Chapter 7:

The girl with hairs like fire (2)

The princess’ request boomed across the deck, every man and woman intently listening to what she had to say. The explosions and the whistling of shells weren’t enough to mute her heartfelt words.

Taccilas immediately voiced his reply. “We’re currently only two aboard Mitali, we can let a lot of you in.”

“Excellent!” Izuchi attempted to clasp Taccilas’ hands with her own, but she only ended up grabbing his jacket- the latter dodged her. “Then we can start boarding right aw-”

“Princess!” Interrupted the captain. “There’s around 1.000 sailors aboard the Azukima, we won’t be able to take everyone, and even if we find a way, these pirates will immediately go after us.”

“We will find a way!”

“We won’t! And so, Princess Izuchi… Allow us to stay.”

Izuchi turned around to face the captain, her face boiling red.

“Absolutely not!”

“Please, we made up our minds. I have made up my mind. If you allow us to stay, we can cover your escape.” The captain said reassuringly, his eyes gleamed with acceptance and pride.

“No! What are you talking about?! You’ll die!”

“We won’t die, believe me. Young man, please, take her with you. We will do our utmost to cover your retreat. The situation may look dire, but my ship isn’t as feeble as she may look right now.”

Taccilas took a look around himself. The murals had completely disappeared from the walls and fire consumed a number of towers across the ship, there were bunkers and poles that seemed to resemble turrets, but they had been so disfigured that there was no way they could ever fire.

I don’t think I’m going to get a lot out of this.

“Captain Makki! No! You’re all coming with me!” Izuchi spat out.

Taccilas mind engaged with itself in a fateful race. It was true that they would be able to take an increased number of people, but how long would it take for all of them to board Mitali?

How long before they started shelling her too?

And most importantly, would they pay them a higher fee if he rescued more souls, or was the princess’ life the only one his benefactors would care about?

He arrived at a clear decision. “We will take her.”

“Thank you very much, young man. We’re grateful. Everyone, let’s take her to the Mitali, our princess will be safe.”

A roar rose across the deck, not from fire or from cannons, but from men and women alike who celebrated the first victory of the day.

Izuchi, on the other hand, was much less excited.

“No! Let me go! All of you! Makki! Please, Makki!” A crowd of sailors picked up the princess and ran through fire and ash towards Mitali, Taccilas followed not far behind. The speed at which they ran seemed unnatural, their steps echoed like a hundred horses running down the open field.

They halted for no man.

An absolute stampede.

“What are all of you doing?! Stop! I’m begging you!”

As they came before Mitali, with that same strength, they launched the princess into the air and landed her on Mitali’s deck.

Wildfire consumed another tower, it tore through the white vessel like an unstoppable force of nature.

As Taccilas approached the net he had thrown out, he was stopped by the captain of the ship. “Listen, young man, I will do whatever’s in our power to prolong the opening you and your ship have created. Don’t look back, and definitely don’t let the princess look back.”

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“Alright, we’ll keep her safe!” Replied Taccilas.

“Thank you very much… Truly, you have no idea. I bid you good fortune, and may the Conqueror carve thy path.”

Taccilas nodded, shortly having stepped his last on the white vessel, as he climbed he heard another explosion behind him. Their frequency was increasing, more and more could be heard with each passing minute.

“I won’t leave you! Please, Rodrir, Hareh, Makki! Let me stay with you! Don’t do this to me!” The princess wailed on the deck. “Ilia, Mariam, Ignati! Don’t leave me!”

“Izuchi, let’s go inside!” Taccilas said the moment his two feet were on the deck.

“No! Y-You! Leave me! I need to go back!”

Now that Taccilas was up close, she could see the state Izuchi was in much more clearly.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, her hands and legs were violently shaking, and her face was flushed red.

The wind picked up her wails and threw them across the entire battlefield, sailors on the opposing vessels hearing them over the cacophony of the battlefield.

She’s a mess.

From the corner of his eye, amongst Izuchi’s sorrowful cries, he could see a girl of snow-white hairs strolling down the deck. A cute, little, purple rose decorating her visage.

“Why did you accept their offer?! Why did you take me! Let me go back! Let me go back-”

And then a low thud echoed across the battlefield.

Wood creaked.

Windows shook.

Fire itself trembled.

For just an instant, Taccilas thought that the ammunition storage on Azukima had detonated.

However, this assumption turned out to be false.

Before him was Mitali, and the passed out Izuchi.

It had been a single, insignificant flick of her fingers.

“‘Tis quite loud, this one.” Mitali said, her tone exasperated. The shockwave from the strike had nearly caused her rose hairpin to fall, thus she took a moment to fix it.

“D-Did you kill her…?”

“I did not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive indeed.”

“Should we, maybe, put her to bed?”

“Perhaps.”

“Well… I’ll do that, you should get us out of here.” Then, Taccilas, with all the grace he could muster, grabbed the downed Izuchi by the collar and dragged her body across the deck. The chambers were his destination.

“What about the other sailors?” Mitali’s gaze was then drawn towards the burning white vessel.

“...They will cover us.”

“I see, I see, even though I can carry so many of them… They have made their choice…”

At that, Taccilas did little more than nod.

Mitali put her hands together as if in prayer and closed her eyes.

The clamor and hustle of warfare seemed to grow quiet around her.

But the waves clattered her hull, fire ravaged the ship before her, and the wind whipped her like it always had-

“Peace be upon the sons of Gold”

"May the Gift grant thee wisdom."

“Soulful and benevolent will be thy journey.”

“For eternal rest awaits in the Ocean’s embrace.”

-And then she ran back inside.

As she sprinted back to her bridge, Mitali made herself move. Her hull creaked as it distanced itself from Azukima and prepared to turn and escape at full speed, her body wasn’t exactly in the best state, but she had been through worse, she knew how to handle herself in this situation.

And she could feel it, something had changed aboard the formerly white vessel.

The moment she arrived at her bridge and the windows allowed her to see outside, she noticed.

Somehow, that vessel had refloated itself, just in the slightest, but it had been a real change. Not only that, but there were less fires burning across her superstructure too.

‘Tis wonderful. Such transformation in such scarce time.

Holes still covered the ship, her conversion from white to gray said enough about her state, but maybe now she would be able to put up a fight. A real fight.

As Mitali swung by Azukima’s starboard side, she saw a number of turrets that had swung towards the enemies before Mitali, those who were expending sweat, blood, and tears to close off any possible escape she might’ve had.

And by extension, any chance that the princess might go back home.

Furthermore, there were men on deck operating a variety of small arms to shoot back at the enemy that had injured Azukima so greatly.

Questions had to be made about the effect such weapons would have, but they would be best left unanswered.

For every contribution, even if as small as a spec of sand, could be the difference between their survival or death.

It seemed like one way or another, the white vessel had come back to life.

There was strength yet within her.