Chapter 10

Lessons Learned

 

When Olivia meant she was grounded, she really meant it. Except Charlotte was not put into confinement with a lock and key as a reflecting child would. No, she was outside with Damien and Cesium working on any and all tasks assigned to them. Currently, it was their job to scale and paint a variety of the components on the deck. Normally, this wouldn’t be a civilian job but Olivia mentioned that it was an appropriate haze for her sudden disappearance a couple of days ago.

Damien and Charlotte were scrubbing the paint away for what seemed to be a couple of hours while Cesium was lying on its haunches beside them. Sitting on the top of the rail was their supervisor, Aden, reading one of his untouched books to pass the time. She watched from her peripheral their raven-haired babysitter flip the page and continue reading. Damien noticed her looking and tapped the top of her hand with the scraping tool he was using. She gave a nervous chuckle before continuing in their long process of scraping the old paint away.

Damien shifted the paperboy hat on top of his blond hair and wiped a line of sweat from his brow. Today was humid but not so hot that it made it unbearable to stand, but luckily, they were in for some good sunny weather without the clouds within the next couple of days. He was surprised by the progress that they were making since it was only the two of them, but luckily, Charlotte was a diligent person who worked at the task at hand. He would never have guessed that she was this type of person, but that assumption was mostly due to previous actions like her breeches being put on backward.

She wore comfortable clothes that suited her, even though she worked outside. A white button-up shirt with a flared collar accented the black form-fitting vest that wrapped around her waistline and shoulders. Her choice of shorts were a pair of puffy black shorts with white trim and white buttons gathering the fabric at the front middle portion of the shorts. Her belt was navy blue wrapped around her waist. She adorned thigh-high socks that were mismatched but matched the outfit oddly. Her sock on the left leg was pure navy blue, and the one on the right leg was pure white with black lines running down straight. To finish the look, she wore black flats and had rolled up her long white sleeves to her elbows. Cesium worked beside her, trying its best to scrape off the paint but failing miserably. It looked like it used enough strength in its paw to make a noticeable dent.

Charlotte began to feel unnerved by the blonde’s inquisitive glances and whispered, “Did I get some paint chip stains on my shirt?” 

In response, the blond shook his head and began to chip away the old paint again. His hands were killing him, and they weren’t even halfway down with the main mast. They finished scraping the old paint from the railings, which Aden was sitting on top of, and they had then decided to move onto the main mast. Needless to say, it was the longest and troubling job they took on.

Olivia had told them early that morning that they had to work and work only. She wouldn’t allow any chitchat when they were being punished. Not able to bear the silence anymore, Damien whispered back, “No, I was just wondering when you got an outfit in the time we were in Refrazzya and grounded.” 

The girl in question scraped another piece of paint of the mast before smiling. “Remember the raiment orders that Olivia wanted from the tailor? This was one of the many outfits she picked for me. Super cute, isn’t it?” she whispered to the boy but kept her sight on the mast in front of her. She didn’t want to alert Aden to her chatting. 

Damien tapped his scraping tool up and down his khaki uniform pants to clean it. The paint started to accumulate on the edge of the sharp tool, making it hard to peel off more paint. Whispering back, he continued with the last bit of rustic-colored paint of that particular side of the mast, “I didn’t peg Olivia to know a lot about fashion. Normally, she’s in her lab coat, black shirt, and slacks working around the clock.” 

As they mentioned Olivia, Cesium barked in delight, which caused both Charlotte and Damien to jump in fright. They both reached their hands over to cover the Great Dane’s mouth so that it didn’t reveal they were talking much.

Aden, having heard the bark, lowered his book slightly and gazed over the top of it. He gave a slight glare to the Great Dane before shaking his head and returning to what he was reading.

When Aden had returned to his book, the two relaxed and gave each other a silent expression of laughing before releasing Cesium. The poor robot rubbed its nostril between its paws before looking up at Charlotte with a frown. Charlotte merely rubbed the top of its head and raised her index finger to her lips indicating to be quiet.

In the meantime, Damien threw the piece of rustic paint into the discarded pile within the bucket while Charlotte was warning Cesium to stay quiet. When Cesium understood, it gave a resolute howl and began its futile efforts to scraping off the rustic paint on the opposite side of the mast with its paw, thus leaving the two to sigh in frustration. It wanted to finish work on the deck so that it could play with everyone like that one day in the market.

Charlotte silently gave a sigh before going for the last bit of paint she missed. When she finished, she grabbed a handkerchief to wipe down her tools. She examined it closely, making sure it had not been chipped or been damaged. Charlotte gave a victory peace sign to Damien, once she was done with her task.

She jumped right back into whispering again, “Olivia’s really fashionable with the times, so she knows what would look good on others. I think she wears the lab coat because it’s comfortable while she is working though.” Charlotte stretched her arms to the sky, and when she was done, she started to massage one of her shoulders to release the kink that formed there.

“That’s better,” she replied happily before she found herself finding eye contact with emerald eyes. She stared for a couple of seconds before remembering the night of the masquerade, realizing that she had been way too close and couldn’t find a way to stop gazing into his eyes. 

The male in question merely walked over to the mast with his book in hand and looked at their handiwork. “It’s a decent job done by a duo and a stupid Great Dane who just chatted halfway through their duties.”

“Oh, come on!” Charlotte guffawed at the comment while Damien laughed earnestly. “You have ears like a fox mate.” 

Damien went to stretch the muscles in his arms just like Charlotte had but couldn’t quite get it out. “Though I doubt you’d rat us out, Aden.” He gave his brother a genuine smile, which Aden just smirked at.

“You’re lucky I don’t give a rat’s ass about Cheric’s haze. What I don’t see is why you got sucked into it, Damien. It should just be Miss Ditz who managed to be damsel in distress again.” He emphasized the “again” with a roll of his eyes to the girl in question. He watched her puff her chest out, which was strangely accentuated by her vest, and she crossed her arms resolutely.

“I’ll have you know this ditz took a gentleman’s sword. How is that being a damsel in distress?” she defiantly said, and Damien turned to Aden with a bemused expression. The blond egged his best mate on.

“I’m curious, Aden. How is that being a damsel in distress?”

Aden gave Damien the “you know exactly what I’m talking about” side glance. “Okay, I’ll give you five points as to why she”—he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to Charlotte—“was a damsel in distress.”

He tossed the book over to Damien, who caught it flawlessly in his hands, and then turned lazily to Charlotte. It was like he turned predator and had its mark in its grasp. All it needed now was the satisfaction of the chase. Aden could tell she realized what type of situation she was put into because he could see in her eyes that she wanted to jump off deck or run away.

Cesium, seeing something about to go down, ran away from his work and went straight into the companionway where he could find someone to settle the situation.

“Point one, you were stupid enough to leave a group of capable people to travel in a port city that was unknown to you.” He took a step closer to her and watched her slowly drop her arms to her side. He began to take a few steps back.

Stuttering, “I am used to walking around by myself already. I wanted breathing space . . .” she inquired quizzically, hoping it would suffice as an answer. The dark glare she received meant that it was not. She once again took a step back. The unfortunate thing was that the rail would be against her back in another three to four steps.

“Point two, you attract way too much attention because of your foreign looks and extremely delicate features,” he continued his course to her and smirked when she hit the rail like he suspected she would. He could hear Damien trying to stifle a chuckle but ignored it. He was lucky Xavier wasn’t around to tease him about the “delicate features” part.

Charlotte flushed a red though and stuttered, “I was . . . raised in an estate all my life. I’m sorry I’m from high class!” 

Aden merely ignored it and put one hand on one side of the rail, preventing her escape on that side. He looked down on her as if to point out how much smaller she was than a normal-sized man. “Point three, while you ran away from the danger that merchant put you in, you put yourself into danger by not knowing your limits. That man in the alley you incapacitated? You do realize that he underestimated you.” 

Charlotte furrowed her brows. She tried to reason why he would have known that it happened in the alley, but she had no time. Aden grabbed her forearm just like that gentleman had.

Frightened, she couldn’t help from squeaking. He ignored her mouse-like sound and replied, “I’ll give you ten seconds to perform any type of move on me. You’ll learn fast that you were lucky.”

The girl caught the challenge and narrowed her eyes. All she had to do was get away from him. That should have been easier now that she knew her limitations. She went to knee him like the other guy, but before her knee lifted off the ground, Aden had yanked the girl’s frame away from his body and forced her abdomen right into the rail. Her knee, not comprehending the swift swivel, continued up and banged into the metal rather painfully, causing her to hiss. Then she found herself being pushed down so that half of her body was leaning over the rail, and Aden had her arm pinned behind her back just like she had been a year ago. “We tend to come back to this position a lot, don’t we, damsel?”

“How in the world did you know what I did? Ow!”

Damien stifled another chuckle, before Aden gave him a side glance. The blond saluted with a bemused expression. “So she now knows her infamous knee and chop are useless against men who know how to fight. What are the other two points you had, Aden?”

Charlotte felt the release as Aden let her go and allowed her to straighten up to then turn around but didn’t allow her to leave yet because he blocked her remaining exit with an arm on the rail. Now she was standing with her back to the rail, nursing a sore and bruising knee and rubbing her forearm, awaiting what other terrible reasons why she was a damsel in distress.

“Point four, when you acquired your sword from an incredibly miraculous situation, instead of counting yourself lucky and trying to find one of us, you run back exactly where the trouble is and put yourself in harm’s way again.” Aden leaned down so that he was right in her face, making sure that she was giving him all her attention. 

He stared into her hazel eyes before she muttered, “I had a—”

“Before you even say, ‘I had a weapon, and I could handle myself,’ let me reiterate point three for you to understand: you were lucky. These men were trained military combatants. They eat beginner’s swordplay for breakfast and won’t feel any sympathy for them. You were waving your sword like a toy, and that merchant had to take a fighting stance again to protect you.”

Charlotte thought back to the situation before remembering Giselle was relaxed. She was injured, but not fighting. Zeke had his sword out, but he wasn’t being aggressive with it. The fight had been over before Charlotte had even barged in.

“Now you realize?” Aden drawled on. “Point five, you accepted an invitation that could have been a trap to a mysterious place with a known enemy. I am mad because of the choices you made. I want you to understand that this life isn’t all flowers and rainbows. The pirates aren’t gonna take it easy on you for being a girl, much less a rich naïve one. There’s your five points, Damien.”

Damien gave him a bemused expression. “Laid it on thick?”

“Not enough,” the twenty-year-old replied before pulling his head away from the girl. He only went into her space so that she could understand the threat of doing what she did and only watched when she merely dropped her head.

Charlotte replayed the whole day in her head, and realized everything he said held truth. She was a nuisance, and she might as well be a bird in a cage for people to gaze at.

The feeling of being trapped encompassed her train of thoughts, and she had to stop herself from shaking. She could feel her world shattering around her, as the anxiety rose within. Tears started to escape from the corners of her eyes.

Aden dropped his arms to look at the sky. He was trying to enlighten the girl of her weaknesses, not make her cry.

Damien noticed their predicament, and walked over to the rail. He put his back against the rail and looked up at the sky too. He pulled a handkerchief out from his pant pocket for her to hold. 

She was young, naïve, innocent, and inexperienced in the real world. While it was the roughest version of a “grow up” conversation, it did set the points out clearly.

“Look,” Aden replied sullenly. He brought his head down to look at the auburn-brunette, “I’m not saying everyone is perfect.” He knew he needed to comfort the girl but refrained. “At some point in our lives, we all were defenseless,  making troubles for someone. See this scar here?” He lifted up his wrist and presented one. “I got that from a knife fight growing up. And then this one?” He rolled his sleeve on his other arm to present a crisscross mark upon his bicep. “I got this one when I didn’t secure a line on the ship. I just don’t want you to go through the same painful experiences.” She paused momentarily in her crying to see the scars he shown her. “And I’m not the only one who screws up. Damien accidently blew a canon off into one of our own vessels.”

Damien sputtered before retorting back in defense, “Aden somehow burnt down the cafeteria with a propeller system.” 

Aden shrugged as if no one could prove it was actually him. “My point here is that we all make mistakes and we get involved in tricky and unsolvable situations. It’s a matter of what we do afterward that makes us a better problem solver. So saying things like ‘I was fine’ really isn’t the best way to learn from that type of thing.” 

Charlotte gave a weak nod, and with a gargled “I’m sorry,” she tried to stop crying. She continually went to wipe her face with the handkerchief given to her. 

It was at this point that Damien reached over with his hand and patted the girl’s head. “You’re strong at keeping everyone’s energy up. You help out where you can.” He tilted his head to the side before offering Aden a smile. “You know you could comfort her too since you’re the one who made her cry.”

Aden gave his older brother the “I know” glance before taking a step forward and giving the auburn an awkward hug. It was awkward because he didn’t want anyone else to see him comforting a crying lady.

A few seconds later, he tucked her head under his chin. “You’re persistent, boisterous, annoying as hell at times, but you have something people lack. You have heart.” He was about to pull back, but Charlotte wrapped her arms around his torso. 

She cried into his shirt, making him wish he had not held her. “I’m sor—ry for be—ing a pain.”

Aden gave a sardonic look to his older brother. “This is why I don’t comfort people—I make them cry more.” Damien chuckled at his expense, walking away with a smirk. He could hear his brother awkwardly speaking to the girl, “Okay—sure, use my shirt as a handkerchief,” He sarcastically said with a roll of his green eyes.

“It’s not like you own twenty more of those similar shirts, Aden,” his blond brother replied before he cracked open the book Aden had been reading. He opened to the bookmarked page and started on top of the page.

“I’m sor—ry,” Charlotte cried into his shirt, and Aden sighed. “Whatever.” 

The peace of the day continued for some time, allowing the three to remain situated near the rail with Aden merely holding the crying girl in his arms and Damien passing the time with a book.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

The sun was hitting its highest peak, and Olivia, standing in front of a bemused Xavier and a fuming Anna, was glaring at the three people standing on deck. From the looks of things on the deck, it appeared they have had no accomplishing feat except for the rails and one mast being completely scraped off. Had they been working, they would have at least put a base coat of paint on the wood so that it would dry before the rains came in. That way, the wood would not rot while it was passing the stormy season of the year.

Even as they spoke, the storm clouds were coming in due east according to the barotropic metric scans. If they weren’t lucky, the squall would reach Refrazzya. If there was a sudden drop in the temperature, she feared they might see a hurricane forming for the first time.

“Look, I am running thin on patience because of all the adjustments this ship actually needs, and you three knuckleheads are adding to my troubles allowing the dog”—she lifted a finger to point at her Great Dane with an exhausted expression on her face—“out of your sight because you were doing God knows what. From the looks of your shirt, Summerfeld, and Charlotte’s puffy red eyes galore, I can venture a pretty good guess.” She looked at the cause of the snot and wet black shirt before snapping her attention to everyone again. “Needless to say, this thing ran terrified through my ship and not only destroyed three capable machines working on the south hull of the small vessel but also managed to wreck the caboose where Anna and Sarah were preparing everyone’s meals.”

Charlotte gave a flabbergasted expression before Xavier interceded. “It was like some terrible domino effect downstairs. Had I not been working down there, I would have missed such an exciting event.”

Anna, on the other hand, was not exuberant and had flicked her spatula to the huge Great Dane by Olivia’s hand. Her bouncy blond with pink highlighted hair all but raged, “Do you realize how many meals I slave to make for everyone? I’m even lucky that Sarah and Xavier decided to help me out these days, and this thing comes out of nowhere to get someone up on deck. Only when we come on deck, what do we find?” She again flicked her spatula into each one of their faces that, unfortunately for them, was still fluffy white cream from a dessert.

“You,” she spoke and, with great force, flicked her spatula in Damien’s face, “reading a bloody book as if you’ve had no care in the world!”

Damien, not fazed by the white cream flying onto his face, replied calmly, hoping it would also placate her, “Anna, I was merely supervis—”

She ignored him and flicked her spatula in Aden’s face, which also was showered with specks of white fluff. The green-eyed twenty-year-old had to restrain himself from moving an inch because of how furious Anna was. He’d seen her royally angry before, and he wasn’t going to enthrall it further.

“You—no, on second thought, I’m saving you for last after all.” She smiled sweetly before she pointed her spatula to where the girl left in the line was, and like the previous two, white fluff decorated her face. “You balling your eyes out onto Aden’s shirt and causing more of a bloody ruckus than needed. How old are you, Charlotte?” Charlotte didn’t know if she should answer it or not, which didn’t seem to faze Anna because it was supposed to be a rhetorical question. “That’s what I thought.” She glared and then turned her spatula back to Aden with a frown.

“In all the years I have known you, I have been happily able to prepare all your crew’s meals in peace. Now with all these issues with this and that going on, my world is turned into chaos.” She paused before flicking her spatula back to Charlotte. “Quit looking like a dejected cat. It’s unappealing.”

“I am so sorry!” Charlotte spoke up, more frightened than anything else.

Anna then turned her spatula back to Aden who stood at attention. “I’m thinking someone fuckin’ died up here on deck, and what do I find? No, don’t answer because I’ll tell you what I found: I find you embracing Charlotte as if this is your fuckin’ romance story.” Finally, she snapped her spatula to Cesium who was hanging its head dejectedly near Olivia’s hand. “The next time that blasted thing attempts to call for help and wrecks my kitchen for whatever goddamned reason, I better find someone or thing bleeding profusely! Am I clear?”

All three of them standing in the line replied with a “yes, ma’am,” ranging from discouraged to relief to affirmation.

Anna didn’t need to say anymore because she briskly turned on her heel and stormed her way back to her caboose. For some time, the six, including Cesium, remained silent until they could hear Anna slam the door from below the stairs.

“I would find other means of getting food, you guys,” Xavier chirped in. “I wouldn’t put it past her to try and poison you in vengeance for her caboose.” 

Olivia just shook her head before putting in her own two cents. “While that was a bit much, I can understand her sentiments perfectly,” Olivia responded with a sigh and patted the Great Dane’s ears. “A bit harsh but it is the truth.”

Xavier walked over to the trio, and when he reached Damien’s side, he wiped the blonde’s cheek with his index finger. “Mmm, meringue. Anna sure knows how to cook.”

Everyone began to sweat at Xavier’s lousy way of breaking the tension on that deck. Aden merely took off his shirt to wipe his face with the inside part of his shirt. He normally wouldn’t allow someone to yell at him, but he and Damien learned early on not to get on Anna’s bad side. She tended to hit things where she got angry, which luckily, it was just the meringue like Xavier said.

“In the meantime,” Olivia replied, looking at the deck and sighing, “I’ll call Leo and Jakob to finish painting the lacquer on the wood so it won’t rot. As for you three, Andy has ordered you to head to these coordinates while we’re finishing the remodeling.” She took out a folded parchment with Andy’s sealed wax on the paper and handed it to Aden. “By the time you are done and sail back, we’ll be done with the remodeling and want to be hunkering down for the squall that will be coming.”

 “Where are we going?” Charlotte exclaimed suddenly with Damien interjecting shortly after.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

The only one not affected by the order was Aden who took the letter and popped the seal. He looked at the contents and saw the signature Andy had signed at the bottom of the page.

“Why are we being ordered to go?” Aden remarked with some suspicion. It couldn’t have been because of the recent disturbance Cesium created, which meant that Andy was planning to do something without them being there.

“Because you three are distracting,” Olivia replied. 

And Xavier said with a raised index finger to wipe Damien’s cheek again, “He wanted Charlotte to experience sailing while the weather was decent!” 

Charlotte looked at Olivia with a pained expression, and the inventor just sighed again. “You look prettier with a smile, Charlotte. Learn from your mistakes and stop being a pain for everyone.”

She then pulled out the little gadget the auburn-brunette had handed her a few days ago. “I investigated this as you requested, but I don’t know what is inside. In fact, I cannot even open it. You’ll need a specific key, but since you do not have the piece to open it up, you should just leave it be. Consider it a decorum paperweight for the time being.”

Olivia then turned to Aden. “Now that I’ve said my piece, get packed and off my ship, the lot of you.” She was about to walk off the deck to downstairs but felt a tug on her lab coat. Olivia glanced down to see a depressed Great Dane looking like it was about to cry. “Take Cesium with you. It’ll be worrisome if something happens again.”

Damien saluted as Olivia disappeared, and Xavier swiped his cheek again. “Would you quit that?” the blond exclaimed while Charlotte stood staring off in the distance where her best friend was leaving. She was expecting a complete rebuttal from Olivia but not one from Anna. Needless to say, it hit home in a couple of places, though that probably saved the auburn from any further punishment from Olivia.

“Damsel.” The girl in question looked at the raven-haired male with an indignant expression. She was going to rebuke him but stopped as he stripped off his shirt. The scars that decorated his weathered skin silenced her immediately. He slung the sweaty shirt over his shoulder. “Get your stuff together for a three- to four-day trip.” He began to walk toward the cabins, and Charlotte finally found her voice.

“Where exactly are we going?” Charlotte could feel the guttural in her throat from all the crying she had done earlier, and luckily, no one teased her about it.

“Spiro. A small island due southwest of here,” Aden replied dully.

Damien, slapping Xavier’s hand away from his face, followed up with some more facts about the island. “We have to prepare for possible whirlpools and slightly cooler weather. It should not get below seventy degrees though.”

 “Oh, goody,” Charlotte said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. She could handle the cold. It was the ocean that frightened her. She already hated the ocean without its whirlpools, so what would happen if she fell into one?

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

Charlotte ran with her backpack slung across her shoulder to the ship’s ramp off but was stopped by three people waiting for her. Elliot, Simone, and Andy were talking in soft voices before noticing Charlotte’s arrival and turned to her.

“Good, you have not left yet,” Elliot replied, and Simone smiled.

“We have something we need to discuss with you about what you said about Zeke’s meeting. It’ll just be a couple of minutes.” Andy gestured with his arm to walk with them to a quieter location on the ship, but before they could go, Aden and Damien appeared with their baggage. They stopped for a brief second to give the four a strange look.

“Let’s go, damsel,” Aden replied, and Charlotte gave him a scowl. 

“I have a name, you know!”

“Right, ‘Char . . . well, you know.’”

“How long are you going to hold that over my head?” she yelled back at him, which was received with a smirk.

Damien chuckled, seeing that the two were acting like they normally would. He was slightly concerned that the girl would be slightly nervous or awkwardly bashful around them after her breakdown earlier that morning. At least, everything appeared normal on the outside.

“You guys go on ahead,” Andrew Nielsen replied with a smile. He was adjusting his ruffled collar while Elliot looked down at the fourth new guest of their group. The Great Dane cowered under his gaze before running over to Charlotte’s side and hiding behind her leg.

“Take the Great Dane with you,” Elliot icily replied, and Cesium violently shook its tail into Charlotte’s calves. Apparently, it did not like being around Aden since it had that bad experience with him.

“Can it stay with me? It seems to not want to leave just yet.” Elliot stared at Charlotte before sighing. Simone chuckled, and Nielsen waved the two boys off with a napkin.

“That is that then. Adieu, gentlemen. We’ll return your third member when we’re done.”

“See you there, Charlotte!” Damien waved then walked off the ship, and Aden followed suit silently. He didn’t even bother looking behind him as she continued staring at him.

When the two were gone, Charlotte was ushered to a quieter place on the deck, and Simone spoke quietly just enough for them to hear, “You know why you are being ordered off this ship and this continent, do you not?”

The girl nodded her head with a small smile. “Is it because of all the trouble that occurred a couple of days ago?”

Elliot nodded before looking off into the distance. “Zeke told you information that should have never been revealed to anyone. Even Nielsen did not know of what you told him when you came to us about everything Zeke said.”

Charlotte swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering the night when Aden and herself had left prematurely.

They arrived in the dead of night where only a few crew members were still on board and working on small work projects. For the most part, a majority of the crew had been celebrating at the town festival and masquerade party.

Aden merely walked off in silence, brooding with a dark expression on his face. He did not walk her up the dock to the ship but rather stood at the edge of the dock and told her to walk straight to the Phoenix.

“Are you not coming?”

“No. Get going,” he replied and did not budge from his spot until she had started her trek up the ramp. He was giving her a mysterious and dark expression the entire time that made it that much harder to ask him about the truth to Zeke’s words, which then reminded her of the two other people on the ship who could confirm Zeke’s words.

She all but ran to the captain’s room where the three were normally located at and burst in with shallow breaths. Andy was shocked by her entrance while Elliot and Simone stopped midway through their conversation.

“Is it true?” she blurted out to the two sitting adjacent from each other, not bothering to look at Nielsen. “Is it true the government experimented on you as children using the stones?”

Nielsen gave her a startled and confused expression. “Charlotte, what on earth are you talking about?” the teacher asked.

Elliot and Simone gave her a pointed look, and she began to shake her head. “Deny it, for the love of the life we are living, deny that you had any prior connections to my mother, the government, and those blasted stones!”

The two turned to look at each other. The one that finally broke the trance was Simone who interlaced his fingers together on the table. “Did you tell anyone else of what you heard tonight, Charlotte?”

Vigorously, she shook her head, causing her tiara to fall off the top of her head with a loud clanging sound when it hit the floor. Nielsen gave the two boys a bewildered look before getting up from his seat and picking up the tiara that dropped. “What is she talking about?”

“Something that never should have reached the public,” Elliot replied dully. “We are the first generation of children that was experimented with the true Relic stone when they were creating copy stones. As you might have already guessed, Andy, we have powers from the stones that they created.”

Nielsen was rubbing his chin while looking up at the sky. “I confirmed with Giselle everything that Zeke had discussed with you, even though Elliot and Simone said it was the truth. I needed my own time to research this. The answer to those earlier questions seems to be clearer with each new piece of information we gain.”

Elliot nodded. “The experimentations that were being carried were only known to the scientists who were all killed in the explosion Lessye created to get us out, Lessye, and your father who was our teacher as well as his older brother. No one else could have known that information.” The man then frowned. “Your uncle is dead, and there is no way for Lessye to have come here with Zeke as her enemy. I am now concerned as to who would know this information to pay Zeke to tell you this now.”

Simone agreed and continued on, “We can only continue taking things one step at a time, Charlotte, but at this moment, we need you to do is leave this port. With the way things are going, we cannot put you in danger while we are in the middle of reconstruction.”

Clapping his hands together, Nielsen smiled at the younger girl. “By the time you guys come back, we will prepare for the storm, and then be ready to make our way to our next destination when it is all clear.”

The girl nodded before twiddling her thumbs. She was going to head off but had one more question to ask. “The day I went missing, how did you all know I was with Zeke? Damien would not have known that so I was ju—ah . . .” she broke off her train of thought because she did not know what to say. Also, she found it hard that Aden happened to know everything that happened to her scene for scene.

“Aden reported to us that you had gone to Zeke’s estate.” Elliot then grabbed a couple of tickets still left over from his pocket. 

“He procured enough tickets for us to sneak in,” Simone added, and Charlotte felt her eyes widen.

She was remembering the man in the alley, the only one by himself. She started to remember the man’s strange reaction when she was about to knee him. It was like a rock or something blunt had been thrown because there had been a thud sound just before she had kneed him. “He was watching me.”

Nielsen nodded. “Aden was asked to watch you since I would become main captain of the ship. We did not want to leave you without a bodyguard, especially with everything that had happened at the Cheric estate.” The gruesome details of how Charie had been cut through by Zaine still rang hollow in his mind.

Simone reached for her hand, gripping it and making Charlotte look at him quizzically. “What’s wrong?”

“No, just thinking. Do not worry about it.” He released her hand before turning to the rail. He saw Xavier working in the distance on the drifter. “Looks like Xavier will be joining you on your journey. I hope you’re ready.”

The girl nodded while lifting her backpack with her shoulder. “I’m all ready to begin—anything to keep my mind off the current things.” She chuckled before looking at the Great Dane robot clinging to her legs. “Ready, Cesium?” The robot howled sadly in response.

“Bon voyage, Charlotte! We will see you in three to four days.” Andy waved the girl off as she beckoned the robot to follow her off the Phoenix.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

The drifter that Nielsen had prepared for them had been located on the same dock but on the adjacent side from the Phoenix. It was a small sailboat that could comfortably fit four to five people within the twenty- to twenty-five-foot surface space. The sail in the middle was big and allowed for movement to walk freely or lean on the ship’s bulwark to enjoy the nice ocean breeze.

Both men walked toward the ship that would be their new ship for the next three to four days. Aden had packed light, carrying only a backpack slung over his left shoulder. He was dressed like he normally was, except he chose black uniform slacks and a white collared shirt that opened slightly at the collarbone. He also had a black vest with two pockets on the front, a pocket on each side of the vest, and two holsters to hold small weaponry like knives or a dagger.

Damien had dressed similarly like Aden but chose to wear a utility belt that held a majority of his tools instead of a vest. He also had a guest baby eagle sitting on top of his shoulder with a pure white coat and perky wings.

The blond had opened a small pouch of fruit pellets for the eagle to nibble upon while Xavier was preparing the last of the drifter for them.

“What are you doing, Shade?” Narrowing his emerald eyes, Aden remained suspicious of the older man of their group. There were times when they got along, but for the most part, they had an icy relationship due to Xavier’s constant teasing.

Xavier seemed the most excited out of the four of them. After all, he loved that little ship they were going to be on. Even though Andy never specifically ordered him to go with the three, the older guy with the tattoo wanted to get away from the stuffy atmosphere of Refrazzya and all the work being down to the ship. Also, if he stayed, Elliot and Simone would put him to work, and that was just boring in his book.

“Oh, come on, Addie, we have the fresh ocean, beautiful weather, and an amazing ship without a robot. I was sold at fresh ocean.” He gave the two a wink before tying down the last portions of the rope for the mast. “Where’s our astute lady of honor?”

Damien looked over his shoulder, wondering the same thing.

“She was stopped by the older Cheric,” Aden said aloud before walking down the ramp onto the drifter. He was checking all the work that had been done before they got there.

“For what?” Xavier asked while he was shoving some luggage underneath the portside bench of the ship in the back area.

“I don’t know.” Aden threw his bag into an empty space underneath the built-in bench on the starboard side before taking a seat. Damien had jumped aboard so he could help Xavier with the end preparations.

Damien had finished lifting the anchor from out of the water when they saw a familiar figure running toward the ship with a backpack slung onto her shoulder and a Great Dane trotting alongside her other side. Her auburn hair was free and blowing with the wind that she had created from her short jog on the dock.

“Sorry I’m late!” She noticed that the ramp was shaking from the inertia of the movements and the rocking of the waves. She hesitated, not trusting her next step to make it to the drifter without falling in. Xavier noticed her fear and reached a hand out to help her aboard.

“Hey, bestie. Glad to see ya.” She put her hand into his and walked slowly onto the ship. When she and the dog were on, Aden had got up to remove the ramp to their ship by unhooking the metal clamps on the starboard side.

“I didn’t know you were coming along, Xavier! This will be a fun expenditure then.” She gave the men on the drifter a bright smile. The Great Dane made its way to the front of the ship and howled sadly. It sat staring at the ship its master was on and trying its hardest not to slump and cry. Damien saw this and furrowed his brow.

“Cesium’s depressed that it was told to come with us?” 

Charlotte looked to her blond companion and nodded.

“It’s been trying hard not to cry out for Olivia. Cesium’s trying to appease her, but that could be easier said than done at the current time with all the renovations she’s in charge of.”

Aden just glared at the slumped back of the Great Dane robot before shaking his head. “Whatever. Prepare to shove off.” He walked over to his seat and pulled two oars out. He stood both up on the deck, measuring them against himself before tossing the smaller one to the girl. She caught the oar awkwardly with her backpack still slung over her shoulder and saw the sarcastic smirk on his face.

“Did you think you were going to sit this whole time? Hurry up and row.”

The auburn was standing in the middle of the ship, unsure of where to put her stuff or even where to begin. He pointed to the port side of the ship that was empty and then pointed back to the ship where Xavier and Damien were using long oars to push off the dock.

“I never learned how to row though,” she replied with some confusion, and she could hear Xavier laugh in the background.

“Then you better learn fast,” the raven-haired male replied before slipping the oar in and using it to steer the ship south. “Try not to lose the oar.” 

Damien chuckled at the comment while Charlotte went a shade of red. He was underestimating her.

“Jerk!”

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

Elliot looked at Simone who was oddly looking at the sun in the distance. “Something wrong, Simone?”

The male with sandy blond hair grimly peered on, looking at the group shove off to Spiro. “Sometimes I wish we could take all her problems instead.” 

Elliot nodded. “She will have to become strong to endure the future trials. Those three will help her grow.”

Nielsen sadly looked ahead. “Indeed. I just hope she lives to see the end of this.”