She only needed to get through the thickest part of the crowd that was pouring onto the decks. Once she made it through, there was little to delay her from making it to her cabin. She burst through and fell to her knees beside her trunk. She couldn’t take it all; thank Merlin she’d left some of her more valuable possessions with Penny. That still left Bear, the painting and —

She froze, staring at the small elegant wooden box that had stayed unopened for the past few months. For one moment, her entire world seemed to freeze, as she stared at it. Another rattling scream sounded outside. The floor tilted and Irene was thrown backwards into the bed. Pain radiated throughout her skull and she hissed as she scrambled back to her feet. There was no time to waste; launching into motion once more, Irene seized the wicker basket that had been Bear’s home for the past few months. Mercifully, having used it as a sanctuary when the vineyard got overwhelming, Bear had already established it as his safe-spot, and was curled tightly into a ball when she opened the lid. He hissed at her. Closing the basket, Irene thanked merlin that Mateo had charmed it long ago with a spell that would help it float in water.

Snatching her reticule from the side table, she stuffed the painting, letter and Elias’ box into the pouch before grabbing the basket and running back out the door. The deck was pure chaos. The deck...the deck had holes in it; big, gaping ones where the wood was wrenched up at some parts, and the entire main mast of the ship was consumed by flames. Some wizards and witches were attempting to put the fires out, and others were paying them no mind as they darted towards the railings. Some had jumped overboard. Others had clambered into lifeboats, and some were screaming for their loved ones. It only seemed like yesterday that Irene had boarded the boat and watched the bright, teary eyed faces of relatives saying good bye to the passengers. Now, it was completely different.

The only thing on her mind was to make her way to the edge of the ship. She barely took too steps when a high-pitched wail reached her ears. Irene stopped in her tracks as a small child caught her eye. Tears streaming down his sooty face, he was crying for his mother. She had barely taken one step towards the child when someone else scooped him up in their arms and ran towards the railing. Sighing in relief, Irene steeled herself and followed after them. Another roar stopped her in her tracks, and she was immediately met with glowing eyes and sharp, bloody fangs. Her only solace was that she was just out of its reach. Once it started stalking towards her though, she backed away, clutching her basket in one hand, and her reticule in the other.

Merlin’s beard…where had she put her wand?

The dragon in front of her opened its mouth, baring its teeth. At once, Irene’s stomach roiled as its putrid, warm breath blew into her face. “Please, no, not like this…” She heard herself whimper as she backed away even further. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.” It was as if the dragon sensed when she would dart away; it pounced at once. She threw an arm up. There was a massive groaning, and a crack that caused both her and the dragon to look skyward. That’s when she saw the ship’s mast headed straight for the both of them. Before she could even move, she heard a noise like a whip. Saw a flash of a heavily armored, scaly tail whipping towards her; the dragon had whipped around to flee the falling mast. Her shoulder exploded in pain. Something hit her in the stomach and she felt herself hurled backwards. There was a crack, and then her entire world went dark.

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