Ch. 31
I made it to the storage room early and shoved the little forgotten things that littered the floor against the walls. My rounds were done and reported, and my daggers were properly sharpened. All affairs that would need me were taken care of, and now I only had to think of the fight.
Even that, however, became hard to do. Apparently, I had given too much time to preparations, and had a lot of time to spare. With a sigh, I sat on one of the tiny sealed boxes and pulled out one of my daggers. Fingering it lightly, I let my mind wander as I sat. Last night, Henry had held me for so long I had almost fallen into a most comfortable sleep. We began to sway, and jerked as we fell back. Henry had steadied us, and directed me to the chairs. He laid me against the longer one gently, and perched in a shorter one close by.
We did not speak after that, but sat together in a comfortable silence. The sea continued its roaring steadily though the waves as the Nautilus cut through the sea, and the wind whipped my hair across my face. I lay within my seat and enjoyed the mere presence of Henry, while he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. I wondered if Edward could still see me, but thought better than to disturb such a comfortable situation by asking.
We both fell asleep under the black sky, and when I woke, I found that Henry had fallen to the floor, with his head nestled in my lap. It did not even shock me to see his there, and I pet his hair softly. Absentmindedly I curled my fingers in his short hair as I stared out into the inky blackness that surrounded us.
Eventually, he stirred. I do believe he was too drowsy to comprehend the compromising position we were in, and so I made no attempt to enlighten him to the truth of the matter. I simply helped him to stand, and lead him to his room. He must have still been half-asleep, for he kissed my hand when we parted ways, and I retreated to my quarters with a grin…
The door to the storage room opened, and Prabir's ghastly form filled the doorway. He gave me one of his oh-so-charming half smiles and shut the door behind him. In his left hand, he held a wooden harpoon, and I winced at the site of it. Of course he would know I would use my daggers, no wonder he chose a long-range weapon.
He must have caught my wince, for his smile grew, and he stepped forward. "Afternoon, dear Marina. I hope you're well?" He said, as though we were good friends and this was a surprise meeting at a café. I bristled at his words, which only served to expand his smile.
"I have a few changes to make to our wager,' he told me, and he finally grinned fully. It seemed to be an omen of misfortune. For his whole being radiated unknown and unattainable knowledge. The knowledge that he would win.
With apprehension I sighed, "The agreement has already been agreed upon!" I signed to him irritably. He merely tilted his head in an amused fashion, "You forget dear, that I hold the ace in this game, and unless you want your secret revealed, we play my way." I could do nothing but glare, for he had me trapped, and he grinned and went on to explain his new terms in full:
"This time, we're not fighting to knock away each others weapons. We'll fight for exactly five minutes, and whoever has the most cuts at the end will ultimately lose," he finished his explanation with his signature half-grin, and I stared at him in shock.
"So it is a fight for blood," I signed, almost in disbelief. If one of us slipped, then the other might-
"-Almost. No serious injuries though. I have no wish to die by your means, or the crews, should I harm you too brutally," he told me, and I nodded. He would be worried about his own hide, even if I would be the one to get hurt.
Hide, Hyde, ha ha.
No time for amusements! I chastised myself. "How will we know when time is up?" I asked, frowning at him. Did he expect me to keep count in my head? He grinned most menacingly and said, "About time you asked." He turned and opened the door to the storage room. "You can come in now," he said to someone I could not see.
I gasped in horror when I saw him.
Low. Lower than the dirt on the ground. How could he live with himself? How could he face the waking day?
Henry looked at me in confusion as I glared at the grinning Prabir. What a low down dirty trick! I continued to fume, even as Henry asked, 'whatever was the matter?' with me. Prabir gave a small laugh and said, "She was merely caught off guard, nothing else," he told him, lying a hand on his shoulder.
Knowing his disposition, I bristled at his touch on Henry's coat. Unknown to Prabir of my knowledge, he smirked in a superior way and said, "Don't worry dear, I've told him of our friendly wager. He knows it's just for fun, and he's agreed to time us."
Let me translate that: "I've lied to him and given him a completely ridiculous and obscure motive for why an engaged couple would be fighting, which was plausible enough that he agreed to do this for us. I have not told him your secret yet, so do not fear. However, should you at any time slip up or displease me in anyway, do not think for one second that I will not tell Henry your secret!"
I sighed in defeat. What could I possibly do with Henry standing right there and Prabir almost eager to tell my secret? I nodded and took my place at the far right side of the room. Leaning down quickly I pulled out my second dagger from my boot and did a few slashes for prep. Prabir had taken his place across from me and he grinned, holding his spear in a defensive position. Talk about unfair advantages. If he had not been using it against me, I would most probably have praised his brilliance. Long range against short range when the object was to cut your opponent.
I had underestimated him.
"When you're ready, doctor," Prabir said, looking over at Henry with a friendly grin. It made my blood boil, now that I knew he fancied men, this was becoming unbearable. Every move he made towards Henry seemed to be a play for him.
Henry had moved into the center of the room between us, leaning against the back wall beside the door. He pulled out his pocket watch from his vest pocket and clicked it open, looking awkward. He waited ten seconds before saying, "Ready…" Another five seconds and he said, "Go!" and we began.
It took Prabir but half a second to charge me, and I reacted without thinking, blocking instinctually. Time seemed irrelevant as he attacked. There was little time to do more than dodge as Prabir stabbed at me with his spear. He had always given me the impression of someone who would not want to dirty his hand with anything unrefined. Very stupid to think that, since he too worked below, but still. He seemed not the type to know how to fight.
He could.
Using quick, refined movements, he started to try to force me into the corner to the storage room. That I could not let happen, lest I become completely submitted to his mercy. With a sudden, thoughtless kick, I knocked his spear away, and suffered a cut on my calf. It stung as I fell forward, and with fear, I slash his arm, trying to push him back. I succeeded in making a small cut on his arm as he stumbled backwards. In this game, size was irrelevant, and even a small cut counted. This made us tied in this little game.
Prabir realized this, and steadied his spear as he steadied himself. He lunged forward and tried once again to force me back. I knew his plan this time, and managed to evade him. With quick wit, the like of which truly only comes to me during the time of a fight, I managed to make another slash on his thigh. He drew back in pain, and circled, trying to get around me. He was favoring his other leg, and I feared I had slashed to deep. The fear was short lasted though, as he started his assault once more.
The five minutes were drawing quickly to a close. With one cut up on him, my chances for victory were all but confirmed. Prabir seemed to realize this, and the panic became evident throughout his whole body. His eyes widened, his jaw clenched, and his body and moves had become ridged. In my peripheral vision, I could just make out Henry staring intently at his pocket watch, ready to call time.
The best plan was to stay away and avoid his spear until time was called. However, Prabir's desperation seemed to have peaked, and he suddenly spun his spear and whacked my right arm with the blunt end of the stick. Had I a voice, I would have cried out from the pain of the hit. My arm smarted as my dagger clattered to the floor.
What kind of cheap endeavor was this? Was Prabir so desperate that he had to resort to dirty tricks such as these? It mattered not now, since I had the use of but one of my daggers. My chances for victory had been severely lowered. Indeed, using the blunt edge of his spear, he shoved me to the ground, knocking the wind from my breast. I gasped for breath as my right arm lay numb by my side and the hand that held my dagger did so limply in my lap.
Prabir smirked and lowered his spear. I tried vainly to move away, still gasping for breath, and his stepped on the part of my shirt that was spread across the ground. I struggled to push him off, and suddenly he stabbed down and cut y still numb right arm. It was enough to shock me from my haze, and my senses finally awoken. I kicked his legs from under him, and he fell to the ground holding his spear to his chest. I launched on top of him, ready to make as many cuts as I could on his face. I raised my dagger, and brought it down-
"-Time!" Henry called loudly, halting my dagger a breaths length from his cringing face. I pulled away and sheathed my dagger in my boot, standing up and away from his once more ridged body. He opened his eyes, and for some reason, he smirked. I raised my eyebrow in question. We had tied, making this whole endeavor now pointless. He sat up easily, and turned towards Henry.
"Thank you for your time doctor, you have been most helpful in settling our little bet," he grinned. Turning to me he said, "Have I confused you again, Marina dear?" he asked with a sly grin. I glared at him, "We tied, Prabir. Why do you look as though you've won?" I asked crossly. His smirk widened, "Exactly as you've said, Marina. We've tied. Nothing has changed," he told me, and I frowned sadly.
He was right. This was all for not, and I was still to be married to him. With a sigh, I picked up my dagger, which lay on the ground and sheathed it. I could not look at Henry, not when I was going to do something so foul. I walked to Prabir, and held out my hand. He took with a victorious smirk, and I helped him to his feet.
I did not release him, and I pulled him with me. Past Henry, out of the storage room, and lead us straight to the helm. I did not look at Prabir as we walked, and I avoided looking at any of the crew we passed. When we made it into the helm, everyone there seemed to stop and stare. Captain stared at me intently, and I pulled Prabir right in front of him, letting his hand go.
"What is this?" Captain asked, and I nodded to Prabir to explain. He started, "Well I believe Marina wanted me to tell you that-"I took a few steps back, and Prabir did not notice. I turned and gave a small smile, for there was a metal vase sitting on the column beside me. I chanced a glance at Prabir, who was adamantly trying to engage Captain, in no doubt nonsense about my 'happiness' in our engagement.
I pulled the flowers out of the vase and picked up the vase. Laying the flowers on the column, I turned back to Prabir and Captain. "In fact, she says she wants to-"I raised the base over my head without hesitation and slammed it into the back of his head. He fell instantly and I let the dented vase fall with him.
"Marina!" Captain called out in alarm. Had the room not been staring before, they definitely were now, and I smiled at Captain's shocked face.
"We have things to discuss, Captain Nemo," I told him. Turning to Taran I signed, "Go fetch Maitreya, and bring him here quickly." He nodded and scurried off. Captain stared at me in confusion, the crew in apprehension.
I simply smiled. I felt lighter and freer than I had in a long while. I felt I had finally cut the strings that bound me.
It was time for the puppet to become the puppeteer…