"Forget it lad. She would be no good as a sailor's wife." Roxane had heard the captain say to one of his young sailors from somewhere behind her. They did not realize Roxane had impeccable hearing.
She had spent the most of their days on the ship looking out into the darkened waters below as the ship fought against the hard waves of the sea. Every time they would hit a big wave, she would hold on to the ship's railing for dear life.
Whenever Diana would see her like that, she would tease her saying she looked just like a cat who hated the water.
"You forget that you're the reason why I'm even on this ship." Roxane said in annoyance. Among many of the other things she hated, being teased was at the top of her list.
"Thatcher has invited us to his room for tea." Diana said, smiling. "He said we could eat the fruit we had bought at the port as well. Apparently, when one is at sea, they need to eat a lot of fruit in order to not get sick."
"Did he now?" Roxane said curtly. In the days they had been on the ship, Diana had gotten friendly with the sailors aboard, and even the captain seemed to love her, teaching her how to tie different types of knots. He had said she was a natural and even had a future at sailing if she wanted.
"Yes. Let's go find him. I don't want you to spend another hour here worrying about things that will never happen." She tugged at Roxane's hand. "I worry you will fall sick just by looking out like that."
Roxane sighed, hand on her temple as she realized Diana might be right. She was worrying way too much. They had been on the sea for days now, with no sight of any of the legendary beasts she had heard about when she was younger.
"Alright. Lead the way." Roxane let her grinning friend take her by the arm and led her down into the ship's hull.
When they reached the door to Thatcher's room, Diana politely knocked on the wooden door.
"Thatcher are you in there? It's Diana and Roxane." She said brightly.
The door to the room opened and Thatcher appeared, looking refreshed in his loose white shirt and dark colored pants. He smiled at them with his grey eyes.
"Come in you two. I apologize that my room is a little messy, it's just that I've been pouring over these documents and trying to write letters home. I want to send them before we reach our base in Melios." He explained as he grabbed the papers he had out on the small table and set them on his bedside table.
"Wow." Diana said as she stepped into Thatcher's room. "Despite all the papers inside your room, you have a nice and tidy space to yourself." She looked around with interest. "It also smells wonderfully."
Thatcher smile grew bigger then and he motioned for the two of them to sit at the table he had just cleared.
"It's the tea I have prepared. It's a staple in Melios so I wanted you two to try it before we get there." He brought out a tea set he had inside one of his cabinets along with a small tin box. From the box wafted the fine smell of the tea leaves.
Thatcher opened the box and pour out a couple of leaves into the teapot full of water and placed it on top of a magical contraption that heated the water. As they let the tea brew, they began to talk.
"How has the sea been for you two?" Thatcher began by asking them. He genuinely looked interested in their responses.
"I love it." Diana began. "The ship's crew has been nothing except friendly to me." She smiled broadly as she told him all about the things the sailors had taught her.
Thatcher nodded along with his head as she spoke, laughing whenever Diana told him about the funny mistake she had made just the day before.
"Well I'm glad you are comfortable here." Thatcher then turned to Roxane.
"How about you Roxane? How have you been?"
Roxane sighed, resting her elbow on top of the table and placing her chin on her palm.
"I would be better off on land." She confessed. Roxane would be better off anywhere except on the sea where land was nowhere to be seen.
"Her people aren't very fond of the sea." Diana explained cheerfully. "You'd never find a dragon out at sea."
"Is that true?" Thatcher leaned in with interest. "Do your people not migrate?"
Roxane shook her head.
"Dragons do not typically. We prefer to stay within our own lands. The different tribes are scattered all over the world but you would rarely find a dragon in a region that is not originally their home."
"Fascinating. What tribe are you from Roxane?"
Again, she shook her head.
"I am not from any single tribe. I am both Rath and Qertic," she said, "or in plainer terms, I'm a crossbreed from both the Red Dragon Clan and the Black Dragon Clan."
"Huh, do the different clans normally get married with each other?" Roxane shook her head, feeling as if she had been doing that for a long time now.
"No. It's actually frowned upon. Also, like I said before, you would rarely see another dragon not from your own clan."
"Then, how did your parents meet?" Thatcher placed the sugar out and began pouring tea into their respective cups. He then cut up the fruit he had promised Diana and set it out on the table.
"By pure luck I suppose." When she didn't say anything more on the subject, Thatcher asked her a different question, thinking his next question would be easier to answer.
"How long ago was it that you went back to your homeland? I assume you miss it very much."
She took her teacup in her hand and took a sip before answering, trying not to look over to Diana. She knew the emerald eyes of hers would be watching her intently.
"I don't. There's nothing for me there anymore. I'm actually quite content living among humans." She said with a smile and hoped it reflected into her golden irises. In fact, she didn't know what she felt about her homeland. It was both a cherished place but also a place that always seemed to come back to haunt her in her dreams. It was the place where she and her mother lived happily for many years.
"What about you Diana? Have you always lived at the temple?" Thatcher went back to placing his focus on Diana. The girl was surprised at the sudden change in subject that she choked on the fruit that she had been eating.
"Ah, I," she looked over to the side, appearing as if she didn't want to speak about her past, "I actually was born in Greenview." She revealed, and Roxane blinked as this was all news to her. A flash of jealousy hit her when she thought Diana was quick to tell Thatcher about herself.
"Oh, I think I've been there. It's a beautiful place, well-maintained by the Lord."
Diana nodded and sipped her tea. She seemed to not want to talk more about her birthplace but Thatcher continued his barrage of questions.
"Your childhood at Greenview must have been bright. Every time I hear about Greenview, it is about its bountiful harvests and the amicable people that live there. What about your parents? Do you still keep in touch with them?"
Diana looked at him sheepishly, but before she could open her mouth to answer, Roxane rudely cut her off. She knew Diana did not want to speak about her parents, that much she knew from the many years of friendship they shared.
"We met in Pilos. The both of us had nowhere to go so we stuck together. Eventually we found ourselves at the temple. Priestess Sabine was the one who first opened the temple's doors to us. It was her that gave us a roof over our heads and food to fill our bellies."
Thatcher was quick to apologize to them.
"I am terribly sorry. I didn't mean to pry into your backgrounds." He said hurriedly, but the atmosphere was ultimately ruined around them.
Diana finished her tea and set the cup down. She excused herself from the room and left with a small timid smile. "Thank you for sharing your tea Thatcher. It was delicious."
Roxane and Thatcher were left alone, and they looked at each other as soon as Diana had left the room.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She knew Diana would hole herself up in her room, in a state of pity well into the night.
"I'm sorry Roxane. I truly didn't want to make her sad."
"No, it's fine. You did not know she gets this way whenever the conversation steers towards the subject about parents. It's one of the reasons why I have never asked her about it." She gave him a warning look. "Please refrain from approaching the subject with her again. I won't forgive you if you make her cry."
He nodded at her warning. "I will, I promise."
"Good." Satisfied, she stood up from the table. "Thank you for the tea Thatcher. It all was very delicious."
When she went towards the door, Thatcher voice called out to her.
"Wait, Roxane. There was one other thing I wanted to ask you about."
She turned around back to look at Thatcher, interested in whatever question Thatcher was about to ask her.
"When you first met Diana, did anything stand out to you?" He asked, his grey eyes taking on a much darker appearance and Roxane realized this is how he looked when he was serious.
"What do you mean?" Her brows scrunched up together, confused on the direction his question was going in.
"When you first met Diana, did you detect that she was special? I heard dragons are sensitive to magic so I thought that maybe you…"
Her golden eyes flashed in anger.
"No, I never knew she was a Saint. In the first place, we dragons do not believe in the Gods and the Goddesses. We praise the Old Ones. We don't care very much for Holy Powers. So no, I did not approach Diana will malintent. We met when we were only ten years old and have been together ever since."
"I didn't mean-"
He began but Roxane had already been angered by his line of questioning. She now knew the purpose behind his invitation. He wanted to pry answers from them.
"We met in an alleyway in Pilos. As ten-year-olds, we did the best we could to survive. We begged on the streets and even stole when that wasn't enough, which let me tell you, it was never enough." She had gotten dangerously close to Thatcher, looking deep into his stormy eyes.
"You don't get to interrogate us Thatcher. She isn't just a Saint. She is a living, breathing human woman. For all the hurt and pain she has endured throughout her life, don't you believe she deserves a peaceful life? She might be ordained with incredible powers, but she is still very weak. Just like any other person."
"And despite all that, she is still exceedingly kind. She's willing to travel along with you to help you and your mysterious organization without even fully knowing why." She was breathing heavy, her chest rising up and down as she stared at Thatcher.
"I hope you remember that the next time you decide to poke and prod her heart."
With that, she turned around and left his room. She didn't bother to close the door behind her.