The Hero Became a Mousegirl
Chapter 36 - Setting Sail
We spent another day in Bobbie’s cabin while she prepared the boat for a trip to Orvost. According to her estimates we’d be on the water for about a week, but she wanted enough preserved food to last for two. Apparently it brought bad luck if you made plans for an easy trip.
With Aivi serving as Bobbie’s assistant, Rina and I were left with little to do. We were complete novices when it came to preparing a ship for travel, and Bobbie said we’d just get in the way if we tried to help. She could train Aivi to do what was needed, but she didn’t have the ability to mind the activities of three novice recruits at the same time.
“Alright, we’ve prepared all we can,” Bobbie smiled, patting Aivi on the shoulder. “Now make sure you fill your bellies and get a good night’s rest. We sail at sunrise.”
Dinner that night was a melody of fresh vegetables and meat. Given the fact that we had no money of our own, I couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty, knowing we were putting a drain on Bobbie’s wallet. She quickly dismissed my concerns, however, stating that without a family to provide for she had more coin than she knew what to do with.
After eating I went straight to bed, and was greeted once again by dreams of Myra. Seeing her, talking with her, it filled me full of a melancholy happiness. These memories disguised as dreams were precious pieces of the life I wished to reclaim. At the same time, they reminded me just how much I’d lost.
If I gave up on Kaia, if I abandoned our plans to go to Orvost, if I had Rina and Aivi take me home, would Myra be happy? Sure she’d probably be pleased to see me again, but long term would she be happy? Knowing that so many of the moments we spent together were now lost to me?
With what little I could now remember of her personality, I was certain she’d be fine with it. Myra didn’t seem like the sort of person who’d reject me over something outside of my control. Still, I wanted to remember, for myself. I wanted to remember how to fight, so that I could protect what was dear to me. I wanted to remember each and every precious memory I had with Myra… and with my other girlfriend too, though she’d not yet appeared in my dreams.
“Good morning girls,” Bobbie called, as the smell of grilled meats filled the cabin. “Get up, get dressed, and eat. Then we’ve gotta go. The sun’s already risin’.”
Rolling sleepily out of my makeshift bed on the floor of Bobbie’s cabin I collected my things and then made my way to the dining table. Breakfast was bread and bacon, which was enjoyable though a bit greasy.
“Aivi… what on earth,” Rina gazed flabbergasted at Aivi, causing me to do the same. For the first time I noticed that while we’d slept, Aivi had cut her own hair. Her new hairstyle was a bit boyish, short enough that it failed to completely cover her ears.
“There’s nobody selling dye in the village, and I don’t want Rina to waste her magic using illusions to change my color. At least like this anyone trailing after us will have to get close before they recognize me.”
“They’ll still recognize us though,” Rina sighed. “A human woman traveling with a catkin child and a mousekin teenager is still rare enough that we’ll get caught on composition alone.”
“Will they even follow us to Orvost?” I asked, feeling a bit confused. While the Kingdom might discriminate against mages, nobody had ever said the Empire did the same. In my mind I’d believed we would be safe the moment we set sail.
“Who knows,” Aivi shrugged. “I’m doing the best I can. We can get the two of you cloaks once we arrive.”
“Well no use worrin’ about it now,” Bobbie chuckled. “Besides short hair is a godsend for sailors. No need to worry about keeping it tied up, and you don’t have to worry about it blowing into your eyes when the wind changes. I think your new style is cute Aivi dear.”
“Agreed, it is cute!” I added.
Together the four of us set off for Bobbie’s ship, with Rina and I lagging behind Bobbie and Aivi. “So, have you spoken to Eyrina about making me an adult again?” Rina asked, clenching her tiny hand into the fabric of my shirt.
“Eh? Shouldn’t I wait to ask until I have my memories back? Being small was a punishment for what you did, making you an adult now would nullify it.”
“I’ve said I’m sorry a whole bunch! Seriously… Caelan, I’m begging you.”
“I mean, being a cute little girl could have its advantages. What if the only way to see Kaia is to pretend to be children or something?”
“Then I’ll make an illusion of myself as a child! Seriously Caelan, please!”
“Fine, I’ll ask her, but I can’t do anything if she says no.”
“She’s your contracted spirit, you could force her hand if you wanted,” Rina pouted.
“Yeah, no.”
“Caelan…”
“Rina, I’ll ask her, that’s all I’m promising. I won’t force her hand, especially not since I’m pretty sure she’s angry at you too. At the very least… I’ll make sure you can grow up like a normal kid. So you’re not trapped like that for eternity.”
“I guess that’s all I can honestly ask of you,” Rina sighed. “Sorry Caelan.”
“She will grow up normally,” Eyrina’s voice echoed in my head. “As for making her an adult again, even if I was okay with it, we cannot. I still do not have a proper grasp of this power, granting it to you once was difficult enough. Doing so again would be too much for me in my current condition.”
“Something we could consider in the future then?”
“Only after your memories have been restored. If they have not, the next time I grant you wish magic, I expect you to use it to heal your mind. Cesarina’s condition is a non-issue compared to yours.”
Nodding, I relayed Eyrina’s words to Rina whose ears went flat against the top of her head as she listened. Rubbing at her eyes, Rina shook her head as if to free herself of the thoughts that plagued her, and then gazed at me with a forced smile. “Then we need to get you to Kaia as quickly as possible, for both our sakes.”
“You know… you’re still a powerful spellcaster and your mind wasn’t infantilized, so, why is growing up so important? You haven’t really lost anything other than your vampire abilities, and you’d still not have those as an adult catkin either.”
“Caelan,” Rina frowned. “I’d still like to fall in love someday.”
“You’re… how old now, four? All you need is another fifteen years or so and you’ll be old enough for others to woo. It could take that long for you to find someone you like.”
“I already have someone I like.”
“Oh? I guess I wouldn’t know them now… but before I lost my memories, were they someone I knew?”
“Yeah. You knew her.”
“Does she know?”
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“I dunno. I hurt her, she’ll probably hate me for the rest of her life.”
“Seems like you have a knack for hurting the people you care about.”
“All for the greater good,” Rina clenched her hands into fists. “Or at least, that’s what I believed until we were attacked at the manor. My people are dead because of me, and now… I just don’t know what I should’ve done. All I know is that I made a mistake, and I would do anything to go back in time and stop myself.”
“We can’t change the past, but we can make the future better than today.”
“Spoken like a true hero.”
“Here we are,” Bobbie called out as we stopped on the beach. Not far from us, anchored out in the water was a small sailing ship gently rocking back and forth with the wind.
“Do we have to swim out to it?” I asked, looking around for a rowboat to get us to the ship, and seeing nothing.
“I’ll take you out to it one by one,” Bobbie replied. Taking Aivi’s hand Bobbie walked out onto the water’s surface.
“She’s granting the water walk spell to Aivi through physical contact,” Rina commented, watching them. “Bobbie must have a pretty decent mastery of water magic. Walking on calm water is one thing, but sea water is another. And then to share that ability, I’m impressed. It’s amazing a mage like her could remain here in Turtle Cove undiscovered.”
“You could do it too right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then take my hand. Let’s go!”
“Eh?!”
“Bobbie has already seen our mana, there’s no need to hide your abilities from her.”
“My legs are too short and stubby to walk on sea water. Magic or not I’ll just end up soaked from head to toe.”
“Then I’ll carry you on my back and you can use your magic on me.”
“Ah,” Rina’s face reddened. “Fine. Pick me up please.”
“Wrap you arms around my neck,” I knelt down in front of Rina. Once she was properly holding on, I grabbed her legs and stood. “Here we go.”
I took a tentative step onto the water to make sure her magic was flowing through me, before taking off in a light jog toward the ship. “Say, Rina, I have a question.”
“Sure.”
“The girl you’re in love with, is it me?”
“Wha?!” Rina squealed and the two of us sank into the water. Twisting underwater I wrapped my arms around her and kicked my legs until our heads were above the water’s surface.
“You know if you couldn’t do it, we could’ve waited. I don’t expect you to be a master at everything.”
“Shut up!” Rina’s face turned red as a tomato. “You’re the one who broke my concentration saying something silly!”
“I didn’t think it was silly. You seem to care a lot about me, you were in love with a girl, and Aivi said I had a second girlfriend but I haven’t heard anything about her.”
“She wasn’t me!” Rina cried. “Now just… shut up! I need a second to concentrate.”
Closing her eyes Rina hummed to herself. After a few seconds I felt myself being pulled up out of the water, as if some creature had swam beneath me and was now pushing up on my legs. Standing once again on the water’s surface I looked down at Rina who was now laying in my arms like a princess, “Good job.”
“Shut up and get us to the boat, no talking until then.”
I walked the rest of the way to the ship, where a rope ladder was waiting for us to climb on deck.
“You could’ve waited for me,” Bobbie laughed as the two of us sat on the ship, Rina’s magic slowly drying our clothes.
“Rina said she could do it.”
“I can do it! You’re the one who started saying silly stuff while I was trying to concentrate!”
“What did Caelan say?” Aivi asked, causing Rina to turn her head.
“It’s not something worth repeating.”
“Caelan?”
“If Rina doesn’t want me to say it again I won’t.”
“Well, while the kids dry themselves off, why don’t you and I get this thing moving Aivi dear?”
“Sure thing.”