Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 7

"Are you sure they're down here?"

"Ninety-seven percent positive!"

"Ninety-seven?"

"Yeah because I'm not one-hundred percentage sure, but I am ninety- seven percent sure!"

Rolling my eyes, I turn my attention back to all the trunks layed out before me. Gaze searching for my familiar etchings and engravements, till I finally see my country's emblem, small sitting women holding a sun. I clamber towards it and shift the trunks and cargo off my own trunk.

"What are we looking for again?"

"Paint," I struggle pulling the trunk towards the light Killer holds.

"Why?" He walks forward to meet me halfway.

I toss an evil smile over my shoulder, "You said Kid wouldn't wake up till around noon, right?"

His helmet bobs up and down before setting down the lantern to help me pry open my trunk. Once we pop it open, I start digging through my nick-knacks and gadgets. He picks up a small china doll in a kimono, "What's all this?"

"Souvenirs," I push aside some wooden jewelry.

"Thought you said you didn't travel," He sets her down gently to the side of the trunk. Then he reaches down and picks up some painted crystal beads.

"I never did, but our foreign ambassadors knew how much I loved foreign nick-knacks. Plus Caelio has some of the largest ports and markets in the world that I frequently visited."

I sink my hands into all my junk, using my fingers for eyes while I rattle everything in my trunk. Killer hums as he picks up items he dubs interesting and inspects them, before setting them down gently beside the trunk.

Finally my fingers graze a cool surface, "Aha! Found it!" My fingers grasp at it and swallow it up, before pulling it up out of my clutter. I set down the colorful medium sized pot in front of the trunk, and Killer quickly turns his attention towards it. He taps it and an echoes sounds from the pot.

"Hmmm? What is it? How does it work?"

I pop off the lid, grinning as chilled air meets my fingertips, "It's a pot that keeps my paints cool and from hardening. There's a secret compartment in the lid and bottom that holds ice."

"That's amazing," Killer taps the lid.

I reach into the pot and pull out two smaller jars, after carefully inspecting them I hold them in front of Killer.

"Black or red?"

I see an evil glint under his helmet, "How about both?"

My smile widens, "Both is good."

—•—•—•—•(Time Skip) •—•—•—•—

"Have you done this before?"

"Yep."

"One who?"

"My brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Had a brother. He was sold off like me."

"Oh."

I pull my hand back and inspect my work, "It's perfect."

We had snuck back into my cabin and covered Kid's face with the paint. We'd covered his face with red and black paint, now he looked like one of the tramps I'd see at night when I snuck out.