Elis placed each step with care as she emerged from the cabin onto the open deck.
The salty wind swept across the vessel, catching strands of her black hair and lifting them gently as she stepped out.
"Watch for the stairs, Your Highness," Athillia said, taking her hand and guiding her towards the open stretch of the deck.
Elis offered a faint smile, though her complexion remained pale.
Over the past weeks of the voyage, she had mostly been confined to her cabin, rarely venturing beyond its walls.
Today, feeling somewhat less exhausted from lingering drowsiness, she desired some fresh air and a brief moment to breathe.
"Just Elis, Athillia," she replied softly. "You do not wish to be addressed by your title, yet you insist on calling me by mine. It only embarrasses me. I am not royalty by blood, after all."
The Bargesian princess let out a light laugh.
