Even if Ginah had officially cut ties with Melas now, she still worked with her for a period of time. Lilith would surely want some answers as to where Melas had gone, and considering her reputation even here in Vitae, Ginah was sure she would resort to violence if necessary.
And that was not even the main problem Ginah had to deal with now. The Elise was unofficially gone— soon to be official— and there would be a massive power vacuum in Luke’s underworld. She had to participate in the power grab, else all her efforts so far would have been to waste.
The pirate Captain was not too enthused to take part in such activities, but it was necessary if she wanted the city to retain some of the stability it currently had. If things devolved too badly, her efforts to destroy the Elise would have been completely counterproductive.
Ginah rubbed at her temples as she considered what next had to be done. She was so concerned with this problem, she didn’t even notice Lisa leave the room. Only when Kai placed a hand on her shoulder did she look up.
"Hey, you alright?"
"I’m fine," she said, giving him a soft smile.
Kai hesitated, averting his gaze for a moment, before trying to reassure her. "Don’t worry. I know it was a hard decision for you to make. Personally, I disagree with it, but I’ll stand by it when we have to explain it to the others."
She blinked in confusion a few times, processing what he said. Hard decision? What is he talking about—
Then she realized that Kai was referring to Melas. Ginah frowned, taking a step back. "What?" she sputtered. "That’s not what I’m worried about at all!"
"Oh, I had assumed that had been bothering you."
"And why should it bother me?" Ginah said, exasperated and taking on a defensive posture. "I don’t owe her anything, do I? She was the one who didn’t tell us the Church— and a Saintess, as a matter of fact— was after her. I have a dozen other things to be worried about."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Calm down, Ginah. You’re stressed and tired, I know. And while I do agree that this is the best course of action for us, I would say that being satisfied with leaving a child to die is far too callous of you."
The pirate Captain snapped. "And are you going to badger me to help her too, Kai? When doing so only guarantees our death?"
"That is explicitly what I’m not saying. I..." The Quartermaster was interrupted by a loud and clearly audible ahem. The two turned to Jack and Braz who were still awkwardly standing to the side. Kai pursed his lips as he gestured at the door. "Uh, could we get some privacy please?"
Jack simply grunted in affirmation and turned to leave the room. Braz grinned and waved at them with his fingers as he left. When they were gone, Ginah sighed and laid her hand on Kai’s chest.
"I’m sorry for getting mad at you. I’m just… tired."
"I know," he said, not moving to push her off him.
The two stayed like that for a moment, until she began to feel better again. The stress that she had felt slowly washing over her. When she finally broke away from him, she was a lot more calm— a lot more understanding.
"I’ve just been worried about a lot of things. Ever since the Elise came, I’ve been constantly overwhelmed. It looked like an impossible battle to me for so long, but I couldn’t help myself. So many people were being hurt, I couldn’t just stay out of it. And I knowingly brought you all into this fight with me."
Kai just nodded, not responding as she continued venting her frustrations.
"When things started going our way, I thought it was too good to be true. And this proved me right. I knew we couldn’t relax once we had taken care of the Elise. But I thought we could at least rest for a week, and not worry about… this."
He simply listened. That was why she liked him. More than just being her right hand man, more than just being by her side ever since she seized power from her father, he was always so understanding of her. He did not offer straightforward solutions which she had clearly considered beforehand, treating her like an idiot.
Instead, he offered her his support. Everyone in her crew always did. That was why she knew they wouldn’t have argued with her even if she decided to leave Melas for dead. "Whatever you choose to do next, as long as you have the right reasons behind it, I will not disagree with it."
"But what if I don’t have the right reasons, Kai?" Ginah asked, heaving a tired breath. "Sometimes, I just don’t want to do this anymore. But—"
"But you can’t just stop, can you?"
He chuckled as she gave him a mock glare. "Don’t interrupt your Captain, jerk."
"Right, right." Kai cast a glance off to the side, towards the door. He spoke softly. "I know you’re too good to do that. You’ll feel responsible for not helping them. That was why you opposed your father. That was why you took over his crew and mutinied him.
"And yet, I want you to be happy. I don’t want to see you like this. That was why I helped you go against your father. But you’re not responsible for all the lives in Luke, Ginah. You never were."
"What are you saying?" Ginah asked, raising an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "Nothing you didn’t already know.
