'Me and my big mouth!! Test my patience?! Really?!'
Claudina was hunched right under the ship's rail. Beads sweat rolled off her face as she squeezed her wet eyes shut. Shulia leaned over the rails and chattered on ignoring the vengeful stares.
They were two days in the sea and Claudina was already having trouble breathing. Unlike the previous cruise ship they rode to Halieas they boarded a naval ship belonging to the eastern empire. Hence she couldn't lock herself in the room or rather the shared barracks.
She did share the barracks back in the frontlines but at least the barracks were separated by gender. Here however, it was everyone crammed into giant rooms. She couldn't ask any of the saints to stay with her either for the remaining fortnight.
'If only stayed with Blakeley back at Halieas. I would rather deal with Lucas then be in the limbo with the devil!'
Bile rose due to how dizzy she was and bouts of chill didn't help. She curled onto a fatal ball position and tried to…be okay.
"Why do always become so antsy whenever you are on a ship?"
Claudina stopped chewing. She glanced at Oriane who was looking at her. Quickly she looked back at her stew. "Y-you don't have to say it if you don't want!" she squeaked.
They went back on eating their spoons clattering on the metal bowl. Claudina didn't say much to her for the reminder of dinner down in the mess hall.
They were the last to finish as the other saints already retired to their beds.
"Join me for stroll?" Claudina offered with her hand outstretched. Oriane grinning like a child on their birthday took the day without further questions.
"Where are we going?" she excitedly asked.
"The upper deck."
Her excitement diminished for a bit. "Oh. But it's fine as long as it's with you!"
They walked quietly up to the deck. Cool winds were blowing up here compared to the stuffy room of the mess hall. "Let's go even higher."
Oriane nodded and followed her to the wheelhouse and climbed the ladder to the roof of the wheelhouse.
Claudina sat down. She patted the space beside her. Oriane nestled close to her.
Oriane noticed that Claudina was staring at the stars in the sky. Rather she would look at anything but the calm sea below. "Are you scared of the sea?" She immediately slapped her hand shut, embarrassed.
'What did I just blabber now?! I should have kept my mouth shut! She's definitely going to hate me!' She peeked up expecting her to be angry or waiting for to slap her.
Back lit by the full moon Claudina gazed at her impassively. Her black hair swayed in the wind while her green eyes glowed luminously. Oriane blushed before realizing she was staring so bluntly. She ducked her head missing the upward curve of Claudina's lips.
She stammered her eyes drifting back and off from her face. "S-sorry I didn't mean to state like that!" She frantically shook her head. "No I mean I am sorry for com-coming off as rude!"
"…That is the highest your voice went," she mumbled.
She blushed again. Claudina went back to watching the stars. "I am not saying it is bad thing. And don't worry about coming as off rude. I am used to people staring at me. It's not new to me if you also stare."
"…O-oh, ok…"
They sat together in silence until it was time to return to the barracks.
They were a week in out here in the sea and Claudina's fear of the sea was increasing with each passing second.
She opted for blindfolding herself at first when the sea sickness medicine ran out. But the saints would certainly question her. And she in her snappish moods won't be able to think of an excuse.
She thought of knocking herself unconsciousness but she revised against it. She would be alone in the barracks with multiple men. With the looks they gave her while she's awake she shuddered to think what they will do to her when she's defenseless.
So she decided to hunch herself under the stairs of the deck that led to the wheelhouse. But no such luck for Shulia would drag her out from under there.
"I have already seen the sea! I don't see why I must I look at it again!" Claudina said while resisting the hand pulling her.
"It's fine if you don't want to see the sea but what you should do is stand out in the sun. Come on! I can't stand that pasty skin of yours! You need some sun."
"Pasty?!" she gasped in horror. "In the capital everyone wishes to be pale skinned and yet you say this is ugly! Are you insane?!" She tried to resist as much as possible but in the end she was dragged out to stand in the deck.
The sun was shining down on her head heating it up. Her loose shirt and skirt started to stick to her skin. She even had to take off her socks.
'…I don't like this…The dread of the sea combined with this heat…'
Puffs of breathes left her lips as tried to stand right.
She frowned. Shulia and the others were fine it seems. Their laughter hurt her ears. '…I wanna murder them…'
Shakily she gripped her sword and tried to stumble towards them but someone pulled her to a solid chest. A parasol appeared over her while a cool towel was place on her eyes.
"I think you have had enough sun for one day, wench," Anatole whispered. "Come along." He carried her in one arm by placing it under her while she leaned over him. He held the parasol on the other.
With the towel obscuring her vision she clung on to him.
Within a few minutes she was plopped into a bed and the towel was removed. Blinking blearily she saw it was the lamp lit barracks. Sylvester was lying down on the other bed.
"Take off your shoes and lay down." Anatole passed her mug of water. "Drink up. I added medicine in it."
Cautiously, she took it. As she slurped down the medicine she asked, "Why is Sylvester here?" Claudina put down her mug and laid down after taking her boots off.
"He was suffering from heat stroke." He sat on a chair between their beds. He was wearing his mask. He had taken of his coat with the sleeves of the shirt rolled up. "Though the summers of Chronostis are warm it's a essentially a nation with cold weathers. You are probably not used to the heat of the Kava Sea."
"Oh…we are in the Kava Sea. H-hahaha we are so near now," she said slowly. "It's what…about 1500 km to the Flu'er island…"
"Sleep. I will keep watch over you two."
She blinked before slowly closing her eyes. "I trust you won't do anything strange to me?"
He signed. "I am not a degenerate who will take advantage of a sleeping lass. Sleep."
She chuckled. "Sweet dreams Anatole."
Another week had passed at the sea.
The winds were in favor with small fluffy clouds and the sea wasn't rough. Hence why the capital had cheerful informed they might reach the land quicker.
'Good. The quicker I get off this ship the better.' Claudina hid under the parasol Anatole gave her. Shulia didn't come back to bother when Anatole said she was having heat stroke.
So there she was with a wet towel on her neck and a rather large parasol in front of the ocean's view. Claudina had her back turned to it so all she could see was the wood cracks of the staircase.
"I don't know if we should land there...I heard there are sea monsters attacking Flu'er Island." A fearful voice was talking to someone else as they climbed down the stairs unaware of Claudina kneeling out the stair rails.
"Yeah. You would just about believe anything they say, Thomas."
"I ain't lying! Those men...they saw things. Terrifying things."
"Sure they did." The two men then walked away inside the captain's cabin.
'Sea monsters at Flu'er? That never happened in my present.' She rested her hand on her open palm. 'Maybe it's possible. I have already changed some major events that will happen in the future. The past must be changing to accommodate it. Yes. That must be it."
Next day the captain was happy to inform that they would reach Flu'er Island within a few days. The mess hall cheered. It was been such a long time since they last the land. Soon they would be able to rest their weary bones.
"But I don't want to~" Sullivan pouted to Claudina after breakfast. They were standing near the mast with the other saints nearby. She had propped up her parasol and shared it with Sullivan.
"I am not sure I know what you mean."
He signed. "I won't you be able to see you again~"
She tilted her head. "But I said I would visit."
"You don't understand. When you come to stop by, you will see a grizzly old man," he pressed his face in his hand. "Instead of an adorable, cutie pie~ I don't want you to see that!"
She nervously laughed. "...Why does it sound so weird?"
Just then, something attacked the side of the ship. Claudina held on to the mast to avoid being thrown over. Sullivan tumbled over to the side.
"Whoa! I think we bumped into migrating mermaids...I hope they don't get too angry."
Suddenly somebody screamed.
She looked over in time to see a tentacle with rotting suction on its sides shot up and latched itself on the deck. More tentacles sprung out.
"Monster! It's a sea monster!!" someone shouted.
"All hands on deck! Ready the cannons!"
The monster slammed on the ship's sides. It raised its seaweed and barnacle head before it dived back in the waters. Everyone caught a flash of red eyes hidden beep within the shadows of the seaweed. Canons were fired and swords were pulled out to cut and remove the slimy tentacles.
The saints also helped in removing them.
The monster underneath the ship shrieked and rocked the ship. Some of the tentacles unwrapped themselves and plunged into the waters. There they spun in circles. Numerous whirlpools started to form. Spiky urchins with tiny human legs, starfish with razor blades and blood sucking jellyfish shot out from the whirlpools and attacked the crew.
Claudina however didn't move from the spot. As soon as the monster started to rock the ship her eyes were directly in contract with the sea.
She did fight with sea monsters and sea serpents but it was always on land that she did. She would lure them to the empty beaches where an ambush was always waiting for them. At land she had the advantage but fighting them in their natural habitat...She wouldn't survive with her fear of the sea.
In the middle of the attacks from the smaller monsters, one of the tentacles wrapped on to the mast Claudina was holding on to and tore it alongside her.
Instantly she froze. She was dangling in the air with a clear view of the sea. The sea had turned into dark murky color while thunder rumbled in the blackening clouds. Whirlpools of various sizes were spinning around the ship.
Her hands felt clammy. The sea…looked ready to devour her. Her heart was racing in fear as adrenaline pumped in her vines. She felt lightheaded and let go of the mast prepared to fall and drown in the sea below.
Something wet caught her. Slowly a whip of water drew her near to Oriane. More whips ensnared her, pulling her through bouncing urchins and razor sharp starfishes to Oriane who lashed the water with her hand.
Soon the waters delivered the shaking and dripping Claudina into her hands.
"Just stay right here." Oriane secured her behind a barrel and left her there.
Claudina was shaking. She couldn't move.
She couldn't hear.
She couldn't feel.
Her shortness of breath chocked her. It was getting hard to breathe now. Her vision blurred from white to black. Droplets of water tricked down unpleasantly down her back causing goose bumps on her skin.
Someone shook her. She snapped her eyes closed before blinking them. She looked in silent terror as Anatole shook her. "Saintess! Can you hear me?!"
"Wh-what…?"
"Tsk! For heavens' sake..."
She yelped in surprise when he suddenly carried her in his arms. She had a clearer view again of the sea. Whirlpools were surrounded the ship as more sea monsters failed around them their round mouths a tunnel of rotating teeth.
"Ah. Ah. Ah."
She clutched on to Anatole and shivered. She buried her face on his neck. "Shit. Shit. Get it away from me," she pleaded on his skin. The roaring of the sea drowned out whatever Anatole said.
Suddenly she found herself being hurled inside a room. She turned in time to see Anatole lock the door behind him.
Claudina curled herself into a ball and rocked back and forth. The chill hadn't left her for she lurched and jolted out of her skin. "Ha. Ha. Ha! Oh gods! I need breathe!" She tried inhaling and exhaling procedure to even out her breathing. "Breathe!"
Slowly she was regaining some sort of semblance to reality. Having gotten back lungful of air she slipped out her trembling fingers from her gloves.
"σ-σπечwert," she stuttered. Baron crouched in front of her blinking at her state. "B-baron, could you come here for a bit, dear?" He crawled into her open arms. She held him tightly and hid her face his fur.
"…dUcHESS…?"
"Please. Stay here like this for a bit." He squirmed to make himself comfortable before wrapping his arms around her, his ears resting on her head.