July 2024

  ***

  Mana hid behind a corner and watched the playground cautiously. She held a cage under her right arm, isolating its trapped occupant to prevent it from escaping as well as from being detected by the city’s defenders. She had a task to do for the Broker, and she absolutely didn’t like it.

  This is absolutely insane.

  ***

  Just an hour earlier she sat in the Broker’s hut, inquiring about one of the entries on her list of things.

  ‘Reality Shift - Come see me for details’. The latter part was attached in lieu of a place or a coordinate. As Mana rang the bell and stated her business, the Broker disappeared in the backroom for a minute and came out with a small cage. A keychain depicting a cutesy children’s anime character rattled around between its bars.

  “Is that…?”

  “Yes. A mimic. Or a Shadow, as it’s more commonly called by your world’s Magical Girls.”

  Mana looked at the Broker incredulously, but the woman continued unbothered.

  “I need this next spell in two rings. It’s the special ability of a Magical Girl called ‘Minerva Crimson’.”

  Something clicked in Mana’s brain – she knew that name.

  “Red color scheme and her hair glows?”

  “The very same,” confirmed the Broker with a little smile.

  Mana looked at the cage and tilted her head, staring at the keychain containing a hungry, malevolent being with narrowed eyes.

  “So, what’s this for?”

  “It’s to lure her out and have her use her ability. Reality Shift allows her to slip in or out of local pocket dimensions; ideal for hunting down creatures like the Shadows or others.”

  Mana rubbed her chin between two fingers, then she looked at the Broker.

  “I know her and helped her before, couldn’t I just ask?”

  The Broker shrugged, her expression the same old mysterious smile.

  “Well, do you know how to find her? As a Magical Girl she has a secret identity that she will spend the majority of her time as.”

  “Ah… never mind.” Mana relented.

  “Get this spell in two rings and I will give you a special task – for which you will get another piece out of your tear and another question which I will answer. You already have a question on your mind, don’t you?”

  Mana bit her lower lip and stared at her hands.

  How do I get my sister back from Doppelg?nger?

  “Maybe.”

  “Very good. Just... do me a favor and be a little humane with the time you do it. Release it when adults are done working but don’t have to sleep yet, hm?” The Broker smirked – as if she told a very funny joke only she understood, making Mana raise an eyebrow.

  Seika Hitoishi, 30-year-old light novel editor and secret Magical Girl, yawned as she opened the door to her one-room apartment. Today was a rare day without worktime disturbances by magical beasts or similar, so she was intent on getting some rest. She was still a little sore from the beating she took three weeks ago, but at least she didn’t have any visible black spots anymore. This weekend she would go on her second date with Miori, and she wondered what she should wear this time. Maybe she could be a little more daring? A crop top and a short skirt, maybe...

  Seika shook her head, letting out a long sigh.

  “What am I doing? It’s not like I’m trying to seduce her.”

  “Pfft!”

  “What was that for?”

  “You don’t really believe that yourself, do you? You want to jump Miori.”

  Seika sighed deeply, closing her eyes.

  “It doesn’t matter what I want on the inside as long as there’s still... huh?”

  Seika touched her earring. It chimed and Minerva quickly gave her a verbal report as well.

  “A Shadow! But we’re in luck, it’s still dormant. We could probably just destroy the lure and be done with it.”

  “Hm, rare for them to appear at convenient times. Well, let’s get it over with and then make dinner.”

  Seika stepped outside of her apartment and towards the trusty side alley she used to transform back and forth, emerging as the Magical Girl Minerva Crimson.

  “And by dinner you mean you’re going to pour some hot water on instant ramen, as usual... I thought I taught you better with your birthday feast.”

  Minerva shook her head.

  Tell you what... if we get this done quickly, I’m buying some fresh veggies and meat and will actually cook.

  “Deal!”

  ***

  Minerva Crimson arrived at the scene of the recent Shadow’s appearance. It was a playground – and it was remarkably empty. Minerva could see neither children, nor any out of place objects that were very obviously Shadows.

  “Ah, man… and here I wanted to make it quick and blow away the lure.” She complained, looking around.

  “Seriously, did it burrow itself in the sand? I’m not looking for it in there.”

  After a few more unsuccessful scans with her eyes, the Magical Girl shrugged and clenched her fist close to her heart.

  “Reality Shi- huh, what?”

  She got hit by a blue glow just as her spell was about to activate – and as she looked towards the light’s origin, she saw a black robe fluttering and vanishing behind a corner.

  Minerva furrowed her brow and followed at high speed, but all she saw as she turned the corner was an empty alley.

  “It didn’t do anything weird to us, right?”

  “As far as I can tell, our spell was analyzed, but nothing more.”

  “Huh. Well, whatever!”

  Minerva flew back to the playground and did her duty.

  Moon of the Light Elves, 1067 AR

  ***

  “I really feel like I did something bad back there. Can you at least tell me what these are for?”

  Mana sat back down at the table – the Broker didn’t even bother to move from her spot, awaiting the young witches’ return. She picked up the two rings and stowed them in a chest after Mana placed them on the table.

  “They are for slipping in and out of pocket dimensions,” she simply replied, meeting Mana’s annoyed glare with another smile.

  “Now, now, don’t look at me like that, great Witch Queen, I can at least assure you that these won’t be used for evil, if you’re concerned about such things.”

  “You’re making fun of me.” Mana complained.

  “I assure you; nothing could be further from my mind. I’m just being evasive for the sake of secrecy as it is of utmost importance for these items’ intended use.”

  “And it’s not going to be used for evil?”

  “It’s being used to undo evil.”

  “What evil?”

  “That’s already too much information, Mana.”

  Mana furrowed her brow, letting out a long sigh before she looked to the side.

  “Alright, alright. So, what’s this special task for another question? I really need to know something. Urgently.”

  “Alchemy.” The Broker replied, producing another little chest.

  “Alchemy?” Mana grabbed the chest, opening it and inspecting its contents. A letter, a mask not unlike surgical masks on Earth, and a simple leather pouch were inside.

  “I’m having you gather some ingredients for me so I can create a potion.”

  The broker put her elbows on the table, locking her fingers together and resting her chin on her hands that way as she looked at Mana intently.

  Mana swallowed heavily. There was a question that was on her mind for a while now.

  “No offense, miss Nicola, but why don’t you ever gather these things yourself? I’m getting the feeling that you are quite powerful.”

  The Broker’s smile vanished for a moment as she appeared to think of an appropriate answer.

  “I would love nothing more than avoid putting you in danger like I have been doing, Mana. However, there are reasons why I can’t go myself and have to rely on you and various other assets.”

  She cleared her throat.

  “I’ll tell – no, I’ll show you when you’re back.”

  Mana nodded and got up from her seat.

  “Well… I’ll go back to the library and have a look. I’ll see you later.” Mana announced before she stepped out of the hovel and into a portal.

  ***

  “She’s acting highly suspicious,” Portal announced as Mana opened the letter and unfolded the paper inside.

  “Oh, you think so?” Mana replied with a slightly sarcastic tone before she read the words addressed to her.

  ‘Mana,

  ‘I won’t lie, this one is dangerous. Attached are the coordinates to a garden.

  ‘Its guardian is powerful and cruel, so don’t get caught.

  ‘What I want you to collect is multiple samples of the following flower:’

  Mana checked the colored illustration. It was a blood red flower. Five long petals spread apart, making the flower look like a starfish, with a white center that two red stalk-looking things protruded from. She kept reading.

  ‘This flower’s name is Amaranth. The unfading flower. The symbol of immortality. It is more than just a symbol, but I’ll tell you the details when you come back.

  ‘It is of utmost importance that you wear your mask and seal the bag tightly after collecting them. They carry many seeds, fine like dust. Under NO circumstances breathe them in. If you feel tempted because of the name and what I wrote prior: it will not grant you your narrow definition of immortality, so don’t try it.

  ‘-N.B.’

  “Sounds concerning…” Mana said as she stowed the letter. She grabbed the pouch and attached it to the belt on her witch robes, then she pulled the mask over her face. It felt a little stuffy, but she could still breathe.

  “Mana… maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Portal sounded concerned.

  “I’ve been through worse.” Mana simply declared.

  “So you believe. But this universe holds many things worse than being drowned.”

  Mana hesitated for a moment – then she looked at Portal.

  “I’ll be careful, Portal. But I need this.”

  A little sigh came from the book.

  “So you do. I can’t stop you. All I can do is support you to the best of my abilities.”

  Mana smiled and gently patted her book.

  “And I’m glad that you’re my supportive friend, Portal. I mean it.”

  With that she opened a portal. All she could see was a green meadow under a blue sky – no guardian or anything else in sight. She stepped through the magic ring hovering in the air – very carefully.

  ***

  Marisa peeked around the corner as her mistress disappeared. As per the guidance of her older self she stalked her mistress today rather than confronting her. And apparently that was the right course of action. Her mistress was about to procure another critical ingredient to conjure the future in which Arisu was going to be born.

  She memorized the coordinates to which her mistresses’ Portal opened and waited. A few minutes. Then she would follow and snatch whichever treasure her mistress was collecting right out of her hand. Arisu’s birth would finally be prevented, meaning that she would get to enjoy a future with her mistress… or would she?

  Marisa touched her cheek. Tears ran down her face. She didn’t know why.

  ***

  ???

  ***

  Mana turned around as she left the portal and was stunned by the sights.

  As far as she could tell, she was on top of a mountain, covered in greenery. And far away, above a sea of clouds, she saw the peak of another mountain. A giant palace in an antique-looking style was carved into the mountain’s rock and continued by traditional construction where it went past the peak. Pillars supported a triangular roof – and the entire construction was so large that she assumed an entire city fit into it. As she looked around, she could see floating islands all around the mountains – and realized that she was on one of them.

  “Impressive.” Portal commented, then he was shushed by Mana.

  She looked around. There were multiple flowerbeds all around them, and what looked like the entrance to a hedge maze.

  “…don’t tell me that the Amaranth is in there…” She said with a sigh, then she got an idea.

  “Jump!”

  With that incantation she stood on top of one of the hedges forming the wall, looking inside. She could make out a red flower bed in the distance, so she kept walking along the hedges, humming quietly to herself.

  “We’re too high up, Mana. Whatever guardian the Broker was talking about is going to see us…” Portal complained.

  “I don’t see anyone, so it’s alright!” Mana declared. As she arrived at the location where she spotted the red growth, she jumped down, stopped her fall with ‘Break’, and kneeled down next to the flowerbed.

  Hundreds of the crimson starfish-shaped flowers were here. Whoever kept them probably wouldn’t mind a few of them missing.

  She quickly got her pouch out and plucked the flowers one by one. She grabbed a dozen of them by the end, stuffing them in the pouch. She was careful with closing it again, pulling the strings tight and wrapping them multiple times around the opening as well before she fastened them. As she was done, she finally allowed herself a deep breath, but being this near to the flowers she didn’t want to risk taking her mask off just yet.

  Mana stowed the leather pouch in her robes and turned away from the flowers, stopping momentarily.

  There was a statue blocking the only way out. It depicted a nude woman and was made from marble, with golden veins interrupting the immaculate alabaster of its stone. A glow came from it – its eyes, its billowing hair, even the golden veins shone with an innate, magical light.

  Its eyes were pointing down and directly pierced Mana with their gaze. She heard of paintings that followed the viewer with their eyes, but she never heard of statues that did the same thing.

  She realized too late how mistaken she was. Only as the statue blinked, reached out and tore away her mask she realized that she was in fact facing some kind of higher being – and she only had time to realize how similar this woman’s glowing hair was to Minerva’s as she grabbed one of the flowers and blew its seeds into Mana’s face. Everything went dark. Mana felt the ground hitting her back – she must have collapsed. Then she heard an otherworldly, beautiful voice in her head… like that of an angel. An angel with unfathomably cruel intentions.

  ***

  “Awaken, soul of an adventurer!”

  Period of Calm Seas, 1453 in the Era of Plunder

  ***

  “Hah! Bonnie, you’re spacing out!” Marco hollered her way before he whacked her across the face with his stick, sending her on her butt. Any other ten-year-old girl would have probably broken out in tears, but she was used to playing rough like this. Pretend-sword fighting was the only activity she could do in this small, sleepy island town after all.

  She rubbed her face and felt something wet on it – and indeed, Marco broke skin this time, as blood smeared across her hand.

  “Damn, I didn’t want to hit you that hard! Sorry. I thought you would block it.”

  Bonnie shook her head and got on her feet.

  “It’s alright. I just had a weird dream.” She admitted, smiling as she ran her fingers through her chaotic black hair.

  “A weird dream?” Marco asked with some interest.

  “Like I was someone else for fourteen years. I dreamed that I was a witch who wandered through an endless place of books.”

  “Pfft, Bonnie being anywhere near books? Good one!” Marco taunted, then he flinched as she playfully whacked his hip with her stick.

  Bonnie MacLeod and Marco Dower were two children born on a small island town – one lucky enough to lie on a trading route in the vast ocean of their world, therefore ensuring that for as long as they traded their fish and exotic island fruit and kept a brothel running, they would never have to do without any of the amenities of the civilized world while being far away from the troubles that civilization brought with itself – like wars. Trading vessels brought the best of the world to them, while leaving the worst behind.

  However, this peace and quiet was exactly what Bonnie loathed about her home. She needed to get out into the world! People always told her that the ocean looks the same no matter where you are, but deep in her heart she knew that this wasn’t the truth.

  “Hey, Marco,” Bonnie suddenly said.

  “Hm? What is it?” He was still busy rubbing his hip which she just struck.

  “I want to become a pirate and explore the world!” She announced with a wide grin.

  “The first chance I get I’m getting on a pirate vessel, work my way to captain and use it to go on an adventure – to somewhere no one else has ever been before.”

  She stepped closer to her one and only friend.

  “Will you come with me? As my first mate?”

  Marco shrugged, then he laughed.

  “Pfft! Sure! Don’t have a choice, do I? You’d drag me along anyway.”

  ***

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Period of Storms, 1461 in the Era of Plunder

  ***

  He was her first mate in more than one way. The past fifteen minutes the ship’s storeroom was filled with their combined muffled moans and groans, crowned by louder ones, before Marco separated from Bonnie.

  They sat next to each other for a few more minutes, breathing heavily as they let the glow of their previous actions die down.

  “It’s still very uncomfortable to do it here.” She finally said with a laugh, pulling up her pants.

  “I better become captain fast to get that big, comfy bed.”

  Marco followed suit, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “Well, one more reason to win the vote tomorrow, hm? I buttered up a few of the old dogs and helped clear some doubts regarding your competence.”

  Bonnie nodded. Recently, the captain’s been getting in over his head, attacking merchant vessels which were part of a convoy. The looting was interrupted quickly, and it couldn’t even be assessed if the people aboard were good for ransom. All this resulted in a lot of wasted time and resources with little payoff. The crew was rightfully angered and called for a vote – and she had every intention to win it. She made sure to show off wherever possible, be it while shooting the cannons or during boarding actions. She showed that she was competent with leading the crew whenever she got put in charge of teams. With Marco putting in a good word for her, she would be able to do it.

  Her train of thought was interrupted as the ship suddenly violently rocked and she was flung sideways, rolling over the deck.

  “What in the?”

  Marco didn’t fare any better – he even hit his back against one of the barrels and let out a pained groan.

  The two exchanged a quick look, then they hurried and ascended towards the main deck.

  What they saw there defied all common sense. They were rammed by what looked like another ship, but it didn’t have any sails and was made entirely out of metal. Billowing clouds of smoke erupted from a huge chimney, as if someone was tending the biggest fireplace in recorded history on the inside. Bonnie stopped for a few precious moments and saw that the crew on the other ship was human and just as confused as them. And then she saw the guns.

  They weren’t dissimilar to what her crew was using, but to Bonnie’s surprise every shot was followed by another, as if they didn’t have to put another projectile and powder into the barrel first. She was utterly fascinated by the sight and only snapped out of it as Marco tackled her to the ground, out of the way of a hail of bullets.

  “Who the hell are those guys?” she shouted.

  “Appeared out of thin air, like ghosts!” Someone responded. People were dying all around her. If nobody took command of the situation, everyone aboard would share their fate.

  “Where’s the captain?” she asked.

  “Jumped overboard when things got hot! They got him anyway.” The same man replied before he got hit by a bullet in the arm and fell on his back.

  “Bloody hell!”

  Bonny gritted her teeth – it appeared that her time to prove herself as the new captain came now.

  ***

  She finally got enough salty dogs with some stones together for her plan. For now, she fashioned herself as the acting captain. Her and the fifteen men she selected were kneeling behind the gunwales, out of sight of the gunners – the rest of her crew similarly took cover wherever they could, returning fire with whatever flintlock weapons they had on hand.

  The strangers spoke some weird language none of her crew had ever heard before, so she immediately excluded the possibility of resolving any of this peacefully somehow.

  “Ready? Now!”

  With their ships lodged together it was just a matter of boarding the other ship – and their gunwales were luckily at the same height. She gave the signal, and someone tossed a bag containing black powder and flour with an attached burning fuse.

  The following explosion and thick cloud gave her just the cover she needed.

  ***

  It was a bloody massacre – now in close range their guns were still deadly, but with the flour reducing visibility Bonnie’s pirates were able to execute swift strikes against the marksmen. Their guns were looted off their bodies – the mechanics of firing them were at least similar enough to their flintlock rifles and pistols.

  Deck by deck Bonnie and her selected elite cleared out whoever might still be aboard – more strangely dressed people in top hats wearing suit jackets with tails that made them look like penguins. Most of them had smaller guns on them and tried to fight back but were quickly overwhelmed.

  As the ship was finally declared cleared, only five of Bonnie’s fifteen were left, including Marco. She was unilaterally declared the new captain.

  Her crew dragged the strange, foreign ship to one of the nearest ports and received news that strange visitors from ‘elsewhere’ suddenly appeared in many places of their world without any explanation.

  A new age of exploration started, with crews looking for otherworldly artifacts and even ways to visit strange new lands…

  ***

  Period of Stiff Breezes, 1463 in the Era of Plunder

  ***

  “Gentlemen, thank you so much for striking your colors!”

  Bonnie announced as she came aboard the surrendering merchant vessel, flanked by Marco and one other ruffian from her crew. It’s been two years since strange appearances happened semi-regularly in her world, with strange ships, monsters and people appearing out of thin air. A substantial part of the world’s economy had shifted towards acquiring and replicating whatever alien treasures could be salvaged from the ocean.

  “If you would now hand over your cargo manifest and list any persons of note aboard, I would be eternally grateful to you!”

  Her crew came aboard the ship as she was flipping through the pages of the manifest. This was a salvager’s ship, she quickly realized, lifting her head to look at a massive crane mounted on the side of the ship. It currently held their newest find: a strange carriage, entirely made of steel and glass, with a roof and four wheels made from black material. There was nothing on its front that would allow horses to pull it, so it had to move on its own. There were skeletal remains on one of the seats.

  “Interesting find. But this other thing in your manifest interests me more. If you would show me?”

  The salvager’s captain sighed in resignation and walked ahead to show her.

  ***

  The cargo hold was filled with multiple crates full of metallic scrap. All kinds of objects poked out, none of which were familiar to Bonnie. The crowning jewel however was at the center of the hold.

  A strange construct stood there, vaguely resembling a man, if a man could be made out of steel and assume a blocky shape and grow five meters tall. The head looked helmeted, with a window where a helmet would have a slit. As Bonnie drew closer and ascended a ladder placed next to the thing, she could see glass lenses inside – not dissimilar to those in her captain’s spyglass, but she assumed the ones she was looking at right now were vastly more elaborate.

  The iron man’s chest cavity was open – and inside she saw what looked like a chair, with multiple levers next to it – as well as a lot of black panes all around it, the purpose of which she couldn’t discern.

  “Impressive! What does it do?” she inquired, hopping back down the ladder to take one more look at the construct.

  “Don’t know. Haven’t figured out what it’s for or how it works. We were going back to the capital to have the smart guys look at it.” the captain freely admitted.

  “Well, we’re going to do that now, for a considerable amount of money.” Bonnie said with a smirk, eliciting a shrug from the captain.

  “We’re insured.”

  “Good man. Now, you gave this up way too easily, so...”

  Bonnie drew her cutlass and pointed it at the captain.

  “...I’m going to ask you to hand over whatever treasure you’re trying to hide by distracting me with shiny salvage.”

  ***

  Bonnie hummed, clutching the map she grabbed off the man and holding it close as she came back to the main deck. There was some audible cheering from her men for some reason, and as she stepped closer, she found out why.

  A girl in an elaborate dress was surrounded by the big men, who sometimes reached out to touch her, forcing her to back into more men only to be pushed back into the middle of the circle. She looked awfully close to crying as she was without a doubt already imagining her fate at the hands of those rough sailors.

  The group, however, flinched as a gunshot rang through the air. They all turned towards Bonnie, who held one of the repeater guns they looted off the strange chimneyed ship two years ago, wasting the precious limited ammo by shooting into the air.

  “Gentlemen! I thought I was quite clear about this when I took over: we’ll be nice to the womenfolk! My predecessor may have allowed the ‘rape’ in ‘rape and pillage’, but he was a scumbag who paid for his rotten character with his life. Don’t be like him.”

  She looked at the men with a cold expression and they got the message, slowly scattering to continue carrying cargo over to their own vessel.

  Bonnie sighed and walked over to the girl, chivalrously grabbing her hand and kissing the backside.

  “Apologies, dear. I still have to teach some of them how to behave. Maybe next week they’ll be potty trained, at least.”

  The girl looked at her with uncertainty in her eyes – the edge of her mouth twitched in response to Bonnie’s little joke, at the very least.

  “You can remain in my cabin until we have negotiated your ransom. On my honor as captain: your chastity is safe with me.”

  ***

  Bonnie was a terrible liar. Where the men of her crew would use force, she simply used her charm. The girl shared her quarters for two weeks and she showed her best side wherever she could, almost acting like the young noble’s personal attendant while sparing no flattery.

  After a short while she had her way with the blonde beauty, with her consent of course. Whenever she entered her cabin she would enjoy the girl’s company, just like today as Marco entered her quarters without knocking and let out a long sigh as he saw her rolling off the girl to face him.

  “Hate to spoil your fun, captain, but we’re about to rendezvous and hand her over.”

  He only ever drags the ‘captain’ out when he’s mad… he might be a little jealous.

  “Aw, already?” Bonnie sighed and stood up, naked as she was, and stretched.

  “Well, it’s been nice, Nicole! Maybe I’ll send you a letter.”

  “My name is Mary...”

  “Right...!”

  ***

  Her crew was significantly richer after selling off both the scrap and the hostage – per the ransom agreement a merchant ship came to pick them both up. Bonnie waved at Mary, who responded with an icy glare, turning away to instead embrace her father on the other ship.

  “Ahaha, well, I guess I deserve her scorn.” Bonnie shrugged and watched the other ship leave as she rubbed her aching cheek – Mary’s own farewell gift.

  “Well, with this I have a new announcement to make, you scurvy dogs!”

  She plucked the map out of her jacket and unrolled it to show it around.

  “Our days of plundering merchant vessels are over! I have a new goal for us: to find the lost shores and claim all its treasures for ourselves!”

  A murmur went through the crowd, way less enthusiastic than she would have liked. The lost shores were a rumored land far to the East, where the barriers of reality have grown so thin that they reportedly spat out new curiosities every other day – but at the same time, vessels that dared to seek them out went missing just as often.

  “Come on now. Ever since those strange things started to appear everywhere, didn’t it ever tickle you to go and pay them a visit in return?”

  More disinterested looks, some afraid or even angry that she would suggest such a thing. Bonnie furrowed her brow - she put the map away again and shrugged.

  “We’ll put it to a vote, then.”

  Bonnie gritted her teeth as she saw the result. For every man supporting her course of action, there were three against it.

  If only I had absolute authority… I could finally go on that adventure I dreamed of since I was a child.

  Period of Calm Seas, 1463 in the Era of Plunder

  ***

  “Our course appears to be off, captain.” Marco reported as he entered her cabin. Recently he spoke to her colder than usual. It happened often enough when she claimed a girl for herself, but he was usually over it after a week.

  This time he just became more aggressive and bitter as time went on, even when he did share her bed. Bonnie’s scalp still hurt from the force he pulled her hair with. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him today, but as captain she had duties.

  “Does it?” Bonnie responded with a sigh as she played with a gold coin, moving it idly between her knuckles while she leaned back in her chair, with her boots on the large table.

  Marco grimaced and grabbed the large map on her desk, tearing it to the side to reveal the map to the lost shores she hid underneath.

  “For the past two months you have been picking ever more eastwards trading routes to plunder for mysterious reasons, Bonnie. You can’t hide your true intentions from the crew forever! Especially since you made a show of wanting to follow this map!”

  Bonnie gave him a cold stare in return.

  “So what? They get the plunder they want while I inch closer to what I want.”

  “You know as well as I that it’s not about the plunder, Bonnie! A lot of these guys are in it to amass enough wealth to retire and start families. Those who don’t gamble it all away in a week at the very least. There’s no way they will respond kindly if they find out you’re steering them into a death trap!”

  Bonnie now pierced him with her stare and got up, stepping closer to him.

  “Well, good thing that they’re not going to find out then, is it?”

  She poked her finger deep into his chest and even growled at him quietly.

  “This has been my dream for a decade, Marco. And you agreed to come along. Don’t ruin this for me now, just because we have a bunch of cowards aboard.”

  Marco narrowed his eyes, grabbing her wrist and pulling her hand aside before he took a step back.

  “Sure… captain MacLeod.”

  Bonnie blinked as he left her quarters. From that day he never returned to sleep with her, either, only adding to her worries.

  ***

  Period of the Scorching Sun, 1463 in the Era of Plunder

  ***

  The end had come for her – Marco’s distant attitude was a sign of things to come, but she didn’t quite realize how bad things were going to get. Her careless navigation towards the East while trying to keep it a secret from the crew cost them dearly as the last storm swept away five men.

  The course was double checked, and Bonnie’s deception was uncovered – she went straight through the belt of storms surrounding the area in which the lost shores were said to be located. She stood on the plank, her hands and feet bound, with a single cannonball put into a bag she was forced to wear.

  She heard angry shouting from the crew and Marco stood in front of them. He looked tired.

  “Former captain MacLeod.” He began his address.

  “Due to your blatant disregard of the crew’s vote to not pursue the dangerous course towards the lost shores, five souls have been lost to the deep. It’s the crew’s decision that you should join them. You have betrayed your duty as captain and are sentenced to die via drowning.”

  Bonnie closed her eyes and tears of frustration ran down her cheeks.

  They replaced her with her former best friend, who looked all too happy to sentence her to die. Her dream escaped her reach. Her life was wasted – so utterly, completely wasted.

  Suddenly she felt something blocking the sun and she opened her eyes again – it was Marco, standing in front of her. Still wearing the tired expression.

  “Sorry, Bonnie. If you hadn’t been so underhanded, I might have made your dream come true.”

  “Spare me the excuses!” she spat his way.

  He looked to the side, sighing, then he grabbed her by the hair and leaned in, looking her in the eyes with an intense gaze.

  “I was so sick and tired of being your little errand boy. ‘Marco, help me get votes!’, ‘Marco, stand outside while I fuck the merchant’s daughter!’, ‘Marco, come into my bed!’, ‘Marco, keep our course a secret!’.”

  He let go of her hair, then he laughed.

  “Now look at you! I took your place! I’m finally in charge! My first win over you since that time you got distracted while fighting with sticks.”

  He took a deep breath and grinned at her, lowering his voice.

  “I told them to vote against the trip. I knew you would want to go on some sort of adventure the second you find some kind of map or hint, so I made sure to embellish the dangers a little. Because I knew you would do something stupid to undermine the ship’s democracy as well if you didn’t get your way.”

  Bonnie’s eyes widened, and she strained against the ropes keeping her tied up, almost tripping and falling into the water.

  “You bastard! I thought you were my friend!”

  “And I thought we were more than that, but you always preferred the ladies.” He sneered as he caught her, preventing her from falling in the water just yet.

  “And I still feel a little bit of the love I held for you, so I convinced them not to have their way with you as revenge for your ban on the practice.” He continued – Bonnie could hear the sound of steel sliding out of a sheath.

  “…and I won’t let you slowly drown, either. You deserve a better death.”

  Bonnie’s vision went red as an excruciating pain radiated through her backside. She looked down and started to shake violently, making breathless, desperate sounds as she saw her shirt soaking incredibly fast with her blood. He stuck his knife in her back – precisely severing her aorta between her kidneys.

  “Goodbye, Bonnie.” He whispered – she could see a single tear gathering in the corner of his eye as he let go of her and she fell into the salty waters below.

  She sank, dragged by the cannonball strapped to her body, alone with her final thoughts as her blood and tears mixed with the ocean.

  I only wanted to see more of the world… I wanted to see everything out there…

  Bonnie MacLeod, only twenty turns of the constellations young, bled out before she drowned. A small mercy.

  ???

  ***

  Bonnie was surrounded by darkness. She tried to strain against her bonds again, but she found them gone, as well as her limbs –her mouth - her eyes! She wanted to let out a panicked scream but was unable to.

  It took her an hour to calm down again – or at least she thought that it was an hour – time became an entirely meaningless concept.

  She remained like this, for a week. She realized after a while that her surroundings were warm. Motherly. It took her a few more days to realize that she wasn’t alone. Someone else was here in the vast darkness, as unable to move and communicate as she was. But she felt something. Like their souls touched.

  I don’t know who you are… but I think I love you.

  The thought surprised Bonnie herself – and she could feel that the other presence felt the same way.

  ***

  It’s been a few more weeks. The warm presence next to her had always been comforting, no matter how long she would be floating in this dark warmth, unable to do anything. Their thoughts intermingled, and though they never understood each other directly, they did so instinctively.

  Today though, she could feel great sadness.

  I won’t be with you anymore; the mood in their shared space spelled out.

  I’m too weak to go on. I will cease to exist. But I’ll always love you, sister. Even if your birth will make you forget about me.

  Bonnie didn’t understand at first, but then everything fell in place. She was about to lose her twin sister, her only companion in this dark place. She wanted to reach out, to thrash, to do whatever she could to save her – to prevent whatever was happening to her. She felt the warmth next to her drawing closer – she felt it entering her. She became one with her sister, but at the same time her sister was gone forever.

  Bonnie cried – she couldn’t do so physically, but her soul cried for the love she just lost.

  ***

  July 2010

  ***

  Bonnie stood in a strange white room. A few men and women wearing blue clothes and strange masks surrounded a woman with a big stomach who was lying on a special bed with rests for her legs. Words were exchanged, advice for the woman mostly as the supposed doctors lifted the blanket put on the woman and assisted with the delivery of a child. She heard the cry of a newborn and realized that it was her. This was her next life – but why was she watching from the outside?

  A man joined the new mother, and they looked at the red face of the newborn.

  “Let’s call her Mana.”

  Bonnie turned away from the scene and her eyes went wide in horror at the sight she saw. Many wispy figures stood next to her, all staring at the newborn. None of them had features like eyes or mouths – and none of them looked aware. As she looked at her own hands, she realized that she was a shade just like them.

  Is… is this the afterlife?

  She panicked – she tried to run away, but she couldn’t go anywhere outside of the newborn child’s range of perception. She was locked in this room, forced to watch. No one was here to hear her, or to see her – or interact with her.

  She resigned herself to her fate and watched over the girl – little Mana.

  ***

  She spent the next fourteen years like this. She watched Mana grow up and visit school. She watched the girl’s favorite TV shows together with her, watched her cheer on the Magical Girls who appeared in her world shortly before she was born, just like all the strange technologies appearing in Bonnie’s world. Bonnie now knew the names of a lot of things that confused people at home. The horseless carriage was a car. The chimneyed ship was a steam cruiser. And from some anime Mana watched she learned that the boxy, metallic man was a ‘mech suit’ and only existed as fiction in this world.

  She started to feel a strange sort of attachment to Mana. She laughed with her, despite the girl being unable to hear her. She wrapped her nebulous arms around the girl when she was sad, despite her being unable to feel her. She watched over her as she was sleeping, despite her inability to interfere if anything actually happened.

  After a bit more than thirteen years it finally happened. She witnessed Mana being chased by a marionette and falling into the infinite library.

  She witnessed her journey, how she outwitted the wizards from a strange place and how she helped a Magical Girl make an anachronistic condiment.

  And finally, she saw Mana holding Doppelg?nger in her hands. She saw one of the wispy figures watching over Mana with her shaking violently – clawing at the ground as it was forcibly absorbed into that book and transformed, emerging as Marisa.

  She watched Mana’s interactions with her time traveling self, with pagan gods from religions of her world’s past. She saw her visiting dead civilizations and strange alive ones.

  And in the end she saw Mana captured by a goddess who looked like a marble statue – and felt the tug of being forcibly absorbed by something, like her fellow wisp was by Doppelg?nger.

  She knew it was useless to resist, but she tried to anyway – and in the end she was forced to occupy Mana’s body.

  ???

  ***

  Bonnie awoke – and was face-to-face with the goddess who just blew the Amaranth’s seeds in Mana’s face. She had a cruel smile on her face, holding the young girl by the throat.

  Bonnie kicked her legs but couldn’t reach the woman’s body.

  “Put me back!” she shouted at the creature.

  The goddess simply stood up straight and walked out of the hedge maze, carrying Mana, or rather Bonnie, by the throat.

  “You speak like you’re someone different… you haven’t realized, then.”

  She let out a laugh – it sounded like a choir of little angels – angels intent on murdering someone.

  “You should rejoice! I erased the little thief’s existence, overwrote it with her past life. You get a chance to adventure again… Bonnie.”

  Bonnie’s eyes widened at those words.

  “No… no, she cannot be gone!” she screamed at the creature.

  “Accept this gift by your better and praise me! Praise Mnemosyne!” the goddesses’ voice boomed, shaking Mana’s little body in her hand.

  Bonnie was choking – she was on the verge of passing out. It appeared that this goddess was fully set on killing her if she didn’t thank her for erasing the girl she grew so fond of the past fourteen years and placing her in control of her empty shell of a body.

  Just as Bonnie thought she would die a second death, a fireball exploded in the goddesses’ side.

  She let go and Bonnie fell into the grass below, coughing and unable to move from the pain of being dropped from that height. Her vision was blurry, and she looked to where that fireball came from.

  There was Marisa, the girl born from a book after it stole one of the souls looking over Mana.

  “Don’t touch her, you bitch!” The clone was furious, approaching the goddess with a wet face from crying.

  More and more fireballs crashed into the goddesses’ body, cracking it. Pieces of rock-like flesh broke off, revealing the pure golden glow within as the goddess shrieked in pain.

  Marisa hurried to Bonnie’s side and grabbed her by her robes, dragging her through an appearing portal while she kept firing fireball upon fireball.

  ***

  Moon of the Light Elves, 1067 AR

  ***

  “Please! Please, please! Bring her back!”

  She heard Marisa’s voice. She was crying and pleading with someone. Bonnie was slipping in and out of consciousness – her young body was battered, her windpipe still ached from the strong grip of an otherworldly being.

  She looked to the side and saw a hooded woman being confronted by the clone. She held out a hand.

  “I know you pocketed it, Doppelg?nger. Now prove that your love for her is greater than your need to kill your ‘homewrecker’.”

  Marisa’s face contorted – it swapped insanely fast between a hateful visage and the earnest crying face, like she was fighting for control.

  Her hand shakily reached into her pocket, and she produced a small leather pouch, handing it over to the hooded woman.

  “Please…” she kept pleading.

  “You might actually be a good girl after all,” said the hooded woman before she walked over to where Bonnie was lying. She signaled to someone from outside of her field of view and Bonnie saw the edges of a magic circle. Her body slowly recovered from the beating it took.

  “I don’t know your name or what your story is… the simple truth of the matter is, you should have never been woken up. You were supposed to lose consciousness and pass the torch and enjoy eternal oblivion. I’m sorry that this was done to you, but I can’t have you in control of that young girl.”

  The hooded woman’s words were annoyingly to the point, but Bonnie didn’t object to them.

  “…please bring her back.” She whispered.

  “I can’t erase you again, either… are you willing to be her little angel or devil on her shoulder? To watch from the back of her mind for as long as she lives until you get to share in oblivion?”

  “Anything, as long as she gets to live her life.” Bonnie answered shakily.

  “My dreams were already taken from me… don’t let anyone take hers.”

  “Thank you,” said the hooded woman before she gently put a hand on Bonnie’s forehead. She felt sleepy and quickly gave in to that sensation.

  Mana jolted awake, with a wet feeling all over her face. She wiped at her cheeks, collecting the remains of endless tears on her fingers. She slept for thirty-four years in her mind – living through the entirety of Bonnie’s life, then her own a second time.

  All this in the span of a few seconds in the real world.

  “Welcome back, Mana.” Nicola sat by her side and talked to her in a gentle voice, reaching out to stroke her head.

  “…I messed up.” Mana admitted and realized that she was talking for two people with those words. For herself being careless in the garden and jumping around, only to be caught.

  For Bonnie trying to subvert her crew’s vote and getting crewmen and finally herself killed.

  Nicola didn’t say anything for now and got up – then she pointed at a spot on the bed next to Mana – and as she turned her head she saw Marisa, clinging to her, asleep.

  “I tested her. Her love for you is indeed stronger than her desire to erase the girl from the future. Maybe there is hope, yet.”

  Mana gulped and gathered her thoughts, then she finally asked her question.

  “What happened?”

  “Mnemosyne did the cruelest thing one can do to your soul: she made it remember.”

  Mana sighed, looking at Marisa.

  “With the Amaranth? Could we-”

  “No.” the answer cut off Mana’s words and came with an icy voice that left no room for disagreement. Mana looked up to Nicola who wore an unusually serious expression.

  “You never had a twin sister, Mana. She never made it, and there are no memories of hers to recover. All you have is transcendent feelings of love now resting inside Marisa.”

  She stepped closer.

  “And besides. As I said, it’s the cruelest thing imaginable you could do to someone’s soul. I won’t let you blacken your conscience with that kind of sin.”

  Mana gulped and nodded.

  “…then what are you going to do with it?”

  Nicola closed her eyes and stood up straight again, walking towards the door.

  “…the cruelest thing imaginable. To the soul of an abomination.”

  She looked back over her shoulder and gave Mana a tired smile.

  “I’m a bit of a hypocrite, you see. But for now, do rest up. We can talk later, and I’ll have your reward ready.”

  ***

  Mana sat there by herself with the sleeping Marisa, pondering over Nicola’s words. She never had a sister. Judging by what she experienced earlier, her and her sister were in an unconscious state, feeling each other – and forgot about the entire experience afterwards.

  She could feel Bonnie in the back of her head, influencing her personality and some of her tastes. She remembered being shocked at her own changed personality while meeting her future self – and realized that she just became that person.

  She wasn’t interested in naughty topics before but watching Bonnie do it with Marco and the various girls who stayed on her ship awakened an appetite in her – and she realized she was bisexual herself.

  She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked to the side, looking Marisa in the eyes.

  Did she always have silver eyes?

  “Your eyes changed, mistress…” Marisa said, and Mana blinked.

  “What color are they now?”

  “Gold, like that statue woman who attacked you.”

  Mana pondered that new information. She mutated again, exposed to otherworldly energies. She just hoped that it would stay within these minor changes, and she wouldn’t sprout extra eyes or limbs one day. She tried to recall if she even noticed the difference when she encountered her older self.

  She shook her head, instead reaching out and caressing Marisa’s cheek. She looked long into her eyes, taking in the view of her own face with different colors.

  I do look great with a tan like that and red hair.

  She felt a tingle in her core – Bonnie’s life experience was awakening something inside her. She tried to ignore it for now and spoke to her.

  “First off, Marisa… I’m sorry I said that I hate you.”

  Marisa’s eyes grew big and sparkled.

  “I’m sorry I attacked you… the voice overpowered me.”

  Mana nodded and looked Marisa over again. This was a girl summoned as her clone with a soul who loved her dearly – shackled to a cruel magic book.

  She was all that, but she wasn’t Mana’s sister.

  Good. Otherwise, this would be kind of gross. Mana thought – then she leaned in and gave Marisa a kiss.

  As they embraced, she kept thinking about Marisa’s predicament.

  I will save her… and this Arisu. I am greedy like that.