The Matchmaker (Katnest)

Chapter 7: Heaven's Light

The room she peered into as the door opened, Kat thought, was rather cozy looking, albeit a bit dingy like the rest of the rooms and halls she had explored. While there was furniture ranging from good quality to obviously scavenged goods, there were also bits and pieces of...ship decor. This included a dirty lifesaver and boat paddles on the wall.
She watched as The Matchmaker hummed as if in a trance while she danced around in circles, bumping into scattered furniture and giggling more and more with each hiccup. She held an empty wine glass in her hand and swung it around carelessly as she moved around. The look of glee on her face was undeniable, and very off-putting.

Kat stood there, crowbar at the ready, with her chest puffed out and teeth gritted. She was about to announce her arrival before

"Tsk tsk, Kitty. You look so angry. Ah, well. I won't let your persistence put me in a sour mood."

The woman twirled in place in front of a stray vanity mirror as she checked her smudged eyeliner and puckered her red lips into a pout.

"I suppose you're here for your puppy. Your strength is admirable. I expected your lungs to be filled with water by now, but you steadily dragged yourself back to us."

Kat tensed her shoulders and took a deep breath as she steadied herself, looking The Matchmaker up and down.

"Where is he?" She asked simply, wanting to get to the point quickly.

The Matchmaker bit her lip and looked to the ceiling with such blissful playfulness.

"Somewhere. A place. With walls, and maybe a floor. Really, Kitty, do you think I'd want to tell you?"

"I'd think you'd want to play your game by the rules, Eleanor." Kat replied with bitter intonation.

The Matchmaker pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, looking pleasantly surprised.

"Aha! I see you spent some time snooping. That's disappointing. I was expecting all those letters to be completely submerged by now..." The woman tapped the rim of the empty wine glass against her cheek and sighed, dipping herself down in her red cushioned settee.

"It would have been beautifully poetic, having all those memories washed away in the flood...but I suppose mother nature is a tease, just as any competent woman would be."

She grinned and looked to Kat.

"I assume you know more about me, now. How much time did you waste digging up dirt on me? Was it really that important to you, playing the sleuth while your beloved little mutt grieved your supposed death? My, Miss Kitty. I know you wear your selfishness on your sleeve, but could you really be so heartless?"

Kat sucked her teeth and walked closer to the drunk woman, footsteps creaking on the broken floorboards.

"You speak of heartlessness as though you've never laid a finger on Ernest the way you have."

Katrielle stopped in front of the settee and stood tall, preparing herself to knock the woman out with a swing of a pipe, but she did not make any attempt to attack. She still didn't know where Ernest was, and she relied on The Matchmaker's answer.

"Darling," The Matchmaker tittered, straightening up ever so slightly to put her hand to Katrielle's cheek.

"I put a lot of heart into my work!"

Kat shook her hand off with disgust.

"You're pathetic and sick. You hear me? Sick!" Kat snapped as she stepped back.

"I'm tired of the same epithets over and over again. You're not the first person to call me 'sick', and I doubt you'll be the last. If you're gonna go down, you could at least go down with memorable dialogue." The Matchmaker's voice deepened in tone as she slumped back down with a bored expression.