The Librarian and the Assassin, a Sapphic Romance at the End of the World - 31. Chapter 31 - Chef Zed

Tawni and Bix came running up to Chef Zed in the street on his way to open his restaurant for the day.

“Why, good morning, ladies!” he declared.

“Hi, Chef,” Bix replied.

“Hello, Chef Zed,” Tawni added.

He spotted her glittery polish. “Nice nails!”

Tawni’s expressive face broke with a beaming smile as she stared down at her hands and feet. “I love them! Bix painted them for me this morning.”

“Gorgeous! And you know,” the big fellow commented as the trio began to make their way along toward his restaurant, “back in the old world, there were quite a few infamous characters throughout different types of pop culture who were designed in green and purple.”

“What do you mean?” Bix asked.

“There were comic and cartoon characters whose whole color palatte revolved around those two colors,” Chef Zed replied.

Neither Tawni nor Bix had ever seen a cartoon, and although Tawni occasionally came across comic books or graphic novels in her continuous search for books, she had never given the seemingly childish publications a chance.

“Most characters,” the big man continued, “in comics or cartoons tended to be drawn always wearing exactly the same outfit. There was a consistency to it.”

Bix flashed Tawni an excited look. “Maybe you could read me a comic someday!”

“I bet you’ll be able to read your own before long,” Tawni replied.

The trio laughed, and Chef Zed went on, “There were hero and villain characters who had been given the same green and purple combination, and it tended to be reserved for pretty significant individuals within a creative franchise.”

“Well I think Tawni is pretty significant,” Bix stated, causing Tawni to blush.

Chef Zed placed his hand on Tawni’s shoulder. “I happen to agree. Now, ladies, what can I do for you two this morning?”

Tawni and Bix looked at each other.

“We were wondering,” Bix replied, “if you know anything about Family Grondsen or Family Kentonworth.”

“Family Grondsen and Family Kentonworth?” Chef Zed repeated. He scratched his stubbly chin. “Well they’re not actual families,” he stated. “They’re more like clans from back in the olden days. I think there was only a single surviving Kentonworth at the end of the plague, but I know that he gathered a bunch of the remnants of other money-hoarding families from before, who made it through. I think quite a few unrelated people adopted the name Kentonworth, and the Grondsens did the same. There was an elder Grondsen who somehow didn’t die in the plague, and I think a grandniece or nephew also made it. I think those money-hoarders were trying to act like the world hadn’t ended.”

“Some of them are still pretending,” Bix replied.

She and Tawni made eye contact, and Tawni added, “They seem like bad people.”

“Oh they are,” Chef Zed confirmed with a chuckle. “The Kentonworth fortune was made in coal, oil, and other fossil fuels, and the Grondsens were in pharmaceuticals. I don’t know if there has ever been a single exception to the rule that the ones who hoarded wealth were the most villainous people on the planet.”

Bix gave Tawni the subtlest of nods.

“The old Grondsen man,” Chef Zed continued, “had been facing extremely harsh criminal charges for covering up test results confirming deadly side effects on many of his company’s pills and other medicine. He and his team were directly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people who were supposed to be patients through his companies. The charges likely would have landed him in prison for the rest of his life, but that’s when the plague exploded, and people started dying. The end came so fast that he never answered for his crimes.”

Tawni hoped the information Chef Zed was sharing helped to appease Bix’s worries.

“I’m not sure who became a part of Family Kentonworth,” the big fellow went on, “but you can bet they attracted like-minded monsters. So now, what got you two interested in these folks?”

Tawni had a flash of inspiration. “Because we overheard someone say the old Grondsen man had been killed, and the Kentonworths are afraid they’re next.”

Chef Zed nodded knowingly. “I’m not surprised. The families are obviously not what they used to be, but each have made enemies over the years, both before and since the plague. I think there’s a younger Grondsen, maybe a niece or nephew, and they’re some sort of psychopath. There were reports right at the end, but I don’t remember much of those details. I think there was something about a missing person, or a discovered corpse.”

“Wow,” Tawni replied, “sounds like some horrible people.”

“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Bix added. She focused on the big man again. “What about Doylithia Grondsen?”

“Her, I don’t know. She turned up right before the plague, and as far as I’m aware, she’s not a true Grondsen. Well listen,” Chef Zed said with a smile as he pulled open the front door to his restaurant, “can I make you two something for breakfast?”

“That’d be lovely,” Bix replied. She and Tawni settled themselves into one of the tables set back in a corner, and Bix leaned on her elbows and spoke quietly. “Okay, so most of the Kentonworths aren’t actually Kentonworths.”

“And the same goes for the Grondsens,” Tawni added. “I wonder if Duke Kentonworth is the real Kentonworth who survived from the world before, or if he’s just someone who fell in with them.”

“Regardless,” Bix replied, “he’s a monster who’s having you do his dirty work.”

“But it seems like some of his dirty work is actually good,” Tawni stated.

Bix could not argue with that. Chef Zed’s words had sounded like the old Grondsen man who Tawni killed was a villain in his own right. “But what about Doylithia?”

“Since Chef Zed doesn’t know her,” Tawni replied, “is there someone else we can ask?”

Bix glanced at the chef behind his grill. “He said criminal charges, and lawyers had something to do with that stuff, so maybe Pan Cakes will have some information. She told us she used to be one of them.”

“That’s right. We should head over there this evening.” Tawni could not help that her eyes shifted to her sparkly fingernails again, and she held up her hands. “They’re so pretty!”

Bix broke out with a beaming grin. “I’m so happy you’re happy.” A few other patrons arrived at Chef Zed’s Eatery, and Bix glanced over her shoulder at them before focusing on Tawni again. She reached across the table, and she took Tawni’s hands, but her face became serious as she whispered, “You’re not really planning on going after the king and queen of Falland someday, are you Tawni?”

Tawni let out a huff of acceptance. “No, I’m not going to do that,” she replied, attempting to convince even herself. “I think I just said it in a moment of passion, because of how much you mean to me.” Tawni stared into Bix’s eyes. “I would do anything for you, Bix.”

“Then just be with me,” Bix replied with a smile that was full of love.

Tawni nodded. “I know, I know!” she said, trying to smother her intentions. “We can make a good life here together.”

Bix kissed Tawni’s knuckles and added, “And the king and queen can rot in their palace.”

Tawni frowned. “But what about the princes and princesses they keep forcing into marriages? Are we really supposed to just do nothing?”

Bix squeezed Tawni’s fingers. “Tawni, you’ve already done so much.”

Chef Zed stepped up to their table and set down plates piled high with greens, sunflower seeds, grated radish and carrot, and steaming shredded boar meat. “Here you go, ladies, enjoy!”

“Oh wait,” Tawni suddenly exclaimed, “I brought this for you! Thank you for making us breakfast, Chef Zed.” She pulled one of her sealed jars of preserved fish from her bag and handed it to him.

“Why thank you, Tawni!” the big man replied, and he headed back to his grill.

The two women dug in, and they did not speak for several minutes. The food was delicious.

Tawni eventually asked, “Bix, where do you want to go after this? Is there anything you want to do today?”

Bix shook her head no. “But what about you? Tawni, your life is very structured; do you need to take care of any projects, or are there any things you have to do today?”

“There usually are,” Tawni replied, “but I’ve got my life set up so I have some leeway or flexibility in most of my regular activities.”

“What are some of the things you do every week?” Bix asked.

Tawni took her last bite and chewed as she thought. She swallowed. “Catching food in the shallows or hunting in the forest needs to happen most days. That fish we caught will tide us over longer than usual though.”

Bix very much liked being included in Tawni’s we and us.

“There are mushrooms I forage about once a week,” Tawni went on, “and I visit the poison garden at least once most weeks too.”

“Can I join you for some of your stuff?”

Tawni reached across the table to take Bix’s hand again. “I’d love for you to be part of everything in my life!”

Bix smiled and glanced at their empty plates. “Should we head out?”

Tawni nodded, and they placed their dirty dishes into the bins of soapy water.

“Have a lovely day, you two!” Chef Zed called as the pair made their way out the door.

“See ya, Chef Zed!” Bix replied.

“Bye, Chef!” Tawni added.

The two young women were surprised to hear someone call out their names as soon as they stepped onto the street. They turned in the direction of the voice, but neither recognized the person who was waving at them. It was a woman.

“Who is that?” Tawni asked.

“No idea,” Bix replied.

The stranger was about the same size as Tawni, small and slender. She was lugging a large sack over one shoulder, and she approached the two confused women. “It’s me!” she declared.

“You who?” Bix questioned.

The stranger made a face like they should have known who she was. “I’m Harry Manback!”

Tawni and Bix both did double-takes, and they realized that the muscle-padded, manly beefcake from the night before was indeed the tiny woman before them.

Tawni was excited, and she stepped up and wrapped her arms around Harry, almost knocking the sack from the woman’s shoulder. “Hi, Harry!” Tawni squeaked in delight.

Harry laughed. “You can call me Yoru when I’m not in one of my king outfits.”

“What a pretty name,” Tawni exclaimed, and she tested it out, “Yoru.” She liked the way the other small woman’s name felt on her tongue. Tawni then frowned and said, “I want to ask you about yourself, but I don’t know how.”

Yoru cocked her head to one side in thought. “What do you mean, Tawni?”

Tawni bit her lip for a second. “Like how Alotta and Miles are men, even though they have bodies like us.”

“Oh,” Yoru replied, “you want to ask about my gender identity? Just ask that; say how do you identify? Most folks who care about that will know what you mean. I’m pretty flexible,” Yoru continued. “I’m a woman, but I’m cool being called by male terms too,” and she added, “dudes!” The trio laughed. “And I got the vibe last night that you’re both women. Is that right?”

Bix wrapped her arm around Tawni. “Yeah, I’m all woman.”

“I’ve never put any thought into it,” Tawni added. “But I feel like a woman.”

“Cool!” Yoru replied. “You two got any plans? Wanna join me?”

“What are you up to?” Bix asked. “And what brings you to the Alphabet District? Don’t you live over in Old Town?”

“I do indeed.” Yoru then nodded at the sack over her shoulder. “I’m here making a delivery to an outreach center, and I’ll be spending the afternoon helping out with their food prep for the dinner they’ll be distributing tonight.”

Bix turned to Tawni with a wide grin. “Wanna go help people?”

Tawni smiled back. “Definitely!”