Pirate Ship
"How hard is it to find someone on a ship?" I said. "It can't be that hard," I said. When am I gonna learn that it's not that easy with her? Matthew dragged a hand through his hair and scowled at the door in front of him. I know that Aydie can hide better than anyone else in this bunch. He raised his hand and knocked on the door. He waited for a minute for a response; when none came, he knocked harder. Not in the galley, not in the meeting room, not in her room, Rebecca isn't up yet-
"Oy!" One of the crewmen – Jake,he remembered after a moment's thought – leaned around the corner. "Are you looking for the green girl – Aydie?"
"Yes, actually," Matthew answered. If you can't do something on your own, getting help isn't a crime! "Do you know where she is? I've got news for her."
"Your girl's lubberly. She's up on deck. Dart's taking care of her."
"Taking care of her?" Years of being boggled by antics of other spies helped him keep his face from showing his confusion, but this warranted further questioning. If something had happened, it would be good to know.
"You'll find out when you get up there – just be nice to the poor thing. Sweet as sunrise, she is. Not as sweet as my Anna, though! Why, just the other day when we left port…." If you let him, Jake would babble about his lover for hours at a time. The group made the mistake of getting him started at dinner one night. They learned quickly why the rest of the crew got up and fled. Matthew didn't feel like sitting through another one of Jake's odes to his sweetheart; making a quick excuse, he bolted for the stairs that led up to the deck.
The pirate's mention of Anna made Matthew think of Leila. He missed her. She was – well, she meant a lot to him. It was hard to say how much. Both of them were spies on missions, which wasn't real helpful when it came to having a relationship. They couldn't even write letters to each other. It would blow their cover if the letters even got to them. It was, well, a bit lonely. Maybe Matthew could convince her to take a position in counter-intelligence with him back at Ostia. It'd be less dangerous and they could actually spend time together for more than just a few fleeting hours. Yeah. He'd talk to her about it.
When he got on deck, he remembered that he still wasn't comfortable with being on a ship. It didn't take him long to get over the rolling beneath his feet – his lord took a whole day to get used to it and Matthew hadn't laughed that hard in a long time – but there was more to it than that. Matthew was a city boy, through and through, and he never felt good about having this much open space around him. The sailors swinging through the rigging above him made him flinch for cover every time a shadow fell on him. Old habits die hard, especially when they were ones that kept you alive. He found the close quarters below decks more familiar and more comfortable.
When he rounded the corner, Matthew figured he didn't have it so bad. If he was uncomfortable, Aydie was flat-out miserable. Her green over-tunic was draped over a barrel behind her and Dart held back her hair while she leaned over the railing. Her skin was chalky and pale with a strong hint of green. "Lubberly" means "seasick." Good to know. He winced when she heaved and leaned further over the side. She stood there for a long minute, stock still.
"You think you're about done chumming?" Dart asked gently, rubbing small circles on her back. He handed her a cup when she leaned back slowly. Matthew walked up while she was drinking it. Dart gave him a jaunty wave after he let go of Aydie's hair. She slumped against the railing and rested her head against it, the very portrait of exhaustion. Matthew couldn't help the sudden surge of sympathy he felt for the poor girl: she must have been hiding it well if he didn't know about her seasickness until the very end of their voyage.
"Suffering in silence, huh?" Aydie took a long minute to open her eyes and look up at him. He was glad to see that they weren't glassy: however sick she was, Aydie was still functioning. She took a sip of water and waved weakly to Dart when he bounded off to do Elimine only knows what. "Does anyone know you're seasick?"
"Eli-" Her voice squeaked up a whole octave higher than usual. Aydie pulled a face, took a longer sip of water, and tried again. "Eliwood knows," she said. Her voice was raw. Sitting down next to her, Matthew could see that she was shaking, sweaty, and her skin was pink from the sun. "Rebecca and Lyn do. And Erk."
Erk? Why would he have to know? That didn't make sense. Matthew handed over her over-tunic when she reached for it. "And the rest of us don't need to know – yeah, yeah, I know your song and dance," he replied. "Don't give me that look. You did the same thing when you were with Lyndis' Legion." It was hard seeing her so worn down. She didn't look like herself at all.
Aydie sighed and wrapped her over-tunic around herself. She gave Matthew a look of pure thanks when he tugged it tighter around her. She closed her eyes and was quiet; Matthew got halfway to his feet to let her rest or get Dart to put her in her room. "Didn't realize it was a big deal." There was more than just the tiredness of being sick in her voice. That same sadness that he saw when they were in Badon was back. "Sorry."
"Hey, just make sure you have some strength left in you for when we get to the Dread Isle," he replied. Seeing her this listless was strange. Deep in thought, sure – but slack like this? You never caught Aydie in such a state. "We'll be arriving by dinnertime."
That brought the most life to her face that he'd seen yet. "Truly? That's a relief." She smiled wearily. "It will be nice to be done with sailing for a while."
"I figured," Matthew replied. Maybe a joke would make her smile a little more: seeing the normally cheerful tactician this lifeless was hard. "You and the sea don't look like you get along very well – too bad you can't deal with it like you do the rest of us." That even got a chuckle.
"Say, Matthew?" Matthew looked over at her to see that her eyes had opened again. She opened her mouth to ask something, paused, and shut it. "No, never mind. Let me know if anything happens, alright?" I wonder if she knows that she huddles into her tunic when she's trying to hide something. Elimine bless but you're the worst liar I have ever known.
"Sure," he replied. He'd dropped back to his knees when she had started talking; with the obvious end to the conversation, he got to his feet. "Did you want help getting below deck?"
Aydie shook her head. "No," she replied emphatically. "That makes it worse. Just let Dart know that I should get out of the sun before too long. Thank you." She eased back against a crate and closed her eyes. By the time Matthew walked away, she was dozing.
Right about now Matthew wished that he had the foresight to watch where Dart went off to. Rattling around on deck any longer than necessary wasn't something he particularly wanted to do, even if he could scrounge up some good gossip that way. After all, what good spy would pass up the opportunity to eavesdrop and get information? Not a one, he thought, but most don't have the sea tossing them around while they try to do it.
As important as he knew helping Eliwood was to his lord, Matthew couldn't wait to go back to Ostia. As soon as they found Lord Elbert and got him back, this whole misadventure could be done. Oh, sure, there was more to it than just that – even if he didn't know the exact details, Matthew could tell that more than just a simple coup d'état was brewing here – but that could be dealt with in the comfort of the keep. Who knew? Maybe Hector could suggest Aydie to be an adviser for Lord Uther.
"Eliwood!" Speaking of my lord…. Matthew winced when he heard the lord bellowing. If Hector possessed any scrap of tact, the spy had never seen it. While normally not a problem – and, if anything, right at home with the yelling that the pirates did – with Aydie unwell and possibly sleeping… well, running around and yelling didn't sound like a very good idea.
"If you're looking for Eliwood, you'll have to go to the front. He's talking to the captain." That was Lyn; Matthew recognized her voice right away.
"Oh." There was a beat of silence. "I guess I don't need to bother him that much." An awkward moment of silence yawned between the two. Matthew wondered why Hector didn't just move on and carry out his business. Apparently Lyn had the same question.
"Do you need something?" she asked.
"I'd like you to stop pouting." My lord, you are the greatest lout in all of Lycia. "This pirate ship is the only way for us to get to the Dread Isle." How Lord Uther handles you is beyond me. "I thought you understood that." I hope he has children soon so you won't ever have to inherit the throne. "Was I wrong?" Matthew dragged his hand down his face. Hector was going to be the death of him.
Lyn was not happy with what Hector said. "How I feel or what I think about this is none of your business!"
"These pirates don't seem so bad." My lord, do you not know when to stop digging your own grave? "Eliwood told me about your parents-" No, please, continue putting your foot in your mouth. Matthew winced. He couldn't even say how glad he was that they didn't know he was here. He could slink away without being noticed, so he did.
As painfully awkward as it was, Matthew understood why his lord was bringing up the subject of Lyn's parents. The previous Marquess Ostia, Hector's father, and his wife had died less than two years ago when a pox had swept through the capital. Lord Uther and Hector had both been away at the time attending classes. Hector had been absolutely devastated. It had taken the combined efforts of Eliwood, Matthew, and Oswin to keep the young man going. If nothing else, Hector could empathize with Lyn's loss.
Matthew made his way toward the front of the ship. If Fargus was up there, maybe Dart would be, too. It was worth a shot, at least. As he got close, he heard the pirate captain say, "I'm sure they thought you mad! It's the Dread Isle, of all places. If not for good reason, we wouldn't want to go there either." Matthew looked to the horizon – there, not so far away, was the fog-veiled island. His mind brought up the stories about the place that he'd heard as a kid. Indulging in remembering them for a moment, he stared at Valor.
"And yet you've given us free passage." Eliwood was curious; his voice openly reflected that. Matthew rounded the corner and stepped up next to the lord. He got a nod in greeting. "Why?"
"Listen – men are strange critters, especially ones like me and my crew. We can't resist a challenge." Fargus waved a hand out at the sea. "Something appears in the horizon and we have to up and set sail. Most of the time we get what we wanted – sometimes we don't." He leaned against the railing, looking them over. "I haven't had a good challenge in donkey's years. And then you mooncalves appear – three odd birds that call themselves nobles following a tactician girl with crew motlier than my own – and look to get to the Dread Isle. You've got spark – your courage is something else, you know that? You might just be the ones to survive Valor. I wanted to be there to see it."
"We won't disappoint you," Eliwood promised. "We will return."
"Alright, laddie, alright. I believe you. We'll weigh anchor and wait for you." Fargus chuckled and shook his head at the redhead. "Remind your little green girl to light a signal fire when you want to return. We'll pick you up when we see it."
Eliwood started to respond, but he was cut off by a shout of "Captain!" Dart didn't care that he interrupted Eliwood; he ran right up to Fargus. The sailor had an air of urgency around him. "There's a dory adrift to port and it looks like there's someone aboard. What're your orders?"
"Huh." Fargus frowned. "Bring 'em aboard." Dart ran off. "It looks like we've got a visitor. It's odd, finding a boat adrift near here…."
"Why's that?" Matthew asked.
"The currents in this area mean that anything drifting must've come from the Dread Isle."
Goosebumps crawled up Matthew's arms. Aydie asked me to let her know if anything happened – looks like she only gets a few minutes of sleep. He ran back to the other side of the ship, dodging around the suddenly agitated crew. Aydie was right where he left her, wrapped up in her over-tunic and dozing. "Aydie," he said quickly, "something's come up."
She blinked awake and squinted at him, eyes bleary with fatigue. "What?" Really, it sounded more like "whuh," but Matthew had plenty of practice translating from Hector's groggy mumblings when he first woke up. "What's going on?" That was clearer.
"We're bringing a dory up," Matthew said. He wished he knew what a dory was; Matthew was a landsman through and through. "It sounds like there's someone in it. I thought you would want to know."
"Thank you," she said. Aydie started to try to get to her feet. Her over-tunic fouled her up and she had to have Matthew help her to her feet. "I'd like to go see who it is. They might have news or information about the Dread Isle." Matthew didn't want to let her go – really, when you're pale and clammy like she was, you should lie down and rest – but he knew better. Aydie wasn't going to relax until she knew exactly what was going on. It was a good thing to have in a tactician, but a bad one to have in a sick friend. Leaving her to her own devices wasn't a good idea; Matthew helped her over to where a cluster of people waited for the dory – "dory" means "little scrap of a boat," good to know– to be pulled up onto the deck.
At least Hector hadn't alienated Lyn, however the rest of their conversation went. They were standing next to Eliwood. Matthew joined them. Aydie carefully pulled away from him and tugged her over-tunic so it laid flat. She straightened her shoulders and forced herself to smooth away her slump. The effect was drastic: if he didn't know better, Matthew would have thought that she was feeling perfectly fine. "Do we know who's on the dory?" she asked. Her voice was rough, but she kept it from creaking like it had before. I wonder how many times she's fooled people with that? Matthew wondered. It wasn't a reassuring thought.
"Not yet," Lyn answered, "but Dart's bringing it on board now."
"Hey!" The pirate in question popped his head up and waved until he had Lyn's attention. "Where am I supposed to grab her?" Matthew tuned out Lyn's instructions to the pirate and Hector's goading and teasing. Instead he kept his eye on Aydie, who was walking carefully over to Lyn, and the crowd that was forming. Several of the more curious members of their group had perked up to see what the fuss was about: Rebecca, Wil, Canas, Sain, and Erk were all toward the front of the crowd. Rebecca was pointedly ignoring Wil despite his attempts to catch her attention and instead made small talk with Sain. Erk and Canas were speaking of anima magic, from what he could tell, though both kept an eye on the proceedings.
"Ninian!" Lyn and Aydie spoke at the same time. Lyn was the one whose voice won out in the end. "Ninian, wake up!" Eliwood stared in surprise; Hector leaned over and they spoke quietly for a moment. Matthew heard them talking about how Eliwood had originally met Lyn and how Ninian was a part of that. He was more focused on how Aydie was helping the blue-haired girl sit up. "Ninian, can you hear me?" Red eyes stared back at Lyn and the swordswoman reached forward to take one of her hands. "Are you hurt? Why were you on that boat? Where's your brother? Why isn't he with you? Why are you near Valor?"
Something about the absent, blank stare that Ninian had made Matthew shudder. The lights are on but nobody's home, he thought. It was not something he wanted to think again. The look of deep sorrow and – it wasn't quite sympathy, it was something more than that – that was in Aydie's was no better. "Lyn, you're going to overwhelm her," the brunette said gently. "She's not going to be able to answer any of your questions right now. She looks like she's in shock – you'll need to wait for her to recover."
"Captain!" One of the crew members was shouting from up in the rigging. "There're ships to the northwest! Looks like other pirates!"
"What? They actually dare to sail against Captain Fargus and the Davros?" The man grinned fiercely. Matthew could see in the pirate chief the same excitement that Hector had before a fight. "They must be off their keels!" Murmurs from the other pirates washed around him; none of the crew members were familiar with the flag the other ships were flying. "The seas around Lycia belong to us – whoever they might be, they're in our waters!" Fargus turned to where Lyn was helping both Ninian and Aydie to their feet. "We can't waste time on you whelps – get yourselves below deck and watch your own hides!" Aydie agreed with him and they started away.
Matthew was halfway to the stairs when he heard a strange whistling noise. Turning around, he had time to grab Aydie and steady her by holding onto her shoulders – a cannonball hurtled through the air. It hit with a tremendous crash: water and splintered wood flew everywhere. Aydie clung to his arms with fear-fueled strength. It had missed the deck, but he could see by the debris in the water that it had hit something else lower down. "Captain! They breached the hull – we're taking on water!" Aydie looked like she was going to be sick again; her face was stark white and she stared at Matthew with wide, scared eyes. Of course she's afraid of this – remember? She doesn't like not having solid ground underneath her feet, you know that! "We need all hands belowdecks or we'll sink!"
Matthew listened to Fargus with only a fraction of his attention. He needed to keep Aydie from falling apart. With a fight on the way, there was no way they could keep her out of it. "Aydie, calm down," he said quietly and quickly. When that didn't have any effect – what, did you really think that would work – he gave her a gentle shake. "We're going to be just fine. They've got it under control – they said that if they didn't get help that the ship will sink." There was no use trying to tell her just to calm down: Aydie needed facts and logic. She'd been furious and terrified at the same time before and had enough presence of mind to stop him dead in his tracks. He had to play to that. "They'll need us to fight. We need you to lead us."
Something changed in her eyes: her fear was there, but Matthew could see that she was fighting it. "You need me?" she asked. Her voice was clipped, tight, and rough, but she was in control.
"Yes," he replied firmly. "You're the one who figures out the tactics and pulls us through every time. None of us know how to fight on a ship. We need you to hold yourself together and make it so that the crew can fix up that hole."
Aydie's eyes looked deep into his for a moment. The clouds of fear that had been in them were gone now. Apparently she found what she wanted; they hardened and the anxious, scared girl turned into the tactician that had seen them through so many tight spots. "Fargus!" she yelled; Matthew let go of her so she could face the captain. "We'll fight off any who get close to the ship. We can't fix the ship – only you and your men can. They shouldn't keep lobbing shells – if they wanted to sink us quickly, we'd be on the bottom of the sea right now. They must want something on the ship. Rebecca, I want you to get below and get Oswin, Serra, Florina, Kent, Canas, Raven, and Lucius. I don't have enough room for any more people up here than that." The archer vanished down the stairs.
Matthew was always slightly amazed when it came time for a battle to start. Aydie went from being a quiet, almost subservient person who was gentle and helpful to a steel-boned, determined young woman who would strike at weaknesses and commanded those around her. And, surprisingly, both suited her well.
"I'll leave the deck to you," Fargus said. He started to run for the stairs as well. "We'll be back up once we've fixed the damage. Don't let them get below!" And then he was gone. Rebecca popped out of the stairway once Fargus went through, leading the first few fighters Aydie had asked for.
"Lyn, get Ninian somewhere safe," Aydie ordered as the newcomers flocked around her. Lyn wormed her way through the crowd, gently leading the dazed girl into the closest storeroom. Matthew took a moment to look around before Aydie started laying out a plan; she was observing the closest ship through the spyglass she kept at her hip. The other pirates were much closer now, easily visible even without the spyglass. The Davros had been slowed considerable by her wound; she limped along in the water. It looked like two of the ships were going to pull up on either side of her. Glancing at the tactician, he found himself mirroring her grim expression. This wasn't going to be easy. Then again, when was it ever?
"Watch out," Aydie started once everyone had assembled. "They have a fair amount of shamans and swordfighters both. They've boarding planks ready. They'll be on us soon. I'll want a lance-wielder at each boarding point to stave off the melee fighters. Florina, I don't want you on deck doing that – try to throw javelins at the shamans from the air. Get out of there if there are any archers. I don't want any heroics – we just have to hold the line until Fargus can get back up here." Her voice was crisp and clear as she listed each order. Matthew couldn't tell if she was worried or not: in times like these, she was near impossible to read. "Ranged units, pair up with a melee fighter – Oswin, Sain, Kent, I'll want you to be my main defenders. Raven, Eliwood, and Lyn can stand ready to substitute for you if you get injured. Everyone else, stay on the main part of the deck. I'm going up to the aftcastle to get a better view – I'll make sure you can still hear me."
Matthew snapped his head back to look at Aydie when her eyes locked on him. "Matthew, I'd like you to come with me," she said. He realized that this wasn't an order. "I know you'd likely rather prefer to stay with Hector to protect him should it be necessary, but you tend to spot things that I miss. I could use an extra set of eyes." It took a lot for her to ask for that help; Matthew could see just how much she was fighting against her pride, even when she was being quiet enough that none of the others could hear her. "I'm not at my best after being sick for this long. It's entirely possible that I could miss something." She almost looked like she wanted to say something further; when she didn't, he spoke up.
"Sure – I'll keep an eye out for you. More than happy to, really." The reply made Aydie's shoulders sag with relief. For a second he almost wondered if she was going to hug him – she looked nearly beside herself – but she only smiled. Serra throws herself at people, not Aydie, he reminded himself. Aydie likes her personal space too much to invade someone else's.
"Take your positions," Aydie was saying; Matthew stopped thinking about Serra's obnoxious habits and paid attention to her. "Don't be afraid to say something if you're injured. I'd like someone to stay with Serra to protect her – I'll let you figure that one out. I'll be up there-" and she pointed to the railing behind them that overlooked the rest of the deck "-watching the fight. I can better direct you from up there. Be careful and be safe – hopefully Fargus and his men will fix the leak quickly so we can finish this fight faster." With that, she motioned for Matthew to follow her and headed for the stairs.
Matthew had just stepped off the last stair and Adelessa was hurrying to the wooden rail when the boarding planks dropped to the ship's deck. She staggered, turned, and clutched Matthew's shoulder when the boat heaved under them. On deck, Oswin, Kent, and Sain were already moving to block off the boards: two to port, one to starboard. Florina took to the air and passed just inches over their heads. Aydie ducked and clapped a hand over her mouth; the sudden, jerky motion must not have agreed with her. Matthew held on to the back of her tunic while she swayed, praying that she wouldn't pitch over or get sick. The episode passed in a few seconds and she stood up again, eyes moving quickly as she summed up the fight. Matthew joined her.
Luckily they hadn't missed much. Aydie had set them up well. Each plank was blocked by one of their people. Kent and Wil were at the closer of the two port planks. Both are moving quickly, Matthew noted, and neither are injured. Lyn is standing by in case Kent needs help. He saw that the situation was the same with Sain, Rebecca, and Eliwood further down that side and Oswin, Lucius, and Raven to starboard. Hector, Erk, and Canas were in the middle of the deck with Serra. It took him a minute to find Florina, but that was because she was flying around on the starboard side of the ship, throwing javelins at the shamans that were on that ship. Lucius helped her by casting spell after spell of white light.
Aydie held up a finger for quiet and listened intently for a moment. What she was listening to became obvious after a moment. An unfamiliar voice carried over the sound of the fights: "... the blue-haired girl. We only want her. Kill the rest." They exchanged a significant look; whoever was leading this assault wanted Ninian. At least now they knew what the reason for the fight was. Matthew looked over the fights in progress again, looking for anything strange.
"Matthew, do you have any idea how many enemies are on each ship?"
Aydie's question refocused his attention: instead of looking at everything and nothing in particular, he peered at the ship to port. "About a dozen to port," he guessed, turning to the other side, "and maybe six shamans left to starboard." The information wasn't that helpful for him; however many enemies there were didn't matter when you were fighting the ones in front of you. That's why Aydie's the tactician, he thought. "Did you see where the third ship went?"
"What? Oh, spirits, blast it all!" She unhooked her spyglass from her belt again and looked out to the northwest. She had to stop and put it down when a larger wave rocked the ship; when Matthew looked, he saw that her knuckles were white from clutching the spyglass and railing. There were a few seconds where she looked like she was about to be sick again and Matthew half-reached to support her. Not now, he encouraged her. You don't have time to be sick. It was a relief to see her swallow a few times and the color return to her face. She stared at the horizon for a few seconds longer – note: Aydie combats her illness this way – before she turned back to the deck again.
Matthew wasn't sure what it was that she saw that made her so pleased. It looked exactly the same as it had before, only Florina was on deck with Serra by Sain. The three boarding planks still had enemies on them, those three points still had plenty of fighting, and reinforcements were coming up to the decks of the two ships. Maybe she's happy that things haven't changed – who even knows? It seemed logical enough.
A shadow on the deck caught his eye; the distinctive shape of wings had him looking up in the sky. He didn't bother with shouting: you usually don't want to make a whole lot of noise when you're a spy or a thief and trouble pops up. Grabbing Aydie, he dragged her to the deck and rolled with her. A lance bit into the wood just behind them, gouging splinters out of it. Aydie yelped and ungracefully tried to get back to her feet. Matthew sprung back up his, knife out – for all the good that it will do you against pegasus knights, Elimine bless – and ready for a fight.
"Archers!" Aydie's voice was pitched just right to cut through the general sound of battle. Matthew glanced over his shoulder; she was leaned half over the railing with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Pegasi above the aftcastle, up high-" Matthew stopped her by grabbing the back of her tunic and yanking her to one side when another pegasus knight made a pass.
"You know," he said as he pulled her toward the stairs, "orders can wait until after you're out of harm's way!" He let go of her tunic when she started running with him instead of just being dragged along.
"They needed to know!" she replied. They clattered halfway down the stairs before the third pegasus knight swooped to strike at him. Matthew put his many years of running through cities and getting in scuffles to good use; he rolled right over the banister, clung to it for a second with the tips of his fingers, and dropped to the deck with knees bent to absorb the shock. He was running forward before he'd entirely recovered from the fall grabbing Aydie by the wrist and dragging her down the last few stairs. Through his grip he could feel her stumble and he paused for a breath before taking off again. If he could get them near a mast, then they'd be safe. There was no way that the pegasi would be able to reach them if they took shelter within the confusing mess of riggings.
When you're used to getting out of tight spots on your won, you forget that you can count on backup. One pegasus thudded into the deck behind them. Matthew felt the wood give a little shudder with the hit. Several more arrows zipped past them; Matthew kept his head down and hope that Aydie had the good sense to do the same.
"Easy, there." Hector's voice couldn't have been any more welcome than in that moment. "You're going to run poor Aydie ragged, Matthew."
"Well, you know – it builds character." That got a guffaw from his lord and a breathless laugh from Aydie. That was good: if she was laughing, she was fine. She couldn't fake that; it was too real. Aydie wasn't that good at acting.
Matthew looked behind him while he and Aydie recovered from their mad dash. He felt a little smug when he saw that the air around them was clear. Only one of the pegasi was on the deck; the others probably were in the water somewhere. It didn't really matter. He was just glad that they were gone. More important was that he saw that the other pirates were retreating from where they had been fighting on the boarding planks. When he pointed that out to Hector, his lord said, "Yeah, it does look like they're running away. We scared them off – Fargus will be disappointed when he gets back up here."
As soon as those words were out of Hector's mouth, Matthew knew there was going to be trouble. Aydie's call for "Spare fighters to the forecastle!" only confirmed it. Turning to look at the front of the ship, he saw that the third ship – the one they had lost – had swung around to the front of the Davros. Boarding planks clattered on the deck and the little knot of people around him leaped into action. Matthew shadowed Hector's charge toward the new enemies. Their axes are shoddy – terrible quality, really – but that doesn't mean they won't hurt. That's only if they can hit you!
Before he and Hector got to the pirates, Canas and Erk took out a few. Matthew ducked under a bolt of lightning and dodged past the strange dark ball that the shaman cast. Hector beat him to the crowd of enemies and landed the first strike. Matthew didn't have time to watch what else his lord was up to.
He ducked under one swipe and bobbed back up inside the fighter's range. He didn't give him a chance to retaliate; a knife deep between the ribs sent him to the deck like a ton of bricks. Matthew's next target never even saw him coming. A slash across the neck took care of him. It was like a dance, one the spy had practiced many times. He and Hector stood next to each other once the pirates recovered from their surprise. They'd done this many times before, from training when Hector first took him on as a vassal of Ostia to their escape from the keep and the assassins who'd chased them. Hector was one of the few people Matthew trusted at his back. He was actually a decent guy – for a noble, that is. The blue-haired lord clobbered one man and Matthew stabbed another who tried to take advantage of the opening in Hector's guard. He noted that spells picked off other pirates, but only as a brief observation. The motions of the fight – dip, stab, duck, bob, dive, slide, jab – were far more important.
A roar of laughter burst over the deck. Matthew tensed, dreading that they were about to fall into a trap, when Fargus bellowed, "I'm back! Now, who wants to die first?" Hector gave a disappointed groan when Fargus' men swarmed past them. Matthew straightened and took the chance to watch as the fresh fighters made short work of the remaining enemies. Glancing around, he had felt a second of lurching dismay when he didn't see Aydie. Nothing could have happened to her – she was behind us and we didn't let any through- Oh.
She was leaning over a railing again. It looked like this time she hadn't managed to recover as well as she had been. Erk was next to her, patting her back awkwardly. Huh. Odd. I wonder if he's intending to court her. They're both from Etruria, it seems like, and they've got academics in common. I guess you just never can tell.
"No, Ninian, don't come out – there's blood everywhere!" Lyn hurried to stop the blue-haired girl from walking out on deck. Ninian stood in the doorway to the cabin in which she'd been hidden, her eyes wide, blank circles. She took several steps forward only to slip in the blood. Eliwood, who had hurried forward with Lyn, caught the dancer before she could hit the deck.
"… ah." Her voice was just as blank as the expression on her face. "I'm sorry." Adelessa had finished by the railing and walked over by the girl.
"Ninian, are you alright?" the tactician asked. Matthew had to move closer to hear the girl's response.
"Ninian? Is that… me? My name?" She looked between those who had gone over to see her. There was no flicker of recognition in her ruby-red eyes, even when they lit on Aydie, who she'd spent the most time with. "I… my head is foggy," Ninian said haltingly. She reached for Aydie and the brunette wrapped her in a hug. Ninian nuzzled into her embrace. "Am I at sea?"
"We found you drifting, Ninian." The use of her name and the gentle tone were no accidents. Aydie's face was full of tenderness and sorrow; Matthew almost felt like he should look away. He was starting to wonder if there was any emotion she didn't feel deeply. As Aydie murmured quietly to the girl she hugged, Matthew waved for Fargus and the lords to join him. Since she wouldn't be able to tell them what was going on, he might as well do it for her.
"They were after Ninian," he said without preamble.
Fargus frowned. "Is that so?" He glanced at his crew and growled when one of them made the sign of Elimine. "You should take her with you. The men think she's cursed."
"Cursed?" Hector repeated. It was one of the very few subtle warnings Hector gave. Fargus missed it.
"They don't want her on the ship." At Lyn's incredulous and furious stare, the old pirate explained, "Sea men are superstitious, lass. You get an odd bird like her and an attack like that – well, they think it's a bad omen. I'm not unconvinced myself."
Eliwood sighed heavily and almost looked like he was about to answer. Aydie spoke up from where she sat with Ninian. "We'll just take her with us, then. We can keep her safe from anyone else who might want to capture her and keep your crew happy at the same time."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Hector asked.
"I wouldn't leave her behind," the brunette replied solemnly. She met the eyes of each person in turn. "The last time we traveled with Ninian, she and her brother were being hunted by dark-robed men. These people – they wore the same clothing, the same colors. I can't imagine how large of a coincidence it would have to be for them to be any other group."
"How are you so sure?" Eliwood asked.
"I feel like she's right, too. I can't explain it, but it's almost as if… as if there's something in the air that hints at the Black Fang being involved in this mess." Lyn held Eliwood's gaze evenly when he leveled it on her.
"And if we leave her behind, it's a certainty that she'll be targeted again. It would be better if we kept her with us and watched over her. It would be safer for her and the crew – and, by extension, us." Aydie shrugged ever-so-slightly. It was a tic she had; Matthew had learned by now that it meant that she'd laid all of her cards on the table and was waiting for judgment from those around her. If she felt so strongly about this, it was likely true.
"My lord and I were attacked by men in black robes – like the people today – when we were leaving Ostia." Matthew ignored the glare Hector shot his way. He was used to it by now. "I thought that it might have been any group of dissenters, but now that I think of it they could have been Black Fang. That probably wasn't a coincidence."
"… I understand. We should keep her with us – this way, we'll be by her side to protect her. "Take us to shore, Captain," Eliwood decided. "We'll light a signal fire for you when we're ready to leave."
"We'll wait two weeks – if I don't hear from you by then, we'll figure you're not coming back."
Adelessa had never been so glad to be on solid ground, not even if it was cursed, because that meant she was no longer on that wretched boat. She had never been so sick in her life. Even the thought of having Ninian along on such a dangerous errand – the girl hadn't left her side since she'd embraced her on the deck, as if she was afraid that Adelessa would vanish if she took her eyes off of her – didn't make a dent in her relief, though feeling weak from not eating anything and fuzzy-headed from lack of sleep was unpleasant.
"I've a chowderheaded crewmate here who thinks he wants to go sight-seeing," Fargus said. When Dart waved at her, Adelessa laughed. Somehow she wasn't all that surprised.
"We'll be glad to have him," she said. "I'll even try to get him back to you in one piece."
"Oh, I'm not thatworried about him." While Dart bickered with his captain, Adelessa looked at what laid before them on the island. The group stood on a beach, sandy and near pristine. Before them lay a stretch of grassy land cut into pieces by rivers that trickled out to the sea. Just beyond, she could make out a thick forest; it was hard to see through all of the thick fog that covered everything. A few hunks of stone jutted up from the earth here and there; whether they were natural or man-made was impossible to tell from this far away.
"Lovely place," Matthew quipped.
"It is quite fascinating," Canas agreed, oblivious to the spy's sarcasm. It was a wonder that Matthew's eyes didn't pop right out of his skull when he rolled them.
"You're looking better," Erk said to her, his voice quiet. He'd been checking up on her off and on ever since she first started suffering from her seasickness.
"I'm feeling better. Thank you." She paused. "I hate to seem rude, but whyare you looking out for me?" It wasn't in character for Erk to be so concerned – or perhaps that was just Serra who wore on his nerves so badly. Still, it wasn't as if they had been too terribly close before.
"It's the least that I can do for another adoptee of House Reglay." Erk shrugged a little bit, gave her a small smile, and wandered off with Canas to argue magic while Merlinus finished organizing their belongings on the beach.
"Somewhere within that forest is the Dragon's Gate," Eliwood murmured. Adelessa touched his shoulder; he looked at her, surprised.
"We'll find him," she promised. "We'll come back with your father – you know that I'll work my hardest to make it so. Everyone else will, as well."
"You're right. We'll have to make preparations to find the Gate." Eliwood walked off, likely to help Merlinus and double-check the supplies that they would be carrying with them.
Ninian made a small noise at the word "Gate;" Adelessa realized that she had made another similar noise when the full name of their destination had been said. "Ninian? Are you alright?" When all she got was a blank stare in return – goodness, but that thousand-yard stare was all too familiar to her – she gently rubbed Ninian's shoulders. "It's alright," she soothed. "Don't worry about it. You're safe with us." She looked at the forest and tried to ignore the strange draw that something in the distance had for her. "We'll keep you safe."
A/N: It's still Friday, right? *flops* Sorry about this being a little late – I had a crazy week at work and hardly any time outside of it.
Apologies for any typos in this one - it's unbeta-ed and I'm terrible at catching my own mistakes, baaaaah.
Here we go! Time to start the Dread Isle arc. :3 Who else isn't looking forward to the unfortunate emotional rollercoaster that this arc contains? 8luuuuuuuuh. This is going to be hard.
Many thanks to my beta, Ryan, for being an awesome editor and proofreader and overall are-you-sure-you-really-meant-to-say-that-er. :3 Also, thanks to my reviewers – Tom-Ato13, Solyeuse, patattack, Sparks101, Sethera, MilleniaMaster, Drachegirl14, Sentury, Yuufa-san, AquaticSilver, and angelbeets– for encouraging me even when I despaired that I would have to miss this week's update!
Hopefully I'll see you next week, but there's a chance that I might miss this next update. I'll be traveling a fair amount this week and I can't promise that I'll have as much time to write as I'd like. I'll try to get it out on time – I know a lot of you are waiting on the edge of your seat for this chapter – but… well, we'll just hope that you'll be pleasantly surprised!
Until next time!