[Zerlina]

The chilly night air whipped about as it tangled itself in the propellers of the ship. Carelessly, Malice shoved the rotting door open, allowing the red glow of the hallway’s torches to spill into the dark. With a sigh, he worked his way across the creaking floorboards, the smell of smoke and liquor still hanging onto him from the time he’d spent watching the poker game. As he approached his destination, it suddenly dawned on him that he was not alone. He stopped, if only for a moment, and soon walked forward, his hands already brushing the sides of his daggers. Without warning, he turned, and drew the weapons, stepping back and getting ready to strike.

“It’s me, it’s me!” came a voice “Don’t attack, it’s me!”

He paused, and lowered his daggers, but did not put them away. The night was so dark he could not see, even though this creature was clearly close by.

“Who is ‘me?’” he asked, the Theiran accent in his voice echoing through the air.

“Is it so late, and my voice so coarse that you cannot recognize it?” came a nervous laugh.

With caution, he stepped forward and bumped into the speaker, taking a step back so that he did not fall.

“Ah!” she cried, “Maybe I’m smaller than you, but I think you’d still mind where I am.”

At this, he put his weapons away.

“It’s too dark. It’s impossible to see.” Malice explained “Perhaps you should have said something instead of following behind me.”

“Well, I needed to speak with you but I wasn’t sure how to start the conversation.” Titania answered, clutching at her dark cloak and realizing it was probably the reason why he could not see her.

“What is it about?”

“…maybe you should sit…”

He shook his head “I have to speak to the captain before he falls asleep and lets his workers take over. ”

“It’s not the best news.”

He shrugged “…I cannot agree unless you tell me.”

“Well…when you and the others were down below the deck, I was outside, and something odd happened.”

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“…Malice, I don’t want you to go around without being careful anymore.”

“That doesn’t explain what happened. Tell me.”

“It’s hard to explain. You’re not going to believe me.”

“I will. But tell me what happened.”

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Promise me first you’ll be careful.”

“I will…” he said, unsure of how to be any more careful than he already was.

“Well… I was coming down the stairs and all of a sudden my head hurt, and I became dizzy, and then there was a voice. It was a woman and she was talking to me- choking me. There were bells and the sound of steel and hooves, and everything was dark…but not like now. It was moving and it was painful and noisy. It made the world go away and left me alone. Even though I was downstairs I suddenly wasn’t there anymore and there was this horrible sound that was like a scream but not. It kept on crying out and I think it was looking for me. When I looked up, I saw this man staring down at me- only it wasn’t a man…” she fumbled, her words coming out all at once, with very little attention to speech or explanation “Do you remember in Adinem when I first came here? Do you remember the square? That’s where I was. I couldn’t see beyond his face but I knew that I was there. He grabbed me and then told me that I had ‘asked for it.’ There was pain here.” She put her hand over her heart “Even the darkness turned darker, and I felt tired and I wanted to scream, but this world had no sound besides that noise that was always playing and cutting at my ears.” If Malice was able to even make out the words she was saying, he was lucky. Everything spilled out of her mouth quickly and it was almost impossible to tell what was happening “Then after that it went away. The darkness left- not quick like a nightmare, but slowly: like a tide. And then there was that voice again, and she spoke to me. And she showed me things- things that will happen. Or…that did happen…what I mean is…” she was flustered “What did happen and what will happen…”

Malice listened, not fully understanding, but trying to. Suddenly, he heard the captain’s footsteps. Turning, as if suddenly forgetting what was going on, he tried to catch the other man.

A sudden anger filled Titania and she caught his arm, pulling him back so that he had to pay attention. Embarassed, she slowly let go and looked away so she could deliver the information without having to see him.

“Malice..." she began, her voice falling cold and distant over the air "...she showed me...she showed...”

There was a silence; Titania still did not look at him for fear of what his face might say. With quiet words, she finally raised her chin and when he saw her he knew what she was going to say.

"Neither of us is going to live."