Enchanted Ch. 07

"A halfling?" Red asked. "I don't see many of your kind."

"No, I don't expect you don't," Zynga agreed.

"How did you get here?" Little Red asked.

"Keeping an eye on my Master is my job," Zynga said. "A full time job, at that. Fortunately, I'm little and easy to miss."

Little Red's eyes narrowed but John reached out and touched her with his magic, distracting for the briefest of moments with a feeling of bliss that left her eyes unfocused and her breath short. She blinked and smiled at him, biting her lip and then glancing at her sister.

"I'll show him to his bunk."

"Zynga too," John reminded her.

"What? Oh... yes, of course."

Red nodded. "All right, stow your things and then you might as well spend time learning the ship, John. Mage or not, until you prove your worth I'll not have a freeloader on my ship. You work for your passage."

"That's fair," John agreed.

"And Mare, no fucking him on my ship!" Red added.

Little Red frowned. "But—"

"No!"

"Fine," Little Red snapped. "Come on, John. Let me show you to a bunk next to mine."

"I'd love to see it," John said. "And, perhaps, you can tell me why your sister keeps calling you Mare?"

Little Red groaned and led him down the stairs to the main deck and from there below decks into the crew quarters. As she walked she finally admitted, "That's my given name, but I hate it. Don't be using it... or else."

"Is it short for Mary or something else?"

She shook her head. "No, just Mare. Stupid. Like a horse. Do I look like a horse?"

"Well, I did enjoy riding you," he quipped.

She glared at him and then let a giggle slip. "Fine, but you only get the one joke, got it?"

He grinned. "Got it."

"Come on then, over here. Down near the end. We've got sheets separating the men from the women. I'll have you nearest though... I can trust you around the women, right?"

"Of course, I'd never do an honest woman harm."

She laughed. "We're short on honest women. They're good enough sailors, but honest? Well... you be the judge of that."

He chuckled and soon found the hammock she mentioned. He'd looked at it and around. There were several other hammocks strung up and a few bedrolls on the floor men were in, but hammocks seemed to be the preferred sleeping arrangement. "I've never slept in one of these," he said.

She leered at him and whispered, "If I have my way, you won't get much sleep now either!"

Zynga chuckled behind them. Little Red heard her and blushed.

"Big Red seems to want us both, ahem, well rested," John pointed out. "She seemed quite serious."

"Big Red?"

"Your sister? The Captain?"

"I know... I've never heard her called that before. She's just Red and I'm Little Red."

"Seems a little confusing."

"Better than Mare," she grumbled.

John chuckled. "Maybe we can find a new name for you. Ginger? No, that's too simple."

"Hot Stuff?" Zynga offered.

Little Red's eyes were almost as wide as her mouth.

"Yes, but not a good name," John negotiated.

Zynga shrugged.

Little Red shook her head. "No, that's not a good name."

"Let's sleep on it," John suggested.

She yawned. "Yeah, okay. Saints, I am tired. It's really catching up to me all of a sudden."

"Well, being concerned you're going to be forced to walk the plank can be a little energizing," John said.

Little Red giggled. "Walk the plank... nobody does that, John."

"Oh... I guess I've a lot to learn."

"Yeah you do," she agreed. "But I'll teach you. I'll be right on the other side of this sheet if you need me, okay?"

"Good," he said, earning an extra grin from her.

She hesitated and then darted over to give him another kiss before slipping around the sheet and making herself ready for a nap.

"I thought your sister said you were up for the day?" he asked.

"Shh, a little nap won't hurt," she said through the sheet. "I'm really tired all of a sudden."

John shrugged and looked at his hammock. He wasn't tired but he was curious what it felt like. "All right, you can show me around when you get up."

"Mmm, I'll show you anything you'd like to see," she sighed.

John smirked and caught Zynga's laughing eyes. She rolled them and made her universal gesture of finger into circle.

John yawned and blinked. He was a little tired, maybe. The stress of dealing with Red and Sasha had been exhausting. Maybe a short nap wasn't a bad idea after all.

He listened close and heard Little Red's even breathing. She was out cold. He expected her short nap would be a long one, he'd taken a lot from her. She was young enough to have boundless energy, but even the vigor of youth could only keep her going so long.

"She's asleep," Zynga said.

"Hey, she didn't give you a bunk in the women's section!" John noticed.

Zynga shrugged. "Like I said, I'm easy to forget."

"Still, you should—"

"No, Master, I mean I'm supposed to be easy to forget. Remember who... and what... I am."

"Oh," John said. "Right... I suppose that is a useful thing... as long you don't mind."

Zynga smirked. "Look at you being all noble. Be careful with that, the ladies might like it but... well... don't let it get in the way of what Mistress wants."

"Of course not," John agreed. The thought of displeasing Mistress put a chill in his belly. He swallowed and changed the subject, "Do we need to come back here when we're done? Is there more I should do?"

"About that... your timing is good— no, great. Irena messed up and her husband's body was discovered last night. This morning they found the ogres. The town's in a bit of an uproar so leaving and staying out of it is definitely in our best interests."

John winced. "Is Irena going to be okay?"

Zynga raised an eyebrow. "I don't know and you don't care."

"I don't?"

"You don't. Search yourself. You might think you should care, but you really don't."

John closed his mouth and thought about her. She was a lovely woman, yes, but very eager and naïve. She had some good thoughts but, well, her energy was admirable. Still, for all of her boons, he found he really didn't miss her. There was no lasting connection between them. There had been, but it faded quickly.

He felt the same way about Magda, now that he thought of it. Steff and Little Red though, they were special to him. He was glad to be with them still. They'd help him, just as Little Red was helping him find the things he told her he was searching for. Steff was rough and Little Red even more naïve than Irena, but still, they mattered.

But why?

John sat down in his hammock and took care to get used to how it swung. He was about to lie down in it and try to meditate on the young women in, and out, of his life when the sheet on the left— port— side of the hull was pulled back and a person stepped out. John met her eyes and stared. Her mouth dropped and then her eyes lit up.

"John!" Steff gasped.

"Oh boy," he breathed.