Chapter 18

Connie

‘Sakala Market’

‘Five Kingdoms’

My head was spinning as I looked at everything around me in the very crowded passage that would lead me to the market.

The smell was awful and made me lose my appetite, but every tiny thing caught my eye.

I reached into my back pocket, where I always kept my phone, and realized I had left it on the ship.

I had to go back for it. My plan was to take as many pictures as I could, and that wasn’t possible without my phone.

I turned around and pushed through the crowd in the same direction I had just come from.

I reached the entrance of the ship and ran to my room. I grabbed my phone from the table next to my bed and stuck it in my pocket.

As I left, I glanced down the passage toward the bridge and saw men standing there.

“What the hell?” I asked myself, dropping my backpack against the wall. I pulled off my long, dark-green coat and threw it over the bag.

I quietly made my way toward the bridge, creeping closer to listen to what was being said. The language sounded foreign, but as I listened longer, I could understand it.

~Must be the little ball under my ear.~

I peered around the corner, all the men focused on the front of the bridge, all except one dressed in black.

I edged closer, and my heart sank at the sight of Billy and Bob, laying on the floor, their masks off, and not moving.

I ran around the corner, pushed past one of the men in black, and dropped to my knees next to their lifeless bodies. Their masks lay next to them and their eyes were closed.

“Oh God, no!” I shouted and grabbed the first mask from the floor and placed it over Bob’s face.

I ran my finger over the edge and when it hissed closed, I reached for the other one and did the same.

“Come on guys, breathe. Please, breathe!”

Billy’s hand twitched, and Bob rolled his head from side to side. I sat back on my haunches and let out a relieved sigh. They would be okay.

One of the men behind me, the one not dressed like the rest, cleared his throat, and I felt the anger take over.

I shot up off the floor and got in his face. “What the hell is wrong with you! Are you trying to kill them! Or are you just being an asshole?

“Do you have any idea what breathing oxygen will do to them?” I shouted into his metal mask.

The other men stepped closer, then paused and stepped back. The masked man glanced at his men, then back at me.

I raised my brows at him, “Well?”

“Who are you?” the man asked, looking at his guards again.

“I am your worst nightmare if you ever try to hurt my friends like that again! Who the hell do you think you are, coming onto their ship like this and attacking them for no reason?

“They haven’t done anything wrong. What gives you the right to treat them like this?” I had my Irish-Italian father’s temper.

“How dare you speak to me like this?” the man said.

“I will speak to you however I like. You almost killed them. And you would have if I hadn’t come back to get my phone. What do you want? Why are you here?”

The man’s eyes again moved to his guards under the mask, but the men didn’t move.

“I am here to have questions answered. I did not know—”

“Exactly, you didn’t know!” I cut him off. “You rolled in here, with your band of macho goons, looking for an easy target. Well, let me tell you something, buddy!

“You better get your ass off this ship and away from my friends before you have real trouble on your hands. You have no idea what I’m capable of!”

~Easy, Connie. Rein it in a bit there, Wonder Woman.~

The men around us bowed their heads and slowly walked off the ship. The guy in front of me stood his ground and stared at me through his mask.

I caught a glimpse of a scar running over his silver eye, as he watched in disbelief as his men left him on the ship alone.

“Get out of here! And don’t bother coming back,” I called out after him as he turned to walk out.

“If I ever see you hanging around here again, I will kick your ass!” I shouted out the door and slammed my hand on the control panel to shut the door.

The masked man turned to look at me one last time, as I hit the panel over and over again to get the doors to close. I stopped, took a breath, and pressed the screen gently.

The door slid closed, and I relaxed.

I went back to the bridge, to help Billy and Bob stand up.

“The nerve of that guy. I bet he was a thief or something expecting an easy job. Not this ship, buster,” I said, mostly to myself.

Bob looked at Billy, and then back at me.

“How did you do that?” they asked, but a heavy pounding on the door cut me off before I could answer.

My anger flared up again, and I marched to the door, hit the screen to open it, and braced myself for another argument.

One of the men in black stood there, alone, with his head bowed.

“I have explicit instructions from the king. You are to join him at the palace this evening for a ball,” the man said without looking at me.

“What?” I asked, not expecting to hear anything like that.

“I have explicit instructions—”

“Yes, I heard you the first time, but why? How does the king even know who I am? And why would he invite me to a ball?”

“I do not know. I was only sent to pass the message to you. I was told I cannot leave without your positive reply.”

~A ball. The king. I went from the Hulk to Cinderella in a heartbeat.~

The corners of my mouth twitched at the idea of a royal ball.

This whole adventure, from the moment it began, had been one crazy thing after another, but this made me as excited as a little girl.

“Tell your king I would be glad to attend, under one condition. I want my friends to come with me.” I gestured to Billy and Bob behind me.

The Guard said, “That cannot be done, but the king told me to tell you that your friends will be under his protection. No harm will come to them, from anyone.”

I considered it for a moment and looked back at my friends. They both nodded, as though agreeing for me to go, and I turned back to the guard.

“Fine, then I will go. But if that guy with the mask comes back here, I want him arrested for trying to kill my friends,” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

“My king assures you that he will not return to this ship tonight.”

“Good. What time does his highness want me there?” I asked.

“A shuttle will be sent for you at sundown. It will take you to the palace,” the guard said, and left. I closed the door, turned back to Billy and Bob, and squealed like a teenager.

They both shook their heads at me, as I ran out of the room, and headed for my quarters to find a dress.