"Can't say I do!" I grumble, looking at Mak. Why did he have to get me so drunk? Especially since I'm not used to alcohol. I stick my tongue out at him and then turn away, sulking.
"Hey Nora!" he turns to the blonde girl. "Next time we have a night like this, you can join us if you want. I just didn't want to wake you."
His voice sounds so damn nice. A sigh escapes my lips, my gaze absentmindedly fixed on the door. I have to admit with envy that I wish he would treat me the way he treats her. And above all, I wish he would say my name just once. That would be really nice.
"Are you mad at me because of last night?" Mak's question pulls me out of my thoughts. He's standing right in front of me, a gentle smile on his lips, his brown eyes looking at me curiously.
To be honest, I have to admit that he's quite an impressive man. And that the kiss the other day wasn't all that bad. Maybe I would have enjoyed it too, if Mak wasn't such an arrogant idiot. But I can't imagine it was more than a means to an end for him. Besides, he surely knows exactly how he affects women and probably has no qualms about exploiting it. At least I wouldn't put it past him.
With that sweet smile, it's hard not to start swooning. I blush slightly when I realize how I'm looking at him. Even more so when a smile crosses his lips.
"Apparently not," says Mak. He slowly walks over to the wall to lay our clothes on the floor. "Girls, please hurry up a bit," he urges us. A smile forms on his lips. He winks at me as he says, "I suppose I can make it up to you for this night with breakfast?"
"Gladly!" I exclaim, beaming at him. I am somewhat hopeful for the fruit. Mak did say he wanted to steal some from the kitchen for himself.
He prepares to leave the shower, but I hold him back. "Is everything okay with the drinking water supply again?" I ask him curiously and quietly so Nora doesn't hear.
He just shakes his head. "They're still working on it. But if you're worried, the drinking water and the shower water come from different tanks." With that explanation, he leaves the room.
The cold shower water a short while later wakes me up gradually. The rest of the sleepiness is chased away by Nora's humming. At least for a while.
A bit later, I'm sitting at the table with Mak and Nora, yawning loudly. My head rests on the tabletop. The only thing that has improved is my stomach, which has finally settled down. In front of me is a plate of fruit and a filled glass. While Nora next to me digs into the fruit, my gaze skeptically rests on the glass.
"This time it's really just juice," Mak tries to reassure me, smiling. He looks so nice that I believe him this time.
"I hope so," I say, taking a sip. It is indeed juice. The kind I've had here a few times.
"For the prisoners, there probably won't be any food until noon," Mak notes. "But it's possible the drinking water supply will be fixed earlier."
"Why has there been no food or drink since yesterday?" Nora asks him curiously. Musator calmed the prisoners down, but didn't explain the reasons. As Gasard asked, I also kept my mouth shut about the situation.
My hand reaches for one of the fruits as Mak sighs and explains. "Some idiot contaminated the drinking water tank. Everything has been cleaned, but the tanker won't arrive for a few more hours." He glances at the plate. "The most important people were given fruit." He begins to laugh lightly. "Our poor ruler's favorite meal is being eaten up." Mak nods at the plate of fruit. "This is the rest I managed to grab, but go ahead and help yourselves." A kind smile forms on his lips.
I immediately comply with his invitation and take another piece of fruit. "Have you found the person who tried to do it?" I ask Mak, biting into the fruit.
He sighs, his expression clearly showing how troubled he is by the topic. "As you know, there was a suspect." I nod. Slowly, Mak raises his arm and shows me the black bracelet on his wrist. "The problem with these things is that anyone can wear them, so you can get into the special access areas of the original wearer." I listen to his explanation with curiosity. "The guards have access to the water tanks, while a warrior does not, but they have access to the training rooms. If they switch, the warrior can enter the area only the guard can and vice versa."
I find it interesting, even if I don't quite understand the problem yet. "The person to whom the bracelet used in the attack belongs is dead, and not just after entering the tank, but before."
"But you surely have a way to find the culprit," I remark, my gaze on him full of curiosity.
"Of course, every inch here is monitored. Everything is logged and presented to our ruler at the end of the day. That's why everyone here seems to be suffering from paranoia." His voice is clearly sarcastic, but then Mak turns serious. "Our ruler coordinates all changes with the crew, and none of them are keen on total surveillance." Mak snorts, showing how annoyed he is by the topic. "And when something happens, people complain about the lack of security measures. And our poor ruler gets all the blame." A sigh escapes his lips. He seems to genuinely pity him for it.
"You seem very loyal to your ruler," I inquire.
"Can you tell?" The dark-haired man scratches his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
"What's this ruler like?" Nora asks now, her blue eyes fixed on Mak with curiosity.
"More harmless than reported," Mak says.
"But scary enough for his own people to call him a tyrant," I interject, beginning to giggle.
Mak looks confused by my words at first. "Who says that?" He looks at me, waiting for an answer. But I just giggle and don't plan on revealing it. A sigh comes from Mak. "You've surely encountered a blonde guy," Mak says. "Am I right?" He winks at me, and I can only nod in response.
"Otscharsan and a few others sometimes call him that, just for fun and not seriously," Mak explains. "Those guys are friends with our ruler and often tease him."
"Seems quite okay," Nora says, to which Mak nods energetically, a beaming smile on his lips. "And what does he look like?"
"Black hair like mine, tall, very muscular, and incredibly good-looking," Mak lists. "He's quite old but looks very young. And he has an impressive eye color. His iris is a very dark gray, almost indistinguishable from black. That's why some people call him a demon."
"Sounds interesting!" Nora exclaims.
I wonder if I'll ever meet him. I'm really curious about this man, but I also wonder why he doesn't show himself to his subordinates. Maybe the good looks are just a saying and he's actually hideous. But I don't think Kaia lied when she gushed about him. I take another piece of fruit.
We sit here for a while. Nora asks Mak a few more questions, and he talks about life on the station. It's interesting, but eventually, he has to go. Mak escorts us to the workroom.
"Bye girls!" He winks as he says goodbye, heading for the platform.
Amused, I watch him slowly sneak up, making sure to signal the other guards to be quiet, only to sneak past Marto unnoticed. It's not difficult for him; the old man is busy with one of the guards, seemingly scolding him.
A light laugh escapes me.
"Didn't I say it was dangerous to befriend guards?" comes a scolding voice from behind us. When I turn around, I see Moripho's face, which looks more jealous than concerned.
A hand rests on the shoulder of the time traveler. "Hey big guy, apart from the fact that the guy isn't a guard..."
"What then?" Moripho shakes the hand off his shoulder and steps angrily in front of the other prisoners, among whom I recognize one of the men from the drinking night.
"Mak is actually a warrior," the prisoner explains, blowing his alcohol-scented breath in our faces. His gaze drifts toward the guards. "Why he's doing guard duty now?" he mutters quietly but still audibly. "Probably stepped on someone's toes." He shrugs lightly. "The guy doesn't seem to have much respect for superiors, the way he deals with the overseers." A sigh escapes his lips as he blows his stinky breath into Nora's face, who responds with an angry glare. "He's a strange guy, but okay."
He then looks at the time traveler directly. "Whoever gets along well with Mak is safer here than you!"
Moripho snorts in disbelief, not seeming very impressed by the words.
The prisoner's gaze shifts to me. He examines me with an amused look before approaching. "Janine, last night was a wonderful evening, and your performance was simply amazing."
I can't shake the feeling that I missed something. What does he mean by performance? But I'll only get the answer by asking. Although I also have the feeling I'll regret it.
"Performance?" My gaze, fixed on the prisoner, looks confused.
"Yes," the prisoner exclaims. "You gave us a great show with singing and dancing."
Moripho steps in front of the guy. He immediately grabs his collar, pulling him close. In his eyes is an uncontrollable rage that even makes me gulp. The prisoner suddenly looks quite intimidated by the time traveler's rough manner.
"What did you do to her?" Moripho demands to know, practically shouting at him. "If any of you idiots touched her, I'll kill you."
"Hey, calm down." The prisoner raises his hands placatingly. It's clear how uncomfortable he feels. "She just danced and sang for us. It was completely harmless."
"The girl kept her clothes on," chimes in another prisoner who was also there that night.
Moripho releases the other guy, at least for a moment, until he mutters "Unfortunately."
"Don't think of us as pigs who get little girls drunk to take advantage of them," he pleads with me, a kind smile on his lips. "Musator would have stopped after a few drinks if Mak hadn't stopped him. We just wanted to see how Mak would react and if he would put a stop to it."
"Exactly!" exclaims the first prisoner. His gaze turns angry toward Moripho. "Now let me go!"
The time traveler snorts but eventually lets the other go, even though he shoves him away.
My gaze, which now falls on the second prisoner, looks shy. I'm scared to ask, but I do it anyway. "Did he stop you?"
"Before it got too wild, he actually stopped you," the prisoner laughs lightly, while I immediately blush. What does he mean by that? Nasty thoughts run through my mind. "It was quite late, but he intervened."
I'm very relieved, as my sigh shows. But to be honest, Mak is an idiot, but I wouldn't put something that nasty past him.
"Mak is really okay." He pulls me closer to whisper in my ear. "But he's quite a show-off. Always a different girl story."
I chuckle at that. "I can believe that," I admit.
The two men chat with me for a while. Moripho watches everything skeptically, but seems to have decided to just stand silently and make sure none of the men harm me.
I find his concern sweet but also very exaggerated.