The sea was somewhat calm, small swells lapping at the side of an old wooden ship. The ship was somewhat smaller than a cargo ship, yet larger than the average leisure boat. A woman stood at the bow, her long blonde hair whipping around her in rhythm with the snapping of the sails in the wind. She held a thick piece of animal hide in her hands, the etching on it comparable to a nautical map, albeit a very primal one. Her deep blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she scanned the horizon line, perhaps looking for a shore in the distance. A tall, solidly built man stood behind her quietly, leaning against the mast and smiling as he watched her. His crimson hair was tied back loosely, and long strand broke free of their restraint in the wind. He pushed them behind his long, pointed ears repeatedly, sighing as he kept losing the battle against the breeze as the hairs kept blowing in his face. The woman smiled, rolling up her map and inclining her head back towards him.
"You should really let me cut your hair, Ashetharion. I know it irritates you when it's this long," she said, turning around to face him. The wind caught her hair, blowing it out like a long veil behind her.
The elf grinned, moving from his spot and approaching her slowly. "But then you wouldn't think I was so dashingly handsome anymore, Calliope."
She laughed, opening her arms to invite him into them. "Did your son give you a hard time going down for his nap? You were below deck for some time."
He enveloped her in his arms, pulling her tightly against his chest and pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. "I was watching him sleep for a bit. I still can't get over how beautiful our son is. Afterwards I spoke to Chef about our food supplies, and readied the crew for docking at the next port."
She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder and looking out towards the horizon, a hint of worry creeping into her features. "I have a bad feeling about this one, love."
He chuckled and gave her a soft squeeze. "Don't worry, I've spoken with Jed and he assures me that he has taken care of everything. Nothing is going to happen, Calliope."
She frowned, not saying anything more. Jed was the first mate, and as diligent as he had been, nothing would stop the inevitable. She knew something was wrong; something was going to happen as a result of their next docking. If only he would listen to her…
And now the sails were on fire, the flames billowing out and spreading with the almost trivial breeze. The crew was yelling, trying to load into the small shoring boat on port side, but now they're yelling that the little boat has been destroyed, that there is no escape for anyone. The woman sat on the deck cradling the bodies of her infant son and husband; her blonde hair now streaked with crimson from their blood, or was it hers? And now Jed, the reliable first mate, was dragging her away, telling her she had to jump overboard and swim because of the gun powder stored below deck; that the fire was going to cause it to explode.
And now she was in the water, watching her home and her family burn as Jed screamed at her to kick and swim, and suddenly there was a loud noise and all the oxygen seemed to be sucked out of the air as the ship exploded; and suddenly there were screams piercing the loud noise, the last sounds from the crew that could not escape; and now there was only ringing in her ears as she grabbed onto a piece of floating debris and kicked as hard and fast as she could, determined to survive this so she could kill those motherless son of ogres that did this… but now she was growing tired, and the wounds she had suffered continued to bleed and drain her of energy, and she thought she could make out the shore as she slipped off her board, and there was no hope anymore…
....
Cailie sat straight up in bed, gasping for air as tears streamed down her face. She gripped the sheets and pillows before patting herself down, making sure she was back in the present and that it had only been a dream this time. She took a deep, calming breath and rubbed her forehead, almost certain it would be blood and not sweat covering her fingers when she pulled them away. With a shaky sigh, she climbed out of bed and pulled her sweat soaked hair into a low ponytail, the now ruby colored strands looking as they had that night when she held her family for the last time. She scanned the strange room that he had woken up in, her violet eyes landing on the several empty liquor bottles that sat on the table. Groaning, she gathered up her things and left the room, grumbling under her breath, "-This- is why I don't sleep."