Eletheria was back in her cabin, everything there was still as she had left it. She looked around at what could be considered a tomb. She wondered how long someone from her family would have had to clear it out. In many ways, it was still a tomb as it represented her life before. She was musing about the changes in herself that she will undertake. While she wasn’t racist nor scared of the G’Aequor, she never went out of her way to interact with them. Now, hopefully, she will have a life-long friend and be able to bridge that gap socially. She was going to take some survival classes, she had never felt more useless than those first few nights. Last of all, she was going to pay more attention and do as she was told; if she had hurried back to her cabin, she would not have fallen off the ship. Acanthio would not have endangered himself for her.

Ele mentally ran through the various things that could have gone wrong. For example, if the other sailor from the enemy ship had caught her instead of Thio, what if Sal or someone else had leapt after her also? What if…? Her chain of thought was broken by someone clearing their throat. A little shocked that someone had come in without her knowing, Ele turned around.

“Ele, will you speak to me now in private?” Sal Erus said after clearing his throat. He must have entered the room with her. Since she never turned around, she had not realized he was there.

“Sal, I am so sorry.” Ele couldn’t think of anything else to say. Suddenly, the feeling of loss that Sal and her family must have felt consumed her. Soon, she was crying against Sal’s chest, muttering how she was so glad he and the ship were okay.

“It is okay…” Sal said gently while brushing her hair. He directed her to sit on the bed while he took a seat across from it. It took a minute before Ele was composed and Sal asked her a question, “What happened?”

The tale fell out of Ele like a river bursting through a dam. She told him everything, including the part of the tale from Thio where he was falling to catch her. She told Sal everything she remembered, even the part where Thio became worried once he found out she was the niece of Ventus Praestes. When she was finally done, she looked at Sal, worried he would think less of her for not being able to survive on her own.

“Did he hurt you or threaten you?” Sal asked in a quiet tone. As Ele started to shake her head no Sal interrupted, “You are safe now and he cannot hurt you anymore.”

“No, no, he did not hurt me. In fact, I think I hurt him, and he still treated me with kindness. Even when he only knew I was a Windmistress, he treated me well.” Ele started to explain further, “He saved my life many times over, some at a risk to his own…”

“Good, good, I just wanted to make sure you were not being coerced,” Sal replied. “Since we got the transmission from Bruno we all have been both happy and worried about you even more.”

Ele turned around and looked at Sal. “I cannot wait until he can meet Papa and Mom. He is smart, brave, and kind.” Ele started rambling about Thio while Sal smiled and nodded his head.

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“You seem to like him.” Sal put a finger to his lips after he said that as if he wished to keep it a secret.

“No, he is still young.” Ele giggled and shook her head. Well, maybe if he isn’t a total idiot when our lives are not on the line. I know Mom wanted me to marry Lex, but he is just so… um… A statue has more personality than Lex.”

“Hey, I am not involved in this. I just know sometimes, after a battle, sailors will sometimes form bonds and think it is something more than what it is,” Sal warned.

“I do not know if anything will happen. Thio does have a little more growing up to do, and, who knows, he may want to be rid of me as soon as he can.” As she spoke the words, Ele felt a weight settle on her shoulders: the idea of Thio not wanting anything to do with her scared her. What would her mother think? Thio would need a few years, would she wait a few years? A deep sigh settled out of her and Sal appeared to understand. He hugged Ele tightly and whispered into her ear.

“Choose wisely because more than just your feelings are on the line.” Sal hugged her again and then stepped out of the cabin. Ele sat on her bed and wept. Coming home was supposed to be nothing but happiness and joy, the weight of doubt and worry pushed all other feelings out of her heart.

A few hours passed before Sal knocked on the door again. “Enter!” Ele shouted at the door, still lying down on her bed. Sal poked his head in and smiled at her.

“We are over the dock and will be landing soon. I sent a message to the family so they will meet us at the dock.” Sal withdrew as soon as he saw a scowl appear on Ele’s face. The door closed as Ele’s mind started racing. Everyone will be there and will be watching her and Thio as they get off the ship she thought. The scowl stayed put as she mentally tried reviewing her options.

Ele caught a glimpse of her hair in the mirror. She stood up and made sure her hair and clothing were presentable. She started to pack her things because she was going to leave the cabin but stopped midway through it. She was distracting herself from the real question and problem at hand. All chains of thought ended with, ‘At some point, Thio will have to go back to working on a ship, and I may not be assigned to that ship. How will our friendship survive?’

It wasn’t a problem she could solve alone and would require work on both of their parts. Since she could not think of a solution to it, she went back to packing up her belongings as the ship docked. She will be land-bound for the next few weeks and there was nothing she could do to change that. Might as well save someone else the trouble of gathering her stuff. One last stop in front of the mirror reminded her the clothing she had received from Martinus she would have to be returned. They were men’s clothing, as there weren’t any Windmistresses stationed there with Bruno and Martinus. The clothing fit comfortably; Ele had found that lady’s clothing was a bit tight around her frame. She tucked in the shirt and put on her best smile as she exited her cabin.

Thio and Sal were already standing on the deck when Ele got there. A few seconds passed before the ship’s shudder passed through it as it landed on the dock. The Tres Clavo ship designs landed on a cradle that held the keel and hull of the ship. The pontoons just hung out in midair to be secured by rope to the docks. Even when docked, since it was a large ship, it maintained at least a Windmaster or mistress to ensure it wasn’t resting all its weight upon the keel.

There, standing at the end of the dock in front of some carriages, was a group of at least fifty people. Ele could see her whole family there plus some others. Lex was there looking very bored with his thin eyebrows slightly raised as if it was any other time he came to see her off or return. There were some friends and cousins in the background and probably some gawkers. Ships like the Vol Mortem didn’t just leave and return the same day too often.

A quick thought about the ship pushed everything else out of her mind. Ele had completely forgotten to find out how well or poorly it had done during the battle. The railing that she had fallen from when it was broken had been replaced. The sails appeared to be whole but it was hard to tell in the dark. She realized she had been so self-absorbed she hadn’t asked about the crew. Ugh, she thought; Sal will probably talk to her later about noting such things. He had advice for everything airship-related and she could just hear him now, “The crew will respond much better if you treat them like the family they are. In the air, we are all part of the same family and need to look out for each other and the ship.”

The gangplank was lowered and set, Sal beckoned Ele forward and followed her with Thio in tow. She had planned on walking elegantly like a lady but once she saw her Papa smile that plan was forgotten. The nights she had worried about ever seeing her family again, even the cousins she didn’t like or Lex, were still fresh in her memory. Hugging her mother and father again became an overwhelming need so she ran towards them as soon as she was on the dock.