When there was about an hour until the sun would begin to set, they set out quietly through the jungle.

Nataliya was in mood of quiet reflection, not her usual self at all. Her eyes seemed to be taking in their walk as on would watch a dying loved one-memorizing as many details as she could before it was time to leave.

When they reached the tree line and the beach stretched out before them, she stopped in her tracks.

Beside her, Nikolai paused, caught up not in the scenery of the paradise, but in the girl at his side.

When she turned to look at him, there were tears in her sea-blue eyes. He couldn't help but let her fall into his arms, to embrace her and hold her carefully while she cried.

Xx

She was a silent crier; he could only feel it through her soft shudders and the tears bleeding through his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, pausing after a while. "I didn't think... I thought it would be easier."

She was still close to him, looking up into his eyes.

"It's all right. There's nothing easy about this venture. The best thing to do is keep your chin up, and keep pressing on." He softly lifted her chin which made her smile a bit. She looked less sad now, more... grateful. Enchanting, actually-

Then he forced himself to pull away, and she stepped back hastily, realizing how improper they were being.

"Thank you," she replied, curtly realizing the same.

"Of course," he responded, equally as cool.

"Then let's begin."

She led the way to her set of supplies, careful to avoid the pattern drawn on the sand, right up against the newly risen tide.

The design was the brainchild of the pair of them; the best that they could come up with, given their limited resources. Nikolai stood back while Nataliya began to work, drawing the water from the sea and carefully through the air, filtering out the impurities and casting them aside.

Slowly, water formed together as ice, making beams and braces that looked like some sort of strange rib cage, lifted above the sand by crossbeams, balanced neatly. Nataliya, having lived near the shipyard for years, knew exactly what she was doing.

The thin tendrils of ice began to slowly thicken like crystal, growing by the minute to form the small hull and storage deck. By the time Nataliya lowered her hands, a small boat was bobbing in the eager tide; quite a dapper vessel-not large by any standard.

It was barely sizable enough to hold the pair of them and all of their supplies, and on top of that, it would be freezing, as it was made entirely of ice. Having clearly thought through their dilemma, they had realized that they didn't have the time or the energy to be creating a ship out of wood. They also realized that they would do better with a small vessel, as stealth would be their ally, and it would be harder for Nataliya to power a larger ship.

They laid down strips of wood on the deck to walk on, and filled a small corner below decks with furs and cloth as a bed.

Altogether, it wasn't a terrible arrangement.

The sun had set by now, and they turned to their fire, starting it up once again from the embers that were left the last time they banked it.

They would eat one last time on the island, then they would set off.

It was fish cooked with a bit of coconut meat, a flavor that Nikolai had apparently been inspired to try. They ate in what was mostly silence, watching their new ship waiting for them, preparing for the journey ahead.

In a way, Nataliya supposed, this was her final freedom. This was her, finally escaping the state that the Darkling had forced her into. She took a deep breath and strengthened her resolve. This was what she had been dying to do for years; get off of the island, get back to Ravka. To home.

She had a sudden idea.

Without a word, she went to a nearby trunk, and drew out a set of clothes. Nikolai, watching curiously, recognized it as the black set of pajamas that had once rested at the bottom of the pile.

The ones that she had come to the island in.

One of her last real pieces of the Darkling.

She came back to the fire, and held it at arm's length, almost as though she was afraid to let it come closer.

For a long moment, she gazed at it, lost in thought.

Today I am free. You would be angry with me, Darkling. You'd always wanted me back before, and now that I come, you will not be there to greet me. I will not have to run any more. But I have Nikolai now. I do not need to fear you any longer.

Then, she took a deep breath, and smiled softly; an inside joke long forgotten.

The black clothes dropped into the fire.

Nikolai watched as it spurred on the flames; letting them climb higher for a moment while the cloth slowly melted into the coals.

He looked up to see Nataliya smiling warmly at him, with a glint in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"I'm ready," she declared.

XXXXXXXX

So, another day, another chapter. Just another reminder that this is probably horrible and that I haven't really edited it, so a special thanks to YOU for bothering to read it. Thanks for readng and reviewing! xx