The Princess of Light and The Knight of Shadow

Year 2: Fifth Month, Part 1

Wind tossed his hair, and there was a dampness in it that suggested of a rain. The deck trembled from the gust buffeting it, the magic-reinforced woods creaking, but the hulls held. For now, anyway.

Nox grimaced. He didn't expect riding a skyship would be this uncomfortable. Every shake made him think the ship would fall apart from its seams, spilling them into the endless expanse of the sky. Worse yet, his clothes were damp, and there was nothing to see but gray expanse below.

None of the sailors seemed to share his unease. On the contrary, they bustled along the deck in a flurry of activity, adjusting the side masts to better catch the wind, tightening ropes, sliding down ladders. Even Erian looked unbothered at the prow, scanning the horizon with a serene face Nox had seen only a few times.

"Wind Wielders," someone muttered next to him.

Nox glanced at his side. The boy wore the red uniform of the second years, his thin hands gripping the railings tightly. He wasn't from Nox's class, though. "This is your first time in a skyship?" Nox asked.

"No." The boy's face had a tinged of green. "But this is my second time vomiting on this trip."

And he did vomit, spilling the contents of his stomach over the edges. Nox edged away from him. He was glad that he was downwind; he didn't to go back to his room smelling like he had swam in the sewers.

"Are you okay?" he asked when the second year finished.

The boy wiped his mouth with a cloth and shook his head, then bolted for the stairs leading to the decks below.

After a moment of contemplation, Nox followed the poor boy's example. There wasn't much to see anyway, and they wouldn't arrive at the Wind Isles until tomorrow.

He climbed down the ladder and made his way along the empty hall toward the room he shared with Erian. To the left was Ireela and Reina's, the door opened by an inch to let a sliver of light slip out.

"—like him?"

Nox paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned to the squires' door. Letting your door open was a sure way to get eavesdropped on, but the girls probably didn't know.

He raised his hand to knock, intending on admonishing them. But Reina's next words froze him.

"Yes," the girl said softly, almost too soft to hear if not for Nox's sharp hearing. It was wrong, but he somehow leaned closer to listen.

There was a brief silence. Then Ireela spoke. "Why don't you tell him?"

"I can't." Reina's voice trembled. "I would just hurt him."

Nox recoiled and spun around back to his room. He somehow knew who was Reina referring to, and it was a confession he shouldn't have heard.

Is there a problem? Estella asked.

No. What are you doing? Nox twisted the doorknob in his room.

Just some finishing touches on the activities. You?

He strode to his bunk and started shedding his shirt. About to sleep. I can't stand it on the deck.

Most don't on their first trip. Rest well. We should be there by dawn.

With that, Nox settled for a long wait.

***

The skyship burst through a thin cloud, and once again Nox found himself on the deck, a woolen cloak wrapped around him to ward off dawn's chill. Around him, his schoolmates crowded, eager to see the fabled Wind Isles.