"Yes." Morana replied after a moment of hesitation.
Luna sighed, "As stubborn as always," she flicked her hair long black hair back, "Are you going with them?"
"No." Morana replied without hesitation.
"I knew it." Luna Estrada smirked, "You'd never go back to that place."
"You know me too well." Morana rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest, "Well?"
"Be careful then." the pirate warned.
"Can you take us? On the Horizon?" Pearl asked, her eyes shimmering as hope filled them.
Luna Estrada let out a hearty laugh, signalling for Allen Jenkins, Estella Summers, and Evelyn Maddison Ariano, "Let's go."
"What, we just leave the Mastrida Organia here?" Scott asked, eyes wide, "That's the best boat in all the 5 sections, the fastest too!"
Luna Estrada smirked, "Fast? We'll see about that."
In a few moments of time, the Horizon was cutting through the waves at a speed that made Cathedral and Scott trip every time they moved.
Morana and Pearl, who had expierience on the ship, weren't affected.
And Adrienne, who was a literal mermaid and had no trouble balancing on a ship, was running around the dock, marvelling at the speed.
Within an hour, they were at the foot of Snowfall Mountain.
"I guess we get off and walk now?" Cathedral asked, looking as though she were on the verge of vommiting.
Luna Estrada put a finger to her lips, whispering, she explained, "This is where Horace Vaugn hangs out with his crew."
Cathedral nodded, whispering back, "But there's no way to get through-"
"Hush." Morana said sharply.
One moment the ship was at its full height, all it's sails hoisted, the next, the sails had all been lowered as the ship passed into a narrow tunnel in the middle of the mountain.
Cathedral frowned as she heart voices on the wind.
Luna Estrada let out a soft curse.
They'd sailed straight into Horce Vaugn's camp.
"Luna!" a soft velvety voice called from the shadows, making Cathedral, Scott, and Adrienne flinch.
Luna Estrada groaned as a stunningly beautiful girl wearing a very fashionable dress stepped out of the shadows, a blonde haired boy with startling blue eyes following.
"Horace Vaugn," Luna sighed, glaring at the boy, "Not looking much like a pirate anymore."
"Luna Estrada," Horace Vaugn, who was wearing a suit smiled, "As charming as always."
Allen Jenkins gagged, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Estella Summers cringed, her hands flying to her pistol.
Morana Karenina remained expressionless as she spun her daggers in her hand.
Pearl fingered her rosewood wand, glaring down at the blonde haired boy.
"Relax!" Horace Vaugn laughed, "I won't kill you or anything!"
"About that," Luna muttered, rolling her eyes, "You made me walk the plank last time we met."
Horace Vaugn gasped, pointing a finger at Morana whom he had just noticed, "Look! The traitor is back!"
Daphne covered her mouth with her hands, showing off her brightly painted nails, her eyes widening, "Y-You wanted to destroy Lorrel!"
"As though you didn't!" Luna Estrada hissed, aiming a pistol down at him.
"We'll let you pass," Horace Vaugn decided, "You'll be given passage to and from this mountain this one time."
"But this will be the last time we meet without a fight."
Luna Estrada let out a sigh, directing her ship forward.
"Why do you want to fight him so much anyways?" Cathedral asked, her cyan blue tridant shimmering in her hand.
Pearl curled her lip, "He tried to kill me when I was eight."
Cathedral's eyes widened, "But how old was he? Ten?"
"Time doesn't work that way here," Morana paused, "For all I know, he could be thousands of years old."
Cathedral's jaws dropped, "How old are you?"
Morana seemed to be caught by surprise.
Luna Estrada, however, laughed, "Don't worry, she's only twenty something."
"And what about you?"
"Same age as her," Luna jerked a finger at Morana, then laughed again, "You're seriously getting hyped up by this, aren't you?"
Cathedral nodded, her eyes still wide.
"Every person in the crew is older than ten, younger than thirty," Luna glanced at her, "There, you got it?"
Cathedral bit her lip, forcing herself to nod even though she was truly intrigued by the way time worked in this in between place, and she was even more intrigued by math.
"So, do I age if I stay here?" Scott asked suddenly.
Luna Estrada thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion, "It depends."
"On what?" Adrienne asked in her musical high pitched voice.
"Many things," Luna replied, "Almost all citizens of Lorrel have souls created by the Gods, the ones who aren't, yet don't age, are people of the Ocean or some other power."
"So, in theory, Adrienne wouldn't age as long as she stayed in Lorrel?" Scott asked.
"She shouldn't age even if she does leave Lorrel," Morana corrected, glancing at Adrienne, who was staring at the floor.
"I'm chronologically not 15," Adrienne whispered, "But I'm definitly not older than 25."
"Adrienne, that is a ten year age difference!" Cathedral yelped, then smirked, "I'm actually just stuck at 13, so..."
Scott stared, "Are my the only one who ages?" he asked, hurt.
Everyone on the ship laughed, making Scott look a little uncomfortable.
"It's okay," Cathedral grinned, "You're not gonna die, you know? I'll make sure of that."
A fragile smile touched Scott's lips.
"We've arrived," Estella Summers announced, her hands on her hips, a pair of binoculars in her hands.
"This is where we part ways then," Cathedral said with a sigh.
Morana nodded, "The portal is about a kilometer away from this place, just keep going forward and you'll see it."
Cathedral nodded, then let out a sigh, "To think that we've been through so much together and are now parting ways."
Allen Jenkins raised an eyebrow at her, "Morana has left Lorrel for like, ten years, not that long of a time, you know?"
"Allen!" Morana rolled, her eyes, her tone a little sharper than she had meant, "Ten years is long!"
"You've been in the Grimlands since I was 12?" Scott asked, gaping at her.
"Ugh, stop wasting time! We gotta go!" Cathedral wined, pouting.
Scott rolled his eyes, following Cathedral off of the ship.
"We'll meet you at Lorentia in 13 days," Luna Estrada decided, tossing a pocket watch at Cathedral, who caught it one handed, "There, we will wait one day, if you still don't arrive, then we'll assume you're dead, understood?"
Scott and Cathedral nodded gravely, "Understood."
"Good," Luna Estrada turned the wheel, swinging the Horizon around.
"Here's a sack with everything we can spare," Estella said, tossing a sack to Scott, who almost crumpled under the weight, "There isn't much, but we have limited resources, this will have to do, so I'm very sorry about you two not being able to live as royals, but-"
Morana cut her off with a glare, "Stella, you said too much."
"We wish you luck," Pearl called back to them, "And please, be careful!" she added.
Cathedral and Scott exchanged a nervous glance, they were truly alone.
Nobody would be there to help them if they got into trouble, nobody would even know.
It was all up to them now, and they were determind to succeed.