#and i *know* the art style doesn’t dictate the tone of the game or whatever but i don’t care

[skeleton-monarch]

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[darkdevasofdestruction]

Your Saviour ~ Yin Zhen x Reader

"Mum, I hate her! Scold her! Punish her!" the little prince tugged on his mum's sleeve, crying and complaining about the older girl that kept teasing him. "My dear, try to be understanding. Being a prince means you will have a lot to learn, and she's merely trying to make you learn, in a more practical way. Try not to hold it against her." she smiled warmly at him, hugging and stroking his hair as a way to pacify him. "But she's so mean to me, it's not fair! And she keeps beating me at archery and sword fight! And she always tricks me, calls me names and throws plums at me from the top of the tree!" the poor, teary-eyed boy tried to gain more pity from the only person who ever cared for him properly. "Maybe she likes you and she wants to see you succeed and become a better version of yourself. How do you think she will behave once you finally manage to beat her at something she's unbeatable at?" his mother asked, which made the prince stop his sobbing and look up at her with a confused expression. "She'll get angry, won't she? Doesn't everyone hate losing?" his voice was small and soft. "Perhaps it won't be an actual loss for her, but a victory." his mother, as wise as always, knew the girl and how witty and clever she was, so of course, she knew that having her around her son will prove to be beneficial to him in the long run. "I don't understand, mum..." he pouted, tugging on her sleeve once again, with a dejected expression. "Let's play a little game, my darling. Come to me once you decipher the riddle I just told you, and I'm sure you will be satisfied with your reward." his mother let out an amused hum, as the boy perked up, his eyes sparkling when he heard of a potential reward.  "Oh...Okay! I will do my best!" 

 Days passed, and no matter how hard he tried, Yin Zhen couldn't defeat Y/N at anything, be it archery, swordfight, poetry, literature, musical instruments, martial arts, swimming, running, tree climbing... It was as if she was an unbeatable Goddess, far above him, and the fact that she'd hang out mostly with the 1st prince and the 3rd prince didn't help it either.

It was a vicious cycle - He'd study and practice, he'd challenge her, she'd defeat him effortlessly, she'd taunt him, she'd go back to hanging out with someone else, and he'd grovel in self-hatred that he keeps being defeated by a girl. With each day, he'd grow more and more angry, the darkness covering his heart freezing over with a blinding jealousy. And what was worse is that she had everyone's favour! Why is she so special? She's not even a princess, just some noble girl whose father betrayed the Emperor and her mother died of an illness! All his brothers fawn around her! The Empress Dowager treats her as if she is her own precious granddaughter, and even more - His father, The Emperor, truly favours her intelligence and shrewdness! That's preposterous!

"I hate you, you evil witch! You're using magic! There's no way you can actually beat me at everything!" Yin Zhen threw his sword to the ground, looking up at the girl who towered over him with a few inches. "Would such a completely illogical explanation satisfy you after these pitiful loses? If yes, then sure, claim whatever you will." she shrugged, not sketching any expression on her face. "Come on, Y/N, give him a break. He's young, he'll learn someday. He's barely 8 years old." the 1st prince, despite the teasing tone and smile on his face, tried to take the girl out of there, so his little brother would calm down. "Would you have me cut him some slack? Yin Zhen, do you truly want me to go easy on you? To let you win? Sure, if that's what your royal highness would have, that is what I shall do. However, would there be any ounce of satisfaction in your heart, knowing you were LET to win, but didn't deserve it? Think it over and answer me that next time you decide to challenge me." with those words, something in his mind seemed to click, and he stopped challenging the girl altogether, focusing more of training himself, and more, his mind and heart.

He WAS strong and intelligent, but the barrier his ego and arrogance created was the reason he stagnated so badly. He finally understood, at least a little bit, what his mother and Y/N were trying to teach him, so through meditation and self-healing, he became the cool and collected 4th prince that everyone knows now. It was obvious that, with time, the short and frail 8 year old would turn out to become a tall and strong prince with the noble aura that he was supposed to have all this time. 

When he finally felt ready and confident in himself and his abilities, he sought out the girl once again, after ignoring and avoiding her, and he found her on the ground at the base of a plum tree, playing the zither, by the lotus pond, with a friend or a maid, and it was needless to say, shock was obvious in both of their eyes once their gazes met for the first time in ages, realising how much they changed it time.

She was gorgeous beyond imagination, her expression was demure and inspired trust, gentleness and kindness, the aura around her was vibing with confidence and nobleness, and her eyes were gleaming with brilliance and wit.  And yes...There was something off...Behind that wall of confidence and politeness, a little bit of melancholy was seeping, and only he could see it. Curiosity started brewing in his heart, and the wish to solve mysteries started bubbling inside him, and he wanted to grab her and make her spill all her secrets...But he knew nothing in life was that easy. 

  "Hello, Yin Zhen. We haven't seen each other in a while, have we? Since your older brother and mother were still alive, that is. Lovely days the past held, wouldn't you say?" it was difficult for the prince not to smirk in satisfaction, as now he could properly appreciate the cheekiness and boldness of her words and voice. "Yes, I would say it has been quite a while, My Lady. Enough for me to open my eyes and see the world as it is. I would have you to thank for that." what was this humbleness he was displaying, the girl wondered, as she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Then, are you here to challenge me again? What would it be this time? I see no sword, no bow, no instrument, no riddle book in your possession...Could it be running you want to challenge me at?" she spoke nonchalantly, returning to strum her zither. "My Lady, that is no way to speak to the 4th prince!" her friend gasped in shock and horror, earnings mixed reactions from the two. "I shall speak to Yin Zhen in any way I please. He has yet to earn my respect. Besides...You should see the way I speak to Yin Zhi or the 14th prince. You could say I am being generous with this one." she hummed in amusement, as a trail of relatively new palace maids were eyeing the prince, giggling and gossiping. "I wonder how many times has he threatened to kill you so far." Yin Zhen shot right back at her, knowing very well how his elder brother could be. "I lost count after five thousand." she raised the sleeve of her dress to hide the amused and teasing smirk she had on her face. "Funny how a fatty like you could run away from him so many times." he teased her, wanting to reciprocate the taunting she'd do to him ages ago, but by the stiff reaction of her, and the loud giggles from the maids, it was obvious he was heard by unneeded ears. "You still haven't bested me in anything yet, Prince...Especially not intelligence, considering how obvious it is that you speak ill of those who care about you in front of the jackals and hyenas of the palace. Next time you decide to approach me, think before you act. It will spare the both of us enough troubles." the girl threw her zither in her friend's lap, before leaping to her feet and pulling him down by the neck of his outfit, until their faces were barely inches away. 

And then she left. 

And he stopped seeing her, once again, for quite a while... Until he went to drink some wine in the garden, and he spotted her walking by the pond, dangerously close to the water. Not that he feared for her life, she was a great swimmer, and yet...Her complexion seemed much paler than usual, and her movements looked lethargic. 

The gossips of the maid, calling her tons of names, seemed to plague his mind, as he realised back then that he was the one who ignited the fuel and gave them the 'right' to speak garbage of her. 

He was lost in his own world, thinking over about what he did and his mistakes, but he was brought back to reality when a splash was heard, and some loud gasps of horror, and that’s when he realised the girl fell in the pond...And she wasn’t swimming back to the surface.

What was going on with her? Did she...Faint?

There was no time to think, as he slammed the cup on the table and rushed to the pond, jumping in to rescue her. His theory was correct, seeing as she was unconscious, so he started pushing on her chest, just as she did 12 years ago, when he fell in the lake and she saved him.

And then, he gave her the kiss of life, and as the miracle dictated, she jolted into a sitting position, coughing the water out of her lungs violently, before collapsing back in his arms. Yin Zhen hated to admit, especially after this near-death experience of hers, but seeing her being so soft, sleeping peacefully in his arms, was oddly fascinating, and his heart seemed to warm up, for some unknown reasons, even to him.  He hated that his mother died and he couldn’t ask her all the things he wanted to tell her, nor could he tell her the answer to the riddle that took him so long to understand, and yet, he was sure she’d be happy knowing that he matured and became the man he is now, no longer the whiny child from before.

He picked her up bridal style and brought her to her home, where her maid, whose name was Shi Lian, as she said, and he let her change in dry clothes and put her in bed, while he took off most of his clothes to be put out in the sun to dry, while he warmed up in front of the fireplace, waiting for the girl to wake up, while the maid was preparing chamomile tea and some snacks.

“Thank you for saving My Lady, Your Highness.” Shi Lian thanked the prince as she put the tray of tea and cakes on the table next to him. “She fainted and fell in the pond. She looks weak, what happened to her?” he asked in a serious voice. “Uhm...I-I’m not sure I’m supposed to say this...However...I worry for My Lady’s health and her...Predisposition of having incredibly unhealthy coping mechanisms and...She started eating less and less every day...I-I don’t know why, it happened so sudden...And she buried herself in more work than usual...Her being a Physician and all, I’d normally understand her work...But under these circumstances...” Shi Lian’s voice was sympathetic and worried, which made him immediately realise that it was his words that triggered it, along with the mockery of all the new palace ladies...He knew very well how gossips and rumours spread faster than the plague. “You’re...Not supposed to...Tell on me like that...” a weak voice murmured from the corner of the room, which indicated Y/N awakening. “My Lady, you woke up! Thank goodness you’re alright! The prince told me what happened...I was so worried for you!” the maid immediately rushed to her lady’s side, helping her get in a sitting position. “Your worries are misplaced with me...However, I must thank you, regardless. I appreciate your concerns for me.” Y/N sighed, looking down at her lap. “Oh, I made tea, and your favourite osmanthus cakes! Please, have some!” she was going to rush to give her the tray, only to be stopped by the lady. “Can you...Go for a walk? I’m fine, I can get up on my own.” Y/N nudged her with her words to get out, wanting to have a word with the princeling. “B-But, I-...Oh...! Yes, of course, I did have some errands to do! Please, take care, My Lady!” she bowed quickly in front of her and the prince, before leaving. “What a thoughtful girl...Always taking care for me, even when I don’t deserve it. She’s quite a catch, don’t you think? I bet you’d want her to be your maid.” the girl held a soft smile on her face, taking a sip of the hot tea. “You silly girl...You’re already skin and bones, and yet, you retort to starvation to stop the gossips from those low-lives. How much more foolish can you get?” his voice was serious, yet held sympathy concern, if you knew where to search for it. “To think you’d have enough sympathy in you to save someone you seemingly hate. I commend you, you truly grew up to be a fine man. Your mother would be very proud of you.” her expression, once again, held melancholy and nostalgia, and he was finally beginning to understand. “I don’t hate you. I never did. I was merely envious of your abilities.” he explained in a softer voice, making her chuckle. “Your mother told me how you’d go to whine to her how much you hate me. But hey, I’m glad that’s not the case anymore. I owe you mother a lot...So in turn, I owed you...But with time, I grew to see it in a different light, and I didn’t want to help you out of obligation, but simply because I wanted to see you grow. I hope I was able to help, in some way, despite my...Brutal teachings.” she hummed in amusement, eating one of the cakes. “I figured that out...It took a while, but I did. Mother hinted towards some things and told me to give you a chance and try to understand you. Once I stopped trying to win all the time, I realised that, instead of being competitive and win against others, I should first learn how to become the best version of myself. And once I did...I felt relieved. I suppose I should thank you for that.” he explained himself, and his words warmed her heart with happiness. “The only thanks is seeing you the way you are now. It wasn’t easy having to live with the reputation of being branded the traitor’s daughter, and then your mother dying so suddenly...The first prince died as well...Your mother too...So I let work and study engulf me completely, hoping that I could redeem myself by saving others, when I couldn’t save those I cared about. Pitiful, don’t you think?” she chuckled in self-deprecation, which made the prince turn to look at her with a frown on his face, before flicking her forehead hard enough to make the spot red. “G’ahh...That hurt...I guess you’re going to return the bullying that I did to you for so many years?” she eeped, more from the shock than the pain, lifting her hand to cover her forehead. “I believe you said you’re proud of the man I’ve become. What kind of man would I be if I were to actually bully you? Merely teasing you is enough to satisfy me.” he hummed in amusement, a side smirk making its way on his face as he got up, gingerly grasping her wrist, taking it away from her forehead. “Besides...I wouldn’t want to make you run away from me again.” he uttered as he caressed her face with one hand, bending down to kiss her forehead, where he previously flicked her. “You’re being surprisingly tender today, Yin Zhen. I must say, I quite like this side of you.” she put her hand over his, leaning in to his touch, her gentle expression resembling that of a spoiled kitten. “You’re not that different yourself, Y/N.”

It was then that Yin Zhen confessed his interesting in courting her, as despite not having a high rank, his heart belonged to her, and her alone, and since she knew her mind and heart have always been wandering to him, she accepted. Their dynamic was as unlikely as always, and sometimes, people thought they hated each other. The little firecracker that Y/N was resembled the calm before the storm, and she always did what she wanted, no matter what, which always seemed to be endearing for the prince who clearly condoned her erratic behaviour, yet looked out for her from afar, fearing her well-being. The palace was both the safest and the most dangerous place on the planet.

One day, as she went for a walk with her maid, she noticed up in the square pavilion, the Emperor, the Empress and the 4th and 6th princes, so clearly, at least out of obligation and respect, she had to go and pay her respects to them.

Walking up to them, she kneels down in greeting, hoping she wouldn’t have to stay for too long.

“My Lady! Please, take a seat. I must say, I thank you for curing my son of the illness that seemed to knock him down so badly.” the Empress extended her hand, motioning for the girl to sit down. Analysing the situation, she realised the Emperor looked angry, while the princes were solemn, sitting formally...And she hoped she’ll be quickly dismissed, as she walked right in the middle of something very important. “Last night, the Imperial Astrologers noticed a fluctuation in the stars - A possible bad omen. The Emperor is most concerned. Perhaps you have an idea that might help, considering your different thinking seems to help out the Palace all the time.” she continued, which made the girl smack herself on the face, mentally. “I...Am not as knowledgeable in astrology as I am in healing, so my opinion may not be exactly helpful...However, the stars have their own way of arranging...Perhaps praying would help...?” she tried to choose her words carefully, hating to talk when she had no idea about the subject in cause was. “Your Majesty, her idea may not be wrong. We could send someone to pray at Mount Tianchi? Your father built an observatory on Mount Tianchi for burning incense. He said his prayers were always answered on the mountain. It’s been over ten years since the court sent a delegation to pray on the mountain. Perhaps it is time for another one?” Yin Zhen explained his thoughts, which impressed the girl for his quick thinking and reasoning. “It is true, I have overlooked this ritual. But whom should we send?” the Emperor agreed, pondering as he stroked his beard. “Your Majesty, allow me to go on your behalf!” the 6th prince jumped in faster than anyone could blink. “It is a long way and you haven’t completed the tasks already assigned to you. Do you have time to go to Mount Tianchi?” Yin Zhen asked with concern for the mission that may be ruined by his over-zealous brother. “The 4th prince is right. The Emperor knows you want to help, but your current duties are far more pressing. You cannot just abandon them.” the Empress explains to her son why he couldn’t go, which made the 4th prince stand up and kneel in front of the Emperor. “Your Majesty, allow me to pray on Mount Tianchi for the people and the kingdom.” his statement made the Emperor smile at his son. “Very well! Go on my behalf and pray! Pray for my people!” the Emperor approved of his son’s suggestion. “If I may, I think that My Lady should accompany me. You see, Your Majesty, we have seen times and times she enjoys rare good fortune, and she is an incredibly skilled physician, should anything happen. I believe she could be our lucky charm.” Yin Zhen explained, which made the girl smile, knowing very well how beautiful the place is and how she wanted to visit it with him. “Hmm, yes, you make a good point, 4th prince. This isn’t a holiday, you know! This is a very serious mission and everything must be done correctly...I command you to pray beside the Prince for the well being of my subjects.” not the kind of responsibilities that she likes to have, but not much she can complain about. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall not fail you.” she kneeled in front of the Emperor, thanking him for his trust, and the next day, at the earliest hour, they were ready to go.

She brought light clothes with her, and wearing noble male clothing, as she would ride besides the princes, she jumped on her black horse and rode next to him.

“You look splendid, as always, Yin Zhen. Also, should I thank you for suggesting I come with you? Because that was one of the best things you’ve said in a long time.” she smiled tenderly at him, which he reciprocated with gratitude expressed in his eyes, but barely on his face. “I did promise I’d take you to see beautiful places, didn’t I? I am a man of my words.” he smirked slightly, looking ahead of us. “Hm...? I didn’t know Yin Zhi would come too. The 7th and 11th princes too? That’s a surprise...Ah, look at them, they look terrible...They don’t want to be here, do they?” she asks in a softer voice, hoping they wouldn’t hear. “The Emperor places great importance on this venture. We cannot fail.” his words seemed awfully enigmatic, which seemed to bubble anxiety into her heart. “Is...Something the matter...?” she whispered, leaning over to him, only for him to reach out his hand and pet her hair briefly. “Don’t worry over nothing. And even if something happens, I will protect you.” his confident smile made her raise her eyebrow questioningly, yet she bit her tongue and said nothing else, focusing on enjoying the ride.

The road was very difficult to pass on, especially the more rugged parts of the mountain, and unfortunately, while Y/N was perfectly fine, being used to riding, the carriage bumping constantly made her maid’s stomach upset, and in turn, had her jump out every so often to vomit.

“Y/N, the road gets worse up ahead. You know very well what I mean, don’t you?” Yin Zhi addresses the Lady he’s friends with, watching her jump off her horse to help her maid out. “...Yes, I understand the situation. We must arrive at a specific time, and there must be no delays. I’m sorry, Shi Lian. I wanted to see that beautiful place with you as well...But perhaps on another time, when we won’t be pressed by time. Will you be okay returning to the capital, waiting for me?” she strokes her maid’s hair gently, hoping she will be feeling better. “As you say, my Lady. I’ll wait for you in the capital. Please take good care of yourself.” Shi Lian’s words were brave and held much love for her Lady. “Thank you, dear, but you won’t have to worry about me. There are more guards here than the 6th prince can count.” Y/N giggled as she ruthlessly shamed the lecherous prince. “M-My Lady!” Shi Lian gasped, her eyes widening in shock at her words. “...She’s not wrong.” Yin Zhi smirked in amusement, tilting his head to urge her to return to her horse. “If you are so amused by my words, perhaps you could organise a reliable person to escort Shi Lian back to the capital?” she asked, a wide, sarcastic smile on her face. “Bring her this way.” his eyes sparkled with amusement as he turned around, guiding us to another carriage that will bring her back to the capital. After saying her farewells, she turned to go back to her horse, only to get disturbed by the 7th prince, whose annoying smirk wouldn’t get wiped off his face. “Most excellent. You gave that cold fish brother of mine the pleasure of helping someone.” he said in a sly manner. “My, you wouldn’t happen to be...Jealous, would you, 7th Prince?” Y/N tilted her head in a mocking manner. “You are much more enjoyable when sleepy, you know?” she chuckled, turning back to go to her horse, but before she knew it, her paramour was by her side, glaring at his younger brother. “Brother, what are you doing?” Yin Zhen asked, his eyes sharply scanning him. “I just wanted another word with the Lady. What are you worried about?” the 7th Prince mocked his elder brother with amusement. “I’m not worried. I just came over to remind you, the ceremony is going to be held soon. We cannot delay any further.” the 4th Prince warned his brother, who seemed aggravated by him. “You think I don’t know that?! I still want a word with the Lady...My Lady, you are very capable. A number of my brothers are quite enamoured with you.” he explainde, as if she was a nuisance, yet also, enjoyed taunting her...Yet he always failed. “Too bad I’m already being courted by someone, don’t you think? Although, I don’t think it should bother you, should it? I believe you may or may not despise me, for some odd reason I’m not aware of.” she shrugged, ignoring his protests as she followed her beloved and got on her horse, finally making it to the Mount, where it’s already summer.

The ceremony lasted for three days and three nights, and by the end of it, she had to regard how meticulously perfect everything was done by the 4th Prince, as she admired him working, and seeing that he was really the only prince doing anything, she got up and started helping him out as best as she could, which meant she could chat a bit about random things with said man.

Out of nowhere, droplets of rain started falling from the sky, which may or may not be an indicator that the omens were changing.

“Well, what do you think? I heard in some cultured rain was an indicator of good fortune.” Y/N plays on, carrying a smaller crate. “Superstitious. For the sake of conversation, you say a lot of weird things.” he scoffed, taking the crate from her hand and putting it on top of the one he was carrying. “And likewise, you do a lot of weird things...Like suggesting to come pray on this mountain and do a ritual. Don’t be a hypocrite with me, you know I always turn it on you.” she chuckled, helping him put down the crates in their rightful places. “Of course I know. That’s why I tease you.” in turn, he playfully tapped her forehead, chuckling at her tender expression. “Don’t make that face when others are around. It makes me want to kiss you. Who knows what others might think or do if they see you.” he looked around, scanning to see if anyone was watching, before stealing a quick kiss. “If you don’t want others to see, don’t be so sweet with me...Or, perhaps, choose the other approach and let’s go for a ride through the forest with me?” the Lady hooked her arm to his, and of course, he couldn’t turn down her suggestion.

If there was something she loved more than the satisfaction of saving someone’s life or learning something knew, was the feeling of freedom as they rode together, only the two of them, all their worries disappearing completely, at least for the moment. However, before they realised it, they got in the city as soon as the rain started pouring down hard, which forced them to dismount and seek shelter under some eaves, his cape draped over her head to make sure she wasn’t being as drenched as him, holding her close to his chest to keep her warm.

“Wouldn’t you like it if we spent out life like this? Away from the capital, away from the Emperor and so many rules...And we can just be free and do as we please.” she spoke out her heart’s desire without even realising. “As long as you’re by my side, I don’t really care what we do. Although...What you say wouldn’t be bad.” he declared, and thankfully, the rain soon stopped, so they were able to go back.

By the time they got back to the party, dusk started falling, and as soon as they started strolling along the covered walkway, so they returned to their rooms, as the rain started falling again.  As they changed in comfortable clothes, in their own, separate rooms, the 4th Prince told the Lady he was going to be out, with his brothers, for some tree in the Plumflower Garden behind the observatory.

She went to sit out on the porch, reading a book as she let the rain and wind relax her, thinking of the next day and the journey back home. The storm, however, didn’t stop throughout the night, and because of loud it was, Y/N couldn’t fall asleep, so instead, she smiled, feeling content with the beautiful sound of the rain.

Y/N heard a soft knock on the door, and the handmaid, Yun Mo, walks inside and she speaks softly, asking if she needs anything. Y/N asked the beautiful girl if the princes are still outside, and as she heard, they were outside, drinking, very much drunk.

“Ahh, Yin Zhen said they’d be drinking tea. I should see this as a new code I must learn. Very well, I’ll go to them and see if they’re okay. Could you please prepare some soup for their hangover?” Y/N asked, putting on a coat over her nightgown. “Yes, of course, My Lady. Please, excuse me.” she bows gracefully, leaving the place, only for Y/N see the faint light of a lantern. “Hello? Who’s there?” Y/N frowned, only hearing the rain hit the ground, holding tightly the dagger that Yin Zhen gifted her some time ago.

She slowly walked to the wall beside the door, extending her hand and pushing the door open. Peering outside, she notices pools of spilled blood that belonged to the lifeless guards...Killed by the figure in black holding a knife in his hand. Keeping her composure, she snuck behind him and thrust the blade in his neck, holding one hand to his mouth so he won’t alert his allies, and stole his sword.

However, other assassin saw her and yelled out for his peers, which made her bolt for the side door, as fast as she could.

“RUN MY LADY!” the soft voice of the handmaid echoed throughout the place as she tried to delay the assassins. “HELP! ANYONE! IS ANYONE HERE?!” Y/N yelled out, running until her legs couldn’t hold her anymore, and she stopped to gain her breath, only to see a pile of dead guards bleeding onto the earth, the sickly, metallic smell of fresh blood assaulting her senses.

As the assassin caught up to her, she took out the sword from the scabbard and parried all his hits, only to deliver the finishing blow. However, that wasn’t the end, as three more started appearing. She killed another, and ready to strike the other, she heard the cry of someone behind her. Quickly dodging a strike, she looked back to see what happened to the 3rd assailant, only to see her beloved Yin Zhen with a sword in his hand, his eyes cold and clear, clearly, no sign of alcohol intoxication.

“Yin Zhen! Thank goodness you’re okay! The maid said you were drunk and I got worried...But seems it’s not the case. What IS going on?!” she asked, struggling to breathe properly as she tried to fight back her fear. “I don’t know yet, but we have to go.” he spoke quickly before he picked her around the waist, leaping deftly onto the roof, like superhuman. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.” he muttered, seeing as other assassins started chasing them. “Is everyone dead...?” she whispered, fearing the answer. “My men have cornered some of the assassins.” he explained, looking left and right to spot his enemies’ moves. “You...Came back...To save me...?” her eyes widened in shock hearing that he was risking his life for her. “I promised you I’d protect you at all cost, didn’t I?” his confident smile seemed to bring courage into her heart. “There’s a small side door in the courtyard up ahead. It leads into the forest...But we must lose them first.” she explained her strategy, and he seemed to agree, as he turned around, picked her up properly and sprung in the other direction. “Did you just...?!” she gasped, realising he was drawing the assassins off in the opposite direction so she could come back and escape out of the kitchen. The darkness concealed their movements, and sooner than later, the assailants lost their track, and they managed to return safely to the kitchen, and through the other side of the door, into the forest. “Yes, I did. Are you hurt?” he asked, concern obvious in his voice. “No...I’m okay. Thanks to you...And you seem okay...Ah, what about the others?” she gasped, realising that it wasn’t only them around. “It’s fine. I already sent people to the local garrison, reinforcements should get here any second. We just need to wait.” just as he said that, an arrow pierced the air, slamming barely a few inches from her face, making her squeal in fright. “No good, no good, no good!” she whimpered, only able to stare at the arrow in front of her, her knees weakening, barely able to stand up. “You were supposed to be our lucky charm, darling.” Yin Zhen tried to joke to ease up the tension, but the arrows kept whistling above their heads and the strain of carrying someone was taking a toll on his body and strength. “Put me down, Yin Zhen! You can’t go on for much longer! ...You go ahead, I’ll keep them at bay until reinforcements arrive. You are the Prince, if anything happens to you, there will be hell at the Palace. You’re more important than I am.” she wiggled in his grasp, which only annoyed him. “Don’t be stupid. But you’re right, we’re not getting anywhere. I’ll go deal with them, and you stay here. Don’t complain, there’s no way I’m leaving you behind.” he puts her down gently, drawing his sword and swiping an incoming arrow out of the air, charging into the tree after the hidden arrow. “You’re impossible...” she muttered, taking out her sword and trying to keep back the other assassins that were trying to catch up with him. “Y/N, RUN! NOW!” Yin Zhen never screamed...It meant business, so she didn’t complain, even though she saw how many assassins caught up to them. “BETTER STAY ALIVE!” she yelled back, bolting to find the reinforcements.

She started running through the forest, until suddenly, she got roughly pulled back by the hair, and she fell to the ground with a squeal. Looking up, she saw one of the assassins, his blade in his other hand, so she quickly drew her dagger, cutting her hair to release herself, then dug it deep into his neck.

“My Lady!” she heard a familiar voice, and she realised it was Minister Fan Wencheng, the person Yin Zhen must have sent to get help. “Yin Zhen is that way, he needs help! Fast, go!” she yelled sharply at the army behind the minister, and thankfully, the large contingent of armed men seemed to reassure her. “Save the Prince!” the minister “Thank goodness you arrived when you did!” she sighed, falling to her knees, hearing the enemies retreat. However, the last arrow sent wasn’t heard by her, despite going in her direction... “To think you’d be careless at the very end. Be more mindful, my brother would go crazy if he saw you dead.” another familiar voice scolded her playfully as he deflected the arrow with his sword. “Thankfully, you’re always there to save the day, Yin Zhi.” Y/N chuckled weakly, turning around to look at him with a relieved expression painted on her face. “Are you hurt?” he asked, crouching and helping her stand up. “No...No, I’m fine, don’t worry about me, worry about your brother.” she grasped his hand, holding it tightly, the anxiety of not seeing Yin Zhen getting the better of her. “He’s fine, I’m sure of that. He’s too stubborn to die. Come one, I’ll have someone escort you to your room.” he petted her hair, but she only frowned, refusing. “Thank you, but I can’t leave this place without seeing him. I’ll wait.” and so she does, and as soon as she sees the man dresses in gold, she rips herself from his brother’s hold and runs towards him, throwing her arms around him. “That’s the kind of greeting I like to see.” he chuckled, stroking her hair reassuringly. “You...You...Honestly...Let’s go back. I have to treat your wounds.” she stopped herself from saying something harsh. “You can curse me all you want when we get back. I know you’re restraining yourself.” he hummed in amusement, only feel her form weaken in his hands, and he realised he fainted from a running fever. “...Stop worrying about others and worry about yourself too, sometimes.” he shook his head, picking her up and walking towards her room, by the physician’s place. “Go get checked by the physician, I’ll look after her. You don’t want her to see the cuts on your face, do you?” Yin Zhi smirked at his younger brother, getting water and a towel to put on her forehead, to get her fever down. “Thank you, brother.” he nodded, leaving for the physician’s room, seeing his other two brothers getting treated.

Not long passed until the girl woke up once again, feeling better, despite the weakness of her body and the burning fever. As she tried to get up and open her eyes, a pair of gentle arms help her, giving her a glass of water.

“...Is there...Really no one else...?” she asked, realising that, if he was here, her maid truly sacrificed herself to save her. “...Unfortunately.” he nodded reluctantly, making the girl close her eyes, hanging her head. “That’s insane...But...I’m relieved. I kept thinking that...It could have been Shi Lian in her place, and dread overwhelms my heart. I knew what happened...But I didn’t want to admit to myself that such a kind-hearted, selfless woman could stop living, just like that...And I thank her upset stomach for driving her away from this place.” Y/N raked her fingers through the length of her hair, slightly surprised at the fact that it wasn’t as long as before, and then she recalled the events of last night properly. “I understand, your feelings are complicated. That’s how emotions usually are, unfortunately. That’s why I tend to stray away from them. You used to as well...But not anymore.” he pointed out, sighing. “What about the other princes?” she asked again. “They’re both wounded. All three of my brothers are now in the physician’s room.” hearing that, she let herself fall down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. “Thank goodness...I feared the worst. But at least they’re alive. They may not be agreeable, but if they were to die...I don’t want to imagine.” she dragged her hands down her face, groaning at the horrible things that happened, before an eunuch ran into the room, desperate. “3rd Prince! The 7th Prince is threatening to kill the doctor! You’re the only one who can stop him!” he explained vigorously, as the 3rd prince held a solemn expression. “Number 11 will recover from his wounds, but 7 may never walk again.” as soon as she heard that, she jolted out of the bed, running to the physician’s room, scanning all the three princes and their conditions, the light of the candles being the only way to illuminate the room. “Let me see.” she walked by the 7th prince’s bed, and he only scoffed, taking off the blanked from his legs for her to examine. “I see...The situation isn’t great...I heard the physician saying you may not walk again.” she muttered, only to feel a strong hand gripping her throat. “What would you know?!” he growled at her, his eyes holding anger and sorrow. “I know you’re upset...I can’t do miracles, but I can promise I will do my best to save your legs. Will you trust me?” she asked, looking at the prince, who was gritting his teeth. “Whatever. I don’t have many options anyway.” he sighed, leaning back on the bed. “If you’re not satisfied, there will be enough Imperial Physicians back at the capital.” she explained, realising he wasn’t looking at her anymore. “Fine.” he nodded simply. “I will go tend to the 4th and 11th princes’ wounds since they are easier to treat, and then...?! Hold up, what the hell are you doing here?! This plant is barely effective for stopping the bleeding...And you mixed Ginko seed for that? Ginko increases the risks of bleeding, you imbecile! ...What is it...? Ginseng root? You do realise he has a problem raising his legs, not his cock, don’t you?! And this...This is to relieve the pain from a woman’s blood moon! You know what? Do me a favour and get the hell out of here, before I kill you. No, actually, I need a lackey, stay here and do what I say.” Y/N went through all the plants and mixtures on the table like a hurricane, scaring the soul out of the poor physician, which only seemed to serve as entertainment for the rest of the princes. “Yell again, and you might kill the poor man with your threats. Not that you aren’t right, per say. However, instead of running around in your nightgown, still damp from the rain, I’d suggest you go change in something...More fitting.” Yin Zhi suddenly appeared into the room, putting his coat on her shoulder, snickering at her firecracker behaviour that usually appears when it comes to work. “Hmm...Yes, I suppose you’re right. I was so worried, I completely forgot how I was dressed. I’ll be back in a second.” she looked down at the light, short dress she was wearing, her cheeks flushing slightly from the revealing outfit, only to return, wearing Yin Zhen’s old breeches and shirt. “Are those my old clothes?” the 4th prince asked, barely able to stop himself from laughing. “Yes. Your mother sent them over to me a while ago. As you know very well, I stopped growing a while ago...And you didn’t. Practical clothes, I’m telling you.” she tried to ignore him, so she wouldn’t focus on the teasing, but on her work. “Then come over and treat my wounds.” he smirked, leaning back and taking off his coat, revealing the cuts on his chest. “Hmm...I see. You, go get me chamomile, I need to treat the inflammation and make sure the wounds don’t fester. Likewise, I need marigold ointment, horsetail...And milk of the poppy, a needle and threat to sew up wounds...Towels, warm water...What are you standing there for? Go on, do something! Chap, chap!” she clapped her hands to hurry the man as she took the hot chamomile tea, soaking a handkerchief and gently wiping Yin Zhen’s wounds. “Were the circumstances different, this would have been incredibly endearing.” he peered into her eyes with an amused smirk on his face. “Say that when we get home and you’re in perfect health, got it? I’m still mad at what you did.” she muttered, biting her lip. “Why is your hair shorter?” with a hand, he stroked the length of her hair. “...I realised this morning I had split ends. Cutting helps with faster hair regeneration, the same as trimming plants helps with growth.” she explained, almost as if she wanted to believe so herself. “And your hairstylist was one of the assassins. Tell them to give your money back, they did an awful, non-symmetrical job.” Yin Zhi mocked her, which only made her glare at him, taking out the sword sheathe and hitting him with it. “You’re the worst, Yin Zhi!” pushed him back on the chair, before turning back to treat the 4th Prince. “I thought this was a place of healing, not one of damage.” the man chuckled, only for the girl to scoff. “You’re unscratched, don’t bother talking. The only thing you’ll ever wound is your ego whenever you talk to me. Now, leave, I’m busy.” she waved her hand dismissively towards him, and he left, not without more thrown witty comebacks. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.” Yin Zhen chuckled, kissing her forehead. “Tell me that at home, please. Right now, I’m incredibly worried about the Emperor’s reaction to this mess.” she sighed, finishing up her paramour, before turning to quickly fix up the 11th Prince. “What’s the worst that could happen, I wonder?” he asked enigmatically, making her shudder. “The end of the world, if he would so desire.” she murmured, getting up, and taking everything closer to the 7th Prince’s bed, observing the wounds and cleaning them, treating them, bandaging them and stitching up some of the more shallow ones.

She continued the treatment all day without fail or rest, only remembering to eat when given food on a plate, and then, they had to leave back to the capital. Y/N rode again besides Yin Zhen, the road back to the capital much more quiet than the one the other way back, both of them deep into their own thoughts to speak more than basic concerns.

When they arrived, as soon as Y/N spotted Shi Lian, she jumped off the horse and engulfed the maid into a tight hug, telling her how happy she is to see her, and making sure she doesn’t say a word, until they go back home, away from anyone’s ears.

Just as expected, the next day they were called at the Hall of Mental Cultivation as the Emperor slowly reads a memorial, while everyone kneels on the floor, not daring to speak until spoken to. Obviously, the news of the 7th Prince’s condition reached his ears, and now he’s dead set on finding a culprit, believing that one of the brothers must be the one. The silence was so deep that was feeling everyone with dread.

“What happened to my nice ceremony? Could it be that Heaven is displeased, and so seeks to punish me?” the Emperor hurled the memorial to the floor, as everyone waited for the raging storm to hit. “Your Majesty, the ceremony had already been completed. What happened afterwards was the act of a traitor, not Heaven’s doing. I failed to protect 7th Prince. I take responsibility for it.” Yin Zhen took the blame, which made the girl’s mind shriek. “It IS your responsibility! He is a cripple because of you!” the Emperor threw the memorial at his face, which hurt the girl more than it hurt him. “Your Majesty, the 7th Prince may still be curable! With the help of the Imperial Physicians and modern, western medicine, we may find a way to help him walk again! In the mean time, the culprit must be found. An attack on the princes is a direct attack on you!” Y/N tried to shift the Emperor’s rage from Yin Zhen to her, and it seemed to work, for he slowly turned his head towards her, his glowering eyes making her heart beat faster with fear, and for the first time in her life, all the honors she had bestowed by his grace seemed to disappear, as she seemed like nothing more than a stranger to him now. “They were wounded. You, however...You, as a revered physician, failed to help him and give me false hope. From now on, the role of Imperial Physician will be taken away from you. You are free of your duties. This has nothing to do with you anymore, you may withdraw.” the Emperor spoke coldly, making the girl drop her jaw to the floor in shock.

It took a few seconds to compose herself, as she felt as if the skies fell on her, crushing her completely, before bowing and rushing to the Prince’s room, going by his side, looking at him with a stern expression.

“Do you still trust me to get you better, Prince?” she asked, trying her hardest not to cry.  “If not you, then who else? Why ask?” he frowned, forcing himself in a sitting position. “The Emperor took away my rights to practice medicine, however, I promised you something, and even if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to keep my promises.” she explained, rushing to arrange the myriads of ingredients she prepared. “You’re risking your life for a stupid promise you may not even be able to keep. Why?” he looked at her in shock and curiosity. “A few reasons. One, because I promised, and like Yin Zhen, I like to believe I’m a person of my word too. Secondly, because it will keep bugging me if I know I didn’t try everything I could to help you out. And thirdly...If the Emperor finds out I was able to help you walk again, I might get back my practicing rights, and he will stop being angry and blaming Yin Zhen.” she explained with a tired sigh, sitting on the side of the bed. “I know you hate me, but I don’t hate you.” she muttered, getting back to work  “You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” the 7th Prince looked at her with a dumbfound expression. “Go ahead and do whatever you want. I’ll make sure nobody tells a soul. It can’t get worse than not walking, anyway.” the usually grumpy prince gave her permission to work on his legs as she saw fit. “Thank you, Prince. I’ll do my best.” she nodded, long absorbed into her work. “...And I don’t hate you.” he murmured with a sigh, looking away. “Hmmm...? Is that so? If yes, then I thank you for clarifying.” she smiled softly at him. “I did tell you before, didn’t I? You’re different from most of the women in the Palace. They are other wretched and vile, or soft and quite, but neither have any personality or ambition, other than marrying, being well-off and having children to ensure their positions. It’s pitiful.” he sighed again, the usual grumpy expression on his face. “So...You were jealous on Yin Zhen, then?” she asked, not sparing him any glance yet. “Sort of, but not only. I remember when I was very young, you’d always be around the 1st Prince...And your friendship with the 3rd and 4th Princes continued nicely since then, even now. I wanted to have someone so reliable and interesting, like you by my side...A friend, you could say.” the Prince explained himself, which made the girl pat his head gently, giving him a smile. “If you want a friend, I can be one for you. However, let’s focus on getting you better first, shall we?” she encouraged him, and he seemed thankful. “...Thanks, Y/N. I won’t forget it.” day in and day out, she stood by his side, trying everything in her power to save him, only remembering to take care of herself when the Prince or her paramour would make sure she is taken care of.

However, after just over a week, the Emperor found her in the Prince’s room, still doing what a physician should, and he grew angry, ordering for her to be thrown into the Hard Labour Camp, and to be beaten as a punishment, until the 7th Prince protested against his father’s order said out of anger.

“Father, please don’t punish her! She wanted to help me. No physician was able to do as much progress as she did. Look, I can get out of the bed and stand by myself!” the prince explained quickly, rushing to get out of the bed, yet his legs were still wobbly as he was standing, and collapsed. “Prince, I told you, no fast moves. Take it easy, we have to properly prepare the muscles for effort.” she caught him, carefully helping him sit back on the bed. “See, Father? She knows what she’s doing. Please, don’t take her away, I don’t trust other physicians to take care of me.” the prince smiled reassuringly at his anxious father, who seemed to ease up a bit. “...I see. I may have too rash in my decisions before. You are correct, I have never seen a more dedicated healer, and I see that there is still hope of you being able to walk again. Very well, Y/N, you can have your position back. Please continue taking care of my son, my Lady.” the Emperor nodded at the girl before leaving the place. “...Hallelujah!” she let out a deep breath she had no idea she was holding before falling on the ground, relief soothing her soul. “You saved me. Thanks.” “You silly woman, you never know when to stop, do you?” Yin Zhen suddenly walked inside the room, scooping her up in his arms.  “I don’t...But do you?” she retorted automatically, almost as if she didn’t even realise. “It wouldn’t be fun if I did. Thanks, brothers, for defending this idiot. She constantly needs taking care of.” Yin Zhen chuckled, taunting his beloved, while his younger brother, despite his grumpy disposition, scoffed in amusement. “Do a better job at it, then. Now go already, I need to rest and you’re bothering me.” he shooed the both of them out of his house, and they could finally do something they wanted, no responsibility on either of their shoulders.

They walked together to the lake, laying down in the bed of flowers, under the wisteria tree, and holding hands, the prince heard the girl sigh in content, then tilted his head to look at her soft, relaxed visage. He admired her beauty for just a few more seconds before leaning down and panting a kiss on her lips. Instead of opening her eyes, she smiled and brought her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him with more fire and lover, finally happy that their problems were over, at least for now.

“I’d want to say you are uncharacteristically bold today, but we both know that would be a lie.” he hummed in amusement, leaning on his elbow. “You can’t blame me. I freaked out after the Emperor’s punishment, but now we can sit back and relax...And I can properly spend time with you. I didn’t even have time to properly say how worried I was for you that night...I was worried out of my wits when you made me leave you.” she sighed, caressing his face, looking at him with an expression that showed mixed emotions. “I told you I would do anything to keep you safe. Thankfully, nothing too grave happened. I suppose all that trauma you instilled into me when training was worth something.” he teased her, which made her stare at him in disbelief, before chuckling at his silliness. “I-I didn’t traumatise you, come on!” she grinned, flicking his forehead, just as he’d do to her. “I did complain to my mother that you’re treating me horribly.” he smirked, which only made her dramatically sigh. “At least it was worth something!” she mused at him, which, in turn, made him kiss her forehead. “It was thanks to you that I was able to protect you. And it was thanks to you that I was able to answer my mother’s riddle and receive the reward for it.” he confessed, holding her hand and intertwining their fingers together. “What was the riddle? And the reward?” she asked, blinking in curiosity. “She asked how did I think you would react once I finally beat you in a challenge. At first, I thought you’d hate me, as I used to hate you...But then, I came to realise that you wanted only the best for me.” he explained his feelings from over 10 years ago. “Ah, yes, I remember. It hurt seeing you throw tantrums, but I knew you’d come to your senses sooner or later. I always had faith in your.” she smiled like a proud kitten. “I know now. Which comes to my reward...Which is your love and trust for me.” came Yin Zhen’s confession, which made the girl blush softly. “You’ll be right there. I have loved you for a long time. My younger self wouldn’t have believed this would be her future. I’m sure she’d be as happy as I am now.” she pulled him down to kiss him again and again and again, overthrilled to be able to spend quality time with him like that. “And I opened my eyes and heart, and here I am, pouring all my love to you and you alone.” he reciprocated the kisses with just as much fire and passion as her. “So...Care to tell me again how endearing you find this little firecracker~?” 

[theswiftarmy]

#23 - Billie, Don’t Lose My Number

They reached the bank entrance after a quick jog.  The outside didn’t look anything like a typical bank.  It was just an ordinary steel outlined glass door leading into a corporate looking building right smack in the center of downtown LA.  No signs, or ATM machine, even.  Just a door, a locked door with a street address above.  The teenager waved in front of a camera mounted above them, the door buzzed, a light changed from red to green on a locking mechanism holding the door securely shut.  There was a clicking noise indicating the door was now open.

           “This way.”  Kymmie said to them.

           They walked down a plain hallway with marble flooring.  Steel and glass lined the sides as a soft glow emanated outwards from fancy lighting.  Exotic plants were spaced evenly every few feet.  The hallway was drab, dull, no bright colors whatsoever except for the plants and the soft glow of light flooding the room.  They walked until they reached an elevator.  She pushed the elevator button and the doors opened.  They shuffled in and took the elevator up several floors.  The doors opened again showing a tiny lobby with two more glass doors ahead that lead to a reception desk straight ahead on the other side of the glass doors.  A small sign on one door read:

A Private Bank – A subsidiary of The Banksy Bank – We don’t talk about money here, is that clear?

           Billie read the sign aloud then asked,  “What kind of bank doesn’t talk about money?”

           Finneas and the teen Arianator shrugged at her.

           The set of doors leading to the reception area were unlocked.  They pushed through the doors into an upscale office.  More exotic plants, and fancy lights.  “This way.”  Kymmie whispered as though they were in a library.

           She guided them past the empty reception desk and down a long hallway; rooms with stacks of binders were visible through floor to ceiling glass walls.  As they got closer they could see and hear others gathered in a very large and fancy office with a good view.

           “You made it!”  Justin yelled to Billie.

           “Did anyone follow you?”  Scott questioned.

           “No, I don’t think so.”  She replied.  “What is this place?”  She asked Justin and Scott.

           “It’s—“  Justin started to say.

           “Wait, what are we doing here again?”  Finneas inquired as he was offered a seat, cutting off Justin.

           “Did you tell him anything at all yet?”  Justin asked.

           Billie shrugged after giving Justin a high four.  “There wasn’t any time.  I tried to—”

           “Did you just give Justin Bieber a high four?”  Finneas questioned his sister.

           “Yeah.”

           “Why?”  He looked at her with a facial expression that also said, ‘why?’.

           “We’re trying to make high four a thing.”  She shot back.

           “Again… Why?”

           “Why not?”  She stated really serious, Billie serious.

           “You’re so weird.  Like, I love you sis, but you’re so weird.”

           “Well you’re weird too.  That’s why we make a good team.”

           “Fair.  And all of THIS is weird too so I guess that’s why we ended up here.”  Finneas spoke in a more calm voice.  “And whatever THIS is, it’s just too weirdly fascinating not to be into.  I mean, yes, we’re about to perform on live TV in front of millions of people, which is fun too, but I love this secret spy meeting vibe going on right now.  Plus, you’re my sis, so I trust you.”

           She smiled and shook her head at Finneas.

           “I see the two of you have met Kymmie.”  Oak said nodding at Kymmie.

           “Yeah.”  Billie replied still smiling.

           “She was the only one we could send that Taylor Swift wouldn’t suspect.”  Scott added from a fancy chair in the corner of the room that looked like it belonged in an upscale hotel, it looked as though it belonged over at the Ritz-Carlton.  In fact, Ms. Eilish was positive she’d seen the same chair in the corner of the hotel lobby.

Billie acknowledged what Scott had just said with a simple, “I see.”

Oak started to go around the room to introduce everyone.  “I’m Oak… Oak Felder.  This is Kanye…”

           “Duh.”  Billie replied.  She waved at Kanye.  He didn’t respond verbally, instead he put his hands together in prayer in her direction.  Billie mimicked the gesture back.  Kanye gave one single nod of approval.

           “I’m Scott Borchetta—” Scott started to say.

           “I know who you are.”  Billie said flatly.  She crossed her arms.  “I just want to make it known that I’m not on anyone’s side in all of this.  I’m only helping Justin because I don’t think it’s right what Taylor did to his cats—I saw the photos.  But, Mr. Borchetta, it doesn’t mean I agree with the way Taylor’s masters are being handled.  Okay?”

           “I understand.”  Scott wasn’t about to disagree with her.

           “Billie is her own follower.”  She said.

           “Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?”  Finneas questioned.

           “Yes.”

           “Okay then.”

           “So, who’s THIS guy?”  Billie said in a quizzical tone, pointing to the lawyer.

           “Carl.”  Scott introduced the lawyer. “He’s our attorney.”

           Billie moved her gaze towards a tall man sitting behind a wide desk with a large gold nameplate that read BANKSY. “And I guess that makes you Banksy?”

           An older gentleman with slicked back thinning hair stood up from behind a very large fancy and expensive wooden desk, he then walked over to her with his hand out, towering above her, his presence was impressively larger than life.  “Very nice to met you Ms. Eilish.  My name is indeed Banksy, but please, you may call me The Whale.”

           “The Whale?”  She said hesitantly.  “You want me to call you The Whale?”

           “Absolutely!”  He laughed loudly.  The laugh filled the room and echoed off the walls.  “I bet you’re wondering why.  Ah, the origin of the name is a story for another time.”  He said smiling.  “Everything has a story, wouldn’t you say?  Sometimes you need to know the story right away, and sometimes, well, sometimes… You don’t.”

           She reached out and shook his hand.  “It’s nice to meet you… The Whale.”  His grip was strong, but that wasn’t what sent tingles up her arm, his handshake wasn’t real, it was like shaking a prop hand, like someone else was moving his hand up and down—it was unnatural.  Forced.  Odd.  As if this moment in her life had been edited after reality happened and the arm was added in.  She experienced a flickering moment of Déjà rêvé. She was positive she had already dreamed this very moment.  Yes, in fact she had already met The Whale in a nightmare years ago. She pushed back an overwhelming urge to recoil in horror.

           He laughed again, with a very loud guttural growling laugh that filled the room to the brim this time.  His presence permeated the room as much as the laugh.  She felt disgust, an overwhelming amount of disgust.  Like she was suddenly surrounded with it and there wasn’t a way out.  He seemed like the kind of guy that could walk into any room, or situation and leave with everyone on his side, whether you wanted to be or not.  Suddenly the wave of horror subsided and she felt it all wash away.  She was left feeling empty for a moment, and then drained.  And then like it feels after a thunderstorm ends and the clouds disappear, everything is back to normal, in a way, but it’s all slightly different because the wind and rain stirred things up.

           Billie noticed shelves upon shelves of binders behind The Whale’s whale size desk, each one neatly labeled—there were stacks of binders, they were the same style binder on the same style shelves she passed in the long hallway walking to this very office.  The rows went from floor to ceiling.  Each binder had a last name, preceded by the word “THE” and followed by the word “TRUST”.  Each binder was labeled in all capital lettering.  An example might be something along the lines of THE PORTER TRUST.

           “What are those?”  Billie asked.

           He followed her eyes across the room over to the floor to ceiling the rows of binders.  “Those?  Why, those are trusts.  Of which, I, The Whale, am the sole trustee.  So, you see, you can trust me.”  He smiled a very charming and pleasing smile.

           “That’s a lot of trusts.”

           “It is, isn’t it?  There are more, elsewhere—a lot more.  Those are just the ones I’ve been working on recently.  They’re the documents that govern the trusts.  The legal language that dictates what the trust and anything associated with each trust can and cannot do.  So, let’s say, if I were to make an amendment using an exercise of testamentary powers of appointment on behalf of the settlor and beneficiaries of the trust, then those changes will have an effect on everything the trust governs—everything I govern, and it will be of my discretion to decide what that means.”

“Can he do that?”  Billie whispered inconspicuously to her brother.

“I don’t know?”  Finneas whispered back.

The Whale continued in his booming voice, “I know what you’re thinking, how does it all fit in that binder?  Well, the actual money along with any and all assets are guarded, or rather, invested and kept safe by others, elsewhere.”  He smiled again.  “Of course, we don’t talk about money here.  We talk about… well, let’s see Billie, we like to talk about… hopes and dreams, and what could be!”  He waved his hands through the air looking a bit like a magician, or the ringmaster in a circus.

           “Why do you have so many of them?”

           “I’ve been in this game a long time!  Long before you were even born!”  He said loudly and proudly, his voice boomed yet again, echoing off the walls.  “Billie.  Do you know what a trust is?”

           “Yeah, someone died and left someone else a lot of money.”

           “Yes and no.  Trusts are more like, well, one could compare them to a lot of things, but let’s compare them to master recordings.  There’s a settlor of a trust, the one who created the trust, and beneficiary of the trust those who receive from the trust.  It’s very similar to the artist who created a work of art, in the form of a master recording, and then there are those who benefit from the royalties of a master recording.  And like a trust, the master recording isn’t always held by the same person who created it, or by those who receive benefits from it, instead, there’s another entity needed to make sure everything goes as it should.”

           “Why not just give it to the person?  If it’s their money, or whatever, they should have it.  Why not just give something to someone that is rightfully theirs?”

          The Whale walked back to his desk and sat down in an oversized chair.  The chair also had his name embossed in gold lettering… BANKSY.

           “Ahhh Billie, but that’s just not how the industry works.  It’s a bit more complicated than you say, young lady, I’m sure you’ve started to realize that.”  He smiled and laughed then breathed in deep and exhaled slowly.  “You see, sometimes it’s not about giving something to the right hands, but not letting it fall into the wrong hands.  If I were to give you something that you couldn’t keep safe and someone else could simply snatch it away from you, someone with other, shall we say, motives in mind, wouldn’t that be bad?  Don’t you agree?  Would you say you agree with me?”

           “I wouldn’t let that happen.”  Billie said without flinching.

“Perhaps.  But, not everyone is capable of such things.  A trust isn’t about keeping something from someone, it’s about keeping whatever that something may be, safe from a bad decision that person may make, or perhaps, those around that person—a bad guy.”

           Billie rolled her eyes.  “Whatever.  I say let people make their own decisions, good, or bad.”

           He smiled then turned to a fancy mini fridge.  “Can I interest you in a bottled water?  It’s artesian well water.”

           “No, I’m okay.”

           He took the bottle of expensive imported water and placed it on the desk.  “Who owns this water, Billie?”

           “What?”  Billie responded, perplexed.  “Why are you asking me?”

           “Well, you asked a question of me just moments ago, about my work—” He motioned with his hand to the wall of binders behind him, “Isn’t it fair for me to ask a question in return?  Would you say that’s fair?  Upon entering my office, you asked for information that I gave you without qualms.  It seems only fair for me to ask a question of you.”

           “I don’t know, it’s, water…  No one, you can’t own water.”  

“That’s a fair answer, no one can own all water, just like no one can own all music.  I’ll be more specific, Billie, who owns the water inside this bottle.”

She looked at Finneas.  “THAT bottle?  I guess the owner of it would be whoever is holding it?  Or, maybe, whoever paid for it?”

           “Would you say that you, Billie Eilish, can’t answer the question?”

           Billie fell silent.  She sat for a moment then decided on an answer, “I don’t know who owns that bottle of water because I wasn’t there when it was purchased.  All I know is that you have possession of it right now, but I don’t know how you got it.  I don’t know the history of that water.  And since I don’t know where it came from, I can’t tell you who owns it, at least, the rightful owner of it.  All I know is that you appear to be the owner at this moment in time with the information I have.”

           The Whale smiled and sat back in his chair, he was pleased with the answer.  “I like your answer, Billie.  Water is just water, it’s everywhere in the world, or most places, rather.  It’s in various forms.  But this water, like all water, has a certain context.  Which is what you are trying to define.  And it is that defining context that gives this bottle value.  For if it had no value, why would anyone want to own it?  The value comes from the container, from giving it context in the story of the lives of all the people living in the world that consume water.  It’s what water can do in this world that gives it value.  Once you define the story and where in the story this water fits, the water can be consumed in a controlled manner.  And once you have consumption on a large scale in a very controlled manner, who owns that highly desirable consumable item becomes important to know.  One could also make the case that creative inspiration is also like water, just out there in the world too, until an artist plucks it from the air and, let’s say, bottles it.  The artist gave it context, control, meaning, they gave it a place in the lives of people in the world.  This makes it meaningful.  I could take all the words from every Harry Potter novel ever written and pull them out of the books, toss them into a huge pile, out of order, jumbled, and they would be meaningless, completely worthless words.  And just as I emptied the books into a pile of words, I can empty this bottle all over the floor, which changes everything, it’s still water, but it’s no longer in that neat little consumable form.

In no particular order words have no value.  They are meaningless without context, or without a story.  It isn’t until those words are extracted, put it in a bottle and labeled that they can suddenly have immense monetary value.  The words themselves have no real value alone, but string them together as JK Rowling did and bind the pages between a front and back cover and you have something of real value, something people want to own.  That’s where ownership becomes important.  That’s where legal wording can become very important, and the owner of a valuable creative work of art would then become very important to define.  Owning a creative work of art is like owning this water.  Works of art seep into the minds of anyone who consumes that work of art, just as water becomes part of every individual who takes a sip.  It’s a great responsibility to be the owner of something that becomes even just a very small part of so many people in the world.  You must agree with me then that a trustee of a trust—the owner of something that impacts so many individuals—should be assigned to someone of the right fit.  It should be someone fair.  You wouldn’t want that individual to be someone who would dump all the water out when they know you are thirsty.  If we were both given money to buy water but only one of us could control the money and make the purchase, wouldn’t you want the one controlling it to be an individual that could be fair?  If I own this bottle, I could do what I like with it, but let’s say it wasn’t my money with which I bought the bottle, let’s say it was some of your money, I would then have an obligation to share some of it with you as I did when I offered a bottle earlier.  I am the guardian and as such, I have a duty to fulfill as guardian.”

           “Well, that’s stupid, we both should just have our own money and buy our own water.”

“Ah, but if the rules of the game say that only one of us can hold the money.  That means one of us has to trust the other.  Would you say this bottle without water, is just a bottle?  Right?  An empty bottle could even be considered trash.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

He held the bottle up.  “If there’s no water, the supply chain required to extract and distribute this product, and then sell the water becomes useless without the water inside.  Right?”

“Sure…”

“And this water without the bottle and supply chain would not be sitting here on my desk, it would be halfway around the world still stuck in a well. The bottle alone isn’t very useful, and the water without the bottle can’t be distributed to the world.  So, wouldn’t you say they need each other?”

“I… Umm… I guess… Yeah.  I don’t know… You seem to really like water, Mr. Whale.”

“Well, you cannot have life without water“ He paused and smiled, “And in the largest body of water, lives the largest animal—the largest in the entire ocean… The Whale.  Every drop of water on the planet flows to the ocean eventually.  I like to think of whales as keepers of the oceans much like I look over these trusts, but enough about me.  Let me ask you this, you have music in your mind, and you want that music to go from your mind out into the world and into the minds of millions of your fans.  Yes?  Isn’t it a bit like how the water in the ocean evaporates and rains down in tiny little water droplets all around the world.  Each droplet could represent a single stream of a song on Spotify, or Apple Music.  Just one isn’t much, but when you have billions, you create a storm.  You want your creativity to rain down on the world, right?”

“I mean, yes.  Hold on, you said whales, plural.  You mean there’s others—”

He cut Billie off, “When you look at this artesian well water on my desk, there’s more than meets the eye.  What you don’t see are the tiny little droplets that make up this bottle, just like in every bottle pumped out of the well, but you also don’t see the pumping infrastructure and bottling plants and of course sales and distribution, and marketing.  But you say, well the finder of this water should own it all!   Isn’t that what you said?  That only one rightful owner could be declared?”

“No… Well, I mean, yeah, but no… It’s just…  You’re twisting my words.”

“Let’s say YOU found the water, just as you found a melody or a lyric.  But wouldn’t you still needed help to take the water out of the ground and create something that could be marketed and sold, just like you need the help of your brother among others to take that music from your mind and put into the hands of millions of fans, wouldn’t you agree that it’s fair to say it is not simply as easy as finding the water, young lady.  To bring that water to the world you need others.  But let’s say you found any water, anywhere, and you decided to make a claim on all water as your own, to bottle and sell as the only water anyone is allowed to consume.  What if you were to declare that you own all water everywhere because how is it possible to track every tiny droplet of water indefinitely.  Once the water leaves the bottle and each of those tiny droplets are disbursed out into the world, they may end up in other bottles, but since you made a claim on that one single bottle, then could you make a claim on any future bottles, even years from now where those tiny droplets may end up?  If new bottles years in the future contain a single droplet from a bottle you say you currently own, does that give you the right to say you own every single new bottle?  You own that entire new bottle if it contains just one drop from a bottle you previously owned?  Does ownership of one drop in an entire ocean give you the right to own the entire ocean including all that the ocean contains?”

           “I, umm… I don’t know, okay?”

“Billie… Who would own the water then?  If I own this bottle now, who owns the same water from this bottle in the future?”

“I don’t know!”  She shouted.  “I don’t know, okay… I try to avoid bottled water anyway.  I don’t agree with what it does to the environment.”  Billie started to feel like she was being coerced into her responses.  He was backing her into a corner and forcing her to respond in a specific way.

           “Billie, some things cannot be avoided.  You should know that.  You can refuse to drink water all you want, but eventually you’ll get thirsty and need to drink water, and if the only option you have comes out of this bottle, you then can either drink the water, or die of thirst.  You see, water, like art for example, or these trusts behind me, can have various consequences depending on how they are controlled, or who gets their hands on that resource.  The water was there all along, ready for anyone to find it, and it could have been any of us to find, bottle, and sell the water.  That melody in your music, those chords, those lyrics, or those sound samples, could have been found by anyone, but you found them and once you did, it put you in a very profitable position for you and your brother.  If you were profiting off the water sales, you may have a different sentiment towards the idea of water in a bottle.  Let’s say this wasn’t water, but a hit single, or a catalog of music, let’s say it were your music.”

           She crossed her arms and looked away.  “If it were my music, I wouldn’t want anyone but me making decisions about my music.  I’m not sure why you are telling me all of this.”

           “Anyone but you?”  The Whale stared at Finneas.

           She followed The Whale’s eyes to meet her brother’s, “And Finneas too, of course.  It’s our music.  So WE would decide.”  Billie suddenly realized what game he was playing.  The Whale was trying to create a rift between her and her brother.

           “I see.  Well, Billie, we need to know we can trust you.”  He said softly, grandfatherly, nice.  Overly nice.  “Wouldn’t you agree that it’s nice to be able to trust people?”  Again he looked from her, to Finneas then back to her.

           Billie wasn’t playing his game.  “Like I said, I’m not on a side.  I’m just helping Justin.  You can trust that I’ll do the right thing when the time comes.”

           “Very well.”  He said, without contest and sat back in his chair.

           “That’s it?  Very well?  All of that and you’re just like very well?”  She remarked.

           The Whale said nothing further.

           She narrowed her eyes and stared at him.

           “You know, I hate to interrupt.  But… Maybe it is time someone does fill me in?”  Finneas sat with his arms crossed as well to match his sister.  “Like she said, her music is my music too.  In your little bottled water story, Billie and I both found the water.  So, we decide who drinks it.  Also, I still don’t really get your water theme anyway.  You’re a whale and you like water?  I just feel like you’re trying to sell me bottled water, or trying to convince me to start buying it.  Now I’m just thirsty.  You know what, if you’re a whale then I’m a shark.”

           The Whale smiled and said nothing more.

           “Oooo, can I be a shark too!”  Billie shouted in an exuberant tone.

           “Yes.”

           “Wait, I’ll be left shark, because I’m sitting to the left of you.  And you can be right shark.  No, wait you’re left my right… wait… Yeah.  I’m left shark.”

           “You know left shark is the one that danced off beat—“

           “I know Finneas, that’s why I’m left shark.  It’s symbolic, I dance to the beat of my own drum.”

           “Well, that’s true.”  He shook his head yes.

           “Can I be baby shark?”  The Arianator asked.

           Justin jumped into the conversation, “Oh my gosh, wait, can we come up with a whole ocean themed dance routine?”  Bieber got up from his chair and started dancing like Katy Perry’s Left Shark from the 2015 super bowl.  Billie got up and started dancing too, as did the Arianator.  They danced like Left Shark to the music in their minds—The Baby Shark song.  They started to sing the song.  They began to circle around everyone, singing Baby Shark but also mixing the Baby Shark song with Justin’s song from 2009 ‘Baby’.  They all began dancing like Left Shark from Katy Perry’s super bowl performance.

          Scott cleared his throat, “I hate to interrupt this moment you’re all having, but… Finneas really should be filled in.”  He looked at his watch.  “And we only have so much time.”

Everyone sat back down and made pouty faces.  “Always so busy making time for everything else, but there’s never enough time to just dance and have fun it seems.”  Billie said in a somber voice.

“So… Do you know who Bill Porter is?” Scott asked Finneas.

           “Who doesn’t?  He was a sound engineer responsible for that early Nashville sound.  No relation to Billy Porter who appeared in Taylor Swift’s music video for her song ‘You Need To Calm Down’ and who will be at tonight’s AMA event.”  Finneas answered like a contestant on a game show with the right answer.

           “Yeah, like everyone knows that.”  Billie added.

           “You two seem to know a lot…”  Scott said.

           “We know a thing or two about the world.”  Billie proclaimed.

Scott paused and looked around the room then he motioned to Oak.

Oak got up and walked over to Billie.  He held the flash drive out for her to take.   She looked at her brother then back at Oak.  She took the drive and put it in her pocket.

Scott started to speak again, but the lawyer waved him quiet.

“Let me ask you this, if we skip the story, and get right to the point, are you okay with that?”  The lawyer asked.

“Sure.”  Finneas replied.

“Well, we have reason to believe that there’s mind altering audio frequencies in Taylor Swift’s music.”

Billie nodded as Justin had already told her some of this story.

“There’s mind altering frequencies in all music.”  Finneas finally said after pausing to think.  “That’s what music does.  It gets you high—in the emotional sense of the term.”

“True.  But these are highly addictive mind altering frequencies.”  The lawyer stated.

“It’s the devil’s sound.”  Kanye said finally breaking into the conversation.

“The devil’s sound, eh?”  Billie asked with wide eyes.  “You never mentioned that before.  That’s intriguing.”

“Let’s just focus on what we need right now to stop Taylor from playing the sound on national television.”  The Lawyer stated in an instructive voice glancing briefly over at Kanye.

The Whale opened a mini fridge and pulled out a second bottle that he placed beside the fancy bottled water.  The second bottle was familiar, red with white lettering, a bottle of Coca-Cola.  He looked over at the lawyer and Scott and back to the two bottles.

“That will work.”  Scott commented.  He got up and held the two bottles in front of him.  “If this bottle of water is music, as The Whale mentioned earlier, just music.  Then this bottle of Coca-Cola is what happens when you take regular music and add that Swiftie sound to it.  Coca-Cola has water in it, just the same as the bottled water, but in addition it also has a ton of sugar and caffeine and flavoring and it has the top secret recipe that Coke keeps in a top secret vault…”

“Right, makes sense.”  Finneas replied, now sitting on the edge of his seat.

“Well, I mean, it is called pop music, right?  It’s supposed to be addictive.  I feel like that bottle of Coke is actually all pop music.”  Billie got up and grabbed the bottle of Coke from Scott.  She shook it up for ten whole seconds before handing it back.   “I think if you really want to get it right, it’s more like opening that bottle right now, after a good shake.  Shake, shake, shake and twist the cap off.  Or, actually, you’ve gotta throw some Mentos in it too.  I’ve seen some of those Swifties and the way they act around Taylor.  It’s like she’s got their brains fizzing and bubbling on her music as if you dropped a few Mentos into that bottle of Coca-Cola after shaking it a thousand times.”

“That works too.”  Scott responded.

Finneas sat back in his seat.  He seemed to be fascinated more than anything.  Everyone was expecting him to find the news exciting and unsettling, it was as if he kind of suspected this type of thing had been happening all along, like he knew a lot more, a whole lot more.  “So, what’s on that flash drive?”  Finneas asked inquisitively.

Oak looked up from his MacBook Pro laptop, which he had removed from a carrying bag and was again working away on something.  “It’s a placebo track, for lack of a better name.  It needs to be copied into the sound system.  That’s where you and Billie come in.”

“And what happens if that sound doesn’t get copied into the sound system?”  Finneas asked quizingly.

“Mentos in Coke, Finneas.  Duh.”  Billie answered.  Billie made an exploding sound and threw her hands up.

Oak laughed.  “Well, that’s one way to put it.  But, as far as we can tell Taylor is... Well… She’s creating and hooking new and old fans by way of these mind-altering frequencies; she’s addicting the world to her music.  I suspect tonight won’t be the end of it, that she’ll plan to create new music so alluring that no one can escape its appeal.  Every last hater will become a super fan.”

“She’s turning everyone in the world to a Swiftie.”  Justin added.

Billie smiled slightly then glanced at her brother for a moment.

“Sounds like a dream come true for an artist.”  Finneas said also smirking.

“I guess that’s not really a problem, as long as you’re Taylor Swift.”  Billie added to her brother’s comment cooley.  “Or, the artist to have found the secret sound.”

“And what exactly do you mean by that?”  Scott asked.

“Like The Whale said, the water was always there, ready to be bottled.  Any of us could have been the one who found it, bottled it, and sold it.  She just happened to have gotten there first.  If you were Taylor Swift, you would have a different sentiment towards all of this.”

Billie and The Whale took a long look at one another.

Finneas smiled, “That’s kind of like what he said to you.”

“You’re a smart kid, Billie.”  The Whale said with a smile too.

“I’m not a kid.”  She agued.

“How old are you as of today, November 24th 2019?”  The lawyer asked.

“Seventeen.”

“To legally sign a contract without a guardian, you must be eighteen years of age.  You’re a minor in the eyes of the law, and that makes you a kid.”

“I turn eighteen next month, so humor me.”  Billie played with a ring on her finger.  “And let me remind you, that without me, you don’t have much of a plan left.”

The men in the room didn’t say a word further.  It was Seventeen-year-old Billie Eilish, a young woman in her eyes, against a room full of men who saw her as a sweet and innocent girl—And that was their weakness.  That’s always been the weakness in the male ego.  That’s going to be the weakness in five years, or ten years, or in one hundred years.  Women aren’t weak, they aren’t pretty little innocent damsels in distress and they’re getting tired of that stereotype.

Kymmie the teen Arianator social media influencer, the only other young woman in the room, sat with her mouth agape eyes transfixed on Billie Eilish.  “You’re so freakin’ awesome!”

“Well thank you.”  Billie replied.  “You’re pretty awesome yourself.”  She said in a cool laid back southern California style attitude.

“If I weren’t already an Arianator, I’d totally be on your team, Billie.”

“Cool.  I didn’t even know I had a team, to be honest.  I guess I have a team.”

“I’m on your team.”  Finneas smiled.

“Cool.  I have a team then.  Go team!”  Billie sat for a minute.  “I don’t know.  It still feels weird to say I have a team.”

“Well, sis, like Taylor Swift said, there is no I in team, but there is a ME.”  Finneas mused.

“Actually, Fin, there really isn’t a ‘me’ either—unless it’s an anagram?  I mean, she never really explains that in the song.”

“True, it’s kind of confusing.”

“Technically we all have teams,” Justin stated, “We’re all in the same business of hooking fans and getting massive followings, but how far do you go?  What’s fair game?  We all want our own piece of the global fanbase, but there should be enough room for any artist to break into the game?  I mean, right?  The lawyer and The Whale are pretty convinced that Taylor’s endgame is for everyone to be so addicted to her music and only her music that they can barely listen to anything else.  If that’s the case, we have no choice but you fight back against that.  Or, at least I think we have to fight?  All I know is, if there’s one artist to rule them all, what happens then?  What happens if Taylor becomes the queen of pop?  And we’re all just guests in her royal court.  Before long everyone will be calling her by ‘her grace’, or ‘her majesty’.”

“As long as I can be a duchess of some sort.”  Everyone looked at Billie very seriously.

“Billie, seriously?”  Justin replied.

“It was a joke!  I suppose this could make sense as to why she decided to be all hot to trot with that British boyfriend of hers.  Maybe she wants to become the next queen of America… Miss Americana.  Her grace.  Ooooooo, what if it’s like some big master plan to get America under British rule again!  First Brexit and then Taylor will marry Joe and then she runs for president or something one day and some how becomes the queen of America.  And then we can all speak in British accents and we start calling chips ‘crisps’ instead.  Oooooo… This is just getting good.  It’s like watching a good TV show right at the start and there’s no one to post spoilers online and ruin it for you.  Oh wait, no, I mean, watching something good on the telly.  That’s what they call it in England, the telly.”

Everyone looked at Billie without saying anything.

“What?  I’m just saying.  Maybe England had a plan all along to get us back and it was one of those wait a few hundred years and lure us all back with love.”

No one said a word.

“Oh come on!  You guys are no fun you know that?”

Everyone continued to stare with all eyes on Billie.

“Finnnneeeee.  I’m just saying, it could get really interesting.”  She paused for a moment with all eyes on her, “You know, I’d just like to point out that when it comes to sports, everyone’s all about one team winning the entire thing as champions of it all.  So, in an all out music war, it just seems like a double standard that everyone wants the Super Bowl to have a winner, but the minute you suspect Taylor Swift is trying to become the queen of all pop music and possibly rule the world, suddenly there’s a fight to stop her at all costs.”

“Well, you are certainly entitled to your own opinion Ms. Eilish.”  The Lawyer said, “Can we continue the task at hand?  Or are you declaring your allegiance to Taylor Swift?”

Finneas nudged his sister and shook his head no.

Billie clinched her fists and her teeth then replied begrudgingly.  “You may continue, sir.”

The lawyer motioned over to Oak and Pop.

Pop reached into a small bag and pulled out a container.  He opened the container.  Inside was a set of custom AirPods.

“Take these.  Just in case.”  He held the AirPods out.

“I don’t need those.”  Billie replied.

“If you fail.” He insisted.

“I won’t fail.”  She asserted.

“Just take them.”  Pop pleaded.

“No.”  She pushed some of her hair out of her face and looked away.

“Billie, Finneas, are you sure you want to do this?  This could really mess with your head.”  Oak asked.

“Please.  Mess with my head?”  Billie laughed.  She looked at Finneas.  “Have you heard my music—our music?  I think I’ll be alright—I think we’ll be alright.”

“If she’s not taking them, I’m not.”  Finneas crossed his arms again.

“But if you don’t wear them, you’ll be exposed to the sound.” Scott maintained.

Finneas smiled with his arms still crossed. “How do you know this sound you speak of isn’t in our music?  Or maybe we’ve already been exposed to it.  Maybe we’re Swifties already.”

“I know it’s not in your music.”  Bieber objected.  “Because it’s not in my music.”

“How do you know?”  Finneas lobbed back.

“Because, it’s not, right Oak?  And you’re not Swifties because you’re not Swifted.  I can see it in your eyes.  Swifties are Swiftie-Eyed.  I’ve seen it.  When I was earwormed at The Hollywood Bowl…” He trailed off then looked down at his feet.  “I’ve just seen it.”  He took his headphones off for a few seconds but placed them back on his head after Selena Gomez’s voice flooded his brain immediately after removing the special earworm canceling headphones.  Removing the headphones was to Justin what pinching yourself is to someone to make sure you weren’t dreaming.  Finneas looked over at Justin, observing his odd behavior, he didn’t ask any questions.  He just watched curiously.

“Well, actually, since you mentioned other music…”  Oak flipped his laptop around to show a linked 3D interconnected spider web looking model he’d been working on.  The screen on the laptop displayed a 3D visual of popular songs to the duplication of audio footprints in popular music.

“Whoa.  Dude.  What is that?”  Billie asked.

“It’s sound repetition in modern music.  It’s the number of times in which similar sounds within songs are linked to other songs.”  Oak explained.

“Wait, you mean like six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but for sound sampling in modern music.”  Billie replied.

“Exactly, just as words from individual lyrics, or notes, or chords are reused in multiple songs, sound samples are also reused.  All music really is a retelling of previous music, but in a new way.  So you’d expect new music to draw on old music, but these are actual sound samples that contain the exact footprint frequencies from current and previous music.  Like The Amen Break, or Taylor’s Bill Porter Easter egg master track ‘Swiftie mind control tape noise’ contained in Taylor Swift’s Big Machine master tracks.”

“A tape noise… I’ve heard stories of a holy grail of analog tape noise that produces euphoric effects due to just the right resonant frequencies hitting your eardrum.  I didn’t think anyone had actually managed to find such a thing!  So that’s what this is all about.” Finneas confirmed.

Oak nodded, “Think of it like this, suppose today, right now, at this very moment, a brand new chord were discovered.  A chord never before played, never before heard by any human ear on the planet, and that chord if played just right, would cause euphoric feelings for anyone who heard it.  The most pleasing of sounds, so much so, that no one could ever stop wanting to hear that chord.  This chord—never known to humankind ever before—suddenly were found.  And supposed someone figured out what that chord was, and started putting it in their music.  And their music became the most irresistible music around, so much so that all their tracks went to all the top spots…”

“Coke with Mentos, shaken, not stirred.”  Finneas said in a James Bond voice.  “Right?”

“I think he gets it.”  Scott said twisting the cap of the Coke bottle slightly, letting the fizz bubble off before continuing the twist, and then taking a drink.

“The sound keeps you captivated as long as you keep listening to it.  I’ve been doing some work here and I think it’s possible to manipulate the sound in such a way that this sound, if modified just right, would not only quench your thirst, it makes you slightly more thirsty as it quenches, so anyone listening to it would never get enough.”

“Wait, so what are you saying?”  Finneas leaned in closer.

Oak hesitated for a moment.  “It may be possible to make a song that you never get sick of, ever… Because each time you hear it, you actually want to hear it again even more than the previous time until it’s all you want to hear, until it takes over your mind and that melody is all you think about, all the time...”

“That’s devious.”  Billie said.

“That would be one heck of a yummy song.”  Justin added.

“Interesting.”  Finneas mused.  “A song you could never get sick of… no matter how many times you heard it. That’s an interesting concept.  That would be the ultimate earworm.”

“Almost.  Unlike an earworm, which you want to get out of your head, this would be a song that you want on repeat in your head, forever.  Whoever figures that out would have fame that never fades.  Their songs would perpetually be at number one on all the charts, forever.  I’m not just talking about the longest running number one song of all time; I’m talking about the last number one song, of all time.  An arms race to write the perfect forever number one song.”  Oak stated matter-of-fact-ly.

“Wow.”  Finneas stared at Oak.  “Do you think anyone is working on such a song?”

Scott looked at the lawyer, who then looked at The Whale.  The lawyer looked back at Scott and shook his head no.  Scott nodded.  Now wasn’t the time to tell the others.  Soon it would be, but not now.

Oak continued, “Well, Taylor’s been using this sound to captivate her fans, to some degree.  To keep their ears addicted to her music, and to her every word, and every move, completely obsessed with her.  But it does seem she has to keep making new music with the sound in its current form, as there does appear to be a half-life of the potency of each song.  It seems every song has a certain level of addictiveness to it, and every song also has a half-life to which that song becomes less and less addictive, one would eventually build up a tolerance, and ‘get sick of the song’.  This is all music, yes, but Taylor’s music just has a longer half-life due to the addictiveness being amplified because it has the special sound added in.  That is to say, becoming a Swiftie would eventually wear off after you played her music enough on repeat, or you stopped listening to it entirely.  You’d no longer feel the addictive properties of it.  Which is why she needed the sound to record new music.  It’s always about releasing new songs with this sound embedded in the master track.  A new song with that old sound keeps her fans following her around.  The sound is the secret chord so to speak of…”

“Hmmm, this is fascinating… I’m interested in that secret chord theory…”  Finneas spoke, as though he were deep in thought.  “It reminds me of that Leonard Cohen song.”

“Yeah!  The secret chord!” Billie gasped, almost reading her brother’s mind.  “I heard there was a secret chord, that David played, and it pleased the lord.  But you don’t really care for music do you?”  She looked at The Whale as she said the last part.  She recited the words at first like poetry, almost starting to sing, but talking in rhyme.  Then she broke into song, “It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift, the baffled king composing hallelujah.”

“Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…”  Kanye joined in the song and Billie sang with him.  Justin joined in on the second verse, and as they reached the end of the song everyone had joined in.  Everyone, that is, except The Whale, he doesn’t really care for music, does he?

They sat quiet, tingles down their spines, unsure of what had just happened.  But sure something beautiful just did.

“I feel like we’re all connected right now.” Billie smiled.

“This feels like that same feeling we had back in Oak’s studio.”  Justin spoke, relaxed slumped back slightly in his chair.

“It is.”  Oak affirmed.  “This is the same feeling.  It’s all the same feeling, but it’s how you get to that feeling, it’s the way music is used.  What happened just now is the same feeling we felt back in the studio from the old analog tape sound.  We are all connected, and that’s the upside as well as the downside.  Just like in music, there’s harmony, but there’s also discord.  When you create music the way it’s meant to be, you get this connected and amazing feeling.”  Oak said smiling.  “You get what we just had.  You share that joy of harmony.  The music flowed on its own, without restraint.”

“Harmony.”  Billie sang out in an impromptu melody.

“But when you bottle it and capture it, and add sugar and caffeine, and flavoring, and Mentos.”

“The magic is lost.  Right?”  Justin added.

“No, it’s not lost, actually, it seems like quite the opposite from what I’ve been able to figure out, there’s still magic and it works just the same, but, it becomes an explosive form of it.  And, that’s the problem, because when you try to control it, to get what you want…”

“Or to gain control others.”  Scott thought out loud.

           Oak clicked a button on his laptop and the web of connections began to morph and tangle into a mess.  “Discord.”  He said.

           “And that’s the sound?”  Finneas asked, now interested more than ever.

           “It’s what it could become if we don’t figure out exactly how it all works.  You get a few fans under the spell and they just become obsessed with an artist, but you get artists under their own spell and they start making music to no end at the whim of the spell itself, and then whatever entity is behind all of this starts to get control of everything, fans, artists, every piece of creative work could become part of this collective connected being.  And you lose that sixties hippie vibe of we are one... It becomes something else, a global The Real World show where billions of people are picked to live in this world together, let’s see what happens when they stop being polite and start being real.  I don’t think music was ever meant to be something that should forced into pretty packaging and controlled, to be copyrighted, to be owned forever, to be a goldmine to line the pockets of those in control of the sound.  I don’t think it was supposed to be exploited in the way it’s being exploited for mania fandom—from Elvis to the Beatles and the beginnings of rock and roll, to modern day pop music wars between Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift.  And I don’t think Taylor is the one controlling it, to be honest, I think it’s controlling her.  And it might be controlling all of us.  I think we’ve gotten to a point where it’s become it’s own.  All of media is possibly conscious and the creators have no idea what they are actually part of collectively.  But, one thing I know, the first to figure out the secret chord sound, to create that ultimate number one forever song, will have a great responsibility to keep that power from falling into the wrong hands.  My worry is that we’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg here, this may be greater than we even know, if you look at some of these links, there’s some that don’t make a lot of sense.”

           “Oh?”  Finneas said.

           Oak zoomed in to show the song bad guy.

           “Take Billie’s song bad guy for example, there’s a link between bad guy and some Australian scenes in films.  It’s the weirdest thing.  Like there’s a sound that matches this scene where they are at a crosswalk.  I think film may be part of this too…  Not just music, at this point, I think it’s possible Hollywood may be connected to this.”

           “Huh.  Yeah, that’s weird.”  Finneas shrugged.  He looked away, then to Billie.

           Oak mused.  “I think we have an unknown pandemic of varying levels of infectious sound samples across all music.  Some are more addictive than others.  Some have a short half-life for addictiveness, others are longer before you get sick of the song playing on repeat.  Some cause various effects.  The question on my mind is do we really know where all the sounds that are in all recordings of all time actually came from?  All songs, all movies, anything recorded, that anyone in the world can possibly be exposed to…”

           Billie nudged Finneas.   “You should tell him.”

Finneas hesitated for a moment before spilling the beans, “Oak, I have to admit something, the sound from our song bad guy that you think are high hats, it’s really a sound emitted when you push the button at most crosswalks in the cities across Australia.  We recorded it and put it in the song, so that has to be why it’s linking to those films shot in Australian most likely.  But some of those other links I can’t explain.  I have no idea why it’s creating some of those other links.”

           Oak messed with the music map a little more, “Well that’s interesting, okay.  So that explains the link from bad guy to these movie scenes, that crosswalk sound must be in the movie scenes, even if it’s a very low level that may even be nearly inaudible.  A boom microphone must have picked it up during filming and the editors didn’t notice the sound since it was at such a low level.  But, do we know where that crosswalk sound originated from?”

Finneas shook his head.

“Okay, so, we don’t know where the crosswalk sound originated from, perhaps there’s more to that sound than we know.  I have to wonder, who made that crosswalk sound?  It’s possible the sound was actually engineered to bring a sense of calm to anyone crossing the street.  Crossing a busy city street could be a stressful experience.  You say it’s in most cities across Australia.  I have to wonder if the sound was the product of countless scientific tests and was specifically engineered to produce psychological effects in order to calm city dwelling street crossers in addition to assisting those that aren’t able to see.  Perhaps it has more than one use? ”  Oak flipped the laptop back around and worked a little more.

“Damn.”  Billie sat in awe at what Oak was saying.  “So, for all we know, the Australian city planning department could have put mind altering tones in that crosswalk sound in order to keep their cities more peaceful—”

“And we put it in our music and gave it to the world.”  Finneas said to Billie as they looked at each other.

“That’s awesome.”  They said in unison.

“I would argue the opposite.  You’re possibly accidently subliminally altering thoughts, anyone who listens to your music could be affected, and you have no idea what it may be doing to their emotions.”

“Yeah but how were we supposed to know that… It sounded cool!  Honest, we’re not trying to screw with anyone’s head on purpose, plus, it’s not like we don’t hear our own songs when we’re out and about in public spaces, so, we’re drinking our own Kool-Aid in a way… It’s just music!  Right?  I mean, right?  It’s just music, it’s just fun… Right?”

“I’m starting to think it’s not.  I’m starting to think music isn’t just music anymore.  I’m starting to think it’s about trying to figure out the Trojan horse of music.  It’s a war to find the ultimate weapon—the ultimate earworm as you called it—the perfect song that no one could ever get sick of, and whoever figures it out first....”  He stopped for a moment and looked around the room.  “Well, I think we can all imagine how that would play out.”

Finneas looked from Oak to The Whale—the oversized fancy nameplate sitting on the desk with embossed gold lettering simply had BANKSY written in all capital letters.  Why all capital letters?  Finneas thought.  He was suddenly unable to shake the feeling that all those trusts weren’t random wealthy people, he recognized some of the last names: Famous actors and actresses, famous musicians, movie directors, producers, entertainment business titans of the past, sports legends.  He’d never heard of this guy before, either as Banksy or as The Whale, or this bank, and yet some of the names on the wall were some seriously iconic people in the entertainment business, role models that everyday individuals had idolized, still idolize.  Finneas was becoming super suspicious, there was more to all of this than meets the eye.  The Whale didn’t talk about money, why would he not want to talk about money; he’s a money guy!  But if that were the case, what else would he not want to talk about.  What was he hiding?  He decided to ask a money question to see how The Whale would answer,  “What’s your management fee for trustee if you don’t mind me asking?”  He inquired of Banksy also known as The Whale.

           “I don’t disclose that.”  He uttered, his voice slipping from its overly nice grandfatherly tone to one with a subtlety aggressive hint, he stopped speaking, musing for a second, Finneas had struck a chord with The Whale, “My boy, I will tell you the secret to success in life.”

           “What’s that?”  Finneas asked.

“Never do ANYTHING, for ANYONE, for free.”  The Whale stared at Finneas—his eyes meant business.  The way he said those words felt odd.  Uncomfortable.  Almost like a threat.

Finneas shifted in his seat nervously for the first time, shedding his confidently calm I know more than you think I do vibe, “I see…  Well, I’ll keep that in mind.”  He responded.

“Each and every one of these trusts represents a highly successful individual.  They represent someone who made their way in the world, in life, they reached the top, they were THE best, and in their mortal absence, it is my duty to make sure their name is honored, and maintained to the highest of esteem.  Do you understand that?  There are some things I will disclose, and others I will not.  I do a lot of work on behalf of the post mortem presence of these individuals, and as such, there is a fair monetary compensation in return.  But, the details of these trusts will never be a conversation that you, Mr. Finneas O’Connel, and I are ever going to have.  Is that clear?”

Finneas nodded.

“Is that Dick Clark’s trust?”  Billie said pointing to the large binder titled ‘THE CLARK TRUST’.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t say anything more.”  The Whale said sternly.

“Aren’t the American Music Awards a Dick Clark Production?”  Billie whispered to her brother.

He nodded back.

Finneas and Billie caught eyes for a moment and felt as though they had wandered into a lion’s den.  A wave of unease washed over them.  The question was, were they armed hunters, or some sort of small prey, or somewhere in between.  Who else in this room was prey, and who was the lion?  Maybe they had it wrong entirely, after all, where did Pinocchio and Geppetto end up?  Monstro swallowed them whole.  The entertainment business past wasn’t in the past.  It was part of the present, just because those individuals were no longer walking the earth, didn’t mean very big forces, and large sums of money weren’t influencing the entertainment industry in a very, big way.  A whale sized way.

Billie scanned the shelves looking for that recognizably famed name practically synonymous with Geppetto and Pinocchio and their little cricket friend but before she could find if it were there she noticed something else, a small cluster of items on the binder shelves that didn’t fit with what must have been hundreds of other binders, at the very bottom almost hidden by the desk, a few items sat isolated from the rest.  The first was a binder that had THE FREED TRUST typed neatly, but the words “THE” and “TRUST” have been crossed out.  She decided that must have something to do with Alan Freed who famously coined the term Rock and Roll, but from what she remembered reading he didn’t have much money when he passed away, so what would he have that would have been placed in a trust that The Whale would want control of and why cross out THE and TRUST?  Another had a name that she couldn’t place.  She looked at the name neatly typed on the binder, but it looked like old typewriter font.  The binder was a slightly different color from all the rest, it looked vintage, like it was created many years ago and had been sitting in the sun day after day, year after year.  It was the only one on the bookshelf wall of trusts that didn’t start with the word “THE” and end with the word “TRUST”.  It simply said “FOLEY”.

“Who’s Foley?”  Billie asked her brother.

“I don’t know…“

She squinted slightly and could see small lettering in lowercase beside it.  “Joe Hyde”.  ‘Who’s Joe Hyde?’ she thought.  Then she inspected one other out of place item in the binder bookshelf; it was sitting between the FOLEY and FREED binders.  It almost looked like a diary, or a journal of some sort, something someone might use to write down creative ideas.  It did not fit at all.  If she had to place where it belonged, it looked like something Taylor Swift would use to write down song lyric ideas.  But, it looked aged, or maybe it was just made to look like that, she was sure it wasn’t Taylor’s lyric journal; it had to have been someone else’s—some other prolific songwriter, their personal songwriting lyric journal, someone equally as influential as the other two names had been.  It wasn’t a trust, so it could very well be someone still alive.  Someone The Whale either wanted, or perhaps, already had control over… But who would that be?

Scott broke Billie’s train of thought when he began to talk to the room about general planning information related to the evening.

She was already told the details by Justin, she tuned him out and whispered to Finneas, “Something just feels off about this whale guy, about all of this, I don’t know what it is, Fin, I just feel like there’s more in those binders than he’s revealing.  There has to be more to this than they are telling us.  There’s more to that Australian crosswalk sound we put in our song.  There’s more to music than just… music. I’m starting to feel like there’s a secret that no one is telling.  And I don’t know, maybe it even has to do with all of Hollywood.”

Finneas nodded slowly.  He was thinking the same thing, they had just walked into something bigger than they could possibly ever know, but the question was, what exactly was it that they even just walked into?  Was there something more to all of showbiz?  Some big tightly held secret the whole entire industry kept that went back to the origins of Rock and Roll itself, or even included movies?  How much did they really know?  The only Foley he could think of was Jack Foley, the man who created the technique for adding sounds to movies, a process still used today in basically every movie and TV show produced, anyone who works with sound effects for visual media are called Foley Artists.  But why would there be a binder on the trust wall, that wasn’t a trust, for that?  And why wasn’t in the same format as all the others?  This was just weird.  As Billie said, something felt off about all of this.  There are industry secrets, big industry secrets, and everything they saw before their eyes, the wall of trusts, was just that tiny thread of a sweater, that little tiny first piece coming unraveled.  Whatever this was, it was big, really big.

           The lawyer suddenly disrupted the room, almost as though he were on cue and had been told to let things play out for a while before giving direction to the group.  “Why don’t we move things along?  Justin, I believe you had something to give Billie as well, correct?”  Carl said in a stoic voice cutting Scott off.  He sounded like a judge in a courtroom following courtroom procedure.

“Umm, yeah.  Billie, can I see your phone real quick?” Justin asked.

“Sure.”  She pulled out her phone and tossed it at him.

“Here. Billie, I’m going to give you my number.  It’s a secret number that Taylor can’t trace.”  He typed the secret number into the phone and stored it then tossed the phone back to her.

“Okay, there.  Now, Billie, don’t lose my number.”

“Don’t worry, Justin, I won’t.”

“I mean it!  Don’t lose my number Billie.  Just call me if something goes wrong.  It’s only going to get worse if you wait too long.  Because if you’re not anywhere, and I can’t find you…”

“Justin, I promise I won’t lose it.  You’ll be able to find me.  You’ll always be able to find me.”

“Just, don’t lose my number, Billie, don’t lose my number.”

Billie looked Justin in the eyes, “Justin, I won’t.  But promise me this, if everything goes wrong, don’t give up, if you can’t find me, don’t give up, just keep running.  Okay?”

“I will.  I promise.”  The Biebs replied.

She scooted her rolling wheeled office chair over to him, “Sorry, everyone, I just have to ask Justin something privately real quick about this secret number.”  She said to the room, and then whispered really low into Justin’s ear in Belieberspeak, “I know you and Scooter have history and that you and him are bros, or however that goes, but I just get the feeling he’s in for more than he knows. I don’t have a good vibe about this whale guy… and that lawyer fellow, too.  I think there’s more to this than any of us know.  Look at the names of the trusts.  It’s nearly every number one icon in the entertainment business and sports too.”

Justin glanced quickly over at a few of the names then back to Billie.

She continued whispering.  “I don’t want my name on that wall one day, in that bookshelf, I don’t want your name on that wall of binders one day.”  She paused, “And I don’t think Taylor’s name should ever be there either.”

Justin whispered back, “Our names won’t end up there.  That much I know.  I don’t know where our names will end up in the future, but it won’t be on that whale wall.”  He looked at the wall of binders on the bookshelves, the neatly typed names in capitalized letters.  “I get what you mean, though, there’s something odd about all of this.  There’s something going on and I feel like it’s big time yo, way bigger than we know.”

She and Justin shared a worried look.  Maybe this is the price you pay when you sign up for something of which you truly know very little about and can barely understand the words on the page that will decide the rest of your life before you are old enough to really understand what you’re signing up for.  And then when the story is told later on, there are different versions of that story to tell of the same event, because, to quote Emma Watson, “History is genuinely told from the perspective of who it’s told by”.

Billie pushed her office chair back over to her brother.

“Are you two finished?”  The lawyer asked.

“Yes.”  Billie confirmed.

The lawyer pulled out some papers and went over the secret plan to sneak Kanye West into the American Music Awards, interrupt Taylor with the interrupting cow knock-knock joke and swap out the sound.

           The Lawyer looked at his watch and made another decree, again, almost on as if on cue.  “Okay, it’s red carpet time.  Better get going, you know what happens if you’re late to the red carpet.”

           “No.  I don’t know what happens.”  Billie responded back.

           “Be late, Ms. Eilish, and you’ll find out, won’t you?  But, you don’t want to find out, do you, Billie?”  The Whale said, his face void of any emotion, if anything, it was slightly ominous looking.

           She shook her head no, unable to think of anything else to respond with.  That was exactly what Jeffery said to Post Malone.  It was word for word exact!  How could that possibly be a coincidence?  Her stomach turned slightly and she looked over to Justin then to her brother.  The entertainment industry had secrets that much she was now sure of… The red carpet was hiding something from her, and she was determined to find out what secrets it hid, that much she was also sure.  With that, the meeting finished.

On the way out of the office Scott stopped Billie, “Taylor didn’t get there first.”

           “What?”  She responded, taken aback.

           “You said Taylor just happened to have gotten there first.  I was there with her when she first found that sound.  We both were there at the same time.”

           “Okay, but doesn’t Scooter kind of own it now anyway?”

“Yes.  Well, he bought it with borrowed money, so it’s mostly owned by…” Scott pointed to The Whale.

Billie looked over at The Whale one last time.  He now had a big plastic grin on his face as he shook hands with Mr. Carl Lyle, the lawyer.  She leaned in closer to Scott, “Mr. Borchetta I have to ask you, are you sure you know who the real bad guy is here?  Is it really Taylor Swift, do you know that for sure?  Or could it actually be Scooter?  Maybe it’s someone else.  I mean, are you sure it isn’t you?”  She looked him in the eyes very serious, Billie serious,  “How do you know it’s not The Whale?”  She narrowed her eyes.  “How do we know who we can REALLY trust?  How do any of us know WE aren’t the bad guys? IF everyone is telling the story from his or her own perspective that means we all have a different version of history, so how can we genuinely be sure which history is the right one?  Maybe it’s me, even.  What if it’s me, and I just don’t know it yet.  Maybe when I tell the story, one day, you will be the bad guy or perhaps when you one day tell the story about me, I may in fact become the bad guy….” She paused looking at him, “Or, Scott, maybe, just maybe, I am the bad guy.”  She smiled then turned and walked away before Scott could answer.

She hurried down the hall and caught up with her brother.  He was walking along side Kanye West, Justin Bieber, and Kymmie the teen Arianator.  She then turned to look back at Scott for a brief moment.  He stood, mouth agape, still speechless.  After a few seconds Oak and Pop joined Scott on either side stealing his attention away from Billie.  The three of them began walking in the same direction as the others heading towards the elevator.  The lawyer lingered to have one final private chat with The Whale.  He waved everyone else to go ahead saying that he would catch up.  Kymmie the teen Arinator led the way down the long hallway ready for the next part of this already very adventurous day.  The Whale closed the door to his office after he and the lawyer finished their private chat.  He locked himself inside telling the lawyer to tell the rest of them that he had some important business calls to make and would be staying behind.  He also told the lawyer to relay the following information: He wished each one of them luck in their decisions.

Everyone shuffled into the elevator and watched as Kymmie pushed the button for the ground floor.

It was almost showtime and they had an appointment with the red carpet that they could not be late to.  And as they say in the biz, those late to the red carpet have to find their own way back.

Back from where you ask?  Be late and you’ll find out, won’t you?  But if you’ve ever arrived late to a red carpet event, you already know, don’t you?

@taylorswift