Begin!

~Beatrice's POV

It was nearly daybreak when we reached the pier. There was no one around, but the boat Ike was giving me was sitting on the water waiting for us. Bertrand was paranoid and surveyed the area with his spyglass while I set our things inside. It was a nice boat, all things considered. The inside had all the comforts of a home in it. Ike wasn't going to skimp on taking care of his little sister. I only wish I hadn't needed to do this at all. I had already informed him and Josephine of my plan when I asked for this favor and said my goodbyes ahead of time. It would be a long while before I saw my family again and I accepted that.

"Everything looks clear, Bea," Bertie said, hopping onto the deck with me.

I nodded, "Then we're ready to go?"

"Yeah we are," He replied before going to start the engine.

We had a map, and we knew more than a few V.F.D. locations that would welcome us along the way. But we still had no permanent destination for this journey. I sat down in a chair and pulled a commonplace book out to begin to detail our journey together. (Something to pass the time.) I was thankful that Bertrand was so mechanically apt as I had little knowledge about such things. I meant that during our journey he was capable of mending those kinds of problems. My skills however were in animal care and fighting; a strange, but effective set I know.

For the first few weeks everything was fine. We stopped at a V.F.D. training island for supplies and got to hear the news of our friends and families in the process. Apparently, Olaf had dropped off the radar once more, but many had been given orders to capture him on sight. Almost the whole organization was trying to catch him and yet none of them could. I heard Lemony went to live in Stain'd By The Sea permanently and that Jacques and Kit visited when they were able. I wish Lemony and Moxie all the happiness in the world; it made me happy that they were unharmed after the ball.

The bit that concerned me more was that there was talk that Esmé might have been in contact with Ernest… that was a deadly combination. Ernest was a threat due to his resources and contacts. Esmé was a threat because of her determination and loss of rational thinking. But I was away from her. I was safe. Bertrand was safe too. We were together on our boat traveling the waters and neither of my enemies knew where we were in the slightest. That thought helps you sleep at night.

And then on June 15th the storm hit.

It was deafeningly loud and it had been so dark you couldn't see in front of your own face. It was also something we were not entirely equipped to handle. Traversing this storm nearly killed us several times. There were so many crashing waves and we were tossed around an awful lot, we had no idea how we would get back on track afterwards but what mattered was surviving first. Bertrand had to make multiple repairs to keep us afloat. It went on for so long that it truly felt like the end. I was sure that we would be taken down to the bottom of the ocean never to see what our future together would have held. In those moments I couldn't stop myself from wondering what our life would be like if we made it out.

And by the end of the storm everything was so soaking wet I slipped and hit my head rather hard to the point of losing consciousness. As everything went black I knew, I had to rely on Bertrand to get us somewhere safe…

"I can trust you Bertie…"

Why was it so bright now? My eyes were closed but everything was so bright. I was still alive, of that I was certain. I slowly opened my eyes to find the soft white color of a tent canopy above me. The sun was shining once again but why was there a tent? The last thing I remember before blacking out was the storm and we were on our boat. I turned to my side and saw a few cots laid out in the large tent and on one of them was Bertrand. He was sitting up and had several bandages on his hands and a small cut on his cheek.

"Bertie," I said, getting his attention.

He perked up and smiled widely at me. "Bea you're ok!" He quickly got up and gave me a hug. "How do you feel?"

I slowly sat up. "Fine, a little sore but I'm fine. Where are we? What happened?"

"The storm was too heavy. We ended up crashing on this island. It's the V.F.D. research facility for those immunizing apples you told me about. They've got a few doctors here so they patched us up. You've been out for days."

I sighed in relief. "Well it's not ideal but it's safe. Are you alright?"

Bertie looked at his hands and replied, "This is from working so hard. I ended up hurting myself. They're almost healed up though. How's you head?"

"Better," I assured him, "Thank you for keeping me safe."

"Of course, I wouldn't let anything hurt you." He gave me a gentle kiss. "I'll be right back. You must be hungry."

He left the tent and came back a few minutes later with some food, and he was followed by someone I assumed was the doctor who took care of me. She asked me several questions to check that I was ok, said I was free to leave if I wished, and then left us alone once more. Bertie and I talked while I ate to get my energy back up. He told me that the island was very accommodating and we could stay here as long as we needed to.

"That's good news, and it'd be nice to get closer to that apple project while we're here. Gregor is my brother, so I should have a say in the mission…"

Bertie nodded, "We'll ask about it. They told me they're making good progress but there's nothing concrete yet."

"So did you stay by me the whole time I was out?"

He grinned sheepishly, "Uh… maybe?"

I laughed, "That's awfully sweet of you, honey. Any idea where we'll be staying for now?"

He helped me out of bed and led me out of the tent. The island was beautiful. I saw a white, sandy, beach and a coastal shelf, colorful trees, and there were many buildings and tents scattered around. Bertie explained that our boat was completely trashed after the storm so we currently had no way off the island. This facility was top secret so it had very little water traffic otherwise, but someday we would get a new boat to leave. He showed me to the small building that we were welcome to stay in for now that wasn't far from the medical tent. Our hut was the size of what most would call a studio apartment, but it would do for now.

"The apples are coming along nicely," The lead scientist on the team replied to my question about them. "We think we're ready to start planting them in the ground soon."

"Thank you, I'm sorry if I feel intrusive at all."

"No Miss Anwhistle, it's understandable." She said. "After all you helped form the idea so you have every right to be involved with the project while you're here. And if you ever want to assist in some manner I'm sure we can find something for you and Bertrand to help with."

"Bertrand is quite mechanically knowledgeable so if your equipment needs fixing he's capable of doing so."

The scientist nodded, "We'll remember that, for now you can get settled in at your new home. We were able to salvage many of your belongings from the crash and we already put them in your new place."

"Oh good, and thank you."

Of course those belongings didn't include many of my clothes, so I had to borrow some from other female inhabitants and occasionally I'd make my own. Bertrand was particularly happy that his spare glasses made it out here unscathed. (I don't think there were any optometrists on the island and if there were he wouldn't trust them.)

It was nice here. They had good food, a friendly community made mostly of scientists and doctors for V.F.D., and we had all the comforts of home. It was our little slice of paradise, and we were happy to make a temporary home here.

It was nighttime now and while I slept soundly for some time, it didn't last. I woke up in the middle of the night haunted by my fears of what would happen to the people I cared about back home. My fears of what would happen if these cures fail...

"Bad dream?"

I looked over to see Bertrand lying next to me, reminding me that I wasn't alone in this.

"Yeah…"

He pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. "It's just a dream. Everything is going to be fine Bea."

I relaxed in his arms. I trusted him. He was rarely wrong and I was sure this wouldn't be the exception. My doubts left me. I looked up into his handsome eyes and kissed him. We kissed for longer than we had ever kissed in our whole relationship. It was relieving my stress. His touch was helping me feel better. His love was helping me feel better and it was a weight off my shoulders to have someone so devoted going through this with me.

We didn't get much sleep that night.

~End of Chapter!