A/N: don't forget, black lives matter! go to blacklivesmatter.carrd.co for more information and things you can do to contribute to the movement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Olivia's outburst, the black haired girl burst into a fit of giggles until the brunette gave her a silencing look. 

"So, what is your choice?" The brunette asked, staring fiercely at the trio. 

Staring just as fiercely back, Olivia unsheathed her sword. "We fight." 

Furrowing her brows, Yerim pulled out her own small sword. "Yeah!" She cheered, and her and Olivia charged at the brunette. 

Both Chaewon and the black haired girl watched with wide eyes for a moment as the three fought against each other. Chaewon thought that the brunette would have stood no chance, seeing how she was up against two and those two were very good, but she was holding her own. Fear and anxiety raced through Chaewon's heart as she turned, remembering the black haired girl. Since Yerim was gone, she guessed it was her job to fight her. 

With shaking fingers Chaewon pulled her sword out of her boot and tried to remember the instructions Olivia and Yerim had given her. She had practiced a little since that first day but not much, especially since they didn't even touch their swords in the witch coven. She knew she wasn't good but nonetheless, she raised her sword to the black haired girl, and the metal clanged. 

The two girls stared at each other and giggled before making another attempt, swords still clanging, both girls standing and not quite knowing what to do while the boat rocked with the force of the battle going on beside them. 

Suddenly, it dawned on Chaewon: this girl too!

Her whole body flooded with relief as they both attempted and failed to sword fight. 

"To be honest, I don't really know how to do this," the black haired girl admitted. "I'm trying to learn because she," she paused to gesture to the brunette, "is really really enthusiastic about me learning. But it's not really my thing." 

Chaewon gasped. "Same! Like exactly the same!" 

The two girls shared a smile and continued to kind of sort of fight to the best of their abilities, while beside them, a true battle was unfolding. 

"You can't win against two people!" Yerim shouted over the din of the clashing of metal and the black haired girl and Chaewon's giggly chatter beside them. 

"Oh yes I can!" The brunette shouted back. "I'll have you both know that I was the fighting champion of the Knighthood of the Kingdom of Eden four years ago. I can defeat anyone." 

"Well," Olivia answered cooly. "I was this year's fighting champion."

The brunette scoffed as their swords clanged together, pulling them close. "How is that possible? Sir Payne won this year's competition." 

"All of that is bull," Olivia answered as she spun around, untangling their swords. "I won, fair and square, and they threw me out because I'm a woman. And anyways, how could you have won? Women weren't even allowed to be knights four years ago." 

"I dressed as a man," the brunette admitted in a deep growl. 

Olivia squinted at the girl before her. "Who are you?" 

"Guys," Yerim suddenly interrupted, grimacing at having to speak during this tense moment. The brunette and Olivia paused their battle as Yerim gestured behind them. They turned to see the black haired girl and Chaewon fake fighting and giggling. 

"I've tried teaching her so much," the brunette said, with so much affection in her eyes. "She's still just so terrible." 

Olivia nodded, and Yerim noticed just as much affection in her own eyes. "Same." 

"Oh hi guys! Are you done yet?" the black haired girl asked. 

By this point Olivia, Jungeun, and Yerim were holding their swords lightly, not pointed towards each other. The brunette sighed. 

"Fine! I'll answer your question. This is my wife, Jinsoul," she spoke, gesturing towards the black haired girl. 

"Hi!" She said excitedly. 

"And I'm Jungeun," the brunette finished.  "Now, who are you all?" 

"My name is Olivia. This is my faithful squire, Yerim," the girl introduced, her expression firm. Yerim gave the toughest salute she can muster. "And-"

"I'm Chaewon." 

Jinsoul pauses. "Princess Chaewon?" 

Chaewon flushed and nodded shyly, and both Jinsoul's jaw and sword dropped at once.

"You know the whole kingdom is looking for you, right?" Jinsoul cried. "We don't stay in the thick of things and even we know that." 

"I know," Chaewon mumbled, her eyes turning to the bottom of the boat. 

Suddenly the sound of clanking metal resounded, and the whole group up to see Jungeun sheathing her sword. 

"Curiosity has begun to outweigh my want for money. Tell me your story and we'll give you a free ride across the lake." 

"Okay!" Yerim answered cheerfully and the whole group sat on the floor of that boat. And, Olivia began to speak. 

She told the story from the very beginning: from her time as an orphan, to becoming a pirate, to the betrayal of the nobles and her knighthood, to her revenge plan and Yerim's help, through the journey and the witches coven. Chaewon interuppted at points too, telling her side of the story, through her struggles with her sister, mother, and duties, through the marriage thing, through the decision to follow Olivia and Yerim through her volition, through trying (and failing) to weild a sword. Yerim pipped up too, if only to add in funny anecdotes and talk about their familiars. 

"And, that's how we got here," Olivia explained. 

"Oh my god," Jinsoul breathlessly said. 

"But what about you guys?" Yerim spoke up. "How did a former knight dressed up as a man and her wife come to become the pirates of a small lake in the middle of nowhere?" 

Jungeun sighed, and began her story. "Ever since I was young, my dream was to become I knight. I came from a noble family so I was expected to be a lady, but that...that just wasn't who I was. Knighthood was a legacy held in my family, and my brothers had no real sense of duty to that legacy. But I did. Of course, back then women weren't allowed to become knights, nor did my family want that for me. So I realized the only way to achieve my dream was to pretend to be a man. I stole my brother's clothes and ran off. And for a while...it worked. I was known as...Sir Lippington." 

Both Yerim and Olivia gasped at the reveal of her name. 

Jungeun chuckled sadly. "You know the name, right? I was the most popular and most able knight in the whole kingdom. I was really and truly living my dream. As it stands, the whole kingdom just thinks I disappeared, right? But that's not what happened. The same day I was declared champion of the knight's kingdom, my true gender was discovered. I was immediately thrown out from the castle walls, ordered to never return." 

"Wait, my part of the story!" Jinsoul spoke up. "You know, my family legacy is that all the women of my line end up being kitchen wenches! So I was just another lowly kitchen wench of the castle, just like all the other kitchen wenches, having a crush on whoever is the most popular knight of the time. And of course, it was Sir Lippington." 

"Jinsoul's different," Jungeun said softly, them sharing an affectionate glance. "You know how the kitchen maids gossip, right? Well they knew what happened with me. Most of the kitchen wenches wanted nothing to with me once they realized I was a women, despite the fact that they had showered me with so much affection before. But Jinsoul didn't care. Actually, she approached me as I was packing my things and told me how much more brave and cool I was for being a woman this whole time, on top of my knightly achievements." 

"So we ran off together," Jinsoul finished proudly. "And we weren't really sure what to do with ourselves once we left the castle, I mean, once we were married of course, but Jungeun wanted to put her swordfighting skills to use. So we decided to become pirates of this lake!" 

"We don't make much, but we survive," Jungeun said. "And we have each other." 

Jinsoul and Jungeun shared another loving look and Jungeun rested her hand on Jinsoul's thigh, just as the small boat bumped against the opposite shore. 

"Here you are," Jungeun said. 

"Well, thank you so much for the ride!" Yerim said, the three standing up. 

"And for not killing and robbing us," Chaewon added. 

"It's not every day you meet the princess," Jinsoul answered. 

"Good luck with everything. I wish you three only the best," Jungeun added as the trio stood up. Olivia and Jungeun locked eyes, a lifetime's worth of understanding passing between them. 

"You two as well," Olivia responded. The girls stepped up off of the boat and began to walk on the path, saying goodbye to the enemies they had made their friends.