Tessa and Elora moved with the sway of the ship, their motions matching and each step weighed with careful deliberation. I watched intensely as the Princess held her practice sword with a steady grip. Her strength was beginning to flag, my wife's red face and sweat beaded brow a testament to the effort she was devoting to her training. They were approaching the end of their second hour of sparring and it was showed in every heavy breath that passed through Elora's lips. Tessa remained as unruffled as she always was, not a hint of discomfort to be seen as she stood with an unnatural stillness.

The Princess' golden eyes were fixed to Tess' steely stare, the two women preparing themselves for another clash. The focus that Elora was showing was more than enough to cause a smile to rise upon my face. She was taking this seriously and I was glad to see it. Tess demanded nothing less than her best, though I did note that my savage Smith was significantly kinder to my wife than she had ever been to me, something which I was more than thankful for. Elora was still making plenty of mistakes, especially when it came to her guard. Even now it was lower than it should be, but I wagered that was a result of her exhaustion rather than negligence. Fending off Tessa's assault was hard enough for me, let alone someone who'd not touched a weapon before a few weeks ago.

Elora was beginning to have the look of a warrior about her. It had yet to fully form, but the first seeds were there. My Princess' eyes were piercing and devoid of emotion as she sought to master herself. Even that was a tremendous first step forward. When they had first begun to train together, Elora had been overly focused on the people watching her and not on her opponent. Tessa had punished her for that fact, taking advantage of my wife's inattention before gently explaining that she couldn't divide her attention, that the obstacle before her had to consume her whole being. It was a good lesson, one of the first I myself had learned and one with which I still struggled. My mind had the tendency to wonder in battle, especially if I was fighting someone I perceived to be a lesser opponent. It had happened when I'd fought Berthold. If I'd paid more attention to the immediate danger, perhaps I would have spotted the relic before he'd activated it and prevented the mayhem that followed. Another thing I struggled with was my inability to change the past, it seemed.

Watching my two Smiths stand ready to fight one another, I was struck by the dichotomy between the two. Elora was calm, her imperious glare a weapon she utilised well. I had seen its effect first hand back in Venos, her royal nature shining through and demanding that all pay her heed. It was a side of my Princess that I rarely got to see, the lineage of Brand and the power of her family on full display. Elora, by nature, was a thinker. She viewed her mind as her most powerful weapon and this was reflected in the way she held herself. I couldn't help but see Gida in her when she fought, her mother's influence clear to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Queen. My Princess was warm, kind and compassionate. I knew she still felt uncomfortable with fighting others. Even when killing the bandits in the woods outside of Sind, I'd felt her unease over the Bond. I think channelling her mother helped her to put things into perspective, and there were definitely worse examples to follow in that regard. Queen Gida still fucking scared the shit out of me, after all. Eventually my Princess would find her own style, her own path, but for now she was trying different methods. I had tried something similar when I'd first joined the Brigade, endeavouring to emulate Boldrin, to copy his every move, to master combat as he had. I'd looked up to him so much as a younger lad that I wanted to be him. That was a mistake. Every warrior must find their own way through the battlefield. We learned from our teachers, true, but in the end our paths were our own. Slowly but surely, my wife was finding hers.

I could see it in her flowery, elegant sword strokes. She was sub-consciously taking the techniques that Tess taught her and making them her own. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. Even Boldrin had commented on it to me during one of our quieter moments aboard the ferry down the Lith. It was the beginnings of something more, of my Princess finding her way as a swordswoman.

Tessa was the opposite of my calculating Princess. Everything about my savage Smith was just that: Savage. Tess relied on her instincts above all else. While Elora used her keen mind to guide her in battle, Tessa put all her faith in her carefully honed body and the skills she'd accumulated since she was a child. There was little elegance in her sheer and brutal attacks, yet they were beautiful to me all the same. Elora was at the start of her journey as a warrior, but Tessa had been walking the path for a long time and it showed. Even holding back as much as she was against the Princess, she still released an air of quiet threat. It would be obvious to even the crew watching who the superior fighter was just from the way my mercenary walked, the way she came to a complete stop with no wasted movement.

Their clash came suddenly and with no words spoken. Elora went on the offensive first, Tessa allowing the Princess the advantage of a first strike. A dozen mistakes were present in her form, but the slash was effective nonetheless, clashing against the wooden blade of Tessa's practice sword.

My mercenary was not fazed in the least by the attack, calmly turning aside Elora's strikes as if they were nothing at all. The sheer gulf that stood between the two was vast, but my Princess had known that going in. It wouldn't be enough to deter her from trying to cross it. It was one of the reasons I loved her so much: She was just as stubborn as I was, if not more so

Tessa had said more than once that Elora's physical strength belied her size. Small as she was, my wife packed a punch with every tremendous, two handed swing. The blade had been modelled after Rionna herself and it had been almost ungainly in the hands of Elora when she'd started training, but she was looking more comfortable with the sheer size of the weapon every day. Her breathing was carefully controlled as she inhaled and exhaled with a focused edge, her golden eyes glimmering as they remained fixed to Tessa's sword hand.

The exchange lasted for a full thirty seconds before Tess raised a hand to halt Elora's onslaught. She hadn't attacked once throughout the whole fight, only defending as she watched Elora's form for errors.

My Princess put the tip of her long sword against the deck, leaning over it and heaving with the exertion of the sparring. She glanced over at me with a satisfied smile on her face and I returned her grin with one of my own. She had come so far in such a small amount of time. My wife was doggedly determined to keep up with Tess and I. She hadn't said it but I wasn't completely dense, I knew Elora sometimes felt she was slowing me down, despite the fact that as a Smith she was downright prodigious according to Tessa and Annabelle.

Elora's attention returned to Tess as my savage Smith explained what she had done wrong in hushed tones. Tessa wasn't even short of breath.

“Not joining in?” Vera asked as she came up beside me with a yawn, a half-eaten peach in hand as she watched the two young women with interested eyes.

I shook my head with a smile, turning my head to look at Vera and trying with all my might to ignore my roiling stomach. Focusing on the sight of my two Smiths sparring was oddly soothing for me and helped to settle my sea sickness, but not completely. It was always there beneath the surface, an annoying nausea that seemed to rise up at the most inconvenient times.

The trip from Yelmora to Hostor had been a smooth one, helped to no end by the calm waters of the River Lith and the deft hands of Captain Formas at the helm. The man knew his ship well, that much couldn't be denied, and the respect he commanded from his crew was something else entirely. Well, respect and fear. I'd seen examples of both on our three day journey to the east. I only knew the man for a brief time, but I was impressed with the way he handled his crew and his business. Formas knew who we were and yet he didn't bow and scrape as I had half expected him to. The Pixie was his vessel and while we were aboard, we were all under his command.

We'd arrived in Hostor on the morning of the third day, ahead of schedule. The large port city was very much a copy of Yelmora in many ways, with rustic buildings of white stone and walls that had

long since been torn down. Unfortunately, our troupe didn't have much time to take in the sights. After a fond farewell to Formas and his capable crew, we wondered on down to the port, looking for passage to the east, to Ragora.

It was quite a sight to see, the Port of Hostor. It was almost like another Festival of Chivalry in many ways, though perhaps Festival of Coin would be a more apt description. Hundreds of people and dozens of ships had gathered at the gateway to the Eastern Islands, all of them on the move and all of them either buying or selling. The shouted cries of many a merchant filled the air as prices were haggled and deals made. More than a few fishermen could be seen closer to the White Sea, the scent of salt and fish filling the air with an acrid aroma as they sought to sell their fresh catch of the morning.

Yes, it was a sight. Though it wasn't as great as seeing Elora's reaction.

My Princess had come to a dead stop after we'd come to port. Her mouth dropped as she took in the significant size of the body of water before us, how it went out to the horizon and spilled over the edge of the world. She'd grabbed my arm then, her smile so large that it threatened to consume her face entirely as she turned to me with shining eyes.

I sometimes forgot how little my wife knew of the world beyond Myrin. Our journey to Dunwellen had been the first time she'd left Myrin since her birth. The look on her face as she gazed out upon the White Sea had made all the trouble we'd experienced to get to Hostor worth it in my mind. I couldn't stop grinning as she gazed at everything around her, at the huge ships that sat in dock. Most were small fishing vessels, but a few brigs and even a galleon were also present. The huge ship sat as a titan, towering over the small humans below and casting a shadow over all.

I could have stayed there with her, in that moment, for quite some time. Unfortunately, Vera worked fast.

Only a few hours after we arrived in Hostor, The First Knight managed to secure passage to Nian aboard a merchant's vessel looking to trade in the Eastern Islands. It seemed luck was finally with us once more. Before the sun had even passed its peak we were already bound for our destination, much to the satisfaction of Deirdric and Alden. Especially so in the case of the Ragoran Smith.

Deirdric seemed more than eager to see his wife again and his excitement grew by the day. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be away from Elora for more than a few hours, let alone weeks, but I could empathise with his situation. I found myself strangely caught up the scholar's enthusiasm, which was made all the more intense since Tessa began to show interest in learning how her family was doing. She hadn't asked for any more information on her parents or sisters since we left Yelmora, but the fact that she'd asked at all had seemed to have had a profound effect on the Ragoran pair. I noticed they attempted to engage Tessa in conversation frequently, not caring if it tended to be rather one sided. That alone filled me with a sense of satisfaction. I felt like Tess was becoming more open to the idea of reconnecting with her family and that all started with Alden.

Yes, he had played a part in what happened to her but I knew that Tessa still held a certain amount of feeling for the man who had once been her protector. Nothing was certain in life, but I felt like Tess was taking a huge step in even just exchanging a few words with the Knight of her own volition, and I believed Alden was as aware of that fact as I was.

My mind suddenly stuttered as the ship crested a white tipped wave and I grabbed onto the mast to steady myself, closing my eye to settle my spinning vision. The longer we spent out on the White Sea, the worse my condition became. I was just thankful that we didn't have much longer to travel to reach our destination. Five days we'd been at sea and, according to our new Captain Mathis, we would be in Nian in two more if the weather continued to favour us and I prayed that it did. I'd heard more than a few stories from members of the Brigade who'd sailed the White Sea, all terrible tales of destructive storms that tore ships in two.

The very thought of that made my nausea all the more active.

I'd dared to hope on the ferry that perhaps I had gotten over this particular aspect of sea travel, but apparently I was wrong. My sickness had started to rise only a few hours after we'd left the port of Hostor and I'd spend much of the first two days leaning over the side and spilling whatever I'd managed to hold down into the uncaring and roiling waters beneath us. Tessa and Elora would take turns sitting with me to ensure I was alright, despite my very vocal protests that I was fine, patting my back as I glared into the deep. I'd had a few irrational thoughts during those first couple of days, mainly about trying to fight the sea with my sword as though that would help things. During one of my more desperate moments, it had actually seemed like a viable option.

It was the strangest thing. I was a relatively competent swimmer and I'd been on lakes and rivers with no ill effects, but something about the openness of the sea, the sway of the ship and the fact that literally nothing but water surrounded us made my stomach turn.

I quelled that very thought before it could fully form. We'd been at sea for a while now and I was finally starting to get a handle on it, at least in part. I didn't want to return to hanging off of the side of the ship anytime soon.

“You're head is still spinning, I take it?” Vera asked conversationally, though I detected the barest hint of concern in her voice.

“Aye, but its better,” I replied, almost to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince Vera, “I did a bit of training with Boldrin this morning. Watching Tess and Elora helps settle me.”

Vera nodded as we returned to spectating my Smiths match, which had once more started up in earnest. I noted that Elora had rectified a number of her previous mistakes, her form looking smoother already under the careful tutelage of Tessa. I gripped the mast tightly and looked around to get my bearings, trying to spot each member of my company.

Boldrin was at the helm with Captain Mathis, a man who was formally a legionary in the Third before injury had forced him to pursue other avenues of work. Luckily, Yeles held a tremendous amount of respect for her warriors and work was easy to come by for an experienced soldier. He was stern man, didn't talk much, but was an effective leader in many ways. He seemed to have a knack for sea travel. At least, that was what Vera had told me when she'd commissioned the Merry Horse for transport. She and Annabelle had visited a number of watering holes on the docks and had learned that Mathis had a reputation for honouring his agreements. He and Boldrin had hit it off immediately. Apparently they had served under the same commander some years apart.

I spied Alden helping the crew, as had become his custom over the past few days. As a former member of the Ragoran Navy, he was very nearly as comfortable on the water as he was on land and got along famously with the other sailors aboard the Merry Horse.

Deirdric was nearby, at the bow of the ship and sitting on an upturned barrel. He was nearly as comfortable aboard the Merry Horse as his Knight was, reading a small tome as he sipped at his water skin in contentment. I glanced past the Smith and glimpsed the figurehead of our large vessel, a painted horse with an almost unnatural grin on his face. Honestly, the thing made me shiver. For some reason, it reminded me of my own steed, whom was currently located beneath my feet. As uneasy as my horse made me, I now knew we had a phobia in common. The big bastard seemed to hate being on the water almost as much as I did. The other horses were easy enough to store, but not mine. The old war horse made the crew pay for every inch.

I'd asked Vera why she just didn't sell the horses since we would be stuck on an island anyway. She'd sited sentimentality as her reason for not being reasonable. I could understand that in the case of Boldrin's horse, he'd had the beast for many years, but they could have at least gotten rid of mine. Last night I'd awoken to find the fucker chewing on my hair, having somehow broken free of his tether to have a snack.

Fuck, but did I hate that horse. If I'd been wearing Elora's strip in my hair and he'd eaten it, we would be eating him tonight, and I would relish every bite.

Annabelle was near to Deirdric, her eyes scanning the horizon with an annoyed expression. The reason for that stood next to her in the form of the merchant who owned the Merry Horse. A slight man named Gibbons. Considering the look of mounting frustration on the face of the Lady of Ice, I could only assume that she wasn't enjoying the conversation.

I couldn't say I'd spoken to the man much since I'd come onboard the ship, but from what I'd learned from Vera, he was something of an idiot in many respects. The First Knight had rather wisely decided to keep our identities secret when approaching potential captains for a number of reasons. Foremost among them was that very few ships would be willing to take on such illustrious company as the Princess of Venos and her husband. The questions that would be asked and the suspicions that would rise as to the reason for such clandestine methods of travel weren't worth the headache. Vera and Annabelle had correctly guessed that we would be better off with just pretending we were a merchant's entourage travelling to Nian for business. Deirdric was currently pretending to be said merchant, a man of repute known throughout Ragora. It was all false, of course, but Deirdric had enough knowledge to answer any questions put to him by the ship's owner. In fact, the man seemed so fucking impressed with the scholar that he almost looked like he wanted to go into business with him.

While the man's curiosity as to who we were had been put to rest, his fascination with our group, and Annabelle in particular, had begun to grate on all our nerves. None more so than the lady in question. He was harmless, in truth. A bit oblivious, but nonetheless besotted.

“Should you not go and help her?” I chuckled as I looked to Vera, who glanced over to her sister with a frown, “She looks like she's going to pitch him over the side.”

Vera shrugged, “She's fine. Annie's used to dealing with idiots. Some Nobles of Venos are little better I'm afraid to say. She's dealt with far worse than a merchant with a crush.”

I shook my head, smiling as Elora and Tess continued to practice. Quite a few members of the crew were watching my Smiths as they worked, speaking in quiet murmurs as they watched the two spar with obvious awe in their eyes, “Elora's getting better.”

“She is, and in so short a time,” Vera sighed as she glanced at her sister once more, “I just wish I could convince Annie to learn how to defend herself. You would think that after the wedding she'd be more willing to, or at the very least to carry some kind of weapon.”

“Why doesn't she?” I remembered the wedding well. Annabelle had been at the complete mercy of Craven's goons and yet I also recalled the look of derision, of spite, on her face as she stared each of them down. Even weaponless and with no way to defend herself, the First Smith hadn't been afraid in the slightest. Perhaps you didn't need a weapon if your glare was enough to freeze a man's blood in his veins.

Vera chuckled lightly, “It's nothing significant, she just hates the idea of fighting by herself. When she's with me that's another story, but the idea of learning to fight alone scares her and has done since we were children. Don't tell her I told you that, I'd never hear the end of it.”

I found it a little strange that Vera was talking to me like this. Our relationship had improved significantly since Paldrum, but I wouldn't exactly call us close. Still, things were getting better. I wasn't as stuck in my ways as I once was, more open to the idea that duty to Gida had driven Vera towards her past actions more than right and wrong. After all, I had punished Roman for putting his son on the path that nearly led to my death and spared Berthold for the crime. It wasn't the same situation, but the parallels were undeniable. I wondered if my situation with Vera and Annabelle had sub-consciously affected the outcome during the Festival of Chivalry? Stranger things had happened.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked Vera tentatively, interest in the First Knight's past and the mention of her childhood pushing me to question, “When did you know you wanted to be Annabelle's Knight?”

“Why do you ask?”

I shrugged, “I just realised that I know very little about you and Annabelle. Think it's about time I change that.”

Vera looked at me strangely when I said that, her head tilting slightly as a small smile rose upon her lips, “And what brought this on?”

“We're gonna be together for quite some time. You keep Elora safe and you've had my back when shit went sideways.”

“Enough to make up for...”

I shook my head with a chuckle, “You've earned my trust, if that's what you mean.”

“...Fair enough. Well, to answer your question, as soon as I realised I was the only one who could be,” Vera smiled fondly at her sister as she rolled her eyes at another of Gibbons' inane jokes, “You might not believe this, but Annie used to be very shy in public, head bowed and mumbled words aplenty. I was the opposite in many respects. I loved the attention.

I raised a brow, “That seems about right.”

Vera laughed, “You have no idea. I realised early on that I was doing it for her sake. Whenever someone would focus on her, I would act out to draw their eyes away. She was always put on parade whenever the opportunity presented itself. Our parents made damn sure of that.”

“You weren't close?”

“You could say that,” Vera said sternly, her expression tight, “They weren't bad people, they just demanded too much from Annabelle. They loved us in their own way, but they had an agenda, one which was for the good of the family and not for us. You should have seen some of the potential partners they'd lined up to Bond with her, each of them more asinine than the last. All of them were from families of greater influence, my parents desperately attempting to 'drag us out of the mud'.

“Drag you out of the mud?” I asked.

“Yes. My parents were very prejudiced against commoners. You'll find that lesser Nobles often are. They are so afraid of losing what they gained, of going back to a time when they themselves didn't have the small authority they wielded. We were lessers among lessers, our family so small I doubt anyone of any real power had ever heard of us. My parents owned a few businesses around Myrin, nothing too grand but enough for us to live in relative comfort. Still, they always wanted more. My great great grandfather earned his title when he saved a member of the royal family during one of our many skirmishes with Dunhold. We limped along since then, our renown floundering with each new generation. When Annabelle was born, my parents sought to take advantage of a Smith baring the family name. They treated her almost like property to be sold to the highest bidder. I couldn't have that.”

Vera tapped at her arm absently, eyes looking into the past before she shook her head with a smile, banishing the dark memories that haunted her, “I worked myself to the bone and earned the right to be her Knight.”

“Shit,” I said solemnly. I couldn't imagine viewing a child as a bargaining chip to further my own needs, but I knew it was common enough among the Nobles. Politics at play and in the worst way, “I'd just always assumed because you were her sister-”

“That I would be entitled to Bond with her?” Vera laughed, “Not quite. Many were more qualified than her lowly little sister, but my parents started to pay attention when I challenged all of her potential partners to duels and beat them senseless. Even then, it took quite some time for the two of us to convince our mother and father that I was the only right choice. Even if I was 'broken', as they were so fond of putting it.”

“Broken?” I frowned at the First Knight, “How in the Spirit were you broken?”

Vera hesitated then, her expression darkening, “That is something I'd rather not talk about.”

I nodded immediately. It wasn't my place to go digging around in Vera's past for skeletons, despite my curiosity as to the nature of what she was referring. I knew better than most that there was some shit you just didn't talk about, “I understand.”

“I knew you would,” Vera said as she leaned against the mast, “After I became Annie's Knight, everything happened so fast. We left for the Hall, made a name for ourselves, everything just sort of fell into place. We were made First Knight and Smith almost as soon as we came home to Myrin. Gida had succeeded the throne by then and the title had been left vacant. We had people looking to us for guidance and we were barely more than children ourselves. We were forced to adjust fast and learn by doing. Just like you, I suspect.”

I snorted in disbelief, “I don't think anyone's gonna be looking to me for guidance. I hardly know what I'm doing half the time.”

“That may be true now, but don't think it will always be the case,” Vera stressed, “One day, Orin, you'll be King of Venos.”

“Worried I won't be up for the job?” I asked with a smile.

“Not even slightly,” The conviction in Vera's words made me turn back to her with a shocked expression on my face, “Are you really that surprised? It won't be long before others see what I do.”

“And what do you see?” I asked, slightly taken aback.

“A leader,” Vera said as she stood upright, “Though I'm almost painfully aware of the fact that you don't see it yourself.”

“Vera, I don't think-”

The First Knight rolled her eyes, “You aren't there yet, Orin. But you could be something great. What you did in Yelmora proves that.”

“Cutting off a guy's head?”

Vera chuckled and shook her head, “Sparing an enemy who deserved death, to show mercy for the sake of another. You wouldn't have done that when we first met.”

“Don't know about that,” I grumbled as I raised a tired hand to run it over my face, “Though Elora said much the same.”

“You should trust your wife,” Vera said, “She's an excellent judge of character. Better than me.”

I made to respond but the First Knight was already walking away, causing my brow to lower as I watched her go with confusion on my face. I honestly didn't know what to make of that. It was quite nice to learn more about Vera, but if I didn't know any better, I would assume that the last words she'd spoken was something of an apology.

“Are you alright, love?” Elora's voice pulled me back into myself and I banished the First Knight from my mind as I turned to face my Smiths.

My Princess looked exhausted, though her breathing was even now as her heart began to settle within her chest. Tessa was eyeing me doubtfully, her stare fixed to my rather pale face. She looked the same as always, not even slightly weary despite the fact that she and Elora had been practising for two straight hours.

I wished that I could join them, but I just couldn't. Even my brief spars against Boldrin had pushed me to the limits of what I was capable. Bonding didn't help for long. When I was joined to my Smiths I immediately felt better but as soon as they left me once more my sea sickness would hit me twice as hard as before.

It wasn't like I could do much training while Bonded anyway. I truly wished to try using First Sword again, to hone the Technique and hopefully discover another insight into how I could make it stronger, but I didn't much like the idea of using it on a rickety old tub that was five days out to sea. I was confident in my abilities to control my power, but not that confident. Plus, as far as the crew was concerned there were no Knights aboard their vessel. I couldn't start whipping out magical swords and cutting shit to pieces that I wasn't even close enough to damage. We were near our destination, near the safety that Mastan D'viritazi offered, but I didn't want to take any chances, a feeling that was mirrored by the other members of my company.

Thankfully, nights offered us some reprieve to work. The ship wasn't large so our group bedded down at night with the horses and cargo. It gave the girls an opportunity to practice Smithing while I could run through my forms with Rionna without the chance of being discovered. The temptation to touch Space was great but I just about managed to resist.

“Fine, Princess,” I grinned weakly at the woman I loved, “But I've recently come to the conclusion that I fucking hate the sea.”

Tessa laughed, “Only recently? You've been as sick as a dog for five days, and it's worse than when we were in Andapa.”

Tessa was referring to the only other time I'd ever been out to sea. The band had picked up a contract. Run of the mill stuff, stopping smugglers from moving goods through coves on the coast. Tess and I had been assigned as part of a group to take them down, along with a few other members of the Brigade. Needless to say, I hadn't been much help during that very brief trip and they hadn't let me forget it for months after the fact. Thankfully, it had been one of my first jobs as a full fledged mercenary so they had forgotten about it eventually.

“Aye, much worse,” I groaned as I looked up at my two Smiths. Just thinking about it was making my head spin once more. I sat myself down and leaned against the mast, trying to ignore the vicious heat of the sun overhead, “I'm never gonna get on a boat again.”

“You know, Orin, we have to go home eventually,” Elora said with a kind smile as she came to sit down next to me, nudging me as she did so, “We can't stay in Nian forever.”

“Then I'll learn how to teleport with Space,” I said with a committed look, my jaw clenched as I stared out over the horizon with an eye of steely determination, “I swear this now: I am not going to leave Ragora by ship.”

Elora rolled her eyes and looked to her Sister-Smith with a barely concealed smile on her face. Tessa wasn't bothering to hide her own grin as she sat down on my opposite side, “You are an idiot.”

“I am,” I nodded sagely.

Tessa and Elora both laughed at that, music to my ears as I closed my eye, basking in the sounds of their voices.

“How was training?” I asked them gently. I was interested in hearing how it went, but I was more invested in getting them to speak. Even their casual conversation soothed my mind and soul.

“It went well!” Elora perked up immediately, “I think I'm really starting to get a handle on things. I let my guard down too much, though. I need to keep an eye on that, but my footwork is improving and I'm getting used to the weight.”

“You are and you do,” Tessa replied, “But the fact that you understand that now is better than later. I was fighting with Orin for nearly a full year before he learned to maintain his guard at all times.”

“In my defence,” I began with a raised hand, “You never told me I had to.”

“No, but I did keep hitting you on the head,” Tess said with smirk, “You'd think you would get the hint.”

“I did... Eventually, “ I stated sheepishly.

The three of us laughed then, pulling the attention of some of the crew members as they shot us irritated looks. I knew the feeling well. It was never fun to see others enjoying themselves while you worked yourself to the bone.

“You should eat something, love,” Elora said as she touched my forehead, “I think there's still some stew from this morning.”

“I doubt I'll be able to hold anything down.”

“You've barely eaten in the last five days,” Tessa cut in, backing up her Sister-Smith, “You need to eat, Orin. We've had a few days of nothing bad happening, but that'll change when we get to Nian. You need your strength.”

They had both been like this for the last few days. One of them was always nearby at all times, I'd noticed, and my meals were often brought to me even when I wasn't seeking them out. I did draw the line when Tess tried to feed me. I still had my dignity.

Well, some of my dignity.

“Boldrin shouldn't still be training you, not when you're like this,” Elora said insistently, her golden eyes flashing with frustration, “You can barely stand as it is.”

“Fighting through the pain can only help me,” I replied, regurgitating Boldrin's own words, seeking strength in his wisdom even if I hated every fucking moment of it, “Especially when I'm this uncomfortable. Spirit forbid, we may have to fight at sea one day.”

“You shouldn't have said that,” Tessa grumbled, “Now its bound to happen.”

“I'll fetch you something,” Elora jumped to her feet, “Be back soon.”

My beautiful wife walked away, letting her hair down as she did so. Long waves of gold flowed well past her shoulders as she walked into the ship, aiming for the galley that we took our meals in. She peeked back at me before she disappeared below deck, grinning as she caught me watching her leave and prompting an answer in kind.

I turned to Tessa after my Princess had vanished. She'd pulled her legs up under her chin as she so often liked to do, her expression distant, fixed beyond the ship and towards the distant land of Nian, to Ragora. Both her practice blade and Elora's was laying next to her, the chipped wood near shimmering with the heat of the punishing sun above.

I didn't need the Bond to know what she was thinking about.

“How are you feeling, Tess?”

My mercenary blinked, looking at me with confusion in her piercing eyes, “How am I feeling about what?”

“We're close now,” I said softly as I nudged against her gently, “You'll be back home soon.”

“That isn't my home,” Tess whispered, sounding annoyed, “You're my home.”

That did make me smile as I leaned my head against the mast, “I know. As you are mine. But your family is there, Tessa. Your sisters, your mother-”

“My father.”

I gritted my teeth and quickly put a firm stop to my suddenly roaring soul. It quieted down almost immediately, my control from Yelmora still very much intact. It lacked a true test, but I wasn't in a hurry to put either of my Smiths in danger in order to prove my skill at controlling my rage.

“Aye, him too.”

We were silent for a time after that, listening to the sea as warm winds blew across the deck. If it weren't for the listless sway of the ship causing my stomach to churn, I might have actually enjoyed it.

“I'm afraid,” Tessa admitted finally, a small tremble running through her body, “I thought I'd never see any of them again. I pushed those memories down. I chose to forget them because remembering what was... it was too painful when I was younger. But the closer we get, the more comes back to me.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know, unimportant shit,” Tessa shook her head, flushing in embarrassment even as she spoke, “I remember Freida doing my hair before my seventh birthday. She did it in a braid, put flowers in it. She sang the whole time. Told me I was the prettiest girl in the Eastern Islands.”

I smiled but didn't interrupt. Instead I took her hand in mine to comfort her, to steady her.

“I remember how Dawn used to make me laugh at dinner, how Tilia would swing from the trees outside my window and make faces up at me. I remember Cassie coming back from the training fields with Lilian, how they smelled of steel and sweat. I remember Tristan... Fuck, Orin. There's no point in talking about any of this.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm not that person anymore! And neither are they!” Tess hissed, pulling her hand away and folding her arms as she stared stubbornly at the deck, “They called me Rainie. That's who I was to them. Sweet, innocent Rainie. I'm Tessa now. I like being Tessa, I like being your Tessa.”

“And you think that'll all change when we get to Nian? That they'll judge you for not being what they expect you to be?” I asked calmly, carefully considering my words.

“Alden did,” Tessa said sharply, her gaze finding the Ragoran warrior, who was helping some of the crew with the rigging, speaking with them with a smile on his lips, “He almost burst into fucking tears when he saw me.”

“If they think that way, then they can go fuck themselves,” I stated bluntly, “You're perfect the way you are, Tess. You have no one to impress, no one to prove yourself to.”

“Yet I feel nervous anyway,” Tessa's laugh was self-deprecating, “How fucking weak does that make me?”

“Not at all,” I responded instantly, “Do you know how scared I was going back to see the Sister and the kids for the first time in four years? My own mother didn't even recognise me when she opened the door to the orphanage.”

“It's not the same, Orin,” Tessa said glumly.

“I know its not, but the point is still valid. You can't pretend to be something you're not and you can't hide all you've been through over the past ten years. You are different, Tess, of course you are. Maybe you aren't the sweet and innocent kid they remember, but that doesn't mean you are the lesser for it.”

Tessa grunted but said nothing. I didn't expect that I'd be able to get through to her, but if I could at least alleviate some of her worry before we arrived in Nian then it will have been worth it. I'd thought about how this all must be affecting her, how seeing her family again would make her feel. She puts up a good front at times, but that's all it was. Tessa felt more keenly than nearly anyone I'd ever met, she was just better at hiding it than most.

“You're right. I know you're right,” Tessa said begrudgingly, “Don't even know why I'm thinking like this. The closer we get to Nian, the more confusing everything becomes. In Venos, I know who I am. I'm your Smith, a mercenary, a warrior. In Ragora... fuck, I'm Lady Tessaraina D'viritazi of Nian, daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country.”

“You've got it wrong, Tess: You're both,” I said with a grin, “And you can be both if that's what you want. Just know that whatever happens, I'm going to be standing right next to you.”

“Really?” Tessa returned my smile with a predatory version of her own, “It could end in a fight.”

“'Course it will. I'm going to be there.” I let out a mock sigh, “I just can't seem to avoid it these days.”

“As if you'd want to,” Tessa chortled as we both returned our gazes to the distant horizon.

I turned my eye to the hatch below deck just in time to catch sight of my Princess climbing up the steps to our world of water beyond. In her hands was a large bowl with a piece of stale bread balanced precariously on top. She stumbled at the top of the steps, dribbling a few drops of stew onto a sailor's foot which she profusely apologised for. I smiled at the love of my life, even as I watched the sailor, ready to rise if he so much as raised his voice to her. Luckily for him, he didn't, taken aback by my Princess' apology and nodding along with her as she spoke, he turned back to his work without another word, Elora continuing on her short journey. I was sick, but I wasn't dead. I may not be able to fight at my best, but I could still beat a man for disrespecting my wife.

And that wasn't my soul talking. That was all me. Not that I truly believed I had anything to worry about. The crew of the Merry Horse were a kind lot and progressive besides. They had three women on their small vessel, which was something that was rarely seen elsewhere in the world. Many still believed that having a woman onboard was some kind of affront to the Spirit, one which brought bad luck on a voyage. I blamed my illness for putting me on edge, my frustrations mounting the longer we spent on the White Sea. I just wanted to be on solid land again, preferably before one of the famous storms that often struck this part of the world made our trip to Nian all the harder.

Still, it was nice to have an excuse for my irrational thoughts other than my turbulent soul. I'd take what I could get.

“You're gonna fight him, aren't you.”

It wasn't a question, but it demanded an answer regardless. She'd seen how I reacted to Boldrin, to Alden. She'd seen what I'd done, seen my rage, my fury at my own helplessness. I hadn't been there for her once. Never again. My Smith's pain, her anguish, her loneliness, all of it could be traced back to only one man.

To my Tessa's father. To Mastan D'viritazi.

I turned to Tess, smiling at her gently and without a single shred of remorse, I replied, “Aye, I'm gonna fight him.”

Tessa's eyes moved across my face. The grey of her eyes, shining like steel, looked to my chin, to my nose, to my lips and finally to the scar that ran through my right eye. Her fingers twitched, almost as though she wanted to reach up and touch the place where the Eye of the Storm sat dormant, ready to form at moment's notice. More than that, I think she was remembering the promise I had made and the belief in me that had allowed her to forge it.

“Of course you will.” She murmured, both of her eyes meeting mine.

“Did I miss anything?” Elora asked as she approached, carefully handing me the bowl with spoon already inserted as she took her seat next to me on the deck, “I almost spilled it a dozen times on the way up. I think I'm getting my... Oh, what do the sailors call it? My sea legs!”

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: My wife is fucking adorable.

I kissed my Princess on the cheek as I attempted to tuck into my food under her watchful eye. Tessa too was staring at me, but her own thoughts were miles away, in the distant city of Nian, where her family awaited.

I finished my meal as quickly as I could, hoping against hope that I managed to hold it down this time. I placed the bowl to the side and leaned against Elora, my wife wrapping herself around me as we settled in. As much as I hated the sea, I did enjoy these quiet moments I could have with my two Smiths without the imminent threat of disaster approaching.

And it was approaching. I could feel it in my very bones and I knew the others felt the same. For more than a week now, things had been going smoothly and without incident. It was only a matter of time before our luck took a turn and trouble found us once more.

My mercenary finally came back to herself and leaned into me until our sleeves were touching. Together, Elora, Tessa and I stared out at the endless expanse of the White Sea, each of us ready to face the challenges that presented themselves in Nian.

Our journey was coming to an end. Though what awaited us remained to be seen.