Chapter 7 – Blue Vagabond

She could not believe what she was hearing. Although her eyes told her that it was true; the last person she would ever expect to rant to her about another crewmate (rather than about her in the teen's usual derogatory tone) was indeed taking up residence in the bridge and mouthing off about a particular curly-haired pirate. The blonde was no longer in a constant need to spill her guts out, but her bedraggled appearance and tired mind demanded attention from the last person she ever would turn to otherwise.

Theora fought back a sigh, nodding numbly when prompted by the blonde's intentional pauses and posing quiet inquiries when she could. Skye was completely slamming Vanessa's decision to allow the crew of the Claudia onboard. Theora had expected that this would happen (it goes against the Red Rogues code of conduct, under the clause of Board or be Boarded, after all), but never could she have anticipated that Skye would be vocalizing her concerns to her. Had someone suggested to her before that the surly blonde would confide in her enough to relentless bash Vanessa for whatever the reason, Theora would have laughed in their face.

Well, she's been wrong about things before.

"She went against everything that we stand for." Skye grumbled, running her fingers through her long hair as she stared out the window. She huffed, frowning as the desert land of Nasr appeared on the horizon. "Acted like a complete Blue Rogue… can you believe it? She agreed not to attack merchant ships in this region!" Skye groaned. "What is the world coming to?"

"There's nothing that can be done about that now." Theora shrugged, not really interested in Skye's opinion on the matter. She personally had no issue with what Vanessa had done. At Skye's glare, however, she added, "Well, there's always the marketplace."

"Nasrad won't have anything of interest in the markets for us…" Skye sighed, leaning back to stare up at the ceiling. "We've already taken all the valuable merchandise. You would know that too if you weren't entirely dependent and useless."

"I'm sorry that I haven't had the opportunity to participate in such an activity, Skye." Theora frowned, not taking her eyes off the land as she was guiding the Thalia towards it. "Someone has to look after the ship."

"Excuses." Skye retorted, blue eyes again resting on the pre-teen. "You wouldn't resort to thievery ever; I know your type. You lack the skill to know what is truly valuable anyway; too absorbed in piloting and ravioli to care about anything else."

"Is that what you really think?" Theora was trying not to let it show that the blonde easily agitated her every time she opened her mouth. It was hard, attempting to remain calm while a person in the same room character assassinated her. "You had no complaints about my choice in ship. Neither you nor Vanessa knows how to fly, though at least Vanessa has shown initiative in trying to learn. Am I really as useless as you would wish me to believe? Where would you be now if I couldn't fly? Grounded, I'd think." Skye opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself. As much as she'd hate to admit it, the twerp had a point – the Red Rogues couldn't be a terror of the skies if there weren't a pilot to operate the ship. That still didn't change one fact, though.

"Extra credentials aside, you would fail if you ever attempted to steal. One could never be considered truly part of the Red Rogues if they can't even do that." Skye crossed her arms, smirking as she noticed the visible tremble of the girl. Clearly she had pressed some of Theora's buttons. Her smug feeling quickly deteriorated as the pigtail-haired girl spun the helm rapidly, forcing the ship into a sharp turn. Skye was flung from her seat onto the floor.

"Sorry, had to avoid a rock." Theora mumbled. Both of them knew only too well that she was lying. The door to the bridge flung open, Vanessa taking a breath as she had just run from her room to find out the source of the disturbance. Seeing Skye on her ungraceful position on the floor, Vanessa's eyebrow raised as speculations formed in her head.

"Floating rock?" She asked; walking over to their pilot while the girl stared intently ahead, nearing the port to Nasrad.

"Yep. Didn't notice it right away; sorry about that." Theora threw Vanessa an apologetic smile. She had forgotten that her actions would also affect the curly-haired girl below deck. Vanessa moved over to help Skye up; the latter's face adopting a tinge of her former illness from the shuffle.

"Totally lying…" Skye whispered as she was pulled up, throwing Theora a scornful look. "Can't just accept her place on this ship…" Vanessa's expression darkened.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Skye." Her tone was curt; displeased. If Skye had spoken to Theora, it couldn't have been anything less than degrading to the younger crewmember. "But we'll speak of that later. Theora, how much longer will it take for us to dock, approximately?"

"Given the activity of the port right now… I'd say around ten to fifteen minutes." Theora calmly replied back. She had quickly regained her composure at Vanessa's entry. She never wanted the older teen to see her in a frazzled state, though sometimes she couldn't help it. "I'll buzz the intercom to let you know when we've arrived." Vanessa flashed Theora a grateful smile.

"Thank you. See you shortly." With that, Vanessa dragged Skye out of the room, giving Theora some valuable time alone to ponder on her thoughts.

Nasrad was a nostalgic sight as Theora directed their ship safely into the docks; the act itself being one that she had performed countless times over the last few months. This was more real and thrilling than any simulation she had seen, and Theora never grew tired of it. When she was young, she always had an aspiration to fly. Her parents had been supportive of the notion and enrolled her in lessons; she excelled in her dream with top marks as one of the youngest fully fledged pilots the world had seen. Still, she doubted that her parents had ever expected her to start adventuring as early as she had. She didn't blame them; she hadn't expected it either. While she missed some things, this had been one experience she would never regret taking part of.

Theora faithfully buzzed the intercom as she had promised, watching from the window as Vanessa hurried out onto the deck and gracefully hopped off onto the waiting stretch of stone that served as their respective docking point. Skye appeared not too long after, opting instead to drop a plank down to descend rather than jumping off like her comrade. She wasn't yet in the mood to upset her stomach again, it seemed. Theora sighed, feeling slightly left out as she observed the two ascend the slope and head into the city. Vanessa had already asked her before if she wanted to join them in their adventure, but knowing that meant that she had to tag along with Skye, she politely declined. She didn't think she could let the insults roll off her shoulders as she usually did. Not tonight, at least…

Thinking of the blonde's words from earlier, Theora came to the realization that she was really bothered by what had been said. She knew that she shouldn't be – her piloting ability was definitely more useful than Skye would ever give credit for – but she couldn't help herself. Part of her was actually curious about the subtle challenge that had presented itself… and whether she could actually handle it. Theora sighed again. She knew what she had to do, and though she was entirely against setting upon it, she was going to do it anyway.

Knowing she would need to equip herself for any potential threats along the way, Theora headed for the bedrooms. She was sure that Vanessa wouldn't mind if she borrowed one of her weapons.

If there was one thing Theora hadn't prepared for as she lurked around the outskirts of the city, it was the heat. She felt like she was sweltering; her hair hot as it collected within its thick strands. Thinking of how uncomfortable she felt, Theora wondered how Skye and Vanessa usually managed their Nasr escapades. With Vanessa's dense dark curly hair and armour, Theora was surprised that she didn't pass out from heat exhaustion (Unbeknownst to Theora; that actually had happened on one of their first outings). Skye was a bit better off, but her hair and outfit were still potential hardships from what the girl could see. She was thankful for her light fabrics and skirt. At least she could appreciate the occasional breeze that passed through.

As Theora caught sight of the palace in the distance, her heart began to beat faster. She had chosen the most daunting of all targets to prove herself to the team – or to Skye, she supposed, as Vanessa had no problem with her – the rumoured golden chalice of the Nasultan. There had been idle whisperings around that it had been on display exclusively for this one day in the throne room, though nobody she eavesdropped could confirm it – the Nasultan rarely permitted visitors access to the palace on a regular day now after a failed assassination attempt only a few months before. Tension between Nasr and Valua rose to new levels after that, and next to no one (save for a few bodyguards) had seen the Nasultan in person since.

Theora wiped some sweat off her brow; body trembling with nerves. Of course she had to choose the most hard ass location to mark her debut – some market stalls just wouldn't do, oh no. She watched the two guards posted by the bridge standing rigidly in their posts, likely frozen in boredom from how mundane their jobs were. She couldn't just rush them or try to sneak past them – both would draw too much attention to herself; resulting in her capture. She doubted that she could be stealth with her vibrant blue color scheme anyway. She stuck out like a sore thumb in contrast to the sandy reds that made up this region.

She waited for an opportunity to present itself, still pressed up against a wall of the final building before the open expanse ahead. She tentatively touched the end of the mace she had retrieved from Vanessa's closet. Theora frowned when her fingers made contact. She had used weapons before, sure. Just never before on another human being.

"Give me your money!" She heard a gruff voice demand from somewhere nearby. Theora's head spun around, eyes widening as she caught sight of the spectacle unfolding in the town center. A tall and burly man was holding a young girl, who appeared to be sobbing as she struggled in his grip. He was threatening her mother by holding a knife near the young girl's throat. Theora felt a pang of guilt as she had a direct path to knocking out the brute from behind and chose not to act on it. Playing hero would satisfy her morals and her upbringing… but not what she was attempting to do right now. She wasn't too sure why she craved Skye's approval and acceptance as a Red Rogue. Perhaps, deep down, she wished that Skye wouldn't be so judgmental over her mere existence anymore.

Theora saw the brief opening as both guards moved to quell the growing commotion. They were tasked to guard the bridge and preserve the peace in the area. It wasn't too practical an order – easily exploited if one thought of it. With only a moment's hesitation, she pushed herself from the wall and slipped by undetected. The bridge sprawled onward for quite a distance; Theora ran as fast as her short legs could carry her. When she knew she'd appear as nothing more than a speck of blue to those gazing from the town, Theora took a brief pause to catch her breath. She felt out of shape; her lungs burning from the exertion. She knew that it was due to her choice of weapon – the mace she wielded was heavy, meant for stronger arms than hers. Still, she wouldn't feel right in taking Vanessa's blades or Skye's guns. With both, she knew that they would draw blood. If she were to have a confrontation, she wanted a clean knock out, nothing more.

"Theora?" Her voice seemed to echo through the halls; a feeling of emptiness engulfing the Thalia as Vanessa slowly trudged on through. She looked around, puzzled that she hadn't heard the clamouring of her friend from anywhere. Theora wasn't in the bridge or in her room… just where was she? "I'll make you ravioli tonight if you want… but only if you stop playing these games." Vanessa crossed her arms, staring at each of the closed doors in the hall for any sign of movement. There was none. Was Theora really not here?

As she walked by, Vanessa felt a small draft from her bedroom door. When she paused to investigate, she realized that it was open just a crack – Vanessa had made sure to close it completely prior to her departure, so she knew someone had been in there. Theora wasn't usually such a minx about it, though… Had she done something she was ashamed of? Vanessa pushed open the door.

Everything seemed to be in order, exactly as she had left it. The sheets were tucked in, the dresser drawers were closed; the few books she had managed to collect were still neatly displayed on her small bookcase next to a spare compass and map that she had stolen for those 'just in case' moments. For being a spare, the compass was made of solid gold and the map was created by one of the former legendary and now felled mapmakers. They were personal treasures – yet to actually see any use, since they already had a compass and map located on the centerpiece table in the bridge. Out of habit, Vanessa passed by the rest of her room and went to open the closet door. There, she saw something she did not expect.

"Oh Theora…" Vanessa groaned, staring up at her ceiling in dismay. "What are you up to now?"

She was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How had she ever convinced herself that she was actually capable of such a feat? Not even Skye or Vanessa had ever attempted it before (though they had certainly discussed it, Vanessa usually reasoned against actually infiltrating the palace because it was too risky), so why did she think that she would be able to succeed whereas the other two had responsibly dismissed it? Theora bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling; pressed up behind a decorative pillar in the main hallway. Security was tight; there were guards seemingly everywhere. They had yet to detect the small blue clad vagabond that nimbly moved from pillar to pillar, but it was only a matter of time, Theora knew. Her right hand tightened around the handle of the mace. Please don't make me use this…

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Theora seized up in fear, turning her head to face her opponent. She had been discovered! The man was already calling for his colleagues to surround her. She looked up with a face of dismay, cursing those up above for their sick sense of humour. As she whirled around with mace equipped, man still charging but getting ever closer, Theora got an idea. She could only pray that it would work.

"Moons, give me strength!" Her voice seemed to bounce off the walls, revealing the undercurrent of terror from her tone as she spoke. The guard was now at a full sprint, trying to intercept her before she could finish the incantation. Too late. "Slipara!" Mist erupted from the magic circle, gushing out across the floor and swiftly enveloping the room. Any time it reached a palace guard the mist would spiral up in a cylinder shape, completely encasing them in the spell. Theora wasn't too sure if the secondary effect would kick in (it was one of her first times ever casting the bewitching slumber spell, after all), but if nothing else it provided her temporary cover to run into the throne room. The clattering of metal on the floor assured her that some of the guards had fallen asleep, at least. She didn't look back as she ran through the great doors. She knew that not everyone would be affected by the mist, and it had been made pretty clear based on her actions about what she was after.

The rumoured golden chalice of the Nasultan. Was it real? Where was it? Theora quickly scanned the room for any sort of display, eyes falling on the cup shaped ornament on top of the chair. There it was! Decorated with the finest rubies Theora had ever seen. She skipped on over to it, ducking behind the large throne chair instinctively to be out of view of the main hall. She gazed up at the cup again, suspicious. It was sure to trigger an alarm of some sort as soon as it was touched. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding hard against her rib cage. Her hand shakily reached up for the chalice. Here goes nothing…

Theora grasped the chalice and pulled it from the chair.

Nothing happened.

Her mind shrouded in confusion. How could something so important be so easy to steal? It wasn't secure in its holding at all; at this rate she felt like she could just waltz out the front door with it. She almost felt… disappointed at how easy it was. Granted she was still scared and it would make for a great bragging story to her crewmates, but…

"A young lass got this far into my home without resistance? My, either you are deceptively clever in your ways or I lack a proper staff of security to let someone like you get in." Theora froze. The deep voice came from the other side of the chair, close by. She stayed in position, not daring to breathe. She hoped that he would somehow disappear if she did. It didn't work. "Well, I'd rather not stain my carpet with your blood, so come out, would you? The cleaning staff has told me that blood takes forever to wash out; I'd rather not pose them an inconvenience this time."

Theora's legs felt numb as she slowly crept out of her hiding spot, coming into view with one of the largest, most obnoxiously decorated men she had ever seen. His eyes were looking her over; his gaze settling on the chalice in her left hand and the awkwardly heavy mace in her right.

"On a mission, were you? Had you not brought that weapon, I merely would have imprisoned you in a holding cell below and put you to work. However, seeing that you came prepared to take a life if you had to, I suppose I should look on this situation with the same jurisdiction." The fat man sighed. Clearly he didn't like the thought of cutting down a young girl, but it had to be done. He pulled out a sabre. "Heavens take mercy on me for what I am about to do."

As the big man slowly advanced forward, Theora took a few steps back. She couldn't take him on! She had too little experience to parry a sabre, and she couldn't cast a spell now because he was too close for her to even start the incantation. Shit, what to do, what to do?

She glanced at the chair, and then back at the man. She was tired, but he was a fat lard, so… perhaps she could outrun him? Theora didn't have time to dwell on it. She'd have to try.

Theora bolted from the other side of the chair, hoping that her legs would go the distance. She was absolutely gobsmacked when the heavily jewellery adorned man beat her to the door, effectively blocking her only escape route with his large frame. She held up the mace in front of her defensively. She was hoping to merely side step when the man lunged and run through the opening. He seemed to already be aware of her plan, for he did not move; he merely blocked the entrance calmly, his chocolate brown eyes staring into her own. Theora realized what he was doing. He was going to try to delay her exit until reinforcements arrived to detain her. Despite his resolve to kill her, it seemed like he didn't want to go through with it.

Either way, she was screwed. She couldn't see any way of getting out. Theora felt ashamed of herself. She intentionally ignored the voice of reason in her head in a stupid attempt to shut Skye up. Why couldn't she have settled for the marketplace? She sure was regretting her choice right now. The man took another step forward, sabre raised. So he was going to kill her after all.

Or so she thought, until he ungracefully crumbled before her very eyes, sprawled unconscious on the lavish marble floor. Theora blinked.

"I think it best that we make our stylish departure, don't you, Theora?" The voice was melodic to the young girl's ears. Never before had she felt so relieved in her life.

"V-Vanessa! H-how…" Theora was clearly nervous, looking guilty from having been caught by the person she idolized, no less.

"You don't take something like a mace from a person's closet and expect to believe that they'll think you've gone on an evening stroll with it, Theora." Vanessa's eyes were kind as she gently teased her friend, seeing how shaken the girl really was. "That and you've always been more the bludgeoning type; you don't like to draw blood. It's easy to figure out." Vanessa shrugged, and then extended a hand to Theora. "Let's make off with your bounty. One doesn't come this far without finishing the job, eh?"

"Y-yeah…" Theora accepted Vanessa's hand, allowing herself to be towed while the older teen sped them over the Nasultan and down the main hall, pausing only once to knock out some of the guards that had begun to stir on the floor. Theora could not understand the appeal and thrills the other two talked about concerning these kinds of missions. She felt bad for the innocents that were only trying to do their job. As they exited the palace Vanessa brought them down to a casual walk, keeping the pace as they continued walking towards the guards. Theora grew more nervous as they went ever closer. What was Vanessa doing? They were going to get caught!

"Be at ease… Trust me." Vanessa whispered, having sensed the younger girl's discomfort. Though all she wanted to do was hide; Theora did not pull away from Vanessa's insistent grip on her arm. They walked right past the guards… and nobody stopped them.

"I am so confused right now." Theora sighed, handing Vanessa the mace because she figured she would draw attention to them if she waltzed through town with it.

"So are they." The older teen winked. "Temporary panika spell. They never saw us exit."

"When did you do that?" Theora didn't recall any moment stopping on the bridge so that Vanessa could cast the spell. Vanessa gave her a sly grin.

"You must have been really absorbed in your thoughts if you didn't notice. Never mind that, I do believe it would be safer to possess the prize in the ship, don't you?" Vanessa dragged Theora along again, only giving the younger enough time to mumble a rushed agreement before heading back to the docks.

"So what are you going to do with your catch, Theora?" Vanessa asked, sitting down at the end of the bed, looking at her companion expectantly. "Most newcomers to the field display their first trophy in their room. Must say though, yours certainly takes the cake for being the finest first effort I have seen."

"What did you do with yours?" Theora asked; gleaming with pride at the compliments she was being given. Vanessa had already scolded her for choosing such a dangerous first mission without backup (explaining that she wouldn't have been cornered or snuck up on if she had company), but there was definitely a hint of pride and wonder in the girl's eyes as she told her off.

"I ended up selling it to pay for ship repairs one time." Vanessa almost looked a bit sad. They had been broke, and she didn't really want to get rid of it but had to for the sake of their ship and their journeys.

"Then this will go towards upgrading our ship." Theora beamed at her decision. She could already see it now; new helm, engines, and cannons… she couldn't wait. Vanessa smiled.

"If that's what you want to do, Cap'n."

"Who you calling a captain now?" Ah, the snarky blonde had appeared by the doorway. She leaned against the frame, arms folded with a face that clearly didn't look impressed. That is until she saw it. All those rumours of a pig-tailed girl stealing from the palace were true; the parts about her successful escape by ship in the direction of Valua notwithstanding. The golden chalice of the Nasultan… was in the hands of the twerp. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, this?" Theora held it up for Skye to see before putting it on her dresser. "In the imperial palace here. Who knew that the Nasultan would be so fat? I mean, I heard he was a glutton, but… he was a whale."

"You went to the imperial palace?" Though the townsfolk had already confirmed it, it was still a hard idea to grasp. "Why?"

"Yes, I did." Theora took a step to pick up the mace leaning on her desk, staring at it thoughtfully before turning her attention back to Skye. "I… just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, that's all."

"I would have expected the marketplace, if you ever were to try. The imperial palace, though… nice job kiddo." Skye looked sincerely impressed as she wore a rare warm smile for the younger girl. Theora almost didn't know how to handle the compliment. Such a thing was so rare from Skye… Theora could now rest easy, knowing that she could now say that she could do such things and simply chose not to. Theora never wanted to do something that ridiculous out of the ship again. "This almost calls for a celebration, wouldn't you say, Vanessa? Ravioli and then to the tavern, perhaps?"

"Oh, I agree." Vanessa pushed up from her spot on the bed, heading for the door. She paused and gave Theora a hug. "My turn to buzz you when dinner's ready!" She stated cheerfully before walking out. Skye lingered behind for a moment, still in her good mood as she gave the kid a playful pat on the head. Then she left, likely to go to the kitchen and in a rare instance help Vanessa prepare it.

Theora sat down on her bed, body quivering with elated joy. Positive acknowledgment from both captains, and ravioli to boot!

This day had turned out perfectly.

"You know what, Vanessa? I done good today." Skye grinned as she pulled out a pot to put on the stove.

"Yeah?" Vanessa replied, opening the can of ravioli and pouring it in the pot.

"Finally inspired Theora to do something useful; I'm proud of myself. Maybe now she'll stop being entirely useless on the ship while we do all the hard work."

"Skye? I don't think she's going to do it again."

"What? Why?" Skye frowned.

"She proved that she could do it; that she's a Red Rogue. Now there's no need for her to." Before Skye could retort, Vanessa added, "Besides, she intends on selling the chalice so we can upgrade the ship. She's paid her dues."

"… She is?" Skye's expression looked as if she were far away, thinking. Vanessa nodded. There went her only excuse to have Theora join an excursion without actually asking her. "Dammit."

END CHAPTER 7