Chapter 2.26: Faint Health

Leila found herself at a loss for words about how big the ship was. She had never been on a cruise ship before, her mom in the real world was petrified of the ocean. So, she had no idea that they were this organized in their grand display of sheer wealth. Being confronted by what had to be millions, if not a billion, dollars pumped into a single ship was maddening. The banisters of the stairways were made of real gold and silver that was spotless. The chandeliers hanging above them contained hundreds of genuine, shimmering gemstones that swished around in the air. She was taken aback by the proud display of riches that everyone just shrugged off. This was one of the few perks she had by being cursed. The dark-haired girl who lived a rather low-class, penny-pincher lifestyle most of her childhood was suddenly filthy rich. And due to the circumstances, she could freely flaunt this with her chosen activities. It was expected of her to do so.

This is why she could sympathize with Liliko'i without much struggle. It was clear that the blonde was lost on how to handle it all. She was hesitant to behave like a noble would, timidly accepting any sort of treatment. The heiress had to step in numerous times as the pair explored the ship for the first time. While spoiled and wealthy young adults of all ethnicities were on board, it was clear Liliko'i was unique. Leila suspected that she had to be from a nation that was close to Ezekiel's, both had golden hair and eyes. If you told her that they were distant cousins, the heiress would believe you. And people treated them the same when they thought Leila wasn't looking. They made some of the same smart-ass remarks under their breath. Their eyes hid the same disgusting, almost repulsed feelings they buried under cheesy grins. It was obvious to anyone with a brain they were looking down on the blonde.

All of this mistreatment sickened the teenager. But instead of losing her cool and suffering in silence, Leila interjected. Not by simply cursing them out or raising her voice but by slapping Lili's status in their face. It was satisfying to see them pale when she mentioned the blonde was her sister-in-law. And that they were on a trip before her wedding to a wealthy noble who had aligned himself with royals from other nations. Cleo's brother hadn't exactly. He knew some members of monarchies but only Dukes and like, a tenth prince. But they didn't need to know that with her tone being convincing enough for them to scramble away. After doing this a handful of times they stopped coming over to the women, huffing in annoyance at Leila’s coyness. They hadn’t expected the woman who had spent the afternoon quietly hovering about to speak her mind. Leila had even gained the eye of some of the single men who were near, taking an interest in the silver-tongued jade beauty who stayed glued to Lili’s side. But one look at her scowling face made them hurry off with their tails tucked between their legs. She wasn’t interested in a vacation hook-up.

This allowed her to lean over one of the ship's many balconies carefree as the wind swept through her hair. She inhaled the salty, fresh air with a smile. "I thought they'd never leave us alone. What a bunch of harpies. I think they'll know better to snicker and gossip now."

"I don't know how you can just stand up to them," Lili was red in the face as she looked down at the water. She sounded nervous. "They looked so angry."

The darker-haired girl hummed at her comment, thinking about it. In the past, as a child, she would have acted like Liliko’i when confronted with bullies. In elementary school, Leila felt as if she had been bullied. She had fuzzy recollections of having her lunchbox stolen by a group of girls one time who called her food weird and stinky. When she tried to get it back they dumped it, all over the bathroom floor. Not sure of what to do her younger self just stood there and cried her eyes out till an older class found her on their bathroom break before dismissal. It was such a strong thing to remember. Leila found herself unable to feel upset about it. The young woman knew she should be angry still and maybe annoyed. But instead, there was just a hollow grimace that remained. Kind of like when someone told you about such an awful thing happening to them as a child and you were unable to sympathize. It was odd and had been happening a lot now that she confronted the issue face to face.

Her emotions had been out of wack, along with her weak memory. The heiress could only assume it had to do with her powers and the intense changes she was going through with them. All of these possibilities got pushed back in her mind as she grinned at the blonde. “Being in a relationship with someone who loves to entertain other women gives you an iron-clad resolve. These people are a cakewalk compared to them.”

“Oh, right. Cale mentioned that to me a few times but I don’t know much about your relationship.” The poor girl looked like she was gonna faint at the possibility of non-monogamy. Her eyes screamed regret at even mentioning such a sensitive topic with the bastard in the same line.

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Leila herself wanted to instantly reassure her and tell her the truth, Cleo had been torn apart by their eventual actions. But there was no point in giving those liars any of her energy when she was miles away from her, stuck. So, she laughed as if she were completely carefree. “It was something I needed to let go. I just wish it was on my terms, but I’m better off not being Empress of a nation that’s so twisted and cold.”

"But being the Empress…gives you all the power." The younger woman looked downward and played with her hands. Her voice was softer now. "No one could mess with you because you have all the power."

"And all the responsibility when things go wrong."

There was a shared silence between the two women as they sat on her statement. Leila didn't know how Cleo would have been as a ruler. Or if the author would have let her be one with the character assassination they wrote. But from the way things looked, being in charge wouldn't change much. What power the heiress had already had gotten her into so much trouble. It had caused her to lose it all and die in the original plot. So, the teenager could only assume gaining a higher more ideal status would make it all worse. Even if Leila somehow became Empress she'd be in a living hell. She sighed, her long hair falling over the banister a tad bit as she looked down. People were chatting with one another, smiling. Thinking about the past and what Cleo could have had was causing her to get a headache. All that mattered was that she was okay. Everything else didn't matter right now.

"Ladies," Leila frowned in confusion and turned to see a familiar man looking at them. The bastard from the store was on the ship with them?! "I'm just saying hi!"

The man could tell he was unwelcome with the nervous look in his eyes. The dark-haired woman swallowed and decided to play it off to avoid causing a scene. She gave him a fake grin and walked over to him. Liliko'i stayed where she was with an equally shocked look on her face. Which made Leila's resolve even stronger.

"I swear," He held his hands up and leaned far away from her judgmental eyes. "I didn't follow you here. I work on the ship as a dishwasher jockey."

Leila looked him up and down. He wasn't wearing a uniform but he was wearing an all-white button-up with black dress shoes. "Alright. Well, it's nice to see someone familiar I suppose. But please be more up-front next time. My sister gets scared easily."

With an open mouth, he looked at the blonde and flushed with embarrassment. "Ah. Well, I have to apologize then for sneaking up on you both. I didn't want to be rude and act as if I hadn't seen you."

"It's fine," Liliko'i muttered as she came over to grab Leila’s arm.

The noblewoman looked over at her and was confused by the expression on her face. It wasn’t the usual timid smile she wore or the plain expression she had moments earlier. The blonde looked like she had seen a ghost with how pale she become. Her entire body was covered in shivers that drew the man’s attention with how strong they were becoming. She opened her mouth to speak again but quickly she closed it. A droplet of sweat rolled down the side of her face. Leila felt her grip begin to weaken, loosening enough that the younger woman nearly lost her footing. Without even acknowledging the other person in her vicinity, Leila hurried to catch her sister-in-law’s falling body. Her arms wrapped around her back and held the blonde who was sweating profusely all of a sudden. The heiress felt her stomach drop as she realized this had to be the effects of the roots finally hitting the smaller woman.

‘Shit. Shit. SHIT.’ Her mind was racing as she tried to decide on what to do. Fuck, why did they have to be in public when this happened? Leila grits her teeth and readjusted her limp body.

She moved her so one hand was free and began to pat her face. Her eyes had closed now, her lips parted to take in shallow breaths. Every bit of her looked weaker and weaker by the second. “Lili! Lili wake up.”

“Is she alright?” The dishwasher asked with an equally shocked look on his face.

Leila knew that if she lied poorly he’d just alert others of Lili’s condition. Seeing no way out of this, she decided to play it cool. “My sister has dizzy spells due to her morning sickness. Can you help me take her to our room? She needs rest and I didn’t even realize we forgot to eat breakfast with how hectic today was.”

Playing the role of a panicked sister-in-law wasn’t very hard when it was her reality. If the roots killed Liliko’i on a public ship she was fucked. The man looked over the blonde and nodded. He got down on his knees right beside Leila and opened his arms. “I’ll carry her to your room. I’ll be as gentle as possible.”

“Thank you so much.” Leila looked around before helping him lift the blonde. People were looking but turned away when her piercing glare hit them. Still, the pit in her stomach grew as the uncertainty of Lili’s health loomed over her head.