It was like the Pilgrims coming to the New World and finding the Indians, only reversed in the case of the young elven Storyteller, Alexiel Alastaire. She had been chosen by the tribes to be their ambassador to the strange people from over the sea. The people from Duvah, strange people indeed that they didn't let their women wear pants, as such, she had changed into one of those blasted things that they apparently called skirts. She had also left her weapons in her bags.

She felt out of place in this strange land and amongst strange people. They certainly looked different than herself and others of her kind. They didn't even have pointed ears. From what she had managed to figure out, they didn't have gryphons either. The men who had settled in her homeland seemed to be fascinated by the creatures. Since they seemed to like the creatures, she had decided to bring a few with her to present to the leaders of these strange people as gifts, along with many other things including precious jewels, produce, and a few elemental stones.

Alexiel made her way down the gangplank of the ship, pulling the hood of her cloak down as she did so and adjusting the straps of her backpack. Perched on her shoulder was the kitty-bird, Daemon and walking on either side of her and just behind her were two male elves, bodyguards and each was carrying a cage, the cages contained the gryphons. Alexiel had trusted all of her cargo with the Duvahites, except the gryphons and the elemental stones, which were in her pack. As the young elf reached the bottom of the plank and she and her escort moved out of the way of the workers unloading cargo, she looked around. Was she supposed to meet someone or was one of the Duvah guards from the voyage going to escort her to where she was supposed to go? She really wasn't certain because she had yet to master their language.

Tati sat in her carriage with Benji on her lap, who was resting his head on his paws and falling asleep in the slightly bumpy carriage ride away from Elisabeth's estate. Tati had a slightly overcast look on her face as she rode away, though one couldn't really tell what the exact cause was of it. She looked more like a little cherub pouting, as if she hadn't gotten her way but if any one knew Tati as well as they thought they did, they would know that wasn't quite the case.

However, no one else save Benji was able to see her face as she rolled along street towards her own estate, which was just the way she liked it. It let her be alone with her thoughts and let her have full reign with these thoughts uninterrupted by anyone's sudden appearance. The thoughts that were passing through Tati's head would be shared soon enough, it was just a matter of getting them just right for the telling.

There was a man with a pinched face who made his way down the pier, a few moments later, loking quite harried. "Captain! Captain!" The man screeched as he called out, completely ignoring the odd woman and her 'entourage'. Please tell me you have something pretty for the princess. She's about to throw one of her fits if she doesn't have something soon, and Prince Zephyr isn't around to sooth her.

The captain waddled for and stretched over the railing to see what all the commotion was about. "What's that now?" He bellowed back, scratching at his neck, couldn't they see that he was a busy man.

"The princess!" The thin man yelled again, his breathe almost wheezing out of him. He'd run all the way down here and now he could barely speak. "She wants a shiny from Itztli or whatever that barbaric land is called."

The captain leaned one fat arm against the railing and tried to look thoughtful, instead he just looked a bit like a satanic santa clause, as his white beard rippled over his red coat, and his white hair and bushy eyebrows rose up to engulf his tricorn hat.

"Well now..."He reached up and picked a bit of chicken marrow from his beard, sucking loudly on it for a moment. "Those three there..." He flung his hand out to indicate Alexiel and company, spraying them with a bit of chicken gristle as he did so.

"It seems they want to see a king or something. Seems they know a bit of strange magic. Though some of the royals, like Prince Zephyr might be interested in what they had to say."

The man looked over at Alexiel appraisingly, his eyes roaming over her body before dismissing her completely. "She isn't really the prince's taste, but maybe she can entertain the princess and Queen." Dismissive, sure. The Itztlians were considered little better than barbarians, no matter what it said on paper.

He leaned a bit closer to take a better look at her as something caught his eye. "BY PRIMES!!" He reached over...and tugged on the tip of Alexiel's ear. Not hard, but just enough to get her attention. And he was quick too. As if he was a natural short distance runner. Not one for long runs, but up close and personal, he was almost impossible to catch.

"She's got ears like the princess!!!"

Alexiel made no sound as all the shouting and talk went on, she merely listened, her companions as well. She could tell they were talking about her and her entourage by the way the chicken gristle man pointed at her and her guards, while getting food on them. The three merely reached up to wipe the food away, though Alex could tell her guards wanted to do more. They were a well behaved lot though and they stayed where they stood.

Then the Duvahnites decided they really wanted Alexiel's attention in the wrong kind of way when the excited man suddenly reached out to grab her ear. Alex didn't yelp, they she did startle a bit and turned her gaze to settle on the man with a perturbed look on her face. Her guards were not so kind however and both moved to draw blades as Alex turned to glare at them. "Tampa," Alexiel spoke to them in the language of the Elves, "Ro zhah fridj curious." ((Note: My language resource doesn't have a word for curious, let's pretend I do.))

Her guard's stayed for the moment, she turned her attention back to the funny man. Was he the one here to escort them wherever they were supposed to go? She assumed so by the interest he was taking in them and the conversation between himself and the captain of the boat. So, she looked to the man, waiting for him to lead them where they were supposed to go.

The man's skin prickled as he heard her speak, and the look in his eyes was one that children often gave a magician. That of 'Do it again'. But whether she did or not was her choice. He gave her ears another glance before glancing back at the palace.

"Thanks Captain Columba, I think they'll do just nicely." He nodded, and began making signs that he thought would represent what he was saying, even though to anyone else he would simply look a fool.

"Would you like to meet the royal family?" He made a little circlet over his head that probably looked more like the sign for a crazy person than a royal. "I'm sure the princess" He motioned like a short person and pointy ears, tugging on his own, and then to hers. " would like to meet you. She has ears similiar to yours."

One brow rose in question as Alexiel watched the man. Well, she couldn't really understand what in the world he was trying to tell her but she was going to assume that it was his attempt to say he would take her where she was supposed to go. Either way, what more could she do other than just nod and motion for him to lead the way? Of course, that's exactly what she did, she nodded to the crazy man and motioned for him to take the lead.

One hand rose to motion to the guards behind her as she spoke to them in their native tongue, "Khila amin, lye khila ho." There was a grumbling behind her and she glanced over her right shoulder to the guard who stood there. He was older than herself, though he didn't look it, and didn't much like the idea of being led around by a younger elf like herself. Alexiel gave him a look as if she were waiting for him to say something.

"Lle lakwenien?" The older elf looked at her before eying the Duvah man skeptically. Apparently he wasn't sure that the man could be trusted or even knew what he was doing.

"Uuma dela. Lye khila ho." Alexiel responded, her tone softening while remaining sure, as she tried to assauge the guards skepticism. That taken care of, she turned back to the man, waiting for him to lead the way.

The man smiled, probably a little condescending, but hey, he was going to be showing off the new 'people' to the royal family. He could...why he could get entitled for this. The swell of his chest with pride, was almost visible as he beamed at Alexiel and motioned for them to follow him. They would follow him through town, everyone making comments left and right at them, someone almost rude.

He didn't even notice, or just flat out didn't care what Alexiel was saying to her guards, or their responses. "Let us through!" He would shout once they reached the royal residence.

"Ho now, what trouble do you bring this time, Reginald?" The guard looked pointedly at Alexiel, again, sizing her up much like Reginald had done, but he didn't seem disapproving at all. Then again, he looked like an old fashioned leech. "I'd say that one was a boy, but he's wearing a skirt...so maybe it's one of those hermophrodites you hear about that that funny eastern country has."

"No, sir!" Reginald shouted with pride. "These here are genuine Itztlians. They even have ears like the princess!" He whispered the last part excitedly as he leaned over to speak to the man. "Besides, Prince Zephyr isn't here and Princess Bridget is about to throw a fit if she doesn't see something from Itztli soon."

Alexiel and her entourage followed the man through town, pointedly ignoring any comments, looks, or gestures that came their way. They were in Duvah for business, both Alex and her guards knew it, and they would behave unless openly threatened.

As the group reached the gate, Alex listened to what was said, trying to pick up on anything that she could figure out. Apparently the one leading was a Reginald? Was that a title or his name though? She couldn't tell. Either way, she and her companions waited patiently for their escort to finish chatting with the man that appeared to be a guard. She hoped though that they would be arriving at their destination soon enough. The gryphons needed to stretch their wings.

¤Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship.¤

*cough*

Sorry, wrong story...

....once the ship had made its way past the borders of the Eirosian lands, things settled down to a strange sort of ease; the 'boy', A'ska quickly situated himself with the crew, climbing like a monkey up and down the rigging like any good cabin boy who'd been born onto the sea, despite his initial illness upon coming on board.

Of course, this left Marlon out of sorts, seeking A'ska, being more foolhardy with each passing day. He knew 'A'ska' could handle a sword, but seeing him risk his surprisingly round ass every five minutes, when he knew the truth about A'ska's identity did not help matters. But anytime he tried to stop and speak to the 'boy', A'ska was all but dragged off by the other crew members for some other task, and Marlon barely got a word in edgewise.

And the nights A'ska spent were huddled up in his room, reading a tiny book that held utmost of fascination for the 'boy'. It was one such night as they were creeping into Duvah waters on their way to Chiazu that a storm hit them.

"All hands on Deck! A storm's a brewin'!"

A'ska raced topside, not even bothering with the bindings that strapped her figure inside. That would take too long; even Marlon realized that as she stepped topside and just motioned her up to her place. At the moment, the priority was getting the ship taken care of. Even without cargo, the ship itself was valuable.

The waters raged, and the winds howled, and it was everything that everyone could do to keep the ship upright. Even Marlon wasn't too proud and worked side by side with his men to keep his ship going, but alas it wasn't to work and a great wave smacked upside the ship, tipping it into the waters, flipping the entire ship on it's belly and the men began sawing at their lifelines to escape was was surely to be their death.

But even this didn't stop the rage of the storm, the waters slapping against the belly of this ship, slamming against it until it broke, baring it's innards to the view of the winds, swallowing the great stone that it sought, that was the cause of it's rage.

The crew swam in every direction, if the ship was going down, they needed to be out of the way before they got sunk down to the ocean's depths with it. Most of the crew would make it, eventually making it to the far end of Duvah.

But Marlon's had seen Serefina fall from the rigging and had begun running towards her when the ship overturned, managing only to grab onto the edge of her lifeline and saw it off even as they fell to the depths. When they awoke on the shores of a tiny Duvah island, they were still attached by Serefina's lifeline, the 'princess' looking even paler than usual if that was possible and Marlon looking far from being a prince. He at least, was conscious.

The Kracosian was fine, a little drenched but fine as he made his way too shore, small huts of fisherman from the shores of Duvah finding his unconscious body and dragging him into their boats and then back to the shore to help him heal up.

Joseph had been slapped upside the head with one of the masts, but also found himself washed ashore, just not so easily saved, his head wound sealed by the sea's salt with no reason why he should be alive, other than the feeling of a kiss where his wound was.

Originally Posted by Kanashimi Kurai

Alexiel and her entourage followed the man through town, pointedly ignoring any comments, looks, or gestures that came their way. They were in Duvah for business, both Alex and her guards knew it, and they would behave unless openly threatened.

As the group reached the gate, Alex listened to what was said, trying to pick up on anything that she could figure out. Apparently the one leading was a Reginald? Was that a title or his name though? She couldn't tell. Either way, she and her companions waited patiently for their escort to finish chatting with the man that appeared to be a guard. She hoped though that they would be arriving at their destination soon enough. The gryphons needed to stretch their wings.

"REGGIE!"

A squeal came out of nowhere, and suddenly from that same nothing came a flying ball of...silk.

...or rather a silk covered princess was flying towards the scrawny man, her brunette hair making for what appeared to be a stem on the tomato that was her person; until she stopped moving.

"Is the ship unloaded?! I want to see the stuff from Itztli!" How she managed to stay pouty even while being so demanding was amazing. But now that she'd stopped moving, it was easy to see the slightly pointed ears peeking through the brunette curls.

Alexiel and her entourage winced at the horried sound that was apparently a young child. The small trio of elves turned to look at the girl and watched her fly into the man that had been escorting them.

It was after the girl settled down that Alex noticed the pointy ears. The elf blinked a few times as she stared. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that the girl was elven, if not part elven. Were there any stories of elves leaving Itztli? There were so many legends, at that point she couldn't remember off the top of her head. She would have to sit down later and think it over.

"Your highness..." Reginald attempted to calm the child, but his own nerves were shattered after being pounced. It wasn't as though he could really say anything although the urge was there.

"This is..." He motioned towards Alexial and company, trying to distract her displeasure at him, towards the 'shinies' of the elven people. "Umm...ambassadors...from Iztzli..." He bowed, and stepped out of her direct line. He didn't realize how accurate he was...but he was hoping the princess would remember her manners and they could all go the night without having a heart attack.

Large green eyes turned from the steward towards the elves, seemingly swallowing her face. They roamed up and down over Alexial's body, much like Reginald had, but with more interest of an innocent variety.

"Hello..." She spoke slowly, but not insultingly. She did indeed have manners, though seldom were they seen. Her curiosity was piqued as she stepped around Alexial and her body guards, her hands pinned to her back, and her face scrunched up in scrutiny.

"THEY HAVE MY EARS!!!!" She screamed in shock as she looked at Alexial's ears, her eyebrows looking as if they would fly off her face in shock. She simply stood there and stared.

The group suffered through the young girl's examination, there wasn't much else they could do. Clearly they were exotic to these people and would be stared at until the people of Duvah got used to them. And then girl screamed something about ears, not that Alex understand what she was talking about... but, yes they did indeed have her ears, ears that were sensitive to sound, more so than the humans, and ears that were suddenly hurting because of the loud high-pitched exclamations of a certain princess.

Three heads twitched in unison as the girl screamed, and the only reason Alexiel didn't clap her hands over her ears was because she knew her guards couldn't while holding the gryphon cages and that just wouldn't be fair.

Her gaze turned to the little girl and she tried to get her attention. Clearly this child was important because their guide was afraid of her judging by his body language and attitude. Appeasing the little girl seemed like a good idea. She smiled at the child, as she motioned to one of the guards to bring one of the cages to her. Alex knelt in front of the girl and pointed to the raven colored gryphon sitting on her shoulder and then to the cage in the guards arms and then to the girl. As if to say that she had a creature like her own that she could give the girl.

The problem was, that Bridget hurt her own ears by her scream of exclamation and slapped her ears over her head. She hadn't meant to be rude. Were they demons like people whispered about her behind her back? But the woman that seemed to be in charge was kindly and as she knelt in front of Bridget, she remembered her position as princess and removed her hands and looked at the gryphons and then back to the woman. Strange that the woman had gotten more of her attention than the caged gryphon's.

But now that her attention was drawn to them, she began to study them, her mind racing as to what they were. She leaned in close and then drew back, remembering what her brother had told her about potentially hostile animals and offered a hand tentatively forward. She wasn't quite so spoiled as to assume they were hers for the taking, but she was thinking of demanding one from her mother once she found out what they were.

Alexiel pointed to Daemon again and then the cages. "Gryphons," she spoke, trying to indicate to the girl what they were called. Then she picked up her own gryphon, holding him in her lap so that the girl could pet him more easily. She made a motion of the stroking the creatures head between his ears to show the girl that she could so. The attention seemed to catch Daemon's attention and he chirruped softly at the two females.

Now Alexiel needed to give names. She pointed to her chest, tapping a few times. "Alexiel," her voice was calm and even, she spoke slowly enough to be understood but not too slowly. "Alexiel," she spoke again before moving on to her gryphon. She pointed to him, "Daemon." Next in line were her guards. She pointed first to one, "Tristram," then to the other, "Dagony." As she spoke their names, each bowed to the little girl in turn.

She only hoped that the girl could distinguish the species name from her particular gryphons name.

She reached forward, and petted the creature as Alexiel showed her, her own eyes soft with wonder. Forgotten for the moment was their ears similarity to her own. "Daemon...what a pretty...gryphon you are..." She cooed to the familiar. She got their names dead on, accents and dialects being her specialty. She listened as each member of the party was introduced, and she inclined her head regally, but her face was absorbed in watching the gryphon.

"How pretty! What a pretty gryphon." IF Alexial was going to give one of the birds to Bridget, it would probably be as spoiled as its mistress, but it would also be greatly loved.

She pulled her attention away from Daemon and looked back to Alexiel. "It is a pleasure, Mistress Alexiel." She didn't really know what to call Alexiel, but Mistress was a good title and would confer respect as well. Not like anyone was going to argue with the princess about what a 'savage' should be called.

Nnnn.. what the hell...

Joseph, for lack of a better term, was not feeling so hot right now. There was a buzz in his head- an annoying sound that drowned out any logical thought. If one could be drunk with pain, this was what it would feel like. He made no attempt to stand, simply lay there on the sand for a while, taking in his surroundings. The ocean lapped at his back, water ruining his fine clothing. The clouds had cleared by now, but the smell of a storm was still in the air.

The sun was on his face, attempting to wake him up in that rather annoying way it usually did. And soon, it succeeded. His hazel eyes opened, one hand covering them in order to block out the sun.

"Where..."

He winced as the question stopped dead, the buzzing taking over everything else.

Shit! Whatever hit me, it hit me good and almost did me in!

He attempted to sit up now, grimacing through the pain. The brown-haired merchant attempted to ask the question again.

"Where... am I?"

Daemon chirruped softly back at the young girl, his head tilting slightly into her petting. Alexiel nodded approvingly, not only was the bored gryphon getting attention now, but the girl seemed to have calmed down a great bit. She was no longer yelling and bouncing about.

Alex gathered that she seemed to have understood their names, including Daemon's and was quite pleased by this. She was an intelligent, if not spoiled, young girl. The elf managed to catch what she assumed was a greeting and she dipped her head in response, however, she knew not what to call the girl and so she pointed to her, her way of trying to indicate that she wished to know the girl's name.

"Bridget" The girl smiled, much like her family, when she was happy about something, she didn't stand much on formality. But Reginald's soft gasp would give away that all was not quite as it seemed. But it wasn't as if they knew the word for princess anyways.

The girl then dipped a little curtsey, Alexiel was still older than herself, and she had been trained properly. It was at that moment, that the queen caught up to the party, but she merely stood back to where not even Reginald could see to observe the goings on.

"Saesa omentien lle, arwen Bridget," (Translation: Pleasure to meet you, lady Bridget.) the elven woman responds while bowing as much as she possibly can while squatting on the ground with a house cat sized winged creature in her lap. The guards behind her made similar attempts, though slightly more encumbered by the cages in their hands.

She didn't know exactly what the elven woman meant, but she got the general gist, and so replied in kind, "Seasa Omentien lle, arwen Alexiel." Much like her brother, Bridget had a flare and gift for languages, and so was picking them up rather quickly. She looked at the gryphons and then over to Reginald.

"I want Lady Alexiel to have one of the best rooms, Mama will want to meet her." She grinned, she was going to get something and Marlon wouldn't even know about it. She loved to one up her brother, even if she did adore him.

Reginald looked at the elves and then back to Bridget, not sure how much the Lady Queen would truly want to have such...barbarians close to the royal quarters. "I..."

"Yes, Reginald. Do as Bridget says. I believe we owe our guests some comfort after their long sea voyage." The queen stepped out from behind the pillar, looking every inch a queen, From the crown on her head to the rich fabric of her clothing, a rich purple that matched with her green eyes quite nicely.

"Bleghk..."

Sputter, sputter, hack, cough. Serefina felt like she was swimming in cook's ham brine like that one winter she'd fallen in the pot when cook had been trying to show her how to cook...She pulled some hair from her face as she pushed herself to a sitting position.

"Wet sand....tastes like grits...bleck..." She muttered as she looked at her sand coated and now lobster red skin. Maybe for once she'd get a tan...if she didn't just boil in her own skin first. It was as she was contemplating the possibilities of getting a tan and inspecting her body for injury that she felt the rope around her waist, and glanced down at it

"MARLON!" She scrambled over to the unconscious man and immediately turned him onto his back, and began pushing against his stomach after she turned his head to the side. It wasn't like there was the Heimlich's maneuver or anything. she was just trying to expel the water from his lungs. Eventually, he coughed and the bad water spewed out, but he was still unconscious.

"Blessed Primes..." Serefina wasn't quite sure what to do, so she began to inspect his body for injury. It was then that she found the rope tied from her waist tied around his arms, badly scrapping up his arm to the point that he'd have permanent scars around his arm if he survived. Luckily, the salt had kept the wound clean, but still...

She lifted his unconcious form and dragged him back to the tree line. At least there they'd have some relief from the sun. She needed to find some water soon too, but she was more concerned for Marlon at the moment. Once they were shaded, she looked down at him. She needed to make sure he was alright. Her hands moved over his body, pausing over one area before deciding that his health was more important than his modesty.

"Don't be mad..." She was blushing so much, that it was visible even through the sunburn on her face. But she stripped his pants off and checked him for any more cuts or bruises. But the only one seemed to be his arm.

"Hmmm..." She glanced down at the body she'd just inspected for wounds and studied it. "Something isn't quite right..." Sure, she could have paid more attention to certain attributes, and she wouldn't deny they were interesting, even in their ...unattentive state, but it was more the bare muscled stomach, and strong arms, along with his muscular thighs. He may have been a prince, but he wasn't soft. She leaned back against a tree. She'd go make a fire and get water in a minute. She needed to think...

Suki kept her eyes peeled, ready to spot the smallest movement on the sea's choppy surface. One of the midshipmen had spotted what had appeared to be a piece of driftwood only a few hours ago when the Persistence was making a solitary sweep away from the fleet to scout the area. However, they were too far away from shore for it to be driftwood, so the possibility of it being something else became highly likely. The piece had been brought onto the deck to be inspected and the result from the inquiry led to Suki being awoken from her rest and called into the Captain's chambers.

"Do you believe there to possibly be survivors, sir?" Suki asked as she turned over the ragged plank of wood in her hands.

"We can't rule out the possibility, though it does seem slight." The Captain replied, watching Suki inspect the plank, "There have also been several other similar pieces that have wandered across the waves towards us."

"The ship must have been devastated, and the crew..." Suki trailed off as her eye caught the very faint inscription in the wood.

"Ahhh, yes. You see it too." The Captain said, getting up from his seat behind his desk and walking over towards where Suki was standing, "Can you read it Lt. Mai?"

"No, I'm sorry sir." Suki said reluctantly, handing the piece back to the Captain, "I can't read Duvahian."

"But you recognize the language?"

"Not entirely, sir." The Captain looked inquisitive as to why Suki came to her conclusion so she continued, "It's a matter of the wood.

"The wood is native to Duvah. Well, not native since they don't really have any timber, but it's the type of wood that always gets exported from Erios to Duvah. At least, that's what I've been informed. It's a strong sturdy wood, especially for against the wet environments, but not too expensive when bought in bulk amounts... ideal for building a ship. It also has a very rich tone to it, so it gives the object that is built with it a rather nice color. It's not nearly as useful and practical as the timber from our native soils that the Admiralty and His Royal Highness, the Emperor, chooses to build our fleet with, but it's good enough. Duvah is really the only country that needs to import timber anyhow since it's riches are elsewhere in ores, minerals, and the like. It would not be a far stretch to conclude that it is most likely Duvahian simply because of this.

However, there are still many other possibilities but because of the course we are on right now, the tides and the direction of that storm, it is probable that the ship originated in Erios and was heading to Duvah through the waters that border our lands."

"How did you come to learn so much about wood, Lt. Mai?" The Captain asked, his mood unreadable.

"My mother's family has been in the merchant guild for many decades, sir. I wouldn't be a loyal and obedient granddaughter if I did not listen to my grandfather's wisdom." Suki replied a little quieter than normal, not wanting to flaunt her family connections.

"It will be interesting to see if your speculation is correct." The Captain said, returning to his seat behind the desk with the piece of timber in his hand, "We will be taking a little detour to a grouping of islands just north west of here to see if anything has washed up on the shore. You're on active watch effective immediately until we have ruled out the possibility of an enemy warship."

"Aye, aye sir."

Thus Suki went immediately to the quarter deck to begin her watch, eyes on the sea

Tch... This isn't good.

Joseph had been spending the last few minutes attempting to get a bead on his location, and it wasn't any clearer to him. Still, perhaps if he walked far enough, something would happen. A few pieces of driftwood from the wreck were here and there, so the best he could surmise was that a ship was in a storm, was destroyed entirely, and he was tossed off.

So there might be survivors.

That was nice. Perhaps they would be able to tell him who exactly he was... And lo and behold, there was a man laying there on the shore.

"H-hey! HEY!"

Joseph ran towards him, only to find that the man was unconscious, knocked clean out and with one of his arms in a bad way.

"...Dammit... Wait a second."

There was someone else there, leaning against a tree. She seemed to be distracted by something, deep in thought. If this woman could stand, she could speak, and he needed information.

"Ahoy there, miss..."

Serefina looked up at the face she'd so recently seen on deck...and then her eyes shot to Marlon and she lunged forward to cover the prince's body with what little remained of his clothing, almost face diving into the same region she was trying to cover as she did so.

Marlon's unconscious body barely flinched, and Serefina couldn't decide if that was worse than any embarrassment she was feeling. Her face was already red and sunburned, so it wasn't likely he could tell she was embarrassed.

"Ahoy, Joseph. It's good to see others survived the ship wreck as well." She tried to keep her voice calm as she possibly could, even if her 'disguise' was a complete failure now, what with her shirt in tatters and no binding to hide her breasts at all. Plus her platinum blond hair clung to her body like seaweed, accentuating every curve of her body.

"The prince is...injured. We need to get him medical attention." She, of course, knew nothing of Joseph's own injuries other than the blood on his head, which she was only thankful Marlon didn't have.