When the "Herald" passed out of sight of the "Purity", a few of the refugees left the lower decks. Among the disheveled figures walked one short figure, her small feet directing her right toward Ellyrie.

The white haired girl wrapped her arms around her and rested her head against the captain.

"I am so glad to see you are safe. When they took you I, I feared it would break out."

The captain put a hand on the girl´s head, and finally a smile returned on her face.

"I am just fine really, you saved my life. I don't know how to thank you but I will do what I can. What's your name?"

"I, I am Melnia. Ellyrie, can we talk, alone?"

The captain leaned her head to the side. The girl already knew her name? Yes she was famous, but when they met the girl had looked like a prisoner. And why had a girl like her been imprisoned in the first place, she looked like she'd never even hurt a bug.

"Well we can, sure." She tried her best to smile, but her thoughts continued to race as they walked to the lower decks, and into her quarters. The moment she had closed the door, Melnia spoke.

"Did you see the woman in white?"

Ellyrie crossed her arms and nodded. That she could never forget. "So, you saw her too then?"

Melnia sat down at the little table, the only furniture in the captain´s room save for her bed and closet.

"All my life, every now and then I saw her. Past the bars of my cell or standing in front of the moon at night. But after you saved me, was the first time she spoke. Told me that if we got separated you would die, and."

The girl bit her lower lip, every hair on her body rose up. "She picked me up and told me that you were going to take care of me, because she had grown tired of doing so."

Ellyrie took the chair opposite of Melnia, her heart sank with every moment. "Take care of you? While keeping you in a cell? What kind of a care is that?"

"I don't know, but I am happy that she stopped. That woman, thing, every part of my body twists when I think of her." Her hands were clinging onto the edge of the table, her knuckles a pale white.

"She scares me."

The door opened, and Aeneya stepped in. "Captain, you here, we need you- oh."

The woman froze as she looked at the two of them. "Oh, so you got to meet Mel face to face, outside of a warzone that is." The archer chuckled and leaned against the door.

"Could barely keep her contained to the ship, at some point I was afraid she may just jump off the railing to get to you."

Mel´s face turned a bright red and shrunk even further in her seat. "I, I would never have done something like that!"

Her words were dismissed with a wave as Aeneya walked over to Ellyrie. "I'm sure you got a lot to talk about, but we need to plot our course and go over the budget."

The last word was the blade of the executioner, striking down on Ellyrie. The terror was written on her face, but she did not resist when Aeneya dragged her out of her quarters and into the command room.

It was dominated by a massive round table, six chairs surrounding it. All were empty, as the ship ran at full speed and all hands were needed in their current state.

On the table Aeneya had laid out their navigation map. Like any imperial piece of cartography, it had Goliath, the capital in it´s centre. past the heartlands surrounding it, in the semi cardinals, the capitals of the four greater provinces, Atal, Cirei, Mhall and Zana as well as each of their two divine cities and surrounding areas.

Most imperial maps would end here, or perhaps at the four great castrums on the very edges of the imperial lands, thanks to connections with the wider imperial arms their map also showed the lands past imperial borders. Just the possession of such a piece by a normal citizen was ample evidence of treason, a sign of harbouring an obsession with the inhuman.

Being at least recognised by the imperial army, their map was allowed to contain location and name of the greater hills, the mountains of Frista where the underpeople lived, an outline of the Cruel white desert to the west of the empire and even of the first forest.

But even their maps ended sharply. With only a small hint of the oceans west and east, and not even one of the far north or far south. For such a piece to even mention the Plains of Ash, north at the end of the world, was tantamount to idolatry, worship of false gods instead of the Imperator Aeterna.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Aeneya traced across the map with her finger, from the castrum downward back into greater Atal.

"So the nearest settlement with a tower is Nelia to the south. About a day and a half, and we can thank the pantheon for that because any longer and we'd need to burn our personal crystal stores to keep the "Herald" even afloat. And speaking of crystals."

The look of annoyance in Aeneya´s eyes was more terrifying to Ellyrie than staring down a host on the plains of Ash.

"We burned through three fourths of our stores to reach the castrum, and not to mention the amount of combat crystals used in the actual drop."

Aeneya threw the papers on the table, the numbers alone made the captain´s head spin.

"I spoke with the others in the guard and while we are fine to take cuts to pay the costs, we plainly cannot afford to fly another mission this recklessly. Our finances are tight to begin with, and that is still not mentioning how we have yet to install proper armaments to defend against aerial targets."

With every word her friend spoke, Ellyrie sunk further into the ground. And Aeneya noticed, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand. We did a good thing. It was just not the right thing when looking forward. I am just saying that we will need to be more conservative with the calls we do take and manage. Now that said, do you want to relay things yourself, or let me take care of it so you can spend more time with your new friend?"

This time it was for the captain to start glowing red.

"It is important, I mean." The image of Seraph again flashed before her. She felt sick to her stomach.

"She told me about the drawbacks, of how she saved me. If we're separated or she dies then." Ellyrie rose her hand to her chest. Even through her armour, she could feel the scar.

"I do too."

Aeneya looked taken aback for a moment, then she picked up the papers. "I understand. I hate to again be the one defending the guardians of all people, but even they would not imprison a young girl, if she even is one. The way she talks and acts is not, right. You see it too, no?"

The captain nodded and reached her hand down to the hilt of her blade. "I do. But, I ask that you trust me on this. I don't know what she is hiding, but I don't think that it is something she wants to harm us with."

The archer rolled her eyes and gave Aeneya a pat on the shoulder in passing. "Captain, I dove into a burning city teeming with inhumans and a bloody demon of all things. I trust you, we all do. Especially after today."

The words were meant in good faith, but they left a hollow cold behind Aeneya as she walked back on the main deck.

Serafin. How had it come to this. The walk to her quarters felt so long.

Had it been her fault? Could she have stopped her from turning this way? What if she had visited, sure the guardians loved their rules more than their parents but even they would've grumbled and looked the other way.

Maybe if she had been awake, and there with her before she had to give the order. Before she had to explain and justify thousands of dead.

For a moment Ellyrie did not understand why Melnie looked at so worried and shocked, before she noticed how wet her face was.

After cleaning her face the world looked clearer again, and she forced a smile. "It's alright, I just had to, I was just thinking about some things. Melnie, can I ask you a question?"

The girl quickly nodded and returned to her seat, waiting for the captain to do the same.

"How, old are you?"

The girl closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Not much younger than you, I know you wont believe me." Melnie ran a hand through her hair and stared down at the table.

"I just stopped, growing, after a while. Maybe it was the food, or whatever they put into it when they thought I wasn't looking, or whatever made them put me there in first place."

"Why did they lock you up anyways. Because of what you know, what you can do?"

The girl´s lips turned to a single thin line. "I have no idea. I was locked in when I was five, and I was stuck there for fourteen years. I can only think that, I am different, and I guess it shows that I'm even thinking of that."

She scratched and poked her head. "I never really, learned anything. Speaking, writing, reading, how to tell the time, or the date, what a calendar was. Nobody taught me of course but I just, knew them eventually. I, remembered it, from somewhere. It was the same when I saw you dying, I ran over and my body just, knew what to do, and how cruel it was."

Melnie let out a sigh and folded her hands in her lap. "I think, they did not want me outside, so that I would not remember more things. Remember something they are afraid of. And I suppose, that also makes you afraid of me?"

Ellyrie had been leaning back into her seat more and more with every word, disbelief and wonder racing each other in her head. "Well, it does sound rather scary, but you still saved my life, and I rather trust myself and my experience than what the guardians are afraid of."

Her words brought a smile to Melnie´s face, she batted her eyes and her shoulders finally relaxed. "Thank you, Ellyrie. I promise that, no matter what, I am going to what I can, use all I can remember to help you and your friends, it is the least I can do."

The captain got up and walked over, placing a hand on Melnie´s shoulder. Her words filled the girl´s heart with pride.

"Then I welcome you to the Sky Knights."