Project Empress 033

 [chapter 7 continued and finished]

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Roaring laughter filled the ship´s dining room. The table was a merry mess of half filled plates, islands in a sea of take-out boxes and pots. The air warm, smelling of the expensive and rare spices of the food. 

Read eared Cara had pushed her chair away from her place at the table as far as she could towards the wall were she tried to melt into the half shadow outside of the lamps glowing above the table. 

“She looked behind you?”, Natalie asked, “What was she expecting? A shy miniature container?”

Elisa shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Erika was looking at Cara with a warmth that Cara suspected was powered by pitty, she brought her plate close to her mouth, mumbling into her food. “It might have been a tiny parcel…” She cast a look around; Erika was still looking at her with motherly pitty, Elisa was grinning while mimicking the scene with her knife representing her and her fork looking around for the ‘stealthy parcel’. She gave a little snort, her eyes narrowing a bit as they moved on to Wolfram. He was very focused on his own food, moving it around with his fork as if trying to find a secret morsel under his vegetable heavy sauce, Cara did not miss that he was trying very hard to suppress a laugh. ‘Nice try… traitor’, Cara thought. Next was Natalie who was pointing at Elisa’s fork, laughing with tears in her eyes. 

Cara stood up and went for the door. She opened it, taking care that her cutlery didn’t fall to the ground. She had had quite enough humiliation for a day. As she moved out the room grew a bit silent. She turned back to the others, saying: “I hope you know that you are all”, she started looking at Wolfram, then went to look at Erika, followed by Elisa and ending on Natalie, “ assholes. Of varying sizes,”, a quick glance to Wolfram, who had the decency to keep looking at his food, all traces of mirth wiped away from his face. Cara looked back at Natalie, “but assholes nonetheless”, her eyes narrowed more. She slowly moved backwards out of the room, mostly to make sure she did not stumble on her way out, while appreciating that it allowed her to glower at the room for a while longer. She then turned around using her right foot to slam the door closed behind her. The door slammed shut with gratifying thunder. Cara took a deep breath and then left for the ships deck.

Outside it was dark, most of the illumination came from the almost full moon that had taken centre stage in the night sky, the Milky Way adding to its flair. The silver line was reflecting from the almost still water of the harbour. The only competition coming from the ship’s positional lights, which came a distant second. Cara was looking at the reflection of the water, eating with dogged determination. Her anger was doing a good job of pushing her hunger away, but the taste of the spicy food and the way that she couldn’t quite tell if it was still hot or if this was mostly the peppers doing their work kept her coming back for more. The burning in her mouth was also distracting her from the burning in her stomach. Besides, Wolfram must have spent a fortune for the food. Most of the spices in her food were incredibly rare. Earlier Wolfram had insisted that having everyone back alive and on their way to full recovery was worth more than money. He also added that the Hartmann Serafini’s may be one the suppliers of rare spices to Datlem, that was worth a discount. Still this must have cost them more than Cara used to earn in a week… Another reason to savour the food. Far away from the idiots below decks.

“If you come one step closer I am going to stab you”, Cara said, still looking at the reflection of the moon in the water below.

“With the knife or the fork?”, Natalie asked.

After considering it for a while, Cara answered: “With the fork”, her gaze wandering to the fork in her left hand. 

“Why?”

“Because its stabbier, it turns one thrust into four stabs. Very economic”, Cara said.

“That makes sense”, Natalie said, taking a step towards Cara. “Ow!”

“I warned you”, Cara said, her face neutral with a dash of murder. 

Natalie nodded, the fork still pressed into her skin slightly below the clavicle. “Fair.”

“Yes and there is more where that came from”, Cara added. “So could you please go away again?”

“I came to apologise”, Natalie said.

Cara didn’t answer. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make fun of you.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Well imagining the tiniest parcel, hiding behind that ranger…” Natalie started to smirk, followed by loud, “Oww! Ouch! Arrgh! Stop it”, she said, moving away from the stabbing fork. “It is a funny mental picture. It’s not even about you.”

“Is it not?”, Cara asked, “Is it not funny how dumb Cara is for not thinking that people are cargo? Oh how dumb of her. Ho ho ho. Yes the idea that person could be seen as cargo, after I was kidnapped by pirates who wanted to sell me is ridiculous. Dumb little Cara.” As she spoke Cara moved forward, plate in her right hand, the fork in her left seeking out Natalie. Natalie for her part retreated blocking Cara’s attacks with her arms. 

“Oooowww!”, Natalie shouted, Cara had turned the fork in her hand attacking from above, keeping contact with the blocking arm while continuing to push the fork down until it found its place in Natalie’s upper arm. “Stop that.”

“You stop being an idiot”, Cara said.

“I’m trying…”, Natalie paused, looking at the fork that was now standing embedded in her arm. “Good move.”

“Thank you…” Cara said, looking at the fork. It slowly dawned on her what she had done.  She snickered. 

“Oh so that’s funny?”, Natalie asked, looking at Cara. 

“Yes.”, Cara said. “I mean, just look at it.” Natalie looked, still grimacing, her grimace turning into a smirk. “It kinda is.” The women looked at the fork for a moment, before the both started laughing. 

“Could you please pull it out again?”, Natalie said still snickering.

“Is it deep in your arm?”, Cara asked snorting. 

“It’s mostly stuck in my clothes… I hope. It still hurts though.”

“Good”, Cara said, gripped the fork and pulled it out. Natalie grunted. 

“Are we good now?”, Natalie asked rubbing her arm. 

“No. But we are better.”

“Anything else I can do?”

“Yes I’m getting cold. You could get me Miss Snuggles and a cup of tea.”

“I can do that”, Natalie turned to go back under deck. 

“Wait a second.”, Cara said, she finished the rest of her food with a couple of hasty shovels into her mouth.

“With the fork you just stabbed me with?”, Natalie said recoiling slightly.

“The blood of my enemies is the sweetest spice”, Cara said.

“Is it?”

“No not really. I didn’t think about what I was doing.”

“You could spit it out?”

“Never. ‘tis too good.”

“I see…” Natalie stretched out her arms leaning forward to get Cara’s plate and the cutlery.  

“Not the fork”, Cara said. “I will keep this one for now.”

“Why?”

“It’s for traitors large and small.”

Natalie nodded slowly, retreating from Cara. After she had put a good distance between herself and Cara she turned around mumbling something about rabies.

Cara turned away again, looking at the reflection of the moon again. 

A bit later Natalie returned with a large mug of hot tea and Miss Snuggles. Cara had sent her away as she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. No fork was needed this time. 

Natalie had just nodded, leaving Cara with the moon and the stars.

Cara was lost in her thoughts, she almost didn’t notice the Ruhig Blut coming alive if not for the red light on the side of the ship slowly growing a brighter. As the ship started moving Cara moved to the front. There she was the furthest from everyone else, with only the night for company. The ship was now slowly moving down the canal towards their next destination the Confederated Cities of Rhineland North, where the canal would meet the river Rhine. There they would turn south until the reached castle Benrath in Thusseldorp, from where they would then go towards the forge fortress Solingen. 

These things were not in Cara’s mind. Her thoughts had lost focus, framed inside the pain that was still worming through most of her body. She was mostly lost in the dark, facing down the canal where the stars in the sky met their reflection in the water. Cara wondered what kind of person she was. She had lived a rather sheltered life dreaming of adventure and like a miracle, adventure had finally found her. It had started much like she had imagined it would be. Until the pirates came. That had also been very exiting. At first. Then she had been tied up in a cramped little cell to be sold to god knew who, only to be freed and having to fight her way out of captivity. Which was also quite like the stories. Until the first person died… There was a lot the stories didn’t tell you about that part. The smell for one. Dead people, especially if they had been cut open had a very special smell. Something that Cara hoped she would never have to smell again. 

She had of course not killed anyone. Maybe she was naive like Elisa had said, however this was something she was not ready to do. Turns out bad people look a lot like perfectly normal people and they sound the same when they scream…

Also people had tried to kill her, they had wounded her, she had bled not because of an accident but because people wanted to destroy her. It was here where her thoughts became confusing. Stopping them had felt good. To do that she had to break her opponents. Mostly in spirit, but she felt things that felt a lot like limbs, if not breaking then at least cracking. That memory made Cara feel a bit sick, but what was worse was the tiger that was hidden behind that queasy feeling. There it was lurking ready to pounce and that tiger was elated to break her opponents. This beast inside her heart was also proud of her art. That she had defeated those who had stood in her way. There was this tiny bit in her that was elated by what had happened. That was the part which scared her the most. 

She noticed that her knuckles holding her now cold mug had turned white. Her whole body was tense. “Do you still love me, Miss Snuggles?”, Cara asked. Miss Snuggles somehow shifted around Cara a bit in what would count as a hug for a duvet. 

“Good. That means there is still hope for me”, Cara said focusing on the world around her again, where the first rays of the sun were slowly starting to reclaim the sky.