Bram refused to land in the dark. He announced this from the engine room door. He had his arms crossed and a wrench in one hand. Nobody argued with the wrench. So the Dawn hovered above the clouds for one more night. Ganisha sat on the horizon like a dentist appointment. We all knew it was coming. None of us wanted to talk about it. Then Law clapped his hands once.
"Game night," he said.
Let me tell you something about my best friend. Nothing good has ever started with Law saying "game night." The first game night got us banned from a karaoke bar. The second one got us banned from the same karaoke bar under fake names. The third one, I do not talk about. There was a goat. That is all you need to know.
"No," I said. "Yes," Law said. "Absolutely not." "Too late. Kilo already agreed."
Kilo was asleep on top of Law's head. Kilo agreed to nothing. Kilo has never agreed to anything in his life. He is a sloth demon. His entire personality is lying down.
So, ten minutes later, we were all sitting on floor cushions in the common room. Atlas took up most of one wall. Vera sat cross-legged with a leather notebook in her lap. Bass sat very straight with a book titled Manners for Young Persons. Ordy sat with his knees together and his hands folded. Lucas sat beside me. He sat a little too close. I decided not to comment. Shu-shu perched on a crate above all of us like a judge at a very small trial.
"The game is called Truth or Dare," Law said. "I spin the bottle. Whoever it points at picks one. Truth means you answer a question honestly. Dare means you do whatever we tell you."
Lucas frowned. "Why would anyone choose dare?" "For the thrill," Law said. "Danger is not a thrill," Lucas said. "Danger is Tuesday."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the man I am magically bound to. He fights monsters before breakfast. He cannot understand fun.
Ordy raised his hand. "I would like the rules in writing." "Of course you would, Sprout," Law said.
Law took the pen out of Ordy's front pocket. Then he took Ordy's hand. Then he turned it palm up and started writing directly on his skin. Ordy went very still. I watched his ears turn pink in real time.
"Rule one," Law said as he wrote. "No lying. Rule two. No backing out. Rule three." He drew a tiny heart. "If you get lonely, my cabin is the second door on the left."
"That is not a rule," Ordy said. "It is now," Law said.
"POP." A small white flower bloomed out of the floorboard beside Ordy's knee. It just appeared there. Wood does not normally do that. We all looked at it. Ordy looked at the ceiling. "That was unrelated," he said.
Here is something you need to know about Ordy. He has plant magic. He has perfect control over it. He can grow a hedge maze in a minute. He can make a vine tie a sailor's knot. But apparently, his magic leaks when he gets flustered. Everyone saw it. Ordy pretended nobody saw it. That would become the theme of the night.
Vera opened her notebook. She wrote something down with great speed. "What is that?" I asked. "My ledger." "Your ledger of what?" "Of everything," Vera said. She did not look up. "I am the host tonight. I am also the scorekeeper. I am also extremely invested."
Bass turned a page in his book. "Chapter Eleven. Parlor Games. A gentleman never takes advantage of a dare." He looked up at Law. "You are not a gentleman." "Thank you," Law said. "It was not a compliment." "It was to me."
Law spun the bottle. It was one of Bram's empty oil bottles. It spun in a slow, greasy circle. It stopped on Atlas. "Truth," Atlas said. He said it gently, like he was choosing a soup.
Vera leaned forward. Her eyes were shining. This was a dangerous sign. "Atlas. You and Bram spend a lot of time together in the engine room."
From the doorway, Bram spoke without turning around. "My engine is not a romance venue." "I only help him lift the heavy parts," Atlas said. "That is what they all say," Vera said. "It is also what is true," Bram said. Then he left.
Vera crossed out an entire page. She did it very slowly. She looked like a woman burying a dream. "Fine," she said. "New question. Atlas. What is your type?"
Atlas thought about it. He actually thought about it. He held his teacup in both huge hands. He stared into it for a long time. "Someone quiet," he said at last. "Someone who finds beautiful things in strange places."
Nobody said anything. Vera's pen hovered over the page. It was such a specific answer. It was also such a soft one. For some reason, it felt familiar to me. I could not place why. I let it go. Atlas just smiled at his tea like it had told him a secret.
"That is oddly poetic," Law said. "Thank you," Atlas said.
Law spun again. The bottle stopped on Bass. "Truth," Bass said. He did not even hesitate. Bass is a former villain. He has nothing left to hide. Or so he thinks.
Law smiled. It was a very bad smile. "Bass. Do you like Ordy?" The room went silent. Ordy stopped breathing. Up on the crate, Shu-shu's tail stopped moving.
Bass did not blink. "I find him tolerable." Law relaxed. "Highly," Bass added.
"POP." A second flower appeared. This one was yellow. It grew out of a crack in the wall right behind Ordy's head.
Law's smile disappeared. He narrowed his eyes at Bass. Bass calmly turned a page in his etiquette book. I had a sudden feeling. It was the feeling you get at a family reunion. Two uncles have just started talking about politics.
"Ordy," Law said. "Your turn. Dare." "I did not choose dare." "I chose it for you." "That is against rule two." "Rule three overrides rule two." "Rule three is not a rule!" "Then you should have objected in writing," Law said. He tapped Ordy's palm. "Oh, wait. It is in writing."
Ordy closed his eyes. He looked like a man counting to ten in four languages. "Fine," he said. "What is the dare?" Law leaned in. "Grow me a flower. Then put it in my hair. With your own hands."
Ordy opened one eye. Then the other. Then he sighed. He held out one finger. A perfect blue flower grew from his fingertip. It was small. It was neat. It was symmetrical down to the last petal. Of course it was. Ordy does not grow messy flowers. Ordy would never.
He leaned forward. He tucked the flower behind Law's ear. He did it carefully, like he was defusing a bomb. Law did not move at all. Law has never stayed still for a single second in his entire life. Right then, he stayed perfectly still.
"Your hands are shaking, Sprout," Law said quietly. "They are not."
"POP. POP. POP." Three more flowers bloomed. One on the floor. One on the cushion. One on Kilo. Kilo did not wake up. Kilo now had a flower on his face. He looked peaceful. He looked like a funeral.
Ordy sat back down. His face was the color of a tomato. Bass reached past him before anyone could speak. He lifted one finger. A tiny black flame lit the candle beside Ordy's cushion. "It was dark on your side," Bass said. Ordy stared at the candle. "Thank you."
"POP. POP." Law turned slowly toward Bass. Bass turned slowly toward his book. I was watching a love triangle happen in real time. In a garden. That one of the corners was accidentally growing. Vera was writing so fast her pen sounded like a small engine.
Then Law spun the bottle again. It went round and round. It slowed down. It stopped on Lucas. Every head in the room turned. I suddenly became very interested in my own socks.
"Truth," Lucas said. "Of course," Law said. He did not even pretend to think about it. "Your Highness. What do you like most about Ren?"
I considered jumping off the airship. It seemed reasonable. We were very high up. It would be quick. It would also be less embarrassing than this.
Lucas did not pause. He did not look away. He did not even look embarrassed. He just answered, like someone had asked him about the weather. "He argues with me," Lucas said. "Then he stays."
"CRACK." That was Vera's pen. It snapped in half. She did not notice. She kept writing with the broken half.
I want to describe what happened inside my body at that moment. I cannot. My heart did something illegal. My face did something worse. I stared at the floor. The floor stared back. The floor was on my side for once.
"Ren," Law said sweetly. "Your turn." "Dare," I said immediately. I would rather eat a rock than answer a truth in this room. Law grinned. I knew that grin. That grin got us banned from a karaoke bar twice. "Compliment Lucas," he said. "No sarcasm. You have ten seconds." "I hate you." "One," Law said.
I turned to Lucas. Lucas was already looking at me. Of course he was. He looked at me like I was a document he was carefully reading.
"Your face is fine," I said. "Two," Law said. "Fine?" Lucas asked. "Structurally sound," I said. "Good bones. Very load bearing." "Three. Four. That was sarcasm. I am still counting."
"Your shoulders are a reasonable width," I said. "Your posture is excellent. Your hair is..." I paused. "Present." "Seven," Law said. "And your eyes are..."
I stopped. Lucas was very close. The candlelight was doing something annoying to his face. It made his eyes look soft. Lucas does not have soft eyes. Lucas has the eyes of a man who glares at storms until they leave. But right then, they were soft. And they were waiting.
"Ten," Law said. "Time." I did not finish. I did not breathe either.
"My eyes are what?" Lucas asked. "Next round," I said. "Ren." "Next. Round."
Then the communication sphere on the shelf began to glow. "Yohohoho!" Every single one of us froze. Queen Celia's face appeared in the glass. She wore a silk robe. She held a cup of tea. She looked like a woman enjoying a very good show.
"Mother," Lucas said flatly. "How long have you been listening?" "Since the handwriting, darling," Celia said. "I simply could not interrupt. It was too precious. I had to fetch more tea."
"This is a private game," Lucas said. "Nothing is private in my kingdom," Celia said sweetly. "Now. As Queen of Bellestia, I would like to issue a royal dare." "You are not playing." "I am the Queen. I am always playing."
She sipped her tea. "Ren will sleep in my son's cabin tonight. For diplomacy." "Diplomacy with who?" I asked. "Between my son and his feelings," Celia said. "They have not been on speaking terms for years."
Lucas closed his eyes. I think he was praying. I do not know which god. Probably not the God of Prophecy. That one works for his mother.
"Oh, and one more thing," Celia added. "Law will escort Ordy back to his cabin. Like a proper gentleman." Bass lifted his book. "Your Majesty. Law is not a gentleman. Chapter Eleven is very clear." "Then tonight he will learn," Celia said. "Yohohoho! Goodnight, my darlings. Do not disappoint me."
The sphere went dark. The room was silent. In the corner, another flower bloomed. Nobody even looked anymore.
Law stood up first. He offered Ordy his arm. Ordy stared at it. "I can walk by myself," Ordy said. "I know," Law said. "But it is a royal dare."
Ordy took his arm. He did it with the stiffness of a man signing a contract. They walked down the hallway together. Little flowers bloomed on the floor behind them, one step at a time. It looked like a wedding aisle. It also looked like Ordy was leaving a trail back to his dignity.
Bass stood up. He closed his book. He followed them, exactly two steps behind. "Where are you going?" Vera asked. "For safety," Bass said. So the escort had an escort. Vera wrote that down. Then she underlined it three times.
And then it was just me and Lucas. And a very long hallway. And a very short distance to his door.
Here is what I know about stories like this. I have read enough web novels in the university library. Two characters are forced to share a room. There is always only one bed. The bed is always small. Nobody ever asks the carpenter why.
Lucas opened his cabin door. There was one bed. It was small. I looked up at the ceiling. "Unbelievable." "What is?" Lucas asked. "Nothing. The carpenter."
"I will take the floor," he said. "It is your cabin." "It is your back."
We stood there. Neither of us moved. This was a stalemate between a prince and an engineer. Nobody was going to win. We were both too stubborn to sleep on the floor. We were also too stubborn to say so.
So I built a wall. I am an engineer. Walls are my love language. I used every pillow in the cabin. Most of them were Ordy's. I knew this because they were labeled. One said Guest. One said Spare. One said Do Not Touch. I used that one as the foundation. It felt like justice.
We lay down on opposite sides of the pillow wall. The cabin was dark. The moon came through the round window. In Bellestia, the moon never fully goes away. It just watches. It was watching now. I did not appreciate that. For a while, there was only the hum of the engine and the creak of the ship.
"Ren," Lucas said. "I am asleep." "You are talking." "I am talking in my sleep. It is a medical condition."
He was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke again. "The compliment. Was it true?" "Which part? The structurally sound part?" "The eyes."
I did not answer. I could hear my own heartbeat. I am pretty sure he could hear it too. The man has very good ears. It is one of his many annoying features.
"You did not finish," he said. "I know." "Will you?"
I looked at the wall of pillows. Do Not Touch looked back at me. On my finger, the ring was warm. It was not hot. It was just warm. It felt like a hand had been resting on it.
"Ask me again when I am not sleepy," I said. "You are not sleepy." "I am extremely sleepy. I am basically unconscious. Goodnight, Your Highness."
There was a soft sound on the other side of the wall. It might have been a laugh. Lucas does not laugh. So it was probably the ship. "Goodnight, Ren," he said. The shadows in the cabin softened a little. I fell asleep before I could decide what that meant.
I woke up warm. That was the first problem. The second problem was the pillow wall. It was gone. It was not knocked over. It was gone. Do Not Touch was on the floor across the room. Guest was in the corner. Spare was missing completely. I never saw Spare again.
The third problem was the arm. There was an arm around my waist. It belonged to Lucas. Around both of us, like a blanket, was his shadow. It was wrapped around my shoulders. It was tucked under my chin. It was very, very comfortable. I hated how comfortable it was.
I want to make one thing clear to all of you. I did not move the pillows. I am an engineer. I respect structures.
"You moved them," Lucas said. His voice was rough. His eyes were still closed. "I did not." "You kicked them. Three times. Then you moved closer." "That is slander." "Then you said my name." "That is extreme slander."
"CREAK." The door opened. Vera stood there with her ledger. Law stood behind her with the blue flower still behind his ear. Shu-shu sat at their feet. All three of them looked at us. Then they looked at the shadow. Then they looked at each other. Vera wrote something down. It took a long time. It was clearly a full paragraph.
Shu-shu blinked slowly. "Hm."
"This is not what it looks like," I said. "It is what it looks like," Lucas said. "LUCAS."
Law cleared his throat. "Congratulations to the happy couple. But we have a bigger problem." "Bigger than this?" I asked. "Much bigger," Law said. "Come see."
So we got up. I put my dignity back on with my shoes. We followed Law down the hallway. We stopped in front of Ordy's cabin. At least, I think it was Ordy's cabin. It was hard to tell. There were vines coming out from under the door. There were roses growing out of the door frame. There was a sunflower sticking out of the keyhole. The whole hallway smelled like a flower shop.
Bass stood in front of the door. He held a tiny black flame in one hand. He looked unsure. "I could burn them," Bass offered. "Do not even think about it," Law said. "I was only offering."
From inside the cabin, a muffled voice spoke. "I am fine. Please go away." Law bent down to the keyhole. "Sprout," he said sweetly. "Did you have trouble sleeping?"
There was a long silence. Then another sunflower pushed its way out of the keyhole. It hit Law gently in the face. "POP."
Law grinned like it was the best night of his life. Bass sighed like it was the worst night of his. Behind the door, Ordy groaned into a pillow. It was probably labeled.
Then Bram's voice came through the speaking tube on the wall. "We are landing. Whoever is growing a jungle in Cabin Four, stop it. My airship is not a greenhouse."
I looked out the hallway window. Ganisha was close now. It was closer than yesterday. Something gray hung above it. It might have been clouds. It might have been smoke.
That was our last quiet night before Ganisha. I did not know that yet. Nobody did. Beside me, Lucas stood a little too close again. I did not comment.
The ring was warm.