| |
WHEN THEY MADE CAMP for the night, Tish learned that Jacques was a man of many talents. He built a tinder nest and lit a fire in a matter of minutes. He caught a hare in a snare and skinned it with ease.
As they shared the meat, he said, “I was the Wounded Queen's cook.”
Tish tilted her head. “The Wounded Queen?”
“Aye. That was the name of our airship... but she's more than wounded, isn't she? She's the shattered queen now.” Jacques set aside the cooked hare and started to peel a strange, spiky fruit. It reminded Tish of a pear, but it was bright yellow and gourd-shaped.
“I thought you were the engineer, not the cook,” Tish said.
“I was both. I had a lot of jobs, actually. Engineer, pilot, cook, bounty hunter, munitions officer...” He cut away a piece of his fruit and shared it with the manticore cub. Ever since he found its cave, the little beast never left his side. “Actually, I made up that last one. No one ever called me the munitions officer. I just think it sounds nice and fancy.”
“You're such an odd man,” Tish said as she forced a piece of meat through her lips. Hungry as she was, the thought of eating an adorable creature had soured her stomach. She would have preferred Jacques' fruit.
“And you're an odd little girl,” he fired back at her.
“Me? How am I odd?”
“Pretending to be a man... sneaking onto an airship... that seems a bit odd to me. And dangerous,” Jacques said. “Men are arseholes, mostly. I wouldn't have trusted them to keep their hands to themselves.”
“They thought I was one of them... for awhile, anyway.”
“I can't understand why anyone would look at you and think you were a man.” With a wink, he added, “A boy, maybe... but definitely not a man.”
His remark earned him a kick on the leg, and for some reason, the kick earned her a slice of his fruit.
Jacques asked, “Would you like a drink?” Tish looked puzzled by his question—until he pulled a flask from his coat and presented it to her.
“You've been holding out on me!”
“Aye. I have.”
Tish unscrewed the flask's cap and sniffed its contents. “What's in here?”
“Whiskey.”
Tish took a large swig and grimaced as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat. It tasted like poison, but after a day in the Wilds—and with a vexing companion, no less—she needed something to dull her thoughts.
“I think you're really pretty, you know,” Jacques suddenly blurted. “Is it alright for me to say that?”
“It's alright. And unexpected.” Tish took another drink before passing the flask back to Jacques. “How much have you had to drink? Is that why you're complimenting me?”
“No. I'm entirely sober. I'm just stating a fact.” He dumped the flask's remains into his mouth and hissed at the whiskey's sting. To him, it was a pleasant burn.
“Well, I suppose you're not so bad-looking yourself,” Tish said. “I'm glad I got to know you. It's strange to spend so much time with an enemy. It forces you to see the world through a different set of eyes.”
“We wouldn't have to be enemies, though,” Jacques said. “It's your choice.”
They spent the next few minutes in silence, finishing their fruit and meat. Jacques' cub crawled into his lap and nudged his fingers, begging for a stroke from his favorite human's hand.
When the whiskey set in, and Tish's head felt lighter, her thoughts got stranger. She wondered what would happen if she followed the manticore's example. What if she sat on Jacques' lap and demanded his attention?
“I wish you weren't my enemy,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” Jacques sounded bored. His attention was on the manticore. He was entirely oblivious to the thoughts in Tish's head.
“I wish we were somewhere else. A pub, maybe,” Tish said, leaning toward him. “Maybe we'd be on a date. Maybe you'd lean across the table and kiss my lips.”
Jacques smirked and raised an eyebrow. “It seems the whiskey's brought out a different side of you.”
“I think it did.” Tish brought her face closer to his. “So... are you going to take advantage of a girl, all alone in the woods? Are you going to kiss me or what?”
Jacques answered quickly, “Nah.”
“You don't want to?” Tish simpered at him. “Well, that's... disappointing.”
“Maybe if you were sober, love. If I didn't think the spirits had addled you, maybe I would...” Jacques didn't finish his thought, and he placed a finger over Tish's lips, silencing her too. A crunch of foliage alerted him to potential danger.
Leaning away from his finger, Tish whined, “I can't believe you rejected me!”
“I'm not rejecting you. I'm looking out for you. I wouldn't want you to do anything you'd regret, Sweetsie.”
Sweetsie. His nickname for her made her smile. It was a half-drunk and slightly dopey smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.
More leaves crunched as Aura scrambled toward them. “Jacques?”
“Well, I'll be damned. Aura!” Jacques jumped to his feet and greeted his friend with a slap on the shoulder. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Where the hell have you been?” Aura asked. “You were missing even before the airship was attacked!”
They spent the next few minutes updating each other on recent events. Jacques spoke first. When Aura learned about Tish's involvement with the Alymane army, Jacques had to stop her from killing the girl.
“Why are you still traveling with her, if she's an Alymane's bitch?” Aura asked.
Jacques smiled down at Tish. “Because it's better than being alone... and she's a nice girl, actually.”
Aura told her story next, and she winced when she got to the part about abandoning Rathen.
“I should have gone back for him. I know I should have,” Aura said. “Jossian would have my guts if he knew I left Little Brother behind.”
“Where is...” Tish started to speak, but Aura's scowl intimidated her.
“Where is what?” Aura croaked.
“Where is the Alymane camp? Is it nearby?” Tish asked. “I should probably go back to them.” Aura's presence had sobered her, and her fleeting desire to kiss Jacques was the furthest thing from her mind.
“That way.” Aura thrust a thumb over her shoulder. “It's a few miles away, I'd say.”
“Well then, I... I should probably go.” Tish rose from the ground and knocked a few blades of grass from her dress. When she glanced at Jacques, his eyes were wide and puppy-like.
“You're really leaving?” he asked. “You don't have to go back to them, you know.”
“Yes. I do. I have... obligations.” She would never agree with all of Alymane's actions, but she needed them. More specifically, she needed her wages.
“But you do have a choice,” Jacques reminded her. “If you end up doing something you regret, don't make excuses for yourself.”
“We all end up doing things we regret. It's a part of life.” As she walked away, Tish whispered, “I'm sorry things couldn't be different, Jacques.”