Capricorn gazed at them with a neutral expression. She wasn't exactly one to… relish these kinds of scenes, but…
'If that helps you sleep at night…' she thought.
Suddenly, the ship got shaken by something.
Artemis and Matilda abruptly pulled away from each other to look around with wide eyes.
''What happened?!''
Capricorn paused, thinking.
'Oh… our little sabotage…'
She grinned at the thought and cleared her throat.
''I can never rest, can I~?''
She crosses her arms.
''Your ship must be terribly damaged~, but no worries! I can fix it.''
Artemis looked up at Capricorn with something that looked dangerously close to hope.
''Really…? You'd help us?'' Then, quieter: ''Even after all we did…?''
Capricorn grins at her and nods.
''Yes, sir~'' she winks at her.
A pause.
''Or, more accurately, Ma'am—''
She clears her throat and jumps off the table while placing her hands on her hips.
''I'll have to check the whole ship, though…''
Artemis nods.
''Is there anything we can do to help you?''
Capricorn grins.
''Follow me~ and distract the guards in the rooms I'll need to check.''
Artemis nods and takes Matilda's hand.
Matilda reluctantly allows her and starts following them… but not before rolling her eyes. She still didn't trust Capricorn, that was for sure.
Capricorn led them to a room nearby.
Six guards were standing there while talking.
Capricorn turned to Artemis and Matilda and winked at them before she rolled her way to a big objet covered by a blanket.
Matilda glanced at Artemis, who was smiling reassuringly at her.
She cracked a small smile with a sigh.
Artemis nodded at her as they started walking towards the guards.
''Hello there, everyone~!'' She says with a wide grin.
The guards turn to her with a smile.
''Heya, girls!'' One of them says. ''We were wondering when you two would join us!''
He walks up to Matilda and pats her shoulder.
''And… uh…'' he carefully chooses his next words. ''Sorry for your loss…''
Matilda smiles softly at him and slowly nods in acknowledgment.
''Thank you, Jeremy…''
He gently ruffles her short, brown hair and pats her head.
''You're welcome, Mat.''
She laughs softly at the nickname and melts under his touch.
Capricorn watched the whole scene a distorted face that looked way too close to a disgusted one…
An uncomfortable shiver ran through her body as she quietly walked towards a vent. She pressed her palm against it and made sure to share her heat with the metal.
Slowly, the metal started melting, but the room was getting more and more warm too…
Jeremy paused in his conversation with Matilda. His gaze slowly swept around the room.
A beat.
Then his sword was already in his hand.
He hid Matilda and Artemis behind him as his gaze drifted to his fellow male guards.
''I sense a very powerful creature in this very room…''
They all nod and take out their weapons.
Artemis and Matilda laugh nervously as they follow their lead.
Capricorn's ears perked up at his words.
She lets out a quiet sigh and dives into the vent silently.
She turns around and reshapes the molten vent to not leave any traces of her actions.
Her body barely clicked against the vent's path when she heard an alarm turning on in the ship.
She glanced outside of one of the vents as her eyes widen.
She was seeing red….
Literally.
Jeremy was pushing a button in one of the other rooms.
A robotic voice kept saying: ''Intruder detected.''
She facepalmed.
She had forgotten that even a dumb spell like fire was too powerful compared to their level…
They only got to grow trees and throw fireballs earlier because those were powers, and not magic.
She grumbled under her breath and pulled at her sleeve to reveal a golden watch.
She tapped on the glass and murmured.
''To all The Rose Noire: bring the ship at the nearest port of the city of 'Cross Bourg' on Pottam. And let's all meet there. I'll join you in a few hours. You better all be there or I'll kill you—!''
She hides her watch again with her sleeve and looks back down through the vent.
A guard past a door with some keys in his hands.
She blinked once.
You could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
Then—
A devilish smirk started forming on her lips…