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Gracen give background on fam, Gracen is appointed to deal with Stef, Gracen is negotiating with Mercutio, Gracen POV, intro to Gracen, Intro to Mercutio
This scene involved Mercutio Scott. He is meeting with Gracen, putting her on the case. His wife Desdemona is there too. This scene explores the relationship between Mercutio, his wife Desdemona and Gracen. Gracen is reluctant to take over Steffana’s integration into the Scott family, because it means that they’ve officially given up on her producing an heir. She is also appalled to learn that Mercutio has a daughter, who is technically, Gracen’s father’s daughter. It means that Mercutio was screwing Steffana’s mom, while Gracen’s father, Hamlet was with her mother, though never married to her. Gracen is ashamed of her bastard siblings, enough as it is already and this new wrinkle in her family tree, that her bastard sister, is actually her, her cousin, the daughter of her very powerful uncle, is something that she finds very distasteful.
So Desdemona, ever the practical one, runs interference, and tried to coax Gracen into taking over the Steffana situation. They decided to send her in, with
Jiko, to finish the job of containment, damage control and integration. They explain the problem of needing to bring Steffana into the family for the purpose of producing an heir, they try to alleviate Gracen’s jealousies about not producing an heir, and no being replaced as a daughter. Gracen complains about training her replacement, that, she will be replaced since Steffana is Mercutio biological daughter. He assures her that is not the case. Gracen doesn’t believe him.
Then they explain the problem of Kieron, that he is so powerful, that he has insisted upon meeting with Mercutio to explain the gaps in Phoenixes report, which leads Gracen to her first task, to review the Phoenix report and develop a plan of action. Mercutio has been briefed on it, but hasn’t had the time to read it in depth, and develop a specific plan, instead he has tasked Desdemona and Gracen with that. Desdemona has her ideas, but says the plan must be tweaked, depending upon what Gracen discovers first hand about Kieron and Steffana. Gracen has been assigned the psych solver Jiko, a very skilled psychological mindreader, good at getting to repressed memories, etc… she’s the specialist being brought in to break up the trauma bond. (She ends up not being able to do it fully) (When Gracen reads the report, finds out about the land, she decides it will be her job to develop it and secure it for Steffana, but really for the Scott’s. She wants to build and extraordinary fine arts center, will name it after Mercutio and Desdemona, some parts will be named after Gracen, some after Steffana. Little does Steffana know that her older sister Leevian, has plans for the land too, the plans will have to be shared, and then there is Steffana, who
will also develop her own vision. But it will be Gracen who initially begins development of the land. That development will lead to Steffana’s claim on her side of the island.)
Her plan is to trick Kieron out of the land, and use it for Steffana’s dowry, so the actual claim to Scott land is not so heavily diluted. But when she meets him, she quickly learns that is not going to be possible. So she decides to work with him, not against him. She wants to make him an ally. Learning that her trump card is access to the free world, Kieron and Gracen actually do become pretty strong allies. Problem, Leevian. She shows up and is a threat to all things traditional. Neither Gracen nor Kieron can do a thing with her, she opens Steffana up to the non-traditional worlds outside of Kwestscott Island, and the Scott Estate. Steffana gets lost in the other worlds, kidnapped. This threatens Kieron’s plans for partnership, Gracen’s plans in general, as Leevian insists that they both go looking for her. (What Leevian has on Gracen? The accidental murder of her husband, set up by Leevian, Gracen and Desdemona)
CHAPTER 2 Gracen POV
“Oh just leave it there, please.” Gracen impatiently motioned to the servant who had brought in a tray of tea and sweets. She hardly had any use for it. Gracen never ate in front of others, having learned, years ago, that eating was a quality associated with the lesser beings…and she Gracen Merope Scott certainly was not that. She drummed her fingers on the elegant walnut side table, dreading this meeting with her Uncle Mercutio. She had a good idea as to what this was about, she wanted no association with any of it, is was so…well disgraceful, really! Why? Why was she cursed with the most scandalous set of Shakespeareans, ever, in the history of the Shakespearean Scotts? At this point in her life, she just wanted to retire to her quiet territories and rule through her underwhelming, but entirely reliable proxy.
“Gracen, darling, why don’t you sit back and enjoy an nice soothing cup of tea. I daren’t ask you to try the lemon ices, I know that your position on food hasn’t changed over the last ten years.”
“I just don’t, you know, I’d rather not bother with it.”
“I know dear, but it’s fine to indulge every once and again.”
Gracen hated it when Desdemona tried to play the role of the doting stepmother, even though, to her credit, she was genuine enough, and genuine was not a characteristic that typically applied to any of the higher-level Scotts. But Desdemona, not be blessed with the sort of outstanding natural beauty that seemed to be the divine birth right, of most, and nearly all of the higher level Scotts, had adjusted with other more extraordinary talents. She was good for Mercutio, a leveling force. Theirs was of course, a marriage of contract and convenience, was there really any other kind? Some, in their youth, believed in such a thing as love. Gracen smirked at the thought of her own naiveté. How ridiculous she’d been in her thoughts about her own marriage. How tragically she’d paid for what she now new to be sheer stupidity. Oh…if only she could turn back time. Would she have made better choices? Could she have prevented herself from ending up here? Passed her prime with no real accomplishments and being relegated to the task of grooming the next rising star, who was, of all things, quite technically, if not actually, a bastard. Yes, Steffana was her bastard half-sister cousin. It was appallingly Appalachian. She wanted nothing to do with any of this comedy of incestuous errors, but here she was and her choices were few.
“Desdemona, whatever is all of this about? It must be frightfully important, I’ve not had a one-one-one with Uncle Mercutio in at least two years, what brings about this delightful invitation?”
“Oh, Gracen, you know your Uncle loves you.”
Yes she did. At least…at least there was that, and it had been enough. Desdemona too. She was lucky, and yes it was so very rare, to be a Scott and to actually be loved by members of one’s family.
“But you know your situation…and you know he could not be in any way affiliated with-“
“Yes, I know Auntie.” Gracen cut her off quickly and shielded all thoughts and feelings on the matter instinctively. She didn’t care to discuss it; and wasn’t this a pot kettle black situation anyway. Mercutio was certainly not without shame as the impending meeting would certainly reveal, and however, Gracen wondered, did he intend to live down his shame, once his bit of news was announced. How indeed? The disgraceful rumors, were in no short supply, there was that GAWful VWIP projection that had gone viral. Now, he was going to confirm the truth about it. She knew, she had her sources. He probably didn’t know, but she did. She’d feign ignorance though.
And just as she wondered about him, and his plans, he walked in the room and she was nearly breathless as the sight of him. Mercutio Scott was an extraordinarily good-looking man! She’d always secretly had a crush on her uncle, never, at least acted on those feelings, nor he, but still, even now, even after everything, he still managed to make her heart skip a beat. He was impeccably dressed as always. He certainly looked the part. He was, at least for now, the most powerful hurrain in the Free World. It was so sexy. But, the nature of power was that it was so very tenuous, porous, destructive and unstable. That was not.
He’d been trying to solidify his position for some time now, and he’d been painfully ineffective. Gracen had her own shame, guilt and remorse about it. She’d not been able to deliver as promised, but it was through no fault of her own, nor due to a lack of effort. She had tried, and tried, and in the end simply lost. And the nature of her losses left her sad and tired. And if she was completely honest, slightly bitter. The demeaning task to which she was about to be assigned was going to be a salt in the wound sort of situation, but for Mercutio? Of course, she’d do it.
“So Gracen, it’s so good to see you darling!”
She stood and clasped his hands, they air kissed, as was their tradition. She sat back down, her heart beating rapidly, this man was still gorgeous, he looked, not a day over twenty-three with that thick wavy purple hair and those lavender eyes. Her own purple hair was fake, a product of the latest and greatest in color-coding technology. Her real hair color, a sort of washed out, mousy lavender. No one knew her dark purple tresses were not the real thing, but she did and it bothered her. Her eyes were, bright blue, like her mothers…how ordinary. But they did turn lavender some times, when she was particularly vexed, for example.
“So what’s this about Uncle”
“Well we have a situation; and it’s fairly serious. I’m going to need you to get your hands a bit dirty on this one.”
“Whatever you need.”
She said that, but she didn’t really mean it. Desdemona, decided to break in and break it to her gently. Gracen could see they were going to do their own version of good cop/ bad cop.
“Well, it’s official. I know you’ve heard the rumors. But we’ve investigated and verified the facts and of course the DNA, and we’ve discovered that you have a sister.”
Gracen was going to act like she didn’t know about Steffana, and focus more on the other two. They were at least her real half brother and sister; and she at least remembered them. She almost was curious to see how they had turned out. After all this time…they would be reunited as siblings.
“Really? A sister? Well, yes we’ve always known about her, so it’s no surprise really. Sasha I presume, and have you located Othello too?”
They eye each other, warily. What was it She wondered? Why were they looking at one another so disconcertingly.
“Shall I tell her dear?”
“Yes, by all means, she must know. We actually should have begun what that news, now that I think of it.”
Again, they both looked at each other, with mild concern. Unusual for them. MY GAW what was it!
“Well, we did find Othello and Sasha, but that’s not who we’re referencing just now. I’m so sorry to tell you this, my darling but Othello, sadly was killed. About two months back.”
“Oh.”
Truly she’d not been expecting that, and having her siblings resurface only to be lost so quickly and shortly after, well…Gracen hid her feelings, even to her own soul, behind a mask of unending bitterness and disappointment. Why should this be any different than any of the rest? When she loved, she lost. End of story.
“And Sasha…well, we’ve been trying but we’ve not located her yet.”
She was afraid to ask, afraid to hope. She just now realized, that despite all the scandal it was going to bring, she had been exciting at the prospect of reuniting with her siblings, and just like that, that reunion was gone. More pain. More grief. Why bother? Still she remained stone faced and asked,
“Well, whatever happened? The last I heard…”
She paused, thinking carefully what to reveal and what not to. Finally she settled on,
“ Well Desdemona, it was you who told me that, Othello, Sasha, and the youngest one, the one I never knew…had been located on this back island.”
“Yes, and that was true. Revlonia…I can’t imagine what Hamlet was thinking! Can you darling?”
Desdemona seemed to genuinely want to know, and Mercutio simply shrugged. Next she continued,
“And the children, well your siblings, they all grew up, in a most- well ordinary isn’t even the word.”
Mercutio interjected,
“They were not raised properly, and now we have quite the situation. They are Scotts!” He stated emphatically,
Without really thinking, Gracen commented, sadly,
“Or in Othello’s case were.”
Mercutio didn’t even seem to recognize her momentary grief and pressed on with,
“And by all DNA rights, we need to recognize them, bring them into the fold.”
She shook her self out of this grief-ridden fog that had sort of settled in and around and said,
“Yes of course. But they are missing? I’m confused.”
“Well no, Othello is dead. That has, sadly, been confirmed and reconfirmed. Sashana is missing; we are looking, high and low and believe it is only a matter of time, but, rest assured, we will find her Gracen. I will find your sister.”
Half sister, Gracen countered in her mind, but nevertheless, Gracen still wanted them to find her.
“And, the youngest, Steffana, is alive, but not well.”
Steffana. How would he tell her the truth about Steffana? That one, really, she’s been appalled to learn, through the rumor mill, wasn’t even her sister. But, a really, really close cousin. Bonded on both sides of her family, so she was actually, quite like a sister. One thing was sure, she was saddled with the same tragic family curse, just as they all were.
There were two sisters- no actually four that she’d never known. Two, had been born and had died, before Leevian even. They set the stage for a legacy of tragedy.
It was a funny thing though, because according to Leevian, there generation was destined to lift the curse; and it would happen, again according to Leevian, at the hands of one of these missing sisters.
How had it come to this? That she had so many missing sisters? Well, it could all be traced back to her father Hamlet, and his disgusting indiscretions. The curse for their particular branch of the Scott family, began when her father had an affair with, of all people, her mother’s younger sister.
Her mother’s name was Angelina. Angelina and her father Hamlet seemed to have a happy enough marriage, it seemed, but there was this problem of no male heirs…something her father coveted with all of his heart and soul. All the male Scotts did, because, there was nothing so highly prized among the Scott clan as a male heir. Those male heirs represented, power.
And so naturally, their family situation was quite disrupted when, Mica, Angelina’s much younger sister, who had begun living with them, as a sort of nanny to Leevian and Gracen. The scandalous tragedy of it all as, though quite underage, Mica ended up pregnant, and ultimately bore Hamlet a son, out of wedlock, and to the tune of significant disgrace to the family name, Gracen still could feel the burn of the shame from those days. Everyone knew and no one talked of it to her face, everyone talked about it behind her back.
Was Hamlet shamed, maybe. Angelina certainly was, but nevertheless, but Othello was a son, a male heir; Hamlet was well pleased. After Othello’s birth, it was as if she, her mother, Angelina and her sister Leevian failed to exist for her father. He already had one heir, but being a greedy man, he wanted a spare.
Right after Othello was born, Mica found herself pregnant again. This time , baby was a girl. Mica named her Sashana Asteria. And for a while, they all tried to act as if, nothing was awry. They were one big happy family, perfectly content to live under one roof, even though Hamlet had fathered two children by his wife’s sister; and the conditions under which Mica ended up conceiving these children were dubious. She may have been coerced, no one knew really; but from what Gracen could remember Mica did not seem to be very happy, with any of it.
When Mica ended up pregnant a third time, …well, it was too much. By that time, Angelina was pregnant a third time as well, hoping dearly to bear Hamlet a legitimate male heir, but, if Gracen could recall correctly, there was something that was off about both of these pregnancies and neither of the women was carrying a son. Hamlet was equally disappointed with both women. The sisters turned on one another, living together was impossible and they demanded that Hamlet choose. He, quite honestly, just wanted the boy.
Mica had him.
So Hamlet took Mica and his second family off to parts of the world that were unknown to the rest of them. Her mother could not find him. His family didn’t want to, as he had disgraced their so-called goo name. Gracen remembers the day Angelina left the two of them, like it was yesterday, oh GAW, she still could feel that pain.
Angelina went back to Zeala, for what she said would be just a small reprieve from what she called Scottpression. It was her word for life with the Scotts, which was not, and had not ever, as Gracen could clearly attest, been easy.
Angelina gave birth to a baby girl, who she named Neptune Alcyone. It took months before, she and Leevian discovered the rest of the story. Angelina had given Neptune up to a poor but loving couple in her homeland. She had killed herself exactly seven days later, he had timed her death to the hour. It had been a difficult thing to do, but Leevian had retrieved the note. Thinking back on all of it, Gracen found herself crying, uncontrollable. When did the pain end? And would these wounds ever heal? It sure didn’t seem like it.
Anyway, probably some time after Neptune’s birth, Mica gave birth to Steffana. Gracen was only guessing about the times of their births, she’d not been around for either one of her siblings first birthdays. Gracen had never laid eyes on either sister, Neptune or Steffana, as she and Leevian had both been left behind at the Scott estate with their dutifully Uncle Mercutio. To his credit, he picked up the pieces for the both of them. But Levee and Mercutio had never seen eye-to eye on anything. Gracen thought they were too much alike. Anyway, when all of this happened, Leevian was entering a rebellious adolescence, anyway. In her anger, and rage, she’d run away from it all, and never looked back. But Gracen, always the quiet and proper one, followed the path her Uncle set out for her and it had led her to where she was right her, right now. And it was nowhere she wanted to be. But that was no one’s fault really. She certainly didn’t blame Mercutio. He’d done his best really. It was what it was.
It was such a sad and tragic family history. The rumors are, and had always been that the Scotts were irreparably cursed. They’d never know peace or happiness. From what Gracen had experienced in her little life, it was a true curse that had destroyed all the hopes and dreams she’d ever had.
But the one person Gracen had always been able to count on…the one man in her life who had always been steady, stable, kind and loving…well as loving as a Scott could be, was her Uncle Mercutio.
Irony of all ironies, if rumor had it right, Gracen was realizing that even that was a lie. Mercutio had slept with Mica too? Oh it was almost too disgusting to consider! But it was the only way that Steffana could be Mercutio natural daughter. It would also explain Hamlet’s sudden distrust of Mica. Hamlet wasn’t happy with the third pregnancy. He’d often called the unborn baby a bastard, and claimed it wasn’t his. Suddenly it all made sense.
Mercutio, her beloved Uncle, who, had adopted she and Leevian when their own parents had abandoned them, had slept with his brother’s mistress. Was that wrong? Oh, it certainly seemed so to Gracen. And all this time, Mercutio had loved her like a daughter. He claimed that he doted on her, (but truth be told Gracen always felt that was too strong of a word). Now that he had his own flesh and blood daughter who would he love more?
All of this turned her stomach, and made Steffana the last person on earth she wanted to meet. What would she say to her? Hello, I’m your sister-cousin Gracen, just wanted to let you know that your whore of a mother, destroyed my happy family and took my mother’s life. Not only that, the whole time your whore mother was frieking my father, she was also frieking his brother, who is your father and my uncle! Welcome to your frieked up family!
Yes a part of her wanted to say that to Steffana, but then another part, realized that was completely unfair. It wasn’t true. Mica probably wasn’t to blame, for any of it. She was like, so many Scott women were, just a pawn, in one decidedly tragic Scott chess game. Steffana was an innocent child, who had lost just as much as Gracen had.
Shortly after Hamlet and Mica escaped to their little backwater territory, things went terribly wrong. Their story ended with Hamlet putting a bullet through Mica’s head, just minutes before he did the same to his own. All of this was rumor and speculation, but current sources had recently revealed that it was all true.
When Othello, Sasha and Steffana popped up on the VWIP, their back-stories were heavily investigated by all sorts of vwipers. There was no denying that a double homicide or a homicide/suicide had occurred. And why do it in such a bizarre and ancient way? It was barbaric really…guns and bullets? No one had used that sort of weaponry since the twentieth century. He was being symbolic, knowing her father Hamlet.
So, when it came to the parent category, Steffana had not fared any better than she had. She’d lost them both, no less tragically, than Gracen had. Maybe even more so. They were both orphans with a truly frieked up heritage and lineage, a curse no doubt. Who could deny it? But, then there was this…Hamlet wasn’t her father, Mercutio was. Technically, Steffana still had her father, and a good ne at that. This filled Gracen with inexplicable rage and envy.
Was she being silly? Petty even? She didn’t think so. She’d had one good stable man in her life, and he was going to be taken from her. And here they were asking her to groom her pretty young sister to be her replacement…a bastard sister cousin she’d never met. It was bizarre even for the Scotts, but what could she do? This was the only family she’s ever had, and that meant the world to her. She’d just have to swallow her pride and deal.
“Well, What’s wrong with Steffana?”
“Trauma bonded to a most unusual suspect.” Gracen swore that Mercutio had a twinkle in his lavender eyes, as he said that. It was almost as if he was amused by the whole project. Desdemona, interjected quickly.
“And well, you, with your experience with trauma bonds-”
No! We ere not going to go there today, so Gracen immediately snapped,
“Do you really think that I am suitable for the task at hand? I’ve never successfully-”
Mercutio waved his hand dismissively as, if to say he wasn’t even going to allow her to protest,
“You will have some assistance, of course, I’ve located the very best adolescent trauma psychsolver.”
“She comes very highly recommended Gracen, and you being a Scott, well you know what the advantages are. This woman we’ve retained to assist you, well with her talents, we are certain-”
Gracen threw her hand up, conceding defeat and sighed deeply. So this was it, the task at hand, severe a trauma bond. Well she knew all about those.
“What’s the trauma?”
“Well it’s all in this report, very well written, very thorough. I didn’t have time to give it a thorough review, but I’ve seen the high lights and as they used to say in ancient times, Houston we have a problem.”
For Mercutio to say something like that, well, it just indicated that the task before her was quite difficult indeed.
“Gracen I’m going to need for you to thoroughly study every aspect of the two subjects before you even think about approaching. Know them well. Keep your friends close and keep your enemies even closer and know that Scotts and their allies are both. Make no mistake, these are two very powerful and very dangerous unstable creatures.”
“Why not simply…” she couldn’t speak and yet, she found her self thinking it, have them terminated?
You know I detest terminations, Gracen, and this is my daughter. Would you really have me consider doing something so base?
She replied, coolly,
“No of course not Uncle.”
“Good. So I need you to assess threat levels ad best you can, study them both as if you life depended upon it, because quite honestly it might. When you’re all done I will need you to prepare a plan of action for my review. I need you to work quickly. This is a very thorny situation, that we need resolved as gracefully as possible.”
Gracen smiled, and inwardly thought, how ridiculous. There was nothing graceful about being forced to rescue a bastardy half-sister cousin, born of all sorts of incestuous scandal, from some mysterious trauma bond.
“ This situation is particularly delicate because Steffana is my daughter; and as awkward as this is going to be, I do plan to legitimize her.”
There it was for better or for worse, red hot, even white rage…
“And how on earth do you intend to do that, Uncle?” Gracen asked. She’d hoped she kept her voice, level, clear. She wanted him to feel shame. Desdemona sensed this as she responded quietly, but diplomatically,
“Well, it’s been such a long time, I don’t think, honestly, that it will be the sort of scandal that it once would have been, and no one needs to know the particulars-”
Mercutio, however, stared boldly back and never once blinked and replied,
“The truth is, The Scott’s need a viable heir. Besides me, the only one even remotely capable of ruling the Free World is Julius, and only GAW knows what would become of the Free World if Julius were ever to rule it.”
“Perish the thought!” Desdemona whispered.
“ This is something that we’ve all known for a long time, and well, my daughter brings new hope for one. This is an opportunity for all of us, Gracen. I hope that you will embrace it as such.”
Desdemona shook her head in agreement. “We have the chance to welcome new life into this family, and we really need this Gracen, we all do. This will be good for you too.”
Oh yes because one just loves to see all of their hopes and dreams die a slow, and excruciatingly painful death, while at the same time being recruited to train the next dreamer. To be fare, given this family’s track record, there was a slim chance that Steffana would fare any better than Gracen did. Leevian was right, the best course of action was to disinherit oneself from the toxic Scott legacy. But it was too late for that. Gracen had made her bed, and she was lying in it, and there was never not one peaceful night of sleep in it ever, despite the fact that it was a pretty big, luxurious and exquisitely made bed. Maybe, if nothing else, this new project would get her mind off all her grief.
“Well, Uncle, as I said before, anything, that I can do for you, it’s done.”
Mercutio handed her the holographics, and said, “Study these well, Gracen, the situation is quite challenging, but I put all of my faith and trust in your abilities. I think that everything that has ever happened to you has brought you to this point, you can save your sister.”
Gracen almost replied, and definitely thought, She’s not my sister. To which Mercutio responded,
Do you consider yourself my daughter?
To which she replied,
Of course Uncle.
Then Steffana is your sister. Don’t ever forget that.
And so she had received her marching orders from Mercutio. As soon as he gave them, she knew she would fail. Such was life in the Scott family.
So then, a new project, Gracen went home, pored her a nice relaxing flute of some very expensive Chablis, and popped the holographs into the projector.