Memories

Jane knew something had to be off the moment more than a lone guard had been stationed at the normally lax Port Mangrove. The sleepy swamp port had always been reliable for that, far more willing to accept the patronage of more unsavoury (and infectious) types like herself. To anyone else it probably wouldn’t have raised any alarm bells, but Jane knew this port like the back of her hand, things had been moved, blockades had been put up, and there were no port workers milling around. It hid it well, but there was no doubt the air around here was tense. 

She was just grateful she ordered the sail off before they got any closer. 

Hydra must have sensed her change in mood, approaching to place a hand on her shoulder. “Is something wrong?” She asked, worry tinged her tone as she too, stared out over to the docks. 

“Something’s off.” Jane muttered, eyes remaining on the town for a few seconds more before jumping off the poop deck and onto the quarter deck. “Corrupt head below, I want you out of sight. All else, man the deck.” She pointed Morvarid out of the crowd, gesturing for them to head up to the front. “Moravid is acting Captain, we’re going to pretend we’re a normal, non-diseases carrying ship, alright.” The Lockette gave a firm non in response, a chant of ‘Aye Captain’ coming from behind them as they all moved into position. This wasn’t their first rodeo when it came to hiding the nature of the Red Cutlass and it won’t be their last. 

Jane moved quickly to her quarters, pulling off her coat before she even got to the door. Hydra trailed behind her, legs and arms pulled taut.

“What are you going to do?” She accused. The unspoken You’re not doing this alone, implied by Hydra’s warning glare. Jane had learned better than to argue with her. 

“Going to speak with the portmaster. I need to know it’s safe before we dock.” Get more ostentatious jewelry was shed and dumped onto her desk, throwing a shirt over the top over her clothes to hide the corruption scars that marred her chest. Gloves for her hands, caps for her horns, and finally a ring with light illusion magic to turn her eyes white. They only had  three hours before it would need to charge again. 

“I’ll get the dinghy ready.” Hydra had already disappeared by the time Jane had turned around. 

At least with Hydra’s magic the trip was quick, able to surge the water under the hull to propel them forward incredibly fast. Hydra was also a lot easier to disguise, lacking any of the blackened veins that deep corruption gave you, her glow not yet entirely snuffed out by the poison running through her bloodstream. 

Really, she should’ve sent one of the Lockettes to check in, it would’ve been far safer. Whatever was going on was giving her a really bad feeling, and she’d much rather see first hand what was going on. The closer they got the more Hydra seemed to feel it too, Kraken appearing on her shoulders to wrap around her protectively. It was almost like they were approaching a funeral. 

They had just hooked the boat up to the dock when a lanky figure came before them, quiet on his feet. It was only the annoyed squeaks of Kraken that alerted them that he was even there. 

Myre was stiff as a board, which wasn’t unlike him, but the worried look on his face was poorly hidden. The guard captain was by himself, his juniors having been shooed to the other end of the docks while he greeted his old friend. 

“The fact you’re here tells me you haven’t heard the news.” 

Maybe ‘greeting’ wasn’t the right word. 

“Took a holiday in Maquette, enjoyed the scenery. Haven’t had the time to catch up.” Jane didn’t bother to look at him as she snarked, stepping off the boat and onto the dock with a practised precision. She turned her back on him to help her partner up as well, Kraken moving over their shoulders to get between Jane and the guardsman. “Why did the raccoon come back and steal the queen’s left toe ring?” 

“Jane.” Myre’s voice cracked, speaking her name like a plea. He was barely holding this façade together. 

Her head snapped to him, still holding Hydra’s hand, just now a lot tighter than before. Hydra’s eyes darted between the two captains, and she squeezed back. 

“Follow me.” He curtly bowed before nearly running to the port master’s office. Jane and Hydra wasted no time, scurrying after him and into the room with an eager urgency. 

Before she could even sit down or ask where the port master was, a newspaper was thrown into her face. 

“Morgana’s back.” 

Hydra snatched the newspaper before Jane could so much as blink, pulling the print into the light of the desk lamp. 

“What do you mean she’s back?” Jane looked between the two, the tried eyes of Myre and the pale panic of Hydra. She wasn’t exactly great with her modern history, poking around with anything that happened 100 or so years ago tended to stab her with memories she wasn’t entirely ready to let resurface, so she didn’t bother relearning it. The origin of corruption and the royals that came with it were included. 

“She’s invaded.” Hydra tipped the paper to face her partner, sprawled images of corrupt soldiers marching on the ports of the Verdant Kingdom. 

In a heartbeat Jane was there. It was both too bright and too dark at once, the fire swallowing up the light to cast the rest of the town in shadow. She could see nothing but the charred silhouettes of the villagers, blood splattered against their own homes. The screams competed with the roar of the flames, shrill, gargling as they choked on their own insides. The smell of burning flesh seared her lungs, making it harder and harder to breathe. 

A woman crashed through a door, the clothes burned from her body revealing the raw skin underneath. She landed in the dirt, partially turned to mud by the spilled blood, broken sobs escaping her at the impact. She grasped onto Jane’s leg, mumbling pleas for her life, eyes wide and tears streaming down her face. Once she finally looked up to Jane’s face she tried to scream again. A shot rang out and her open mouth only let out more blood. 

The woman’s body slumped to the ground before her, all light leaving her eyes. Jane only saw it for a moment before a smoking foot came down and caved in her head, painting the floor in brains and skull fragments. 

“Are you going to just stand there or have some fun?” Commandeer’s smile near split her face in two, walking by with bloody footprints emerging from the cape of smoke she left behind. “F̸̟̠̮̙͔̗͎̩̮̥͍̹̠͚͕͕̫͙̼̾̔̄̇̃͌̈̔̑̕͘ͅã̷̛͉͐́͒̎̾̆̚͠ś̷̰̮̮̱͇̩̦͙͈͙̻̀ç̴̩̟͉̘̱̤̳̤͔̮̠̼̼̣̤͈̗̝͒͛̅̓̊͋͂̆͛̑̉̉̆̚̚J̸̟̽̕a̵ne?” 

“Jane?” 

Hydra sucked her out of her thoughts (memory?), newspaper abandoned on the table and a gentle hand on her shoulder. Kraken had coiled around her, nuzzling his head into her neck with a sad whimper. 

She became aware of her sudden rapid heart rate, consciously slowing it down as much as she could with deep, even breaths. 

“I’ll be okay.” She replied, placing her hand on top of Hydra’s touching foreheads for a moment. Her fingers slid down her partner's arm to reach her hand, holding it tight to ground her further. 

There were a few more heartbeats of silence before Myre found it in him to speak again. “If there’s anything you urgently need I can get it to you, but only enough to fill the rowboat.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s no longer safe for you here.” 

Jane gave a nod, turning to face the door. “That’s all I needed to know.”