The Shadress (MCD x Reader)

Ch. 20- Progress on Preparations

A couple days after our conversation with my brother, we gathered around my small dining table which sits between the areas I have reserved for my living room and kitchen. There is a map and several lists scattered over the surface. Aphmau sits to the right of me, Katelyn, Garroth, and Laurence are across from us, each studying something different about our plans. Lucinda is sitting to my left.

The space is filled with the smell of the tea I had brewed; the dishes for which have long since been abandoned on the counter behind us. "The ship is the biggest issue," Katelyn remarks, setting the paper she was reading down with the grace of a bull. "We can get a hold of most everything else, but we just can't seem to be able to get a vessel big enough and soon enough." A blue ear flicks in annoyance, and she crosses her arms.

Garroth nods. When he walked in my door earlier, his much more relaxed clothes had surprised me: a simple navy blue shirt and a pair of jeans. Usually, he's constantly dressed to be ready to guard Lady Aphmau. Besides, when he was in O'Khasis, I only ever saw him in clothes that resembled the noble position he held. "Katelyn would be correct, and before we... got stuck... we would have been able to get one easier."

Aphmau sighed, running her hand through her hair, which got stuck on one of her ears for a moment. I need to reverse that spell. "The good news is that there is only one thing we seem to be struggling with." I nod to show my agreement. "Also, we have time. We need to speak to Brightport and the Southern Wolf Tribe still."

As she speaks, I can see everyone's eyes fall to her. They all listen intently, but my mind flashes images of the past. Depictions of the Divine Warriors all sat at a table much like this. Irene at the head, all eyes on her. Esmund sat to her right, blue eyes studying her every word. Shad was sitting right across from her, blood-red eyes focusing just as much as Esmund.

Her head was framed with the glow of the window behind her, the setting sun giving her the holy appearance she was praised for.

Unlike the others, I was stuck to a wall, paying attention to outside forces. They could take in the information she was speaking, but I had a job to do. No matter how much I wanted to join.

I blink back into the present.

As soon as I notice the sting brought with tears, I clench my jaw and rub a hand against my eyes harshly.

"That still doesn't solve the problem of the ship." Laurence's voice is a welcomed distraction from my thoughts. I blink my eyes a few times before looking up just in time to see the door to the bedrooms open.

On the night my brother showed up, we set up a curse similar to the one we had when we shared a house a few millennia ago. It allows each of us to have our own rooms but only takes up the physical space of one. It's a little more complicated than that, but my brother and I think of it as essentially a portal to two separate dimensions, each of which is only accessible to one individual. "I could find a ship for you."

"Excuse me?" Katelyn asks with a raised eyebrow.

I had no idea how we ended up on the topic of how to get ahold of a vessel, so I let the others continue. "How would you be able to come up with a ship on such short notice? And why should we trust you?" Laurence accuses. I ponder his words.

"You don't have to. But you need a boat, correct?"

"Yes," Aphmau agrees, albeit hesitantly.

Jace shrugs, "Then I can get one for you. Despite my former connection to the High Priest, I did not complicitly trust him; I have connections of my own, that he is none the wiser about."

"How many people do you know?" Aphmau asks. It comes off more accusatory than I think she means it to.

"Quite a few, ma'am. Honestly, it would be far more surprising if I didn't know people."