GABE
We headed back toward where the shops were. In this section of the ship everything was high end which was exactly what we needed to make these two not stand out more than they already did. Getting Ellie in a dress would be the first step, but the two of them carried themselves in a way that didn’t quite fit with the rest of this cabin. I wasn’t sure if it was because Kausians always seemed to get dizzy and sick on ships or if that was just their normal stride.
Either way, we would have to work on it.
It didn’t take too long for Cor to learn all the tricks, but he’d mentioned he had some training already. By the looks of it, these two did not have the same schooling. People stared as I led them through the corridors and lounge. Soon they wouldn’t even recognize them, so I didn’t have to worry about it too much.
We made it to one of the clothing shops, and I went through the dresses. These were all mass produced, but that would be fine. We didn’t have time for a tailor. I picked out a few different colors—all bold and on the darker side as she didn’t strike me as someone who would wear pastels. After gathering a few, I handed them to Ellie.
“Try these on and make sure they fit. As for what to wear the rest of the time on the ship…” I bit my lip. We didn’t need anything too fancy yet, so I pulled out the most simple one and placed it on top. It was a blue top with some lace with a dark blue-and-black shirt. “Wear this one.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Just because I am a woman doesn’t mean I should have to wear a dress or skirt. Why can’t I wear a suit?”
“Have you seen any women around here wearing suits?”
“Well, no…”
“Exactly. We are in a shark tank currently, and if you don’t want to be spotted by anyone, including the Silurians who are after you, then you will wear a skirt.”
She made a loud, audible sigh, and went to the dressing room with no more complaints. At least she listened to reason.
Zach whistled. “I have to hand it to you—you know how to handle her.”
“She’s a smart woman, and smart women listen to reason. It’s as simple as that.”
“Fair enough. She is definitely the smartest woman I have ever known.”
He said that with a bit of a proud voice. It made me smile a little.
“As for you…” I pulled a gray frock coat off a hanger, black dress pants, a blue vest similar to Ellie’s skirt, a white shirt, and a white satin puff tie and handed it all to Zach. “Go try those on.”
He stared for a moment as if he had never seen such fine clothes. He wiped his hands off on his pants and then grabbed them.
“I will be right back then.”
With that, he went into a changing room. I snatched a few more outfits for him. I didn’t need him to try them all on since I knew his size—I had been staring at his figure for a couple of hours now, after all.
I leaned against the wall as I waited for the two of them to be finished. After a while, Ellie stuck her head out of the door.
“I need a little help putting all this on…,” she admitted.
One of the shop attendants went to her and helped her try the clothes on. I should have figured—she wasn’t used to the circus act that was putting on women’s dresses. I did not envy her.
A few minutes later, both of them stepped out of the changing rooms in their new outfits. Zach was tugging on his vest as if it were uncomfortable, but from what I could tell, it fit perfectly. Ellie had her hands on her hips as she gave me an annoyed look.
“There is no way I’m going to stay in this. I don’t even have free range of my legs!”
I let out a sigh. “But think of how many weapons you can hide under your petticoat.”
Her eyes widened as she patted her legs. “Wow. You're right.”
Zach laughed as he shook his head. “You appear lovely, Ellie. Just admit you like the dress.”
She took the moment to check out Zach’s outfit, then whistled. “Looking fine there, Zach. You could get all the ladies and gentlemen kissing your feet.”
He ran his fingers through his ginger hair, which was still a mess. I would have to fix that later. “Well, I don’t blame them. I am pretty handsome.”
I gave him a wink. “I won’t deny that.”
The comment made him turn beat red, and I turned to pay for all the clothes we bought. I also added a suitcase since we would need to lug these to the hotel on Zynon somehow. The cashier, an elderly Lyran, tallied everything up, and I paid with a tap of my card. As she folded and put the clothes away, I handed Ellie a hat and some lace gloves I had picked up.
“I think these will add to the look. What do you think?”
She shrugged. “Don’t know. Never was one for fashion.”
“And for your eyes…” I handed Ellie the pair of delicate glasses that were a light shade of blue with a gold-colored frame. For Zach, I gave him a pair of red glasses that were rectangle-shaped and had a black frame.
“Ooh,” Zach said as he took them and put them on. He grinned widely at Ellie. “Pretty cunning, don’t ya think?”
She shook her head. “You just think you’re the shit, don’t you?”
He straightened his collar. “Damn straight. You wish you were as handsome as me.”
“No, I wish I was wearing pants.” She turned to me. “Are you sure I can’t wear pants?”
I nodded. “No woman in proper society wears pants. You would stand out.”
Zach grabbed the luggage, and we made our way through the ship back to where our room was. As we passed the gambling lounge, Ellie stopped.
“Hey, maybe we should—” Before she finished her sentence, the ship moved. She put her hand over her mouth and ran toward the room. I hurried after her since I was the one who had the key.
As I caught up to her, she was moving back and forth in place, as if that would stop her from actually throwing up. I quickly unlocked the door, and she tore into the bathroom and closed the door. Poor Kausians and their motion sickness.
I was about to turn and ask Zach if he was all right when I saw his pale face. I sighed as I nodded to the bucket.
“Go ahead and throw up in that.”
He set down the luggage and grabbed the bucket to go join Ellie in the bathroom. I let out a sigh as I locked our door and collapsed on the bed. After having spent a few hours with them both, I couldn’t believe they had first been sent to kill me. They were kind, funny, and had a dynamic that I was most jealous of. Was that what best friends were like—is that what it was like to have a family?
I rolled over and picked up the phone. The two of them would need something with ginger in it, not to mention something to eat as it sounded like their stomachs were now empty. Only a few more hours until we arrived—might as well make the best of it.