A/N: Originally, I wasn't sure if I'd ever continue this story. I hadn't liked where it was going, I got bored, and then I just forgot about it. And now, I've been writing a novel, and I feel like this writing here is seriously subpar—as I've noted in my other story I've been working on.

But then I showed it to a friend, and I remembered that I was writing this solely for fun, unlike my novel-in-progress, and decided it would be worth picking up again, to see what happens. I nearly forgot where I was going with this one, too, but then I remembered luckily, so here we go!

So, apologies, and without further ado, here is the next chapter.

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Jean leaned against the counter in the kitchen of the Dragonship Destiny, watching as Ronfar served up a meal to Hiro to try and cheer the boy up. Between the antics of Ruby and Ronfar, Hiro was practically choking on his food.

No doubt they were trying to snap Hiro out of his melancholy, but Jean personally doubted that he'd needed it. Once Hiro had decided on his course, he'd latched onto it with a determination that would have rivaled her own when she'd first found the caravan long ago.

Lucia wouldn't be alone for much longer, and it was about time that she finally understood what it meant to be human.

Jean sighed to herself. She wanted to help Hiro, because Althena knew that he deserved the chance to be happy—or, she amended to herself, Althena would have known, if she'd still been around.

That was part of the problem. Althena was gone, Zophar was gone, and Lucia had left Lunar to the humans and beastmen. And Vile Tribe, she reminded herself, remembering the surprising news that Ghaleon was not only alive, but traveling with them.

She still wasn't sure how to feel about that, but then, if she deserved second chances, and if Leo did, she supposed Ghaleon did, as well.

Though that was the other problem.

She no longer felt like she'd had a place. Ronfar constantly gushed over Mauri, and Ruby, despite her own protests, was clearly mooning over Nall. Adding Hiro and his adoration for Lucia into the mix, and it was impossible not to feel lonely.

Not to mention the fact that Lemina and Ghaleon were clearly having quiet, heated discussions of their own, and though both claimed it was only about Vane, there was something about Lemina that seemed to intrigue Ghaleon despite his best efforts to the contrary. Jean doubted their conversations would stay as mere conversations for much longer—besides, they both had the same, unrivaled passion for restoring Vane bringing them together despite their differences.

If there was one thing Lemina could and would respect, it would be that.

Leo was the only other person who was often on his own, but the former White Knight seemed busy still beating himself up over the past.

So, Jean was alone, and after her years with the caravan and, before that, in her forced training with Lunn and the other kidnapped children, she hated it. She'd rarely been alone, and it was hard to stomach now.

She hadn't felt even the slightest urge to dance in weeks . . .

She turned and left the kitchen, though she wasn't sure where she'd go. Instead, she wandered from corridor to corridor, until she finally came to the doors that had once led to Leo's room—a room he now insisted that Hiro use, because, no doubt, Leo still felt unworthy.

To her surprise, Leo was standing outside the doors, though he didn't seem to notice her.

"Leo?" she called out, reaching to pat him on the back before she thought better of it. "Are you alright?"

He jumped as he turned to meet her eyes. "I don't know," he admitted, and then sighed. "I don't know who I am anymore. I'm not Leo, the White Knight, nor am I Leo, of Althena. Althena isn't even around anymore, and most of the Chosen have fled their posts. It won't be long before everyone learns the truth about Althena and the Chosen. Everything I thought had given me purpose was false." He sighed. "Mauri has finally been healed, and she's found happiness with Ronfar. What's left for me?"

She tried not to gape as he echoed her own words. "I was going to go back to the caravan," she admitted, though she spoke so quietly she wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or him, "but somehow, that still feels like running away to me. It'll always be home to me, but . . . " she trailed off.

"It's not the same," he filled in for her.

She licked her dry lips. "Everyone, they have something to live for. Someone to live for." Her words were quiet, and she didn't even know why she was unloading this all on Leo, when he was already burdened enough with his own problems.

"Everyone has a place," he echoed. His expression was melancholy, and before Jean could think better of it, she gave in to the urge to pull him into a hug they both do desperately needed.

He shook for a moment before he relaxed and awkwardly returned the hug. They stood like that for a long time without speaking, but it was the first time in years that Jean had felt so at peace.

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The Dragonship Destiny was empty on deck, save for Lemina, and she took advantage of the moment to relax against the side of the ship and close her eyes to enjoy the scent of the ocean breeze and the calming sound of the ocean moving beneath the ship.

She heard a cough, and she reluctantly opened her eyes to see Ghaleon relaxing against the rail beside her.

She hadn't even heard him walk up.

She sighed, realizing that he'd probably sought her out to once again criticize the state of Vane. "Look, buster, I want to restore Vane more than anybody, but right now, there's not much we can do until Hiro's quest is done!"

"I said nothing to the contrary," Ghaleon said smoothly. "In fact, I believe I've said nothing at all to that note."

She rolled her eyes and snorted, not caring that it wasn't at all ladylike. "You're not fooling anybody, Ghaleon. I know you don't care about helping Hiro get Lucia back!"

He tilted his head, his signature smirk firmly in place. "Don't I? Don't dare to presume you know anything about me, little girl. I'm far older than you, and, might I add, far more mature in my own wishes and desires. There's no reason for me not to help the boy, despite his foolishness in losing his little princess."

She waggled her finger in front of him. "Don't start, Ghaleon! It wasn't his fault that Lucia was planning on going back—that's her duty!" And Lemina, better than anybody, understood the pressing weight of duty over the heart.

"Yes, it is her duty," Ghaleon drawled the words out. "One might wonder how she plans to complete her task if she allows herself to act on her feelings for the boy. Will she trust in the power of humanity to return to a restored Blue Star in the future on their own?"

Lemina opened her mouth and then closed it; that wasn't something she'd ever stopped to consider. Nor, she decided, was it likely that Hiro had.

But Lucia most certainly had.

"Althena trusted in the power of humans," Lemina defended, but her voice was weak. Althena had left key players on Lunar and the Blue Star, so it wasn't as if she'd left them all alone. There were the dragons, and Lucia herself, to ensure that the humans were safeguarded until their return.

And she'd left the humans with their magic.

Ghaleon, however, nodded. "So she did. But will Lucia?" He scoffed as he leaned back on his arms against the railing. "Lucia does not trust her human heart nearly as much as Luna did."

Lemina didn't like the way he emphasized human heart, as though there was something wrong with it. "What's wrong with being in love?" she snapped.

"Love is foolish." He stared up at the Blue Star peeking through the clouds. "It leads humans to do all sorts of foolish things."

"Haven't you ever been in love?" She folded her arms across her chest and waited, but she already suspected the answer was no.

"Why would I?" Ghaleon chuckled, but it was without mirth. "I saw what love did to Dyne, and then what it did to Alex and Luna. It took them down such foolish paths—ones they could have easily avoided."

"And love saved Alex in the end!" Lemina shouted, angered at Ghaleon's easy dismissal. "And it saved Hiro! If Lucia hadn't loved and trusted Hiro, she would have destroyed this whole planet before we could save it!"

"And yet that same love drove her from you humans to begin with. Tell me, little girl, if Lucia had trusted her feelings so much to begin with, why did she drive you away and allow Zophar to capture her before her mission had been completed?" Ghaleon raised a brow, on the side of his face that was still human—no, she reminded herself, still Vile Tribe.

Lemina huffed, not wanting to admit that Ghaleon had a point. "She's learning. And Hiro will help her," she insisted after a moment. "You'd be lucky, if you were ever loved like that."

Ghaleon suddenly leaned over her, his face just inches from hers. "I would be foolish," he repeated, but then he abruptly backed away. "Then again, I have lived and died twice already. Perhaps I already foolish. But love is not a folly I intend to add to my list."

He turned and walked towards the door leading to the bowels of the Destiny just as Hiro emerged, shouting, "The Dragon's Nest—Ruby says it's in sight!"