Chapter Four: A Water Problem

Estelle stood on the quarterdeck with Rita, looking down at Flynn having another argument, this time with Karol.

"What an idiot," Rita said. "Is he ever going to remember that he's not the captain of this ship?"

Estelle smirked. "It might take a while. Flynn is… very eager to take charge, and reluctant to take orders from pirates." She felt bad for how clearly unhappy Flynn was. He was here because of her, and even though she didn't regret staying, she wished Flynn could have stayed on the Endurance, especially now that it was clear the crew of the Brave Vesperia meant her no harm.

"How much longer are you going to be here for?" Rita asked.

"Hm… hard to say," Estelle said. "Probably another week. Once I take the stitches out, it's just a matter of waiting for him to heal on his own, and if everything is going smoothly there really isn't a reason for me to stick around. By the way, do you know what Flynn is arguing about this time?"

"He thinks we should approach from a different angle," Rita said. "Apparently with the winds, sailing straight ahead is too dangerous. Our crew can handle it, though."

"Oh, I see." This morning they'd spied a shipwreck of the coast of Muluroccia Island and decided to check it out. Depending on the state of the wreck, they would either help the survivors or salvage any worthwhile flotsam. Estelle was really hoping they'd be able to do the first. She'd been watching the wreck get closer and closer all morning, and now she could make out the details of the ship's hull in two pieces, floating upside down. The broken mast stuck up at a slanted angle, the tattered imperial flag flapping in the breeze. The most important detail they could make out now that they were closer, though, was that there were two ships.

"Oh, great," Rita said. "Looks like someone else got here first."

"Oh no, are they pirates?" Estelle asked, leaning forward on the railing and squinting to make out the flag.

"What is with you and pirates?" Rita asked, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, there are more than just navy ships and pirates in the ocean, Estellise."

Estelle pouted. "I - I know that, and I told you to call me Estelle!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Down below, one of the sailors finally interrupted Flynn and Karol's argument to point out that a second ship sat behind the wreck. Estelle couldn't hear what they were saying, but both of them stared and then ran to the bow.

"What's going on?" Estelle asked. "Are we going to turn around?"

"I doubt it," Rita said. "At the speed we're going, we won't be able to turn around before we reach the wreck. We're already slowing down so that we'll stop in front of it, but turning a ship around is a difficult manoeuvre. Come on, let's go see what they're up to." Without waiting for a response, Rita pushed herself away from the railing and headed for the stairs.

Estelle hurried to follow, and made her way down to the main deck. Above them, sailors in the rigging angled the sails to bring the ship to a stop. She ran across the deck and stopped next to Flynn and Karol at the bow.

"Good afternoon, Lady Estellise," Flynn said while looking through his telescope.

"What ship is that?" Rita asked, pointing to the one behind the wreck. Estellise's eyes widened as she took the ship. After spending her time on the Endurance and the Brave Vesperia, she'd become accustomed to frigates. This ship dwarfed theirs, and she suddenly felt very small. They could probably run them right over.

"Uh…" Karol frowned. "I think it's a navy ship, but I'm not sure."

Flynn lowered the telescope and frowned. "It's a navy ship alright. That's the Canary, the flagship of the Schwann Fleet. Although, it appears Commodore Schwann is not currently on board."

"You can tell that from this distance?" Estelle asked, staring at him in awe.

"If he was on board, his pennant would be flying."

"Oh, great," Rita said. "Just what we need."

"Do you think we should tell Yuri?" Karol asked.

Rita crossed her arms. "I wouldn't. He'll just want to get involved and he's supposed to stay in bed."

Karol nodded. "That's probably true."

The Brave Vesperia was slowing down now. Estelle judged this by how annoying her hair was. She hadn't bothered tying it up since arriving on the Brave Vesperia, but the faster they moved the more the wind whipped it into her face. She glanced enviously at Rita's short hair which barely reached her chin. It must be so much easier to have short hair at sea. For not the first time, she considered cutting her long hair off. That seemed like an extreme action, though. She couldn't imagine the fuss it would make around the castle when she returned, and didn't think a couple of weeks of convenience was worth the scandal of the princess chopping off her hair.

While she thought about that, the ship covered the distance to the ship wreck. Five men at the wheel gave a great tug and the ship twisted. Estelle gripped the railing as the ship rocked, and the wake pushed drifting barrels and planks of wood back toward the wreck.

"See, I told you we could stop," Karol said.

"Yes," Flynn said, "but you didn't give yourself any room to spare, which is why we are now face to face with the Canary. If you had listened to me in the first place and not attempted to approach directly, you would have been able to skim to the side and avoid a confrontation."

"Do you think they'll want a confrontation?" Estelle asked, glancing back at their mast. The black flag wasn't flying, so for all the Canary knew, they were merchants. She wasn't sure why she was nervous. The Schwann Fleet was the star of the navy, and she knew they would never harm her. She supposed she was worried about how they would react if they found out the Brave Vesperia was a privateer. Flynn had told her that he didn't attack after her found out because the ships were too evenly matched and he didn't think the casualties were worth it, but the Brave Vesperia was far from a match for the Canary. Based on the guns she saw just on the side facing them, it had to have almost three times as much fire power, possibly more. It could blow them out of the water without breaking a sweat. Even if they wouldn't hurt her or Flynn, they could easily force her and Flynn to board the Canary while they destroyed the Brave Vesperia.

A mighty boom echoed across the sea and a cannonball whizzed through the air, landing in the sea just to the right of the ship. Estelle jumped. "Why are they shooting at us?!"

"Those bastards!" Rita shouted. "How dare they shoot at us when we haven't done anything yet?! That's it, I'll show them what cannon fire is like." She turned to storm down to the gun deck, but ran into Judith, who'd walked up behind her.

"Slow down," Judith said, grabbing her shoulders. "That was a warning shot."

Flynn nodded. "If they wanted to hit us, they wouldn't have fired just one cannon."

"So what do they want?" Karol asked.

"You're the captain," Flynn said, struggling to hold in his irritation. "Shouldn't you know these things?"

Karol scowled at him and balled up his fists. "H-hey! I know a lot of things! Just… Yuri usually takes over whenever we have to deal with other ships…"

Flynn sighed. "They're telling us to surrender."

"No way!" Rita said, shrugging away from Judith. "We're not going to let them boss us around!"

"And what precisely do you intend to do?" Flynn asked. "That ship outguns you more than three to one."

Rita's anger simmered, but she didn't have a response.

"What are we going to do, Captain?" Judith asked Karol.

Karol looked between his friends with panic. "I… uh…" His eyes went back to the Canary and he bit his lip. "We… we can't run away, can we?"

"I doubt it," Judith said. "We can try, but they could sink us before we built up much speed."

"They want to come aboard," Flynn said. "We are not in any position to deny them. Lower your flag to signify you understand and accept."

"Who asked you for instructions?" Rita snapped.

Flynn shrugged. "What option do you have? You insisted on charging straight forward, and now you have no room for retreat. You can't hope to fight the Canary and win, and you can't run away, so surrender is your only option. Don't worry; I doubt they mean you any harm. This is an imperial ship wreck, and they likely just want to see what you're up to and tell you to leave."

Karol hesitated, looking between his friends and the Canary for a long minute. Finally, he slumped his shoulders and said, "Lower the flag. Flynn's right, we don't have much choice."

"As you wish, Captain," Judith said, and then strode away to deliver the orders.

"Yuri's going to be pissed," Rita said.

"I don't think we should tell Yuri the navy is coming on board," Karol said.

"I'm sure he knows something is happening," Estelle said. "He'd be able to feel that we've stopped, at least. I don't think he can walk unassisted yet, though, so as long as nobody goes down to explain exactly what, I think you're safe."

"Ok. Oh, Estelle, Flynn, I think maybe you guys should stay out of sight," Karol said. It's just… the navy might be suspicious or upset if they know we've got a captain and a noble lady on our ship."

Flynn nodded. "That would raise a lot of questions. Lady Estellise and I will remain here."

"Right. Come on, Rita," Karol said, and they walked away.

When she and Flynn were alone at the bow of the ship, Estelle asked, "What do you think the Canary is doing here?"

"Same thing we are, I would imagine," Flynn said. "The ship that sunk is an imperial frigate, a lot like the Endurance. I can't see a name from here, but it was probably on a government mission and the navy is here to analyze the situation and pick of survivors."

"Survivors…" Estelle stared out at the scene. Remnants of the ship bobbed in the waves, while the Canary loomed behind it. A small dory from the Canary made its way toward them, and making up the background were the green hills of Muluroccia Island. The beach was strewn with tree trunks, and though the hills in the distance were green, the forest immediately by the coast was a muddy mess of fallen trees. "What do you think happened here?"

"Do you remember the tsunami swell we felt the other day?"

Estelle nodded. "So this is where it hit land?"

"So it would seem."

Estelle frowned and stared down at the wreckage. Some fabric drifted out from behind a barrel billowing up with water. She wondered what was -

Her breath caught her throat. That was a body. "F-Flynn," she said, her eyes locked on what was now obviously a man's corpse drifting by. His face was white, his eyes wide and staring, and his hair swirled around his head like a halo. Estelle's arms shook, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She could only see one body, but now that she'd been reminded, she couldn't stop imagining the countless others who must be floating around the wreckage. This wasn't just a wrecked ship, this was the grave site of at least a hundred men.

Flynn looked to her in alarm, and then followed her eyes to see what had startled her. As soon as he saw it, his muscles stiffened. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from the railing. "Don't look," he said.

As soon as she tore her eyes away, she threw herself at Flynn, and couldn't stop shaking even as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Everything since she'd joined the Vesperia had been fun. Once Yuri was past the brink of death, it had been a fun adventure away from her life at the castle. For this short time, she could play privateer just like the characters in her books. But this wasn't one of her adventure stories, this was a real man with a real life who was really dead, and countless others were also dead, and there was nothing she could do to help them. The sailing life wasn't all fun and games after all. She had always known that at the back of her mind, but this sudden reminder made her feel sick.

"Sh, it's ok," Flynn said. "Is this your first time seeing a dead body?"

She shook her head. With her voice muffled by Flynn's chest, she said, "No, I - I saw people die while working with Dr. Dropwart. But… but they were old. They died in their sleep. It was… peaceful."

Flynn rubbed her shoulders. "The Canary is here to pick up the survivors. They will also collect the dead bodies so they can be returned to the sailors' families."

Estelle managed to stop shaking and pulled her head away to look up at Flynn. "Have you seen a lot of dead bodies, Flynn?"

He frowned, loosening his grip around her. "Some," he said. "It happens. The world is a dangerous place beyond the cities, especially so at sea."

She nodded slowly. "I knew that, I just… I guess I wasn't thinking about it."

"Do you want to leave?" Flynn asked. "This might be your only chance to leave until we get to Luccia. I'm certain the Canary would be willing to take you to Heliord."

Estelle thought about this. She thought about the poor men who died right here, and about Sodia's fiancé Ivan who was cut down when the Endurance was attacked by pirates. She thought about Yuri's story about getting attacked by Barbos, and all the other terrible things that could happen at sea. It was so much scarier than her life in the castle, but there was also so much more to do. Yuri was only alive because she was here, and the evenings she spent watching the moon rise from the quarterdeck were unforgettable.

She shook her head. "No. At least, not yet. It's scary but… I'm glad I'm here."

Flynn nodded once. "If that's what you want. Are you alright?"

She took a deep breath and avoided looking back at the ocean. "Yes," she said slowly. "I was just… startled, I suppose." She looked down at the deck with a frown, wondering if Flynn thought she was pathetic. He sailed around the world, fighting bad guys and helping people. He probably dealt with dead bodies all the time, and she doubted he ever freaked out like that.

"I understand. This isn't a sight anyone would like to see."

"But it doesn't seem to bother you."

He gave her a said smile. "Lady Estellise, you should feel thankful that you are not accustomed to such things."

"Oh… I suppose so." She sighed, and forced herself to look back at the wreck. She didn't look straight down where she knew the body was, and instead watched the flag flap on the broken mast. "I thought Rita said the safest place to be in a tsunami was at sea."

"They were too close to shore," Flynn said, following her gaze with a serious expression. "The wave had probably just risen up as it hit the continental shelf and capsized this vessel."

"It's so terrible," she said.

"Yes," Flynn said with a sigh. "I believe the entourage from the Canary has arrived now. Let's do some eavesdropping."

She bobbed her head. "Yes, alright."

From around the foremast, they watched as a handful of navy officers climbed a rope ladder and stood on the deck. The leader was a broad-shouldered man with a thick moustache, wearing an outfit similar to Flynn's before he lost his jacket. He was flanked by a pair of midshipmen, one of whom was very tall and equally thin, while the other was short and squat.

"Good afternoon," the leader boomed. "Where is your captain? I would like to speak to him."

Judith stepped forward with an enigmatic smile and crossed her arms. Estelle wasn't sure if she'd intentionally pushed up her breasts, but it got the Canary's captain's attention nonetheless. "I'm the captain," she said. "Judith."

"Ah… um…" the captain pointedly shifted his eyes back to her face. "I see. I am Captain Leblanc of the Canary. I see you are a Union ship - what is your business in these waters?"

"We were en route to Luccia when we spotted the wreck," Judith said. "That's not a crime, is it?"

The tall man next to him said, "I say, you were trying to steal imperial goods!"

"Oh?" Judith cocked her head to the side. "I was under the impression that in a wreck, flotsam was fair game."

"Hmph, that may be," Leblanc said, "but this is an imperial wreck in imperial waters, and it is under our control now."

"We understand," Judith said. "Is there anything else we can do for you, Captain?"

"Yes," Leblanc said. "We have picked up several survivors of the wreck and require additional resources. We will be requisitioning seventy-five percent of your water supplies to accommodate them."

"What?!" Karol said. "You can't take our water!"

Estelle looked to Flynn. "Can they?"

Flynn frowned. "According to imperial law, the navy can take any supplies they need from any vessel in imperial waters. Water, food, even sailors to fill their ranks. Of course, the boundaries of what classifies as imperial waters is up for dispute, and the Union doesn't agree that any of this is legal in the first place. This practice contributed to the Great War between the empire and the Union ten years ago."

"I get it," Estelle said, nodding. "It doesn't seem right, though, that they can just walk on and take what they want."

"No," Flynn said. "It isn't fair at all. The Endurance has never done such a thing, at least not under my command. By law they're supposed to give them coupons in exchange for the good that, theoretically, they can redeem for a partial reimbursement with the empire. The system is filled with so much bureaucracy and red tape, though, that it can take years to get the goods owed to you, and most people don't bother trying."

While Estelle and Flynn talked, the argument continued. "We'd have to go all the way to Capua Nor to buy more!" Karol said.

"And," Judith added, "we'd have to severely ration our supplies on the trip there."

"We can't even afford to buy much!" Karol said. "We were going to sell some of our goods in Luccia to pay for new supplies, but the magistrate in Capua Nor takes so much in taxes you can barely make any money selling there."

No one really knew why the water across the world was undrinkable. Based on the historical record, it hadn't always been that way. All people knew was that something happened several centuries ago that poisoned the water supply of the entire world. Drinking unfiltered water made people sick, and drinking too much of it could kill you. It wouldn't kill you right away, but that's what made it so much worse. Water could only be filtered in ponds with stems from the great tree of Halure, and this was an expensive process. Since the effects of drinking unfiltered water took so long to show up, it was easy for poorer people to say, "surely just one free drink won't hurt", and then keep saying that while the harmful effects snuck up on them and shut down their internal organs.

Filtered water was expensive, and now Captain Leblanc wanted to take a good chunk of the Brave Vesperia's supplies? That wasn't right.

Rita crossed her arms and glared at Leblanc. "You're crazy if you think we're just going to hand it over."

"Yeah," Karol said. "We need that water too."

Nobody was about to tell Yuri, but they'd been giving him more than his share of their supplies. His meals alone were all water-based, rather than the dry food everyone else ate. No one held it against him, but their water supplies were even more tight than usual.

"Water supplies are essential for the recuperation of the rescued survivors," Leblanc said. "If you refuse us, we will be forced to take it as an affront to the empire."

Estelle frowned, biting her lip. Leblanc had a point; if they had picked up survivors, they needed water to help them recover, right? But their ship needed the water too. "What do you think, Flynn?" she asked.

"He's full of himself," Flynn said. "A ship like the Canary, a leading ship in the imperial fleet, this close to land, will have more than enough water for every eventuality. This is a display of force to throw around the empire's weight and show who's boss."

"Oh, ok," Estelle said. Good, then she wouldn't have to feel guilty that their ship wasn't willing to help the survivors.

"Unfortunately," Flynn added, "he really does have a lot of force to throw around. They don't truly need the water, but if Brave Vesperia doesn't relinquish it, there's nothing to stop them from blasting us to pieces."

"Oh…" Her face fell. "They wouldn't blow up the ship if they knew you and I were on it, though, right?"

"Most likely not, though they may simply force us off." Flynn frowned, watching the argument between Karol, Rita, Judith, and Leblanc with concern. "This needs negotiation and compromise. If they keep refusing to budge, they're going to get themselves killed, or at the very least the ship damaged irreparably."

"Is there anything we can do?" Estelle asked. She felt useless hiding behind the foremast while the others did all the work.

"Hm… I should handle this," Flynn said. "I've met Leblanc before. I can reason with him."

"Are you sure?" Estelle asked. "Karol said we should stay out of sight."

"The situation has changed. Stay here."

"Well… ok." Estelle leaned against the mast and watched Flynn stride out into the open.

"Excuse me," Flynn said.

Karol pulled his eyes away from his argument with Leblanc and looked to Flynn to surprise. "Flynn! I told you to stay out of the way."

"Captain Flynn?" Leblanc said, staring at him. "What are you doing here?"

Flynn reached the group and stood at attention before Leblanc. "Good afternoon, Captain. I am currently travelling with this ship for personal reasons. I'm sure we can work out an arrangement."

Judith frowned. "Flynn, I think we have this under control."

Estelle could tell Flynn was irritated, but he held himself together and remained professional. "With all due respect," Flynn said, "I have more experience negotiating with the navy."

He didn't wait for an answer and turned his back on her to talk to Leblanc. Judith frowned at his back and Rita looked about ready to aim a cannonball at Flynn's head. Karol crossed his arms and glared, but hesitantly allowed Flynn to do the talking.

"Captain Leblanc," Flynn said, "surely a well-stocked ship such as the Canary doesn't need that much extra water."

"These are the standing orders from the admiral, Flynn," Leblanc said. "We've picked up about fifty survivors from the wreck. With our current supplies, it's going to be tight."

"Surely you're only taking the survivors as far as Capua Nor," Flynn said. "Your men can get by on tighter rations for a few days. Forcing this ship to go out of its way and restock in Capua Nor will be a huge inconvenience to me."

Leblanc frowned and stroked his chin. They spoke in lowered voiced now, so it was harder for Estelle to make out what they were saying. "Yeah, I understand that. I might be able to give you some wiggle room. Can you do fifty percent of your water supplies, rather than seventy-five?"

"No!" Karol spoke up. "We can't afford to give you guys any!"

"Please let me handle this, Karol," Flynn said, not looking at him. To Leblanc he said, "We can give you fifteen percent."

"Forty," Leblanc said.

"We have injured of our own," Flynn said. "Without adequate water supplies, we won't be able to take care of them. Twenty."

Leblanc and Flynn stared off in tense silence. Finally, Leblanc said, "Twenty-five."

"Deal," Flynn said, sticking out his hand.

"No way," Rita said. "We're not giving away any of our water!"

Leblanc shook hands with Flynn while the short man next to him said, "You should be grateful we are giving you this offer at all! Had you protested further, we would have taken all of it."

"Yuri's not going to like this," Karol said.


Something was going on. Yuri could tell something was up, but no one came down to give him any specifics. He knew they were heading toward a ship wreck, and he'd felt the ship slow down and heave to, but then he'd heard cannon fire and raised voices. Something was happening and they were keeping him out of the loop. Dammit, he was injured, not dead. He didn't like to think that stuff was happening on his ship that he didn't know about. He was going to check it out.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. He paused before making his next move, because just getting this far had sent a stab of pain through him. This was going to be difficult, but there was no way he would just lie here and let the world go on without him, especially not on his ship. He grabbed the table for support, wrapped one arm around his abdomen, and with great effort pulled himself to his feet. His face scrunched up and he couldn't hold back a groan as the pressure pulled at his wound, but he managed to get to his shaky feet.

"There," he said to himself. "See, I'm fine."

No, you're not, said the little voice in his head that told him off when he did stupid things. He'd never really thought about it before, but recent events made him realize that the voice sounded an awful lot like his memories of Flynn. He had no idea why that might be.

He ignored the logical voice and pushed himself onward. It was slow-going. Every step pulled at his wound, sending fiery bursts of pain radiating through his body. His legs shook, threatening to crumple at any moment, but he told himself he was just out of shape after lying in bed for almost two weeks. He also told himself that the distance from the bed to the door had always taken him this long, and that it was perfectly normal to be exhaustedly panting for breath upon reaching the door.

Look, I made it, he said to the Flynn voice. Told you I was fine.

As he pulled the door open, his body responded with a stab of crippling pain rather than mentally telling him off. Yuri gritted his teeth and clutched the door handle for support. The door groaned in protestation at being forced to bear his weight, but he managed to remain standing and rode out the wave of pain. I'm fine, he kept repeating to himself. I'm not a cripple. I can walk across the deck.

You really can't, the Flynn voice said.

True to form, Yuri completely ignored that voice and set course for the stairs. Estelle said he wasn't allowed to walk up stairs yet, but he figured he'd be fine if he took it slow. Besides, if anything bad happened, well, he'd figure that out when he got there. With one staggering step after another, he closed the distance to the stairs. He could make it, he was almost there, he could -

A wave hit the ship and it lurched. It was nothing as bad as the tsunami the other day, but it was enough to knock him off his shaky balance. He hit his knees hard and the jolt that shot through his abdomen was almost like getting stabbed again. His vision went white and hazy as he clutched his gut and fell on his side. A scream rose in his throat so he clamped his teeth down on his lip until he tasted blood to keep it smothered. He lay completely still, taking deep, shaking breaths until the excruciating pain dropped down to more reasonable levels of agony. He panted and started to get up, but there was nothing to grab to pull himself up and the moment his abdomen tightened, so much pain radiated from his wound that his muscles turned to jelly again and he found himself on the floor where he started.

"Ok…" he mumbled to himself. "I guess I'll stay here then."

Voices and footsteps came from the stairs at the forward end of the deck. Oh, good, maybe they were coming down to tell him what was going on. Also, maybe they could help him get up. Karol, Rita, Flynn, and a handful of crew members tromped down the stairs, speaking in raised voices.

"…still can't believe we're listening to those jerks," Rita was saying. "Who the hell do they think they are?"

Flynn, sounding very much like he was trying not to shout, said, "They correctly think they're guys who have the power to blow you up if you don't do what they say."

Rita was about to turn and continue going down to the lower deck, but she stopped and stared. "Uh… Yuri?"

He tried to smile, but from Karol's shocked response it had probably looked more like a grimace. "Yuri!" Karol shouted. He turned to the crew and said, "Keep going and get the water barrels, I'll take care of this."

They nodded and kept going, while Karol, Rita, and Flynn hurried across the deck toward Yuri.

"Yuri, what happened?" Karol asked when he reached his side.

"That's what I want to ask you," Yuri said. "What's going on?"

Rita stared at him. She wavered between worry and fury but in the end, being Rita, settled on fury. "Are you a complete moron!? What are you doing?! Estellise told you not to get out of bed!"

Yuri tried to laugh it off, but laughing hurt. "Ah, come on, you know me. I don't do well with people telling me what to do."

"This is the second time I've found you like this," Flynn said. "I would have thought after the first time you'd learned your lesson."

Yuri glared at him while Rita and Karol grabbed him by the armpits and pulled him to his feet. "Hey, I didn't ask for your opin- argh!"

"Sorry," Karol said.

Yuri took a few deep breaths. He ached, but he was on his feet, which was better than lying uselessly on the ground. He rested his arms on Rita and Karol's shoulders to support most of his weight and asked, "What's going on up there?"

Rita, if possible, became angrier. "Captain Flynn here just agreed to give away twenty-five percent of our water supply."

"What!?" Yuri shot his eyes to Flynn with outrage. "Why would you do that? You don't have the right to go giving away our stuff!"

"It was the only reasonable course of action," Flynn said. "The Canary demanded seventy-five. I got him to agree to twenty-five. You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you for giving away our water to your navy buddies?" Only the fact that falling flat on his face the moment he stepped away from Rita and Karol would be among the least intimidating gestures he'd ever done kept him from tackling Flynn.

"They would have taken far more than that if I hadn't intervened," Flynn said.

"It was our problem to sort out. Karol, Rita, and Judy would have worked it out. You had no right to get involved and then haggle with things that aren't yours." Yeah, they probably couldn't have gotten out of this without giving up some of their water, but Flynn was in no position to make that call. He was only here to make sure they didn't murder Estelle; he didn't get to give orders and make decisions just because he was a captain on a different ship.

"Why do you keep getting angry with me whenever I try to help?!" Flynn said, his voice rising as his patience finally snapped.

"We never asked for it," Yuri said. "You're just getting in everyone's way and making a huge fuss about everything. If you're so unhappy here, why don't you just hop on the Canary and be on your merry way?"

"I'm not leaving without Lady Estellise," Flynn said. "And she's not leaving until you recover, so if you're so eager to get rid of me, maybe you should stop getting yourself hurt again and delaying your recovery."

Yuri fired himself up for an angry rebuttal, but Karol spoke first. "Would you both calm down!? Yuri, you're really heavy. We need to get you back to bed."

"I'll help," Flynn said, reaching forward.

The only way Flynn could help Yuri was if he miraculously found a way to get his head dislodged from his ass. Yuri swatted Flynn's hand away, which had the unfortunate side effect of both throwing his weight forward and losing his grip on Rita's shoulder. He collapsed, straight into Flynn's arms, which was in fact the exact opposite of what he'd intended. A the very least, his expression of fury, shame, and pain all mixed together in a cocktail of displeasure was hidden against Flynn's chest.

"Be careful," Flynn said.

He couldn't let go of Flynn. Flynn was the only thing keeping him from falling flat on his face, and if his fall to his knees earlier had been any indication, there were torture devices less painful than slamming his wound against the ground. He grabbed Flynn's shoulders, and with Flynn's help straightened up. "Great, thanks," he said flippantly. Over Flynn's shoulder, he saw his crew carrying up barrels of water and his anger burned again.

"Let me help you back to your room," Flynn said.

Yuri glowered at the floor, hoping to find any other option. Rita and Karol were too short to properly help him walk, and he really didn't want to risk making it on his own and falling again. He'd had enough agony for one day. "Fine," he muttered, wrapping his arm around Flynn's shoulders. He wondered if being forced to rely on the one person he was most angry with was some divine punishment for disobeying his doctor's orders.

It took about five minutes to drag himself back to bed even with Flynn's help. Rita and Karol had gone back up to the main deck to deal with the Canary, leaving him alone with Flynn. He collapsed on his bed with more relief than he was willing to admit, and then pulled himself to his pillow and lay still, waiting for Flynn to leave him in peace. When he didn't, he raised his head and looked at Flynn standing awkwardly by the door. Yuri frowned and said, "Can I help you with something?"

Flynn dragged his face up from the floor. "Mr. Capel, I want to apologize. I know it was not my place to give away your water supplies. I do, however, feel that it was the right thing to do. Obstinately refusing to reason with their request could have been very dangerous for your ship."

"Yeah, whatever," Yuri said, not feeling like discussing this while his abdomen split in half. Besides, he didn't want Flynn to apologize. If Flynn apologized he wouldn't be able to be mad at him, and being mad at him was great because it took his focus away from his wound.

"I do appreciate your hospitality, especially for Lady Estellise. Thank you."

"Right," he grunted.

"Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" he offered.

Yuri thought about this, and then said, "Yeah, build me a time machine so I can skip ahead to when I'm fully healed."

Flynn frowned. "I'm not a mechanic, and I'm not sure if that's even-"

"Flynn. I was joking."

"Oh. Right."

He kept his eyes on Yuri until Yuri got uncomfortable. He shifted, scowled and said, "What're you staring at me like that for?"

Flynn looked away. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking that you remind me of someone I used to know."

"Oh?" Yuri raised an eyebrow, wondering if Flynn had finally broken through that blockhead of his and remembered him. "Who?"

"Just an old friend," Flynn said.

"I hope this old friend was a cool guy," Yuri said.

Flynn frowned in thought for a few seconds, and then said, "Actually, he was more of a cocky little brat."

Yuri's face fell. "Oh."

"He was a good person, though," Flynn said, almost smiling as he was caught up in memories. "Always went out of his way to help the younger kids." His smile fell when he looked back to Yuri with displeasure. "He was no pirate."

Yuri matched his frown with one of his own. "Privateer."

"Call it what you want; it's still piracy." Flynn grabbed the door and pulled it open. "Good day, Mr. Capel."

"Yeah. See you," Yuri said without much enthusiasm.

As soon as he was alone, he grabbed his pillow, pressed it against his face, and screamed as loud as he dared. Somehow, it helped. He had all this pent-up frustration, anger, and pain that he wanted to let it all out in one angry shout. Damn Flynn. After that brief conversation, he found himself longing for the good old days when they used to hang out together as kids.

There had been overcrowding in Zaphias. Too many kids, and too many parents dying young from contaminated water. The was only one orphanage in the lower quarter, and it barely got by on donations and a sliver of government money. The orphanage director had a contact in the merchant business, and arranged a simple deal: We'll give you some of our kids and what fee we can afford, and you find a place for them in another city. It wasn't hard to pick which kids to send away: the unruly ones, the rebellious ones, the ones that gave the staff trouble and had little hope of ever being properly adopted. Yuri, nine year old hell-raiser, had been at the top of the list.

The poor timing would have been amazing if bad luck didn't flock to Yuri like seagulls to chum. As soon as Yuri found out he was going to be sent away, he and Flynn decided that he'd simply have to get adopted by the Scifo family. He spent enough time at their house, after all. Except, Flynn's father had passed away only a month earlier, and with that source of income abruptly cut off, Mrs. Scifo struggled enough to feed her own son, let alone take in another. After that, Yuri had no choice but to leave with the other children, and would eventually find a new home at an orphanage in Dahngrest.

The last time he'd seen Flynn, the boy had been nine years old, struggling to keep from crying as he waved goodbye from the end of the pier. Neither of them had ever expected to see each other again, even after Yuri started hearing rumours of the rising star of the navy. Yuri didn't believe in fate, or destiny, or any of that wishy-washy mystical nonsense, but he did have to wonder about the probability of a storm hitting them, or of their old carpenter getting himself killed just weeks earlier so no one could properly patch the ship. Of all the ships that sailed the Great Sea, what were the chances that the first ship to spot their distress signal just happened to be crewed by his old friend?

Random chance had reunited them after all these years, and it seemed a waste to stay angry at him until Flynn inevitably moved on. But, Yuri had to be angry with him because Flynn was being an idiot and overstepping his bounds and in general needed a good fist to the face to knock him off his high horse. Yuri wanted to start things over with Flynn, and the beginning of a plan trickled together in his mind. He grinned as it came together, although it would have to wait a few days until he could at least get up the stairs to the main deck. He'd need to fill his friends in, too. Someone was going to have to keep Estelle out of the way, because she was definitely not going to like this.