Oceanine - Ateez Pirate AU -

Chapter eleven

She rested her chin in the palms of her hands as she looked down at the both of you from her balcony, a sly smile stretching on her lips, one of a mockery played under the spotlights of her stage, you two being the only audience. 

"Well, Cinder, long time no see to you too," convened San, a hand brushing through his hair lightened by the sun as he gazed at her from under his brows with another of his little crooked smiles.

He watched her attentively with the eyes of who had already seen that face countless times before, a look almost playful which made you question how he could know that woman whose appearance bordered the one of princess from fairy tales. Maybe she was a long lost friend who he hadn't seen in a really long time or maybe she had been a past lover who just happened to live in the town the Captain warned you all about.

There was something though that didn't sit well with you, the flare in her eyes was off-centered and had that uncanny and cryptic impression behind them which made and odd feeling of anxiety and general unrest bubble at the very pit of your stomach.

Cinder pushed herself from the railing and began descending the spiral staircase slowly, step by step, sliding her hand adorned with precious rings on the handrail with grace and composure, taking her sweet time to study everything that was in front of her "How have you been, San-ie?" She spoke again with a soft and velvety voice, much different from the vivid tone she used to greet you when you stepped inside. 

"Eh... could've been better," he shrugged dusting his vest on the chest "And you?" He then questioned her back with a quirk of his eyebrow "What have you been doing?"

It was her time to shrug "Not much... Just the usual stuff. Studying the sky and the stars stars like I always used to do as well as selling a few books left and right, enough to keep me and this place going, stay afloat, y'know?" she played.

She then stopped by the counter and moved the stacks of books and papers to the side making space for herself to sit, a few pens clacking faintly when they made contact with the floor.

The soft light coming from the glass ceiling and the enormity of trinkets of all sorts and peculiar object of science made the library appear as a place outside the normal. Cinder's figure did not seem to belong to that mystic place, her mannerism and her appearance in stark contrast with the atmosphere that the ceiling-high bookshelves gave; they were packed with books and volumes of every kind and thickness, funny-looking jars and nicknacks all around, all dusty.

She wore an elaborate cream-colored dress embroidered in light blue on the bodice and on the skirt, the corset that cinched so tight at her waist almost made feel like you couldn't breathe, rather than her who seemed already to have become accustomed to that torture. And suddenly you were oh so glad to be disguised as a man and avoid that fabric cage on your body, you thought you couldn't even survive a minute in there if you were to wear it.

And lastly, your eyes came to her complexion, smooth and milky, like she never stood under the sun for longer than an hour, contrary to everyone else you saw on your way there, contrary to everyone aboard The Treasure, yourself included, who had already a tan covering the skin of your arms and face.

In short, very single thing, even the littlest, about her was off. She didn't look like the definition of someone who needed to work in order to survive; on the contrary, she looked like she could afford slacking off of for the rest of her life if she wanted it. But again, appearances might mislead one onto the wrong path.

And indeed she continued "Why aren't you asking me how I've been? Don't you want to know how I am after all this time we haven't crossed paths?"