Anachronistic: Endless Masquerade

25 | Uninvited Guest

- 25 -

Pandora knew well how it felt to have men look down on her for not pretending she was beneath them. It was rare that a hunter would act that way; all hunters were equally insane, after all. But in wider society, there was no shortage of men who considered themselves a cut above. Several of those men now stared her down as she walked across the second-class smoking room; a space off-limits to women.

        The room itself was a distorted copy of the first-class smoking room. The stained glass windows matched and the seating was the same style, though the brilliant green had been swapped out for a deep blue. This room was smaller than its first-class counterpart; unfortunate as the space now had to accommodate both groups.

        The mixing of the two classes was the reason for Pandora's visit. The ship was heavily segregated by economic class, and the person she wanted to speak with was firmly in the group above her. The newly mixed area was the chance she needed. Pandora scanned the room looking for the captain. Older men dressed in the finest of clothes packed the tables. Young women in revealing outfits moved between them pouring drinks and laughing at bad jokes.

        I guess when they said no women, they only meant the ones they couldn't gawk at.

        Before now, Pandora hadn't cared about her exclusion from the smoking rooms. Her cigarettes worked just fine on the observation deck. What was she missing out on? Some gaudy decorations and the company of stuck-up assholes? She had no desire to be here, but she had no choice. There had been two youkai attacks already yet the people in charge were acting like everything was business as usual.

        The head security officer, Albert... or maybe Allen, had told her as much two days ago in the infirmary. She had believed him, but couldn't fathom their stance wouldn't change in the wake of six more deaths. Yet, the next day they attended each meal to assure the passengers the youkai had flown off into the sunset. The blatant disregard for passenger safety appalled Pandora. Apparently, she wasn't the only one. Her new acquaintance told her when and where she might find his boss.

        He had been right. Pandora spotted the captain sitting at a table across the room. When she approached, a man seated across from him jumped to his feet. "What is the meaning of this?"

        Pandora ignored the protest, opting instead to take the newly vacated seat for herself. The man stood slack-jawed as she pulled her cigarette case free and drew one into her mouth. As she fumbled loose a match the man finally found his courage.

        "This lounge is only for men. Leave now or you will be made to leave."

        Pandora reached around to the holster she wore below her cloak. When her hand returned from behind her back, she cocked the hammer of her revolver, letting the man hear the click.

        "You'll need to find six more people that care enough to make me leave. Not sure how you'll decide which order to approach me in, though. I imagine you'll all want to be seventh."

        The man wilted like a drought-stricken rose. Without dropping her gun, Pandora struck the match and lit her cigarette. She took a long drag and spit her smoke in his face. "In the meantime, I'll be right here having a conversation with the captain."

        Pandora had already turned her attention to her real target when she heard the man scurry off. The face across from her was still and free of emotion. She had barged in and made a scene and he had sat by in silence. Not only that but he seemed disinterested. Without sparing her a glance, the captain waved over one of the server girls and held his glass out for a refill.