See, I was now in a predicament far beyond my wildest dreams- well, not my wildest dreams, but you know what I mean. I could necessarily just jump off the ship and swim to shore but with the fact that I've been staring up at the blue sky for what may have been minutes to hours going through millions of thoughts and emotions, it seems that plan was off the table. I stood up and looked around. I stood at the railing of the deck, the waves crashing against the hull. I took in the salty smell. The crew seemed content to ignore me, so I returned the favor. I closed my eyes. My body felt tight reflecting my emotional state, but I was afraid someone could take advantage of me if my body was allowed to relax. I breathed deep and walked down the stairs. Perhaps I can find a cozy corner to sleep in. However, I was met with an odd sight.

There, a man dressed in foreign clothes seemed to be playing a tune on a small handheld lyre. Gold stems traced the base and the leaves ran up the sides. He suddenly stopped and looked toward me. His deep red hair and golden skin made him seem like a native of Azurejian. He smiled and waved.

"Hello, wanderer!"

"Wanderer?"

"Indeed. You have no scratches on your skin, meaning you are not one of the crew, and no silk, satin, or lace on your dress, meaning you couldn't be a noble."

"Dress?"

"Clothes."

I nodded my head. "And you are?"

"The name is Canis. You may know be as the great bard Altair, known from the stars to the sand dunes of-"

"Very interesting. Is there beds for people like us?"

"Well yes, right down that hall but-"

I quickly walked away. I was tired and I needed to go to bed. I found an empty room and collapsed on the bed, quickly falling asleep with the sway of the swift ship.

I woke up to the sound of a horse neighing from the deck. I covered my head with the blanket but horses

are loud.

I got up quickly, bleary eyed and irritated. I thought the Rixian Pirates were pirates. Why were there animals on deck? Even if they were transporting horses, why were the horses on deck. I walk up the stairs to see a very, very interesting sight.

There, a horse was in a stall with people sitting on benches behind them. Aliyah was on a small wooden box, banging a dark cane with a little silver cap on the end against the floor. People stopped murmuring and shuffled to get in a good position. I walked to the back to watch the commotion and figure out what in the world was going on.

"Attention, please." Aliyah spoke. "Thank you for coming today for the trial. This is Daisy vs. Montgomery trial." The horse neighed. "Daisy von Walsmith." I look in confusion. Did that horse just talk?

"Never seen an animal trial, I assume?" Canis looked at me, a slight smile passing his face.

I stare at him confused. He looked back at the horse, motioning for me to watch.

“Today, we are here to determine if Ms.Walsmith is guilty of eating the rations in the cellar.” Aliyah said.

The horse neighed.

“Oh, you got married?”

Another neigh.

“Well, tell Richard he’s a very lucky horse. It is actually Mrs.Walsmith. Court Reporter, may you change the name recorded?”

A man in the back nodded.

I looked at Canis. “What is going on?”

He giggled. “They are trying to determine if Daisy von Walsmith was the one making a noise disturbance and if she had a good reason to be loud.”

I stared in disbelief at him and shook my head, muttering, “Always, Tiffany. Always.”

For context, the Tiffany Problem is a problem writers have with writing historically accurate fiction books. The name Tiffany was common in the 12th century, the nickname for Theophania, but because Tiffany is stuck in the readers' minds as a more modern name, the writer can't use Tiffany or it would bring them out of the story. It seemed so unbelievable that this was happening, but it was happening right in front of my eyes.

“So Daisy will be..a criminal?” I asked.

“For a hour or so. Then she will be killed. Animals-”

I quickly opened my status window and pulled out a dagger. Canis looked visibly confused.

“If I survive this, I’ll explain.”

I threw the dagger straight past Aliyah’s ear. It made a loud thud as it hit the post behind her. Her eyes sharpened as she turned to look at me.

“Do you have a-” Aliyah didn’t finish her sentence. I was already flying toward her, pushing off the floor to leap at her. She quickly set up to parry my leap with her sword, preparing for a sharp hit from a sword.

I flipped my body around and bounced off her sword, landing next to Daisy’s gate. I pulled out my lockpick and began turning the inner tumblers. I could hear Aliyah running toward me.

“Stop!” She yelled.

I laughed. I had hundreds of years to perfect my craft. Finding the correct combination was playing checkers with a child.

The lock clicked. I opened the gate and let Daisy run off, somewhere else in the ship. I didn’t have time to track her before Aliyah came, sword readied at her side.

“Aria, you have broken the law by tampering with judicial proceedings.” Aliyah looked at me sternly. She grabbed a thin rope from a barrel beside her and stepped toward me.

“You are under arrest for-”

“Don’t touch her.”

I looked back. There, Canis stood there, glaring at Aliyah. My eyes flickered back and forth at the two. He didn’t seem like the happy-go-lucky bard anymore, but he exerted authority over Aliyah that he couldn’t have.

“Canis, what are you doing.” It wasn’t a question, it was a warning.

“She’s under my protection.” His protection? Since when?

“You said you left that life.” What life?

“Doesn’t matter. You owe me your life many times over.” Him? A bard?

Aliyah shook her head at disbelief, but sighed in surrender. Canis caught my eye and mouthed,

If we survive this, I’ll explain.