The boss was so infuriating!
No matter how many rounds they two of them played, the boss always mucked up the last round. Eta was at wit's end.
Look at how he’s holding his cards! Mind those claws you big oaf.
He was probably marring the cards on purpose, goodness knows Boss’s mind was plenty sharp. At least one Ace of Harps had three distinct puncture holes. As for the others…well, Eta hadn’t quite figured out the Boss’s system, but she knew he had one.
He had to!
No one drew two naturals after the second hand. Not even quiet Thomas was that shameless.
The boss was counting cards, but Eta had the rules on her side.
“Canasta!” Boss cried!
Nope, something’s wrong here. I just know it!
Ah ha! Eta hoped she suppressed the big, smug grin threatening to spread across her face; nobody wanted to play with a swarmy-wormy-pants. One of her bony, haggard fingers pointed at the completed books of hide piled to the side of him.
“Nope, you’re one book short,” she said. “Remember? You gotta have three books of naturals this last round.”
Try to cheat me, will you! I’ve got the rules on my side, not My fault if you can’t remember them, Mr. Smarty-pants.
Boss hung his head and picked his last card back off the discard pile. He had to redo his turn, now. Eta felt satisfaction as the boss drew a couple of worthless cards from the deck—not that Eta was gloating or anything. Nuh-uh, rules is the rules, Cheater-Peter.
“Thwarted,” Boss whimpered. “Again.”
Even her little savage gloated over the Boss’s shamelessness. “Haha! What a loser! You can’t beat my princess.”
Oh dear, that’s a little harsh, even if your heart's in the right place. Completely true…but harsh.
The boss must have taken the loss a bit too hard. Boss’s tail smacked the little savage, sending the poor guy into a giggling fit.
Now, that is too much!
Eta wanted to jump to her feet and smack the boss in return, but, alas, she was a bed-bound invalid. Gritting her teeth, Eta cursed the boss and decided to beat him black and blue the only way she could: With her knowledge of the rules.
Boss had picked up the game real quick, that was for sure, but even his sharp mind couldn’t overcome the umpteen years Eta had been playing. Heck, she practically invented the rules!
The savage hopped away to address the commotion behind her, but Eta closed her ears. She didn’t hear a damn thing if she didn’t want to. Obstinace was the true prize of the elderly.
Her once panoramic vision saw only the cards in front of her. Peripherals were just a useless distraction, and Eta couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
She was determined to beat the boss. Love is love, and cards are cards, my dear.
For the next little while, she wiped the floor with him, and boss couldn’t do a damn thing to stop her.
Ha! You got a handful of wilds? I raise you a book of Shards and a book of Rhubarb! Canasta, bitch! Bet you didn’t know I was holding those back. Oops…I mean, oh dear, it seems I finally drew the last card I needed. That’s right, don’t forget your manners. Play it humble…then shove it up his ass! That’s how a proper lady should play.
“M…me…kill me.” Some sickly kid said behind her.
That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it? Sounds like you just got a sore throat, dear.
Eta’s next thought slipped right past her defenses. 'You need to choose.'
She shook her head and kept her tunnel vision forward. Nope, nope, nope. I don’t know anything about that. All I know is Canasta, knitting, and sex, though, admittedly far less about the last one than I’d like.
Eta couldn’t help but eye the Boss’s long, sensual tongue as he clicked it, apparently distracted by some scene far removed from their ‘friendly’ little game.
“Kill me. Kill me.” The hoarse voice said.
That poor thing. Someone ought to help the boy. What? Don’t look at me, Boss. I can’t do anything about it, you know. I can’t choose, there’s no way. No way. I’m just an old cripple.
Unfortunately, Boss didn’t pay her silent pleas any mind. He stood up, eyeing the scene far removed from their ‘friendly’ game, and a nagging thought churned Eta’s stomach.
'You have to choose.'
“No, I don’t,” she pleaded. “I don’t have to choose, Boss. We can keep playing. It’s easy, really easy to ignore. It’s all so easy to ignore. Come on, we gotta get back to our game, my dear. Sit down, sit down. It’s all about the game; I’ll show you, just watch and I’ll show you!”
But the boss shook his head, full of remorse.
He waddled behind Eta’s chair. No, boss. I can’t choose, don’t make me, please? It’s so easy to ignore. Let’s keep playing, yeah?
Two big meaty claws reached around from behind and pulled Eta close. Boss gave her a big hug and rested his giant maw on her shoulder.
His warm breath tickled her cheek more than it should have. Were her cheeks wet? Why? 'You got to choose.'
“I…I don’t,” Eta whimpered. “I don’t have to do a damn thing I don’t want to.”
That’s right.
Eta leaned to the side and rested her cheek against the boss’s giant maw. “Please Boss, I’m—I’m really sorry I was mean to you with cards. I just…I can’t choose. Don’t make me.”
And then a fire ignited within her. “Dammit, dammit, dammit, this is cruel! I’m an old woman for Crissy sake! That means I don’t have to do a damn thing I don’t want to.”
Boss loosened his hug and grabbed Eta’s arm. His cold claws stung her wrinkled skin.
“Look here, my princess,” Boss cooed. “Your arms are soft and smooth.”
He caressed it. “I would know, I stitched these seams myself.”
No, I’m an old lady, dammit! Stop it. Just stop it. I don’t want to know, I really don’t.
He let go and Eta whimpered, her vision narrowing into a tiny slit. The world around her had gone dark save that one tiny slit. She didn’t want to see it. If she couldn’t ignore it, she simply wouldn’t look, and that was all there was to that.
However, she couldn’t block out the sound of the squeaky wheels nor the chair bouncing across the rough floor.
Boss wheeled her right in front of the wall. High above, the boy with the sore throat was strung up. Taut ropes wrapped around him for some bizarre reason.
Tag…we were playing tag. That’s all this is.
“Ha. You’re it, child,” Eta muttered.
The boss massaged her shoulders. “I can admit my failings. This was my mistake. I allowed Oenus too much freedom, and now it’s clear just how much I underestimated his stupidity.”
The massage stopped and he knelt down in front of her. “Whether this is another mistake, I cannot say either. I am a stupid, stupid dragon. The remedy for my error may be no good, but, understand this, as you are, you are no good either.”
He grabbed under her armpits and hoisted Eta to her feet. For the first time in who knows how long, she was eye level with her surroundings.
The boy with the sore throat stared her down with an unwavering conviction. That boy, he’d accepted this world and didn’t doubt himself in the slightest.
“Bring me the sword,” the boss instructed.
The little savage grumbled but after a few moments, Eta held the hilt in her hand, boss made sure of that. It was so heavy and her feeble, haggard arms could hardly support it, but Boss helped with that, too.
The blade crept closer, and a smug grin spread across the poor boy’s face. Eta felt a little obstruction as the tip stalled on the boy’s bindings. The boss put a little more pressure on her arm, urging it forward, and then…
“Me! Kill me, you stupid bitch! You fat ugly whore! You S&M loving, ass reaming, shit devouring, slut! Kill me, Stupid!”
Huh? Eta stalled the blade right before it pierced the bindings. Boss put more pressure on it, but Eta wasn’t anything if not stubborn. The blade wouldn’t move and there wasn’t a damn thing the boss could do about it.
She turned her head.
Another boy was strung up. His face twisted in a completely different expression. He hadn’t accepted this world, no, not like the boy with the sore throat had.
The other boy was scared, confused, and helpless. His words were acidic, but it wasn’t hard to read between the lines.
‘Choose me! Please, please, help me! Choose me!’
Eta forced a smile and boss quit trying to urge the blade forward.
She stared at that boy who desperately needed help and said, “I’ve decided.”
