The Sea Orb

CHAPTER 5

Marin looked around the guestroom blankly. To say it was shabby was an understatement. Every bit of the room screamed that it was uninhabitable. The walls were made of brick and covered with rusty paint. The smell of rust filled the room. The roof had little holes in it, welcoming moonlight. The wooden floor creaked as she moved towards the bed.

She ran a hand over the bedsheets and sighed 'At least the sheets are clean and comfortable.'

Her thought process was broken by a fake cough. She turned around only to find Jonathan grinning sheepishly.

"The room hasn't been used for a long while and I am quite broke so please adjust for today."

Marin shook her head "It's nothing uncle I have seen much worse so it's fine by me. I am quite comfortable."

Jonathan looked at Marin distressed. He walked out of the room gesturing Marin to follow. Marin moved forward entering the living room. It was in better condition compared to the room. It has a few chairs and a center table. She saw him standing near the fireplace.

"So, What have you decided Marin?" Jonathan asked breaking the silence. Marin stared his back for a minute before sitting down on the chair near her.

"I don't know uncle before that- that thing happened all I wanted was to become a pirate once more and set sail to my dreams but now..." She spoke looking at the fire. Her eyes glistened reflected the same.

"All I want is to teach that king a lesson." She spoke looking at her hand. She tightened her fist in resolve.

"I want to destroy him. I want to snatch the thing he cherishes the most just like how he snatched Callum from me." Marin spoke gritting her teeth. Jonathan understood her anger. He knew better than anyone how miserable it is to be helpless. And he too wanted the King- the person responsible for their misery to feel the same helplessness.

"The most cherished hmm..." Jonathan spoke caressing his beard "And who might that be?"

Marin smirked, "I think I know just the right person for it but I need people..."

Marin ran her fingers through her hair as ideas began to form in her head.

"For that, you don't need to worry leave it to me. There are still some ex-comrade of our living nearby. I can't promise all but at most I can pull three fourths on our side." Jonathan spoke patting his puffed chest as a solemn declaration.

Marin looked at her uncle with a slight smile.

"But there is still one thing all though recruiting would be easy but the ship..." Jonathan trailed off in a dilemma.

"It's still there." Asked a dumbfounded Marin.

Jonathan chucked "Yes my dear, it has been with us before your father's time and it's impossible for such a mighty ship to go down like this. The only problem is that it is seized by officials. And to retrieve it you've got to pay huge sums..." He spoke in a daze remembering the ship.

Jonathan looked at Marin to see her lost in thoughts. He sighed 'Just what the hell was he doing? He found her today only without giving her any time to gather her thoughts he threw a huge crisis over her head. There is no need for him to burden the youngster with money problems... Not for now at least.'

"Well, that's enough for today. It's too late, go on and have some rest. It will be a long day tomorrow. And you need all the energy you can muster." Jonathan spoke retiring to his room.

Marin too moved towards her room and laid on her bed. She twisted and turned in an attempt to get sleep but it was all for naught.

'The ship... I- I need to see it.' She thought as she sat up straight.

She got down from the bed and left the house. The whole lane was empty and dark. For any normal person, it would have been impossible to move around without stumbling into anything but for Marin, it was as though she was in familiar territory.

After all, she had been in a prison cell for nearly 6 years of her life. So it was given that she was accustomed to the darkness.

But there was one major problem. 'Where the hell was the dock...?' She scratched her head a little.

She knew she should have come tomorrow after taking the address from uncle John but knowing that the ship managed to survive just like she did was a relief for her.

A sudden impulse grew in her. She wanted... No, she needed to see the ship.

It took nearly three hours for her to locate the dock. She moved closer her eyes roaming around to find it. Her breath hitched as she keenly looked. And there it was to the extreme left in all its glory her ship. Her Devil's snare.

She was stupified for a moment.

With bated breaths, she moved towards it. Her left hand moved on its own accord trembling slightly as she caressed the front.

The night was cold but somehow she felt the warmth of the ship transfer into her palm. She planted her forehead ever so softly just above her hand and murmured 'We made it.'

It took her a few minutes to recover from her overwhelm. For a second, her eyes gleamed with a shine. The shine which appeared after so long.

She took a deep breath and muttered in a silent vow 'Just a few more days my dear. I will take you out. I will.'

She turned around, ready to leave the dock when a shadowy figure caught her attention. If it would have been another time she wouldn't have paid attention to him but now seeing someone looking at her ship made her look at him.

He was quite far away from her but she could see him clearly. His eyes were fixed onto the ship but she could feel his mind wasn't here.

And then the man jolted from his daze and shook his head sadly. With a sigh, he left the place after taking one last glance at the ship. He seemed to be in his own mind as he didn't even notice that something had fallen from his pocket.

After deliberating for a few seconds Marin went up to the place where the stranger stood a few seconds ago. The stranger felt oddly familiar to her. She could feel he had a s********e past.

What could have been his story? She thought.

Watching the direction where the stranger went she suddenly felt foolish.

What was she doing...?

Why was she getting involved with other people's business....?

She already had too much on her plate she didn't need to add more herself.

She was about to turn around when a gleam caught her eye. She bent on one knew and picked up the thing.

It was a small binoculars almost the size of her palm. A very peculiar one at that. The design on it showed that it must have been a rare treasure and a very ancient one at that. The moonlight fell on it making it shine. She caressed the side as her eyes narrowed. The side of the binocular had a very intricate carving. A design that was very familiar to her.

She carefully placed the binoculars into her pocket and left. By the time she reached it was dawn.