The sun was low in the sky by the time the disembarking party returned to Rainbow Harbor. Captain Jennings had thanked Baptiste for his trouble and given him a small sachet of gold doubloons as a “bonus” for all that he had told them. Elodie certainly wasn’t sorry to leave his cottage or the miserable little village on the floating island behind. 

The party had been quite quiet on the hike back to the harbor, and Elodie suspected it was for the same reason she was quiet. There was a problem ahead of them, a puzzle with no obvious solution. 

How would they get the old map from Captain Hawkins and the Black-Sail Fleet?

That silence permeated as they returned to Rainbow Harbor, as they boarded the Albatross once more. 

“We depart in an hour,” Captain Jennings declared as they stepped on board. Her voice was quiet, but it still carried with all the gravitas that such a title as Captain demanded. “Make sure you’re all ready by then, or we leave without you.” 

She then turned to her first mate, a man by the name of Mr. Heyin. “I’ll be in my study for the rest of the night. Don’t expect me at the dining hall, and don’t let anyone in.”

“Yes, Captain.”

And so Captain Jennings left for below-decks, without another word to Elodie, and so much as another glance toward Jade.

To her credit, Jade seemed unphased by this. She simply shrugged and turned back towards Elodie, Kas, and Ventus. 

“Well, I suppose that leaves us free for tonight.” She planted her hands on her hips. “I was thinking perhaps we could—“

She froze, her green eyes as wide. She then pointed at something behind Elodie. “Over there!” 

Elodie turned just in time to see a girl sprinting through the marina, followed by a group of men. Her white curls fluttered behind her like a war flag, her colorful loose clothes like a pair of wings. She ran so fast, even barefoot, that Elodie was certain that if she tried hard enough, she might be able to take flight.

But alas, the girl wasn’t able to take flight. For how she darted around the other sailors unloading their goods and changed directions quickly, her pursuers were gaining on her. 

The pursuers were perhaps even more attention=grabbing. For they also were white-haired, and wore the dark blue wide-legged trousers and short-sleeved jacket with golden trim that was characteristic of the Manoans.

But the girl herself must have been Manoan, that was obvious from the hair. 

Why would she be running from her own kind?

Elodie looked to Jade, only to find that the pirate girl had looked to her. There was an understanding in those green eyes, the solidarity that could only exist between women. They had to help her.

“Oi! Over here!” Jade stepped back out onto the dock, Elodie following behind. She waved her arms to try and get the girl’s attention. 

Luckily, their shouting and arm-waving did the trick—the girl’s eyes locked onto theirs. They were strange eyes, one as blue as the waters around Rainbow Harbor, the other a pale green. 

They were wide from terror—but Elodie saw relief for a moment pass over her features, then determination knit her eyebrows together. She had a destination, an escape, and they, the girls of the Albatross, would help her. 

She changed directions, leaping over a barrel as she headed for their dock. Elodie grabbed the sword from Jade’s hip, as Jade drew her revolver. 

“Ah, you’re a swordswoman, are you?” Jade glanced back at her. Then her delicate features grew into a large grin, like the sun splitting the sky open. “Good, you’ll watch my back and I’ve got yours.”

Elodie nodded and bit her lip. She spun the sword testing its weight. It was the typical pirate cutlass, with the slightly-curved blade and slanted tip. Keira Fleetwood’s sword of choice, even if it wasn’t Elodie’s. Luckily, that meant plenty of practice. 

She and Jade were there to greet the girl as she stumbled to a stop in front of them. She planted her hands on her knees, only to glance behind her as the pursuers turned onto their dock. 

“Get on board,” Elodie pointed with her blade at the ship. 

“We’ll cover you,” Jade added, raising her pistol to aim at the advancing men. 

"Thank you.” With that, the girl scurried onto the gangplank. Kas brushed past her, drawing his pistol with a flourish as he joined Elodie and Jade. 

“Can’t leave me out of the fun, you know.” He grinned.

Elodie wanted to chastise him, to tell him that this wasn’t fun and games of any sort. But she didn’t exactly have the opportunity, for while the men had slowed to a stop, one man had stepped forward from the group.

He wore a golden armband on his left that none of the other men had, and he appeared slightly older, with a steely blue-green gaze. 

“Hand over the girl, and we have no trouble.” His voice was cold, commanding, like the ocean in the night. “She is none of your concern.”

“Unfortunately, she became our concern when she came aboard our ship.” Jade closed one eye, adjusting the hold on her pistol.

Kas placed a hand over the barrel of Jade, a clear cautioning gesture. He then stepped forward, and placed his own pistol in his holster. He took care to show that his hands were empty as he approached the man. 

“Listen, good sir, I don’t know what exactly was happening here, but you’ve made quite a commotion.” He smiled, stepping even closer. “Perhaps we could come to an understanding.”

“The girl’s a thief.” The man stared down at Kas, clearly unimpressed. “You don’t want her on your ship.”

“Yeah, we take care of our own, that’s the way it’s always been done.” One of the younger men spoke up, stepping away from the group. “That’s how it’s always been, leave the Manoans to their own, and the Empire of Albion doesn’t have to give a shit.”

The tall man with the golden armband turned to glare at young man. Perhaps for his crass language or for stepping out of line—Elodie wasn’t exactly sure which was the offense here. Perhaps it was even both!

Still, when he looked back, Kas pounced. 

“She must have stolen something important, then, for a girl to be chased by a group of upstanding men such as yourselves.” Kas folded his arms over his chest. “I wonder what it could be, to deserve such a pursuit?”

“Mind your business, boy.” 

“Oh, but you forget, my friend was correct, earlier.” He nodded at Jade. “I’m afraid it became our business the second she came onboard. Really, I think it became our business the moment that you involved the entire marina in the chase.”

“Enough pretty words, boy.” The man was the one to step forward. “Either get the girl, or get out of my way.”

“Ah-ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Kas smirked. “I’d take another look.”

That was when Elodie turned her head at the exact same time as the tall man with the golden armband. 

In the time that Kas had spoken, several of the sailors onboard the Albatross had drawn their own firearms, and aimed them at the man. One of them including Captain Jennings, with Heyin behind her. 

“Kindly step away from my marksman, I don’t tolerate threats against my crew.” Captain Jennings ascended the gangplank and onto the dock. “Now, I don’t know about you—“

“General Archenar.” The man did not move away from Kas. “Listen, you might be some fancy Albionese navy bi—“

“I’d watch your tone,” Jade snarled.

“Jade, enough.” Captain Jennings met General Archenar’s steely gaze—a clear battle between equals. “We’ve made enough of a scene here, and I doubt you want trouble from the authorities. Let’s reconvene within an hour, I’ll bring the girl, and we’ll have a nice chat to straighten all this out, yes?”

General Archenar’s eyes narrowed. “Look, I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, but—“

“Sir, I must insist—“ Kas grabbed the man’s arm, and stared into his eyes. Something about Kas’s expression was positively captivating, even Elodie could not look away. “Accept her offer. You must accept.”

“I—“ Archenar wrenched himself free of Kas’s grasp. But there was something blank in his eyes. 

“Yes,” he mumbled to himself as he stepped back. “There is sense in that, I suppose.”

He looked back to Captain Jennings, who to her credit looked unfazed by all of this. “We meet by the fountain in Cooke’s Plaza in one hour. Bring the girl.”

With that, he turned and left, the confused Manoan men in his wake. 

Once he was gone, Captain Jennings spoke again. “Took you long enough, Kas.”

Kas shrugged. “He was strangely resistant to my charms.”

Jade snorted. 

“Mr. Heyin, is everyone on board?” Captain Jennings did not look away from the harbor as she called for the first mate. 

“Yes, Captain. We’ll tighten that departure time to ten minutes.”

“Excellent.” Captain Jennings sighed and straightened her uniform jacket. She then turned to the Manoan girl, who was standing by Ventus, as shaky as a newborn deer. “You were lucky. I don’t suppose you have a name?”

“Carina.” The girl bit her lip. “I didn’t steal anything, you know. It was given to me.”

“They just decided that they wanted to take it back, then?” Captain Jennings raised an eyebrow.

Carina’s expression became more guarded. “You don’t have to believe me. I won’t make more trouble.”

“This lot will see to it that you don’t.” Captain Jennings looked to Jade and Elodie. “Looks like you got someone to help you run the messages. Help her learn the ropes.”

With that, Captain Jennings strode off, presumably back to her office. 

Elodie glanced back behind her—the Manoan men were gone. Hopefully they would stay that way. 

When she looked back to Carina, Kas and Ventus were standing around her, eyes on the girl in a way only a young man’s could be. 

There was something acrid, something that felt like perhaps a leviathan rising in Elodie’s chest, setting her throat afire watching them. 

They were being kind, she lied to herself. Carina deserved kindness.

But it made her wonder if their own kindness towards her had been because she had been the shiny new girl aboard. She looked to Jade, wondering if she had felt the same way about her arrival.

But Jade had already been watching her with something that was more intense, more forlorn. She just smiled and slipped her hand into Elodie’s.