“Joshua?” I shoot off the bed, nearly tripping in the process. “What? Why? How?” I struggle to find the right words, so I shut my mouth.

“You know this ‘boat enthusiast?’” Vio asks.

“Yes, he’s—” I pause, and his words echo in my mind. 

“I can’t do it… This isn’t something a student should be doing… I have some studying to do…” Seeing Joshua’s smug face after he told me he wouldn’t come to help me flips a switch in me. 

“He’s a liar!” I shout.

Joshua flinches. “Woah, hold on.”

“No, you said you wouldn’t come with me, because it was too dangerous, and yet here you are. You’re a darn liar.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions very quickly.” He breaks eye contact. “I didn’t come here to help you. I happened to hear that there was an interesting ship in the area and couldn’t help but investigate it.”

“You’re so annoying,” I mumble.

Vio coughs into her hand to get our attention. "So, he's a liar and a boat enthusiast, but who is he?"

Joshua puts his hand on his chest. "I am the—"

"Quiet, you," Vio says sharply. "I want to hear her answer."

My eyes meet hers and my mouth opens without thought. "His name is Joshua. He has the highest scores in our class at the academy, so he's very smart and talented. In fact, since you need an aether, he'd be more useful than I would."

"I see." Her gaze drifts to Joshua. "How would you feel about joining us on our journey? You can be your friend's bodyguard if you like."

"Such a tempting offer that I would love to decline. However—" he glances at the pirates behind him that block the way out. "—I get the feeling I don't have a say in the matter."

Vio grins. "She's right, you are smart. I would give you a nice welcome, but I have work to do." She puts her hand on the curly-haired pirate's shoulder. "You have an empty bed in your room, so he'll stay with you, Ian. Enjoy." 

Ian and Julius move so Vio can leave. Her light footsteps quickly fade as she walks down the hallway and out of sight. Julius follows soon after, leaving Ian to stare down his new roommate.

He scratches his head. "I really liked having a room to myself, but oh well." He turns around and motions for Joshua to follow him. "Come on, it's late."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay and catch up with my friend here," Joshua says, eyeing me.

Ian sighs. "I'll leave the door open, so you know which room it is, but if you take too long, I'll close it." He disappears into the hallway.

Joshua lets out a sigh of relief and drapes himself over the table, careful not to knock over the lantern. "I thought I was dead." He cranes his neck up to look at me. "So, who's the bossy lady?"

“The fifth Goddess, Vio.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Fifth Goddess? She’s quite arrogant if she’s going around calling herself that.”

“She isn’t. I am.” I sense an annoying comment forming in Joshua’s head, so I continue to stop him from speaking it. “She actually likes to pretend she isn’t a Goddess, but it’s obvious to anyone that looks at her that she is.”

“Right… it’s so obvious.”

The palpable doubt in his words breaks the floodgates between my mind and mouth, and my thoughts flow out. “Have you ever seen someone so beautiful their presence takes over the entire room?” I point at Joshua, not expecting an answer. “No, you haven’t. Because no human can ever hope to reach that level. Therefore, the only explanation for how Vio is at that level is that she is a Goddess that has been unaccounted for in the records. If you simply use your eyes, you too will see what I see.”

Joshua’s gaze flutters around the room, as if he were physically looking for a way to respond. “I’ve never heard you so passionate.”

“You’ve never heard me talk about muffins?”

He groans. “Not those inferior forms of bread again.”

My eye twitches and I force myself to smile. “Would you like to say that again?”

Joshua rolls off the table. “Oh, wow, I’ve suddenly been hit by a wave of exhaustion.” He fakes a yawn and heads for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The anger at his comment on muffins wears off as he steps out the door and I realize I still need to tell him something. “Joshua, please wait.”

He stops immediately and peers over his shoulder.

“Thank you for coming to help me.”

“Weren’t you listening earlier? I didn’t come here to help you. It’s just a coincidence.” He scratches his head and looks away. “Goodnight, Princess.”

“Seriously, you’re so annoying,” I mumble. “And stop calling me that.”

He closes the door behind him, leaving me alone in the small room. For a Goddess’ room, it’s very indistinct. A single dusty window on the back wall attempts to let moonlight in, but the dirt blocks it. The two beds and the table leave barely any room to move around, at least compared to my dorm room. It may be small and boring, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s already way better than my old room because I get to share it with someone.

A bubble of warmth swells inside me at the thought of having a roommate. I sit on the bed that Vio said was mine and take a deep breath. For the first time all day, I begin to think normally. About how my quest to make the best muffin somehow led me to joining a pirate crew. About how I ended up dragging the top prospect from the academy along with me. About how the news of my disappearance from the academy will eventually reach my family’s ears.

The realization of my current situation crashes into me like an avalanche. I accepted Vio’s request without any thought but doing so was a huge mistake. One of the conditions I made with my father when I came to the academy was that I wouldn’t cause any trouble, so I wouldn’t hurt the family’s reputation. Disappearing from the academy is one thing, but joining a pirate crew is a completely different problem entirely. If my punishment for this is anywhere near what it has been in the past, saying it’ll be unpleasant is the understatement of the century. 

With one foolish decision, I may have dug my own grave. Or I would have, if my father could afford to kill me. He needs me to be alive at the end of the century to sacrifice me, or another Krehn, likely Leorio, will have to take my place. I vowed long ago that I wouldn’t let anyone else die because of me, especially not Leorio, the only one who treats me like family. The duty of sacrifice is mine and mine alone to bear. It’s the only thing I’m needed for and my only purpose in this world.

To try to distract myself from the fear of my father finding me, I prepare for bed, but the bubble of warmth inside me continues to deflate. Out of habit, I reach down to remove my belt and the bubble bursts. Without my belt, my aer, I can’t feel safe. As an aether, that belt is my lifeline, but to me, it’s more than that. It holds my aer, my closest friends and companions. 

Vio said to get some rest, so I close my eyes, but without my aer, it’s impossible. Spikes of unrest prick the inside of my stomach as I open my eyes and stare at the flickering flame in the lantern. Every fiber of my being yells at me to get up and find the belt myself, but I remain steadfast. Vio said she would bring it to me, and if I can’t trust a Goddess, then I can’t trust anyone.

After what feels like an eternity, the door opens slightly. Vio slips in through the small crack and glances around the room. Her eye meets mine and her brow furrows. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I sit up. “You didn’t wake me. I couldn’t sleep without my belt even if I wanted to.”

“This thing is really that important to you?” she asks, dangling my belt over the table.

I nod intently. “The aer in it are basically my family.”

“You consider these fancy rocks your family?” She walks over to my bed and drops the belt in my lap.

“The rocks themselves aren’t my family. It’s the invisible people inside the rocks that are.”

A moment of silence passes as Vio processes my words. “And I thought being called a Goddess would be the weirdest thing I heard today.”

“It’s not weird,” I say, jumping to my feet. “There really are invisible people in the aer crystals. Here, look—” I hold up the clear crystal and a jolt runs through me as I connect my mind to Winry’s. “—This one is named Winry. Say hi.”

“She can’t hear meeeeeeeeee, Aliyah.”

“Are you serious?” Vio’s eye narrows and she nearly glares a hole through me. “You want me to talk to a rock?”

Her words are nearly identical to what my stepmother said when I showed her my aer for the first time. Afraid of how Vio might respond, I try to shrink myself and hang my head. “I-I’m sorry,” I say, trying to bore a hole through my feet with my gaze. “I wasn’t trying to be annoying. I’ll be quiet now.”

A moment passes in silence, and Vio speaks up. “You said her name was Winry, right? H-hello, Winry, it’s nice to meet you.”

This isn’t how I thought she would react. I expected disgust. I expected pain. I expected a reaction like my stepmother’s; an insult and a beating my body wishes it could forget.

I slowly look up and meet Vio’s gaze.

Vio breaks eye contact. “What the heck am I doing…”

“Helloooooooooo, eyepatch lady.” Winry says in my mind. “You smell really good, like a nice breeze full of lavender.”

I snap out of my trance and smile. “Winry says hi, and that she likes how you smell.”

“My smell? No one has ever complimented me like that, but thanks.” Vio grabs my hand and sniffs Winry’s crystal. “You smell good too, Winry.”

A moment passes in silence before I burst into laughter. The sheer absurdity of a Goddess smelling an aer crystal so she can compliment it sets me off, ruining my concentration and my link to Winry. 

“What’s so funny? You told me to talk to her, so I did.” Her cheeks turn red. “Stop laughing!”

Even as a command from a Goddess, I can’t contain my laughter. I cover my mouth with my hand to try to hide it. “Sorry, but you’re surprisingly cute.”

Her face turns as red as a tomato. “Wha—” She takes a step back and covers her face. “If you’re just going to tease me, I’m going to bed.” She blows out the fire in the lantern and walks to her bed on the other side of the room.

“I was being serious, though. You’re really cute.”

“I said I’m going to bed.”

I giggle to myself, finally understanding why Joshua teases me. The way she talks and reacts to unexpected compliments is too amusing. It may be sacrilegious of me to tease a Goddess, but I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself now.

I slide under the rough blanket, head sinking into the stiff pillow. It’s uncomfortable, but with my aer at my side, it finally feels right. My eyelids close, but I still can’t sleep. Having my aer with me comforts me, but the fear of what will happen to me when my family finds me continues to prick at my insides. I toss and turn in futility, hoping that somehow, I’ll be able to sleep eventually.

“Hey, you’re still awake, right?” Vio asks from across the room. “I didn’t care to ask earlier, but what’s your name?”

“Aliyah.”

“Aliyah, huh? What a pretty name.” She pauses, and a blanket of silence falls on the room. “I know it might be hard for you to feel safe in this pirate ship full of dangerous people you don’t know, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Her words wrap around me like a blanket of solace. Even if she’s a little off the mark, her words are exactly what I need to hear right now. 

I’ll make sure you’re safe.

Those words echo in my mind, and my worries vanish. Nothing can scare me now. Even if my family finds me, I have a Goddess protecting me.