Riven walked through a dimly lit, narrow hallway. He opened the compartment door, violent winds thrashing into him. Fighting it off, he stepped onto the exposed gangway.
One hand was held in front of his face to stave off the gales, and the other was busy holding onto his flappy robes, dancing in the wind like a kite. He moved his hand in front of his face to cover his mouth after he noticed the overhead grey smoke coming from the locomotive at the front of the train.
He entered the next traincar and saw a scene not all to disimilar to the one he'd gotten used to over the past week or so on the train. A common room full of people. Their fancy suits and dresses went perfectly with the lavish style of the lounge.
Red carpet, floral patterns all over; wooden furniture, all high glossed: Tables, chairs, and sofas. There was also a corner counter with various ingredients and containers used for making tea and coffee.
A warm, layered scent enters his nostrils. Incense sticks, herbal leaves, grounded beans, all layered on top of the rich, resinous base from the cedar wood.
It wasn't just the scenery that was familiar, it was also the awkward and contemptuous gazes of these high-nosed, self-important figures.
"Hello, don't mind me, just passing through." Riven addressed the room strangely, not really speaking any person in particular. He shifted his way through the room and into the corridor of private cabins.
Once again, he made his way through the gangway, but this time a different scene greeted him.
He found himself in a small rectangular room. There were no carpets, just a bare wooden floor. The room had minimal design and furniture, and only a couple of chairs and small tables.
The main feature of the room was merely a huge double door with a sign on top that read out that only staff could enter beyond this point.
A guard was sitting on a chair, leaning back on it in boredom. He jolted up as soon as he heard the car door slam shut.
He studied the strange boy in robes, and shouted (even though the boy was merely a few metres away from him), "Halt! Who are you? Only staff are permitted beyond this area."
The guard continued to study him, before adding on "Your robes look shoddy, are you a tramp who snuck his way onto the train? Huh?!"
"Wait, wait, wait. Calm down sir. I just wear these robes because of a scar I received on my face when I was a young lad. Here's my ticket."
The guard grumbled slightly before snatching the ticket, reading it with a scowl. "It says your name is Riven ey? Let me get a good look at your face. I don't care about no scarring. I need to see if you're a ticket-stealing tramp!" He tightly grabbed the baton at his waist, eagerly tapping his pointer finger on it.
"Alright sir, just give me a second."
Riven briefly turned away from the guard before facing him again. He then reached the hood of his robe and slowly put it down.
The guard watched intently, ready to scrutinise any details for signs of this guy being a street rat.
After bringing the hood down, Riven tilted his head up so the guard could get a better look.
The guard saw a young boy, around 15 years of age. His hair was black and slightly wavy, his height was about average for his age, hmm… he had pretty nice skin apart from the scars on his forehead and under his lips, and then there were his eyes. They were… completely normal eyes.
Apart from the way he was sweating buckets and his knees were slightly buckled, nothing really seemed off about him.
"Huh, it's really just a kid." The guard's voice trailed off, his fists clenched around the baton reluctantly loosened. "Still doesn't explain what you're doing here, though. Explain!"
Riven took a deep breath. "Well, you see sir…" He did his best to emulate the face of that the religious-freak girl he'd left in his cabin. "... I've — fallen in love… I've fallen in love with one of the stewardesses. I… I came to — confess."
He'd gotten the details nearly perfect, all the way down to those puppy eyes, somehow managing to get his dark brown eyes to shine like a pond in a dream.
His energy in his voice fluctuated slightly during the performance, it wasn't intentional, but it ended up enhancing the feeling of a boy overwhelmed by the heat of romantic interest.
"What the fuck are you talking about kid? Get the fuck out of here."
"Aww" Riven was visibly distraught that his masterful performance couldn't move the heart of this bastard guard.
The guard chased him away from the entryway, hounding him away. Riven backed up shyly as the guard pushed forward. The guard finally had Riven backed up on the door. He looked down at the boy, ready to give him one last scare.
But he saw something off. The boy was no longer breathing heavily, his shoulders weren't sagging, and he was no longer sweating.
On the boy's left hand was a black opera mask.
His left eye was a weird mix of red, purple and black. Not a normal eye.
And the boy's right fist was closing in on his jaw.
Bang, Riven knocked the guard out.
…
The staff room doors gently opened. The ladies giggled as they saw an adorable boy walk in like a stray kitten. He inched his way into view. His face was red, and he looked dead tired.
What a pathetic but adorable sight. The stewardesses couldn't resist it.
"Oh, hey there little lad, what do you need?"
Riven struggled to talk, his appearance was now similar to what it had been when he was 9 years old.
"Umm… excuse me sisters."
The ladies shrieked, tea ladies and stewardesses alike. The stewards had mixed reactions, but they weren't going to scold a little boy in front of the ladies.
"Come, come. Tell your sisters what's wrong, we'll sort it out for you."
A lady beckoned him over and handed him a cup of water. He gratefully accepted with two hands wrapped around the cup, gulping it down like a baby drinking from his mama's teat.
"Careful, careful! Don't drink too fast."
A lady in her early thirties reminded him. She had children of her own and knew they would often choke when drinking water too fast. She watched with adoring eyes at the boy who looked like her youngest.
Riven finished the cup of water, placed it down on the table and let out an exaggerated sigh. With a beaming smile, dimples in full display, he thanked the two older sisters.
Then, when asked again about what he needed, Riven repeated his performance from before. This time, his audience was much more receptive.
"My goodness! How adorable. Worry not little one, we'll be cheering you on!"
One of the male stewards finally took this moment to intervene. "Hey, are you not taking this jest too far? Liliana was clearly in a bad mood when she got back, and now you want her to deal with this shit?"
He instantly regretted it, though, because the man was now the subject of the fury of every lady in the room.
"Sebastian, you ugly oaf! Don't talk about the boy like that. Besides, I'm sure Liliana would love this," one of the ladies said while pinching Riven's cheeks. "Not much else to do till it's time to serve lunch anyway."
One of the ladies then led Riven into a room and knocked on it.
Riven heard the voice of the stewardess from before, "I'm sorry, I don't feel too well at the moment… just leave me for some time." Her voice was dejected, slightly afraid.
But at the chiding of the ladies and their assurance that they found the perfect gift to lift her mood, Liliana permitted for him to enter.
With the encouragement of the bored ladies, Riven entered the room. The effect of the refreshments was wearing off, he was beginning to sweat heavily again. He anxiously bit his lip and hurried into the room. The ladies simply took this as the adorable, smitten boy being excited.
Liliana's room was modest compared to the passenger cabins, but it carried a quiet charm.
Her bed was narrow, tucked neatly into the corner beneath a low shelf stacked with candles, a dandelion flower, and a chipped porcelain cup with a cracked handle.
Lilian slowly raised her head from the bed to see what the ladies had in store for her.
What she found was a cute boy, about 9 years old. She couldn't quite place it, but the boy seemed quite familiar to her. The boy looked like he'd walked for days through a desert. How strange.
For a moment, Liliana forgot about the tensions and fears of finding a curse on the train. "Oh goodness, deary me. Are you alright?"
Bang. And Riven knocked her out.