Magic

Chapter 11: Reignlen

The rest of the week went by swiftly with nothing happening after the incident with the pirates. It was a relief to Ella and everyone else on board. Since then, the sailors had been grateful to her. She still couldn't believe that they praised her for using her magic against the pirates. The only person who didn't praise her was Hans. What made her curious was that Hans didn't criticize her for using her magic either. During their trip, they had said a few words to each other, but nothing about the pirates.

Despite many attempts, Ella could not bring herself to sleep in her cabin. Even though she was trying to convince herself that she was tired, deep down, she knew that the truth was that she was feeling the opposite. If she were tired, she would not have gone to sleep regardless. Outside her door, she could hear the sailors celebrating their successful voyage out on the sea.

When Ella slowly took a peek out through the door crack, there was a light in the nearby room. All she heard was the sailors and she swore that she heard one open a bottle of something, probably red wine. She'd rather stay in her little cabin until they arrived in Reignlen the next day, but something told her to get on deck to watch the ocean waves. She didn't want to listen to herself yet she knew that this was going to be her last night out on the sea. Ella slowly pulled the door open and left her cabin.

A group of ecstatic sailors were sitting around with bottles in their hands, all engrossed in a pleasant conversation. By the looks of it, none of them were drunk. Ella was just about to climb up the stairs to the deck when one of the sailors convinced her to allow them to make a toast to her.

Ella went to the middle of the room with the sailors surrounding her. One sailor stepped forward from them and everyone went into silence. "Here's a toast to—what is your name, my dear?"

She thought that they already knew her name but still, she couldn't be rude. "Ella."

"Here's a toast to Ella!" the sailor announced, raising his bottle in the air. The other sailors followed him. "To Ella!"

"To Ella!"

As the sailors cheered and went back to their little celebration, Ella gave them a weak smile and went up the stairs to the deck.

She opened the door and saw that the rest of the crew was on deck. The sailors were celebrating the same way that the ones below were. Ella turned to the ocean; it looked orange just like a sunset. She had to admit that, out of all the days of their voyage, this was the best day for the weather.

Captain Murphy announced to the sailors to retreat to the middle of the ship, which they all obeyed. She went over towards the railing and sat at the nearest barrel. Her gloved hands lay on the railing as she peered out at the sea. The waves were gently dancing along to the soft splashing. She noticed that someone else was off in a corner of the ship, watching the waves as well. She could only see the back of the figure, therefore couldn't tell who it was.

She smiled when Owl flew over towards her and hooted. "Hello, Owl," Ella said. She saw Cassandra go over to Captain Murphy after he called her for something. She peered back at Owl. "You're really lucky to be a companion to Cassandra. I don't have any." Her eyes dimmed and she peered down at the ground. "I don't even know if I had any friends."

A round of cheering was heard and Ella glanced over her shoulder to see that the sailors on board noticed her and were cheering at her. Captain Murphy and Cassandra turned to her with a smile. While the cheering continued, Ella remained still as she stared out at the crew. Maybe Cassandra was right after all about her deciding to let Hans take her to Reignlen? Although she was fearful of her magic, she couldn't help but admit that the Daaphelia would've lost the battle against the other ship had she stayed behind.