There’s no feeling more hollow than walking away from a battle where you lost an important comrade. But getting used to that sting is what separates the best pirates from the rabble.

-Quoted from Castell Saltbeard

Rose suddenly felt her stomach drop. Nothing had changed—her and Felix were still being dragged through the ocean by Yasmin, the woman refusing to stop for even a second.

Despite that, she knew what had happened. Felt it deep inside.

Trent had died. The captain who’d introduced her to the world of piracy was no more. There was no other explanation for the sudden feeling of emptiness that consumed her.

She cried but the tears were washed away by the rushing currents. She didn’t know what she was going to do now.

***

Yasmin had brought them back to Zoria. In the dead of night they emerged from the ocean in a cloud of ink and made their way to her gallery.

True to his word, the governor hadn’t touched a single plank. It remained exactly as it had the day they’d left.

“You two head upstairs and get some clean clothes on. Rose, take one of my dresses. Felix… there should be some men’s stuff buried somewhere. You can adjust the temperature of the bath with the knobs,” Yasmin told them as soon as they stepped inside.

It was chilly, but that was to be expected when no one had been inside for a week or so. Rose ran a hand along the wooden bannisters as she walked up the stairs, tracing a line in the dust.

She could barely summon the energy to run the bath and wash herself, but she did it anyway. Scrubbing herself clean of all the crap the world had thrown at her over the last few weeks felt refreshing.

Flicking through Yasmin’s wardrobe she grabbed the first dress that seemed soft enough to sleep in and threw it over her head before collapsing into the pile of blankets and pillows. She was out before she landed.

***

They sat around the dining table, no one uttering a word. Yasmin had prepared a plate of buttery scrambled eggs, a tomato salad, and fresh toasted bread.

Rose ate slowly, taking methodical bites. She lamented the fact she couldn’t appreciate such a delicious meal, but her heart wasn’t in it.

Half way through she stood up from the table, her plate barely touched. “I’m full. Thanks for the meal, Yasmin. I’ll be upstairs,” she mumbled before trudging to the bedroom.

Once there, she sat beside the big circular window, gazing out across Clissolt. The sun was shining in the clear blue sky and dozens of people, small as ants from her perspective, scurried about their daily business.

She wondered how many of them had suffered a loss like hers and kept going. She wasn’t sure she could bring herself to set sail once more.

It wasn’t that she’d given up on her goal. Far from it. She was still adamant about becoming a pirate legend.

But she wasn’t sure she could stomach losing more friends. Felix had made it out this time, but what if she’d been a moment too late to save him?

What if Sylack hadn’t listened to her prayers?

As things stood, she knew she was too weak. If she wanted to sail deeper into the world, chasing grander oceans and deadlier foes, she would need to get far stronger.

There was only one way to do that. And even though she knew they would protest, Rose knew she had to do it alone.

Something hard smacked into the glass before dropping from view. A single white feather with grey edges floated in the air, gently swishing to the ground.

She heard the muffled flap of wings and then saw a familiar seagull angrily huffing its way back up to the window. A smile crossed her face for the first time since they’d arrived.

“Silly bird,” she chuckled. “You should watch where you’re flying.”

Reaching up to the top of the window, Rose undid the latch and swung it open, letting the elderly seagull wearing a green scarf inside. It squawked at her and she giggled, shutting the window behind it.

It stood there on the wooden floor, preening its greying feathers. After a minute of grooming it finally reached inside its little leather satchel and pulled out a sealed letter with its beak.

Then it dropped it on the floor in front of Rose, squawked once and tilted its head to one side. She went to grab the letter but when she ignored the seagull it rushed forward and pecked her hand.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

She yelped and dropped the letter. “What did you do that for, damn bird?” Rose cried, staring daggers at the seagull.

The bird squawked and tilted its head once more, staring into her soul without moving. She went to grab the letter once more and it stepped forward, placing a claw on the envelope.

“Are you here to deliver my letter or not?!” she exclaimed, growing exasperated with the bird’s antics.

It nodded its head, extending its neck so that it was right under her hand. She realised what it wanted from her and sighed.

“Damn greedy bird. Do you do this to all your customers or is it just me?” she chuckled, reaching out and stroking the seagull’s smooth feathers.

They were far softer than they looked given the greying and mottled edges, and it cooed as she ran her fingers down its head. After a few strokes it took a step backwards and walked towards the window.

She opened it up and let the bird fly away, waving goodbye to its retreating form. Once it had disappeared from view she sat back down after closing the window and picked up the letter.

The letter that had to be from her parents.

It took her a few minutes to muster up the courage to unseal the envelope, but eventually she did, pulling the neatly folded paper from inside. On the front her name was written in her mother’s neatly printed handwriting.

Rose Everblue

Taking a deep breath, she unfolded the letter, laughing at the hodgepodge medley of beautiful calligraphy her mother had written and her father’s chicken scratches.

To our wonderful, infuriating daughter,

Your father and I miss you dearly. It took a long time for us to get over you running away, but in the end we realised you’d never lied to us about what you wanted from life. It’s just difficult for a parent to accept that the child they’ve raised wants a dangerous life of adventure and battle. Then again, that fateful day had been ordained since the day you were conceived. One cannot fight fate.

YOU BETTER NOT BE ROBBING INNOCENT FOLK, DAMN BRAT!

Forgive your father for his awful writing. Feel free to ignore most of it as it’s just incoherent rambling. He means well, but you leaving hit him the hardest. He’d raised you to follow in his footsteps for fifteen years and despite your childish ambitions I’m not sure he ever truly accepted reality.

Anyway, I’m prattling on. It was wonderful to hear from you and know that you are not only alive but thriving. I find it difficult to believe you’ve acquired so many skills and traits, but you have no reason to lie. I would love to see you again, but I understand that might not be possible. Just remember there will always be a home for you here.

…

The letter went on for another page or so, half filled with her father lecturing her about running away and making sure she wasn’t hurting ‘innocent merchants’ and ‘hard-working sailors’ and the rest her mother being a little cryptic.

What did she mean by fighting fate? She’d made it sound as though this wasn’t a choice made of her own volition. Rose wasn’t sure what she was going to do now.

She hesitated, tapping at the empty air, before opening her status. It had been a while since she last looked.

Name: Rose Everblue

Blessings: Minor Blessing [Sylack]

Race: Human

Occupation: Apprentice Scholar 22

Title: Quintessential Skill

Available Titles: Slaughterer, Apprentice, Quintessential Skill, Ambitious Harvester, Godtouched, Traitor

Bound Items: Sunsplitter 51, Divine Serpent’s Lure ★27

Skills:

[General]: Cleaning 12, Fishing 26, Butchery 10, Cooking 8, Herding 2, Crafting 12, Sailing 15, Field Medicine 1

[Cerebral]: Reading 12, Writing 16, Focus 17, Drawing 20, Appraisal 3

[Physical]: Swimming 10, Endurance 11, Athletics 11, Toxin Resistance 2, Climbing 5, Stealth 8

[Martial]: One Handed Weapons 9, Blades 18, Pistols 11, Firearms 5, Unarmed Combat 2, Dual Wielding 13

[Arcane]: Arcane Attunement 14, Light Attunement 8, Arcane Resistance 4, Water Attunement 7

[Divine]: Divine Attunement 4

Traits: Sensitive Line, Deft Hand, Good as New, Tunnel Vision, Endless Inkwell, Quick Consumption, Knot my Problem, Reliable Duelist, Steady Slash, Smooth Strokes, Agile, With the Grain, Ambidextrous, Thick Skin, Energetic, Inventor, Seductive Lure

All it took to earn it was the loss of two great men. Even though she still felt abysmal, Rose knew there was nothing to be gained by wallowing in misery in Yasmin’s attic.

It was time to move on.

When she went downstairs for lunch, there was a huge banquet laid out on the dining table. “What’s all this?” she asked.

“You’re leaving. I felt like we should have one last meal to celebrate our time together,” Yasmin replied.

“What? How did you know, I haven’t said anything yet…”

“It was obvious, dear. You know me, I’m a witch. We know things,” she said, tapping the side of her nose.

Rose rolled her eyes and sat down at the table, letting the mixed aromas of roasted meats, vegetables, and the myriad of side dishes wash over her.

Felix had an expression like a kicked puppy as he looked across the table at her, but dug into the food with gusto all the same. She took a little sample of each dish, taking slow bites.

Her appetite hadn’t really returned but the food was delicious, cooked with love by Yasmin. She didn’t want to let it go to waste.

“Where will you go?” Felix eventually asked, chewing on a mouthful of chicken.

“I think it’s time I visited home. There’s too many questions I need to find the answers to and something tells me I should start there.”