Chapter 3: Third Chances

They were on the ocean for about a week before this conversation. Elias had woken up from a dream, and been swamped by a suffocating bout of homesickness. He lay in bed for a short while before deciding to get some air.

He slid out of the cot attached to the wall and noticed that Yukiya was in bed, meaning it was at least midnight. Yukiya usually had the evening watch, he'd learned, while Luca or Serge alternated the mid'a the night watch. Selene always had the morning, those last few hours before dawn.

Walking to the door, he saw the wolf raise it's head from where it lay at the foot of Yukiya's cot. Elias froze, his eyes caught in the amber gaze. Then, it seemed to roll its eyes in a very human-like manner before it put it's head back down. But of course, wolves can't roll their eyes at people, so it was probably a trick of the weak light coming in from the uncovered porthole.

He went out the door, shutting it soundlessly behind him, before tip-toeing his way towards the deck. He could tell that it was about an hour until dawn. Early, yes, but late enough where he wouldn't have go back to bed. He walked over to the railing and leaned on it, looking out at the horizon. They were traveling northwest, clearly, since he could see the north star off to the side.

"Homesick?"

Elias jumped so suddenly he lost his balance, and would have tumbled right into the ocean if he hadn't been grabbed by the arm and pulled back.

"Careful now. The sea is at her most unclear right before dawn." Selene smiled, a small, wistful smile, and leaned back against the railing, next to him. "My mama used to say that."

"Used to?" Elias hadn't seen this Selene before. She was so calm, and almost looked like she was in a state of weary peace.

"She passed away when I was seven. Consumption. Watched her slowly waste away." She released a breath, "I was all alone after that, until Jonny's brother, Inan, found me. They had stopped at our port to make some repairs on their ship, and caught me nicking some bread. Took me back to the ship and introduced me to his Captain. Jonny offered me a way out. He's a good man. Most of his men, on most of his ships, are men, with the occasional woman, he picked up as kids or youth. The orphans. The ones who fled war-stricken homes. The hopeless humans without anywhere to go. Of course, my story is a little different. Instead of keeping me at King's Cove to work, or on one of the non-pirating ships, like most of the children they take in, Inan said he had a feeling they should keep me on the main ship. This was before Jonny's six younger brothers broke off to manage their own fleets. So they kept me on the head ship—Inan's feeling are usually things to be followed, 'cause it's uncanny how accurate they tend to be."

"But...a young girl, on a ship full of pirate men?" Elias said, flabbergasted, "They didn't...do anything?"

"Nothin' but act like annoying older brothers." Selene laughed, "They're good men, the lot of them. Lots of pirates are the ones in rumors, and do all sorts of terrible things, but our current King is a good, fair, kind man. Any of his brother's fleets are good, too. It's the ones that aren't one of the King's main fleets that cause the trouble and break the Pirate's code."

"Pirate's code?" Elias asked, "What's that?"

"Well, I never bothered to memorize the exact wording, but it pretty much sums up to two things: no taking from anyone but those who can more than provide from themselves—this bit's mostly common sense, though. Why take from those who don't have much to begin with? It's the rich that have the best loot. That, and most of our own come from the ranks of the poor, the starving." She said, "And the other one is one I stick to like duckling to it's mother. No hurting innocents, particularly children. The pirates who don't follow those rules give the good pirates like my crew a bad name. I'm pretty sure you know we're not entirely evil, by now."

"You're all completely different than what I've heard." He admitted, "The Silver Flame is legend. She's the epitome of everything bad about pirates. Some aren't even sure she exists, because of the way she vanishes after an attack."

Selene snorted, amused, "Ha. I bet most of those rumors are spread by my biggest target: the World Navy. And while I doubt your brother spreads them—he's too busy chasing me for that sort of nonsense—I don't doubt many of his men do, seeing as they make good tales to boast about."

"He rarely even mentions you, you know. Even when people ask him." He commented, "I always thought it odd, how fixated he remains on you, but now I see you're just the kind of person who'd drive him crazy." He said, making Selene burst out laughing.

"Ha! I make most of my living by annoying the crap out of your brother!" she snickered. "I actually have these two little notebooks, one of them full, where I keep record of points. Every small victory gets a point. I've got about twice as many as he does, and his points are no small number." She looked over at him, "And the funniest thing is, I'm pretty sure he's got an identical record."

That made Elias laugh, "I think he does, actually. Last summer I went into his room—he was on a mandatory vacation, you see, because he refused to take one, so our father had to give him an official command to take a break—and I looking for some blank paper, because I'd run out and wanted to finish the set of notes I was working on. His room is right next to mine, see. And I found this small journal, mostly because I knocked it off the desk. I opened it to the beginning. It had the initials KG, which I assumed was him. There were a few pages of tally marks. I turned it around and opened it from the other end, because there were lots of blank pages in the middle. The backside of the last page, as well as several of the ones before it, were also covered in marks. But that last page had the letters SF, which I now realize stand for 'Silver Flame'."

This caused Selene to start laughing anew, "Ha! I knew it! I totally called it!"

They both managed to quell their laughter a few minutes later.

"You're a lot more relaxed than your brother." She mused, "And honestly, I'm kind of glad we happened upon you. Katalina's thrilled to have someone her age around. Whenever I ask her if she'd like to live in King's Cove with one of the families there, she always insists she'd rather be here. I can't blame her, really."

"Why not?"

"She's not had an easy life. Well, to be fair, no one in my crew has. Katalina lost her parents to an epidemic a few years ago. She traveled to the nearest town, one by the sea, to try and find work. She was only about nine. I found her when a brothel owner was trying to convince her to let him take her in. I gave him a nice shiner and scolding, and her a home on the ship. That was a little over a year ago."

Elias shuddered. A brothel owner? He felt pangs of pity for the girl. Not only had she lost her parents and her home, but she nearly ended up in such a horrible place.

"So, that's why I let her stay. We've become her family. I'm not going to force her elsewhere. She's a part of our family. For most of us, we're all we got." Selene was looking upward, at the stars. "We've all got our tragic pasts."

"What's so tragic about them?" Elias was far more curious than he'd admit. This strange crew confused him, and he felt that knowing their pasts would help him understand them.

"Well, you already know mine and Katalina's, and I know none of them would mind me telling you," she replied. "I've got two geniuses aboard this ship. Serge is one of them. Back when he was in school—he's was a merchant's son—he and his best friend, Randy, were always experimenting. Trying to find cures, or new ways to do things. It originally began because he wanted to help his grandmother, whose health had always been frail. She took him in when he was a baby, his parents dead. He normally avoids those things now, his experimentations."

"Why?"

"Because one of them went wrong. The heat on a beaker of strong acid was a little too high, and it was covered because they didn't know the heater was on. Randy saw that it was about to burst and shoved Serge behind a table. It exploded, covering him in acid. He died from the burns the next day. It broke something in Serge. He blamed himself, no matter how much people, particularly Randy's family, told him it wasn't. And what's worse, his grandmother passed away soon after. She ran a sweets shop, and the new owner, a man who'd worked there for years, told him he was welcome to stay, but Serge couldn't bear staying, so he left. I helped him out of a tight spot about two and a half years ago, and offered him a spot on my ship. He took it, and has been an asset. Smart man, even if he does avoid what he used to love."

"Wow. I never would've guessed. He's always so cheerful."

"He's a lot better than he used to be, I'll tell you that. He wasn't always that way," Selene said. "I guess I'll go to Philyra next. She always wears long sleeves, as you've probably noticed, and never lets anyone see much of her skin, not even of her face. That's because she's covered in scars."

Elias choked on his breath and looked over at Selene. Her face was solemn, a new expression.

"She grew up in an abusive family, and after her father died when she was ten, she was sold into slavery. I freed when I was only a year on my own. I couldn't let her stay there, especially after a certain man had hurt her." Her tone turned dark and frightening as she said that last sentence, only to return to a lighter tone when she continued, which made Elias wonder just how that man had hurt her. "I later managed to get Jonny to disband that group. We've been doing that for years, did you know? It's not the Navy or the governments setting enslaved people free—it's the very pirates they waste so much energy on! Us and our brethren on the land, who work more covertly. Ironic, isn't it?" Selene shook her head, "And then there's people like Yukiya. His village had been attacked by raiders a handful of years back. His father was killed, and when they invaded his home, his mother and younger siblings were hiding in a cellar covered by a rug. Yukiya was above ground, trying to protect them. He did, all right, and got blinded in his eye for it. If it hadn't been for Wolfy joining the attack when he did, Yukiya'd probably be dead now. Him and his family. After the raiders left, he took his mother, younger brother, as well as his little sisters, and fled. They were picked up by my ship after Yukiya punched a Navy officer who was chasing Philyra—a man who tried to lure her into his bed and got mad when she refused—and I took them to King's Cove, where his family could live in peace. His mother now works in Jonny's home, and his brother, Nico, is apprenticed to a shipbuilder. His sisters are gettin' an education, too."

Selene paused, taking a few breaths before continuing, "Hmm...who's left? I think it's only Luca and Merlin. Have you noticed how whenever the royal family comes up, he gets all bitterish?"

Elias nodded.

"That's because they threw him on the streets. Not your country's, but an ally of Gedonelune."

"Was he a servant's son or something?" Elias asked, confused.

"He was someone's son, all right. He was the illegitimate child of the youngest princess of Italia. His mother refused to give up the name of the father, and died in childbirth. Her friend, a royal advisor by the name of Conrad Schuyler, resigned when it was declared the child was to be killed. He smuggled Luca out and raised him among the poor, because that's the only place they were safe. Eventually, they were found. Luca was fifteen. Conrad had him run, but he himself was killed. Luca lived on the streets, surviving by pickpocketing and his wits, which are sharper than he lets one. I found him back when I was still on Jonny's ship. We were both about seventeen at the time. He joined the crew, and left with me when I decided to split. As you learned the other day, he's fallen hopelessly in love with Marelda Krammer. I think he loves teasing her as much as I enjoy annoying your brother, only he openly declares his love for her whenever he sees her." She laughed, her tone far lighter than it had been, "Honestly, watching him do it never gets old, because poor Ms. Krammer gets so irritated by it.."

Elias was silent. Luca—ignoring his antics—the annoying man who teased him to no end, was the son of a princess?

"And then there's Merlin. He's the least tragic of us all. He's the youngest son of Jonny, and only a year older than I. We grew up like brother and sister, as I did with many of his brothers. When I started to play with the idea of commanding my own ship, he offered to design it, with the condition he'd be a part of the crew and get to stay with the ship. He's brilliant with technology, and creates new things all the time. This ship is probably the most complex and modern of any on the seas. That's why we can run it with so few people. It was designed so a minimum of three people can sail her. Which made sense seeing as that's all we had for a crew at the start."

Elias was in awe. Three people?! No ship bigger than a little fishing boat could have so few people to man it!

"We also don't need someone at the wheel all the time. The navigation systems on this thing are crazy. We also have this thing below deck with a name I can never remember—I call it the Wheel—that, if two decently strong people work it, can propel us out of becalmed waters. It's ingenious." Selene laughed, "When I told Jonny I wanted to break away and have my own ship, he funded the entire thing, and pretty much let Merlin go wild with his designs. I payed him back, of course, within a year. It was the raid that made me famous."

Elias knew this one, "The Attack of Silver Sails." It was when the world first came to know the Silver Flame. The way it was often told was that a silver ship with a demoness captain appeared out of nowhere one foggy morning, and shot a hole in a Navy battleship carrying treasury funds. It was robbed for all it was worth by a hellish crew of a dozen or so men, only to vanish before the sun burned away the fog. Rumors and tales had flown across the world, and soon after, the Silver Flame had struck again, quickly becoming an all-too-real terror

She nodded. "'Twas actually the maiden voyage of the Elementress. There were only three real members of the crew—Luca, who decided to come along because he insisted it would be interesting, Merlin, and I—while the rest were people there in case this ship didn't do so well on the waters. There was a small ship trailing behind us in case it sank or something. It was foggy, another reason they were being so careful. We stumbled upon the Navy ship—it was the S.S. Isabella, actually—entirely by accident."

"Are you serious? The attack that made you famous was by accident?" Elias gaped.

"Yup. And we weren't the ones to first attack. They were. They didn't recognize my flag and assumed we were pirates. We weren't out to pirate that day, but they attacked us. And so, we fought back. Merlin's specialized cannons crippled theirs, and made them unable to move the ship. We decided we might as well get something out of it and boarded. While most of the men fought the navy, Luca and I slipped below deck and found a good deal of gold. So we took it. It more than paid back Jonny, and still had enough to fully stock our ship." Selene laughed, "It was on that ship your brother was. He was still young, not yet an admiral. It was about a year and a half before he was promoted to admiral. He was stuck guarding the room with the gold. As far as he knows, that's the first time we clashed blades. I knocked him out before he realized otherwise. That's what started the point thing, the rivalry of sorts."

"What do you mean, as far as he knows?" Elias asked. "Had you met previously?"

"Several times, in fact." She said, entirely serious, "I was very different, though, whereas your brother really hasn't changed look-wise, excusing the fact that he no longer looks like a boy. I, however, looked like a boy and died my hair alternately red, blue, and dark brown, with henna, indigo, and chestnuts. Therefore, I looked way different than I do now. At the point where we fought in Silver Sails, my hair was it's natural blond and I was old enough to where one could tell I was a woman if I didn't bind my chest flat. If I tried, though, I could still pass as a boy on the cusp of manhood." She explained.

"You seem way too proud of that." Elias deadpanned.

She laughed, "I am. I really, really am. But honestly, it's a lot easier to blend in dressed as a lad than as a woman. No one gives a lad a second glance if he's wanderin' around on his own. A woman, however, is a very different story. So, whenever we dock somewhere I'm not known very well or a place where I'm not familiar with, I don my guise of boyhood. 'Course, all that means is wearing a hat and binding my chest tighter than normal. I already wear men clothes—they're so much easier to move in than skirts! Be glad you're a lad. You don't have to constantly trip over skirts when you try to move faster than a shuffle."

Elias didn't respond. She was odd, truly odd.

"You know, I remember the first time I saw your brother. He must have been about eighteen—I was sixteen, see—and he was entirely green. Never seen a battle. I was on Eric's ship—Merlin's next oldest brother—and we attacked and boarded the navy ship he was on. He was stronger than I was, I admit, and my close combat skills were still being worked on, and he nearly got me, but I managed to start climbing the rigging on his ship. He tried to follow me, but unlike myself, he hadn't been climbing the ropes since the age of nine. He got all tangled and stuck in the ropes. It was downright hilar…"

Elias was giggling when Selene suddenly cut off. He looked over and saw she had tensed.

"Elias." She said, voice even and serious, "Go wake up Yukiya. Tell him 'Garrick.' And then do the same with Serge. Yukiya will go get Merlin. Then, go hide in Katalina's room and keep her calm. Philyra will likely be there soon."

"W-why?"

"Do as I say. Hurry!" She pushed him towards the door before disappearing into her room, which was the highest on ship, a branch off of the top of the stairs.

Elias ran and shook Yukiya, "Yukiya, wake up! Selene got all weird and told me to get you up and tell you 'Garrick' or something like that."

Yukiya immediately sat up and scrambled for his boots.

"What's going on?" Elias asked.

"Enemy pirate. Go!"

Elias ran off and woke up Serge, who also scrambled to get ready quickly before running to go wake up Merlin. Elias went into Katalina's room and found Philyra waking the younger girl up.

"What's going on?" Katalina asked, half-asleep, sitting up on her bed.

"Selene said Garrick. Yukiya said it's an enemy pirate." Elias said, sitting on the bed next to Katalina.

Philyra, who had taken a seat in a nearby chair, froze, "He's a monster."

Elias looked over at her, wide-eyed. That was the first time he'd heard the quiet girl say anything.

"He's the man who ran the largest slave-trade before Selene shut it down." Katalina said quietly. "He's got a nasty vendetta against Selene. And this is the third attack in the past three years. So it won't end well."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Selene gives people like Garrick three chances to leave her and the people she cares about alone. After the third chance, if they still won't, she has to...has to…" Katalina buried her face in her hands, trying to stifle a sob.

"She kills them." Philyra finished softly.

Elias couldn't move, for this paralyzing fear had crept into his very bones and froze them. It was a moment before he could speak, and what was only because the ship shuddered ever-so-slightly with the force of one of it's cannons being fired.

"But how many times has my brother and his men attacked you guys? It's far more than three...why's he still alive?" His arm twitched, wanting to wrap itself around Katalina, who was biting her palm to keep from openly sobbing in fear.

"Because he's only doing his job. That, and Selene sees him as a game, a challenge. She knows that he couldn't care less about anyone on this ship except her. If she was to turn herself in, for example, he's gladly leave the rest of us be. Your brother is a fair man who keeps his word. Garrick is a monster who is fixated on destroying Selene and her crew. That's the difference." Philyra said with an air of finality. She was trembling, and it made Elias think of how Philyra had been a slave, once.

"Was he the man who hurt you?" Elias asked, voice quiet.

Philyra's eyes opened slightly more, but she nodded and didn't say another word.

Despite her efforts, Katalina couldn't stop a small cry from escaping. Elias steeled himself and wrapped his arms around her. She immediately cuddled up to him, seeking comfort as she buried her face in his chest. Her small frame shook with scared, yet silent, sobs. Elias tightened his arms. He was just as scared now as she was. The only difference was that he wanted to be brave for his friend that at this point he knew he liked more than that.

"Katalina, it'll be just fine. I mean, Selene's pretty spectacular, isn't she? Before she saw the ship, she was telling me about all of you. She managed to save you all before, hasn't she? I've no doubt she'll do it again." Elias said, trying to mimic the soothing tones his mother used back when he was small and had woken from nightmares—and this whole situation was a nightmare in and of itself.

Selene made sure the door to below deck was locked to the outside as soon as Luca, Serge, and Yukiya were above deck—someone from the inside could open it, but not the outside. It wouldn't be unlocked until they were away from the danger. That way, no one could get down there and hurt her kids.

Yes, both Philyra and Katalina were her daughters, in her mind, and she, like a true mother, would do anything to protect them. Elias, too, had become like a son in the past week or so he'd been with them.

She was going to keep them safe. This marked the end of Garrick's last chance. And he wasn't going to have much time to regret it.

The Elementress vibrated slightly as Merlin fired the first cannon, barely grazing the other ship. A warning shot. She always gave one. Only one.

But the ship still advanced.

A second cannon fired, and this time, instead of a slight scrape and a sound of a large metal ball crashing into the waves, a sound of cracking wood permeated the air. Direct hit to the main mast, disabling their ship. A quick third, fourth, and fifth followed, knocking out the cannons on the side that had pulled up next to them. Selene would have to remember to congratulate Merlin. He beat his personal record with time and accuracy.

Luca handed her the amplification horn. The ship Garrick commanded may have been bigger, but they were definitely faster and more agile. He may have more than three times the men, but her boys—not to mention herself—were resourceful. She knew what the revenge-crazed man would want, and it wasn't her ship or crew. It was her. But he'd gladly hurt anything to get in his way, ship, or human.

"Garrick! I call parley!" She shouted. None of her crew understood her. It was her native language, not common, and they didn't know it. But it was also Garrick's native tongue.

She faintly heard gleeful laughter. She shook her head and handed the horn back to Luca, "You three stay here. Merlin won't fire again unless I give the signal."—being a string that ran down to the room where Merlin worked the cannons, attached to a bell—"And I've got a plan. If any try to sneak onto the ship, detain, don't kill. I plan to end this today. Luca, mind if I borrow your sword? Mine still has the fracture."

They all nodded, and Luca unstrapped his sword and handed it to his captain. Selene removed her blade and handed it to Luca as she accepted his own. She wore it for appearances, seeing as she preferred knives, but appearances were not going to suffice now. She began to climb the ropes, preparing to make the jump to the other ship, Luca's sword dangling bare-bladed from her belt. Reaching the proper height, she unhooked the sword and leapt onto the enemy ship, rolling and coming up on her feet, blade pointing towards the ground. She was not as good at the curved sword as she was at her knives and daggers, but she was far from incompetent.

"Garrick, where are you." It was a calm, collected statement, not a question.

"Well, well, the Princess arrives. Surrendering yourself in hopes I'll leave your crew be?" Selene watched, face expressionless, as Garrick Azuron stalked over, a mad, cocky grin stretching his mouth.

"No. I've come to challenge you to a duel." She said simply, "To the death. You and I. Winner gets command of both ships and their crew. If I lose, my crew and ship will obey you, upon their oath to me, even after my death. Try and harm them, and you lose the ability to work my ship, for it takes a special kind of knowledge to use it, and only my crew knows how. I win, I get your ship and crew. It's an all or nothing situation." And she knew Garrick loved a good gamble, and in his desperation to get rid of her, she knew he would not refuse. Her crew hadn't agreed to her plan, heck, they didn't have any inkling of it, but she wasn't going to lose. She had people to protect.

There's an old question: Which fighter is more dangerous, the one with nothing left to lose, or the one with everything to lose? Selene was a believer in the latter, and intended to keep it that way.

"Oh ho!" Garrick laughed, "Getting desperate, aren't you? Well, I accept!"

"No interference from the crew. Unless you can't take a girl on by yourself?" She taunted.

He smirked, "I need no help to defeat you, Princess. You're isolated, no crew to help you. I don't need help to bring you down." He then rose his voice, so the entirety of his crew, which was gathered on the deck in a circle around their captain and his enemy. "None of you curs interfere, or I'll kill you myself! Understood?" A series of "Aye!"s rang through the air. Garrick pulled out his sword, "Prepare yourself, Princess!"

She raised Luca's sword. "I need no preparation for the likes of you."

Elias and Katalina jumped when someone knocked on the door. Philyra got up and opened it a crack before letting someone in—Merlin.

"Garrick's ship is disabled and they can't shoot us from the way they are." He said, then looked down, "But Luca sent a message down to the control room. Selene boarded their ship, alone, saying she had a plan." His shoulder's slumped, "I know I should trust her, and that she can handle herself, but I'll admit I'm terrified and don't want to be by myself in the control room. Would you guys mind coming and sitting in there with me? There's plenty of room, and I can't afford to be away for long, just in case."

"Of course we will!" Katalina declared, "We're a family. And families stick together."

This isn't what pirates are said to be like, Elias thought. This isn't what is said at all. And what's said seems to be wrong.

Yukiya expressed that he was certain Selene would be fine. Serge said she was as clever and quick-witted as they come. Both were worried, yes, but not as much as Luca. Luca had been with Selene since before she was the Silver Flame, and never before had she taken on something like this completely alone, without any sort of backup.

He asked Serge for his spyglass before climbing up to the crow's nest at the top of the main mast. None of the other crew seemed to notice him. They were all focused on two figures. Luca extended the spyglass and closed an eye.

There were two figures in the empty space of a circle formed by the crew of the ship. Selene and Garrick. They seemed to be talking, and then they both raised their swords. Luca's knuckles were tense and white as he clutched the spyglass.

Selene and Garrick went at each other. Selene swiftly dodged Garrick's strike, knocking him off balance. This seemed to anger the man, as he attacks with a new intensity. Luca saw the two clashed blades again and again, until Garrick's sword nicked Selene's left arm, drawing first blood. Then it clicked, and Luca realized that it was a fight to the death. Selene was giving Garrick no more chances.

Luca watched as the fight intensified, as Garrick's crew cheered or booed. Eventually, Selene managed to knock Garrick off his feet, and with one quick movement, run her—Luca's—sword through Garrick's neck. The crew went silent as Selene pulled the blade out and flicked it once, splattering the blood on it to the deck.

And slowly, one by one, each of them fell to one knee. Selene had clearly won not only the duel, but Garrick's ship and crew. Luca let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Climbing down, he relayed what happened to the other two.

Selene turned to Garrick's first mate, Geysis Tempestus. "I have command of this ship." She stated.

"You do. Captain." the man said, not a trace of emotion visible on his face. "We are willing to obey you. We've all had enough of Garrick's obsessive nature. You are free to lead us."

"I do not wish to. I have my own crew that I very much prefer. Therefore," She looked around, at the crew, "I will give command to Geysis Tempestus. He will be the captain of the ship if no one has a complaint or claim." The crew was silent. "However, there are a few conditions. The first being that everyone on this ship must adhere to the current pirate code. The second, I swear that Garrick will not be alone in hell if any of you ever come after my family again. Am I understood?"

The crew all responded. Selene nodded. "Then farewell." She looked over the side of the ship. Her's was close enough. She hucked Luca's sword over and it landed with a clatter on her deck several feet from her men. "Serge, Yukiya! Catch!" She brought a foot up and launched herself off the side, towards her own ship. She was safely caught by her brothers, who were family in all but blood. She went over to the door that lead below deck, pulling the key from around her neck and unlocking it.

"You're bleeding." Yukiya said from behind her.

"It's a scratch. I'll live. Katalina will fix me up. Send her to my room and tell Merlin to come up and help get the ship going." Selene didn't even look back as she shut herself in her room.

By the time Katalina came out of Selene's quarters, the other ship was long behind them and they were well on their way to King's Cove again. The rest of the crew, including Elias, were sitting on the deck, eating a meal quietly.

"How is she?" Serge said.

"It wasn't bad. Didn't even need stitches. With her unusually fast rate of healing, it'll be gone in a week. Won't even leave a scar." Katalina reported.

"But how is she?" Merlin insisted.

"I don't think she'll be coming out much until we reach King's Cove." Katalina's face held a look of concern, and worry shone in her eyes. "She's fallen into a state again."

"A...state?" Elias said, quiet and confused.

Merlin turned to the boy, "That's right. You've not been here that long. I keep forgetting."

"He's practically one us at this point!" Luca joked weakly. Even he lacked his usual energy.

Merlin just ignored him. "This is a good example of Selene's humanity."

"H-how?" Elias asked, voice faint.

"Because it means that killing, even if it's done to someone wicked, still affects her in the worst way." Philyra said softly, "She's killed more than anyone else on this ship, and she only does it when she has no other choice. It's never someone who doesn't deserve it, either. But whenever she kills, she falls into this 'state', as we call it, where she's so consumed with guilt and regret that she becomes unresponsive and withdrawn."

"It's scary, seeing her like this." Katalina sat next to Elias, wrapping her arms around herself, "And I know she'll be okay again eventually, but she'll always carry death's mark. She'll always see the blood on her hands, even when no one else can."

Merlin put down his food, "And that's why she's the best captain anyone could ask for. She's so human and reluctant to take a life—heck, she hates hurting people! That's why I follow her. That's why I love her like family. Because everyone she cares about is her family. She'll never turn on us, she'll never become cruel, or hurtful. She may act like a madwoman sometimes, but that's what makes her so much fun. She's what pirates should be. Freedom fighters, merciful, willing to help those who need it. Not someone who steals and rapes and kills for the fun of it." He stood up, "I'm going to go make sure she eats something." He walked off, heading towards the ship's kitchen.

"That's why we're with her, Elias," Katalina said, her voice as soft and quiet as Philyra's. "That's why we're still with her."