38: Masked

Samantha had to do her best to control her breathing underneath the porcelain – like mask, for if she were to exhale too much, the condensation of her own breath would then build up on the underside of it, which, as she had learned earlier, was a most uncomfortable situation.

And they still had a long way to go before she would ever get the chance to remove her disguise – they weren't even past the gates yet, and this extensive process of bypassing the security at the outermost gates of the fortress was the shortest segment of Sydney's plan.

The buccaneer's palms were moist with nervousness as they advanced further towards the gates, and Samantha was grateful for the gloves that she had worn as a part of the disguise – for otherwise, the chains that they held Jewel by would have surely slipped by now.

Being cautious not to move a single muscle, Samantha snuck a glance at Sydney across the top of Jewel's black – haired head.

The privateer was, like her, masked and disguised as an Armada marine – yet, Samantha could not help but feel inadequate next to her.

She plays the role, she wears the uniform, she'll convince them.

But what about me?

Samantha was worried – she was worried that her nerves were not quite as steeled as she wished or thought they were, and she was worried that this would cause her to somehow act in a manner that simply was not identical to Sydney's unyielding demeanor.

Unyielding, like the Armada marines themselves.

She truly carried the role, much like a professional actor would – perhaps because it was so close to her true human personality.

Short, direct, efficient, and to the point, without much room for empathy, if there was any room at all.

This role truly differed from Samantha's usual enthusiasm – and therefore, it was much harder for her to fully convince herself, let alone the Armada marines that would be at the gate, that she was identical to them.

A slight twitch from Sydney's uniformed figure told her to stop moving – which she must have been doing involuntarily – as they finally drew up to the first gate.

Quintus would do all of the talking needed to confirm their "identity" as Armada clockworks, of course – but in the meantime, she had to uphold this unnatural façade – she had to remain still, as if she was not nervous at all.

Perhaps Sydney was nervous as well, she thought, and was merely hiding it instead of letting it come so close to betraying the lot of them.

Identify yourself –

Musketeer Custos Quintus, of the tunnels squadron.

Being an actual clockwork himself, it was not difficult at all for Quintus to respond with the same even, yet flowing monotone that all of the clockwork soldiers seemed to speak in.

Identify your purpose.

Here it was – the attention would now be directed to them as Quintus would explain how they had supposedly gotten here, how they had captured Jewel as a dangerous fugitive from the tunnels, how they were to bring her in for questioning – it was all a blended mix of jumbled words to the buccaneer, whose blood was audibly rushing through her veins – of course, only she could hear such a thing, but this did not stop the paranoia from gently nudging at the back of her brain.

And then –

Access confirmed.

The ship jolted as it glided forwards and past the gates, and it took every ounce of self-control for Samantha not to simply collapse in the sheer relief of it all –

We did it.

There's no going back now.

This is sort of a re - visit to Sydney's attack on Cadiz - but this time, from the perspective of one of her blindly led sheep, as Samantha, at this point, has not yet discovered her Captain's true hidden agenda.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, and do be sure to leave a review!

- Severina