Of all the formal balls Alek had been to, this one was by far the strangest. Groups of people flocked around the servants to acquire small parcels of food or drinks. But the servants weren't people. Instead, tall fabricated birds that resembled swans on horse legs pranced around the ball room with trays of food on their backs. One of them stopped in front of Alek and honked.
"Ummm, thanks but I'm not that hungry." Alek said to the swan. Newkirk gave a nervous laugh beside him.
"He can't understand you, your highness. " He said, then grabbed some food from the swan's back and put it on his plate. Alek could tell that the other boy was shaking. Newkirk was as scared of the fabrications as Alek was, if not more so, but he pretended to be fine with them.
Alek couldn't tell what the food was until Newkirk lowered it for him to see. Due to his recent injury, Alek had been confined to a wheelchair, and wouldn't be allowed to leave it for another two weeks. The arrowhead had been removed skillfully, but it had torn a few muscles and Doctor Barlow had insisted that he remain in bed or in the wheelchair until it was completely healed. Which was complete ludicrous, seeing as that he could walk just fine, albeit a little painfully. It was worse than when he had been shot by the airgun and bruised a rib. However he didn't think he needed to be treated like he was mortally wounded.
"Jesus Christ, shrimp!" Mr. Newkirk said joyfully, pulling some more food from the swan. "mmmfphthis is sooo good!" He finished what remained on his plate with a gusto that made Alek slightly sick. Licking his fingers, Newkirk looked down at Alek nervously. "Why isn't it leaving?" He said, gesturing to the swan.
Alek shrugged. "Perhaps it likes you."
Newkirk timidly placed his dirty plate and handful of shrimp shells and tails back with the clean food on the swan. "Off you go then." He said to the large bird and gave it a slight slap on the rump. The beast gave a loud honk which startled a group of young women nearby before shoving off Newkirk's dirty plate onto the ground with a huge clatter. Newkirk quickly apologized to the women, and to the swan, before ducking down and clumsily picking up the shattered plate.
Alek rolled his eyes and lowered his face into one of his hands. Newkirk was a kind young man, but he wasn't the brightest. And his manners left much to be improved. But Alek was stuck with him until the Leviathan took everyone back to England. He and the rest of his men were under strict guard, meaning that each of them had to be attended by at least one crewman at all times. It was all thanks to Alek and his actions the previous night.
He didn't mind Newkirk's company. He guessed that the midshipman had been charged with Alek as a prisoner since it couldn't be too difficult to guard someone in a wheelchair. Klopp, Bauer and Hoffman all had much more aggressive looking guards, and Volger had two. He could see the Count across the room holding a glass of wine and in deep conversation with Dr. Barlow. They looked like they were arguing about something and she was winning. She had a huge grin and Volger was red in the face with anger. Not far behind them were Volger's guards; two gruff looking men whom Alek had seen working on the ship's rigging.
Alek sighed. He hadn't spoken to the Count since before his injury. It seemed like the man had been avoiding him. Barlow would visit him occasionally to check on his wounds, but either than that the past few days had been extremely lonely and boring. All he had had for company were Bovril and Newkirk, neither of which could hold much of a conversation.
"Ouch!" Newkirk said from beside him. He had cut himself on the broken shards of glass from the plate. He glanced back at the women nearby who had ignored him and gone back to their talking. When he seemed appeased that no one was watching him, Newkirk ducked behind Alek near the wall and dumped the shattered plate into a plant fixture.
"If I didn't know better, I would guess that you've been to many balls before." Alek said sarcastically.
"Aye,… I mean, no I haven't." The boy responded, completely oblivious to Alek's sarcasm. "It's quite amazing, isn't it, with all the food and the gigantic birds?" He motioned to the swan with a shudder. "You know who would have loved this? Dylan."
Alek groaned. He hated it whenever Newkirk mentioned the other middie's name. It just reminded him more that Dylan wasn't there. And be it as it may, Alek missed Dylan. Especially now since he was so lonely all the time. At first he had been happy that Newkirk would be his guard. He had hoped to start a friendship with this new boy to replace the one he had had before. Unfortunately, that was not nearly the case. Newkirk left a lot to be desired and everywhere he was lacking made Alek remember what he had in Dylan. Not that Newkirk was a bad sort; there just wasn't the spark and connection that Alek had witnessed before. Plus it didn't help that Newkirk brought up Dylan in conversation all the time.
"It really is a shame," Newkirk continued, "He was so young and all, and…I never even got to say goodbye." Alek turned to see that the fool was blubbering all over his nice new shirt.
"Calm down Newkirk, you know he died in honor…" Even now, after saying the lie a dozen times before, Alek still sounded fuzzy. It had been Dr. Barlow's idea really, to pretend that Dylan had died. Therefore no one would go looking for him and he could disappear into Tokyo without any shame. In a way Alek had come to even believe it. He was mourning the loss of his friend whom he would never see again. And the girl whom Dylan (if that even was her real name) had turned out to be was nothing more than another person who just looked like his dead friend. It was easier to think of that way, instead of realizing that he had been betrayed and lied to this entire time.
People seemed to believe Alek, even though he was a horrible liar. His misery must have looked like true loss, which in a way it was. It was almost as bad as when his parents had been taken from him too soon. Only this time he had lost his best friend.
She's still alive you idiot! You could go find her if you looked harder! Quickly, Alek shook his head to push the ideas away. They were the thoughts that kept creeping into his mind late at night and when he found himself daydreaming about Dylan. Which was crazy! Why was he daydreaming about Dylan? But he couldn't help but wonder if she was alright. The last time he had seen her she was wearing practically nothing and almost frozen to death before she ran out into the street, alone. He remembered the horrible things he had said to her and felt awful that he was never able to apologize.
Other thoughts swarmed into his mind, the ones that he tried the hardest to bury.
I must have known. He thought I must have known that he was a girl. It had been plaguing him for days. How could he not have seen that he was a she. Was he that stupid? Or worse, had he really known all along and just didn't want to admit it to himself until it was staring him right in the face.
He remembered the softness of the girl's skin, or the bronze gold of her hair. That time they had shared a bed and he had seen her graceful neck and shoulders. He felt prickles climb up his spine and quivered. Then he remembered when she had kissed him and let his mind linger on that thought for a moment.
"Arghhh!" He suddenly shouted and pounded his head with his fist.
"Alek, are you alright?" Newkirk said, looking suddenly concerned.
"I'm fine," He lied. Newkirk began to ask him another question but was interrupted when the music started. The orchestra at the other end of the hall started a jaunty tune that Alek recognized as a waltz. Couples began to form and Alek and Newkirk watched from the side for a few minutes as the people began to dance.
From his seat, Alek could make out a few familiar faces. The officers and such from the Leviathan had made there way over to the giggling herd of women nearby. One by one they would ask one of the ladies to dance and she would comply with a curtsy and a flutter of skirts. Alek was familiar with the game, he had been to plenty of balls before. Asking a woman to dance never meant anything serious, but it took an awful lot of bravery to do so. Next to him, Newkirk was shivering and Alek could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"They are very pretty." He mumbled. "Girls never dress up like that back home." Alek nodded in agreement, suddenly aware of how awkward the situation was. He saw a few of the women eye him up suspiciously. A visiting Clanker prince was probably a bit of an anomaly. One of them gave him a wink and a smile and he quickly turned away, embarrassed and annoyed.
From the corner of his eye he saw Klopp bowing to a plump, overly dressed Japanese woman, then scoop her into his arms and whisk her across the floor. Bauer was kissing the hand of a pretty red head whose face had turned the color of her hair. A few meters away he witnessed Dr. Barlow dragging Count Volger onto the floor. He looked downright miserable but danced with her gracefully all the same. When they waltzed by, Alek thought he saw the man smiling. The whole thing made Alek want to punch something, although he couldn't really understand why.
He didn't notice that a woman had stopped in front of him until she had cleared her throat.
"Prince Aleksander Ferdinand, it is lovely to see you doing well." The words were in German, and when he looked up he saw Elsie smiling down on him.
Great. He thought. The very last person I wanted to see. He scowled at his cousin.
"Well, don't look too happy to see me." She said with a tad of anger. "I know we didn't leave each other last time on the best note, but I thought I could make up for that by introducing you to my friend." She lifted her palm and gestured to a tall pretty blond standing on her left. The other girl fluttered a fan nervously in front of her face and curtsied. "Alek, this is Lady Deryn."
Good God Elsie, what are you scheming at now? He could only imagine what horrible plot his cousin could be considering and hoped that this poor girl wasn't being fooled as well.
"Perhaps you could join her in a dance? Or seeing that you are…..unqualified for dancing at the present time, maybe a walk in the garden?"
Obviously she was trying to set him up with one of her ladies in waiting. As if that wasn't a blow to his parentage and self pride enough, she had dared to ask him to dance with this girl when he clearly couldn't.
"I don't know what you're plotting at cuz," he said in English so the other girl would hopefully not understand, "but I won't let you take advantage of me again. So, no, I will not dance or walk with your supposed friend. I assume she's just a lackey of yours, here to trick me and besides, I'm not in the mood."
Elsie narrowed her icy blue eyes. She considered Alek for a long moment. Suddenly ashamed, he looked to the tall girl and started to apologize to her in German, but she looked so angry that Alek had to turn away. Perhaps she could understand English. If so, refusing to accompany her was a personal blow and he had probably hurt her feelings without meaning to. God Dammit Elsie, you just did this to make me look bad.
"Very well then." Elsie said in German, then to the other girl in English, "Why don't we get something to drink, I'm afraid that my cousin is a bit of an idiot." She left then, and the tall girl stood for a few more seconds in silence just glaring at Alek. He couldn't look her in the eye and instead grumbled another apology to his feet, this time in English. The girl finally followed after Elsie, the fan still covering the majority of her face as if to hide her anger.
"That wasn't very nice of you." Alek jumped. He had completely forgotten that Newkirk was there. "She seemed like a nice girl." The midshipman was watching the two girls in blue walk back towards the other side of the ball. "You know, she looked kind of familiar."
Alek grumbled a curse. Of all the things to happen, he didn't expect to be scolded by Newkirk.
They watched the dancing for a few more minutes. Alek was trying to hide his newfound need to kick something, but Newkirk seemed pretty happy, he was even eating more shrimp.
A balding Japanese man that Alek recognized as Magistrate Kadashi, whom he had met on his first night at the palace, walked up to him and bowed.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor wishes to speak with you," he said quietly, then looked at Newkirk, "alone." Alek understood and asked Newkirk if that would be alright. The boy shrugged and continued slurping down his shrimp. Without another look back, Kadashi spun Alek's chair around and began to wheel him away from the party and down another hallway.
The ballroom had been immense, decked with marble and gold trim. When they left the room Alek had been expecting an equally fancy throne room where he would greet the Emperor. However, the hallway he was being pushed down was dark and eerie, completely opposite from the cheery ballroom.
He had barely seen the Emperor all night, which had been a relief up until now. He wasn't looking forward to talking to the half beast half shriveled person.
At the end of the hall Alek could make out three tall muscular men all dressed in black uniforms. They stood in front of a pair of double doors and didn't move to open them. He could tell that they were white, which was strange since he thought that most of the Emperor's servants had been Japanese.
They never reached the end of the hall. Instead, Alek heard Kadashi give a muffled cry and suddenly his wheelchair was spun around and he was being pushed in the opposite direction. He heard the men yelling angry curses behind him and turned around in his chair to see that the person pushing him was not Kadashi, but the tall blond girl from the dance.
"HEY! What are you doing?" He yelled at her. She ignored him and continued to run him down the hall. They turned into one of the many elevators in the palace that were used to carry the Emperor from floor to floor. "I demand that you unhand me this instant!" He shouted without looking at her. He was too busy watching Kadashi and the other men try to scramble to the elevator but the doors shut before they could get there. "This is ridiculous! What an earth do you think you are doing? I'm sorry I didn't dance with you earlier, but as you can see I…"
"Shut your barking mouth Alek! You know I can't understand you when you're talking Clanker!" As she struggled to pull the gears for the elevator he finally turned to look at her fully. When he saw her face his mouth dropped in shock.
"YOU!" He said, instantly switching to English.
"Aye, it's me." She said, pushing the highest button on the elevator switchboard causing the contraption to rise. He didn't speak to her for a few moments, just sat and stared. He couldn't help it.
"You look…uh…beautif.., um I mean, different. And why are you here! You can't just take me from the Emperor's…"
"I can if I'm saving your bloody arse!"
"Wait, what?"
"They're going to kill you Alek! The Emperor and his lot want you dead thanks to that lousy stunt you did. I had to get you out of that ball. Which would have been a lot easier if you weren't being such a sissy pants and danced with me."
"What? I don't believe you!"
"He thinks you're some sort of spy, what with you killing the Demon and all."
Alek was still so shocked by seeing her that he wasn't registering what she was saying and just stared at her more. She gave up talking to him and collapsed on the floor when she realized he wasn't going to answer her.
"Blisters, my feet are killing me." She mumbled, then lifted up her skirts and began to remove her shoes while sitting on the floor of the elevator. Alek blushed and turned away realizing the ample view he had of her legs and petticoats.
"You really don't know how to act like a lady, do you?" He said. She gave him an angry look but continued to remove her shoes.
"Well, it's not my fault that they make these things so goddamn painful. I don't know how women walk in them all the time." He looked back to see her stocking feet wrapped in bandages and bleeding through.
"Good heavens, what happened to you?"
"Nothing, just running around the streets of Tokyo, barefoot. I had misplaced my boots that night, perhaps you remember." She had a twinge of anger in her voice, and Alek felt a wave of guilt wash over him.
"I'm really sorry." He sputtered out, suddenly realizing his chance to apologize. "I didn't know you had run off like that until it was too late. And…" He paused, finding it hard to speak. "I didn't mean to say those things to you, honestly, I was just…"
But he stopped because she was holding his hand.
"It's alright Alek." She whispered.
And that was all she had to say. They sat there just enjoying one another's company holding hands as the elevator eventually stopped. When the door opened they were staring at an empty hallway that was even darker than the first. She pulled her hand away from his and began to push him out into the hall.
"Dylan?" He stopped her by putting his feet out.
"Yes?" She answered without thinking.
"That isn't really your name, is it?" He looked back at her and saw that she was smiling.
"No dummkopf, weren't you listening to Elsie at all?" When he just looked at her confused she swatted him in the back of the head. "It's Deryn, Deryn Sharp."
"Deryn." He answered, rubbing his head were she had hit him. "I like that, it suits you."
She just beamed at him and continued to push him down the hall in silence. Even if the Emperor was trying to kill him, at that moment Aleksander didn't really care.