CHAPTER 5
The late morning sun streamed through our bedroom window, forcing me to awaken. The blue sky and the ordered movement of people going about their day, outside my window, belied the chaos that had befallen Paradise the day before. Pushing off the dark green coverlet, I glanced over at Kenny's still sleeping form. His face had regained some of its color, but had not lost the telltale signs of stress from the day before. Moving quietly, to allow him to continue sleeping, I made my way across the polished floorboards and went into the kitchen.
Lighting the wood-fired cooker, I put the old, black kettle on to boil. Leaning against the countertop bench, barefoot, cloaked in one of Kenny's old shirts, I glanced around at our pine wooded kitchen; the pots, gleaming on their hooks, dishes neatly stacked on the buffet shelves, the small dining table ready for its occupants. The clean, ordered warmth, reinforcing the feeling of normality, of yesterday's events, being nothing but an aberration, or a bad dream.
Grabbing the tin that held the tea, and two white cups, I prepared breakfast. Taking the tray into our room and laying it on the bedside table, I climbed back onto the bed and gently kissed Kenny into wakefulness. Sleepily, he reached for me and pulling me close, responded; his kisses infinite and warm, his beard gently caressing my cheeks. Running my fingers through his soft, dark hair; I held him close.
"Morning, sleepy-head", I whispered.
"Mornin' Owl", he smiled as he let me go and sat himself up in bed, using the pillows as support.
Sitting on the covers, beside him, I handed him his tea.
He took a sip, and grimacing slightly said, " Never really got a taste for this stuff, but this mornin' ya gotta get me some whiskey, Owl. I can't drink this dish-water, not unless ya make it Irish!".
Returning with a fresh bottle of whiskey, I opened it and topped up his tea.
"Glad ta see that ya left me some, after all!" he quipped, smiling sarcastically at me and taking a gulp of his 'improved' beverage. "Aahh, now THAT'S much betta! Makes a man feel like gettin' up in the mornin'....well except for ya perdy self! Ya can get a man ta stand ta attention, afore he's even opened his eyes!" he winked, running his free hand along my bare thigh, leisurely creeping it under my shirt.
I felt the familiar flush of warmth as his hand curved its way to my breasts, and back down to my panties, my breath quickening. He placed his tea on his bedside table, and pulling back the covers, reached for me; pulling me on top of him, removing my clothes, kissing my lips, my neck, his mouth moving slowly over every part of me. Moans of pleasure escaped my lips as he loved me. I could feel his strength, his love, pouring into me, as my mouth sought his, drinking him in, drowning in the pleasure of him.
Lying in his arms, it was he who spoke first, "Ya make it all betta, Jas. No matter what. Comin' back home ta ya keeps me this side o' sane".
"Are you talking about what happened yesterday?" I asked him, stroking the tufts of black hair on his chest.
"Yeah, does kinda spring ta mind!" he answered, with an ironic chuckle. " Shit, Jas, I thought I'd seen an' done it all. I thought there were nothin' left in this world that could surprise or scare me. But yesterday! Shit! They're all dead. Jus' like that", he snapped his fingers. " An' there weren't a damn thing I could do 'bout it".
"You said that it wasn't the Queen's Titan that attacked Wall Maria. How do you know? And if it wasn't her Titan, then what titan was it? Was it just one of the many that roam outside the Walls? Why? How?" I questioned him.
" That, I don' rightly know. All I do know is that word came through to the Queen and the Council, from the Garrison, 'bout a titan, bigger than any ever seen afore. An' it were sorta weird lookin' with a superhuman kinda strength. An' that it were breakin' down the gate that led ta the outside, in Wall Maria. Even afore everyone else in Mitras knew 'bout the attack, Rod ordered me ta get 'em all ta Reiss Chapel on his estate", he began.
"Reiss Chapel? Isn't that where they had the ceremony where Frieda became Queen? Why did he get you to take everyone to a church? Was he going to give Dirk or one of his other kids, Frieda's Titan? Or is it just that every body would be safer out of the Capital. But a church? That's not fortified with defences. It's just another building", I quizzed him.
" Nope. Not this one. Underneath the floor boards is a secret entrance to a cavern built inta the earth. It glistens like crystal and is smooth as ice ta the touch. Only it's not cold. Still, it looks like an ice palace down there. An' 'pparently, whatever it's made o' is the strongest material on earth. Nothin', not guns, knives or even titans can get through it. It's only weakness is the wooden trapdoor in the floor o' the chapel, that is its entrance. An' that's where the danger came from", he paused and I waited for him to continue.
"The whole Royal family were down there in that cavern. I stayed 'til it were late. It were quiet. An' it were safe. Then outta nowhere this guy comes through the trapdoor, his eyes wild, glasses askew, his brown coat billowin' behind him, desperation on his face.
At first I thought he were a messenger from the Palace, 'cause only them that knows the secret o' the monarchy, knows 'bout this place, so's I hold my pistol cocked in one hand an' Silver Lady in the other when I hear him come in, but I don' attack. I jus' wait for what he has ta say. An' my orders.
An' he starts beggin' the Queen ta save Paradise. Ta jus' turn inta her Titan form an' fight this creature that's broken through Wall Maria. That his family lives there; his wife an' his son. That it's her duty as their Queen ta protect 'em. An' he gets down on his knees, beggin' her ta save 'em.
An' she, Frieda, she jus' gives this sad smile an' says she can't. That's not how it works. An' he jus' loses his shit, an' starts screamin' how corrupt an' useless the Royal family is. An' how if she won't do it, he will.
So's I fire. Straight at him. Aimin' ta kill. Aimin' ta protect the Queen.
An' it happens again. Jus' like Uri. The blindin' flash o' light. An' this guy turns inta a titan!
Another flash of blindin' light an' Frieda turns inta her Titan. An' they fight each other. It's like wolves fightin' over food or territory. It were fierce. An' it were bloody. They was rippin' inta each other, drawin' blood. Fightin' ta the death. My bullets an' my blade did nothin'. So's like the rest o' the Royal family, I jus' got outta the way, an' waited for Frieda to be victorious.
But maybe it were 'cause she were young. Or maybe it were because she'd only had her Titan power a couple o' years. What ever it were, he got control. An' he ate her the same way she'd eaten her uncle three years ago. I dunno what that means. Do it mean that there ain't no Royal Titan no more? 'Cause this guy, unless he's some long lost cousin or something, don't seem like he were Royal ta me. An' they sure as Hell didn' seem ta know him. Or is like with Uri, where once a titan eats ya, even if'n ya ain't human, then that person has ya titan, like Frieda had Uri? Does that mean that Frieda an' Uri are existin' in this guy, somewhere? Or are they gone forever?
An' WHY couldn' she fight ta protect us? WHY? What use is this power if it can't stop an attack like this?"
Dumbfounded, I lay silent. This time, my stomach didn't turn at his description of the titans. Instead a feeling of dread crawled its way up my spine as he answered my unasked question.
"An' after he defeated Frieda, he went after 'em one by one. The children, Frieda's brothers an' sisters; he squeezed ta death in his bare hands, or stepped on, deliberately crushin' them beneath his weight. He sought 'em out. One by one. 'Til all four o' her siblin's lay crushed an' bloodied by his malice. 'Cause it were deliberate. This thing wanted all o' 'em dead. Rod too, I guess. I didn' see his body, but there were no escapin' this thing. Rod's bones jus' blended in with those o' his kids. An' then it jus' destroyed the Chapel an' vanished.
It let me alone. Guess, like the Royal Titan, it had intelligence, in that it knew I weren't Royal.
An' I did nothin'. I let it happen", he finished, lighting a cigarette and breathing deeply.
"You couldn't have done any more, Kenny. You know that, don't you?" I raised my face to look at him.
"Not really the point, is it Owl? Either way, Paradise is fucked. No Royal family. Attacked from the outside, attacked from within. Whatever we had, it's gone now. Nothin' will be the same from here on in. An' I'm sorry, my precious Owl, 'cause the time's come, much sooner than I thought it would; but it's every man for himself, now. I dunno what happens ta Paradise, but I do know that it's time for me ta find the serum. Ta fulfil MY dream. I ain't got no one left ta serve. It's time ta do whatever I have ta do, an' look out for number one", he declared.
"But what about me? What about us? Our life together?" I whispered, almost hoping he wouldn't hear me, so I wouldn't have to hear him, answer.
" I love you, Owl. Always have. Always will. But I NEED this. You know me. You know I do. I will always come home to you. But I gotta do this. Things are changin' an' now's the time, baby", he breathed, holding me tight, as silent tears streamed down my cheeks.
He was right. Paradise was over.