The Mage Queen Book 1: The Princess

Marick froze upon hearing Anastacia's screams. When he looked up, Rowen's vines had caught fire. Flames ignited barrels of oil and spread the flames. One of the burning branches fell right next to him, causing the wooden crates to catch fire. He jumped out of the way when a large metal beam fell to squash him flat.

"Damn it, a gas leak?" He searched the ceiling without much luck. "And don't they have some fire prevention here!?"

Marick ducked when he saw a spear sailing towards his head. He looked up to see that all of the soldiers rallying up. Their battle cries echoed above the roaring inferno. Captain Fergus turned to him with a sneer.

"You're outnumbered, captain!" Fergus chuckled. "You and your brat have been a pain in my side for long enough!"

Marick groaned. Were all Xychosia's soldiers nutcases? "How the Abyss did you all end up in the queen's army? She pities you or something?"

Fergus roared and brought down his hammer until Marick wedged it in between his two gunblades. As the hammer's head closed in, electricity sparked at his face. He winced at the impact but kicked the captain in the stomach. The man doubled over and gave him a chance to regroup. He jumped up onto a higher ledge with more soldiers coming at him with spears. Marick glanced and found a chain holding a floating platform. He smirked and fired a round, shattering the chain, and sent the soldiers plummeting. He then grabbed the remaining chain and swung himself across only to come across more soldiers. They brandished their swords and Marick flicked a switch on both his gunblades, causing them to glow.

"You caught me at a very bad time, ya scallywags," he chuckled.

The moment the soldiers shuddered, he lunged forward with both gunblades swinging. Marick ignored the sparks flying from the clashing steel. He pivoted past and slammed the hilt of his blades against their necks. One tried to decapitate him but he ducked and unleashed a water blade to knock the soldier back. He leaped over the fallen soldier and slashed another soldier that was about to clobber Rowen with a mace. He pressed his back against Rowen's and fired rounds at the soldiers' feet.

"Where's the lass?" Marick shot another soldier with a water bullet from his gunblade. "Wasn't she with you?"

"I told her to unhook the clamps of the Stormcleaver!" Rowen yelped and punched the soldier's face. "It should have been unhooked by now!"

"Well, it ain't, Sprout!"

"I would but" — an arrow whizzed over both their heads— "we're in the middle of something!"

Marick grumbled under his breath and searched the area. The hot smoke stung his eyes, forcing him to squint. He then saw Anastacia curled up, on her knees, and her hands clamped on her ears. He clicked his tongue and then shot one of the anchors.

"Forget doing it the easy way. We'll just have to break the anchors ourselves!" Marick snaked a water whip from the tip of his gunblade. "Rowen, time to go!"

Rowen nodded before stomping on one of the soldiers' feet. "Okay!"

He pulled out a pack of dried mushrooms from his pocket.

"Dried mushrooms?" Marick raised an eyebrow. "Rowen, we're not supposed to be high!"

Rowen shrugged. "But we need to go high right?"

Rowen crushed the mushrooms in his hands and slammed his palms on the ground. He changed his arm into a vine, wrapping it around Marick's waist.

"Clench up!" Rowen grinned.

Marick yelped as the mushrooms sprung out of the ground and launched them into the air. His stomach lurched forward before falling back against his spine. Marick could have sworn that his lunch went up before plummeting straight down. They tumbled and landed on the deck of the Stormcleaver. Marick rolled onto his back, groaning. Rowen bolted towards the ledge of the Stormcleaver, shooting out a vine to grab a shivering Anastacia.

"Ana, are you okay?" Rowen began shaking her. "Ana!"

Marick looked up and saw Anastacia who was pale as a sheet. Her hands trembled and her eyes twitched.

"Cap, she isn't reactive!" Rowen yelped.

Marick nodded. "Get to the bridge! I'll take care of the anchors!"

"Aye aye, sir!"

Leaving Rowen to handle the controls, Marick leaned over the ledge of the deck. He shot the chains holding the ship down. As he shot them off, the engine roared to life. The Stormcleaver floated out of the docking area with the smaller sails unfolding. He chuckled and turned to Rowen who gave him a thumbs up.

"Brace yourselves! This is gonna be a rough ride!" Rowen pulled down a lever.

The Stormcleaver's fins spread out to reveal large mufflers at the back. It sputtered for a moment before unleashing an explosion. Marick grabbed Anastacia with a grunt, fighting the urge to vomit from the ship's recoil. He looked towards Anastacia who hadn't stopped muttering to herself.

"F-fire... screaming... all those poor people..." Anastacia babbled and dug her fingers in her scalp. Her pupils shrank. "Screaming! Dying! Burning!"

Marick bristled. He snapped his fingers but she didn't even spare him a glance. She's way too deep, he thought. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the bridge of the Stormcleaver. He placed her in a corner before running towards Rowen.

"How is she?"

Rowen beamed. "Still sky-worthy, Cap! The days have been good to her!"

Marick nodded. "Good. Burn the fuel, Sprout! Let's get this bird out of her cage!"

"Aye, aye, captain!"

Rowen pulled several chains hanging above him as the Stormcleaver roared in response. The ship lunged past the braces that kept the Stormcleaver suspended in mid-air, causing some of the pillars to crash onto the ground. Marick saw chained javelins flying towards them with one of them almost landing on the deck.

"I'm gonna fend off those spears! Just keep her flyin', Sprout!" Marick bolted outside.

Once outside, he flicked the switch on his gunblades and the fuller glowed bright blue. Marick smirked as the roars of the crashing ocean waves tickled his ears above the shooting javelins and yells. As another javelin flew towards him, he cleaved the chain in half. The javelin crashed and rolled on the ship harmlessly when another came flying. He swung his blade with a pressurized water blade shooting out and shattering another chain. However, the ship suddenly bucked and sent him tumbling back into the wall.

"What the Abyss was that, Sprout!?" Marick shouted. "What kind of driving is that!?"

Rowen shook his head with blood draining from his face. "It wasn't me!"

Marick clicked his tongue and gathered himself, running towards the ledge. He peered over and saw that the ship was suspended in mid-air and Queen Regina had her hand pointed at it. He gawked. The last person he wanted to deal with was the Queen herself!

"Rowen, get us out of here!" Marick ordered.

Rowen pulled several levers. "Trying!"

"How's the anti-magic field?"

"Still charging! It's been in the shade for days!"

Marick bit his thumbnail. With the anti-magic shield depleted, even a novice mage could destroy the ship if they hit the right spot! He suckled the air. As the ship began to sink, Marick bolted into the bridge. He grabbed Anastacia by the shoulders and jounced her.

"Hey! HEY!" Marick snapped. "Wake up!"

Anastacia's eyes darted around. "Wh-what?"

"We are about to die because the queen's got magic and this ship has no anti-magic shield! I need you to make an anti-magic shield!"

"An... anti-magic shield?"

"Yeah, something to stop the queen from using her magic!"

She paled. "The... the queen is fighting against us?"

"Considering Captain Fergus panicked during our negotiation, no kidding!"

"Wait, we're fighting!?"

Marick deadpanned. "You realized that only now!?"

She couldn't do anything save stiffly nod.

Marick pinched the bridge of his nose with a frustrated grunt. How could he have forgotten? The princess probably never fought a single battle in her life! He looked at her trembling form as her hands trembled. Her fingers kept wringing themselves together while she babbled on. He snorted and then slammed both of her hands together with a hard clap. She yelped and looked at him, teary-eyed.

"What did you do that for!?" snapped Anastacia.

Marick nodded. "That ought to do it."

"Ought to do what!?"

"Get you back onboard, lass. Get an anti-magic shield going or we're not getting out of here alive!"

Anastacia stared at the swollen back of her hand, noticing that they didn't tremble anymore. She watched Rowen handle the ship's controls from her corner while Marick remained outside to deflect the incoming javelins. She glanced at her hands again. Could she conjure a shield that big? She remembered creating only small barriers but not one as big as a ship!

You want to go to Sofiene, don't you?

The little voice in her head prodded. She looked at her pendant and then brushed the wooden panels of the bridge's floor. Anastacia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She pressed her palms against the wooden floor and let her mana flow through it. She felt the vibrations of each impact that attacked the ship. Her mind saw Marick and Rowen defending the ship. She inhaled again and added more mana. The vibrations grew stronger, causing a spinning pain to fill her head.

"Just a little more," Anastacia assured herself. "A little more..."

Anastacia unleashed a pulse of mana again into the ship and felt it lurch forward. When she opened her eyes, they lit up at the sight of a white aura. The white aura enveloped each fiber of the ship, creating some sort of protective coating. The javelins bounced off and the ship began to fly.

"Time to set sail! To Sofiene, my good Sprout!" She heard Marick holler from outside.

Rowen beamed. "Aye, sir!"

Anastacia sighed in relief. Even with the incoming attacks, the ship didn't deter from its course. Its bright royal blue sails spread itself and took flight, leaving Xychosia's hangar to vanish into a silhouette.