FicWad

Liam finds himself sitting in a train compartment with Kerrigan and Jack wearing his dress uniform for what Kerrigan calls propriety’s sake and wondering how he got there, who he is, and what he ought to be doing. They are traveling in the most expensive seats on the train, so the dining cart comes to them, rather than them having to walk to the dining car. Liam and Jack wrestled Kerrigan’s crate onto the luggage car, and Jack and Kerrigan arranged for their horses to be transported as well. Kerrigan’s drivers, manservant, and two of her stable boys will meet them at the train station in District Five Bridgeton. Liam is wishing that he had not come at all. He is sitting on a plush velvet seat eating snacks whose names he cannot pronounce and drinking extremely expensive mixed drinks that fizz and taste like fruit rather than whiskey. For the first time, he is sitting up straight and eating slowly without Kerrigan nagging him to mind his manners. Before they left, Kerrigan had insisted that he bathe and handed him strange-looking objects and perfumed soap that he can still smell. He is wearing Jack’s dress shoes, which, although they look good and are not a drastically different size, do not quite fit properly, since he does not have Jack’s long, bony toes. Having seen for the first time what being a gentleman is like, he realizes that he would rather be covered in mud, dust, blood, and sweat facing a terrible foe in battle than sitting in his dress uniform and his father’s shoes on a train back to Bridgeton.

If Liam never sees Bridgeton again, he will not regret it. Bridgeton is both his home and his old enemy. His many debts were paid off by his unit in exchange for a year of service without pay. He had less debt than many men do upon joining, and he joined at a higher rank than any of them. He was lucky. Most men who join the army to pay off their debts serve five or even ten years to pay them off. He has made himself enough money to survive doing odd jobs for Jack, Kerrigan, and members of his unit. He worked in a distillery for a while, so he makes and sells poitín in a little still in the woods at the edge of camp. He trained as a blacksmith for a while, so he fixes swords and armor and shoes horses. His last apprenticeship was with the silversmith Ian McAlpine, and his training has done him well. He has fixed more than one wedding ring, both silver and gold, since their properties are similar enough for him to understand, for members of his unit. They never wear rings on their fingers in battle because rings can snag on things too easily, but most men carry their wedding rings in one of their pockets or on leather strips around their necks as good luck charms. He can mend boots, sew buttons, and patch trousers, and he knows enough tinkering to mend mess kits. He has been a farmhand outside of Bridgeton and a coal and iron miner in District One. He sailed on a fishing ship out of District Six, and he has sailed the rivers and worked on the docks in Bridgeton. He built ships in the north and fixed boats in the south. He worked in mills, factories, shipyards, and docks. He was a policeman in District Twenty for a time, but he was too rough for his superiors, so they gave him the option to leave voluntarily or by force. He chose to leave voluntarily. The only job he has ever held longer than he has already been In the army was the one time he sailed before the mast on an eighteen-month-long whaling voyage, and he spent the last year of it imprisoned in the brig for drinking himself into a stupor and killing four men from District Six in a fight when they insulted the south. Besides his many short-lived careers, Liam has spent time in and out of prison in five different Districts. He has never been a good man, but he has never killed other than in a fight or in combat. He has never stolen other than in desperation. He does not start fights, but he does finish them. He can function in combat. In life, he was a soldier for many years, and, being an officer in death, he realizes that he never learned how to function in a society other than that of the military. Most of the things he has done in his past would be lauded by his superiors, as opposed to punished, except for the time he killed four men in anger over an insult to the south. Some of his superiors and peers would praise it, but others would find it to be a disturbing sign of how he cannot control his temper when he is intoxicated.

When they arrive, Kerrigan’s servants take her bag, and her manservant rides Pryo. Jack rides Spectre, but Kerrigan and Liam ride in the carriage. Instead of staying in Bridgeton, where the train line across the southern part of the country ends at a train hub, they journey to Highton. Jack smuggles Laura into District Five by claiming that they is his personal maid. He needs to find a home for her quickly. If she does not have a sponsoring family by the end of the year, she will be deported, and if she is deported, she will face certain death. He would gladly sponsor her himself, but Julius, who governs the District where he lives, will not allow it because he is already sponsoring his brother. Jack cannot think of another family he trusts in District Thirteen who could sponsor a refugee, and he hesitates to put a vulnerable young woman in the center of District Thirteen Bridgeton where she will likely become me a victim of the system of forcing non-local women into prostitution in order to pay debts incurred immediately upon arrival to the city. She has no money and no profession, and, being a woman and a Werewolf, will have a difficult time finding gainful employment.

Shane and Laura sit opposite Kerrigan and Liam in the coach. Even though Liam certainly knows that Laura poses no danger and that Shane, his own uncle, turned traitor against his country rather than against his family, he, being a soldier at heart, is still wary. When they arrive in Highton, Kerrigan instructs the coachmen to leave her and Liam at her house, then to bring Shane and Laura to Jack’s house, then to return to her house with the luggage. When Kerrigan and Liam enter Kerrigan’s house, Morietur is waiting for them. He has been drinking, and he is in one of his terrible moods. He has never met Liam before, so he mistakes him for Jack, to whom he bears a strong familial resemblance. Jack fears Morietur’s temper. He would never tell Morietur that he was wrong, though he often has to see the results on Kerrigan’s face and in her eyes and sometimes has to clean up the mess that Morietur leaves in his wake. Liam, who has never experienced Morietur’s wrath firsthand, is outraged at the scene that occurs in front of him, even though he does not speak Demonic and thus does not understand what Kerrigan and her husband are saying to each other.

“Thou art yet disobedient.”

“Morietur, you have been drinking again.”

“I hath told thee that thou shalt not go to the balls.”

“You said no such thing.”

“Thou shouldst know better.”

Despite not knowing a single word of Demonic, Liam can tell that Morietur is threatening Kerrigan, and his body tenses. All of a sudden, Morietur shouts a single word, which Liam correctly assumes is an extremely offensive swear in the Demonic language, and lashes out at Kerrigan, sending her flying across the foyer and into the wall. He breaks his empty liquor bottle and begins brutally slashing Kerrigan’s face and stabbing her repeatedly in the chest, arms, stomach, and neck. He then goes to kick her, but Liam, furious at the audacity of Morietur’s unwarranted attack, jumps onto Morietur’s back and fastens his grip around Morietur’s throat.

“No…” mutters Kerrigan.

“Face me like a man, Jack! I’ll kill thee!” shouts Morietur, slamming Liam against the wall with all of his force and bruising Liam’s ribs.

“I’m Liam, an’ the fuck I’ll let ye hurt her.”

Liam is filled with blinding rage. He grabs Morietur’s right arm and breaks it effortlessly. He slams Morietur into the wall and holds him with one hand while he beats him mercilessly with the other. He then throws him down the front steps and slams the door closed, dropping the iron latch and locking it with Kerrigan’s key. Still shaking with rage, he turns his attention to Kerrigan, who is badly injured. He pulls his knife out of its sheath in his ankle holster and rolls back his sleeve. He gives her his blood and waits, holding her hand and stroking her hair. He carries her to the bathtub and washes her, wraps her up in a blanket, lays her on a bed, and cleans the foyer.

Soon enough, Kerrigan is donning a particularly exquisite silk gown. She wraps a velvet shawl around her shoulders. He has never seen her in such a gown or in any color other than black. He saw the gown on its hanger when he helped her unpack her things in Crosspoint, but he never thought he would see her wear it. It is low-cut with lacy faux-sleeves just off-the-shoulder and a bustle and short train in the back. She fixes her dark hair into an updo that almost makes her look like a present that needs to be unwrapped. She wears a diamond and sapphire jewelry and white elbow-length gloves. Her gown is blue, so dark that it is nearly black. It is covered with diamonds. Kerrigan’s servants arrive with a blue tuxedo, a pair of dress shoes, and a blue cape for Liam, all borrowed from Jack. Kerrigan fastens a ceremonial sword to his belt and proclaims him a knight.

Liam asks to see his father before the ball. Kerrigan does not keep the pantry or liquor cabinet stocked in her Highton residence because she only stays there at Yuletide, during vacations, and during lengthy Senate sessions, and Liam tells her that he needs to have a drink to calm his nerves. Kerrigan goes with him because he has never been to Highton and does not know the directions to Jack’s house or what it looks like. Liam stands in front of Jack’s house for the first time and stares wide-eyed, amazed by its size and splendor. He was introduced to his father in a pub in Bridgeton. He is familiar with the cabin in Crosspoint. This opulence is foreign to him. Kerrigan takes him by the hand and leads him up the steps. When he knocks, Liam expects a butler to answer, so he is very surprised that Jack himself answers, halfway through tying his cravat.

“Liam, I didn’t expect to see ye ‘afore tonight. Ye look…distinguished.”

“I look like a fool, don’t I?”

“No. Ye look…well, quite frankly, ye look like I did the first time they dressed me up in finery, brought me to a ball an’ made me drink champagne.”

“Champagne?”

“Like white wine wi’ bubbles. Ye’ll see. I promise ye won’t get drunk on it. ‘Tis barely alcohol.”

“Can I have a drink? A real drink?”

“Aye. Bar’s this way.”

“Ye have your own bar?”

“Aye, nothin’ special. Nothin’ like bein’ in a pub.” Jack leads Liam to the bar and asks, “Whiskey, right?”

“Aye.”

“Ye look like ye need it bad. Your hands are shakin’. Ye’re that scared?”

“Not scared. Mad.”

“At?”

“Kerrigan’s husband.”

“Where’d ye meet him?”

“He was at her house when we arrived.”

“Drunk, was he?”

“Aye.”

“So ye saw what he’s like, then?”

“Aye.”

“Ye see why I sent ye back to camp rather than lettin’ ye come to the cabin wi’ me when he was in Crosspoint?”

“Aye.”

“Faith! Ye’re a mess!”

“Beat him senseless.”

“Ye what!?”

“Beat him senseless.”

“Are ye out o’ your mind? He’s the heir o’ Hell. I can’t save ye from execution for that. Miss Kerrigan can on’y do so much…”

“I saved her.”

“From her own husband beatin’ her?”

“Aye.“

“ I hate to tell ye this, but he did nothin’ wrong. Beatin’ your wife ain’t illegal.”

“It should be.”

“Aye. It should.”

“Can’t ye make it illegal? Ye’re a Senator.”

“No. I can’t do nothin’ ‘bout the rest o’ Hell, an’ there’s no way to stop it. Even if there was a law, men’d do it anyhow. The women wouldn’t say a thing ‘bout it to the police. The police’d be doin’ it to their own wives still anyhow. ‘Tisn’t even jus’ the women who’re victims. Mike Crane has a wife what beats him. The sister o’ your very own Doctor Sparrow, in fact. He’d never admit it to anyone who’s not seen it, but she beats him. She’s nearly killed him a couple times. Why d’ye think there’s another pub so close? O’Shea’s a good friend of Mike Crane from their army days an’ earlier even. Biddy always leaves the house after they fight. He’s never once laid a hand on her, not even to defend hisself. She’s come damn near close to killin’ him, an’ O’Shea runs over every time she leaves the house to check that he’s alright an’ the childer are cared for if he ain’t.”

“Jaysus.”

“Twould be like tryin’ to stop a river.”

“So I’m to die, then?”

“Have another drink, Liam. I don’ know. I don’ know Demonic Law. Ye’d have to ask Kerrigan.”

“But ‘twas on Vampiric soil.”

“It don’ matter. The one thing I do know is that the laws that protect Demonic royalty protect them…us anywhere we go.”

“I always forget ye’re a prince.”

“By marriage on’y. I forget as well. Liam, ye’ll be a gentleman yet, but ye’ve had enough to drink. There’ll be champagne at the ball.”

“But ye said-”

“Ye didn’t think I’d come home an’ not go straight to the pubs after the party, did ye?”

“But how’ll we get back, what wi’ the curfew?”

“Ye’ll be wi’ a bunch o’ Senators, an’ ye’re a knight. They can’t stop ye. Not at any border. So long’s ye have your proof. Let me see that sword.”

“Why?”

“I want to see what they engraved for your name.”

“Liam’s me name. Ye know that. Can ye read Demonic?”

“’Twon’t be in Demonic. Mine’s not in Demonic. I got one years ago when I became a Senator. Not everyone did. As far as I know, ‘twas jus’ meself an’ Var Volkov. His is in Russian. Mine’s in English. We were the only two knighted then. I’ll be right back.” Jack walks down the hall and unlocks the door to his armory, returning quickly with his sword. “Read that,” he says handing it to Liam.

“John Shepherd, sixteen-hundred.” He pauses. “Your name’s John?”

“That’s what I would’ve been baptized. Nobody’s ever called me John, not even me uncle who raised me. ‘Tis always been jus’ Jack.”

“Mine says-”

“William Jackson Shepherd,” Jack reads over Liam’s shoulder. “I suppose now that ye know who your father is, Shepherd would be your surname. I’ll have to give ye me spare name badge when we get back to Crosspoint. If the name on your uniform don’ match the name on your sword they’ll think ye stole it. Not your unit. They know ye. I’m talkin’ ‘bout the bastards in town. They’ll find any excuse to arrest an honest soldier.”

“William Jackson Shepherd. William Shepherd. I like it. Makes me sound-”

“Like a gentleman,” says Lynn, walking into the room. “Hello, Liam.”

“Hello, ma’am.”

“Kerrigan told ye what to wear, didn’t she?”

“Aye. How could ye tell?”

“You’re wearing your father’s clothes, which match her gown. She hasn’t worn that gown since your father escorted her to the Senatorial Ball wearing what you’re wearing now. That, and you’ve never worn a cravat before, have you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“It’s a mess. Let me fix it for you. Jack has a sapphire tie pin that would suit you well. She told me what you were wearing, and I fetched it from upstairs.” Lynn fixes Liam’s cravat and pins it with Jack’s tie pin. “That looks better, but what shall we do with your hair.” She brushes his hair and pulls it back into a dignified queue, tying it with a dark blue ribbon. “There, now you’re a gentleman, Sir William.”

“Thankee, ma’am.”

“I must get myself dressed now. I have but little time.” She leaves without waiting for a cue from the men.

“I’ve always wanted to be a gentleman,” says Liam. “I thought I’d feel different, but under Sir William Shepherd, I’m still jus’ Liam.”

“Ye always will be, son. I’m still jus’ Jack.”

“Should I get used to callin’ ye da’ then?”

“If ye’d like. Liam, I didn’t get ye that knighthood. Ye earned it yourself.”

“Ye made me a captain the day we met.”

“I fixed a problem. The Thirteenth was short on officers, an’ there weren’t enough enlisted men capable o’ the job in the colonel’s opinion. A lot o’ career officers left as soon as they heard o’ the threats. They were proud fightin’ men, but they left in scores when they realized this war’s different. We’re outnumbered, outgunned, an’ startin’ on lower ground. We have no navy, an’ they’ll use theirs to blockade our entire coast. They’ll starve District Six doin’ so. Ye’ve been there. Ye know how it is. ‘Tisn’t impossible to win, but ‘twon’t be easy. ‘Tis the first real test for our government. We’ve the financial advantage as long as the Senate’ll have it. The Demons ain’t to fond o’ the Werewolves. They’ve been at war for the last hundred years or so.”

“Why haven’t the Demons allied with us?”

“They have no obligation. They signed a peace treaty nearly a year ago, around the same time we started hearin’ rumors we’d be attacked. Basically, ye’re a captain because I knew ye was captain material an’ they needed captains.”

“How can ye tell?”

“I was colonel o’ the Thirteenth Bridgeton, an’ I made me share o’ mistakes until I learned to spot the talent by rank. Ye’ll be a colonel one day, so pay attention.”

“I’ll never make colonel. I can’t even make major.”

“Ye will, one day. Everyone who stays in long enough eventually does. I can’t promise ‘twill be the Thirteenth, but ye’ll be a colonel one day.”

“If I don’t die?”

“Ye won’t.”

“How can ye tell?”

“Ye’re lucky. ‘Tis been nearly a year o’ combat, an’ ye’ve not even had a scratch. Ye’re lucky.”

“I don’ think so. I’m in a pub in Bridgeton, your District, I might add, an’ I’m mindin’ some bollocks calls me an amadán.. I punch the bastard’s teeth in in a fight, a fight he started, I might add, an’ the watchman, who owed me money from a bet on the horses, called for the police. They said I caused a riot. Threw me in jail for five years. Got another five for brawlin’ in jail. I’m not lucky. I met yourself about six months after I got out.”

“An’ ye were in jail durin’ the Revolution, weren’t ye?”

“In an’ out. Aye. I was never part of the army. I did what ye might call intelligence work. I drank a bit too much on the job, an’ I was always caught.”

“Perhaps we ought to give ye a District. I could use another hardchaw in the Senate. Not many Senators like Var an’ me. Real men wi’ money are hard to find.”

“What about Generals?”

“Senatorial Generalship is a political appointment. None o’ the Generals are rich enough to be Senators. Take Keegan Callahan as your example. He’s a wife an’ seven sons. Aye, all sons. Four o’ his sons are in the army, an’ he don’t believe in officer trainin’. He could’ve paid for them to go, but instead, he’d rather they learn the way he did. He makes five times what ye make, an’ he’s still considered poor. He’s a hard drinker an’ a gambler. Most o’ the generals are. I think Captain Fitzmaurice has more money to his name than General Callahan does. If not, he certainly will when he marries the Barrett girl.”

“He won’t marry her.”

“He will. Give him time.”

“How can ye tell?”

“He’s from Bridgeton. She’s pretty an’ rich, an’ she likes him. He’ll marry her. Now, see, Captain Fitzmaurice is someone who’d make a fine sergeant, captain, major, or colonel. I can’t picture him as a lieutenant. I know he was one, but I can’t see him content as one for long. He’s too ambitious, an’ he’s too smart. Now, ye’d make a terrible lieutenant as well. Ye’re too level-headed. Ye’re also too quiet, resourceful, practical, an’ experienced. Ye’re as worn-down as they come, an’ lieutenants, bein’ new officers, think they won’t lose men if on’y they’re careful, an’ they always lose men because they don’ know how to be careful or that they’ll lose men anyway. Ye’re too cynical for a private an’ too battle-weary for a corporal. Ye’d’ve made a good sergeant, but ye’re too used to your freedom livin’ on the streets. I’d’ve worried ‘bout the restrictions on enlisted men, even non-commissioned officers, drivin’ ye do somethin’ awful. Ye also couldn’t read or write when ye joined. Ye’d’ve needed that as a major, so ye’re a captain, simple as that.”

“I’m not a good captain, am I?”

“Ye’re fine. General Callahan says that Colonel Callahan says he has ye third in line to become a major.”

“After who?”

“O’Dell, who’s leavin’ in early December to go back to his wife an’ child, an’ Fitzmaurice, since ye’re equally qualified now, on’y he made captain a week ‘afore ye joined, so he’s got seniority.”

“Really?”

“I swear.”

“Jack,” calls Lynn, “It’s time to leave.”

“I’ll see ye at the party, son. We’re at the same table.”

When Kerrigan and Liam arrive at the party, most of the guests are already there. Jack and Liam arrived just before them. Liam has never seen the Senate House and stares in amazement at the elaborate carvings on the walls, the finery that everyone is wearing. The servants are wearing nicer clothing than he is stunned by the amount of jewels that they are wearing. Kerrigan explains that the servants and slaves do not actually own the fine clothing or jewels that they are wearing. They may only wear them to such events because they belong to their masters. They work for individual Senators doing various jobs. The Senators bring their most beautiful servants and slaves, not always the most practical for staffing a ball. Some Senators do not bring servants at all, and others bring several. Liam has never even seen a Fallen Angel before, since they are few in number and highly prized as servants. They are a status symbol in Vampiric, Demonic, and Werewolvish society alike, prized as domestic servants for their beauty and rarity. Almost no Vampires own slaves, and very few even have servants. Those who do mostly have other Vampires working for them. No Fallen Angels are field hands or manual laborers. In the Demon Lands, they often work in the sex trade as well as being domestic servants. Kerrigan graciously greets various Senators and introduces them to Liam.

Kerrigan and Jack share their table with Senators Tiernan McRae of District Six, Thomas Gallagher of District One, and Patrick O’Riordan of District Nine. District Nine borders Districts Twenty and Thirteen and sits in the heart of the war zone. District One is coal and iron country along the Witch and Banshee borders. District Six has a mountainous interior and a large flood plain. Its coastline has many natural harbors, and it relies heavily on fishing, whaling, and shipping for its economy. The people of their Districts are often related to those in Jack’s and Kerrigan’s Districts, Thirteen and Twenty, respectively, and they share economic and social similarities. Senators McRae, Gallagher, and O’Riordan all have family in Bridgeton and were raised there. They all made their fortunes in the Revolution, though none of them served in it. Senator McRae smuggled people and information across district borders and up rivers, relocating people from Bridgeton to the other Districts, including Senators Gallagher and O’Riordan. Senator Gallagher made and sold gunpowder and ammunition to the rebel army until he was forced to flee, after which, he set up an extensive network to transport his wares and hide his involvement. Senator O’Riordan was a war profiteer like Senators McRae and Gallagher, Jack, and Emmett Barrett. Senator O’Riordan’s specialty was smuggling and selling rationed and forbidden goods across national borders. Liam has labored in all of these Senators’ Districts and thinks highly of the men responsible for keeping jobs there.

The meal is served by the Fallen Angel servants, and Fallen Angels are beautiful, whether they are men or women. One of the women catches Liam’s eye. She is long-legged and rail thin with full lips, blue eyes, and long, blonde hair. Jack warns Liam that she is the mistress of one of the Senators, and the particular Senator is extremely protective of his personal harem. Liam, who never ate well unless he was living with a master’s family, is unfamiliar with every dish served. The meal is over a dozen courses, and, like Jack, who once came from similar circumstances, Liam has trouble pacing himself. Most of the courses are served with wine, but Liam does not dislike wine in the way that Jack does. There are many foods that he has never seen before. There are raw oysters from District Six; mushroom soup made with truffles harvested in districts Seventeen, Twenty-Three, and Twelve; salmon caught in the rivers of District Two; pheasant hunted in District Twenty-One; venison from District Fifteen; bear hunted in District Eighteen; wolves hunted in District Twenty-Five; cakes and breads baked from grain grown in Districts Nine and Sixteen; beef raised in District Five, lamb raised in District Thirteen; roasted pig from District One; coq au vin from District Twenty-Four; duck from District Eight; strawberries, raspberries, currants, and blueberries from Districts Three and Ten; peaches, pears, and plums from District Fourteen; hot cider made from apples grown in District Twenty-Two; vegetables grown in Districts Seven and Nineteen; creams, cheeses, and maple candies from District Eleven; honey from District Four; and cranberries and fine liquors from District Twenty. Every District is represented in the feast, and no imported ingredients were used to make it. It is an exposition of the bounty of the nation’s harvests and its wealth. There are no teas, chocolates, or coffees because the climate of the Vampire District does not support their growth. Such things must be imported from the Demon Lands, as must many strong spices, and it would neither be proper nor patriotic to serve such things at a formal state dinner.

After dinner, the music continues. Very few Senators dance, so the music is purely atmospheric. Kerrigan leads Liam among the various circles. The Senators are very eager to meet Liam, much to his surprise. Kerrigan explains to him that there are only three royal knights in attendance, himself, Var, and Jack, and that only ten Vampiric citizens hold such a title. Although she gave out three knighthoods in the past year, to Doctor Sparrow, Captain Fitzmaurice, and Liam, none have been given since the founding of the Senate when Jack and Var received theirs. Being the newest royal knight makes Liam an honored guest, even among such distinguished company. Near the middle of the evening, the Devil arrives unannounced and gives Liam a medal for his services in saving Kerrigan, assuring him that he has been granted a pardon and will not be arrested for having harmed Morietur in the process. Kerrigan is the Devil’s favorite daughter, and even Morietur, his heir, cannot convince him that intentionally injuring a member of the royal family, even to save another, even to save her, is still a violent assault and that it ought to be punished equally to other assaults on the royal family.

Jack beckons Liam to follow he and Lynn while Kerrigan is talking about politics with some of the other Senators and says, “Var, this is me wife Lynn, an’ ye know Liam. Lynn, this is Senatorial General Sir Varnava Volkov.”

“Call me Var. Everybody does.”

“Lynn, Liam, this is his lovely wife Katya.”

Katya smiles and curtsies. Only two women in the room are more beautiful than the Fallen Angels staffing the event, and they are Lynn, the demon of Lust, and Katya the daughter of a Polish-Russian Lord and the Fallen Angel who was formerly the Angel of Love. Katya’s father was a Lord in the King’s High Court long before she was born. He was one of many Lords to betray the King and support the Revolution. Several of his comrades were executed for pardoning revolutionaries, giving them money, hiding them from the authorities, passing them government secrets, or aiding them with goods or transportation otherwise forbidden to them. The few Lords who believed firmly in monarchial power, rather than the idea that the King had become too powerful and irresponsible, died in a massacre at a ball very similar to the Senatorial Ball. The supporters of the Revolution and their wives wore red or black to a masquerade in defiance of the King’s tradition of eschewing such colors at cheerful events, and, when the assassins came, they were spared. Katya’s father was never discovered to be a traitor to the King. He was never imprisoned or tried. He was never even suspected. He delivered information through his servants, set traps around his home at night in order to protect himself and his family, falsified documents about who people really were and where money was moving, and hid his contributions in ingenious contraptions made from various objects he found in his house, scattering said contraptions around the general areas around his estates. Being less bold than some of his comrades, he survived the Revolution, but, despite his noble blood, his family, like the Barretts, did not have quite enough money to earn them a Senate seat. Katya met Var through her father’s Revolutionary contacts. He fell in love with her beauty immediately, but she did not return his affections for several months, having an eligible suitor with a title. When her suitor died, Var was there to comfort her, and their friendship grew into a romance. Within a year, he asked her father for her hand in marriage. By this point, he was already a Senator. Her father, being of a shrewd political mind, agreed immediately. Katya inherited her quick wit, pragmatism, ingenuity, and temper from her father and her charm, beauty, and graciousness from her mother.

Katya has long, straight, ash blonde hair and dark sapphire blue eyes. She is as tall as Lynn, but, despite the fact that Katya has children and Lynn does not, Katya has a slender, somewhat rectangular figure without defined hips or a particularly large chest. Katya is about two months pregnant, but she is not yet showing any obvious signs of her condition. Var and Katya already have five children, but Katya will never have an abortion. Var is wealthy enough to have a Senate seat, and her family has its own considerable fortune, so they are certainly wealthy enough to raise many children. Katya, who is a housewife, refuses to hire a nanny or nursemaid and has a heart big enough to love and care for all of her children regardless of how boisterous they are.

Var and several other Senators accompany Jack to The Crane and Sparrow after the ball. This after party happens every year, and, since the bar is, for one night, open only to Jack’s personal friends and the gentry, Michael Crane allows his sons to stay awake much later than usual, though there are often no other children present. It is seen as a mark of true virility to attend Jack’s after party and to remember it the next morning. Most Senators go back to Highton after the ball. A select few elect to accept the challenge to mingle with the lower classes and engage in a ritual attempt to out-drink Jack, which nobody ever does. The Senators are safe here because nobody in District Thirteen Bridgeton would dare to disrespect Jack, and he is amongst their number. For some of them, this is a return to the place where they were born and raised, and for others it is a chance to see those who gave them their power and to remember that that is who they have a duty to serve and protect. For a few hours, rich and poor alike are free to mingle in the slums, and the long-dead streets of Bridgeton come alive with wealth and splendor and be as they were once before in a long-forgotten time.