A Distant Reverie

Chapter 66

Marine dipped a bundle of freshly cut cloth into a pail of boiling water. Steam rose from the metal container, providing some much-desired warmth amidst the chilly confines of the castle keep. The stone walls of the castle offered plenty of protection from physical threats, but they did little to provide respite against the frigid night.

After a few minutes, Marine retrieved the disinfected cloth with a pair of wooden tongs. Bandages. They were meant for the weeping young lady lying on the bed.

"This might sting a bit," Marine warned as she approached Suisei with bandages and ointment in hand. Suisei's face was a mess. Cuts, scars and bruises defiled her pretty face. Dried blood caked along the edges of the fresh wounds. Her cheeks were swollen—a nasty, glaring red blob that was uncomfortable to look at.

Marine was no stranger to these gruesome injuries, but seeing her companion, who was by all accounts a normal girl, brutalized to such a degree torn her apart.

Alice really gave her a make-over.

She already heard Suisei's account of what unfolded inside of Vesper's room. Alice's objective was apparently to assassinate Vesper. Given the timing of this event, it wasn't hard to assume that her allegiance was with Duke Calon.

Ultimately, Alice failed and got herself killed. But if her goal was to sow discord amongst their group, then she performed her role spectacularly.

"Marine," Suisei suddenly whimpered, "I'm s-sorry..." She was shivering. Her body curled up into a ball. She hugged her knees, her eyes trembling with fear.

"Tell me, what should I have done? Did I mess up? Was I not supposed to kill Alice?" the questions poured out of her mouth like a torrent, "I thought Vesper was going to die. And then I thought I was going to die. So I did what I thought I had to do to survive. But then Vesper—" Suisei froze. Her gaze went wide. She must have been reliving that terrible moment.

Marine slowly placed a hand on her shoulder. Suisei flinched, until her eyes flickered towards Marine's face.

"It's alright," she said as Suisei gradually calmed. Marine gently wiped off the blood on Suisei's face. After making sure her face was clean, Marine reached for the jar of ointment and began applying it over her wounds.

"You did nothing wrong," Marine whispered with a tender smile, "Both of you lived, right? That's good enough for now."

Suisei reached out and clenched onto Marine' sleeves. Her arms were shaking.

"We're not...we're not going to separate, right?" she pleaded like a terrified child yearning for safety.

"You're right. For better and for worse, the three of us are stuck with each other until we reach home."

"Thank you," Suisei whimpered.

She closed her eyes as Marine gently stroked the top of her head.

-----

It took awhile, but Suisei finally managed to drift asleep. The young lady refused to let Marine leave her side, sobbing with doe-like eyes each time Marine rose. The sight of Suisei's terrified gaze broke her heart.

The young lady has a terrible fear of being abandoned.

Marine stifled a yawn. With an oil lamp in hand, she made her way towards the basement floor of the castle keep. It was deep into the night, and the faint glimpses of moonlight did little to illuminate the pitch-black stairways.

Eventually, she reached the bottom. The dank, frosty air clung to her bones. She shuddered, cursing herself for not putting on a warmer outfit. She gave a nod to the pair of guards on duty who immediately let her through. There was only one person being confined in the cellular at this moment.