The Next Day...
There was exactly one hour left until the cruise. I looked at my phone—a message from my dad: he wanted me to come to his room. When I entered, I saw Beatrice was there too. My dad was sitting in his armchair. I greeted him, and then he suddenly opened his drawer and handed us two small cards. I took the card and examined it carefully. My dad explained our fake identities—I was a famous lawyer, and Beatrice was a well-known architect.After Lolia came to our near.She gave us two well tecnologed telephones.They look like normal telephones but they were stronger than others and they were waterproff.We thanked them and left the room.
It felt like we had forgotten our mission; as if we were just going on vacation. We started packing our suitcases. That one hour passed at light speed. The ship was decorated with colorful neon lights, and the air was filled with the heavy scent of alcohol—an intoxicating haze that almost made the head spin.As we dragged our luggage onto the ship, a child approached us. He looked about 10 or 11 years old. He waddled over like a penguin, holding a piece of toast. He stared at us. I bent down to his eye level and asked:
— Did we remind you of someone?
The child took a bite of his toast, chewed, swallowed. Then he looked at me:
— What's your name?
With a serious look, as if he were my peer, I said the name on my fake ID:
— I'm Amelia. What's your name, kidman?
He fixed his brown eyes on me. Finally, he answered:
— Kevin.
I nodded. Beatrice had been listening to us the whole time. She couldn't hold back anymore:
— Are you seriously messing around with a little kid?
She rolled her eyes. I immediately stood up. After saying "See you" to Kevin, Beatrice grabbed my hand and dragged me to our room. She was muttering:
— Why are you bothering with him? He's just a kid. Don't you have anyone else to mess with?
I replied:
— He asked our names, I didn't want him to get suspicious...
Beatrice rolled her eyes again. I giggled at her reaction. As soon as she opened the door with the card.I looked the room.The room was big and quite elegant. There were two beds with white sheets, each with two silk pillows on top. My finger touched the sheet—it was truly made of good fabric. Next to the beds were small drawers, and on top of them were coral-colored lamps. At the foot of the beds stood two wardrobes. The television was mounted on the wall, and its remote control was placed on the entrance table. The refrigerator was under the television, and right next to it was a safe. The light coming from above illuminated the room in a very pleasant way. Under my feet, there was a wool carpet.
Beatrice jumped onto the bed by the window.
— Window seat's mine! — She shouted.
pretended to be a little offended:
— Fine then.I like I'd ever say no to you.
Then she scrunched up her face like she'd eaten a lemon:
— Ugh... I hope we don't accidentally say our real names around people.
She placed her suitcase on the bed she didn't want. I nodded:
— That would be really bad, I swear, Betsy.
Beatrice looked at me:
— Don't call me Betsy! I'm not Betsy, I'm Eleanor!
I smiled:
— Okay Elly, whatever you say.
Already annoyed about losing the window seat, I was now even more irritated. She rolled her eyes. I teased her on purpose:
— You're such a child, you know that?
I looked at her:
— Says the one who went wild over the window seat!
I smiled. Seeing me smile, she gave in and suggested we go outside. It was the perfect chance to see what was where.
Once the door slammed behind us, we were free. We stepped out onto the ship's outer deck. As we walked to the edge and watched the moonlight shimmer on the water, a man approached us. He had brown hair and green eyes. After looking at us, he tried to grab my hand. When he noticed I pulled away, he forcefully took my palm:
— Beautiful weather today, isn't it, miss?
The moment he touched me, I yanked my hand back and rolled my eyes. Beatrice must've remembered this scene—it had happened thousands of times—she tried to pull me away from the man. As I moved away, I snapped:
— Didn't your mother teach you not to touch people without permission?Touch and see what will happen.
My voice was cold as steel. That's how I usually spoke to people I wasn't close to. Except one:-yes- Betsy.
The man looked at me. A mischievous smile spread across his face. He chuckled:
— A little feisty, huh?
He tried to take my hand.I took his arm and I twisted his arm.He shouted with pain.
-Ahh.
And he fell on the ground.He looked at me with fear angry and maybe some respect.
I looked him:
-I said that.You deserved it.
Just then, another man arrived. He was blond and blue-eyed. I assumed he was the first man's friend. He looked at him and slowly pushed him away, scolding him...
He grabbed the brown-haired man's wrist. We barely understood what was happening. The blond man turned to his friend and shouted:
"Lawrance! Is this how you treat every woman you see? I've had enough of you, Louise—you can't touch a woman just because she's pretty!"
I stepped forward:
"Sir, thank you, but I handled him myself. I don't need you to rescue me."
The man straightened up, clearly embarrassed. He thought before speaking:
"Of course. But he's my friend, so—"
I cut him off:
"It's fine."
He took that as understanding. Then he bent slightly, his blue eyes gleaming:
"On his behalf, I apologize, ladies. He's like this sometimes. Don't let it bother you.''
And he looked his friend who is still looking him on the ground.
-And you, Louise.We will talk this .
Louise stood up and he bruised himself off.
Beatrice nodded, saying it was no big deal. I said the same, just for her sake, though a storm raged inside me. Beatrice was right—no point dragging it out. I looked at the blond man. He noticed and paused.
"See you around, ladies. If anything happens because of my friend, you can find me. By the way, I'm Edward."
I nodded.
"See you, Edward. I'm Amelia, and she's Eleanor."
Even as I said it, my voice didn't soften. "Alright," I thought, "he'll probably obsess over my coldness like the others…" But he didn't say a word and walked away. Louise vanished too. I took a deep breath.
"I'm still angry, you know? Maybe a bit too much. But whatever."
Beatrice giggled, then seriously told me I handled it well. After a moment of silence, she looked at me:
"Forget all that. We've got two weeks in paradise. Can you imagine? Pools, casino, spa—everything you want. Forget what just happened, let me buy you a drink."
She grabbed my hand and led me to the bar. We ordered two glasses of wine. While waiting, we talked not about today or the mission, but the past—those strange moments from our ten years together. When the wine arrived, Beatrice raised her glass. I did too, and the clink of glass mingled with our shared "cheers."
After nearly finishing our first glasses in one gulp, we had another. Beatrice paid the bill. She looked at me, her voice playful:
"Next time, you're paying, alright?"
I nodded. I checked the tiny clock on my phone. It was 10 PM, and I was already sleepy. When I yawned, Beatrice chuckled:
"Our big baby's bedtime has come!"
I gave her a deadly glare, and she fell silent—she'd seen who was behind me. Edward and Louise again. They were acting suspiciously, almost like they'd been following us. Edward noticed me looking and smiled politely. He approached:
"Hello, it was Amelia, right?"
I nodded. He jokingly placed his hand on my shoulder. When I pulled away, he realized I wasn't like his friend—he withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket.
"You don't like being touched? Sorry, I didn't think."
I replied:
"It's fine."
There was something different about this man. Not just that he respected my boundaries—something else. Could he be an agent like us? Friend or foe?
Edward leaned in:
"Sorry to ask, but how old are you?"
I answered coldly:
"Twenty-one."
He chuckled, then turned to me:
"So you're the same age as Sultan Mehmed when he conquered Istanbul… I'm twenty-two."
His knowledge of history pleased me. Beatrice leaned in, curious:
"Sultan Mehmed?"
"The Ottoman sultan," I replied.
Turning to Edward:
"Looks like you know your history?"
He smiled. Clearly, he enjoyed the spark between us.
Edward suddenly looked to his left. When he saw his friend was not beside him, he frowned.
"Ugh, where did this man go again," he gave a look, then turned to us:
– Good night, ladies, see you again.
After lifting his hat and giving a salute, he ran away from there.
Beatrice, after being sure the man had completely disappeared, said:
–I feel sorry for the man, but really, poor guy is running after his friend like a caretaker.
Smiling, I agreed:
–Yes. I was still thinking whether Edward was following us.
Maybe it's by chance, I said, but I couldn't stop worrying.
I turned to Beatrice and said:
–The man is acting a bit strange. It would be good if we pay attention to our behavior.
While Beatrice was listening to me, she nodded:
–Whatever you say always happens, Ammy. Sometimes I doubt whether you are a fortune teller.
We giggled.
I had started yawning. Beatrice joked:
–Our little baby is going to sleep now. Shall we go to the room, what do you say?
With my sleepy state, I nodded.
After going to our room, I threw myself onto the bed.
I was too lazy to wear my pajamas, but I had to wear them.
I told Beatrice not to look, I would change my clothes.
She knew how sensitive I was about these things.So she closed her eyes and wore her own pajamas.After turning off the light, we lay down in our beds.
I didn't know that if she sleep or don't.I was lying on my back in bed. I raised my hand into the air and moved my fingers. A purple smoke drifted between them. I smiled and clenched my hand tightly. The purple smoke slowly faded away. Then I lowered my hand. And I fell asleep.