While the Warriors of Light went north on their canoe, Sead took Lianna, Romy and Noelle south in order to reunite with the Sky Empress. Sead and Romy tried to get answers from Lianna about what happened the previous night, but she refused to budge. Noelle had an inkling about what happened, but since she had to yet fully discuss about her situation with Noelle, she didn't think it her place to reveal the information so she stayed silent. And so the group travelled the entire day through the forest and marsh and reached their destination during the night. The airship's crew was surprised to see them, especially without the Warriors of Light. The next morning the crew received the information during the meeting after the breakfast. They were informed that their next mission was to travel northwest and seek the merchant's caravan that had the fairy. They were also informed that, while the Warriors were occupied with their own mission, that Noelle was hired to protect the ship in case of danger. While disappointed and worried about this, the crew accepted the captain's choices and went to work preparing the airship for launch. Sarah was bit miffed and asked Lianna about the Warriors' mission and Lianna assured that this was the best course of action that they had. While not too happy, Sarah finally acknowledged this and helped the newcomers settle down. As he was Lewyn's husband, Romy was put in his cabin. Meanwhile, Noelle's things were put in the captain's cabin until her bed was made ready in the crew's quarters. With the preparations complete and the agreement with the village head about more help in the future settled down, the Sky Empress took off and headed for its destination.
For Noelle, the journey was quite a surprise. She knew about Lufenian airships as she read about them in the history books, but she never thought she would ever travel on one of them. This experience was so unusual, she spent the entire day watching land below her and clouds above her. She only went inside for bathroom breaks and to eat. When one of the crew members asked her about preparing her bed for the night, she told him to wait. She was surprised when he returned with a blanket for her, as if to say that she was allowed to sleep outside. Not wanting to be seen as rude, she accepted blanket from him, put it in a corner where it wouldn't be blown off and returned to gazing. Even as the sun went down and the moon barely shone through that night, she still remained outside. There was no one to disturb her as she was lost in thoughts, all alone. To her this might have been the last night of her freedom, the last night where she could choose what she wanted to do. No matter how much she wanted to ignore her thoughts, there was no way to ignore the promise she has made as she stood on a giant reminder of that promise. Lianna accepted to help her after hearing how far she was willing to go to achieve her intentions. Now she had to wait to see what Lianna would do. Luckily for her, she wouldn't wait for long as Lianna existed out of the cabin looking for her.
Lianna: "Oh, there you are. Sick of that view yet?"
Noelle: "No. I like it. It's... different."
Lianna: "Shame it's so dark. The view would have been nicer if the full moon was out."
Noelle: "It's alright. I can bear with it."
Lianna: "Is that why you took out that blanket?"
Noelle: "Oh, no. One of the crewmen gave me this. Not too sure why, to be honest."
Lianna: "Few of them took naps outside. It apparently feels oddly satisfying."
Noelle: "I am surprised it's not windy."
Lianna: "According to some analysis and experiments we made, there is some sort of barrier created around the ship once we are airborne. That barrier does two things. One, nullifying the impact of wind so that we can smoothly fly. And two, it wards off monsters and animals so that we don't have to worry about wyverns suddenly appearing out of nowhere."
Noelle: "That's nice."
Lianna: "I will leave you to it."
Noelle: "Wait. Aren't we going to talk about it?"
Lianna: "Talk about what?"
Noelle: "You know what. You know full well about the promise I have made."
Lianna: "So? That does have nothing to do with me."
Noelle: "Don't lie. You had made your offer after I revealed everything. You knew that this would happen."
Lianna: "And I am giving you a chance to ignore that promise. No one but me, you and your mother know about it."
Noelle: "You don't think I haven't tried that offer with others? What when the truth comes out?"
Lianna: "I would rather worry about you than about others. You have a chance to be free."
Noelle: "I don't want that. I don't want this hanging over my head."
Lianna: "You realize the contradiction? You are so stubborn about this and yet you want to become a servant for life where you need to listen my every command."
Noelle: "A slave."
Lianna: "A servant. Otherwise we will both have issues with the law. Is this truly what you want?"
Noelle: "Yes."
Lianna: "Why?"
Noelle: "Because otherwise I will be constantly reminded of my failure. I based on my all decisions on the motto of "The end justifies the means". Every decision I have made I made it in hope it will be enough to save everyone and that I won't need outside help. Buckling down and serving the person that helped us finish this is a better consequence than being reminded that I couldn't do it alone. I have made my choice and so I shall live with it."
Lianna: "Are you sure?"
Noelle: "Yes. Besides, I doubt you did all this on selfless reason if what your brother has said about you is true. Am I wrong?"
Lianna: "No. I won't lie. The fact that a beautiful mermaid such as yourself would be forced to listen to my every whim did turn me on. But before I lost myself in endless fantasies I did think this fully through and realized that you shouldn't do this."
Noelle: "Too bad. I am doing it anyway."
Lianna: "Well, before you swear an eternal allegiance to me or whatever, I did think of one compromise. Before I reveal it though, I am giving you one last chance. Will you decide to stop this and live your life free? You might someday regret this."
Noelle: "I will repeat myself no matter how many times I need to. I will never change my mind about this. I am yours to command over."
Lianna: "Then you give me no choice."
Noelle: "What are you doing? What are you pulling out of your pocket?"
Lianna: "This. Noelle Amalfi, or should I say Tilly Korvin, as your new master I am giving you my first command. Marry me and take this ring as your proposal."
Noelle: "Huh?! Are you serious?!"
Lianna: "Yes. If I can't convince you of giving up that stupid notion, I can at least make you an equal to myself."
Noelle: "But-"
Lianna: "No buts. If you are going through this, then this is my first order."
Noelle: ...
Lianna: "I can give you time to consider my proposition."
Noelle: "... No."
Lianna: "No what?"
Noelle: "No, I don't need time to consider this. I accept your offer."
Lianna: "Well, thank you, my fiancée."
Noelle: "Um... I didn't expect anyone to call me that, much less a woman."
Lianna: "Did you had any female clients?"
Noelle: "Yes, but I didn't consider them to offer their hand in marriage."
Lianna: "And I wouldn't blame you for that."
Noelle: "By the way, how exactly are you going to explain this to your boyfriend?"
Lianna: "By hopefully having a calm collected conversation once we reunite. This clearly raises the bar and so we need to see where we stand. But that's a mess for me to handle. You just need to decide what you want to do."
Noelle: "Yes, um, my fiancée."
Lianna: "Oh, you are already calling me that? And with such an embarrassment on your face. Oh, this will be fun. Good night."
Noelle: "Good night."
Now that she was alone again, the truth of her promise finally dawned on her. She accepted the hand of someone she barely knew, not to mention she was a sister of someone she considered a true friend. How was she going to explain this to him? It might have been easier than explaining why she was a slave, but still it made her worry. At the very least she was not to have a boring life. When the thought of serving someone as her slave forever, she thought she would end up as a trophy wife to some rich guy that would have to indulge his every whim. But if what Lewyn said about Lianna and she behaved similar to her brother, then at least she wouldn't end up in some castle waiting for her master to return. She also took a peak at her ring. In the heat of the moment she took it without any thought and gripped it until then . It was a simple gold ring without any decorations. It was clearly not a family inheritance as it was too new. Inside the ring there were two things: a jeweller's mark and an inscription that said My Precious. That put a smile on Noelle's face. After thinking about this for a long time, she returned to captain's cabin with the ring on her ring. This attracted the attention of the crew the next morning as everyone was eating the breakfast in the mess hall. When asked about it, Noelle only answered that they should ask her new master about this. Since they didn't know the newcomer well, they attributed this to her joking around and she got a magic accessory so they left her alone.
Caere Desert was one of two great desert of the northern hemisphere. Found in the western half of Asseria, it was once home to some of the great kingdoms of the era before the land dried up after it no longer received blessings from dragons. Now it was home only to wandering tribes and monsters who found shelter in buried cities. The last reminder of the old history still on surface was the Brelden forest situated in its northern half. Positioned between the mountains and the desert, it had unique animal life not seen elsewhere on the continent, making it a popular hunting place. Seeing his opportunity, a merchant by the name of Underhill made his headquarters on the border between the desert and the forest and often sent trade caravans to Onrac, making him very wealthy in the process. He even went so far as to invest into a nice alchemy lab for experimentation and making unique potions unavailable elsewhere. Recently one of his henchmen returned with a unique prize, a fairy from Scardona. Realizing his fortune, he wanted to sell it for high price, not thinking about what attention he would get soon.
One day, while the next caravan was being organized, some workers saw a mysterious object in the sky. Initially thinking it was just a mirage, they got nasty surprise when they saw it approaching the camp. The camp security got prepared to engage this mysterious thing. As it got closer, everyone realized it was actually a ship so they allowed it to land. After a quick conversation to the crew on the deck, they allowed it to open its cargo doors. Out it came a wagon. The head of security asked the driver about their captain to which she came out and started conversing about their objective. While this was happening, another person came out of the ship and asked for Underhill. After getting her directions, she entered his tent, surprising him in process.
Underhill: "Noelle? I didn't expect to see you here. Finally decided to visit us in person."
Noelle: "Yes, I did. And you know the reason for it."
Underhill: "The fairy? You honestly got enough money to buy it?"
Noelle: "Yes."
Underhill: "Don't lie. As I told you before, I am not interested in your services nor will I take discount on it. The price is firm. You either get the money or not."
Noelle: "That's why I am here. I found a way to get the money."
Underhill: "Really? You think I would believe that?"
Noelle: "I know you won't so it's not me who will deal with you."
Underhill: "Oh, did you get the benefactor as you hoped?"
Noelle: "Yes, I did. And there she comes."
Underhill: "Oh, a new customer. Welcome to my humble camp. I am Underhill, the owner of this organization. And you are?"
Lianna: "Lianna."
Underhill: "Well, Miss Lianna, the young lady over there claims to be working for you. Is that correct?"
Lianna: "It is. I have gained interest into her family's project and I wish to see the completion of it."
Underhill: "I hope you have deep pockets for it then. That project is rumoured to a bottomless pit."
Lianna: "I will take care of it. Right now I believe that you have something that we desire."
Underhill: "Ah, yes. And here it is. (Pulls out a special jar from one of his shelves) A real-life fairy in the flesh."
Lianna: "Is it still alive?"
Underhill: "Yes. Despite its appearance, this jar is a very special object. It is keeping the fairy in a constant state of sleep. No need to worry about letting air in so that she can breathe. Besides, I believe it would fly out if you opened it."
Lianna: "And we are sure it's not dead because?"
Noelle: "I can answer that. Fairies are a creation of magic wells. When one of them is brimming with energy, it might spawn one as a way to release some of it. Once created, they gain sentience and do whatever they want. When it dies, it returns back to magic energy."
Underhill: "Exactly. As you can see, if it was truly dead, then the jar would only show magic energy."
Lianna: "Very well. Where did you acquire it?"
Underhill: "One of my guys bought it from a guy who caught it in Gaia."
Lianna: "Gaia?"
Underhill: "Oh, I assume you don't know. In the mountains on Scardona there is a settlement created by the refugees of the Great Dragon War called Gaia. It was made high in the mountains as to avoid the senseless violence that plagued the continent. It's normally hard to access it as you need to rely on mountain passes, but I assume that's your airship outside?"
Lianna: "Yes."
Underhill: "Then you should have no problem reaching the settlement. I will even throw in the spot on the map if you end up buying it."
Lianna: "And what will it be the price?"
Underhill: "The starting price is 40,000 gil, but-
Lianna: "Done."
Underhill: "I am sure that we can- Wait, what you do mean done?"
Lianna: (yells outside) Sead, 4 bags please.
Underhill: "Huh?"
With surprise on his face he looked as a dwarf entered his tent carrying 4 big bags. Just by sound alone, it was clear that they were full of money.
Lianna: "40,000, as promised."
Underhill: "Um..."
Lianna: "Is there a problem?"
Underhill: "N-no, I just didn't think you would accept my first offer without haggling."
Lianna: "I am a woman of action, not words. If you have a set price of a unique item, then I have no choice but to pay it. Besides, I would receive a treatment you would give on a big spender than haggle every time I come. Wouldn't you agree?"
Underhill: "Oh? You wish to become my regular customer?"
Lianna: "Yes. That reminds me. My brother told me you had some unique magic tonics on sale."
Underhill: "Yes, I have-"
Lianna: "Let's cut to the chase. How much for your entire stock?"
Underhill: "Huh? You want my whole stock?"
Lianna: "Yes. How much?"
Underhill: "Not even going to barter? Fine. Let's see. Um... 60,000."
Lianna: "You sure?"
Underhill: "Yes. I have some promised deliveries I need to make so the only stock you can buy is my reserve. 50 tonics at 60,000 gil."
Lianna: "Why such price?"
Underhill: "Two of the tonics are priced at 1,500 each. Others are priced at 1,000 gil.
Lianna: "Alright, thanks for clarification. Sead."
Sead: "Six bags?"
Lianna: "Yes, would you mind?"
Sead: "No problem. (Leaves)
Lianna: "I must say, I didn't expect to meet such a wealthy customer today. Someone willing to drop 100,000 without any discounts is quite rare."
Lianna: "If you are as a good merchant as my brother says you are, then you deserve a proper pay."
Underhill: "Well, thank you. May I inquire as the identity of your brother?"
Lianna: "Sure. It's Lewyn. Lewyn Marciano."
Underhill: "Huh? You're his sister?"
Lianna: "Yes. Skin colour threw you off?"
Underhill: "Bah! It's not that. It's the fact that he had someone so rich all this time."
Lianna: "Yes, he did told me he borrowed twice from you."
Underhill: "Yes. I know you were supposed to be in Feinan, but still. You would think he would ask for your to borrow some."
Lianna: "To be honest, this IS his newly acquired wealth. I am just helping him getting some precious items."
Underhill: "Oh? Where did he... You know what, I don't want to know. So, where is he right now?"
Lianna: "Somewhere on Taquila River. He had an emergency task from the city that he needed to deal with."
Underhill: "Oh, that's shame."
Lianna: "Speaking of him. Do either he or Noelle have any outstanding debt with you?"
Underhill: "No, they don't. Even if they did, the shopping today would have settled it by a long shot."
Lianna: "Good to know."
Underhill: "I would be more worried about her and her debts in Onrac, though. Who knows if she has any there?"
Noelle: "Hey!"
Lianna: "Don't worry. Even if she does, I can settle the score of my fiancée with no problem?"
Underhill: "Wait, fiancée?"
Lianna: "Yes. Anything wrong with that?"
Underhill: "Ooooh. Oh. Nothing wrong, really. Congrats, Noelle. And good luck."
Noelle: "Thank you."
At that moment Sead walked in with his 6 bags. Underhill, Lianna and Noelle had continued with their conversation, now casual since the business side was done. The rest of the day was spent with loading the newly purchased items and resting. It was only the next day that the Sky Empress had set sail. It would have been a boring trip back if not for some surprising news. Sead in truth waited outside for a bit before he returning in as he didn't want to interrupt the personal conversation happening there. However, hearing that Noelle and Lianna were now engaged nearly made him drop the bags so he went in. And so the crew finally found out about what Noelle meant about her master. Now everyone was waiting what was going to happen between. That would have to wait as, when they returned to the village, they found out that the Warriors left for Onrac. Having no other choice, they waited for 10 days until they finally returned.
After arriving back to the village, the party was happy to see everyone. That happiness wasn't exactly returned as the crew had nothing to do for 10 days. Nevertheless, a nice celebratory reunion party was made that night to celebrate the success of both parties. During this people noticed the disappearance of Rosch and Lianna and everyone was curious to see what would happen. Meanwhile, the couple found a nice secluded spot to have their important conversation. After a short silence, Lianna was the first one to speak.
Lianna: "I am sorry."
Rosch: "For what?"
Lianna: "For making this big decision without you."
Rosch: "Oh, now you consider my feelings into this?"
Lianna: "What else do you want me to say then?"
Rosch: "I don't know. It's not every day that your girlfriend enters an arranged marriage with her insistence."
Lianna: "It could have been worse. I could have told you after I proposed to her."
Rosch: "It doesn't help the fact that you tried to use the bet to calm me down."
Lianna: " I thought it might help. Oh, speaking of which, you still owe me since you failed."
Rosch: "I know, I know. Sheesh, who would have thought Sarah and Kelin already plan for their marriage? Just my luck."
Lianna: "I didn't expect to win this either. But enough about others. We should focus on our relationship."
Rosch: "Yes, we should. I assume that you already proposed to her?"
Lianna: "Yes, and she accepted it."
Rosch: "So, where does this leave us then?"
Lianna: "Aren't we here to discuss exactly that?"
Rosch: "Well, it's hard to discuss something when someone makes a unilateral decision and waits until the last moment to inform others, don't you think?"
Lianna: "I tried to think about how would I approach this to you. I wanted to tell about this, I just couldn't think of how."
Rosch: "Even if you told me about this immediately, it wouldn't have changed the problem. You deciding on your own about marrying someone else while I was still in relationship with you without even consulting or telling me first is just deplorable. I saw a lot of hedonistic behaviour, but never to this extent."
Lianna: "At least it wasn't out of nowhere. You knew what I was like and yet you still shared company with me every night until now. Tell me, did I ever asked you to be exclusive with me?"
Rosch: "No."
Lianna: "Did I ever tell you that we weren't in open relationship?"
Rosch: "No."
Lianna: "Then when you become my true partner, then I will include your input on my decisions. This is my life, my choice. You have no power there."
Rosch: "Fine. But answer me this honestly since I am dying to find out the truth."
Lianna: "About what?"
Rosch: "How can you and Lewyn do this? How can you live your life like this? How can you convince others that they deserve to be treated like this."
Lianna: "That's why we always inform our partners about this. If they don't wish to participate, they have every right to leave."
Rosch: "And this makes you happy?"
Lianna: "Yes."
Rosch: "Really? And how long will you keep up with this lifestyle?"
Lianna: "As long as I live. Why change who I am for no good reason? Why pretend to be someone else? If people don't like my true self, fine. But don't judge me just because you don't like it."
Rosch: "I see."
Lianna: "Let me ask you one thing. What is your plan for future?"
Rosch: "Huh?"
Lianna: "What will you do once your mission is over?"
Rosch: "I don't know. Isn't that too early to ask?"
Lianna: "Is it though? Kelin and Sarah are already planning their marriage."
Rosch: "That's them, though. How about you then? What will you do?"
Lianna: "The same thing I am doing now. Enjoy life."
Rosch: "That's it?"
Lianna: "Yeah. The life is too chaotic to be planned out. I will enjoy the gifts it provides and face the challenges as they come. No more, no less. After all, I didn't plan to help in saving the world."
Rosch: "That was your choice. You weren't chosen to take on the responsibility."
Lianna: "Responsibility of what?"
Rosch: " Responsibility of saving the world, of course. What else would I be talking about?"
Lianna: "And what does the world mean to you? For me and Lewyn it means the place where our family and friends live so that's why we live like this. What about you?"
Rosch: "Um..."
Lianna: "Also, you are the second son of your father, right?"
Rosch: "Yes, so?"
Lianna: "So you don't stand to inherit much. Isn't that why you got the seat in Pravoka's city council and why you are the captain of Sea Queen?"
Rosch: "Yes."
Lianna: "So what is your plan then? Why did you acquire these things?"
Rosch: "Um... I..."
Lianna: "They often joke that red mages are people who don't know what to do with their life. They don't know what to train so they choose both."
Rosch: "I... guess..."
Lianna: "I will be honest to you. I can justify my decision with dozens of reasons. I can probably make excuse all day long. But do you want to truly know why I chose to marry her?"
Rosch: "Why?"
Lianna: "Because there is fire in her eyes. She is fully determined to follow things through no matter what happens. Even if she regrets her decisions later, she will follow them through. That determination is what I respect about her and what I will protect. I don't want to see that wasted on someone who won't care about her."
Rosch: "Is that the fact?"
Lianna: "Yes. That reminds me. Apparently you all had a big fight with Mari back at the elven capital."
Rosch: "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"
Lianna: "Even if you had made her leave the party she would have had somewhere else to go and use her power. So would Kelin and Lewyn too. The only one I can see struggling is you."
Rosch: "..."
Lianna: "You want to hear my answer about our relationship? When you can answer who are you and where are you going, then we can solve this issue."
Rosch: "..."
Lianna: "Now- Wait, did you hear that?"
In the background they heard Lewyn screaming: "LIANNA! WHERE ARE YOU! GET OVER HERE, NOW!" to which Lianna responded: "Over here!" After few moments Lewyn rushed to the scene.
Lewyn: "There you are. You have some explaining to do. Oh, Rosch. I need to borrow my sister for a moment."
Rosch: "Oh... Sure..." With slumped shoulders he went away.
Lewyn: "What happened here?"
Lianna: "I will explain later. Why did you need me?"
Lewyn: "So I met your new fiancée just now. Care to explain the details that you failed to mention earlier? For instance, swearing her featly to you forever?"
Lianna: "That's a long story."
Lewyn: "Then make it short."
Lianna: "Fine. She is a mermaid and the princess of Kingdom of Granbelos. In exchange for our help in liberating her fellow mermaids, she will become my wife. Short enough?
Lewyn: "Wait, are you serious?"
Lianna: "Yes. Figured that out while I visited their warehouse."
Lewyn: "How? I must have been there dozen times and never realized that."
Lianna: "For one, you are more of a desert type than sea one so you might have ignored the clues. Besides, the main clue was in the design of their submarine. Remember that test with the carrier pigeon?"
Lewyn: "Yes, the one that established that we have no way of communicating with ground."
Lianna: "It's difficult to communicate with an airship. Now imagine try doing that on something. No way they were doing that many experiments without anything going wrong."
Lewyn: "A good guess, but not a guarantee."
Lianna: "That's why I bluffed them into revealing the truth. Better to make sure."
Lewyn: "Good girl."
Lianna: "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be celebrating with your soon to be sister-in-law?"
Lewyn: "Fine. But you better have more to say tomorrow. Tonight we celebrate."
Lianna: "Then what are we standing here for? Let's go."