AN: I apologize for the extra-long delay, had to edit all the previous chapters, so I highly recommend going over the story again, but rereading the previous chapter would be enough for now. See you at the end of this chapter!

Chapter 6

End of the Day

Aboard HMS Unicorn

Shamrock Girls High School

25th of April

12:37 AM

The weariest nights, the longest of days, sooner or later must come to an end.

So Assam thought as she wiped away tears from her eyes after letting out a yawn. The rigours of the day's voyage had started to weigh down on her and the vestige of consciousness had slowly started to leave her, but there was one final task for the day.

They had taken the Rolls-Royce to the hotel, the so-called Faultry Tower, which dwarfed the surrounding structures, but since they couldn't exactly drive up the five-story building, she, along with Rosemallow, had carried Rosehip to their accommodation while the rest busied themselves with the luggage. It was, however, easier said than done, as the hotel booked by their host had a conveniently broken elevator, and so they were forced to half carry, half drag the passed-out redhead, who only seemed to get heavier the higher they got, up to the top.

With both of them having one of Rosehip's arms over their shoulders, the three of them engaged in an awkward six-legged race up the stairs. Their faces were so close, Assam could smell the stench of alcohol coming from her kouhai's mouth. She could also hear what the girl was trying to mumble out in her semi-conscious state.

Not that it made much sense.

Trying her best to understand all the nonsense spewing forth from Rosehip's mouth, she could make out that the girl was trying to sing the song from Titanic, the film they had watched yesterday, or rather the day before yesterday as she realized it was long past midnight or so her watch said.

"Evewie….naught in moy dweams…" the redhead slurred before falling asleep again in their arms.

Assam snickered and took a glance at Rosemallow near her, who also smiled and rolled her eyes. It was funny considering St Gloriana, along with Saunders, was known for offering top of the line English classes but in practice, most students still had difficulty in using them, even she found it hard to form long coherent sentences. Earl Grey-senpai however, had learnt how to speak the language like a native and could even read the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare without suffering a stroke.

When they finally reached the top floor, (Why do luxury suites have to be at the very top?) Rosemallow went ahead and took out the room key to unlock the door. For a while, only Assam supported Rosehip and their cheeks momentarily touched one another. Normally, she wouldn't mind such skinship but Rosehip being drunk was such a turn-off.

While waiting, she noticed the hotel's fire evacuation plan tacked up on the wall. With the minute or two Rosemallow took to open the door, Assam was able to memorize the location of some areas their accommodation had to offer, like the dining area on the first floor and the rooftop terrace.

Rosemallow finally managed to get the door open and returned to help her with Rosehip again. With anticipation, the door swung open to reveal a luxurious hotel room, with two Queen-size beds (the school tried booking a room with four beds, but this was the only one available, Clare explained) and even a flat-screen TV to boot. Immediately beside the entrance was a walk-in closet and in front of that was another door, which, she assumed, led to the bathroom. The room also had a large window that would have given them a good view of the carrier had it not been for the lateness of the hour.

They deposited Rosehip on one of the beds, making sure to position her on her side to avoid complications of having to sleep facing up, and used some of the pillows to make sure she wouldn't roll out of the bed and onto the floor.

The Shamrock girls placed their luggage at the foot of the beds and went on their way. Clare said that she would pick them up at 9 o'clock in the morning of the following day sharp and closed the door behind her, but not before giving a farewell hug to Roselle.

The three of them took care of the luggage, allocating a specific spot for each one in the closet and began changing out of their uniform into more comfortable nightwear.

Assam entered the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind her. The washroom was fairly spacious, with a shower on the left, the toilet near it, and a small rectangular bathtub on the right. The sink was in the middle and on the countertop around it, she placed the clothes she was going to change into.

From outside, Assam could hear the two that were still conscious having some sort of argument and from the faint bits she could hear, she deduced that Roselle had jumped onto the bed wearing her leather boots and Rosemallow was having none of her excuses.

With a giggle, Assam began her nightly routine by taking off the black ribbon she tied her hair with and let her long blonde locks fall down. She combed it till she was satisfied that it was silky smooth and began to change into her nightdress, before going back into the room.

To her surprise, Rosemallow and Roselle were having a full-fledged pillow fight, both of them on the carpet using pillows to attack the other and they only stopped when they saw her emerge from the bathroom.

The two hastily stood up and dusted their pyjamas. Rosemallow wore an ashamed look on her face and avoided looking at Assam's eyes. Roselle, on the other hand, had the look of pure unadulterated smug and what looked like a smirk.

"So, who's going to be sleeping next to Rosehip?" Assam asked, to break the tension in the room.

The two shared a sinister look and Roselle finally spoke up. "What if we draw lots?"

And with that, Rosemallow used a pen to quickly jot down something on the hotel stationery, which she ripped into three small stripes and stuffed it into her fist, with the ends sticking out, "Whoever picks the one with an X in it, gets to bed with sleepyhead over here!" she said, before extending her closed fist, so they could all pick one.

With nothing to lose, Assam quickly picked the middle one and gave it a tug. She knew it from the moment she had laid a finger on the slip of paper that it was the one and she wasn't surprised to see the hastily scribbled X on the other end of the stationery.

"I got it," she simply said, showing others her draw.

"Alright, good luck with that and good night!" Roselle let out, quickly running to the switch to turn off the lights. In the split second of time before darkness came in, Assam noticed that Rosemallow had collected her teammate's slip and torn both it and hers to shreds.

She would have asked further but her exhausted body prodded her to sleep and as such she slipped into the sheets, carefully as to not disturb her already snoring kouhai.

Assam prepared herself for sleep, using a method she learned online, which enabled her to doze off in two minutes. But, alas, Fate just decided tonight was the perfect time to visit her poor bedmate again.

"Please...Have mercy... Let me go, LET ME GO!" Rosehip was talking in her sleep again, which Assam would have normally shrugged off but the pleas for mercy, accompanied by sobs and cries in the dark, were too much for her to just ignore.

Assam found herself fumbling for the lamp switch on the nightstand in between the two beds. When she found it, she turned on the light and was temporarily blinded by the glow of the lamp. When her eyes gradually adjusted to the sudden change of light, she saw Rosehip was lying in a pool of sweat, twisting and turning, muttering the same words over and over again.

"Everything alright?" Rosemallow asked, stifling a yawn, her orange coloured hair in disarray; a change from her usual twin-tails.

"It's Rosehip, she's talking in her sleep, what should we do?" Assam said, noting the panic in her own voice, her weariness momentarily forgotten.

"Ah bollocks, here we go again." Roselle chipped in, removing the sheets from her head as she sat up straight.

"Just wait for a few minutes and it will be over," Rosemallow calmly said, getting out of bed and walking over to the hospitality tray, where she made herself, from what Assam could smell, some tea.

"Shouldn't we try waking her up?" Assam asked as Rosemallow handed her a steaming cup of tea, perhaps something to warm her insides up.

"Nope, we found out early on that she gets a bit violent when you wake her up. Drink your tea up before it gets cold," The ginger said as she opened another packet of tea, this one probably for herself.

"It's completely normal, you'll get used to it," Roselle added. Assam found herself somewhat irritated by the casual way the brunette delivered the reply. Roselle didn't notice, however, and instead just turned to her crewmate, who was now dunking biscuits into her tea, and asked, "Ey, what about mine?"

"Make it yourself like a good chap, you muppet," Rosemallow fired back, kickstarting the snarky banter in-between the two, something that she really needed to wrap her head around. How can an insult-filled exchange be a mark of true friendship?

While the two were throwing jabs at each other, wielding a wide arsenal of flowery taunts, Assam took the time to comprehend the last thing Roselle had said. They certainly did know Rosehip more personally than she could ever hope, but that didn't change the fact that Rosehip could be in danger.

"What on earth do you mean? Have you tried asking her what's wrong?" she found herself saying, bringing the two to a standstill.

The brunette simply shrugged, "She wouldn't bulge, maybe you can have a try in the future?" In the end, the duo had just decided to share, with Roselle finishing the lukewarm tea. The move ushered peace between the two, returning to their bed and leaving Assam to deal with the mess.

Sooner than later, the mutterings did stop, as Rosemallow foretold, and Rosehip returned to a snoring mess. With a sigh, Assam laid down next to her and turned off the lamp, plunging the room back into the darkness.

The comfort of her bed and the exhaustion of the day was not enough to put her to sleep, however. Thoughts of Rosehip, or perhaps Rosehip herself raced through her mind, giving off the sensation that her head was slowly being perforated with an armour-piercing shell and for some reason, all her attempts at calming herself only added more fuel to the flames. She lay there for what felt like hours, desperately grasping for the reason as to why Rosehip experienced nightmares.

Did she experience trauma in her youth?

Does she have repressed childhood memories?

Wait, could it be that that question earlier meant more than what meets the eye?

Assam hadn't really seen anything else that would denote that their life would be in danger, but that question really sent a tingling sensation up the hairs of her neck. She twisted and turned in the bed, using the pillows as earmuffs to muffled out the obnoxious snoring of her drunk kouhai.

With her sanity slowly draining and sleep still far away along with having nothing better to do, Assam left the bed once more. From her purse, she took the same stainless steel box Rosehip had picked up from the deck of the ship and silently crept out of the room, locking the door behind her. If her memory served her correctly, at the end of this corridor, there should be stairs straight to the rooftop terrace, the perfect place to test her newly received Welrod.

Inside the steel box she had received from Earl Grey-senpai was a small manual pertaining to the gun and Assam, who hadn't as much held a gun in her life before, poured over the pages on the desk of her room back home, aided only by the sharp light of a lamp.

She also went online, reading up articles and she even remembered watching a video of some man with a wacky hairstyle and an equally bonkers beard explaining the mechanics of the firearm in such a way that even a schoolgirl like her could understand. However, this would be the first time she would actually fire the gun.

Assam came across a glass sliding door and slipped it open, creating no noise as she went. The entire rooftop was bathed in moonlight, giving light to sets of stylish patio tables, the chairs tucked away and she looked around first to make sure that there was no one else here but her. She wasn't expecting the late-night breeze to be that cold and she flinched as the wind sent chills up her exposed legs, unshielded by her nightgown.

Regretting that she hadn't worn better-suited clothing, Assam placed the box on one of the tables and took out the gun. With one of the six-round magazines provided, she loaded the weapon and held it against the moonlight. It looked more like a pipe than a weapon but that was probably a prerequisite for usage in covert operations. The gun was somewhat heavier than she thought at first but now she had become accustomed to its properties. That, however, could very much change once she fired it.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Assam took aim at one of the spinning pinwheels on the railing, standing a good metre or two away from her selected targets. Using the fluorescent painted sights as a guide, she simultaneously squeezed the safety behind the magazine and the weird bent-nail shaped trigger to fire the weapon, producing a surprisingly quiet sound, as opposed to the loud report of the cannon she operated in the Churchill.

Just like her first dart throw, the bullet went wild, missing the target in front of her. She cycled the weapon by turning the knob at the end, pulling the bolt to eject the spent cartridge, before pushing the bolt and turning the bolt once again. Assam fired again, this time with a much more satisfactory result as a bullet clipped the blade of the pinwheel.

She finished off the magazine by shooting off other pinwheels, always turning the knob and pulling sharply to the rear, clearing the weapon of the used round. Assam did not want to use up another mag because ammunition was limited and it also required her to replace the rubber wipes, which made the gun quiet in the first place. She also didn't bother with disassembling the gun, to make it easier to use in life or death situations, stuffing it inside the box once again.

All of a sudden, Assam heard her name being called out. Fear crept up to her mind as she decided on what to do next. Should she try to hide? But there was nowhere that could conceal her for a long period of time. Maybe she could try using the weapon on whoever is approaching? No, that would be irresponsible.

"Assam!" The speaker repeated themselves. Louder. Closer.

Deciding that shooting someone wasn't the best course of action, Assam tossed the case containing the pistol into the bushes, hoping to retrieve it after she had dealt with this newcomer.

"Y-yeah?" Assam answered back. Somewhere in the dark, the glass door opened and closed. Footsteps rang across the patio and a figure stepped into the moonlight. Fortunately, it was only Rosemallow, who let out a huge sigh of relief at seeing her.

Phew, that was a close one

"Oh thank Gloriana! I thought I heard a scuffle and didn't think much of it until I went to the bathroom and I saw that you weren't in bed." Rosemallow said, looking out of place in her pyjamas. "Why did you go up here by yourself?"

"Needed some fresh air, plus the night sky is amazing," Assam replied, looking up at the stars above as if to make her point, hoping that the glint of the case or the remains of the pinwheels wouldn't arouse suspicion.

The redhead seemed not to notice any of these things thankfully and just walked next to her, taking a look at the grounds below, "I took a glance of the garden earlier and even from here, it looks quite glamorous, would you like to take a stroll with me in it?"

"Alright, but the stairs, we have to take those to get back," Assam, said in exasperation, not wanting to climb five sets of stairs again.

"The journey should be easier now since we don't have a dead weight with us," Rosemallow replied, her face starting to show the early signs of annoyance.

Assam tried her best to not take a glance at the box, deciding whether it was worth the trouble or not.

Rosemallow made the choice for her, however, and pulled her hand and dragged her along, saying, "Come now, we don't have all night."

The two of them made their way down the stairs, their fluffy hotel-provided slippers taking them down one step at a time. They walked past the lounge room and the reception booth, where a few of the sleepy staff tried their best to make it through the graveyard shift and couldn't care less about two guests having a midnight stroll.

The garden here was smaller than that back home, but what it lacked in size, it made up with diversity. Bushes of different varieties were planted on the large stone urns that lined the garden path at set intervals, providing a neat border for the flower beds.

An assortment of flowers was always a welcome sight, even though the petals that blossomed during the day were tucked in for the night, as if the flowers themselves were asleep.

"So, what do you think about Rosehip's sleeping habit?" Rosemallow asked her, snapping Assam back from her melancholy.

"A bit unnerving. You think she experienced something traumatic in her youth?" Assam replied, a bit distracted by the redhead, who was snapping off overhanging twigs and breaking them into pieces, before scattering them on the garden path.

"Your guess is just as good as mine, I just hope that you being her-" Rosemallow looked as if she was about to say something but stopped and did a double-take- "senpai would have more success than us."

"On the contrary, she could keep her secret harder."

"Nah, Rosehip cares a lot about you."

Silence fell onto the two of them as they continued their walk, going in no particular direction. Much to Assam's surprise, on their path, was what appeared to be the only cherry blossom in the garden. And like its brethren back in the mainland, this one had begun its seasonal bloom.

Rosemallow stretched out her hand to catch some of the falling leaves. "Tell me, do you happen to have siblings?" she asked.

Assam felt Rosemallow looking straight at her, making her feel a bit uneasy, "No, only child," she in turn replied.

"Ah, lucky you," Here, Rosemallow had wistfulness etched in her face as she turned her attention to the sakura leaves descending to the ground, but Assam knew that her mind was really far off. "My sister and I, have never really been on good terms, that's why I consider them my family. And I would like to have a word with anyone who tries to hurt them. Which makes me worry about Roselle..."

"What about her?" she asked, curious as to what the girl in question did to make her "sister" worry.

"She's head over heels over someone again and that someone just happens to be, yet again, someone she just met," Rosemallow replied, concern now in her face.

That hit too close to home, Assam thought. Guess if she wants to pursue her love with Rosehip, she has to court every single of her friends as well, "Shouldn't you let her be with her own love life?", was the only thing she could say.

"I sound controlling, don't I? But what if she gets burned again? Who will pick up the broken pieces for the second time? For Gloriana's sake, the last time it happened she locked herself in her room for three days. Three days! She even stopped attending classes, until we slapped some sense into her and even then, she was gloomy for about a month."

A hush once again fell upon then, perhaps Rosemallow was just giving her some much needed time to let the information sink in. For a while, the only sound Assam could hear was that of the cicadas, whose nightly songs foretold the beginning of summer. Assam was about to suggest going back when she felt Rosemallow grasp her arm and pulled the both of them off the garden path, dashing behind a rhododendron bush.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" She found herself asking, half in annoyance and half confusion, worried that her silk dress might snag and tear on the branches.

"Hush now! Someone's coming," Rosemallow replied, keeping both of their heads, forcing Assam to crouch both to the ground.

She strained her ears and indeed, someone else was having a late-night stroll.

"-knew all those years of drama club back in elementary was worth it!"

"Yup, we played them like a damn fiddle! I can't wait for that foolish drunkard to stumble to the grounds tomorrow, puking her guts out!" The two newcomers shared a laugh, the source of the voices indiscernible, unless Assam hazarded a peek, which would blow their cover.

Drunkard… They're not talking about Rosehip, are they?

"You sure that's her?" the other asked her companion.

"Yeah," the reply came.

In the corner of her eye, Assam saw a small bird land on a nearby hedge. She would have brushed it off had not the bird started chirping loudly, bringing unwanted attention with it.

"Positi- what's that noise?" one of the voices asked.

Both she and Rosemallow froze. If they let the bird continue it would betray their position and they could be discovered.

"Shut that bloody bird up or we'll get caught!" Rosemallow whispered to her, pushing something rough into her hand. In the near darkness, Assam was able to see a pebble into her hand, which her companion must have picked off the ground.

"You can't expect me to kill a bird!"

"It's either the bird or us. Look, you don't even have to hit it to shoo it away, as long as it lands within close proximity."

With the sound of footsteps coming closer, Assam made do with what little light she had to aim and threw the little projectile. The pebble flew across the air, before striking the bush the bird was on, sending it flying off to the night.

"Superb shot!" Rosemallow cheered her on, readjusting her stance to avoid getting dirt on her slippers.

With the bird's traitorous song over, Assam was able to focus on eavesdropping again, managing to catch the tail end of the conversation.

"-yes, I'm sure she's the one who made me lose my leg."

"Fear nought, fate has given us the opportunity to serve out vengeance on the fool who cost you your leg."

Leg….. Wait a minute!

Assam listened more carefully and she could hear a consistent mechanical tap… something she had only heard earlier this evening. One of the souls out there was Laune!

She tapped the shoulder of Rosemallow and whispered, "Ey, I think Laune's one of the people out there."

"Gloriana almighty! I think you're right! How did she lose her leg?"

"She told me it was in an accident, you think Rosehip is somehow involved?"

Rosemallow shook her head, "Rosehip may be the devil incarnate when it comes to all things speedy, but she'd never hurt anyone, not even by accident."

Before Assam could reply, the two persons they were listening on began to talk again and she kept her mouth shut.

"Is the package in place?"

"Aye, it's in the safehouse waiting to be opened."

"Colour me impressed, I didn't think they would deliver,"

"But how would we do it though? Poisoning her drink?"

She and Rosemallow shared a look of horror as the two of them realized the gravity of the conversation they were overhearing, but before they could hear more, Laune and her companion walked out of earshot.

"That's it, I have to see who the other one is," Rosemallow said out and lifted her head slightly above the shrubbery.

"What do you see?" Assam asked her, anxious that two heads poking out of a bush would arouse more suspicion than a single one.

"They're walking away, but I see a redhead next to Laune," Rosemallow simply replied.

"That doesn't narrow it down one bit, redheads are dime a dozen here," Assam replied. If the proportions in a bar with just over two dozen people were to be believed, she shuddered at the thought of how many are there in the entire school.

"She's a bit tall," Rosemallow, who was ironically a redhead herself, added.

"Is it Clare?" Assam thought about the girl's warning and how ironic would it be if she should be the one who they had to be wary about.

Rosemallow shot this down, "No, the hair colour is different, fiery red, and oh, she's wearing a party hat."

"It's Erne then-" she asked, remembering the expressions made by the celebrant and that teacup…. "-does she look drunk or anything?" Assam prodded on, getting impatient from all the hiding,

"Not quite, the coast is clear, by the way. You can stand up now."

"But that's impossible, the last time we saw her, she was drunk as a lord, to the point that her sister and Laune had to carry her out. Unless she was acting…." Assam stood up and checked if her dress was dirtied or ripped, delighted to find neither.

"Might be, let's get the hell out of here and head back. Rosehip still has a duel to win tomorrow," Rosemallow laughed, before taking the lead on the return leg, making sure to check the corners lest they bumped into the other pair again.

The thought that crossed her mind, which she took with her to bed, probably best described the night that had just taken place.

Words come easily in the dark, daylight might tell another tale.

Author's Note: It's been a while, am I right? Thought I would have more free time during the lockdown but it was quite the opposite since I procrastinated more and until life managed to catch up to me. I can't make any promises when the next update will be, because the last time I did, I failed to fulfil it by a longshot. Anyways, that's enough drama from me. As always, special thanks to the same lot, Sharky, Galilool, Rihno, Shrimpy, Monty and many others I have forgotten. Until next time, cheerio!