“How are you?” She saw her face. Her lips moved, as if she was saying something. She didn’t hear it, however. She felt a bit like being underwater. It took her a while to see clearly, but as she did, her gaze fell on the other woman’s lips, which trembled as if she was trying not to cry.
Eve stared at Clair, now fully awakening. She touched her head weakly, a feeble attempt to stop the headache she was feeling. Clair sat at the side of the bed Eve was lying in, her lips trying to form a smile despite her urge to cry. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, Clair’s features slowly relaxing.
Eve frowned at her friend. “You should be resting.”
Clair chuckled weakly at the typical behaviour of her friend. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. But what about you?”
“I’m fine.” Eve sat up slightly, but immediately fell back upon feeling the pain in her chest again. She winced unwillingly, causing Clair to look at her, worry written all over her face. “It’s nothing.”, Eve said to reassure her friend, who didn’t look convinced in the least.
“You shouldn’t try to stand up just yet.”, Clair said gently. “We won’t reach Porre for another day anyway. Just relax.”
Eve enjoyed Clair’s soothing voice as she said this, almost lulling her back to sleep.
“What...happened?”, Eve asked, thinking about how to express her question best. She remembered going on board of the pirate ship, but nothing after that.
“They told me you suddenly collapsed. They cast Heal elements...but you wouldn’t wake up. I...everyone was worried.”, Clair explained quietly, not daring to look at Eve. “They said they could only heal the wound itself, but the strain on the body remained. You slept for quite some time.” Clair managed a weak smile as she looked back to Eve. Only now did Eve realize the distant look of Clair, her sad eyes.
“What’s wrong, Clair?”, Eve asked as she laid her hand onto Clair’s. Clair didn’t react. Instead, she looked away again.
“It’s nothing. I’m glad you’re okay.”, she mumbled.
“No, tell me. What’s wrong? You used to tell me everything.”, Eve inquired. It wasn’t like Clair to be like this.
‘No...I didn’t.’, Clair thought grimly, standing up. “It’s really nothing, don’t worry. Just rest a bit, I’m going to get some fresh air.”, she said as cheerfully as she could, leaving the room without a last glance to her friend.
“Hey girl.”, Kidd said quietly, smiling up at Harle, who was sitting on a stool beside the bed.
“Bon matin, mon amour.”, Harle whispered and reached out her hand to caress Kidd’s cheek.
“Is it mornin’ already? I slept so long again.”, Kidd said in surprise and sighed.
“Never mind. How are you feeling aujourd’hui?” A small smile appeared on her lips as she saw Kidd sitting up, obviously feeling fine.
“As good as new.”, Kidd answered enthusiastically and stretched her arms. “What about ya?” Kidd’s face darkened as she remembered what had actually happened. More than a day had passed since the battle. She had only been awake once before, and just for a few minutes. But now the memories came back, and Kidd couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pain. However, a soon as Harle looked at her, she put on a smile.
“Trés bien. Mon shoulder still hurtz a bit, but it’z not’ing. Ze dragon waz simply stronger than moi t’ought.“ Her voice sounded almost cheery.
Dragon. Harle had said it as if it was nothing. Kidd wondered if Harle suspected the same thing she did. She hated to bring it up, but she had to know.
“The dragon...he wasn’t the same, was he?”, she asked hesitantly, not sure if this was the right way to put it. But to her surprise Harle nodded.
“Oui. Moi felt it. He looked so similar to him, mais...he iz not ze same. In ze end, moi knew. His eyez were so diferente.”, Harle said calmly. Now she was sure. She didn’t see it the first time she had encountered him. But when she had fought him...he had looked at her so strangely. At first she hadn’t believed it, thought she was imagining things. But every time he had hit her, his eyes had been so full of pain. As if trying to tell her something.
She had been blind not to notice right away. She had let those emotions wash over her, making her unable to see the truth. The truth she hadn’t wanted to see. But now she saw it clearly.
“He izn’t one of uz.”, Harle mumbled, more to herself than to Kidd.
“Yeah...”, Kidd started, but didn’t finish. She was lost in thought, trying to remember more about the dragon.
It all made sense now. If he really wasn’t the black dragon god, that would explain a lot of things. His wings, which were so different and strange. His behaviour. Kidd had wondered why he hadn’t spoken to them. Now she realized that he probably couldn’t.
“Say Harle...has he...talked ta ya? Ya know...”, Kidd didn’t know how to put it. She knew the dragon gods had been able to speak to her. That Harle had suffered from their voices, which haunted her thoughts and dreams. They had been connected by something Kidd couldn’t even begin to understand.
For a moment, Harle didn’t answer, deeply in thought. “Non...”, she said quietly, but her voice didn’t sound sure. Harle closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. She had heard the dragons’ voices shortly after she had first seen the dragon at Marbule. But now her memories were so distant and foggy, she wasn’t sure anymore. She didn’t know if it had been real or if it had been her imagination. She had been not the same then.
“Anyway, that thing was dangerous. We should talk ta the others about it. Maybe they know more.”, Kidd suggested. “I wonder if they’re awake yet. Eve looked pretty bad last time I’ve seen her.” Just as she finished, Kidd attempted to stand up to go and check on them, but was halted by Harle’s hand.
“Rezt un peu more, mon amour. Moi will talk to zem.”, Harle said smilingly, her hands gently pushing Kidd back to bed. In truth, she wanted to be the first one talking to them. She wanted to apologize to Eve, whom she had attacked. She felt bad for having done such a thing. Eve had known more about the dragon than she herself had. Even though Harle should have known better.
Harle leaned down to Kidd and kissed her softly. Kidd responded eagerly, smiling at the sudden affection. She laid her arms around Harle’s neck, pulling her even closer. Harle chuckled at Kidd’s playful possessiveness and tried to wriggle herself free. Kidd didn’t let go that easily, however.
“Ya really okay?”, she asked, gently putting a loose strand of hair out of Harle’s face and behind her ear. Her right hand cupped Harle’s cheek, her thumb stroking it softly.
“Vraiment.”, Harle said and giggled.
“Ya sure?”, Kidd inquired further, attempting to close the distance between their mouths, but Harle turned her head to the side.
“Oui.”, Harle answered, a teasing smile on her lips. Kidd gave her a mock frown, which soon turned into an evil smile.
“Then let’s see how you’re feelin’ after this.”, she said and pulled Harle onto the bed, holding her tightly. She showered her face with gentle kisses, while Harle just laughed and squirmed, trying to escape. Her attempts were futile, so she eventually decided upon the most reliable tactic to escape. She stopped squirming, favouring Kidd with a long kiss on the lips. Once Kidd let her defences down, Harle quickly slipped out of the bed.
“Not now.”, she said and smiled teasingly, taking a step backwards as Kidd tried to grab her arms. She blew one last kiss to Kidd before she turned around and headed for the door.
Lying back down, Kidd watched Harle walk out of the room, a satisfied smile on her face. She was glad that Harle seemed to be okay. The guilt of what she had done still nagged at her mind, but she wouldn’t speak to Harle about it. They all had to look forward now. There were still a lot of things that had to be done.
While Kidd was thinking about what to do next, Harle stepped outside into the cool morning air. She inhaled deeply. This could be a good day, if she wanted it to. Despite all that had happened, she felt content now, even though she wasn’t sure why. She had had lost control again. Hadn’t been able to stop herself. She could have done something terrible. But she was happy now.
Maybe it was because of the dragon. She had been so scared back then, but now...she had hope again. And even if her consciousness had told her countless times not to hope again, she did. Because Kidd thought the same. Harle wasn’t alone, wasn’t the only one to think that the dragon they had met wasn’t real.
So even if this strange dragon were to be ten times stronger than the others, she still wouldn’t be afraid. For he wasn’t Him.
Walking along the deck, she noticed that there weren’t many people out yet, and the ship was only sailing at an average speed. But it was fine with her, there wasn’t a need to rush. It would be no use if they reached Porre and not everyone was in top shape.
She absent-mindedly looked to the side when a figure caught her attention. It was a woman from the looks of it, taller than herself, with dark brown hair. She stood at the rail, her back turned to Harle, looking out to the ocean. Harle thought a moment, wondering where she had seen that person before, when she remembered. She was the woman who had stood close to Eve when they all had been on the deck of Viper’s ship.
“Bon matin.”, Harle said, walking to stand beside the other girl. She didn’t look at the woman, simply joining her in her view over the ocean.
At first the other woman was taken aback by Harle’s sudden greeting and it took her a while to respond. “G...Good morning.”, she said hesitantly. She looked at her, a little confused and unsure of what to do.
“Je suis Harle.”, Harle said with a small smile on her lips as she met the other woman’s gaze.
“I’m Clair. Nice to meet you.”, Clair said and immediately felt stupid. She had met her before, and she wasn’t so sure if she was really glad to meet her again. She didn’t know her, but she had been the one attacking Eve.
Harle’s smile faded as she saw the eyes of Clair. They looked sad, but they also bore a tinge of anger, even though Harle wasn’t sure whom it was aimed at.
“Moi iz sorry. Vraiment.”, Harle said apologetically. She really was sorry. Eve didn’t have anything to do with it. And Harle knew that if anyone would have attacked Kidd like that, she would be angry as well.
“You should apologize to Eve. She’s the one you have hurt.”, Clair said rather harshly. She didn’t know why she had said it like that. She wasn’t really that angry with her. What Harle had done was nothing in comparison to the sins she had committed.
“Moi will do zat aussi. Mais moi wanted to apologize to you az well. You are her amie, non?”, Harle asked, unperturbed by Clair’s brashness.
‘I really don’t know.’, Clair thought glumly, but out loud she said: “Yes...I am. But I don’t really care about what you did. It was just a small wound. I bet she doesn’t even think about that anymore.” She turned her eyes towards the ocean again. She hated herself for being indifferent about things that concerned Eve, but Harle’s attack on her seemed so small to her now. It was nothing. Just a superficial wound that would go away completely in a few days. She wished she could say the same about the things she had done. But most of the injuries she had caused were permanent, if not terminal.
The guilt she felt threatened to bring tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them show. How stupid would it be to cry? After all, she hadn’t regretted it the moment she had done it. It had been fine with her to slaughter so many people, so why was she feeling so guilty now?
“You are trés sad.”, Harle stated, breaking Clair’s train of thought with an easiness that made Clair look at her with a frown.
“How...how would you know?”, she asked, irritated by Harle’s penetrating look. For a moment she had the feeling that the other woman could see right through her. Which was absolutely impossible. When Eve couldn’t even see the most obvious things about her, how should a stranger be able to? It made no sense.
“Your eyez. Zey are sad.”, Harle watched Clair intently, noting the doubtful look she gave her. “Zey mirror ze feelingz of ze owner. You can smile, oui, mais your eyez won’t.”
“You...you don’t know me or my feelings. You have no idea what I’m feeling.”, Clair said hastily, louder than she had intended. Who was this woman who acted like she knew everything?
“You hate fighting. You are sad because of ze happeningz on Viper’z bateau. You have hurt people.”, Harle continued calmly.
“Don’t say such things!”, Clair shouted at her, the anger now more evident in her eyes. “You don’t know me.”
“Moi knowz ze look of people who did somet’ing despicable. Ze look of people who hate zemselves.” Harle’s voice was still even, although Clair gripped the rail tightly, possibly trying to refrain from slapping her. Harle didn’t even know why she said these things, herself. She had just wanted to greet her, try to get to know her. She hadn’t wanted to make her angry, but Harle couldn’t stop herself from commenting on her eyes. It was all so obvious that it pained her to even look at them. They were full of pain, full of feelings the other woman probably never dared to show. Feelings she probably never dared to speak of. She had seen those eyes before. They were like her own had been. They were so alike that even Harle thought it was scary.
Clair was looking at her, the tears she had tried to repress now welling up in her eyes. “So? What are you going to do? I have hurt many people in this battle. People who trusted me, thought I was their comrade. I probably killed quite a few of them too.” Clair’s voice was bitter. “Are you satisfied now?” She faced Harle angrily.
For a moment, Harle was silent. Stunned. “No one blamez you here. Everyone here haz gone wrong at one point or ze odder. Ze important thing iz...to accept ze thingz you have done. And also...you did it for her, non? You wanted to help her?”
Clair looked at her with wide eyes. How did she know all these things? “Yes...I wanted to help...I wanted to help her.” The tears ran freely now, and Clair covered her face with her hands, turning away from Harle. “I knew it was wrong...but...”, she sobbed, unable to finish.
“It’z alright. If you did it for someone trés importante to you...zen it’z alright. If you fight pour one, you alwayz hurt anodder. It iz impossible to avoid.” Harle noticed the questioning look Clair gave her through her tears, and tried to think of a better way to explain. “Zere iz no right or wrong. Juzt deux sidez. And both believe zey are correcte. But it’z importante to fight pour ze side you believe in. Pour toi, ze side you believe in iz right. You have done not’ing wrong.”, she explained.
“You...you make it sound so easy.”, Clair said, wiping away her tears, hoping no new ones would come.
“Non...it iz not. It’z trés difficile. Maybe later you will realize zat your décision was wrong...zat you find zat you fought pour...someone you don’t agree wit’ anymore.”, Harle explained but stopped, thinking about what she had said. It really was difficult. When she had been with Lynx, she had done whatever he had said. Not because she wanted to do it for him, but because the dragons had told her to work for him, obey him as a means to get information. At the time she had believed she was right. She had hated humans and would have gladly seen them vanish from the surface of the world. But she had changed. And now it did nothing to her, knowing that she had acted of her own free will, that she had done what she had wanted to do. She still hated herself for this.
Harle took a deep breath. It was no use bothering Clair with her own doubts. Maybe her case had been different. And even though Clair might change her view on things, she had still been forced to make a decision. She had to fight for someone. And when Harle really thought about it, she had been forced too. She had agreed with the dragons, but even if she hadn’t, she would have had to do something. Fight for the dragons, or fight against them. There really hadn’t been much of a choice. Just that Harle had had to try both to find the one which was right for her.
“Would you be happier if you had fought pour Viper? If you had killed uz instead of zem?”, Harle asked softly, not intending to sound accusing.
“...no.” Clair’s response sounded a bit unsure.
“So you see. People would have been hurt anywayz. Zere was no avoiding it, non? It waz zem or uz.” After telling her all this, Harle wasn’t sure if she had succeeded in making Clair’s sorrow go away, or if she had just intensified it. However, she got her answer as their gazes met again. Clair had a smile on her lips. And this time, it reached her eyes. Maybe the pain wasn’t entirely gone, but its weight might be a bit lighter now.
“Thank you...Harle.”, Clair said gratefully. “You’ve really made me feel better. I’m sorry that I’ve been so mean to you at first. You’re a really nice person. I guess not seeing this from the start just shows how stupid I am.” Clair giggled as she said that and Harle soon joined her.
A nice person. Not many people aside from Kidd had ever said something like that to her, and it made her feel better than she would have ever expected it to. It gave her a giddy and funny sort of feeling.
“Moi iz not az nice as you t’ink moi iz. Mais...merci beaucoup anywayz.” Harle smiled at the taller woman and then turned to regard the ocean again.
They didn’t talk for a while, each of them enjoying the peaceful silence and gentle breeze.
“You know...”, Clair said after a while, “you have a really nice accent.”
They had hid it in a cave in the woods near Porre. Surely nobody would come there. She had sent it asleep, just for safety. It had already been proved that it obeyed them completely, but she still thought of it as dangerous. One would think she of all people knew how it would react, what it would do, but she didn’t.
That was the downside of what she did. She could force everything to obey her, but she couldn’t control the thoughts completely. There was always room for traitorous thoughts. It still wasn’t perfect. But she would make certain it would be, the next time. She still had one try left. And she would not waste it.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”, Viper called gruffly out to her. He carried the still unconscious Jack on his right shoulder, not seeming to mind the extra weight at all as he strode forward.
“J...yes.”, she called and walked a bit faster. Things had not gone as planned, and she understood that he was angry. She herself hadn’t expected the pirates to be this tough. But as Viper had told her, there had been traitors who had aided them.
She knew Viper didn’t care much about the lives that were lost, but more about the weapons. This incident would slow his plan down considerably. She didn’t really mind. She couldn’t care less about his plans. Hers were going well enough.
It took them a while to reach their destination. She had been born on this continent, yet it seemed so unfamiliar to her now. It had been so long ago that she had lived here. She had spent most of her life in El Nido, working there. Back then, nothing could keep her on the Zenan mainland. There hadn’t been anyone that would have needed her. And also...she needed to get away from that person. They had been so similar, but in the end, she had just been jealous of her. She still was, even though this person was dead now. She had never come back here ever since then, thinking it was best to remain in El Nido, away from her past.
They reached the manor, which was just as impressive as the other one back in El Nido, if just a bit smaller and less military looking. She liked it.
The manor was in the outskirts of Porre, still maintaining the countryside look, in contrast to the metropolitan flair of the city of Porre. Maybe the contrast was even stronger now, she couldn’t even begin to imagine how Porre looked like today. She had seen glimpses of it as they had passed the city. She hadn’t thought that it would look like this. But certainly, the view from the sky was different from the actual look of the city.
She felt a bit like a child, anticipating to visit this huge city. She didn’t like this feeling. It was one of those she had buried long ago. Her rational mind told her that the anticipation came naturally, due to her barely going out most of the time.
There were no soldiers to greet them when they reached the gate. No guards at all. She figured Viper didn’t want this mansion to look suspicious. Which was understandable, considering the plans he had with this city.
She grimaced at the thought. The old fool, never getting enough, never being satisfied. But this was also what made them similar. They both always aimed for perfectionism. And in her case, it was so close she could almost touch it.
She entered the mansion shortly after Viper. Inside, they were greeted by two soldiers, who bowed deeply in front of them, welcoming them to their temporary residence.
She had already a place in mind where she wanted to go, but she decided to wait until Viper told her to leave, as she was expected to.
“I want to see my daughter. Where is she?”, Viper asked, his voice considerably softening as he said this. She made a face. He was such a ruthless bastard but when it came to Riddel, he played the saint. It was disgusting.
But she could also understand it. Riddel was so pure, so innocent. So clueless it was unreal. She didn’t think Riddel could bear knowing what her father was doing. But she would, eventually. And she already felt sorry for her.
Viper handed the boy he had carried up until now to one of the two soldiers, the other one leading them upstairs, to Riddel’s room. Something in her stomach tightened. She didn’t want to see her. No. She couldn’t bear seeing her now. Her heart beat furiously as they came to a halt. She patiently waited for him to send her away, to tell her she should go away. To order anything that would save her from seeing Riddel.
Viper turned the doorknob and was just about to step into the room when he remembered the woman standing behind her. “You can go to your room. I expect to see you tomorrow morning.”
She nodded, not showing the tremendous amount of relief she felt. She briskly walked off, down to the basement where she expected her room, and workplace to be.
Viper didn’t waste another look after her and opened the door in front of him widely, a smile on his lips as he spotted his beautiful daughter. Riddel was sitting by the window and stared outside, watching the sun set. A sigh escaped her lips as her eyes wandered along the skyline of Porre, almost hidden behind rows of trees which surrounded the manor. She was too lost in thought to notice Viper right away, and was considerably surprised as he suddenly spoke up.
“How are you feeling, my dear?”, he asked softly, causing Riddel to turn her head abruptly, staring at him wide-eyed.
“Father!”, she exclaimed as she rose from her chair, walking towards him with spread arms. “I didn’t expect to see you today. Didn’t you say you were arriving tomorrow?”, she asked excitedly, hugging him.
“Yes...the weather was fair so the ship made it faster than expected.”, he explained with a content smile, hiding the anger he felt completely. He let go of his daughter, regarding her intently.
“You look pale. Do you feel alright?”, he asked worriedly.
Riddel’s smile fell slightly, so she looked to the side. “It’s nothing, father. It must be the dim light.” She didn’t want to burden him. After all, he did everything for her. It wasn’t his fault.
“Well then, I still have work to do. I’ll see you at dinner, then?”, Viper asked, already walking towards the door.
“Of course, father.”, Riddel replied silently as he shut the door behind him. Riddel was just about to return to her chair as the door opened again.
“Have you thought about what I said to you last week?”, Viper asked, not looking at her.
“Not yet, father.”, Riddel sighed.
“Well then, see you at dinner.” The door shut again. Riddel stood in silence for a few moments, before she went back to the window. Only a few minutes. But the sun had almost set. She watched the few remaining beams of light drown behind the trees.
She knew what her father had been referring to. One week ago, he had once again asked her about her plans of marriage. He thought it was just the right time.
And indeed. What better time to marry was there for a rich and spoiled daughter of twenty-five? No. Maybe it was already too late. Riddel knew Viper had initially expected her to marry Dario. But that was long ago. Dario was dead and ever since then, Riddel hadn’t been able to have such strong feelings for someone again. Maybe she was scared that she would lose this person again.
No, that was a foolish thing to think. It was just that she had yet to encounter someone coming even close to Dario. She didn’t think anyone ever would. But still, her father expected her to marry. She didn’t want to disgrace him. But there really wasn’t anyone she could even consider marrying. The devas Karsh and Zoah were good friends, but she doubted that she would ever be able to see them as something else. Besides, Zoah was way too young for her. And Glenn? She couldn’t bear even thinking about that possibility. Glenn was a strong and noble man, but he was also the brother of Dario. It would seem wrong to her. And just like Zoah, he was fairly young.
Riddel couldn’t help but feel like an old lady. She could already imagine herself sitting in front of this very window thirty years from now. Nothing seemed to change for her. Every day passed just like the day before. She hardly ever had anything to do. Not like everyone else. Everyone seemed to have a place, except of her. She was just there, fulfilling no real task.
“So ya two are Eve n’ Clair?”, the captain asked, pointing at the two. The woman merely nodded, glancing over to Kidd and Harle. They were all sitting at a rather large wooden table in the captain’s office.
“Judgin’ from what I heard already, ya helped us out against Viper’a soldiers?”, the captain asked, grimacing at the word soldier. They had been a bunch of wusses, and nothing more. One only had to strike their arm and suddenly they couldn’t walk anymore, crouching in a corner. Pathetic. Viper hadn’t seemed to know what kind of people he had relied on.
“So I guess we should thank ya two. I hope we can trust ya?”, he asked, looking at them sternly.
“Stop that already.”, Kidd said and laughed, “they already proved they’re with us.” Eve looked up to see Kidd’s smiling face flicker in the dim candlelight. It was already dark outside, but the captain had insisted to speak to them. And since both Kidd and Eve had been tired enough to sleep until late into the afternoon, it had gotten quite late.
Eve shot a glance to her side, seeing Clair fidgeting. She looked nervous, which was understandable. The captain looked quite intimidating with his broad shoulders, long beard and his deep and loud voice. However, judging from the way Kidd had talked to him, he seemed quite affable.
“We have no business with Viper anymore, if that’s what you mean. And also, we are extremely grateful that you allow us to be on your ship until we reach Porre. We’re in your debt.”, Eve said and bowed slightly, even though they were sitting.
The captain nodded agreeably and Kidd winked at her, causing Harle to glare at Kidd. Eve chuckled slightly at the sight. They really seemed to be a good match, now that she knew their relation.
She had talked to Harle earlier. Harle had come to her room to apologize to her. She had seemed different than when Eve had first seen her. But then again, such a battle probably changed everyone. The panic, the presence of death...Eve doubted anyone would be his or her usual self when facing something like this. So she had simply shrugged it off as that: an effect of the battle. They had started anew, and Eve found Harle to be quite a nice, if a bit mysterious, woman.
Quite the contrary of Kidd, who struck her as a very open.
“I think that makes us even. But now that’s settled, does anyone care ta fill me in on this bloody dragon thing?”, the captain asked and looked first to Kidd and Harle, then to Eve and Clair. He hadn’t seen it himself. When he had gotten back onto this ship, the dragon had already...vanished.
“He waz not un real dragon. Not one of ze dragon godz.”, Harle stated, joining the conversation. After all, this was her metier.
Kidd nodded while Eve and Clair just stared at Harle, not really following. By dragon gods, she couldn’t mean the six legendary dragons? Clair had heard stories about them, but didn’t really know much about them besides that. The thought of this dragon being one of the dragon gods hadn’t crossed her mind even once until now.
“Do you know anythin’ ‘bout it?”, the captain asked Eve and Clair. “Ya’ve been workin’ for him. Surely ya know somethin’ ‘bout the dragon?”
“We don’t know much. Everyone knows there is a dragon, but hardly any soldier knows more than that. It is sort of a secret project. The dragon is supposed to be Viper’s new weapon. Back in Viper Manor, I eavesdropped on a few soldiers. They said the dragon was only a proto type. I don’t know if this is indeed true. There are many rumours.”, Clair explained. Eve nodded at that. She had heard rumours as well. It was like with any secret. People tended to speculate, and in the end nobody knew right from wrong. That was why she never believed in rumours until she had seen it with her own eyes. And what she had seen had been quite different from all the talk of it being a weapon.
“I...I also think that the dragon isn’t really evil.”, Eve added, glancing to Kidd nervously, half expecting her to yell at her again. But to her surprise, Kidd did nothing. She just listened to her intently, allowing Eve to continue. “I had seen it before on the lowest deck, while trying to find out more about it. But then Viper came down and the dragon...helped me hide from them.” Eve gulped, not really wanting to explain this. “Anyway, I think the dragon could have a certain amount of intellect. After all, it responded to Viper’s orders as well.”
“Intellect?”, Kidd asked incredulously. “I...think it’s a robot.” This caused everyone to look at her wide-eyed, including Harle. “Lemme explain. Before I fell unconscious, I saw how he...it...spread its wings. They were partly made from metal.”
Harle watched her, trying to imagine what the wings could look like, coming to no result. It was too strange a thing to imagine. Eve and Clair meanwhile just stared at Kidd, until Eve finally asked the question they both had on their minds: “What’s a robot?”
Kidd bit her lip and scratched the back of her head. Of course they couldn’t know about such things. “It’s...like a machine in the shape of an animal or human.” If she was honest, she didn’t even know herself. She had only heard the tales of Lucca. She had told Kidd that she had met a robot once, and even been able to repair it. She had said that the robot could speak and even think on its own. The way Lucca had explained it to her, she had eventually left it in the middle ages and never seen again since then. It sounded crazy, even to Kidd. But Lucca had known so much, and Kidd couldn’t bring herself to think that Lucca had made these stories up. After all, she had been the greatest inventor of the world. Maybe she still was.
“Anyway, these robots can imitate animals or humans, they can even speak and think. But they’re not really intelligent.” Kidd remembered Lucca telling her that everything they did was just ‘programmed’. Whatever that had meant. Kidd had been too small to understand these things, and even now, she guessed she wouldn’t be able to.
“Just what the hell are you talking about?”, Eve asked, trying to sound calm and unimpressed. This was definitely going too fast for her and she couldn’t believe that Harle and the captain didn’t react the same way she did. Did they know of this weird things too? “Machines that can imitate humans? That’s impossible.”, she stated, matter-of-factly.
“It’s not! Lucca could do it! Maybe there are others...if one can do it, it’s not impossible for others.”, Kidd said penetratingly and looked sternly at Eve and Clair.
“That’s-“, Eve started but stopped when she felt Clair’s hand on hers.
“I think we should see this Lucca person. Maybe she really knows something about this.”, Clair said calmly, looking over to Eve who nodded stubbornly.
“We can’t. Lucca is...dead.”, Kidd said, her voice dark. She had expected them to say this, so she didn’t waver while saying it. She didn’t dare looking at Harle out of fear what she would see in her eyes, so she looked intently at Eve and Clair, who in turn looked down.
“I’m sorry.”, Clair said apologetically, turning her head to the side to escape Kidd’s intent gaze. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of Harle’s eyes. They were full of sadness. She hadn’t believed it at first, but as she saw these eyes, she did. The eyes really showed the feelings.
Clair quickly turned her head back to fully see them, but once she did, the sadness was gone, and Harle looked perfectly normal. Maybe it had just been the candlelight after all. She decided not to ponder too deeply on it.
“Well...it doesn’t matter if it’s a robot or an animal, we have ta stop it. This thing is bloody dangerous. It’s almost immune ta physical and elemental attacks. It’s a monster. And what’s worse, it does whatever Viper tells it ta.”, Kidd said darkly. However, she wasn’t sure if the dragon really obeyed him completely. After all, Viper had told it to kill her and Harle, yet he had spared them.
“Mais...Viper iz dead, non?”, Harle asked, causing the others to look at her.
“I’m...not really sure. I beat him, but...I didn’t kill him.”, Eve mumbled, feeling stupid for not having done it. It would have been so easy to just kill him on the spot...but somehow, she hadn’t been able to.
“So there’s a possibility he escaped the drowning ship. I’ve seen two or three lifeboats. He could be on one of ‘em.”, the captain said thoughtfully.
The others looked down, thinking of what it would mean for them if he were to be still alive.
“What if he had escaped with the dragon? You didn’t kill the dragon, no? And if he really had wings, it would be possible.”, Clair rationalized, even though she felt odd thinking about such a thing. But the fact was, the dragon was unlikely to drown, so it had probably at least saved himself.
“So that means we have ta be on our guard...”, the captain mumbled, deep in thought. This wasn’t good. Not knowing if Viper was dead or alive certainly wasn’t good. Especially considering what had happened.
“Listen, I have somethin’ ta tell ya. Aside from this whole dragon and Viper mess...there’s one more thing I haven’t told ya ‘bout yet.”, the captain said slowly, a sad look on his face. Kidd and Harle immediately knew something was wrong.
The four women leaned forward, dreading what the captain might say.
“It’s about Jack...”, he said quietly, his fists trembling as if he had to hold himself back from smashing them onto the table. “He’s gone.”
“How are you feeling, my boy? Have they treated you well?”, Viper asked in the most gentle voice he could muster.
Jack looked up from his bed, where he was eating the breakfast that had been brought to him. He shot Viper an angry glare, but remained silent. He knew he couldn’t do much.
Aside from the bed, the room was sparsely furnished, only a table with a chair near the window and a commode to put clothes in. Of course, he had none to put into, and the view from the window hardly interested him. He was on the fourth floor, much too high to escape, and it wasn’t the first time that he thought that he felt like being trapped in the tower of a castle, where nobody would ever come.
They were guards in front of the door, Jack assumed them to be two. It would hardly be an even battle, with his only weapon being his bare fists. So he had given up on escaping with force only five minutes after he had awoken in this room. He had to find another way.
“Do you like your breakfast? Most of the soldiers would kill over something like that.”, Viper asked and chuckled, sitting down on the chair.
Jack looked down at his plate, frowning. It certainly was a rather extravagant meal, entirely different from what he usually ate on the ship. There, the usual meals consisted of thin soups with rusk, and apples for the hunger in between. Only sometimes would they get meat, which was often salted so much he could hardly eat it. He had grown accustomed to it, though he had to admit that the breakfast in front of him was quite pleasurable. He would never say it, though. But judging from the amused expression with which Viper looked at his already half-empty plate, he knew.
“You’re not very talkative, are you?”, Viper asked, smiling at Jack.
“What do you want from me? Why did you take me here?”, Jack asked, looking Viper directly into the eyes. He wouldn’t let himself show that he was afraid of him.
“My, my. Is that your way of saying thank you to your saviour? After all, you would have drowned if I hadn’t been so kind as to take you with me.”, Viper said gravely.
“D...drowned?” Jack almost choked on his breakfast, staring at Viper.
“Yes. Unfortunately, these pirates managed to destroy my ship. It seems like I underestimated them.”, Viper answered and shrugged, as if all the deaths that had probably been involved were nothing to him. Jack wondered if the crew of the Radical Dreamers was okay.
“As you surely know, I’m a pirate too. So what do you want from me?”, Jack asked sternly, eyeing Viper suspiciously.
“Are you?”, Viper asked and smirked. Jack instantly looked down at himself. Once again he noticed the neat white shirt he was wearing, with frills at the sleeves and a tidy collar. The trousers were black and noble-looking. Someone had changed them while he had been asleep. He didn’t particularly mind them, but he did wonder why anyone would care to put a thug like him into these clothes.
“I think you look pretty handsome in those. They suit you better than the rags you had worn before.”, Viper added.
“Enough of this. What do you want from me? Why are you keeping me here? If you want to kill me, then do it now, instead of letting me wait. If it’s information you want, you won’t get it anyway.”, Jack said rather aggressively, surprising himself.
“If you’re so intent on it...”, Viper said, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes that made Jack gulp. As Viper stepped closer, Jack realized that he had bluffed too hard.
“But you know, I don’t take joy in killing people. What’s their death, to me? It is completely unnecessary, especially in your case. After all, you are the last one to blame for what had happened.” While saying this, Viper walked across the room, grimacing as he talked, as if the very idea of killing his opponents was foreign and abstract to him. It made Jack sick just looking at it.
“Don’t try to fool me!”, Jack yelled, standing up from his bed. “Don’t tell me you’re all good, when you are the one that made Harle suffer so much!” Jack realized too late that yelling at Viper might have been a stupid thing to do, but he couldn’t hold back anymore, even though he knew that Viper was far stronger than him.
For a moment Viper was caught off guard by what Jack had said, but he regained his confident smile soon enough to meet the infuriated Jack with his broad smile.
“Whatever do you mean?”, he asked quietly, looking away from him. As angry as Jack was, Viper knew he would tell him everything he wanted to know.
“Don’t play dumb with me! It was you that made her run away from us. You and your damn dragon! It’s your fault...that she doesn’t trust me anymore.”, Jack grew silent towards the end, losing his anger, which made place for sadness. It still depressed him that she hadn’t been able to talk to him, and that Kidd was the only one that could reach out to her. Always.
Viper raised an eyebrow at what Jack had said, trying to put the pieces together. So the dragon really seemed to have had a huge impact on Harle, and Jack hated him for that reason. It was a silly thing, really.
“I’m terribly sorry for what had happened to your friend. But look at it from my perspective for once, will you? Kidd and her friend had simply intruded my mansion, obviously trying to rob me. They thought me unconscious, but I had been able to hear what they were saying. Obviously they had been after an old relic I keep in my collection. However, as they didn’t find it, they, or I should rather say Kidd, took a few of my maps with them. These maps are of no use to all of you, but they are very important to me. So after hearing this, do you still think it wasn’t just the most natural thing for me to do to try to get it back?”, Viper looked at Jack intently, his voice tainted with innocence. “You see, I even tried to talk to Kidd, on the ship. I had offered her money in exchange of the map, but instead she attacked me ruthlessly. Even though Harle had tried to stop her. Kidd just said that she believed that there would be more money to find in the places marked on the map, than I would ever offer her. It’s really a pity she thinks so. Especially for her friend, who was dragged into this silly battle against her will.”, Viper concluded, eyeing Jack expectantly. He dreaded to see his reaction. Maybe he had exaggerated too much. He had no idea of how much the young man in front of him really knew, and it was a gamble to blame Kidd for what had happened. After all, he didn’t have any idea of his actual relations to those too. But even if Jack wouldn’t believe him, she would be able to fix it. Even though it would certainly be easier otherwise.
“So you’re trying to say that it’s all Kidd’s fault?”, Jack said with a sarcastic voice, but his eyes were clouded with doubt. Viper’s smile grew.
“Does everyone know what ta do?”, the captain asked, regarding the others.
“Aye!”, they replied eagerly, leaping from the ship and onto the docks of Porre. They quickly tried to mingle with the other people on the docks, trying not to draw too much attention. Kidd waited a moment, turning around to face the captain, who was still standing on the ship, a frown on his face.
“Be careful not ta get caught or anythin’. We’ll be back soon.”, Kidd called to him, waving at him before she grabbed Harle’s hand and they both disappeared in the crowd. It was a busy day at the harbour, countless workers walking about to load boxes onto ships.
Kidd felt a bit silly having waved to the captain like a little girl would to her parents when going out to play. But playing wasn’t what Kidd had in mind right now. She didn’t know what would await them, but Kidd was prepared. It could be easy if Viper was dead, but it could also become troublesome if he was not.