A/N: For Mithrigil, who challenged me to write a minific romance between Helmut and the Sea.
Fulfillment
by
K'Arthur
Helmut placed the fifty-thousand potch into the shipbuilder's hand without a second thought. He had worked hard for that money and it had taken him years to earn it. He'd done everything from scrubbing floors to bar tending to serving in the army for his adoptive country. His father, too, did these odd jobs without hesitation or complaint. Despite their noble upbringing, neither of them were ever too proud to work--no matter how unpleasant they found the task.
But now, five years later, Helmut had finally earned the respect of this strange country. He'd even been given a surname by the commander of the army, and that had made his father incredibly proud. Colton had gripped him on the shoulder, just as he had done when Helmut graduated from the military academy in Kooluk.
Standing on deck of his boat, he walked behind the shipbuilder. She wasn't a fine ship by any stretch of the imagination but she was his. He knew he couldn't go back to Kooluk, but he could at least go to nearby areas and start a trading business. He could at least sail.
He touched the mainsheet and gripped it as he felt a smile spread across his face. The crew, what few men he could afford to hire, bustled around the ship in an effort to look busy. One of them approached him and offered a salute.
He nodded to the man, giving permission for him to speak. It almost felt surreal to be giving orders again. "Captain Lightfellow. Shall we push out?"
"Not yet," he answered, looking towards the docks and running his hand through his silver hair which had earned him his new family name. "We are waiting for the first mate."
"Aye, sir."
A few moments later he spotted his father, walking towards the docks on his way for an evening drink. "Father!" he called, from the port side.
Colton looked up at him.
"Father! Come here!" he shouted, unable to contain his excitement.
His father looked mystified, but approached the gangplank nonetheless.
Helmut walked towards him. "She's ours! I bought her!"
"You...bought her?"
"Yes, for trading."
"For trading," Colton echoed as his eyes walked over the boat. "She's beautiful."
"Yes, she is," Helmut smiled. "Shall we go for sail, Father?"
"Absolutely, my son. Absolutely."
Using a voice he thought he'd long forgotten, he commanded the crew to push out of the harbor and into the sea. The sails were raised as they made their way towards nowhere in particular. The crew did most of the work as Helmut and Colton stood on the starboard bow, letting the seaspray hit them for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.