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Chapter 3: Nita
The sound of pages turning woke me up. My head throbbed as I sat up and wiped the trickling drool off my chin. The redhead sat beside a window next to my bed. The rain had stopped, leaving only a haze. The young woman was reading a book, its green cover unstained, not even a single salt discoloration, either being brand new or sky-high in price.
The woman, now dry and dressed, sat on a red wooden chair with her legs crossed and her posture unusually straight. The inside of her hair was a faint green, almost as if sick, but beautiful nonetheless. A dark leather strap hung from the windowsill, and on it dangled a row of throwing knives and two flintlock pistols in holsters. Not many displayed their weapons like that to a stranger. This woman exuded a different confidence than rich noble brats or fearsome-looking pirates. She had wealth and skill and displayed it insidiously.
I swallowed, my throat dry. “Who are you?”
“Call me Nita.” She kept her eyes on the page. “Now, Alva,”—she began, leaving me frantically searching my cutlass—“how did you manage to kill Riston?”
All my equipment was gone.
“So you aren’t that confident.”
“Call me Hercu.” I kept my cool and lifted my prosthesis. “A solid punch knocked him out. The rest was a piece of cake,” I boasted.
She flipped to the next page, stuck in a throwing knife as a bookmark, and laid the book on the windowsill.
“A single blow, especially with an obsolete prosthesis, couldn't knock out a Jade Mint addict like him.”
A grin spread across my lips. “I’ve modified it.” I twitched my shoulder muscles to activate the reinforced pistons, and with a dull sound, it expelled green steam.
Her lips curved upward. “So a fighting engineer . . . interesting.”
I scanned the room for my belongings.
“What else are you good at?” Nita kept her gaze fixed on me.
“Surviving,” I returned her smile and found my things lying on the floor behind her. “You said Riston was addicted to Jade Mint—can that stuff heal mortal wounds, too, or was that some other witchcraft?”
She chuckled and put a hand over her mouth. “You don’t know much for an engineer.”
“Ha-ha. You'll see. Eventually, you'll be dependent on my inventions! I’m still sorting things out.” I glanced at my broken pistol. “Surviving—demands sacrifices.”
“Is deserting your crew such a demand? Internal problems—or lack of loyalty?” Her voice betrayed an enigmatic curiosity.
“How does she know that? Did crew members come here and ask for me?”
“What’s in the past . . . is none of your business. Speaking of business, what about the reward you promised me?”
She arose. “What do you wish for then, survivor?”
“My belongings—for starters, something to eat and supplies. I will need a lot of those where I'm going.”
“Oh? And where are you going?” She turned to me as she strolled to the closet in the back room. “Or is your future none of my business either?”
“Huh, I will discover the island Under The Dawn Sea. An adventure too frightening for a boring Nobel.”
A wide smile reached her eyes. She beamed at me. “How about a reward that includes everything you wish for . . . and more?” A seductive touch lay in her voice.
I crooked a brow. “I’m all ears, Lady.”
She scoffed. “Lady again? How old are you, boy?”
I suppressed a grin. “17.”
“Good. As your superior and future team leader, I order you to call me Nita, simply—Nita.”
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“Team leader?” Now, I scoffed. “Sorry, I parted ways with my crew for a reason, and I’m not keen to join another one anytime soon. Especially not with a noble.”
“And if that crew happened to share goals with you?”
“There’s only one crew that does, and I doubt—”
Her confidence only grew at my realization. “Oh.”
“Take a shower and join me downstairs. By the way, I fixed your grappling hook temporarily, but you should only use it in an emergency. ” She shot me a wink.
“. . . thanks.”
I gritted my teeth. “Stay polite and smile. I’ll just fix it myself when she’s gone.”
She closed the door behind her. I sniffed at myself; the smell wasn’t that bad. With the door locked and my cutlass by my side, I wrote down what had happened for my future journal.
With that done, I jumped into the shower. The reason for the popularity of this inn was the recently installed showers that provided hot water through a pipe system. This, of course, increased the price immensely—not that I paid for it, though.
I slipped on my long coat, put on my gear, and checked my grappling hook.
“She can’t be serious.” I tried to shake my disbelief out of my head.
This noble woman had just poorly knotted another rope with a new hook to the snapped one. I fixed it and headed down the stairs, promising never to let her touch my stuff again.
Speaking of which, Nita stood out even more as she elegantly twirled her fork in her noodles while a dozen roughed-up and dirty men couldn't take their eyes off her. I walked up to them and couldn't help but grin widely as the men cursed me with their stares.
I turned a chair around to sit and propped my arms on the backrest.
A flick of Nita's wrist was enough, and a maid appeared behind me. “Order something. I need you at full strength.”
“Need me? So the princess has already decided I'm joining her, huh?”
“On you?” I put on my best smile.
She shot me a glance and continued reading her book.
I turned to the maid. “The same as her and a shellfish, oh, and the most expensive ale.”
“There's Jade Mint mixed in”—Nita perked up from her book—“leave that out.”
The maid bowed low and left quickly.
I clicked my tongue. “What's in the book your eyes are glued to so much?”
“Medical and harmful effects of the drug you were about to pump into yourself.”
I shrugged. “Everyone does it—can't be any worse than other drugs.”
"Have you seen my hair?” With a wave of her hand, she let her hair bounce on her shoulders. “That's what happens when you overdose. You can probably imagine what happens to the rest of your body if you keep doing that."
I had heard that Jade Mint's side effects mainly concerned the sensory organs. I had never heard of green hair.
“Then why’d you take it?” I asked.
“‘Surviving demands sacrifices.’” She turned a page.
“Aha . . .”
“You'll learn more about Jade Mint soon when we get to the base. We don't have much time, so don't take too long eating.”
“Why are you so sure I'll come along?”
The maid returned with my food and drink.
Nita gave me another look, rhetoric visible in her expression. “What did you say again last night? ‘Everything you want, Lady?’”
I squinted and shoved a fork full of noodles into my mouth.
“Besides,” she said. “Your goal is a childish dream if you believe in achieving it alone. Now, a whole team of elite people who share your childish dream is offering you a place on the team—you'd be a hypocrite to turn them down.”
I couldn't help but let out a disgusted grunt. “Handsome or courteous, never both, but usually always the opposite.” I sighed and peeled my eyes off her figure.
“Excuse me?” She blurted out, then cleared her throat. “Well, I think you’re both—handsome and courteous. Albeit a little awkward.” She smiled. “But I think it's cute.”
As if she had gently slapped me with both of her warm, delightful hands, my face glowed with heat. And I swear I heard her giggling behind her annoying book.
“Whatever! What happened to the other guy? Hale?”
“He left at dawn, reporting to the Captain what happened and that I'd be late arriving with a recruit.”
“Rare to have such a loyal man. Are you going to make me one of your pets, too?”
“Hale isn’t my pet. He’s on my team. But if you want—”
“Nah. I’m good, I’m good. The ‘anything-you-want' offers are sold out.” I shrugged exaggeratedly. “Sorry, Nita.”
“Sad”—she pouted—“and I thought my beauty would charm any man.”
“Surely it does.”
“Let me get a refill.” I held up the still half-filled mug of ale, though Nita just kept reading.
I walked over to the bartender and set the mug on the counter. “No refill, just wanna ask something.”
He glanced at Nita and back at me. “What’s the matter?” His broad build showed some defined muscles, the kind of bartender every inn with a maid needs.
“Did someone come by last night and ask about a person matching my description?”
He quickly mustered me. “Bull's-eye.”
“And then what happened?”
“Don’t you know?” He nodded toward Nita. “Your girlfriend took care of them. Not as messy as the dirt you brought along last night, but not something I need to experience again. Speaking of the dirt yesterday—”
Halfway back to my table, I waved to the bartender without looking back.
I finished eating and enjoyed the rest of the ale as it blissed down my throat, smiling at the bartender maybe once or twice.