Two Meetings

Why did Anne seem... angry?

Angel sensed the change in the atmosphere at once. Her gaze rested briefly on the grim-faced young woman before moving to Nast, who stood deeper in the room.

He seemed to sense it too. He drew in the aura radiating from him, and his voice grew low again.

"Have a seat."

This time, it was a casual invitation, not an order backed by some coercive power.

Angel chose a high-backed chair near the door. As her palm brushed the slightly rough surface of the metal table, she had the fleeting impression that she was in the palace above the Gray Fog, attending a Tarot Club meeting before Mr. Fool.

This place is nowhere near the Tarot Club's level... she muttered to herself. She and Anne waited for several minutes in the now silent captain's cabin before the other three Pirate Kings arrived.

Queen Mystic Bernadette was the first to open the door and step inside. She wore an Intis-style blouse with a large lace flower at the collar, a blue captain's coat, off-white trousers, and knee-high leather boots. A white feather swayed atop her tricorne hat, much like Angel's, while her chestnut hair was tied in a bun with its ends falling to the middle of her back.

She seemed quite familiar with Nast, the King of the Five Seas. After a brief greeting, Bernadette chose a high-backed chair near the door, directly across from Angel. Her blue eyes swept over Angel and Anne before settling on the far end of the table, toward the door. She nodded politely and said:

"You arrived first."

*Bernadette isn't pretending she doesn't know Anne and me. Maybe she's guessed Nast has already recognized Anne. And since he lived in Emperor Roselle's time, he must know Bernadette is the