bastard by law AND by trade

The girl looked up as she approached, fear instantly burning in her eyes. She reached up, trying her best to scrub away the tears and she flinched as Cheshire plopped herself down beside her, stretching out her legs into the road.

Cheshire also didn’t talk. Not to anyone but her fellow horsemen… but she didn’t have the mask on right now so, in her own eyes, she wasn’t Cheshire at the moment. So a little chatter wouldn’t hurt.

“I like your backpack,” was what she opened with. The girl couldn’t have been any further than second or third grade, whatever age that was. Cheshire had never been good about that sort of thing. But she knew that kids were more accepting if you started by being nice.

“Th-thank you,” she muttered, sniffling and wiping her dripping nose on her sleeve.

“My name is Cheshire.”

“Um… I’m Maggie.”

“What are you doing here all by yourself?” Cheshire asked, glancing out across the street. She was pretty surprised that there were no teachers or anything waiting with her. It was clear whoever her guardian was was either late… or-

“I… I think my m-mom forgot about me… a-again…” Maggie sniffed and rubbed at her nose again. “She, um… she always goes to get my older brother first and… a-and she… forgets sometimes… that she’s supposed to- to come b-back for m-me…” The tears had dried slightly at the confusion of Cheshire’s appearance, but they came back with a vengeance as she explained the situation.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cheshire said softly. She leaned in, pressing her arm against Maggie’s and Maggie quickly did the same. Desperate for any comfort, since she clearly got none from her fucking mother.

A feeling Cheshire understood more than anyone.

“Do you not have a dad?”

Maggie shook her head. “N-no. He… h-he, uh, left. A few years ago.”

That was all Cheshire needed to know about that. Deadbeat mother fucker. “How old is your brother?”

“He’s th-thirteen.”

Old enough to remember his little sister. Old enough to remind his mother to go back for her. Old enough not to care.

“Do you know your address? Or where you live?” Cheshire wasn’t one for hero work, but she was mask off right now. It would be easy as hell to just call up a hero or even the cops and have them take her home… but she also fucking hated the heroes – and she knew how the system worked. Maggie’s mom would spin some sob story about being an over-worked single mom, how she hasn’t been the same since their father left, how her son is a teenager and such a handful, and whatever the fuck else she had to to get out of any consequences. And this would keep happening to this poor little girl until she got old enough to handle it alone or until someone far worse than Cheshire rocked up and she was never seen again.

Very quickly, Cheshire made up her mind.

Maggie shook her head. “N-no. I’ve t-tried to… to remember it, b-but its… its so l-long a-and there are… so-so many numbers.”

“Hey, its okay, kid.” Cheshire lifted her arm, wrapping it around Maggie and dragging her into her side. “Go ahead and cry, alright? I know how this feels. I know how it hurts.” Maggie’s head tilted back, her eyes round with surprise and her lips parted in disbelief. “My mom did this to me, too, when I was young. It was awful… but I’m not gonna leave you here alone, okay?”

Bottom lip quivering, she nodded, sniffing again. “O-okay…”

“You hungry?”

“I… I have snacks… in m-my backpack…”

“What kind?”

“Um… Ms. Maple gave us… gave us all cookies at recess. I s-saved them… just in case.”

Cheshire smiled. Softly. Much differently then she usually did, with blood and flesh dangling from her teeth. “Smart kid. Bet you do good in her class, huh?”

Finally, Maggie smiled too. “Y-yeah! She says I’m the best reader in the whole grade!”

“Hell yeah! That’s awesome. What kind of books do you like the best?”

--

“That doesn’t mean you can just kidnap some kid! What the fuck are we supposed to do with her?!” Bones would have been yelling if Maggie wasn’t one room away. Being tentatively watched by Joan and NightShaker.

Well… by Joan.

NightShaker was there.

Cheshire rolled her eyes. “We find out who the hell her mother is, where she lives, and we take her home! Either scare the shit outta her mom or, hell, I’d be down to shred the bitch, but something’s gotta get done and you know just as well as I do that if I’d taken her to any authorities that nothing would change in her situation.”

“This is hero work, Ches. This isn’t the kind of thing we do!”

“Which is why we turn it into a sort of hostage situation! Act like I stole the kid, whatever, I don’t care, but I am gonna go into that house and rough up that woman so this never happens again! You know damn well what my mother was like. Villain or not, I’m not gonna let that happen some sweet little girl that doesn’t deserve it!”

Bones scoffed, shaking his head and reaching up to rub at one of his temples. Then they sighed. “Fucking… fine. Well, then, go relieve Joan of babysitting duty so we can get this over with.”

Cheshire grinned, her name finally fitting the look of her.

“Sleepover time!”

The words only sunk in once she was already gone and Bones leaned his head back against the wall, their eyes closing tight and their jaw clenching in annoyance. There was nothing he could do, though, he knew that. Cheshire’s mind was set. This was personal to her. There was no going back now… not with the fucking child giggling one wall over.

--

Maggie was asleep on the couch. Curled up under Cheshire’s arm, covered in the newest, softest blanket that she’d stolen. It was a soft baby pink and dotted with little white flowers. Maggie had even asked if she could have it once she went home and Cheshire, knowing how little she probably had at home, promised it to her in an instant.

She could take another no problem, anyway. They were mass produced and no one was going to stop her without dying for it.

Joan wondered in, Ipad in hand, throwing their body down into an armchair that sat just beside the couch. “Okay,” they began, keeping their voice low so it didn’t bother the sleeping child. “Maggie Sigworth, 8 years old. Daughter of Jessie and Dan, little sister to Westly. Lives at 4687 South West Ashbend Boulevard. One of the suburbs right outside the city. Just far enough that the bus won’t take her there… and, even though there are three other schools close enough that would take her home on their dime, her mother insisted she stay at High Water Elementary.”

“Might have been where she started school,” Bones suggested from the other end of the couch. Nightshaker slithered up over their shoulder, blue ‘face’ pointed towards the child, as it had been all night.

“Looks like it,” Joan muttered, tapping around.

“Bet that’s the excuse she uses when people ask why she didn’t move Maggie,” Cheshire hissed. Her fingers were twisting at the very end of the kid’s hair. Playing with it gently. “Gives her a reason to abandon her when she doesn’t feel like dealing with her. Wouldn’t even surprise me if she hoped something like this would happen.” Bones and Joan shared a look while Cheshire continued to spit hateful whispers into the air. “Let someone drag her off, steal her away. Report her missing and never actually look for her. Set up some sort of Go Fund Me or something. Make money off of it and be rid of her least favorite child. And all the while she can claim she just wanted to keep her little girl somewhere familiar.”

“Either way,” Bones began carefully, “We gotta take her back.”

“I’ll keep tabs on her,” Joan offered. “So we know if she gets transferred to a different school once we’re done doing our thing. See if scaring her mom actually did some good.”

“I’ll do more then scare the bitch if it doesn’t,” Cheshire growled, baring her teeth towards the TV and the animated movie that was playing quietly into the air. Maggie grunted, shifting ever so slightly.

Every single Horsemen froze in place until she settled again.

--

The house was nice and that pissed Cheshire off more than anything.

It was two stories. Probably with a basement or an attic too. Plenty of windows, nice flowers outside. A tree that was perfect for climbing. Two car garage and everything.

Cheshire’s gums were aching. Begging to sink into something soft and bloody. Alas, she held herself back from ripping through that sky-blue door and tearing into any and all meat she found, instead choosing to wait on that perfectly clean walkway that led up to the porch, Maggie’s hand in her own.

Bones and Delirium were up at the door, the latter of the two having just rang the doorbell, which all of them heard echo into the house. It only took a few seconds for someone to walk up and pull it open.

Jessie was fucking smiling when she first opened the door. Not a worry in the world! No fear, nor terror. Not wondering where her fucking 8 year old daughter was over 24 hours after having seen her last.

No, it was only when it sunk in who she was looking at that the fear appeared.

“W...wh-what-”

“Missing something?” Bones said coldly, tilting their head back towards Cheshire and the child. Maggie stood there, little fingers tight around the hand of War, her eyes flickering between her savior and her mother. Unsure of what to do, if she was in trouble, or why they suddenly seemed so mad.

“Or did you not even notice she was gone?” Delirium practically purred.

“I...I d-don’t-”

“Your daughter, Jessie,” Bones stated, lifting a hand and snapping his fingers a few times. “Keep up, it’s not that hard.”

“B-but-”

“You’re lucky Cheshire found her, you know,” Delirium mused. “Could have been someone a lot worse. Luckily she’s got a soft spot for the really defenseless ones.”

“I-I’ve-”

“Didn’t call the cops or anything,” Bones nearly growled. “Trust me, we checked. No missing person’s report for an eight year old? What, did you think she was gonna walk home? Poor thing doesn’t even know the address.”

“Wasn’t hard to find,” Delirium added. “Neither were you. Won’t be hard to follow, either, after all this.”

Maggie tugged on Cheshire’s hand as they continued back and forth, overwhelming Jessie with their presence and verbal force. Cheshire knelt down, one knee on the cut stone, leaning her head toward the kid so she could hear her.

“Am I gonna be in trouble?”

Cheshire shook her head.

Maggie frowned when she didn’t speak, but she couldn’t do that here. She wanted to reassure the kid, let her know that no she wasn’t going to get in trouble, and if she did for some twisted reason get punished for this, that Cheshire would come back and deal with it personally. Yet, she couldn’t. Not out here. Not when neighbors were poking their faces out of their windows. Not when she could already hear distant sirens.

“Ches!”

Cheshire turned, spying Jessie standing at her door with silent tears rolling down her cheeks and Bones and Delirium both looking smug and satisfied.

“Time to bring her home.”

--

“Rosie!”

Cheshire startled awake. She’d passed out on the couch, completely dead to the world, only to be awoken by the booming voice of Joan screaming in her ears. Or in her head. She wasn’t ever really sure. All she knew was that it worked and she was awake and her friend was leaning their hip against the end of the couch, the usual tablet in hand.

“Remember that kid from like a week ago?”

“Maggie?” Cheshire croaked, licking her lips when she realized they were dry and cracked. She was dehydrated. Where the fuck was her water-?

“Yeah. Her mom moved her to a closer school. She’s on the buss route, too. Bus number 28, if you were curious.”

“I wasn’t, but that kicks ass. Thanks for letting me know.” Cheshire pushed herself up, yawning and wiping away tears after. “Do you know where my water is?”

“Nope.” Then they were gone and Cheshire sighed, falling back into the lumpy, old, uneven pillows, wondering if it was worth it or if she could go back to sleep, feeling distantly pleased that her one good deed of the year ended in the kid’s favor.

--

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I jumped in surprise and spun around, spotting a single figure lurking in the corner, behind the hinges of one of the doors. His face was almost totally hidden by shadow. The bright red glow at the end of his cigarette was the only thing that lit up his features as he raised it to his face. It highlighted the one brow he raised when I didn’t answer and just stood there staring at him.

“Oh… um… yeah, something like that…” I cleared my throat, glancing back towards the party. “You?”

“Mhm.” He raised his cig back to his lips and took a slow drag from the filter. His head tilted back as his hand fell back to his side and be breathed the smoke out into the night. “You’re Rose.”

I flinched.

Instantly, I turned back to the distant city lights, pressing my lips together and breathing out through my nose. Everyone seemed to know who I was tonight. However, I didn’t even know who the fuck in that crowd I was supposed to be marrying.

The stranger still lurked behind me. Silent.

With no other ideas and no idea what to say, I just… laughed. Shook my head and chuckled quietly before facing him again, one hand still resting on the balcony railing. “You wouldn’t happen to know who my fiance is, would you?” I couldn’t see much of him, but I did see the way he – once again – raised a single, slim brow at me in judgment.

“You don’t know who it is?” he asked, voice cold.

“Nope!” I said, popping the ‘p’ and shrugging both my shoulders. “Wanna know something totally fucked up?” He didn’t say anything. Just tilted his head. I took it as a yes and continued on, frazzled and stressed and drained of all my strength. “I didn’t even know I was getting married until today!”

The stranger’s eyes widened and his hand, which had been slowly floating his cigarette back up to his lips, froze mid air.

“Yeah!” I croaked, almost breathless and I laughed again. More of a manic giggle this time. “My mom called me, told me to haul ass to my sister’s place and, the second I got there, she was yelling at me! Saying I was late, saying we needed to get ready, the party was tonight!” I sighed again, facing the city for a third time, leaning down so I was held up by my elbows. “I didn’t know what she was talking about until my makeup was already half finished… I’m engaged! Can you believe it…?”

The last line came out as a sad, hollow whisper and – again – I sighed.

I shook my head as I kept going, figuring that this guy was willing to listen. Or at least trapped in place thanks to his bad habit… oh well. If he wanted to kill himself, then he’d have to die while listening to me vent. “Apparently, she made this deal weeks ago. Didn’t remember to tell me until three hours ago… doesn’t that suck?”

The smell of smoke grew stronger and I realized the guy was now standing beside me only when he flicked the still smoldering bud of his cigarette off into the night.

“That’s littering,” I mumbled.

He scoffed. Then said nothing as he lingered at my side. At least, for a few minutes. Eventually, he opened his mouth, as I expected him to.

“That is fucked up,” he said quietly.

I laughed again. Actually feeling the merriment behind it this time. “Told ya.”

“Mm.”

After another minute, I sucked in a deep breath and hung my head. A second later, I stood up straight and reached up to feel at my hair and my earrings. Even if I didn’t want to be here, if I didn’t want to be doing this, I already was. I had to look prim and proper for whoever the fuck was going to be putting a ring on my finger in about… well, it had been an hour and a half when I last checked the clock, but my phone was in my clutch and I’d handed that off to my personal guard just before I came out here, not wanting to spend my few peaceful moments watching the seconds tick down to my doom.

“You could always say no.”

I blinked. Then turned to stare down the stranger beside me, finally getting a good look at his face and features. He was handsome, but I expected that. Everyone that came from old money was – they had the resources for it. He was blonde, too, with his hair growing a little longer than the usual style most people kept these days. No shaved sides and long top. Instead there were boyish waves and resting on his crown and his green eyes pierced me as he stared right back, unafraid and completely serious.

“No, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“...my mother would kill me.” He rolled his eyes. Probably thought I was exaggerating.

I wasn’t.

“You always have a choice. Maybe your fiance doesn’t wanna marry you either. You’d probably be doing him a favor.” Before I could do anything then gape at him, jaw slack and heart hammering, he turned and stalked off, vanishing into the golden throng of socialites before I could gather my wits.

~

The silver blade of a butter knife gently tapped against the side of a crystal glass, the sound only carrying thanks to the microphone it was done into. The music faded and all heads turned towards the grand stairs my mother now stood on.

She wasn’t alone, but she had the spotlight, her long dark hair swept up into an elegant bun and her curves were hugged by a black, silk gown that flowed down to her feet. She was even dusted with body glitter and the smoke she’d painted around her eyes made her own blue eyes shine in the light of the chandelier.

“First things first,” she started, her voice loud enough to make me wince. She’d never been able to keep her volume under control and it had always driven me crazy. Being heard while she was around was always impossible… “I’d like to thank you all for coming! Today is a blessed day,” she swept her right hand back towards the others that stood with her. “Today, officially, two sets of parents finally get their wishes granted! Their children falling in love,” I’d hoped she was done, but of course, she couldn’t resist. “And maybe even a few grandchildren in the future?”

She laughed. The room laughed. The blonde woman behind her smiled, yet there was something dark in those green eyes of hers that I absolutely didn’t like the look of. The man just chuckled along with everyone else as he slid forward, nodding to my mother as she slipped out of his way and let him have the stage.

“Yes, thank you, thank you!” He began. There was no doubt in my mind that this was my step-father’s associate that got me stuck in this mess in the first place. The one that ran the private security company. “My wife, Alaine, and I couldn’t be more pleased that our son has finally chosen someone to settle down with!” Another laugh rolled through the crowd. My mother grinned and took a slow sip from her glass, glancing at the blonde woman beside her. Alaine, I assumed. No idea who else would be standing up there, but whatever- “Now, if the happy couple wouldn’t mind joining us? I think Connor has something he’s been eager to give his future bride for quite a while now!”

Connor. I had a name, at least, but I didn’t have a face.

Unfortunately for me, I was pretty close to the front of the crowd. I wanted to be, so I could spend less time pushing my way through the gawking throng of people. Still, the feeling of being stared at and scrutinized crawled up the back of my neck as I slipped forward, gently gripping the side of my skirts so they wouldn’t be stepped on as I walked.

The second I reached the bottom of the stairs, I turned, plastering a smile on my face that convinced everyone in the room that I was happy to be here. Eager to marry…

...the fucking smoking stranger from the balcony that had just slipped between two men in suits.

Freak out later, my mind screamed, my face frozen as it was, deal with this bullshit right now.

Connor. The blonde haired, green eyed son of the elite couple that stood beside my mother. Was he the oldest? It was possible, but I doubted it. More likely he was a middle or youngest child that was pushed into this as hard as I was.

All at once, his voice from before echoed between my ears.

You always have a choice. Maybe your fiance doesn’t wanna marry you either. You’d probably be doing him a favor.

Oh, that cheeky, slippery, slimy little-

“Rose,” he said, voice soft, but still cold. He offered his hand to me. Palm up. Waiting.

The last thing I wanted to do was to give him my hand, but that’s exactly what I did. Under the waiting eyes of my mother and the surrounding socialites, I had no choice. Slowly, I slid my fingers over his, still smiling, not daring to look him in the eyes.

From inside of his suit, out of a hidden inner pocket, Connor produced a little white box. Not velvet, not silk. Just… plain white.

Connor’s green eyes cut to the side, towards the stairs and our parents. His jaw ticked under his skin and, after an obvious moment of hesitation, dropped to one knee. My heart started to race as he pulled open that little box.

Inside was a ring. Set in gold. With a single, simple diamond tucked into the center of it. Probably expensive, but it was… boring. It was clear that absolutely no care had gone into picking it. Though, that was no surprise – if I had to guess, I’d say it was more than likely bought by an assistant. Probably within the last few days.

“Will you marry me?”

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat almost choking me. His eyes dug into mine. Burning bright. Daring me to say what he hoped I would.

I managed to force a nod and, after, I found my voice.

“Yes… of course.”

His jaw clenched tight and his eyes fell from mine as he stood, carefully plucking the ring from its soft bed and stepping forward to slide it into my hand. I let him do so without a fuss and turned to look up at my mother afterwards.

She was grinning wickedly. Like she’d just won the lottery in front of her worst enemy. She wasn’t looking at me, either. She was staring out over the room, carefully swirling the liquor in her glass. Connor’s own parents were both staring at him so hard it was a wonder he could still stand under the pressure.

Clapping came from the other side of the room and I turned, facing the other strangers that smiled at me. I smiled back, gracefully clasping my hands in front of me, my left hand forward so they could all see the ring. It was the smart move, too, since a photographer appeared from nowhere, sleeves rolled up and hair a mess. He knelt in front of the clapping crowd, camera raised, grinning wide behind it.

Connor appeared beside me, his arm wrapping around my waist so he could tug me into his side. My shoulder’s tensed, but I didn’t say anything and I didn’t push him away. After a few seconds, he leaned towards me, clearly to say something. I tilted my head up towards him so it wouldn’t be so hard to hear.

It was only one word. Cold. Sharp. Mean.

“Coward.”

--

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