Ehren watched Akira throw punch after punch at the hull of the ship. As bewildered as he was, he could tell she was furious. The profanities coming from her mouth would have made a sailor blush.

When Thane arrived with her brother, Ehren had to do a double take. He was nearly the spitting image of his father. The only difference he could spot between the two was their height. The boy was tall. Even his sister, who was tall for a woman at nearly six feet, would have to look up at him. Everything else about the boy was nearly identical to his father from his tiger brown eyes to his perfectly tousled copper blonde hair to his carmel skin. Every single inch of him was a near perfect copy of his father.

“Used to?” Ferros asked.

Ehren hadn’t realised he’d not been paying attention until his brother spoke. Akira turned towards them, calmer now that her brother was here.

“Our father had a stroke about eight years ago,” she answered. “He was lucky to survive but it left him a vegetable, basically. He has good days though. Those are the days I talk about the Bloodshed with him but they are few and very far between.”

She looked back to the ship with a sad half smile.

“Yeah, he would’ve loved this.”

Ehren watched her stare at the ship for a moment.

“Akira,” he said.

She turned to look at him.

“You should probably get your hands taken care of, you did quite a number on them,” he told her.

She looked down at her bleeding hands and shrugged.

“I’ve had worse than this,” she replied quietly.

He went to stand in front of her. For the first time in his life, someone was almost as tall as he was and he enjoyed it.

“Even still, you should get them bandaged,” he said taking her hands gently in his. “I’d hate for you to get blood poisoning.”

She gave a short, humorless laugh.

“Is that all you’re worried about?” she asked him.

His brow furrowed in confusion.

“If I have offended you, I did not mean to,” he said.

She took one of her hands from his and placed it on his cheek, a gesture only his mother had done.

“You’ve said nothing to offend my, your highness,” she whispered. “I was simply curious as to why you’re worried about me. Truthfully, I’ve already had blood poisoning.”

He could feel his eyes widening in surprise.

“You are lucky to have survived,” he breathed.

Akira’s eyes lit with fury.

“Luck had nothing to do with my survival, my prince,” she told him. “I believe my mother made a deal to save my life.”

“Why would she do that?”

“What mother wouldn’t give her life to save the life of her child?” she countered. “I was not expected to survive. I was on life support, so she made a deal.”

“How?”

“That is the one thing I cannot answer, my prince,” she replied.

“That’s not what I meant, Akira.”

“Then tell me, my prince, what did you mean?”

“How did you get blood poisoning?”

Ehren watched as her eyes drifted closed. She sighed and stepped away from him but only a little. She turned so her back was facing him.

“Put your hands on my back, my prince,” she said so quietly Ehren wasn’t sure if he’d heard her.

She looked over her shoulder at him when he did nothing. She reached back and took his hand. She placed his hand on her back.

“Do you feel them, prince?” she asked quietly.

He silently ran his hand up her back but couldn’t feel much more than her thick coat.

“I’m sorry, Akira, but I only feel the thickness of your coat,” he told her quietly.

“Then go beneath it.”

“Are you sure?” he asked suddenly aware that there were others in the building with them.

Akira gave a huff of laughter.

“They left,” she told him. “Only Askel remains but he’s on the other side of the ship.”

Ehren sighed. Truthfully, he hadn’t noticed everyone leave the building and that irked him. Normally, he would have noticed but nothing about this encounter could be considered normal so he reached beneath her coat. He expected to find the skin of her back soft and smooth beneath her shirt but that was the furthest thing from what he felt. Scars, some thick and ropey; others thin and wire-like, ran the length of her back. There wasn’t an inch of it that wasn’t covered in a scar. Fury like nothing he’d ever felt filled him.

“Who did this to you?” he growled.

Akira turned to face him again laying her hand on his cheek. Her eyes were slightly sad.

“The nuns who did this to me are no longer able to do anything to me,” she replied. “My mother sued the church where they taught and they paid every penny of my medical expenses.”

“Nuns did that to you?” he asked incredulously.

Akira nodded.

“Those schools should be investigated,” he said more to himself than to her.

Her other hand came to rest on his other cheek. He looked to her in surprise.

“There’s nothing you can do about it now, Prince Ehren.”

It was the first time she’d used his title and name together. He found that he quite liked the way she said his name but he liked her calling him my prince much more.

“I want to do something about it though,” he told her.

She gave him a half smile.

“You can’t do anything about it now,” she insisted. “Besides, I got myself in trouble with my untamable spirit. So it is my own fault.”

“You must hate those scars.”

That drew another half smile from her.

“Only when the weather is changing or there’s a bad storm on its way.”

He laid one of his hands on top of hers.

“I’m sorry you had to endure that,” he said quietly. “But I can see how much stronger it has made you. You are an incredible woman and that bastard doesn’t deserve you if this is what he drives you to.”

“Be careful, my prince, you sound as if you care,” she teased.

He leaned in.

“I do care,” he whispered in her ear.

“Why?” She could barely get the word out.

“That’s my secret mon petit pirate, for now anyways.”

His lips barely brushed her cheek before he stepped away. When her hands left his cheeks he felt oddly cold and all he wanted to do was step closer to her again so she could put her hands in his or on his cheek again. Sadly the door opened letting whatever had been between them out into the snowy night.

“It’s nearly dawn,” Asena said.

“Bloody fucking hell,” Akira cursed. “Kel!”

When he didn’t reply she went to the other side of the ship. Ehren watched her go.

“She told you didn’t she?” Asena asked him.

“Told me what?”

“About her scars.”

Ehren nodded.

“It’s no wonder she doesn’t feel pain,” he said. “She’s so used to it that she doesn’t feel it anymore.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Kel, you’re heavy,” Akira cursed. “Ya know ya could help by getting your feet under you.”

Ehren stifled a laugh.

“Oi! Wakey, wakey little brother.”

He heard a groan.

“Hey, I’m not the one who had to go and have one of his episodes in the worst possible place,” Akira snapped.

“Would you shut your blethering cake hole,” her brother groaned.

“Fuck you!”

“Don’t shout would ya?”

“Oh so now you’re giving me orders are you?”

“No, I’m asking you to shut the bloody fuck up.”

“Christ, Kel, you’re wreaking havoc on my already frayed nerves.”

“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t know I was such a burden to you!”

“Askel Cassius Eames, you are the furthest thing from a burden. I just worry about you having an episode when I’m not around or when no one knows what to do. I just……don’t want to lose you too.”

Ehren knew Akira had puched the ship again by the sound and her brother’s sharp intake of breath.

“I’m ok now Kira, let’s get you out of here and patched up,” he said. “We need to get back to dad.”

“Father will be hysterical if neither of us are there to read him the news paper.”

He heard a short laugh then the two appeared rounding the bow of the ship. Akira was supporting her brother.

“Don’t drop him now,” Ehren called to her.

“As if I’d drop my little brother after he’s just had another one of his episodes,” she laughed.

She said something to her brother that obviously was only meant for him. After his reply, she shifted so she was taking more of his weight.

“Kira,” he complained. “I’m fine now. I am perfectly capable…”

Askel didn’t finish his sentence before he began to convulse violently. Akira sighed and lowered him to the ground. She laid him on his side and began stroking his hair. Ehren went to her.

“Is he alright?” he asked her.

She looked up at him and he saw a profound sadness lurking in her eyes.

“He’ll be alright,” she said. “Just have to wait this out. Foolish little brother that he is, forgot to take his medicine before he came to get me at the archives.”

“Should we send someone to get it?” he asked worried.

Akira shook her head and looked back to her brother.

“We’re going home soon,” she whispered more to her brother than to him.

She then began to sing. Ehren didn’t know the song or what she was saying but he was mesmorized by her voice. It seemed like time had stopped, just for her.