---
At the start of dinner Strife explains to a young Valkyrie the meaning of willingness to do hard work without being reminded or told. There is also this thing called a talking tube that Sweiza seemingly has forgotten about; it explains why Verdandi knew about Sweiza's work well before she had a chance to tell her mentor herself.
"So..." Sweiza attempts to change the subject.
"Hmm?" Verdandi's eyebrows perk up.
Sweiza's eyes dart down to the bowl of sugar cubes. Her left hand reaches up for it and she pushes it over to Verdandi.
"It will probably need more sugar." Sweiza says it as a matter of fact. Verdandi will have none of the change in routine.
It is at this time Verdandi reaches for her teacup and saucer and moves both up to her mouth. Sweiza watches with big eyes and her head forward as Verdandi finally brings the teacup to her mouth. Her eyebrow twitches and she squints and flinches a face of disapproval momentarily.
"It really could use more sugar." Verdandi sets the teacup back down on the table. Sweiza sees her mentor's arms come back down underneath the table. Verdandi closes her eyes. Sweiza continues to stare at her. This goes on for roughly five minutes. Sweiza attempts to open her mouth to ask Verdandi, "What gives?", but Verdandi interrupts her and tells her to be quite and enjoy the moment. Sweiza slumps back in her chair in frustrating defeat.
Verdandi lears her throat. It gets Sweiza's attention, but the girl does nothing. Verdandi's eyebrow twitches in annoyance.
"I don't know what to do!" Sweiza spits it out.
A brief smirk appears on Verdandi's lips before it disappears. "Miss Serif, as you know I am your mentor. There is certain information you will be made privy to as you prove yourself overtime. As you are a Valkyrie in training, I expect you to earn this information. Is that understood?"
Sweiza grimaces in disagreement, closes her eyes and looks down at her lap.
"Starla, you wanted my approval, you now have it... again. Don't go losing it this time." Verdandi puts some degree of emphasis on the last part as she rasies the pitch in her voice.
Sweiza looks up momentarily. "Then what more work do you have for me?" Sweiza says it, broken.
"It is very simple Miss Serif. I have had a very long day staring out at nothing. This is a very fortunate matter for the ship, but it has done nothing for my mind, let alone my spirit." Verdandi says it, eying up the girl.
Sweiza lets out a breath, but says nothing. Verdandi continues, "As you wish to be useful in my domain - I like my tea with two sugar cubes. Preferably one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of cream. Is that clear?" Verdandi couldn't be anymore to the point with the girl.
Sweiza eyes start to water and she closes them to hide it from Verdandi; her lip quivers. All she thinks to herself is, "Don't cry, don't cry, not now, please don't cry. I won't do this, not again, not here."
"Sweiza! Come over here, now. Honestly. Put what I just told you into my teacup!" Verdandi raises her voice at the girl.
Sweiza feels her chest bunch up as she stands up. A surprised Verdandi cannot tell if the girl will walk out or not. Instead Sweiza walks over, does as instructed, two cubes, one teaspoon of honey and cream and then walks back over to her seat and scoots it forward. She turns her head away from Verdandi.
"If you want to show that you care, next time make sure that you have this ready for me, before I am off duty."
Sweiza avoids eye contact for the rest of dinner. However, Verdandi looks at her the entire meal. There is an uncomfortable silence, perhaps more on Sweiza's end; the intent of her unbeknownst to her at this point.
At the end of supper, Verdandi finishes her biscuit and places her silverware crossed on her tray. She instructs Sweiza to do the same. The reason behind it to let the waitress on duty know they are done. Sweiza complies, but otherwise remains silent. Verdandi stands up from her seat, bows her head at Sweiza and walks past her. However, Verdandi places a hand on Sweiza's shoulder; Sweiza bunches her shoulders up as a result and immediately turns her head in the opposite direction from Verdandi.
"Starla your performance today was exceptional compared to your normal demeanor, well done." Verdandi nudges Sweiza in the arm. "Don't be so shy. Experiencing new things is a must for any Valkyrie. Otherwise we grow old and stale."
Sweiza's head slowly about faces to meet Verdandi's eyes. There is a kinder expression looking at her.
"There roughly one hour after sunset. There will be fireworks and entertainment and a chance for merriment. I will be attending." Verdandi heads for the door and leaves Sweiza in silence. Sweiza's eyes close and lips turn into a slight frown. Brynhilde walks over to relieve the table of dinner leftovers.
"I couldn't help but overhear. You will be attending, won't you Starla?" Brynhild says it with unknowing of what meaning 'Starla' has to the girl; however, she says it with cheer and some regard as Sweiza's friend. Sweiza senses it immediately, but is stuck on the use of her name 'Starla'. A moment passes, but she speaks up.
"Please call me Sarah. It is what my friends call me." Sweiza says it sheepishly with some sadness; her attention now on Brynhilde.
"It would be a shame if you didn't attend Sarah. The sailors will need dancing partners, and they prefer the to be women." Brynehild inches closer to her. She stoops over to retrieve a plate as well as meet Sweiza's eyes. "I also play the violin."
Brynhilde pulls herself away from the girl; she hums to herself while collecting plates. It is obvious to Sweiza that Brynhilde is deliberately ignoring her. Brynhilde walks off towards the kitchen with one hand flat holding trays above her shoulder and the other hand holding a tray of more plates and dishes at waist level. Sweiza mouths, "They need dance partners..." Sweiza's knees suddenly bunch together and her face turns red; partly in embarassment at Brynhilde's straight-forwardness in making up her (Sweiza's) mind for her, and partly because she doesn't know how to dance. She curses her luck at being a tomboy and always avoiding the dance-offs they have during the fertility festival at Maria Village.
---
Sweiza has roughly a few hours to herself. She chooses it to search for Little Sprite. This time she adjusts her tactics; she asks various crewman if there was anything amiss, such as a rodent problem, missing supplies or perhaps a flying creature seen here and there onboard. It doesn't take long for her to confirm that he was seen about a day ago. Further enquires, especially with Captain Dillion turn up suspicion of rats in the kitchen. She makes note to only tell the half truth and her real motives for asking her questions. She doesn't lie when she insists she wishes to track down any pests or 'vermin' that might be responsible, crawling, flying or otherwise. Dillion is delighted, as are several of the crewman; all knowing they can focus on their jobs at hand. Sweiza is thanked for her patronage towards the ship several times. She beams at the thought, but it quickly fades when she arrives at the kitchen. She sees Brynhilde playing a piano.
"You are really good at that Brynhilde." Sweiza says it cheerfully with a smile. Sweiza hides the fact she has never noticed the piano in the cafe before. SHe makes a mental note to make a better understanding and survey of her surroundings in the future, lest Verdandi have anything to say about it.
"Thank you Sarah. But why are you here? The kitchen is closed." Brynhilde turns away from the piano as she says it. Her hands sit comfortably in her lap, awaiting an answer from the girl. Sweiza gives it.
"I'm trying to track down any pests or vermin onboard. There is a lead that they might have gotten to the kitchen storeroom. May I see it?" Sweiza says it, attempting to keep the truth half told again.
"I don't think they'll mind." Brynhilde stands up and on instinct dusts her lap off. Sweiza notes Brynhilde has a key in her hand, most likely pulled from her (Brynhilde's) pocket. Brynhilde motions for Sweiza to follow her to the store room behind the kitchen counter. Brynhilde unlocks the storeroom's dooor and walks in, Sweiza soon follows. Sweiza is taken aback at just how big the store room is. She notes there are multiple shelves with rolling ladders to assist in procuring items. She scans the room, but doesn't see anything. Brynhilde motions her hand to the right towards the far wall. In the corner, three shelves have bags with holes in them. Flour, sugar and various powerders and spices are leaking out of them. Several small containers also have holes in them, seemingly with what appear to be bite marks. Upon closer inspection, Sweiza sees handprints on the supplies and footprints on the shelves, all marked in footprints.
"We're not sure what caused it, but anything is likely." Brynhilde says it with a slight tone in her voice. Sweiza takes the hint.
"I'll see about finding out what or who caused it Brynhilde, rest assured." Sweiza bows and heads for the storeroom door once again. Upon turning around and locking it, Brynehilde stops shortly outside the kitchen counter. "Sarah, don't be late for the dance."
Sweiza stops, turns around once and looks back at Brynhilde. She lets out a mock smile and hurries off to the maindeck. Sweiza has a rush of thoughts. Sprite will be in so much trouble if anyone else knew; for that matter, people probably already have a suspicion that it -is- Sprite. Sweiza curses her luck, this is just the -bad- kind of luck she doesn't need right now. If Verdandi finds out, it will be traced back to her (Sweiza) for letting Sprite on board. Dillion will not be happy when he finds out! Sweiza grimaces at the thought and shakes her head. She thinks to herself, "If I was Sprite, got into an argument with my friend, and then needed a place to hide after gorging on food, where would I hide?" Further matters to herself, Sweiza concludes he would be tired (as usual) from eating all of that sugar and flour. Therefor it would need to be a secure hidig spot. Sweiza only hopes he didn't eat too much sugar to encourage his metamorphasis to his adult form; that will not be good as their journey on the "Sterling Blue" was slated to end in a few days once it reaches Valhalla. She remembers what listtle she knows on the matter about sprites. They will cocoon if they eat too much sugar - either by accident or deliberately. They need a place to hang upside down in order for it to happen, preferably in a safe and secure location, up and out of the way - emphasis on up. Sweiza places her hands on her hips and looks up at the masts. Those are a likely bet, but it is now too dark out to check. Her train of thought is interrupted by a sudden crack in the sky. Her gaze follows over to see fireworks that have suddenly shot from the back of the ship.
"Shit!" She curses to herself and runs to the back of the deck. It takes about a minute, but as she gets to the top of the back deck, she sees a large deliberation of people surrounding several long tables. She tries to figure out how they got the tables up there, but her thoughts are interrupted by Dillion giving a speech. The words are dull and distant and Sweiza becomes more worried about her friend. This many people on the ship and noone knows where he is. Her mind races as to where he could be. Her thoughts are brought back to reality as she is jostled from a slight, but deliberate bump from behind. Sweiza turns around, ready to chew out the perpetrator. She stops and is starled to see it is Verdandi in something akin to a yellow dress; nothing too fancy, but a dress none-the-less.
Verdandi dips her head, gives a bow of her body and lifts both sides of the dress up in a curtsy. "May I have this dance Miss Serif?"
When she looks up, she sees a look of joy and happiness in Verdandi's eyes; something the girl never expected to see, let alone thought the woman was incapable of. It is as if, all of her cares and worries have disappeared.
"But...but..." Sweiza stammers. Verdandi slowly approaches her. Now inches from her, Verdandi's hands reach down to Sweiza's hands and she pulls her close. Verdandi leans her head just near Sweiza's ear, "I'll go slow, follow my lead.”
—-
Over the next half hour, Sweiza is stuck doing something she would rather not - dancing. At the behest of her mentor, she does indeed follow Verdandi’s lead. Sweiza is taught a number of dances equivalent to a slow waltzes and tangos. By the end of the hour, Sweiza is not feeling it - dancing with another woman is weird.
“Strife, I don’t like this.”
Strife stops dead center as her eyebrows beam and a smile creeps on her face. “Miss Serif, haven’t you been paying attention? There are several suitors whom wish your hand in a dance.”
Sweiza freezes and her head nervously shifts around the deck. There are a number of sailors with women, this is true; but there are also a number that are either leaning over the deck or waving there hands at their companions. She notes several of them are swapping dance partners before a new song begins. Sweiza gives a grimace, if not one of relief. She pulls herself away from Verdandi and heads towards a random sailor. His back is turned towards her; he appears to be staring out at the stars. Sweiza taps on his back.
“You, dance with me.” She says it as more of a command. He turns around. Sweiza is taken aback by the spyglass he is holding, but it appears much larger than what she is accustomed to seeing.
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“I’m afraid I can’t miss. I’m on navigation duty.” He turns around and points the spyglass at the sky. She looks down at his other hand and sees he is holding a map.
Sweiza takes in a deep breath and grimaces. Her head lifts up and her eyes close. Her anger subsides. She turns around towards where she and Verdandi originally stood; Verdandi is dancing with another sailor. She gives a offshoot smile to Sweiza when she sees her, but otherwise goes back to ignoring her and dancing.
Sweiza’s foot begins to tap impatiently. Her arms cross, her eyes close and her faces flushes red. She is about to yell. She can feel it well up in her lungs. She…
“That’s not very lady like…”
The older masculine voice catches her off guard. It’s Captain Dillion. He leans forward and holds a hand out towards her.
“May I have this dance young lady?”
Her head sways in confusion back and forth. She extends her hand nervously and gives an uncertain “Sure.”
—
Sweiza is taken aback at Dillion’s mild and softer form of dancing. While Verdandi couldn’t be described as rough, she is a bit more to the point with her pacing, she also has a firmer grip than Dillion. In Sweiza’s mind, Dillion is probably a proper gentleman.
“Are you married by chance?”
“I’m afraid I’m a man of the seas, young lady. I could no more fall for you than I could any of these brutes.” He makes a quick head motion towards the sailors.
Sweiza’s face flushes pink, but she otherwise tries to hide it and engages in conversation about this and that.
—
Time flies by and several hours pass. Several dance suitors join her; some of them sailors, others women. At one point she is with Verdandi again.
“Enjoying yourself Starla?”
Sweiza simply nods. As she gets more comfortable with dancing these strange (to her) movements, it becomes a bit easier to enjoy herself. But what really made her night was the sound of Brynhilde’s violin playing with a piano in the background. How this entourage of musician’s can keep their music together is beyond her reasoning. But more importantly, when the music changes to something softer as fireworks light the sky, her night is done and made. Her last dance partner is Verdandi (again). Sweiza finally stops and gives an instinctive bow.
“I’m done, my feet hurt.”
Verdandi gives a nod of approval and understanding. “As you wish Miss Serif.”
Sweiza excuses herself and heads for the starboard railing. She leans herself forward onto her arms and simply enjoys the stars and some of the fireworks overhead. Her peace is not long as Brynhilde joins her.
“What did you think?” Brynhilde beams at her. She too joins Sweiza at the railing, but nothing so nonchalant as leaning over a rail; instead she simply stands with her arms clasped in front of her.
“Brynhilde, your violin is amazing!” Sweiza beams with excitement at her.
“Thank you Serah. But I was referring to the men.” A smile is still on her face.
Sweiza looks over at her. It takes a few minutes to realize what she means. Sweiza shrugs.
“We have plenty of ‘men’ at Maria Village… and I’m taken.”
“That’s too bad Starla.” A sly smirk crosses Brynhilde’s face, “We nobles so rarely get to meet such rustic men. They are fun to be around.”
Sweiza gives her an otherworldly look and shrugs before turning back to the sea. “Do as you like Brynhilde.”
Another smile creeps across Brynehilde’s face. She darts off quicker than Sweiza is used to and expecting… almost as if the woman was skipping, but not quite.
Sweiza looks up once as it dawns on her. She looks back towards Brynhilde, whom is now speaking with one of the sailors. Sweiza looks at her with some scrutiny, “She’s a noble?”
Sweiza observes her laughing with the sailor, but then sees them just as casually walk off together.
Sweiza frowns and dismisses it. She turns back to the stars.
—
About a three-quarters of an hour later, the music has toned down and the party is winding to a close. In fact, to top off the night, Sweiza has gotten into drinking with the men. They are amazed she can handle just as much alcohol as them; not unheard of for a woman, but lesser so from someone that can still pass as a young lady, or in some of their eyes ‘a young girl’. However, it comes soon enough that she feels tipsy as she joyfully beams and laughs with the sailors as they talk about this and that. Verdandi appears beside Sweiza’s left and pushes Sweiza’s mug away from the girl.
“Perhaps Miss Serif has enjoyed herself a bit to much and is becoming more than she should.”
A smile is on Verdandi’s face as she uses both hands to slowly pull the mug and Sweiza’s hand away, it is firm, but gentle.
“Oh! Of course! Too much merriment!” Sweiza laughs. Her face is showing signs of the alcohol, but it is only a deep pink.
“Then, perhaps Miss Serif would care to retreat for the morning? We have a big day ahead of us, yes?” Verdandi says it while setting Sweiza’s mug on the table. Sweiza watches the liquid inside slosh around slightly. It takes a few seconds (longer than it should), before the girl understands what Verdandi means.
“Oh! Yeah. Let’s…” Sweiza stands up, but her, Verdandi, and the rest of the group still on deck are startled by a yelling coming from further up the lower deck. Verdandi is the first to head towards the lower decks, Sweiza joins her, as does Dillion and several sailors. More screaming. One of the sailors, still in uniform, comes rushing out through the starewell from the lower decks. He darts past his Captain and the group that has formed. He continues on his way towards the bow of the ship. Another scream comes from the starewell. Brynhilde soon appears. Her hair is a mess and part of her makeup is running; for that matter part of her makeup is missing. Her glasses too, are missing. To Sweiza’s surprise, the woman has red eyes; her exposed skin also appears to be a very pale white. She doesn’t have much time to think about it as Brynhilde comes rushing up to the group, a rapier in hand.
“Where is he?!” Brynhilde shakes, clearly frustrated, clearly furious.
Verdandi’s crossed arms remain that way, but her left hand’s index finger shoots up and points to the bow of the ship. Brynhilde rushes to the front of the ship.
“You scoundrel!”
Alarm washes over Dillion’s face. He hurries towards the front of the ship, as do several other sailors.
Verdandi looks over towards the bow and casually comments, “Looks like we weren’t the only ones having fun.”
Sweiza lets out a half-drunk giggle and shrugs. Verdandi ushers her to the starewell. It has been a long night and it is time to retire for the night.
—
It is still sometime in early morning as Sweiza and Verdandi are roused from sleep.
“Lady Valkyrie, we have an emergency!”
It is one of the sailors and he is breathing hard. Perhaps he ran from the upper decks.
Verdandi, quick to pull the covers off and get to her feet; Sweiza rouses from sleep, groggy, but still manages to sit up. Her eyes hurt and she struggles to see in the dark; the lantern from the hall being the only light.
“Whatever would be the matter?” Verdandi
“Pirates!”
“Oh shi—“ Verdandi is quick to the door, her armor appears and her lance in hand.
She darts back into the room, “Miss Serif, summon your armor. It’s time to put that Valkyrie training to use.”
Sweiza looks towards the door dismayed. She looks over once towards the small matchbox where Sprite should be. He isn’t there. She forgets why.
“Miss Serif!” Verdandi’s voice get sharp and Sweiza is on her feet, armor on, and out the door.
“Please be safe Sprite.” Sweiza mutters it to herself as she follows Verdandi and the sailor to the upper decks.
—-
On the upper deck Sweiza sees more sailors than she is expecting. To the left and to the right, ssees cannons lined up on the starboard side. She looks up to the upper deck and sees Dillion with a spyglass. He is speaking with several of the sailors; she assumes they are higher ranking, but she has little time to wonder as she near bumps into Verdandi.
They are at the railing. Verdandi has her spyglass out and is looking in the distance. She hands it to Sweiza and points out in a certain direction. Sweiza struggles to see it. Through the veil of the night, hard to see with an absent morning light, is several lights. They are moving towards the Sterling Blue’s very spot.
“Angst, above the lights, tell me what color flag they are flying?”
Sweiza has heard of this. Different ships fly different flags depending on intent, as well as country of origin. An image of the Sterling Blue flashes in her mind, it is absent any flags. However, this ship in front of her is flying a red one.
She lowers the spyglass and looks over towards Verdandi. “It’s red.”
“No quarter.” Verdandi says it with contempt. Sweiza shrugs slightly as she shakes her head. “It means they will take no prisoners.”
“Oh…” Sweiza looks towards the lights in the distance, now looming closer and can be seen without a spyglass. “So what do we do then?”
Verdandi clicks her heels together. “The time of the Vakyrie has come. We are the choosers of the slain!”
“I will fight with you!”
Verdandi bolts around. “You most certainly will not!”
Sweiza turns around, surprised to see Brynhilde. The woman’s makeup is completely off. Her skin is definitely a pale white; but her eyes look stranger still with her white hair. She has a rapier drawn and pointed towards the enemy ship.
“That isn’t for you to decide Valkyrie. I may not be one of you, but I can most certainly fight alongside of you.” Bryndhilde says it defiantly.
Verdandi stares at her skeptical.
“I may not be a Valkyrie… yet… but I am most certainly a capable fighter. I will -not- stand idly by while a bunch of ruffians ravage an embassy of Valhalla!” Brynhilde points her rapier from Verdandi to the sky and then to the pirate ship.
“As you wish Svava.” Verdandi says it nonchalantly. about to turn towards the enemy ship again, but her attention is on Sweiza. She grabs the girl by the shoulder and forcefully turns her around. Verdandi gives her a sharp look. Sweiza finally comes to attention. She hides her embarassment at having been distracted by Brynhilde’s appearance.
—
What Sweiza is expecting is to be boarded, but Verdandi shakes her head at the girl. It is mentioned briefly, but the two ships would fight at a distance. If boarded, the Valkyrie sentiment would be reared at the pirates. However, the sound of shouting is drowned out by cannonballs. The shelling between the ships continues and the next quarter hour is a blur. To Sweiza, the cannonballs appear to bounce off the pirate ship. She looks at Verdandi, whom only explains it appears to be an ironclad ship.
Sweiza can’t see it, but the Sterling Blue has several holes in its side. The pirate ship has some damage to the wooded areas of the upper decks.
Suddenly, one of the masts of the pirate ship topples and it takes the sales and rigging of another mast with it; it hangs diagonally with the other mast’s rigging support it.
Five more minutes pass. Captain Dillion walks up calmly, his spyglass in his hands behind him.
“Captain?” Verdandi says it concerned.
“We are taking on water.”
Sweiza’s mouth drops into an o shape. Verdandi’s face looks grim.
Captain Dillion continues, “Too much water. Buckets are useless and we can’t flush it with the pumps.”
“You can’t be serious!” Sweiza interrupts. She knows that the bilge uses a pumping system. In her mind it surely could help.
“Miss Serif!” Verdandi snaps at her. Sweiza lets out a silent ‘eep!’ and stiffens up.
Verdandi shoots another sharp look at Sweiza and then looks at the Captain, “Do continue Captain.”
“The pirate ship is also taking on water; we damaged her more than we thought. As my men and I have gathered, they do not have lifeboats…”
Verdandi can see where this is headed.
“…I’m going to give the order to abandon ship…”
Verdandi grimaces. Sweiza’s mouth remains closed, but her jaw drops and her eyes widen.
“…while we are still afloat, any available crew will man the lifeboats. If the pirates do have lifeboats and do want a fight, we’ll give them one in close quarters. Can we count on you and your co-hart?” Dillion motions towards Sweiza.
“Absolutely Captain. But what about you? You can’t tell me you would in all seriousness follow that rustic and outdated tradition…” Verdandi says it with some worry in her voice. Sweiza gathers these two go back some years.
“Absolutely not! I’m not about to be outdone by seaswagging miscreants. However, if necessary, I’ll send the Sterling into their ship and take them to their graves.” Dillion says it with his hands folded behind his back.
Verdandi gives a grunt, snaps her heels together and salutes him; Dillion salutes back.
“If you haven’t already…” Dillion looks more towards Sweiza as he says it, “…I would grab any personal belongings…”
Sweiza looks from Dillion to Verdandi. Verdandi gives a slight nod to the girl. Sweiza darts off towards the stairwell to the lower decks.
Dillion gives Verdandi a “That will be all Valkyrie.”
Verdandi gives another salute and Dillion breaks off towards the front of the ship.
Several passengers and crewman rush by, and rushed by Sweiza, as panic sets in. The ship is sinking. The first thoughts on her mind of her rucksack. She will be damned to Muspell’s desert if any of those pirates will touch her personal stuff. In their sleeping quarters, Sweiza suddenly sees the matchbox with an absent Sprite. She grabs it an looks towards her rucksack in the corner. She closes her eyes and forces back the tears as she rips the rucksack open.
She stares at the rucksack weird. It isn’t bound together. It is opened. Curiosity, then a look of disgust. Has Verdandi been digging through her things? Was it Uma? Maybe Sprite?
She opens the rucksack with her left hand, matchbox in her right. The matchbox drops to the floor.
She grimaces a look of bitterness. A blue oval, translucent in some areas, and it has a glow from within; a distinct, but not-too-unfamiliar form is within it. Sweiza mouths, “You idiot!”
She shoves the matchbox into the rucksack. She ties the hood shut and swings one of the arm straps around her shoulder. The thought of having to use her bow an arrow as a weapon crosses her mind as she walks with haste to the upper decks. Other thoughts such as, “This is a very bad day.” And “I can’t believe this is happening.” Cross her mind.
—
Sweiza meets Verdandi and several crewman at the lifeboats towards the port side of the bow of the ship. Brynhilde is with them.
As Sweiza reaches them, she overhears Verdandi talking with Brynhilde. Brynhilde is not her normal demeanor, but acting very standoffish and defiant with the Valkyrie. It is hard to hear what they are saying, but Sweiza catches, “…my place is with you…” from Brynhilde, and an “You are not a Valkyrie.” From Verdandi.
There is more talking with them. Sweiza sees Brynhilde look over at her. Brynhilde gives a scowl and stamps her whole body in frustration at Verdandi. Verdandi points towards Sweiza. Sweiza hears Verdandi give a sharp and distinctive, “Go, now!”
Sweiza’s attention is cutoff by another cannon ball firing overhead. It crashes into one of the sailors. Sweiza bolts her head away; part of his lower torso missing.
Brynhilde rushes over to Sweiza. “We’re leaving, now.”
Sweiza looks over to Verdandi. “Now Starla!” Brynhilde jerks Sweiza over; the girl nearly dropping her rucksack from the weight.
—
The last sight Sweiza sees is the deck with Verdandi on it rising as the lifeboat is lowered by several sailors. In total twelve people are on it. Sweiza looks up at the other lifeboats, they too were slowly lowering. At last she sees Verdandi heading towards one of them.
—
Several minutes pass. Everyone is quiet. Sweiza’s eyes are on the Sterling blue, some fifty feet to the side of the lifeboat. Sweiza looks over to Brynhilde.
“Now what?” Sweiza asks, but Brynhilde frowns and shakes her head slowly.
The both of them continue to look at the Sterling Blue. It has stopped shelling by now, but the pirate ship still fills the air with the sound of cannon balls. Sweiza can here the distinct sound of wood snapping as cannon balls hit the bow of the ship.
—
It appears in slow motion, but Sweiza sees a stray cannonball hit one of the nearby lifeboats. One of the occupants is hit and thrown overboard. Another liferaft is hit. The pirates were firing on survivors. Sweiza sees a distinct spark and flame from one of the cannons on the enemy ship. As if life stood still, there is silence and then a crack as their lifeboat is hit. It misses Sweiza, but hits one of the crewman. She is left gaping in horror at his missing head and shoulder. His body falls to the ground. Sweiza’s eyes then dart to the bottom of the lifeboat. A hole. It had been punctured. It takes on water and begins to shake as several crewman attempt to avoid it as if it were some kind of poison.
—
Several minutes pass…
The Sterling Blue’s form fades into the pirate ship, but not before the pirates did their damage. Most of the lifeboats have been destroyed, a large number of crewman and passengers lives with them. The few that are still afloat are scattered. A thunderclap in the distance rouses Sweiza’s attention. She looks up and sees no stars. A thunderstorm perhaps?
Worry fills her being. Could lightning hit the surface of water and kill them? Her grandmother used to tell her stories about foolish sailors, and yet here she is.
Lightning flashes overhead.
Panic fills in. She hears distinct murmurs from people nearby; thunder cracks. She now hears panic and then a scream as lightning flashes again. The malt from last night didn’t agree with her. She feels her arms and legs heavier than normal. They start to cramp. The last thing she remembers is Brynhilde grabbing her arm to keep her afloat.