It was nighttime, and the ship slowly and peacefully sailed the dark ocean. The lamps on the ship lit up its surroundings, driving off the heavy and endless darkness. The dark clouds covering the moon only made it harder to see what was at the distance. Overall, there was no problem whatsoever, and everyone on the ship could sleep safely and soundly.

However, they couldn’t, for there was another problem they were concerned about. At least, it was a problem for a lot of them. While the others seemed to be undecided about how to take the situation. That was what the poet had observed. He had been studying their actions ever since the white lady, or should he say the princess, gave her announcement.

A way to sway a group of people was to first study them. Speaking in complete ignorance would be his undoing, and you would look like a fool. Furthermore, having something to know about the people you intend to sway would help you in figuring out the right steps to take. That said, this was not rousing a crowd, which would have been easier. This was to ease them into going along with something that could be dangerous. With many of the people here were victims of abuse, and most of all, normal people, who were easily scared.

And the poet had to admit it would prove quite a challenge. That said, if the intention was to merely calm them, and make them look on the bright side, to prevent them from doing something stupid, he could definitely do something about it. He couldn’t remove their desire to go home, but only give them a degree of assurance. And with that assurance, it would give them patience.

Besides, we wouldn’t want them to be constantly depressed.

His primary goal to bring them ease was so they wouldn’t be constantly sad and tense.

Those were what he noticed in them. And he wanted to alleviate that, even for just a little. Velar was the most trusted among them, but he wasn’t too confident about settling everyone’s grievances. The poet was the second option, he had been acting kindly to everyone, and he was one who also contributed a lot during the revolt, so the people here had plenty of trust in him.

At the moment, the former captives were below deck — except for the two on the helm — and they have been gathered to talk. They crowded the room. There were more women than men, as one might expect. They were more in demand, aside from the men that would be mainly used for manual labor.

As the people gathered, some sitting down while the others remained standing, the poet stood beside Velar. The lamp flames flickered as they began their discussion.

Velar cleared his throat. “Good evening, everyone. I hope you had a good day.”

The poet frowned a little at hearing that. It was a strange and awkward thing to say.

They definitely didn’t have a good day…

“I gathered everyone here to discuss the circumstances we are currently in.”

“You mean the part where we’re going in the opposite direction of the continent?” a woman asked.

Velar nodded. “Yes.”

“So, are we not going to do anything about it?” a man asked, too.

“Well, um…” He didn’t know how to answer properly.

“So?” Everyone was waiting for him to continue.

Velar paused for a moment and glanced at the poet. The latter raised his hand and placed a hand on Velar’s shoulder before stepping forward.

“Hello, everyone,” the poet said with a wide and friendly smile. “Before we get to that, let me ask first what your feelings are about this decision. Let out what you want to say.”

Everyone looked at each other. From the looks of it, they were hesitant to speak. Could it be because they were afraid of the consequences?

“Come on, feel free to express your thoughts.” The poet approached one of the women who was sitting down on a wooden box. She had a sad look on her face, and she didn’t seem to have gotten a decent amount of sleep. She was also young and attractive, around her mid-teens. The poet stepped in front of her and lowered himself to eye level with a relaxing smile. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

Fear lurked above their heads, fearing to misspoke. The poet wanted to reduce that fear by giving them the freedom to speak their minds. That should reduce the tension, and give them the assurance that they didn’t have to worry about repercussions. If that princess was truly kind, then they would have nothing to worry about. He didn’t really know her, but that was what he was hoping.

The young woman glanced at the people surrounding her before gathering the courage to speak. “... We shouldn’t do this… It, it is dangerous.”

“Is that all?”

“… I just want to go back home… They suddenly grabbed me while I was walking on the road… My parents must be so worried. I want to see them…”

The poet nodded with a comforting smile and stepped back. “Anyone else want to speak their mind?”

“We shouldn’t get dragged into this,” said another woman. “Whatever this is, it’s got nothing to do with us.”

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The poet smiled and nodded again. He peered around, waiting for another to join in.

“This is stupid,” a man said. “It’s dangerous where we’re going. We could die.”

“We should do something about this,” said another.

“We should convince her to turn back.”

“That’s right.”

“Just let us go back home!”

“Haven’t we suffered enough already?!”

The poet then turned towards a few who had not attempted to speak at all. “What about you guys? Have nothing to say?”

They looked at each other until a young man spoke out. “... It’s just… We don’t know what we think.”

“We were sold,” added a young woman. “It’s not like we have anywhere to go back to.”

“I hate my family for what they did to me,” said another young woman. “All for coins… I don’t even want to see their faces again.”

“What are we even going to do when we get back?” a young man sighed.

“My parents knew I would be sold as a sex slave…” The young woman in her late teens lowered her head. “They just didn’t care as long as they got the money… They have never liked me to begin with. I was merely an accident.”

“As for me… it’s the same. I don’t know what I would do if I get back,” said another girl in her mid-teens. “Still, I’m worried about where we’re going.”

“I don’t really mind,” said a man in his early twenties. “My family practically hates me, so… I don’t mind getting dragged wherever. Well, as long as I don’t die.”

This bunch were persons that weren’t being searched by anyone. Back on the continent were homes that drove them away. No one cared about them. Considering that this could just be recent, they had no clear direction of where they were going in life just yet. Some would just get dragged along wherever the tide would bring them.

On the other hand, there were those that were kidnapped. Their family could still be looking for them, concerned about their wellbeing. They had a place to go back to. These were the ones that they had to particularly give assurance to. They were the ones that were likely to cause trouble. The ones that would feel distressed and frustrated the most.

“What about us, huh?” a woman in her mid-twenties suddenly chimed in. “You think we’ll just be fine getting dragged away further from our homes?”

No one had an answer to that.

“We can’t just do nothing about this.”

The poet clapped his hands one time before the tension rose and everyone turned towards him. “Wonderful. We got to hear everyone’s thoughts. I know that we are all afraid. And yes, wherever we’re heading could be dangerous. And for some of us, becoming farther away from home is a terrifying thing. We have suffered enough. We deserve rest.”

He looked at everyone’s eyes, moving his hands around subtly as he spoke with eloquence.

“And I realize that there is no way I can convince a lot of you to completely go along with what our lady of white is planning. But let me tell you the truth…” he paused for a moment. “There is nothing we can do.”

The people glanced at each other with a concerned expression.

“We have seen what she can do, right?” the poet continued. “She is a being we cannot hope to overcome. Resist? We’ll lose.” Everyone fell completely silent. “This is an absolute truth that we have to face. However, there is also another absolute truth we have to remember.”

He paused again and formed a wide smile.

“Like us, she was also a captive. She, too, would like to go back home. But it would seem she has something she must do. And I noticed how much she wanted to return home, but had made the resolve to do what was necessary. She is not too different from us. And most of all, she is our savior.”

Those that lowered their heads raised them to look at the poet.

“She saved us from the abyss. From the abuse. From our fate, where we are certain to suffer more than we could imagine.” He glanced at the women as he said those words. “She opened the cages, and gave us the chance of freedom. She aided us in removing our captors. She’s the reason we’re still alive, and why we’re saved from a grim fate. And she fought to near death for this. Didn’t you see?”

They did see how she looked.

“Don’t we owe her? Shouldn’t we repay her? She didn’t ask for us to fight. To sacrifice our lives. She only wanted to reach somewhere that she should. She didn’t ask a lot from us. It would only take longer for us to go back home, but eventually, we will go back home.”

The way he spoke was both soft and smooth, a delivery so refined, excellent, and persuasive. So full of emotions and sincerity that he resonated with the crowd.

“True that it is dangerous, but have we forgotten how much power she has? Her magic lights and cracks the sky. Where the ocean completely freezes at the wave of her hand. There’s nowhere else safer than to be with her. Not only that, is it not interesting to see new places? To see and experience something new? To go on a journey. Where we might discover a new direction for us to take.” He looked at the people that had nowhere to go back to.

He paused for a moment and let the crowd process his words.

“We only have to have patience and courage.”

The crowd looked at each other again, with some murmuring quietly.

The poet waited for a moment before speaking again. “What do you say?”

There was a long moment of silence before one of those who wanted to go home spoke out.

“... Very well… We’ll be patient and wait.”

“And you’re right… we owe our freedom to her.”

No one seemed to disagree.

The poet nodded energetically. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Inside, the poet was feeling so relieved that his words worked. He was a bit worried that he would fail, but good thing he didn’t. He wanted to jump around and drink alcohol as a celebration, but he restrained the urge to do so.

Once the meeting was done, the poet noticed that the people seemed to be in a lighter mood, unlike compared to before. And he was satisfied with that. As everyone moved out to begin sleeping for the night, the poet returned to the top, where Velar met up with him.

“Nicely done,” the soldier said.

“Heh, I’m pretty good. Better pay me back.”

“Really?” Velar furrowed his brows.

“I’m kidding.”

“Huh… We saw a lute below, maybe that was yours?”

The poet’s eyes widened. “My lute! They brought it with them?! Whew… I was worried I won’t get to see it again. We go way back.”

Velar grinned. “Then I’ve paid you with finding your beloved instrument.”

The poet playfully shrugged. “Fine, fine…” He glanced at the captain’s quarters. “I did a pretty good job, right? You think she would acknowledge that?”

“Are you trying to gain favors?”

“I just want to look good in her eyes.”

“... Hm. I’ll mention you to her.”

“Awesome! I’m looking forward to actually talking to her.”

***

Meanwhile, the princess was sitting down at the corner of her bed. This time, she had no tears, for she was trying to repress them. She didn’t want to cry. It was unbecoming, sort of say. In addition, she wanted to sleep, but it was a bit hard. Her body was still aching, just a little.

And suddenly, she started coughing. It was a terrible cough. She placed her hand on her mouth.

And after a few rounds of coughs, she began breathing rapidly. It felt like she was being choked. And then she looked at her palm. A concerned expression formed on her face.

She had already used healing magic. However, it would seem it wasn’t enough to fully heal her, aside from the achings.

On her palm was blood that she coughed out.

She took a shaking deep breath as she closed her trembling hand.