She was floating. Floating like the lightest feather, without a care in the world. Everything was fine. More than fine actually. Everything was perfect. The wind caressed her and she felt loved, like she was enveloped in a warm blanket. The colors were vibrant and the whole world around her screamed with life. She couldn’t help but to giggle.

The change was sudden. At one moment she was gliding towards the huge rainbow, trying to catch a unicorn when everything went pitch black. There were no colors, there was nothing. Nothing but the dark. And she fell. She plummeted and she screamed, because she knew something was waiting for her at the bottom. But she couldn’t stop the fall.

Abruptly her fall came to an end. It wasn’t that she hit something. She just - stopped.

“So, you have come,” a deep voice said in the darkness. There was something wrong with the voice. Something that did not belong in this world. It filled her with terror unlike anything she had witnessed before. It gripped her heart so tightly she felt like it would burst. She couldn’t breathe. She tried to run, but there was nowhere to run. She was in the dark and the voice was all around her. She knew it saw her. It saw her.

“You can’t escape your destiny,” the voice continued. To her terror, hands were starting to form. Millions of skeletal white hands, with white eyes on them, trying to grope at her. Trying to catch her. “You can’t escape from me.” The hands caught her and started to pull her even deeper into the darkness. She screamed as loud as she could, but she had no voice. She didn’t have a body anymore.

“You are mine,” the voice whispered.

“Calm down! It was just a dream!” Mary could hear someone telling her gently. There was a hand stroking her hair and another keeping her still. Mary tried to calm her breathing as best as she could. It had been a bad dream. Just a bad dream. Just like at home…

Home. It wasn’t mother that was stroking her hair. This wasn’t her bed, this wasn’t even her room. Her eyes darted wildly around until they settled on the woman next to her.

“Are you feeling better now?” she asked calmly and smiled warmly at Mary, who couldn’t help but to feel safe. She was safe. She had nothing to worry about. And she couldn’t help but to notice how beautiful the woman next to her was.

She was perfect. There was no other word for it. Her eyes were the color of the sea after dark, so dark blue they almost seemed black. And her hair. Mary would have given anything to have a straight bluish black hair like she did. Her skin didn’t have any blemishes or even tan. It was the color of cool porcelain and so smooth she had to be rich or royalty.

“Are you an elf?” she asked cautiously. She had to be! Mary had never seen one, but she knew they were called the Beautiful Race and she definitely was that. Maybe even an elven princess? Her question made the woman laugh and Mary felt her telltale blush creeping on her face.

“No, little one, I am not,” she answered with a laugh. “I am Draconia, the sorceress of this ship.” Draconia smiled at Mary with her perfect face. “I am not an elf, but he certainly is.” Draconia pointed at the corner of the room, where a man was leaning on the wall, his eyes firmly on them.

Well, not a man. An elf. A real elf.

He too had black hair, which reminded Mary of raven feathers. Colorful feathers had been woven in his hair, together with silver bells, which chimed quietly whenever he moved. He had a facial tattoo, spanning from his left temple to his eye. And his eyes, they were so green Mary had never seen such color on anyone. And those eyes were staring straight at her. With one brow raised.

To her complete mortification she realized she had been quite openly staring at the man. If she hadn’t looked like a tomato before, now she certainly did. The first elf she sees and she acts like a total idiot. But she couldn’t have helped it. She had never seen anyone like that. And he was so tall!

“You still here?” Draconia asked and nudged Mary’s shoulder, startling her. This was just embarrassing. “I know he is quite gorgeous, but we have some questions for you.”

“I well, I,” Mary stammered.

“You aren’t the first one to fell to Fel!” the sorceress then laughed. A real sorceress. Mary could feel her head spinning. This was all quite a bit too much for her. She must be dreaming still.

“By the gods Draconia, that wasn’t funny the first time you told it and it isn’t funny now!” the elf sighed.

“Ow, my poor little elf-slave doesn’t have any humor in him. Boohoo,” Draconia mocked and then turned her attention back to Mary. “Now, tell me everything little girl! From the start! You lived in that village that was destroyed, right? Do you remember anything about the attack?”

The attack?

The attack!

Mary could feel all the color drain from her face. Here she was, daydreaming when all her friends, all of her family was… And it had been her fault. She had been the one who had been too stupid to tell anyone. Even Vilna had said so! Her fault.

“It was - it was my fault,” she started slowly. “I saw the buggering ship, but I told no one. It was my fault!”

“Nonsense! You couldn’t have done anything even if you had warned everyone. Your village was doomed the moment the pirates spotted it.” Mary felt her breathing hitching in her throat. No, if she had told someone, they could’ve escaped together. Everyone would be safe.

“Alright, then. Girl, drink this. And do tell me your name, so I don’t have to call you just girl.” Draconia pushed a glass of something warm in Mary’s hands and prompted her to drink it. She eyed it suspiciously. It smelled like a normal cup of cocoa and Mary’s mouth watered. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had drunk cocoa! She glanced at Draconia, who was tapping her foot on the floor impatiently and then downed the drink in one go. They could have killed her earlier, why’d they poison her now.

It - was - delicious. Unlike anything she had tasted before. It had looked like cocoa and smelled like cocoa, but… it tasted like summer. Like childhood. And weird enough - raisins.

But there definitely had been something in the drink. Otherworldly calm set on her and she felt like she could tell them anything. Anything they asked, she would tell. She trusted them. They were her friends.

“Alright now, girl. You saw the ship?” Draconia asked and even the elf stepped closer.

“Yes. In the distance when I was visiting the beach. I thought it was just passing by. I think… I think it was a galleon,” Mary told them. If they wanted to know more, she would tell! Anything!

Draconia seemed to be ready to ask the next question, but at that moment the door to the room fell open and a dwarf stepped in. Mary had to blink. A dwarf. A dwarf who smiled and winked at her. She offered him a shy smile back.

“Captain wants to see you, Fel. And the little one. And of course you, Lady Draconia,” the dwarf said with a deep rumbling voice and bowed to the sorceress who seemed amused by his antics. Mary still felt a little unstable and confused, but didn’t protest when the sorceress helped her up from the bed.

Captain? So it seemed she was on a ship. And not the attacking ship but a different one. What exactly had occurred after she had ran away from Vilna? She didn’t remember much…

Mary decided she would ask some questions of her own, when she met the captain. She would find out what had happened and where her family was. Maybe these people knew who the attacker was? And why they had attacked.

“Do you think you might be able to walk to the Captain’s cabin?” Draconia asked Mary. “You did have a rather large bump on your head, but I don’t think it should be that bad. And we haven’t left the harbor left so the ship isn’t swinging that much yet.”

“I can do it,” Mary answered bravely. The drink she’d had had given her strength and energy. She felt like she could run all day! And if the captain was the only person who could give her answers, then it was absolutely paramount that she met him now!

Mary took her first step with renewed vigor and fell face first to the floor. She could hear Draconia slap herself and the dwarf cough. Mary tried to scramble up as quickly as possible, but she wasn’t able until the elf grabbed her shirt and lift her up.

She was beyond mortified now.

“Piggyback it is,” the elf sighed and lowered himself. “Get on. We can see the Captain quicker and we don’t have to risk you giving yourself brain damage.” Mary just stared at him. Piggyback. The elf?!

This was a dream. And Vilna would never ever believe it.

“Fel won’t bite, even if he looks like a feral dog. He only bites people I tell him to,” Draconia whispered to Mary. Mary noticed that the elf’s pointy ears became screaming red at their tip and he looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him.

“Hop on, before lady Sorceress tells you too much tales which aren’t true,” he muttered and moved his unbelievably long hair out of the way. “The captain’s waiting, need I remind you?”

Carefully Mary laid her hands on his shoulders and jumped on his back. No one in her family would ever believe her. Mary the Gnome, piggybacking an elf! And she felt like she was a giant when he stood up. From up here she could’ve reached even mom’s secret cookie stash. Mary was just glad she had never developed a fear for heights - unlike her brothers. The thoughts of her family made her eyes water. Where were Evin and Oven now? How about mom? Dad? What had the pirates done to them?

The worry about her family soon gave away for amazement though. The trip to the captain’s cabin wasn’t long, so Mary saw only a glance of the crew and the deck before they were standing outside a set of huge doors. The only time Mary had seen doors this huge was when they had visited a temple at her cousin’s wedding. But these doors were even more decorative. Different sorts of sea mammals were carved in them, with some mythical beast joining them.

The elf could step through them with no trouble. Mary had the brief desire to try and touch the frame with all the merfolk in it when they passed underneath, but didn’t have the courage.

The cabin itself made her mind blown. She was gaping at the room, mouth hanging open and she was too mesmerized to even notice. This ship must have been huge! Even this room was larger than their house had been!

“Wow,” she sighed with awe. Not only was the room big, but it was filled with treasures. The floor was filled with ornamented carpets and rare animal skins. She could even spot something she thought could be a silver fox (she didn’t even know those really existed!). And the furniture! They were filled with delicate carvings and jewels. There was even a chair Mary thought was pure gold! The whole room seemed to scream adventure and riches.

In the middle of everything she saw the captain smoking a pipe. The first thing Mary noticed about him was that even the captain was huge! Mary had thought the elf was tall, but the captain towered even him. Not to mention his belly, which was at least the size of two barrels, but he still didn’t look fat. He had a long dark brown hair, which had been tied in the back and very, very long beard that had been braided on two tails and was now resting on his stomach. He also sported the friendliest brown eyes Mary had seen.

“You must be our guest, welcome!” the captain bellowed and closed the book on his lap. Mary managed to notice it was about dragons, before she realized that the elf was waiting for her to get off his back. She carefully stood on the floor and tried not to feel like an ant when she stared at the behemoth who was the captain.

“I am the captain of this noble ship. My name is Hammer, Sledge Hammer. What might I call you?” The captain smiled brightly at Mary and she couldn’t help but to answer the smile. There was something about the Captain that made Mary immediately like him. By far, everybody on this ship had been extra-nice to her!

“Maryen,” she introduced herself and even curtsied. “But everyone calls me Mary, mister Hammer.” Hammer snorted in amusement.

“You don’t need to call me a mister, Mary. It makes me feel like I’m some sort of a noble, prancing around in my pink pantyhoses and frills in the middle of the ball room!”

“But captain, you do that all the time,” the dwarf cut him off and received a glare.

“Shut up, Aldrik. Where was I? Oh yes. You can call me captain! Now, there’s a title filled with freedom, excitement, glory… Oh, what’s the matter Draconia, dear?” The captain turned his attention towards Draconia who had given a cough. “That busy, eh?”

“Time is essence, my dear captain,” Draconia smiled. “The girl’s village was attacked and I think we all know who was responsible.”

“Captain Death,” Hammer ended for Draconia, his voice dripping with hate. But Mary was still confused. Who was this Captain Death and why had he attacked their village? Of all the villages possible. That just made no sense!

“E-excuse me?” she started and felt like shrinking when all the eyes were set on her. “But why would this Captain Death attack my village? We have no treasures. And where is my family?” Mary’s voice wavered. She was terribly worried. What if this Captain had killed all of them and now they were rotting in the sea? Or maybe he had fed them to a sea monster!

“Oh, Captain Death…” Hammer started. “He has always been a rather peculiar pirate, that one. I thought I had offed him for good years ago, but apparently he has found a way to cheat death again. He’s a very powerful necromancer and user of black magic.”

“He can bring people back from the dead,” Draconia explained to Mary and Mary felt her eyes widen. No one should be able to do that!

“I’m pretty sure he’s once again obsessed with the old, forgotten gods, who he always rambles about,” Hammer continued.

“But… but… what about my family? My village.”

“Oh, don’t worry! Fel found no bodies, so clearly Captain Death has taken them all with him. They are most certainly still alive. I just don’t know why he’d need people. There has been a lot of disappearing villages lately, but I never thought Captain Death might be behind them. I’m sure he has a plan. We need to find it out!” Hammer accompanied his words with a swift fist on the table.

“Slave trade?” Draconia suggested. Mary felt nauseated. Her brother’s as slaves? Her mother cooking and cleaning at some stranger’s house? Dad building pyramids and temples to the gods until his body would give out. No, she couldn’t let that happen!

“We have to stop him!” Mary yelled.

“Har, the girl has guts. I like her already,” Hammer grinned. “Looks like a promising crew member to me, right Fel?” The elf his question had been directed to was caught off guard and almost dropped a vase he was holding.

“Crew member?! The girl?” he asked, clearly shocked. Mary could feel her blush creeping again. But this time it wasn’t because of embarrassment, but because of anger. How dare he doubt her! She might’ve not known how to fight, she was small and maybe even weak, but she had willpower! She’d do anything to get her family back. Her family needed her! And she needed them. She’d join the crew alright, the captain needn’t but to ask. She’d rather take part on the rescue party than wait all alone by herself!

“Yes,” Hammer said. “The girl clearly wants to go with us. And we can’t abandon her here. They might kill her, because of what she is.”

Fel furrowed and even Mary was confused. Did he mean she was in danger because apparently she was the only survivor? Why would the citizens kill her for that? Was it too suspicious? Would they think she was in league with the pirates? Or was Vilna right? Maybe she was cursed. Maybe she had some evil curse on her.

“What… because what she is?” Fel made sure. Mary could feel the elf’s eyes on her and stared at the floor ahead of her. Would they all realize that she was bad business and abandon her? She wanted to help. She wanted to go with them!

“Come on, Fel. For an elf, you can be stupidly blind sometimes,” Draconia huffed and walked right next to Mary. “Mary dear, could you show us your ear, please? Maybe then our near-sighted first mate will know what we are talking about.” Mary complied and moved her hair away, even though she had no idea what was going on. What was wrong with her ears? Could you see someone was cursed by their ears. This was weird.

What was even weirder was the reaction Fel had. He stared at Mary like he had seen a ghost and dropped the same vase he had almost broken earlier. This time he didn’t manage to catch it in time and it broke to small pieces and Mary could hear Captain Hammer groan.

“That was a rarity!” he yelled. “Rarity!”

“I’ll get you a new one,” Fel muttered, still not taking his eyes off Mary. And Mary was still staring at him. There were so many flickering emotions on Fel’s face Mary wasn’t sure what was going on and what the elf really felt.

“What’s wrong with my ear?” Mary asked, when the silence was becoming too heavy. She was so nervous.

“Well, nothing dear. They are perfectly normal ears,” Draconia laughed.

“For someone who is related to an elf,” Fel continued, his face ashen. “You have elf blood in you.”

Mary just stared at him. Then at the rest. Then she promptly stuck her finger in her ear and tried to get rid of the ear wax that was certainly blocking her hearing and making her hear things that weren’t real.

“Okay, I think I can hear you better now,” she said. “Could you please repeat that?”

“You have elf blood in you,” Fel repeated, this time more firmly. “How could I have been so blind?” He turned his attention towards Draconia. “You noticed right away, didn’t you?”

“I am a sorceress,” she answered, like it was to most obvious thing in the world. “I know things.”

“But I can’t be an elf! Or related to one!” Mary protested and checked her ears hadn’t sprouted pointy ends when she hadn’t been looking. Nope, no pointiness there. “My ears are completely normal!”

“They are not pointed yet, but they will be,” Draconia told her. “Elf ears start to take shape in the teenage years. Yours have just started to change. The change is little, but noticeable to those who know what to look for.”

“But, my parents are both humans!” Mary’s eyes widened. Did this mean… No, this couldn’t be true. “I’M ADOPTED?”

“Or your mother had a lover.” Draconia shrugged. “It’s plausible.” Mary could do nothing but gape. Her mother would never…!

“My point stands,” Hammer interrupted them. “She has elf blood. We can’t leave her here.”

Mary felt her whole world spin out of control. Everything she knew had been pulled from under her. Not only was her family missing, but apparently they might not even be her real family. Or maybe the people here were lying? There was just no way she could be a partial elf or whatever they claimed she was. There was just no way!

But somehow it all made sense. How the villagers had always sort of avoided her and how her mother had made extra care she spent as much time indoors as possible… How she had always felt… different.

“Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how about we think of a plan?” Draconia suggested.

“You said that Captain Death had a galleon?” Hammer checked from Mary, who nodded in agreement. “Then he can’t be advancing quickly. That’s a slow ship.”

“I still have that speed scroll we got from the merchant ship the other week,” Draconia pointed out. “We can double our speed with that. Especially if I can get the wind on our side.”

“And how are we going to find out where he is going?” Fel asked, frowning. “From what I can remember, there was no logic to the disappearing villages. That’s why we thought nothing of them.”

“Now we have a girl who has strong ties to those on the ship,” Draconia explained. “Maybe even blood ties.”

Mary wanted to point out that she most definitely had blood ties to those on the ship, but how could she be sure? Maybe her family wasn’t related to her at all. Maybe she truly was adopted. Her brothers didn’t really look like her at all. She had always thought she looked a bit like mother, but then again, maybe even that was a coincidence…

“A location spell?” Fel ensured. “With her as the catalyst?”

“By using her it would pass the magical barriers the ship has,” Draconia explained. “We would know exactly where the ship is.”

“But you would be using blood magic,” Fel countered. “It comes with a price.”

With that Mary came back to the moment at that hand.

“Blood magic?” she asked, her voice quivering. Maybe these people weren’t so nice after all. She had only heard grueling tales about blood magic. All of them ending badly.

“I will require small amount of you blood, yes,” Draconia sighed. “But there is really no other way. We wouldn’t know where to go. The chances of we finding Captain Death by, well, chance, are close to zero.”

Draconia and Fel stared at each other, Fel’s dislike for the situation clearly showing on his face. But then something in him gave up. He sighed loudly.

“You know best. As always.”

Draconia smiled triumphantly.

“It’s decided then!” Captain Hammer declared. “Ready the crew, we have a battle ahead of us! And you girl, Draconia isn’t going to hurt you. The amount needed for the spell is really miniscule. More of a drop really.”

Draconia took a hold of Mary’s hand and offered an encouraging smile. Mary tried to be brave, but all of this just seemed too much. She was a partial elf and now she was needed in some sort of blood magic ritual…

But they needed to do it in order to find her family. But that family might not really be her family. Mary swallowed nervously. This was something she needed to do. She loved her family, even if they weren’t blood related. She’d help these people, because she wanted to see mother and father smile again. She wanted her brothers to tease her again. She wanted her family safe.

“Let’s do this,” Mary said, with fire in her eyes.