"Steady does it! Not too much power! Coals! Lay off! Do something about that rigging!"

"You didn't say it right!"

"DAMN YOU!"

Laughter erupted on the SS Serendipity as the crew prepared for docking. The Engineer had been running up and down from the deck to the boiler, shouting orders, while the Captain just stood aside with amused crinkles on his face. When the crew had finished their ritual of making the engineer consider another line of work, he stepped in, calling out his own orders to make sure everything ran smoothly that morning.

Trosyn was peeking from just below deck, listening to the tramping feet and hubbub. "Ah, there you are, Red." Volente's high voice barely managed to rise above the noise, taking Trosyn a moment to tear herself away.

"I don't want to be underfoot, but I enjoy watching the crew work," Trosyn relayed. Volente pursed his lips and then raised an eyebrow, as if he could not see the appeal of a bunch of burly men playing with ropes and swearing at each other.

Volente leaned in close to Torsyn, causing her to eye him guardedly. He whispered, his breath tickling her ear. "Why don't you join us for breakfast? I've been saving a jar of mixed pickles that should make the hardtack edible." He straightened up, glancing to make sure none of the sailors learned of his forbidden pickles.

"That's kind of you." Torsyn smiled, rubbing the condensation on her ear away. Volente beckoned her with some urgency, as if the pickles which had lasted that long voyage would spoil in the next few moments.

"Ah, so Red is gracing us with her presence," Baldovo said, looking up from beating his hardtack into smaller chunks with some heavy instrument. Seeing this, Volente's eyes bulged.

"Be careful with that!" Volente said, his voice a new pitch as he grabbed it from Boldovo, cradling it like an ailing babe. Unrepentantly, Baldovo just stared Volente in the eyes as he crunched on a fragment of the wheaty brick. The sourer Volente's face grew, the wider Baldovo's grin spread.

"Pickle?" Colto asked, holding up the opened jar.

"You opened them without me?" Volente asked, grabbing the jar. He stared at Colto, aghast that the usually professional man would stoop to such levels. After hazarding a reproachful stare at the much larger man, Volente sighed and held the jar out to Trosyn. "Pickle?"

"You said we could have some before you disappeared," Baldovo reminded Volente. Colto nodded to this and Volente's face drooped.

"Oh yes, I did, didn't I?"

Trosyn's slender fingers reached into the jar of brine, fishing out some sort of fruit or vegetable she was unfamiliar with. It was a putrid green and shaped like a wedge, but round on one edge. The round side had a darker, pitted, rough texture, while the rest seemed to be a collection of sacs in a delicate membrane. She popped it in her mouth, and braced as a very sour flavour flooded her mouth. The three men laughed at her scrunched up face. After she'd chewed it a bit, she began to taste a subtle spice and sweetness which helped mitigate the initial shock of flavour.

The three men passed around the jar, dipping chunks of their hard tack into the jar, using its brine to soften the unpalatable ration.

"Alright, Red, you have until we disembark to finish your story." Baldovo reminded her, once she had a few more briny nibbles. She nodded, taking a drink of water from her own canteen, and then cleared her throat.

When I awoke, it was to the rocking motion of a boat. Benold was beside me, manning a one-person sailboat. This surprised me to no extent. He looked rough, unshaven, tattered, and altogether unkempt. When he saw that I was awake he sighed with relief.

"I was worried you'd never wake up," he muttered.

"Where are we going?" I asked once my disorientation wore off.

"Back to Ayokonia."

"Why?"

"Because the colony has been destroyed." I was shocked by this revelation.

"What happened?" I finally asked. It probably should have been my first question, but I got there eventually.

Benold told me that Sintol had betrayed him. Creena was supposed to be part of some sort of ritual conducted by the Unseelie Eye. They said once it was done, they would impart them with the power to wipe out the Lienog for good. He expressed his remorse at being part of that plan, and he never wanted complete genocide. He just wanted them to see reason and understand that their colony was an opportunity for civilisation and to improve lives!

"Wasn't the trade off with the Unseelie Eye supposed to be immortality?" I asked.

"That was. They had bound some powerful spirit that could grant immortality, but only if it was sacrificed. But it had to have a physical form to be sacrificed."

"They were going to let Creena be possessed, and then kill her?" I asked. Benold winced. I could see the lump in his throat move as he swallowed a few times.

"Creena killed herself before the ritual could be done. The kitchen maid accidentally gave her a knife with her meal. Stupid, stupid girl." Benold pressed his lips in a thin line, and despite the scathing tone of his remarks, the frown and pushed up eyebrows made me really see he felt badly for her.

Benold went on to tell me, I will paraphrase here, that he'd become preoccupied with salvaging what he could from his estate and searching for me, as he didn't know what had become of me. He had no idea that they had somehow faked proof of life and were going to exchange Creena for me. He swore if he had known he would have done something. When he learned that Sintol had brought me back to be used instead of Creena, he did the only sensible thing. He charged into the ritual with guns blazing.

When he interrupted the ritual that was in progress, something was released. He said he thought he saw something over me, like a thin mote of light descending onto my stomach. But it was only a glimpse before he saw it no more. And then there was a force that knocked most of the ritualists back, and he felt something push against him, like a strong wind. All of the candle flames grew brighter, and a shadow extended along the wall behind me. He said it looked like a man with antlers and a cloak. But it was only a silhouette, no such man existed. Then it faded away.

Afterwards the ground shook. He grabbed me and carried me out. Sintol and Vormind both screamed at him - what did he do? He said at that point he didn't care about appeasing them anymore, but he still didn't want harm to come to them. They all worked together to get out safely, but the fort and the buildings were beginning to crumble as the ground continued to shake. And then they witnessed a curious thing. The tide began to rapidly recede. Benold had never seen the likes of it, but he said something, almost like a voice, told him to seek high ground. He didn't question it. He watched as a large portion of the colony was swept away into the ocean.

Once they had recovered from the awe of nature working against them, his comrades all blamed him for the destruction, claiming that he'd let loose the spirit that the Unseelie Eye had been keeping at bay. Unable to bear it, he took me and fled. Luckily, a smaller dock for fishing on another side of the island still had a few small ships. He stole one, and left.

He expressed a deep sense of regret in turning against his old allies, oftentimes sounding as though he were thinking of going back to face them. I kept insisting that he try to stand on his own. And I began to realise, that like myself, he had never really been free either. His controlling parents, the pressures of society as a gentleman, and the familial obligations were just a few. These were compounded by his vices and the debts he owed, including his very life, to Command Ondel Slacht, which bound him to a life he would not have otherwise chosen.

I tried to convince him to, instead, go back to Ayokonia and reveal the plottings of Commander Slacht. Although Commander Slacht fought on the side of the common folk, he never had an interest in equality. None of them did. Only in power and profit. And Benold was no different, I am sad to say.

Out there on that boat, though, he stared out at the sea, his loose curls blown about in the wind, and I saw a level of depth I'd never seen on him. He was far away, transfixed by thoughts. "Ondel, Carm, and my cousin... we'd been through so much together. We never turned on each other, no matter how grim things got," he told me. "But now... why had we fallen apart when we finally had something to hold on to? Land? Power?" I don't think he meant for me to answer. I did anyway.

"Desperation makes strange bedfellows. And once you were no longer desperate, you no longer needed one another." He made no response, focusing on adjusting sails and rudder. So I continued talking. "They never valued you as a person, just what you could provide them with."

"You're wrong. They respected me! They... they... we were all like brothers," Benold insisted.

"Even brothers drift when their values no longer match," I said.

"I've ruined everything. But how? I did everything they wanted me to, other than... other than... saving you."

"That's the trouble. When we give people what they want, rather than what they need, it doesn't end well," I reflected. He stewed on that for a while. Then I asked him a question. "Do you regret saving me? Would you cast me off to get back into their good graces?"

He turned to look at me, eyes aflame. "NO!" He then turned away, offended I would ask him that. We remained in silence for a while.

Wordlessness could not last, not on that small vessel. We had to discuss what we would do. I reminded him that our civil union was gone with the colony; Ayokonia likely would not honour it. I also reminded him that once we reached Ayokonia, he would be obligated to send me for fertility research. It seemed as though there wasn't much of a future left for us. So I told him to let me guide the vessel. We would go off somewhere, just the two of us, and start over. It took some coaxing but he eventually agreed.

I navigated us to the island where I had originally been found by the slavers, enduring his whinging the whole trip about his loss of luxury and riches. When we arrived, it took a while for me to find any sign of the group I'd left behind. Or rather, for them to find us. We were surrounded and it took them a while to recognise me. I was questioned as to how I could reveal their location to a known enemy. I said we were both running away from Ayokonia. Eventually, I convinced them to take us both back to their humble village.

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There we were treated to hospitality, although he was treated with mistrust and disdain. When I proposed we run away together, Benold was under the illusion that meant I would carry on with him as I had. But I felt the need to assert my independence for a change, and we slept in separate huts. He felt as though I was punishing him, and I admit I was.

Several days after we arrived I had a dream, no, a vision. A woman with antlers and long flowing hair came to me. She called me by a name I was unfamiliar with, but I knew it was mine. She conjured an image of herself and a man with bull's horns being pulled apart and broken into pieces like glass. Dark hands kept grasping and gathering them, and using them for their own gain. Then I saw the vision of myself on the altar. Then my body was replaced by that of the horned man, held down with glowing chains and set ablaze. I felt a great sorrow but also a great malevolence. Then the woman reached out and touched the brand on my stomach, and it faded. She looked at me with sadness and longing, but then shook her head. As she did so, flowers grew from her hair and petals fell about her hooven feet. The only words she spoke was "A seed is growing in you."

Then I awoke in a cold sweat. For a couple months I monitored my health and conferred with one of the other women in the refugee village, who had been trained in medicine. We were soon able to determine that I was likely pregnant. This troubled me, as before the colony was destroyed, I had insisted that Benold do the fertility ritual. This was so that I could secure my eventual independence through the next generation. I was unsure if this child was his, or if I had a faerie growing in me. Faeries are partially spirit, partially mortal, and very rare. They used to be more common, but fewer and fewer mortals became suitable vessels.

I had a difficult choice. I sensed such great danger from that dream, but wasn't sure if that was the danger of bearing this child, or finding some way not to. I... attempted to... force the child to abort. But my attempts failed. I made myself unwell, and when Benold realised it was self inflicted he chastised me horribly. I never told him I was in the family way.

Later, I had a dream where the mountain spirit on the island had become angry and exploded, sending liquid fire down on us, wiping everyone out. I was not the only one to receive this vision, and it was declared an omen. Although many in the Loyalist army had gone away from spirit worship, the stragglers that had hidden on this island had to reconnect with nature, and thus form an understanding with the local spirits for survival.

When I learned several had this dream, I could do nothing no longer. I'd spent my life waiting and watching, and it was in shambles. It was time to take action. I originally was going to sneak away without saying goodbye. But leaving Benold among those who did not trust him was too cruel. So in the middle of the night I woke him, and we went somewhere to talk in private.

"I must go," I remember telling him. And seeing the look of relief on his face, he clearly misunderstood my intentions. "Alone." That caused him to boggle.

"Why?" he demanded. "I can't let you go! After everything... you can't go!"

I told him about my dreams and he refused to believe they had any meaning at all. Not even when others shared the dream, since he did not have that dream. I told him that the spirits demanded that I leave. I also told him that he should return to Ayokonia and try to rebuild his life. Better yet, that the colony could be rebuilt in mutual trust with the Lienog, respecting their sacred spaces. He was wary of this idea and told me they would not trust him without my assistance. I told him I was afraid they may not welcome me back after I was used in a ritual by the Unseelie Eye.

We argued long into the night, some of it getting quite heated. I kept repeating that I could not go back to Ayakonia since I was a wildflower, and I could not go back to New Karebryn, the colony, until I was sure it wasn't crawling with members of the Eye. It would be his mission to make a world safe for my return. With this goal in mind, he reluctantly relented. Though I fear if I had not left hastily at that point, he would have reneged.

I got into a fishing boat and set out. I had no destination. I just had a mind to return this thing growing inside of me back to nature. It was clear whatever it was, the mountain spirit did not want it in his domain. A vicious storm flanked me and I thought for sure I would be lost. A great wave rose up beneath my boat, carrying it in a huge swell over some rocks out to the larger sea. Behind me I saw plumes of smoke and mountain fire erupt, filling the gap I had been carried through. I know not if the people I left behind are safe. But there is no going back. Eventually the storm dashed my boat to pieces and I lost consciousness. Next thing I knew, I was on your ship.

At first I was angry. Why was I saved? But then I realised as a technologically advanced people, the power of spirits would weaken. If this thing in me is a spirit, it will fade the further I get away from its domain. Spirits are bound to places, you see. And iron chokes them. My spiritual senses have been vanishing the further we've sailed. And... if this child is not a faerie, if it is Benold's, then I have misinterpreted the spirits' will and made a terrible mistake. But there's no going back, and I will just have to make a new life with this child.

For the first time since Trosyn had begun her tale, her eyes did not just water, but tears rolled down her round cheeks. Volente was quick to offer her one of his spare handkerchiefs, and she quietly thanked him, wiping her eyes. The three men all looked at each other, Even the irreverent Baldovo looks uncomfortable with this latest revelation.

"So you have been trying to kill your child?" Colto was the first to put the question to words. They all watched Trosyn as she continued to dab at her eyes.

"No... merely render it powerless," Trosyn said in a quivering voice. "But if it is a faerie, it will be incomplete and likely won't thrive. I will still do my best for it. But... the spirits used me as a vessel, and then... threw me away." Trorsyn squinted, turning her head away. "I had thought, maybe I would have drifted back to Leichlan, the island where everything happened. But... the spirits had other plans for me it seems. I don't pretend to understand them. I just know that I am here."

The three researchers fell into a stunned silence as the weight of the story could truly be felt. There were still so many questions. But it seemed as though a moment of reverence for the woman's losses and impending struggles were warranted.

It was Baldovo who broke the silence first. "I don't suppose you could show me, where, on a map, the wave pushed you through?"

"Baldovo Danaudi!" Volente squawked indignantly. "Have you no shame?"

"What? It was the reason we listened to her story, isn't it? For information on the Blazing Crescent?" Baldovo countered defensively.

"Has her story taught you nothing? Maybe it is better we stay on this side of the Blaze," Volente said, narrowing his eyes to awkward slits, making his high, slightly concave forehead seem all the more stretched out.

"It was the deal for you listening. Alright, show me your maps," Trosyn said tiredly, handing the handkerchief back to Volente. He held up his hands.

"Keep it," he muttered, still fixing a look of disapproval at Baldovo. He then appealed silently to Colto for support, but Colto remained unreadable and neutral as ever. Instead, Colto began packing up in preparation for landfall.

Baldovo unrolled their map of the Crescent's coast line, indicating where they found her. Trosyn looked at it for a long while, before pointing out her best guess. She paused, thought about it, then tapped it with more confidence. "There is a tiny cove here..."

Baldovo smiled, and grabbed a charcoal stick, marking the location on the map, blowing away excess sediment before rolling it back up. "Pleasure doing business, Red." He then looked down at the rolled paper in his hand before stuffing it back into a leather tube. "And for what it is worth, I do hope you finally find happiness in Lomany, or wherever you end up."

"Same," Colto said, not looking up from gathering up the last few things that hadn't been properly packed and stowed the night before.

Volente watched the others, shaking his head and frowning. But after a pointed look from Colto, he made a small squeak and began scrambling to ready his last few things into his travel trunk. Trosyn didn't have more than the clothes on her back, and thus was left with little to do but ponder on her next move once she had set foot in Floratti.

Once everything was squared away, Volente tilted his head to Trosyn, "How about we get some fresh air?"

"Alright."

The two walked up to the top deck, taking care to not get in the way of the sailors who were ever busy. They found a safe piece of railing to press up against, watching the docks as they came closer and closer, speed and angle closely monitored by the helmsman and captain.

"Trosyn... I... know you've been through a lot. So if there is anything that I can do, let me know," Volente said. Trosyn was quiet as she stared at the dock dotted with workers anticipating their ship's arrival.

"Do you live in Floratti?" Trosyn asked.

"Oh, no. No, I'm from Beste which is a bit further inland. But I'll be staying in Floratti with the others for a few days for last minute touch ups on our report," Volente explained. "Anyway, I don't have much, but it's far more than you have."

"Oh? I thought as a gentleman of education you would be comfortably situated," Trosyn remarked, tilting her head. Volente scratched his neck and stared back at the docks.

"Ah. Yes. Well, Miss Trosyn, as a fourth son, I wasn't given more than my education. I live on very little, and this expedition may make or break me." Volente sniffed, speaking a little stiffly of his circumstances.

"I'm sorry for prying," Trosyn muttered.

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm not..." Volente giggled sheepishly, "If I sounded vexed, it's not with you. After everything you shared, saying that much about myself is hardly a concession." Volente blinked his watery eyes, taking off his specs and rubbing them with the tail of his waist coat.

"As you know I don't have money. Would they hire a woman to work the docks? I gather women often are only employed in education, medicine, and hospitality. At least that is what I gathered from the bits of chatter I've picked up," Trosyn asked. Volente made a small noise in his throat at the question, eyes bulging as he stared at the docks they were approaching.

"Uh... no. No, I don't believe they'd hire a woman to work the docks. And in your condition, it would be hard work," Volente said.

"The work on the ship has been hard, and it hasn't stopped me," Trosyn responded.

"Oh? You were getting tired, I could see you struggling. It might be better for you to maybe look for a job cleaning or nursing. It might be safer too. The docks are crawling with unsavoury types," Volente said, shuddering as he eyed the dots, which were taking the form of people by now, with disdain.

"Maybe you are right. I shouldn't be pushing myself. Especially with the limited food I've had... I do feel worn out," Trosyn said with a frown.

"Ah yes... well.. Trosyn... I know I said earlier that I wasn't going to ask for your hand..." Volente began to say, lacing his fingers together and twiddling his thumb, as if the motion was necessary to keep his words moving and not stick in his throat.

"...Volente... don't," Trosyn said, shaking her head. At this early rejection, Volente's hands flew out in a placating manner.

"Oh goodness, no, I wasn't going to go back on that and make a proposal! Not that sort. But... perhaps... you might permit me to..." his hands were back to fidgeting and his eyes rolled off to the side. "...pay you court?"

Trosyn was silent for a moment or two."I may have an angry faerie growing inside of me," Trosyn reminded him.

"I know. And you've told me so much of your past. But I'm interested to know how your future turns out, too. And if you can find any peace, I'd like to be a part of it," Volente said with a shy smile. "And... you don't seem to have any bad habits that would grate on my fragile nerves."

At this Trosyn laughed, and he joined in with her. "I don't even know where I am going to end up. And I don't want to feel obligated to anyone for a while. I just want the freedom to fail or succeed on my own merits." Trosyn gripped the railing and sighed, hearing some shouting behind her. "If you had actually asked me earlier in the voyage, I would have said yes, just because I'm so afraid of not belonging to someone. I don't know how to make my own decisions. I know how to be defiant, but not to... how do I put it... figure out what my options even are."

Volente tilted his head as he listened to Trosyn's concerns with her impending independence. "Hmmm... I never thought anyone would be afraid of freedom. WE've fought so hard for it in Lomany," Volente remarked, not sure if he could wrap his mind around it. "Aren't you relieved to be free at last?"

"I just feel overwhelmed." Trosyn dipped her chin. "But both Benold and I made a series of mistakes because we could not walk on our own paths." Again, Trosyn's eyes welled up. She brought out the handkerchief, ready for when the tears fell.

"Well then, let me at least help you find lodging and work for as long as I'm in Floratti. No obligation to me, of course, other than maybe write to me when we go our separate ways?" Volente smiled entreatingly.

"I think that sounds fair. I accept," Trosyn said, a full smile, showing all of her teeth. She then went on her tippy toes, giving Volente a peck on the cheek before turning around to face the deck. "We'd better get away from the edges."

"Oh... yes of course." Volente stuttered, his face bright red. He took out his spare handkerchief and took a deep breath of the cologne, feeling a bit of a swoon coming on.

"As I said, I was afraid. But now that I've purged my past, I think I can finally feel excited about this new adventure. Now my life can truly begin. It just proves that you're never too old to truly start living." Trosyn took off her cap, and untied her red hair, letting it tumble over her shoulders and whip free in the wind. She still felt pain over leaving Benold behind, but there was the possibility that she had carried a part of him with her into this strange new future. For once, she wasn't running away. For once she was not waiting for the next crisis to happen to her. The moment she would step onto the Floratti dock, she would be a new woman. She would embrace the illusion of freedom.