"Max, are you sure about this?" Mia tugs on Max's sleeve.
"I have never been more sure about anything in my life." Max turns around to Mia who is over a head shorter than him and gives her a determined look.
Max has told Mia about his plan to run away with Beth the night before. Even though he is fairly certain that Mia will choose to follow him, he still wants confirmation.
"Mia, are you sure about this? I think you can have a much better life if you stayed here."
"How can you say that? What life would I have if I didn't have you by my side?" Mia pouts.
"Right, right." Hearing that, Max is a little concerned and happy at the same time.
Seagull squawks swirl around in the morning air. Mia's light brown hair flutters in the breeze from across the ocean. They are walking alongside the beach toward the port. Merchant ships line up at the docks in the distance, loading and unloading cargo. The sky is clear and the water is calm. It is a perfect day for sailing.
"We should be able to meet up with Beth anytime now," Max says to Mia beside him.
Mia gives a nod.
The town street is bustling with pedestrians. Max basically knows all the residents of the Stratford town by name, and he isn't on particularly bad terms with anyone, but that is one of the reasons why he finds the town suffocating. He wants to go to new places and meet new people.
"Max! Mia! I am over here!" Beth's voice comes from somewhere in the distance.
"There she is." Mia points at the port.
Beth is waving at them from the dock. Max and Mia pick up their paces and jog toward her.
"Hey, Beth." Max stops in front of her.
Beth is now back in her casual outfit. Although not as enchanting as she had been the previous evening, Beth still has a very high profile.
"So, what did you call me here for?" Beth asks.
Before Max and Beth came down from the roof last night, Max told her to meet him at the docks the next morning without saying anything else.
"Come with me. Let's talk somewhere quiet." Max glances around to make sure that no one else has overheard what he just said.
Beth immediately understands the situation and nods. Max starts walking away with Beth and his sister following behind him. They nonchalantly take a staircase to the platform directly below the docks. After confirming that no one is around, Max starts speaking.
"The two of you, listen, we are leaving tonight," Max whispers with all seriousness.
"T-Tonight!? I know you weren't joking last night, but this sudden?" Beth is caught off guard but tries her best to keep her voice down.
"Yeah, at least give us a week or so to prepare." Mia is somewhat skeptical as well.
"No, you don't understand." Max points to a ship docked beside them with people scurrying on and off the deck carrying large crates.
"From what Uncle Joseph told me, that ship over there is the only one that will head straight for the mainland for the rest of the season. The other ships will only sail to a port town island midway through. It will set sail tonight. Plus, Beth is going to get married soon, we will probably never have an opportunity like this again." Max explains.
"Wait, Beth is getting married?" Max sighs as Mia is focusing on the wrong detail.
"That's right. She can tell you more later, as for now, are you two down with the plan? Remember, there is no turning back." Max stares at both of them.
Beth is still a little startled from how sudden this came about.
"I will follow you to the end. After all, there's nothing on this island that will hold me back other than you, Max." Mia smiles at Max, who is used to being bombarded with his sister's endless affection at this point.
"But what about you, Beth? Are you fine with leaving Gabriel behind? It pains me just thinking about never seeing my brother again." Mia continues and turns over to Beth.
"Gabriel? Well, we have never really been close since our father is really strict with him. I will leave him a note, but he won't be holding me back." Beth catches on to Max's and Mia's enthusiasm.
"Great. After 3 days on the ship, we will arrive at the ports of New Sernor, the capital of the Larnian Empire. Beth, discreetly gather what you need for the journey and we will meet you here at sunset."
"Got it," Beth says.
"Mia, let's go home for now."
"Okay." Mia looks excited.
"Remember, Mia, we will have nothing to our name by the time we arrive on the mainland, so grab anything that can help us," Max says as he enters the house with Mia.
"Sure," Mia replies.
They slowly close the door behind them and begin heading down the corridor. Suddenly, accompanied by thumping footsteps, a red-faced middle-aged man staggers into the hallway.
"Oh, it's just you two." The man says dazedly and burps. His breath stinks of alcohol.
"Father, really? It hasn't even been midday yet, and here you are wandering around the house like a drunkard." Max scolds the man.
"Shut up, you brat. I wish your mother could see how arrogant you've become." Max's father says.
"Max is not like that, father." Mia defends her brother.
"You've got no place to talk Mia. I do not accept someone with no combat skills as my daughter." Their father side-eyes Mia.
Max can see that his sister does not take that well.
"That's enough out of your mouth. If you will excuse us." Max grabs onto Mia's hand and leads her past their drunken father, who scoffs at their exit.
The two walk through the house that is covered in mess. Fallen beer mugs litter the kitchen table. Furniture lies completely out of place.
"It's alright, Mia, that was the last we will see of him." Max comforts Mia as they climb up the stairs.
"Hm." Mia nods with a complicated look on her face.
They walk into their respective rooms to prepare for the trip. Max has been fantasizing about leaving the town for a long time now, so he has a good idea for what's best to bring with him.
Max reaches into his closet for the hidden stash of coins he has collected over the years from various jobs. He pulls out a jingling, old cloth bag. Max unties the strap at the mouth of the bag and takes a look inside. The amount isn't meager, but also definitely isn't going to last the three of them for a long time. He ties the bag onto his belt.
The Stratford merchants never really leave the port of any city they travel to, so Max has no idea what the situation is in the outside world, but he hopes he can get a job at some point to support them.
Max then goes over to the corner of his room where a sheathed broadsword lies against the wall. It is made with shiny steel and decorated exquisitely with copper and bronze. Beth had given him that sword a few months ago as a gift to congratulate him for graduating top of his school from their knight's academy. The weaponsmiths on Stratford island are all descendants of the best in the world from 200 years ago. Max figures it might be worth something if he doesn't end up needing it. He equips the sword with a baldric.
Max continues to scramble around the room and put anything he finds that is remotely valuable into a pouch, like small tools and accessories. His eyes suddenly land on an amulet that is kept in a chest. It is framed in glimmering gold. The large green emerald gem that covers the platinum backplate looks as if Max is staring into the depths of a dense forest upon inspection. The amulet has been passed down generations from his father's side. It is clearly built with tremendously excellent craftsmanship.
Max hesitates. He isn't sure if he should bring such a valuable family heirloom with him, but then he realizes that it will have no use lying around with his father anyways. He decides to never sell it and keep it with him as a memoir. Max carefully puts it into his breast pocket.
Satisfied with his preparations, Max grabs a long coat and puts it on, hiding his overly equipped belt that will only attract suspicion.
Max walks out of his room toward his sister's. He knocks on the door and Mia's voice answers from the other side.
"Coming."
With a creak, Mia opens the door. She is holding a book and nothing else.
"Just your notes? Is that enough?" Max asks.
"Yep. I don't have anything else of value anyways. I don't know how much my notes will be of help, but it's better than nothing."
Unlike most other children in Stratford town, Mia didn't pursue a combat-related career, instead, she focused on her scholars, which Max has always wholeheartedly supported. The town has a huge library containing a large collection of books from when the first knights were sent over to the island, but no one actually bothers to do anything with them as they all thought the information is out of date. Mia is one of the few who regularly visits the library. She wrote down all of her findings in her notes.
"Alright then. Let's go shopping for the rations that we will need on the ship."
"Okay."
The water reflects the dusk light from the setting sun over the horizon. The street is no longer filled with people. Max, holding a sack of food, walks to the docks with Mia. They arrive at the place from that morning. Beth is already there waiting for them.
"Did everything go smoothly?" Max asks.
"Yeah, what about you guys?"
"All good."
Max looks over to the ship that they will be going on.
"The merchant ship will set sail at the sight of the evening star. We should sneak on board before then."
"Lead the way," Beth says.
Max slowly climbs up the stairs onto the dock, making sure no one is around to see them. Mia and Beth follow behind. There was a large pile of cargo on the docks that morning being loaded onto the ship, but now there are only 2 crates left.
Max gives the two a signal to approach the ship. Two crew members come out to carry the last of the cargo. Max hides behind a fence and waits for them to head back. Then he crouches and walks onto a plank leading to the ship's deck. Stealthily, the three get on deck and follow the 2 crewmates carrying the crates down into the storage deck.
They sneak behind some crates and hide from the sightlines of the crewmates. Soon, the two exit the storage deck, leaving Max and the others behind in the darkness. After the sound of the door closing behind the crewmates, the three came out of hiding.
"We did it!" Mia exclaims quietly.
"It's not over until we depart," Max says.
"I can't believe we are actually doing this." Beth sounds excited.
Max feels a great sense of happiness. He has been dreaming of the day when he would actually leave everything behind, but they have always only been that, a dream, until today. But he doesn't want to celebrate prematurely, as anything can happen.
Soon their eyes adjust to the darkness and they can hear footsteps walking around above them.
"Seems like they are getting ready to leave the port," Beth says.
"Yeah." Mia agrees.
Out of nowhere comes a sudden shake. The waves are not violet at all, so it was obvious that they are starting to move.
"Ah, it looks like we really did it," Max says and sets the bag of food down beside him.
"Great." Mia yawns. "All the sneaking around has made me pretty exhausted, I am going to go to sleep now."
"Sure thing. Beth and I will keep watch for now. Good night, Mia." Max pats his little sister on the head.
Mia walks toward a corner and sits down against the wall. She closes her eyes and looks to be fast asleep.
"Well, it's just us two now," Max says to Beth.
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