Page 23 of Found at Sea
Hours passed as I drank and lost myself in my thoughts.
Eventually needing fresh air, I left my cabin and walked across the deck. A lot of the crew was back on board, but I assumed many more were still wandering the streets—and brothels—of Stonebridge.
We’d be docked there for several days, and while some would find sleep in questionable areas in the town, most would stumble back to theCrimsonfor their slumber.
“Cap’n,” Kris greeted me with a nod. He sat near the main mast, drinking and swaying as he tried to remain upright.
I returned his nod before going below deck. Men slept in their bunks, their limbs hanging down at weird angles as if they’d been so taken with drink that they’d just fallen into their beds and passed out as soon as they hit the bedding.
I was unsure of what propelled me to seek Fletcher out again, but my legs moved of their own accord.
Outside the door to his room, I was about to barge in unannounced when something reached my ears and halted me.
Music. A melodic strumming accompanied by a soft voice singing along.
My heart beat a little faster, my breathing did the same. Instead of interrupting him, I stood there as quietly as I could and just listened. I remembered him carrying a lute the night I asked him to join the crew, but I hadn’t given it a thought since then. Never did I think that the beautiful boy with the fiery spirit would also have the soul of a poet.
And the voice of a songbird.
Fletcher was singing quietly, but I caught some of the lyrics, speaking of soft grass beneath the tallest trees and the bluest waters of the sea. Hearing his song gave me the one thing I’d yearned to have for years: comfort.
Deciding against bothering him, I listened for a moment longer before walking away.
On the upper deck, I saw Alek come aboard. His grin spread from ear to ear and he swayed a bit. That smile fell a bit when he noticed me watching him.
“Captain,” he said.
When I approached him, he took several steps back and bumped into one of the sail posts.
“I asked you to watch over him,” I growled, inches away from his face. “And then you disobey me by taking him to a whorehouse just soyoucould wet your cock? Did you not see how uncomfortable he was?”
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I thought he’d like it. He said he’d never done it before, so I thought all he needed was to try it. I didn’t know he’d freak out and leave.”
“You would’ve known if you’d stayed with him and not gone into a separate room,” I said, trying to control my anger at him and his ignorance. “No one touches him. No more brothels. Understood? Disobey me again and there’ll be consequences. Do not forget I know who you really are.”
I watched as fear slowly crept into Alek’s blue eyes. And there it was again—guilt—an emotion I’d rarely felt until Fletcher came crashing into my world.
If the wrong person heard the truth of Alek’s heritage, he’d be killed.
“It will not happen again,” Alek responded, averting his stare to the wooden planks beneath our feet. His accent became stronger when he was frightened. “Please believe me when I say I meant him no harm. He is my friend.”
“I believe you,” I said, seeing the relief flood his features. “Now leave my sight.”
Without another word, he did as I ordered.
Sleep found me easy that night and with it came memories of my past.
I was so hungry I felt ill. The baker burnt a loaf of bread two days ago, and once he’d thrown it out, I’d scampered as fast as I could to retrieve it from the mud. The burnt areas tasted bitter, but I’d been so hungry I hadn’t much cared.
The people of Everton paid me no mind. I was just another lad whose family abandoned him and who spent his days fighting for survival.
“Foul boy!” my mother had shrieked at me the last time I’d seen her. She’d grabbed my face so tightly that her nails broke through the skin of my cheeks. “Those are the eyes of a demon.”
After being beaten nearly every day of my life for a thing I had no control over, I had run away from home. I’d passed through several villages, only staying long enough to find something to eat before moving on.
I did not know my destination. All Ididknow was I sought the sea. Passing through the countryside, I’d smelled the water before I saw it.
And once I did, I knew I’d found my new home.
