Paragon watched as the last of the sun's rays dipped below the horizon. In the morning, we depart. Her mind wandered her hull, but only Travis's presence greeted her. Perhaps I was too enthusiastic when I made my offer. Even Mrs. Estell had lingering doubts as she left, even though I put much of them at ease.

Paragon paused her pondering when she heard quiet footsteps tap against the wooden planks of the dock. They're approaching me! The liveship barely contained her excitement and released a bit of her white, magical fog toward the ships adjacent to her to keep the night watch's attention away from her movements.

The liveship slowly faced the gangplank. "Travis, there are Stellans here!" Her thought raced with excitement as she carefully controlled her movements. She wanted to greet them, but she forced herself to watch from the deck atop the forecastle. "I want to go meet them, but I don't want to scare them."

Paragon watched as most of the Stellans hesitated at the base of the gangplank. One, however, confidently approached the white liveship. Though the crate in her hands cumbered her stride, she strode up the gangplank.

The second the woman's foot landed on the deck, Paragon recognized her presence. She wanted to greet Mrs. Estell and her family but feared her serpentine appearance would scare the other Stellans.

Travis opened the door of the aftercastle and smiled. "Hello," he encouragingly smiled to them, "welcome onboard. My name is Travis, I'm the captain, and up there is Paragon." Paragon blinked in surprise as the human gestured up to her. "Paragon is a liveship who uses her figurehead to communicate. Either one of us will be able to answer any questions you have."

Paragon slowly walked down the stairs and smiled as she sat near her captain. I hope my appearance doesn't make them too nervous. She could sense nervousness in Mrs. Estell's two younger children as they followed their mother onto her deck, though her soul soured at Myrllen's trust and confidence.

Paragon smiled at the Stellans. "I have prepared a few rooms with hammocks, but I can set up beds instead if they are needed. As long as there is enough space, you can keep your belongings with you, but I can store them in the hull if needed. If you leave your boxes on the deck, I can stow them for you."

Travis smiled in assurance. "I promise everything will be returned to you when we arrive at Draconia. One of us can show you the amenities if you would like. There's a library, a magic practice room some of you may enjoy, as well as the kitchen and the map room."

Paragon mentally beamed in pride as Travis's leadership skills began to shine. She knew he was capable from the moment she pulled him on board, but she was proud of him for continually growing in confidence.

"Thank you, Captain, Paragon." Morgan set the heavy crate in her hands down, then stretched out her sore arms. "It's past Camile and Orion's bedtime, so getting them to sleep would be nice."

The younger Stellans looked up to their mother. "Mamaa," Mrs. Estell's whimpered in a nervous tone. "I don't wanna sleep in a strange place alone."

The loving mother patted her head, "I'll stay with all of you." She encouragingly smiled down to her children, then looked up to the ship captain. "Could you show us to the hammocks?"

Travis smiled and nodded to her. "This way," he gestured to the aftertaste with a smile, then lead the Stellan family into the aftertaste.

Myrllen placed his crate down on the deck next to his mother's, then weakly smiled at the figurehead. "Thank you." With a slight nod, the Stellan followed the rest of his family into the depths of the ship.

Paragon withheld herself from delving into Myrllen's thoughts, but she was glad he had confidence in her. She looked up to the other Stellans as they hovered at the gangplank. "Do you need any help?" She paused, then added a railing to the gangplank and widened it.

She smiled in encouragement as she summoned a bit of canvas and rope into her frontmost talons and used it to cover the two crates and tie them together. Once they were secured, she created a small pennant with the same navy and purple pattern as Myrllen's cloak and attached it to the bundle.

She looked up as sturdy footsteps walked up the gangplank. "Where is this Draconia, and how do we know it's safe?" A male voice asked, his voice low and gruff from years of hard labor.

"Queen Horizon founded Draconia to be a haven for all beings," Paragon smiled in assurance. As she whisked the Estell family's possessions to the safety of her hull, she also magically created a small copy of her map table onto the desk. While the man stood in awe of the live ship's magical prowess, Paragon walked over to the map. "This is Draconia," Paragon motioned to the country on the map.

After she made sure the man registered the location of Queen Horizon's realm, the liveship traced a path between Kerbi and Havenous and marked it with a white line. The arched line gave the peninsular country of Hoshio a wide berth. "This is my travel path, but I am willing to revise it if you have any concerns."

"No stops?" He raised an eyebrow.

Paragon looked at the map, then gestured as she spoke. "I could stop on Eastbon, probably Texa or Silva in Ochre. There are a few small port cities along Draconia's eastern island chain, though I was planning on taking you to Havenous to meet the queen. She's the best one to help you."

"There's no way you have enough supplies to make the whole trip in one go." The man stated. "You're too small of a ship to carry enough supplies for all the Stellans in Kerbi if that's what you were planning." He glared at the silver figurehead. "This is just a scam for you to sell us into slavery."

Paragon felt her core metaphorically break at the accusation. "By the stars, I would never—"

"You don't get to say that!" He barked in Paragon's face with the force of a military general.

Paragon took a step back and mentally begged Lihania for strength. Part of her longed to return to the hundreds of years of lonely wandering, but the other side of her was determined to do what she loved: helping people.

Paragon calmed her thoughts and refocused. "I apologize; it was something my previous captain said often, but shall not use it again." She sat and wrapped her long tail around her sitting form. "But I assure you, I only wish to help you. If you do not trust me, then you are free to return to your home."

He raised an eyebrow and studied the liveship's face, then softened his countenance as he glanced to a woman holding a young child standing on the dock. However, his face hardened as he refocused on Paragon while his magic threateningly flared. "If you're taking us into slavery or some other trick, I will personally destroy you piece by piece."

Paragon nodded in understanding as the rest of the man's family slowly walked onto the ship. "Would you like a crib for the infant?" She gently smiled.

The Stellan blinked in surprise in her considerate offer. "You have one on board?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I can make one," Paragon smiled in assurance as she made the small map table disappear and formed a small white crib in its stead. "Is this satisfactory?" She slowly gestured to the crib.

The man eyed the crib and tested the swaddling capabilities of the cushion and the softness of the blankets. "Won't this slide with the movement of the ship?" Though he outwardly distrusted Paragon, the figurehead could sense amazement at her magic and a bit of trust budding within him.

"I am a magic ship; I don't rock. However, I can secure it to the floor and wall if you prefer," Paragon assured with a small smile. "I can move it to one of the rooms for you." She slowly unwrapped her tail and rose to her feet. "I can show the rest of you to the rooms." The crib melted back into the deck as Paragon lead the remaining Stellans to the aftercastle.

Travis opened the door just as Paragon arrived. "You ok?" He was genuinely worried as he held the door open.

"I'm fine," Paragon promised as she passed Travis, then led the group below deck and through the well-lit hallway. The doors that lead to the three prepared rooms were open, and the Estell family was already in the first one.

Paragon stayed in the hall while the three families chose their room, though she added the crib to the room the antagonistic man chose for his wife and infant child. While she stood in the hall, she placed a framed map of the vessel on the wall.

"Paragon?" Myrllen slowly poked his head out of the room. He nervously smiled as he stepped out of the room. "Could you show me where the library is?"

"Of course." The liveship smiled, then lead him down the hall. She could feel his trust in her, and though she was unsure of the cause, Paragon felt more confident and knew she was doing the right thing.

Author Notes!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!