Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 17: Contrast Between Cultures - Part 1

Over the last few days, Marlina has gradually memorized the daily routines of everyone around Englias.

Mordecai usually wakes first, hours before sunrise, to do his morning exercises. Marlina watches him and notices that he's skilled in throwing knives, as well as his crossbow and scimitar. He also tends to the braxl by feeding them and scraping off their dead scales with a tool, similar to how Marlina does with her metal body. To clear the area after the attack, he has been leading them to the nearby hekoska carcasses to feed and collect the bones once the corpses are picked clean.

Once the sun rises, so does Aurea; she can be found around the outpost doing odd tasks. There have been many instances when Marlina has caught Aurea making repairs to the buildings and walls. Ever since that hunter hekoska smashed into their wall, she has devoted considerable time to repairing that section with clay she makes from degraded soil.

Elek's typically the next to wake, spending most of his day in his examination room cataloging information from skeletons. With Elek awake, Tessa is close behind, making breakfast for everyone and briefly pulling Elek away from his work to eat before tending to the indoor garden on the upper floors. There's a section of land just east of the outpost where she has been preparing a space for farmland using her earth magic circles. She has informed Marlina that it's in preparation for the nutrient-rich volcanic soil the twins will bring back.

Speaking of the twins, they are set to return today. Mordecai asked Marlina to help tidy up the tavern as much as she could with no hands. Dusting, sweeping, and putting the chairs on the floor, none of which require fine motor skills. There's the aroma of beans simmering in a broth made from boiled hekoska bones. Mordecai's at the stove, tasting the beans and chopping herbs and peppers to add to the broth.

"Did Miss Tessa not make enough for breakfast?" Marlina asks.

Mordecai chuckles and takes another taste. "The twins will be craving a hearty home-cooked meal after their trip. I always prepare this for them when they return from a delivery. It's my best dish, given all we can grow here. Once we start growing more vegetables, I can update this recipe and make it even better."

Looking over his shoulder, he sees Marlina watching him cook, her gaze focused on the pot. She seems curious about what the contents might taste like. However, as they have all discovered, she doesn't eat.

"I know this may be a silly question, but was there ever a time when you could eat?" Mordecai inquires.

Marlina shakes her head. "I only remember being in this metal body that doesn't require food. Whenever I tried to eat, it would just fall into my body and start to rot over time. I would pretend to eat and later remove the food when no one was around."

Mordecai's gaze follows her body, especially the gaps. He then returns to chopping, scooping peppers into the pot. "Can I be honest with you?"

"About what, Sir Mordecai?"

"I can't exactly explain why, or provide any proof of what I feel, but it seems to me that you haven't always been this way. Metal and empty. Let's say it's intuition."

"Is it because I act so human?"

Placing a lid on the pot, he turns to her and points his wooden spoon at her. "Exactly, you have a soul. I've seen those automatons the Colonials invented when some parties have passed through. They don't look like humans like you do, just something humanoid. They cling to their creator and respond only to them. You don't act like them; you have more life in you. If you weren't riddled with holes and missing hands, I'd guess you were a living, breathing person, no questions asked. Except for the hair, it's not a color folks see every day."

"I feel like I've caused Sir Elek much turmoil with the way I am. I often hear him and Miss Tessa discussing me. My mannerisms reflect, yet also contradict, common Construct behavior. Miss Tessa sees me the way you do, as more of a person."

Mordecai steps away from the stove and grabs a bone tankard from above the bar. He pours himself a drink of mead from one of the barrels and sits down at a table to take a break.

"Urushians have a certain intuition; our culture revolves around the soul, the inner self, and the path that brings the most fulfillment on one's journey. Elek told me about what you shared with him—something about your purpose being to find someone to serve. I've never heard that before. It's not exactly a path I would choose." Reaching into an inner pocket of his uniform, he pulls out his smoking pipe. "If that's what will make your life more fulfilling, then who am I to say anything about it?"

Marlina's gaze drops slightly as she sits at the table, the broom resting in the gaps in her arms. When he speaks it aloud, it resonates with her doubts.

His brows furrow slightly, softening his rugged features. "I'm sorry, did I upset you?" The look in her eyes alone tells him she isn't a Construct; they can't imitate emotion.

"No, it's alright. It's just something I've been pondering for some time now."

Mordecai leans forward, an arm resting on the table to support his pipe as he sips his mead. "Are you having doubts about it?"

Marlina hesitates to respond. "Just a little."

"Do you mind if I ask why?"

Another moment of hesitation. "I never felt welcome in Urush. I never felt dignified offering my loyalty to anyone from there, not once."

Drawing on his historical knowledge, he understands why.

"Do you remember the age-old animosity I mentioned before?" After Marlina responds with a nod, he exhales more smoke. "It's because of the Siege of Maydra a century ago. The Colonials aren't native to the continent; they crossed the eastern sea to make our land their new home and tried to take our gifts for themselves. Many Urushians were forced to flee the lands east of the desert to escape capture or extermination; the Colonials even trekked through the desert to finish the job. In our hour of need, our God of Fire awakened and aided us by creating a wall in their path, keeping them to the east and ensuring they stay there even today."

This brings to mind what Elek had mentioned during their time in the desert. However, Elek didn't share those gruesome details. "Then... they really did see me as an intruder."

"It's an unfortunate truth. Urushians certainly can hold a grudge. It's also because you're... like that." Mordecai gestures with his hand toward her metallic body.

"My body? What does that have to do with anything?"

Mordecai inhales, letting the smoke escape from his nostrils. "Colonials try to alter nature in a twisted way to suit their whims, trifling with things that should only be managed by the Gods. Those automatons I've seen—that's their way of creating life that serves their purposes. For you, it's as if whoever made you trapped a living soul in a form it doesn't belong in, stuck between life and death. Such an act is unspeakable to us. It confirms their disregard for souls and only fuels our distaste for them."

As Marlina sits in silence, he tries to change the subject.

"It might not be a bad idea to stay here. We're not kings or lords to serve, but it wouldn't hurt to have more people around. I heard you were a great help with Elek the other day."

Marlina remains silent, but Mordecai can see her contemplating the suggestion. The Urushians treated her with such disdain, and she might be seen merely as a tool by the Colonials. At least here, she's treated with some dignity.

"Why is this world so broken?" Her tone conveys her realization that there may not be a place for her, not as she had hoped.

As another billow of smoke escapes from Mordecai's nostrils, he opens a nearby window to let in fresh air so the tavern doesn't reek when the twins return.

"All I can say is that people are foolish creatures. With their pride and the malice they harbor, their sense of right and wrong can be skewed depending on their intention; it makes the line in between difficult to determine sometimes." His tone drops as he speaks the last part, and his features tense up.

Marlina's about to ask about it when Mordecai's expression brightens, and he steps out of the tavern, a small moving cloud of dust on the horizon. After returning the broom to its original place, she decides to follow Mordecai.