Jolly Roger

The moment we entered the Lace, I breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Oh, it looks like we just got away!" 

"Really?" Alex grinned incredulously. 

"Do you think they will come after us?" I asked anxiously.

The prince shook his head in the negative. He looked really bad. 

"Come on," I said. "You need some rest."

Alex bowed his head and didn't even ask where we were going. Yes, he had had a terrible day. Considering the circumstances, he was holding up perfectly; but that was enough for him.

So I took the prince to Kardwash: the world where no one would look for him. 

Actually, that was quite a place! When the Great Master inhabited the worlds, he had forgotten about Kardwash. So when the explorers of the Lace discovered that world about three hundred years ago, there were no human footprints on it at all. However, a place is never empty, and soon the world was populated by those seeking a better life. They were followed by all kinds of freaks, bandits, and smugglers. Strange as it may seem, the society built by their descendants proved to be attractive in its own way. Freedom and equality, as they used to say. Live and let live… but keep your blade close. There had always been plenty of shady characters who used the free Kardwash as a staging ground.

If someone had told me six years ago that I would leave the Coordinators and end up on the other side, I would have laughed until my stomach hurt. Now, however, I could only console myself with the fact that Hunters were considered the highest caste and that I had never been involved in robbery or murder. In fact, even after all these years, I was still an outsider among the Hunters, and never tried to get any closer to them. 

Here, on Kardwash, I had only one real friend. The man I trusted with all my heart.

Old Doro was a gray-haired, tall man with a huge belly and an intimidating face. In his homeworld, he had been a bandit. I had met him there, in the cold, ice-covered Hallydar. Back then, he saved my life and healed me after I fought the Snow Dragon, and I repaid him by rescuing him from the noose and taking him to Kardwash. He didn’t have the gift of a “Lace Bug” – he couldn’t move along the Lace; yet that was for the better, as it kept him out of trouble. 

He ran an inn in Millis, the biggest city of Kardwash. and entertained everyone with tales of his heroic past. The regulars at the inn were very particular, but they tried to behave themselves. Doro knew how to put a customer in his place or break up an incipient fight.

When Alex and I showed up at the Jolly Roger, Doro’s place, it was almost midnight and the party was in full swing. 

I nodded to the bouncer I knew, walked past a couple of drunken freebooters and made way for a waiter in a hurry. Then I rescued Alex from Fify, a local beauty who was looking for a customer. 

Finally we reached the counter and sat down on high stools. The gorgeous Doro himself was working as a bartender. He waved his hand when he saw me. Then he asked his assistant to take his place and come over to us. 

"Hi, Archie! It's been a long time since you've been here!" he said. 

"Just walking around. What's been going on?"

"Nothing much. Who is this?" he pointed at my companion. 

"His name is Alex, and don't ask any more questions. Hey, Alex! This is Doro, he is the best bartender in the entire Lace."

They nodded to each other and that was enough for the moment. 

"Hey man, pour me something really strong," I asked. "It's been such a hard day!"

Doro brought drinks and Alex drained his glass in one gulp. I made a gesture and Doro poured him another drink. Alcohol never solved anything, but the prince really needed it to relax. 

Alex drank, then tried to chew something, then drank again. When he passed out, me and Rend, the bouncer, took him to my room and laid him on the bed. I took off his sword belt and his boots. After that I was about to go back downstairs, but I felt absolutely exhausted, so I went to bed in the adjoining room. 

I woke up after midnight, wide awake and rested. Alex was still asleep, I could hear him breathing behind the wall. 

I got up, put on my boots, strapped on my sword and slipped out of the room. From below came the sounds of music, indistinct chatter and bursts of laughter. So I went downstairs, to the smells and sounds of the party. As expected, the party was in full swing. There were a dozen drunken men and half-dressed girls. Dancing, shouting, laughing. Just another night at the Jolly Roger.

I passed them all and went to the bar. Doro let me into his workspace and I sat down on the low stool among the bottles and crates. 

"How is your friend?" Doro asked. 

"He is sleeping," I answered. 

"What happened to him?"

"His whole family was murdered today," I explained without going into details. "But he will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," I quoted an Earth classic, "and at least he's alive."

"Well, you know better," Doro chuckled and changed the subject. "I see you have a new sword."

I stroked the sapphire-studded hilt.

"It's wonderful, isn't it? My Samurai was broken, so I had to replace it."

"I don’t like this," Doro muttered as he put the cup of coffee with milk in front of me. 

He gave me a plate of cakes and brought a thick book of accounts. After that, he went back to his work: pouring drinks, yelling at tired waiters, and telling lewd jokes to visitors. 

I began to lazily leaf through the pages, pretending to be interested in the contents. 

The point was that I owned half of  the Jolly Roger. Actually, I had nothing to do with the business, except for the name of the inn, the investments, and the choice of location. As for the business itself, I left that to Doro, who knew what he was doing. However, every time I visited the Jolly Roger, I had to check the accounts, even though I understood that thing no more than Doro understood quantum physics. 

Somewhere in all those numbers I could find my share of the profits, but I never took that money. Nevertheless, Doro kept it in a separate box. He was absolutely honest about everything that had to do with business. 

Gradually the crowd dispersed and it became quieter. Doro signaled to his bouncers, who had stayed away all night, and they began to lead the late regulars out. Waiters cleared tables and set up chairs. Doro yawned and counted the money. He looked happy with his life. 

"Are you happy here, man?" I asked unexpectedly. 

He put his notes aside, scratched his beard and answered after a few minutes,"Perhaps I was happier on Hallydar. It was my home, after all. On the other hand, I doubt that His Majesty Skwill has forgotten that he wanted to hang me on the nearest tree. So I love my life and don't dream of anything else. In Kardwash, no one knows who I was before." Doro sighed and continued his work. 

I stood up, stretched and started to wipe the wine glasses.  Doro looked at me in surprise, but didn't say anything.

A few minutes later he asked, "What are you going to do?"

"What are you asking about?" 

"About Alex. You're working for him, aren't you?"

"Why do you think so?" 

"I've known you for a long time," he replied. 

"Indeed," I agreed. "But this time it’s different. You see, this is a matter of honor."

"Yes, sure!" he spat. "Except that each of your ‘matters’ of this kind looks suicidal!"

"I'm still alive."

"Alive!" Doro slammed his fist against the table, scattering the even piles of coins.

"Here we go," Doro sighed and started counting again. 

I kept rubbing the fragile glasses. I felt sorry. 

A persistent knocking at the door made me raise my head. 

"Max, look who is there!" Doro yelled. 

The second bouncer went to the door and opened it. After some small talk, he stepped aside and let a woman enter. She was tall, dressed like a man and wore a long, curved sword on her belt. She took off her hood and walked over to the bar. 

My fingers squeezed the glass in my hand and the shards pierced my skin. The pain brought me back to reality, but the woman didn't disappear. 

Her name was Mara and she had been my girlfriend many years ago. I did not have many happy memories of that time. Mara had long, curly black hair, now tied up in a high ponytail, dark violet eyes, and big red lips that hid her gleaming white teeth. Alas, there was some vampire blood in my ex-girlfriend's veins. 

Mara didn't recognize me right away. No wonder: I'd changed a lot in the years we'd been apart. At first her eyes passed me uninterestedly, but then they turned back. I saw amazement in her eyes, and then anger. Her eyes flashed and her mouth curved into a predatory grin. 

"What a meeting!" I greeted her with a beaming smile. "It's been so many years since we last met!"

"You!" she hissed. "How could you? You can't be here!"

She flew up to the counter in a whirlwind, trying to reach for my face with her hand. I grabbed her wrist and drew it aside. Mara's nails were as sharp as cat claws, she could cut my face to the bone. 

"No! You're not a ghost!" she screamed, more frightened than angry. 

"I'm not a ghost," I shook my head. "Look, I don't like our meeting either, but I don't deny the fact. I am here, and so are you. That's the way it is. You should deal with it."

Mara nodded. 

"That's true," she said slowly, looking at the counter. Then she raised her head and stared at me with an inquisitive look, "But how could that be? How did you get free?"

"Sorry, what?"

"How? What magic helped you? There is no way out of the Looking Glass!"

I laughed. 

"Just look at this Alice in Wonderland! Do you understand what you are talking about?"

"Don't you laugh at me!" she cried. "Six years! It was six years ago that I had captured you and locked you in the Looking Glass Palace. No one had returned from there in a thousand years! I thought I had gotten rid of you forever!" 

I shook my head sadly. It looked like my ex had gone a little crazy. 

"Maybe you saw it in a dream?" I asked cautiously. "We haven't seen each other for twelve years."

She shook her head stubbornly.

"It was you, Arthur, I couldn't mistake you," she said with a wry grin. "If it were a dream, I would see you in your former appearance. But then... you had long hair and that scar."

 "That scar is much less old than you’ve said," I replied, wondering if she had gone crazy with happiness.

"You're lying!" she said. 

I shook my head again. 

"We’ll never solve the problem this way. Maybe you'd better get some rest..."

"I'll make a room!" Doro said happily and ran upstairs, not forgetting to lock the cashbox. 

"Why are you laughing at me?" Mara cried out angrily. "Don't pretend to be a caring dad! I am in my right mind!"

"I’m not so sure..."

"I'm not going to leave it like this!" she announced darkly, turning to leave… and freezing as the edge of the blade stopped a centimeter from her neck. 

The blade looked familiar.  I traced its entire length with my eyes, saw the hand holding it and wasn't surprised to see Alex. Her eyes burned with hatred.  

It seemed that Mara had unexpectedly found herself in her own fan club. What had she and Alex disagreed about?

"Good morning, my sweet cousin," Alex greeted her gallantly.

I glanced out of the window and was surprised to see the strip of dawn on the horizon. 

"It's incredibly good, cousin," Mara chuckled as she took a step back. 

Alex immediately followed her. I jumped over the counter and stood behind the woman's back. She took another step away from the prince and confronted me. She had nowhere to escape. 

"Are you going to kill me right here, Your Highness?" Mara inquired. 

"With great pleasure," he replied. "Just give me one reason to let you go."

"Think of one yourself!" she said sarcastically.

"It's not easy, given the circumstances of our last meeting." Alex shrugged. "You've completely lost the skill of throwing a knife. I have to admit, though, that was almost a successful attempt.  If it hadn’t been for Arthur..."

 Mara gritted her teeth. I noticed her movement and wrapped her arm behind her back, just in case. I did it in time: there was a thin stiletto in her fingers. When had she taken it out?

"What a strange passion for such toys!" I sighed. "You could hurt anyone, couldn't you?" 

Mara kicked me in the shin with her heavy boot. Damn, that really hurt!

"Thanks, Archie," Alex said. "Looks like you saved my life again."

Mara laughed. 

"Oh, yes, Archie!"  she said mockingly. "You saved the life of the wrong person again. You will regret this many times!"

"Shut up, Mara," I whispered in her ear. "I can wring your pretty little neck right now."

"You don't have the guts for that," she said contemptuously.

To her luck, Doro came back just at that moment. 

"Your room is ready, lady," he started and stopped when he saw us. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing," Mara replied. "I'm leaving."

I felt my fingers squeeze the emptiness. Mara slipped away, turning into black smoke and melting into the air. 

Alex shrugged and lowered his sword. I took out my handkerchief, moistened it with alcohol and carefully wiped my hands. But I couldn't wipe away the disgust. 

Many years ago, I had loved this woman with all my heart. Then I hated her as much as I had once loved her. I knew she was not human. But this was too much. Even for me.