Once the British soldiers knew they had the prisoners secured they began to carry them back toward the road. Deryn noticed that a few of them still had their rifles aimed at her, but not at Alek, which was a bit surprising. Then she remembered that she had killed a man no more than fifteen minutes ago.
Her mind replayed visions of the gunshot, the blood and the body lying unconscious across the floor. It was terrifying to think that within a split second she had aimed the pistol, pulled the trigger and ended the life of another human being.
The bastard deserved it! She reminded herself. But that didn't make her feel any better.
They reached the road and the men hefted both her and Alek into a horse drawn carriage. The door was shut and she looked across from her to see a guard with another rifle already seated. The man didn't speak to them, just looked at them silently and sternly.
There was a brief shout and the cart began to move slowly down the road. They sat in quiet for a few minutes, listening to the clip clop of the horses before she took the liberty to break the silence.
"How's your hip?" She asked Alek, remembering his new injury.
"Fine." He said, grinning at her. But the smile didn't fully reach his eyes and she could see him hiding a wince.
"You're an awful liar." She mumbled.
"You look lovely tonight, Miss Sharp." He was obviously changing the subject, but she took the compliment with a blush.
"Why thank you, you're highness." She inclined her head in a small bow and spoke with the most posh accent she could muster. "You look quite handsome yourself." Which was very true, Alek looked downright adorable in his prince outfit. She felt foolish saying so, so she punched him in the arm. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw the guard laugh.
"I especially appreciate the jewelry." Alek continued. "It's very sparkly. I would normally have thought it too much for someone of your status, but you pull it off nicely."
"Ach! The diamonds!" She grabbed for her ears and snapped off the earrings. "They're Elsie's! I was going to give them back, but during that whole barking mess I completely forgot!"
"I'm sure she won't mind." Alek replied.
"What! You really are a daft spoiled prince! They're barking DIAMONDS, Alek! Just one of these clart earrings could pay for an entire house!" It was a bit of an exaggeration, but she needed to emphasize her point.
"That's why I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Alek said. This time when he grinned it twinkled in his emerald eyes.
Realization dawned on her. Had Elsie given up the diamonds to pay Deryn? But pay her for what, helping her escape from Japan? But that was mainly Elsie's own doing and Deryn for some reason had a strong aversion to Elsie's flight back to Germany. Now she felt even guiltier due to the added bonus of the jewelry.
"Hang on a minute." Alek muttered. He reached for one of the necklaces and Deryn saw him fingering the cameo. She snatched it off her neck and handed to him so he could get a better look. "This was my mother's."
"Huh? But Elsie said it was her grandmother's." Deryn had remembered that detail clearly. The ivory carved portrait cameo was her favorite of the pieces.
Alek nodded. "It was. Elsie's grandmother was my father's aunt."
Barking disgusting. Images of Alek and Elsie having flipper children came to mind.
"This was a wedding gift that she gave to my mother." Alek continued. He was frowning down at the necklace and didn't seem to realize that he was still talking. "I never thought I'd see it again. Elsie dared me to take it from my mother's jewelry box years ago. I didn't think she'd keep it."
Deryn scrunched up her eyebrows. "Do you think she made me wear it on purpose?"
Alek only shrugged, but continued to hold the charm in his fingers.
The rest of the trip was held in silence. Deryn watched the streets of Tokyo slowly drift past and wondered where they were headed. It was too frightening to think of what might happen next so she filled her mind with nothingness and focused on the lights and buildings of the city.
Familiar images flashed past and Deryn recognized a sea port and several docks. Ships were in the harbor, and above them she saw the Leviathan floating lazily in the sky. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the airship, even if she may never fly again.
The guard opened the doors of the buggy and ushered them out with the point of his gun. There was a ramp leading from the ground to the gondola on the Leviathan and Deryn could make out a handful of figures waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp.
They were pushed toward the ramp and greeted solemnly by Captain Hobbes and several other officers. She stepped forward nervously, expecting them to berate her, but they shoved her toward a pair of mean looking riggers who yanked her up the ramp and on to the gondola. When she glanced behind her, she saw that the Captain was in deep conversation with Alek, who looked suddenly very frightened.
"Hang on a squick, what's going on here?" She shouted, but the riggers didn't answer her. "What are they doing with Alek?" Again, no answer.
Once inside the gondola the men slowed their pace a bit but still held firmly onto her forearms. She continued to yell questions at them without any reply back. This was incredibly annoying since she recognized them and was pretty sure she had worked a watch or two with one of them at least.
They lead her to her cabin and threw her inside before slamming the door and locking it from the outside. She instantly was at the doorknob, pulling and banging but it was no use. They had locked her in with a strong fabricated wooden bar that was as tough as steel but actually a living branch. It was already weaving itself between the door handle and the wall.
Annoyed and exhausted she paced over to her cot and stretched out on the mattress. Her eyes were wet with anger and fear.
Luckily she had gotten Alek out of the palace and he wouldn't be executed, but they weren't making the romantic escape to Switzerland like she had planned. Images of her flying across the country in a chopper, Alek's arms wrapped tight around her, were replaced with Captain Hobbes angrily booting her off the ship. Alek would be taken as prisoner by the British Empire and she would be sent back to Glasgow, where she would never see him again.
Hot tears of rage flooded down her face but she quickly wiped them away. Instead she stood up and examined her room. Someone had been through her things since she was gone. Her clothing had been ruffled through and lay strewn across the floor. Her trunk was opened and flipped around. She went to examine closer and was glad to see that nothing had been taken. The sketch book was still intact, although rifled through, and her small amount of money was still there. She felt a squint of pain when she looked beside the trunk and saw her da's Medal of Honor hastily tossed on the floor. She had kept it in under her pillow, and never expected that anyone would find it there. Gently, she retrieved the medal and returned it back to its proper place under her pillow. She was happy to find that her own medal she had won for saving Newkirk was still there. Together they glimmered in the glowworm light, one old and one new.
She sighed and began to remove the diamonds that Elsie had given to her. Alek was right, she was wearing an awful lot of them. Including the ones in her hair she counted 23 stones in all. It didn't make her any happier though.
Gradually she removed the dress and slipped into her old middie clothes. It felt wonderful to be back in pants again.
Outside her door she could hear the occasional whimper of a hydrogen sniffer, or the footsteps of a nearby crewman, otherwise it sounded as though the majority of the airship had gone to bed. She yawned and pulled down the covers before slowly climbing into bed.
Despite the horrific events of the night she really wanted to go to sleep. Her eyes fluttered closed and she wondered whether Alek would be allowed to sleep in his own cabin tonight as well. A memory of him complementing her in the carriage brought one last grin to Deryn's face before she finally fell asleep.