Marquess Janet A'nnet Sparrow, the Grand Admiral of the Royal Fleet of Arcadia, Lady of Avalon was naked. Technically, she was wearing a lavishly decorated dress and an elegant round hat but she felt naked. For the first time since she was recruited to serve Lord Theon Avalon, Janet wasn't wearing her uniform. She wasn't aware how much the navy blue, white, and gold uniform had become an integral part of her identity. Without it and all the formidable protection it provided, she felt extremely vulnerable. What's more, she was kicked off her ship...
•••
She didn't suspect a thing when they arrived back in Avalon after Emperor Darius’ funeral. She cheerfully prepared her favourite tea and read reports while she enjoyed her morning when she was unexpectedly summoned by the Emperor. Theon Avalon waited for her in Triskelion, in his office, with Empress Aoi at his side. At the time, Janet should have paid closer attention to the worried gaze her friend held. However, she was oblivious to the terrible conspiracy plotted by the man she trusted most in the entire world.
"I want to congratulate you for your exemplary service, Janet!" The Emperor grinned as he motioned toward the empty chairs. "We should think about medals and orders, Aoi. I'm sure that Janet deserves most of them already."
"Certainly, Theon." Aoi chuckled and covered her lips.
"I'm doing my best to serve you, my Lord and my Country." Janet smiled back and, most probably, when she fell into his trap.
"The First Fleet has been serving me tirelessly for the last half a year. You all achieved miraculous victories and protected Arcadia on several occasions. Finally, to show my satisfaction with everyone’s performance, I can send you all for a long overdue vacation!" Theon Avalon smiled with his indecently charming smile.
"Vacation?" Her eyes went wide in panic.
"Of course! Everyone serving in the First Fleet will take, at least, two weeks off." The Emperor nodded but, seeing her panicked expression, he heavily sighed. "That's an order, Janet. And yes, you are going on a vacation as well."
"But, my Lord! New ships are going to be ready in just a couple of days and there is..."
"Janet." He stopped her and shook his head. "I know that the Navy is your life but you have to rest. If you don't then you might snap at the worst possible moment."
"Your people have a high morale but we can't bind everyone to ships, Janet." The Empress smiled while Janet cast a betrayed gaze at her.
"I know, Aoi..." Janet, paused, realising, a bit too late, she allowed herself to be casual with the Empress in the presence of the Emperor. "I'm so sorry, my Lady, my Lord."
"Don't worry. I told you that you can skip the titles when we are alone." The Emperor smiled and waved off her apology. "The fact you have never called me by my name, so far, and, only now, your tongue slips, proves our point, Janet. Even you are tired."
"But...!" She panicked. In fact, she had no idea what to do with her free time.
"Janet, your ships have seen more action than all ships serving Arcadia." Theon firmly said. "The First Fleet is grounded until all its ships complete their upgrades and pass an inspection. I want them checked for any signs of wear and tear, weapon systems inspected, and, maybe most importantly, the reactor’s operational status. The First Fleet won't be going anywhere until an inspection team gives them the green light."
"But the First Fleet is our only mobile force!" She tried to protest.
"Janet, enlighten me, who is going to threaten us when our borders are in range of our missiles and we have four Legions ready to deploy?"
"Ummm..." She couldn't honestly argue with his point so she just sighed sadly. "As you wish, Your Highness."
"It's just two weeks, Janet." Aoi tried to comfort her. "You can always visit Pyonta!"
"Well... That's actually a good idea." Janet faintly smiled.
"I'm sure she would be delighted." Theon nodded with a smile. "It seemed you two became close friends during her wedding."
•••
So there she was... Sitting in the guest cabin in HMS Victory, her former flagship, watching the sights beyond the window. She was alone with her thoughts and one of them was quite unfair: Victory was less magnificent than she remembered. It seemed so long ago when she was given command of this ship and, back then, it was the most magnificent ship she had ever seen. There was still some beauty in the wooden decks and rows of cannons and, certainly, HMS Victory looked impressive when she was docked or lazily floated under full sails. Compared to Dauntless, however, this ship of the line was so small. The dark and suffocating interior of the ship offered little, to no, facilities for its sailors and marines. It might have been just the lack of her uniform but Janet could swear that Victory was a bit cooler inside than she remembered. With a sigh, she patted the frame of the ship that killed half the Bernan Navy on its own.
"It's not your fault Victory..." She smiled apologetically. "You are a fine lady."
Nothing replied to her but she almost felt a sad ping in the back of her head. As if Victory wanted to reply to her former captain.
"But don't worry. Theon will never let anyone destroy you. Even if you cannot go to war anymore, he will preserve you." Janet smiled knowingly as she stood and left the room.
She found the Captain on the deck near the helmsman. Rear Admiral Thomas Fraser was a veteran who had served alongside her from the very beginning. She was a little surprised when she learnt that he was her personal escort to Tuvarin but she knew better than questioning the commanding officer. It was also clear that he and Elisabeth wanted to treat her with great respect which was something pleasant.
"Admiral Thomas?" She asked as she moved closer.
"Lady Admiral!" He smiled. "How are you finding the trip on board your old ship?"
"Quite pleasant." She smiled with a nod. "However, she is far smaller than I remember her..."
She patted the familiar wooden railing with affection.
"Well compared to your monster..." He laughed.
"True..." She smiled.
"How may I help you, my Lady?"
"I was wondering, how are you faring lately? It's just a simple question between friends."
He leaned over the railing and looked into the distance with a sigh. He looked tired and had far more silver hairs on his head than she remembered.
"Well... It has been worse, that's for sure." He said with an uncertain tone. "But it's far from perfect either. Don't get me wrong! The Navy is treating me well and I'm happy to serve the Empire but we are not sleeping well."
She followed his gaze and shortly nodded. "The Ancient Forest."
"The Ancient Forest." He nodded. "It was a close call the first time and we have been on edge since then. We have Eagles and Shadow Demons patrolling the border but it would be much better to finally get new ships. But I know that the Second Fleet is not a priority..."
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"We are short on materials, Thomas, and there is never enough time." She felt tired as well.
"I know..." He shrugged, resigned. "The fact that we still have to put down Bernan insurgencies is extremely frustrating. On one hand, we have Vestargo; on the other, we have idiots who believe they can declare independence. I am slowly starting to believe that Count Terion was correct..."
"Oh?" She looked at her friend with curiosity because she couldn't recall what Thomas was referring to.
"He revoked everyone’s citizenship of all men and introduced martial law. To regain citizenship, they had to prove their loyalty to the Empire and make an oath of fealty. Anyone caught practising forbidden Bernan customs or worshipping the Jukk'nala or Hur'zhun are immediately hung. It's harsh but it seems to be working. There was not a single uprising in his county."
"I can't say I'm sorry for them..." Janet lowered her gaze. "They should understand how lucky they were that the full extent of their crimes was hard to prove..."
"It actually wasn't..." He shook his head. "We could have sent over ten thousand people straight to Tartarus. Today. Right now."
"What are you talking about, Thomas..." She looked at him in shock.
"That's why I know why we won't see any new ships for a while, Janet." Fraser sadly shook his head. "Even Queen Elisabeth hesitated from further investigations. The number of guilty could quickly climb and spiral out of control. We were afraid that we would sentence close to ninety percent of Bernan males to death. We failed the Emperor, Janet... We betrayed Arcadia."
Fraser allowed a quiet tear to fall while she had no idea what to tell him. As far as she understood, the Emperor... No. There was a basic error in his thinking. She stretched her mind, trying to recall something, anything useful for this situation until one particular memory resurfaced. She patted his shoulder and felt him slightly recoil under her touch.
"I know that you must arrest me but I can't lie to you anymore-"
"He doesn't care." She interrupted him.
"What do you mean?" Fraser looked at her suspiciously.
"The Emperor gave Elisabeth a free hand to deal with Bernans as she pleased. Thomas, my old friend... Between you and me, do you really think that you could keep something like that a secret? If you managed to piece together the pieces then, I'm sure, he was aware of everything when Dolren was alive." She chuckled.
He looked at her in abject horror for a long moment before he fell to his knees with nervous laughter. She just stood there, unsure how to proceed for the first time in a long time. "Gods damn it... We were so dumb. I'm sorry, Janet... I-"
"Thomas..." She gave him a concerned look when she finally made a decision. "What made you think that you shouldn't tell me, or the Emperor, about it earlier?"
"I... I don't know, Janet." He slowly stood up and rubbed his neck. "I really don't know..."
"When we reach Tuvarin, you will return to Everlight and talk some sense into Liz and Raphael. I noticed how nervous they were but I blamed it on my unannounced appearance. But you are all on the edge... All this time. Gods..." Janet shook her head. "You were afraid as if the Emperor would kill you for a mistake. Of all people, you should know better, Thomas."
"I'm really sorry! I-"
"No! Stop this bullshit!" Janet cut him off crisply. "You are an officer of the Royal Navy of Arcadia, Rear Admiral Thomas Fraser! Start fucking acting like one!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" He took a deep breath. "I'll put myself together!"
"Excellent..." She sighed and shook her head in amusement. "Oh, silly me, I thought that a vacation was a waste of time."
"God damn it, Ma'am..." Fraser sighed. "I ruined your free time."
"I would say it's more interesting now." She shrugged and relooked at one cloud specifically. "Do you know that you are being followed, Thomas? Has your unusual brooding made you sloppy on top of being annoying?"
"Oh shit..." He looked around and quickly focused on the same cloud. As if waiting for both of their attention, it started flying right at them, against the wind. "That's an airship... FIRST! Get your ass up here!
An officer ran towards Fraser with a surprise painted on his face. "Sir?!"
"Do we have any friendly ships in the vicinity?"
"Four, sir!" The officer immediately replied. "All of them positively verified themselves, sir!"
"Who is the closest one?"
"Ummm... I think it's Queen Anne's Revenge conducting the camouflage drill, Sir!" He replied with the expression of a man who had no idea what was going on.
Janet started laughing upon hearing the report and Fraser sighed heavily when something heavy landed right behind him.
"Haha! I have won, Admiral Fraser!" Blackbeard laughed, quickly moving to put his arm behind Thomas' and grabbing his shoulder. He playfully winked at Janet as he let go of the Rear Admiral and, extremely politely, bowed in front of her. "Lady Admiral! It's a pleasure to see you today and, if I may say, you look stunning."
"You may say that, Captain Teach." She smiled at the huge pirate. "So you two are playing hide and sneak in the clouds..."
"And I shamelessly beat him." Blackbeard grinned even wider.
"You only won once." Fraser crossed his arms with pride.
"Well... Yes. But today was the most important day to win, Fraser." Blackbeard laughed and approached Janet. Queen Anne's Revenge had already managed to ‘turn about’ and, Janet noticed, they dropped a rope that was dangling freely from the frigate. "Go tell the Queen that my ship will be chauffeuring the Lady Admiral from now on! This will be my prize!"
Janet burst into laughter as Blackbeard grabbed the rope and scooped her up. They were carried away while, the still protesting, Fraser was shouting something at their backs. She held Edward tighter as she wasn't sure she wanted to test Olivia's falling absorber today.
"So, you have kidnapped me, you cruel and bloody pirate! Oh poor me, what do I do now?" She tried to play a damsel in distress but it came out extremely unconvincing, making him burst into laughter.
"Haha! You are now in my power, fair maiden!" He played along with a playful gleam in his eyes.
She smiled to herself at the absurdity of what happened. He firmly but, amusingly politely, held her by her waist. Soon, they were pulled onto deck and he very reluctantly let her go. His crew was standing at attention, wearing black and blue uniforms, and trying to remain serious.
"I'll be damned, Sir! You really did it..." The Quartermaster almost chuckled and perfectly saluted. "Welcome aboard, Lady Admiral!"
"At ease, Quartermaster." She smiled. "As you can see, I'm on vacation now."
"Aye, Ma'am! It just so happens that our Captain decided to take some free time as well, Ma'am! That's why the burden of command has fallen on my old shoulders!" Jim grinned.
"Wait..." She looked questioningly at Blackbeard who removed his signature attire with an unexpected theatrical gesture.
Upon seeing what he was wearing, she started laughing so hard she almost bent in half. The black, leather trench coat was gone, as well as his white shirt and black leather pants. He was wearing what could be only described as beach shorts and a shirt with flowery prints on it. He even had dark sunglasses and she couldn't decide if it was to complete the look or if it was a poor attempt at masking his identity.
"You still owe me dinner, Lady Janet!" He grinned as his privateers returned to their duties.
He led her toward a lavishly set up table with one of his men wearing a butler suit standing nearby. The table was set with a precious porcelain tea set and large platters full of various snacks and pastries. He pulled out a comfortable looking chair and offered it to her with a happy smile.
"You are impossible, Edward Teach..." She chuckled again as she took her chair and smiled warmly at him. "So it seems that I'm at your mercy today."
•••
HMS Victory and Queen Anne's Revenge reached Tuvarin a few hours later. To her surprise, the lighthearted subjects picked by the, otherwise, menacing Pirate cheered her up after the heavy talk with Thomas. The pirate crew worked flawlessly during the trip and they behaved extremely politely towards her.
"Janet?" Pyonta looked in confusion as she disembarked Queen Anne's instead of Victory and eyed Blackbeard, who was standing next to the Elf, with a big grin. "What happened?"
"Oh, I was just kidnapped from under the nose of the Rear Admiral but I'm not sure if that should go into a report. His Highness would certainly chuckle at that..." Janet smiled as she hugged the stupefied Rabbitkin. The Elf then hummed to herself. "Well, he would laugh at first but who knows what he would do next..."
"I fully deserve the consequences..." Admiral Fraser approached them and stopped in front of Blackbeard. "The Navy requests the return of its Admiral, Captain Teach."
"Hmmm... Slim chance, my friend!" Blackbeard laughed and kept a cheerful smile as he continued. "I will be keeping the Admiral company during her visit to Tuvarin so you can consider her some-what returned."
"That's acceptable." Fraser sighed and turned around. "At least allow us to bring in your luggage, Ma'am."
"Allowed, Rear Admiral." Janet smiled warmly. "I really, really started enjoying my vacation."
"If you say so..." Pyonta chuckled and waved towards her husband who had just arrived at the harbour.
"Welcome to Tuvarin, Lady Admiral." He tried to smile but was a little bit nervous. "Unfortunately, I was just informed that the Crystal Forest Dungeon's monsters began rampaging."
Janet smiled brightly and clapped her hands like an excited teenager. "After such a warm welcome, now we have a rampaging Dungeon? My vacation will be epic!"