The Witch expected the attack, finger sparking with cosmic energy before Diana realized it. Drawing a sigil of protection, the spiraling missile of air came rebounding back at the caster with decreased ferocity. Diana wasn’t sure if she wished for the Hero’s death, but as she took the attack straight to her stomach, she felt like she had. The force sent her flying into the wall, stealing the air straight out of her lungs. Hitting the wall thoroughly dazed her, popping spots on her vision. The spinning missile tore open her shirt and the razor blade sharpness left wild cuts along her skin. Thankfully it stopped before it scored too deep into her muscle.

She took the blunt force straight to the shoulders, but it was enough of a rattling to struggle for consciousness. The link to her familiar was cut, and the haze lowered the pain, she still felt the hot blood and possible cracks along her shoulder blades. Blinking, clearing the blur, she saw Jonah guarding her with a shaky stance. Aiko had caught the Witch by the arm, clamping down with a jaw strength powerful enough to snap a branch like a matchstick. The tiger’s claws shredded at her chest and legs. Any normal mortal would be decimated, the Witch was not among those people, as she still stood.

An otherworldly glow had overtaken her skin, a silvery shimmer. Though Aiko was latched on, it could not break through the barrier of her arm, or shatter the bone. Its teeth pressed in like a gumming child, and its claws ran dull across the Witch’s hide. Whatever enchantment she had on her body could not protect her clothes and the tiger ripped them to shreds. The doll face of the Witch grinned at Jonah and Diana as her alabaster body was exposed, breasts and sex showing as her costume was rended up while she was not. Jonah glanced back, noticing that Diana was holding her bloody belly. There was a debate in his eyes as he took a step back.

The trap door to the top deck opened, and their heads turned to Kalyah, looking on at the scene in concern then sheer horror as the Witch met her eyes. A question died in the healer’s throat, and she took a step back as well. Grabbing the tiger by the scruff, Fia sent some chilling curse into the beast that frosted its fur, the sensation reflected on its master as Diana breathed out a puff of fog. Aiko fell in a stunned heap by Jonah’s feet, alive but twitching.

Fia gave a laugh, walking up the stairs, clothing flapping in the breeze. The commotion that quickly rose from her presence died out as the door slammed loudly, and Kalyah rushed to Diana. Her hands were glowing with a healing light before she even reached the wound.

Jonah yelped at her to wait. “Just a second,” he said, holding up his hand to Diana.

The princess saw the glint of the camera, and posed painfully for him, showing off the horrifically stinging cuts that made her teeth gnash together. “Only these, let him see my back too,” she said as Kalyah tended to her.

The healer’s face was hard set in frustration. “Fine,” she said. Her pale hands were wet with blood as she sealed up the shallow cuts, showing them to Jonah too before burning them clean with holy light. “What happened?” she asked, helping Diana bring up the back of her shirt.

Diana’s throat caught as she tried to speak the words. The pain and pure hatred had distracted her, but as the former faded, a tiredness settling in, the latter came fresh. In her weary healed state, it was like waking up from a nightmare with a chilling start. The tears trickled down, holding her rolled up and half destroyed shirt, she didn’t have the energy to wipe them.

“Fia showed her true face,” Jonah answered for her, sounding so wonderfully brave. “All about the bed thumping…”

Kalyah sighed. “It was only a matter of time,” she said, a deep mourning in her voice. “You two need to stay in your room, keep safe in there. You know the Heroes can’t end you or Jonah, so lock yourselves in.”

“I can’t stand idle,” Diana said, speaking through a sob that was trying to consume her. Her shirt was brought down for her and carefully Jonah took her in an embrace. Shaking off the stunning curse, Aiko limped to her, needing a long while to recuperate.

“Honey, you need to go to your room. You two aren’t in any fatal danger, but you need to give this time,” Kalyah said, patting Diana’s hand. “I’m the only one in danger here.”

“Jonah… Jonah, take this note down,” Diana said, her eyes full of tears, weary from the healing. “Kalyah Gre’bren is under royal protection, I, I swear by…” She blinked at the deluge of tears. All that she knew had been stripped down, she couldn’t even remember how to word something she had practiced. The Heroes were Killers, Blodwyn was right and it wasn’t just Order propaganda. She swallowed and wiped at the wet sorrow from her face. Killers, murderers, and she had done her best to make nice, keep going, spread hope.

“I, Diana Primrose Orichidrin Scholar, declare that Kalyah Gre’bren is under royal protection.” She wavered as her head ached fiercely, tears refusing to ease up. “Have you got that?”

“Yes, yes, I have it, please, let’s all stay safe,” Jonah said, crying with her, kissing her head with deep care.

“Thank you, Diana. You still need to rest,” Kalyah said, squeezing her wrist.

The healing had only been a slight bit of exhaustion, the emotional distress had too much. A holy charm and some time later, Diana was on the bed she shared with Jonah, tied tightly into a plush robe. She was naked and expressly clean under the robe, her hair was free, smelling deeply of shampoo. The heaviness of a dreamless sleep was slow to lift from her.

The physical grogginess faded far slower than the mental. So Diana found her mind sharply awake, her heart kick started with dread and shame, as she slowly rose her head to the light. The smug face of the Witch, confessing to the murder of children appeared in the center of mind. The princess knew the other Heroes who stayed around Angelina, the most mobile ones who could easily dispatch anyone they wished as quickly as possible. Though names weren’t mentioned, it made sense to suspect them. The Rider and the Ranger were the only ones still alive, both could be around the world within hours based on Fia’s scrying.

Jonah sat beside her, a boldness fighting to say on his face. He had only seen the Heroes briefly, he didn’t know how long and how grand their histories were.

She was back to the wet sorrow, wishing that Kalyah had charmed her more intensely, that she could sleep for days, months or maybe forever. She wanted to take Luann’s place again, for if her little sister had lived, then she wouldn’t have been delusional enough to board the Pirate’s ship. The young princess could mourn her and their mother, the powerful Archdruid, could board the ship. The queen knew something, she had to, Diana got her inquisitive nature from both her parents. Her father’s prying was quiet and persistent and her mother’s was bold and unbreakable.

It was selfish to wish for death, to take the easy way out of this intensely complicated situation. She should have left after the Guardian showed his true nature. Or when Angelina showed her pettiness at rude drawings. Even going back as far as Rowoak when the Heroes celebrated over the dead. Jonah had kept her aboard, convinced her that she was able to stand beside the proper Heroes. She couldn’t blame him, he had made a point to bring up her home afterwards. She couldn’t go, even now, as she feared what secrets her mother might have hidden from her.

She rose up from the bed, climbing up onto Jonah’s lap, linking her arms around his head. She buried her face in the hollow of his neck, feeling the boldness of his collarbone against her cheek. She knew exactly why she fancied this particular part of a man, analyzing it with a female friend some years ago. An early memory of seeking comfort and finding it against that length of bone. Now she felt childish, reduced to a sobbing mess. Twenty five years old she had no wounds on her flesh, but her mind would never heal from the long gashes running across her memory. All those books she read might as well be dropped in a pond, their pages warped together and their ink bleeding out as they sunk to the bottom of the stagnant water. They all denied the rumor of bed thumping, said nothing about lycanthropy, and made no mention of the cruelness she had witnessed from the Pirate. All these facts brought everything into question, more than Angelina’s careful spinning of the truth.

Stolen story; please report.

Jonah held her tightly to him, Aiko the cat curled up approvingly beside them. “I’m sorry, I’m here for you,” he said, squeezing her.

She breathed a labored breath. “How, how long did I sleep?” she asked after some time.

“All day, it’s almost dawn,” he said. “I just woke up a few hours ago. We’re headed to that elvish city, Alpha, through the air.”

Diana dealt with her face, going through a series of tissues as he kept feeding to her. “Angelina just wants to ignore this?” she said, sniffling.

He paused for a moment, considering. She noticed that the rune on the door was dark, they weren’t being observed. At least, she hoped not.

Jonah sighed. “She came on the intercom, she thinks its best if we take a break in the city,” he said. “She said that it would be good for your training.”

The rest of Diana’s sleepiness faded from her as she swelled with sudden electric determination. Jonah looked fearfully at her as she clawed her hand on his shoulder, making the green leather squeak. There was a shuffling from the couch and Kalyah padded over to the bed.

“Diana, honey, don’t do anything rash. I'll be with you two. It’s a port city, we’ll be safe, we can go anywhere from there. Let’s just disembark in peace,” Kalyah said, holding out her hands in a calming manner.

The Druid launched herself off of Jonah’s lap, untying her robe as she went for her bag. Her bare feet felt the icy chill of the polished wood, and she pulled open her armor compartment like a bird eviscerating a mouse. She threw off the robe, faced away from the others, but not caring what they saw. She had her bottoms pulled up in seconds, and before a minute had passed, she was fitting on her breastplate over the forest green Weaver clothing. Kalyah tugged on her arm, trying to stop her, while Jonah stood shaking his head.

“Sit down, keep your armor on, but don’t do anything fucking stupid!” Kalyah shouted. The Pixie shrank as Diana whirled on her.

“I will not be tucked away silently,” the Druid declared, fitting on her bracers, the wooden clasps following her commands. She glared directly at the Sun rune. “I will not let you control me a moment longer! I am better than Blodwyn, and you are not!” After stepping into her boots, she burst out of the door.

“This won’t help, Diana,” Jonah muttered.

Aiko heard him, but Diana did not.

Jonah and Kalyah followed behind her, the tiger by her side. She stomped up the stairs and threw that door open with a mighty boom. The top deck was faintly lit by the rising sun, blanketed by the clouds all around them, the vapor held back by the shields.

The Pirate was at the helm, what hours the woman actually kept was a constant wonder. Diana didn’t care, all she wanted then was blood, metaphorical or real, she couldn’t tell.

The Druid stamped her staff down with a swirl of wind, causing her hair to flap and her cloak to billow and snap. “I will not stay silent!” she roared, Aiko joining her with its beastly bellow. “I’ve hidden your secrets long enough and you will be held accountable for them all…”

The click of heels came up behind them, Fia dressed in a fresh set of attire moving without a care. Aiko kept an eye on her, grumbling with a personal desire for revenge in its throat. By the time it saw her hand arm moving behind her back, it was too late.

A fully formed and complex sigil pointed at the princess. The twisted shape glowed a bloody red, steaming in the cold air like a brand. “Silence!” Fia hissed.

“Do you hear me, Angelina---” Diana's words died off and she clutched her throat as it closed up on her. There was a burning deep within it and she couldn’t speak as she wheezed, but then even that went silent.

Both Jonah and Kalyah were to her side, but she could only breathe at them, her throat open, but her vocal chords cursed. Aiko could no longer roar, but as Fia walked past, a sigil held in her fingers, it lunged at her. It knew the last time didn’t work, but it wasn’t going to give up, much like its master.

The Witch drew with her other hand, as the other curse burned out. “Contain,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Shadowy chains popped into existence around the tiger, a cocoon around its body. They kept closing until its poor ribs cracked. There was no other choice for the familiar than to shrink into its housecat form, where the chains bundled it to where only its mouth stuck out, unable to even meow as its master was silenced. A Druid could keep casting, but Diana, who wanted desperately to scream, knew that her magic would hit neither, stood still glaring daggers at the two Heroes. Her heart broke for her precious familiar and she swore that Fia would suffer even more now, whenever she got a hold of her.

Her two dear friends stayed close to her, holding an arm each. They knew nothing would make this better, they had known back when she foolishly put on her armor. She didn’t expect the Witch to come out of nowhere, but of course the woman never slept either. Diana should've realized the rest of the ship was bugged, even if they weren’t.

Angelina reached them, sighing, standing in the place where the center mast table had been whipped away by the wind. “Fia, remove the curse,” she said evenly.

“No, I’ve heard enough of the little cow, I’m not about to have her prattle on any more,” she said, sneering.

“Fuck you!” Jonah shouted.

The sudden sound surprised everyone on the deck, all five of them.

He breathed heavily with all his chest. “Fuck you! Fuck you! You’re both fucking stupid fucking fakes! Fucking war criminals!” he continued on, trembling down to his boots.

Fia raised her hand, starting another rune. Diana pointed her staff at her, ready to try another useless spell. Even if it rebounded on her, it was worth it.

Angelina gripped the Witch’s wrist, breaking the cosmic mist. “Stop! That’s it, we’re done!” she snapped. “He’s new to this world, he doesn’t understand how evil the Ash Makers are.”

“They’re born, how can they be evil when they can’t control it?” Jonah bellowed, voice unsteady.

“Stop it, now,” Angelina said, icy blue eyes glaring at him. “We’re letting you off to consider your next move. No one will believe what Fia has said. You have no proof for anything.”

Diana held his hand, putting all her strength into it, as he didn’t register that on his metal limb. His boldness would get him hurt. If the Witch was willing to harm her this much, a princess, then there was no telling what she might do to him. Her own body was a red hot boiler of rage, but unable to vent, she stayed still. Beside her, Kalyah fared no better, popping the joints in her hand gripping Diana's staff.

“Take some time in Alp’a Linn, consider your choices, Diana,” Angelina went on. “No one would blame you for going back home. We haven't found anything, there’s no shame in returning to train more. If you want to stay in Alp’a Linn, you’re welcome to train there. The city has no distractions, you’d master the Cloud school in no time. We can still make this work. I told you we were going ahead clean, I meant that.”

Narrowing her eyes in disbelief, Diana gathered up the water in her and the air and spat at Angelina, propelling it the hundred feet with magic.

The mermaid sighed as she deflected it with a wave of her hand. “This is why I struggle to take you seriously, you act like such a child. You think that I am vengeful, at least I don’t act as petty as you,” she said, shaking her head.

“You killed children,” Jonah grumbled.

Fia pointed her long finger at him. “Speak again and I will silence you as well!” she shrieked with mad eyes. “I’ll add the chains to your balls too, maybe pluck your fucking limbs off! I could throw you in the ocean again! It will wash the filth of you from the world!"

“Stop it, Fia, just shut your mouth!” Angelina roared, stomping her foot. She turned to the others. “Go to your cabin, gather your things, you’re not welcome on this ship again until you fucking behave!” She pointed to the still open door.

There was a long silence.

“She is, captain?” Kalyah asked, the title sarcastic as she gestured to Fia.

The Pirate folded her arms, looking down her nose at Kalyah. “At least the charmed ones aren’t constantly questioning my authority or plotting behind my back,” she said coldly.

The Priestess’s body jerked as if a hole had been punched through her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her lip quivered. “I’m never returning,” she said, turning her face away from her captain.

Diana knew the Pixie’s tale of the Hero's rescue. Joining her in disgust, she picked up her familiar, the chains bursting from its body as they walked down the stairs. Jonah followed shakily at her arm, his legs struggling to work. He kept checking over his shoulder, legitimately anxious, she knew.

Diana was still silenced in the room, the Witch didn't want to drop that. She had nothing to say anyway, packing and crying until her head throbbed. When their lives on the ship were packed up, she sat with him on the couch she had first slept on many days ago. A start was now the end. Where did they go from here?