Chapter 27

"Nothing. I don't know him at all, only that he's part of Ouroboros and he's incredibly dangerous." She sighed heavily, hearing the change in Rean's voice and felt her own stomach flip. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Members of Ouroboros had attacked Crossbell at the time…" Now Rean was staring at her with wide eyes and she swallowed hard, lowering her eyes from his. "Of course you would have heard about it since it was a major headline in the Imperial Chronicle. Anyway, I was staying in Crossbell when that attack happened and…McBurn went after civilians. I was one of them and I tried to fight him off, but…I couldn't. Just before he could burn me alive with that fire magic of his, I was saved and dragged to safety and the person responsible for me being in Thors was responsible for my rescue. And when I woke up, we talked for a while, I told them what my goal was and they offered me a spot at Thors Branch School in Leeves…and I took it. Apparently, they were very impressed with how I tried fighting McBurn off. I don't think I did anything, however."

"You tried fighting back, how many people ran? That right there makes all the difference and is why you were recruited." Rean asked tiredly, slumping back in his seat as he mulled over her words. "Odds are, McBurn doesn't even remember you and it was a coincidence." He said finally, hoping he was right. But for the life of him, if Melyssa was telling him everything pertinent to this, then there was nothing overly 'special' about her in that situation other than she had fought back. "Anything else I should know about before we get there?"

"I think it was a coincidence too and I didn't mean to keep it from you. I never planned on telling anyone about it, but then I heard who attacked the train and figured I'd better tell at least my Instructor." Melyssa didn't want him thinking she was purposely hiding information from him when that wasn't the case at all. "I'm sorry…"

Turning her head to stare back out the window, she thought back to that day in Crossbell that changed her life forever. It was all thanks to the Golden Rakshasa too. Aurelia Le Guin had saved her and then commended her for being brave enough to go up against McBurn.

"Why did you do it? Why did you unsheathe your sword and go after someone much more powerful than you?"

"Because I wanted to protect myself and the others around me. If he was cutting anyone down, it might as well have been me instead of innocent civilians."

"So, you're not innocent?"

"Far from it. I ran away from home and I've been trying to find my way ever since."

"I see." Aurelia had dabbed her mouth with her napkin while they had dinner together. "What are your ambitions, your goals, in life? What do you hope to accomplish?"

"Following the way of the sword and honing my skills. I want to be the best swordswoman in Erebonia one day. I know I was foolish to think I could go up against McBurn, the Almighty Conflagration, but…sometimes, you have to take a risk to get to where you want to go."

"Maybe so…" Aurelia leaned back against her chair and contemplated the young girl in front of her. "I have a proposition for you, Melyssa Brackett of the Jurai SEZ…"

Melyssa would never forget that dinner as long as she lived and she owed everything to Aurelia for giving her this amazing opportunity. Now her homeland was in danger from the same man who had nearly killed her twice and she vowed, right then and there on that bus, not to let it happen again. McBurn would not win in the end, no matter what she had to do or if she had to sacrifice herself to achieve victory.

"Okay, you two have been sitting here long enough in silence, looking mopey."

Rean snapped out of his own thoughts, realizing he and Melyssa HAD been sitting there for a while, not saying anything. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he had been reflecting on what she had told him and what he knew of McBurn and the incident at Crossbell. "Ash, I'm almost glad to see you." He joked, taking in his friend/student/comrade. It was like he hadn't been wounded at all; magic was a beautiful thing when used properly.

"Almost," Ash winked one pink eye down at Melyssa. "What'd I miss? Why are we so gloomy?"

This time, Melyssa decided to keep the truth to herself. "No reason, just thinking." There were a lot of reasons why they should look gloomy after all that had happened on this trip thus far. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." She managed to wink back at Ash and turned her gaze to stare out the window again. They had another hour ride before arriving at the destination where the Courageous II was waiting for them.

Running down the street, Melyssa heard screaming from all different directions and turned the corner, stopping at the sight of a terrifying man dressed in red. He had blue and red hair and spectacles, a sinister smile on his face. There was a fireball in his hand as well, floating above it, while the people in front of him begged for mercy. Melyssa had no idea what made her do it, but she unsheathed her Cutlass and prepared to fight him. Hopefully, she would give the people a chance to escape him.

"HEY! Why don't you pick a fight with someone who can give you an actual challenge?"

The man slowly turned around to face her and Melyssa felt fear grip her insides, those intense eyes of his searing into her very soul. "Oh really now? This is interesting. And just who are you and what makes you think you're worth my time, girl?"

Even his voice sent shivers down her spine, but Melyssa had to stay strong and could see the people running away from them. "Because I'm stronger than I look and I may go down, but not without a fight, Red Man."

He chuckled wickedly, taking a step toward her. "Red Man? So you have no idea who I am?"

"No, should I?"

"Anyone with a sword should know who I am, girl. I am McBurn, the Almighty Conflagration and Enforcer #1 of Ouroboros." The fireball just continued floating and he was impressed her eyes hadn't left his for a second. Her stance wasn't half-bad either, if he was honest. "What's your name, girl?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"Hmm fair enough." McBurn didn't waste a second and tossed the fireball right at her, watching her dodge it with ease. "Let's see how much I have to turn up the heat to take you out." Melyssa prepared herself for the inevitable, dodging three more fireballs, but one had gotten her by surprise, blasting her back. McBurn came toward her, stalking her like a predator going after its prey and grabbed her by her neck, beginning to throttle her. "I'm going to burn you alive, girl."

"Screw…you…" Melyssa had passed out, not knowing what happened except when she woke up, she was in a different bed with The Golden Rakshasa staring back at her from across the way.

Melyssa jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, not realizing she had fallen asleep and looked up to find Rean hovering over her. She looked around, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes and nodded when he informed her they had arrived at their destination. Standing, she walked off the bus in somewhat of a daze and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before stopping dead in her tracks at the HUGE crimson red flying contraption in front of her.

"Oh wow…" They were going to Jurai in THAT?

"That is the Courageous II," Rean said, giving the airship an admiring look. "It is…-"

"Awesome." Ash slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling Melyssa into him as he stared at said ship as well. "It's awesome. You don't get motion sickness or anything, do you, beautiful?"

"Quit heckling her, Carbide." Juna ordered, walking up alongside them with Kurt at her side. "You'll hardly even know you're hundreds of miles over the ground." She flashed Melyssa a smile.

"Usually." Kurt amended, sweeping his hair back out of his eyes.

Crow was standing behind everyone, remaining silent as he just took in the Courageous II.

"All right everyone, fall in line." Rean ordered, watching as Class VII assembled into a neat line, ready to 'march' so to speak. "We're already behind schedule." By a lot actually. "I don't want anyone getting too comfortable, this will hopefully be a short flight."

Each class boarded the Courageous II one by one, the first year students in awe while the second years just grinned. They were on this once before, most of them anyway. The ones that weren't were also in awe, naturally. Melyssa couldn't believe the size of this aircraft, trying to take everything in while continuing to walk until they arrived in the captain's room. There he stood, in all his crimson glory, alongside his wife, who was a former Bracer of Crossbell – Prince Olivert and Princess Scherazard, who was formerly known as the Silver Streak. Her hair was pure silver, long and beautiful and she was lethal if provoked. She wasn't the average princess and had on an outfit that most nobles would balk at. Showing some cleavage, stomach, arms…yet she looked completely comfortable and Olivert had a bright smile on his face, an eyepatch over his left eye. He had lost it during the Twilight a few years ago, when he'd nearly lost his life on the first Courageous.

"Rean baby, it's been too long, hasn't it?" Olivert beamed, walking over to hug his friend and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, you know you missed me. And here I am, coming to the rescue of my precious friends yet again."

Elliot, Machias, Emma and Alisa laughed at Rean's blushing face, shaking their heads. "You haven't changed a bit, Your Highness." Alisa giggled, amused that Rean always seemed to be the center of attention wherever they went.

"And why would I, lovely Alisa?" Olivert winked at her before heading over to Machias and Emma, the impish gleam in his eyes telling them they were in for a world of trouble. "So, a little birdie told me you two got hitched not long ago."

"W-Well…um…" Emma was red as a cherry now, the diamond on her left ring finger stating the obvious. "We didn't want a huge ceremony, Your Highness…"

"We just wanted it to be us and that is why we went to the courthouse to have my father do it." Machias grabbed his wife's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Some people do not wish to have extravagant, lavish weddings like yours, Your Highness."

"Touché, I can respect that." Olivert shook Machias' from hand with a soft smile. "I hope you accept our sincerest congratulations, however."

"O-Of course, Your Highness. Thank you."

Machias grinned at Emma at how flustered she was and kissed her cheek. "It's all right, my love. This is Olivert and you know how eccentric he gets."

"True."

Ash dipped his head down, so his mouth was by Melyssa's ear. "In case you haven't noticed, our illustrious Prince is not… normal by regular nobility standards, by any means." And that was an understatement when it came right down to it.

However, 'regular' nobility was a dying breed, the aristocracy was evolving and hopefully for the better. This 'us VS them' mentality hadn't done Erebonia any favors. As long as the focus was off of him, Rean didn't care what the Prince was talking about or to whom. One day, he was going to be regarded as a normal person. His gaze moved to Melyssa, flashing her a smile.

This wasn't former Crown Prince Cedric, it was his older brother, who could not take the throne due to his blood not being pure nobility. Olivert's mother was a commoner. Cedric and Princess Alfin, their dear sister, was of pure noble and imperial blood, so they were eligible to take the throne from their father, Emperor Eugene III, someday. Olivert would forever be just a Prince and he was perfectly fine with it. Melyssa cracked a smile back at Rean, nodding her head to acknowledge what Ash was saying.

"Now, I do recognize a lot of faces here, but there are a few new roses blooming among us!" Olivert waved his hands dramatically while he spoke and groaned when his wife popped him upside the head. "My darling rose, what was that for?"

"Stop being YOU and make the announcement."

"Woe is me, taking all of my fun away!"

Scherazard rolled her eyes, though she had a smile on her face, still not believing she had agreed to marry this buffoon. Love made people do crazy things, she supposed. "What my husband is TRYING to say is welcome to the Courageous II and feel free to explore the ship to your heart's desire. We should be in Jurai within 2 hours."

Everyone vacated the room besides a few and Melyssa stuck to Ash's side like glue, not having a clue where she was going. He pointed out the different rooms to her – there was even a game room with tables to play Blade on and pool – and they had their own gourmet kitchen. There were shops too to upgrade accessories and whatnot. This was insane how much was packed into one ship. This 'ship' was like a floating, mobile city in the sky with how many people were aboard it, all of them hustling and bustling as if this was perfectly normal for them. And it was. Ash was comfortable enough to talk to a few people he recognized from his last time aboard the Courageous II, seeing some new faces as well.

"Well, what do you think of her?" He asked finally, coming to a halt at the back of the 'ship' and leaned on the railing, looking out at the sky.

"Overwhelming."

It was still hard to believe Ash was back to himself, strength included. Emma's magic was incredible and terrifying at the same time. She thought witches were just myths, but now Melyssa was quickly discovering the myths and legends of Erebonia were real. The sky looked incredible from this high and the air was crisp and fresh. It made her a little heady.

"She's beautiful, there's no doubt about it. I'm just curious where this beauty is going to land since Jurai doesn't have an airport of any kind." Unless the Imperial government had built one in the last year, which was a possibility.

"You worry too much, let Olivert deal with that." Ash laughed, glancing over at her before turning his gaze back out onto the sky. "The first time I was on this ship, I got airsick and dizzy from the view up here. The idea of it, you know? Being up so high and at the mercy of this beast. I always thought I did better with my feet on solid ground." He confided in her. It was always a marvel at how easy Melyssa was to talk too and now it felt natural; maybe it had something to do with her basically saving his worthless hide last night. "Are you ready to see Jurai again?" He wondered how that would work with Crow, knowing that relationship was not bouncing back anytime soon.

"Yes. I know we have an investigation to do, but I plan on going to see my parents and grandfather once we're done with it. No matter how late it is that we finish, I have to go there and see with my own eyes they're all right." Crow was the last person on her mind right now, her parents and grandfather at the forefront. Rean did not make her feel better about the situation and after having that flashback dream with McBurn…Melyssa had an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach she couldn't quite ignore. "How are you feeling, Ash? Really? No pain? The magic took it all away, right?"

"No pain, really – really." He chuckled, shaking his head down at her. "You better watch it, beautiful, pretty soon you're going to turn into a worrywart, just like Rean." He chided, reaching out to gently cup her chin, letting her see in his face and pale pink eyes that he was teasing her and meant no harm. "You're too young to be giving yourself wrinkles already with those frowns, Melyssa." Bending down, he brushed his lips against her forehead, laughing when her teal eyes widened. "There you go, smile!"

He didn't blame her for worrying about her family, however, not after the events of last night. Though, he was hoping that if anything had happened in Jurai, they would be informed of it. News like that had to spread, right? With Jurai being on the far east, news from there didn't spread nearly as fast as if something happened in Heimdallr. Ash was right; there was no point in worrying when no news had come to her. Or maybe she was starting to feel guilty for running away from home and not seeing her family in over a year. Whatever the case, Melyssa plastered on a smile for Ash and left him to gaze out into the sky while she went back in, having more than enough fresh air.