The Tale of Woe - Chapter 2 - The Wilkins
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Once upon a time, in a world not unlike our own, there was a boy called Woe.
“Honestly what sort of name for a child! In all my years...,” Sister Mary said, looking down at the baby boy, her big blue eyes filled with pity. The boy simply looked back up at her and giggled.
“You ask me, the boy is cursed. The sooner we get that one shipped off to a family the better,” said the stern-looking, stern-talking and even sterner-acting Mother Dorothy as she blessed herself. Outside the wind wailed and the sky wept. Sister Mary tightened her dressing gown, in a battle to keep out the cold.
“Oh come now Dorothy, it's not the child's doing to choose his entry into the world, or his name. We shall treat him kindly, as we do all the others.”
“But what of his parents... If word should get out...”
“It's best no more is said. People must not know; he mustn't know. We can say he's an orphan of the plague.”
“Lying seems to come easily to you, Sister. Not sure what the lord would have of that.”
“If the lord gave me the gift, I suppose he would want me to use it; for good, of course,” Sister Mary replied as Dorothy looked down at a small red box that lay next to the child.
“But what will we do with this?” Mother Dorothy asked, holding the box up for Sister Mary to view its contents.
“We'll store it in the safe. He can have it when he comes of age. Or if he ever suspects the truth about his parents... Now help me get him settled into the nursery.” And so it came to be that Woe found his first home: The Orphanage.
The first few years of Woe's life were uneventful. When he was nine months old, a young couple from the town of South Ridge almost adopted him. They were nice; the woman smelled of strawberries and her husband was a robust man who seemed just as solid in virtue.
“Does he have a name?” asked the woman.
“Yes, dear,” answered Sister Mary, hoping to delay the inevitable.
“Well, what is it, then?” asked the man.
“His name is Woe,” Sister Mary replied.
“Woe? Oh,” replied the man. He then looked at a baby girl to the right of Woe's cot. “Honey, have you seen this little cutie pie?” he asked his wife.
“Oh yes, she's simply adorable!”
Now you and I mustn't think too harshly of this young couple, for theirs is world with traditions and beliefs different to our own. Instead you must consider that in their world, names were often viewed as a sign of what's to come. It is for this reason that the name Woe was not a common or popular name. While we may think it fickle and foolish to judge someone based solely on their name, they could well argue that all too often our world judges people too quickly based on appearance.
In the years that followed, the same scene played out many a time, to the sadness of Sister Mary and the frustration of Mother Dorothy. Woe for his part didn't seem to mind. All he knew of the world was the orphanage, and while he may have lived in fear of Mother Dorothy, Sister Mary was the closest thing to family he had, and the orphanage, the closest thing to a home.
Situated on the outskirts of Shine Valley, the orphanage was also a working farm, where children were expected to work toward the farm's maintenance. From the age of four, Woe earned his keep, whether it be cleaning the barns or tending to the animals. Although truth be told, it was the animals that were his passion.
Once a month, he would go with Sister Mary and some of the other older children to visit the Gu'gons – sheep-like creatures that shed their fur when scared. One by one, in the early hours of the morning, the children would put on creepy masks, sneak up on the Gu'gons and bang pots and pans, frightening them terribly. For their part the Gu'gons would jump a good eight feet up in the air and when they landed, they were as naked as the day they were born. Their fur would slowly float down to the ground a few seconds later for the children to collect.
Woe always felt sorry for the Gu'gons on those cold mornings. He understood it was for the best, after all they would be weighed down by all their fur if they didn't occasionally shed it, and the orphanage needed the money it made from selling their coats, but still he couldn't help feeling guilty.
One morning Woe was ordered by Mother Dorothy to collect the fur from Bohesian – the youngest Gu'gon on the farm. As he crept up on the small animal, he felt an unease in his stomach. He just couldn't do it. Putting down his mask and pots and pans, he sat on the wet grass and watched as the Gu'gon strolled by. Oh boy am I going to be in trouble with Dorothy when she finds out, Woe thought to himself. Rumour had it she sometimes hit children with soap when she was angry with them. Why soap? he wondered, before he felt a soft tugging at his jumper. He turned to discover Bohesian nestling up next to him, the animal's way of saying hello. Woe smiled and began to forget about his impending punishment. So what if they take away my dinner, it's probably Dorothy's horrible soup anyway, he decided.
Woe and Bohesian spent the morning playing and then a remarkable thing happened. Woe tickled Bohesian and the Gu'gon let out a massive giggle and went flying up in the air laughing. When she landed happily, she didn't have any fur! Moments later, it floated down on top of Woe's head.
Woe quickly collected the fur and raced down the field as fast as he could to Mother Dorothy's office. If he was fast enough maybe he would avoid a soapy punishment after all. He banged on her door and waited patiently for her answer.
“Come in,” came the gruff reply. He did as he was told.
“What time do you call this?” asked Mother Dorothy as she pointed to an hour-glass like object on her desk. “It's past sun's peak,” she continued. Woe placed the fur down on a chair.
“Lucky for you,” replied Mother Dorothy as she approached Woe, placing her hand on the fur. She stopped. Ran her hand through it more carefully.
“Is this Bohesian's fur?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“But it's so soft...”
In the days that followed, they discovered that tickling the Gu'gon was a far more effective way of gaining their fur. Not only did the Gu'gon love it, the fur was somehow softer to the touch – people soon remarked that the fur from the orphanage was the best around. Not that Mother Dorothy ever said thanks to Woe.
Despite Woe's achievements with the Gu'gons, his favourite animal on the farm was, by far and away, the Synchu.
The Synchu are a strange creature that lay eggs which appear and taste identical to what we know to be eggs from a chicken. However, if you were to see one, you would swear a Sychu itself looked more like an pony-sized elephant mixed with a squirrel. When he was seven years old, Woe was put in charge of collecting the eggs from Duke, the leader of the Synchu.
“Good morning, Duke,” Woe would say on one of his typical visits. “Do you have any eggs for me today?”
“Hello Master Woe,” Duke would reply, for like all Synchu, he had mastered rudimentary speech. “I have eggs six for you if you solve this simple puzzle,” he'd often continue, as everyone knows Synchu never give up eggs unless it was to a creature that had mastered reason and could therefore appreciate the gift they were being given.
“You're walking in a dark cave with a box of matches when you come across an altar. On the altar is an oil lamp, a candle and a fireplace. What do you light first?”
Woe would normally then think on the riddle for a minute, usually biting his lip as he did. Then a smile would appear.
“I'd light a match first!”
“Very good, master Woe,” Duke would reply laughing and happily hand over the eggs with his trunk. In return Woe would scatter grain out in the fields for the Synchu to enjoy.
Yes, all in all, life on the farm wasn't so bad for an orphan. But then something happened that no one could have envisioned.
Woe was adopted.
The first thing Jupiter Black saw when he was brought back to life was her.
He smiled. Liberty smiled back at him.
“You didn't think you could escape me just by dying did you?”
Jupiter struggled to talk but couldn't find his voice.
“Just relax, death takes a little time to recover from,” Abe told him, leaning over the bed so Jupiter could see him.
“I can't believe your strategy was to die. I mean, I'd expect that from Justice, but...,” Google said.
“Hey! Even I'm not that dumb,” Justice chimed in.
“How... iSmart... did I kill him?” Jupiter finally managed to ask.
“If he was onboard The Blackbird when it went kaboom, then yeah, safe to say he's... it's dead,” Abe told him.
“15 nano-nuclear bombs tends to destroy most computers – even psychopathic ones,” Liberty added.
“But... how'd I survive?”
“You must have died while on one of the DeadEzy chairs – they were still set to home function. It registered the lack of vital signs, assumed you were jumping and teleported you straight onto The Love Crusader. Thankfully Mykur had some of the best doctors in the galaxy on his Castle ship. They worked for days to save you.”
“But how do you all know about iSmart? How'd you know I wasn't stealing The Trinity Key?”
“Because we know you, stupid,” said Liberty.
“And because The Trinity Key was still stored safely in my room,” Abe said, before adding, “Otherwise I would've been rounding up a posse to hunt you down.”
“That note you wrote wouldn't fool anyone,” Liberty said.
“Fooled iSmart,” Jupiter replied as he propped himself up in bed and glanced out the window. He watched the stars fly by.
“We're not onboard the castle ship anymore?” he asked.
“No, we left there about a week ago,” Google told him.
“How long have I been out of it?” he asked confused.
“A little over a month,” Liberty said, very matter of fact.
“But The Trinity Key is safe? You still have it?”
“No,” said Abe.
“But we do have this,” Justice told him. He held up a small wooden container around the size of a music box.
“What's in it?” asked Jupiter, suddenly feeling better and burning with curiosity.
“We don't know,” said Google.
“And we're not going to find out,” added Liberty.
“I've tried talking sense to them, they won't listen,” moaned Abe.
“No one can be trusted with whatever's inside the case - so we're going to shoot it onto the most isolated, inhospitable planet in the galaxy. A planet no one would ever dare visit.”
“Not...”
“Yes, Boronia.”
#
A lonely figure trudged through the barren, harsh landscape. Everyday the exact same thing. But not today. Something new had happened today. The figure watched silently as what appeared to be a wooden case broke through the atmosphere, somehow held its form and crash landed onto the forsaken planet of Boronia. The case was brown. This alone was reason for excitement. Everything here was grey, cold and hard. It was nothing like the paradise from where he'd come from.
Shifting away some grey stones, the figure pulled the wooden case from the ground. Maybe this would be his escape, his ticket off this hellhole. Maybe he could finally get his revenge on the people that had doomed him to weeks of floating through space until he hit this doomed world. He would never forget them. No. They would be made to regret leaving Super Sunny Happy Bright Fun Land. They'd picked the wrong SalesBot to mess with, Miller thought as he opened the case.
#
Jupiter watched from the bar as a ground crew outside finished fuelling up The Love Crusader.
“She's ready to go,” Abe noted.
“Where are you guys headed now?” Liberty asked as they got up to walk towards the ship.
“I don't know. We need to take a new job fast – we're low on credits. The Galactic Society for the Protection of Extinct Species is suing us for wiping out the dinosaurs. Last time I ever save the galaxy.”
“Well, we're not doing so great either. We're currently unemployed. No need to protect the promised one anymore,” said Justice.
“And no need to give the promised one an allowance,” sighed Google.
“Well, we can drop you back on Planet Doon if you want, so you can collect your ship and be on your way,” Jupiter offered.
Liberty hesitated before replying, “Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks.” She picked up speed, leading Justice and Google onboard the ship while Abe held Jupiter back a minute. He looked across at Jupiter before kicking him in the shin.
“Oww...”
Abe tilted his head in the direction of the ship.
“I know, I know. Point taken. Are you sure?” he said.
“I wouldn't have kicked you if I wasn't sure, captain.”
Jupiter shut the main airlock and made his way to the cockpit where everybody had gathered, preparing for take off.
“You know... I was thinking... We need money... Abe... what about we go looking for The Orb of Orion?”
“I don't know. I think that might be dangerous,” Abe replied.
“You're right... maybe if we had some security; some bodyguard types...” Jupiter added.
“Sure would make me feel more comfortable...”
“Uh, you guys don't know any teams that'd be looking for work do you?” Jupiter asked.
Liberty smiled and took Jupiter's hand in her own.
“It won't be easy you realise. Many have died searching for that Orb,” she said.
“You'd need to hire the best,” added Justice.
“At least three people I'd imagine,” said Google.
“The orb's as good as ours,” Jupiter said with a smile.
“Don't jinx it!” Abe muttered.
Jupiter patted Abe on the back as the bonobo ape took the controls at the head of the ship.
“Relax. What could possibly go wrong?”
Abe sighed.
“So what now, Jupe?” he asked, finger on the ignition.
“Take us out, Abe. Take us into the black.”
“Sounds like it's all happening there Julie.”
“You better believe it Ted. It's a veritable who's who onboard Mykur's Castle tonight as A-listers celebrate the defeat of the evil Prince by his own son, Blade. It's hard to believe that just a few short days ago the universe was on the verge of a galactic war and now the biggest threat is the sore heads everyone's sure to be nursing come tomorrow.”
“Haha, have fun Julie.”
Everywhere he looked Jupiter saw camera crews and media. He searched around the room looking for some familiar faces. At the far side of the ballroom he could see Abe and Google by the bar as Abe appeared to shove Google in the direction of a familiar looking girl. Uranus. Google nervously began to talk to her.
To the right he spotted Liberty, hands bandaged, hugging and talking excitedly with her brother and parents. She looked more alive and vibrant than he'd ever seen her before. She couldn't stop smiling and laughing. It made her all the more beautiful. Watching them with their parents, he couldn't help but wonder how Billy would cope. How would he sleep at night knowing he'd murdered his own father? His question was answered when he looked to the left and saw Billy fast asleep despite all the media firing questions at him. Then he saw her by Billy's side.
Belle.
She smiled and waved him over to a quiet part of the room.
“It's amazing to think it's all over, isn't it?”
“I'm still getting my head around it,” Jupiter replied.
“You must be rich now.”
“Actually no. Technically Billy was the one that killed Mykur so the reward goes to him. Which, I guess makes you rich... being his guardians.”
“Didn't you hear? He's already donated all his money to victims of his father. He doesn't even want to take over the role as prince. He thinks his family has done enough damage. Raymond Tonkins is now in charge of all the planet's Mykur franchised with instructions to set them free.”
“Do you think he's going to be ok?”
She looked across at Billy as he slept soundly.
“Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for. I think in time, he'll be fine,” she said. She paused as she looked at Jupiter.
“Thank you,” she said, letting her hand gently cup his face.
“What for?”
“You kept him safe... and...,“
“What?”
“I know what you did... at Soulmates Inc. Seeing you again after all these years, I finally worked out what really happened. You sacrificed your happiness so I could be with Harvard, didn't you?”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Jupiter said uncomfortably.
“Fine, be like that. But for what it's worth... in another lifetime, I'm sure we would've been amazing together.”
Jupiter shook his head.
“In another lifetime, you'd still choose him. He's your soulmate, I know – and not because some computer says it's so. Because the way you look at him, the way you are when you're with him. And yeah, it hurt like hell, but I guess... sometimes life deals you a bad hand.” He glanced across at Liberty on the other side of the room and smiled. “But one bad hand doesn't mean it's the end of the game.”
Jupiter felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Abe standing behind him.
“They just brought in The Blackbird - docking bay 3.”
“Does anyone have any idea what's onboard?”
“As far as I can tell, no. Mykur's distrust of people seems to have worked in our favour.”
“I'll take care of it.”
#
Jupiter couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched as he placed the solid metal case down by his bed onboard The Love Crusader.
“What are we going to do with it?” Liberty asked, entering the room
“The Trinity Key? Find whatever it opens, I guess. What would you do?”
“Personally, if it can't be destroyed I'd hide it somewhere no one will ever find it. It's too risky; if it fell into the wrong hands... Mykur might be dead, but that doesn't mean the galaxy is free from all evil.”
“We could sell it for more money than you could ever imagine,” Jupiter pointed out.
“You'll do what's right. I know you,” Liberty said with a smile.
“Oh you think you know me, do you?” Jupiter asked, returning her smile.
“I do. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like to get to know you better though,” she said as she pulled him into a kiss.
That night Jupiter and Liberty felt like somehow in a dark galaxy everything made sense. That the universe played to some wonderful symphony that only they could hear. That they were more alive than anyone else had ever been.
Three times.
#
Liberty woke up early to find Jupiter's side of the bed empty. On his pillow, there was a note. Clearing her eyes of sleep, she began to read.
I've taken The Trinity Key. Please don't waste your time trying to find me. With the money I make from selling it, I can stay hidden forever. Liberty... I'm sorry.
Jupiter Black.
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