Page 52 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

After weathering the storm here, I’ll never complain about the ride to the Kingdom of Flesh! Who would ever want to travel out here?

Unless you’re a literal water element.

I wipe the corner of my mouth, flush the toilet, push myself to the sink, and wash my mouth with water and toothpaste.

Since the storm flowed through the ship, gaining any form of reception or news has been challenging when there has been more static than conversation. I need to know what is happening inside those castle walls.

Even though the reception will improve in the Kingdom of Storm, what use will it be to me if they are here and I am seconds away from dying?

Is Prince Reen still there, or are the Knights of Eraminia already on the move, hunting down a likely suspect through dripping shadows and violence? If they confirm it’s me, they will go to Oceanview Harbour first after questioning my friends and Xavier. There’s nothing of value there besides the gun under the bed, and if they want to delve deeper into my scars, see the cream I use for the bur⁠—

Deep breaths.

My eyes widen at the sudden thought of what’s inside Nancy’s apartment. Would she have information about the Sweethearts Orphanage?

I lace my hands through my dark hair and glare at the tiles.

“Fuck,” I breathe.

This is going to bite me in the arse. I know it. But all I need to do is go to the orphanage and get someone to smuggle me the hell away from Prince Reen before he figures out where I’m at, and then I’m home free. Right?

…Right?

Maya will know what to do. There must be a reason she works for Nancy, not because she works well with children at the orphanage. They can smuggle me in and out of anywhere without anyone noticing. And if they can’t, I can only imagine what that mutt of a prince would do to me.

The speaker in the corner of the room crackles with static. Orders flow through, telling us we’re finally docking after the chaos of an overflowing ship. Nonetheless, his words ease my shoulders, and a sigh of relief escapes me at the thought of finally being able to leave.

At least I can gain more ground, and it’s also easier to hide if something comes up. Like the prince of fire appearing or something.

Fuck, I sound obsessed with him.

But is it really an obsession if I’m thinking of him in an I-need-to-get-the-fuck-away-from-him kind of way?

Maybe.

Yes.

Fuck.

I unfasten the shoelace from the dresser and return the dining chair to its original position. Then, I stand at the door, staring at the stained brown oak. Exiting the room, I pull my hoodie over my head and avoid the camera in the hallway. I follow the crowd as they march down the stairs like antsy, testy soldiers itching for a fight.

I clutch my bag as the automatic doors open. It’s chilly, and the billowing wind gushes through with an onslaught of rain. Fire and earth elements slip across the deck, only desperately to clutch the railing for support.

But what baffles me the most is the laughter filling their fucking faces over the damn ordeal. They laugh when they fall as if they’ve stumbled down the two steps on their front porch, not over the fact that air elemny “think” they can soar through the storm, only to disappear with wailing screams, getting sucked away by the wind.

Muttering my complaints, I grip the railing like a lifeline. If I fly away, the damn railing will come with me!

Tall, dominant cliffs tower over us as lightning illuminates the Kingdom of Storm. Floodlights glow along the path, flickering a sickly blue. They move to the top of the cliff when more flashes of lightning illuminate a staircase flowing with water, making it look more like a landslide than a place one could easily walk up.

“It’s low tide here,” a water elemny woman bellows over the crowd.

She stands on the crates near the exit sign. Her dark blue eyes illuminate in the storm, scanning the pale, trembling faces through the onslaught of fucking rain.

“You can enter one of the hotel ships down here and wait until daybreak for the tide to float the ships and boats to the Tempest Hall entrance. Or follow the lanterns to the top, but it will take about an hour on foot. Tread carefully. The stairs are steep and slippery.”

“Fuck that,” a man chatters. “I’m staying on the ship and waiting for the high tide.”

I weigh my options as we form lines, like when I entered the Kingdom of Flesh. Who am I kidding? I don’t have any options. Sure, I could stay here and hope the Knights of Eraminia turn into headless chickens as they roam around Oceanview Harbour with their heads buried in the sand.