Another Day at Unity (8) (Patreon)

Even Eleanor wasn't allowed to come on the voyage, a decision that remained firm no matter how loudly Hayden complained. The journey was too dangerous for her sister, not because of anything they would face, but what waited when they finally reached the expected destination.

Her first summer away from the Academy of Unity, and she wasn't allowed to go spend it with her family. At least—technically she wasn't. Maybe when she finished her diplomatic mission she could get Cody's attention, and take a diversion through time to see them again.

But not yet. The trip out would follow a strict pattern, corresponding exactly to the bounds of ancient custom. Only obedience to tradition could protect her.

Shaymin House was not so desperate for funds that they couldn't afford a proper ship. Even so, they selected the smallest vessel in their fleet for this voyage.

"This is for the crew's protection as much as yours," Lady Gracidea had first explained, when they stood together on the dock in her ancestral home of Sunyshore. "Relations with Pokélantis have always been strained. It seems certain you will have inherited their animosity, even without the type advantage. When you travel there, you carry the weight of two families, not one."

No matter how far her power or Unity grew, Hayden didn't argue with Lady Gracidea. Ever since the affair with her family, the two had an understanding that went beyond personal pride. Whatever resentment Hayden still felt for her, the shaymin had been at her side when she faced the other Great Families. Hayden would never forget that.

"And I'm the one suited to negotiate for Shaymin House?" she asked, as defiant as she dared. Anything more would be too direct in her disagreement. "You know me, Lady Gracidea. I'm wild, undignified, and untrained. One year at Unity hasn't changed that."

The lady grinned at her pronouncement. "This is true. But even more importantly, you are not Shaymin. For once, I've ordered none of the garments or colors of our house to be included in your belongings. You will not take this form unless your hosts request it. Don't remind them of their disadvantage, and you may secure the treaty we have failed to capture for a generation."

None of Hayden's belongings might include the clothes of a lady of Shaymin House—but she was a shaymin then, wearing white and green. Liz nestled into her arms as a little green fluff. Many who had known Hayden since her youth showed no sign of recognizing her. Fine with her—she had no desire to be Sunyshore's miracle child today.

"Why are we meeting in the middle of the ocean?" she asked. "Middle of nowhere. Pokélantis isn't west."

"You will never set foot in Pokélantis. The sea temple travels along the currents in a regular pattern, from Pokélantis to the edges of the world and back again. This location is... significant." She lowered both arms, hands tightening into fists, then back again. "We have met them there before. Unproductively. I would like you to do better."

"I'm good with making friends. Probably bad at making good treaties." She took a single nervous step towards the ship, where its crew of a dozen watched with nervous anticipation. They would make more from this voyage than a whole year's labors—assuming they returned at all. "Are you sure I can't bring Eleanor? She knows the score with your house better than I do."

"Eleanor," the lady repeated, voice becoming sharp, unreadable. She turned her back on Hayden there on the pier, folding both arms. "I know how much you value her help. But my daughter would be in far more danger than you. A fa-lady is afforded only so many protections. They could even kill her, if they paid the appropriate blood price. If you care about her as you claim to, you would not wish to put her in harm's way."

Those words hit her harder than any physical blow ever could. Even after years with the Great Families, there was still so much she didn't know. Every exchange had its own hidden depths, ancient treaties and laws sworn between their nations.

"I'll make do with her notes."

The lady sighed, her face turning distant and sad. "She will be angry when you get back. She knows you could have smuggled her aboard, if you wanted to. That you did not means you agreed with me, and that will sting. But while she lives, there is always time to forgive."

The lady strode off down the pier, leaving Hayden with only the sailors for company. She spun, hopping across the gangplank and onto the deck. "Which of you..." She saw the man with the fanciest jacket, and the most powerful-looking daemon. A gardevoir, which marked him as a likely distant member of some noble house or another.

"Are you the captain?"

He was the only one who didn't bow, extending a hand towards her instead. "Captain Blackwood, Lady Hayden. An honor and a privilege to have you aboard. Your belongings are already waiting in your cabin. It is... humble, compared to the greater ships you have sailed in the past. We typically deliver messages, not people."

She followed him. "I won't be a difficult passenger, captain. It's our destination I'm afraid of."

"Me too," he said, tightening his coat. "Mine would not be the first of your great house to find their end beneath the waves."

"That's why we're going," she said. "Time for the killing to stop."

They passed through a narrow opening, then down a hallway to the room at the end. Someone had hastily painted over a sign obviously proclaiming the space as belonging to the captain, replacing it with her own name.

"Arceus grant that you're able to achieve that noble goal," Blackwood said. "Long have all who venture into the ocean had cause to fear—in our house more than others."

The room had been recently cleaned, with many empty shelves that had obviously held the captain's collection of books and whatever else. They'd replaced the curtains and filled the closet with her clothes—all pinks and purples and deep blues, not green and white.

"My crew would be grateful if you remained below until we're out to sea," he said. "I mean no disrespect. But our ship has only sails, and many a sailor has lost fingers to the lines, or worse."

She nodded. "Anything you need, captain." She lowered her voice, forcing a smile. "No matter how I look now, I assure you that my parents worked for their living. I won't cause any more trouble to your crew... than the mission itself. Ask whatever you need from me, and I'll try to help. With whatever power I have."

He bowed. "Aye. I've heard. Child of this very city. Might even be I saw you on the shore during my many stops in port."

She shrugged. "Probably. I saw a lot of sailors."

And she would never remember any of them well, because their numberless offspring were her sworn enemies. So long as this captain wasn't related to Corrin she could look the other way.

"I'll have dinner brought this evening," he continued. "You've taken possession of my private dining room for the voyage. But if you would entertain having me as your guest, I'll furnish the meal. I'll... do that regardless."

"Of course. I guess I'll be here until we're underway." She made her way over to the desk, scanning its surface. There was little here, just a folded piece of old newsprint, and a few schoolbooks she'd never opened.

The captain saw himself out, and the door clicked behind him. Liz landed on the desk in front of her, sniffing at the sheet of paper. "Do you smell that?"

She didn't, but she could sense what Liz did well enough. Something familiar, yet hard to remember. Had one of the servants who unloaded her stuff left this here? Maybe Eleanor was hiding somewhere on the ship?

Footsteps echoed off the ceiling overhead, as crew rushed about performing their various duties. Someone shouted, and the Spiral began to rock slightly as they came untied from their moorings.

Hayden wasn't terribly excited about the idea of seasickness just then, so she ignored the chair completely, floating above the seat and taking the single page in hand.

She unfurled it, holding it right in front of her. Sure enough, it was a piece of old newsprint, faded and yellowed. It didn't show the whole sheet, just one article—the headline.

"Beloved Heir of Shaymin House Lost at Sea!"

Hayden ran her fingers over the page, rough paper rubbing against skin. If this was a fake, whoever created it obviously knew what they were doing. This was a perfect forgery, right down to the name of the ship.

"The SS Spiral sunk approximately 200 miles west of the Sinnoh coast late Thursday after capsizing in rough weather. Initial observers waited eagerly for signs of Lady Hayden's return, given the power of her daemon. But after two weeks of extensive search, the vessel was determined lost with all hands.

No sign of the vessel has been found. Representatives of Manaphy House have refused all requests to permit search and recovery vessels into the disputed water, warning that similar accidents cannot be..."

She read over the rest in a rush, though details were scarce. No sign of a storm was visible to any of the other ships in the area, nor had any message been released beyond the first distress call.

Something clattered and jostled, landing with a loud thump on the deck. She turned, and saw a cabinet door now broken. Someone crawled out in front of her, squeezing to fit through the opening.

The boy had bright green hair like sections of living plant all melding together. A pair of wilted-looking antennae emerged from within, both pointing in her direction.

"Sierra!" Liz zipped away from Hayden, meeting the other daemon in midair. This version of the celebi was younger than the kitten, with a body as soft and delicate as a young sapling. But they both knew it, and treated her accordingly. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life," Cody answered. He shook himself out, straightening the strange outfit he wore. This Cody couldn't fly, though he stood on tiptoe beside Hayden anyway—like a kid who wanted to be picked up.

She obliged him, extending the bubble of reduced gravity until it included the celebi. "How long have you been hiding in there?"

He relaxed as soon as he was up in the air, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold himself there. "Trick question. Normally I would jump forward to the most interesting moment. But if the ship started moving..."

Sierra landed in her lap. Not Cody's—that space was reserved for her own daemon. The Celebi nested up against her hand, waving away the scrap of newsprint. Hayden kept it in the bubble, where it drifted slowly between them. "If we picked the wrong time, the ship might not be here. We'd fall... I don't like salt water. Don't wanna swim."

Hayden nodded. "I can't help but notice you climbed onto a ship that you knew was gonna sink. And... kill everyone aboard, apparently."

"Yeah. Found that a few weeks ago. Had to make sure it was real, then... track down when to be here." He released her leg, snatching the clipping out of the air between them. "It's real. Looks like Manaphy House kills you. Or... hold you under the ocean forever and never let you go. But Julian's dad would probably have rescued you if they tried that."

Hayden's fingers went cold. She released her gentle grip on the celebi, looking down. "So you're saying—I'm dead. Or I will be, in a few days. However long it takes to sail a few hundred miles."