- 15 -

Lilith awoke to a continuous pattern of dull thuds; each one slightly out of sync of the next like a rhythm played in ragtime. In the impaired state of mind that came with half-sleep she thought someone must be knocking at the door. As soon as she pushed herself up from the bed, intending to answer, the sound stopped. Only then did she look down to where her head had rested the previous night.

Pandora's chest rose and fell gently. Lilith turned her head from the sight and cursed herself. How could I? God had meant for her to sleep in the arms of her enemy and she had done it, literally. The hunter's arms were still wrapped around her lower back even now. They fell away as Lilith pulled herself free and slid to sit on the edge of the bed.

You've won this round, but I know what you're trying to do. I won't let you push me any closer to this woman.

"What's the matter, couldn't sleep?" Pandora muttered the words slow and deliberate; her voice still drowsy. Lilith stared at the orange light filtering into the room through the porthole, then turned back to Pandora.

"It's morning."

Pandora winced against the light, raising her hand to shield her eye. Her other hand reached below the covers. The fabric jumped and danced before she came back with whatever she had been reaching for. As she clicked the lid open, Lilith could see that it was a pocket watch. Pandora examined it for a long time.

"Fuck."

The word was muted and drawn out. Every bit as sleepy as her last had been. Then, she shot up to a seated position with surprising speed, a strange contrast to her previous inactivity. Her head hung, hair dangling loose to her lap. She was back to not moving. The only hint she was still alive came from the gentle sway in her chest. Lilith shot her gaze above the woman's head and admonished herself for staring again. At least she's still breathing.

"Pandora, are you alright?"

"Just give me a minute to wake up." Pandora's request was punctuated by a long yawn and the rubbing of her good eye. Only then did she drag herself to the edge of the bed.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?"

Another yawn. "No. There's only about an hour before they call for breakfast." Pandora stood, then stumbled over to her luggage. "It's going to take most of that time to get you ready."

"Me?" Lilith pressed a finger to her chest to accent the question. The answer came in the form of a hairbrush landing on the sheets beside her. Worn in, but obviously cared for. A striking pattern adorned the polished silver head, a purple gem at its center. A visible break and subsequent repair shone on the handle like an old scar. Lilith thought it strange that Pandora had bothered to fix it rather than replacing it outright. Surely, someone who could afford to pay full price for a scalped ticket could afford a new hairbrush, even one as ornate as this.

"Your hair is tangled to hell. Better brush it before it mats any worse. It takes forever to grow hair to that length, it'd be a waste if you had to cut it short just to get the knots out."

Lilith pulled the hairbrush over and rested it against her chest. "They wouldn't actually have to cut it all off would they?"

"Only if you let it get really bad so start brushing it out while I fix my makeup."

Pandora shimmied over to the wardrobe. In the cramped space, she had to move past the first door so her body wouldn't block it's swing. Once it was open, she slid back over to make room for the second door. Lilith had expected the interior was a place to hang clothes. In fairness, half the space was still dedicated to that task. But in the center there was a small wash basin set under a mirror. There was even a faucet set into the wall.

"Wow! They have plumbing for every room?" Indoor plumbing had been a rarity in Coventry. Lilith couldn't even imagine the cost of piping water to every room on such a huge ship.

Pandora ran some water into the basin then used it to wet a washcloth. "I know this room is small, but for an ocean liner this really is a luxury experience. Third class won't have plumbing, though."

Lilith watched Pandora wipe away the previous days makeup through the mirror. She wondered if the woman had meant to sleep in it, but then the memory of the previous night took over. Lilith knew the exact point where she had interrupted Pandora's nightly routine. It was when she had watched the woman undress; stared at her. Hell, she was staring at her again.

Lilith dropped her eyes; she needed to look anywhere but at Pandora. Except, her gaze fell to the hairbrush, sending her mind right back to thinking of the hunter. She sighed and brought the brush to the top of her head. "Pandora, about last night, thank—"

"I'm sorry!"

Pandora's reply caught Lilith off guard. Why was she apologizing? Lilith considered it might not be genuine, but when she looked back at the reflection in the mirror it certainly looked genuine. Pandora had crossed her arms under her breasts and her face had turned downcast. She had stopped applying her makeup despite the fact her lipstick only covered the right half of her mouth. Her lip quivered, as if in some internal struggle over weather to continue speaking. In the end, speech won out and she continued.

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"I... I shouldn't have bothered you with my problems. You were hurting and I made it about myself."

"But I'm trying to thank you."

"I... For what?"

"For telling me. Maybe it seems stupid, but just knowing I'm not alone... I feel much better than I did yesterday. So, thank you for telling me about Renna."

"I... uh..." Pandora's face turned red and she turned to hide it. Lilith got the impression of a trapped animal curled into the corner of it's cage. Wasn't Pandora supposed to be the hunter? Lilith couldn't help but smile; a real smile.

Pandora swung around. Her face was still red but she had regained at least a portion of her composure. She put a knee on the edge of the bed and leaned in snatching the hairbrush from Lilith's hand. "What do you think you're doing?"

Lilith wasn't sure exactly what she had done so wrong but was happy to have finally upset Pandora. Even if the stern, almost motherly tone she was using didn't match the sharp sarcasm she gave everyone else. Whether she was actually mad or just hiding her embarrassment, getting on Pandora's bad side meant Lilith had become more than someone to feel sorry for. She had earned the rank of real person.

"Aren't you the one who told me to brush my hair?"

"I thought you would know how to do it. You can't start at the scalp. You're gonna rip half your hair out. Do you have a pain kink or something?" Pandora pulled herself back onto the bed until she was seated behind Lilith. "I'll do it for you. Pay attention to the technique."

Lilith could hear the pull of the brush through her hair, but didn't feel it at all. Pandora started at the ends. She held the section she brushed through in her off hand, keeping slack so the strands never pulled against Lilith's head.

"Why do you care how I look anyway?"

"I guess you would find it odd that I care about appearances."

Lilith turned back. If her face was true to her feelings it must have been flush with confusion.

"A hunter works in blood and dirt. Their body being sliced and scared over. Plus, I was already plain to start with. I know it's stupid..."

Pandora continued speaking, but Lilith had stopped paying attention. She was too caught up in Pandora's low evaluation of herself. From the start, Lilith had found her strikingly attractive, yet she was spouting nonsense about being plain. She wanted to tell her she was beautiful. But was being that forward a good idea? She didn't want to give the wrong impression. Lilith thought of Fennel. How might she have tried to cheer Pandora up?

Lilith brought a hand up and covered her right eye, then dropped it away before doing the same to her left eye. "I think they're both pretty good. You should pick one, though."

Pandora's eyebrow raised. She turned back to the mirror and studied the reflection, bringing a finger up to run it across her lower lip. She must have forgotten she had left her lipstick half applied.

"Don't let me leave for breakfast without putting the rest on."

"You can do it now."

Pandora studied the lock of hair in her grip for a moment then let it go. "That's not a bad idea. Your hair is fairly wavy so it might be better to brush wet anyway. Can you dip the ends in the basin while I finish my makeup? It shouldn't take me too long."

Lilith wasn't sure what wavy hair had to do with brushing wet or dry. She just ran a brush through when she woke up each morning, though she had never let it get this bad before. For now, she would assume Pandora knew better than her. She made her way over to the wash basin and did her best to follow the advice, bending forward and down to reach the bowl.

Lilith was still struggling when Pandora finished. She hadn't noticed until the woman was leaning over her, helping her properly soak the strands. Lilith attempted to get her heartbeat to drop back to a normal pace. It happened whenever Pandora got too close. The hunter had been nothing but kind to her, but she was still a hunter. Something in Lilith's subconscious compelled her to watch the woman at every opportunity; to be nervous of her touch. And it had only been getting stronger the more time they spent together. A survival instinct.

Lilith relaxed as Pandora backed away, taking a spot on the bed, but the calm was short lived. When she patted the mattress next to her inviting Lilith to sit the anxiety came rushing back. Still, she smiled her false smile and sat. Her heart started pounding again as she felt the weight of her hair fade, Pandora taking it into her hands.

"It's going to take me a while to brush this out, do you want to read your book."

Lilith only had to consider the idea for a moment before she reached over and grabbed the book from the end table. She hoped reading would calm her nerves a bit. If Pandora noticed her acting strange it could spell her end. Careful to hold the book away from the drips raining from her moist hair, Lilith opened it to a random page then flipped until she hit the next chapter break. As she felt the first gentle pull of the brush through her hair she began to read.

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> Everything [Lilith] knew about being a spy: all her training, all her field experience, every bit of it had been useless. Not only had she been caught but she couldn't even begin to imagine escaping. The Galmurian guards had been thorough. Stripping her of her clothes was obvious, of course. She could have sown anything into the seams. But she hadn't expected them to run a finger along the space between her gums and her cheeks. They confiscated the small lockpicking tools she had hidden there, replacing them with the taste of dirt. That's where she thought it would end. It was further than most others ever got. Yet, even having discovered the stashed tools they didn't give up, instead finding the backup set she had tied into the underside of her hair.

>

> [Lilith] figured they must not have liked that because they ripped the tools, and the hair they were tied to, straight from her head. They searched several more places. Nothing hidden there but [Lilith] would have considered each spot in the future if she had only managed to escape. At this point, that was hopeless. She had been taken through three locked gates to reach her cell. Picking one lock was simple enough, but three more after. Each one manned with an armed guard unlikely to sit back and watch her try. But what did it matter? She had no tools. Even if she did, the guards had shortened the chains on her shackles until she couldn't even bring her hands together.

>

> No matter how she looked at it, [Lilith] was hopelessly trapped. As a spy, maybe that was always meant to be her fate. But the real irony came with who she was trapped with. The personal guard they assigned to watch her day and night. She laughed when she saw him that first time. It was the man who had saved her from the informant. It was the man she had danced with at the débutante ball. The man she was to share the rest of her now short, miserable life with.

>

> [Pandora]

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"Did I snag a hair? You tensed up."

Lilith tried to play it off. "Just for a second. But I can handle it."

Lilith's heartbeat had come back in force. It threatened to deafen her with how loud it pounded in her ears. Why had she thought Pandora's name? She didn't understand. She hadn't been paying attention, glossing past the words and when the love interest's name came up Pandora's had slipped so easily in it's place.

"I'll be more careful but are you sure you aren't hurt? You really jumped."

"Of course, Everything is fine," Lilith lied.