Jesper

Wooden planks lined the walls of Jesper's room. Candles were laid out romantically across the various desks and nightstands. Something resembling purple rose petals littered the floor.

“Welcome to my abode love.” Jesper lay in a red, heart shaped bed. He was draped in a silken, maroon blanket. His large, tanned arms grasped an even larger, heart shaped pillow. His long, pointed ears waggled. “This is where you’ll be babe, after you make yourself comfortable of course.”

I should just kill him now. Mary reached for one of her modified Desert Eagles.

Jesper winked. “Usually my darlings do that part in the dressing room, but you must be eager.” He made a kissy face.

Mary noticed eight, door shaped markings on both the left and right walls. Only those steambots would be behind their. She took a deep breath. Her arm continued to grasp the handle of a gun in her coat. “I am here to discuss the forest.”

“Oh, that. I wouldn’t worry about it doll. I’ll protect you from all the scary monsters. And I’ll make sure there’s only one snake you’ll ever see.” He waggled his eyebrow and gestured for Mary to get into the bed.

The sword above Jesper’s bed frame appeared new. One look at its design allowed Mary to discern its ceremonial nature. His fully healed scars and muscles that clearly lacked the definition they once had informed Mary of how long it had been since he last wielded a blade. She raised her head and looked down on Jesper. “I am not here for the reason you think I am. The forest is heavily contaminated with a large amount of toxic substances. I have the data samples if you would like to see them. I did not see any animals or 'monsters' while I was out there. It is your duty as the ruler of this land to fix this problem. If you do not, I will.”

“You don’t need to be worrying your pretty little head about these kinds of things doll. I’m already taking care of it. I’ve also been told my ‘massages’ are very good at helping people relax.” He swirled a glass of champagne. “Would you like some?”

“I do not drink.” Mary realized how little brass there was inside his room. He must use magic somehow.  Mary gripped the handle of her other Desert Eagle. “What have you been doing to reduce the contamination in the forest? That level of contamination is killing the trees and it will hurt people.” 

Jesper sat up. “What is it with you and those stupid trees? Just drop it.” He scoffed. “There’s only ever been one tree all the other girls have cared about before. Just who do you think you are woman?” He grabbed the sword off his bedframe.

So that's how he uses magic. Mary smirked. There is only one thing someone who has hurt Lena as much as I have could be considered. “A villain.” I can not un-break a promise and Lena is not here to remake it. I am sorry, Lena. I did not make a promise that could be kept. Mary flicked her hood over her head using her back and drew her weapons. Sixteen doors, sixteen shots.

“Oh, now you want to role play.” A brown light shot out of Jesper’s blade into the ceiling. “Well too late. You angered me.” He glared at Mary with an overwhelming aura of confidence. Any hint of playfulness in his voice disappeared.

Mary held her guns with a sideways grip and pointed them at the first set of doors. "The only thing I have ever wanted to do in this world is save the forest. You are just another problem to solve."

 “I will teach you not to threaten me!” Jesper’s eyes twitched. The doors burst open. He stood up. A blanket he paid no mind to struggled to cover his body. "A seasoned wizard would struggle to take down just one. I'd like to see you try to hurt any of them."

Steambots stepped out of each door. Mary’s guns fired in unison, the noise easily absorbed by the thick walls. She took one step forward. When the recoil hit its apex, each gun fired another shot. She took another step. The position of the doors and the sound of moving gears were more than enough to guide her aim. Her guns fired a third time. She took a third step. The momentum of her guns was enough to guide her arms. Each of her gun's fourth shot followed the example set by the other three and downed two more steambots. She took a fourth step. Not once did she take her eyes off Jesper whose confidence wavered with each fired bullet. Alongside her guns' fifth shot, she took her fifth and final step onto Jesper’s bed. A sixth bang further disoriented Jesper. Even though he stood many heads taller than Mary, she looked down on him. Two more shots. Jesper covered his ears. The two remaining steambots turned to face Mary, as if emboldened by the final remnants of Jesper’s confidence. The final set of bangs destroyed what little of Jesper's confidence remained . The final two steambots clattered against the floor.

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“H…how?” Jesper fell to his knees. Mary’s guns finished their journey in front of his face. “It… it would have taken a mage longer to defeat a single one of them. A..and you… You!” Jesper pulled back when he felt the cold steel of Mary's guns pressed against his forehead. In all the years he fought; in all the years he commanded soldiers; not once did he see a gaze like hers. Its warmth was kept at a distance, leaving him in the cold. It was welcoming, and yet, it excluded him.  She regarded him the same way a farmer regards a blighted crop. She looked  calm, like the sea before a storm. Click. Jesper stared at the gun for a moment before he realized what happened.“Ha, ha! hahahaha!” His laughter filled the room. He was given an opportunity and he was going to take it. He thrust his blade towards Mary. Their eyes met. She isn’t concerned, why isn’t she concerned! Mary pivoted. He tripped over the blanket. Did she do that on purpose. She can’t have considered this. I'm sure I can use this to my advantage somehow. The but of Mary’s gun struck the back of his head.

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A sensation of falling overcame Jesper. He felt hungover. “Where..?” He stretched his leg. They dangled in the air. His eyes shot open. The orange sky welcomed him. A rope across his chest forced him to take panicked breaths. He tried to raise his hand but another set of ropes squeezed his arms against a metal bar. I don’t remember consenting to this. Whichever one of my dolls did this… His recent memory returned.

“You will hold onto those bars if you want to live.” Mary cut the ropes.

He gripped the bars with every ounce of strength he could muster. The falling ropes drilled the necessity of not letting go into his mind. “What do you want, you psycho bitch!?” The panic was clear in his voice.

Mary tilted his head over the balcony railing. “I want to save the forest." She smiled the same smile as before.

“And how might killing me accomplish that!?” He lifted his leg onto the balcony ledge only for it to slip. Did this crazy bitch actually grease the ledge? He tried to come up with a solution while Mary was still talking. “It’s not like I personally polluted the forest.”

Mary drew one of her knives. A barely visible, grey substance could be seen on the blade. “Then who or what is polluting the forest?”

“If you let me go…” Mary held the blade against his throat. He felt a liquid of some kind on it.

“If you do not tell me now I will kill you and figure it out myself.” Any semblance of warmth was gone from her gaze, yet her voice remained soft.

“Well you see the problem is I need…”

Mary’s blade began to dig into his throat. The liquid coating it seeped into his blood. “Your voice box is right beneath my blade. Everything you need is right there.” She tilted the blade.

“O…Okay.Okay. Fine. I’ll tell you. Alright? There is a machine at the top of this tower both the stairs up to it and its controls are behind a hidden door opposite the room we were just in. You need a key to get in. If you let me back up I can get the key for you and show you how it works.”  He could tell his grip would start failing soon. “Th... then maybe w… we could… ‘make amends’ and forget this whole thing ever happened… love?”

Mary breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, then smirked. She dangled a necklace holding a key in front of his face. “You mean this key.” The knife dug deeper

“You lying bitch!” He tried to bite at the key but Mary flicked it back into her hand.

“I did not lie. I told you I would kill you if you did not tell me when I asked.” Her gaze froze. She raised her head. “I have only ever broken one promise. I… do… not… intend… … to… … break… … another… …”

Her voice slowed down. Her blade moved slower. The pain lingered longer. “What… … did… … you… …” His words wouldn’t come out as fast as he wanted them to. “…do… … … to… … … me… … … you… … … … bitch… … … …?” Everything kept getting slower and slower. He felt the pain of her knife’s every movement as it cut through his skin even slower and slower still; the pain increased with each slowed movement. He could feel every pulse of blood leaving his body to the tune with his heartbeat. Every cell in his neck screeched in pain from being torn as his body fell to the streets below. Mary never answered his final question.