The room was not very big and had little to no places to properly hide. Marix opened up the cabinet against the wall and cursed under his breath when he saw it was chalk full of supplies and documents.

He shut the doors and looked around. More people were walking past the window now. There was no way they could leave the way they came now.

Marix rubbed his forehead as he turned, changing his view. They’d come this far. There was no way he could let them get caught now.

Eilownia stood in the corner, her eyebrows furrowed as she chewed on her lips.

He huffed and hung his head as he realized there was no way out. It was then that he noticed something underneath the table against the wall in the corner Eilownia was standing by.

Marix marched over quickly and got on his hands and knees. It was a large square vent. He pried it open and was hit with the scent of the sea.

"A vent." He whispered as he examined the size of it and turned back to Eilownia to visually check her measurements.

There’s just barely enough room for the two of them, but it was their only option. He motioned for her to come over and crawled underneath the table. He slid his feet in and carefully slid inside.

"Come down here, carefully." He instructed. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

She crawled underneath the table as he did and rolled onto her butt as she carefully scooted in.

Marix held his hands up catching her and helping her slowly lower inside.

The two of them were pressed together as he reached up and closed the vent as quietly as he could.

She clutched onto him tight and buried her face in his chest. His body was providing warmth that was a wonderful reprieve from the cool ocean air that was coming in from the side.

"Scared?" He whispered quietly in her ear.

She nodded and whispered back, "And cold."

He squeezed her tighter to him and shifted their positions so his legs were against the open portion, the rock scraping against his back and arms as he did so.

Having no idea he’d just hurt himself in doing so, Eilownia snuggled further against his chest and closed her eyes.

Just as they began to relax, footsteps could be heard thumping against the floor, approaching the office.

Marix and Eilownia held their breaths and Marix held her even closer as he buried his face in her hair, hoping to block out their silhouettes if someone managed to look down.

The door creaked open as someone entered. There was more than one set of footsteps but it was difficult to tell how many people there were.

"Those damn prisoners escaped!"

Marix gritted his teeth as he recognized the voice to be that of Captain Deka.

"What were you going to do with them anyways?" The other man, who Marix assumed was probably the bar owner, asked.

"I was going to add that man to my crew. I need another crew member now that Delude has passed. That man is smart, resourceful, strong. He’s the perfect replacement. As for the girl. She was going to be my bride. Have you ever seen a more beautiful and delicate specimen?"

Marix bunched the fabric of Eilownia’s dress in his hands as he heard Captain Deka talking about her that way.

Eilownia shifted her head in his embrace as she could hear his thrumming heartbeat.

"Wasn’t she carrying a child? You’d raise someone else’s child as your own?" The man asked, his tone full of disbelief.

"Yeah well. I would’ve gotten rid of it eventually. Dropped it off on another island or continent. You think I’d be stupid enough to keep the child of my crew member around? There’s no way that man would stay away."

Eilownia gasped loudly and Marix quickly pressed his lips against hers to keep her quiet.

"Did you hear something?" Captain Deka asked, looking around the room.

"No?" The man replied, looking out the window and seeing nothing.

"Huh. Well, I want everyone searching for them. I want them found and brought back to me immediately!"

The two of them stomped out of the room, leaving Eilownia melting in Marix’s arms as he deepened his kiss. He smirked against her lips and closed his eyes.

Back with the Viraaz ship, the crew finally returned and called for their boat to be lifted up.

The soldiers crowded around the side of the ship as the dinghy was lifted, letting out cheers as they saw what looked to be some supplies and the full crew returning.

Once they were up, everyone worked to get the supplies on board.

"Two barrels of water and a sack of potatoes!" The captain announced proudly as he patted the top of one of the barrels.

"Is it safe for us to go back to Vasis now? You managed to come back fine!" Etil asked as he examined the sack of potatoes.

The Captain shook his head.

"Nope. Sola is still there causing problems for everyone. They tried to force us to sign up for their army and it turned into an all out brawl. I think they may leave soon though, the citizens of Vasis aren’t very happy with them. They’re bein’ way too aggressive."

The soldiers nodded slowly as they grabbed the supplies to haul them to the lower deck.

"At least now we have more water and some more food! We can hold out for a bit longer now!"

"Yeah that’s right! This isn’t such a bad situation anymore! If Vasis can push Sola out then we’ll be clear to restock!"

"Maybe the crew and I can make another trip to fetch some supplies as well until we figure out what to do." The Captain said, thinking aloud.

The group cheered with renewed hope as they took the supplies down, passing Whimble who was still working on his invention.

He shook his head and slurped up a glob of saliva as they passed by him.

"And if not.....slrrrp....you’ll have my precioussssss creation.....slrrrp....." He muttered to himself as he took a cup of water and tasted it.

He wiggled his tongue in and out of his mouth with a frown as the salt content filled his mouth.

"Slrrp....not there yet...."

Vos took the Captain aside, guiding him to a low traffic area of the ship.

"Captain, what other islands are there in this ocean besides Norain, Vasis and Izka?"

The Captain thought for a moment, rubbing his chin.

"To the West of Norain, there is a small island called Corra. Although it’s further away from us than Norain is. I haven’t explored the other islands, though I know there are some."

"Are they opposed to foreigners?" Vos asked, tilting his head down and looking at the Captain with a serious look, his voice low.

"Not really, although they have their own currency, we won’t be able to purchase anything there unless we can find some work and earn money. Why do you ask?" The Captain looked around to make sure no one was approaching, but also as if he was searching for the answer in the air.

Vos rubbed the back of his head as he sighed.

"Because. There’s a possibility that General Marix and Miss Eilownia will never return. And that possibility is very high. Our options are limited."

The Captain nodded, "Aye. So what are you thinking?"

Vos wiggled his lips. It was clear it was something he felt guilty about even just voicing.

"We can’t go to Norain without Miss Eilownia. We cannot return to Viraaz with our soldiers as is or without Norain’s help. Especially now that Sola is growing their army. Not to mention our own comrades are on their side now."

The Captain nodded along.

"We could wait for Sola to clear out of Vasis but who knows how long that will take. Plus we can’t go back to the Southern Continent now that we’re all wanted for treason. The best option would be to try and stock up on some supplies and head to Corra and relocate there."

"You want to wait there for the General?" The Captain asked, squinting his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows.

Vos shook his head.

"Emigrate."

The Captain laughed and shook his head.

"Corra is a very small island. They won’t accept everyone. Your army would overpopulate and destroy them."

Vos nodded slowly, "That’s true, but maybe they would take our weaker soldiers and the girls. Then we can stock up before heading to the Northern continent, or seeing what else is around there."

The Captain patted his shoulder, "I suppose you need to think of how long you want to wait for the General now."

Vos huffed, "I don’t know how long to wait. General Marix is the smartest and most capable man I know. If anyone can escape from Izka, it’s him, but if he doesn’t return, I have to step up and take care of our men."

The Captain shrugged, "Do what you feel you need to do."