Chapter 2
“This ship ain’t gonna run much longer with that cracked wing.“
For a passerby, it looked like the dark haired man was speaking to himself. A hand ran back through shoulder length wavy strands, black in color, blue eyes scanning over the dark smoke rising up out of the back of his beloved ship. Brows furrowed, attention turning when a head full of black curls popped up from below deck, “It wouldn’t be broken if you knew how to drive a ship, Tallon.” Scowling, he turned to face her, “Shut it, munchkin, that wall came out’ve nowhere and you know it!” Her eyes, the same color as his, went wide and filled with fury, “Munchkin!? I’ll show you who’s a munchkin you big ugly goon!” Charging at him, all 4’6 of her petite frame used in the full-frontal attack, fist swinging wildly. Tallon extended a hand and caught her head in his palm, keeping her at arm’s length with an amused smirk. The little girl swung her fists at the empty air between them, tanned cheeks flushed with effort and feet scuffing and stomping against the ships wooden deck.
Stepping to the side, he removed his hand from her head, sending the child forward with a squeal. Crashing into a barrel, she tipped over and fell into it, legs wiggling in the air, “Tallon! Get me out of here!” Grinning, he leaned his rear against the side railing of the ship to watch his sister struggle in vain. “I dunno Pip; I think it’s a good look for you.” This earned him a frustrated scream from the pint-sized girl, who kicked hard enough to tip the barrel that currently served as her prison. Spilling out of it, curls framing her now beat red face, wasting no time in scrambling to her feet and charging at the big brute she called a brother for a second time.
He extended a hand, catching her head and sighing; poor dear, falling for the same trick twice, “’Ey, why don’ you go and get us some supplies?” “Eh!? Why! So yer’ lazy ass can sit ‘round doin’ nothing!?” Pip had a tendency to lose letters of her speech when she was angry, enough so that Tallon couldn‘t help but laugh, “Exactly, you know me so well.” Arms fell limply to her sides, Pip staring blankly up at the smiling face of her brother. With a defeated sigh, she stepped back, placed her hands on her small hips, and huffed. “Fine! I’ll go get the supplies, but I ain’t doin’ it happily!” So, there! Turning on her heel, she stomped away, round cheeks red with the effort of their earlier scuffle.
With Pip gone, Tallon found himself alone on the ship and puffed out a sigh, “Might as well work on getting’ this beast fixed.” Rolling up the worn white sleeves of his shirt, he set about repairing the ship.
“Evangeline, please, reconsider!” The white cat was going to have a stroke, pacing back and forth over the plush surface of the bed. “Why, Marxy? So I can remain here and have my choices made for me..? My father is right, people want many things..but you know what makes me different? I fight for what I want.” A sizeable leather bag was withdrawn from the bottom of her closet and half carried, half dragged over to her vanity. Evangeline unceremoniously positioned the bag at the edge of the surface, using her arm to sweep the assorted jewels and trinkets into it without a second thought; falling in among the items was that silver framed photo.
The feline paced back and forth over the plush surface of the bed, watching as the girl scurried to and fro collecting clothing, odds, ends, and books. By the time she was done packing, the bag was so swollen that getting it to close was not a possibility. Heaving a sigh, Eva started pulling items out, weighing them by how important they were, and repacking. Somehow, she ended up with a bag just as full. After some time, Evangeline managed to sort the items in the bag in such a way that it would close after she used the whole of her weight to press it down and snap the locks into place.
Satisfied with her work, a quick change of clothes was in order; leaving the gown laying on the bed, Eva exchanged it for a pair of form fitting pants, a white poet’s blouse, and a black vest over top of it. One could not deny the finer materials, but it was the best she had to look inconspicuous. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, knee high boots were tugged onto each leg and laced up with a quiet calmness Marxius moved to the suitcase on the ground and took a heavy seat on it, white tail swishing to and fro in annoyance. “Evangeline. You are making a mistake, think this through!”
Glancing up from her task, a gentle smile worked its way onto her lips. Soon she was kneeling down in front of the cat and smoothing a hand over his fuzzy head, a sad look in her eyes, “Does this mean you will not be coming with me?” Looking up at the girl, his ears drooped, and he couldn’t resist giving a nuzzle into the welcoming palm, “Of course I am, foolish girl. You would be lost without me.” All sadness faded from her eyes as she squealed and lifted the cat up into her arms, giving him a few enthusiastic rubs and kisses. Furr covered cheek smushed up against Evangeline’s own soft one, he sighed, “I have the strangest feeling I’m going to regret this.”
They waited until the first stray rays of light started to illuminate the sky, when the servants were starting to get out of bed, and only a few sleepy guards prowled through the halls of the grand tower. The lone girl and cat made their way slowly around each corner and slipped through the servants’ entrance without notice, escaping into the stone covered streets. Face hidden by a hood, no one paid any mind to a stray girl and her cat wondering the city in the early morning.
Pip returned to find her brother sleeping peacefully on the deck with his worn coat folded up underneath his head. Standing beside him, she shrugged off the heavy backpack she wore and raised it up above her head before letting it drop onto his chest. Sitting up with a hard ‘oof’, Tallon took a moment to gather himself before immediately reaching out and catching his sister around the neck with his arm, pulling her in and running the knuckles of his other hand over the top of her head. Screaming out with a laugh, feet kicked, and hands pushed at his arms in a pathetic attempt to free herself from his grasp, resorting to poking at his sides with her small fingers.
Evangeline had never been this far from home on her own; it was always a carriage with curtained windows that took her from place to place when it was called for, and finding her way to the docks had taken far longer than she had anticipated. Marxius walked beside her every step, unnoticed by most, speaking softly to Eva every so often to keep her from walking into too dangerous of an area. While caught up in her own daydreams about the ship she had seen, and the adventures her young mind had already concocted, Evangeline heard the scream of a little girl from one of the nearby ships, “Did you hear that?” White ears of the cat flicked, “Sounds like a child lau—Eva!?” Instinct had already kicked in and sent the girl running in the direction of the sound; though what she was going to do once she caught up with the no doubt villainous source of the scream was a mystery even to her, she’d follow the sound to one of docked ships. Up the ramp leading to the deck, she skid to a halt and nearly fell when she discovered a little girl on the floor wiggling and squealing while she was tickled by a larger man. The scream had been..laughter? Hood fell back away from her face from the quick stop, standing there and looking at the two with wide eyes, specifically at the more masculine of the pair. Cheeks burned pink, too stunned and embarrassed to contemplate moving away just yet.
Tallon froze when a stranger came running onto his ship, his eyebrow quirked when her hood fell back. Holding his sister in the choke hold still, Pip let out a squeak and elbowed him in the gut to make him release her. Falling onto her butt, a confused look was tossed back and forth between the two older people who were now staring at one another, “Uh? Hello? Who are you? Tallon, who is she? ‘ey!?” Ignored by both, her attention turned instead to the white cat who now came running onto the ship with what she could have sworn was a look of concern on his fuzzy face.
Neither of them had the time to gather their thoughts when a sharp whistle rang out, followed by the shouts of men, “Halt! Stop!”. Ten of the finest guardsmen Ferrumhad to offer were running along the wooden dock toward the airship, withdrawing their multi geared pistols as a sign that they more than meant business. Brows furrowed and Tallon looked over his shoulder at his sister, who was already running down to the engine room to get the ship ready to go like a guilty child sending themselves to their room after doing something bad. What the blazes had she stolen!? Or from whom! Crossing the ship to where the now speechless Eva stood, he placed a hand on her back and gestured to the ramp leading from the ship to the dock below, “Best a pretty thing like you isn’t seen with the likes of me.” With little time to think it through, she turned to him with a mixture of guilt and panic ruling her expression, “They are after me.” “You!?” “Yes, I’m—“ A shot rang out, whizzing between their heads as a warning, the thundering steps rolling across the deck as they drew closer. “Talk later!?” “Yes!”
Running a hand back through his hair, the young captain muttered something about pretty faces and trouble under his breath before kicking the ramp free and watching it fall into the water below just as the Guardsmen reached them. Leading the group was a man Eva recognized well, had grown up with the man always looking over her shoulder.
Sebastian Morray, Captain in the High Inventors guard and tough as nails; the scar running from the top of his left eyebrow down to near his chin a wound he had received protecting her from an explosion caused by a group of rebels fighting for a ‘cause’, a lift on the magic ban and repentance for all those who had been killed for being born gifted. They had set a bomb inside the dining hall of the grand manor, a mixture of gunpowder with a magic charge set to go off when the sun hit it directly. Eva had been playing near the window it was set in, using the early light of morning as a backdrop to her game of ‘The Princess saves the Prince’, and starring Marxius as a noble steed. He was so thrilled by the game that he had stalked off to the other side of the room to harass the maids for a cup of milk, leaving the young girl by herself with her dolls.
Sebastian, who then was new to the Guard, came into the room in time to see the glitter of the powder shining in the window, breaking into a run while calling out to Evangline. What happened next was a faded memory; the loudest noise she had ever heard flooded her ears and made them sing sharp notes. Strong arms wrapped around her small frame and yanked it roughly to the floor before rolling; people were screaming, and something warm splashed her face. The two were soon separated, someone lifting her up and carrying her off while medics were called and came running across the now brightly lit room to help Sebastian who lay unmoving on the floor.
Snapping out of that memory, lavender eyes went wide when she saw Sebastian lift his gun and point it at Tallon, who in turn drew his own and pointed it back. “Release the Lady!” Barked Sebastian, an amused snort of laughter Tallon the only response he received. Following their Captains example, the other guards lifted their weapons and prepared to fire, waiting for the order. Tallon looked serious and unafraid as he faced a firing squad he could not possibly hope to dodge and pointed a weapon at a man who had saved her life. It only took a few steps for her to place herself between the two groups with her arms out, back to Tallon and front to Sebastian. “Stop! This man is innocent, he did nothing!” Separating the two groups was about ten feet and deep water, keeping the soldiers from advancing any further; but it did appear that the ship was a sitting duck.
“My Lady, you must return with me at once!” His words were firm, but his eyes were pleading; the results of her actions could be dire for all parties involved. But Evangeline had prepared for that when she walked out the doors. Shaking her head, arms remained out, “No, and if you follow me, I..I will throw myself overboard! Returning with a dead girl will do you no good!” Behind her, Tallon sighed and listened as the sound of the engine starting and fans starting to rotate; it was time to go. Wrapping an arm around her waist, his gun was now turned to the side of Evangeline’s head. “What she really means is I’m kidnapping her and if you follow me, I will throw her overboard.”
Sebastian growled and Eva stiffened, locking eyes with the Captain in front of her. With a lurch, the ship started to steadily rise into the sky as Tallon pulled Evangeline away from the deck and over to the wheel to turn it with his hip, “Pleasure doing business with you, gentleman! Give the High Inventor my regards!” His cockiest grin was well in place as the skyship rose up and disappeared into the clouds, Captain Morray lowering his gun and sighing, “Tell the High Inventor his daughter has been kidnapped.” Though he knew that wasn’t true, she was holding a bag and wearing clothes intended for travel. The High Inventors daughter had run away.
Comments (0)
See all