Eleanor Deveena

She breathed in the ocean air again. The girl grew sick of it quickly. It reminded her of the trip to the Caverns. She could smell the ghostly scent of blood and miasma on the tip of her nose. Her stomach churned.

Then suddenly, her body jolted. An arm slinked its way around her shoulders. An unbearably overfamiliar person held her tightly as the intruder smiled, “Beautiful ocean, ain’t it?” The woman’s crescent smile reached her eyes. She looked into Eleanor’s eyes and sighed. “Chin up, lassie. We’re driftin’ on the ocean’s skirts. You’re free from da big coats in the Academy!”

Eleanor figured Mizelda was just trying to cheer her up, but the way the older woman’s fingers slowly dug into the flesh of her waist disturbed her. Trying to act casual and keeping her tears to herself, she moved Mizelda’s hands away from her. With a whisper, she said, “I need some time to myself.”

She headed back to her cabin. It had been a few hours since she entered a room.

Eleanor was always the curious type. She wouldn’t have been a Sage candidate if it wasn’t for her overwhelming desire to learn forbidden magical secrets. Back then she thought that desire was a gift. Not many people had the dedication she had. However, although she never really liked the Sanctuary Elves, Eleanor never wanted anyone to die.

When she had heard about EE-Thirty’s death, Eleanor didn’t allow herself to think about it. She turned a blind eye to that and focused on Veronica’s love. She supposed that’s why they got together so fast.

She crumpled up on smelly bed sheets. That was another thing to feel guilty about. Although they were mates, Eleanor used Veronica to forget about her own sins at the Caverns.

Dead elves. Dead Michael. Paralyzed Veronica. Infectious curse.

So many terrible things happened because of her and they were only stacking up. Professor Leylon was right, she did have to leave.

No! She thought, It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know! I couldn’t have known! It wasn’t my fault!

She clutched the pillow. Suddenly, like knife cutting butter, her stomach growled, slicing through the melancholy. Eleanor sat up begrudgingly and listlessly walked out of her room.

Eleanor explored the ship. It wasn’t as big as the Vadstena. It lacked a few floors and wasn’t as technologically advanced. The ship was still somewhat passable though.

It took Eleanor not very long to find the cafeteria. She got there faster than she thought, mostly because the maps stationed on each floor helped her.

However, the closer she got to the cafeteria, the worse she felt. Her body was just now realizing how hungry it felt. Eleanor’s armpits started to sweat, not from exhaustion, but from lack of energy. It was like cold sweat. A slight lightheadedness hit her. Her hunger was replaced with a cold shiver in her spine and armpits.

Her nose tickled as a waft of cooked salmon passed her way. Like a dying man seeing water for the first time, she nearly ran towards the cafeteria, spotting Mizelda and a couple of staff near her. The captain held a bowl of fish soup against her breast.

“Wow, yer a hungry little lass, ain't ya?” Mizelda looked over Eleanor. Her eyes lingered a little too long on Eleanor.

Eleanor nodded weakly. Mizelda motioned her over to a table as the staff sat around the girl. “I’ll nab anotha bowl, no need ta fret,” the captain laughed as she went back to the cooks.

“A noble girl, huh?” A female staff, probably a little over her mid-twenties, whispered like it was some big secret, “Why’d Cap’n Miz drag you here?” She nudged Eleanor who awkwardly slurped at her soup.

“Stop bugging her, Phine,” A male staff said, “The poor girl’s uncomfortable and starvin’. Just let her be.”

“Ugh,” Phine rolled her eyes, “Fine,” she pecked his cheek and started gobbling down on the soup, much unlike Eleanor’s refined way of eating. As if completely disregarding Ethan’s earlier words, Phine asked, “By the way, how old are you?”

Ethan was about to speak up when Eleanor shook her head, “It’s alright. I’m twenty-two.”

“Oh, about the same age as Cap’n Miz’s younger sister. She goes to your college. Apparently Cap’n Miz saved up enough money to pay for part of her tuition.”

She thought back to Mizelda’s appearance. Eleanor thought she looked a little familiar, but she didn’t have the energy to think further on the subject. A piece of salmon entered her mouth. It was tasteless.

Energy came back to her in small bits, but her stomach scrunched up in itself, making her queasy. The two staffers glanced at each other with a look of worry. Before them was a small girl who crunched in on herself as she took baby bites out of a soup that would go cold before she would even finish.

“So...what’re you here for?” Phone asked tactlessly again. Eleanor placed down her spoon, already full from a handful of bites.

The redhead sighed and rubbed her forehead. There was a headache incoming. “A girl in my group dragged the Academy into a huge problem. A lot of people are suffering for her overenthusiastic actions. She was a huge idiot.”

“Oh~ So Cap’n brought you here for safety?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Eleanor answered curtly. She picked the spoon back up and tried eating again. It wasn’t going very well.

Ethan grimaced while Phine shrugged her arms awkwardly. As if on cue, Mizelda sat down by Eleanor with a steaming bowl of hot soup. “Sheesh, tough crowd.” She noticed everyone had downcast expressions.

“Aite,” Mizelda clapped her hands once, catching Eleanor’s attention. “So we’re gonna head to da kingdom. By da East Acyuta Harbor ta make a delivery.” She waited a few moments to see if Eleanor caught what she said.

“The one...near the edge of the Ghost Forest?” Eleanor muttered. I definitely don’t want to go over that edge...

Mizelda nodded and continued, “I can rent a hippogriff ta take ye home. Won’t be a both-”

“Can I take a quick job with you?” Eleanor interrupted. The captain raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want to go back home. Not like this.”

Mizelda sighed and made eye contact with Eleanor, “Gurl, ya don’t got anything on yer back apart from da clothes on ya. An’ yer tits r’ spillin’ out y’know?”

Eleanor shifted her eyes away from the older woman while covering up her chest, “It’s just...if I go back, my mother and father will be disappointed in me. They let me study and avoid marriage as long as I brought back great results…”

Mizelda shooed the other staff who gulped awkwardly. They left for another table, one not too close to Eleanor’s. “Yer folks probably would feel dat way, but they might also be very worried. So what if ye screwed up? Yer still their daughter.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”Eleanor rubbed her arm, looking down on the floating piece of fish in her soup. Mizelda raised her arms up a bit to placate her. The student didn’t want to look at Mizelda. “...please...not yet…"

The captain sighed. “Aite, I’ll get ya a quick job, see if ye can stash enough coin to settle in a guild inn or sumthin. Dat good?”

The redhead nodded with a frown plastered on her face. Mizelda grew even more exasperated as she reached over and ruffled Eleanor’s curly red hair.

“It ain’t gonna be an easy job. Yer flabby muscle won’t last much. Eat up, trust me, ye’ll need it.”

….

A week and a half had passed by. Eleanor was utterly sick of fish. If she even smelled another one, she’d definitely throw up. The mage had a soft spot for seafood, but having to eat it everyday for the past week made her feel queasy and sick.

It was hot too. The sun was blazing its heat rays down on her. She was wearing a thin white sailor outfit, courtesy of Mizelda, but even that shirt felt too warm to be wearing right now.

Beyond the blinding rays of the Sun, Eleanor could see a spot of land rapidly approaching. She was seeing the East Acyuta Harbor. So many ships were around her. There were hints of elven technology in them. The king must’ve purchased some blueprints from the Sanctuary.

Eleanor felt the ship park into a deck. Stairs moved down, revealing a path to land. Mizelda pushed a heavy crate onto her arms. “H-hey!”

“Ain’t said the work was easy. Lessgo.”

The mage followed behind Mizelda like a constipated penguin as she tried carrying the chest. Her first week working under the captain was nothing but hell on her body.

She had a plan though. Eleanor needed to find her younger cousin, a full-fledged adventurer who left the Deevena household. Last she heard, Eloise was in the eastern side of the Dahlia Kingdom. Maybe she could get Eloise’s help.

[]

EE-Thirty

“Mmm~” Michael Hernold stretched his arms out, their lengths extending unnaturally as they coiled around his hips like snakes. He bent his back down and up. “The air here is much cleaner than at the Caverns.”

“Mana-based creatures like you thrive on Fae environments,” an elven woman said, her tone being clear disgust as she watched the young man tear his own muscles with seeming glee, as if the pain was pleasurable.

He snickered, “You say that like it’s a bad thing. If anything, you’re the creepier critter, running around without a soul. And now you want power. You’re even willing to burn down the very Sanctuary that birthed you.”

“It is a necessary endeavour. My people have been wasting their technological potential. The ideas I have would be considered heretical and radical by the Council. They’d never accept me.”

Michael laughed, “Oh please~ First of all, they aren’t your ‘people’. You can’t even be considered an elf anymore. Second, you just want a power grab. You saw what the Skull of the Cleanser can do, and you want a taste of it. You want to be a Monarch.”

“I’m not doing it to better my situation, Prince. I desire unity between all races. All these borders stifle technological production and advancement. Mana pollution has gone ignored by so many. Poverty is at an all time low in the Dahlia Kingdom, fairies are near-extinct in these lands, an-”

“I geeeeeeeeeet your point, but thing is, you weren’t thinking any of that till I told you the Skull was in the Sanctuary. I can see it pretty clearly from here. Your folks are using a paracausal set of bones...as a battery. They even made a deal with the human king to extend that power source to his country. Haha….they are using it...as a battery. What a waste of potential, you mortals are.”

“That is why I desire intervention. In my hands-”

“It wouldn’t be any better in your hands, sweetie. You lack the imagination to do anything worthwhile.”