Rosaleen addresses the crowd, “We can’t afford to turn on each other and attack one another. We are family. We need to respect each other and protect one another.” She pauses, capturing the eyes of many, “We need to feel safe on this ship. I hope that this is the last act of violence amongst our family, and if any other who wishes to attack another one of my crew, I promise that they will suffer a more agonizing death than the one you witnessed here.” She gazes into the many eyes of the crowd, reading them and making sure that they are with her.

Rosaleen directs her attention on me, “Taylan you will clean this deck and rid it of this mess.” She says it like a punishment. Rosaleen’s eyes still peering into mine, she addresses Soolena and my sister; “Soolena and Ashlea will help you dispose of the remains overboard. Make sure to weight it down, we are not a far distance from the shore.” She turns quickly, angered by all of this and walks through the crowd hastily. If I was to guess, she went to her room to wash up in privacy and reflect. Izavelle is left without orders and without any instruction. She decides to converse with the crew of the ship and explain in more detail with smaller groups of them the details of the actions that had taken place last night. I watch Izavelle converse. They seem confused and surprised at first but after a few minutes, Izavelle seems to accomplish an understanding. I start to wonder about what Izavelle said to me, that things are not always, what they seem, and hinted at the fact that she may not be loyal to the Princess, but now she seems to be on Rosaleen’s side in easing the stress of the crew.

I approach the slumped over body and touch his side. He is already cooling off. My hands are still shaking. He looks like he could glance up at any moment. I slowly fall to my knees before him. His short hair is a dull black and his narrow face almost looks rat-like now that he is gone. He doesn’t even look like he is at peace. I do not know him, other than the fact that he would bring out trays of food to us. I never spoke to him, other than a quick nod of my chin to thank him for the food. Do I hate him? No, it seems like the attack happened a long time ago and is something of the past especially after having all of this happen. His body is blood-soaked. My clothes are covered in his blood. Puddles of blood are pooling all around me as the wounds from his corpse continues to ooze.

A woman comes up from behind me, I know she is older just from the feeling I get in her presence, “Dear let’s get you up on your feet.” She gently places her hands under my arms, and I rise to my feet at the gentle feeling of her touch. I can sense that she is a much older and likely much wiser, I would guess much older than even my mother. The rasp to her voice and the maternal instinct in her demeanor, that comes with time. My guess is she has raised many children, or she was a guardian.

She encourages with a smile, “You don’t have to explain yourself, and I know and can see what you have been through. You have never done anything like this before, have you?” Her eyes are a beautiful blue a bright topaz. They peer right into my soul and make me feel vulnerable. I shake my head no and a tear trickles down my face. She takes her finger, touching my skin and stops the tear from running down to my chin, “Hun I know, but you have to understand that this is a part of life, and there are things that you have to do that are for the greater good. Keep that in your heart.” She rubs my back and helps me out. She motions to the doors leading into the ship, “There are some cleaning supplies just over there; I will help you take care of all of this.”

I answer, “You don’t have to do this; I already have help.” She doesn’t hear me decline her offer; she is gone to get the mops and buckets. Soolena and Ashlea have already started getting supplies together to clean the mess and without me paying any attention to them, they have gone to retrieve a small anchor from one of the lifeboats. The anchor will be used as a weight for the corpse, and Ashlea has already retrieved some rope to secure the anchor to the body. Ashlea and Soolena dispose of the body. Soolena gently sits the corpse up by taking her arms and clasping them around the torso of the body under the man’s armpits, and she quietly instructs Ashlea how to secure the anchor to him.

The woman returns with a couple of mops, rope, sponges, and an empty bucket and sets everything down. I instinctively take the bucket and the rope; tying the rope to the bucket handle and then tie the other end of the rope to the railing of the ship. I lower the bucket down over the side to get water and then pull the bucket back up. The woman is behind me by helping me, carry the weight of the water as I tug it back up the side of the ship. We both take a mop and dip it into the water. Then we start directing the pool of blood off the deck and over the ledge of the ship.

I glance through my red strands of hair, “Why are you helping me?” I ask in a defeated. I am so tired from all of this, both physically and emotionally.

She glances up at me as she continues to mop away the blood, “I can see that you needed the help and the company.”

“I never got your name, I am Taylan.” Despite my fatigue and sadness, I try to welcome her company as best as I can. I know deep down that I need her company, a stranger’s company that is outside of the social circle of Rosaleen, Soolena, Izavelle, and even Ashlea. Just for now, until I can wrap my head around everything.

She smiles, “I know who you are Taylan. Rosaleen introduced you to everyone.”

“Right, I am sorry” and I shake my head at my own stupidity; of course, she knows who I am, especially after all of this.

“Don’t be sorry, your right I never said my name, I am Zethel.”

“Zethel, where are you from?”

“I come from a small remote area that is not far from here. I believe that Rosaleen has plans to visit my homeland today.” She says as she continues to mop.

“How did you come to work here on this ship, I mean you seem to be much older and to my understanding, only the young are kept serving?” She smiles politely but drops her eyes to the floor and doesn’t answer my question right away. I feel like I have overstepped an unspoken boundary, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”

“No, it’s alright,” she assures, “I am not here because of a calling to serve, I came because I love Rosaleen.”

I ponder her words for a moment, “Are you Rosaleen’s Mother?”