Chapter 3: Violet Dawn (2)
It was as if an anvil had been dropped on his head.
It really-
-Really hurt.
"What the fuck man…" Uttered Taccilas as he rubbed his forehead. The sound of muffled booming engines quickly filled with his ears, the smell of salt and steel dove under his nose.
At the moment, he found himself on a bunk bed surrounded by cold, steel walls and a singular open door that led into the hallway. Taccilas fixated his golden eyes on the door and promptly hopped out of bed, without delay, he sprinted off to-
"Ah, you're right here."
Taccilas noticed a girl who's white hair was decorated by a hairpin with a cute, little, purple rose.
"Indeed, here I am." Answered Mitali in a voice like a mother's who's heart had been hollowed out.
Her body quietly rested on one of the gray steel walls of the room.
"So that whole thing wasn't a dream… Awesome!" Exclaimed the golden eyed boy as he raised his fists in triumph.
Although, once again, he adamantly refused to let his hands escape his pockets. The end result being that his fist only rose a little over his head and he nearly tumbled in his enthusiasm. However, in an attempt to not embarrass himself, he clumsily transitioned into a light walk and strode past the door and onto the hallway.
Mitali seemingly didn't notice any of his mishappenings.
Or at the very least, she didn't care.
"A dream? I was once told I was one."
"Hm? Well, I'm not surprised."
"No?"
"No, but anyway, did you get any sleep?"
"I did not."
"So you knocked me out because I didn't wanna sleep, but you didn't sleep?"
"Indeed, that is the case."
"...Is that alright? Aren't you sleepy?"
"I am not… Perhaps it is because I had been resting for a long time."
"Huh, alright."
"If you desire for me to do so, I will sleep."
Taccilas grimaced at the girl's comment, as if he were being pinched.
"It doesn't matter if I want you to sleep or not. If you're not sleepy, then don't sleep. It just feels a little bit weird that you were able to stay awake all night."
"All night…? I was built without windows along this hallway or in the sleeping quarters… How are you sure that the sun has risen?"
"Oh, my body can just tell!" Whilst his companion wasn't quite sure what Taccilas was so proud of, he puffed out his chest as they entered the bridge.
"See?" Proudly continued Taccilas.
"Impressive. Very impressive indeed." Said Mitali unenthusiastically.
Burning sunshine crept through the windows and illuminated everything Taccilas previously couldn't see.
A number of screens were clearly missing and intricately cut holes were everywhere to be found.
A series of tables were broken and debris rested against the steel walls.
It looked like something more than a mere messy room, it was as if the bridge was falling apart a little bit more every second.
"Ah… Please, do not pay heed to this mess." Spoke Mitali whilst quietly kicking some debris over to her side.
This resulted in more debris falling into the exact same place, as well as dust kicking up.
So in the end, reality was that she had made more of a mess-
"What mess? We have more important things to talk about!"
-But it wasn't like Taccilas particularly cared about this state of disarray.
"Hm?"
"Where is it, where is it…? Aha!" Spoke Taccilas as he walked around the room until he finally found the object he was looking for.
"The map?"
"Yes, we have to decide where we're heading now that we've sailed."
"I see… 'Tis simple, no? I simply sail you to where you wish to go."
"That's the thing, I'm not sure where I'd like to go."
"Oh, did you not say you wished to escape?"
"Yes, and we have escaped. I just don't know where to go from here."
"I see, perhaps, we may try considering your options in more detail.."
"What do you mean?"
"Surely you must have something you wished to do after you escaped."
Taccilas looked out and past the rising sun. Small shadows circled around it- Rings, perhaps spirits, that guarded it.
Someone had once told him a legend about the sun and its rings.
Someone very near and dear to him…
"...There's someone I must meet."
And for the first time, the girl that was a ship heard a serious tone of voice from the escapee.
"And who would that be?" Said Mitali as she sat on the table where the map lay, swinging her legs back and forth as she spoke.
"I need to find my sister, Shimmi."
"Could you make a fair guess as to where she might be?"
"...No. Like me, she was a slave, but we were separated not long ago."
"Then, perhaps it's best to look first in places with high concentrations of slaves. Such as major cities and ports."
Taccilas focused his eyes on the map, whilst Mitali laid down on the table and started pointing her finger around a certain peninsula sticking out of the continent.
"Like which ones?"
"Allow me to think… Perhaps, yes… Tsurahan would be a good starting point."
"Tsurahan?"
"Yes, we shall sail there, and you may ask about your sister once we arrive. It's the largest city on the western coast of the peninsula. Surely, the chances are high that your sister may find herself there right now."
"Sounds like a plan!"
"Very well then, we shall sail to Tsurahan posthaste."
And with that, Mitali picked up her pace.
The familiar symphony increased in its volume.
Gears were turning.
Pumps were moving.
Engines continued their roaring.
Mitali's entire hull swayed to the right as she turned towards the correct bearing.
Despite the relative subtlety of the movement, Taccilas nearly tripped onto the floor when it occurred.
All of this occurred whilst the girl innocently rested on top of a metal table, her hair sprayed out in a manner most picturesque.
"...You really are a ship, huh?"
"Did I not mention so? I thought you did not care about the nature of my existence."
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I'm not curious about it."
"I see, then perhaps you can help me come to understand it as well."
"Seems pretty simple to me! You're a girl, but you're also a ship. And that's that."
And that should've been that.
However, Mitali turned on her side and began thinking, but she was interrupted by the same boy who first spurred her on.
Whilst she submerged herself into her thoughts, Taccilas had gone around her bridge as if he owned it and messed around with all kinds of things.
But surprisingly, the thing that at the moment drew his attention was outside Mitali.
He had spotted it through her windows.
A tower of fire and ash reached for the heavens from beyond the horizon.
"...Is that smoke?" Inquired Taccilas.
Mitali flipped herself over whilst still on the table.
The thought crossed the boy's mind that her refusal to stand up and remain bedded was near admirable.
A little adorable, even.
"That, it seems to be."
"There must be a battle going on!" Although normally, this would be a sentence said in a tone of fear and disdain, Taccilas sounded rather excited about the prospect of a battle.
But Mitali went quiet.
"Mitali, we're going there first, we might be able to help someone."
But Mitali remained quiet.
"We have to go!"
Whilst still laying on the table, she covered her face with her jacket.
But Taccilas could feel it, she was swaying again, and now they were heading towards that tower that signaled death and fire.
———————————————————————————————————————
Somewhere, between the edge of the world and the Rayllea Peninsula.
An event that had become all too common in recent years was unfolding.
The scream of cannons filled the air.
Like the angels of death, the whistling of shells descended upon the water.
Warship engines bellowed out as they were pushed well past their expected limit.
The ocean rose and fell in the most unnatural ways, as if responding to the battle that unfolded on it.
A singular ship, majestic and beautiful, lay surrounded by a multitude of other warships. Over half of her turrets had been broken, her bridge lay destroyed, and water was flooding below her deck, but nonetheless she stood valiantly.
The numbers of the ships that surrounded her were many, but she feared not.
"Princess, princess! We must get you out of here!" Echoed the voice of one man.
"Absolutely not." A girl with hairs like divine fire whipped by the wind answered. She was young, too young. And the man in question believed her to be incomprehensibly beautiful- The very image of the goddess of love. Were he not her subordinate, he would've already asked for her hand in marriage.
In fact, such sentiment was near universal aboard that besieged ship- Despite the fact that the age difference between the princess and her subordinates was quite significant.
Perhaps this only served as further testament to her unbelievable gorgeousness.
"But princess, you must live! All of us want you to live!" The man further insisted.
The princess replied by taking the man's hands in her own. She nearly fell the moment a shell landed near by the water, but was able to regain her balance without the man's assistance.
The shell sprayed a water column many times the height of the duo and shed them in the ocean's water, causing a rainbow to spray itself over them as the princess pressed herself against the man's body and wrapped her arms around him. Her angelic purple eyes met the man's and for a moment, they completely immersed themselves in each other's presence.
The degree to which the man blushed was nearly comical.
"And for that, I must thank you with all my heart."
The scene seemed pulled straight out of a fairy tale, but such a thing was only true if it were observed in isolation.
Reality was, their deaths were coming-
-Or at the very least, they should have been.
But just then, when shells pounded the ship mercilessly and both of them had all but accepted their fate-
-Another warship crept over the horizon…
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