Warhawk's Sacrifice - Ch. 15 - A Chance of Trust - Alpha (Patreon)

Seb blinked rapidly. He wasn’t sure if he heard Zara correctly. “What?”

“I love you,” the princess said again with a warm smile.

The spacer snorted in disbelief. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Zara leaned back and crossed her arms. “No, it’s not a joke. I’m being serious.” When Seb burst into laughter, the red-haired woman frowned. “Why are you laughing?”

“Because you can’t be serious,” Seb said, wiping away a tear. “You. Love me? You’re crazy.”

“I am not! It’s true,” Zara huffed.

Seb extended his hands. “Okay, okay. Enough. Be serious.”

“I am!”

Seb cackled once more. “There’s just no way you could be in love with me.”

“Why do you think so? I’m telling you the truth.”

“Why? Oh, I don’t know. Let's revisit our history for a second. You manipulated as a student into taking a dangerous job that resulted in me getting incarcerated for ten years. Then I go to you to buy engines and you force me to work for you. Not paying us for six months, which made all of my crew hate me. Then when I asked to get out of the contract, you gave me an impossible task which has led to every government’s crosshair on my head. And let’s not even discuss your attitude and personality towards me. There’s been no love or kindness. It’s always been about you getting what you could from me.”

Zara furrowed her brows as she counted on her fingers. “Okay, Sebastian. Now you can hear it from my side. You were in debt up to your eyeballs. I gave you an option to take a job that would have cleared everything for you and given you a career to make a fortune. Yes, you got caught, but that wasn’t my fault. And when you got out, you came to me for the engines which I gave you. I also gave you back pay for your ten years served, which you blew through miraculously. I also gave you jobs to keep you employed. When you told me there was a problem, I got you your money. And finally, when you asked out of the contract, I gave you an opportunity. Did I benefit from all of that? Yes! But understand, my hands were tied.”

Seb shook his head. “How? If you truly loved me, why not just give me what I’d asked for instead of playing this twisted game of keeping me under your thumb?”

“Are you serious? What do you think would have happened if I didn’t? I’m under a microscope. I can’t make mistakes. If I do, my father would toss me away just as fast as he did by making me your crew’s caretaker. He may enjoy the money I earn him, but I’m still only a woman. He didn’t want me in his company. I had to prove myself to him. Only when my value outweighed the risk, and he had no other options, did he grant me a position.”

Zara raised her finger and pointed toward the door. “My brothers. They’d love nothing more than to watch me fail so they can take my spot. I’ve worked too damn hard to let one of those idiots take what I’ve had to claw and scrape to achieve. So, no, if I were just to hand everything over to you, I would have eventually been found out. Sepix culture is transactional. Gifts are only given to those of greater status, and I’m a princess.”

Seb cocked his brow, remembering Zara and her father’s private conversation. “But your father didn’t know about us, did he? You kept us hidden.”

“Of course I did. I couldn’t keep you on the Merovingian payroll. But nothing happens without my father’s know-how, which is why I’ve had to stay true to his expectations and show how we’re gaining something from using you. So when he did eventually find out, he wouldn’t know the truth.”

“What’s that?”

“That I love you, Sebastian. I’ve loved you since the first night I gave myself to you. Did you really think I just did that with every guy?”

Seb smirked. “Yeah, kind of. I thought it was one of your tactics because it sure as hell worked.”

“I have a little bit more respect for myself. To be completely honest, it was a first for the both of us.”

Seb twisted his lips in disbelief. “I just have the hardest time believing that.”

Zara shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

“Why did you do it, then? Why with me? I was just some kid. It makes little sense.”

Zara cupped Seb’s cheek. “Whether or not you believe me, I knew you were something special. I saw myself in your eyes. We were both trapped by the system we were given. But I saw you had the determination within you to not just settle. You were willing to do whatever it took to have a better lot in life. It’s the same as I feel. We may come from different castes of society, Sebastian, but we are a lot more alike than you realize.”

Seb mulled the princess’s confession over in his head. He could understand from her point of view what she was doing was some kind of twisted act of kindness. But she’d been the embodiment of too much pain for so long. While he’d grown to trust her some only recently, this wasn’t what he expected at all.

He expected to wine and dine her, which would no doubt lead to the bedroom. Then he’d use the leverage of the moment to have her help him buy them time to get off of Mahad. The plan was to use her just like he’d thought she used him so many times before. But now he felt conflicted. If her intent wasn’t rooted in manipulation or evil, and was just merely a result of her circumstance, he didn’t know how to feel.

“Zara… I… I don’t know how to respond,” Seb muttered. “Every time I look at you, there are two conflicting sides to me. On one hand, I’m that damn kid again. I feel myself getting pulled back in, wanting to trust you. Wanting to make you happy by doing whatever it is you ask of me. You were my dream girl. Before I got arrested, you were going to make all of my dreams come true. But then there’s who I am now. And while I can forgive you, I don’t know if I could ever trust you enough to say that I love you back. We just have so much history together, none that I would look fondly on except for a few moments.”

Seb watched as his words crushed the princess. There were no tears. She was too strong for that. Instead, Zara moved out from in front of him and sat next to him. Her head hung low as she slowly nodded.

When the princess looked back up, she asked, “Then what was all of today for?”

As he stared into her wavering eyes, Seb decided to tell the truth. “If I’m being honest? It’s because I need something.”

A scornful smile crested Zara’s lips. “So you were planning to do to me what you thought I’d done to you?”

Seb leaned forward on his knees and nodded. “Yeah. Which makes me feel like a complete piece of shit. But if everything you told me was the truth, then I should be truthful, too.”

“What were you going to ask of me?”

“Eni and Syn finished the nakai dictionary. But the codex was mostly corrupted. From the data they gathered, the Songless, which are the creatures that killed the nakai, are believed to be already here or impending. There’s a hidden communication station of nakai design in this sector. We need a way off of Mahad to travel there and see if we can fix the codex or at least find out how urgent this threat is.”

“The Songless?” Zara asked, leaning back. “Is that the name of these things that you saw?”

“Yeah. Part machine and part humanoid. Four arms, six red-eyes, and advanced weapons I’ve never seen before. They would make fighting the sectorum like fighting children.”

After Seb’s declaration, the two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Each time he glanced at the princess, she remained in the same position, just staring emotionlessly off in the distance. When he couldn’t take it any longer, brushed her arm.

“How are you feeling?” Seb asked.

Zara forced a laugh. “Disappointed. This is not how I thought this night was going to go.”

“Neither did I.”

“I guess I was so blind to my feelings for you, I didn’t realize how bad things were. Even after our conversation at the Hypercore headquarters, I knew you held resentment, but I thought things were getting better. That I was getting better. That perhaps you were starting to feel the same way.”

“Fuck… Zara,” Seb groaned in disappointment. “I wish I could go back all those years ago and do things differently. Maybe instead of being the most wanted man in the galaxy, you and I could have been something different.”

Zara smiled warmly. “A beautiful thought, Sebastian. But our meeting came with purpose. And that purpose was to advance Merovingian’s technology and holdings. If it wasn’t for that, we never would have met.”

Seb sighed. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

“There’s no reason to focus on the past when we have to look ahead, don’t you agree?”

“What do you mean?”

Zara pulled up her leg and turned toward Seb. “You and I have history. Nothing will change what has happened. But what if we were to agree, together, no more lies? No more deceits? We both forgive each other right now and move forward.”

“Like a fresh start?”

“Exactly. One of trust where we speak the truth, no matter how much it hurts. That way there can be no misunderstandings.”

“If you’re asking me to tell you that I love you… I don’t know if I can do that.”

Zara shook her head. “That’s not what I’m asking. I can’t hide my feelings. But if you’re okay with that, I have no problem waiting and proving to you that I can be what you want.”

“You would do that? What about your business? Your father? You said it yourself. You did all those things because you are required to because of your position.”

Zara smiled. “That’s changed. I’m no longer Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions for Merovingian. I’m now you and your crew’s caretaker. So, I’m going to be taking care of you. If you’re being honest with me, that this threat you speak of is serious and you need my help to get you off the planet, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Seb grinned from ear to ear. “You’re serious? You would do that for us.”

Zara shook her head and ran her finger down Seb’s chest. “No, Sebastian. I’d do it for you.”

Seb cocked his brow and nodded slightly. “Then I think we could start over.” He extended his arm to Zara. When she placed her hand on his, he pulled it to his lips and kissed the top of it. “Princess Saladonus, it's nice to finally meet you. The real you.”

A grin peeked from the corner of her mouth. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain Sebastian Warhawk.”

After the pair giggled and shared smiles, Zara stood and grabbed her towel. “I think it’s been long enough.”

Seb followed suit and walked behind the princess as she left the sauna. He watched her let out a giggling laugh as she sprinted forward, tossed her towel on a nearby chair, and jumped into the pool. Undeterred, Seb followed suit and lunged behind her. When his body hit the water, the sharp temperature change sent a shockwave through his body. He screamed underwater and frantically swam to the surface.

When his head broke through, he shouted. “Holy fuck, that’s cold!”

Zara let out a boisterous laugh before teasing. “Oh, don’t be a baby. It’s good for you.”

“Like hell it is. This is torture.”

“You don’t stay in too long. One lap down and back is all you need.”

Seb groaned as he did as suggested. When he reached the end, Zara stood along the edge, handing him his towel. Once he climbed out, she handed it to him before leaving briefly and entering one of the other doors. She returned with two plush robes in her hands.

“That one should fit you,” Zara said, handing it to him.

After they both got dressed, Zara popped the bottle of wine she’d brought with them and poured them both a glass. They took seats in the stone chairs. Seb was surprised to find them radiating heat. It was a welcome reprieve from the frigid waters.

“Does your crew know you’re with me?” Zara asked.

“Some of them do,” Seb said.

“Do they know the purpose of your visit?”

“Those that know do.”

“And how do they feel about having to ask me to help you?”

“They’re worried you’re going to drag us into another deal.”

“I see…,” Zara said, taking a sip. After twisting her glass in her fingers a few times, the princess asked, “How do you think they would feel if my travel became more permanent?”

“Like you’d want to join the crew?” Seb asked, sitting up.

“I… I don’t know. I did not expect my father to strip me of my position at Merovingian. For the last ten years, I’ve done nothing but give everything to that company. For him to take such drastic action and strip me of everything… I’m feeling a bit lost.”

“Well, you’re our caretaker now. Although I have no idea what that means, it seems like an important position.”

Zara gave Seb a mean case of side-eye. “Let’s not kid ourselves, Sebastian. My father wants me integrated so that he always has eyes on you and your crew. I’d imagine he expects me to relay everything you all do in the case you're planning anything nefarious.”

“Like what?”

Zara tapped on her cheek. “I don’t know… perhaps something like what you came to me for today?”

Seb chuckled. “Yeah… that’s fair.”

“Don’t worry, though. I have no plans to tell him anything, and I intend to help you. It’s just going to take some careful planning. There are eyes and ears everywhere. Well, except here, which is why we’re even having this conversation. But do not expect any of the servants or guards to be your friends. Everyone around you except me would always choose the family over you.”

“So, is this even going to be possible?”

“Anything is possible on Mahad,” Zara said with a toothy grin.

“Do you have any immediate ideas?”

“We’re going to need some kind of misdirection to buy you time. Ideally, I relay your position so no one is the wiser to what happens. Maybe we hire some stand-ins? I don’t know. One thing is for certain, though. There’s no way we’re going to be able to get the Amnesty off of Mahad. It’s way too visible. We’re going to have to use a different ship. Maybe a shuttle. Something inconspicuous with clean codes.”

Seb rubbed his chin. “Not having the Amnesty is a concern. We’ll need Syn with us.”

“Your virtual intelligence?”

“Yeah, she and Eni worked together to build the dictionary. She’s got all the information in regards to the codex.”

“Can you… I don’t know, take her with you somehow?”

“Maybe?” Seb said, shrugging. “She’s fully integrated into the ship. Her processing cores take up nearly all the server room. There’s no way we can take all of her that way. We may have to get creative. I’ll have to talk to Eni about our options.”

“Then it seems we both have our work cut out for us,” Zara said with a seductive grin.

“It seems that way.”

Zara downed the rest of her drink and spun off of her seat. She grabbed the bottle and shuffled over to Seb. With a hand extended, she asked, “Shall we get started?”

Seb smiled and grabbed her hand. “Yeah, let’s do this.”