The port city was much larger than Ivy had seen before. She wanted to think that she had survived, and that her departure from the ship wouldn't be such a sore spot for her. But she was wrong. As she thought about the implications, there was something sad about it. Something hollow.

The only people she had come to consider to be family in any remote sense had cast her aside. And it was for things which, at this point, Ivy knew would get her in trouble one day. She bit her lip, contemplating such a thought. She brought this on herself, and for what? What had she accomplished, if it wasn't a cold regret she couldn't leave behind?

"There's something about this which seems wrong," Ivy said to herself. But she would not share this with anyone else. Her closest friend had abandoned her.

Ivy expected to be angrier at her. But as she thought about it, she knew it was her own fault. Captain Peregrine had done what she had done for a reason. And although Ivy had been betrayed, she knew that Captain Peregrine was right about her.

She had betrayed her fellow revolutionaries, she had betrayed Captain Bill, when he relied on her most, and then she had betrayed Captain Pedro. And the last one was on a whim, after she had sworn to do otherwise.

Ivy had never been one to sit with her consequences. As she sat on the shore, she found a rock. Her gun, her bullets, and her sword all waited with her. She would find a way to find more bullets for her gun, and she would also buy more gunpowder. After all, the first rule of living in the streets was to arm herself.

The second was to try to find the quietest places to sleep. Indeed. Ivy didn't want to pay one of the inkeepers to take her. Her scepter would cause for too many questions. At this point, such a 

 As they pulled in to the harbor, Ivy didn't even spare her companions one glance before she left. She wouldn't say goodbye to them, nor would she ask them for anything else. All she wanted to do was make her own life for herself. If that meant working without them, then she would do it.

She sat for a while, eventually watching her old crew mates leave. In a fit of anger, she gave them a gesture. She would use her anger, and she would let it guide her as she told them to leave. She had been rude, and she was certain someone had seen it.

But after everything she had sacrificed for the crew, and after everything she had accomplished, she found herself wishing she could do something more. She wanted to shout the word, regardless of whether there were kids nearby. Her raw anger, and the betrayal had left her in a fitful mood. Her impoliteness was the only departing greeting they deserved.

She didn't need them. She would try to kill Queen Lavender still. And now, as she wanted to, she thought about this port city. How long before the pirate queen and her crew showed up? How long before the new king took to his throne, and he placed a bounty on everyone's heads?

She didn't need to ask any more questions of it, nor would she need to reveal such an answer further. Ivy had herself, and that was enough for her. As she looked out, and as she found herself slipping into the nearby tavern, she looked inward to see the food. The smells of fried fish and potato wedges. Her stomach grumbled. Her crew mates had told her this was one of the famed foods here. And who could blame them? The idea of real food, and not just rations, tantalized her.

Sitting down at the bar, Ivy placed her hand into her head. Her hair had been cut short, leaving her with a small frame. A few weeks ago, her hair had been crisp. It had been one of the few times she could think to keep her hair the way she wanted it. But as she looked into the mirror to the side, she noted how shaggy and long it had become.

She didn't look like first mate material. All she looked like was a mercenary who had seen her fair share of mistakes. Had made her fair share of mistakes. And perhaps, on some level, she related to that image of herself. Maybe that reflection projected some type of truth onto her. Maybe they only saw this version of her because there was nothing else to display for it.

A sliver of a memory lingered within her. Her mother, and her father, both looking at her with disgust. Her mother cuffed her, admonishing that Ivy had stolen enough from them, and she wouldn't do it again. She was no longer their daughter, after everything which they had lost because of it. If she wanted to make it through life in the city, she would have to sleep in the trash as a result. If that was hard for her to accept, then it was just another consequence to a string of decisions and actions Ivy had made.

 As she looked onward, past into a window on the other side of the bar, she saw the distant pier. Beside her, a plate of food came out. There were the fish, the chips, and then the mushy peas. Ivy took a bite of the chip, her mouth melting at the warm potato. This had been something she had missed, and regardless of what had preceded this moment, Ivy allowed herself to eat it. As she took a bite of the flaky fried fish, the satisfaction was also instant.

Even if she had been rejected, and even if this cost her ten coins, it was worth it. Or at least, it was worth enough for her to feel this way. As Ivy sat back, and as she ate her entire plate, she gave the man an extra coin.

"Thank you for your service today," she said.

"Oh, that is quite the tip," the man said. "Do you want a spot of beer to go with it?"

"No," Ivy said. "I just want to go back to my home now. Respectfully."

"Fair enough."

As Ivy left, she found herself in the streets, not knowing where to go next. Perhaps she could ask someone here in the city for a job. But it didn't change the fact that she had some history, and she had some goals. Maybe she could leave this continent. Although, at this point, she understood Rathorian better than she understood any other language here in this world.

And at that point, she wasn't in the mood to go anywhere academic, just to learn a new language, just to fit in.

If Queen Lavender wanted to come for her, she would do it. Ivy would fight her, but she had three different weapons at her disposal, and she wasn't afraid to use any of them. And if Ivy were to die in the fight, at least she could say she had done something as a revolutionary.

Queen Lavender had long been a symbol of Ivy's rebellion. And now, as Ivy thought about it, she wondered if it was even worth it to fight the woman. With the rumors of a new king coming into power, maybe it was better if she didn't support the murder of the pirate queen. After all, if a new monarch rose to power, it would likely end everything Queen Lavender had tried to accomplish. Much of which, even as a foreigner, Ivy agreed with. Ivy agreed with Queen Lavender on many different principles, although she had fought against her.

The fact that she had changed so quickly, after all of the hatred she had harbored for so long, had left Ivy with an anger she didn't know how to deal with. It was to the point where she didn't notice a large ship pulling into the harbor.

Ivy stood after a large horn called through the city. The familiar insignia of Queen Lavender's ship came to her. Ivy shuffled away finally, slipping into a small inn. She paid the man 30 coins, and then found herself upstairs, where she would lock herself away for some time.

She should have made a move to kill the woman. Or at least, she should have done something that proved she wasn't a coward. But as she looked up at her bed, she wondered if it would be enough. Would the pirate queen figure out that the rebel she had tried to kill had escaped to a small building upstairs?

Ivy pulled her hair into both hands, giving a low, complicated growl. She wanted to ask more questions, or to beg for mercy. Unfortunately, at this point, she couldn't do that. She had to stay strong in her ideals for once. Even if she disliked the notions, she still had to find a way to kill the pirate queen. She had sworn to do it, and she had made an oath to Captain Val.

She may not have been a part of that pirate ship anymore, but she still couldn't bring herself to defile Captain Val. Even after the woman had died. Especially after the woman had died. She had sworn an oath, and unlike the last promise she made to Captain Pedro, she would keep this one. Even if, on some level, it denied her the ability to be a part of something.

She sorted out her money once more. The hundred coins she had spent here were worth it. But in two days time, she would not have enough. If Ivy could avoid eating, it would be enough to provide shelter.

But even then, that wouldn't be enough. And despite the fact that Queen Lavender was supposed to be her sworn enemy, maybe there were other plans. Maybe Ivy could make a deal with the woman. If Queen Lavender got to keep the scepter, maybe she could keep the darkness.

It didn't work like that, she imagined. Her black stone was cumbersome to the point where she would have to find some other way to carry it. And she would have to find a strange holster for it, should she keep it at her side.

Not to mention the fact that she had tried to kill the pirate queen. And then she had attacked the woman, and her allies, twice. A guilt coursed through her, with something dangerous within. As she found her way to the nearby window, she watched as several guards came through the streets. Her stomach lurched.

It would be good for the people if they had a ruler to keep on the throne, yes. But for Ivy, if she were to let a tyrant take control, after everything she had been through in her home realm, it would be a slap in the face of everything she had accomplished.

Ivy slipped away, keeping her scepter in hand. She counted how many bullets she had, and then she took stock of her sword. This would not be the first time she had made the decision to become a multi-weaponed fighter. Of course, she had sparred several times. But this would be her first real fight.

And she wasn't about to align herself with Queen Lavender, no. But if she had to choose a king, based on the rumors she had heard, she would choose someone else. And she would support them. That was, if they wanted support from the pirates.

I know I shouldn't get involved in this conflict. I should save my energy to go back. But something I can't identify draws me into this fight, whether I like it or not. Above all else, this would be my chance to get some closer with Queen Lavender as well, and to potentially kill her too.