North x Northwest

The pain from all over Lil’s body rushed up her throat and into her eyes. The sensation was so intense that it felt like her eyeballs were tossed into the hot water. The tyranny and evil deeds associated with Ed’s title as the admiral blinded Lil, and the torture he enjoyed against the Western Pirates came to her mind in gruesome illustrations. 

‘What happened to my crew? What about Cesar? I’m sure Ed wouldn’t simply let them go…’ 

An unfathomable fear grew beyond her control, making her burn with horror.

‘I have to escape.’ 

Lil started to pant impatiently. 

‘But where am I?..’

Her vision flickered. 

‘…Why am I here like this?…’ 

Her eyelids didn’t droop, but her vision began to blur anyway. 

‘…I need to find… my crew as soon as possible…’

In the end, her eyes darkened…

***

Lil woke the moment she realised she had fallen asleep.

By instinct, her body shrank, wary of the opponent who might approach her at any time. She flinched, and her shoulders reflexively trembled. Only after sensing that there was no sign of anyone else in the room, did Lil quietly roll her eyes.

The room was dark. A thin layer of smoke flowed from somewhere and gave off a burning smell. Lil’s gaze went against the flow of smoke and found a candle. Its black wick, which used up all of the candle wax, had nowhere left to go and could only squeeze out smoke. Noticing a strange fragrance mixed with the burning smell, Lil figured it had to be the source of the drug that Ed had mentioned before. 

Remembering this, she understood why she was able to wake up. 

Lil tried wiggling her fingers and found that albeit dull they moved at will. The same was true for her toes. The haze that clung to her whole body slowly unravelled like a thread. As she exerted a little more strength, a sensation settled in her body as though she was coming down from floating on clouds. Eventually, she could feel the touch of her blanket and as she moved her leg, the blanket stirred.

Lil removed the blanket with her still stiff arm. When she brought her chin downward, she saw a white negligee1 covering her body. 

‘Thank god, I’m somewhat properly dressed.’

Lil squirmed her body up. When she managed to raise her upper body halfway, an intense pain split through her abdomen. Lil held her breath and pressed the arching area with her left hand. Her right hand stretched out into the air, frantically searching for the nightstand.

“Ugh!”

When she managed to stand up with the help of the nightstand, she was finally able to look around the room.

Strange instruments made of glass and porcelain were lined up in front of the bed. Her heart nearly dropped at the sight of the bizarre tools. Half obscured by the darkness, they looked monstrous enough. 

Lil moved her stride while squeezing her thumping chest. When she went around the instruments, she got a better view of the space.

‘This must be someone’s luxurious mansion…’ 

 As though she had been splashed with cold water, Lil suddenly froze.

‘It takes more than a month to reach the Mondovi Peninsula from the southern route to Serlio. What did Ed say again?’

{ “…This is my house on the Mondovi Peninsula…” }

‘…This is on the Mondovi Peninsula?’

Lil whipped up her head. But the chandelier hanging in the dark was the only thing she could see. It  felt like her head began spinning. Amid her dizziness, she looked around and saw a curtained window. Lil moved her feet hastily while denying the possible reality.

‘I can’t have been asleep for that long. If so, it’s been over a month, that’s unbelievable. Ed could’ve been lying… No, he must’ve made it up to scare me.’

Like someone suffering from seasickness, Lil started to feel nauseous. 

A desk, a table, strange-looking pottery, and decorations flashed past her dazed eyes. Lil couldn’t keep her head straight, so when she continued to walk, she eventually came across the fireplace. 

‘I thought I was heading for the window, but I guess I wasn’t.’

Lil first bumped into the couch near the fireplace before finding a decorative sword stuck to the wall. Her trembling hand stretched out above the fireplace. Upon grabbing the sword’s hilt, she had to tug at it vigorously for she didn’t get to pull it out right away. But shortly after, the sword unsheathed with a rattling sound. For a mere decoration, it was a fairly sharp blade regardless of Lil being completely oblivious to it. Knocking over a vase and a chair at the tea table, she finally headed towards the window. Like a person catching a fugitive, Lil outstretched her hand and snatched the curtain. Her rough breath came with a wheezing sound, and she sweated heavily despite not having done much, drenching her negligee. 

Lil moved the curtain, revealing a reddish sunset that slowly invaded through the gap. She then pulled it further as though she was ripping it off.

The red scene hit her.

The early evening sagged with sparsely scattered clouds while the sun was disappearing under the weight of the horizon. At the border between the sky and the sea, a small sloop was seen enjoying a leisurely sail with white foam following its stern like a tail. On the left side, a squadron of four sailboats entered the harbour. The mark of the Mahin Royal Navy was clearly evident on their sails which were dyed crimson by the sunset. At the sight of all this, Lil groaned and the small flow of air spread a white film over the glass window. 

She lowered her eyes along the pathway of the squadron.

Large battleships with double-decked artillery decks were moored endlessly along the pier. Like troops during a parade, it was neat and tidy. Their mast with lowered sails and sturdy bow poles soared proudly, and the rigging on the mast lines hung proudly like a soldier’s insignia.

‘The grand naval base, the Devito Harbor.’

It couldn’t have been more overwhelming… And, it couldn’t have been more real…

From where she was standing, she could see hundreds of warships lined up from the left all the way to the far right. It was no exaggeration to say that the harbour itself was designed around this very mansion. There was no doubt about it, Lil was looking over the fleet from the seat of the admiral.

The Mondovi naval flags fluttered not only above the highest but also the lower watchtowers. Hundreds of flags swayed briskly like a haze in front of her eyes. It felt like a mirage. And Lil found all of this unimaginable. Refusing to believe the amount of time that has already passed since her accident, she felt like gasping for breath as if it would stop at any moment.

“No… no, no!”

Lil released the curtains and searched around in panic. Seeing a door at the end of the darkness, she quickly scurried towards it. While the soles of her bare feet felt fresh and cold with each step, her sweaty negligee started to cool down and her spine became chilly. The blade of the sword she was still holding onto, scratched over the marble floor. Lil’s nervous grip on the handle tightened. Upon reaching the carpet, the dull noise from her metal weapon emanated. Reaching the door at once, she  grabbed the doorknob, and turned it. After stepping into the hallway, she walked to her right and headed towards the front window. Just to be sure, Lil raised the sword in front of her. And although her arms trembled, she held the sword with all her might. 

Sweat seeped into her eyes and stung them. 

Lil kept turning her head to the point where her body staggered while she looked around. The walls to the left of the hallway were lined with portraits. She shook her head vigorously, afraid that she might witness a portrait of Ed in uniform. She didn’t want to see even a single piece of evidence that this absurd situation of hers could be real. 

‘It’s a mirage. This is only a dream.’ 

As she walked while brainwashing herself like that, she heard voices from somewhere.

“…Shh, don’t say that…”

“…What? Am I wrong though? He’s like that. It isn’t the first time he brings in a dying woman and then makes a fuss. Even after 10 years, he hasn’t changed. He still does it…”

“…If you’re going to talk like this anyway, make sure to keep your voice down…”

“…Shouldn’t he spend his remaining time with that dying person, holding her tight and talking to her, instead of trying so hard to treat her? If you ask me, what he’s doing is insane…”

Lil didn’t understand what the murmurs were about. All she knew was that there were people and that their voices came from the stairs below. Knowing that the stairs were about ten steps away, she swung her head left and right looking for a place to hide.

Simultaneously, a tall figure popped out from the stairs.

“…Who are you?!”

– – – – – 

Footnote:

Negligee: Women’s pyjamas made from thin cloth in the shape of a dress.