Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 17: Lingering Doubts

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 and training. Marlina watches him and notices that he is 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, 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. At least that's strange to Marlina, since Aurea seems to be the closest thing to nobility among them. There have been many instances when Marlina has caught Aurea making repairs to the buildings and walls. Ever since that hunter hekoska smashed into the wall surrounding Englias, she has devoted considerable time to repairing that section with clay she makes from degraded soil.

Elek is typically the next to wake, spending most of his day in the room where he keeps the skeletal remains to examine and catalog their information. With Elek awake, Tessa is close behind; she makes breakfast for everyone and briefly pulls Elek away from his work to eat before tending to the indoor garden on the upper floors. There is 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. This involves dusting, sweeping, and putting the chairs on the floor. If she had a sense of smell, she'd catch the aroma of beans simmering in a broth made from boiled hekoska bones. Mordecai is 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 varieties of 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 spaces that are left. 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 just 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 patrons passed through. They don't look like humans; they just resemble 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."