In the morning Dominique returned to the bedroom, telling Jeanne gruffly that it was time for them to leave. Dominique looked sickly, undoubtedly caused by the lack of sleep she had received and whatever quantity of alcohol she had consumed when she stormed out. Jeanne didn't bring it up, collecting herself and following Dominique out without a word.

They descended the stairs and entered back out into the bar. No one else was present, Dominique clearly having chosen to leave at a time that would ensure they wouldn't cross paths with Chloé again. One of the tables had a number of bottles and glasses lying haphazardly on and around it and Jeanne wondered just how much Dominique had drank. Dominique didn't even glance at the mess, striding directly out the door.

When they were outside Jeanne found that Silverbay looked exactly the same as it had the previous day. The lighting was no different and it didn't seem to be any less active. It seemed not everyone followed the schedule of a normal day like Chloé.

"Well," Jeanne started, after a minute of silently walking alongside Dominique. "Am I being sent back to the brig when we return to your ship?"

"Yes," Dominique answered, not even looking at her.

"I refuse."

"You can't refuse," Dominique said brusquely. "You're lucky I'm compassionate enough to let you live. You have been nothing but trouble for me."

"Yesterday I saved your life from Gano. And Vanitas's too for that matter. Surely that means something?"

"You think I care about that pretty boy's life? If you'd left him to die it would have done me a favour. I eagerly await the day he draws his last breath and I no longer have to listen to his incessant blustering."

Jeanne laughed, hiding the sound behind her hand when Dominique turned her head to glare at her. "Sorry. I just thought you two got along really well."

"Us!?" Dominique squawked indignantly.

"Don't you? He is pretty irritating, but you look like you're having fun with him, even when you are riling each other up. When I saw you dancing together, I thought you might be a couple!"

"His decent looks are his only redeeming feature, and even those are easily eclipsed by a beauty such as yourself. As if I would ever be with a man like him! Jeanne, I thought I'd displayed that I have better taste than that."

"Back to flirting with me then?" Jeanne said, amused despite herself.

Dominique turned her face to the side, hiding the flush creeping up her face. "That slipped out. I forgot who you were for a moment. I always say these things to women." Muttering, she added to herself under her breath, "Maybe I'm still feeling the effects of the wine?"

"Dominique, before we return to sea, what was your goal in kidnapping me? Surely you understand that Teacher Ruthven can find another bride for Master Luca easily enough. Would you kidnap her too?"

"I'm not a fool!" Dominique snapped. "I understand that most of my interferences with the nobility make me little more than a nuisance. In this case all I'm doing is sending Ruthven a message: he can't do whatever he wants without fear. And, I suppose, I'm giving the grand duke an opportunity to slip ever so slightly from his grasp. He's unlikely to take it but maybe after this incident your Master Luca will think about choosing things for himself now that he has proof Ruthven isn't infallible."

"You're attempting to help Master Luca?" Jeanne gaped.

"Nothing quite so wholesome. I'm not really out to change anything, I just enjoy spiting Ruthven and the people like him. Any good that results from my actions is unexpected."

"You keep saying things like that. Why do you hate the nobility with such a passion?"

Dominique grimaced, "No reason in particular. Shouldn't we all hate the selfish bastards really? Or are you too much of a loyal dog for that, Hellfire Witch?"

"You're using my old title now? Don't. I no longer use it and you certainly don't understand the history behind it. Call me a dog if you like but not the Hellfire Witch. Someone like Gano using that name is one thing but coming from you I hate it."

Dominique frowned at her. "...Fine. I prefer Jeanne anyway."

At this point La Baleine was visible to the women, and they fell into silence for the remainder of the journey. It was an uncomfortable, charged silence. They each had words on the tips of their tongues, begging to spill out, but they held back. The conversation kept tilting dangerously towards the personal and they weren't prepared to broach such topics, though it was tempting. The moment they reached the ship it seemed the whole crew was waiting for them. At the head of them all, waiting impassively at the end of the gangplank, was Louis.

"We're prepared to depart," he said in lieu of greeting.

"Excellent," Dominique exclaimed. "We'll be leaving in a moment then. I have to deal with Vanitas first though."

"Not so fast Domi," Louis said. "The sea is pretty rough right now and I'm not sure the danger is worth it. We can leave immediately if we need to - that's why everyone is on deck - but waiting a day or two will be safer."

Dominique worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment before replying, "I would rather get out of here as soon as possible. I paid Gano to leave us alone but that apparently didn't cover Jeanne. Besides, Gano's patron could be getting closer to us as we speak. We don't want to encounter her."

"Her?" Louis probed.

"It's not important," Dominique said dismissively, breaking eye contact with her brother. "Anyway! Vanitas! Get over here! I can see you trying to use Dante as a shield!"

Vanitas slunk forward reluctantly, coming to stand in front of Dominique. "Yes?" he asked acidulously.

"You released Jeanne and caused everyone here a great deal of distress, did you not?"

"I did. Although I would put a majority of the blame squarely on Jeanne's shoulders personally."

"Really? By your own account Jeanne didn't overpower or threaten you. Of your own volition you freed her from her cell and proceeded to take her into town with you. What punishment do you think is appropriate for such idiotic insubordination? Being clapped in irons? Flogging? Keelhauling?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Vanitas sneered.

"Don't get smart with me," Dominique fumed, grabbing Vanitas by his rattail and tugging him closer, watching his smile twist with pain. "This wasn't a small act of disobedience, you nearly got yourself and Jeanne killed. My life, your captain's life, was also endangered by your ridiculous stunt. Don't you dare act like this is equivalent to your usual stupidity."

"Domi," Louis interrupted, placing a hand on Dominique's chest and pushing her gently away from Vanitas, "I understand your anger, but this isn't going to help anyone. We need all hands on deck if we truly are heading out into the storm."

"... Sorry. You're right of course. Vanitas, for now you're off the hook but you had better be working twice as hard as everyone else when we're in the middle of the storm. And that gives me another idea! Jeanne, if you wish to remain abovedeck with the rest of us you had better pull your weight. Accompany Riche and be sure to do whatever she says."

"Understood," Jeanne responded firmly.

Within moments everyone was in motion, checking the rigging or taking up positions around the ship. A few headed below but nearly everyone stayed on the top deck. Jeanne helped Riche man a small section of the rigging on the mizenmast. No one had taken position in the crow's nest, the prospect of harsh weather making it far too dangerous. Someone near the front of the ship set off an orange flare and La Baleine set forth. As the ship started to move suddenly Jeanne was struck by a problem that had completely slipped her mind. How were they going to sail out of Silverbay? As far as she could see the walls around them were completely solid and there was no way out. Yet the pirates looked completely unconcerned. Abruptly they stopped moving forward and Jeanne was surprised to find that instead the boat had started moving upwards. The water level in the chamber was rising. High above, water was pouring down from hollows in the ceiling that had been impossible to notice before in the dim lighting and with the stalactites obscuring the view. Thinking the influx of water would surely flood the town Jeanne turned to look back at the wharf only to see a massive wall had been raised in front of the ships and a solid gate shut in front of the pathway to Silverbay. Jeanne turned to the nearest person, Riche, in shock. Riche saw her blatant perplexity and beamed in response.

"The exit is a cavity high up in the wall. It's difficult to make out because of the colouration of the stone and the lack of light but if you look for an absence of the silver mineral throughout the rock you should be able to see it. The flare earlier was to signal the harbourmaster that we're about to depart since he has control of the mechanisms which affect the water level. We only use flares for quick exits, normally we'd discuss a departure time directly with him and his subordinates. Oh! And the exit is completely separate to the entrance! Rather than use this complicated setup there's a tunnel that's easily accessible from the outside. It ends in what looks like a dead end but is in reality a false wall and, if you drive your vessel into it, it opens with only a little force and leads directly here!

"Unfortunately, the entrance door only opens in one direction and is so well disguised not even I am confident pointing its exact location out from here. Back to the exit though! After we're gone the chamber will be drained once more! Having such a complicated exit route discourages infighting, at least between those of us who use boats to come and go from here. If you need to trust someone else to let you out, then it makes you far less inclined to make enemies here. You never know what could turn the entire community against you. Of course, there are a number of tunnels that lead aboveground if you need them, though most pirates would be loath to abandon their ship under any circumstances. It really is quite fascinating, the mechanisms that power this whole place. I once got a look at some of the original plans you know. And-" Riche paused, blinking. "Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry! I've just been rambling, and I could have given you a far simple explanation."

"No, it's all right. I found your explanation very helpful," Jeanne reassured her.

Riche nodded in acknowledgment but still seemed far too embarrassed to continue her gushing. Jeanne instead returned her attention to the water slowly filling the space and soon enough it stopped flowing nearly as fast and the boat had risen as high as it was going to go. Then the crew started moving her forward again, towards the cavity Riche had pointed out to Jeanne moments ago. It was a wide cavity and had clearly been built to accommodate ships of potentially much larger size than even La Baleine. They drifted calmly through the tunnel for a while before a light became visible at the end. It wasn't very bright, either because of how early in the morning it was or because of the storm that had quickly become audible outside. Still, Jeanne was glad to see the prospect of fresh air so close after so long.

"Hang on tight," Riche advised as the prow of the ship grew closer to the opening.

Jeanne did as she said, though she was confused by the instruction. Her confusion however did not last long. As the boat began to sail out of the shaft Jeanne felt a lurch in her stomach as it began to tilt downwards. They were heading towards a drop. Jeanne barely had time to start screaming before the ship passed the halfway point and its own mass made it begin to plunge downwards. As the ship fell from the cave Jeanne clutched onto the solid rail beside her as tight as she could, feeling the wind rush past her ears as they fell. The drop wasn't more than a few metres, but Jeanne was near the back of the boat so comparatively the fall felt much longer than it did to those at the front. Besides, she had been completely unprepared.

They collided hard with a crashing sea, waves gushing over the deck and soaking Jeanne to the bone immediately even as rain pelted down to make it worse. There was no time to recover as people immediately began shouting orders, turning the ship in the correct direction to both get away from Silverbay and not be smashed to pieces by the raging sea. Sails were being furled and adjusted to optimise their functionality in the storm. Jeanne did her best to help Riche, though she found she was mostly getting in the way. She had not spent much time at sea and the constant tossing was making her incredibly unsteady on her feet. Waves continued to break against the side of the hull, sending fresh deluges of freezing water over the crew every few seconds. It was miserable. Jeanne's injured leg stung with fresh pain with each new wave of saltwater, and she knew that after the storm passed she would have to have Vanitas check on it. She was shivering from fear, adrenaline and cold all at once but she steeled herself and persevered.

It became easy enough to shut the pain and discomfort out to simply focus on staying alive and following Riche's shouted instructions. The rocking of the boat was getting worse, Jeanne had to catch Riche a few time to stop her falling and vice versa. Thunder roared in her ears as lighting danced around the ship, sometimes far too close for comfort. Jeanne began to wonder if they would make it out alive at all. It was entirely possible Dominique made a mistake deciding to abandon Silverbay despite the conditions. With that thought Jeanne squinted through the rain and sea spray in an attempt to find the pirate captain. Instead of Dominique, Jeanne's eyes fell on Louis. He was by the mainmast and close to the taffrail. He was moving ahead to do something - Jeanne wasn't sure what. The thing that caught her eye was that he was about to fall.

She could see it. His hand was leaving the safety of the rail, just for a moment, as he started to step forward. But a surge of water was beginning to rise behind him. It would seep him away if he didn't grab onto something. Automatically Jeanne started to rush towards him, shouting a warning. Riche yelled after her, but Jeanne ignored her. Louis couldn't hear her over the thunder, rain and dozen other yelling voices on the deck. She was moving far more sluggishly than she would have liked, the need to have something solid in her hands and her own shaking legs slowing her down.

Then the wave hit. Jeanne abandoned all caution immediately, releasing her hold on the solid wood of La Baleine and flinging herself towards Louis instead. The water flooded over both of them as Jeanne managed to grab onto Louis's wrist. The world tilted sickeningly as they were dragged along by the ocean swell and Jeanne reached out blindly with her free hand to grab anything that would stop them being carried far out to sea. Her hand closed around something solid, and Jeanne clutched it tighter than she had ever held anything before. When the wave retreated, very nearly ripping Jeanne's hand from its firm handhold, she found herself dangling from the taffrail over open water. Jeanne screamed, feeling tears begin to mix with the water beating against her face from above and below. She didn't have the strength to pull herself or Louis back to safety and even one more modest sized wave would haul her down. This was how she was going to die.

As Jeanne contemplated her seemingly inevitable death multiple hands closed around the arm as she was still clinging desperately to life with. They started to heave her back to safety, sedately enough that she still couldn't quite believe they would get her before the ocean did. But by some miracle they succeeded. Jeanne found herself lying on the cold, saturated deck of La Baleine held tightly so she wouldn't be yanked to a watery grave by the sea. And beside her was Louis, who she had somehow held on to the entire time.

"Jeanne? Jeanne are you okay?"

Jeanne's eyes focused and she found Dominique staring back at her, concerned. So Dominique had been one of the people who had rescued her. Jeanne looked over to Louis and found Vanitas and Nox beside him, supporting each other and Louis while the world continued to tilt sickeningly around them. They must have helped pulled Jeanne up as well.

"I'm in one piece," Jeanne said shakily, sitting up and clutching onto Dominique's shoulder for support.

"You saved my brother," Dominique marvelled, and Jeanne promptly noticed how close they were for her to be able to hear Dominique speaking so quietly while chaos continued to transpire all around them.

"I'm glad he's okay. Thank you for pulling us back."

"I should be thanking you," Dominique breathed, and Jeanne found the space between them had shrunk even more.

All of a sudden Dominique's lips were on hers. It was so quick Jeanne didn't have time to respond and Dominique looked just as surprised as she felt. Dominique's eyes flicked down to Jeanne's mouth as though she couldn't quite believe what she'd done. Shaking her head slightly, Dominique fixed a neutral expression on her face.

"We still have a storm to get through. Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone? You can head back to Riche or go belowdecks, whatever you would prefer."

Jeanne nodded dumbly and Dominique left swiftly, moving across the ship with an unnatural ease considering the alarming weather. Jeanne stayed where she was for multiple minutes, trying to process exactly what had just happened.

Did Dominique just kiss her? And did she want to do it again?