Mauvana, Chapter 10
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   It was a cramped little space, this escape pod. Cramped with memories - maybe Mauvana should’ve mentioned this before she let Yly drop her off here.
   “Me n’ the family’ll be just upstairs if you need anything, okay?” She’d said, and then smiled. “Hopefully this’ll give you some space to think.”
   Family. Family. This felt like a family. She could feel so many different people here, people who’d used this place to store old clothes, children who’d played hide and seek, a young woman who liked to come down here and watch the stars go by in peace… all using it for an escape, in some way.
   Escape. Mauvana found it hard to focus on what she was drawing, but she found herself drawing something nonetheless. Up above her, she could hear the sounds of music, of laughter; she could still feel their thoughts pressing down on her, but a little distance took the edge off.
   They were happy thoughts. They were smiling, and she smiled too.
   She smiled. She smiled. Mauvana was… free, finally, from all of this. And she could see the stars. And she knew exactly what she wanted to do, now.
   A thought. A mind. Not her mind, and not Yly’s either.
   There were footsteps coming down the ladder, quiet ones. Mauvana looked up, and frowned when a lady peeked her head through.
   “Oh,” she said, surprised that Mauvana was already staring at her. “Uh, hi.”
   “Uh, hi.”
   “You remember me, right?” She tilted her head. “I’m-”
   “Viana.”
   It was Viana. Mauvana had been her thoughts for a time, had felt her years of crushing loneliness, had ran for her and kissed her in front of the family shop for so long it felt like eternity. It was Viana, and Viana nodded.
   “Yeah. And you’re Mauvana, right?”
   “Mauvana Seep.” She put down her pencil. “Intern with modest skill in writing and drawing… though I guess I’m not anymore? I think I’m a pirate.”
   A shiver passed through Viana’s mind at that. Before she had a chance to respond:
   “You don’t like pirates?”
   “What? Heh… it’s just, it’s maybe not a great thing to call yourself around these parts.” A nervous chuckle. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to meet you.”
   “It’s nice to meet you too. I didn’t think I’d see you without Yly.”
   “Yeah, she says you have a problem with crowds? She offered to come with, but I didn’t want you to be stressed out.”
   Stressed out? That probably wasn’t the best way to explain it, but Mauvana let it go.
   “I just wanted to… to say something to you.” Viana made like she wanted to hold her hands, but stopped short. “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, Mauvana. Thank you so much.”
   The lump in Viana’s throat matched the lump in her thoughts, filled with so many emotions she could hardly put into words. Mauvana felt herself tear up.
   “Yly… told me what happened, h-how long she spent… trying to get back… and h-how you, you finally got her out of there and I just…” She covered her mouth; her words came out now as a croak. “I-I d-don’t know how I-I can ever th-thank you enough.”
   Gratitude. The sheer amount of gratitude in her thoughts was overwhelming, like a whole crowd on its own. She could hardly see the page in front of her, but she felt herself drawing as she tried to recompose herself.
   “I just… I… s-sorry, heh.” A shaky laugh. “T-told myself I-I wouldn’t cr-ry, b-but look at me.” A deep, deep breath: in, and out. “I just wanted… wanted to say that if you need anything, anything at all, I’m in your debt. Our whole family’s in your debt for… f-for bringing her home, just… just let us know what we can do.”
   A sniff. She wiped her eyes, and frowned.
   “Oh, no. I didn’t mean to-”
   “make you cry. It’s okay.”
   “Wh- what?”
   “She means a lot to me. Yly.” Mauvana frowned. “Or you. I don’t know.”
   Confused thoughts - they were less intense than before. Mauvana - she was Mauvana - stared past her, to the very back of the escape pod.
   “I remember how many nights I used to spend down here.” She stared out, out into the sea of stars past that little window. “I used to come down here even before Yly went missing, when I couldn’t bear being with her family - they were lovely, but… they weren’t mine. I liked to think they were somewhere out there, somewhere far away. At least that’d mean they’d escaped the fucking UL.”
   Viana recoiled somewhat at her words. “What…?”
   “And then after Yly-” Mauvana swallowed hard. “The first week after she was meant to come back, I was watching for her ship. I didn’t move, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t stop staring out of th-this window; her mother had to bring me food. I couldn’t… couldn’t leave. Not while I still thought she’d come back to me.”
   Mauvana looked down. Brought her legs up to her chest, and buried her head in them.
   “A-and… I’m sorry, Yly. I’m so sorry I stopped coming down here. I’m sorry I stopped waiting for you.” She spoke, quietly. “I’m sorry I moved on.”
   And it was silent. Dead silent. Viana had gone clammy white; her mouth was opened wide, wordless. After a few moments, she stammered out,
   “Wh-what the hell are you?”
   “I’m not you.” Mauvana frowned. “No, I’m not you. I’m a pirate.”
   “How did you do that? Wha- how did… what?”
   “Head in the clouds.” She stared at Viana’s shocked face, scared thoughts, and made a face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be you.” A pause. “I have a problem with crowds.”
   “It’s… it’s okay,” Viana managed, weakly. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just… that was…”
   “Personal.”
   “That’s a… yeah.” She sighed, and glanced out of the window. “Yeah… how did you know that?”
   “Head in the clouds.”
   “What does that mean?”
   She shrugged. “That’s what Jargon always said. I’m his intern - was his intern.”
   “Internship, huh?” Viana laughed, but her thoughts didn’t laugh with her. “I’m surprised there’s still jobs at all on that hunk of rock.”
   “There are in the military! I drew up tons of posters about enlisting.”
   “Oh, joy. You worked for the propaganda guys?”
   “Yeah! It was fun!” Mauvana gave a crooked smile. “Then I got shot. But then I met Yly! So it wasn’t all bad.”
   Viana chuckled. “Well, uh, glad you had fun… how long did you have that job?”
   “They said five years.”
   “And what did you do before that?”
   “Before… what? Before my internship?”
   “Yeah.”
   “Oh, I don’t know. Things, I guess, but… I don’t remember anything before my internship.” She shrugged. “I was just… so many people for a long time, it was a big city. I have a problem with crowds - they, they get in my head, you know? And then I don’t know who I am, I’m just… other people, and their thoughts.”
   “I see.” Viana’s thoughts were slow, apprehensive, full of growing dread. “You… really don’t remember anything but the last five years?”
   “No. Nothing.” She looked up at the window. She could see the stars, but she could also see her own reflection. Her own face, and the wrinkles in it, the whiteness of her hair, the age. “I… I missed a lot of my life. I’m old, aren’t I? Older than you.”
   She didn’t have to see Viana’s solemn nod to know her answer.
   “Yeah, that… that’s not good. That’s a right pickle.” A pause. “I know you want to hug me. You can do that.”
   Viana hesitated. She reached out, touched Mauvana’s shoulders, and then pulled her into a quiet hug. She squeezed tightly, and Mauvana noted the strange shirt she was wearing. It wasn’t a uniform; it was thicker, brighter, softer, warmer. She poked at it.
   “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Mauvana.”
   “I like your shirt.”
   “I- oh, thank you. I knitted it myself.”
   “Knitted?”
   “I made it myself.” Viana drew back a little, and smiled. “I can make you something too, if you like. Get you out of those UL rags.”
   “I’d like that a lot.” Mauvana kept feeling her sleeve. “And… you don’t have to feel bad for me. I missed a lot, but I know who I am now. Or, at least, I can find out. You can help me with that, right?”
   “Of course.”
   “Then… could you tell me who Alcor the Dreambender is?”
   “Alcor the- the demon?” Viana let out a startled laugh. “Sure, I know a bit… why?”
   “Because he’s with the Dread Pirate Mizar. And they’re important, I think. To me. I don’t know why, I want to know why.”
   “Ah, you’re talking about the - what’s it called - the Alcor-Mizar connection, right?” She nodded. “I’ve heard about that. Apparently it’s some big mystery in the field of demonology.”
   “Saulji. Yly said her aunt is a demonologist. Can I talk to her?” Mauvana felt her mood drop at that. “Oh, you’re sad now. Did I say something wrong?”
   Viana shook her head. “No, no, don’t- don’t worry about it, Yly didn’t know, but… she passed away three years ago. Accident at work.”
   There was a lot left unsaid in those words; Mauvana grimaced at the details popping up in her mind. “I’m sorry. That’s not good.”
   “No, it’s… a dangerous business, you know? I’m sure, heh, she’d’ve loved to talk your head off about this subject, but… yeah.” Viana paused for a moment, nodding to herself. “Yeah… I think I know where you could find your answers, though.”
   “Where?”
   “It’s on an ex-UL planet called Kepler 22-b. Called the, uh, Stanley Pines Memorial Library, it’s a hub for a lot of demonology research - Saul used to go there for conferences. You heard of it?”
   “No. Can I go there?” Mauvana gave a crooked smile. “I think I’m banned from the UL.”
   “It’s ex-UL, don’t worry. They broke away a long time ago, there’s no sympathisers there.”
   “That’s good. I want to go there now.”
   “Then I promise, we’ll take you there.” Viana smiled. “Give us a few days to get Yly settled in, but after that, we’ll go right there, and find you your answers. Does that sound good?”
   “That sounds good. Thank you, Viana.”
   “Thank you. Really.” She put a hand on Mauvana’s shoulder, and then chuckled. “I won’t, I’ll try not to get all teary again, I know you didn’t like that. Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit?”
   “I’d want that. I have a problem with crowds.”
   “Okay.” She squeezed her shoulder once, and then stood up. “I’ll leave you be, then. Yly’ll probably be down here in a bit to check up on you, and then…” She smiled. “I could come down here too, if you want. Hey, I could teach you a bit about how to knit.”
   “Oh, that’d be great! I love your shirt!”
   “Hah, yeah, we’ll do that then!” She grinned, and her aura felt warm. “It was really, really great to meet you, Mauvana. I’ll see you soon - good luck on your drawing!”
   “Thank you! I’ll see you soon too!”
   Viana waved as she stepped out. Mauvana could feel her footsteps down the corridor, up the ladder, her mind returning to the crowd upstairs like a drop to the ocean. If she concentrated, she could track her washing over to another mind that might be Yly… but she should stop, it was already making her head hurt.
   She looked down instead, down to the drawing in her hands.
   It was still… frustratingly rough. The lines were shaky; she could make out what it was, but it annoyed her nonetheless. It was of the view outside, of the moon and the planet, the sun and the stars, the stars so far beyond, full of answers and just waiting for her to come.
   Kepler 22-b. Mauvana looked from the drawing to the real thing, and knew that somewhere in that darkness, it was there, and she could go there.
   She could go there.
   Her reflection smiled back at her.
   It was good to be free. Even if it had taken a long time, it was good to be free.
