Beyond The Glowing Whirlpool

Chapter 8: A CUP OF LATTE

The day of the scheduled meeting with Satterans has arrived, and Stacie was supposed to present whatever data she managed to scrape off that fragment of the runestone to them. She prepared her presentation very thoroughly, with this turning anxiousness inside her stomach at the thought of facing Satterans. Especially Ivar, and especially after the impression she made on him when she first met him. But since there was no other choice, she had to overcome that uneasiness, and get this done and over with. And to help herself calm down, she decided to treat herself to a "remedy for all the life's troubles", as she called it, the coffee. She loved coffee. Probably more than she should. But she didn't care. Coffee was her salvation in times of stress.

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Stacie came down to the dining hall right before the meeting and was making herself a caramel infused double-shot latte, happily chatting with some crew members that came in for their late breakfast. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of dark shadows passing by with the corner of her eye all the way across the room. She turned to glance at the walking by Satterans, and froze up on a spot from the triggered rush of tension. She stared after them with flutters all over, anticipating the appearance of the dreaded third figure right behind them. But that figure never showed up, and it turned out to be just the two, the prince and the woman warrior, his other companion.

"Pheeewww...." Stacie exhaled with relief "Oh lucky for me, he isn't coming today. How fortunate." She rejoyced on the inside. "It's going to be much easier without him there, and I have a chance at making a much better impression this time, especially in front of the Satteran important authority figure."

-...cie! Stacie?... Hey! You there?

-Huh?... - She suddenly snapped out of her deep thought, and saw Laura's face so close to hers, their noses almost touched.

-Oh hey, Laura, what's up?

-You okay? - Asked Laura tilting her head to the side.

-Yeah, I'm Fine... Why do you ask?

-You were staring off into space looking like you just saw a ghost or something.

-Oh.., was I? Sorry... I just remembered something that's all. What were you going to say?

-I ran into captain on my way here. He told me to find you and send you to the headquarters.

-Wha... ?! Already?! - She blinked at her with a stun. - But I thought the meeting starts at 11! - She glanced at her watch - It's only 9:15.

-Captains orders. - Laura shrugged. - I guess the Satterans arrived early, so he doesn't want to keep them waiting.

-Oh no, I got to go get my things! Thanks, Laura. Bye! - She grabbed her latte and rushed out of the dining hall.

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She hurried down the corridor towards her room to get her research as fast as she could, really wanting to be punctual. As she was nearing the end of the corridor, a tall and dreadfully familiar figure unexpectedly stepped out from the corner on the other end, making Stacie nearly jump out of her skin from the startle.

"Eeep! Hide!" Flashed through her mind, as she instinctively jerked backward, causing some of the hot latte to jump out of her cup and land onto her arm with a burning sting, making her realize she forgot to cover it with a lid.

-Ouch! - She yelped, losing her grip on the cup, letting it slip out of her fingers.

She winced watching it fall to the floor expecting a nasty mess, but right at that moment, a masculine hand suddenly caught it with a swift motion collecting all the suspended in the air rest of the liquid back into the cup.