The cerulean sea sparkled as we sailed; the water caught sunlight and beautified it, enriched what we otherwise took for granted. Fish swam beneath the waves, and the sky was a clear light blue. The air was filled with the scent of salt.

My sailing boat was a beautiful bit of woodwork with bright crimson sails. It had plenty of space for all us, and a raised platform at the back of the ship for me to pilot. It also gave me room to observe my crew mates on the deck.

Finn, Aislin, and Gavin all had camaraderie, but Duncan didn’t seem out of place among them. She laughed at the right jokes, weighed in at the right moments, and had an infectious charisma. She was better at it than I was after only a day of getting to know them all.

Everyone was dressing casually until we neared landfall; even if we encountered raiders, we’d have plenty of time to suit up before they boarded. Aislin had her hair down, Finn was wearing sandals, and Gavin had put together a green bandanna. Duncan’s clothing was plain, but she still wore her gauntlets and kept her rapier close at hand.

For my part, I’d traded my tunic for a coat and blouse. I also kept my sword at my side, though I don’t know if our reasons were the same.

The journey went quickly by boat. It would take us only a few days to reach the edge of explored territory. The talk turned to supplies.

We had enough preserved fruit (dried nectarines and brined olives) and long-lasting vegetables (nuts and potatoes) to last a week, two if rationed carefully. Outside of that, our only source of food would be fish until our quest was complete.

If we were lucky, we might encounter a colony of birds that had left the homeland, or some sprouts spread by travelers. But nothing grew naturally outside our island, and I wasn’t going to wager our food stores on random chance.

Fishing wouldn’t be a problem. We had a net and some rods, and a well-maintained stove for preparing the catch. Aislin, Gavin, and Duncan volunteered to fish while Finn took care of food prep. It was a familiar system, so I didn’t worry myself with supervising.

Our course was straightforward, so I found myself spending less time at the wheel and more time in the map room poring over my books and our charts. I was brooding, and I think the others could tell. They gave me space, and I set myself to the task of hunting for any hints as to what awaited us in the capital.

On the fourth day, exhausted from fruitless research and hungry for sunlight, I emerged onto the deck and resolved to participate just a bit more in whatever social interaction was going on.

Gavin and Aislin were practicing while Finn and Duncan watched. They used lightweight training swords, little more than wooden rods.

Every move they made was routine. Aislin lunged, Gavin parried, Aislin twirled, Gavin ducked. Even without a shield he played defensively, waiting for key moments to reach out and whack at her sides. Aislin was aggressive, but steady; she didn’t try to push her luck, just kept up the pressure.

They were both grinning, but Gavin’s eyes shone a little fiercer than Aislin’s. I knew that look from all the times it had been in my eyes; he wanted to win. He saw a reckless opportunity, took it, and the duel ended with a practice sword at each throat.

A good third of their duels ended with ties of some variety, so I just clapped and smirked. They turned and bowed to me, then flopped onto a bench someone had set up.

Aislin said, “Good duel.”

Gavin replied, “Same.”

“I had you dead in four moves.”

“If I’d been more patient you would have been on the floor in three.”

They bickered fondly and Finn tended to their bruises. His alchemy made short work of such minor marks and by the time his ministration was done their skin was almost unblemished again already.

Aislin was the first to break away from their argument, and tilted her head at me. “You up for a round, Gwyn? I haven’t seen you and Duncan go at it since the trials.”

Duncan’s hand drifted to the pommel of her sword, and I gripped the hilt of mine. We locked gazes.

I forced myself to relax my grip and gave a forced smile. “Let’s not reopen old feuds. I’m too competitive for my own good.”

Duncan nodded at me and slowly took her hand away. There was an awkward silence.

Gavin broke it with, “Well, I want to take another look at the charts, add a few details. Care to join me, Aislin?”

She nodded and they descended together into the ship’s innards, leaving me with Duncan and Finn.

With only the three of us on deck, there was a tension. I don’t think any of us yet felt comfortable with the new situation, even after days of travel.

My conscience urged me to say something to Duncan, but my pride silenced me. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn’t make myself understand what there was to apologize for. Duncan was the enemy, and I beat her. It should have been as simple as that, but my former rival didn’t seem to see it that way.

All I could say was, “Thank you. For coming on this journey, I mean. I… I appreciate your faith in me.”

Duncan shrugged. “Fate chose you when you conquered the trials. I stand with the hero of prophecy.”

It sounded so easy when she said it. I wouldn’t have been so calm if our roles were reversed. What did that say about my faith? I didn’t like that train of thought, so I left Finn and Duncan for the helm and made minor corrections in the ship’s course.

Duncan and Finn took up the free bench and looked out at the crystalline sea. The air of awkward tension slowly subsided into peaceful quiet and the sound of rolling waves against the ship’s wooden hull.

Eventually, I heard Duncan say to Finn, “This view makes me regret never sailing before.” Her voice was a bit faint, but I had good hearing.

“Never?”

“Never far, at least. I’ve been on one fishing expedition, I think, but it stayed in close waters.”

“I like the sea. There’s something calming about its vastness. I follow Gwyn around on scavenging trips all the time. Why were you with the fishers?”

Duncan turned her head away from Finn and more towards the sea. “Back when I still thought I had a chance of being a hero I tried to visit as many different places and people as I could, in between training. I wanted to know the island I would be protecting. How could I serve a fisher faithfully if I didn’t know their ways? Or a baker, or a mason. I had a duty. Would have… would have had a duty.”

It was almost a comfort to finally hear bitterness creep into Duncan’s tone. Almost. She didn’t sound angry, just sad.

I saw Finn’s hands twitch, which they always do when he’s hesitating to say something. Eventually he worked up the nerve. “I think we all have a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is to be the hero, sometimes it’s to help others. I’m okay with my purpose in life.”

Duncan nodded. “I should be okay with it too. I’ve spent months convincing myself I am okay with it. But… honestly, when Morgan told me I was the chosen one I desperately wanted to accept, no questions asked.” She sighed. “When you’re groomed from a young age to be something, your entire metric of happiness becomes tightly bound to that ideal. I know there are more ways to be a hero, more ways to help others, but I can’t escape this notion that I’ve abandoned my people and my destiny by going on this voyage. It hurts.”

Finn put an arm around Duncan’s shoulder. “I’m here for you, friend. I hear your pain. I think we all have doubts about who we are and what we do. It’s in our nature. Sometimes that doubt is healthy, but sometimes it drags us down. When you have good people by your side, it gets easier to tell the difference.”

She looked over at him and smiled. “You’re good at this. I can see why Gwyn likes you.”

He laughed and turned his head down shyly. “I just try my best. Every hero needs a companion, and Gwyn is responsible for the life I have. I’m doing my part.”

“Trying to repay her?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it like that. I mean, I guess I do feel indebted to her, but I don’t think you should build a life out of guilt or debt. It’s just the natural thing to do.”

She tilted her head. “Interesting thought. I’m going to catch a nap. This was nice.”

Duncan descended into the ship, and then Finn and I were alone.He joined me by the wheel. “I take it you heard everything?”

I nodded silently and made another slight adjustment.

“You should talk to her.”

I gave him a look that conveyed the entirety of my opinion on the matter.

“I mean it. Duncan’s a good person, and the two of you would work well together.”

I sighed. “You’re not going to give up on this, are you?”

He shook his head.

“Great. Listen, Finn. I don’t think she’s a bad person. We probably could make a powerful team. But I spent years thinking of her only as my mortal enemy, my sworn rival. She was what stood in the way of becoming chosen one. I can’t just forget that. I can’t just change all my instincts overnight.”

“I’m not asking you to. I’m saying give her a chance. I think you might like her.”

I sighed again, this time with more frustration. “You don’t get it. I do like her. Too much.”

He stared at me in confusion.

“The problem isn’t that Duncan is a bad person. The problem is that I’m a bad person.”

“Gwyn-”

“She is willing to sacrifice everything she has ever cared about because she genuinely believes that helping me is the best way to help our people. She was offered the world and acted with integrity, while I was denied a dream and threw a world-class tantrum. What does that say about me?”

He didn’t have an answer.

I turned away from him and muttered, “Some hero I turned out to be.”

Finn put a hand on my shoulder. “Gwyn. You’re still the chosen one. You’re still the hero. And once we get to the capital you can prove that. I believe in you.”

He wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t a hundred times before whenever I was feeling doubt, but it still helped. Everything hurt, and hiding wouldn’t keep the pain away forever. I needed to get to the palace library. I needed to fix the problem. I needed to be the chosen one again.

I said, “Thanks. I… I’ll try.”

We enjoyed comfortable silence for a few more hours. Eventually Duncan, Gavin, and Aislin rejoined us.

As night was falling, a landmass grew on the horizon. Duncan looked to me for confirmation and I shook my head.

“Too small to be the capital. We can investigate it, though; we won’t go off-course, and it might confirm that we’re on the right track.”

The sun set, we sailed closer to the island, and it began to glow with ethereal light.