WR: Yeah ok, well here we go, second chapter of sequel!
Despite herself, Fina's heart fluttered at the thought of explaining herself to her father. He brother had personally taken her through the corridors to the royal chambers to ensure that she did not run off again. It was clear he was angry with her, she looked at his back and sighed. Why did her family not understand how she felt? She was dying in here, and they didn't even care! She decided to stay silent about her purchase, her ship was still floating at the docks. She wondered whether the boatman would have merely kept her money and sold the craft again, assuming she would not return. It was most probable.
She groaned inwardly, they had arrived at the door's to her father's quarters. After her brother's knock, and the snapped reply to leave, she knew he was in a foul mood, and her punishment was likely to be severe. Vyse opened the door and she heard him ask for their father to step outside for the briefest of moments.
"This had better be good, Boy!" He growled finally appearing in the corridor and closing the door with a snap behind him.
"It is." The young Emperor replied, "I found Fina wandering around the docks with Vurg. Unescorted." He said.
Ramirez's eyes instantly narrowed and snapped to his daughter. She tried to hold his fierce gaze but could not, and her own drifted to the marble floor in defeat.
"You were outside the Palace?" He asked her curtly despite his son's word that she was.
She looked up at him again and opened her mouth to respond, however, no words came, and so, dropping her eyes again she merely nodded. She had known her father was in a bad mood, but she had not been expecting the fury in his voice, it was such that it made her jump in surprise.
"How dare you disobey my word!" He shouted, "You know very well that it is forbidden for you to leave here without my express consent, and with an escort! I take these precautions for a reason Fina, and you toss aside my protection as if it means nothing! You ungrateful little fool!"
Fina had never been able to stand being shouted at, least of all by her father whom she adored more than anyone. Her eyes instantly welled and a painful lump choked her.
"I-I'm sorry…" She breathed, barely above a whisper, eyes still trained in her feet.
Ramirez shook his head. His wife lay abed, and his daughter, one of his most treasured possessions had put herself in danger, it was the last straw and his anger was soaring.
"From this day, you will never, set foot outside these walls again, unless I myself accompany you, do I make myself perfectly clear?" He said, his voice low.
Fina's head shot up, her tears spilling over and rolling down her cheeks.
"What?" She asked, sucking in a breath of shock.
"Do I make myself clear, young Princess!" Ramirez said again, the volume returning with each word.
She clamped her lips together, not trusting her mouth, all she could do was nod once, before she turned and dashed down the corridor, hiding her tears and shoving past her brother.
Vyse winced as he watched her go. Ramirez barely needed to leave Soltis, and he knew than now her freedom would be even more limited. He sighed and shook his head. His father had already returned to his room, closing the door gently. Shaking his head the young Emperor decided that he would go to the soldier's Mess and get some food. He always ate there, even now, amongst the men who made up his military.
The day was gradually drawing to its end, the rich hues that ranges from blues to striking oranges painted the sky with their glorious touch. Ramirez turned, unimpressed from the view, and looked at his wife… she should have woken hours ago. He regularly checked the progress of her health. She was in perfect condition, and his mild sleep spell had worn off… but she did not wake. It was unnatural, and it worried him greatly. He knew he should sleep, but he also knew that he would not, and that he would sit up beside her like a guardian, unmoving until she awoke.
He sighed. He was probably being over dramatic, but he could not shake this nagging worry that it was something more than a fever which plagued her.
He watched carefully; she slept easily, a peaceful expression on her face, her chest steadily rising and falling, occasionally a small smile would even angle the corners of her mouth slightly, as if she were dreaming some sweetness.
He took up his position beside the bed, staring at her with unblinking eyes like some ever present demon, haunting its prey. Why did his heart still pound painfully hard, when she looked so at ease? What was this sense that told him, that she was never going to wake…
In the docks, the boatman shuffled out of his small hut beside his pier, and lit the tobacco nestled in the crook of his pipe. He then drew in a deep breath, relaxing as the smoke filled his lungs. What a day! First he had sold his best ship at an exceedingly high price, to the Princess of Soltis no less! And then the Emperor himself had arrived on the scene to reign in the flyaway teen. The man shook his head. By her age he had already been off on several skirmishes alone, he had owned his own small boat and happily sailed off to explore. To him it seemed so wrong to anchor a human to land, it was natural to fly between the continents and to seek out new knowledge about the world around you.
He sighed and drew in the last of his pipe. Then wandering to the edge of the docks he up ended the thing and tapped out the ashes, watching them swirl and drift downwards into Deep Sky. He sniffed, and wiped one grubby hand under his nose, before he turned to head back to his small home.
Suddenly he froze, crouching beside the Princess's ship on the pier was someone in a dark cloak and it was clear they were loosening the ropes which bound the vessel to the docks.
"Ey! You there, you don't have permission to be here! Get your thieving little hands off that ship!" He yelled, the person was obviously startled and leapt to their feet. The boatman did not want to see that ship stolen, not relishing the thought of the Princess's wrath descending on him for losing her new toy.
He approached the boat thief and grabbed their wrist in his large hand.
"Your comin' with me to the patrol station lad!" He said.
"Release me salesman! I am no thief!"
He paused, that voice was female.
"What'choo talking about! That ship has been sold! And I am not gonna let a little urchin like you take it!"
"I believe you made the mistake of thinking I was nothing but a simple street girl on our encounter earlier today." With that she raised her free hand and swept back the cowl, exposing the shock of long, stunning hair that fell below her shoulders, the pale lavender of her eyes gleamed silver under the light of the high Moon.
He instantly released her, snatching his hand away as if she were poison, falling to a trembling knee.
"Forgive me, Princess! I was merely trying to protect your earlier purchase, boat thieves are common in the docks! I have lost many a fine vessel to them and-"
She held up a hand to halt the flow of words from his mouth.
"There is nothing to forgive boatman, however, I will beg of you one favour."
He looked up at her and nodded dumbly.
"I ask that you speak of my presence here tonight to no one. I am leaving the palace without the knowledge or consent of either my father or my brother. I do not want them to follow me, do I have your promise of silence?" She asked, her eyes hard, clearly not ashamed or afraid in the slightest of her flight from Soltis.
He was gob smacked. The Princess was running away! And he was the first to know! Not only that, but she was using one of his ships to do so… he could be killed for this.. offered to Zelos as punishment for aiding the young woman to leave perhaps to meet only death. He locked eyes with her and saw the same fierce determination he had once had, and he saw her longing to sail, to be free of lands grip on her feet, to feel the wind on her face…
How could he say no? He sighed and slowly rose to meet here eye to eye.
"Lass, I won't say a word, but I hope your ready for whatever you find out there. Air monsters roam the skies and pray on vessels…"
He drifted off as she swept her cloak aside to reveal twin sabres buckled at each hip. He then saw that behind her beside the ship, where she had been crouching were two satchels, one clearly filled with clothes, and the other filled with the other essentials. Around her waist jangles a bulging pouch that promised she would not be short of money, however, his lingering guilt for charging so highly for the vessel returned.
"Please, Highness, allow me to return some of the gold to you, I should not have asked so much."
"Consider it payment for your silence." She said with a small smile. "However, I should like to know if you have a map and compass which I can buy from you to aid me to Sailors Island."
He instantly pulled out a gold plated compass from a pouch at his side, and then retrieved a map of all the continents and the air ways of Arcadia. When she reached for the bag of money at her side he shook his head and stubbornly refused.
"I have taken enough of your coins, you will need them more than me. But I don't recommend staying on Sailors Island long, it will be one of the first places to be alerted to your disappearance." He told her.
She nodded.
"Thank you, I will stay there only one night." She then inclined her head slightly, causing the salesman great embarrassment at the fact that royalty was bowing to him. She then turned and grabbed her bags. She tossed them aboard and followed them with practiced ease. The man swiftly loosened the ropes and the ship drifted away from the pier.
He watched her lash in the sails and heard the engine begin to roar. He saw her enter the cabin and stand at the wheel, she gripped it for a moment in determination, her eyes lingering on the tower, the only thing she had ever known, before she swung the wheel, turning the boat away. The wings at the side flared and swept through the wind, propelling the ship away. The man watched till night swallowed it and shook his head.
"Good luck Lass."
Fina's heart was pounding…. She had done it! She didn't know what to expect now, no doubt her brother would have the whole armada out looking for her, she didn't know how she would manage to avoid them. All she wanted to do was have a little freedom, she wanted to feel independent and self reliant. She could no longer stand the oppressive protection bestowed upon her by her family.
She cast her eyes out to the dark skies and glanced at her map, Sailors Island was several leagues East of Soltis and would take her a good many hours to get there. No doubt it would take a much shorter time if she were to travel in a ship like the Delphinus, or her father's trim flagship, the powerful Monoceros. But those ships were not built to tack with the wind, they were built to power through the strongest sky rifts to reach their destinations more quickly. However, she pushed the thoughts of their speed from her mind and concentrated on her steering. She was definitely enjoying herself, and nothing would dampen her mood!
For the first time in her life, she felt free!
Wild-Roze: Okay, short and sweet. Well, I'll leave you there… there will be more to come in good time!