The morning after making plans with Benji it was time for me to visit the other boats in our convoy. As I was living aboard the Will of the Gods with only my retinue, it was the plan for me to cross to the Jewel of Gaia’s Crown once a week to meet with the nobles. Likewise, I also planned to visit Might of Man as a means of keeping up morale with the majority of the soldiers who were aboard her.

It was also time for me to return Sana to the Cardinal, who was himself aboard Gaia’s Crown. Considering that I was already intending to go there, I could no longer come up with excuses and reasons to delay. Not without potentially creating friction between the political and religious sides. Not that Sana herself was all that important in the eyes of the other nobles. However, attempting to keep her could cause the Cardinal to take action.

Together with Felicity, Sasha, Jacqueline, Eris, Sana, and my guard knights, I boarded a small vessel that had attached itself to the side of Will of the Gods. Elienor would be remaining here so as to avoid any potential drama with the nobles she used to call peers. The boat we entered was an enclosed ferry whose main purpose was to transport people ashore in the event that the larger main vessels did not have a proper berth. That said, it could also be used to jump from ship to ship.

Once aboard, I gave Felicity and Sana a quick check to make sure they were seated correctly. Once more, Sana wilted under any attention directed her way. Felicity was doing her best to behave, but I could see her tails twitching restlessly; like me, she had be growing bored once the novelty of being on a ship faded. A moment after taking my own seat, our vessel lurched forward; Will of the Gods was accelerating.

Because of its size, the ferry was slower than the convoy’s cruising speed. This meant that, rather than merely hoping over, we were going to be dropped off ahead of our destination then glide back to it. If we missed, then the whole procession would either need to divert in order to pick us up again, or slow itself to allow us to catch up again.

Still tethered, we watched out the portholes of the ferry as the water zipped by. On her own, Will of the Gods was the fastest of the three main ships, so it would take her the least amount of time to get us sufficiently ahead. Apparently, we had now reached that point because a siren sounded from the ferry. It wasn’t an alarm, but a signal for all hands to brace. About three seconds after sounding the alert, I felt my stomach drop as we suddenly decelerated.

“Ah!” Sana was the only one in my party to react verbally, expressing her surprise.

In the next moment, she realized she had been the only one and clapped her hands in front of her face while slumping down in her chair. In contrast, was Felicity’s reaction; she didn’t speak or exclaim, but twitching her tails accelerated while her ears stood up straight with excitement. Jacqueline and Sasha were both well-practiced and maintained a professional air about themselves. Eris, on the other hand, was white-knuckling the arms of her chair.

Considering what she used to be, fear is not the response I was expecting… Though it could have to do with being weaker now?

Not that she was particularly “weak.” In raw strength, she was the top contender here; I had only locked or removed a few of her skills, but she still had access to all of her stats.

As for my own reaction… well, I was more interested in my companions than the events occurring around me.

“Sana…” I began but trailed off without thinking of anything to say. Every time I tried to speak to her this past week, she became uncomfortable until I eventually gave up.

This is the last opportunity I’m really going to have to interact with her in anything even approaching a one on one…

“...Sana, I don’t really know how to talk to you; I don’t want to be a Queen, or a gods’ chosen toward someone I used to call a friend.” I let my voice hang in the air.

Considering what I’d said, there were a lot of witnesses. Out of the corner of my eye, Sasha was frowning, but she didn’t move to block me from saying anything further.

And if word of this gets back to the Cardinal –and it will, he’ll know that Sana still gives him leverage.

I was knowingly opening up a weakness here, but if I could fix things… If I could fix things, it would be worth it. If keeping myself totally secure meant I had to be cold to the people in my inner circles, then I didn’t want to be secure. The more I thought about it, the more confidence I gained, confidence that this was the correct course of action.

Sana flinched when I said the part about not wanting to be a gods’ chosen, but after I finished, she managed to raise her head and meet my eyes. It only lasted for a moment before she broke the contact and retreated back into her shell. I decided to let it go; anymore at this point would risk pushing her well outside of her comfort zone.

That was progress, so it was worth creating a potential weakness.

The rest of the ride back to Gaia’s Crown was interrupted only by Felicity repeatedly bouncing out of her seat and being chided by Jacqueline. She had been even more bored than I’d thought.

Granted, I haven’t been spending much time with her, despite my schedule being more open than usual.

She was a smart girl, and Claire might have helped, coaxing her to let me and Sana have some space. I would have to thank her later, and perhaps do a bit of spoiling once Sana was returned to the Cardinal.

“Your Majesty.” A sailor excused himself upon entering the cabin. He regarded Felicity, who had just been about to crawl out of her seat again, “...We are preparing to dock with Jewel of Gaia’s Crown.”

I nodded once in his direction, “Thank you for the warning. Felicity, please contain yourself; I do not want you to get hurt.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Upon being rebuked by myself instead of Jacqueline, she was subdued and crossed her hands over her lap.

I swear, this girl.

Despite telling us that we were “about to dock,” it still took several minutes before we could see the bow of Gaia’s Crown. The angle of our portholes had precluded the ability to see it by leaning at a diagonal so when it emerged suddenly and less than a meter away, it caused a ripple of surprise in the cabin. Without the sailor’s warning, it likely would have been much worse. Eris was the most affected, as she had already been uncomfortable.

Still, I knew what was about to happen, “Everyone, brace yourselves.”

Sasha, Jacqueline, and my guard knights had already realized and braced even before my warning. Sana was quick to follow through; despite my earlier progress, she still held me on a pedestal. Eris gripped her seat even tighter, and I saw a series of cracks form as the material deformed. Felicity, however, merely cocked her head to the side as though processing my warning.

A moment later, she was sprawled on the floor. Our ferry had experienced another sudden momentum change as it caught the hull of Gaia’s Crown; the inertia wasted no time in launching Felicity’s ill-prepared body from its chair.

It wasn’t enough of an impact to greatly injure her, but that didn’t mean it was entirely pain-free either, “Remember to hold on next time; we are doing this two more times today.”

She nodded, ears flat against her head. While she picked herself up I chanted a low-level healing spell that would soothe any bumps.

“M-my lady m-might suggest i-installing seatbelts?” Eris remarked nervously as she observed the whole affair.

…I honestly should, but without a proper mechanism for releasing tension, those might cause greater injury than falling on the floor… Maybe I can send a description to Gustav and see if he can come up with something.

On second thought, it was probably best not to bother him when Drakas was preparing for war. It wasn’t like many modes of transportation moved fast enough where they were necessary. Things like the ships we were on were among the only exceptions, and if those were to crash, then you had bigger things to worry about.

“I will consider it.” I offered her, even though I had just decided it wasn’t worth the investment, at least for now.

Once the ferry was fully secured, the same sailor came back to inform us that we were ready to disembark. I thanked him for their service, then followed my guard knights out and onto hte deck of Gaia’s Crown. There, the nobles had rolled out a literal red carpet across the wood planks. Edith and Lady Lawrence were at the head of this, with the other nobles having sorted themselves out according to rank behind the two of them. I took a moment to fix my face, then walked down the carpet toward them.

“Lady Claurence, Lady Lawrence, than you for receiving me.” I made a point of greeting Edith first.

Technically, my friend was outranked by the older woman, so showing her a bit more favor would go a ways towards evening that out in the eyes of the lower-ranked nobles.

Edith didn’t report anything untoward about how Lady Lawrence is behaving, but I can’t be too careful here.

Since me being on a different ship had been anticipated, Edith had been furnished with a magic diary of her own; it was linked to mine, and whatever she wrote would appear on my end. Unfortunately, hers was not two-way like the ones held by me, Rupert, and Ferdinand, so we could not properly communicate.

Though I think that’s for the best; we’d probably wind up using all the pages.

The two of them curtsied, “Of course, it is our pleasure to welcome you aboard.”

“Indeed, it is our pleasure.”

Following from my cue, Edith greeted me first with Lady Lawrence waiting her turn. There was no sign of animosity from this, but I knew better than to take a high noblewoman’s expression at face value. Once the first greetings had finished, I turned to the side of those assembled. The religious faction was here as well, though self-segregated from the noble side.

“Cardinal, thank you for granting Sana leave of her studies; it was wonderful to be able to speak to someone from my past in Ris.” The extra information was volunteered deliberately; Sana was someone connected to Ris, therefore, to me.

That would put her on the radar of the nobility, but since she had accompanied me back she was already in their sights. By specifying exactly what connection we shared, it should dissuade them from attempting anything. With the sole exception of Lady Lawrence, I could at least be sure of the loyalty of them all; they had been allowed to accompany me, after all.

The Cardinal came forward a step and bowed his head, “I am grateful that the one chosen to walk in the divine finds solace in our acolyte.”

His words made me want to vomit, but I held back, “Now, shall we get down to business? The wind on the deck is cold.”

Edith and Lady Lawrence both nodded, “Indeed, please, join us.”

“Business” as it were, was an early lunch set out in Gaia’s Crown’s banquet hall. Though her exterior was stark and utilitarian, the interior wouldn’t lose to a cruise ship back on Earth. Especially impressive considering the reduced technology level here. There were several tables, and everyone seated themselves. To my surprise, the nobles did not seem to have seated themselves by rank.

The one exception to that was myself, Edith, and Lady Lawrence, who were sharing one table between the three of us.

Maybe it has something to do with my previous lunch meeting?

Prior to setting out, we had all met for a banquet. At that time, I had deliberately set things up so there were no assigned seats. I would need to verify if they had gotten the wrong idea or not.

“Your Highness,” Lady Lawrence was the first to speak, “Would you elaborate on something that the captain told us yesterday? What is this about pirates?”

I nodded; this was one of the expected questions, “Yes, there is a small island that used to hold a trading post. It was overrun, and I intend to-”

I intend to use it as a training exercise.

I was about to say, until an alarm cut me off. Different from the previous alert when we were using the ferry, this alarm signaled actual danger. Before I knew it, all eyes were on me, but I didn’t know what to say.

This alarm, it’s for a sea monster? But Aaron shouldn’t be aware of anything, and what kind of monster attacks a three-ship convoy!?

Thankfully, someone arrived to distract everyone’s attention; a man wearing the uniform of a bridge officer.

“Your Highness,” He wasted no time on pleasantries, “The captain requests your presence on the bridge; Will of the Gods has come under assault. They are engaging.”

My mask slipped for a moment and left me staring at him with my mouth hanging open. I quickly recovered and set down my utensil, “Then, brief me as we move.”

The man nodded and began moving toward the bridge. I followed him, and Edith followed me, with Lady Lawrence after her.

“Stahlia.” Once we were out in the hallway, answers came from a thoroughly unexpected place; Sarala.

“Stahlia,” she paid no attention to the glare she was receiving from Sasha nor the incredulous look from Lady Lester, “I can feel another spirit about as strong as dad.”

She simply stated her information distinctly and devoid of emotion.