Adalene led the children down to the docks where their new ship, The Bowen, was waiting.
As she walked she thought about how much she’d given these children. How much she’d given up for them, for the good of Iddenu and out of the kindness of her heart.
It all started when she had promised to help them. The council wouldn’t approve, their democracy hiding behind a monarch infuriating her.
As queen, you’d think you’d get more of a say in decisions. Adalene was wiser than the fat buffoons who pulled the strings of their government and had more experience than them as well. But Adalene could only make decisions on the battlefield.
Because she was queen, she was also the one who led their military into battle. There had been more female elfes coming into the military in recent years, and Adalene was proud to say she’d trained them herself.
Leaving the throne was the best course of action, considering without the council’s approval, she could go nowhere and make no decision on her own.
Without the title of queen or the council’s blessing, however, meant that Adalene no longer had the advanced agility and strength she had when she was queen.
But that wasn’t what scared Adalene, she had been trained her entire life before becoming queen and could deal without the enhanced skills she had acquired as queen.
What she was afraid of was something far worse about herself.
But even that couldn’t shake her fear and feeling of dread that Iddenu’s destruction was imminent. Dueglestein had been power-hungry for years before the prophecy was created, but that didn’t come close to the power of destruction they had. Adalene could feel deep within her that something bigger than all of them was pulling the strings of some master plan, one of which these children were a part of.
And Adalene would protect them at all costs.
They eventually got the boat ready for their journey, packing it full of more food, supplies, and weapons. Adalene had helped the five kids pick each of their weapons, deciding which suited them best.
Luke stuck with his sword but decided to take a small hunting knife for multiple uses than just a weapon.
Richard decided to take two long daggers, serving as dual weapons that could make him a formidable opponent.
Helen surprised Adalene, deciding to take an ancient weapon that Adalene had only seen one time before. The small sword was slightly curved, a Hilgarian kopis. The ancient Hilgarians would use it on their hunting parties, but it was also a decorative weapon appointed to generals.
Peter still had a club from their raid of the elfe armory, and Alice still had her small dagger.
Adalene had her dual swords, their thin blades usually frowned upon by the council, called too flimsy and thin to perform real damage to an opponent. But they were wrong. Adalene could perform precise cuts and her thin swords were lighter and easier to wield than the big, heavy, swords the royal guard usually carried.
She also still had her silver spear strapped to her back, which she could use for more long-range fighting.
The man who was selling them the boat cleared his throat, motioning for Adalene to come forward. “The payment?” he asked, looking at Adalene expectantly.
Adalene wished she could not do what would happen next, but she told herself it was for the good of Iddenu.
Reaching up to her neck she unhooked a chain from around her neck and lowered it to look at the silver pendant, inlaid with Hilgarian diamonds. Her mother gave her this necklace, before dying and giving the throne to Adalene. It was given to her mother by her grandmother, and so on for hundreds of years. The pendant had an infinity sign on it, symbolizing the eternal love and life of every queen of the elfes.
Adalene loved this necklace with all her heart and had never taken it off ever since her mother died. She wished she wouldn’t have to give it away, but she had spent all the Hilgarian money she had on the supplies.
Adalene handed over the necklace, looking at the man’s greedy face. “Zat is priceless,” she said to him, making sure to make her point clear.
The man took it without hesitation and said they were free to take The Bowen.
The boat wasn’t very big, but they thought it would be fine for the six of them.
Luke got to the front of the ship, and they realized that none of them really knew how to captain a ship.
“I can do it,” Peter said, “My parents would take me on fishing trips every summer.” Peter smiled, walking around the boat and trying to remember how to captain it.
They eventually got out of the harbor, and Adalene brought out the map of Bellona and the surrounding lands, and also brought out a compass she’d bought from the man selling The Bowen.
“Ve need to sail southeast,” Adalene said, tracing a path once again from Hilgaria to Dueglestein. “Our supplies should last us a month, and hopefully by zen ve vill be in Dueglestein.”
“And if we don’t?” Richard asked the obvious.
“Zen ve starve to death.”
Everyone looked at each other as the hard truth set in. If they didn’t get to Dueglestein in a month, they’d starve to death. Adalene was hoping they could get there in time, but the Waters of Abdomes were tricky. You never knew when a storm might hit, with the weather being so unpredictable.
But Adalene had heard their stories of the strange magic that seemed to protect them, like when they first were brought together and Skylar was saved by magic from being stabbed by the Dueglestein general, Boromir.
But what good had that done Skylar? She’d fallen off the Cliffs of Abdomes and most likely was dead. If the magic couldn’t protect Skylar then, what good would it do the rest of them?
Was Adalene even one of them? She’d been in Iddenu long enough to know that prophecies don’t just change. The Six were chosen even before they were born, if one of them died it wouldn’t just pass to the next best candidate.
“Hey Adalene, we have to row this boat.” Richard shook Adalene out of her daze, and she went to one of the designated seats where they could row the boat forward. The Bowen had a sail, but with no wind right now they had to row.
Adalene checked the compass again, and they were indeed headed southeast.
After a little while, Adalene began to feel dizzy. She held her head, trying to shake it off.
But nausea hit her, and she stopped rowing and leaned over the rail of the boat, closing her eyes.
She tried to let the nausea pass, but every wave made her feel sicker.
“Adalene, are you alright?” Peter’s voice called to her, and she stood up to see him standing right next to her. “What’s wrong? You look pale,” he observed. Adalene felt like telling him that she was an elfe, of course, she was pale, but he kept pressing.
“You look sick. What’s the matter?” Peter’s eyebrows knit together in concern, and Adalene looked at his forest-green eyes.
“I-I’ve never been out to sea before.” She admitted, looking at the water below, “I zink I might be sick.”
Peter nodded, understanding, and asked if she wanted to go below deck and sleep it off.
“No, no, I’m fine,” Adalene protested, feeling her cheeks grow red, even though she was sure they wouldn’t show up right now with her being sick.
Peter nodded, going back to his seat.
Adalene lied. She felt it hard just to stand, but she didn’t want to be more of a burden to these children.
As Adalene tried to walk back to her spot, she felt her vision go black and she fell to the ground...
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