Steve’s wound patched itself back up within a few minutes, but his body remained unconscious. His head rested on Alex’s shoulder as she tried her best to help him. Laying him on the boat with his head facing the clouds, Alex sat back and grabbed a hold of the paddles. Her stomach ached as she watched him peacefully sleep, but had a feeling that she had to move.

Alex continuously rowed the boat until she could find land. The vast and endless ocean filled her with dread and unease. She was unsure of what stuck the trident in Steve’s back, or what it was, but now she lived in fear that it would come after her as well, so she didn’t stop.

Guilt corroded Alex’s subconscious every time she looked at Steve. He was like that because of her, or so she claimed. Just like her dad, the villagers, and her home, everything she loved was taken from her because she couldn’t do anything.

“If I just slept…” She whispered to herself, stopping the boat in the middle of the deep ocean. Alex narrowed her eyes and lowered her head, her stomach aching at the sight of her partner. She didn’t want to think about burying another person again, as it was a thought that filled her with trepidation. That was until she heard clicks coming from below them.

Startled, she pulled out an iron sword and gripped it with all her might. In a panic she looked around with her guard up, jolting the boat around with her steps. Left and right the boat swayed, nearly tipping itself over and dumping them in the ocean. The clicks grew louder along with her anxiety.

Suddenly without warning, a dolphin leaped from the ocean, gliding over the boat while spinning in the air. Its water-covered blubber reflected the sunlight into the sky, and the dripping water splashed beneath it. She noticed a scar on the side of the dolphin beneath its top fin. Alex couldn’t believe her eyes, looking at the rainbow trail it left and the wide smile beneath its nose. As soon as it crashed into the water, Alex laughed and followed it.

She peeked into the water and watched in awe as it swam deeper into the ocean.

“Wait! Come back!” She shouted and threw her sword on the ground.

Alex put her foot on the curb of the boat, but just before she could impulsively jump in, she saw Steve resting and hesitated. That sinking feeling in her gut returned. Alex looked back into the water and saw the dolphin swimming back up with two others.

The three dolphins raised their heads from the water and whistled at Alex, playfully moving their noses closer to her. Alex didn’t know what to do, but their presence seemed to be just what she needed. A gentle pat on their noses elicited joyful clicks and dances from the dolphins.

They surrounded the boat and gave Alex their full attention.

“Do you know where we can find land?” She asked slowly in case they couldn’t understand her. For some reason, she hoped the dolphins spoke her language when there was barely anyone back in the village that could. Though, she remembered from a story that dolphins are smart creatures. The three dolphins swam to each other and began swimming in circles. Alex sat back, grabbing onto the paddles and waiting for their response. If there were any sea creature that knew where to take her, it would have to be the dolphins.

As soon as the dolphins finished, they all pointed to the left of the boat and whistled.

“Thank you!” Alex shouted; her eyes now open and with a smile she couldn’t control. The three dolphins jumped from the water while clicking out of order. The dolphins’ smiles were contagious enough to take Alex away from her worries. Two dolphins swam to the side of the boat and pushed it in the direction they previously pointed. Although startled, Alex let them have their way.

The leading dolphin in front of everyone began to swim forward, directing them to the nearest landmass. As soon as Alex began to row, she felt the support of the dolphins pushing the boat to move even faster.

With the wind blowing on her hair and the salty breeze of the ocean passing her face, Alex couldn’t stop herself from laughing and joyfully threw her hands in the air. They continued forward until the sun began to set and a hint of land came over the horizon. Along with the moonrise, a forest of oak trees much like the one back home came into view.

The dolphins quickly stopped their momentum and turned back to the redhead with wide green eyes. They clicked and whistled until Alex noticed, and leaped once she did.

“You three deserve a reward!” Alex leaned over the ocean to look at them. She opened her inventory and pulled out a few raw cod. “Sorry it's raw, but you will probably like it!”

She tossed a fish in the air and watched as one jumped to bite. She fed the other two like normal and watched them swim away. Left with the short journey to land, she began rowing the paddles to and fro.

As the boat docked, Alex noticed the sun beginning to set. Dreadfully moving along, she dragged Steve from the boat with the little strength she had and dropped him on the hot sand. He was too heavy for her to lift and dragging him around didn’t look like a good idea at the time. Leaving him on the sand, Alex broke the boat and threw its miniature form in her inventory.

She sat in front of Steve and looked over the horizon, watching as the sun set. The sky took an orangish hue that reflected on the water, and the heat slowly cooled.

It didn’t take long for Steve to awaken with a groan. Raising his head with sand on his back, he looked at Alex who hadn’t noticed he woke up. He was surprised to see land after so long but was taken back by the view displayed in front of him. Alex sitting in front of the sunset with the sky imitating her luscious frolicking hair under the helmet made of shimmering diamonds.

There was a moment of peace for him as he smiled and walked up to her, sitting by her side with his legs out. The moment she noticed him she lowered her head with a sense of shame, unable to look him in the eye.

“Is something wrong?” Steve asked, pushing some of his hair out of his face.

“Sorry, Steve.” She answered. Steve tilted his head.

He couldn’t begin to imagine the emotions she could’ve been feeling at the time. After everything she’s been through, seeing him in such a state must’ve been rough on her. He began to think back to the stories she told him of her dad and the cries from the night before. However, he also knew that he needed Alex to trust him at least half as much as he trusted her. But knowing her, Steve recognized that was too much to ask.

“No, I’m sorry,” Steve replied trying to maintain eye contact. “I shouldn’t have made you worry,”

Alex raised her head and looked back into his shining blue eyes. Finally being able to look at her emerald eyes that were unlike anything he’d seen before, Steve smiled at their beauty.

“But it’s like you said,” Steve continued. “I can’t leave everything to you. We’re partners after all.”

Alex couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth and stared at him in awe. The sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs nearby filled the air along with some footsteps moving behind them. However, it was almost as if all noise was drowned out to them. With the sun still out, they didn’t have much to worry about.

Steve grew anxious looking at her and turned with his face reddened and brain in scrambles. His words left an impression on Alex that she wasn’t expecting. Steve continued with a stutter after every word.

“Y-you should put a little more faith in me. Only then can we work together to find the people that did that killed your dad.” Steve’s bashful reaction was almost too cute for Alex to remain in awe. She laughed at his embarrassment and gently smiled.

“You’re right…” Alex replied as she pulled her bow out from her inventory. “Then there’s no time to waste.”

Drawing the string back with an arrow, she quickly turned to the forest and aimed her bow at the approaching footsteps. However, before she could release, Alex hesitated and widened her eyes with a gasp.

“We don’t get many visitors around here.” A nasally voice came from that direction along with a comical laugh that nervously came from the core.

Alex lowered her bow and dropped her jaw, accidentally releasing her arrow on the sand. Confused, Steve turned in the direction of the voice, and to his dismay, he pulled his head back and whispered.

“Impossible…”

Standing between a couple of oak trees with a nervous smile under their massive nose, was a villager wearing a white coat and half the height of the trees they stood next to. Their enormous forehead, thick unibrow, emerald-green eyes, square glasses, and the red and gold book-like hat atop their head looked almost identical to Alex’s late father.

It was like looking at a ghost for Alex. Was this a dream? Maybe a vision? She quickly pinched herself to possibly snap out of it, but even after a wince, the villager remained. It raised its hand and waved at them with a nervous smile. She couldn’t begin to put this into words, except for the single phrase that she barely whimpered…

“Who are you?”

With every step the villager took forward, Alex stepped back until she got ankle-deep in the ocean.

“How rude of me to intrude,” The villager chuckled and approached Steve. “The fisherman notified us that we had visitors, so I had to check for myself. My name is Andra, the village librarian. If we leave now, we’ll reach the village before nightfall.”

Steve turned to Alex who still couldn’t believe her eyes. Her jaw trembled as tears began forming around her eyes.

This couldn’t be real, could it?