Voyage Of The Villainess

"Make sure to hold tight, we are going to go now." Nicholas patted the black whale's head. "Poodle, let's go now!"

'Poodle???' The image of the dog and whale came across Malaya's mind. There was nothing for them alike. Not a single thing. 'But how fast could this whale carry this huge ship on its back?' The voices inside her head are making a perception of what could occur straight away. 

With that remark. Poodle the black whale began to flap his tail and dive straight ahead. Like a bullet that got fired out from the gun, the whale shot fast to the sea.'Well not bad huh' she taught. 

"Ar!" Malaya immediately took hold of the mast of the ship! It felt like she was on some sort of roller coaster right now! 'So fast!' The wind hitting her face felt like a slap to a thousand sea lions as they moved forward.

'Not that I experienced that kind of slap. Wait...Do sea lions even slap someone? That could be an interesting study to have. But do they even exist in the first place in this world?'  Malaya's mind went back when she saw a fist flying straight to her face. Luckily, she immediately dodged.

'What the?! Where did that one even come from?'

'To the sea, of course, duh.' Malaya frowned when her mind sarcastically answered her.

She held firm in the mast, her line of sight fixated ahead to the endless blue.

Nicholas Grande stood on top of the whale with both of his hands holding the crane. Even with how fast they were going, it seemed nothing to the head shipbuilder with how steady he was standing. 

"Faster Poodle!" He said with much delight in his voice.

'What?! This thing could still go faster!' Malaya screamed internally. She couldn't do anything about it but close her own eyes and wish that when she opened them back they will get to the destination.

The black whale splashed its tail and swam even faster.

"Ahh!" Malaya finally let out a scream as they moved even faster than before. 'I feel like I'm going to puke after this.' Abruptly her heartbeat drummed. She was stunned and didn't dare to move. It was something like a blast of energy. This speed was insane, completely different from before!!!

Somewhat she could see her soul leaving her body any time soon.

'I'll never have this ride again! I swear!' Just then, When Malaya finally opened her both eyes, a line of sight caught something ahead of them. 'There was a ship in front of them!'

As Malaya's gaze got stuck on this situation. Only one thing came to her mind. The last song she heard her friend Liza kept playing in their cabin. 

Da-da-da-da-da

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da

Those particular lines in the lyrics of the Wellerman song played to her mind as she watched the scene. They were closing in on the huge ship and Malaya could see how the people onboard there were panicking.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da

Ten Seconds of Impact, everything slowed down. Her shift went towards Nicholas. But the said driver was still composed as ever. A huge grin plastered on his face. His dark green coat kept flapping in the air.

Five seconds of impact...

"Now, Poodle!" Nicholas shouted, his grasp on his crane tightened. The black whale this time, splashed its tail harder on the water, and the next thing Malaya and Rein knew.

Three seconds of impact...The black whale jumped high enough above the huge ship in front of them. As the dark whale jumped, they can feel the energy of their own heart and gradually breathe as they go high above from another boat.

'Ah. It can jump...'

'Da-da-da-da-darn'

'Da-da-da-da-da-da-darn'

'Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-darn'

"I'm still freaking alive," Malaya whispered in the last tune of the last line of the Wellerman. They dropped on the other side of the boat. Both Malaya and Rein couldn't rest when the whale speed up again.

"Ah!' Malaya lost her hold to the mast. 'Sh*t!' 

"Milady!" 

Malaya closed her eyes for the impact of the fall. But moments later, she felt nothing.

'What? When she opened her eyes, she saw a gorgeous and gentle face with a dazzling grin. The fact that their faces were so close to one other was the most crucial thing.

*Ba-dump!* 'What's with this sudden shift of genre? From a fantasy thriller chase to a romance, cliche catch me I'm falling, kya, kya?' 

Malaya shivered at the thought and didn't dare to move or their face would touch. 

"We meet again, Lady Malaya," he remarked with a casual smile that deepened his two dimples.

'Even his voice is familiar.' Just then, the mysterious yet familiar man's blond hair and eyes that were the color of the bright blue morning skies clicked to her mind.

'Don't tell me...'

"Sir Elred?" Malaya blurted out. The grin on Elred's face grew wider. "Yes." He said as he finally steady Malaya's foothold. Malaya immediately took hold of the mast.

'He's Elred?' The memory of the grumpy and poker face Elred back at the academy flashed through Malaya's mind. Then she glanced at this man with a wide grin on his face and a sunny expression. "There is no way, you're him."

'Yep, definitely. Maybe he had a twin or something. That must be it. And does he have dimples on him?'

Elred only chuckled when he saw Malaya's reaction. "I get it a lot when I'm not at the academy," he responded casually, smiling. "I only use a cold front in the academy so that other people don't interfere with my studies," he said, his smile becoming even bigger and brighter.

Malaya blinked her eyes as golden flowers bloomed in his background?

'What's with that?!' Malaya's eyes almost squirmed. With his smile, not only that Malaya could see the sun almost radiating behind him. 'Or perhaps, he was really radiating! Wait! How come we could talk normally at this speed?' She realized that there was no wind hitting her and she could move pretty well without the fear of stumbling.

"What did you do?" Malaya asked but another question flowed to her mind. "And what are you doing here?" She cast him a suspicious gaze.

"Is that how you react to someone who saves you from falling?" Elred said, though his bright smile remained.

"Yes," Malaya responded right away. "And add the fact that we are in the middle of the sea and you appeared out of nowhere. Anyone will certainly be suspicious of that."

There was a moment of silence in the air.

"Milady!" Both of them turned to Rein who arrived while holding on to the ropes so he wouldn't fall too from the moving ship. 

"Rein." 

"Milady! Are you alright?!" He immediately went to Malaya's side and glared at Elred. 

Before Malaya could speak...

"We're here." 

They all turned to face Nicholas, who had appeared out of nowhere and flown to their location. Just at that moment, the three of them noticed that the ship had stopped moving. Then Nicholas pointed at something which made all of them turn their head in that direction.

In front of them was the ship of Malaya that was stolen. Without further adieu, Malaya ran towards the end of the ship and brought out her talisman. But as she tore it, nothing happened. 

'Ah sh*t, it's all wet.' She couldn't help but curse more to her luck. All the talisman with her was completely useless now.

She drew the Trinity from her hilt and pushed the last button while pointing towards her ship. It ejected a grappling rope, which instantly whirled towards the ship's railing. She jumped right to it, without wasting any time, clutching the rope hard. When her feet hit the side of her ship, she swiftly climbed up.

Rein landed on her right side as he just literally jumped. "I will immediately look for her." He said as he started to go ahead of Malaya. 

Malaya also did the same and looked for Dorris. Moments later, she and Rein met again in the middle of the deck.

"I couldn't find her."

"Same goes for me." 

Both of their faces held conflict and worry. They could really feel the anxiety inside them when they didn't perceive any hint of Dorris. No one appeared to realize what to do for sure.

"It appears to me that the kidnapper abandoned the ship," they both turned to Nicholas who broke the silence. He mixed a deck of cards in his hands and was leaning comfortably against the ship's rails. "After all, with his wind magic, he'd be able to traverse this distance to Aravan's mainland without tiring himself out."

Malaya and Rein both cast glances in the direction of Nicholas' gaze. Their eyes were drawn immediately to the massive island that was now just a few kilometers ahead.

"I'll keep an eye on this ship, so you can look for her," Nicholas simply stated as he reinserted his cards into his sleeves.