Grey saw Luna grab Natan's hands. The gesture made him uncomfortable. He felt an unreasonable irritation towards the man Luna befriended. He knows how Luna acts inappropriately sometimes as she was unaware of the culture and societal norms outside of the forest. He's worried that some people may take advantage of her innocence.
He sighed and made his way toward the two.
"What are you doing?" He asked in a serious tone.
"Grey," Luna uttered his name with enthusiasm as she saw him.
With unknown strangers around, she can call him by his first name to conceal his identity.
"Tell me now, who exactly is this man?" He asked unaware of his hostile tone.
Luna narrated the events that transpired a few hours ago. Grey listened and nodded a few times. He seemed agitated upon hearing that she was caught and imprisoned by the ship's security.
"So he is a Prince of that tribe. I did not expect you to be captured and sold." Grey muttered as he gazed at the man in front of him.
"Thanks to Luna, we escaped from that prison. And she feeds us delicious food. I will repay this kindness once we returned to our home safely." Natan uttered.
"But Luna, you should tell me or Sebastian about these things so we can also help. Don't act on your own. The world is different outside of the forest. Sometimes, people are more dangerous than monsters." Grey said.
Natan felt Grey's distrust of him. He also felt the same towards the black-haired man but he can't deny the man's strong aura. Even his deep dark eyes are intimidating him when being gazed at. But what does he mean about the forest?
"I understand," Luna responded.
Grey smiled and patted Luna's head gently. The gesture made Natan realize the closeness of the two people in front of him. However, he can't decipher their relationship.
"We are going towards the monster's path, we need everyone's help to search for the captain and stop him."
"I want to help," Luna said.
"Come with me," Grey answered.
"I'll come too. I want to help." Natan said.
Grey thought for a second and decided to agree. They need all the help they can get if ever they can't stop the ship and needs to fight the monster.
"Alright."
Grey called Gideon and Coco for help. They heightened their senses and started to search the ship. Grey, Luna, and Natan followed behind.
"Have you seen the Captain's face?" Luna asked.
"Yes, we had a brief encounter earlier before he escaped," Grey responded.
The three of them walked down to the second deck with multiple rooms for passengers. They inspected every room and every corner using the blueprint of the ship.
Luna! A secret compartment behind this wall and a stingy smell. Eww! Coco thought.
"Great!"
Luna turned to the wall and touched it with her palm.
"What is it?" Grey asked.
"A secret chamber," Luna whispered.
Natan raised his eyebrow with surprise. How did she know something like a secret chamber by just looking at the wall?
Natan gazed at the blueprint in his hands.
"Nothing here." He commented.
"That's why it's a secret."
Luna inspect the wall and press something that opened the secret door. It's a small space with a small stairway down that would only fit one person.
"I'll go. Luna, stay here." Grey said as he enter the space and climbed down the dark stairs. Gideon went with him.
Luna waited with Natan and Coco.
Natan gazed at Coco and Luna both looking down the dark staircase with alert expressions.
"You seem very close to that man." Natan expressed.
Luna turned to him.
"Grey? He's my friend and he saved me. He is very kind."
"He seems very protective of you," Natan commented.
"Yes, he is protective of his people. I'm a sister to him." She responded.
"Sister?"
"Yes, like you with your sister."
Natan looks confused. They don't seem like a sibling. She looks more like a man called Sebastian. They have the same hair color. Whatever it may be, he needs to help stop the captain's plan so that he can finally return home with his sister alive.
"Okay..." He responded.
A little later, Grey still hasn't emerged back from below. Luna felt anxious.
"I'll follow him." She said.
"I'll go with you."
They were about to step down the staircase when Grey's head pop up.
"You're back!" Luna uttered.
Grey climbed up with Gideon and faced Luna.
"The captain is dead."
She gasped upon hearing the news.
"You killed him?" She asked in a whisper.
Grey was a little startled by her question.
"No, he was dead when I saw him. Someone killed him. But it seems that he's been dead for a while already. His body is cold and started to smell."
"But you saw him earlier." She said.
"Yes. I think that person is a fraud."
Luna realized that the captain is not the real captain, but someone that looks like him.
"Is that person his twin brother?" Luna asked.
"We don't have information about his family but probably not his twin. He must be wearing some kind of disguise. He can control things and he's still controlling the ship. He is still alive somewhere in the ship."
Grey asked the knights to retrieve the body and investigate the cause of death. The three moved to the next rooms and search endlessly but there is no trace of the captain.
"He's hiding very well. I'm wondering if he is disguising someone else again." Luna uttered.
The two men turned to her.
"That is most likely," Grey said.
"Yes, this person must be good at hiding or disguising himself," Natan added.
Luna rubs her chin with her fingers. She remembered a mobile game she played in her world.
"There is an impostor among us." She uttered.
"Impostor?" The two men asked at the same time.
"Yes, someone pretending to be an alley and roaming around the ship with us. We must find him before he kills another person on this ship." Luna stated.
Sebastian pops up with a serious face and whispers to the Prince's ear.
"Another dead body found."