FicWad

By the end of July, Doctor Sparrow is cleared of all charges. The hot temperatures mean that officers and commanders are removing their wool uniform coats, which bear their insignia. Some colonels begin to punish their officers for this, while others order their enlisted men to remove their vests as well. Though the enlisted men do not wear collared shirts, and the officers do, the enemy has a difficult time distinguishing between the two in battle, minimizing the targeting of officers by enemy snipers. Jack orders his colonels to allow it when he finds that a disproportionately large number of officers are falling in battle simply because of the heat. Kerrigan does not do the same for the Western Army. Though they wear black jackets, which are even hotter and more uncomfortable than the green uniforms worn by the Sothern Army in the hot weather, the officers are easily distinguished from the enlisted men by the stripes on the enlisted men’s shirts and the type of tie they wear as well as by the length of their jackets. The soldiers of the Western Army do nothing without approval from both their officers and their commanders, unlike the soldiers of the Southern Army, who routinely throw late-night drinking parties with no prior knowledge or approval. Kerrigan far more directly controls her men’s lives than Jack ever could or would control his men’s lives. In the Southern Army, uniformity, order, and discipline are not nearly as paramount as they are in the Western Army, being considered second to physical training and skill. The camps in each of the Western Army camps are arranged identically. Personal quirks are not allowed on uniforms or weapons, aside from the fact that the men can choose between wearing shoes or wearing boots, unless they are in cavalry units. Due to there being no tactical advantage to removing the men’s coats, Kerrigan does not order it, and because she does not order it, her men do not consider doing it. There is no mention of the idea. Kerrigan’s desire for propriety can only be overcome by a need for tactical advantage.

Early in August, everyone whose rank is colonel or higher begins to think about the Command Balls that occur in September. The enthusiasm happens every year, but this year it is particularly strong because of the war. All of the commanders and commanding officers can relax for one night. The invitations say that everyone can bring a date. Since almost all of the people invited are men, very few go alone. Most bring wives or girlfriends. Some bring female subordinates or local women. The balls have always been on different days so that there is someone in charge of a standing army while an entire army’s worth of commanders are at a party. While it is not mandatory to wear dress uniforms, many do because it enables them to wear medals, something which would be inappropriate on a civilian suit, and most of them are well-adorned with medals for meritorious service and valor.

The first ball of the season is the Northern Army Command Ball, which is scheduled for the eleventh of September. Normally, it is held in the small city of Woodhurst in District Twelve, which is a sparsely-populated, heavily-wooded district along the border with the Witch Country. This year, it is scheduled to take place in the City of Stankirk in District Eleven, which lies on the eastern border. Var Volkov, the Senatorial General commanding the Northern Army represents District Eleven in the Senate. The second ball of the season is the Central Army Command Ball the next night in Old Capital City. It is the unaffected by the war, since the Central Army is not fighting on the front lines. The Central Army took charge of the guard posts vacated by the other armies when the war began. The next Friday, the eighteenth, is the night for which the Southern Army Command Ball is scheduled. Jack decided upon the ballroom of Crosspoint City Hall, though it is typically held in the City of Fallbourne in northern District Twenty. The Eastern Army is holding its annual Command Ball in its usual location in Stankirk on Friday the twenty-fifth. The last military ball of the season is the Western Army Command Ball. Kerrigan decided upon the same location as Jack did, but the ball is scheduled for the twenty-sixth. Normally, the Western Army Command Ball is City of Ashmore, at the confluence of two rivers and the meeting place of Districts Five, Twenty-Four, and One. The Senate holds its annual ball in October in Bridgeton in the spacious second floor of the Senate House. This year, the Senate decided upon October tenth as the date. The twenty-five Generals, the twenty-five Senators, and their spouses, escorts, and dates are invited every year. The six official balls held by the Vampiric government are all small by high society standards, but they are the first of the harvest ball season, which lasts until Yule. Private balls sometimes last until the sixth of January.

Kerrigan always receives invitations to countless balls and parties. She routinely attends all six government balls, despite only officially receiving invitations for two of them. This year is no different. Morietur only ever attends official Demon balls. He used to forbid his wife from attending any events without him, essentially forbidding her from attending events at all. She eventually convinced him to let her go with a trusted escort, originally one of their sons who would not otherwise have been invited. Over the years, she convinced him that it is her personal duty to represent his household at such events, so he allows her to attend on the condition that she return home immediately afterward. Since she is in Crosspoint, this essentially means that she is free to attend any ball to which she receives an invitation with whomever she should choose, a freedom that she has never had before. Almost immediately after the invitations are sent, she receives invitations to the government balls from men who wish to escort her. She always attends the Eastern Army Command Ball with Senatorial General Tem Lawlor. Whichever generals ask her first from the Central and Northern Armies escort her to their respective balls. She always attends the Southern Army Command Ball with General Ronan O’Casey. This year, amongst her many invitations she finds a threat on her life stating that she will be attacked during one of the official government balls, though it does not specify which ball or by whom. She spends hours politely declining invitations to the Central and Northern Army Command Balls.

Within two days, a newspaper reporter arrives at the cabin asking about why she is not planning to attend all of the balls. She knows that she cannot decline to comment, otherwise it will become a much larger issue that it needs to be. She cannot tell the truth, nor can she cancel any events, for the person who sent the threat would know that she is afraid. She cannot say that she is disinterested in attending, for that would be impolite. She cannot say that the traveling is too much or that she is too busy, since she still intends to attend the Southern, Eastern, and Western Army Command Balls and the Senatorial Ball. She tells him that she has a prior commitment with a client who wishes to remain anonymous. Unfortunately, the reporter saw Jack recovering from a night of opium smoking, and he decides to focus an article on that. The idea of that becoming public is Kerrigan’s worst nightmare, in terms of scandals to hush, since it would probably irreparably damage Jack’s public image. He is doing nothing illegal, but the public probably would not approve of such a public figure using opium on such a regular basis. Kerrigan fabricates a story about a recent injury in battle and injected opium prescribed by a doctor as the source of Jack’s malaise and insists that the reporter leave immediately. The Vampire Army will not allow anyone but a doctor either serving in or working for the Southern Army or Jack personally to see Jack’s medical records, and they are explicitly forbidden to discuss the health of anyone considered tactically important with anyone but a specific set of people, depending on the rank of the tactically important person. Jack’s records could be discussed among doctors, with the Senatorial Generals, with his wife, or with the Southern Army Generals. A Colonel’s health could be discussed with the majors and captains in his unit and with his immediate superiors.

It is August sixth, and Liam is at the cabin for his lesson with Kerrigan. Jack typically leaves after dinner so that Liam can study alone with Kerrigan. He never wanders father than the nearest pub because he knows that Kerrigan will hunt him like an animal if he does not return on time. Alone with Kerrigan, Liam notices that she is distracted and worried. He generally puts his hand atop hers, realizing for the first time how small and delicate she really is, and asks her the nature of her problem. She pours them each a glass of whiskey and hands him the letter she received. He asks her to read it, assuming that it will be either in Vampiric or Demonic, or too difficult for him. She assures him that it is in English and insists that he read it, which he does, aloud and slowly, as if it were one of the axioms or folktales from his lessons. When he finishes, he pugs his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She insists that she will be fine, but he can see her fear.

Liam offers to go to the Western Army Command Ball with her, but she declines his offer. Liam knows that he is not a gentleman, but he tries very hard to act like one by mimicking those around him. He shares a tent with four gentlemen, albeit self-made gentlemen; his Colonel is a gentleman from an entire family of self-made gentlemen; and his father is a gentleman of high regard. Liam wants very badly to be a gentleman, but he does not know how. He does not look, walk, eat, speak, drink, or dress like a gentleman. Kerrigan asks him to stay with Jack while she attends the Eastern and Western army Command Balls. Jack will be at both the Southern Army Command Ball and the Senatorial Ball. For Liam, who wants desperately to be invited to a social event, it is a huge disappointment that Kerrigan rejected his offer. He is obviously hurt when she tells him that she already wrote to Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow asking the two of them to accompany her to the Western Army Command Ball. She makes a different request of Liam. She asks him to accompany her to the Senatorial Ball in Bridgeton. Unlike the Command Balls, only the most elite attend the Senatorial Ball. Liam must master etiquette. Kerrigan assures him that he need not learn to dance like a gentleman, for she dislikes dancing and never dances very much at balls. The whole reason she attends is to make an appearance. The fact remains that Liam is no gentleman, and Kerrigan must turn him into one by the tenth of October. His complete ignorance Vampiric language is not important. She tells him that the Western Army uses only the Vampiric language, while most of the Senators speak multiple languages.

Notorious for his unluckiness, stubbornness, and temper, Captain Fitzmaurice is surprised to receive a letter from Kerrigan asking him to escort her to the Western Army Command Ball. He is even more surprised that Doctor Sparrow received one as well. Kerrigan offers them a literal fortune to act as her guards. Both of them are very surprised that a Western Army Colonel is delivering the letters personally. The letters tell them to follow Liam to his lesson and to meet her at her cabin. They cannot refuse her request, so they go with Liam and personally give her their affirmative answer. The only way in which Captain Fitzmaurice is lucky is in finding women who want to share his bed. When he finds one that he likes, he is loyal to her, but he usually has a long succession of brief relationships that fail ultimately because they are never serious from the beginning and because he can be extremely fickle until he knows what he desires and seeks it wholeheartedly. He does not fear commitment, but he also does not want to spend his life with the wrong woman, even though he often speaks of marriage very early in his serious relationships. His last serious relationship ended very shortly after he left Bridgeton. She could not bear his absence and wrote him a letter ending their relationship, saying that she found a man in Bridgeton who could fill her needs better than he could, being so far away in Crosspoint. Doctor Sparrow knows that his friend is oblivious to the fact that he is beginning to focus on Kerrigan, the one woman he cannot have. Doctor Sparrow realizes the danger in this. He knows that they are indebted to Kerrigan, but he vows to ensure his friend’s safety as well as hers. The Captain will not admit his new fixation, but the Doctor will be there to fix everything for his friend in the end, as he always does.

Jack is apprehensive to allow Kerrigan to attend the seasonal balls. He promised Morietur that he would keep her safe from harm, but he does not know how to do that if he is not there with her. He asks her if he could escort her to the Western Army Command Ball, which he has done many times in the past, but she declines his offer because of his opium habit. She needs her escort to be sentient, and Jack’s drug habit renders him useless as a guard because the opium makes him unfocused, unobservant, uncaring, and extremely slow to react. She has made her decision, and she refuses to change her mind. Jack, however persuasive he may be, cannot convince her otherwise.

Kerrigan wishes to begin writing a series of letters, but she recently suffered a series of letters, but she recently suffered a fall from her horse in battle during a hasty retreat. She sprained her wrist in the fall and must allow it to heal for a few weeks. Liam is visiting every evening in order to prepare himself for the Senatorial Ball and to better his chances for when he will be eligible for a promotion to Major in December. Kerrigan uses her predicament of needing to write letters to teach Liam both manners and writing. When she is satisfied with his progress with cursive writing, he having already mastered printing, she asks him to write what she says, making sure to speak slowly and to help him spell. He is able to read back to her what he has written. Liam is a very eager pupil, and he is far more intelligent than anyone thinks he is. Kerrigan dictates a series of letters to him. One is addressed to Senatorial Generals Lawlor and Volkov inquiring about the transportation arrangements and sleeping accommodations for her journey to Stankirk for the Eastern Army Command Ball. The two of them share living accommodations, just as she and Jack do, so the letter is addressed to both of them. Another letter is addressed to a servant of hers, who learned English in order to communicate with the locals of Bridgeton. He is her manservant and often accompanies her as her escort to the city along with her driver. He assists her personally and usually acts as her personal dresser. He knows the location and condition of every garment she owns. He often accompanies her to Senate meetings, so he learned English so he could travel in Bridgeton while Kerrigan attended to business. The letter addressed to him details which gowns she wishes to wear to each ball so that he may ship them. The third letter is to Colonel Callahan, asking for permission to take Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow to the Western Army Command Ball and Liam to the Senatorial Ball. A fourth letter is addressed to Captain Fitzmaurice to let them know that they are to wear long, black trench coats borrowed from one of her Brigadier Generals to the ball. She explains that this is to conceal the Captain’s weapons and the Doctor’s medical supplies as well as to confuse anyone who might seek revenge upon them as to who they really are. It also enables them to hide in the crowd of black uniforms and to confuse an assassin as to which of them is the soldier and which is the doctor. She already arranged for the Brigadier General, who is retiring shortly, to leave his spare uniforms with Colonel Callahan. Kerrigan also has Liam write a letter to General O’Casey asking him to meet her at the cabin, rather than at his hotel room or at the ball itself and to come well-armed.

By the end of August, a crate has arrived for Kerrigan containing the exact ball gowns she requested to have shipped to her. Despite the fact that she is perfectly capable of opening the crate herself, her hand having healed significantly, Liam insists upon helping her open the crate. When he lifts the four ball gowns out of the box, he suddenly realizes that each one is surely worth more than he earns in a year, if not far more than that. Each dress is folded and wrapped in a brown paper packet tied with string. Each gown is accompanied by a separate package containing the proper undergarments. Liam thinks that the box is empty except for packing straw, but Kerrigan tells him to sort through it. He finds a couple of small wooden boxes, one of which has sliding drawers. The other has a hinged top. There is also a set of three ceremonial swords, four revolvers, and a couple of books in the bottom of the crate. Kerrigan unwraps her gowns one at a time, carefully unfolding each one and laying them across her bed. They will hang on pegs in the cabin for a few weeks until the night of the Senatorial Ball when her servant will meet her in Bridgeton after the ball in order to retrieve them. She will return to Crosspoint in uniform by train the morning after the ball. The plans are already arranged, and Kerrigan already has her invitations and travel tickets but she is worrying continually about the threats against her. Every evening, she finishes her dinner before Liam and Jack finish theirs. Once she is finished, she pushes her plate away and begins wringing her hands nervously. Because of this, her wrist has not fully healed. Every night, Liam clasps both of her hands in one of his in order to prevent her from further injuring herself. He hates to see her in pain.

As Kerrigan unwraps her gowns, Liam cannot prevent himself from staring in amazement at the intricately detailed beadwork and embroidery on each gown. They come form a very different world than the one he knows. They come from a world of palaces and parties quite unlike the slums of Bridgeton, which he has considered to be his home for many years. Upon seeing the dresses, Liam realizes that each is actually probably worth far more than an entire block in District Thirteen Bridgeton. At that moment, Liam realizes that these are only a small fraction of the many clothes and jewels she owns, not to mention her properties. He does not know how many properties she owns or how large they are. It is then that Liam realizes how great the difference between Kerrigan and himself is. Jack still occasionally feels inferior to Kerrigan, mostly when they are eating and drinking at formal gatherings or when she is telling eloquent tales of times long-past. Kerrigan does not feel that she is better than Liam in any way. She frequently and inadvertently makes others feel inferior by simply speaking in her normal manner. Kerrigan still does not expect people to be surprised by her wealth. She does not even consider it unless someone needs something they cannot afford.

Liam is secretly insecure. His biggest struggle has always been finding employment so that he has money for food. He has fought with dogs on the streets for scraps of meat in the garbage. Only once has he declined food, and that was because he gave it to a small boy he fished out of the river. He thinks he may as well be a dog. Despite his rank as an officer, he feels he is not good enough to fraternize with gentlemen. The war is a blessing to him, since it makes combat pay, which is twice as much as reserve pay, as well as guaranteed food and shelter. Kerrigan merely smiles up at him. He can tell that she is glad to have some of her fine things in Crosspoint, if even for a short time. She is from an entirely different world, and he feels like an unwelcome intruder.

Kerrigan smiles up at Liam imagining him in robes and finery at the Senatorial Ball. He would make a fine gentleman. Manners can be learned but the ability to charm is a far more difficult skill for those born without it. Liam has a certain amount of natural grace and charm as well as a strong sense of loyalty, but he lacks any formal training. Kerrigan knows that Liam wants to better himself and to forever move beyond starvation and homelessness. There are very few people who would not desire something more, and nobody can fault those who do. Jack did, and he eventually made something of himself. Liam, in Kerrigan’s mind, is better material from which a gentleman could be made than most of the men she knows who were born into it. As the weeks pass, she sees the change in him, and she knows that he is a much more determined individual than his father. He will make a fine gentleman someday. He may need to borrow his father’s robes and finery for the time being, but he will be a fine gentleman.

The first ball that Kerrigan will attend is the Southern Army command Ball. General Ronan O’Casey is her escort. He is a child of the Revolution. He lost his own mother to the brutal tactics used by the King’s soldiers; he was sung to sleep with songs of war rather than lullabies; he was born and bred to be a soldier like every one of his brothers before him; and he grew up to be the best among them. As a General, Ronan gets a seat at the head table. The ballroom at City Hall is glittering with the light of a thousand candles burning merrily in their chandeliers. There is a band playing dance music. Jack always requests a few jigs and reels mixed in with the gavottes and waltzes. The members of the band are enlisted men who volunteered for the job in order to be away from the front lines for a month while earning combat pay while rehearsing. They all each earn a hundred gold for the evening, which is a considerable sum for anyone, especially for an enlisted man. The enlisted men cooking and serving dinners, setting up before and cleaning up after, and providing security are also paid a hundred gold, though they only have a couple of days away from the front lines. A limited number of lieutenants oversee the cooking, serving, setup, cleanup, and security, but all captains and majors must stay with their units in order to enforce order in their colonels’ absence. If it were not wartime, they would not be banned from staffing the event. Kerrigan is afraid that she will be attacked here. Senatorial General O’Casey has his lucky sword with him. His father made it for him when he enlisted, and it has kept him safe for many years. Kerrigan is no great dancer. She can waltz, but she does little else. She wants badly to play along with the band instead, but it would not be proper for her to do so. Jack is the center of attention as usual. His wife is the object of every man’s desires. She is wearing an emerald green gown trimmed with white fur and the green leather embroidered bodice that Jack bought for her. Diamonds adorn her fingers, wrists, ears, neck, and hair, though she does not look gaudy or garish. Her ruby lips and carefree smile are enchanting. Her emerald eyes glitter in the candlelight. The sparkle of her diamonds matches the flash of ribbons and medals on her husband’s chest. This world of festivities and galas is where they are most at home. Jack always forgets his own limitations at parties, and, near the end of the night, collapses exhausted in his chair at the head table. Kerrigan has finished dancing for the night, and most of the colonels have already left to return to their units. Watching Lynn dance with each General in turn is a truly glorious sight. It is well after midnight, and the music has stopped. The food has been returned to the kitchens, and the musicians are placing their instruments in their cases, dreading the return to the units and the possibility that good friends might be gone, despite the fact that they have one more day before they return to combat, while Kerrigan compliments them on their performance. Lynn has finished dancing, and only a few couples remain/

Colonel Callahan is the only colonel to stay the entire night. He does not want to return to his unit to find men awake because his wife must stay there for the night, and he can only imagine the drunken revelry that occurs in his absence. General Callahan, sure that his younger sons are well-cared-for by the Werewolvish refugee staying with his family in Bridgeton, bids his eldest son goodnight and returns to his hotel room with Rose-Marie, who is thoroughly enjoying a nigh with her husband and no children to mind. Lynn returns to Jack, who is to bring her to the cabin. Jack is asleep in his chair, so Lynn wakes him gently, knowing that the chill in the night air will serve to wake him further and that he will be far more energetic after his short nap than he was before it. He looks at her with loving eyes, and she knows that it will be a wonderful night. Kerrigan cannot stay in the cabin with Lynn and Jack, so she returns to General O’Casey’s hotel room, which, like the cabin, contains two small beds. In the morning, the enchantments will wear away. Colonel Callahan’s wife will be a nagging wife again, just as his father’s wife will be an exhausted mother once again. Lynn will remain a beautiful woman, as her husband once again becomes an addict and a shadow of the man he once was. Kerrigan will once more fall into her role as mother and guardian, leaving behind the glamour of the night.

A week later, on the twenty-fifth, she stands in the train station waiting for Senatorial General Volkov. He commands the Northern Army, and he is Kerrigan’s escort to Stankirk, where she is to attend the Eastern Army Command Ball. Senatorial General Tem Lawlor, who invited her to attend the ball with him, could not leave Stankirk to fetch her due to the fact that he is far more involved with the preparations for his army’s Command Ball than Kerrigan is for hers, which is the following night. Her ornate gown, which is black with white embroidery to match the Eastern Army’s white uniforms, is hanging in a bag over her arm. She also has a small bag containing her makeup, jewels, shoes, and nightclothes. She is wearing her combat uniform and simple boots so that she does not attract undue amounts of attention. Jack and Liam accompany her to the station. Fifteen minutes after their arrival, Senatorial General Volkov steps off of the train in his red combat uniform. He is a tall man, nearly as tall as Jack, with blond hair, blue eyes, and red cheeks. He greets Jack and Kerrigan warmly in Vampiric, but Liam stares in confusion when he is greeted. Kerrigan explains that Liam does not speak Vampiric, so Senatorial General Volkov asks what languages he does understand by listing all the languages he himself speaks and hoping that Kerrigan will indicate a match. When he learns that Liam speaks English he smiles.

“Hello, Liam, Jackson, my English not so good, but I try, ya? I tell you must try vodka.”

“Only if ye try whiskey. Me da’ says ye’d never do it for him.”

“You just like Jack. He try make me drink vhiskey for many year. For you, I try. That way ve both happy, but he is not gettink to vin.”

The train will not be boarding for another hour, so they go to a bar next to the train station called The Stop Watch. Everyone orders a shot of vodka and a shot of whiskey, and Liam discovers that he actually likes vodka. Jack predictably hates vodka, and Var predictably hates whiskey. Kerrigan sits silently while the men discuss politics, weapons, tactics, and the Revolution over lunch and drinks. Kerrigan pays their tab and reminds them of the time. She and Var leave Jack and Liam in Crosspoint and board the train for Stankirk. The journey takes about six hours. It is nearly as far from Crosspoint as Bridgeton is. Kerrigan and Var joke and laugh through the entire ride, enjoying a private compartment the entire time. Var is an amicable man when he is in a good mood, seeing old friends, traveling, and drinking with men who understand him, but when he is in a bad mood, he can be very sadistic. Var smiles and proudly shows Kerrigan a photograph of his five children. The oldest, Ivan, is nine, followed by the twins, Aleksandr and Anastasiya, who are seven. Mikhail is four, and Dmitry is two. Var proudly announces that his wife Katya is pregnant with their sixth child. They reach Stankirk at dinner to a marvelous sunset. Var wraps the cloak from his uniform around Kerrigan’s shoulders, despite the fact that it drags more than a foot behind her. He leads her past the stone church that gave Stankirk its name. He brings her to the cabin he shares with Senatorial General Lawlor. It is slightly larger than the cabin she shares with Jack. The men have a full liquor cabinet, and Var quickly offers her a drink. She asks for his help lacing her corset. She changes out of her uniform and into the dressing gown for her ball gown. Var pulls the laces while Tem holds her tightly. She then dons her bustle and petticoats before adding her gown. Senatorial General Lawlor, a brown-haired, olive-skinned man of medium height and somewhat wiry build, sets a crown of flowers behind Kerrigan’s small tiara just after she finishes pinning her hair in place and curling the wisps she left around her face. He takes her by the hand and leads her outside. He mounts his horse and leads him to a fence where she can mount behind him. Because of her gown, she must ride sidesaddle. She holds tightly onto Tem’s waist. He always rides bareback, so he is all that she has to hold onto for balance.

The crowd at the ball is a sea of rainbow colors and white. Kerrigan’s black dress is striking. Several women wear bold dresses with many colors and even hints of black, but only Kerrigan wears a dress that is predominantly black. The music is lively and energetic. It is very emotional, switching from melancholy to ecstatic in mere moments. Though there are many ethnicities in each army and each District, the Eastern Army has many Romany as well as Slavic, Baltic, Nordic, Finno-Hungarian, and Germanic men. Their white uniforms let off a certain light, and, despite the chill in the air and the darkness outside as well as the harsh reality of death surrounding them, there is a great levity among the partygoers. To Kerrigan, it is a welcomed departure from the miserable, tired, and depressing people in Crosspoint, who only rarely smile, even surrounded by fine food, drink, and great beauty. During the Revolution, the Eastern and Western Border Districts, as well as several of the Northern Districts were very safe. Though volunteers traveled from them to fight, they were never under direct attack from the Royal Guard, so the people of these Districts now do not view war with such as heavy heart as do those from the Districts under direct attack during the Revolution. The levity is somewhat of a ruse, however, as the pain and sadness are clearly visible in everyone’s eyes. Many of these people learned only recently that losing their homes and families while they are fighting to protect them feels like the worst failure imaginable. Even so, Kerrigan remembers parties in and around Bridgeton during the Revolution, and there was no such levity.

Toward the end of the evening, Tem tells Kerrigan that it is time for them to leave. She expects to ride behind him back to the house, but he does not mount the stallion himself, instead placing her atop its back as if she were a small child. Tem leads horse and rider through the streets of Stankirk and down an alley to a bar where Var is waiting. They drink vodka and sing songs until the bar closes. Kerrigan, fairly drunk, rides Tem’s horse while the men walk. Inside their cabin, she changes out of her gown and into her nightgown. Var and Tem watch through the crack in the bathroom door while she removes the last layers, her bloomers, corset, dressing gown, and garters. They way she unfastens the pairs of hooks and eyes in the front of her corset is extremely seductive, and they see her naked breasts, a sight few men have ever seen. They seem smaller when not held up by her corsetry, but they are still fairly large for her small stature. She removes her fine jewels and unpins her updo, shaking out her hair, letting it unfurl and cascade down her back. She leaves the bathroom wearing her socks, dancing slippers, and nightgown. She sits on the edge of Var’s bed and kicks her slippers off and bends down to remove her stockings, each action causing the men to shiver slightly with desire. Kerrigan curls herself into a ball and falls asleep immediately in the middle of the bed the men made by pushing the two bed frames together. Var sleeps near the wall and Tem near the door. They protect her even in sleep.

In the morning, Kerrigan makes kasha, fried eggs, and tea for Var and Tem. She has only tea. Both men accompany her back to Crosspoint. They arrive after lunch, having eaten nothing on the journey. Kerrigan takes a brief detour through the market, where she buys apples, pork, onions, and buttermilk. When she returns to the cabin, she makes pork with onions and apples and apple and buttermilk biscuits for herself, Var, Tem, Jack, and Liam. Kerrigan knows that Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow are about to arrive. For Liam’s sake, the conversation is in English, despite Var and Tem lacking in fluency. Tem speaks a wide range of languages, as does Var, and everyone but Liam is fluent in Vampiric, Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow having both studied it in secondary school. Var and Tem decide to stay in the cabin across the street for the night, as it is still rented by the government. Various officials stay there from time to time, including a judge during the Southern Army Command Ball, but it is currently vacant, and Var has no inclination to spend another six hours on a train after twelve yesterday and six this morning.

When Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow arrive, they are dressed in black for the ball. Liam remarks that they look like they are going to a funeral rather than a ball. Kerrigan assures them that they look quite handsome in the black trench coats worn by her commanders. Captain Fitzmaurice notes his concern about being a mere captain and in the Southern Army and wearing a uniform worn only by those with ranks higher than colonel in the Western Army. She assures him that he will have no problems, especially because, although his name and medals are affixed to the coat, his rank pins are not. Kerrigan pins Doctor Sparrow’s name and a few ribbons to his coat as well to make them less distinguishable from each other. She then takes two of the ceremonial swords and a small wooden box. She opens it and places a silver crown on Jack’s head. She then hands one of the sabers to Doctor Sparrow and the other to Captain Fitzmaurice, explaining that ceremonial swords come with a knighting, just as crowns come with a coronation. Doctor Sparrow’s sword was not ready in time for his knighting ceremony, and Captain Fitzmaurice should consider himself knighted as well. She explains that Jack’s coronation as a prince has been waiting since just after Yule and that she received a letter that she might as well do it herself though she does not have the official script. She mentions that the ceremony for a coronation takes the entire day plus a ball that lasts well into the night. Even a knighting takes several hours, and it is already four o’clock, and the ball begins at eight. When Doctor Sparrow mentions that they have plenty of time, Kerrigan explains that she must cook dinner for seven people and dress as well as teach him and Captain Fitzmaurice the customs of the Western Army.

Captain Fitzmaurice reminds her that he has been in the army for over two years and managed to garner a promotion from lieutenant to captain already, but Kerrigan counters his argument with the fact that the Western Army salutes, marches, responds, and even speaks differently than the Southern Army. The Southern Army marches in a common military lockstep, while the Western Army marches in an ankle-knee step. Similarly, the Southern Army salutes with the palm down, while the Western Army salutes with the palm facing outward and upward. Kerrigan also warns them that only Vampiric will be spoken at the ball because the Western Army is comprised of relatively few people actually native to the Districts in which they are stationed. Most of the Western Army is comprised of men who have nowhere else to go and no other options. The Western Army gladly accepts men who left the other four armies due to personal disputes, particularly men whose five years of mandatory service is not complete. Because of the Western Army’s willingness to take outcasts with serious debts, military discipline reports in their personnel files, and civilian criminal convictions and to offer them a clean record, discipline is standardized and regimented. Every crime has a set punishment for a first offense and for each successive repeat offense. Punishments are not left to the Commanding Officer to decide, which is the modus operandi in the Southern Army. Certain punishments are a point of contention for certain persons who will be at the ball. There have been several debates about lessening certain punishments, increasing others, and introducing new offenses for standardized punishment. Kerrigan explains these issues in Vampiric to avoid any potential mistranslations. She also hands Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow two revolvers each as well as a small fortune in gold for the promise of keeping her safe. They return to camp to lock them in their trunks, as they have no time to make more bullets, and Captain Fitzmaurice’s pistol bullets will not fit the revolvers. When they return to the cabin, Kerrigan realizes that it is seven o’clock. The ball begins in an hour, and she has yet to dress. Liam offers to finish the dishes, and Kerrigan steps into the small bathroom so that she can change into the underclothing for her gown.

She turns to Var and Captain Fitzmaurice. Captain Fitzmaurice gently holds her, being extremely careful not to touch her inappropriately, lest she think that he is a man without honor. Var pulls at the strings while Liam watches and winces thinking about how much a corset must hurt. The eventual effect is a corset laced so tightly that Kerrigan’s waist has a circumference of only fifteen inches. Kerrigan then steps into her bustle and petticoats and Captain Fitzmaurice gently places her gown over her head. Her hair is already pinned into place, and her makeup is already painted to perfection/ She carefully fastens a necklace and bracelet and changes her utilitarian silver hoop earrings, instead donning diamond dangling ones. She puts several rings on her fingers and a tiara in her hair. She then hides several throwing knives and daggers about her person before bidding farewell to Jack, Liam, Tem, and Var and beckoning Brendan and Billy to follow her. Brendan mounts The General and Billy mounts The Admiral while Kerrigan puts the fanciest saddle they have ever seen on Pyro’s back. She removes his harness and replaces it with a bejeweled leather bridle and reins. She then leads him out of his stall and mounts him gracefully, riding sidesaddle behind the men. They arrive on time, and Kerrigan gently descends, entering the ball between the two men. Captain Fitzmaurice mentions the large number of beautiful women, and Kerrigan warns him to stay focused until the end of the night. One of her generals requested that all the servers be women, so she sent out an order for enlisted women, as more than the number required to serve at the ball serve under her. The uniform the waitresses wear is simpler than the gowns worn by the women in attendance, be they commanders themselves or the wives of girlfriends thereof. Despite the simplicity, the outfits are very suggestive, with large bustles, tight corsetry, and low-cut necklines. Kerrigan promises Captain Fitzmaurice the opportunity to meet some of the women later. There is a seven course dinner followed by drinks and dancing. Kerrigan takes turns dancing with Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow. All through the night, one of the waitresses in particular seems to like Captain Fitzmaurice. She is careful to bring the food to his table at every course, rather than let another waitress take her spot, and she insures that her voluptuous chest is at his eye level while she serves him. She slips him a note to meet her after the ball.

All of a sudden, Captain Fitzmaurice sees a man staring at Kerrigan. He sees the man reach into the inner pocket of his jacket and a flash of silver. He quickly draws one of his six pistols and fires a perfect shot through the assassin’s right eye. A second assassin emerges from behind the drapes, and he fires at Captain Fitzmaurice who pulls a second pistol from the other shoulder holster. He shots the second assassin through the heart. He draws two more pistols, this time from hip holsters and aims them to either side of him, shooting two more assassins. He ducks under a table so that he can bend to reach the pistols in his ankle holsters. Doctor Sparrow ducks Kerrigan under the same table while captain Fitzmaurice shoots his last two pistols at the two men trying to flee out the door, hitting each of them in the back. He ducks under the table again, looks Doctor Sparrow in the eyes and nods solemnly. They both crawl out from under the table and look for more assassins. Sure that it is safe, they help Kerrigan crawl out from under the table. Several of the men attending the ball are carrying ceremonial swords, which, despite their decorative appearance, including ornamental etchings of words and designs, inlaid jewels, and extremely ornate handles, are extremely sharp and well-balanced. When Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow emerge from under the table, most men have their swords drawn or their hands on the hilts of their swords. The only assassin to escape the slaughter waits until Kerrigan has emerges from the table. Captain Fitzmaurice is out of bullets, and the partygoers do not notice them amongst them. He hesitates, trying to distinguish between the physician and the soldier, thinking that he is seeing double. Kerrigan sees him before Captain Fitzmaurice has to mention that he is there. She draws a throwing knife from her bodice and aims her throw as the assassin releases his. Her knife sticks straight into his heart, though not before his knife badly slices her throat and shoulder.

Kerrigan collapses onto the floor, bleeding profusely. Captain Fitzmaurice stands stiffly in shock and horror, angered and saddened that he failed in his duty to protect her. Doctor Sparrow cannot inject her with blood, since he does not know her blood type. He and Captain Fitzmaurice share a blood type, but if their blood type is incompatible with hers, she could die if he injects her with either of their blood. He has no way of testing it here, so he must give her blood orally. He reaches down to her right ankle and removes her second throwing knife from its sheath. He pulls Captain Fitzmaurice to the floor by the wrist and slices his hand open swiftly but gently and gives Kerrigan a small amount of blood.

“Why’d ye cut mine? Ye’ve two o’ your own!” exclaims Captain Fitzmaurice in pain and shock.

“Yours are easier for me to bandage,” replies Doctor Sparrow, wrapping gauze around his friend’s right palm.

“But I’ve a date tonight. How am I supposed to get a girl in the right sort o’ mood without the use o’ me hand?”

“Ye have two. Use the other one.”

Kerrigan rises silently and kisses Captain Fitzmaurice then Doctor Sparrow on the cheek, silencing their argument and thanking them. Most of the waitresses will not touch the dead bodies, and most of the guests are leaving. The band resumes playing, so Kerrigan and Doctor Sparrow go to dance. Captain Fitzmaurice sets about retrieving and cleaning Kerrigan’s knives and cleaning his guns. He stretches out in his dining chair when he is finished, and no sooner does he relax than the waitress who slipped him a note sneaks up behind him and kisses his neck seductively and nibbles gently at his earlobe, sending shivers down his spine.

“Come with me,” she whispers in Vampiric, not knowing what languages he does or does not understand.

“Can’t, luv. I’m working,” he replies without moving.

“So am I. Please come with me.”

“I’d love to, but there’s something I ought to tell you first.”

“Your preference is for men?”

“What? No!”

“You’re married?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I’m not who you think I am. I’m but a mere captain, not command at all. I’m also not in the Western Army. I’m in the Southern Army. Sleeping with me won’t get you a promotion.”

“I know. It never works. They usually promote the boys anyhow. So, who are you then?”

“Captain William Fitzmaurice, Thirteenth Bridgeton Light Infantry. Call me Billy. So, who are you?”

“Come with me, and I’ll tell you.”