Rita awoke for the second time next to Estellise. Everything seemed peaceful when she was next to her, her entire body was relaxed, and for once, she was genuinely ready for the day.
It was only when she slept with Estelle for the first time that she realized how poorly she had been sleeping in the past.
She sat up out of bed and got dressed, the shuffling awoke her partner, who had the bedhead of someone who had a great night's sleep.
"Good morning, " Rita greeted her back to the conscious world, "I can see you slept well, judging by your hair."
Estelle sat up, trying to push her pink hair down with her hand. " It's not my fault, " She whined, "I was tired, I haven't gotten that much exercise since we used to fight all of the time."
Rita walked over and gave her a quick kiss, "You better get dressed, I'm sure the others are ready to go..." Rita's tone broke ever so slightly.
Estelle stripped off her silk pajamas; her smooth skin was like candy for Rita's eyes. Estelle quickly dressed in her casual day clothes and began brushing her hair.
"Rita, you're coming to the capital with me, correct?" Estelle asked.
"Y-yeah, " Rita responded.
"So why are you worried? We will be together, " Estelle reassured a nervous redhead.
"Running an empire is difficult, " She warned her, "I worry that you won't have time for me."
Estelle finished brushing her hair and then ran her fingers through Rita's, "I'll always have time for you."
The two packed up and left the room, heading outside to meet with Yuri, Judith, Repede, and Patty.
"Great, " Yuri said smugly, "You're finally awake. Let's get going."
"We can take the ship out into the sea and have Ba'ul pick us up there, " Judith told them.
"Wonderful, let's head to the docks then, " Estelle tried to sound as perky as possible.
They boarded the ship, "Isn't this a bit bigger than our last one?" Rita noted.
"Aye," Patty nodded, "With the Blastia gone we had no way of powering the boat."
Patty ran downstairs; the rest of the party followed her. "Behold, the steam-powered engine!"
Rita examined the engine, "So how does this work, exactly?"
"Aye, " Patty started. "There's a pool of water above this furnace; you pour coal on the fire, the fire boils the water and the steam from the water powers the boat."
Rita scratched her head, "That's interesting."
"Patty, this is Genius!" Estelle beamed, "This could change the world, it could be a Blastia replacement."
Rita objected, " It's far from being a Blastia replacement."
Estelle looked offended, "Rita! Don't say that."
Rita shook her head, "But it's a great start."
"Aye, no, she's right." Patty said, "I'm not an expert on Blastia, only on ships."
"This is excellent work, Patty," Judith told her.
Yuri turned to Rita, "Do you think you could take Patty's invention and use your genius mage skills to turn it into something more?"
Rita held her head up, "Of course! This will give me something to do while Estelle is leading the Empire. Why didn't I think of this before."
Patty took out a shovel, "Alright, now I need a strong and handsome young lad to wield this," She winked at Yuri.
Yuri sighed, "Fine, what do I do?"
Patty smiled and pushed over a bag of coal, "Shovel the coal into the engine, so we have power."
Yuri shook his head, "Is that why you're bringing me along?"
"Aye."
"Is there another shovel?" Judith asked.
Patty ran out of the room and came back with an identical scoop, "Indeed there is."
Judith took it and smiled, "Thank you, Patty."
"You two have fun below deck," Patty told them while running up the stairs, "But not too much fun."
Patty, Estelle, and Rita went back up the stairs to the deck, followed loosely by a chubby Repede, who was struggling up the stairs.
"Come on, boy!" Estelle encouraged, "You can make it!"
Repede hopped up the last step, then whined and collapsed.
Rita shook her head, "How much did you give him, anyway?"
"He got however much he asked for while he was staying with Aunt Patty, " She replied.
"He didn't know when to stop?" Estelle asked.
Patty hopped down, running over to pet him. "Aye, he just couldn't resist my cooking."
Repede rolled on his belly to let Patty scratch it.
•••
Yuri and Judith began to sweat as they shoveled coal into the furnace.
"So, " Yuri said in between heaving breaths, "Why'd you decided to opt-in for hard labor?"
Judith eased up, "Well, I couldn't just leave you down here all alone, could I?" Her teasing tone shimmered through her syllables.
Yuri eased up as the ship began moving, "Ok, what's the real reason you came down here?."
The two heard three bangs, followed by a muffled Pirate Queen, "That's enough for now, but get ready for more."
Judith leaned her shovel against the wall; her body glistened with sweat from the heat, "Oh, I just wanted to ask where you're going next?" Judith held her hands behind her back, showing off her skimpy new outfit.
"I thought we decided that I was traveling with you and Ba'ul?" Yuri asked the purple-haired tease.
"You said you were hitching a ride with us, " She quoted him, "I need to know how long you plan to hitch a ride."
Yuri scratched his soot-covered chin, "I guess I never thought about it, how long do you want it to last?"
The question caught Judith off guard, and she stood silent for a moment as she thought.
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like." Judith settled with.
"If that's the case, then why did you need to know how long I planned to stay? Or did you just want to know?" Yuri asked.
Three more knocks could be heard from above, followed by Patty's muffled voice. "Alright, throw one more big scoop on for the brakes, and then you can come on outside for a quick break."
"This isn't over." He told her, knowing he was on the right path, seeing through her poker face.
Yuri heaved as much as he could into the shovel and grunted as he flung it onto the flickering blaze.
•••
The party docked at the new Dahngrest port.
"It's amazing how many cities have ports now!" Estelle pointed out.
"It appears our fascinated princess is still captivated by everything." Yuri pointed out the obvious.
The bridge extended, and everyone hopped off.
The Den of the guilds, Dahngrest, they entered.
Raven and Karol ran toward the ship to meet them.
"Great, " Rita rolled her eyes, "I can't wait to see how they react."
Judith covered a smile, "Ooh my, me either."
"Hey! Welcome back to Dahngrest!" an over-enthusiastic child told them at the gate.
"Didn't you just leave, though?" Raven asked, "What brings you back?"
"Just visiting," Yuri told them.
"Oh, Rita and Estelle are an item now."
There was a pause, Estelle gasped, Rita was furious, Karol and Raven both had their Jaw's dropped.
A smile formed on Raven's face, "Well, isn't that nice?" He genuinely asked.
"Hey, old man!" She instinctively reacted, expecting a perverted comment, "Huh?"
Raven shook his head, "What? This old man is tired of chasing skirt." He then turned to Judith, "Mostly..." He winked, noticing her new outfit.
"Ok, " Karol said, "I'm confused, how does this work? Which one of you is the boy...?"
Rita walked over to him and raised her arm, "Shut up."
Smack
Karol winced, "Ow! Hey, I was only kidding."
"We're actually here to gather everyone up, Estelle is going to the capital to be crowned Empress," Rita told them, trying not to tear up.
"I thought you were conceding to Löder?" Raven asked.
Rita nodded her head, "She was going to, but turns out Löder is very sick. He had a Blastia that ran off of his life force, but he lost it when Barbos kidnapped him, he had been surviving off of healing Artes alone until the Blastia were all destroyed."
Raven looked down, "So that poor young boy lost his heart too? And now he's going to die unless he gets a new one?"
"Exactly, " Rita clarified, "But there aren't any new ones anywhere, you're lucky yours wasn't ripped out."
Raven looked down at his chest, "Depends on what you mean by lucky, I guess..."
"So, you'll come with us then?" Estelle asked.
"I know I will!" Karol hopped in excitement.
Raven nodded, "I'll come too." His tone was nowhere near as enthusiastic, and it was almost depressing.
"I hope you'll at least spend the day in Dahngrest." A familiar, soft voice rang out.
It was Harry Whitehorse, grandson to the former Don, and now the leader of the guilds.
"Harry?" Yuri asked.
"The one and only, " His tone was beginning to sound more like a ruler than a teenager.
"My my, it sounds like someone has adapted to his role as a leader." Judith used her tease voice on the teen.
"I'm starting to feel like one, ma'am." He spoke firmly, barely phased by Judith's new outfit.
"I congratulate you on your newfound love for each other, but as you are a same-sex couple, I'd advise you to keep that a secret while you're here," Harry warned them.
"Yeah, " Karol added, "There are a few people who are very opposed to the idea."
Harry nodded, "Some are too favorable toward it if you know what I mean."
Rita scoffed, "Perverts. I'll do what I want; those scumbags can come after us for all I care, we can take them."
"I'm sure you could, " Harry agreed, "But I still have to ask you not to cause any trouble, I worked very hard to get things as peaceful as they are. With the Blastia gone, things are still tense."
"We will do our best." Estelle bowed, then looked at Rita, "Won't we?"
Rita rolled her eyes, then nodded.
Patty stared at Raven, "Hey, Old man, you're unusually quiet."
Raven had his head down, distracted by something unknown to the others.
"Raven!" Patty shouted.
"Huh? What?" His distracted mind came back to reality, "Sorry, I'm just tired. Running Altosk is quite a chore, especially in this state."
"Since when did you get promoted?" Yuri asked.
Raven's tone got darker once again, "Our former leader... took his own life after the Blastia were eradicated."
A moment of silence washed over the group, "Even with the Adephagos gone, we're still feeling the effects of the lack of Blastia, " Judith preached.
"That reminds me," Harry said, "I noticed your boat is of incredible size, there's no way someone transported it manually."
"Aye," Patty smiled, "That would be my new steam engine."
Harry looked at her in shock, "That is an incredible design; you are an absolute genius."
Patty put her hands behind her back proudly, "It was nothin', just came to me in a dream."
"I would like your help, Patty." Harry started, "Sometime in the future, I would like to work with you on finding a way to harness that technology and create new Blastia."
"Aye, sorry, but that job is taken, " She told him.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "By her?" He pointed to Rita.
"Aye!" Patty nodded.
"I've heard good things about you, " Harry told her.
"Damn right, " Yuri told him, "If anyone can do it, she can."
"I assume you'll be going to Zaphias with the princess?" Harry asked.
"Of course, " She told him, "Why?"
"There's a doctor in there that Löder has his eye on for a new personal guard. He's a teenager about your age, and his genius should be just under yours."
"So you think that if they put their heads together, they'll be able to figure this out?" Judith asked.
Harry nodded, "Your Inn stay is free. Unfortunately, it's only one room that I booked for you, so it looks like you'll be sharing."
"I have my private room here, " Karol stared, "If you wanted to stay with me, Judith, you could, " He blushed.
Rita walked over to him again, Karol winced.
Smack
Judith smiled, "Well, that's a kind offer, Karol."
Yuri smiled, "It's usually the old man who jumps at the opportunity to be disgusting."
Raven looked up at the words 'old man'. "Oh yeah, you can stay at my place, " He said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "We can share a bed... And it has a shower." He began mumbling and trailing off.
Judith made a scrunched face, "Well, this is no fun."
"Well, everyone, we can meet up later tonight at the Inn. I'll be at the Westward tavern around 12:30 in case anyone wants to meet up."
Everyone nodded and went separate ways.
•••
Judith, Patty, Karol, and Repede entered the tavern. They sat down at the round table Yuri had saved.
"Where's our new favorite couple and the old man?" Yuri asked.
"The girls have alone time in our room, they deserve it, " Judith told him.
"And the old man?" Yuri asked.
They all looked at each other, "That's actually why we're here..." Karol said.
"He disappeared, and we're concerned, " Judith told him.
"He's not his usual perverted self, we don't know what's going on, but it can't be anything good."
Repede whined. Patty bent down and reached in her pocket. "Aw, it looks like someone needs another one of Aunt Patty's secret treats."
She held out a piece of dry seafood; he ate it from her hand and laid back down.
"Patty, cut it out. He's on a diet now." Yuri spoke to her firmly.
"Anyway, what do you think he's up to?" Yuri asked.
"Have you tried checking his room? He's the leader of Altosk; he surely has his own."
They looked to Karol, "Actually..." Karol said, "He usually stays at the Inn, but now we can't find him there."
"That's very troublesome; I guess all we can do is wait for him to show up." Yuri couldn't come up with anything better to say.
"I guess..." Judith said, very worried, "I miss the excited old man who was obsessing over my body..."
"You just love having people wrapped around your thumb, don't you?" Yuri asked playfully.
Patty bent down and fed Repede again.
"Alright, I warned you." Yuri told her.
He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder as she struggled, "Aye no! Unhand me!"
"Let's go back to the Inn then. They have had enough time." Judith said.
Yuri carried Patty, still kicking and screaming. Repede followed them out the door.
Judith looked to the blue sky, "I hope you're ok out there, Raven."
•••
"Hey, check out what I've been working on!" Rita giggled.
She flung her sash at Estelle, managing to wrap it around her arm. She pulled on her to bring her closer.
"Rita! Hey!" Estelle giggled and struggled.
Rita reeled her in and wrapped her arms around her, calming them both down.
"I feel so happy with you, Rita." Estelle made small circles with her index finger on Rita's arms that were wrapped around her. "I feel as if I'm experiencing emotions that don't have names, there's a tingling in my tummy when I think about you."
Rita nuzzled her face into her Pink-haired girlfriend's neck, "Estelle, those are called butterflies."
"Butterflies..? I guess that's kind of what they feel like." She broke free and laid down on one of the beds, "Do you get them too...?"
"Of course I do." Rita laid down behind her to cuddle her.
"Wait..." Estelle said.
"Yeah...?" Rita asked.
"Let me be the big spoon this time." Estelle told her.
Rita blushed as she walked around to the other side, "O-Ok..."
Rita laid down, Estelle took her into her arms, pulling her close.
"This is nice." Estelle told her, "We can take turns if you'd like."
"Yeah... This is very nice..."
The pair fell into such a deep sleep that they didn't notice the rest of the party entering the room.
"Best not to disturb them." Judith told the others.
Yuri and Judith took the remaining bed, Karol hopped on the couch, and Patty curled up in the corner with Repede.
Everything in the Inn was peaceful, as it should be.
•••
Raven crouched in his cold, damp, isolated room. He flipped on the lights, making it much less gloomy.
He started warming up his shower. He took his shirt off, his chest covered in battle scars.
He pushed the dust off of the mirror with his palm, checking himself out.
His hair was awful, and he had been in a horrible mood since hearing about Löder.
"That poor kid has to die, but I get to live?"
He looked at his Blastia heart.
"I should've died long ago, and I don't have much life left."
He put a piece of plastic over his heart and got into the shower.
All he could think about was Löder, missing a heart, and himself still with one.
When he finished, he stepped out, got dressed, and got into his bed.
He shut off the lights. His only company was the sound of the chilling winds.
That night, his dreams would be haunted by the low hum of his artificial heart.
