Chapter Eight: What’s Chicken?

Chapter Eight: What’s Chicken?

Serena woke to the familiar ceiling of wood and steel. She was somewhere in the Vengeance. The room was dim, the aetherlights having been turned down to their lowest setting. Was it nighttime? There were no windows to check. She was lying on a bed, not her usual hammock.

The medical wing.

Why was she here? Was she injured in battle? She couldn’t remember. Serena moved an arm and then cried out as the movement caused her skin to crack and bleed. Her cry of pain further caused her face to fracture. Through the blinding agony came a thought of understanding. Her soul had been damaged.

She must have lost control of the Word.

Why? When had she Spoken?

Serena tried to call for Anathor, but as she did a golden hue filled the room, mending her skin and dulling the pain. It was only a temporary measure, as soon as the warmth faded she could feel it building back up again.

A soul damaged by divine possession was not so easily healed.

“Sleep now, captain. If you could...” came Anathor’s voice.

And then a white fog clouded her eyes, as someone cast a sleep spell on her, sending her back to a deep slumber and the realm of dreams.

Serena’s opened her eyes, finding herself standing in the main stairwell of the Vengeance. It was dark, the aetherlights not turned on, the only light from a greasy oil lantern hanging from the wall. The sounds of the ship, creaking and groaning, reached her ears, and the sound of... water? Her mind was muddled. What was happening? Were they sailing through a storm?

No... these were the sounds of... waves.

Not possible. The Vengeance was not a watership, and this was definitely her ship, she recognized the structure of the stairwell that went through the ship’s decks. But... where were the steel beams? Everything was wooden. Why did it look so... old?

She tried to call for Anathor, but no sound came out.

What deck was she on? A few hesitant steps later she found a door, and a familiar set of words was etched upon it.

Fourth Deck.

It was slightly open.

No... Something in her mind warned her. The door to the fourth deck is forever closed. It is off-limits, even to the captain. The voice in her head felt unnatural. Were these even her thoughts? Who was speaking in her mind? What is in there must never be allowed out.

She reached out and pulled the door close. Its handle was icy cold and the heavy thud of its closing reverberated in the space. Serena blinked and then looked down and saw she was holding the key.

Never use the key.

Who used the key? Who opened the door to the fourth deck?

It must be locked.

The mechanism clicked as the lock engaged. As she pulled the key out she heard a voice talk to her in an ancient tongue. She did not know the name of the language, but the meaning and intention behind the words and their speaker were clear.

“Bring me the girl,” said the ship.

Amelia! Serena’s mind yelled out, as she was pulled from the dream into the waking world, a familiar ceiling of wood and steel greeting her. She tried to remember the dream, but it was like trying to grasp fog itself. It slipped from her mind and she soon gave up.

How long had she been sleeping? With a cautious movement of a single finger, and then another, and then an arm she confirmed that her soul had somehow been healed, repaired from the divine energies that had fractured it.

The room was lit, the aetherlights shining bright, meaning it must be daytime. Serena turned her head. The other beds in the room were empty. She was alone, apart from...

“Mmm... fried chicken...”

She looked down at a familiar set of messy blond hair. Amelia was lying next to her, curled into a half ball, sucking on her thumb like a babe. Her other hand was resting on Serena’s left arm.

What in the seven hells was fried chicken?

Tsk! She forced herself to set up, pushing with her hands and feet so her back was elevated against the pillows, the movement causing Amelia to mumble something else. Thankfully, despite a subtle sense of exhaustion, she felt pretty good! She wasn’t in pain, nor did she feel thirsty or hungry.

Amelia had obviously played a part in healing her, that was without doubt. However... this idiot human! What was she doing, sleeping in the same bed as her!? She was nobility! And a woman! If word got out that she shared a bed with a human that... was almost cuddling her...

“Wake up, idiot,” she said. Finding no response she looked for something she could stab her with. Unfortunately, her cutlass was nowhere to be seen so she had to make do with a finger, which she jabbed a few times into the messy blond hair.

“Wake. Up. Idiot.”

A pair of blue eyes slowly opened and then went wide like saucers. “You’re awake! Serena!” Exclaimed the astonished healer. Serena was about to chastise her for using her first name, but was stopped by a wave of gold and blue flowing into her, and as the warmth and light rippled through her body the last feeling of exhaustion left her.

“How are you feeling? Are you all... mended? Your soul?”

“I think... it’s okay now. Thank you, Amelia.”

“Mmm! I was so worried! Every time I healed you, you would start cracking and bleeding again! Narean really took you for a ride, eh?”

Narean... Serena cast her mind to the demon god she had communed with. Why had she Spoken? Why had she lost control?

“What happened? Why did I Speak?”

“Korvus attacked you! A mutiny! His men also tried to shoot me! Can you believe that!? So rude...”

Ah, now she remembered - but, she had been the one to attack Korvus, not the other way around. An image flashed through her mind, of a blond figure lying unmoving on the floor of the square.

“You... were okay? I saw you get shot... you weren’t moving.”

“Mmm! It was super confusing! I was bending over to heal someone, and then suddenly I just fell over! We found out they had used these huge...” Amelia sat up, spreading her arms wide, “...hunting rifles, with these massive iron slugs! All against me! My wards held just fine but the forces flipped me all about! Took me quite a while to figure out what had happened, and then you Spoke and blasted the whole square! I had to heal everyone all over again before coming to help you!”

“I see... where is Korvus now?”

“Gone. The fleet arrived not long after, and took him as well as all the ground forces! I think... you’re in a lot of trouble. Dagon wouldn’t tell me much!”

Serena racked her mind, trying to remember the fight. After Korvus had Spoken his Word - Bayle - she had lost control, and everything after that was a blur. She had been... losing.

“Did you... win against Korvus?” She asked Amelia.

“Hell yeah!” Amelia said, cheerfully punctuating her words with two thumbs up, “Sorry... that’s an expression from my world. You were getting your arse kicked! I think if you were protected by anything less than blue aura you would have died before I got to you!”

“Blue!” Serena exclaimed, “I was using blue aura?”

“Yup!”

“Why?” She narrowed her eyes. She had suspected the same, especially after Amelia had admitted she had Spoken something to fight Korvus.

“The fleet’s aetherscopes only picked up your Word, and then Korvus’s. They didn’t pick up anything Spoken from the girl.”

“That’s not possible,” Serena said, shaking her head, “Their aetherscopes must have missed her Speaking. She took care of Korvus! He was a fifth-level warrior, almost sixth! Even accounting for the general increase in abilities from communing with more than one god, she would have still needed to Speak to contend with him.”

“Right, that’s what I said to Tomes after the meeting. This girl... she’s already pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. We don’t know what’s normal in the world she came from.” Dagon twiddled his thumbs, furrowing his brow. “We got talking, me and Tomes, and we were thinking that... you know... what thinking about her abilities and all... that maybe it’s not a matter of her being able to Speak the First Word of a branch or two, or even three. Maybe it’s something bigger than that. Maybe she can Speak the Se-”

“Stop. Don’t go down that path, Dagon.” She warned. “And tell Tomes I said that. He tried to bring up the same subject before. Thankfully he had the sense not to pursue it, sense I hope you have too.”

“I... sorry, captain.”

“She likely has a way to limit or maybe even hide the aether release, the grandmaster at the academy could do it. Apparently, all of the Empress’ Lord Guardians have the ability. We can dig into it later, but for now, assume she covertly Spoke a Word from a human combat branch. Do we have a record of known human Words?”

“Aye, Tomes has one somewhere.”

“Next time you see him, tell him to send it to my quarters. I’ll ask Amelia about it. I don’t think she would lie, she doesn’t seem to like it, which is why it’s so dangerous and important that you never go down that previous line of questioning with her.”

“... Yes, captain.”

“Now... back to something less concerning. Anything else from the Dragon?”

“We’re to sail to Kenhoro, finish repairs there, get a new turret installed. Could be a chance to pick up some of those fancy new propellers Tomes was going on about.”

“Yeah,” Serena nodded. Tomes had mentioned he had come across some propellers that helped prevent cavitation. It would be a useful upgrade for when they went swimming in the lumina. “And then, await orders?”

“Afraid not. Got to sail to Shimashina after.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. Your old man wants to see you.” Dagon sighed. “And... the girl.”

“Seven hells!” Serena resisted the temptation to grab her horns. “That...” She trailed off, pausing. It would be nice to see her family again.

Some of them.

“We must be getting close to Kenhoro, if I’ve been out six days.”

“Aye, captain. Two days out. We’re well into Imperial airspace. Ship’s on low alert. Getting some washing done. Thought it best to take it easy on the crew, after the hangings and all that. Moral is a little low, to be honest. Are you feeling able?”

“I’m good now, thanks to Amelia,” she said. Serena swung her legs off the side of the bed and stood up. After that last bout of healing, she didn’t feel weak at all. She looked down at her feet and...

“Where the hell is my uniform?” She was wearing a white shirt and trousers, very different from her usual black and gold captains outfit.

“Was burned and shredded during the fighting. There’s a spare set around here somewhere...” Dagon dug around in some drawers before pulling out a familiar set of clothes. “Here, captain.”

“Anathor! Gather the officers in the bridge.”

“Very well...” came the gruff reply. Serena turned and gave a pointed look at Dagon, who stared back at her. She sighed.

Men.

“Dagon.”

“Yes, captain?”

“Get out.” She motioned to the uniform in his hands.

“Ah! Sorry, captain. I’ll be outside!” He hurriedly placed the uniform on the bed before making himself scarce and closing the door.

Idiot. She found a basin of water, wetted a towel, and began cleaning her body. There didn’t seem to be too much sweat or dried blood, had Amelia and Hillbrand washed her, or did Amelia have some kind of cleaning spell? It would not surprise her, not anymore.

“Anathor,” she said, “have you ever heard of chicken?” Serena wouldn’t change in front of Dagon, but she had long accepted that Anathor could and would see everything at some point. He had assured her previously that he had no interest in those things, and it wasn’t like she could leave the ship every time she wanted to wash herself.

“Hmm...” came the reply. “A flightless bird. Extinct in this realm. From pre-Cascadian times, of the old human kingdoms that formed from the initial wave of colonialism more than two thousand years ago.”

“That long ago?” She asked, pausing her changing. Anathor was old, he had hinted at it a few times, but pre-Cascadian, before the demon empire was formed? Was it possible?

“How do you know?” She asked, “Have you... seen them?”

“Hmm... I do not know. There is a memory, but I don’t know if it’s mine or if it’s... never mind...” He trailed off for a moment. “However, I believe the chocos popular in the Northern Terra Firma and Centralis are a descendant species.”

“Oh, chickens are an ancestor of chocos? That’s interesting. I’ll have her try one, see if she thinks it tastes similar.” Then, a thought arrived. “Anathor, could Amelia be from the original world of humans? From which those caravans arrived?”

“Unlikely. That world was sealed from realm travel shortly after they arrived, by forces incomprehensibly more powerful than the gods you all Speak the names of.”

Suddenly, something Anathor had said to her when she had first discovered Amelia in her quarters a week ago came to mind.

“Powerful enough... to fool your eyes, and the ships?”

“Hmm... the ship cannot be fooled.”

The ship... the fourth deck... there was something about the fourth deck that she had forgotten. Tsk! It can’t have been important. Serena finished changing.

“How do I look?”

“Hmm... happy.”

“Happy? I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You often seem happy after talking with the human.”

“... keep those thoughts to yourself.”

“Yes, captain.”

She exited the medical wing, meeting Dagon in the corridor. Together they headed to the bridge, and Dagon was giving her a run-down of the smaller things that had happened on the ship over the time she had been healing, however, most of it went through one ear and out the other. Her mind was preoccupied with what Anathor had said.

Amelia made her... happy?