The stars continue to burn as destiny is rewritten… See the first installment for all disclaimers/warnings.

~ * Saint Loa Knights Assemble! * ~

"So let me get this straight: you agreed to help a group of ironhead children who fancy themselves to be knights look for signs of a ship that may or may not exist?"

"That's about right," Aila nodded.

The sergeant snorted and shook his head. He was taking the whole mess a lot better than Aila had expected, though he'd made it clear he disapproved of the fact that she'd wandered off after promising to stay right where she was until he returned from the inn. He seemed more amused than annoyed.

"I'd better go along with you, just to make sure you don't get in over your heads. Let's just hope the Council doesn't try to see us while we're not here."

Privately, however, Jordi doubted that would be a problem. There were still a few days before the meeting for the peace treaty would occur, and the sergeant had little doubt the Zexen Council would gladly put off seeing the Grassland messengers until it would be difficult for them to change their plans. Then, they could simply blame the pair for not giving them the letter sooner… a petty and blatantly disrespectful plan, but one that suited the ironheads perfectly.

They reached the plaza, and Aila quickly pointed out a trio of youngsters standing by the gates. Sergeant Jordi followed her over, studying during his approach. He was mildly surprised to notice that one of the boys, a brown-haired kid wearing a blue vest over his white shirt, had a real sword strapped to his belt. He remembered Aila mentioning that the apparent leader of the group talked about having his father's sword, but still, it was surprising to see a Zexen youth carrying a weapon.

True, had the boy been a Karayan youth, he would not have been startled in the least. All Karayans were trained in the use of daggers during their childhood; it was a basic, easy to handle weapon with plenty of uses outside of battle. Even Aila carried a small dagger around, though she much preferred using her bow.

But the Zexens as a whole tended not to view themselves as a warlike culture – despite the fact that their Council had been attempting to seize control of the Grasslands for years. Their children generally weren't trained in the use of weapons until they were old enough to join the ranks of the ironhead soldiers.

So the fact that this Melville kid had a sword strapped to his belt was interesting to say the least.

"Melville, Alanis, Elliot, I'm here," Aila called, hurrying over to join them.

"Ah, glad to see that you've made it," declared Alanis, hazel eyes lighting up when she saw the huntress. "Thank you for agreeing to help our cause, Duchess Aila of Karaya."

"What did you just call me?"

"Duchess Aila of Karaya," repeated Melville seriously. "It would be rude if you didn't have a title the same way we do. Does 'Duchess' suit you?"

"Um… okay," Aila shrugged. Gesturing to the mallard behind her, she added, "This is Sergeant Jordi… of the Duck Clan, I guess…"

"You guess?" echoed Jordi ironically.

Aila didn't miss the humor in his tone, but shot her partner an annoyed glance anyway.

"Great. Allow us to introduce ourselves, then."

"Oh, that's not necessary, I already told him all about you," Aila said, wincing involuntarily.

"Nonsense. It'd be rude if we didn't introduce ourselves to the sergeant." Melville drew his sword and brandished it in front, blade pointed downward. "I am Melville, Captain and Swordsman of Rage of the Saint Loa Knights."

"I'm Alanis," the auburn-haired girl waved a sapphire-tipped cane in the air and winked, "Silver Maiden and Sub-Captain of the Saint Loa Knights."

"And I'm Elliot," chimed the lad with glasses, "Swordsman of Wind of the Saint Loa Knights."

"Charmed, I'm sure," Sergeant Jordi said dryly.

Aila favored the mallard with another glare. Thankfully, the trio of Zexen youths failed to pick up on his sarcasm. Alanis smiled, clapping her hands together and turning around.

"Right, then, we're off!" she proclaimed, raising her cane and pointing dramatically toward the gates. "Let's find the legendary ship your father spoke of, Melville!"

"…Yeah… Let's go, Knights," Melville echoed.

Though he mimicked the girl's posture, jabbing the blade of his sword toward the horizon, it lacked the same conviction the Sub-Captain was showing. Both Aila and Sergeant Jordi noticed this, but neither commented. Instead, the pair of Grasslanders followed the lead of the Saint Loa Knights, following them out the gates and back outside of the walled city.

Aila was perfectly happy once they set foot outside those towering gates. The Karayan huntress tilted her head back and inhaled softly, gratefully taking in the familiar scents the breeze carried. In Vinay de Zexay, even the scents of the earth and air were muted, overpowered by the stench of burning coal, oil, and other resources.

To be perfectly honest, she wouldn't have minded if their trek took them miles away from the capital city. The sergeant wouldn't be too pleased if that were the case, she knew; however, the archer preferred the openness of nature, the freedom that only seemed to languish and wither behind the stone walls the ironheads loved…

So Aila actually felt mildly disappointed when their all-too-short hike led them to the mouth of an open cave. There were several cliffs lining the land to the immediate north of Vinay de Zexay, and it was here that Melville led his small band of travelers. Elliot, who had been tagging along near the rear of the group for most of the trip, ran up to the edge of the cavern. The blond boy leaned forward and sniffed the air, then turned around to face his friends, smiling excitedly.

"I can definitely smell water up ahead," he announced proudly. "This has got to be the place that Melville's dad was talking about!"

"All right then, so let's go in!"

"Wait, Alanis!"

"What's wrong?" The scarlet-clad girl turned to face her leader, hazel eyes briefly showing confusion. Then she suddenly gave a sly smile, saying, "Oh, don't tell me the mighty Swordsman of Rage is feeling scared?"

"I'm not scared!" Melville vehemently denied with a furious shake of his head.

"Um…"

All eyes turned to Elliot; the blonde child was visibly shaking. He nervously adjusted his glasses, which kept slipping off of his nose.

"…The truth is, I'm kinda s-scared myself…" he admitted.

"Elliot, don't say such things." Melville shook his head with dismay. "What kind of a knight gets scared so easily?"

"A smart one," Sergeant Jordi spoke up. The Duck Clan warrior regarded the two boys with a serious expression as he stated, "Only a fool feels no fear when faced with an unknown or dangerous situation. A fighter learns how to conceal, and face, his fears."

Both boys nodded, then Melville turned back to face his friend. The brunette smiled confidently.

"Don't worry, Elliot, we'll be fine," he promised. "I'll protect all of us from whatever's in there besides the ship."

"Hey, I don't need your protection!" Alanis protested.

"And what about us?" Aila huffed, hands on her hips. The archer smiled, betraying the fact that her anger was merely an act, even as she added, "After the way you all but begged for me to join you little knights on your quest and all…"

"Sorry about that," Melville bowed stiffly toward the huntress. "No insult intended, milady."

After they finished laughing, the little group headed into the cave. Sergeant Jordi and Melville took point, with Aila and Alanis following closely after their respective partners. Elliot tagged along behind them, cowering in the background whenever a random group of monsters attacked.

Nobody really blamed the blond boy for his uselessness in battle, though. His mother didn't allow him to learn how to use even a simple cane like Alanis', let alone a blade like the one Melville carried. Plus Alanis had a Fire Rune in her right hand, though she didn't inform their Grasslander escorts of this so much as nearly catch Jordi in a Flaming Arrow spell she cast on a nymph he was in the middle of slashing.

The sergeant wasn't too pleased with that.

Between the efforts of their four fighters, the group was able to make their way through the cavern without too much difficulty. Soon, the narrow tunnel they were following broadened into a cavern. The hollow had clearly once been used for mining purposes: a natural pathway wound up along the circular sides of the dugout, accented with several pieces of broken or rundown equipment.

"Now… we have… to climb?" panted Elliot, olive eyes bulging behind his lopsided glasses. "Can't we rest first?"

"No, we should keep going!" Alanis prompted impatiently. "The ship…"

"The ship can wait a little longer," interrupted Jordi, stepping between the two. "I doubt it's going anywhere. And neither are we, until we get some rest."

"But…"

"It's late," the sergeant didn't allow her time to protest. "Aila and I had a long journey to Vinay de Zexay, and we only just arrived today. Then, we spent the rest of the afternoon helping you young knights with your noble little quest. I think we all should take this chance to rest."

"…I agree," Melville nodded. Looking over at Alanis, he added, "My father's ship can wait for our arrival just a little longer. Do you have any magic left so that we can light a fire?"

"Oh, all right then…"

Alanis huffed and turned away from the others. Elliot sighed with relief and sunk to his knees, grateful for the reprieve. While Sergeant Jordi and Melville started collecting wood scraps from the debris for the campfire, Aila looked curiously at the younger girl.

(What's with her, anyway?)

~ * ~

A short time later, the fire was blazing brightly, a beacon warding off any monsters that might think to attack the resting travelers. Aila, however, was having difficulty getting to sleep. The archer sat up, absently rubbing her eyes while aiming a cold look in the direction of the source of her problems.

"Spirits… Who would have thought ducks talked so much in their sleep?"

The sergeant was curled up a short distance away with his back turned to her, mumbling under his breath. Aila couldn't discern what exactly he was murmuring, and quite frankly didn't care. All it meant was that she wasn't going to get much sleep unless he quieted down.

Looking over at the fire, Aila was a bit surprised to see that she was not the only one awake. The other female member of their party sat on one of the larger chunks of wood half-buried in the ground, staring into the flames.

"What's the matter, can't you sleep?" Aila asked, somewhat unnecessarily.

Alanis looked up at the archer, briefly startled. Then her hazel eyes softened, and her gaze returned to the crackling fire in front of her while she shook her head.

"No, I guess not…"

"Can I…" the Karayan girl stood and crossed over to where the Zexen maiden was seated, "…ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why are you so determined to find this ship, anyway?" Alanis looked sharply up at her, and Aila added, "I mean, even Melville's not as gung-ho about this whole quest as you've been acting. I would think that he'd be the one always saying 'Let's go, Knights! Find my father's ship!' but…"

Alanis' hazel gaze returned once more to the flames before her, and Aila figured she was going to ignore the question. (That would be just like an ironhead,) she decided in a huff, a spike of anger surging through her as she recalled being blown off by the guard at the council building. She very nearly missed it when the younger girl suddenly spoke up.

"My father… is a traveling merchant," Alanis said softly, shifting her weight a bit while staring into the fire. "His job takes him all over the place, and I'm mostly just along for the ride. We've never stayed in a single place long enough for me to make any friends before he got that offer in Vinay de Zexay…"

"And then you met Melville and Elliot there, right?" guessed Aila, keeping her voice gentle and quiet.

"Yeah," Alanis nodded. "But, well… Father's contract will be up soon, and we'll be leaving Vinay. I… haven't told Melville or Elliot yet. I'm scared they'll stop being my friend if they knew I was leaving…"

Aila looked sympathetically at the young Zexen lass, unable to think of something she could do or say to alleviate her inner turmoil. The archer really couldn't relate, since she'd grown up in the same village all her life. The thought of having to move around constantly, never staying in one place long enough to call it home, was a foreign concept, and not one she exactly liked.

She ended up settling for placing a comforting arm across the younger girl's shoulders, staring steadfastly into the fire and trying to imagine what it would be like to have to leave somewhere like Karaya Village after having it as her home for so long. It was almost unimaginable…

~ * ~

The five awoke early the next morning, and after ensuring the fire was safely extinguished and they'd gathered all of their supplies up, set off again, heading up the sides of the cavern and deeper into the cave. They remained in roughly the same formation: Sergeant Jordi and Melville pairing up with Aila and Alanis, respectively, while Elliot followed behind the four fighters.

"How much farther are we going to have to walk?" Elliot asked, trailing after the rest of the quintet.

"Stop whining," Alanis instructed, glancing over her shoulder at the blond-haired boy and frowning. "We've rested enough."

"You needn't be so hard on the boy," Jordi admonished her gently. "You're hardly trained warriors, after all."

"We are the Knights of Saint Loa!" Alanis raised her chin proudly. "We can do anything!"

"Then can you be quiet?" shot back the sergeant in an urgent whisper. "We don't want every monster in this place coming at us all at once."

Alanis sulked, but a glance from Melville silenced the young fire mage. At the head of the group, Aila shook her head and continued forward, leading the others deeper into the narrow tunnel.

"There should be another open cavern just up ahead," she softly informed the others. "I can feel it."

Sergeant Jordi nodded agreement. He trusted Aila's judgement, knowing her sensitivity to such matters. The archer's link to the earth went much deeper than the rune in her right hand: her family was known for its ability to communicate with the spirits of nature. While Jordi didn't put too much stock in the tales of spirits and such superstitions, even he had to admit that Aila had some talents that couldn't be easily explained in any other manner…

Sure enough, they soon arrived in a second cavern much like the first, the primary difference being that the tunnel they entered from was located at the top of the natural pathway. The path wound back down the sides to rest in front of another tunnel.

This, however, did not concern the group so much as the band of strange men they saw camping out in front of said tunnel.

Aila and Jordi immediately dropped into a crouch and crept to the edge of the cliff. The young Saint Loa Knights followed their lead, and carefully all five members peered over the side down at the strangers.

All of the members of the other group were adult men, the sergeant observed, and all were swathed in the concealing garb of bandits. Each wore a turban with dirty white cloth wound around most of their head, hiding any distinguishing facial features from view. Of more immediate concern to the sergeant, however, was the worn leather armor they wore over their baggy clothes, not to mention the nasty curved scimitars each carried on his belt.

While the travelers watched, a bandit came running out of the cavern at the bottom of the gorge.

"Hey!" he shouted at his fellows. "Get back to work, you lazy bunch of little jerks! Treasure left about can incite the boss to beat me day and night!"

The other workers looked over at the newcomer, and one shrugged his shoulders, looking unimpressed by his comrade's declaration.

"Yes, we know, we understand. Even your rhymes built of sand. But repeat the orders too much not. Drives us mad, we pray you stop!"

"Here we are, treasure seekers," chimed the third. "Craving profits makes us weaker. While we're hungry for some grub… A massage! Now that we'd love!"

The other two turned to their comrade, and despite the fact that their faces were covered, their audience of five could almost feel the two rolling their eyes. Then they ran into the tunnel behind them, disappearing into the darkness.

"M-Mel-Melville…" Elliot whimpered, backing away from the edge of the cliff and looking desperately at his commander. "Home! Now! Please!"

"No way!" Alanis shook her head vigorously. "We've come too far to give up now!"

"I know…" Melville nodded once, then stood up, fingering the hilt of his sword. "Besides, I bet those guys know something about my father's ship!"

"Well, if you three are intent on doing this…" Sergeant Jordi shook his head and looked over at Aila. "We can't let these kids go off and get themselves hurt, right, Aila?"

"Yeah," nodded the archer. She smiled at the trio of children while adding, "Besides, what kind of Duchess would I be if I abandoned my friends in their hour of need?"

"Thank you, Aila!" beamed Alanis. "And you too, Mister Duck!"

"……"

One of the sergeant's eyebrows twitched, but he didn't say a word. Aila quickly stifled a giggle, then drew an arrow from her quiver and notched it. The huntress nodded at Melville.

"On your command," she winked roguishly, "Captain."

"Right." Melville drew his sword and, with a flourish, pointed it toward the tunnel entrance below them. "Charge!"

Rather than race down the winding path, the five chose the faster and much easier route of sliding down the incline, kicking up clouds of dirt and dust as their feet dug into the loose ground. By the time they reached the floor, everyone had their weapons up and ready, except for the unarmed and very nervous Elliot. The glasses-wearing boy hung back and watched nervously as his friends' charge was met by a couple of bandits.

"Halt! You shall not pass!" one of the thieves shouted. "For we will kick your…"

Jordi cut off his curse with a swift blow to the bandit's head using the blunt side of his halberd's blade.

"Learn to watch your mouth when there are children present," he muttered.

The quartet quickly dispatched the bandits by knocking them out, though Aila had to shoot one in the hand when he got too close to slicing Melville in the leg. Elliot found a bunch of ropes nearby, and Jordi quickly went to work tying their would-be aggressors up.

"That should hold them for a while," he informed the others, dusting off his feathered fingers and retrieving his weapon. Turning to Melville, he prompted, "Lead the way, then, Melville."

The boy nodded back, then turned and charged into the darkness, Alanis and Elliot close on his heels. Sergeant Jordi and Aila ran after them, though the mallard moved slowly, taking in their surrounding carefully.

"What's wrong, Sergeant?" Aila inquired, seeing her companion's hesitance.

"Something's not right," he muttered. "I know I saw more bandits, so why…"

Suddenly, a shout of surprise echoed back toward them. The Grasslanders stiffened with shock, then charged down the tunnel, weapons drawn. Just as they reached the end of the passageway, however, a rusty iron grate dropped down, cutting off their progress.

"Hey!" Aila cried out, screeching to a halt.

What prompted her startled shout, however, was not simply the presence of the grate. Instead, it was who she saw standing on the other side, along with Melville, Alanis and Elliot. She and the sergeant could see clearly what was happening through the wide iron slats, and Aila's green eyes widened with recognition.

"It's you!" she exclaimed.

"Huh? What?" The portly man cocked his head to one side, regarding the astonished Karayan maiden curiously. "Do I know you, young lady?"

"Guillaume!" shouted Melville, holding the hilt of his sword with both hands and pointing it at the large man. "Your business is with me, not anyone else!"

"Oh? Quite right, my dear boy, quite right," Guillaume glanced back at the boy and chortled his agreement. Turning to face the group at large, he explained, "You see, it's simply not in my best interests if you keep blabbing to people about this place. I store a great deal of my treasures here, and if some nosy busybodies came looking for that ship your father loved to brag about…"

"You called my father a liar!" shouted Melville, glaring at the gaudily dressed man. "But you're the only liar here!"

"Not true, not true," declared Guillaume with a shake of his head. "Why, those bandits I hired to protect my treasures claimed I wouldn't have any trouble with meddlers like yourselves, but just look…" He abruptly grinned, spying something just past the sergeant and archer, and merrily proclaimed, "Ah, wait, wait, here we go, now we're getting somewhere…!"

The Grasslanders spun around to see four bandits dashing down the hallway. Sergeant Jordi gripped his halberd tightly, and Aila quickly prepared another arrow.

"Oi! They're strange ones!" cried one of the bandits.

"You'll pay for what you've done!" another snarled, fingering his sword. "Think you can win in the fox's den? Time for punishment as men!"

The four lunged forward, only to be met by the sweeping edge of Jordi's weapon. The mallard charged into the center of the group and swung his halberd low and level with the ground, knocking them off their feet. Aila pegged the first to rise with an arrow, then began to glow a faint yellow aura while chanting a spell.

"Protect us, guardian of clay," she whispered, curly hair bobbing in the mystical currents rippling outward from her figure.

She raised her right hand, and the Earth rune glowed. Several pillars of stone erupted from the ground, surrounding Aila and the sergeant. A yellow glyph appeared beneath their feet, light erupting up in a column around them as the clay guardian bestowed its blessings upon the pair.

Lowering her hand and taking up her bow again, Aila smirked. Earth magic primarily focused on fortifying one's body with mystical protection. But she didn't need access to its higher-level attack spells when it came to this bunch of rag-tag bandits. She drew a bead on the closest of her opponents, almost daring him to try something.

The bandits backed up, staring at the duo warily. For a duck and a girl, they were rapidly proving to be more of a match for the quartet than they'd expected.

"Oooohhh… Ouch…" The leader of the band shook his head suddenly, and shouted, "Even lions are known to flee if danger's reward comes uneasily!"

And with that, the thieves turned tail and fled. Aila actually felt a bit disappointed, since she'd already used some of her stored magical energy just to cast Clay Guardian in preparation for a fierce fight…

"Oh dear," Guillaume lamented, backing away from the gate, feeling quite glad it stood between him and the unexpected interlopers. Looking at the trio of children also trapped in the chamber, he mused, "Well, at least I have some very valuable captives here…"

He advanced toward the children. Elliot whimpered and ducked behind Alanis, who raised her cane threateningly.

"Don't you dare come any closer, you nasty old man!" she shouted. "You're dealing with the Saint Loa Knights here!"

"Alanis, stand down," Melville instructed. Stepping in front of his friends, sword drawn and ready before him, he went on, "This is my fight. Guillaume, for your lies about my father and the threatening of my friends, I challenge you!"

"Oh ho ho ho! You fancy yourself a knight, boy?" Guillaume twirled a bejeweled trident in his hand, then pointed the pronged end toward Melville. "Then come on, then, attack me! But I warn you, I won't hold back!"

In response, Melville charged the portly miser. He lashed out in a vicious strike, but to his surprise Guillaume sidestepped the maneuver. His foot shot out and crashed into the boy's chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. A sneer spread over Guillaume's face as he raised his trident, preparing to slice open the young swordsman's exposed side while he was vulnerable.

In mid-strike, however, the miser howled. A burst of pain blossomed in his wrist, and the trident dropped to the ground forgotten as he clawed at his aching hand. Something jutted from its side, and Guillaume broke part of it off before realizing he held the splintered shaft of an arrow in his shaking hand.

He immediately looked over at the gate to see Aila standing there, bow drawn, a second arrow already notched into place. She was holding her weapon so that the arrowhead was level with the center of one of the wide gaps in the iron gate. Her face was contorted into an animalistic grimace, eyes narrowed into slits of emerald fire.

"This one's for your head or chest if you try that again," she snarled through gritted teeth.

Guillaume choked and stammered incoherently. Cupping his other hand over his injured wrist, the portly miser babbled, tears pooling in his bulging eyes. Seeing the pain and shock etched in his features, Sergeant Jordi almost felt sorry for him.

Alanis and Elliot quickly raised the gate, allowing their friends to enter the cavern. Aila kept her bow trained on the merchant even while edging into the room and away from the tunnel.

"If you know what's best for you, you'll leave this place now and not come back," Jordi informed the sobbing wreck sternly. "If you threaten these kids again or try any other stupid tricks…"

Wheezing and wailing, cradling his injured wrist with his other hand, Guillaume half-stumbled, half-scrambled past the glaring group and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel. Aila didn't lower her weapon until she couldn't see the miser anymore. Then she shot the sergeant a reproachful look.

"Why did you let him go?! After what he did…"

"We should worry more about Melville now," Jordi cut off her complaint curtly.

To their relief, the leader of the Saint Loa Knights was not badly injured, aside from a bruise on his stomach where he'd been kicked. The gravest injury seemed to be to the boy's pride. He stared down at the ground, unwilling to meet the worried and relieved eyes of his friends.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I wasn't able to protect you…"

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed Elliot. "You were so brave! I couldn't even move, I was so scared, but you just attacked him, no problem!"

"He's right," Alanis nodded. "You were amazing, Sir Melville. It's no wonder you're the captain."

"That was very noble of you to protect your friends like that," Aila agreed, smiling at Melville. "I'm impressed."

"……" Melville looked at his companions for a long moment, then closed his eyes and lowered his head, murmuring, "Thank you…"

"Now come on!" Alanis grabbed her leader's hand and tugged it. "I think we're almost there!"

"That's right!" chimed Elliot. "The smell of water's really close by! Let's go see!"

"Lead the way, Captain," Sergeant Jordi prompted, helping the boy to his feet.

"Right," nodded Melville. Picking up his sword, he slipped it into its sheath, then turned to face his companions. "Let's go, Knights!"

He led the group toward the back of the cavern, where the rocks gave way to a cliffside. Sunlight streamed in through the opening, and Aila had to shield her eyes with a raised arm as she followed the trio of knights outside. It took everyone a few blinks to adjust to the difference in lighting, and then Elliot cried out:

"Melville! Look, look over there!"

The pudgy boy pointed out, across the span of water that stretched before the cliffs. Melville followed his gaze, and slowly a remarkable change spread over the boy's usually stern visage. His pale brown eyes lit up with awe, while a small smile of excitement gradually widened into a full-fledged grin.

"There it is, Melville," Aila declared, her own pleased smile brightening her face as she watched a variety of emotions play over his face. "Your father's ship…"

"I knew it," he whispered, awestruck by the sight. "I knew it was real. But, with what everybody kept saying, it started to sound…" he shook his head slowly, "…well, not so real."

"Hey, come on, give your dad a little more credit!" Elliot laughed. "You know he'd never lie to you!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Alanis nodded. "I told you we'd find it if we looked!"

"Yeah, we found it, together," and Melville looked back at his companions, a brilliant smile lighting up his face.

Sergeant Jordi nodded, then gazed out across the water while the others went back to staring. He had to admit, he hadn't been expecting to find much of anything on this little quest, other than eventual disappointment for the trio of young knights.

And yet, there it was off in the distance: the unmistakable profile of a wooden ship embedded in the side of a cliff, what remained of its sails billowing in the wind. Despite the fact that it was aground, even from this distance the sergeant could see that it was remarkably intact. It was definitely a memorable sight.

"One day…" Melville whispered, staring across the stretch of sea at the silhouette of the ship. "One day, I'll find my way to that ship, and meet my father there…"

"We'll help!" Elliot chimed. "It'll be another epic mission for the Saint Loa Knights, right, Alanis?"

Aila was the only one who caught the younger maiden's flinch, the miniscule moment of hesitation before the Silver Maiden and Sub-Captain of the Saint Loa Knights nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, of course!" she chirped, smiling at the boys.

"Perhaps," Sergeant Jordi agreed. "But for now, we should probably head back to Vinay de Zexay, don't you agree?"

Melville looked back at the mallard and nodded, then glanced back toward the ship one more time. His tan eyes were filled with undisguised longing, and shimmered in the sunlight as he stood memorizing every last detail of the beached ship's profile.

"Someday…"