The Clockwork Conspiracy: A Steampunk Fairytale

⚙ 7: Epilogue ⚙

The sun rises low over the horizon, nearly blinding me with its brilliance. I still can't say I'm used to it. The floating feeling, the air rushing in my hair, the clouds, the ocean deep below me--they're all so new. So real. So different.

Being trapped in a tower the majority of my formative years sheltered me from the wider world. But now I'm free. Every breath I take of this air is a cherished one. Not two weeks ago, the stone walls of my tower were my home, the trees and the spires of London beyond my only view. But this? This is more than I ever could have imagined.

We fall into a routine on the ship fairly easily after being seen by the healer. I spend time working in the kitchens with Emilia in the mornings, and snatch yet another book from the ship's modest library when night falls. The afternoons? Exploration. Having free roam of the ship, I find quite a few good reading nooks away from the bustle of the crew.

Hanson, the healer, carries a big hat and a bigger smile. After the initial check-up, he sends Felix to the sick bay and me away with a tonic for the pain. So I'm on my own. But no matter, I'm no stranger to being alone. I try to shrug it off and enjoy my excursions, but I admit, I'm nervous.

Felix learned the musical key, crawled into the lift, and changed my life. Why wouldn't I be worried? Hanson assures me he's in good hands and tells me I can visit soon. Aside from a few stolen conversations here and there, he's been resting up. His leg seems to be healing nicely, though. Not that I really know about those things, but Hanson has it in a new, nicer looking brace. It holds the leg in place so it can heal. While his spirits are low due to the injury, he still finds time to poke fun at me when he can. I guess some things never change. I smile to myself and lean back.

I sit on the railing and the wind blusters around me. It's one of my favorite ways to pass the time now. Much as they try to tell me to come below decks and stay out of the cold, I can't help myself. I spent enough time indoors in a small cell. Out here, the whole world comes up to meet me. Is it a little chilly? Sure. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Alek," a voice calls, and I turn to see the source. It's Hanson.

"Yes?" Despite the awkwardness of our initial interactions, he's been wonderful. After spending so long with people like my parents and Lady Elise, it surprises me every time someone calls me the right name or the right pronoun. I can't explain how right it feels. I never felt accepted before. But here on the ship, surrounded with a misfit group of travelers and Felix by my side, I feel more at home than I ever have.

"We're approaching America," Hanson holds his hat firmly to his head, staving off the wind from claiming it as its own. "Look." He points a finger to the west and I swivel, squinting my eyes.

And there it is.

America.

The sight steals the oxygen from my lungs as I stare, wide-eyed. We made it. We're losing altitude as we approach the dock, and I can see the spires of buildings jutting into the clouds from here. Sturdy wooden ports filled with boats line the shore and I can almost see the tiny dots of people crawling the walkway.

For some reason, everything up till now felt like some sort of elongated dream. The horrors of Lady Elise's transformation, the escape, Felix's fall, our mad rush to The Victoria...it all passed in such a blur I guess I never got the chance to really process it. It feels almost as if it happened to someone else. Not me. But looking over the ship's railing to the glittering shores of the New World, it finally hits me.

This is not just the New World. This is my New Life. And anything is possible.

The tears overflow and trickle down my cheeks, finally releasing all the memories, all the fears, all the things left unsaid.