Chapter 14 - Maven

The heavy rain splashing into the large body of water on just the other side of the thin metal wall that kept it from crashing in. The rain was just like that of the other night, the heavy rain that came down from the sky, the storm's wind that rocked the sea. She snapped out of her thought when she heard a groan from behind her. Scarlet was flat on the bed on her stomach, moaning and groaning as if she was dying. She chuckled and closed the long silky curtains of the window before joining her friend.

"What's the matter with you? You look like someone stabbed you and got away with it." She said jokingly. The only reply she got from her friend was a groan and a glare before turning flat on her back. The door to the room squeaked open as Yukanie came through from the other side. Yukanie seems tired and exhausted as she collapsed onto the bed. Because of the storm outside, no one was allowed on deck, adding to the fact that the captain was keeping most of the guests in their rooms due to the disappearance of the bottles from earlier. This had made the atmosphere even dimmer.

"Maybe it's because you guys ate too much this morning?" She suggested, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I would believe it if it was only Scarlet," Yukanie Muttered from the other bed.

She laughed as Scarlet grabbed a nearby pillow and tossed it over to Yukanie. Even though the two of them were acting like they were about to die, they still had the energy to fight with each other. They all jumped again when they heard a loud voice booming in the hallway.

"DUE TO THE TERRIBLE, UNPREDICITED WEATHER! WE'RE FORCED TO HEAD INTO LAND EARLY! UNTIL THEN, WE ASK THAT YOU FOLLOW THE CAPTIN'S ORDER AND REMAIN IN YOUR ROOM FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!"

They listen as the voice faded, making its way down the hallway past their door. Suddenly Yukanie leaps up from her bed, completely forgetting the pain from her stomach. They both stared at her blankly, confused at her sudden expression change, as if something important just hit her.

"The nerve..." Yukanie muttered, not before rushing out of the room.

"Where are you going? They just said not to-" She cut herself off. It was pointless to shout any further since Yukanie was already out of the range to hear. She had never seen Yukanie so angry before, the only time was when it comes to dealing with her family matters.

Scarlet looked over to her, with the same expression she assumes she had on as well. They were both confused yet worried about where their friend would run off to in such a hurry, but the storm was the main problem. If Yukanie was to head up to deck for something crazy...something unimaginable might happen, being the one that brought her friend on this cruise she felt that it was her responsibility to watch after them until they went back to land.

"You stay here, I don't want you to run around with that sick stomach of yours." She said, getting off the bed and grabbing her jacket hanging from the coat hanger on the wall. The jacket wasn't waterproof but it would at least keep her warm and dry for a matter of time. Scarlet sat up completely forgetting the fact that she has an upset stomach and watches as she threw the jacket over her thin long sleeve.

"What? I'm not going to sit here while something exciting is happening out there!" Scarlet shouted in disbelief at what she was saying, proceeding to get up. She quickly grabbed the key to the room and rushed out of the room, Scarlet who realized what she was about to do rushed at her, but not quick enough as she closed the door and locked it from outside with the key.

"MAVEN! UNLOCK IT RIGHT NOW!" She heard Scarlet shouted from the other side, followed by banging on the door. Thankfully most of the noise Scarlet was making was washed away from the raging storm outside.

"Don't worry! You just stay put we'll be back soon!" She called hoping that it wouldn't take long. She knew Scarlet's temper when asking not to do anything, if Scarlet was locked in there for too long she won't have the end of it when she gets back. Ignoring Scarlet's shouting she quickly made her way up from the lowest floor of the cruise.

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"Have you seen a blue hair girl? She's wearing a wool sweater?" She breathlessly asked the 5th worker she had pass by. Running through the whole ship from top to bottom and bottom to up it seems that Yukanie was nowhere inside.

"Blue hair girl? Are you guys playing some game or something?" The young male waiter questioned giving her a chuckle. "Just like you she ran here breathless asking for some bartender whose name she didn't even have." The waiter shook his head all the while with a smile on his face as he cleaned the cups off the table they were at.

Unable to say anything as she breathes heavily trying to catch her breath. The waiter glance at her again, seeing that she was out of breath but not laughing or smiling at all, straightened his expression.

"She couldn't give me the name so I couldn't help her, and after that, she ran outside onto the deck, I did warn her that if she goes out there she would be blown away with the wind with that skinny body of hers." He replied, without a single hint of worry in his tone.

The words that the waiter said carelessly without a hint of worry made her boiled with anger, but she had no time to scold this guy, if what he said was true, then Yukanie was above deck. She quickly made her way through the many tables for the glass door that leads outside to the front deck. With the wind blowing, even pushing the door open was hard.

"YUKANIE!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, but it seems that her voice would not reach far before it was carried away by the wind, swallowed by the rain. Using one of her hands to hold her hood in place while the other shield her eyes as the raindrops came splashing onto her face making it harder for her to see.

"YUKANIE!" She shouted again, she scanned the front of the deck, the overflowing large pool, and the beach chairs that were glue to place. Otherwise, the place was dark and empty, swallowing hard she made her way slowly to the railing of the cruise. Every step she takes, she could feel the waves that slam themselves against the side of the cruise, making it rock back and forth. With the rain that splashes onto the deck not before sliding off the side into the ocean, the floor was slippery and hard to walk on.

"Yukanie! If you're out there please answer me!" She cried, feeling the energy leave her with every step she takes. There was no reply besides the endless howling of the wind. Gripping the railing tightly, afraid that if she were to let go she would be toss into the depth of the ocean. She heard a door slam open behind her making her turn.

"HEY GIRL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" From the rain, she could make out a middle-aged mage in a white suit with a sailor's cap making his way slowly towards her. He seems to be struggling even more than her with every step he takes. "GET BACK HERE!" He shouted.

She opens her mouth to reply but when the ship suddenly shook violently as if it hit something. She gripped the railing so hard that she swore her nail must have dug through her skin, feeling the stabbing pain from her hands. Once the ship was stabilizing itself again she heard the loud groan through the rain. She leaned over the railing, aside from the crashing sea she saw the amount of water rushing at the bottom of the cruise as if the sea was filling in a void of empty space.

"CAPTIN! THE BOTTOM OF THE SHIP SEEMS TO HIT SOMETHING! WE'RE TAKING IN WATER AT THE BOTTOM! WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS?!" A fellow worker shouted coming out in the doorway. The captain seems to completely forget about her, went back inside to deal with the chaos.

Scarlet popped into her head, as she reaches into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the key of the room.

"Wait! Help my friend-" The suddenly rocking of the cruise made her cried out, as she gripped the railing and held her hood. The harsh wind took that chance to rip the key out of her hand.

"NO!" She cried, as it went over the railing she made a grab for it not before it dropped hopelessly into the angry sea. No...what have I done, she thought with eyes of terror. But from the corner of her eyes, among the rain, she saw two figures standing at the back of the deck, hidden away from view. One was noticeably taller than the other one. They seem to be deep in a heated argument, not being able to hear them because of the wind she made her way slowly over, all the while holding onto the railing.

When she was just within a few feet away, within reaching and hearing distance she shouted Yukanie's name to see if they would react. And indeed the smaller and thinner of the figure turned around, it was Yukanie who was drench from head to two in her wool sweater, without a cover over her head or anything. Her joy of finding her friend quickly fades as she watches the moment Yukanie has her back turn to the tall man, he reaches out and grabbed her by the shoulder shoving her hard. She watches as Yukanie, caught off guard lost her foot on the slippery ground and leaned back over the railing with a look of horror in her eyes.

"YUKANIE!"

Everything seems to have gone down in that single moment, she was unable to hear anything as she reaches for her friend's hand, all the while the male made his way smoothly past her and disappeared among the madness. Catching her Yukanie's hand but losing her footing on the ground herself with the sudden tug of weight, she herself watches in horror as her body went sailing over the railing.

She wasn't able to hear the loud storm, the splashing sea, or the groaning of the ship. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and her internal scream. She felt herself falling and falling and.....then it finally stopped. Every sound she wasn't able to hear came rushing back at her, the crashing waves and the siren that sounded. She glances up to see the person who held her hand tightly stopping them from falling. A wave of relief washed over her face.

"Scarlet..."