Seaworthy

When she returned to the room. Nyla and Verity were waiting for her.

Nyla checked outside the door before closing it to ensure that no one was lurking nearby in the vicinity.

The girls didn't want to risk anyone eavesdropping on what they had to say.

They were supposed to leave at noon but later got a message saying that the time had been changed to six in the evening.

No further explanation was given, just be ready by then.

Not that anyone minded the additional time to rest.

"So... What did Captain Rolf want? Nyla asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Zyra wasn't in the mood to talk about how Rolf threatened her.

She hated feeling weak and powerless.

A hot shower and a quick nap would do her a world of good before they had to rejoin the others.

"Or is it that you can't."

Those were fighting words and Zyra fell for it. She snapped at Nyla.

"What difference does it make?"

"I just want to make sure that it's not something that's going to come back and haunt us later on."

The sincerity in her voice brought Zyra's anger down.

She felt ridiculous for getting riled so easily in the first place.

"Well let me worry about that when it happens."

Trying to diffuse the situation as always Verity spoke up.

"What is your story, Nyla?" She asked.

Verity thought by taking the spotlight off of Zyra she could calm down a bit and be more willing to talk.

"Yeah, that's a good question, Verity." Zyra was glad for a change of topic but she couldn't resist goading Nyla, "You are like a dark horse that nobody knows much about anyways."

"Verity won't say it, but I will. He asked you to spy for him, didn't he?"

Nyla wasn't having it. She wanted answers and the sooner, the better.

"How did you know that?" Zyra asked.

Verity meanwhile pinched Nyla for breaking her confidence. Ouch. That's got to hurt.

"He asked me as well," Nyla replied. Still rubbing the area Verity playfully pinched her.

"Me too," chimed in Verity.

Nyla shifted her focus to Verity. "That's not all he asked you for?"

She said while moving her waist suggestively.

"What!"

"Don't worry. I'm not that naive. All we ended up doing was just kissing."

They could see that talking about it made Verity uncomfortable so they left the matter alone and did not pry any further.

"How about you Nyla, do you also like Captain Rolf?"

"Hell no. Verity may turn a blind eye to the cruel bastard's ways but I won't. Let's not forget how vicious and bloodthirsty he was doing our training. Not to mention the unnecessary lives lost due to that stupid test. I can't forgive him for that."

"I feel the same," agreed Zyra.

It felt good to have friends she could laugh, cry and hang out with. Even if their relationship started from a trauma bond.

She hoped that their relationship would continue to grow. Before she joined the wolfbeast army she never had friends before, it was always just Kayle and her.

Verity reminded her of Kayle a lot. Kayle was always quick to help people.

She was tender-hearted like Verity.

Kayle just had a caring disposition and could not stand to see a living thing suffering.

Zyra was also similar to the peacemaker of the group doing her best to stay out of unnecessary arguments.

She made it her duty to try and get them to quiet down before the guards came knocking at their door.

While Verity often spoke about her family especially her siblings and how much she missed them since she was from a big family with Nyla.

It was the opposite, she had been tight-lipped from the start and spoke very little about her past.

Only since Zyra put her life on the line to save them all that struck a chord with Nyla.

It caused her to realize she was no longer alone.

Her team was there to support her and could be trusted and it made her start opening up slowly.

Nyla's story wasn't an easy one either.

Her mother was a drug addict who abandoned her at a guard outpost.

They took her to a home for abandoned girls, from which she escaped when she realized once they reach a certain age they were being traded like cattle for nefarious purposes.

She hung out with a gang of pickpockets and learned how to steal until one day she stole from the wrong man.

Even though she was fast on her feet, he was faster.

Nyla thought he was going to beat her or worse but instead he offered her a job.

He was a hunter and whatever he caught he sold at the market and easily turned a profit. Abel was getting old and his vision wasn't so great anymore, so he needed help.

Abel Dawkins taught Nyla everything she knew and before he passed he made her swear that she would do the test.

He was convinced she would pass and that Nyla was destined for greatness.

That evening Zyra was kind of expecting to leave the same way they came by airship but nope, this fiery breathing demon had other ideas.

They were going to leave by a warship.

A vessel he claimed was seaworthy but looked like a strong wind would make it fall apart.

The first few days were hard on Zyra.

Constantly turning green in the face and puking up her guts over the rails.

The constant rocking motion and strange smells made her stomach churn.

She knew she lost weight because her clothes fit looser since she could hardly keep anything she ate down.

Zyra suffered from sea sickness, the churning of the waters, the constant motion, and the rocking of the boat.

The fact that it moved way slower than the airship got on every last one of her godforsaken nerves.

To make matters worse it seemed they were sailing straight into the eye of the storm.

Lightning struck the main mast and sent everyone into a frenzy.

Thunder roared and massive waves crashed into the ship.

The ship was old and had seen its time, only Lord Carnelian believed that his prized possession would outlast the storm.

Zyra was convinced this was it, she was going to die by drowning.

She had gotten kitchen duty until Lord Carnelian felt she had found her sea legs.

She hated gutting and cleaning fish, its dead fish eyes looking at her like all hope was lost.

Zyra felt like the fish and hated the fact that Captain Rolf used her like bait to reel Lord Carnelian into his trap.

He got his hooks into her and it was up to her to get herself out of this mess.

Even on the ship, he looked at home with a relaxed demeanor unlike when she first saw him.

In the mine, he had looked deadly. He had circled her like a hawk circling its prey.

"Lord Carnelian…"

He interrupted her.

"My name is Cyril Carnelian. When we are alone, drop the formalities and just call me Cyril."

"As you wish Lord, um, I mean Cyril."

He rolled his eyes.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"I'm certainly not here for the view. While you are a pleasant sight, this kitchen reeks of fish and strong spices. Doesn't make one want to linger."

"It can't be helped, Cyril. I just finished seasoning the fish for the next supper. Anyhoo, what would you like to eat?"

She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice by making her statement light when asking him that question.

"I'm in the mood for steak. The biggest you can find. I want it bloody in the middle, juicy and rare."

He practically salivated when he said the word juicy while looking at her.

"You're joking right, from we pulled out of the harbor at Fuegolian Island. We used up the last of the meat a few months ago. You can have your choice of fish; stewed, grilled, or fried. It's up to you."

"I'm tired of eating fish but it seems like you leave me no choice. Pass me a bottle so I can pour myself some wine while I wait."

She gave him the bottle before she started fixing his dinner.

They no longer had fresh vegetables and had to rely on stewed or pickled vegetables that looked like they had been fermenting in jars since the great war.

Zyra used to groan when Kayle would teach her to cook but now she was glad she had the experience.

Now she did not have to worry about burning dishes or causing food poisoning amongst the staff.

It was amazing how chatty people could be over a good meal and full stomach.

Not that she had any real intention of reporting anything useful to Rolf.

What had he done for her? Zip. Zero. She owed him nothing.

If anything her allegiance would lean more towards Lord Carnelian if she had to choose between the two of them.

When she set the meal before him, he grabbed her right hand and asked her, "Would you like to join me?"

She didn't know why she was turning red, but she felt her blush spread right through to the roots of her hair.

"I'm so sorry. I already ate dinner."

He looked so disappointed that when he asked her if she could keep him company anyways she agreed and sat across from him at the dining table.

Cyril seemed to like having her around for some unknown reason.

Both the table and chairs had been nailed to flooring because the ship tends to rock a lot.

So having it fastened prevented accidents and crashing sounds.

At times she would catch him staring at her as if he was searching for answers to questions that remain unasked.