The next morning, Alanna woke up to the sound of a knock on her cabin door. Aimil was curled up against her, his strong arm curled around her abdomen. She quickly maneuvered out of her bed and went to answer the door, opening it ever so slightly to see Leomaris standing in the hallway with a smile. She slipped out and closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake Aimil even though the sound of the door probably dragged him out of his slumber. "Alanna, I just came to check up on you. How are you fairing so far?" Leomaris asked, his deep baritone laced with warmth. "Oh, um, I'm fine, I'm having an easy time so far, thank you," Alanna answered quickly wondering why he came to check up on her personally but grateful for it nonetheless. "Wonderful!" Leomaris exclaimed cheerfully, "I'm will probably be busy today so if you need anything, Sergius will be at your service, I've already spoken to him. Oh, and keep your door locked at all times, can't be too careful," he added and wished her a good day as he sauntered off. Alanna slipped back into the cabin trying to be as quiet as she could and locking the door back up behind her. Aimil stirred awake to the sound of Alanna pulling her satchel of food from under her bed. He'd tossed and turned the previous night unable to sleep well and when Alanna started muttering in her sleep he'd found himself going to hold her until he slept. He told himself he was doing it for her but he'd find any excuse to hold her again. He'd always had trouble sleeping soundly through the night but whenever he was next to her, sleep seemed to come to him naturally. Goddess, he hoped she didn't think he was a creep. He sat up with a yawn, rubbing the back of his neck with embarrassment. "Sorry," he muttered walking over to his bed to grab a snack from his satchel of food. "No need to apologize, " Alanna answered in between bites of her sandwich.

"Did you sleep well? I hope I didn't bother you," Alanna started then paused to let Aimil answer before she started rambling. "I slept surprisingly well, thank you, and no, you didn't," Aimil answered with a smile. There was a familiar comfort between them, unlike before it wasn't shrouded in so much turmoil. He felt at peace with her, a peace he'd always yearned for but had always seemed elusive. "So, what did you dream about this time?" Aimil asked as he bit into a sandwich. "You?" Alanna answered hesitantly, "We were at war, we fought together, a lot of it is fuzzy but that much I remember," she added focused on her sandwich to avoid his gaze, she knew he was watching her. "Not to sound like a creep but have you dreamt about me before?" He asked. "Um, maybe? What kind of dreams?" She asked. Aimil fumbled through his satchel pulling out one of his dream scrolls, the one he'd been reading the day before and started reading it to Alanna. Halfway through, she quickly grabbed her satchel and pulled out a scroll and stared between Aimil and her scroll in shock. "Wait, how is this possible?" She muttered. Aimil looked up to find her reading a scroll of her own with her brows furrowed. "What? Can I see?" He asked, his curiosity peaking at the sight of her scroll. Alanna handed her scroll to him and sure enough, it was the same dream he was reading except it was written in her point of view. His stomach turned as he looked up at her from the scroll. "How long ago was this?" He asked. "About two years ago," she answered trying to figure out what was happening. "That was you?" Alanna asked after a few moments of quiet pondering. Aimil nodded in silence. She couldn't believe it. She'd had more than her fair share of dreams of him, but she hadn't realized it until now as she started remembering some of the dreams that had haunted her because of how real they felt.

"Do you have any more?" She asked, eager to see if they really did have the same dreams. Aimil reached into his satchel and handed her a few more and she eagerly dove in. She could barely believe what she was reading, it was like reading her own dream scrolls but from his perspective. So that's why he was so familiar! What did this all mean? "Sometimes your dreams are a gateway to your past lives, sometimes they show you things that have happened before and sometimes they show you what's to come," her mother had often told her. Did this mean they knew each other in past lifetimes? Is that the reason he was so familiar to her? She had to know. "Do you believe in reincarnation?" She asked looking up at him from his scrolls. "Yes, " he answered his eyes searching hers with a look she couldn't decipher, "yes I do. The elders in my town used to talk about it while I was in training, now I wish I had the chance to finish," he said still staring into her eyes as if seeing her for the first time. He didn't know what he had expected but it definitely wasn't this. Could it be? "Sometimes soulmates reincarnate together in different lives until they can complete their story," his grandmother had said to him when he was young. "Well, I'm going to get some water and take a bath before my brain explodes, " Alanna muttered as she carefully handed him his scrolls back, her mind reeling from the questions that flooded it.

Aimil made sure to take his time getting his water to give Alanna ample time to bathe and get dressed. When he walked back into the cabin, Alanna was fastening the belt of her hooded coat. He made quick work of cleaning and changing into some clean garments himself and asked Alanna to take a walk with him onto the deck. As Aimil locked up the cabin, Alanna felt a whoosh of air rush past her that made her uneasy. Was this ship haunted? She wondered to herself. It wouldn't be her first encounter with spirits of the dead but this wasn't a place she expected to encounter such things. Aimil had glanced back while locking the door as if he also felt the rush of air, had he felt the same thing? As they walked down the hall, Aimil touched Alanna's hand in question and when she didn't pull away, he held it in his. The halls of the ship had an eery feel to them. On their way out to the deck they passed by Sergius who stopped to check on them before going about his business. As they stepped out onto the deck, a wave of fresh air hit them, the warm glow of the sun and the cool sea breeze made for a perfect combination. Alanna loved the sea. As they settled on a spot on the deck and sat, a couple approached them. "Hello, I'm Emilia and this is my husband Lorence," the lady warmly greeted them with enthusiastic handshakes. "Alanna, Aimil," Alanna gestured to herself and Aimil in response while Aimil gave a grunt at the couple and continued to watch the sea. Aimil looked annoyed at the interruption which Alanna found amusing, Goddess, he could be just as grumpy as Orin, maybe that's why they got along. "How's your honeymoon going? My husband and I are on ours and it is swell, I tell you!" Emilia rambled excitedly. "Oh, uh, we're not- we're friends," Alanna stumbled over her words, for some reason the assumption made her feel flustered, she couldn't explain it, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of couple Aimil and her would be if they were a couple. "Oh, my apologies deary," Emilia responded quickly, her pale cheeks flushing with embarrassment before she smiled at them and added excitedly, "Well you two would make a wonderful couple should you become one." Her husband, Lorence, smiled and grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her away disappearing into the ship. Alanna shook her head in amusement while Aimil let out a sigh of relief as if he'd been holding his breath waiting for the couple to leave. He didn't want anyone interrupting his time with Alanna.

After enjoying the view and the ambience on the deck, Alanna asked Aimil if he wanted to go check out the lobby bar with her, to which he agreed. The first thing that stood out to both of them were the floating orbs that seemed attached to most of the people there. What in Goddess' name was that? As they walked past the crowd to find a seat, Alanna could see what the orbs really were, they were spirits of the dead. She couldn't figure out why just about everyone she came across in the lobby bar had at least one attached to them. The spirits turned to her as she passed them as if they knew she could see them. She hadn't realized her hand was still in Aimil's until he squeezed her hand gently guiding her to a table in the corner away from the crowd as if sensing her unease. "Did you see them too?" Alanna whispered to Aimil. "The orbs?" He whispered back. "They're not just orbs, they're spirits of the dead," Alanna whispered her eyes darting back and forth across the lobby bar. "You can see them?" Aimil asked, wondering if that's what had her so tense. Alanna nodded and swallowed before whispering back, "And they can see me too. They know I can see them. They're all watching me." Aimil immediately understood why Alanna was so unnerved, he would be too if there was a room full of spirits he could see just watching him, especially in a world that didn't take too kindly to anything that seemed out of the ordinary, anything they couldn't control. He hated this situation, he vigilantly watched the people mingling and drinking in the room, effectively on high alert for anyone that even remotely seemed dodgy. The Venator Order had a tendency of sending out spies to sniff out the Execratus. He had to protect Alanna.

As they walked out to go back to their cabin, Alanna mentioned she wanted to Sergius and Aimil followed her, no way in Inferna was he about to leave her to wander this ship alone. They finally found Sergius in the galley and Aimil let Alanna walk ahead, staying close enough to step in but far enough to give her the privacy she needed to speak to Sergius. "Sergius, there you are!" Alanna sighed as Sergius stepped away from the crew. "You need something, domina mea?" Sergius asked as he tipped his hat to Alanna. "Ah, yes, I need to ask you something," Alanna said nervously, pausing as if waiting for permission before she continued, "Is the ship haunted?" Sergius let out a booming laugh, his hand going down to his belly as if to keep his body from keeling over. Once his laughing subsided he looked down to meet at Alanna's confused gaze, "Well if you knew anything about this ship, you wouldn't need to ask that. Rumor is that it's not the ship that's haunted, it's the people who board it that are cursed. The ship just reveals their curse," he chuckled. Alanna couldn't tell if he was serious or just jesting. "Is it true?" She asked. "Well if I go on the things I've seen on this ship over the years, I'd say yes. Strange things always seem to happen on this ship, and strange people always seem to be drawn to this ship," Sergius said pausing as he regarded Alanna's frowning face, "I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. Just keep your cabin locked at all times, keep your wits about you and trust your instincts, domina mea. Most people and things are not as they seem, just be careful and come to me if you get in trouble," he added with a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "Anything else?" He asked. Alanna shook her head as she turned back towards Aimil, "No, thank you Sergius, see you later." Sergius tipped his hat and went back to the crew members he was talking to earlier as Alanna and Aimil disappeared out of the galley. He knew who Alanna was, Leomaris had briefed him on the basics, but he didn't want to frighten her, he wanted her to feel safe on the ship but with her gifts and the ship's magic, who knew what would happen?

Once Alanna and Aimil were back in their cabin, Aimil couldn't help but ask Alanna what Sergius said. He knew she was asking him about the spirits. Alanna, who'd been quiet on their way back, paused before she told Aimil what Sergius said. Well, at least Sergius didn't lie to her. Alanna was still deep in thought going over the events leading up to this point, had Orin known about this? Aimil mentioned he'd been on this ship before, did he know? "What's wrong? Your brows are furrowed the way they usually do when you're trying to figure something out," Aimil asked, his gaze trained on Alanna's face. "Does Orin know about me?" Alanna asked quietly. "Yes," Aimil answered immediately. Alanna stayed quiet for a moment before making another inquiry, "Do Leomaris and Sergius know?" "Most probably," Aimil answered. Alanna sat down on her bed then asked again, "Did you know about the ship?" "I heard the stories and there sure were strange things that happened the last time I was here, but I didn't know for sure. Orin warned me, he didn't know what gifts you had and which ones you didn't, but he knew some people who had the gift of seeing and communicating with the spirits and let's just say things didn't go well," Aimil answered tentatively his gaze still firmly set on Alanna's face. "What did Orin mean when he said I was special?" Alanna inquired again. "Well, the color of your eyes, the golden streaks and the marks. They're said to be signs that a goddess has incarnated or reincarnated according to a prophecy that's popular among the Donatus. Surely you must've heard it," Aimil explained, sitting down next to Alanna, he needed to be close to her. "The Donatus?" She asked looking at him with confusion. "We don't call ourselves Execratus, that's what those who hate us call us because they believe we're cursed. We are the Donatus, the gifted," Aimil explained with a tenderness in his voice. Now that made Alanna smile, it made her gifts sound more like a blessing than the curse everyone saw it as, the curse that got her family killed. A lot of things made sense now, and then she remembered Orin and his friends on the ship. "Wait so how did Orin knew about me?" She asked turning to face Aimil. "Well Orin is like us, one of his gifts is glamour magic. He can make glamours, remove them and see through them. He's also a seer," Aimil answered, relieved to be able to speak so openly with Alanna, relieved that she was getting more comfortable with openly asking questions. "Huh! That makes a lot of sense, what about Leomaris and Sergius?" She asked, her voice almost giddy now, excited at the prospect that she wasn't as alone as she'd felt for so long. "They're also Donatus, how do you think they have a magical ship?" Aimil chuckled. Alanna could barely contain her excitement. "So is the entire crew Donatus?" She asked. What were the chances! And to think she was going to cross all the way to the other side of Perditus to try and find people like her! "Well, yes, though I'm not exactly acquainted with all of them. I'm something of a lone wolf, if you haven't noticed," Aimil answered amused by the loud expressions on Alanna's face. He could literally hear her thoughts just through her facial expressions. He couldn't help but smile, he hadn't seen this side of her before, she was like a giddy little girl trying to contain her excitement and he found it absolutely adorable. There was an innocence about her, beneath all that guardedness, and it made him want to protect her even more. She was strong, she could take care of herself and she'd survived through a lot, he was sure, but this part of her made him want to make sure he took care of her, it made him want to be strong for her so that she never had to carry the burdens she had or worry about her safety like he was sure she had. He would do anything to protect her. He couldn't help but wonder if Orin knew about their connection and potential history when he sent for him. That old grump had set him up! But boy was he glad for it!