Headed by a Snake

Lone shut the door behind the two of them.

That could have gone better.

Taking a deep breath, Coraline laid her back against the wall... and she went over the dozens of things she could have done differently.

Whew. There weren't many things she could have done *worse*...

Lone raised their shared oil lamp, illuminating the naive, slightly confused expression on his face.

"What was that? Your Truth spell?"

"Yeah..." Coraline puffed a lock of hair away from her nose, "I'm a Circle Mage. Big surprise, huh?"

Lone pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment, "Why didn't you... ask if Maisie knew who the murderer was?"

Coraline closed her eyes and shook her head, "I couldn't... the spell's not so easy to use. Miss Maisie's beliefs can sway her answers. She could have just blamed Olesya-- even without any evidence."

"Then... you could have asked if... Maisie, herself, was the murderer?"

"That..." She pouted, "The more direct my question is, the easier it is to resist..."

Coraline didn't want to explain her spell... after all, it was something only she could cast. However, she didn't like that the boy kept asking so many... good questions.

"Honestly, I haven't really tested my ⌈Swords of Truth⌋ to their full potential...

"It's a derivative from the Tyrion Inquisitor class' ⌈Interrogation⌋ spell. For sure, I can get someone's truthful opinion... and I can ask where someone was or what they were doing at a particular time-- just those two things..."

Lone nodded slowly. It looked like he understood a bit of her troubles... "At least you can use it on all the other passengers? We'll just ask them all where they were at that time."

Coraline lowered her head, feeling her ears droop slightly... "I... I can only cast it once per sun."

Spellcasting was hard. Lone's questions weren't fair...

"Wow," Lone whistled. "That ability's kinda useless."

Coraline immediately slapped his arm, "YOU'RE kinda useless!"

...That was a lie. If not for him sticking by her side, Maisie would have probably tried to claw her eyes out. It was really upsetting that he kept calling attention to her faults, though.

Lone absentmindedly ran a finger along the scar on his cheek.

...It was something the boy often did... and she recalled she'd thought it was cute when she noticed it, before.

WHY did she ever think *that*? It was stupid and annoying and only made her more upset!

"Why do you call it ⌈Swords of Truth⌋?" He asked.

"Oh, just because I'm a girl, I'm not allowed to like swords?" Coraline turned away, tilting her chin up. "Haven't you heard of 'The Unbreakable?'"

Suddenly, her ears twitched.

Something had moved at the end of the corridor-- and it wasn't a sound the rats could make.

Lone lifted his lamp up, revealing the armored form of Olesya, the dovahkiin guardswoman. She was standing motionlessly at the end of the hallway.

"Miss Olesya?" Coraline furrowed her brows... "How long have you been standing there?"

Olesya pursed her lips for a brief moment... her eyes solemn, "Long enough."

"That's... a little creepy," Lone bared his teeth in a grimace... "Then... *why* ...are you just... standing there?"

"It matters not," Olesya turned to walk off, disappearing past the corner... "I heard everything."

...

Coraline walked with Lone back down the quiet hallways.

"So Miss Maisie and the Captain aren't suspects, anymore," Lone thought aloud.

"Bleigh," Coraline placed a palm on her face, "Probably not. Assuming they were... 'busy' when the murder happened."

Coraline felt her cheeks flush a little bit. She didn't think of herself as a prude, but she wasn't very open to talking about that... especially with a boy.

"How about Olesya?" Lone offered, "She has a weapon... and it wouldn't be too hard to wipe the blood off of it. The 'Forgotten Swords' are probably worth a lot of money..."

"They're called the Blades of the Forgotten King," Coraline frowned... "But that's too obvious. She'd be caught for sure... Nearly everyone's a suspect-- including me."

"Nah," Lone shrugged nonchalantly, keeping their lamp forward. "It's not you."

"Well, *I* know that, obviously," Coraline shot the dense boy a glare, "But that's not something you know, for sure."

"I believe in you."

They walked in silence for a few moments... as Coraline searched for words that would convince the scarred-cheek boy that he was wrong. And that he was also stupid.

"Why would you believe something like that?" She muttered to herself.

"It's just a feeling," He answered.

Lone didn't sound particularly serious... but he didn't sound like he was joking, either. It just sounded... honest, like it was a fact he didn't have to think about.

"Whatever..." Coraline grumbled.

It wasn't worth arguing with that person.

...It felt a little nice to be trusted, but not with an oblivious and lazy reason like 'a feeling.'

Feelings were stupid. Unreserved trust was stupid.

Those two things were most responsible for Coraline getting hurt...

Once upon a time, 'Miss Coraline' had unrelenting faith in her old guild leader and in the adventurers she traveled with. However... people's priorities change.

People change.

In the distant past, she was even stupid enough to believe the words 'I love you.'

Unfortunately for her, that kind of 'love' was only true for a few moons at most...

Lone turned, handing the oil lamp back to Coraline, "So... this is my room. Are you heading back to yours?"

She furrowed her brows, staring into the lamp flame.

It was late at night... Coraline was a tiny Elven girl without a Martial Class... and there was a murderer on the ship.

...Wasn't it proper etiquette to at least... offer? to escort her back to her room?

She could very well be in danger-- and Mister Lone didn't seem to care!

"No," She shook her head, grumbling. "I'm gonna sit in the hallway to make sure no one leaves their rooms for the rest of the night. Right there, on the deck. By myself."

"Yeah, makes sense," Lone nodded. "Well, good night."

Coraline felt a vein on her forehead throbbing. She didn't know why it was affecting her so much, but Lone's indifference was infuriating.

She didn't expect every boy she met to drop everything they were doing to vie for her affection-- but... but she was the only single girl on the ship! And she was cute! Really cute!

"Why are you just standing there?" She scowled.

"I uh... I don't have the key," Lone bared his teeth as he knocked on the wood.

Sir Tychon opened the door, his form illuminated by Coraline's lamp against the pitch-blackness of his room, "Ah, Mister Lone. Miss Coraline, good evening."

In that instant... Coraline forgot why she was upset... and... she almost dropped her lamp.

The young master was... or was not... he wasn't wearing a shirt... and beneath his robes... was-- err, was not at all what she expected.

She saw toned... very toned... pectorals... arms... nearly everything. Everything was... as perfect as a Tyrion statue carved out of marble by a horny sculptor.

Smooth... very smooth... hard. stooooone. There wasn't a single hair on his chest, either-- maybe he... he waxed?

She gulped as she took in the sight. Sir Tychon's abdominal muscles were so defined, you could set a coin in the creases. Without thinking, she began reaching towards them. Were they real? They couldn't be an illusory spell, not with the--

"Boss," Lone frowned. "Put on a shirt."

The boy's voice brought Coraline back to reality. She withdrew her hand as fast as lightning, hiding it behind her back. No one noticed.

...She hoped no one noticed.

"No," Tychon grimaced... "Are you here to... report? Or...?"

"I'm here to go back to sleep?" Lone pouted.

"...Very well," Tychon looked displeased... but he opened the door to allow Lone past. "Take the room key with you, next time."

"W-wait!" Coraline squeaked, "I-I-I... I..."

Tychon and Lone stared at her as she babbled.

Oh, gods, she hated being stared at.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to regain her focus, "I'm-- I'm here... questions. I have them. To you. To ask. Of-- you. Sir Baron."

"No. Go away."

Tychon's opinion DIDN'T MATTER. She NEEDED to KNOW!!

"Are you-- are you two..." Coraline pointed, crossing her fingers.

Lone's eyes widened, "What? No! We're not lovers!!"

Coraline breathed a sigh of relief.

...She wasn't sure why.

Tychon rolled his eyes, "Mister Lone, I advise you to mind your volume, 'lest you wake the other passengers."

Lone put his hands over his mouth, shrinking his head down.

"Just a few questions, Sir Tychon!" Coraline insisted. There were many, many more things she needed to know.

"Good evening, Miss Coraline."

The door was shut in her face, ilms away from her nose.

She turned her back to the door, pursing her lips.

...Then her face reddened.

She had made... a complete and utter fool out of herself...

And... it was all Tychon's fault.

She did not like that person.

Stupid, sexy... abs be damned.

...

Barza Keith, the Lone Shadowdark, stretched his back and loosed a half-roar, half-yawn. In a flash, he stripped off his tunic, tossed it at the foot of his bunk, and crawled underneath a blanket.

Tycon had sat back down at his desk, rotating his puzzle box in his hands.

"Haven't figured it out yet, Boss?" Lone asked.

"I'm not going to answer that question, young man."

That meant the answer was no.

Tycon spun the wooden cube on one of his fingers, "Did *you* make any progress?"

"I have no idea who the murderer is..." Lone sighed, "We had a lot of ideas... but because it was both a murder and a robbery, nearly everyone has a good motive."

A sudden... very uncomfortable thought crept into his mind, "Hey... Boss."

"Go ahead," Tycon gestured.

"Did... did you kill Master Highblade?"