Angelica was nervous, but she went out of her way to stay cool for Bell.
Ryan had decided to disembark an hour before they hit land.
She decided to sit on the railing and wait for the time to pass.
The girl with her had other ideas.
"Angelica? How are you holding up?"
She spun and, with a flip, landed in front of Bell.
"Stop focusing on unimportant stuff. Can you fight?"
Bell frowned while cocking her head to the side.
Angelica rolled her eyes.
"I want to know how much effort I need to keep you alive."
The sudden shock on Bell's face made her remember the difference in their worlds.
She sighed.
"I'm sorry. I'm just so used to a different world."
She turned to get back on the railing, but Bell stopped her.
"I'm not as good as you or Ryan, but my dad taught me."
Angelica turned and nodded at her.
"Show me what you can do."
Bell stood in her boxing stance with her chin tucked into her shoulder.
"Pretty good. A lot of people forget defence. Go for it."
Bell unloaded with a jab.
Angelica held out her hand and felt some power behind the punch.
"Keep going."
Bell shot a double jab followed by a right hook.
Angelica blocked all of her punches easily.
She was caught off guard when Bell landed a calf kick.
The sudden pain made Angelica see red.
Just as she was about to rip her throat out, she saw the genuine smile on Bell's face.
She swallowed hard and smiled back.
"That was pretty good. Your boxing stance is textbook, so they don't expect the kick."
She took out the flask and gulped down two sips.
She almost spit it out when Bell spoke.
"Ryan taught me that one."
She nodded at Bell and decided to pry a little.
"So, how did you and Ryan… um, become a thing?"
She waited intently for the answer.
What did Ryan see in this girl?
"He ran away, and we happened to be on a team. We didn't get along at first, but I saved his life, and then he became nicer… I'm sorry, I'm rambling."
The more the words fell out of her mouth, the more it felt like knives were stabbed into Angelica's heart.
"You saved his life? How did that happen?"
Bell blushed.
"We were on a mission for the Dwarves. There was a secret door, and a mage shot magic at Ryan. I had a shield, and I jumped between them."
Angelica was confused.
"Why did you do that?"
To her surprise, Bell had a confused look on her face.
"I don't know. I just did it."
Was this girl stupid or reckless?
Then it clicked for Angelica, and she started laughing.
"What's so funny?"
She held out her hand.
"I'm sorry… but it isn't funny."
Ryan loved this girl because she cared.
Angelica never cared about Ryan; she cared about her pet.
Her defect.
When she stopped laughing, Bell still stood there in front of her.
She placed her hand on Bell's shoulder.
"Take good care of him. After what he went through, he needs it."
Before Bell could ask anything, Angelica climbed to the top of the sails.
She needed to be alone.
She looked down at the redhead.
Angelica wanted to hate her, to hurt her, to kill her.
She pushed those thoughts back.
Her gaze shifted from Bell to Femur.
He was her friend, and she didn't want to lose him.
This shift in focus calmed her down.
She thought back to her time with Ryan.
He was fourteen when they brought him to her.
He was terrified, and all her apprentices always ended up dead.
She thought he would be like the rest, but he surprised her.
It must have been the Elven blood in him.
He absorbed all the techniques she had to teach.
What caught her most off guard was how easy it was to get him to kill.
All she had to do was tell him they were monsters, and they were monster hunters.
It was so easy to control him, or so she had thought.
She remembered the day that they went to kill a race-mixer Orc.
When Ryan saw the kid, he ran.
With his shadow ability, not even she could follow.
When she remembered the look of horror on his face, the tears rolled down her face.
She couldn't go back and save Ryan.
The best she could do was look after his girl.
After she had wiped off the tears, she went below deck to get ready.
She kept her long-sleeved t-shirt, and she decided to let her hair be loose and wash off her makeup.
When she went on deck, she saw Bell looking at the view.
The mountain of the Amazons was on the horizon.
For a moment, she wanted to push her over.
"Bell, are you ready?"
The redhead turned around.
"What's with the look?"
She sighed and sat on the railing.
"A lot of women join the Amazons because of abuse. I will be the victim, and you are the friend who helped me."
Bell became flustered and tried to speak, but the right words weren't there.
Angelica smiled at her.
"That's why I will do the talking, and you be the supportive friend."
Bell nodded.
For a second, Angelica doubted how Bell would handle the mission.
In that moment, Femur appeared behind her as if by magic.
"We will be landing in thirty minutes. Would you ladies like anything to drink before we land?"
The girls nodded and sat down at the table.
Femur brought them some tea and spoke.
"It would be wise to say I am but a flying system. I may be a skeleton, but I am still a man."
Bell nodded.
Angelica winked as she spoke.
"What if we put you in a maid outfit? They won't tell the difference."
Bell almost spat out her tea as she heard Femur laughing.
"My lady, my narrow hips would give me away instantly."
Bell was caught off guard by their banter.
Her eyes darted between them.
"Was all that saluting and yelling an act?"
Femur saluted.
"I have to find ways to entertain myself, but as you can see. I am very dead."
After the girls finished their tea, Femur cleaned up after them.
"Ladies, we are descending. Brace yourselves."
The airship landed just outside of the Amazon Sisterhood's gate.
They were welcomed by women in togas, wielding spears and shields.
Bell swallowed hard.
Angelica slapped her hard on the back.
"You'll do great. I promise."