It was evening when Annabelle came into the Mamlishes's compound. The high walls reached upwards into the skies. The guards let her past and she walked straight into the auditorium.

The Lesser lord George was waiting for her. "I received your note" he began "You want to negotiate interest rates and debt repayment"

There was silence so the Lesser George said "You can begin speaking immediately"

"Can't we be given an extra hour every day to work so that we can pay back our debt faster. Health care is so expensive if you must pay for it yourself and more so if you must take time off work to go to the clinic. The clinics are not open after hours which makes it difficult to go there in the early stages of disease. The whole city is unsanitary as a result."

"You know Annabelle." Said the Lesser Lord George "This reminds me of the last day that I saw Phoenix. Such a sad day for everybody, life is so fragile. Death can come and fetch anybody."

Annabelle stopped dead in her tracks. "Murderer" she said eventually. "Shameless too. Have you no understanding of correct decorum. Don't lie with your fake crocodile tears. Don't you know that I know that you murdered him."

A hush came over the auditorium as every pair of ears turned to listen to the exchange between Annabelle and the Lesser Lord George.

"Did you just accuse me of being rude! I am not rude. I was giving you condolences on your loss and reminiscing on the fond times that Phoenix and I spent together."

"Fond times?" said Annabelle. "I know that Phoenix never thought of them as fond"

He stopped and looked around "Carter, please bring me the whiskey" he said with a flick of his fingers. "Phoenix was always a laugh to be around, remember Leda" he nodded towards one of the women who was standing along the sides of the hall "Remember that time when ...."

"My youth army is outside the building. I'm warning you" hissed Annabelle.

"Now, now I don't know why you keep talking out of turn like that" said the Lesser Lord George "And threatening me too. I am here in good faith. You have done nothing, absolutely nothing to get me to trust you and then you act like I am the one who is the problem"

"Whiskey was the last thing that Phoenix drank" said Annabelle darkly.

"There is not much to celebrate when somebody dies, but at least I can take comfort in knowing that I showed him a little kindness before he passed" answered the Lesser Lord George ignoring Annabelle's tone.

"You wrote a pamphlet celebrating his fall" replied Annabelle. "You posted it the announcement on that very column" she pointed across the room.

"Come on Annabelle, your rudeness is wearing me thing. You are embarrassing me too. Stop bringing up gossip," said the Lesser Lord George his hand moving rapidly "Also, you are quite wrong, it was not an announcement but rather just a copy of a letter that I am required to write as part of my responsibilities on the island. Raynor Colter is required to be kept abreast of conditions on the ground here in Zilby."

The server came with a glass of whiskey and presented it to Annabelle. She took the glass.

"Why don't you also drink some of the whiskey that you are offering me." She said.

"Oh no, I couldn't, you understand, I am not allowed to drink on the job." Said the Lesser Lord George.

"I am not a fan of whiskey either" said Annabelle.

"I was not aware, how about liquor. I have Amarula. Imported. It was a gift from the Lesser Lord Filch. He thought that maybe he could set up a market here, but then the Lowly Lady Leda mentioned that his overlord has a cotton mill back on the mainland and then I found out that marula manufactures collect marulas from gardens where they may use pesticides. These pesticides have killed butterfly larvae! Imagine the cruelty, killing the young of butterflies, just so you can drink a smooth alcoholic beverage."

"I bought something too" said Annabelle.

"Oh, what is it" asked the Lesser Lord George, feigning curiosity. "What could you have possibly brought to me that I don't already have?"

"I made it myself. It's mead, brewed in my own backyard. We kept in vats under the cupboard in our kitchen. So dark and damp. Highest quality."

"How delightful" said the Lesser Lord George.

"Are you going to drink some" said Annabelle. "It's rude to refuse a guests gift."

"You are completely right. However, I am allergic to honey."

"I made it from syrup instead" Annabelle answered quietly, "because I heard that you are allergic to honey."

"How thoughtful" said the Lesser Lord George.

Annabelle took the vat out of her backpack "Tell you what" she said "I will drink a glass and you drink a glass. We will do it together."

The Lesser Lord George called a server over 'Bring glasses for us" He turned to Annabelle and then said. "You think I don't trust you, but as it says in the handbook, there can be no progress without trust."

'I want to build friendship with you. When I understood the principals behind your handbook, I saw that there much that was commendable in it" she was wasting time, waiting for the opportunity to see to it that her will be done.

The server came back with glasses in his hands. Each glass had two ice cubs in it. The server poured into the glasses. "Here's to lasting friendships and business success." Said the Lesser Lord George, holding up his glass to the sky.

Annabelle brought the glass to her lips, while the Lesser Lord George discreetly poured the mead into a pot plant.

"Gosh, this stuff is disgusting! How can you drink it so!" said Annabelle and she dropped the glass. It shattered into a thousand pieces. Annabelle picked the largest one up and she lunged forward. She got her target, imbedding the shard into the Lesser George's throat. She pulled it out, serving his jungular vein.

"Damn" she said. She looked down at her own hand and noticed that she had cut it too in the process. Now her hands were fill of blood. "Quick, we've got to bounce. I have a prior arrangement at eight. Nice to meet you George. I think that I've concluded this business most satisfactorily."

Annabelle ran out the hall. She ran past the gate house and the harbour. Veronique and her friends could be seen fighting the guards but none them were quite as powerful a fighter as Annabelle.

Annabelle ran to the beach, tears started rolling down her face. "I've done it" she panted "I've done it. I've killed the Lesser Lord George. I've killed the tyrant. I've done it"

Annabelle stopped when she got to the sea. She could go no further. She felt the full limitations of living on an island. Zilby was all she knew and all she cared about. This was her realm to keep safe. The people of Zilby had nowhere else to go, they couldn't run away. She would have to drive the Mamlish into the sea.

Annabelle walked along the shelly beach. The Mamlish were in chaos now that the Lesser Lord George was dead. It was good to see the cities markets and streets empty for once.

On the horizon she saw a congregation of people walking to her. Annabelle recognised the Lowly Lady Leda at their head. As soon as she was in earshot, she began. "The Mamlish formed a quorum and held an urgent meeting yesterday in the inner chamber."

"The most important item on our agenda was the how to proceed with the governance of the island following the untimely passing of humble guide the Lesser Lord George. Everything that was said was transcribed in the manner described in the Book of Common Proceedings and as benefits the sancitity of the inner chamber. – I will now read from the minutes"

She need pulled out a small scroll. "We the Quorum of Servants based on the Island of Zilby herby find Annabelle le Roux guilty of murder, manslaughter, insubordination, treachery, slander and the spreading of false news, and working against the common good."

The Lesser Lady Leda stopped and looked Annabelle directly in the eyes. "What do you say to these charges"

Annabelle didn't back down from the Lowly Lady Leda's stare before stating "Murder – yes, manslaughter – yes but perhaps was all just murder, insubordination – most definitely, I forget the next few charges you will have to read them out again, but as for the last one, working against the common good – oh hell no."

The Lowly Lady resumed reading from the small scroll "Our recommended course of remedial action is as follows. One – arrest the sheepherdless citizen Annabelle le Roux. Two – could our generous masters on the mainland send over a thousand warrior servants. These humble servants will ensure that all the sheepherdless and the servants will feel safe on the island, as in the past year lawlessness has begun to reign unchallenged on the island and fear and uncertainty has entered into our hearts, hindering our ability to partake in our duties."

She stopped reading. Nobody said anything. "Having informed you of your rights, you are now free to follow me to the holding cell that has been assigned to you"

"And what if I don't want to?" replied Annabelle. "I'd rather just stay here and enjoy myself on this beach. Am I free to do that?"

"That was not one of the options presented to you. I believe that it goes against the spirit of the decisions transcribed in the inner chamber."

"I'm not going to follow you" said Annabelle and she stomped her foot.

"Guards!" the Lowly Lady called out. "Restrain her"

Suddenly a helicopter appeared overhead and four Mamlish guards jumped to the ground. One particularly burly one threw a net over Annabelle, but she took out her nun chuck and sliced through the rope. She now had two nets, one in each hand.

She threw the one over the head of the Lowly Lady Leda, who then gave a shriek worthy of an actress who playing a woman who had just seen a mouse.

She was about to throw the second net over the propeller blades off the helicopter when she heard Veronique scream "Watch out!"

She lent her body backwards while a flying knife went pass, it would have surely cut her nose off had it not been for Veronique's timely warning. The burly guard lunged forward and grabbed Annabelle by the hair.

"Missy, your luck has just run out" he whispered into her ear. 'Time for some alone time"

Annabelle rammed her elbows into his ribs. He fell to the ground and she kicked him in the head, thereby rendering him unconscious. Annabelle threw the remaining throwing knife at the second burly guard slitting his throat in a delicate yet deadly manner and finally threw the net over the last burly guard."

"Now tell me, do you think I murdered that burly guard with the throwing knife, or was it an unintended but foreseeable consequence of knowing a sharp object, my Lowly Lady" said Annabelle. "I'll leave you to ponder that, I believe there is a cell you can stay, it was prepared for someone already"

There is fan fiction written about what happened after the second battle where Annabelle won. Some of it was about Zilby learnt to become an independent nation, building ships and trading with its neighbours. In other Zilby went further than that and rose up to become a powerful empire with own class of elites.

Many of the stories instead focused on the relationships of the story. In one Phoenix never died and instead Annabelle ended up marrying him. In another Ferne and the Lesser Lord George have a complicated and nuance relationship with many moments where characters were mysteriously naked.

James favourite fan fiction that he had read to date was one in a sultry Madame Green ensnares the naïve Ferne with a love potion. One of the executives criticism of the show was that there was no human interest story because after Phoenix died there was no sexual tension in the story. James just shrugged when he thought of it.