heels. They looked fierce, worried.
"What’s this about you needing me, Cass?" Lucian asked and Cass stared at him. Cass glanced around them before he sighed.
"Let’s go back to the room that we just met in. I’m sure the walls have big ears, and I would rather be able to speak candidly about my plan. Tragically, I hoped to do this in secret, so don’t think too ill of me after you hear it." Cass said, his smile a little warped. He withdrew his hand from Fiona’s shoulder and turned towards the room. The rest followed in silence.
Cass wasted no time once the door was closed behind Ser Hune and the rest were inside. He didn’t even care that Edgar was there. He turned to Lucian, his gaze narrowed.
"I need your help to protect, er, kidnap Lady Ava’s real family from my family’s clutches. Specifically, my grandfather. He’s probably going to kill them soon." Cass said calmly. Fiona gasped, covering her mouth, while Edgar’s jaw clenched, his hands fisting. Lucian seemed thoughtful.
"Do you know where they are?" He asked and Cass nodded. He spun to a small wooden table pressed against the side of the room that was set with an ink pen and a pad of paper. He wrote down the location and handed it to Lucian.
"I originally planned to have Byron deal with this issue, but with things escalating, we need to do this as quickly as possible. Bring them to our manor and have them tucked away in Fiona’s side. Hide them away, and then come back. I also don’t care if you do it as a dragon. Say you’re sent by the gods. It’ll work, and it’s not exactly false." Cass said with a smirk. Lucian looked over Cass, frowning.
"But what about you? And what do you mean things are escalating?" He asked. Edgar glanced at Fiona and then back to Cass.
"Why are you doing something for Ava, Cass? Not that I’m not thankful, but this doesn’t seem..." He trailed off, awkward. Cass let out a dry laugh.
"You’re right to doubt my intentions, but I had plans to deal with this situation for a while. Again, Byron was supposed to protect them from my grandfather. I just want to make sure that they don’t have blackmail materials." Cass glanced at Fiona, wondering if she wanted to explain it, but seeing how she was still shaking, Cass took over. "The King has announced a ball in four days. He’s going to announce that Fiona is his daughter, and he is planning to marry Lady Ava off to a fucking creep not from out Kingdom. I’m planning to either offer him a better deal, or if that doesn’t work, overthrow the monarchy." Cass said it casually.
Edgar looked horrified, while Lucian?
Lucian was nodding in polite agreement.
"Alright. I can work with that. So...how soon do you want to do this? Because Cass, if I’m not terrible at counting, isn’t that during your...time?" Lucian said carefully, more worried about Cass was going to be versus stealing humans. Cass smirked, crossing his arms as they stood around in a circle. He shook his head.
"I’d prefer you do it as soon as possible, and maybe, Edgar, you could go with Fiona and comfort Lady Ava? Let her know we’re working on it, and they will not be marrying her off. One good thing to come of this is that your Father wasn’t involved in this and he’s pretty pissed. I’m going to reach out to him and get his support." Cass hesitated. "We also...need to bring Lord Ridgewood into the mansion. So that we have a united front." The rumble that came from Lucian had Cass jerking towards him.
Steam poured from his nostrils. He didn’t need to speak to tell Cass that he did not like the idea.
"Do not bring that human into the mansion until after I come back from this mission. I’ll head out now. I shouldn’t be gone for more than a day." Lucian grumbled, before striding towards Cass, wrapping his hand around the back of his neck and pressing his lips quickly, and with great force against Cass’. "Behave while I’m gone. I want to be there when you kill someone." Lucian warned before he let him go and stormed out of the room.
The rest of the group stood there in silence, taking in what just happened. Fiona coughed.
"So...wait a day to reach out to Lord Ridgewood?" Fiona asked and Cass coughed. His anger had dissipated only in the face of one determined dragon. Cass could...wait a day. It would give him time to speak to Edgar’s father.
"We wait a day." Cass confirmed, slightly flustered.