Distractions

Twenty-One: It's Too Cold

AN: I apologize for not updating last week, but the chapter wasn't working for me and I was prepping for school to start this Wednesday. So, once school starts, I can't promise that I'll be able to update every week, but I will do my best to update normally. But yeah, enjoy the chapter, it's a fun one. We get some insight into what makes Everest so special (besides her being Everest of course) and some insight into Roslyn's past.

There is mention of abuse and being raised to be an assassin, so please don't read the marked part if it would be unsafe for you to do so.

It was cold on Valentine's ship, and Everest couldn't stand it. She had found warm clothes in the closet of the room she had been told was hers. She had put a hoodie on over her sweater, but still the cold consumed her. Everest had huddled under all the blankets in the room for a few hours before deciding it wasn't helping and left in search of a coffee maker or even the stuff to make hot chocolate.

"How does a ship with this many people not have a coffee maker?" Everest grumbled. "There's not even a kettle."

"Check under the sink," said a low, amused voice. Everest whirled, expecting to see an adult who would haul her back to her room, but instead saw a boy around her age with dark blonde hair cropped close on the sides and a mop of messy curls resting atop his head. He was wearing jeans and a plain T-shirt which Everest thought was ridiculous seeing as it was so cold.

"What?" she asked, finally regaining the ability to form coherent words.

"I think there's a coffee maker under the sink," he repeated.

Everest's brows furrowed. She'd checked under the sink, at least she thought she had. She tugged at the poorly designed cabinet doors until they opened and low and behold, a tiny coffee maker sat among cleaning products.

"This wasn't here when I checked it," she scowled as she dusted the machine off. It was such a small coffee maker that it would only brew two cups at a time, but that was fine—given there was coffee to brew at least.

The boy leaned against the wall, watching as she climbed on the counters to reach the upper cabinets and search for coffee of any kind. Cabinet after cabinet she rifled through shelves of food and supplies, but there was no no coffee to be found.

"Check the cupboard above the fridge," the boy suggested. He still sounded amused.

She gave him a dubious look but climbed on top of the fridge to check. And there it was, her savior and source of life: coffee. Everest cheered and did a small victory dance that consisted solely of bouncing around and trying not to fall off the fridge. The boy chuckled and she turned to him, head tilted in confusion.

"Why'd you know where the coffee stuff was?" she demanded. She had been searching for ten minutes before he showed up and hadn't found a single trace of coffee or a coffee maker.

"Because I'm the one who put it there," he answered. He elaborated at her deadpan stare. "Valentine heard about how much you like coffee and sent me to get some."

"Who are you? Why'd he tell you to do that?"

Everest climbed down from the fridge and gathered her coffee supplies. Thankfully there were outlets on every wall in the kitchen so it didn't take her long to find one that was free. She was less than twenty minutes away from having coffee.

"I'm Cyprus Fallis," the boy said after a moment. Everest froze. Cyprus. That was the name of someone who used to be very dear to Roslyn. Fallis. That was Roslyn's parents' last name. It had to be a coincidence, right? No, that was too odd of a name combination to be a coincidence. Besides, when was anything in Everest's life a coincidence? "As for why he asked me to get coffee for you, well. He heard about your lack of functionality and your irritability when you don't have coffee and decided he didn't want to deal with that."