Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 20: The Exchanges over a Meal

Natashia had almost forgotten about Marlina's body, the holes in her worse than when they first met. Looks like Tessa couldn't do anything to help her.

As Colonials themselves, their discomfort towards her wasn't from the same place as Elek. They weren't familiar with constructs and their workings, rare where they came from. To them, she was a person with a body strong enough to withstand being swallowed by a hekoska, which they didn't know was possible.

For Neterion, it concerned him. Though everyone in Englias can defend themselves in their own right, the intentions of newcomers who come along were always of concern to him. To Neterion, everyone here had enemies to fear or hide from. Powerful ones that would put them in danger.

Natashia, more kind-hearted, sees Marlina as someone in need. Everyone here had reasons to end up in Englias for their benefit and for a better and safer life, intentional or not. Marlina may not have intentionally ended up here, but perhaps the universe deemed it necessary.

"I've been wanting to thank you both for saving me. I'm forever grateful." Marlina bows deeply to them, and Neterion taps his bowl with his spoon.

"You don't have to act like that, it's just our job. Just like how we saved those morons today."

"Let her be thankful, you're just sour because those guys treated us like kids who don't know anything." Natashia's tone showed frustration due to his mood and taking it out on whoever.

Mordecai able to hear them from the enclosed space, chimes in with another chair in hand. "At least I talked them out of the hunt, so you two have a break. If they ask for a ride back, I'll take them."

Neterion was relieved that wasn't something for them to bother with, scooping some of his dinner. "At least it saves us the trouble. Could use a break from the heat."

Marlina nodded in thanks as Mordecai held out the chair for her to sit before returning to the table. "Regardless, I am thankful. I would have been too stunned to move being in your position. I'm glad you two had the courage. May I ask your name Sir?" Marlina asks Neterion.

There was a twinge from Neterion when she called him Sir. It was odd to him since no one had ever addressed the two of them in any formal way due to their age. It was nice to be treated with a little more dignity. "It's Neterion, just Neterion. It's weird with you calling me Sir."

"You'll have to get used to it because she calls everyone Sir and Miss. A habit that I don't mind." Mordecai says between bites of his meal.

Before Neterion fussed over the name subject, Natashia shifted the focus as she asked Marlina. "I've been wondering since we met, how'd you make your hands into blades?"

Mordecai's brow flew up. He hadn't heard of that detail from the skirmish. "How did she do what with her hands?"

Since Natashia was the only one to see it clearly, she took the initiative. "Her hands were stout blades when we pulled her away." She holds her fingers tightly together to resemble the shape of the blades. "Was carving into that hekoska from the inside, making it cough her out."

"I will be honest, Miss Natashia, that was a complete fluke," Marlina admits.

"How do you fluke having blades for hands and carve a beast like a dinner roast?" Neterion asks.

"Out of desperation, I suppose. I could see it trying to digest me and my body was being damaged. I panicked and shoved my fingertips into it as hard as I could, begging my hands to be strong enough. And it just happened."

That's not something the three of them hear often. Marlina certainly wasn't short of surprises. "Do you think you could do something like that again?"

"If I did it once, perhaps? I wouldn't know where to start. I wonder if it only happened because I was in peril?"

Mordecai leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. "I'd rather not put that to the test, I wouldn't want more of you to die."

"I was going to ask..." Natashia adds. "Tessa couldn't do anything at all?"

Marlina shakes her head. "It has been frustrating not having hands. And I've been having to regularly empty the wandering sand that makes its way into my gaps."

Neterion would only respond with his fingers flexing, dreading such a thought if he were in Marlina's shoes. But there was a look on his face that Mordecai recognized. He had something important to say, but he wasn't.

"Got something on your mind Neterion?"

Picking up his bowl, he gulped down the broth, and his bowl empty. "We've had something to tell you; we haven't had a chance to talk to you alone."

"Sorry about that, I got a little caught up earlier. What's going on?" Neterion gestures towards Marlina, and Mordecai dismissively waves his hand. "It should be fine."

"I don't think so, it's about him."

Mordecai becomes silent as his eye widens. "I'm sorry Marlina, but could you take these dishes back and keep an eye on the fellows in the tavern? I'll be back later to spend the night with them." 

There was a furrow to Marlina's brow, Natashia's eyes unable to help but agree. She was a stranger and didn't know if she could be trusted to hear what they had to discuss.

"I understand Sir Mordecai," Marlina said with a hint of irritation. With Natashia helping her with the bowls, she stepped out while the door was closed behind her.

Returning to the tavern, the sun being down, and knowing the nights were chilly, Marlina went to the fireplace to start a fire. The others had modified the fireplaces so Marlina could start fires on her own in case the nights were too cold and her petals became damaged. With a piece of metal with a flint secured to the frame, there'd be a metal basket filled with shreds of palm fronds. Striking her forearm against the flint to create sparks, they'd light the fronds where she could tip the basket and light the kindling below.

Going to one of the windows, Marlina watched the plumes of sand that rose with a stiff gust in the distance. When the sand caught the moonlight at the right time, it shined like tiny stars. The lands outside the Urushian civilizations were dense with trees, the canopies blocking the sky. In the cities, they kept them well-lit at night to deter many night predators from the forests and jungles, which dulled the sight of the stars. During the nights when walking through the desert, she had to concentrate more on the ground to see where she was going and avoid obstacles from the lack of light.

At least here, the sky was clear and the others kept wandering at night to a minimum to avoid attention from desert-dwelling creatures. A dim lantern light inside the main building heading from the barracks towards the infirmary in a hurry caught Marlina's attention. Was there an argument? Marlina was concerned, wanting to investigate, but didn't want the men to be left alone. It was a few more moments when she'd spot two figures running across the grounds in the darkness, difficult to recognize in the darkness.