Alkimiya - A Fantasy Mystery Series

EIGHTEEN - The Triad

Woot, woot! We finally made it!

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Three days over the Ghost Sea brought a sense of comradeship to all those aboard Sunray. Field Trainer Onnan, who continuously complained about everything, remained the only exception to this amity. He took ill after uttering a particularly nasty comment about Mimi, however, and thus remained confined to one of Healer Pilluck's cots. Although none of Captain Inglehart's crew said anything, Zenetra noticed the contented whistling of Nibbs as he diced potatoes and Raoul's mischievous grin.

One night during an intense round of cards, Mimi confessed to being worried about Raoul. The mucker was fifteen, and both his parents had lost their government jobs along with their home six years previously in a questionable happenstance overseen by the governor.

James' eyes had flicked over his hand of cards to meet Zenetra's, and a silent debate about Gustav Ewald passed between them.

Though she resolved to look into the governor's past upon her return, Zenetra had yet to accept James' offer of traversing through the Hovels. She was not afraid of going there, as James had teased, but was in fact reluctant to show her face around the less fortunate. The Hive often concocted insalubrious articles comparing her wealth to others. 

She did not dare tell James she had already visited the Hovels. Her sister, acting as the head of Noire Transport then, went to observe the conditions under the pretext of charitable donations. Zenetra had gone with, but even at ten, the act of inspecting the Hovels had seemed more an affair of continuous family duty rather than genuine care to visit those who lived in squalor. She and Xuxa's caption ended up in the papers next to two impoverished children of the same age, with a headline that affixed a number of tollárs to her name. It left Zenetra feeling rotten.

With the possibility of Governor Ewald having potentially filled the Hovels himself and currently in the running to become prime minister, Zenetra hated to think of what would happen to the touched minority if a Guild Sympathizer came into so much power. Raoul and his family would be at risk of being put on a ship to be sent away or worse—killed in a staged riot.

Her father had the right of it to become part of the evolving world. A setback in government by Guild fanatics would be the downfall of their young nation. The service and sacrifices her great-grandfather made would be erased.

Zenetra resolved to focus on the election upon her return to the UDF. The Noire name held significant sway with the people, albeit less so without Xuxa, but she could wrangle a few heavyweight names to her side. The Thorpe family would stand with her, she had no doubt, and perhaps an alliance would reconnect Tilde with her estranged family.

The first-star constable was funny, affable, and snarky. Tilde was by no means prim and proper, but nor did she seek to be. For reasons unknown, she did find herself in rather odd situations. While aboard Sunray, she became trapped in the bathroom twice, tripped both up and down the stairway to the navigation room, and on one occasion, launched a bowl of steaming morning porridge all over Inspector Hatwig's lap.

Mimi was a welcomed friend as well and seemed to be a great judge of character. With Carver always backing her up, an occurrence Zenetra was certain happened even when they were not working the same case, Mimi had flourished into a highly respected constable.

Zenetra liked Carver more and more as the days went on. With Tilde, she could openly discuss finances. With Mimi, all attention would be diverted, leaving Zenetra feeling safe to enjoy being surrounded by people. With Carver, however, she felt she could be entirely herself. There was something grounding about him that set her at ease.