An Empty Sea

As the morning sun peered through the cabin porthole, its rays shone across Lina’s face and slowly woke her.

“Ughh... what a terrible way to start the morning,” Lina muttered, rubbing her head as a headache began to set in.

Lina pushed the thin blue sheets aside, only to find her purple nightdress clinging uncomfortably to her sweaty skin.

“Last thing I remember was waiting for Skayla to finish showering,” Lina muttered. “I must’ve fallen asleep, and she must’ve gotten me dressed before tucking me in.”

She turned toward the other side of their shared bed to see if Skayla was still asleep, only to find it empty.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, Lina headed outside and spotted Skayla fishing beneath the parasol. Barbarossa sat a few feet away with his own fishing rod.

“Morning,” Lina called. “You two are up bright and early.”

“GAHAHAHA!” Barbarossa burst into booming laughter. “I haven’t slept a wink!” he proudly announced with far too much energy.

Skayla let out a small yawn.

“I didn’t get much sleep,” she answered, rubbing her tired eyes. “Someone spent half the night tossing and turning.”

“Sorry about that,” Lina apologized. “I had a bad dream about one of the spontaneous training sessions Master took me on.”

“I figured as much,” Skayla said, adjusting her line. “You kept calling out to Master Atena using some rather foul language while kicking and punching me in your sleep.”

“I’M TRULY SORRY!” Lina immediately bowed. “Maybe it would be better if we slept in separate rooms.”

“It’s fine.” Skayla smiled reassuringly. “I know your dreams about Master Atena are never pleasant.”

Skayla could still remember the countless times Lina had returned badly injured from one of her Master’s spontaneous training sessions, sometimes with a fever that left her bedridden for days afterward.

“She sounds like one hell of a Master,” Barbarossa said. “Was she really that strong?”

“If she’d fought alongside me during our battle at sea, your entire fleet would’ve been resting at the bottom of the ocean after a single attack,” Lina replied. “Our only job would’ve been rescuing the survivors.”

Barbarossa laughed until he noticed Lina’s serious expression.

“You’re not joking, are you?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Skayla confirmed. “She could probably split the sea if she wanted to.”

“Really?” Barbarossa asked.

“Have you ever heard of the Imperial Highway that cuts through the Pindus Mountains?” Lina asked.

“Of course,” Barbarossa replied. “It’s one of the busiest trading routes between Aurelis and Eldoria.”

“My Master created it by accident during a drunken blackout,” Lina revealed.

Barbarossa stared at her in disbelief.

“When I was ten, Master Atena came into my room in the middle of the night and demanded that I travel to Aurelis to buy her a special whiskey,” Lina explained. “I told her crossing the mountains was too dangerous, hoping she would give up.”

“And what did she do instead?” Barbarossa asked.

“She dragged me out of bed and carried me to the city gates, but they were already closed for the night,” Lina said. “Instead of waiting until morning, she jumped over the wall with me. Once we were outside, she threw her golden spear straight through the mountains and carved out a massive tunnel.”

“Unfortunately, the spear didn’t stop there,” Skayla added. “It struck a citadel on the other side and nearly started a war.”

“The Royal Guards arrested both of us, and Master told them she only wanted a drink,” Lina said with an annoyed expression.

“Did she at least get it?” Barbarossa asked.

“Nope,” Skayla replied. “Master Atena was banned from Aurelis until she paid for the damage, forcing Lina to purchase it for her later. The two Kingdoms eventually reinforced the tunnel and turned it into the Imperial Highway.”

A long, awkward silence followed as everyone processed the ridiculous story.

Skayla and Barbarossa eventually reeled in their empty lines.

“I give up,” Skayla said with a yawn. “The fish aren’t biting.”

“Spoken like a true fisherman,” Barbarossa replied, climbing to his feet. “I’m going to inspect the ship and finally get some sleep.”

As Barbarossa headed toward the bridge, Lina noticed Skayla’s eyelids beginning to droop.

“You should get some sleep too,” she suggested.

Skayla’s stomach suddenly growled.

“Maybe breakfast first?” Lina suggested, struggling not to laugh.

“Pretty please,” Skayla replied as they headed toward the galley.

After breakfast, Lina tucked the sleepy Skayla into bed before heading back outside.

With nothing else to do, she pulled a wooden chair beneath the parasol and sat down, closing her eyes as the cool ocean breeze passed over her.

For the first time in years, Lina didn’t have any reports to finish, missions to assign, or knights waiting for her orders.

She simply sat there and listened to the waves.

After nearly falling asleep herself, Lina climbed out of the chair and walked toward the railing. She rested her arms against it and breathed in the salty ocean air.

“It’s so peaceful,” she thought.

She glanced toward a clock mounted near the entrance to the lower decks.

“It’s almost noon, huh?” Lina muttered. “Usually around this time, I’d be getting ready to hand out mission orders. After that, I’d probably be giving guidance to the new recruits or following up on reports.”

Lina let out a deep sigh of relief as she continued gazing out at the endless sea.

“So this is what it feels like to have free time?” she muttered before stretching her arms.

Since founding the Order of Scarlet seven years ago, Lina had never taken a single day of vacation, despite repeated orders from the Royal Family to do so. Even when she was sick or bedridden from injuries, she continued working on reports or giving orders from her bed.

For Lina, the Order and the Kingdom had been her entire life.

Only now did it finally dawn on her that she might never see either of them again.

“I really messed everything up,” Lina said, laughing softly at herself as warm tears rolled down her cheeks. “I never imagined home would become a place I could never return to.”

She suddenly slapped both cheeks, snapping herself out of her self-loathing.

Lina sat down on a wooden crate and leaned back against the ship’s cold metal wall, closing her eyes as she tried to clear her mind.

“This feels strange,” she thought. “I’m not used to everything being this quiet and calm.”

After several moments, Lina slowly reopened her eyes and gazed toward the endless horizon.

As the minutes passed, Lina’s calm, relaxed smile slowly faded as an uneasy feeling settled over her.

“Something feels wrong here,” Lina thought, glancing around at the pristine deck. “It’s still too clean.”

Lina searched the sky for birds before leaning over the railing to inspect the water below.

“Yesterday, the crew was constantly scrubbing seagull droppings off the deck, and the sea was brimming with life,” Lina muttered. “But now... there’s nothing around us.”

She scanned the horizon before rushing toward the opposite side of the ship. Panic began to set in when she still couldn’t find another vessel.

“The Flying Crimson is fast, but we’re traveling along one of the busiest routes to Asteria,” Lina muttered. “We should’ve passed another ship by now.”

“Am I imagining things?” she wondered, instinctively resting her left hand on the hilt of her sword.

Suddenly, Lina felt the sword vibrate beneath her hand and heard a faint hum coming from it.

The sword her Master had left behind was forged from a unique metal alloy known as Fairy Metal. One of its unusual properties allowed it to warn its wielder of nearby danger by releasing a faint vibration that grew stronger as the threat drew closer.

Without hesitation, Lina took off toward the bridge.

“WAKE THE CAPTAIN AND GET HIS OLD ASS HERE!” Lina ordered as she burst through the doors, startling everyone inside. “ALL HANDS ON DECK! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

Before anyone could question her, Lina was already racing back to the cabin to wake Skayla.

Within seconds, alarms began blaring throughout the Flying Crimson, followed by the thunderous sound of heavy footsteps as crew members rushed toward their assigned battle positions.