The Runaway Princess

Chapter 7

*Storm POV*

After I ranted to Thala about making sure she did her duty I left the office to see everyone running around.

The Ring was a metaphorical circle in the ocean that somehow contains all sorts of creatures. It was known for Giums, giant octopus-like creatures. Their names came from the Cisian word meaning giant. There was one main one supposedly, and she gave birth to her babies that were the size of our ship. They never reached adulthood though, the mother killed them before they got too big, but until then, they do whatever they want.

Unfortunately you can't go around the Ring, the currents snatch anything nearby, the best way is to go through the Ring, but you had to stay on the outside edge to survive. We were just about to enter, known by the slight greenish tint that came from the toxins that the Giums gave off to keep sirens away.

This means we had to manually defend our ship and we couldn't let Thala into the water. We each had a mission when going into the Ring. Odette uses a lance to keep any tentacles from the side, Baylen steers the ship, Thala uses daggers on anything that gets on board, Hortensia is our eyes from the crow's nest, Embeth and Adair use the cannons from below deck, and I use my sword and direct.

Amare was the special one in these trips. She went into the office and used one of the bricks we have stored in there for her and used her magic to make a mark that explodes. These preparations are for the worst case scenario, however, we've gone this way about seven times, and only ever had to fight a Gium two times, so we are most likely safe.

Of course this time would be an exception, the time we have strangers on deck that don't know what they are doing. I heard Hortensia's panicked call from the crow's nest and looked out into the water when I spotted it.

Luckily this one was relatively small. Though it was distorted through the water, I spotted the three eerie yellow eyes set in the deep blue and green shape. No one had ever been able to come forward with a carcass of them, as they fell apart once they were dead, so their anatomy is unknown. We did know that they have fifteen tentacles and in the end there was a deadly barb that is perfect for killing. The barbs grow as they do, so this one will be about the size of my arm.

We got into positions as the Gium went on the right side of the ship.

"Five coming, two on cannon!" Cried out Hortensia. We had developed a lingo for instances like this, she was meaning that five tentacles were coming up the side of the ship and that two of them would pass the cannon spaces for Embeth and Adair to fire on.

I heard the boom of the canons right as the first tentacle reaches the top of the fence separating us. I rushed forward, drawing my sword. I've had this one since I was thirteen, it's name is Thunder, to fit with my name.

I threw my weight forward and used Thunder as an extension of myself and chopped the tip of the tenacillas. It doesn't do much damage, but caused the tenackles to recoil for a few moments as it stretched even longer, but Odette got there right as it tried to smash down and speared it. A gurgle of bubbles could be seen next to the ship as the Gium cried out in frustration.

Working together like a well made machine, Thala, Odette, and I kept most of the tentacles off while the twins used the cannons. All this time Cypren was running around, clearly panicking. I found myself searching for Ester, hoping that she was ok, when she walked out of the office with Amare.

Amare was holding her small brick and gave me a small smile as we all backed up and she dropped the brick over the side. There was never any noise when it went off as it was underwater, but the damage was clear to see as a dark red substance stained the water and the Gium recoiled from the ship and swam back to the depths.

After that we quickly sailed out of the Ring and continued on. Everyone sat together on the deck with everyone grinning like fools, even the twins. We explained to Ester that we had done this before and Thala recounts those times with gusto. After the shock wore off we all pitched in to help Odette make dinner before returning to the circle. We went to bed late that night and Thala took the night watch as usual, especially since we will have reached Idi in the morning.

I went to bed at the same time as Ester and she gave me a bright smile and told me how brave she thought I was against the Gium before she went to my room. I found myself thinking of her as I headed to sleep, about how my heart and head hated each other, one wanting her to stay, the other to push her away. Burdened with these thoughts, it took me some time to fall into my uneasy sleep.