This is all a conspiracy to torture me. I'm positive of that fact. There's no other solution. Sure, Calynn suggesting something girly would be normal, but Captain Van Acker agreeing, and no one batting an eye or bothering to argue or anything; conspiracy. That's why Dirk isn't here; he'd object to it. That halfway makes me wish he was here; key word is halfway. I'm not sure which I would rather suffer through; girl stuff or him. If we're in a setting where he can't whip me half to death, I think it's him.

"Oh, LB, while we were coming I noticed the best stand, one with those black gloves you love so much and some pretty scarves that I know you love. Why don't we go there, let you get some more accessories, my treat of course, and then we can go to another tavern and drink a bit? That way us girls can talk and not have the guys breathing down our necks, especially because of who your interrogator seems to be; exactly your type," Calynn says, all seemingly in one breath. That's the thing about Calynn; when she wants to be a spy or a pirate she's terrifying, but if you flip it to when she's acting like this it's a different type of terrifying. She's acting like an older sister, or a best friend. I know that's what she is, but sometimes I forget how... unlike everyone I work with she is.

It seems I'm not the only one slightly put off by her energy, because Captain Van Acker makes a face. Though, that could just be because of Calynn's last comment; if I remember correctly it was rumored that she and Miguel had a bit of a thing going on. She could not like the idea of another girl being interested in Miguel, though considering she was blind enough to choose Dirk over Miguel, she shouldn't be. Besides, she doesn't seem to be the type to cheat; that seems more like Dirk's forte.

Once she gets out of her shock, and realizes Calynn is literally dragging us by our wrists to the table at the market she saw, she opens her mouth to protest.

"Don't; it's no use. Trust me, I've tried before. And then I was in a position of power over her and it still didn't work. You stand no chance; you just have to roll with it, and either get her distracted or get yourself drunk. I'm personally shooting for the latter," I whisper, and she lets out a snort of laughter. I have to purse my lips to keep from smiling, and apparently Calynn heard because she pushes me into a dip, making me stumble over my feet and barely catch myself. Very nice of her, I know.

We arrive at the table, and I can see why she thinks I would like it. This was always my sort of table at the market, at least in my teen years. When I finally learned that you can still be feminine and tough at the same time, and that I didn't have to look and act like a guy all the time. About the time when I actually started wearing female accessories, mainly in the form of very pretty scarves, some light, light, make-up, heels, my toenail polish, and soon to be a new favorite of mine, black silk gloves.

So pretty and refined, and they make sure you don't leave any prints behind in case you need to break into a place on the fly. They also look less suspicious if you wear them to a party where you know you're going to be doing something slightly frowned upon than if you were to wear another type of gloves that may make it seem more obvious.

"Go on, hurry up and pick out a few things," Calynn pushes me up towards the front.

"Calynn, you know I probably won't be able to keep these things, right?" I question, and she just shakes her head.

"Of course you will. Captain Van Acker is also a female and knows how important the accessories are sometimes; I'm sure you'll get to wear them on the right occasions. And if you have to stay on our boat, Amory will let you wear them," She reasons, and I just shake my head.

Captain Van Acker has a weird look in her eyes, and if she were wanting to object she waited far too late since Calynn had already grabbed a pair of gloves me for and told me to start looking at the scarves.

As I browse, I don't see anything that catches my eye. They're all colors I already own, or they're too decorative and festive. Then, one catches my eye. A dark gray one with red swirls in it, and blue dots. Perfect. I pick it up, and the material is soft. It's also one of the cheaper ones here, apparently it has an imperfection.

"Are you sure you want that one; surely there are prettier ones here?" Captain Van Acker says, while Calynn just shakes her head.

"Oh, no, Captain, that's perfectly her style. I thought she'd grab that one when I saw it; I'll go pay for these two things. You can go ahead and put them on," Calynn says, and I slip them on. Somehow, with the silk gloves and scarf around my neck, I feel stronger and in control. More like me.

Apparently it's visible in my posture, because Calynn gives me a glance over and then nods sharply. "Good, you're back to yourself. I don't want to know what they did to you to get you acting like you just came home from being tortured for a month, or like how you were after Cape Horn, but just know while I'm around, I want you acting normally. We can all act normal and like friends, at least for a couple of hours," Calynn says, and I suddenly get what she's doing.

All the 'girl bonding' and wanting me to 'act normally' and 'not caring' are all just lies. She just wants me and Van Acker to start to get along in hopes she will be more weary about hurting me if it happens. Well, hate to break it to you, but I think she's already seen what happens if she pushes it too far, and I doubt she's going to let it happen again. At least I hope not.

When Calynn starts listing all the different pubs we could go to, I close my eyes. Just like that, I've lost all my strength and want to go to sleep. "Hey, Calynn, why don't we go to the closest one. I'm still not feeling at full strength, so maybe grabbing a table in the back and drinking a bit in a quite tarven would be the best idea," I suggest.

"Sure, I know one that fits the description not that far from here," She says cheerfully, before going off again.

"Hey, Calynn, why did you pay for the things back there?" Captain Van Acker asks.

"Because it couldn't hurt me not to. I'd already bet Ace twenty green notes that LB would act informal towards us and either ignore you guys but act diplomatic towards you. I won, so I decided to us that money to pay. It's not any of my own money, and besides; I know she wouldn't want to wear it if she knew it was stolen. Well, if she knew it wasn't stolen by her. Want to tell Captain Van Acker the other reason, LB?" Calynn explains than asks me. I look up and glare at her.

"Oh, you mean you actually decided to use the brain God gave you for once? If that's what you're implying, then it means she saw all the officers stationed around the market, and noticed the tender keeping an eye on us. The second we tried to walk off he'd raise an alarm, and even if we did get out with our lives, our night would be ruint, and some of the crewmates wouldn't. It's the most logical decision, and in the long run, the one that you pay for the least," I explain, insulting Calynn a bit.

"I'm guessing it's mostly the last reason," She says, and I laugh why Calynn mock scowls and playfully hits me. I let out a wince, and she gives me an apologetic look.

"Also, since the crew isn't around and you guys aren't part of my crew, call me Eva."

I don't know what to say to her request, but thankfully that's what Calynn's here for. "Of course, Eva," She says warmly.. " Oh, a"nd here we are."

I'm slightly brightened up when I see the tarven. It's an old place Calynn and I would frequent, usually after missions. They have some of the best drinks, both alcoholic and not. I smile softly as I walk in, and immediately see why Calynn wanted me to be here. It seems the newest generation of recruits is keeping up our tradition, headed by Katherine.

Help is here. I think as I fight to keep the smirk off my face.

Wait a second. We're in my home, my hunting grounds. Why wasn't help already here? I have my tracker on, it isn't that hard to find me. And they obviously know I'm here because of the signal. And the girls are drunk like crazy, and it isn't an act. They're not here for help. What is going on?

Maybe I need to get them drunk and slip off. I feel bad for using Calynn like that, but it might work.

Seriously, LB, you think you'll be able to trick Calynn like that? It's the oldest trick in the book, and one the two of you have pulled multiple times. It won't work. Besides, I'm not sure how far I'll be able to get. I wasn't joking when I said my wounds hurt. I hope his widow lives so well that her husband never has to work a day in his life.

"A lot of old memories here, huh? Let's go to our old table," Calynn says as she notices I spaced off. I'm just glad she covered for me, and couldn't read my mind.

"What do you want to drink, Eva?" Calynn asks.

"Um, I'm not really picky. Whatever everyone else is getting, as long as it's good," Eva replies, and Calynn nods.

I glare daggers in Calynn's back as she goes to order, leaving me alone with Eva. The silence is deathly awkward, and who can blame either of us? I have nothing to say, and I'm she doesn't either.

So, imagine my surprise when she starts to speak up. "I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry for what Dirk did. I didn't mean for things to get that out of hand, or for you to end up that badly injured. Though, the physician said you were going to be okay, just that you needed to take it easy."

I blink a couple of times, knowing I need to respond but not knowing what to say. "It's fine. Dirk's mistakes are not your fault, nor are they your own. He needs to-" I cut myself off, realizing that it's her husband I was about to insult in various colorful ways.

She starts to laugh. "I'm sure I know how that ends, and I kind of agree. He does."

"Then if you don't like him, why are you still with him?" I ask.

"What makes you think I don't like him?" She questions.

I roll my eyes. "It's obvious. You two have a lot of things that aren't in common, and any woman who still loves her husband would be trying to defend him when another woman says he's awful and needs to man up," I say, and she just nods.

"I guess that makes sense. I still think I love him, even with his flaws. I just wish he would act better," She says, and we fall into a lapse of silence. "Have you ever been wrong?" She suddenly asks.

I blink slightly. "Um, yes. Multiple times. Just ask Calynn. I made so many mistakes as a recruit."

"No, I mean about boys. Either that or your assumption is something you just did. Miguel says you do that a lot."

I wince at the boys. I mean, technically it was a mistake; I never should have fallen in love. In this chess game, I was the ruler, and he was my lover. I let him get vulnerable, and then it was nearly game over. If it wasn't for me living solely to spite him, Amory, and my thirst for revenge, it would have been. I would have done it.

"Well, LB, are you going to answer her?" I hear Calynn ask, and realize I must have spaced out again. I'm really bad about doing that I guess.

"Oh, um, yeah. Sorry. I space out a lot, if you didn't already know or couldn't tell. I get lost in the past, or in my own head I guess. So, for boys, not really. I haven't been all that active, just looking, and lately I haven't even had time for that," I say, silently adding the other reason I haven't been looking. "As for my assumptions. No, never. I'm not saying I have always been completely right, but I've never known to be completely wrong."

"What about that rumor about some boy? Oh, gosh, I can't remember his name. Anyway, it was rumored that the Ice Queen liked him, but he was really part of a plan to kill her, and when he tried, she had to kill him." She trails off as she sees the look on my face.

"That rumor holds no stock," I flatly say, hoping she'll get the hint. I don't want to talk about him. It still hurts now, and there's no use wallowing around in that hurt.

"All rumors have to start somewhere. After all, everyone was seeing you with this one guy, and then they didn't see him again, when you two were supposed to be alone on a retreat. What happened?" She asks, and I can hear Calynn wince and suck in a sharp breath.

She doesn't know, LB. She doesn't know how much it hurts. She couldn't have known, so don't snap at her, or cause bodily harm. It will end badly, so don't.

"There was a guy. He died. End of story," I say, and regret suddenly floods her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know," She says, as she gulps down all her drink, whiskey by the look of it. Calynn always did have good tastes.

"It's fine. As you said, you didn't know. Can we just not talk about it. Though, if you're trying to figure out if I can give you relationship advice, the answer is yes. The master knows all the secrets and usually never participates, but it doesn't mean their secrets are any less valuable," I say, and Calynn shakes her head.

"She used the worst analogy possible to make her point. However, it is a valid point. Even though she herself has only dated once, she is the best I know about relationship advice, and is a notorious matchmaker," Calynn says, rolling her eyes as she's undoubtedly thinking of my antatics. The only time they failed was with Amelia and Zeev, though I don't know how. They should be perfect together, but somehow they just didn't click.

"Alright, then, I might need some advice," Eva admits. Then, she suddenly pales, "You two, we've been gone for quite a while. I think we need to go back to the tarven."

"Oh, my, you're right. We do need to hurry back. Captain and the others will be worried," Calynn says as she rushes up.

I sigh, but go ahead and down my drink, before leaving with them. I cast a longing glance at the girl's in the corner, but they don't even look in my direction. They never did the entire time I was there; I was watching. Waiting.

Sadly, it didn't work. There is no plan. Calynn didn't arranged this all not to torture me, but for some daring escape attempt. My help signal hasn't been received, never mind the fact that it should have been turned in right off the bat. There is no help coming. For the first time in a long time, I'm completely on my own.