Panicked and shaken to his core, the Harbor Master's knees gave way and he kneeled before the young captain. "Where is she?" Flinn's patience grew thin with the Harbor Master and he began vigorously shaking the kneeling man before him like a rag doll. "Speak you bastard!" he demanded as he made a move for his sword.
"Alright I'll tell ya!" cried the master, sweat flowing from his brow. "She went to Mormonta." Tears flowed from the chubby man's eyes and he began to shake uncontrollably. "She made me swear not to tell; she gave me a pretty penny to keep me secrets. Please, sir, have sympathy for a simple Harbor Master." Blubbered the master, losing control of his bodily functions and soiling his already stained trousers. For a second, Flinn felt sorry for the old man, feeling wrong for the distress he caused, but he shook those feelings aside.
"That is all I needed to hear; good day, sir." Feeling cold inside, he loosened his grip on the Harbor Master and returned to the Maria, leaving the chubby man kneeling on the dirt in his own filth. He did not feel anything; he knew he should, since he threatened a complete stranger, but he could not. Turning the Maria towards Mormonta, he left Ceart with the voice of failure nagging at the back of his mind.
Back out on the open ocean, the weight of the situation hit him and the words of the Harbor Master resonated in his skull. "She made me swear not to tell; she gave me a pretty penny to keep me secrets." She had paid someone to hide her, to lie to him and make him run in circles. This meant she knew he was searching for her and was purposefully avoiding him; she was purposefully putting him in agony and sending him sailing throughout the world. The deep emptiness in his chest filled with a blazing rage. How dare she hurt him in such a vial way; he had never laid a hand on her nor had he spoken ill of her, if anything he cherished her like a queen. Leaving the wheel, he proceeded to pace on the deck with clenched fists; here he was, sailing from island to island for her and all he received for his efforts was heartache and nightmares. It simply was not fair.
Searing with anger, sorrow, and hate Flinn grabs the gold ring from his pocket and clenches it tight in his fist. Feeling its' weight in his hand, he remembered what Richard told him to do with it. "I meant to give this to my love, but as you know, I couldn't. You, on the other hand, still have a chance with your ladylove; it would be a shame to let this ring go to waste on an old man like myself." Now, he thought that this ring would be better kept in the elderly man's possession. Suddenly, like an ice-cold razor, a thought flew across his mind and his eyes fell on the vast ocean before him. It was clear she did not want this ring; he could not return it to Richard; he could not even bear to hold this reminder of a failed romance in his hand. Reeling back his arm, he aimed to throw the ring as far away from himself as he could, but when the moment came, his hand refused to release. Again he tried and again he failed, part of his soul refusing to give up on his beloved; even now, with nothing to gain and everything to lose, he could not let go.
"Why are you so cruel to me?" he cried to the empty ship and sank to his knees; the searing anger in his chest fermenting to bitterness. He wanted to be angry with her and he knew he should be, but he simply could not force himself to. He clutches his chest in fear that his heart would burst out of his chest. Bitter tears flowed from his eyes and stained his cheeks; he felt like screaming and tearing his hair out, but all he had the strength for, was kneeling on deck crying.
After, what felt like hours of crying, Flinn got onto his feet with his heart occupied by blissful emptiness.
XXXXX
After hours of being pushed around the Newport Harbor, Alisea finally came across the Harbor Master's booth. To her surprise, the booth was not simply a small shack, but a firm, multi-roomed, stone building located a kilometer inland from the docks; with its' imposing stone entrance and fire warm brick walls, reminded Alisea more of an executive building instead of a mere Harbor Master's office. Pushing past the bustling crowd of people, she felt out of place in the splendidly decorated entrance hall, with its' onyx floor and Greek-style, white marble columns. Having fought her way through the crowd to one of the numerous offices, she took a deep breath to compose herself before approaching an unoccupied desk, the man behind which, sat bent over a massive logbook with his glasses barely sitting on his plump nose. "Excuse me, sir." Begrudgingly, the elderly man lifted his eyes from his work and surveyed the new arrival before him.
"How can I help you?" he asked in a dry and raspy voice that reminded Alisea of the voice of a schoolteacher; it made her uncomfortable.
"My apologies, sir, but I must find my way to the train station." She pulls out the second ticket from her dress pocket, "The train is supposed to take me Saoirse, but I have never been on the mainland before; could you please direct me to the train station that will take me there?" with a frown, the man lifted his finger from the book and pointed east.
"Go east and follow Mitchel Avenue for around one hundred kilometers until you reach the crossing of Bismarck and Muller Street; go down north on Bismarck, from there you can't miss the train station. An appropriate staff member can point you to the right train. The station closes at midnight, so I suggest you get on walking; you have quite the walk ahead of you." With that, he returned his attention to his books, leaving Alisea on her journey.
Outside of the master's house, Alisea tried her best to follow the directions she was given; quickly she finds her mind distracted by the sights the mainland offered. From boutiques to bakeries, to small convenience stores, all of which felt familiar and yet otherworldly. On the mainland, the streets were full with music and excitement; she knew none of these things were known to the world, but walking through Mitchel Avenue, Alisea felt like a child discovering the world for the first time. So engrossed in her surrounding, she almost missed the crossing; remembering the directions, she went north on Bismarck Street. Soon, the sun began to descend in the sky; it was six in the evening. Her stomach growled and her feet screamed for rest, but she refused to stop, in six hours the station would close and she was nowhere near the station; slowly, she began to worry, if she had taken a wrong turn.
Finally, at around nine-thirty in the evening, the train station came into view and with it, her heart jumped with relief. Her heart also raced at the sight of the locomotives; all her life, growing up, she had only heart of these metal beasts and seeing them in person is little none short of accelerating. Without hesitation, she approached the nearest ticket booth with a beaming smile on her face. Surprisingly, the elderly lady, women in her early sixties with gray hair pulled into a tight bun, behind the counter greeted her with an equally bright smile.
"Well, hello there young lady, how may I help you this evening?" her voice was sweet, dry, and slightly cracked; it was exactly how Alisea imagines a grandmotherly voice to sound like.
"I am sorry to bother you ma'am, but I have a ticket for a train to Saoirse; it is my first time using a train and I don't want to miss it. " Quickly she shows the women her ticket she bought on Cina.
"Oh don't be sorry child, you are not the first to take their first ever train ride. I find them fascinating myself; it is quite interesting what man can think of. Your train is number seven, it takes off in thirty minutes; just show your ticket to the Train Conductor when he asks of it and you will be fine. Take care young lady." Pocketing her ticket, Alisea thanked the lady and sought for the lucky locomotive seven, that would take her on a new adventure.
Walking down the steam filling station with her heart racing like a wild mare, Alisea searched for the locomotive with the seven with time running short. After, what felt like an eternity, of searching through this alien world she found it; there before Alisea, she stood, a bright red locomotive with a huge gold-painted seven on its' side. With a happy sigh, she approached it, but a hand grabbed hold of her shoulder and stopped her dead in her tracks. "Ma'am, where do you think you are going?" asked a rough and booming voice behind her; hesitantly, without turning her head, Alisea pointed to the locomotive.
"That is my train…the train I have to catch to get to Saoirse."
"In that case, you must go to one of the passenger carriages, but first, I must ask for your ticket." Now, Alisea might be inexperienced, but she was no fool; she was not going to hand her only ticket to a complete stranger. Quick as lightning, she turned to face the man behind her, only to face a tall man in a green uniform. He wore a firmly curled, handlebar mustache that bounced with his smile and a small, cylinder cap. "Your first train ride ain't it?" he asked with a warm smile. Quickly, she realized, but the gold colored embroidering on the man's hat, that this man is a train conductor.
"Is it that obvious?" she could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment as she handed him the ticket.
"Well, not too many regulars go right for the engine; that tends to be a beginner mistake." He said in a soothing voice and punching her ticket. "Now follow me, I know of a carriage with open seats."
"Why can't I go into the engine?" being a former captain, the idea of being out of the area of control unnerved her; this was another reason why she could not sleep on the Sgaoileadh.
"Well, a train is a very expensive and easily breakable piece of machinery. Now, don't take this wrong ma'am, but you don't look like a Byron Pinner or Robert Folkker." Chuckled the conductor, obviously, she was not the first to ask this question. Following the Conductor's orders and soon she found herself, comfortably seated on a dark wood bench in a well light carriage, surrounded by other passengers. Gazing out the window at the clouds of pluming smoke from the engine, Alisea's stomach lurched as the train leaped into action and rolled out of the station. The faster the trained became, the more the world outside her window turned into a blur. Yellow flower shops, red-brick buildings, wide open streets, and busy people all melted into one, with the setting sun bathing all in a heavenly golden glow as the train made its' way from the Newport Harbor to its' designated stops. After its' first stop, Alisea planned to get out, until she heard the Conductor calling the name of their current stop.
"All to Monika City enjoy your night!" his voice barely rising over the screeching of the train's breaks. A little crestfallen, Alisea sat back down and placed her suitcase on her lap, a light chuckle from beside her, catching her attention. Turning her head, she realizes, for the first time, that a well builds, middle-aged, a woman with a wide brim straw hat adorned with bright pink roses and fitting pink dress. "A little eager today, aren't we?" her voice was bubbly and cheerful, with a slight hint of a southern twang; both the hat and the voice complementing her pale green eyes, chalky brown hair, and baby-pink cheeks.
"Yeah, I am nervous, I have to make it to Saoirse; do you happen to know how many stops this train takes before it?"
"Saoirse is the last stop of this train, so you are going to sit here for a while."
"How long exactly?" Alisea pressed on, a sinking feeling growing in her stomach. She might have been excited about riding on a train for the first time in her life, but she was frightened about them and feared to stay on this train longer than expected.
"You are going on an overnight trip. I took that journey a few years back; needless to say, I do not envy you." Sensing Alisea inwardly groaning, she continued with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Lucky Seven is a sturdy train and serves small snacks; they are cheap, but edible and there is a bathroom wagon in the back of the train. You should be fine." At this, Alisea smiled, at least there would be nourishment; her stomach felt in pain from neglect. She continued a friendly conversation with the lady in the pink rose hat; finding out her name was Lidia Van Hansing, the daughter of a prominent writer, and that she was on a trip to meet her aunt, who lived in Plummer, a county three stops away.
After the initial awkwardness, Alisea finally enjoyed a peaceful moment in her journey while having a conversation with Lidia. For a long while, she could forget the heartache, hunger, foot pain, and fatigue with a simple conversation that started with, "what is your name?" and ended with, "Why are you on this train?" Lidia, seemingly taking pity on Alisea, took a book from her purse and gifted it to her with a gentle smile.
"This is my father's latest work; I highly recommend it. Perhaps it could help you take your mind off things." Being perfect timing, the moment Lidia handed Alisea the small, red-covered book, the conductor called the stop for Plummer and with this, Lidia was out of Alisea's life. After the train left Plummer, Alisea sat on her bench for a while with a pleasant smile on her face and the book in her hand. By now, the clock stroke midnight and Alisea's stomach screamed for sustenance; relenting to her mortal need, Alisea opened her suitcase to see what she could afford and froze. For a long moment, she could not believe her sight; her shirt, pants, jacket, and boots were there untouched, but the money, the thirty coins remaining from the money Ellie had given her, was gone!