A violent shudder ran through the Audacity, jolting Burnt Brick from his sleep. The sound of crystal scraping against rock set his teeth on edge.

His eyes snapped open. Should he be concerned about that?

Probably.

From somewhere above, muffled voices filtered down. He couldn’t make out the words, but he recognized Lady Martha’s accent taking on a distinctly unladylike tone. Clear Melody’s higher pitch followed, though whatever she said was lost to the grinding sounds.

Burnt Brick considered his options. He could go up there, see what was happening, maybe help. Or...

He rolled over and pulled the blanket tighter around himself.

Whatever it was, they’d either handle it or they wouldn’t. Either way, he’d find out when he woke up again.

If he woke up again.

Sleep reclaimed him before the echoes of the scraping had fully faded.

Author's Note

As always, thank you to mellon for editing and proofreading