Wren passed the weeks on the ship mostly in peace. Ptolemus didn't approach her, and Xavier had mostly kept his distance. The best part was Adam, despite everything his company wasn't terrible. There was a certain charm to his naïvety and boundless energy.
"Isn't all this time refreshing?" Adam asked.
"Shouldn't you be y'know, doing servant things?" She said in response.
"I'll deal with that later!" He announced.
She only shook her head at his response, smiling a little.
"Aren't you glad you just get to rest for a while?" He questioned.
"I guess it's ok, would be even better if I was alone so I could read my book," she said.
"What book?" Adam asked.
She held her book up, glaring as he ignored her jab.
"You read romance…?" He whispered.
"Are you trying to judge my book taste?"
"Maybe a little," he responded
She hit his arm with the book.
"Hey! No fair, I can't hit you back!" He yelled.
She laughed before he threw the apple he had been eating at her.
"You want to start a fight with me?" She asked, drawing her sword and smiling.
"I'm defenseless!" He said, laughing.
He took off running and she chased after him, barely dodging past workers, all of them glaring at who they thought were another couple of idiot teenagers.
"You're trapped unless you want to jump into the ocean," she stated as he stood against the railing.
"You win," he said, smiling at her and throwing his hands up in surrender.
"The view here isn't too bad," she responded, pointing out to the endless glittering turquoise of the ocean.
"It isn't," he answered, sitting down.
She sat beside him, opening her book.
"Genevieve stared at-"
"Shut up," she said.
"What, I want to enjoy the book too," Adam stated.
"You're lucky I'm letting you stay," she replied.
"Fine, I'll read silently."
Wren smiled a little to herself as she continued to read, only kind of absorbing the words, more aware of Adam beside her. Time passed quickly between the book and Adam's random comments and only when the sun was setting did she finally look up.
"It's pretty isn't it?" She asked.
She looked down when he didn't respond, seeing his eyes closed, his head leaning against the rail and mouth wide open, he was completely defenseless and innocent. She reached out, touching his hair for a moment.
"Hey idiot, wake up!" She shouted, turning away to clear her mind.
He jumped, his eyes flying open.
"Wha- where?" He said groggily.
"You should go rest," Wren whispered.
"I still have work…" Adam muttered.
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it, just go back to your room, ok?" She said.
"Fine," he whispered, getting up and stumbling off.
Wren put her hair up in a neat bun and headed towards the nearest servant.
"Are there any tasks left to do?" She asked, trying to sound more pleasant than she felt.
The servant took one look at her and stumbled backwards.
"Y-yes ma'am there are, but we're working as quickly as possible! I promise they'll get done!" She explained hurriedly, stuttering slightly.
Wren sighed before speaking again.
"Tell me what's left and I'll help," she stated.
"W-well if you're sure ma'am y-you can deliver dinner to room f-five," the servant explained.
Wren forced a smile on her face and nodded, heading towards the kitchen, she was going to kill Adam tomorrow.
"I need the dinner for room 5," she stated, annoyance slipping into her voice.
"You should watch the way you speak, brat," the cook muttered before turning around.
It took a second before he recognized her, one of her eyebrows raised as she stared at him.
"Y-your-" he started.
"The food," she interrupted.
He thrust the cart towards her quickly, and she took it down the hallways, searching for room 5. She pitied whoever the resident was.
Wren knocked quietly on the door, looking down to try and hide her face.
"Trinity?" Xavier asked.
She looked up and found him standing at the door, his hair messy and eyes tired.
"Take your food," she muttered, turning away to walk off.
He grabbed her arm and she tensed up, anger boiling inside her.
"Why are you delivering my food, what is it you want?" He asked, clearly misunderstanding why she had done this.
"I didn't know it was your food, now let go before I make you," she replied coolly.
"You can come in if you want, I'm sure you haven't had dinner yet," he said, smirking at her.
"Not a chance," she answered, yanking her arm loose and walking away.
Wren walked back above deck where the stars were shining and the world seemed quiet except for the calls of the workers and the sound of waves. She sat back in her corner, opening her book and continuing to read.
"Hey!" Adam yelled, finally coming above deck, she had no doubt he had gotten an earful for his absence yesterday, but he didn't show it.
Wren only nodded her head in response. She was still curled up against the railing reading her book, the familiar sounds just background noise now. The sun was warm against her skin, and the wind blew just enough to keep the temperature pleasant, but her eyes stung from her lack of sleep. Adam sat down beside her, his presence almost felt normal to her now.
"Still reading that book I see. I'm sure you've been here all night and most of the morning so please update me on what has happened since I went to bed," he stated.
She smiled, choosing not to tell him that she had done his job for him. It felt nice to explain her interests to someone, to rant about her book, so she didn't want to change the conversation.
"Genevieve was forced to kill Killian, and is now distraught, I think she might die as well," Wren said calmly without looking up.
"I bet you cried," Adam teased.
She looked up for the first time, glaring at him, but he was correct, she had shed a few tears for poor Genevieve and Killian, two who had been fated to be together. That was one of her only escapes, books. She loved to experience all the different lives, to watch as the heroes won, to feel the emotions of people she had never met. All of the extraordinary things they conquered, and all the pain they felt. She longed for a life like a book where everything could be sorted into little categories and would all be organized by the end.
"Now put the book down and sleep for a bit," Adam announced, attempting to snatch the book from her hands, forcing her to jump backwards.
He kept trying to take the book, careful to avoid touching her and Wren was forced to defend it, keeping one finger in to mark her page. It was Adam's own fault if he got hurt. She laughed a little as he kept reaching for it and only hitting air.
"What's going on here?" a voice asked.
Wren and Adam froze, his hand still reaching across her for the book.
"Is this servant bothering you?" Xavier demanded.
"I'm not," Adam answered for her.
Xavier reached out and slapped him. His eyes widened with surprise.
"Don't touch him!" Wren snapped.
Xavier narrowed his eyes.
"Trinity, if you were lonely all you had to do was ask, I would have spent every minute with you. Is he blackmailing you too somehow, is that why you delivered my dinner last night?" Xavier said, smiling, but it looked unnatural, she could see the cruelty underneath. He cared nothing for her loneliness or anything else.
"She doesn't want your company," Adam stated simply.
Wren gave him a look, hoping he got the message to shut up.
Xavier's eyes smoldered with barely suppressed rage, his mouth a thin line.
"Say one more word, boy," he threatened.
"Leave us," Wren said.
Adam looked at Xavier, waiting, then saw both of them looking at him expectantly. he sighed, but got to his feet and slowly walked off.
"What a pest, I can get him fired if you like…or worse," Xavier offered.
"If you touch him, I will kill you," She whispered, her voice barely audible above the soft ocean breeze.
"Your emotions get the better of you," he replied before waltzing off.
"Idiot!" She exclaimed.
He was probably going straight to Ptolemus about this, Adam might disappear by morning. She sighed, leaving her book and running after him.
"Xavier, wait!" She called.
He paused, turning back towards her. Wren took a moment to collect herself, he was intelligent, he would hold this over her if he could.
"Don't tell Ptolemus," she stated. He just smiled wickedly.
"Of course, unless it becomes an issue, then things are out of my control," Xavier said before continuing to walk. She just stood there watching him leave.
"Oh and Trinity, I wouldn't get too used to this, even I know you'll never get peace," Xavier called over his shoulder.
She knew he was someone she needed to get rid of, the first person she actually wanted to kill right there with all her heart. She walked back to her room, finding Adam sitting on her bed pouting.
"What?" She asked, staring at him.
"Why'd you send me off instead of Xavier?" He questioned.
"I was keeping you out of danger," Wren replied.
"I'm not afraid of him," he stated.
"Well then you're an idiot, you should be," she said.
"I see the way you look at me sometimes, you think stupid, and maybe I am, but you don't need to try to protect me, I'm not a little kid Trinity, you may have endured more hardship, but it doesn't make you wiser than everyone around you, it doesn't mean you make less mistakes. You barely know me yet you've already judged me just like everyone does to you," he responded.
"I know I don't make less mistakes, but you're wrong, I am wiser than you. You'll end up dead before you're an adult at this rate, I'm not just judging you, I'm telling you the truth, you just don't want to accept it," she stated.
"I'd rather be dead than kill another person," he answered.
Despite her best efforts she felt the coldness creeping up in her from his words, felt the way they stung, felt her expression turn stony.
"Wait Trinity!" he yelled as she backed out of the room.
"Better you don't associate yourself with someone who does then," she muttered, walking away.
Adam didn't try to follow her as she walked back into the blinding sunlight, slumping over to the side, mostly obscured by ropes and barrels. Wren didn't understand why his words had affected her so much, they were meaningless, things she had already known. She knew she was evil, knew what she did was wrong, but Adam saying it, having it told to her face by someone she wasn't about to kill, hurt. She was still viewed as a monster after all he had said, after the several days on the ship, after all his acting like she was normal.
She stayed there for a while, just sitting there, not even reading her book, waiting for enough time to pass for Adam to not be in her room anymore. The sun was creeping overhead, the ocean taunting her, singing to her to jump in and join it, promising happiness, but she didn't oblige.
She walked back towards her room, a weird feeling of guilt that made Wren's whole heart hurt bubbling up inside her. When she walked into her room she saw Ptolemus leaning against the wall, his perfect face twisting into a smirk when she walked in.
"Sit," he stated.
Wren sat down, keeping her face neutral even as her temper threatened to take hold.
"I need you to kill Xavier for me. I've tired of his endless schemes and lies," Ptolemus explained.
"And there I thought you were a total idiot," Wren muttered.
"What?" he asked slowly.
"Yes of course, I'll take care of him," she replied hurriedly.
He didn't say anything else, simply leaving the room.
"Is there any way you can avoid killing him?" Adam asked, rolling out from under the bed where he had apparently been hiding.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to eavesdrop?" She asked, glaring.
Just speaking to him after the fight made her nervous, but she hid it well.
"There's got to be a way to fake it right?" Adam said, ignoring her words.
"Why would I fake his death when I can just y'know actually kill him?" Trinity replied.
"Killing is wrong, I know what Ptolemus would do if you failed but still, we're talking about taking a life!" Adam exclaimed.
She narrowed her eyes, annoyed. He truly didn't understand anything about Wren or her world. If he did he wouldn't be saying the things he was, he wouldn't be yelling at her for what she had to do to survive. He knew who she was, what she did often, yet he still questioned her, still demanded her to take the harder path. Anger boiled up inside her, Wren was wrong to think he could share her burden. He was nothing but a child.
"Leave now, I need to prepare. I'm sure you have things to attend to anyways," Wren whispered coldly.
"C'mon Trinity just listen! For once in your life can you just listen to me and stop acting like I'm inferior or something! Honestly sometimes I can see why Ptolemus and you are siblings," Adam said before stalking out of the room, not even starting to apologize this time.
Wren sat there feeling cold creeping up inside her again. She tried to ignore the feelings inside her, the hurt, but his words kept repeating. Did he really think that she thought that about him? Adam had known just what to say to her, and it hurt more than anything else. It hurt more than the pain she constantly felt, hurt more than most physical injuries ever could. Wren never should have allowed him in, it was only leading to disappointment.
She tried to clear her mind, Xavier wouldn't be an easy kill, she couldn't allow herself to be distracted. She would deal with Adam later, first she needed to prepare for her hunt.
She grabbed the most normal clothes she had, slipping them on over a tight bodysuit where several knives were already strapped to. She buckled her sword to her side, it would be suspicious if she didn't have at least one weapon in plain sight. In her hair she put a sharp hair clip, it wouldn't be much use in a full on fight, but handy for emergencies.
Finally Wren walked towards Xavier's room. If this went smoothly she could lure him to the ship deck and simply stab and push him into the ocean. If she didn't have the element of surprise this would be a tough fight, one she could win, but still tough.
She knocked on the door, waiting for a few moments before knocking louder. When Wren still received no response she wiggled the handle, finding it unlocked. Xavier wasn't inside, but there was a note sitting on his bed, she picked it up out of curiosity.
"Kill Ptolemus for both of us someday," she read aloud.
Wren groaned, he was gone. This had to be Adam's fault. He had actually warned Xavier. Maybe if he left no evidence she could still say she killed him? If he ever reappeared Wren would be dead. First things first, she had to talk to Adam. Anger burned within her, did he truly care nothing for what happened to her?
She stormed towards the deck of the boat, finding Adam waiting for her, staring at the sky.
"Why would you do that?" She demanded.
"I couldn't standby and do nothing when I could save someone, who am I to decide who gets to live and die?" Adam asked.
"What if Xavier resurfaces, what are you going to do when I'm the one about to die because of your actions?" She snapped.
"I'll save you too," he replied calmly.
"That's not something you can do," Wren said.
"Maybe not, but I'll do everything I can to help you," he whispered.
"You really think that anything you could do would be enough?" She questioned.
"Just because I'm not as strong as you doesn't mean I'm useless. I do care about you, I wouldn't let you die," he replied.
She stared at him for a moment, the frustration fading slightly.
"Everything is going to end up ok," Adam stated.
"This isn't a book, things don't end perfectly," she said.
"Our world is just one big story made up of tons of chapters, each one a different life. I have faith that ours will end happily, the world isn't as cruel as you believe," Adam responded.
"We'll see," she said.
Wren turned towards the ocean, content to just stare into it and think for a while.