Pandora's Box

Chapter 5

I felt my spine tense up as I slowly backed away from him.

"H...how do you know that name?" I whispered.

"Take care now," he responded quietly, "We wouldn't want to cause a ruckus would we?" He grinned. I sighed and his grin became wider. He knew he was right and for some reason I hated his satisfaction. Ignoring him, I glanced at the crowd. Their faces held a look of mixed confusion. I smiled at the people and regrabbed the mic.

"Sorry for the confusion," I announced, " It turns out we knew each other from school before my mother became ill and I had to leave." Everyone seemed to buy the lame excuse for my strange behavior easily as they began clapping again. I then felt a tug at the mic and I turned around to see the speaker glaring at me with his left arm outstretched. Giving him an apologetic glance, I handed the mic back to him and completely overlooked the fact that he was left-handed. You see, left-handedness is extremely rare in this time. It used to be popular but for some reason the trait was lost over the centuries. Anyway, he nodded roughly and motioned us to the boat. In the few seconds it took to board, I admired the godlike beauty of the ship. From afar, the Vekhenta was amazing, but up close, the work and build of the massive ship was stunning. The outside was covered with intricate tribal markings from our ancestors when they first constructed it. That was well over 1000 years ago but the ship still looks new. It was as if the gods breathed a part of their own immortal life into the breast of the beast to, well, I assume to, provide safety to the traveling warriors on their trip to the otherworld. Stepping inside, I was again surprised at the architectural design. Unlike outside, the interior was created in a medieval Gothic tone. The walls were dark brown and black with silver swirls and writings covering it. The sight was truely breath taking. It put my old mini palace to shame.

"SHUTUP!" I heard a man yell from the hallway. I quickly walked over to them to mediate, completely forgetting that I was just a girl, and in no way could I stop one of these 200 pound brutes from swinging. Realizing this, I tried a more tactical approach.

"What's going on?" I asked in a falsely gruff voice.

"Nun a ya' business ya' damn brat." The one on the left responded. I raised my hands up apologetically.

"Look," I said, "I do not mean to be rude but do we really want to fight on the Gods' ship?"

"Look runt, were no' fighting. Dis is how REAL men solve deir problems, but you woundn' know dat wud ya'?" He glowered. I gulped. "What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"Well ya'r a lil' girly son." I scoffed in response and breathed an internal sigh.

"More manly than you." I joked.

"Wut was dat?!" I gulped again.

"Ummm... Nothing," I said nervously, "I mean, well I was..." he cut me off.

"Like I said, ya'r just a lil' wuss." He laughed. I followed along, trying to keep my voice from waivering in nervousness. He put his hand on my head and ruffled my dark hair.

"What's ya' name kid?" he asked.

"Um..." I was bad with names and I forgot to create one for my new persona, " Zero Avarez." I said, praying he wasn't a history buff.

"Zero... Avarez... hmmmm sounds familiar" Suddenly the other guy picked up in the conversation. Unfortunately for me, this guy DID know his history.

"Hey, Jacqual", isn't Avarez the name of the lady during the earthquake crisis?" he asked.

"Hey yeah, ya'r right!" Jacqual responded, "Hey are ya' related to hur or something? I hurd she neva had children tho'..." This was bad, really bad. I needed a way to get the topic off of me and soon.

"Well I don't really know," I rambled, "I mean I guess I could be, but I have no idea... it was so long ago..." I laughed nervously.

"Seriously Zero, calm down. Ya'r like a rabbit, all jittery and stoof. Actually, that's wut I'll call ya' now. Z-Rabbit. It fits." Jacqual boasted my new name proudly to the other men passing him and they laughed. 'great,' I thought, 'why do I get the bad nicknames?' I hoped it wouldn't stick but I was secretly happy to finally be fitting in somewhere...

The next few hours were excruciatingly boring as we waited for our rooms. Jacqual and his friend were insistent on sharing a room with me but I politely declined. When they got their designation, they left with their heads hanging low. Finally it was my turn.

"Let's see..." The director man said, " I could fit you in with Rafiel or Taneru..."

"Um Excuse me sir," a familiar voice interrupted. I whirled around and was not shocked to see none other than Wilheim.

"What now kid?" The director asked.

"Well you see, since Zero and I know each other really well and we are the same age, we could share a room and prevent the risks of other EVENTS from happening."

The directors eyes widened as he realized Wilheim's hidden meaning.

"Yes yes of course...." he mumbled, " but I can asure you that most of these warriors are top notch. Really though. They would never resort to such a VILE act."

"But can you really be sure?" Wilheim asked. The man sighed.

"No, I suppose not.... to think that men would even consider doing that, especially on the Vehkenta....." He continued on mumbling under his breath as he led us to our room. I am now almost positive that the ship is bigger on the inside. There were hundreds of decent sized rooms each with twin or triplets beds and a grand dining hall where it's been rumored that one is fed like a royal. Compared to the outside, the interior seemed too large to fit. The director finally arrived at our room and motioned us inside.

"Dinner will be at six." He said, slamming the door. The second we were alone, I twisted Wilheim's arm and pinned him against the dark wooden wall.

"Ow! What was that for?" Wilheim cried.

"Shut it. I don't want the director to come back." I responded calmly. I waited for footsteps but didn't hear any. Satisfied, I glanced back at Wilheim.

"Look pretty boy, I don't know what you know or how you know it but you are going to tell me everything I want to know alright?"

"Well I can't do both."

I put more pressure on his twisted arm.

"Ow! Ok, ok..." He cried.

"I am Wilheim Crowley and I swear all I know about you is from what I read in the articles."

"Wait what articles?" I demanded.

"Well after your banishment, the Cheif sent out articles and papers with bounties for your capture or death."

"What!"

"Yeah he really seems to hate you..."

"My mum was victimized too."

"I wonder why..."

"You mean it was never shared with anyone?"

"Shared?"

"Nothing. Nevermind." The thought or retelling the story was too painful, even for me.

"Look Veria, if I can help you, I will."

"Please just leave it alone." I let go of him and quickly turned away, tears threatening my eyes.

"Veria..." He grabbed my chin and made me face him as the first drop fell.

"Don't waste your tears on a man like that." He took his thumb and intercepted the small droplet right before it passed my chin.

"Wilheim... I... I'm .... sorry..." I choked out.

"Shhhh," He whispered, "It will be alright." And then he did something that shocked us both. He pulled me into a hug. I was not used to sympathy, especially from a stranger, but with Wilheim, I felt safe. I hugged him back and cried myself to sleep with his warm arms encasing me.