Multi POV

"Miss Natalya!" Toris raced up the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. His heart was pounding uncontrollably, which wasn't soothed at all by the fact that the boat was rocking back and forth at a speed that was sending his stomach into reverse. Just as soon as my stomach finally settled. Toris thought as he struggled not to gag. He raced on to the deck, only to land face flat, because the deck was slick with the pouring rain.

"Ouch..." Toris sat up and was suddenly saw that virtually every crew member was working madly to pull the sails down and prepare the ship for the rough waves. Someone grabbed him under the arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Toris, what are you doing up here!?" Alfred cried, barely heard over the hurricane's wails. Berwald ran past them, his arms full of rope.

"I-I saw Miss Natalya run up here! Where is she?" Toris yelled. Someone screamed. They looked up and saw a seaman dangling from the Crow's Nest. Alfred started to run to climb the mast, but Natalya beat him to it.

"Miss! Get down from there!" Captain Machado yelled against the wind. Natalya scaled the mast furiously, as though she'd done it her entire life. She grabbed the man and pulled him to safety, only for the boat to tip way over, and she nearly fell out of the Nest herself. Then, the worst thing that could possibly happen in a situation like this happened. An arc of electricity shot down at the ship, severing the mast.

Toris heard someone scream again, but only realized later that it had been himself. While the crewman she'd rescued held on, Natalya was falling now! He shook Alfred off and ran at full speed. He caught Natalya in his arms, letting out a cry of pain from the sheer force. Unable to come to a stop, he rolled, holding her against him, before smashing his head against the ship's side. He vaguely realized that something warm and wet was rolling down his neck, and that pain on the back of his head was throbbing. Everything suddenly lost focus, and he passed down.

Natalya sat up in Toris' arms, and felt a chill of horror down her spine at the sight of her beloved's blood. No no no! You can't die yet! You can't die ever! I won't let you! We haven't even gotten married yet! She shook him, hopelessly trying to wake him, but he was out cold.

"Natalya! Get back down below, there are rocks ahead us, and it's about to get-OH HELL NO!" Alfred cried. The mammoth wave came down on them, pushing the ship beneath the waves, sweeping crew members away. Natalya clutched Toris tightly. The waves were dark and had now overtaken them both. She couldn't see anything. If she had been able to, she would've witness the ship being rammed sideways against the rocks, and the subsequent breaking apart of La Soltera Deslumbrante. And as the ship smashed to pieces all the people inside were swept aside in the waves, lost from one another.

Natalya held Toris in her arms, feeling tears that were invisible in the water pricking at her eyes. It can't be over yet. I haven't told you how I feel. I haven't told you I love you. Toris' sweet face was barely visible in the dark waters, and she knew he was counting on her to save him. All right! Enough whining! Her heart lit with fiery determination. Her head broke above the waters and she took several gasping breaths before another wave forced her under once more. She surfaced again, and caught sight of a plank of wood, broken off from the remains of the ship. Natalya held Toris with one arm, and swam to the plank with the other. She draped the young ambassador over the plank of wood and braced herself for another wall of water against the floating board.

"Artie! Artie! ARTHUUUURRRR!" Alfred yelled, eyes scanning the water for his king. There! Arthur was struggling against the shifting currents to get to him. "Hang on! I'm coming!" Alfred swam furiously, praying that the waves wouldn't hit them again. Wait. Who was that Arthur was holding on to?

"Woah!" Elizaveta let out a cry when she realized who had pulled her onto the floating piece of ship with him. Berwald stared at her, and the chill on her arms wasn't just from the sea. "T-thanks." She sputtered.

"THIS. IS. SO. UNAWESOOOOMMMEE!" Gilbert choked on sea water as he went under then was hacking and coughing as he came up from the water once more. Elizaveta gasped.

"Gilbert! Over here!" Elizaveta cried desperately. The albino young man saw them.

"Eli! Ack, nein!" The waves reared up and swept him away and they were out of sight.

"No!" Elizaveta's eyes searched for him, till she spotted him again. "Berwald, help me get to him!" The pushed the board in the direction of Gilbert.

"Feliciano! Hang on!" It was at times like this that Feliks was glad he had worn the two piece pajamas. Trying to swim in a long skirt would be impossible. Of course, the same could be said for long priest robes, and Feliciano was struggling to say the least. He looked tearfully back at Feliks. "I-I wish Lud was here." Feliciano admitted.

We will survive this night. We will survive this storm. We will survive. These thoughts rang in Natalya's head as she kicked against the waves, her iron will the only thing that gave Toris and herself even a ghost of a chance.

Dawn. It's a beautiful thing to wake up to. The first glimpse of morning after a dark night. Toris smiled pleasantly as he woke to these musings. The back of his head hurt, and for a moment he wondered why, but his eyes were still shut. He assumed he was laying in the ship's infirmary, and that maybe he had taken a tumble and knocked himself out. But, wait. His brow furrowed. The beds of the infirmary weren't sandy. And his body shouldn't feel cold, but it was, except for his hand. Well, let's just find out what's going on.

Toris' eyes cracked open, just enough to see. His eyes widened all the way open when he saw who he was staring at. Beside him, Natalya lay silent, her platinum hair all spread out on the sand. Her eyes were shut, but she was breathing heavily in her sleep. He smiled brightly. And it seems she is my Dawn. He wondered faintly why Miss Natalya was asleep beside him on a sandy beach, but for the moment he just wanted to savor it. His eyes drifted to his hand, and much to his surprise and happiness, her hand was intertwined with his, keeping it warm. Again, he wondered why he had woken up on a beach, hand-in-hand with the girl who was quickly becoming very special to him.

Then it came to him. The storm. Alfred. The lightning. Catching Miss Natalya and hitting his head. He sat up suddenly with a gasp of horror. He quickly let go of Natalya's hand and began to shake. W-was everyone-? He couldn't bring himself to say it, and the burst of pain that came with the shock had him gripping his head wound in agony. Natalya stirred and opened her eyes. She stared at him a moment, and he felt like hiding. What if she knew he'd been holding her hand? She'd never speak to him again! Besides...he shouldn't have even been holding her hand in the first place!Toris winced. Natalya sat up with a yawn.

"D-did we get swept off the ship? U-uh, a-are you all r-right, Miss Natalya?" Toris asked worriedly. She stretched and nodded. "W-we should probably try to find the others, they must be worried about us." Natalya got up and twisted her skirt, squeezing the water from it. "A-and maybe w-we can figure out a way to signal La Soltera Deslumbrante? You know, so they can find us...?" Natalya began to walk away from him. "M-Miss Natalya?"

"The ship was destroyed. Help me find breakfast." She ordered.

Staring after her in stunned disbelief, he felt his heart drop. Miss Natalya must not care what I have to say. I guess she hasn't warmed up to me. Toris sighed disappointedly.

If only he knew that Natalya was madly in love with him, and she just didn't know how to show it.

"Agh, finally, we made it!" Arthur gasped as he collapsed against the shore. Alfred was dragging Matthias in from the water, looking quite bedraggled. When the king had spotted Matthias, he had rescued him from being swept away under the water. But that hadn't prevented a piece of metal from the ship making a nasty cut in the former Nord's leg. Alfred glanced around them.

"Thank heaven we found this *$#!ing island." He commented offhandedly, and examined Matthias' wound. The other man watched him suspiciously as he tore a piece of his cloak away.

"What're you-?" Matthias began to ask.

"Shut up." Alfred replied, and used the strip of cloth to tie around Matthias' leg. "There, that'll help stop the bleeding."

"How far off course do you suppose we've been taken? And how far away do you suppose the others are?" Arthur wondered aloud. Matthias rolled his eyes.

"What does it matter? They probably didn't survive the night, so there's no point looking for them." Alfred punched him on the shoulder, not in a friendly manner.

"Shut up. Don't you know that friends keep faith in each other!? I'm sure they made it through all right." Alfred growled at him. Matthias looked shocked as Alfred said this, and took note of the way Arthur was beginning to lean against the tree. The king looked exhausted and sat down tiredly.

"Artie, you okay?" The Head Knight quickly walked over to him, looking worried. He placed a hand against Arthur's forehead, despite his protests that he was fine. "Damn, fever, but not too bad. Better not strain yourself."

On the inside Arthur was privately raging at whatever otherworldly being had decided it would be fun to screw with them and cause that stupid storm. "Nonsense, I'm perfectly healthy! Now let go, you git!" The king pushed past him and headed down the shoreline. "I'll find some drinking water." He held out a hand, which began to glow a light blue. "You two set up camp." Arthur stormed off. He wasn't about to lay about like the stereotypical useless noble. No, sir!

Alfred watched after him with worried eyes. Matthias sighed. "He must pay you pretty well to look after him like an overprotective mother." Alfred glared at him.

"Even if it wasn't my job to look after him I still would! Haven't you heard of caring for others? Read up on it, maybe you'll learn a thing or two." Matthias shook his head in disbelief. In his world, people did things for other people for power or money or in advantage. Being in the presence of people who did things just to help others was mind-boggling. But still...he looked down at his bandaged leg and felt a sudden pang. Still...could he ever care for someone like that? Or have someone care for him like that in return?

Now that Berwald, Eli, and Gilbert himself had set up a small lean-too on the banks of the shore, and seen what they had managed to save before they had paddled to this island when the storm had calmed(their weapons, some rations, and their packs of clothes), all that was left to do in the evening was start a fire. Which Eli had promptly taken care of, sparking an expensive looking flower clip he had against a piece of flint. All of them had agreed to come up with a plan tomorrow morning on what to do now. But that was the last thing they had said to each other, and it had been silent since then.

It was driving Gilbert insane, not talking to Eli, not laughing with his best friend like they normally would. Berwald wasn't a talker either, and that meant Gilbert had absolutely no one to speak to. On the ship, it had been a little easier not to talk to Eli after their argument. But then again, other people had been around. Add the uncomfortable silence with his worry and fear for Feli, his little bruder, and all his other friends and you had one stir-crazy albino. Now that he realized that his friends could very well still be out in the ocean, and that he should take care of them whenever he had the chance made Gilbert realize he should try to talk to Eli again, if possible.

Eli was putting that odd flower clip away in his pocket, now that the fire was started. Gilbert took a deep breath, looked to the heavens, and started towards his friend. He waited in front of him until Eli finally glared up at him.

"Eli...er, uh, thanks for saving my butt last night. Not like I really needed any help!" Gilbert laughed, but stopped when he saw Eli's glare worsen. "Okay...so maybe I needed a little help. Anyway, thanks..." the young man rubbed the back of his head. He was clearly embarrassed. Eli's gaze softened.

"You're welcome Gilbert ,anytime. Besides I told you I would stay by your side right? I don't break my promises." Eli smiled at him, as Gilbert blushed at the reminder of the promise. It really did mean a lot to him that Eli had promised him that. Eli cleared his throat then continued on hurriedly. "And besides, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have said you were a conceited creep. It's not true. You're so much more than that." Gilbert smiled a little. That comment had hurt a lot more than Eli had known. Everybody always thought that just because Gilbert knew he was Awesome that he thought he was better than everyone else, or that he didn't care about anyone. The opposite couldn't have been more true. It was good to know Eli hadn't meant it.

"It's just,"Eli paused "It's just that where I'm from a lot of guys really are conceited creeps, so I guess I'm just used to thinking that. But that still doesn't make it true or right. I'm really sorry."

Gilbert was shocked. Eli never really talked about his home life, and this comment really made him wonder what kind of life Eli had had before he took to wandering. "It's okay Eli. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have said anything about you and Felina." His heart felt a painful jab and he scowled. "I-it's none of my business, and I was wrong to say anything."

Privately, Elizaveta felt like she'd had someone shove a nail through her. "But you were right about me betraying friends..." She muttered so quietly no one heard. She wanted to tell him, so badly. It wasn't right to just continue on like this, fooling him, but she didn't want to tell him when Berwald was right there, watching them from his little nest of items(his pack, his club, pictures of him and people Elizaveta didn't recognize) under the tree.

"Did you say something?" Gilbert asked.

"I said, don't worry about Felina and me. There's nothing going on between us I promise." Gilbert raised his eyebrows skeptically. Eli smiled at him. "It was just a big, really, really messed up misunderstanding." Gilbert stared at him for a moment, trying to detect a lie.

In truth, Elizaveta knew that her entire situation was one screwed up misunderstanding, adding to her guilt.

Gilbert saw that Eli meant what he said and suddenly felt considerably lighter. Gilbert grinned, and for a moment they just smiled contentedly at each other.

Then Eli realized they were staring and stood up. "Uh, I better get some more firewood for later. You know, so we don't have to fetch it in the middle of the night." He quickly scurried off into the woods.

Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck again, now flustered and unsure of just what had gone on. He stiffened under Berwald's gaze. The intimidating man was staring at Gilbert, his expression unreadable. "Would you mind knocking it off with the staring? It's kind of creepy." Berwald didn't waver. Damn, he was freaking Gilbert out! Gilbert may've been awesome, but this was weird! "Crapwad..." Gilbert muttered, irritated.

"...So, y' like 'm." Berwald stated out of the blue.

Gilbert started. "What? What are you talking about!?"

"Eli. Y' like 'm." Berwald said bluntly.

"E-Eli!? Me!? Like him!? Man, you must be really insane...that's not true at all!"

Berwald stared at him some more. Gilbert began to get a little angry. "I mean it! There's no way I like that guy!"

"I'm a married man. I kn'w these th'ngs." Berwald replied nonchalantly.

"You're insane." Gilbert replied flatly. Eli reappeared just then, which quickly put an end to the conversation. "S-so Eli, where did you get that flower clip?" Gilbert asked shakily, hoping to forget about what he'd just been discussing as quickly as possible. Eli pulled the clip from his pocket and smiled softly.

"My mother gave it to me." The green-eyed man grinned at him. Gilbert swallowed quickly, and blushed a little again. Berwald smiled to himself.

"Aah! P-please Miss Felina-you shouldn't, we shouldn't be-! Can I put my shirt back on!?" Feliciano felt sheer horror. Feliks simply muttered to himself in annoyance and ignored him. He pulled the rest of the bandages around Feli's midriff. The priest had been grazed by ship debris and needed to be treated otherwise he'd be infected. Feliks had thought back in his memory, thinking on the medicinal herbs he'd memorized. Then he'd simply searched until he found it and applied it to Feliciano's wound. But how badly Feliks wanted to tell Feliciano he was really a boy so he'd shut up about how he was a priest and shouldn't be seen shirtless by a woman. It may've saved his life, but Feliks was really beginning to hate this cross-dressing shtick.

"There! I'm done! Now will you quit your whining!? I won't touch you anymore." Feliciano quickly pulled on his navy blue tunic and then his white robe. He was red-faced and unhappy. "We'll find everybody in the morning okay? Get some sleep." Feliks curled up near the fire they'd built and closed his eyes. Then Feli's voice came, thin and sad once more.

"D-do you think we'll be able too?"

"Of course, don't worry Feli. Everything will be fine."

"Even Lud?" Feliks sat up in curiousity.

"That's the second time you've mentioned a ''Lud''. Who is he?" Feliks asked curiously. Feli's head drooped.

"My best friend. He was a soldier in Reenson, so he's probably in trouble." Feliks froze. Feliciano looked pale, so unlike his usual happy-go-lucky self. Feliks wanted to tell him that they would find him just like Alfred's brother, but if it turned out they did find him, and he wasn't...with them any longer, that would be so much worse. Feliciano was still waiting for an answer.

"Well Feli..." Feliks started uncertainly. "Let me tell you a story." Feliciano looked surprised. "Once upon a time, there was a young man who lived in the court of his republic. He was the sort of man who often got into trouble, because he loved to play pranks and mess around with people. This man had a best friend-one who held some power in their government, and who often traveled to other kingdoms and countries for his job. The man's best friend was very different from the man himself but they were inseparable almost all the time. One day, an old senator was found dead in his home, and no one knew who had taken his life. However, everybody said it was the mischievous young man, because he'd never liked the old senator, but that was only because the senator was cruel to others. The people in the government decided that it would be easier to let the man hang, instead of have a fair trial, and took the gold they were offered to do so."

Feliks paused a moment and took a breath. Feliciano was listening with rapt attention. "The man was held in prison, terrified of the gallows, of living such a short life, but most of all, of having no one believe he wasn't a murderer. Then came the man's best friend. I said the man was scared of having no one believe he wasn't a murderer, but really, he was scared all his friends would believe he had done it. Many of them did, but not his best friend. Not his true friend. His best friend believed in him, and their friendship, no matter what, and for the young man, that was enough. He wasn't so scared anymore, and he was ready to accept his fate..." Feliks trailed off, lost in plot.

"Ve, did the young man go to the gallows, that's so sad!" Feli exclaimed. Feliks smiled a little.

"Actually, no. His best friend believed in him, and their friendship so much, that he came to the prison the night before the young man was to be hung and rescued him! Believing in their friendship and his friend gave him enough courage to save his friend. He disguised the young man and the two made their escape. In return, the young man believed in the friendship they shared even more, and from then on traveled with his best friend wherever he went." Feliciano brightened.

"So you see Feli, sometimes just being there for your friend and believing in them and their friendship is really what counts. Even if you can't help them, that will be what's important to them. The young man wasn't scared anymore, when he saw that his best friend believed. That's what really mattered to him. And if you can help them that belief will only help you to do so." Feliks hoped he'd said the right thing. Feliks rolled over and tried to go to sleep. While he did this, Feliciano bowed his head.

Please, please, please...let Lud be all right. He's my best friend, and I...I want to see him again! I believe our friendship is real, real enough that we can meet again. Feliciano lifted his head and looked up at the sky. "Lud is really strong...he'll be fine!" Feliciano clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth. He believed in all his friends. He believed in Ludwig, especially. And knowing that Lud would be fighting for the people he believed in, his family and friends, made Feliciano want to help him even more! But first they had to find a way off this island, and their other friends too. A bright light suddenly flashed. Feliks eyes opened and he came up in a sitting position quickly.

"Hey! Feliciano!" Feliks yanked on his sleeve. "Look!" The exclaimed. The crossdresser pointed towards a distant light. The light of a ship. "We've got to get its attention!" Feliks looked around frantically for something to signal with.

Feliciano grabbed a long branch hanging nearby. He took off his long white robe again and put it atop the branch and began swinging the makeshift flag high in the air. "Come on! Please see us! Please let them see us!"

On that distant ship, on the top deck a tall man froze. His sharp eyes had spotted a mysterious white flag waving on the dark island, lit by the light of the moon. "Oh, so that must be other survivors from your ship Machado. Funny things, survivors are. Let's hope the king survived, or my country might not be able to help in the coming war." The man smiled at the other one, who nodded quickly.

"I wonder if my little target might be waiting for me as well." The man murmured to himself.

"What did you say, General Ivan?" Machado asked nervously.

"Oh, nothing important."