Blue Star Enterprises

Even after a few weeks, Yulia still received well-wishes from people asking if she was ok, and how awful her predicament must have been. She would have preferred if people just stopped bringing it up, but she couldn’t say that because it would be rude. Instead, she simply nodded in reply and thanked them for their concern since that was what people seemed to expect her to say.

The truth was, the first time she got a good look at her attacker she didn’t feel fear. She felt an overwhelming hate towards the man. That was what had prompted her to lash out instead of being terrified.

She didn’t understand why she had such a strange reaction to his presence. Logically, she knew she should have been scared and she should have tried to run instead of fighting the man. She doubted she would have made it very far if she ran, but it would have been the smart decision to make.

Yulia realized she needed to talk to an adult about this to try and figure out why she acted the way she did. She thought about going to Alex, but he was so focused on preventing her from being abducted again that she didn’t want to give him yet another thing to worry about.

She wished Zorina were here, the woman always gave her good advice but Yulia had not seen the mercenary woman since the Hawks had returned. She assumed the woman was simply busy in another capacity or still on their huge ship. It wasn’t like the Hawks were setting up camp like they did last time so she had a convenient place to look.

That left very few adults she was willing to talk to. With a sigh, she turned to Dog. "Come on, I need to go speak with someone."

The upgraded dog was now made from metal instead of plastic, although he wasn’t any larger than before. Alex had upgraded him to help keep her safe or help her get away if she got attacked again. She wasn’t sure what Dog could do to protect her even now, but if Alex said he could, she believed him.

The pair made their way through the confusing warren of hallways inside Eden’s End. She had long since learned all the twisting routes, so it didn’t bother her, but she did occasionally run into lost-looking individuals.

These people kept their distance from her though. It had been made abundantly clear, that doing anything to her would get people kicked out or arrested. Yulia didn’t appreciate being singled out like that. It made it even harder for her to make new friends than it already was when people learned who she was. And while she had a decent amount of friends, who wouldn’t want more?

After an hour of walking, she arrived outside a door. She pressed the intercom button and waited.

"Yes? Who’s there?" a woman’s voice crackled through the ancient speaker.

Yulia mused that it must not have been fixed yet, before responding. "Mrs. Nancy, It’s Yulia. Do you have a moment to talk?" She didn’t actually know the teacher’s last name, but everyone always called her Mrs. Nancy in class so she figured that was fine.

The door clicked and opened, showing a surprised-looking teacher. "Yulia, what are you doing out so late? You should be getting ready for bed."

"I needed to talk to someone about what happened to me, but I don’t know many adults."

"I take it this isn’t something you want to discuss with your father?"

Yulia shook her head.

The woman let out a soft sigh. "Very well, come in and I can listen. However, I don’t know what advice I can offer. I’m a teacher, not a counselor."

Yulia stepped into the room. It reminded her of Headmaster Wong’s office only less cluttered.

"Have a seat, dear. Would you like a cup of tea? I’m afraid I don’t have anything else."

"No, thanks," Yulia managed to get out, feeling rather embarrassed to even be here now that she was.

"None of that now," the woman chided as she poured two cups. "I’ll pour you a cup, if you want it, feel free to take it. Now," the woman said as she sat behind her desk. "What troubles you?"

Now that it was time to talk, she fidgeted nervously. She should have gone racing instead of wasting an hour walking all the way over here. No, she knew this was important and that she needed some advice. That didn’t mean she knew what to say though.

"I don’t know," she said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. Before the startled woman could respond and Yulia could second guess herself, she told Mrs. Nancy about her troubles.

Nancy listened and didn’t speak until Yulia was done telling her story. "In those circumstances, it’s understandable that you choose to fight instead of fleeing. It’s not what I would have chosen, but I can see why you might be confused. From what you said, you don’t know why you reacted so angrily toward the man. This doesn’t have to do with any lingering anger over your father leaving does it?"

Yulia shook her head. After Alex came back and spoke to her, she realized she had been acting irrationally when he left. They had made up when he returned and she only ever felt embarrassed when she recalled those memories. Yulia had made a silent promise to herself to never act so selfish again.

"Hmm," Mrs. Nancy said. "You didn’t happen to know him by any chance did you?"

"…Know who?" Yulia asked. She hadn’t been listening as she was lost in her own thoughts for a bit.

"The attacker, dear."

Yulia scrunched her face in confusion. "No. Why would I know someone like that?"

"Well, it’s just… I heard a statistic that said most people are kidnapped by people they know. Maybe you came from the same world or he looked like someone you knew and that triggered a memory."

"I see similar people here all the time."

"Well, yes," the woman responded awkwardly. "Maybe you recognized them from the planet you and Alex came from?"

"I came from Petrov Station-" she began to say before she trailed off. That wasn’t true, her parents were pirates. As soon as she thought of her parents, she pictured her father. It was the first time she could recall him so vividly in years. Her memory of him still wasn’t great, she couldn’t recall his face clearly, but his features were remarkably similar to the man who attacked her. Could they be related somehow?

"I think the man reminded me of my father."

"Of Alex?" the woman asked in confusion.

Yulia shook her head. "No, of my real father. I need to go. Thank you for listening to me."

"…Oh, Uh anytime, dear," Mrs. Nancy said as she stood to show Yulia out.

Yulia didn’t wait for the woman, she sprinted to the door and threw it open. Dog quickly scuttled after her, barking for her to wait up, but Yulia was running flat out, trying to keep the tears that were filling her eyes from spilling out.

She shouldn’t be shedding tears over her parents, they were pirates and pirates were evil people. Yet here she was, tears streaming down her face as she ran. At least she wasn’t blubbering like a toddler.

Eventually, she found a quiet and out-of-the-way place to just let her emotions out. She didn’t want Alex to see her like this or ask her why she was crying. Her parents had nearly gotten her killed, and Alex had saved her. To care about them now felt like she was betraying Alex. She refused to do that. The man had given her a life and saved her on more than one occasion.

She sat in that out-of-the-way room for over an hour, letting her tears fall. Dog found her eventually like he always did and curled up next to her for company. At least he wouldn’t judge her for her terrible thoughts and emotions.

Once the last of her tears stopped, she wiped her face dry with her sleeve and started walking home.

The apartment was quiet when she arrived, but she did find some food waiting in the fridge for her, along with a note.

Sorry, I missed you tonight. I promise we will spend tomorrow together. Please make sure you are home for dinner.

Alexander

Despite the fact that she hadn’t seen Alex in a few days, she felt relieved that he wasn’t here tonight. She was sure her eyes and face were red and puffy from crying for so long. If he had seen her like that, he would have instantly wanted to know if she was ok and why she was crying.

Yulia didn’t want to lie to him, but she also didn’t want to tell him why she had been crying.

She quickly ate the food, which wasn’t nearly as good cold as it probably had been when it was cooked. Once she was done, she cleaned up and got ready for bed.

As much as she would have liked to immediately fall asleep so she could put this day behind her, she was left thinking about her mother and father. A deep resentment boiled up in her when she thought of them.

How could anyone’s parents be so thoughtless and neglectful to bring their five-year-old with them while they attacked other ships? Those thoughts twisted in her mind until she wondered if she was just as reckless and stupid as her parents had been. Was she bound to become a pirate at some point?

The thought made her sick to her stomach, and she tossed and turned on the bed.

Yulia didn’t want to be a pirate, she wanted to be like Alex. She wanted to help people, not hurt them.

She eventually fell asleep, but nightmares plagued her sleep. If she had woken up from those horrible dreams, she might have noticed a worried Alex checking in on her during the night.