New Horizons

The ocean gale sweeps across the coast, a refreshing breeze that mixes well with the bright morning sun. The vibrant flags of Sarissina flutter in the wind, displaying the kingdom insignia of the sun for all to see.

"I do not approve of this venture, Leia," Marcus muttered underneath his breath. He had woken up early and packed quickly. Marcus was not a morning person, but experience has taught him how to move quickly whenever Leia makes her mind.

"Relax Marco, we're coming prepared this time," Leia was as jovial as ever. The fact that she can treat this endeavor so lightly after what happened last time irritated him. It is becoming a habit of them to make grand escapes their main method of crossing borders. Though this is not the case now, Marcus would much to at least stay a bit longer and hope it doesn't ever come up again.

As though sensing his irritation, Leia gives out a small giggle. Somehow it seemed to amuse her whenever they find something that upsets him. All he wants is to find somewhere quiet to settle down in, yet Leia is always yearning for excitement.

"I don't see why you always worried whenever we travel, it's not like there's constant danger like in those adventure novels." One of the problems with Leia is that she often takes a single point as justification for anything regardless of how much truth actually is into it. By constant danger, she's only referring to monsters, wild animals, and bandit attacks that are oh so common in those books. What she's dismissing is the very real threat of the elements, starvation, bankruptcy, social stigma, and various other dangers that they've constantly encountered throughout their years.

"And I don't see how you can so easily neglect the countless other troubles we've faced on our travels," the early morning irritation was getting the better of him. He feels like he's had this conversation before several times.

"We've got out of bad situations before, don't you have any confidence in us?" Leia's optimism is a virtue, but it has its limits. "So long as we stick together and work together, we can do anything!"

"Can that include staying in one place?" Marcus groans as he struggles to stay awake. They had only kept in Sarissina for a few weeks and they're already packing up and sailing out. All on Leia's behest without any given reason.

"Now what fun would that be?" Krakus chimes in, helping keep Marcus conscious by deepening his headache. Out of all the others in their little group, Krakus was the most supportive of Leia's wanderlust. This was not due to any shared optimism, but simple acceptance of death.

"See? Krauss agrees," Leia chipperly ignores who Krakus is.

"Krakus is an undravil, his people thrive through conflict and disregard of life," Marcus admits that those two are pretty much the same in this context. However, his groggy mind can't think of anything else at the moment.

"Hey, we have to, otherwise we'd go extinct from overpopulation,"

This elicits laughter from Leia, but Marcus found nothing funny from the complete sincerity in the man's voice. Never mind the fact that Undravil maturity rates mean that the 10-year-old Krakus was already an adult. Something was off about her laughter, this time though.

"So where are we going again?" John asked, as though Leia had gone into any further detail on their destination.

"We are going east, the lands of unknown mysteries," Leia's answer is emphasized with a tone of wonder and intrigue as though telling a story.

"Trailblazing, plunder, sightseeing, or...?" Krakus was always up for any of those. Being but a child in the body of an adult warrior, his enthusiasm and inexperience often lead to him committing all three and more if not constantly restrained. How Leia decided he would be a good addition to their party was beyond Marcus.

"Exploration!"

"Isn't that trailblazing?"

"No, trailblazing is setting up paths for people to follow," John chimes in like a scribe, "Exploration is done to properly map out the place before that happens".

 A debate follows among their group about terminology, derailing the conversation much to Marcus's irritation. Although, the conversation allows him to take his mind off the walk to the harbor. Before they knew it. They had already reached their ship. The crew is already Scurrying the deck in preparation for departure. Krakus wasted no time in manning the ropes. The rest of the team headed over to claim their rooms.

 Being one of the only two girls on the ship, Leia's room was separated from the rest. Naturally, Marcus and John were the only other roommates. Krakus' bed was reserved for him with Varrik and Louis. Rosaline and Blake share a private room, while Bereth gets relegated to a closet.

It was a blessing to rest his bag and lay in the hammock. It'll only be a matter of time before he's called up to ship duty. He should catch some rest while he can.

"So now that we're alone, I know what you're planning to ask..." Leia spoke all too soon. The only thing stopping him from shutting her up was that he was too tired. "'where exactly are we headed?' correct?"

Marcus could only grunt in response.

"Well, that's what I wanna talk about right now." Leia's voice is more subdued than usual. In spite of himself, Marcus turns over to face her. With a tired groan, he braces himself for whatever talk they're gonna have. Leia was sat down on a wooden chair, the only one in the room, next to her hammock. Her bag resting neatly next to her.

"'Always look toward the future,'" Leia says, as though quoting a book or something she's heard. "That's what my uncle told me to remember whenever life gets difficult, and I've been doing my best to live by it."

Her usual smile and enthusiasm are gone, replaced by a more somber mood.

"Listen, I know that we've been through a lot of hard times, and I've more or less been leading us by the nose."

Those are words Marcus never expected her to say. With this in mind, he begins to listen more intently to what she's saying.

"To be frank, I have no idea what the future lies in store and I've been trying to just more or less find my place in the world."

Her hands, which were on her lap, now move up to cradle herself. Leia clutches her own arms as though cold.

"I know Krakus finds that exciting, but I can clearly see that it's wearing you down. I didn't bring it up with the rest of the group because I didn't know how they'd react. I..."

Her eyes dart away to avoid contact as if she's ashamed of what she was about to say.

"... We've been... Doing all sorts of odd jobs from fighting to delivery and laundry. I'll admit that I found some jobs more pleasing than others, but I never really found any sort of calling. I keep telling myself that I should keep looking to the future, but I feel like all I've been doing is just dreaming."

Leia's voice begins to crack and she is starting to shake. Marcus immediately sits upright to see if what's happening before him is the real deal.

"I- I feel like I just dragged you away from a comfortable life just to chase some wild dream for me, and that the rest only follow because they see me as a little girl they don't want to get hurt. I- I-"

Her voice is now trembling, a rapid departure from her energy so early in the morning. Marcus wonders if she's been upholding a facade the entire time.

"I really appreciate you, you know?"

Leia pauses after saying this. She takes a moment to compose herself, a minute that feels like it lasts an hour.

"You're the only member of our group that's stayed with me since the beginning. I'm always dragging you off and making you worry whenever I leave you in the dark. If it weren't for you-"

"If it weren't for you," Marcus spoke without thinking, "I'd probably be living a quite boring existence doing mundane and forgettable tasks day in and out while pining for a more exciting life."

On instinct, he stood up and walked over to Leia's side of the cabin. Marcus places his hand affectionately on her head.

"You can't drag me away when I chose to come. If I stayed behind, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you when I could have been there to stop it."

Marcus drops down to his knees pulls her into his embrace. Leia feels a sense of familial comfort in his arms.

"Leia, if you ever think yourself a burden on my life, you should know it's me who has a hard time keeping up with you. I followed you because I also wanted to know if there was something greater out there for me than back home. We're both looking towards the future. I'm sorry I trouble you, I just wish to keep you safe."

Leia returns the hug in kind, resting- her tearful face on his shoulders.

"I am safe, so long an I have you to reign me in. I am so grateful I have you as a traveling partner."

For the first time since they were children, Marcus and Leia held each other in their arms. The ocean waves cradling the ship back and forth as the winds begin to usher the boat out to sea. Wherever the gales guide them and whatever the future may bring, they can be sure that they will have each other.

"You lose, Rose. Rabbit-ears say they're having a tender moment right now, which means no sex later tonight so pay up,"

"That wasn't the bet, Krakus, and I don't trust you after last time."