On the deck of the Celestial Pearl, Donna and Jeny had just noticed the group watching them. Donna's eyes went wide, and she let out a scream that could have shattered glass. "JENY! PEOPLE! THERE ARE PEOPLE!"
Jeny screamed in response, her voice rising to an even higher pitch. "PEOPLE! LIKE, ACTUAL PEOPLE! NOT ROBOTS! NOT HOLOGRAMS! PEOPLE!"
They both scrambled behind Chad, their hands gripping his shoulders as they tried to hide. Chad, for his part, was also trying to hide, his pale face a mask of terror as he stumbled backward.
"Get behind me!" he shrieked, his voice cracking. "No wait—get in front of me! No—get—I don't know! Just—just protect me!"
Jannali shook her head, her hand still resting on Gosan. "Bloody hell. If we wanted to hurt you, we would have done it already. Calm down."
Chad's voice rose to a desperate shriek. "CALM DOWN?! You want me to CALM DOWN?! We just fell from SPACE! We're on a—a—a PLANET! With WATER! And—and—and PEOPLE! And you want me to CALM DOWN?!"
Jannali's brow furrowed. "Mate. Deep breaths."
"I DON'T WANT TO TAKE DEEP BREATHS! I WANT TO GO HOME! THIS ISN'T FAIR! THIS ISN'T FAIR AT ALL!"
Marya crossed her arms, her hip cocked to one side. She let out a sigh, her hand reaching up to rub the back of her neck. Her golden eyes—one gold, one half-gold and half-silver—fixed on the panicking trio with a mixture of annoyance and something that might have been reluctant amusement.
Chad's eyes darted around, his voice shaking. "What—what business do you have with us? What do you want?"
Bō-Zak stepped forward, his smirk firmly in place. His gold-flecked eyes gleamed with amusement, and his voice carried that smooth, philosophical cadence that made everything sound like a proposition.
"We can have whatever business you want with us," he said, his eyes lingering on the two women.
Jannali shot him a look. "Give it a rest, mate. They're kids."
"Kids who fell from the sky," Bō-Zak replied, his smirk not wavering. "That's got to count for something."
Vesta bounced forward, her rainbow hair shimmering in the sunlight. Her violet eyes were wide with excitement, and she waved enthusiastically at the trio on the Celestial Pearl.
"Hi! I'm Vesta!" she called out, her voice bright and musical. "That's a pretty cool ship you got there!"
Atlas's ears twitched forward. "It fell from the sky."
Vesta's eyes went wide. "The sky? Oh! Are you from the sky islands? I'm from there! They're amazing! The White-White Sea and the cloud cities and—"
Donna peeked out from behind Chad, her voice trembling. "Sky islands? What are you talking about? We've never heard of sky islands."
Aurélie's steel-gray eyes narrowed. Her patience was wearing thin. She had been on the deck for less than two minutes, and already she was dealing with screaming, crying, and Bō-Zak's flirting. She pushed off from the Dreadnought's railing, her locust wings flickering into existence as she launched herself into the air.
She flew across the gap between the two vessels, landing on the Celestial Pearl's deck with a soft thud. Her silver hair settled around her shoulders, and her hand rested on Anathema's hilt as she surveyed the three trembling figures.
Donna and Jeny screamed again, scrambling backward. Chad stumbled, his feet tangling beneath him as he tried to retreat.
"STAY BACK!" Chad shrieked, his voice rising to a desperate pitch. "I DEMAND YOU STAY BACK! WE HAVE—WE HAVE—"
"We have connections!" Donna added, her voice cracking. "Our parents are—they're—they're very powerful! They'll—they'll—"
"The GP will be notified!" Jeny finished, her voice trembling. "The Galactic Peacekeepers! They'll come and—and—they'll—"
Aurélie paused, one eyebrow rising. Her steel-gray eyes fixed on the trio with cold curiosity. "GP?"
Jeny nodded frantically. "Yeah! The Galactic Peacekeepers! They're like—like the police! But in space! And they're—they're really scary! They'll come and they'll—"
Aurélie's gaze drifted upward. She stared at the sky for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she looked back at the trio, her voice flat.
"Space," she said. "You're from space."
Chad's voice was barely a whisper. "Yeah. We are. And we demand to know where we are! Right now! Immediately! This isn't—this isn't fair!"
Aurélie cocked her hip, her hand still resting on Anathema's hilt. Her steel-gray eyes swept over the trio with cold assessment.
"You're on the Blue Sea," she said, her voice flat. "The surface world. You can relax. We're not going to hurt you."
Donna and Jeny exchanged a look, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and hope.
"How do we know that?" Donna asked, her voice trembling. "How do we know you're not going to—to—"
"To what?" Aurélie interrupted, her voice dry. "Rob you? I suspect you don't have anything we want."
Chad's face flushed with indignation. "We have—we have—" He paused, looking down at his designer clothes and empty hands. His shoulders sagged. "Okay, fine. Maybe we don't have anything valuable. But that's not the point! The point is—"
"The point is you're lost," Aurélie finished. She turned, her locust wings flickering back into existence. "We may be able to help you. But you'll have to stop hiding and let us."
Donna's voice was small, desperate. "You promise? You promise you won't hurt us?"
Aurélie looked over her shoulder, her steel-gray eyes meeting Donna's frightened gaze. "I promise."
She launched herself into the air, flying back across the gap to the Dreadnought Thalassa's deck. She landed beside Marya, her wings folding back into her body.
"They're just children," Aurélie said, her voice flat. "It appears they crash-landed from space."
Marya blinked, her golden eyes widening in disbelief. "From space?"
Kaburo's voice was dry, emotionless. "Did you say space?"
Aurélie nodded, looking over her shoulder at the three figures on the Celestial Pearl. They were still huddled together, their faces pale with fear, their eyes fixed on the group with desperate hope.
"Yes," Aurélie continued. "It may be wise to get Bianca and maybe even Charlie up here. They both have experience with space."
Vesta bounced on the balls of her feet, her rainbow hair shimmering with excitement. Her violet eyes were fixed on the Celestial Pearl, and her voice was barely a whisper.
"Space," she breathed. "I wonder what music is like up there. Like, do the stars sing? Do they have their own songs? Can you hear them?"
Bō-Zak's smirk returned, his gold-flecked eyes gleaming. "If they do, I bet it's beautiful. Almost as beautiful as—"
"Bō-Zak," Kaburo interrupted, his voice flat. "Stop."
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"You were going to say something."
"I was going to say something poetic."
"You were going to say something inappropriate."
Bō-Zak's smirk widened. "Poetic and inappropriate are not mutually exclusive."
Atlas let out a low chuckle, his rust-red fur bristling with amusement. "I like this guy."
Jannali shook her head. "Of course you do. You're both trouble."
Marya's gaze shifted from the Celestial Pearl to her crew, then back to the three figures on the strange vessel. Her golden eyes narrowed as she considered their options.
"Bianca," she said. "Get Bianca. And Charlie."
Vesta's hand shot up. "I'll go! I'll be right back!"
She spun on her heel and disappeared through the hatch, her rainbow hair trailing behind her like a banner.
Marya let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging slightly. She looked back at the Celestial Pearl, where Donna, Jeny, and Chad were still huddled together, their faces pale with fear.
"Great," she muttered. "Just great."
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider giving Dracule Marya Zaleska a Power Stone! It helps the novel climb the rankings and get more eyes on our story!
Thank you for sailing with us! 🏴☠️ Your support means so much!
Want to see the Dreadnought Thalassa blueprints? Or unlock the true power of Goddess Achlys?
Join the Dracule Marya Zaleska crew on Patreon to get exclusive concept art, deep-dive lore notes, and access to our private Discord community! You make the New World adventure possible.
Become a Crewmate and Unlock the Lore:
https://patreon.com/An1m3N3rd?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Thanks so much for your support and loving this story as much as I do!