Audience of One

Chapter Ten

Beatrix stepped beneath a canvas awning, swiping her frizzy damp hair from the frame of her face. Across the glistening cobblestone path, Steiner took refuge beside a fish vendor who was busy plucking scales off his catch. Further down, Freya positioned herself near a gathering of barrels filled with pickled vegetables ready for export to Lindblum. She was uncaring of the rain sliding off her silken Dragoon coat. The ports were just a few meters beyond her. The docks were wide and sprawling with several ships. It was quite busy as well. Some stacks of the boats were already puffing dark, chalky plumes of smoke, ready to set sail the moment cargo and its passengers were on deck. The docks were busy and loud with the sound of hustling feet and dragging of travel trunks. Babies wailed and young children ran around rambunctiously, flailing through women's skirts and sending men windmilling. Eiko stepped amongst the crowd wearing a dark purple velvet cloak. Her boots splashed through the accumulating puddles. The hood dangled over her eyes as she glanced through the throngs of people. She made fleeting eye contact with Liam, who donned a black cotton cloak. His face was pensive, his dark eyes darting everywhere. She then turned away, walking the length of the docks, looking at each ship.

"The main goal of this objective is mostly setting eyes on Dagger," Freya had said just hours before. "We have to see her first to start formulating the real plan. We have to know what's on her mind."

"I'm sorry, ma'am!" A Burmecian man piped up, rousing Eiko's attention. He was wearing a navy blue outfit with pristine gold buttons. "Your ticket clearly states that two travel trunks are the maximum. This is not an ocean liner, you see that, yes?"

Eiko tugged at her soggy hood and turned back around to inspect the boats once again. None of them looked like ocean liners. Some only looked fit for short inner-coastal trips. Part of the young lady thought they were being duped by the man in the countryside. A populous dock with lots of movement when trying to be incognito? None of the charters getting remotely close to the Outer Continent? Eiko pursed her lips as she steered herself around a tired mother trying to herd her six children together for lice check. What was Dagger's plan? She knew Fossil Roo was the best way there with the Blue Narciss now out of commission. Maybe she didn't remember the way. But this plan seemed far more outlandish than navigating through a dank mine. Eiko paused to look at the back of a gleaming ship that had Treno's coat of arms on it. The people lined up going through customs seemed ready for the jazzy nightlife as they wore silks and frilly laces. Liam appeared beside her, shifting his hood back a bit. His dark curly hair clung against his wet skin.

"No sign?"

Eiko shook her head. "Nothing."

"Perhaps we're too late?"

"No," Eiko turned her bright eyes on him. "We're right on time. See the docks are full? They've only just gone into service. We just have to keep wandering around. If Dagger's taking one of these ships, we have to make sure we know which one."

"Well, then," Liam shrugged. "Which one was the educational liner Freya was talking about?"

Eiko glanced up and down the dock before she paused, staring at the far end. "I'd wager that one with all the young children. They're wearing matching uniforms." She looked back to Liam. "You stay on this end. I'll be down here."

Liam watched the nine year old silently stalk away. For being so young, she sure was good at giving directions. Liam tugged his hood forward again, watching a couple bicker over the weight of their trunks. Maybe it only felt that way since in the past week, Liam had found himself growing more and more direction-less by the day. He wasn't quite sure what the hell he was doing any longer and the future had fogged over in a way that frightened him. He had never in his life found himself in a lurch of question. Liam had always been afforded opportunity after opportunity, advancing through stage after stage. But he was listless now and felt he was at the mercy of the universe. Could he be forgiven? He wanted to ask for forgiveness, but he didn't know where to start. All Liam wanted was to hear Garnet's voice again. He turned and began back up the docks, noticing Freya checking a pocket watch a few paces off. She gave Liam a curt nod, glancing back up the alleyway at where Steiner and Beatrix pressed themselves to the walls. It wasn't the only walkway to the ship, but it was the most commonly used.

"What's up Dagger's sleeve is the true motivation of our plan," Freya had continued. "Whatever boat she chooses, it's up to us to decide why she'd pick it. These ships are not designed for outer-sea exploration. I imagine Dagger knows of this through her royal peace treaties with the Burmecian authorities. We need eyes everywhere, even if we don't confront her initially. Everyone needs to bring their papers with them just in case someone has to board a ship."

Eiko stood in the near middle of the docks, watching the line of children be accounted for by the teacher. They seemed excited in their matching little yellow smocks and gray coats. If it was a boat for school trips, would the Master of Arms even allow for a woman such as Garnet to board with them? A human, nonetheless, who was still treated with caution in the wake of the Mist Wars. It all seemed so far fetched to Eiko. A ship with a Lindblum coat of arms bellowed loudly, the first to do so. Eiko's head snapped over her shoulders as she saw the dock crew wave signal flags and just moments later, the gears began to churn and the boat made lapping wakes against the dock as it set to sea. Eiko watched it intensely, her brow furrowed, before the teacher's voice had her looking the other direction.

"Children! Children, listen up!" She announced, raising her arms at her side. "I know we have all been looking forward to seeing the islets of Northern Alexandria, but let us not forget our manners or the privilege of being aboard this vessel. By the time we arrive, we'll be able to see the Castle of Alexandria, a large structure, lit up on the mountains edge. Now, let us be patient. It will still be a few more minutes before we can board."

The boat was going north. By the amount of small islands surrounded by rocks on the outskirts, the ship would have to take a wide curve out to sea before arriving at the inlet of the Mist Continent. Eiko's eyes darted everywhere for a moment before she turned. Her boots met the cobblestone path and she walked briskly, enough to blow her hood back onto her shoulders. Immediately, her braided purple hair was flattened, strands sticking against her cheeks. She approached a travel station kiosk beside a gathering of barrels protected beneath a sloped metal awning. She reached for the Alexandrian tour pamphlet and thumbed through it until she found a detailed map.

"It's going to the Isles of Alexandria," Eiko said. A moment later, Freya appeared beside the board of travel information.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that. Usually it stops short at the bay a few miles off of Evil Forest," Freya replied, looking down at the glossy reading in Eiko's hands. "That's a hard course to navigate when the dock is only operating in afternoons."

"That means they'll take a wider trajectory," Eiko looked up to Freya, dribbles of rain falling from her hair.

"They'd still be more than fifty miles from the Outer Continent shoreline," Freya shook her head. "Dagger can't swim that far."

"It's a tourist ship, Freya."

Another boat let out a long and loud bellow as it announced it's departure. Freya looked up and across the dock, her eyes falling on the last ship at the end with the gaggle of students waiting for adventure. "You aren't suggesting…" When she looked back to the young girl, though, her eyes were quite serious. "They're not going to let her on the boat. This isn't an adult educational trip. It's one for children."

"Well, that's what I thought, too," Eiko shrugged, replacing the pamphlet back in its holster. She then turned to watch the dock with Freya. "But if Dagger's planning what I'm thinking, she might be crazy enough to try."

…

Garnet paused just a few blocks off from the Burmecian docks. Because Claire and Nina lived on the far eastern side, she was relieved the fastest route was one of back alleys. A peculiar feeling was resting in the pit of her stomach as she nervously gripped her rucksack straps tightly. She rocked back and forth in her boots, watching as the two Cleyran girls stopped to look at some scarves. Her eyes then darted everywhere. The alleyway was protected by hand built pergolas that only allowed the faintest dribbling of water to fall through the ceiling of ivy's left to grow wild. Garnet watched as around her, everyone continued on with their normal lives. Normal. Garnet had sealed herself a fate that was never to experience that again. She stewed within herself, holding firm to all her decisions. She didn't care about the bruises or the scars. It wasn't about her anymore and she had to keep reminding herself of that. She was so close to embarking, finally, onto what she sought so desperately. Garnet would be relieved the moment her feet left land. She watched anxiously as people flitted past, carrying heavy backpacks or dragging travel trunks. Where were they going, she wondered. Perhaps people thought the same when they looked to the rather out of place girl.

"Dagger," she was startled in the next moment as Nina drew her from her thoughts. The sister's stood shoulder to shoulder with the largest grins on their face. "You're about to be off on your grand journey, letting the wind blow you in all directions. Claire and I thought it was only suiting to give you a departure gift; one of which every lady should travel with."

Excitedly, Claire thrust forward a beautiful silken head scarf. It had large blocks of extraordinary orange fabrics, accented by lilies of the valley and yellow paintbrush flowers. "For… me?" Garnet asked hesitantly, taken the divine fabric into her hands.

"Of course! It will keep your hair clean!" Claire told her. "Here, put your hair into a bun, I'll tie it on. The tight quarters of those ships do otherworldly things to a girl's hair."

Garnet turned around and began looping her thick onyx hair into a tight coil against the nape of her neck. As Claire and Nina worked together to situate it appropriately, Garnet's eyes traveled down the long winding alleyway, seeing the outer edge of the busy docks. She smiled in that moment. Perhaps the scarf would help give her a bit more anonymity amongst the crowds. She was certain no one would recognize who she was. But, still, that anxious feeling inside of her threatened to tear her apart. Claire finished tightening the knot at the nape of her neck and the two sister's stood back in great anticipation as Garnet turned to them. A few onyx locks fell to frame her rosy face and they squealed with delight.

"Orange suits you so well with your dark features and olive complexion," Claire gushed, looping elbows with her sister.

Garnet gently ran her hand along the new head covering, smiling rather shyly. "This is such a grand gift. I… I don't know what to say."

"Well, then, don't say anything at all!" Claire replied brightly. "Just stand there and look beautiful in it!"

"Actually, you should walk and be beautiful in it," Nina said, pulling a silver pocket watch from inside her vest. "You should get a move on to the docks before the boats fill up."

"You're right," Garnet nodded, glancing to see a rather pomp and pristine woman fixing her make up as she passed, a thin young boy strapped with all the luggage behind her. "Claire, Nina, I cannot thank you enough for all you've done. I don't know what would have become of me if I had been left to my own devices. Perhaps, one day, our paths will cross again."

"Until Cleyra is ever regrown and rebuilt, you'll know where to find us," Nina grinned modestly. "Just make sure a doctor has those stitches removed in the next five days. You don't want to get a nasty infection."

"Of course, of course," Garnet began backing away, holding her hand up. Distantly another boat sounded across the wet city. "Thank you for everything."

"We hope you find what you're looking for!" Claire waved her arms excitedly. "Do try to write! My full name is Claire St. Cloud!"

"Quite the name," Garnet grinned once more before she turned completely away from them. The smile quickly dissipated and she let out a hefty sigh as she continued down the alleyway, squeezing through the throngs of people as the tip of her scarf glanced the surface of her neck. She came to an abrupt stop at the end of the pergola, just on the edge of the pounding rain. A handful of ships remained on the docks and they were abuzz with large gathered crowds attempting to score a place on the boats. Garnet stared straight ahead, though, at the tallest ship, sporting multiple tiers of windows and bunks. Droplets of rain fell from the structure above her, skiing down her cheeks as she looked at the line of awaiting school children. As Garnet turned her head, she gasped sharply, and backpedaled quickly, turning to face a stand of vegetables. Garnet reached for a head of lettuce and inspected the somewhat wilted leaves, her heart thundering in her chest. Were her eyes deceiving her? Cautiously, she looked over her shoulder and just as fast looked away. No, they were not. There was Eiko walking paces about on the docks. Garnet set the lettuce down, turning to face back up the alleyway again. "Shit…" she muttered to herself. The anxiety in the pit of her stomach was manifesting.

Why couldn't they just leave her be? Garnet bit down on her tongue as her face grew hot with frustration. You're the Queen, you imbecile. You can't just abdicate a throne without question. Garnet's dark eyes darted everywhere. Watch me. If Eiko was there, then certainly she wasn't the only one. Freya probably had eyes and ears everywhere. She looked down. She was wearing unfamiliar clothing, at least. Quickly, she straightened the scarf, tugging it forward to overlap the frame of her face. Maybe she could easily blend in, change the gait of her walk, hunch her shoulders. A man brushed past, checking her shoulder and Garnet sighed. Who was she kidding? These people knew her best. And Garnet was no good at changing her innate mannerisms. She wiped at the mist on her face. She desperately needed to take the largest ship at the docks. That one would have more liberty to drift further into the ocean, giving her an advantage. She'd sleep under a dock to avoid them that day if she had to. But was it even promised that ship would be departing tomorrow? The frustration once again flared inside of her. Damn it all, she wanted to yell. Curses to every god in that universe. Garnet's hands balled into fists, tilting a bit to see Eiko still standing there, letting the rain pelt her. As Garnet's frazzled mind decided on a plan of action, her ears pricked at the sound of janky wooden cart wheels rolling her way. Garnet glanced up the alleyway to see an older man pulling a large wagon, stacked with an abundance of luggage.

"'Scuse me," his ragged, chain-smoking voice rattled out. "Time sensitive delivery, it's for the children, excuse me."

Garnet looked at the line of students again, her eyes drifting to the side. At the end of the docks was a slope leading down to an uneven platform where the large ship had a ramp leading into the bottom storage of it. She was motionless for a beat as the cart came closer to her. It was her only shot. She stepped from his path and grinned politely before she began walking in pace with it. The trunks were lumped together in one large pile in the wagon. Garnet was completely hidden behind it. Her heart was thumping in her chest as she kept her pace even with it. The wagon halted for a minute as the man struggled to pull it through the short bit of mud to get it onto the dock. Garnet stood absolutely still, her fingers curling against the grainy wood of the wagon, hopeful Eiko would not come a step closer. After a beat, he was able to grind through the muck and onto the dock. With the wagon, Garnet disappeared around the large stern, blocking the view of the dock completely. From the other side, the man began pulling luggage down and loudly clattering it on the dock for hauling. Garnet appeared from where she perched, reaching to grab a leather suitcase from him and place it with the rest. He paused and furrowed his brow.

"Who're you?" He asked, tilting his cap up. He glanced up and down at her. "The nurse?"

"The nurse, yes," Garnet replied, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. "I am employed by the travel company."

"They make you load the luggage?"

"Well, not exactly," Garnet's mouth was growing dry and she was certain her face was flushed. To busy herself, she reached for the next trunk and set it on the dock. "I just could not remember if I left my trunk in the right spot for pick up by you. Just wanted to check. It has all my equipment in it, sir."

"If you left it in the front foyer of the Montessori, I assure you, I got it, miss," he told her, touching her arm to stop her. "You should go up to the cabins and get situated. If you haven't met these children, I can tell you you're in for several cases of sea sickness, scraped knees, and concussions." He smiled and Garnet forced herself to laugh politely.

Garnet clucked her tongue and folded her hands in front of her as the rain ran off the silky scarf over her head. "Well, is there a way up from the storage? I don't want to upset the children by getting on first. They have been waiting the longest, anyway."

"Sure," he cast her a puzzled glance that just about made the blood sink to the bottom of her body. "Take a right. Far end, there's a ladder up to D Block."

"Thank you, sir," Garnet nodded to him. "And thank you for bringing all the luggage."

She was quick to cross the narrow board over the murky water of the dock. Her boots echoed and her breathing shallowed as she slipped through the massive storage room. She was certain they could fit an air cab down there. She blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted and she held her hands out, skimming large crates of food, bedding, and linen. Finally she found the far wall. She walked up and down its length until her hands curled around the familiar feeling of a cool, steel ladder. Garnet glanced over her shoulder as the deck crew was appearing at the entrance, funneling all the luggage in. Quickly, she scampered up and with all her might, turned the large wheel at the top and pushed upward, emerging in a narrow corridor with the ugliest carpet she had ever seen before. Garnet looked up and down the hallway before she scurried in and carefully closed the hatch, wheeling it back into its locked position. She remained on her knees for a few beats, pressing her palms against the thin, ragged carpet. After a moment, she couldn't help but smile. But that dissipated quickly as she came to her feet, cautiously wandering the hallways. The ship was a maze. She paused at a sign pointing towards the stairs to C Block. Such a massive boat. Surely the students would be staying in the Blocks closer to the deck. Garnet stopped at the base of the steps and looked up. Her knees felt a bit weak as she climbed them and emerged on the next floor. The walls were a bit nicer and the carpet less thin. Garnet again found herself looking around. As she went around a corner, she ran straight into a maid scurrying with freshly laundered linens.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Garnet knelt down, helping her quickly bundle them all back up again.

"We are behind schedule!" The maid cursed, hugging the thick sheets against her body. As they stood up, the busy woman couldn't help but stop and furrow her brow, staring intently at Garnet's somewhat pale face. "Who are you?"

"The… the nurse," Garnet ran her palms against her slacks and then offered a hand. But, lamely, she lowered it when she realized the maid's were too full to shake.

"But the nurse is already here, I swear I just saw her," the maid said, craning her neck to glance towards the nearby stairs to B Block. Her dark eyes then returned to scrutinizing Garnet before she sighed and shifted the weight between her feet, shaking her head. "You must be from the Alexandrian Travel Company, huh? I swear, every time we're trying to take our children to see the Islets of Alexandria, they must send a representative. It's as if they think we're looking for disaster card to play against them. We can take care of our children, do you know that? And ourselves, as far as the matter is concerned."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I have no doubt," Garnet squared her shoulders, trying to portray herself confidently. "I am just doing my job, it is my family's livelihood. I will stay out of the way as much as possible."

The maid tilted her head for a moment, adjusting the laundry against her thin body. "I'd say you're already more well-mannered than the last Alexandrian nurse we had aboard. I hope even more competent." And with that, she brushed by in a frazzled rush to finish the student's cabins before they boarded.

Garnet deflated after that, falling against the cool wall behind her. She adjusted the silk scarf on her head. Her heart was still pounding, her hands shaking. Sweat had replaced the rain on her face. As she worked on calming herself down, she kept reminding herself that she had done it. She had successfully boarded a ship without detection. But a new fear was filling her insides. Garnet's eyes darted up the stairs leading to B Block. What if the Alexandrian Travel Company sent a real nurse? Garnet had no credentials to provide. And it would only worsen relations between the two nations if the crew perceived it as Alexandria sending double coverage for what seemed to be a simply school excursion. Garnet bit down on her lip and shook her head. It would work out, she told herself. She could disappear in the blink of an eye on a ship of that magnitude. But it wouldn't come to that. Garnet shook her head as she evened her breathing out. She had been a queen for gods sake. Surely she could talk herself out of anything.

…

The miserably wet, frustrated, and confused team of Eiko, Freya, Liam, Beatrix, and Steiner watched as the final ship, now fully boarded with school children, blew it's horn and departed from the docks with plumes of dark smoke following its white capped waves. Eiko drew her hood back, uncaring of the rain any longer. She was chilled to the bone, but she didn't think of that at all. Her light blue eyes were surrounded by darkness as she watched the last ship steam out to sea. She then, with all the others, turned to face Freya. The Burmecian pursed her lips and sighed coarsely, rubbing at her temples. Not a single glance of her. Not even the most minuscule of clues that Garnet was or had been in Burmecia. Where could she have gone?

"I just don't get it," Steiner was the first to lament as the rain pounded onto his tinny armor. "People don't just disappear but here Her Majesty is without a trace."

"Freya, you have to think," Eiko said. "Go far and deep into your mind, back when you were in that man's cabin. Remember the scene. What are we overlooking?"

"How could that help?" Freya was agitated as she looked to the young lady. "It's not like she wrote on the wall in chalk 'Hey, Freya, I'm heading northwest!'!"

"No, but little details that could help us," Eiko pushed, strands of her hair plastered across her round cheekbones. "You said she used a fork or something to break out of the shackles. Then she broke a window. Did you notice anything?"

"Like what?!" Her patience was wearing thin. Eiko didn't even react to the raised voice.

"Did you see blood?" She asked after a few beats of just listening to the rain around them. "I sincerely doubt anyone in a hurry could scamper out a broken window without cutting themselves."

Freya's eyes darted everywhere for a moment before she put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, there was some blood."

"Then who is to say Dagger even made it?" Eiko held her arms out at her side.

"I thought you could see through Dagger's eyes?" Beatrix furrowed her brow.

"It's not every night," Eiko told her with no rhythm to her voice. "And sometimes, it doesn't make any sense at all. It's just snippets. I've seen forests the past few days but I just can't make right or left."

"So Garnet may be in the lands surrounding Burmecia?" Liam asked, somewhat hesitantly, as if he didn't even want to know the answer.

"Nothing can be ruled out," Steiner shook his head. "We must start looking immediately. Her Majesty could be gravely injured… or… or bleeding out!"

"Calm down," Freya glanced to him before she heaved a sigh. "We need supplies if we're going out into a field search. We'll take the Dart Ship but to Alexandria and plan our routes from there. If Dagger is injured, she won't get far at all."

Quietly, Eiko looked over her shoulder, watching the educational boat charter around the curve of the Burmecian coast. She pursed her lips, her mind fuzzy. The young girl didn't know if she was thinking straight or making the right conclusions.

Dagger, please. We want to help you. We won't judge you. And I promise, I won't let them stop you.

7