Chapter 206: The Lady (Patreon)

Charlie couldn’t stop her fingers from anxiously pulling at the edges of the protective leather armor on her Ghost Reef Standard Issue equipment. If it wasn’t such a snug fit, she would have frayed the hems with her nails and her incessant fidgeting. The armor may have been designed to withstand actual blade attacks, but her fingertips were relentless. She was barely preventing herself from activating the battle-mode on the helmet and turning herself into a proper stormtrooper in order to hide from the current situation.

When they first spotted the slightly altered New York City skyline, with its vine covered towers, the relief the travelers felt was palpable. The journey from Neptune’s Bridge, up the east coast, had been a constant stream of monster encounters. Things only began to calm down as they approached the outer limits of the large settlement’s territory. The influence of the civilization shard was apparent hundreds of miles away, dwarfing even Ghost Reef’s impact on the sea.

Charlie had been able to enjoy the awestruck reactions of the phantom pirates who had universally come from a time before skyscrapers could threaten to pierce the clouds. The typically chatty crew spent quite a few moments just staring at the approaching city. They may have only been from a time period 100 years before the tall buildings started being constructed, but it seemed like human development was constantly escalating. When she brought it up to Camila, her friend commented on the time between the first flight and the first steps on the moon. A few thousand years wasn’t a big deal in the eyes of the system, but Earth had developed considerably in what would be seen as a short time in the galactic community.

It didn’t take long for the three ethereal pirate ships to be noticed by the residents of the city, and by the time they angled to dock, a small army aggressively greeted them with shouted threats and violent gestures. They were obviously under the impression that the city was under attack from the sea for the first time in the assimilation, and the random citizens had mobilized themselves quickly, unwilling to surrender even a simple landing to invaders.

Three large pirate ships rigged with black sails, emitting ghostly auras, and armed with more cannons than the entire city could claim, certainly ruffled some feathers, but the residents showed no fear. It took some shouted explanations from Carlos before their identities were eventually made clear enough, and the mob dispersed for them to dock without a fight. Apparently, they were as willing to accept refugees and tourists as they were to fight to the death with invaders. Charlie wasn’t sure if it was a New York thing or a Neon Park thing, but it was certainly something.

The next wave of interactions were from people who were clearly jockeying for political influence. Different territories within the city sent emergency delegations as word spread that powerful newcomers had arrived from the sea. They sought to bring the outsiders into their sphere of influence, as if they were pieces on a board game with unknown value. It wasn’t exactly the welcome that Ghost Reef would have provided to visitors, but it was still surprisingly friendly. Considering how quickly the people deescalated from a potential battle, Charlie was impressed by their rapid acceptance of outsiders on the whole.

Still, Charlie was completely out of her depth, almost preferring a battle at this point in her life, but Marcus was like a kid walking into a toy store with a blank check. In his eyes, each new interaction was a golden opportunity to prove his worth. Marcus would never match Coop’s battle prowess, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t excel in his own right. He sent his personally trained ambassadors with each of the groups, with the unspoken direction to commit to nothing while gathering all of the information they could. Marcus left to meet with the Champion of Neon Park, leveraging the legitimacy provided by arriving with Camila’s cousins to make his own contributions to the data collection portion of his mission.

Meanwhile, Carlos, Gabby, and Sofia rather aggressively claimed Charlie and Camila, shielding them from any other group and directing them to the Bronx until Camila was forced to wave them away as well. She knew where to go, so they didn’t need an escort. Now that they were in Neon Park, the trio’s mission was complete, so they were off to report their success, leaving Charlie and Camila to go at their own pace.

Admiral Kayla was already making fast friends with the characters on the pier, not entirely leaving the mission in the hands of Marcus and his diplomats. She claimed that the best way to gather information on a place was to talk to the people on the street level, and the pirates were perfect for lowering guards.

It seemed like everyone was happy to be docked again, but Charlie wished she was able to stay with the pirates on the ships. Even after such a long and difficult time at sea, the ship was still more appealing than meeting an unknown number of people. At least she would have been left in a familiar environment shielded by the friendly phantoms of Ghost Reef.

Instead of being comfortably hidden in the captain’s cabin, Charlie was sitting in a cozily decorated lobby with Camila reliably at her side. Her hands in her lap, pulling at the leather armor. Camila was the epitome of relaxation, lounging on the soft sofa with her feet dangling in the air.

They had traveled to the home of the borough commander of the Bronx by walking through brightly lit subway tunnels, lined with stalls as people bartered in front of small dwellings that had been dug into the walls. The entire trip was a blur of people demanding their attention, but Charlie had noted the carefully laid out dwellings. The Champion had done an impressive job of utilizing the preexisting layered construction to accommodate the population. Ghost Reef’s underground could certainly benefit from some of the principles that were applied in Neon Park.

Eventually, they left the tunnels and walked through residential neighborhoods lined with homes, apartments, and churches. At first, it was clear that the residential area had been outside of territory influence, with signs of violence resulting in partially destroyed buildings. Charlie wouldn’t be surprised if someone had fought a wave of the siege event in the area, given the large swathes of wreckage. She could easily imagine her own tornadoes tearing through the streets in an effort to stem the tide of monsters.

The destruction disappeared as they went further and entered different neighborhoods, filled with even more expensive seeming homes, until Camila sighed and pointed to their destination. It was at the end of a winding, tree-lined road, with tall embankments and an even taller half-stone wall protecting both sides at the peaks. The wall was topped with a wrought iron fence and Charlie could tell that a carefully manicured woodland occupied most of the land.

Once they made it to the driveway, Charlie took a moment to be impressed by the old mansion in front of them. It had a striking red brick facade with white trim and a black shingled roof. The double front doors were recessed with a two story portico supported by white columns. A series of stone steps led the way to the entrance, with lush green bushes on either side. It seemed like an old home that had been well-taken care of over at least a century, maybe two. Camila led the way right up to the front doors and let herself in.

The interior walls of the three story mansion were the colors of pleasant vanilla creams with light summertime brown trim and molding. Above, a beaded hanging chandelier lit the open area. In the living room where they waited, there were nearly a hundred framed photos of children playing, receiving rewards, graduating from classes, and surrounding birthday cakes on the walls around them.

“Look, that’s me when I graduated from kindergarten.” Camila pointed to one of the many pictures, snorting at the image of her childhood. “I wonder if Miss V made it.” She idly thought. Charlie looked a bit closer and let herself be distracted by the miniature version of Camila smiling in a formal dress without either of her front teeth.

“Miss Victoria is a level 83 Sorceress.” A voice came from beyond the balcony at the top of the spiraling staircase on the interior of the mansion. The click clacking of heels on the hardwood floors drew Charlie’s attention away from the pictures and reignited her anxiety. “She leads one of the local defense groups that makes sure the park doesn’t get out of control. The early days would have been much tougher without the early volunteers like her. We might have abandoned all of the northwest neighborhoods in favor of protecting the south without them.”

“Hmph.” Camila let out a sound as she sat up, mood rapidly changing. ”That’s good news, at least.”

Charlie looked up toward the voice and was momentarily confused by what she saw. It was Camila’s doppelganger, but older, wearing a gorgeous red lounge dress, and holding a champagne glass with two fingers. Her hair was artfully sculpted in a fancy updo, held together with a pair of needle point pins, and revealing a pair of dangling earrings that caught the light from the chandelier. Charlie felt a wave of deja vu as she recalled the complex first impression she felt when she met Camila among the aliens of the Endless Empire. Their host demonstrated the same disarming beauty and self-assured confidence, but with the addition of absolute commanding authority. In contrast, Camila was uncharacteristically squirming, as if she was losing the confidence that normally defined her.

“It’s been so long since you brought friends home to play.” The Lady smiled teasingly, shifting her focus to Charlie as she took her time descending the polished dark wood stairs. “And who are you, my dear?”

“Ah- I… Ch-” Charlie did her best, struggling to decide between her name and an apology for the intrusion, but Camila saved her.

“This is Charlie Seraphin, maybe the most powerful human in the world.” Camila hyped her up. “Top two, at the very least.” She concluded generously.

“Mmm.” The elegant lady murmured like she was enjoying a meal before she settled opposite the pair, letting a coffee table that sat upon a plush brown rug separate them. “It’s lovely to meet you Miss Seraphin, of course I recognize your name from the leaderboards. I hope that my granddaughter has been kind to you.” She smiled pleasantly. “I’ll prepare another room on the second floor for you to rest.”  She continued without waiting for a response.

“You don’t need to do that.” Camila interrupted firmly. “We aren’t staying.”

Camila’s grandmother feigned a look of confusion. “You came all this way, but won’t be staying? I’ve already heard how difficult the trip was from your aunt. I’m sure you could use the rest.” She placed her glass down on a side table, causing bracelets on her wrist to clink pleasantly. “You’ve obviously had to work so hard, it’s about time you came back. I’ll make sure you’re safe from now on.”

Camila dramatically sighed. “I knew you wouldn’t understand. That’s why I didn’t explain when I left.” She stood up, and Charlie watched wide-eyed as Camila seemed to lose her cool for the first time since they first met. Charlie was focused on Camila’s clenched fist as it slowly opened and closed while Camila continued. “You can’t always keep us safe and it doesn’t matter how much you try. That’s even more true now than it was before. There are greater, unreal, alien forces so far beyond your control it’s almost laughable that you would try to make any promises.”

“Calm down, sweetie.” Camila’s grandmother spoke softly, completely unmoved by Camila’s igniting temper. “That’s how the world has always been. I’ve only ever looked out for the family above all else, and that’s what I will continue to do until it proves to be impossible.”

“If you want to do that, you’re going to have to give up your fantasies of controlling everything.” Camila countered. “I know you can’t do that.”

Camila’s grandmother smiled in a way that revealed the creases beside her eyes. “Are you finally ready to take responsibility?”

Camila huffed before responding. “This isn’t going to work. Just schedule a meeting with Marcus. Maybe you’ll take him seriously.” She declared with exasperation as she practically fled up the stairs of the mansion, taking them three at a time.

Charlie had no idea what she had just witnessed. Her fingers had finally stopped fidgeting when Camila revealed old wounds. She had thought it was awkward meeting her friend’s family, but it was even more awkward to be present for an old family feud that she didn’t even understand. Without Camila by her side, she just sat as still as possible, subconsciously praying that Camila’s grandmother would forget she was there.

“Sorry about that, dear.” She smiled apologetically at Charlie, dashing the latter’s hopes. “I was exactly the same way when my grandfather insinuated the same thing.” She sighed. “Oh! Where are my manners? Would you like something to drink?”

“Um.” Charlie flailed under the penetrating gaze of the matriarch.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you something.” She decided, standing up. “You can call me Rose by the way. Just make yourself comfortable. My home is your home.”

Charlie was frozen with indecision after being left alone. She could escape out the front door, but she didn’t want to leave Camila behind, and she had no idea what she would do outside by herself. Really, facing the matriarch of her friend’s family was nothing compared to the life or death situations she had already faced, so she didn’t flee, no matter how badly she yearned to feel the wind rushing past her as she chased down The Eye of the Storm. They had come with a purpose, and without Camila to advocate for Ghost Reef and warn about the Eradication Protocol, it was up to her. She folded her hands into her lap and took a deep breath as she prepared for her most intimidating battle yet.

Rose returned with two glasses of what Charlie assumed was milk. Charlie accepted hers with a thankful bow and quickly took a sip. She barely stopped herself from coughing as the drink caught her by surprise, burning on the way down, and making her eyes water. It reminded her of the coconut and rum concoction that Camila had cobbled together during Ghost Reef’s celebration feast, but it was extra creamy and topped with cinnamon.

“Too strong?” Rose worried with sincerity. “It’s Cici’s favorite. I thought it would be nice to have it when she came back.”

Charlie timidly shook her head and took another sip. Rose smiled at her with satisfaction.

“So, Charlie. Is there anything you need? Just ask and we’ll make it happen. Any friend of Camila’s is naturally a friend of the family.” She looked at Charlie encouragingly. Charlie had a look of consideration and Rose took her silence for hesitance. “And I do mean anything. It’s been almost half a century - before my time as matriarch even,” She chuckled. “But whatever you want, we can find a way.”

Rose took her own sip and let her eyes close. “You can stay here and be as safe as you can get during the apocalypse. If you have family, we can get them a house in the neighborhood. If you need someone found, we can pull strings and mobilize people to search the world.” She peeked from beneath her lids and casually gestured toward Charlie and Camila as if she had already proven they would be found with a gentle smile. Then she slowly opened her eyes all the way, angling her head, and watched Charlie carefully. “If you need someone lost, we can get some other people for the job. No questions asked.”

Charlie coughed as she realized what Camila’s grandmother was implying. Rose chuckled, but didn’t clarify any potential misunderstandings. Charlie took another sip and put the glass down, understanding that the lack of a clarification was the only clarification necessary. Charlie cleared her throat, preparing to ask the intimidating lady for a major favor.

“Ah.. actually… Um. There is something...” She began, forcing herself to go for it.

Rose leaned forward, excited to hear from the timid Aeromancer. “Oh?” She smiled with genuine anticipation. “Tell me, child.”