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We should make a widow's alliance. You, me, Grian... when our husbands inevitably die, let's team up, alright?
Well, didn't that work out swimmingly.
Scott had started to regret the proposal as soon as he saw Jimmy's body. His heart was so broken he didn't think he could ever team with anyone again, even Cleo... but then she had gone and died as well, Bdubs outliving her, much to both their surprise. None of it was happening the way he'd imagined it.
But a promise was a promise. He'd promised to start the widows' alliance, and so here he sat, Bdubs opposite him, amidst the violets. He sneezed. "Bless you," Scott said automatically.
"Thanks," Bdubs replied, looking to the side, towards the sunset. "So, uh, are we expecting anybody else?" he asked awkwardly.
Scott shrugged. "I invited Grian, but Scar's still alive, so..."
"Right. Well hey, maybe Scar will show up instead. You'll like that, right?"
Scott sighed. He deserved the jab, in a way. He could tell he was doing a terrible job making Bdubs feel welcome at the alliance which he'd said was for all widows, but sorry if he couldn't bring up the enthusiasm to ally happily with a different person he barely trusted when his husband just died!
"This was a bad idea," he blurted out. "Maybe we should just-"
But his words of regret were interrupted by rustling in the bushes outside. Scott saw Bdubs tense up, and he got up and turned around to see what was going on-- when suddenly, a figure leapt into the clearing, covered in red and gold.
"Am I late?" Martyn, the Hand of the Red King, asked.
* * *
Bdubs leapt to his feet. "YOU! You stay back, you monster, you-" he reached for his sword.
Scott held out a hand to hold him back, but his feelings were no kinder. "The eyes aren't looking, Martyn. If you want to murder us, do it in the morning. Go on back to your king now."
Between gasps for breath, Martyn said: "The king is dead."
"Wait, what?"
"Red spring has begun. I've slayed the tyrant..."
"Again!?" Bdubs asked.
Martyn kept talking, and didn't react to Bdubs' outcry. He was shaking, Scott noticed. "Not sure what comes next, honestly. I figured they'd have more plans for me, but..."
"Why?" Scott asked. "He made you do it the first time to go red, why again?"
"He didn't make me do anything. I did it-" Martyn collapsed onto his hands and knees, sobbing. "I did it myself! The voices got so loud, 'red spring, red spring!', and I just- I couldn't ignore them anymore! I had to! I thought they would- oh, my lord, I'm so sorry..."
Scott shared a glance with Bdubs, who shook his head slowly, clearly skeptical. Scott looked back at Martyn, having his breakdown on the ground-- and some part of his broken, messed up heart felt bad. Bad enough to squat down next to him and put his hand on Martyn's shoulder.
"It'll be alright," he heard himself say. "You're in the widow's alliance now."
"No he is not!" Bdubs protested immediately.
"The Red Army'll be hunting me," Martyn said weakly. "I killed the King, I can't go back there... You guys were my only chance..." he looked up at Bdubs with teary eyes, and Scott watched Bdubs ball his fists, then release them with a huff of breath.
"Alright, sure. And then what? We all turn against Scar and Grian?"
"We'll figure that out in the morning," Scott said. "For now, let's just get some rest."
Yeah, this widow's alliance thing turned out nothing like he'd imagined. But maybe that was for the best. With an antsy Bdubs and a traitorous Martyn who was apparently hearing voices to wrangle... well at least they'd keep his mind away from Jimmy.