Jack launched himself out of the crow's nest and onto the top yard, ducking just in time as two iron balls connected by a few links of chain spun over his head. The battle was in full swing and after crippling, sinking, and defeating four Noyran sloops, a frigate, and one Swordenish brig, Julia's Revenge was catching the eye of the enemy. Captain Hook was in his element and his ship and crew became an extension of his will. They could read his next actions and amid the cracks, booms, and shouts of battle, orders were completed without pause. With Jack's sharp eye and battlefield awareness, Julia's Revenge could assist allies and secure engagements with minimal damage taken.
A Swordenish frigate, one of its last ones, was trading blows with Julia's Revenge and was proving to be a good challenge. Jack watched as clouds of smoke puffed out of the ship's portside moments before Julia's Revenge took several hits into her hull. Splinters of wood burst out of her side and splashed into the water, the ship's armour slowly chipping away from constant battle.
With an even match, victory depended upon the skill of the crew and the captain's experience. Jack trusted Captain Hook to overcome this foe but he wondered if Julia's Revenge would be fit enough to continue fighting. Her port side, the one facing the current foe, was heavily battered but holding strong, courtesy of the crew working furiously to patch up any new leaks. That wouldn't last forever, Jack knew, but gazing from his elevated position, he could see that the other ship wasn't faring well either. Both captains were stubborn and neither wanted to relent or surrender.
Another chain shot flew by, the sudden flash and woosh of its passing nearly making Jack fall off. There isn't anything for me to do up here, he thought as he regained his footing. I wonder if Cap needs me somewhere else. With unmatched skill, Jack climbed down the main mast and was on the deck within moments. He hurried to Captain Hook, who stood on the quarterdeck with a spyglass to his eye while the helmsman steered the ship.
"Cap," he called as he approached. "Is there any way I can help? It's too loud to guide you from the crow's nest and the enemy is all around us; you don't need my eyes to tell you that."
Captain Hook lowered his spyglass and gave Jack a nod, his expression one of concentration and deep thought. "Good to have you with me, Jack. Things aren't the best right now, but they could be worse. We have a determined foe here but I'm confident we can stop him." He peered into his spyglass again and gazed beyond the enemy frigate. "The ships of the line are faring well, though not without some loss."
"Are we winning?"
"It looks that way. The admiral, as much as it pains me to say, knows what he's doing." Hook then lowered his spyglass and offered it to Jack. "Look yonder. See the enemy between our men o' war? Most are missing sails and some have already surrendered. Three are in flames. Notice how our own are scarcely damaged?"
"Brace for impact!"
Hook and Jack, accustomed to the call, dropped to the deck and flattened themselves as much as they could. A second later, the ship shuddered as pieces of Julia's Revenge exploded all around them, some of the wooden chunks tumbling onto Jack and Hook, scratching and scraping. Jack thanked his leather armour for taking the worst of it, but winced as he stood up, his right leg sporting a new cut. He quickly glanced at the ship's deck and noted that some crewmen had been injured in the attack and one had died, his head cleanly severed from a cannonball.
"Return volley!" Hook shouted loudly, making Jack jump in surprise.
Like a raging thunderstorm, Julia's Revenge fired her shots in vicious retaliation, the entire ship vibrating from the power of the volley. It scored some direct hits and sent several enemy sailors overboard. There was an initial cheer but it grew even louder as everyone witnessed one of the enemy's masts cracking at the base and falling over like a freshly sawn tree. It splashed into the water with a crash and dragged several sailors along with it.
Hook peered into his spyglass and smiled widely. "White flag is waving, lads!" he yelled as loudly as he could. "We win another one!"
Jack couldn't hear his own shouting voice amidst the ever-increasing cheer, his lungs burning and his face buzzing.
****
Selvina snuck behind a shop and, as stealthily as she could, pulled a dirty robe off a clothesline. It was dry enough to wear and she quickly slipped it over her blouse and skirt, not wishing to draw any attention to herself. Amalthea's attire was unremarkable enough and Tinkerbelle needed no disguise.
"Ugh, this thing stinks," Selvina said as she walked into the nearest alley and headed toward the street. The three stopped moving as they reached it and gazed about, watching men, women, and children of human, elven, and dwarven races go about their business. Everyone seemed too busy to care about a few figures skulking in an alley.
"Seems safe enough," Tinkerbelle said. "Let's go."
"Wait," said Selvina. "I have no idea where to go from here and we don't have any time to chance it."
"I can fly up and spot us a route."
"Yeah, sure, that works but that doesn't help us once we're out of it. It'll take us a while to get to the army camp. We need faster transportation."
Tinkerbelle turned around and eyed Amalthea, the white-haired woman quiet and observant as always. "You can turn into a unicorn right?"
"I am a unicorn," replied Amalthea.
"Don't be silly, Tinkerbelle," warned Selvina. "How do we hide the horn? Riding a unicorn through a capital city is the exact opposite of trying not to draw attention! I was thinking more along the lines of..."
But then, as if sent by the gods, an answer revealed itself.
****
The naval battle seemed to be swinging in Avalon's favour. Many of the enemy's smaller ships were purposely avoiding Julia's Revenge and its larger ones, more than a match for Hook's frigate, were battered and bruised and in no condition to pursue.
Jack watched as the admiral's flagship sailed next to a Noyran second rate, a massive hulk of tall, wide sails and multiple decks of cannon. The flagship opened fire when it was in position, its highest deck firing first, starting the sequence from the stern to bow, one cannon firing after another. Its second deck of cannons fired next, the shots firing from bow to stern. The third deck fired immediately after, from stern to bow. The sequence of shots was an amazing display and for a crew to manage that in the thick of battle was incredibly impressive to Jack. The Noyran ship, on the other hand, fired its shots in no order, its crew clearly in a panicked, chaotic state.
It was no surprise to anyone that after the admiral's volley, it hung up its white flag of surrender. Another foe defeated. Another enemy captain humbled.
The warm, pleasant feeling of hope pulsed in Jack's chest. They were winning wonderfully. Few Avalonian ships had been sunk or irreparably damaged and though many had suffered some form of destruction, most of them were capable of fighting on if need be.
"Damage report!" Captain Hook called out, walking to the main deck, spyglass in hand.
"Cargo hold is flooded," answered one of the crewmen. "Patching up the holes as we speak."
"How's our armament?"
"We lost three cannons on the port side and two on the starboard. A few more are banged up but still fire well enough. We've still got plenty of cannonballs and our powder stock is at about half capacity."
"No damage to the powder room?"
"None."
"Excellent."
"How are our men?"
"Six dead, eleven badly injured, but all of them, even the dead ones, still willing to fight for you, captain."
Captain Hook gave the man a pat on the shoulder and thanked him for his prompt response. "Well done, lad." Turning to the men around him, Hook raised his arms to gain attention and called out, "If we make it all through this there'll be extra rations of rum for all of you!"
A great cheer went up and Jack forced a smile. His mind was focused elsewhere at the moment, muffling the sound of the cheering crew. It was time to celebrate another victory but his heart wasn't into it. It was focused on something else. On someone else...
As much as he loved sailing with Hook, he knew that he would choose Selvina in the end. Moments like this were all the more painful to him as they would eventually stop happening. Hook would sail fine without him, but the sea would always call out to him. It was in his blood, just not to the same amount as how much Selvina was in his heart, mind, and soul. She was worth giving this all up for. She was worth it all.
Nevertheless, Jack would miss it deeply.
On his way to the lower decks to offer some help, Jack stopped moving when he heard a loud, terrible, bone-chilling roar. It wasn't the roar of cannon fire or exploding gunpowder. This was something else. This was something...different.
Jack turned his gaze toward the sound and immediately froze.
This was a dragon.
****
Selvina detailed her plan to Amalthea and Tinkerbelle and waited for their input. Tinkerbelle was in full support while Amalthea was more cautious and a little hesitant.
"I don't like the idea of stealing, Selvina," she said. "However, I understand that under the circumstances, we may have to endure otherwise unlikeable acts."
"So you think it will work?" Selvina asked hopefully.
"It should fit, yes."
"All right, we don't have time to waste. Tink, you're up."
"With pleasure!" the fairy exclaimed before speeding across the street to a certain hat shop across the way. She then immediately went about harassing the shopkeeper, poking the poor man in the neck and cheeks until he was forced to pursue his assailant. Tinkerbelle dodged his swiping hands and managed to lead him away from his shop.
Selvina's turn was up.
She walked across the street as quickly as she could, doing her best to not attract attention and leaving all that to Tinkerbelle. A crowd was already forming, watching the shopkeeper try his hardest to rid himself of the buzzing pest. Selvina eyed the shop and smiled. Her eyes were on a rather peculiar conical hat that came equipped with a leather chin strap. It would look comical on a unicorn's head but it should hide the horn. The display would attract attention but a horse with a silly hat was easier to dismiss than an actual unicorn.
Selvina walked up the shop, swiped the hat, swiftly stuffed it under her robes, and hurried across the street to the alley and Amalthea. She glanced back and saw Tinkerbelle soar high into the air as men with fishing nets arrived. Selvina waved her hand at her and the fairy made a loop in the air, acknowledging that she had seen her.
"All right, Amalthea," Selvina said to the white-haired woman. "It's your turn."
Amalthea nodded and moved to the far end of the alley where she then closed her eyes as her entire body began to glow. The light was so bright Selvina feared being spotted and tried to block it as much as she could with her body. She looked away from the blinding display and when it finally dimmed, in place of a woman was a beautiful unicorn with a mane like a waterfall of hair and a glimmering horn of ivory. The sight brought Selvina back to her first day and first minutes in Faeryum. This was the same unicorn she had seen tied and bound with thick rope. This was the same unicorn she had freed with the enchanted knife. Because of this unicorn, she was here. It was all because of her.
The hat, the unicorn's voice spoke from within Selvina's head, shattering her thoughts. Hurry.
Selvina blinked away her scattered thoughts and quickly slipped the hat over the unicorn horn, smiling at its perfect fit, and then tied the chin strap under Amalthea's jaw. It did indeed look ridiculous but the horn was, after all, hidden perfectly.
Get on my back, Selvina, said Amalthea. Rhiannon can return any moment.
Selvina nodded and, with some difficulty, clambered up into Amalthea's equine back and grabbed a handful of mane, marvelling at its silky smoothness. Without a word spoken, the unicorn cantered out of the alley and onto the street. Up above, Tinkerbelle flew off, guiding them out of the city. Selvina kept her eyes forward, trying hard not to take note of all the curious stares shot her way.
Word would spread, Selvina knew, and she would have to do something to quell any chance of questions being asked to higher authorities. These Noyran folk seemed to be a suspicious lot, she noticed, and struggled to find a way to assure them that she was nothing to worry about. Then, for a reason she didn't quite understand, she wondered what Jack would do. What action would he take if people eyed him strangely?
Embrace it, he would say.
Selvina smiled, surprised at how quickly the answer came to her. She evidently knew Jack better than she thought. Taking a deep breath to gather herself, Selvina then she spread her arms, smiled wide, and glanced about at everyone. "It's Horsie's birthday! She turned six today! Say Happy Birthday to Horsie!"
The Corbeau citizens exchanged glances and furrowed their brows in suspicion and curiousness but some turned around, having seen enough. Selvina kept the act going, ensuring a smile was always on her face and bobbing her head to music only she could hear. In time, most onlookers would gaze at her briefly, assume she was daft or simple-minded, and return to their business.
It's working! Selvina thought excitedly.
Progress was slow but steady as the daytime city streets were packed with people. Upon seeing an apparent simpleton, the people of Corbeau acted with a fraction more effort to get out of Selvina's way; no one wanted to be the one to upset a poor, daft girl on her horse's birthday. Tinkerbelle was hovering several dozen feet over the street like a guiding star, ensuring no wrong turns were taken.
All seemed to working perfectly and it gave Selvina a great boost of confidence.
I can do this, she thought with conviction. I can really do this!
But then, as it often did, fate turned her ugly head.
"That's the girl!" Selvina heard a woman cry out. "The one on the white horse! She's the one who attacked me! I want her caught and hanged now!"
Selvina turned around to see Queen Svala on her reindeer chariot pointing furiously at her, the young sovereign's bruised face red with rage. Flanking her were half a dozen mounted Swordenish guards who did not look pleased to set their eyes on their queen's assailant. They brandished swords and axes and kicked their mounts forward, the warhorses obediently charging ahead.
I believe now is the time for me to run, Amalthea's voice said.
Selvina nodded, pale-faced.
And so the unicorn ran.