Devoted to The Tide

CHAPTER FOUR

I looked over to see Perseus peering through the door. He gently made his way through the door, glancing between Caspian and I. “Agh-! Gods be good. What the hell do you want?” Caspian snaps, his demeanor still tense from our argument from moments before. “It’s fine. Caspian? If you could…?” Caspian glances at me, clearly peeved of my dismissal, but he leaves anyway, walking right past Perseus in the doorway. “What do you want?” I say, paying no mind to his presence as I clean up maps that were laid out on the table. “Captain, I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me-“ “I wasn’t sticking up for you. Lad was right, you should be embarrassed. The damn gull you have showing up, asking for a place on my crew simply because you want to live up to the Thorn name. It’s insulting.” He took another step inside the room. “I know… which is why I was hoping I could… ask you about my father.” I came to halt with the shuffling of papers and glanced up at him. “Why?” “Because… You and other crew mates have made it obvious that even though I carry the last name ‘Thorn’, that doesn’t mean I am one at heart. You knew him best. So from a lost lad to the only person who could share that kind of information, I ask of you… is there anything you can tell me about him?” I didn't know what to say. I thought I’d be disgusted by him requesting such a thing from me but then again, how was I supposed to tell him no? I continued to clear the table, rolling up the scrolls and maps to set them back aside on the shelves. “What do you want to know?” Perseus sits down at the chair across from me, his arms resting on the table. “Who was he? Truly.” I couldn’t believe I was entertaining this in the slightest. But I too took a seat at my own chair and gazed down at the candle that flickered on the table. “A fighter. A fearless one. He taught me how to shoot a revolver when I was wee lass. Nearly shot him in the leg a handful of times.” Perseus looked at me attentively as if I were sharing the most captivating tale of the century. “He was mighty. He brought pride to the fleet and to Vasgatan.” I took a sip of my wine in my cup, unsure what was too much to share. “How did he die?” He asks. “We were on a mission to Tabitha. Crossed over the Domain of Ostacona. Encountered a kraken, larger than I’ve ever seen. Sailors call her Mother of The Seas. Last time she was seen was nearly eighty years ago. But I guess she made a guest appearance that day and we weren’t prepared for it. b***h killed half my crew… Vlad being one of the souls she took.” Reminiscing on the events of only a month ago, tore open unsealed wounds. “He died in my arms.” I added. Perseus’s expression was unreadable. Almost as if he didnt know how to respond or act at this moment. The silence lingered between us as I got lost in thought. Replaying the way Vlad looked in my arms. Blood seeped out the corners of his mouth. His eyes faded the moment his life began to drain from him. The way his skin went ghost white. The horrid scene could still be seen every time I closed my eyes. “Vlad… he was First Mate to your grandfather as well?” “Aye. Served him faithfully for many years. And his loyalty transferred to me when my grandfather passed.” We both fell silent again. Nothing but the sounds of creaking of the ship and waves hitting the sides. “I didn't want to join this crew to attempt to take his place. I know that's what you think. That's what everybody on this blasted ship thinks. But it's not true. I came here to see for myself why he chose this life over the one he was willing to leave behind.” His words struck me, briefly. “What do you mean?” “I mean… What is it about sailing that he loved so much… that caused him to give up his family. His wife and nine year old son.” “Your personal agenda is no agenda of mine because I simply just don’t care. You were foolish coming here with the Thorn name. Insult to your father, your cousin. A baker setting sail of Coutoulie Crossing, the most dangerous seas to ever exist- its so ridiculous, its nearly humorous.” His jaw clenched after hearing that. “I was a baker because when my father left my mother and I, there was nobody taking care of us-“ “Again. I don’t care.” He pauses. “Why do you find hate for me when you don’t even know me?” I abruptly stand from my chair, both hands holding me over the table across from him. “Because you bring shame to your father. And your father was the best man I’ve ever known. I loved him like a father of my own. A father I never had before I met him. And the blasphemous s**t that comes out of your mouth about him is insulting to me!” Perseus stands to his own feet, meeting me at my level. “I just want to understand why he did the things he did. I want to know what was so damn important, that he was willing to give up his wife and kid! Why he settled for the likes of you- long enough for you to call him father!” His words and tone packed a punch to my gut that left me speechless, a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time. The rage that coursed through the veins of my body choked me beyond words. “Get out.” I finally spat. “Gladly.”

…

Watching the patterns of the waves have never gotten old for as long as I’ve been a sailor let alone a Captain. The sea has been the only thing I’ve ever known since my grandfather took me in. He was the type of man I wanted to be like. Woman or not, I was determined to have the same drive and respect that man had. He had more honor in his pointer finger than most kings had their entire bodies. My grandfather. Captain Walter O’Dell. It was quite a legacy that man left behind. And a big heart he had as well. Which was shocking to most but not to me. He was the first father figure I had until Vlad took me under his wing.

I thought about my grandfather most days. I always wondered what he would say to me if he could see me right now. How since Vlad had passed, half of my crew was lost by death or resignation, I haven’t been able to recover from losing him yet and that had delayed this excursion. I bet he would call me ‘soft’ right now. “These here waters will make ye’ soft. But the adventure… Aye, the things ye come across in battle… thems’ are the things that will make ye’ tough.”

Those words will forever echo in my mind. More so when I look over the edge of the ship out into the horizon. Watching the water, refusing to let it make me soft.

“The shifts have been switched out.” Caspian comes up beside me and grips the edge of the ship. “Anything to report?” “Nah. Only some weak men complain of sea sickness.” I couldn’t help but to chuckle at the thought of that. “I think Perseus was sick of washing clothes and sails.” “I don’t really care how your cousin feels.” I’ve been avoiding Perseus ever since my encounter with him last week. All of his insulting questions of his father. If I was being honest with myself, I found jealousy in him calling Vlad ‘father’. Especially since Perseus hardly knew him. “Have you spoken to him at all?” Perseus asks. Now turning around to lean against the edge. “Why would I?” “No reason. Just wasn’t sure if you were interrogated anymore about Vlad.” I roll my eyes. “I’m not interested in answering any more questions. Nor am I interested in talking about Vlad from now on. It’s time for us to move on as a whole.” I say firmly, my hands still gripping the side of the ship. “Aye? And what exactly changed with that?” I sighed to myself. “We are on our way to face our biggest mission yet. I can’t afford anymore distractions.” Caspian nods, his brow furrowed in thought. “It’s okay to grieve, Charlie.” “I’ve done my grieving.” Caspian turns back around, looking out at the horizon with me. “You’ve kept yourself locked away in a tavern and tried to find the answer to your grief at the bottoms of ale cups. I wouldn’t call that mourning.” “Aye. But it's grief. Grieving and mourning are different things.” He shakes his head, a smirk on his face. “I’m just saying… It’s okay to take some time-“ “We don’t have time and you know it. I know you tend to convince me the sky isn’t falling, but for once, can you shut your damn mouth and let it go?” I hissed. His expression never changed. He just simply watched the waves with me. “Do you want to make a stop in Shia?” I turn my head to face him. “Shia? That’s not on the way.” “No. But they have cheap prices for food and ale. Which were low of. We need a restock if we're going to make it to and from Meh Thaylor… and someone I’m sure misses you.” I knew who he spoke of. And it aches my heart even further. “Have you heard from her? Or from your parents?” He shook his head. “It’s only been three months since we last saw her.” I turn my face back out to the waves, sighing to myself once again. “Three months is too long to be away from our kid.” I muttered.