“Ah!”

The noise had been pulled out of Constance the second Edward convinced her of narcissism, her body reflexively convulsing as if she had just been punched in the gut. [i]Excessive narcissism?[/i] Her mouth hung open as she stared straight ahead, completely stupefied by the man’s wild claims. [i]I don’t have a single narcissistic bone in my body![/i] she thought as she snapped out of the initial shock, hastily shutting her mouth and adjusting her sun hat so that it cast a shadow over her face. She bristled visibly at his mention of nobody caring about her having been rich, shooting an accusatory look at the reporter. 

“H-h-how d—” she finished the sentence by instead swallowing the rest of her drink, wishing by some miracle that the water would transform into something a skosh harder.

The gull of this man! The presumption! What an idiot! Just because he had been a nobody reporter that had never accomplished any notable achievement before, just because he never had anyone who expected him to fail because of their past—Constance knew full well that the only thing people cared about others was what they could accomplish or, more accurately, what the couldn’t. Her whole life she was told that she could never be anything more than a wage slave, could never get out of the Bottoms, could never run a business, could never be accepted by her peers, and now after proving all of them wrong she was being told that none of that shit could ever matter by some rank tabloid writer? Of course it mattered! Legacy was everything.

She didn’t even have a chance to speak before Luna tagged in as Edward tried to make a pitiful apology. Constance glanced wildly between the two, her moist eyes twitching, as Luna continued where Edward had left off. The reporter had been content with just dragging her through the mud a little; Luna seemed determined to drown her in it. Constance found herself shaking. She couldn’t understand what was happening. Was this some sort of practical joke? As far as she could think, she had never done anything wrong to them. Were they just simply jealous of her? That she could understand, but that didn’t mean that they had the right to spread rumors about her.

“U-u-ung—” she choked on her words; Luna was already turning her back to ignore her.

The nerve of this woman! The duplicity! Constance, a coward? What a laugh! Had she not been the one who had put out the fire on the ship, had she not been the one who had discovered land while in the air, had she not been the one who had braved the dark night and led them into the cave, had she not been the only one smart enough to bring a weapon, and had she not been the only one injured by trying to protect what she had thought were her friends? Unfair, unfair, unfair, Constance could only feel as if they were being so unfair to her, as it was often the case where one could only see themselves as being the victim.

"Nicely said. Hope is one of the most powerful things in existence."

“W-w-what bu—” Nope, words were still impossible, the word “bullshit” morphing into a bizarre guttural noise that was not far from the noise someone made when they were trying to quietly retch into the toilet the morning after without waking any of the guests that stayed the night. 

Constance gave the new woman a strained smile before quickly looking away, dabbing at her eyes with the back of her gloved hand as she sucked in a breath of salty air. How absolutely fantastic—another person to insult her for no reason whatsoever. Hope, powerful? Seriously now? Diligence was powerful. Ambition was powerful. Money was powerful. Hope never fed or sheltered anyone; any child in the Bottoms could tell that holding onto hope was absolutely hopeless. The air escaped her lungs in chopped, ragged laughter as Constance shook her head in disbelief. Myra, their new [i]friend[/i], was correct about one thing: it was important to know who was watching your back. [i]Doubly so if it’s noone.[/i]

“It’s absolutely fantastic to meet you, Myra, but I have to jet,” said Constance after a deep breath, her voice mechanical yet weary. She felt as if she was about to cry. “Raoul requires that I check in with him every other hour,” she said. No doubt Luna would know that to be a lie, but she needed an excuse to get away lest she broke and gave them even more ammo for their bandoliers. She pushed away from the rail, flashed a phony smile, and tilted her head low as she pushed by the newcomer. Her voice choked as she continued, “I suppose there’s no need for me to stay here anyway; those two will more than happily sling all sorts of shit about me once I leave anyway.”

“Sorry,” she said as she stopped and turned towards the others. The smile was still plastered to her face as if she was a child’s hideous doll, but even with her hat pulled low the sun still reflected off of the moisture on her cheeks. “How terrible of me. I was being egotistical again. Hah.” There was no amusement in her voice. “Guess even I can’t help being human. Ta!” With that she sharply turned, her boots clicking against the deck before she disappeared down below, her goodbye punctuated with the sound of a glass shattering into a dozen pieces as it smashed into a wall below, doing very little to mask the loud curse that accompanied it.