The Last Illusion

CHAPTER FIVE

"Melly?" Drake asked, pulling her out of her daydream. She whirled around, suddenly holding a sharp dagger in her right hand, aimed and ready.

Drake sank back down onto his bed, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." he said, worried lines playing over his face.

"Neither did I. maybe next time you won't sneak up on me." she hissed jumping back onto the top bunk with skill and grace of an assassin.

"I didn't sneak up on you... you just looked... upset." he replied softly. Melly heard but did not reply, usually she controlled those emotions well but they were beginning to bear down on her as they neared the place of her brother's death. While at the window her trained eyes even failed to see the hunched form of some cloaked figure, watching, waiting, on the edge of the village. The wraith disappeared as quickly as it had come, phase one of its mission complete.

A few faint rays of dusty sunlight poured in through the window. Melly opened one eye and then the other, taking in her surroundings. Most of the night was spent tossing and turning, fine-tuning her plans for once she reached.... well....

She rolled easily off the bed and landed noiselessly. She smirked as Drake snored, the shape under the blanket twitched in his sleep. "Wake up." she said roughly prodding him in the back. Drake sat up quickly, bonking his head on the top bunk. "Yow!" he muttered flopping back down again. "We don't have time, we have to get to the docks by this afternoon." Melly said prodding him again.

"Alright, alright, quit poking me." Drake said sleepily, ruffling his shaggy hair. "Why are we going to the docks?" he said stupidly, climbing out of bed.

"You don't think we'd swim to Cobran do you?" Melly said, a small smile playing across her face.

"Oh." Drake replied simply.

The two made their way through the streets, already crowded with mid-morning traffic. The dust had barely time to settle the night before and it was being stirred up again. Melly made a sudden turn and Drake stumbled in trying to keep up. "Melly, where is your sense of direction? The docks are that way." he said tapping her shoulder.

"I know that, Drake, we have to get passports, that or sign up to be sailors or something." Melly snapped shrugging his hand off her shoulder and continuing on. They entered a small faded blue shack that was in dire need of new paint, or something.

"Hey, you," Melly said spinning a small assistant boy around. "Yes? May I help you?" he asked meekly. "Yeah, we need to passports for the St Meriden, the ship headed to Cobran this afternoon. Oh yes, and we'll need one of the stalls on board for our horse." Melly said jingling a few coins in her pocket.

"Well, I'm sorry but the crew's full, and it's a merchant ship so there aren't any passenger cabins available, sorry, no room." he said turning back around and continued sweeping.

"No, there's room, it's a big ship, and you're going to sell us passports." she said spinning him around again.

"Well, I can't sell them to you anyways, I'm just the assistant."

The kid was beginning to dig his own grave without even knowing it. Melly rolled her eyes irritably, "Then go get whoever you work for." she said crossing her arms.

"Can't do that."

"Why not?" Melly asked advancing on the boy.

The boy stumbled back a step, "He's out sick."

"You worthless little.... never mind. Never mind ok? I'll just find out who he is and tell him you drove away two customers willing to pay twice the amount of the regular fare." Melly said slyly, turning to leave.

"No, no! I'll get in trouble then, St Meriden, you said? Yes ma'am." The boy scurried out of sight for a few moments in which Drake spent admiring Melly's ability to persuade anyone to do anything.

The boy returned shortly with two receipts in hand. "Here, take these to the captain, Lars is his name." That should do it." he said proudly, holding out his hand for pay. Melly glanced at his hand a moment.

"Half of the pay now, half later... if your job suits me." she said dropping three or four silver coins into his hands, having absolutely no intention of paying him back. "I trust our accommodations are worthy of living in," she said looking down her nose and rising up to her full height. For all her size, she was pretty intimidating. The boy nodded his head vigorously, "Yes, I've made sure of that, sign here please," he said holding out a grubby account book. "Right." Melly said slowly, scrawling the name Kristine. Drake smiled slyly over her shoulder then added his own signature, Taioh, under the scrawling of her alias.

Melly walked purposefully, trying to hide her anxiety. If there was any other way to reach Cobran, she would have gladly taken it; but for her brother, she could stand the dizzy fatigue of seasickness. If there was one thing, only one thing, Melly was really terrified of, it would, decidedly, be boats, or just the ocean or sea in general. She had incredible respect for the water. She hated the waves that broke, slapping gritty foam against the sand, the way the sand shifted underfoot with sea oats slapping against their shins. He sandaled feet were coated with the hot white sand by the time they reached the dock. Even Drake had noticed her apparent dislike, that was too bad, he thought to himself, he loved the ocean.

"Gimme your passport." she said reaching for the crinkled papers in his rough hands.

Drake squinted his eyes, "How long are we going to be on the boat?"

Melly winced visibly, too long, she thought. Sucking in a shaky breath she tried in vain to locate the captain of the St Meriden. The ship's blue and green pain paint and wood polish glistened in the sun, reflected also off the bottle green clear water. Unconsciously she checked the boat over, bow to stern, judging its dimensions and sturdiness. A fine piece of work, she finally concluded.

A tall, lean and lanky sailor swaggered slowly over, glancing Melly over and sizing Drake up. Annoyed, Melly let him approach. "Who's the captain?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"Who wants to know?" he replied teasingly, the corners of his green eyes crinkling with excitement. A smile played over his tan face.

"None of your business, I asked you a question, the polite thing to do would be to answer it." she replied challengingly.

"Feisty one 'ain't she?!" he nodded to Drake, "And she's a looker."

Drake’s face blanched of color, the guy had crossed the line. Oh boy, that was dumb. Melly looked to explode. Before she could even finger her dagger Drake had his arm around her. Drake glared at the sailor menacingly. The sailor smirked at Melly, obviously proud he'd managed to strike a nerve, and swaggered off.

"Get off me." Melly said emphasizing each syllable. "I've killed for less than that."

Drake knew; he obeyed. She knew he was only protecting her, and doing a good job of it so far. "Stay close to me." she commanded. Drake smiled to himself.

"And you would be the Captain?" Melly asked stiffly, so far judging by his choice of sailors he wasn't up to Melly's standards. He couldn't have much hope of pleasing her. The short stocky man in full uniform, complete with colorful decorations nodded and smiled, his handlebar mustache wiggling under his nose.

He took the passports, "Welcome aboard... erm..." he flipped them open, "Kristine and Taioh! Captain Lars, at your service. She sails at noon." he reminded, stalking off to gripe at some lazy sailors who were supposedly fixing some of the fishing nets.

Melly boarded the ship with Drake close at her side, locating their cabin. She swung open the thin little door and ducked inside. The wood floor was a little gritty with sand, but that was to be expected, the inside was painted a light blue with white trim, most of the furniture was a cream yellow. Ok, some points for his taste, she said surveying the nautical room. Despite the efforts to make it as homely as possible the only pieces of furniture were a tiny bed, a couch, a washstand with a porcelain pitcher resting on top, a tiny circular mirror, a small dresser and two crooked nails to hang stuff on.

"That's where you go." Melly said tossing Drake's stuff on the couch. He nodded, smiling and vaguely amused.

"Come on, I'm going swimming!" Drake said pulling her outside.

"You're serious." Melly stated making it a half question. Drake only dragged her off the boat, they had two hours she carefully noted, checking the sun's position in the blue sky.

Drake plunged carelessly into the water. "Your clothes!" Melly shrieked.

"They'll dry!" Drake shouted over the sound of the waves, shrugging. "C'mon in." he said, awkwardly trying to keep his balance as another waved crashed around him. His clothes hung limply, his shirt plastered to his broad chest, "I'll pass!" she yelled back.

Melly shook her head. Stop thinking. She ordered herself to look away. Drake threw himself into an incoming wave, Melly gasped in horror. Drake popped back up suddenly, catching the terrified look on Melly's pale face and laughing.

"Scared?" he asked teasingly.

"No." Melly retorted firmly. yes. "You better get out, that can't be good for your stomach." she warned. She turned and faced the wind, letting it whip her auburn hair around her shoulders.

“Salt water’s good for it, you and your medical expertise should know that.” Drake teased.

Noontime rolled around, unfolding a scene on board the ship, just setting sail. Melly sat on the edge of the bed; clenching a handful of sheets in her fists so tight it was turning her knuckles white, listening nervously to the creaks and groans of the ship. Drake suddenly burst through the door, finished waving to people seeing them off with the rest of the passengers. The boat lurched, easing into deeper water, Drake observed that she wasn't hiding her fear very well, she was noticeably tense, her eyes were clamped shut.

"You ok?" he asked ducking his head a little to see into her face, she looked a little green.

She jumped up quickly, a hand clamped on her mouth, desperation in her eyes.

"Oh." Drake said stupidly. In one long stride he crossed to room to her, grabbed her upper arms and led her outside to the railing. Most of the passengers had wandered off by now as she tossed her upper body over the railing, (along with what she had eaten that day,) while hanging onto the railing in a death grip. With one hand, Drake swept back her hair and held on to the rocking boat's railing with the other. Melly's eyes came back into focus and she pulled herself back up and over the railing, sliding in a heap on the ground a little color returning to her face.

"Thanks." she managed to squeak. She reluctantly threw an arm over Drake's shoulder as he led her back to the quiet cabin and into the little bed. He left momentarily and returned with a wet rag and a glass of water.

"Here." he said handing it to her, pushing a few damp hairs from her face. She only nodded her thanks and threw it over her face after rinsing her mouth out with the water. With one hand holding her stomach that felt shriveled and glued to her spine and her eyes closed, hiding in the crook of her elbow as her arm was draped over her face, she fell asleep. She slept uneasily until dawn of the next day. Her stomach was an empty pit and gurgled unhappily as she chewed of a few mint leaves.

Drake was draped over the back of the couch where he had fallen after staying up late fishing with some of the other passengers. Melly smirked and threw a blanket over him. He smiled slowly in his sleep. Fantasizing, most likely, she thought, amused.

She opened the tiny window to let in the sea breeze. A light mist sprayed her face as she watched the sunburned sailors tend their duties grudgingly. She could smell the briny salt smell in the breeze as it swished through her hair. She absentmindedly raked a comb through it, still staring out the window at nothing in particular.

Somewhere across the sea were her brother's killers, she was getting slightly antsy to get her revenge. Oh, she would have revenge. Of course she wouldn't just barrel in and begin a mass massacre, although the thought had crossed her mind. She would take time to find those responsible and terrorize them awhile before they all met a nasty end yet to be thought of. It had to be that way. It meant being a good sister, and it was the only closure she could have. Her fiery temper only kindled now, would erupt into a wildfire under her command, harnessed to do her bidding, her worst. Naturally, her self discipline (not to mention her reputation,) declined her the fun of just killing something, anything.

A face suddenly appeared at the window, scaring Melly out of her skin. A mouth with a row of shiny white teeth, green eyes with crinkles around the edges, the sailor. Melly considered slamming the window in his face. "What do you want." she asked, devoid of any emotion.

"I thought I remembered you, it's the eyes." he commented, still grinning. They're amber, so what. Melly wanted to slap that grin right off his unworthy face. He raised an eyebrow as if realizing her intentions but didn't step back. She happened to glance beyond him, spotting two buckets of saltwater.

"Hand me one of those buckets." he demanded. He turned and swaggered over, grabbing it with a lazy hand and pushed it carefully through the window with a curious glint in his eyes.

It was only half full, she noticed. She turned to Drake. She poured a thin, steady stream over his face and neck. He fell off the back of the couch with a dull thud. He scrambled to a standing position.

"Hey! Are you trying to drown me?!" he cried. The sailor laughed. "And you! You did nothing to stop her?!" he asked pushing a few strands of brown hair out of his eyes.

"What could I have done?" the sailor asked chortling still.

"And after I cleaned up after you!" Drake said turning back to Melly with mock indignation.

Oh yeah.... she vaguely remembered feeling queasy again late at night. Hmmmm Melly shrugged.

"You two act like an old married couple." the sailor said, green eyes twinkling.

Melly stiffened, "We're brother and sister. Who are you?" she said spinning on her heel to face him.

"I'm called Barry when sailing, Joe when I 'ain't." he drawled nonchalantly. Drake stuck his hand out the window to have it nearly shook out of it's socket. "Taioh." Drake said simply, confirming his alias, he had nearly said "Drake".

"How much would you give for your sister there?" Barry asked, grinning again. Melly was appalled and glared at Barry.

"Oh, Kristine? You don't want her." Drake said, a little defensively. Melly wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not so she just smiled and looked on amused.

"Why not?" Barry challenged.

"For reasons you can't know." Drake challenged right back. Melly's smile disappeared, Alright, shut up now. She prodded him sharply in the back.

"What's to eat?" she asked, steering the conversation elsewhere.

"Fried apples, onions, and fish. Get it from Bruce in the kitchens." Barry said, and with that he strolled off. Her eyes followed for a second his retreating figure and when she turned back she noticed a strange look on Drake's face, mostly hurt and confused anger she noted. Suddenly she smiled. "What?" she asked in a low tone, teasingly running a browned finger over his cheekbone, "You know the policy. You also know I'll keep to it."

Neither Drake, nor any other man held a chance at Melly. She had already vowed never to be Melly and so-and-so. Just Melly, forever. No one teased her about a non-existent love life either. That's how it goes. Drake thought despairingly, he shifted his weight to the other foot and relaxed some. Yeah, he knew the "policy" but it wasn't like he could just stop liking someone, he couldn't help it. He always thought that if she ever changed her mind though, he would get first dibs.

Why not? He was nice, optimistic, tolerating, affectionate, and... hopelessly in love with a girl who refused to return his affections. He knew that she knew but she didn't treat him any differently. Maybe she didn't know how, maybe she just couldn't.

Drake was not an envious person but even the love she had for her brother was something he couldn't hope for. What would she see in him anyways, he thought sadly, next to her, anyone was inferior. (In his mind mostly.) For where Melly was concerned, she ruled. Unconscious of it or not, people listened, for their own good, if not for lack of smarts to do any different. When Melly said jump, smart people asked how high.

Drake was only a weapon's keeper, not cut out for an assassin's line of work. Too nice, too sensitive, too caring, he thought bitterly. The assassin wasn't supposed to ask the victim whether or not they minded that they were about to die, any last wishes anyone? He hated that part of himself. If I had a choice, I'd be a commoner. A simple, innocent commoner... no, that wouldn't work at all. When would I ever get to see Melly? He shook his head.

Melly was outside talking with Barry. Drake gritted his teeth but did not leave the cabin. Barry was handsome, fast talking.... and increasingly annoying.