Heaven Hath No Rage - Book Two

Alleyway Endings

Theo walked down the length of the dock, turning down the lane the ship was docked at. The trek up the plank and onto the deck seemed daunting. It looked longer than it was, Theo's mind was already playing tricks on her. She felt small again, like the little girl she once was, staring up at the massive ships and wondering how she had ended up there. She took her first step, and then another, and another until she had climbed onto deck and took her first look around. Her heart was beating at a slightly increased pace, but she was keeping her emotions under wraps. Nothing too shocking or reminiscent of her time on the ship came to sight and it was easy to block out any bad memories. There was no one on board, the lights in the infirmary were lit but Theo had passed Tuni on the docks heading into town.

Without any interruptions present, she began her first pass. She started on the main deck, heading for her room. She figured she would at least familiarize herself with her living quarters. Opening the door, she found nothing new. Any trace of Ulises and the Center had been ripped away. A replica of Theo's old room sat in its place. Damn, Evana was good. Besides the room being bigger, and things being more spread out, nothing seemed out of place. There was definitely room for rearranging and room to expand her interior tastes. Perhaps she would leave the furniture less spread out and give carpentry creative freedom to create a lounge area within a section of her room. With the next few lengths shaping up to be busy, she would need her own private space to relax.

The balcony called to her and as she stepped out, the first thing that stood out to her was the size. Everything else on the ship was astronomically large, she should have expected the balcony to be no different but it didn't stop her mouth from going agape. The wood was high quality and polished to perfection with a set of chairs and a small table on one side of it. The sitting area looked new, like Evana and the carpentry girls had made it just for her. Theo took a moment to sit down in the chair but it proved to be a mistake.

Her eyes trailed over to the empty seat next to her and her heart was hit with a canon ball. All she could imagine was a bright smile and curly red hair sitting across from her, a delicate laugh followed by a snort filling the air. That is what could have been. She shook her head and pushed herself up from the chair, pushing the thought away. Theo stepped off the balcony and exited her room.

She spun around, taking sight of the deck and trying to form a plan for how to tour a ship that seemed impossible to go through. Her eyes landed on a room she knew well. Next to her quarters was the room she remembered being pulled out of before she collapsed. She felt nauseous, her head was light all of a sudden and she felt flush. It was cold outside and yet she felt a flash of heat run through her body and the skin on her back felt sweaty. Theo took three deep breaths, shaking out her hands and finding a way to adjust her bodily reaction.

She couldn't face the room just yet.

Instead, Theo walked into the belly of the ship. The new mess hall was large and could seat hundreds. The library that was on board had been stuffed with their books but the Center's furniture now mixed in with theirs. What was once a small room with two armchairs and a table was now triple the size, with more shelves than they could use and chairs for at least half a dozen readers at a time. One by one, each of the rooms were inspected by Theo and she had spent so long going through her new vessel that the candle she was using to guide her way had to be replaced twice. Finally, she came to a row of rooms on one of the upper levels of the ship. From the plans of the ship that had been laid out for her, she knew that the hallway she had left for last housed what was once Ava's room. The floor actually contained rooms for all the Vaith children but Ava's was the only one she was interested in.

Theo, having final approval on all actions taken to alter the ship, had banned the crew from entering, touching, or working on Ava's room. For some reason, she had hesitated to mess with it. She didn't quite understand the significance of why she had done so. Perhaps, it was because it was one of the last things she had to remember Ava by. Or maybe she had wanted a glimpse into her life as a noble. Or maybe she felt that if she touched anything that was once Ava's, it would be like hurting her. It was nonsensical but her actions had been following that trend in the past cycles. Ava's door was locked and it took some fumbling to find the right key.