Chapter 29 (2/2)

“We all saw you last night…”

“It was a joke, I was just putting on a show!” Faeri insisted, glancing at the other two women who didn’t show her any support.

Tinya shook her head sadly. “You requested to step down as the Faeri. You wanted to leave Primrose.”

“We had an agreement!” Faeri shouted. “You become the next Faeri and I leave! This would have gone perfectly, you traitor!”

Realizing her rouse was crumbling, Hannah turned hostile towards Tinya once again. She didn’t show any love or affection for Tinya that she showed for me. Whatever they had, it looked to me like it was one-sided.

“The Primrose are nothing without their Faeri, and you tried to leave us. We won’t allow it.”

“Bitches! All of you!” Faeri shouted, backing away.

As they spoke, the nearby boxes were pushed aside and more and more Primrose came out. This was a complete ambush, or perhaps an intervention. All of the girls were looking at Faeri like she owed them something. In a few short seconds, the small warehouse was filled, and Hannah had nowhere to run.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be…” Tinya said, sadness cupping her facial features.

“You think I’ll just play nicely now? You think your Faeri will keep you going?” Faeri cursed. “You were nothing without me! You’re nothing! You’re-”

As Faeri shouted, Matty walked up behind her. With a single strike on the head, Faeri was cut off mid-sentence. As she collapsed in Matty’s arm, Matty pulled off her mask and tossed it to Tinya.

I glared up at Tinya, who was standing their hesitantly while holding on to the mask.

“Is this what it was all about? Being in charge?”

Tinya’s lips twisted. “You wouldn’t understand, you’re just a man.”

I frowned slightly. “What’s to not understand? Your brother was an asshole. You grew desperate and tried to rape me. Mom kicked you out, and Hannah was the only thing you could cling on to. Of course, now that you learned your time with Hannah was a lie, you’re upset.”

“Upset?” Tinya shot me a hateful look. “You and your Mom took everything from me! You destroyed my life. You threw me on the street. Now you want to take my Hannah.”

“You ruined your own life,” I shot back, “You know, my mom planned to have you be my first lover. I was going to give you a baby. When you turned on the family, she was hurt.”

Tinya took a step back. “Lies… your Mother just wanted you to herself.”

I shrugged, crouching down and touching Hannah lying unconscious on the floor. “Believe what you want, but if you had come back, I would have taken you in. I never forgot about us.”

“Us… there is no us…” Tinya gave a look of disgust. “There is only Hannah and me!”

“Tinya, it’s not too late…”

Tinya bared her teeth angrily. “I told you once before. Tinya is dead. I am the new Faeri. Hannah gave up that right yesterday. You’re now my prisoner, and so is she!”

“You don’t have to do this…” I stood up, taking a step toward her.

“You…” she stepped back and put on the mask. “You’re just like the rest. You’re a man!”

A few of the women nodded, like simply saying that was enough to explain herself. Clyburn couldn’t keep the irritation from flashing across his face.

“Hannah isn’t yours. She never will be.”

Tinya’s eyes, now outlined by Faeri’s mask, darkened. “You’ll pay for taking everything from me… you, and your Mother.”

She nodded and a bunch of girls grabbed me. I didn’t even try to fight back. I only felt sad that I couldn’t save her. The girls grabbed Hannah and dragged her along with me. We didn’t return to the cell, but rather the familiar room I had started out in. They chained me back to the pipe, and then chained the still unconscious Hannah to another pipe.

The light flickered off, and the pair of us were in the cold. I wanted to move over to Hannah, but the chains didn’t allow me to get any closer. Instead, I could only watch her unconscious form. I shook my head and sighed.

We sat in the dark for several hours. I laid with my head against the wall. I’d like to say I was coming up with ways to escape, but I mostly felt numb and confused.

When did Hannah join this gang? It must have been around the same time she was molested by a lipstick lesbian. Was being molested what got her into the gang or was it part of her play? I didn’t know. Either way, the Hannah I thought I knew was gone.

“You… must hate me.”

My eyes snapped open as I heard Hannah’s voice. She was still lying in the same position she was left by the Primrose, but her eyes were opened now. I had no clue how long she had been awake.

“You’re my sister,” I responded simply.

“I… betrayed you,” she spoke hesitantly. “I led a double life and then as soon as I got the opportunity, I imprisoned you here.”

“… I know…” I said, not knowing how to respond.

“I wanted to take you away from Mom,” Hannah sighed. “Away from Madison too. I just wanted you all to myself.”

“That’s impossible.” I grimaced. “Not in this world.”

We sat in silence for a few moments before Hannah continued. “In your other world, did you have a sister?”

I had already guessed I had been misunderstanding what Hannah said before when she said she came from another world. She might have been talking about the fact she was wearing a mask. Or perhaps just being in a gang in general. I had told my little sister something I never should have told her. No, worse, I had told a complete stranger a secret I never should have spoken. I was so desperate to find someone like me, I had ended up hearing what I wanted to hear.

I gave a wry chuckle. “Why, you jealous?”

“Maybe… if you slept with her…”

I broke into a cough. “Ah… ahem… actually, in my world, men are plentiful. Sleeping with your sister would be completely inappropriate. Even half-sisters and adopted sisters would be taboo.”

“… oh…” Hannah responded simply.

“No… in both my lives, you’re my only sister…” I paused for a second. “I’m sorry… for everything.”

Hannah raised her head. “Why are you sorry?”

I gave a wry smile. “You had an entire hidden life. You kidnapped me and you committed crimes just to get back at this world that focuses on men. To get back at me…”

“Ah!” Hannah held out a hand, but after a moment realized she couldn’t argue that point.

“Well, for the last year I’ve hidden my real self. I threw myself at Mom, you, and Madison just to alleviate my frustration and isolation. This world is frustrating for both sexes. The men who are handed everything but treated like objects, and the women who must work tooth and nail for the chance to have a baby.”

“Then let’s change it.” Hannah’s voice reverberated in the dark room with a surprising amount of strength.

“How?”

“We escape… we run away…”

“I’m not going to do that!” I grimaced. “I’m not going to leave Mom…”

“Mom? Mom again…” Hannah said that like a curse. “That woman is always in the way.”

The hatred in Hannah’s voice wasn’t any lighter now. I hesitated for a moment. I had to fix things between mother and daughter. There was no way to move forward without that.

“Hannah, I…”

The door opened, interrupting the pair of us. Tinya, still wearing the mask, glared at us.

“Get them.”

A couple of girls moved into the room and surrounded the both of us. Hannah tried to struggle for a moment, but when it was clear they wouldn’t yield, she sighed and let them lead her with me right behind. The pair of us were unchained and moved out into the room with two women on either side of each of us. We ended up where Hannah and I had been forced to perform her exiting ceremony, although the bed had been removed.

It made more sense to me now than it did the previous night. Hannah must have decided to let me go after our conversation. She wanted to step down as Faeri, which seemed to be less an actual person and more a name for whoever the group leader was. Leaving the group required being sexed out… a process similar to what was necessary for some girls to join gangs in my old world. She probably made some kind of deal with Tinya where I became her sex out partner and then she’d sneak out with me while Tinya took over the Primrose. What Hannah didn’t realize was how furious Tinya would be over the thought of Hannah leaving.

“Tinya, quit this already,” I sighed, trying to end the situation. “Let us go and I’ll give you some semen. It doesn’t have to-”

“You think this is about semen?” Tinya sneered, spinning around as we were brought to a stop. “Half the girls in Primrose are lipsticks. Hannah never resented men like the rest of us. She never truly spoke for the Primrose. Her plans for you were never our plans for you! This goes beyond what I feel for her. A lot of the girls have been unhappy with Hannah using us so she can play at being a house wife.”

Hannah frowned as Tinya spoke. Many of the Primrose, who were now standing around us, nodded or made noises of affirmation. Naturally, when Hannah was in charge, no one argued with her. Hearing about their discontent now made her feel a bit affronted. As soon as she gave up the mask, she lost all of their respect and admiration.

“If this isn’t about semen, what is it about?” I demanded.

Tinya, the new Faeri, made a malicious grin. A second later she snapped her fingers. A woman was dragged into the room. They struggled slightly, but they seemed to stumble a bit. There was a bag over their head. As soon as I saw them, something about their body caused my heart to rise to my throat.

Tinya let out a laugh. “I finally realized the perfect way to satisfy my anger and save the Primrose.

She grabbed the bag and pulled it off, revealing the person underneath. That person was none other than our Mother, Morgan!