Lady Hyacinth Grimm vs the Nautilus

Chapter 6: Aludel Shares a Secret

Bom-bom made a splash at dinner, speaking to the cook in French, the captain in Russian and Aludel in English. All thought it was a distinct improvement, and Hyacinth found herself awash in compliments and anxiety. She bolted her food and tried to make a graceful exit.

Unfortunately, Mortis and Galena cornered her by the dessert table and asked the Abomination if they had any new homicidal tendencies; Bom-bom replied first in Cantonese and then in Hindi.

"This is what you get for playing around with squishy biological brains," Galena said.

"Now dear," Mortis said, "Lady Hyacinth is still inexperienced. I'm sure she'll manage a simple brain transfer eventually. Why, I remember my first creature couldn't speak and only maimed my minions."

Galena shook her head slowly. "That kind of sloppy science might fly at King's College, but I expected better of a Royal University graduate. Lady Delphinium will be so ashamed to hear of this."

Hyacinth said, "She doesn't have to find out. Really."

"Of course she does. I'm getting back in touch with my dear college classmate; I need to tell her all the details of her daughter's failure."

~~~

"It's not that bad," Aludel called through the cabin door. It had been three days, and Hyacinth had only ventured out to use the head. Dirty dishes from the lunch Bom-bom had brought her were piled in the middle of her floor.

"You don't understand," Hyacinth said into her mattress.

"What did you say? I can't understand you."

"Exactly," Hyacinth said, this time to the door. "You decided on a specialty. You graduated first class. You even have beautiful feathers! You don't know what it's like to be a disappointment to your parents."

"That's what you think."

"Obviously that's what I think, that's why I just said it."

"Well you're wrong!"

Hyacinth opened the door. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"How could you be a disappointment to your parents?"

"I'm not going to tell you in the corridor," Aludel said and pushed her way into Hyacinth's cabin.

"Well?"

Aludel preened her flight primaries. "I happen to have run away from an engagement."

"You're engaged? To who?"

"An earl, if you must know."

"What, were you holding out for a duke?"

"No, I just don't want to marry him."

"Is he unattractive?"

"Not particularly, at least by aristocratic standards. But it would never work. I'm a follower of Sappho."

Hyacinth was unfamiliar with Sappho, but she supposed it was another elder god. They were always popping up and creating new cults. "Following Sappho means you have to stay a virgin?" Some of the cults insisted on only feeding virgins to their god, even though elder gods didn't understand virginity as a concept.

"Well, no. Rather the opposite, really. But I want to marry a woman."

"Surely your parents could find someone suitable. There are many aristocratic ladies, and some of them will inherit land."

"I want to marry a woman who wants to marry me," Aludel said.

"Oh. That is trickier. Still, there must be other ladies who want to spend their lives with a lady; it sounds much more pleasant than always having a man underfoot."