SEASICK

82 - Frozen Moments

[[Drinking game! Take a shot every time somebody interrupts Alana. I am just kidding- don't, you will end up in the hospital.]]

Alana only became apprehensive of agreeing to follow Leopoldo to his room when she stood about five feet from the doorway. Maybe I shouldn't follow men to their rooms so readily... Alana thought as her eyes landed on his door where he stood unlocking the brass knob.

"Um..." Alana hummed. "What did you say you needed help with again?" She smiled softly, linking her fingers together behind her back.

Her mind traveled to the treatment Leven gave her the day before, an uncontrollable blush finding her as the older brother met eyes with her.

Leopoldo smirked, tilted his head, and twisted the knob. "I didn't say, dear." He pushed the door open, a dark abyss awaiting them.

Alana hesitated, darting eyes between the man and the darkened room. It's the middle of the day, why is it so dark? Maybe he doesn't have a porthole in his cabin,

"Don't be shy, dear," Leopoldo cooed. "Go ahead."

Alana quietly gulped, remembering what happened the last three times she was alone in a bedroom with one of them.

But I'm prejudging Leo, maybe he truly needs help. It reveals only my own lewd thoughts that I am so nervous. I cannot be so ridiculous to assume Leopoldo would do something vulgar, just because the others have.

Alana took a nervous step forward, then another until she was engulfed in the darkness of his room. The saving grace was the spare lighting from the hall lanterns that trickled in, illuminating Leopoldo's cabin partially. Alana could not make out anything distinctly, but she did note the scent of fresh mint and herbs was almost overwhelming.

Her skin prickled as the sound of creaking wood and footfalls trailed in behind her, followed by the groaning of a shutting door. She stood awkwardly with a tight chest, ears homed in on the sound of Leopoldo moving around her, effortlessly, through the darkness. Alana shifted her weight once again, as if enough shifting would shift the nerves from her body. Into a confidence, maybe into a pure mindset, Alana only hoped.

"I am usually in the dark, dear, forgive me," Leopoldo explained cooly.

She listened to the rummaging coming from her left for a half second, then the low hiss of a lantern before the illumination of an orange glow flooded around her. Alana only looked over to him just long enough to see Leopoldo throw a match in a small bin by the desk the lantern perched on.

"It's okay..." Alana trailed into a sharp gasp, her eyes widening as they trailed back in front of her. "Gods!" She harshly whispered-shouted, her head whipping on a swivel to see if her eyes could be deceiving her.

"Should I feel complimented?" Leopoldo came to stand beside her, softly chuckling.

He didn't stand near her for long as she raced forward.

"It's so beautiful!" Alana voiced disbelievingly.

Her eyeline could not decide where to land, bouncing from painting to painting, fine art lined every inch of the walls. Where the paintings were spaced there was ornate silk tapestry woven through the gaps. Every single inch of Leopoldo's room was decorated, there was not a centimeter of shiplap in sight. Alana felt amazed by Leven's book collection but Leopoldo's art collection fully surpassed that by miles. Leopoldo rivaled her room from before the ship, her royal quarters, for fine decoration.

The others had interesting rooms, Ivo's collection of miniatures and souvenirs from travels, Kazumi's blades, and Leven's library, but they were nothing compared to the explosion of Leopoldo's room.