"Wake her, the fog is thinning."

Sera cracked one of her eyes open, "I know, I'm already awake." She straightened herself, stretching her back, then glanced over at Richard to make sure he was ready to stand up.

The both of them now on their feet, Sera glanced around at all the soldiers, most of them having healed up enough to be able to move on their own. She took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for something, then spoke, "I'm gonna have to ask that everyone leave anything metal here."

All eyes were on her, several soldiers gripping their assault rifles. The Captain spoke up, "What? Leave everything metal? What are you on about?"

"Everything," her hand slid into her pocket and came out with her earrings, dropping them to the ground, "Not just guns and knives, but buttons, belt buckles, money, anything magnetic."

"You're crazy, girl…we're not walking through this hostile territory unarmed!"

"Do you wanna die?"

Instantly, every soldier in the room had their guns aimed at her, "Are you threatening us?"

Sera held up her free hand, "No, no, no, hear me out before you start waving your guns around. If we went out there like you all are right now, it would only be me and Richard that would make it out of the veil, because neither one of us is carrying anything magnetic."

Slowly, the captain lowered his rifle, "You'd better explain yourself right now, girl."

She sighed, then shrugged, "Guess I have no choice…okay, obviously, there's a reason that the veil is the way it is, constant fog, screwed up transmission, and compasses that stop pointing north."

"Cut to the chase, girl."

"Sheesh, be patient will ya? The whole mess is caused by the same thing…scattered throughout here are islands that are entirely made of hyperpolarized iron. Basically, the islands are super-magnets. There's also huge deposits of the stuff underground, that's why when the water from high tide isn't there to insulate it, the magnetics work on the polar nature of water and pull the fog tighter. I'm sure by now some of you have noticed that here, all your gear already feels heavier than normal, that's because we're close to one of the islands, and have to cross one to get out of here."

It all clicked for Richard, "So that's what happened to your ear…you walked onto one of these islands with an earring in, and it ripped it out."

"Well, it was actually three earrings, but yeah, right idea."

The soldier wasn't convinced, "Why should we believe you? We all already know that you want to escape, that's a given. Why should we believe that story about these island-magnets? If we do, then you could just lead us into an ambush and we'd be defenseless."

Sera frowned, frustrated, "Fine, lets go then, but no complaining when your body armor drags you to the ground and starts crushing you." She started walking, giving Richard a sharp jerk on his arm to start him walking too. As she started on her way, Richard noticed that her hand slipped into her pocket, pulling out her earrings and dropping them behind her.

Still clearly nervous, all the soldiers fell in, walking along behind them, weapons at the ready.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sera stopped, right at the edge of an island, having just stepped onto it from walking across coral. Richard looked down at her as she stared out across the island, seeming to be thinking.

The captain stepped up beside them, "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

She looked up at him, "This is the last chance…the next island after this one is the magnetic one…by the time we make it across this little island, it'll be too late."

"You're still on about that, huh? Men, be wary of an ambush."

She twisted, glaring at him, "God you're dense! If I were leading you into an ambush, I wouldn't be warning you right before we got there! I'm trying to get you through here safe, like I promised I would, but you're just gonna march along until the veil kills you!"

The captain glared right back, "We have no evidence to support your claims."

She set her jaw, "Fine, you want proof? Do you have something metal, a coin, a button, anything small."

The soldier stared at her for a moment, then reached into his pocket, coming out with a coin, "Okay?"

"So you know I didn't do something weird, I'll let you do it…toss the coin straight up, then watch where it goes…toss it higher than the high point of that hill in the middle of the island."

He stared at her for a moment as all the soldiers gathered around, watching, while most of them seemed even more tense, tightening the grip on their guns. He nodded, tossing the coin straight up.

Flipping a few times from the toss, the coin flew up, then suddenly, without warning, it changed direction, pulled to the side and zipping off over the hill, vanishing from sight into the fog.

For a moment, they all stared at where it had vanished too, then looked down at Sera, their eyes wide.

"This is the island where I got hurt that once, the rock in this island works as a strong insulator, so I was caught by surprise when I was exploring this area, crested the island top and the magnetics were full strength. So, are you gonna listen to me or not?"

The captain took a deep, long breath, then let it out, "Is there any other way out of the veil."

"Only if you hadn't wrecked the Zodiac…the only land route out is here…we're almost there, by the way, this is the furthest out iron-island in the veil."

Silence for a long moment, then the captain turned, facing his men, "Men, we're going to listen to her…this is a chance I can't take. Leave everything magnetic behind, that's an order."

Responding slowly, the soldiers complied, setting down their weapons and starting to drop their gear.

It took a few minutes, but before long, the soldiers had left all their gear behind.

"Okay, looks like we're ready…just a warning, the magnetic fields might mess with your sense of balance, try not to fall. Oh, and the fog is always heavy on these islands, so you won't be able to see at all. We're gonna have to link hands and I'll lead us around the fringes of the island that've been worn smooth. Shuffle your feet as you walk so you can feel any uneven surfaces, we'll just take our time and get across. I know this'll be hard for you all, but I need you to trust me. Your normal senses of direction are gonna be off, a feeling similar to vertigo, just trust me and follow the direction I lead you in."

With that, Sera tightened her grip on Richard's hand, and started forward. Behind him, the captain spoke, "Forgive me for this, your highness," and grabbed onto the prince's hand. As they walked, the soldiers all linked up, walking in a strung out line. Sera walked forward, suddenly vanishing from sight into shockingly dense fog that swirled wildly.

As Richard stepped through into the fog, he instantly stumbled, trying to balance himself, feeling like he was right side up and upside down all at once…and they weren't even on the actual magnetic island yet.

The line of people moved, if anyone could have seen them, it would have looked like a line of drunks being drug along by a single sober person. They continued on, walking through nearly waist-deep water then out onto the next island, completely blind to where they were going.

Sharply, the line lurched, being pulled to a stop by someone in the back as the sounds of someone throwing up could be heard.

Sera yelled back, and despite the fact that Richard had her by the hand, it sounded like her voice came from three different directions at once, "Hey, come on, lets go! If you're gonna get sick, try to keep walking anyway; sooner we get through here the better."

The line shifted, then started forward again, Sera tugging the staggering line of people along, fringing around the island, then back into the water up to their knees. Basically in a lost haze, fighting just to stay balanced, no one really registered how far they walked, but slowly registered that the fog was clearing and their senses of balance were returning.

Finally able to see again, the soldiers dropped the links between them, back to walking along, all of them looking more nervous without their weapons.

In the nervousness of it all, no one was really talking until Richard looked over at the captain, "Captain, I have a question for you…something's been on my mind and I can't figure it out."

"Yes, your highness?"

"Does the name Elinda Pendragon mean anything to you?"

He blinked once, "Yes, your highness, it does…the Pendragon family was the noble family that designed and built the Imperial Palace, the Emperor at the time named it after them and placed the head of the family as an Archduke, placing him among the seven high noble families. The family got caught up in some kind of dispute with another noble family and was assassinated. The only survivor was believed to be Elinda Pendragon, who was away with her husband on a trip at the time…unfortunately, that was twenty years ago, when I was still a little kid, and no one ever saw her again. Why do you ask?"

Sera stopped cold, her mouth falling open as she stared at the captain, "Y-you're sure about that?"

He looked at her, looking a little confused, "Of course I am, I'm a soldier of Britannia, I'd hope I was versed in my basic history."

Richard could only stare at the girl as she just stared off into the fog…

The captain looked between the two people, "What's wrong?"

"Elinda Pendragon was…my mother's name," Sera whispered, "And they wrecked in the veil twenty years ago."

Instantly, all the soldiers, having been listening in, trying to figure out why they had stopped, stared at her, "What!?"

The captain stared, "You're saying that you are the daughter of Elinda Pendragon?"

"I don't know if it was the same…but yeah, that was my mom's name."

Almost numbly, she started walking forward again, clearly thinking as she walked.

All the soldiers stared at her, following along, one even commenting, "Now that you mention it, I've seen pictures of the Pendragon family, she's got the copper eyes and blonde hair that the whole family had."

Richard looked over at the captain, "That's why I asked you about what I did when we were back waiting for the tide to come back in. I thought it might be something like that."

The captain sighed a little, "If she truly is the lost heir to the Pendragon family, then it would offer more strength to your case."

Sera looked over at Richard, her gaze questioning him, so he explained, "I want to offer you a full pardon…and to bring you back with me, let you live a normal life, away from the chaos and violence of this life you're in. If you are who we think you are, then it'd be easy to pass it off that you were a long time hostage of the pirates, and they realized late that you weren't worth anything to them anymore since your family was wiped out, so they just forced you to join them." Before she could retort, he leaned in close and whispered to her, "I know that's not the truth, but it's the only way I can save you…I don't want you to die."

Suddenly, so abruptly that the instant brightness caused everyone to flinch, the fog ended, giving way to clear sky.

Sera was moving slowly, but pointed over to a rock that was off to the side, "There's a radio under there that you can use to call someone to come get you. Since you're outside the fog, radios will work again. So call them and they'll come pick you up."

The captain picked up on it first, "Don't you mean, 'us'?"

A little smile spread across her face and she opened her right hand, showing a small, pointed rock. She twisted her wrist around, the last little bit of the ziptie snapped, and she pulled her hand free of Richard's, moving back to put a few feet between her and the soldiers and prince. "I promised to lead you out, not to come with you once I did. So I'll be leaving now."

Richard spoke as the soldiers shifted, all clearly ready to charge and grab the girl, "Sera, wait! If I give you a pardon, you'll be free!"

She shook her head, "That's the kind of thing that I'd have to think about for a while, and I just can't take that chance. I've found an option that guarantees I'll stay free, so I'm taking it."

The captain glared, "You really think you can get away from all of us?"

She shook her head again, "No, you're gonna let me go. Think about it, I've been carrying this rock since we were at Lady Victoria, I coulda left you all any time I wanted, especially on that magnetic island. Leaving you all there would have been really easy. I spared your lives, so you'll spare mine." She looked right at Richard, a little smile on her face "After all, you can't have it said that the Twelfth Prince rewards kindness with cruelty." With that, she turned to walk away.

Richard gritted his teeth, looking frustrated, "But Sera, you deserve a better life than this."

She glanced back, "I'm not sure about that…I already told you I'm not a good person. But I'll remember your offer, and I might take you up on it someday. See ya later."

The captain stepped forward, "Your Highness?"

Richard held up his hand, a sad look on his face, "Stand your men down, Captain…we're letting her go. Oh, and captain? We were led out of the veil by a person who lived in the veil, not by one of the pirates."

He snapped to attention, "Yes, Your Highness!"

Tossing one last little smile back at them, the blonde girl vanished into the fog.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A few hours later found Prince Richard de Britannia aboard one of the airships in the fleet. Looking back at the receding wall of fog as the ship flew away from the veil, leaving it far behind. He was already back into clothing better suited to his status, was all cleaned up, and looked none the worse for the wear save a few scrapes from the trip through the veil.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Meanwhile, a blonde, slightly beat-up girl pushed through the doors of her father's room, walking in without a word. She stood there, looking at her father for a moment.

In an instant, he was on his feet, wrapping her up in a hug, "Sera, thank God you're alright. We heard what happened, how did you escape?"

"They let me go after I led them out of the veil…favor for a favor I guess. Dad, I have a question."

He held her tight, "What is it?"

"Am I…some kind of Britannian nobility?"

He stiffened, holding her back at arm's length, "What? Where did you get that idea?"

"The princess…Elinda Pendragon was the last known survivor of the Pendragon family that disappeared twenty years ago…my mom. I'm not like…the 'lost heir' of the Pendragon family, am I?"

Her adoptive father's shoulders slumped, a weak smile crossing his face, "I figured you'd find out some day."

Her gaze snapped up, looking right at him, her mouth open, "Wh-what, I am? You knew!?"

He nodded slowly, "I knew…I've meant to tell you, but could never figure out how."

He walked over to the wall, pulling aside a picture frame to reveal his safe. Spinning the dial and opening the door, he pulled out a small case, handing it to her.

She took it and opened the case, looking into it to see a golden signet ring, emblazoned with a dragon. Gingerly, she took it out of the case, turning it over in her hands, examining the beautiful design of the ring, "Where…where did this come from?"

"I didn't expect you'd remember, after all, your memories were never very clear of the time gap before I found you…probably from the trauma of it all. You were wearing this around your neck when we found you. I recognized it as the seal of the Pendragon Family, and you really do look like your mother."

Sera stood still, silent, her copper eyes studying the elegant ring in her hand.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Aboard the airship, Prince Richard stood; talking to a scientist that held a plastic bag in his hand, within was a few strands of blonde hair. He spoke steadily, "I'm not sure why, but I have to know…there is a chance that the lost Archduke's family isn't completely gone."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Still staring at the ring, she seemed to make a decision and looked up at her adoptive father, "Dad…do you think someone around here could size this to my finger?"