The warm glow of the embers became dimmer under the copper cauldron as the skies grew brighter. There was only a bit of food left at the bottom, which, although filling, was lacking in flavour. It was not that the pirates were full enough to be wasteful, far from it - they had left behind the scraps out of consideration for Sen, the scrawny recruit who had the ill fortune to be trained by Ba-luo until late at night. Long after others had finished their meal, she stumbled in, her limbs stiff from the heavy work. Eyes filled with sympathy followed her as she scraped what was left on the bottom of the cauldron and sat down with a hiss of pain. Those who still had the energy to care about the pain of others took muttered words of consolation from where they sat or lay.

"He's always like that," one of them said. "He doesn't hate you, really."

"There won't be so much fightin' goin' on in winter," another went on. "So we get to lie around a bit. Just wait 'til the winter."

"An' there's wine in the winter," a third added. "The cap'n gives us wine so we stay warm…"

"An' now that Jae-ha's doin' better, it'll be easier, this last attack," a fourth said somewhat hopefully. Sen looked up in surprise.

"What's he got to do with it?" she asked. Those who heard her let out a laugh.

"Don'tcha know?" the third speaker said. "He's the dragon who can fly!"

"He's like a bird!"

"Even if Kum-ji's goons ain't bad, no one's better than a flying man!"

Utterly confused, Sen set down her spoon and her half-empty bowl and left. She had some memory of Jae-ha spewing similar drivel, but had thought of it only as a bad joke. However, if all these pirates thought the same, there was something else at play. Mass hypnosis? Mass hysteria? Collective memory problems? Perhaps someone in the crew had used the frail minds of these poor, hungry men and had managed to alter their memories to spread such beliefs. Were the pirates a cult? Who was the true mastermind and why had they not tried to convert her as well? Perhaps, she thought (somewhat snobbishly), these hypnotic tricks did not work on someone more educated such as herself. Whatever the reason, it would be best to observe and lay low, and, if the situation was dire, escape.

The first chance to observe came when Gi-gan announced the last attack of the season which, for the first time in a long while, would include Jae-has as well. Privately, she informed Sen that this was also her chance to prove herself. Sen paid less attention to the latter opportunity than the former, hoping she could catch a glimpse of mass hypnosis in action.

Once the raid of Kum-ji's last ships was over, Sen locked herself in her room for a day. Gi-gan assumed it would be because of shame, since her skills were still barely tolerable, and wanted to cheer her up because regardless, she had improved greatly in a relatively short amount of time. In truth, however, Sen cared very little about how her abilities in battle were perceived. She was much more bothered by the fact that she, the educated woman, had seen a man fly.

Of course, the night had been dark, and only his clothes could be seen vaguely, but the moment he had landed was still quite vid in Sen's mind. No one else was disturbed by the scene like she had been. She began to suspect that hidden wires or ropes were at work but had found not a hint of them when strolling around the ship.

A loud knock arose her from her thoughts. She let the person knock another two times before responding with a yawn, "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" Jae-ha asked. He almost mentioned that the captain was worried about her self-esteem and had sent him to raise her spirits, but second-guessed himself when he realised that there was absolutely nothing beautiful about being an errand boy. "I was worried— we haven't seen you in a while—"

"Oh, you needn't worry!"

The door flew open and Jae-ha found himself standing before a smiling Sen, far from her crushed self he'd expected to meet. Secretly, he let out a sigh of relief. Providing cheer and whatnot often proved to be draining.

"I was just tired and wanted a bit of sleep," she said, linking her arm with his. "Why don't we go for a short walk? The lovely winter scenery will be pleasant after yesterday's battle—which, although honourable, you must admit is nowhere close to being quite as pretty. I've been meaning to ask you a few things—oh, I'm so glad you're here!"

Finding her behaviour suspicious, Jae-ha couldn't help but glance at her face a few times. The bright joy of her expression seemed impossible to fake, but when had she ever been gushy about anything? Or touched him when not strictly necessary?

Once they left the ship, the fresh snow crunched beneath their feet. Sen had not been wrong—the mountains and trees dusted with white were indeed quite the sight to behold. Jae-ha paused briefly to admire the beauty of it all and Sen looked at his face with scrutiny. When he sensed her gaze and turned to her, all was left in her eyes was worship.

"Jae-ha," she began, "yesterday… did you really fly?"

"No, not really," he replied with a smile. Sen's heart leapt in her chest. Was he willing to tell her his secret just like that? She realised that wasn't the case as he went on, "It's more like jumping."

"How do you do it?" she asked, wide-eyed with curiosity. "Tell me, please. Could I learn how?"

"I've told you, I'm the Green Dragon's warrior," Jae-ha told her. "This power is mine because of my blood and resides in my right foot."

Will he not teach it to me because it's a family secret? Sen wondered. Aloud, she said, "I suppose I'll have to wait until my next life to soar through the skies like you."

"I honestly hope you will stay like other humans," he said, looking away from her and directing his gaze at a dreary bird's nest almost hidden from view by the dark branches it lay on. "All power comes with a price, they say…"

Displeased by the serious mood she had accidentally created, Sen wracked her brains for an appropriate joke to laugh it off. Finding none, she smiled as sweetly as she could despite her somewhat sour mood and said, "If wielded responsibly, power can only bring joy and even make the world a better place."

"I am doing my best," Jae-ha sighed. Sen lowered her eyes in hopes of hiding her doubt as he went on, "But enough of this boring topic on such a lovely day. Was that all you wanted to ask?"

"Oh, no, there's much more," Sen said, her face lighting up. "Jae-ha, could you possibly carry another?"

Can your power cause hallucinations to that extent?

Surprised by the innocent excitement in her eyes and honest smile on her lips, Jae-ha stared at her for a moment before asking, "Do you want me to carry you?"

"That would be even better," Sen replied eagerly. True, how could I trust others to report what they saw? It's best to experience it first hand.

She stretched out her hands expectantly. Jae-ha picked her up in his arms, feeling a bit confused.

"I don't do this for anyone, you know," he said, trying his best to appear smooth. "Only for the most beautiful of women."

"Yes, yes," Sen said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I am the most peerless of all beauties. Now go!" After a moment's thought, she added, "Please. Of course, if I'm heavy, set me down."

"Heavy? Not at all," Jae-ha laughed. "Gi-gan's made me carry bags of salt, this is nothing compared to that. It's pure pleasure to hold you close."

"Few men have had the chance," Sen replied airily. "And only the very best of them have ever compared me to bags of—"

Her words died in her throat and her eyes widened with dread. The two of them were off the ground. The place where they had stood growing smaller with each passing moment, soon no longer in sight. Jae-ha felt her arms tighten around his neck and smiled to himself.

"Could you be afraid of heights?" he asked. Deciding this was most probably an illusion, Sen shook her head.

"N-not at all," she said, though her voice was far from steady. "I lived in the mountains once, yes, for a while, it didn't cause problems for me—"

She fell silent again as she felt her body grow heavy again and noticed that they were steadily approaching the top of a cliff far too swiftly for her liking. Closing her eyes, she repeated in her mind, It's an illusion, you won't die, it's not real.

She heard a loud crash and Jae-ha say a moment later, "We're here. Are you okay?"

"Fine, just fine," she replied, her chattering teeth suggesting otherwise. "The best—the best I've ever been, haha. Ha."

"Of course, the bravest of pirates would not be daunted by such trivial things," Jae-ha teased, setting her down. "Few things would make your battle-hardened heart tremble."

"And this isn't one of them," Sen sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder and pressing her hands against his chest for support. Despite being certain that she was under the influence of something, her legs felt like jelly. "I'm dauntless as a graverobber in an abandoned cemetery."

"I've never heard that simile before," Jae-ha said, amused. Sen smiled and turned her head to look whence they came.

"When I'm crowned Queen of poets, I'll make sure to invite you," she promised, squinting. The sun was in the same position as before. It was impossible for anyone to drug her and carry her up here in such a short amount of time. Masking her thoughts, she went on with a grin, "Worry not, I'll introduce you as the one to first discover my talent."

"What can I do with such an empty title?" he sighed, shaking his head. "I'd rather be called the most beautiful man you've ever seen, a warrior of freedom…"

"Why should I bother introducing you as such?" Sen asked, deciding to use her last resort. "If they have eyes, they will be able to tell that there is no match for you in Heaven and on Earth."

"I'll have to make do with that, I suppose," Jae-ha said. A cold wind blew past and he felt her hands trembling on his chest, so he asked, "Are you cold? Should I take you back?"

"It would be nice," she said, shivering slightly. "It's a pity that our outing only took so long… it would be nice to look at the scenery a bit longer…"

"The scenery will be here tomorrow," he told her, picking her up. "And the day after that, and for another three months or so… you'll have plenty of time to get sick of it."

"You're right," she replied, wrapping her arms around him. "Winters will come and go, but there's only one of me. The world would suffer too great a loss were I to disappear."

Once off the ground, Jae-ha felt Sen's arms tense before relaxing. He glanced at her to catch a glimpse of her expression but found that impossible, since her face was pressed against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "We'll be there soon, don't worry."

"It's alright," she whispered, her shivering lips pulling into a smile. Though it had been somewhat risky, he hadn't found her out. And because her coat was dark to begin with, there was no chance of him noticing anything out of order later, either.

…

"Hey, man! If you're here anyways, you gotta work like the rest of us, yeah?"

Nodding with the most obedient expression she could muster, Sen picked up the rag again and pressed it against the floor in a poor attempt to scrub it. Geon-ho, who had been yelling at her before, let out a heavy sigh and stepped next to her.

"Look," he said irritably, "it ain't no big deal. See? Just put a bit more pressure—"

He stopped and pulled his hand away quickly. Under Sen's hand, a pool of blood had appeared on the faded blue rag. She herself seemed quite unbothered by such an occurrence.

"Just a knife cut," she said, lifting her hand and glancing at the wound carelessly. A long red mark stretched across her palm, similar to the one that had been there but a few weeks ago. "It'll heal quickly."

"You okay?" Geon-ho asked with concern. "What happened? The knife slipped when you was cuttin' somethin'?"

"Somethin' like that," Sen replied, a slight smile crossing her face. "But it was worth it."

Indeed, it had been worth letting that hidden knife in her sleeve slip as Jae-ha jumped. It had been worth biting her tongue the rest of the journey and worth washing her sleeves secretly, for now she could be sure that men could fly. There was just no other way to explain the wound she had received - and at such a critical moment of the supposed illusion, too. No mind-bender could be so astute as to pay attention to such small details, least of all Jae-ha. Sen firmly believed that he would rather expose his secrets than press a knife against her palm. There was simply no other possibility - the world was insane and she had to live in it, whether she liked it or not.