Chapter10
900 Words
“I need to see Andalus right away,” Destine kept whispering to herself as she paced around the room. She was afraid that he might have already married someone else, and she didn’t have time to deal with any curses or distractions.
She wanted to believe what Jaune had said—that everything would be fine once they were together again.
She was the Hero. She was the Hero.
She needed to be strong through it all.
Suddenly, a knock interrupted her thoughts.
“Destine?” Jaune’s voice came from outside.
“Come in, Jaune,” she replied, and the door opened as the other girl stepped in.
“Sorry,” Jaune said. “I wanted to change clothes. I’m soaked. Is there any spare clothing here?”
Destine smiled at her and walked to the closet. “I think I saw something in here.”
“Oh good. That’s a relief.” Jaune closed the door behind her and immediately began undressing without hesitation, unfazed since it was just her twin in the room.
“Good thing even though there are no bras in this world, their clothes don’t show anything through.”
Destine searched the closet and spotted a black dress. She paused for a moment and looked at it—it had a simple design with golden embroidery. Then, at the back, she noticed a white dress with a similar design.
“Jaune, there’s only a black dress here,” she said without turning around.
“No problem, any color’s fine as long as there’s something.”
Destine took the black dress. She stared at the white one for a moment before closing the closet and handing the black dress to her twin, who eagerly changed into it. Destine quietly observed as she finished dressing.
“How do I look?” Jaune asked happily, twirling around.
Destine gave her a faint smile.
“Jaune,” she called softly. “Are you really okay with what you said earlier?”
“About what?”
“About… if something bad happens to you?”
Jaune looked at her sister.
“If something bad happens to me, you have to keep going. You can only help me once you and your prince charming are reunited. I’m probably one of the obstacles keeping you apart, so don’t let anything stop you.”
“But I can’t just leave you behind. What if something happens to you?”
“That’s what a hero would think, and it’s exactly what you shouldn’t. Don’t worry about me. I’ll try to stay alive until everything’s settled. Besides, once that happens, I’ll finally return to our world, right? Everything will turn out fine.”
Destine only nodded, smiling faintly.
“You need to be careful, Destine,” Jaune said as she adjusted her dress.
“You know what happens after one disaster? Another one.”
Destine didn’t respond.
Suddenly, something slammed hard against the ship, startling them both.
“What was that?” Destine asked, alarmed.
“Oh no! Oh no! I knew it!” Jaune cried as she jumped onto the bed and quickly threw the blanket over her head.
“Destine, don’t go out there. You’ll just get hurt!”
Destine glanced at her twin hiding under the covers.
“Stay here. Don’t come out.”
She stepped out and immediately surveyed the ship.
~~~
She was shocked to see a swarm of giant bats. The crew was in chaos, shooting arrows at the creatures, and whenever one was hit, it plummeted into the water.
“What’s going on, Monzo?” she shouted to her friend.
“I don’t know! They just appeared from afar. It’s like they’re looking for something.”
“Looking for what?” she asked, just as a bat lunged at her. She quickly dodged and grabbed a tall piece of wood, swinging it at the creature.
“We might be safe from the sea right now, but not from the skies!” Tiru shouted loudly.
Destine was startled when one of the bats flew into the ship.
“Jaune!” she quickly grabbed a sword and ran after it.
The creature screeched and rampaged inside, seemingly searching for something, until it crashed through a door. Jaune’s scream echoed from within.
“Destine!” Jaune yelled. “Help!”
“Jaune!” Destine sprinted to the cabin, sword in hand. She found the door open and heard Jaune’s screams and the monster’s screech inside.
She charged into the room, only to see Jaune being dragged toward the window by the bat-like monster.
“Let her go!” she shouted, attacking the creature and slashing its arm. It shrieked and released Jaune, who collapsed to the floor.
“What’s happening?! Why are they after me? Shouldn’t they be going after you?! Maybe I’m just the sacrificial sidekick, Destine—I don’t want to die!” Jaune screamed in panic, unable to hide her terror, especially at the sight of the horrific monster.
“Maybe because they know you’re not fighting back. Don’t think about being a sidekick.” Destine replied.
“R-Really? Fine then—I’ll fight! Where’s my weapon? I refuse to be carried away. And they’re so ugly!”
Destine didn’t respond, just watched her terrified sister look around in panic. After a moment, she simply nodded and stepped out to help, shooting arrows at the flying monsters.
- Writer
