TEST DRIVE MEME #8

[sailmods]

1. but times have changed for sailors these days

[you wake up.

it doesn't matter where you were before. going to bed? dying? opening the door to face a great evil? same result. you wake up in a soft bed with starched sheets in a cool, darkened room, sunlight peeking out from behind thick curtains. maybe you're alone; maybe you aren't. maybe you immediately notice the folded paper on the bedside table near your head. if you don't, you better fix that real quick: you won't be able to even open the door before you read it.

the note itself is written in a neat hand on white card stock; there is a stylized logo of a ship with the words SERENA ETERNA printed underneath. the note reads as follows:

Dear Passenger(s),

As your cruise director, it is my great honor to welcome you aboard the Serena Eterna, your destination for fun and adventure! We know you could have chosen any cruise line for your vacation, and we're very grateful you chose ours! On behalf of the Captain, I would like to assure each and every passenger that will we do whatever it takes to fulfill all your needs and desires during your journey with us.

At your earliest possible convenience, please attend the mandatory lifeboat drill by the end of the day. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get started on all the fun and sun, but safety always comes first! You can find your life jacket in your cabin's closet; carry it to your assigned muster station on deck one, where I will take you through the drill. If you can't find me in the crowd, just look for the gal with the winning smile!

See You Real Soon!

Sincerely,
Gal Friday

you walk to deck one. you have no other choice: every time you try to step in a direction some unseen being considers "not towards deck one," you find your legs no longer move, staying stock still, frozen. whether compelled quickly by curiosity, or delayed by pure stubbornness, the result is the same, and you are left milling around with other similarly curious or stubborn people.

you see someone in uniform near the front of the crowd. she seems to be a gal, but is missing the winning smile, along with most of her other features. she seems to see you, though, rushing to your side and placing a lei around your neck with great formality. a voice, cheery but artificial, sees to come from nowhere and everywhere.]

Welcome aboard! I'm so happy you could join us!

[you touch the lei. rooster feathers, lotus seeds, and a carved circle of something white and hard, linked onto a silk string.

after the drill is completed, you are seemingly free to go. or, well, your legs work, now. and maybe that's as good as it's gonna get.]

2. tried to amend my carnivorous habit

[the space inside John's where the piano normally sits is mysteriously vacant today. as a matter of fact, the entire piano bar is silent, without so much as a muzak-inspired interpretation of Uptown Girl to hum along to.

the piano itself seems to have disappeared... for the most part. unlucky, unsuspecting passengers who enter the cabin hallway, step out onto the lower decks, or find themselves in one of the other narrow corridors of the ship, may find themselves suddenly facing down a silent, unmoving grand piano. it takes up too much space to squeeze by comfortably...

and then, the cover lifts, exposing what looks to be... teeth?

yeah. yeah, those are its teeth. and it's coming right for you.]

3. that American creation on which I feed

[it had been a difficult October for bahamanuel, the bahamanal. its territory had changed utterly, becoming alien and strange. new predators were encroaching on its hunting grounds. its position in the natural order is under threat. and so, nature finds a way.

the old timers know to be wary of large piles of clothes, but even they won’t think to look twice at the tiny lumps of garish kids’ swimsuits and sundresses - until they feel something latch onto their leg, and then several more things, and anywhere from ten to twenty balled up clothes piles try to take down their prey.

the young must learn how to hunt, after all.]

Comments

[maximumcake]

"Okay..." Listlessly, he follows her to the chairs and sinks down on one. "Sorry. I've always been a little prone to fainting, but I'll be okay if I sit a minute."

[not_the_last]

"It's all right. You've had a terrible shock. Take a few moments."

She studies his downturned face, frowning internally in thought.

[maximumcake]

He does as she says, taking a quiet moment just to breathe slowly in and out until that queasy feeling starts to subside and his head doesn't feel so light.

"I'm doing better now. I'll be okay. You don't have to...babysit me all day."

[not_the_last]

"If you don't mind humoring me?" She makes her smile apologetic, hoping to get past his defenses by framing it as a favor he would be doing her. "I find I feel a little responsible. I'd like to at least be sure you're all right before I leave you alone."

[maximumcake]

"Okay," he answers meekly. He's caused her distress; he doesn't want to add to it! "I really will be okay. It's just that this... my schedule... it's all thrown off and I..." No. don't get worked up again. Deep breaths.

Despite the deep breaths, water is starting to leak from the corners of his eyes. "It's been a really long time since I was on my own."

[not_the_last]

Oh. Oh no.

"You're used to being with ... the lord you mentioned? Are you in his service?"

[maximumcake]

"I... yes." Wait, he shouldn't admit that so easily, should he? He should say what he was told to say instead in situations like this. "He's my employer. I work as his live-in butler."

[not_the_last]

She nods, frowning a little in mild confusion. "That last word isn't quite translating. You're his ... steward?"

[maximumcake]

"Yes. Actually, that's pretty much the same thing. I take care of his household needs." Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

[not_the_last]

"That's important work," Cassandra says, and means it. "A good steward is invaluable to any noble house. My own steward back home is a treasure, I don't know where we'd be without her."

[maximumcake]

"Yes. And I'm sure she wouldn't know what to do without you either." Like him. Right now.

"Forgive me if this is out of line, but are you some class of nobility yourself?"

[not_the_last]

In another context, she might laugh lightly at that first suggestion -- Arla would be just fine without her, she's quite sure -- but it's too easy to see the like me in his eyes.

"Oh, it's not out of line at all. I am, yes. Lady Cassandra de Rolo of Whitestone." She smiles, carefully warm and gracious.

[maximumcake]

Lady. Lady!

Max rocks up to his feet like he's been compelled by a power outside of his own body, and he bows deeply to her, despite his head still feeling woozy.

"My Lady, why didn't you say so before? I've been leaning on you when... I'm so sorry."

[not_the_last]

She immediately waves him back down to the chair. "It's all right, sit down, please. There's no point in insisting on ceremony here. And besides, what's a lord or lady for if not to take care of their people?"

Not that he's one of her people, but she has to say something to settle him down.

[maximumcake]

Reluctantly, he sits back down, but he's no longer letting himself slouch.

"You must be very well-loved by your people," he says. With an attitude toward power like hers, how can she not be?

"Thank you for you kindness."

[not_the_last]

"Indeed, I do my best to be," she says with a smile -- one that conceals, with the ease of long practice, any misgiving on that score.

"And don't worry about it, please. Everyone here is a little lost. The least we can do is look out for each other."