Discovering the world: Trip to Venus (1)

"The island of Venus is to the north, but we will have to deviate a few degrees from our route to lose the military." Heath said.

I sat in the kitchen while they lead the ship in the right direction and waited for the situation to calm down. It appeared that the navy ships were no match for Destiny, especially with the wind against them. After twenty minutes of sailing, they were out of sight, without having even the opportunity to attack us.

While waiting, I took a geography book and went to an empty room on the second floor. I was sure that when Dominic finished his job outside, he would come after me, still angry with my presence during the fight earlier. I had however a little selfish hope that he would attack Joseph first.

I spent a long time reading the same page, but I just knew that there was something written about the desert and thermal amplitude. My head was lost in thoughts and excuses that I would use as an argument. Under no circumstances did I want to fight with him. But he also had to understand that at some point, I wouldn't be able to avoid battles anymore.

The door finally opened. I closed the book and lowered my head so I wouldn't have to see Dominic's face, who walked slowly and sat down next to me.

"I'm sorry that I worried you." I said first.

"I was also wrong." he said in a controlled voice. I could see that he was still angry anyhow.

"I would like you to understand my side in all this situation, Dominic. I can't just leave you fighting and keep running away."

"I know that. But I can't and I won't let you get hurt because of my carelessness." Dominic replied.

"You can't protect me from everything. I also need to learn how to fight by myself."

He released my hand and lifted my face so that I could face him. When our eyes met, I noticed that he was no longer angry.

"I know I can't always protect you. But I will try as hard as I can to do so."

We kept on silent for a moment, when I then realized what he meant with those words.

"We're not going to change our plans for Venus, right?" I asked, with my heart starting to beat faster.

"I'm not sure."

"Dominic!"

"Don't worry. We are only going to make some small changes due to a vision from Joseph. We'll explain to you soon. Come." He replied with a sincere and very convincing look.

I gave in to his words and followed Dominic into the living room, where we found Heath and Joseph waiting for us.

The changes were not many. We would reach Venus in less time than expected: in three days. According to Joseph, the previous plan where he and Heath would introduce themselves first and then call us would fail. Mihalk would distrust them and lock them in prison.

"We will have to arrive together. Even if they suspect, they will act more cautiously, investigate and we will have time to prove that we speak the truth." Said Joseph.

"This sounds like suicide." Heath protested. "I can't even imagine their reactions when they see Dominic there with us. Do you think they will let an ex"general of Orion simply infiltrate their base? A Knight to top it off!"

"Exactly! It is a very risky and stupid plan for the World Government to want to carry out. They will let us in and question us so we can convince them that Althea is the missing Heiress. The only thing I'm not sure about is the opponent Althea will face." explained Joseph, so convincingly that I was left with no doubts in my head that the plan would work.

"But won't they be aggressive? It's a very big risk, Joseph." Dominic said.

"No. Not until they confirm the truth, that is, as long as we do not take any sudden action that threatens them. Especially in relation to Althea. They are not capable of committing any wrongdoing against her, after all, we know how difficult it is to resist the Descendant's attraction and attack them. Also, there is a small possibility that Mihalk knows about Althea's existence."

With this statement, neither of them was able to find any more arguments against Joseph's plan.

We had dinner early and, after the meal was over, Heath let me take control of the rudder, as promised. Just as I put my hands on the ship's controls, Joseph cried out that we were all going to die. That irritated me deeply and I threw the first object I saw, in his head. As usual, he just found my attitude hilarious. On top of that, he had an entirely stupid idea.

"I'll teach you how to shoot." He stated.

"What? Have you gone insane?" laughed Heath. "Even though I know Althea for so little time, it was more than enough to see that she has big coordination problems."

"Shoot? With guns?" I asked incredulously. If he thought leaving the ship's controls in my hands was crazy, shooting was insane.

"Of course, with guns. Imagine how fantastic it would be to see her with a gun in her hand!"

"Yes, he lost his sanity." Heath whispered.

"Think it through… it would not be a bad idea to be able to defend yourself with something other than your powers. Besides, if you learn how to hold a gun, you would be less likely to kill someone by accident with it."

"With a gun in her hand she will end up killing one of us."

"Thank you for your trust, Heath." I muttered sarcastically.

"You're welcome." he replied. "Are you really sure Joseph?"

"Without a doubt."

Despite considering both as friends, they were extremely irritating sometimes. I passed the helm control to Heath and left the cabin furiously, heading straight for my room. Before I got there, I tripped over a small table in the corner of the corridor and almost lost my balance, recovering it before turning and putting myself at the top of the stairs. However, as I was ridiculously distracted, I didn't see that Dominic was going up at the same time that I was starting to go down and my body collided against his. He collapsed on the stairs on his back and I fell on top of him, which softened the fall (at least mine). The noise was loud and echoed throughout my ship.

"Oh lord, I'm sorry Dominic! I didn't see you going up! Are you okay?" I said desperately, getting up from him.

"I am fine. It was my fault. Are you hurt?" he asked, trying to get up.

"No. You cushioned the fall. It was even comfortable."

"That's good. You looked furious before you attacked me."

"You are incredibly observant."

"Do not change the subject."

"Joseph wants to teach me how to shoot and Heath said that I would end up killing one of you. I'm not that clumsy."

He didn't have the courage to answer. The situation I was in at the moment gave Heath complete reason.

"Forget what I said. But I think is worth trying."

"I also think is a good idea." Dominic said.

I was speechless with that statement.

"Did you just agree with me?" I spoke stunned.

"Yes, I did."

"Are you all crazy today? Not even I fully agree with my own words!"

I heard hurried steps.

"What happened?" Joseph asked from the top of the stairs.

"Althea fell." Dominic replied, climbing up the stairs and taking me along.

"What was that sound?" Heath shouted from a distance.

"Althea crashed on the stairs and took Dominic along." Joseph shouted back.

The laughter was loud. I sighed, rolling my eyes and ignoring them.

This time Dominic took me to a different place: the music hall. I had already forgotten that he promised to show me his musical talent.

"Are you willing to listen to a Sonata?" he asked, sitting in front of the magnificent black grand piano in the corner of the room. He pointed to the empty space next to him where I then sat.

"Of course. I am very curious about what are you going to play. I haven't heard music in many years." I answered, happy with his proposal.

With a smile, Dominic started playing. His hands seemed to float around the keys and the melody was stupendous. My mouth dropped and I was unable to utter a single word, lost in admiration. Dominic was simply extraordinary and always seemed to amaze me. My heart beat faster, and I could feel the passion burning in my veins.

Passion. That was one more new feeling for me.

He played all night for my happiness. The last notes echoed in the air when the clock in the hall rang: it was already two in the morning.

"It is very late already, and you should sleep, Althea."

"I'm not tired at all." I replied, pouting.

"But you must rest. Tomorrow will be another exhausting day. Come with me."

We then went downstairs, straight to my room. I laid down and Dominic covered me, enjoying our last moments together that day. I couldn't deny how happy I was with receiving special treatment from him.

"Goodnight. Have good dreams." he said giving a kiss on my forehead.

"Goodnight." I answered, feeling like the most blessed person in the world at that very moment. I no longer remembered the darkness. My recent days were so surrounded by light that there was no time for my mind to go back to the past. I was free.

…

It was already late morning when I found the strength to get up from my bed and go to the upstairs floor. When I arrived, I saw that Joseph was in the cockpit while Dominic and Heath were still asleep.

"They just went to bed." Joseph explained.

"Only now? I thought that at least Dominic had gone to sleep at the same time as I did."

"We were the only ones who slept. Heath didn't want to let go of the helm and Dominic spent some time with you, even after you fell asleep. Did you know you laugh a lot while sleeping?"

I blushed. I had to be silly even in my dreams.

"Were you there as well?" I asked, trying to calm down my embarrassment.

"I only went to your room for a moment; to tell you that you should rest. But when I got there, I saw that you were completely numb and that the noise I had heard in the hall was your laughter. The door was open, and Dominic was there, having fun as well. I confess that it was very contagious." He said, teasing me.

If it were possible, my face would have turned even redder.

"Don't be embarrassed. It is more common than you think. And it was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen." said Joseph, still laughing.

"Ah... I think... I'm going... outside... I'll be right back." I replied, unable to contain myself in shame and fleeing from Joseph.

I was surprised to see that it was raining. My mind was so slow that morning that I could not notice the clouds until several drops of water fell on my face. At least it was a good way to finally wake up.

Something shone brightly at that moment. Lighting fell from the sky and encountered the vast ocean. It was both beautiful but scarring sight. Of course, I had seen a storm before, but that was the first storm I had seen in years, which felt magical. Before, I only heard the noise of thunder and the sound of rain.

Nature was beautiful.

"Taking advantage of the noise of the storm, how about having your first shooting class?" asked Joseph from the cabin.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, giving him one last chance to give up and, who knows, to survive. "And who will be in control of the ship in the meantime?"

Joseph didn't even answer. He simply pulled me to go with him to the bottom floor of Destiny. The floor where I had not yet explored.

I avoided entering that place since I thought it was too dark and gloomy, which brought me bad memories. It was divided into five rooms: three rooms currently empty, another area that seemed to be a kind of cell, and a room which I would prefer not to enter, but to where we were headed: the arsenal room.

"Be very careful with what you touch."

"That's comforting." I muttered as he opened the door.

I almost cursed when he turned on the light. There were guns in every corner of the huge room, hanging on the walls, on the shelves, on the tables... We were definitely going to war, a bloody one. It was enough ammunition for an entire army.

"Do you prefer to choose, or do you want me to choose one for you?" asked Joseph, showing me some medium-sized guns.

"I am counting on you to do so."

He took a kind of pistol for me and another for him.

"First, we will try to shoot with a normal weapon, without the energy of the alchemical stones."

"Are weapons with stones more difficult to use?"

"A little bit. It certainly won't be a challenge for you, but the real problem is that they are much more destructive." explained Joseph.

"Understood."

We climbed back onto the deck and I still lacked the courage to touch the gun. Joseph took some bottles from the kitchen and put them on the side of the ship to serve as a target.

He explained to me how to hold the gun, prepare it, how to pull the trigger and fire.

"Try it." he said, pointing to the bottles.

I tried. It was shameful. I had no idea of what I had hit, but it certainly wasn't a bottle. Besides, I lost my balance with the ricochet and if it weren't for Joseph, I would have fallen straight into the sea.

"Argh! That hurts!"

"Just a little. You will get used to it. However, your aiming must be improved." he said. "You must keep your arm steady too. Let me help you."

Joseph approached me and put his arms around my back. He took my hand and fixed my posture.

"Shoot now." he instructed.

I pulled the trigger. The bullet flew and hit the bottle perfectly, destroying it in dozens of pieces.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, happy that I managed to hit the target.

"Much better."

The rain got in the way a little, but after a while I managed to shoot without Joseph's help, hitting all the bottles at the end. Apart from the dozens of shots that I had missed and the two shots that I wrongly did by accident in Joseph's direction, the training had been a success.

"You are quite a good teacher."

"Yeah, I am." he laughed. "But is enough for today. Next time, we can test a modified weapon. Or maybe, use your own powers to intensify the shots."

I nodded my head. I didn't know what he meant by that, but it looked interesting.

We then went back inside to prepare lunch. After everything was ready, Heath finally woke up and appeared in the kitchen, looking quite rested.

"Good afternoon!" exclaimed Joseph.

"Good afternoon." He said, yawning. "I slept like a bear."

"It's good to get some rest." I said while preparing him a plate.

"It is indeed. But I swear I heard shots a little earlier."

"We were practicing." I answered, smiling. I knew the jokes were going to start.

"No way! You are more courageous than I expected." Heath said to Joseph. "I was sure you would hesitate at the last moment. How it was? How many innocent beings did she murder?"

I sent him a deadly look.

"None, I do miracles. But I must admit that she wasn't as bad as we expected. Is Dominic still sleeping?"

"Like a stone. I think we could blow up a bomb on board and he wouldn't hear it." Heath said, controlling his laughter.

"Do you really think so?" suddenly asked Dominic.