It was roughly three in the afternoon when the crew was all reunited, looking mostly worse for wear. Worse still was that Copain was still there, just hanging about.
“Domingue?” He asked, shaking the cook’s hand.
“Some refer to me as such,” He replied, shaking the other man’s oddly warm hand, “Who are you?”
“I’m the mayor’s assistant.” He replied, making Lonceré’s hair stand on end, “She wants to make a deal with you.”
“A deal?” He asked, looking at his captain, “Wouldn’t it be best to ask him?”
“You’re the one behind those announcements a few days ago, yes?” He ignored the question, “You have to continue them. The mayor is prepared to give you a folder full of state secrets she wishes to leak.”
“Hold on, why should we trust that?” Paracelsus interjected, “And furthermore, what would we get out of this?”
“You would get safe passage for the Current. And as for the matter of trust, I think it’s unimportant.” Copain boldly stated.
“Believe it or not, we actually agree on that.” Paracelsus countered, “But there’s another matter I’m sure we agree on - collateral. You have something of mine, but I have nothing of yours, save your word.”
“You must think yourself terribly clever, Mr. Paracelsus,” Copain looked down at him, and though his face was featureless, it almost appeared to hint at a challenging glare, “But in this case, I must implore you - understand that you can have nothing other than my word.”
“Can it be done today?” He asked, seeing all the heads of his crew snap toward him, “There will be no other way I can ensure our cooperation.”
“Parace -” Serpacinno reached out to his shoulder.
“Please, not now. There’s been a development on our end, and suffice to say it’s now or never.” He turned back to address Copain, “We will be leaving tonight, by land or sea.”
“Fine, you and Mr. Domingue will come with me.” Copain instructed.
“Just give me a minute,” Paracelsus huffed with a tired, unspoken annoyance, and led Serpacinno off to the side, “A moment?”
“What the fuck was that?” She asked, pushing a finger into his chest.
“I know. I know,” He was now having to actively strain to keep a cool head, every second was longer than the last and he meant what he said about leaving their that night, whatever energy the city had brought to him he had thoroughly overindulged on, “But sometimes, loathe as I am to admit it, I have to put my foot down.”
“Put your foot down?” She asked, similarly angry, “More like puff your chest out and be a big man.”
“You have no idea what has transpired today -” Their voices were getting angrier and they were at serious risk of drawing not only their crew’s attention, but the public’s, as well, “So please, do me the favor of saving this until we’ve left this damned place.”
“I have no idea?” It was taking all she had not to erupt, not to bare her fangs and push him against the wall, “Then tell me - what happened that’s got you so fucked up?”
“Tariq shot a marine!” He shouted, for sure letting everyone hear their dispute, “That Lieutenant that’s been following us is dead, and I couldn’t protect him from this. Just like I predicted!”
Immediately her gaze softened, and her mouth hung ajar in shock. She didn’t know him all that well, but it certainly seemed to explain the boy’s mouse-like quiet. She looked at the Captain’s face, normally jovial and disarming, and noticed it was bent into one of shame and regret. The swordswoman also realized she knew him less than she thought. Whatever the reason, there was a wall between them, and she became uncomfortably aware that whatever the purpose, he was always acting.
“I’m sorry, Paracelsus, I -” She tried again to put her hand on his shoulder, this time to offer some counsel, however poorly she thought it would be received, but he brushed the offending appendage away. Quickly, disturbingly so, his face returned to a more familiar, but noticeably more forced, neutrality.
“It’s alright, I shouldn’t have snapped.” He tried to rebuke, but was shut off when Serpacinno hugged him. And it was no chaste embrace, but rather, she threw her whole weight on him, and despite him being a scant few inches taller, he couldn’t have felt smaller in the moment. So, throwing his arms around her in return, and only now realizing how warm she was and how well his arms fit around her, he bit back tears, battening his mental tarpaulins.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
In the end, the tender moment was interrupted by the cook explaining the urgency of leaving, and Serpacinno ultimately found no way to break the news about Silver.
“Thank you, sincerely.” Paracelsus said, with no artificial humor in his words and no forced joy in his eyes, “Have Sally start loading the ship, if she still intends on sailing with us. Everyone should begin packing, and if you wouldn’t mind dealing with my belongings, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course, Parace.” She shot him a sympathetic glance.
—
“I’m not a pack mule.” Sally muttered to herself, hastily shoving her things in a rucksack. She was always a light packer, just a dozen changes of clothes, her sword, her helmet, several bottles and jars of toiletries and perfumes, a few of her favorite picture books, a journal, several of her favorite hair brushes, a mirror and some other unmentionable that need not be elaborated on. All in all, very light, if your definition of light was to stuff the container to the brim.
“Sally?” Her friend / confidente, Ma?a, gave her la bise, as per tradition, “Where are you going? Everyone’s missed you these past few days.”
“I’m flattered,” Sally said, continuing to try and defy the laws of volume to fit yet more perfumes into her bag, “But some sailors, in the city, they’ve agreed to let me sail with them.”
“Sail where, Sally?” Her friend asked, trying to help her impossible mission.
“Wherever Genevieve is!” Sally grunted, falling on her face because of the momentum afforded to her by her pushing and squeezing.
“You must really love her, huh?” Ma?a asked, before adopting a panicked look, “Wait - you mustn’t go back there tonight!”
“Why not?” Sally asked, rolling her eyes.
“My father works in the city - he said that there’s going to be an all-out battle at the mayor’s house soon!” She warned, grabbing Sally’s hands.
“Shit,” Sally groaned, lamenting that “I’ve got to warn them. See you, Ma?a.” She gave the older girl a more intimate kiss, before walking away with an affected stride, “Or maybe not.”
—
“Come, this way,” Copain motioned the duo towards him, “They won’t see us sneak in the back.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Lonceré leaned in and discreetly whispered, “Are we going to double-cross them?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Paracelsus said, his mind clearly elsewhere. Lonceré knew him well enough to know when his mouth and his mind were piloted by two separate parts of his brain, “I don’t think so. If they wanted to betray us, they’d probably have done so already.”
“Forgive me if I’m being impetuous, but you should be focusing on what’s happening right now.” The cook replied.
“I will admit I’m distracted,” Paracelsus said, finally following Copain through the door, “But don’t think I’m incapable of seeing this through.”
Lonceré dashed a few steps ahead to address his Captain in the eye, even though he had to look down, “I’m not doubting your capability, it’s just that, ever since… that happened, you’ve been distracted.”
“I just can’t stop thinking that maybe I’m cursed,” Paracelsus replied, “First there was everything with the Chameleon, and now I can’t help but feel everything’s gonna repeat itself.”
“If you believe it, it will be true.” Lonceré argued, “You taught me that. It’s something more than that.”
“Fine,” The Captain huffed, turning his head, “It’s Serpacinno.” And then, after seeing the look of blank unrecognition on his friend’s face, “The swordswoman. I don’t know why I find myself caring about her opinion so much.”
“A man caring about what a woman thinks of him?” Lonceré put his hand on his chin in a mock show of confusion, “No idea what you might be suffering from.”
“One thing I didn’t miss was your sass.” Paracelsus said, putting a finger up when he saw the cook about to speak again, “Not now. If anything, you’re right about my needing to focus.”
“Don’t bother sitting, gentleman, I plan to be quick.” The mayor said, taking and dropping a stack of files in front of the cook, “In this, you will find everything you’re to say. Once those secrets are out, your ship will be free to leave.”
Paracelsus took the first few papers off the top, looking through them, “The Union is planning to replace you?” He asked, “Well then, I guess that makes sense. Why else wouldn’t they be intervening when this is happening to a founding member? Do you have any idea why they’re replacing you?”
“I’ve held on too long,” She said, throwing her hand on her head, “When you try to change the world your whole life, you end up just driving yourself crazy.”
“Alright…” Paracelsus raised an eyebrow at her musings, but made for the door, “We ought to get started.”
As he made to do so, though, a massive explosion rang out, and the shockwave was so profound it knocked him and Lonceré to the ground. As they stumbled to their shaky feet, with ears ringing and foreheads bleeding, they saw that the back wall had partially collapsed.
“Shit!” Paracelsus shouted, looking for his friend, “We have to go!”
“Right behind you!” His taller friend shouted in response, and the two of them dashed as fast as they could, with the cook clutching his hand.
—
“Did you hear that?” Gareland asked, looking toward the loud boom she heard, “Look - it’s fire! Should we go help them?”
“No, we should have faith,” Tariq said, a solemn look on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, “He said he’ll be back, I trust him.”
“You’re shaking,” She replied, laying a hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure?”
“I just,” He replied with a great pause, getting the kedger ready, “I don’t think I would be of much help over there right now.”
“Look, Tariq,” She said, helping him heave the anchor to the smaller ship, “I won’t pretend I didn’t hear what he said, but you shouldn’t think so hard about it.”
“How can I not?” The speed with which he turned his neck to her would make a whip blush, “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“Look at everyone on the crew:” She argued, “Our Captain - whom we know almost nothing about - was a former revolutionary, the cook was his former comrade, our first mate is a similarly -” She grunted with exertion as the finally got the anchor on the tow, “Mysterious warrior, and you can’t tell me she never has a crazy look in her eyes. Then there’s me - and the less said about that subject, the better.”
“Your point?” He asked with a skeptical look.
“My point is that we’ve all done things we’re not proud of,” She gave a small curtsy when he helped her climb back to the main ship, “But maybe that’s why we’re all here - we’re all looking for people like us.”
“You forgot about me!” Sally shouted, flanked on either side by the city watch who were responsible for ensuring they couldn’t leave port until the appropriate time, “I’m not looking for anything like that. And besides, I don’t plan to even be here for long.”
I didn’t either, Gareland thought, staring at her hands, and the recently arrived Serpacinno, But maybe I could stay with them for a while longer than I’d planned.
