Medusa groaned loudly, beginning to pace back and forth. "NO! No! No! How could this happen again? How can people not complete such a simple task, one that is far from being hard?" She yelled out in anger, moving her hand across the table making everything on the table go on to the floor.
She could not believe that it had happened again. Was it that hard to follow such simple instructions? Could no one do such a simple task? Was murder too much to ask? "I am beginning to think I am the only one capable of finishing off the task! Trusting others with such a simple job is ridiculous that they can't follow through."
Hans frowned, flapping his wings and rising off his perch as it had been taken out and now was on the ground. "You have some serious anger issues Medusa. This is why I keep telling you: you need to handle it yourself to keep this from happening." He said, flying over to the chair and perching on that. "Or perhaps not do it."
He knew that she would be the only one to succeed, not that he agreed with what she was doing. "All this stress could be avoidable. If you could just let this revenge go. I would hate to see anything bad happen to you Mistress. So, please, think about finishing this by yourself." He spoke gently, trying to be very careful with his words.
Medusa rolled her eyes at Hans' words. Was he doing all he could to keep on reminding her that? All he had been trying to do is talk her out of it. He should know by now there was no talking her out of it. "I know Hans, I know. I will take matters into my own hands, but not yet, do you know why?" She asked leaning against the window.
Hans looked up at his mistress and shook his head, before going back and picking all that was knocked off the table. She needed to control herself, but that seemed impossible for her to do. "No mistress, I do not know why you haven't taken matters into your own hands." He said struggling to get his perch back on the table.
Medusa walked over and grabbed the perch, setting it on the table. "I am waiting for the perfect moment to leave this clock tower and take matters into my own hands. I do not want to waste my time on someone who isn't the duchess." She commented, picking up a few books and setting them back on the table.
Hans smiled perching himself back on his little perch. "Thank you, mistress. Perhaps I am right, it is a sign that she isn't the duchess. If she was, you would have already gotten her by now. Since you haven't, it means you got the wrong person. So you should let it go once and for all!" He suggested with a smile.
Medusa glared at Hans, was he suggesting she was wasting her time on this girl? How could he not see what she saw? The girl was Clarissa, she just didn't know it yet. "Tsk, tsk Hans. She is the duchess, I can feel it. She may not think she is or have a clue about her past, but I think I may have an idea to help her." She smirked, giving Hans a gentle pat on the head.
Hans tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean mistress? How will you help her find out who she is?" He did not like what she was planning, if it meant lying he would have no part in it. He was a very honest bird which is why she is always upset with him.
Medusa grinned evilly and picked up a newspaper that had Vincent's face on it when he was younger and tried to rob an elderly lady. "By influencing that Vincent boy to say she is the duchess. He will get the money and she will be with her family, then once she leads us to them I can take them all out." He cackled evilly.
Hans had to admit, that was a really smart idea. Although it was morally wrong, it was smart. "That is a pretty brilliant Mistress, although there is a slight problem. What if she doesn't agree to go along with the plan? She has to know he just wants the money and why would out of everyone, she be the duchess?" That was a plausible reason why it was a bad idea.
Medusa knew he had a point. She seemed like the honest type. "You have a point. I doubt she would go along with the plan. We just need to let fate take its course for now and hope that someone will help her remember who she is or better yet, help her think she knows who she is." She wasn't completely out of hope, now was she?
Hans blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what she was even meaning. Did she already have a plan set in motion? Did she know something he didn't? "I am going, to be honest, that makes no sense whatsoever." He bluntly said. It was unlike Medusa to let fate take its course.
Draco sighed listening to Hans, he still didn't like the input that little bird gave his mistress. He just didn't understand what being evil entailed. "Mistress, forgive me for speaking, perhaps you should give it one last time? Send your Dragon Minions to try and finish the job?" He offered that as a suggestion, hoping to make her handling things a last resort.
Hans flew over to Draco and perched himself on the back of the tree. "Oh get a grip you big, green, scaly, cold-blooded, over-sized, fire-breathing lizard. Those little dragons couldn't handle such a job as Medusa wants. You saw how they failed with the lucid dream. As if she could ever fall for that.." He said crossing his wings over his chest.
He flew over to Medusa to show Draco how much he loved her because he did love her, not that he would tell her. "Forget about what he said. Handling matters by yourself, with our help, is what must be done." He smiled and flapped his wings to fan her.
Medusa sighed running a hand through her hair. "I thought paying someone to pretend to the conductor would have done his job right? Sadly no, he got outwitted by an orphaned young girl. She is stronger than she looks and it could be because she is an orphan. Is it that hard to follow the simple instructions, though?" That was a rhetorical question she kept asking herself.
She sighed sitting down in a chair. "All I did was pay the man to pretend to be the conductor so he could sabotage the engine and jump off. As for detaching the cars, I paid Vincent's old friends to talk about getting them kicked off and then detaching the other cars from the storage car. Then they would all perish falling into the gorge in a fiery death."
Hans had to do a few double takes to make sure he had heard this right. "You did that? So it wasn't just a coincidence? You planned it and paid for it to happen?" Now she was scaring him about how evil this woman was. Rolando, Vincent, and Loyal had nothing to do with her being the duchess. Even if she was, which they truthfully had no proof she was. She could have murdered innocent people over a decade-long grudge?
Medusa shrugged, grabbing a bottle off the shelf not too far from the table. "Yes, I did. It was a flawless plan though sadly they figured out a way to bail. Soon they will all be dead, I will live my life to the fullest, by my hands only." She grinned and laughed grabbing a glass that had been turned upside down on a small cabinet.
Hans frowned as he watched her pour a bottle of sparkling cider. "This is a never-ending cycle, is it? 'When will this end?' I ask myself when Rosenberg is all dead and Mistress' plans are fulfilled." He mumbled to himself after having flown over to the window.
He continued to talk to himself because he was the only "good" one in this room. "I would never hurt a soul. It is not in my nature to hurt and I am trying to be supportive of my Mistress, but she is doing the wrong things. Not to mention I'm way more beautiful than that leathery dragon. I am a sleek blackbird, when the sun hits me just right, I look at the colors on a peacock's tail feathers." He smiled ruffling his feathers.
Medusa looked over at the bird, not understanding a word he was saying. She didn't care since he had changed so much since she last saw him. "Hans?" She asked, hoping that he was okay and wasn't plotting against her. Draco has warned he might do such a thing since he was now a good bird and not a little evil chick like he used to be.
Hans turned around and flew over to the table, perching himself back on his perch. He ruffled his feathers after getting a chilly breeze from the outside. "Yes, Mistress?" He asked, wondering why she was calling his name. Had he done something wrong? He sure hoped that he hadn't done anything wrong.
Medusa sipped on the drink in her hand in the spiral-shaped glass. "Were you talking to yourself?" She had heard he did that ever since he had left her. She occasionally did talk to herself, but that was only when Draco was asleep. She knew he was, she just wanted to hear it from him.
Hans gave a sheepish look. "Yes, I was talking to myself. You know the saying: old habits die hard. I'm sorry to have bothered you with my talking to myself. I will try and be quieter next time." He crossed his wing over his chest making a promise with a smile on his lips. He would be keeping things in his head from now on.
Medusa walked over to the mirror, looking at the trio walking through the deep snow along a path traveled by trains. "Look at them walking to Poland, it'll take days to get there by foot. They never do give up do they?" She sneered finding how persistent they were funny. Yes, she was also being persistent but hers and theirs were completely different.
Hans smiled looking at what she was saying. He was glad to know they were persevering through what had just happened. "Maybe they'll have help from people along the way. Who wouldn't help them, especially a person with a very cute dog." He cooed, getting all lovey-dovey over the dog. He had always admired dogs from afar since he was a bit nervous about being eaten by them.
Medusa cringed at how Hans was acting, it made her sick. Could he be any softer? She did wonder what changed him but she did not dare to ask. "Hans, stop all love for this dog. It's just a dog. There are many more like him around. All this cute stuff is making me sick and you do not want me sick." She commented, rolling her eyes.
Hans gave her a cute little pout, he hung his head down a bit disappointed. "She's so tiny and cute. I mean look at that little tiny wet nose! I bet you she has a cute puppy breath and a very soft tongue." He cooed then saw Medusa's look on her face so he stopped right there in his tracks he said no more.
Then a poor, small black bat flew into the tower he landed on the table. The wind had caught him and blew him in, sending him tumbling onto the table. "Man! I can't wait for spring. That cold wind gives me the chills. I hate the winter wind. Winter is so inconvenient." He used his wings and scratched his head before shaking off the snow that was on his body.
Hans realized who it was, it was such a coincidence to see his long-time friend right here before him. "Iggy!" He exclaimed, flying over to the small fruit bat. He hugged him suddenly, before letting him go and walking back a bit.
The bat, Iggy, had wide eyes as he had been hugged by his friend. He had been taken by surprise at the sudden voice of his friend. "Hans, how have you been? Man oh man, it's been weeks since we've seen each other." He spoke happily, so happy to see his friend again, he wondered what happened to his buddy.
Hans waved his wing to dismiss how long he had said. "It hasn't been that long, well, maybe it has. A few weeks I think? A handful of weeks? I have lost track of time. I have been pretty good, occasionally stressed or confused and thinking a lot." He replied then asked. "So how's life for you?" He was so happy to have a friend to talk to.
Iggy shrugged his shoulders. "Good for me so far. Though for my cousin, Humphrey just kind of has been having a troubled time, under a heap of stress. Mind you he is a vampire bat, not a fruit bat like myself. You know, the blood-sucking ones? My aunt thinks it is because he is too fat. I say he is stressed. But she always wins in the end." He explained making various hand movements.
Hans could not believe what he had just heard. His cousin was under stress and in turn, it made him gain weight. Stress did do things to the body. "Mistress is under a heap of stress as well, so I am sure she can understand how that feels. Poor guy, he was a nice guy and I doubt being chunky would do that to a bat like him. Though he should lay off in the blood for a while." He suggested.
Iggy scratched his head as he listened to what he said. "Stress does so many bad things to you. First: it ages you and makes you get breakouts on your face. You can gain weight and lose weight too. You can get sick from stress. It takes a complete grasp on your health and takes your health in a deadlock won't let it go." He said mimicking a headlock with his wings.
Hans smiled turning to his Mistress, placing his wings on his sides. "That's why I'm telling you to take it easy and handle things for yourself because letting others is just stressing you out. I care too much about it." He explained, emphasizing how much he cared about her and how much she needed to take things into her own hands.
Medusa rolled her eyes at what Hans had said to her. Why did he care so much for her? It was annoying. "I appreciate you looking out for me. I will from now on handle things myself and no longer let someone do it for me." She was in no mood to deal with the incompetence of people handling simple tasks she gives.
Iggy blinked a few times looking between the two. "I have no idea what I just walked into." He couldn't help but wonder why Hans was with this woman. She seemed off in the head and what did she mean by taking matters into her own hands?
Hans wrapped his wing around the black bat, patting his shoulder. "I'll catch you up. Now, let's start at the beginning." He explained everything to Iggy. How Medusa wanted to murder the Rosenberg family and how she's trying to since there is one survivor that Medusa knows of. So far everything that had been planned out went sour.
Iggy couldn't help but have a massive brain freeze about all he had been told. He was having trouble processing all that he had been told. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of it all. "I'll give it to her for being persistent. I have never seen someone this dedicated to murdering someone, that is wrong. No one should be dying by anyone's hands."
Hans couldn't help but agree. "Mistress is so frustrated with Duchess Clarissa. Truth be told we don't even know if the girl is Duchess Clarissa. She's stuck on doing away with all the Rosenberg Family and taking revenge on what they had done to her. It's all so mind-boggling." He pointed out.
Iggy tilted his head, so she was the reason they were dead? "I heard many other people claim to have murdered them but it could never be proved. Are they lying? So she is really behind it and do you know for sure they are dead?" He asked curiously.
Hans sighed hoping to answer every question. "Yes, they are lying, since Medusa was the one to hire people to make sure to do away with them, which is what they said they had done. We are not sure at all if they are dead, bodies were never found so they could all be possibly alive, don't tell Mistress that." He whispered the last part
Iggy felt bad for the Rosenberg family, it was just awful. "Oh, how sad is that. Just think the kids would never get married and have kids. The queen and king never got to have grandchildren or see their children grow up! I just want to cry!" He said, tearing up, wiping away the tears with his wings.
Hans nodded, finally someone agreed with him. "Yes it is quite sad she has this much hate for people. That boy Vincent is a little criminal, you can tell this reward for the duchess is always begging him to give in and offer Risa as her. Now Rolando wants to help find her family, and will use his power to find them."
Iggy gave Hans a funny look. "Criminal huh? If I was an orphan I would want to find out where I came from. If that Vincent boy tried to pass me off as someone just to get money and hurt the family and me, ooh, I would be furious." He pointed out. He would also feel betrayed but it didn't come to him until after he had spoken. "Oh and betrayed too. I would feel like I couldn't trust anyone and would be second-guessing every choice I made."
Hans nodded listening to all that Iggy had said. "I do hope that the Rosenberg royals are still alive, though it may not be likely. You have to admit, Risa has certain characteristics of Clarissa, just matured and looks like a young Persia. That is what Medusa is going by, setting her heart out for this poor girl." He glanced over at Medusa who seemed to be ignoring them.
Iggy perked up. Did he just say he hoped all the Rosenbergs were alive? Oh, he sure hoped so. With what Hans had explained so far, then that would mean she had no blood on her hands and the only crime she committed was attempted murder, well, along with paying off people and so forth. "Wouldn't it be great if they all didn't die? Though Medusa, as you said, would just finish them off sooner or later. How sad she can't just forgive them and move on with her life, accept what happened and try to heal." He mused.
Medusa turned around and looked at the two whispering animals. "Hans! What are you talking about? Can't you see I am constraining my plotting?" She exclaimed in a very angry tone with narrow eyes at the pair. Why couldn't he take it out of the room or talk in a hushed tone? All the noise was giving her a headache and she already was in a foul mood.
Hans felt guilty because he was secretly hoping they were and didn't want her to hear that. "Oh, just telling Iggy about your plans and how so far relying on others has been a big setback. Now you are planning to take matters into your own hands along with catching up on past times." He explained happily.
Hans then turned to Iggy once again hoping to do some more catching up. "So what else has happened while I have been away?" He asked in a hushed voice, curiously he hoped something interesting happening to take his mind off all this depressing stuff. He was so focused on trying to talk her out of it that he wasn't thinking about anything else.
Iggy rubbed his head before thinking a little bit. What had happened? He couldn't recall anything good happening nor anything bad. As far as he could recall it everything was going normally. "Well, there's nothing been going on out of the ordinary just the usual. I wish something interesting would happen, it has been very boring without you around." He was being honest, it was awful.
Hans tilted his head to the side and tapped the tip of his wing under his beak. That wasn't what he was wanting to hear. He hoped there could have been something interesting that had happened. "I see. How are Mrs. and Mr. Rattus doing? Have they tried to reconcile at all? I know they had a massive fight and Mrs. Rattus left with the fifteen kids." He asked curiously.
Iggy perked up when he had asked that. He tried to recall that and a few memories had been brought up. "Oh yes, a few days ago they made up and everyone was so happy. Mr. Rattus apologized for everything and is doing everything he can to make it up. I don't know who he had spoken to or what happened during that time but it's like he is a new rat. He did a complete turnaround in personality." He smiled happily.
Hans nodded. If he ever found the one he would want to always apologize no matter what happens, even if it wasn't his fault, and do everything he could to make up for it. "That is the type of husband I want to be - in speaking, how is the beautiful Miss Maybelle doing? The last time I talked with her we were cozying up by the fire in the palace." He had a crush on that female crow.
Iggy frowned, he didn't want to break him the bad news and hoped he wouldn't have asked. He knew he had a crush on her and yeah she may have known too. He wasn't the best at being subtle. "She is going to get married to Mr. Crowington. He may be a little older than her, but she is madly in love with him and he is rich. It had happened about two weeks ago. She seems happy." He knew that would break his friend's heart.
Hana felt like a piece of him broke into a million pieces and all went down the drain. His heart broke knowing that she was marrying someone else. He hadn't gotten a chance to confess and now it was too late. "She - she is going to - I am okay, she deserves to be happy and I possibly could never provide what she needs." You could tell hearing this hurt him. But he was trying to be supportive and happy for her since it may have been what was best for her.
Iggy hugged his best friend. Hans was a great bird and had matured since the last time he saw him. He must be on his best behavior to be a good example for Medusa. "There, there Hans. I know it hurts, but on the bright side you have things to focus on with Medusa, and if she plans on handling things herself, a road trip to Paris!" He tried to make his friend feel a little better.
Hans pulled away, Paris was the city of love after all. "You have a point. Who knows, I may meet a beautiful French crow who I wouldn't mind settling down in such a beautiful place. We could even make the Eiffel tower our home if I find a girl." He was trying to be a good friend and remain optimistic about the future and the many opportunities Paris had to offer.
Iggy nudged his shoulder, giving him a wide smile. "That is how it is Hans, I have heard that you will have many to choose from. These French crows are a sucker for foreigners." He said in a sing-song voice, happy to hook up Hans. Seeing his seeing friend happy was the only thing he wanted.
Hans was glad to have such a friend with him once again. Perhaps this whole thing may end up being worth it and everything was happening for a reason. He may have had no idea why Medusa was failing so much, all he knew was that whatever reason it would be sending them to Paris. He hoped whatever the reason this was all happening was for a good reason. He trusted that all things would work out for the best.
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A/N:
Whoop I am really on a roll right now with getting these chapters wrote up and published since I am majorly behind on updating and I am trying to make up for that. Yes this book is my sole focus right now, alas I will get to my other books here soon, I promise. I am aware this chapter is a little shorter but don't worry, I will be editing this more in due time.
Chapter talk:
I can't help but feel a little bad that all the people Medusa has relied on has never worked out. I mean her plans are not that hard to follow, but it seems they are outwitted. Sometimes you do need to take matters into your own hands and do it yourself to make sure it gets done.
Iggy is that best friend we all either have or wish we have. So supportive and a joy to be around. I am glad Hans has a good friend with him for the rest of his journey. He is really going to need someone to back him up on certain things, since it is obvious Draco isn't gonna do that.
And lastly, anything else I forgot to ask away my pals. I am happy to answer anything!
In closing, all rude, impolite and mean comments will be replied to in a diplomatic way, reported or deleted if I feel like it is attacking me personally.
Thanks for reading!