Chapter 12.

The door closed soundly behind him, and she could hear his steps recede as he made his way above deck. After eyeing the door curiously for a long moment, she turned her eyes back to the room she was now apparently welcome too. It was simple, and yet she could see small hints of the grandeur of the ship in the detailed molding and the siding around the room. In the intricate carvings of carvings on the legs of the desk and table and the swirling patterns spiraling up the back of the chairs around the room.

But it wasn't even the subtle splendor that really caught her eye. Rather it was the worn care she could see scattered around the room. Spots worn down in the carpet had been shifted, so that they now were sheltered underneath tables or chairs, made safe from pacing feet. The cushion on the chair behind the desk was molded to the shape of the user. There were worn down portions of the finish on the arms of the chair from where she could picture him thumbing in thought.

Even the bed beneath her had a distinct dip from where it usual owner would lay, and as she slid her hand across the worn linen sheets, she could see a spot in the wood siding that was glossy with wear and pressure. She stared at the roughly hand wide stripe across the otherwise flawless finish of the wood, puzzled for a moment. She allowed her eyes to wander over its position relative to the bed before it suddenly clicked.

It was at roughly the same height above the bed the peak of the curve of his hook would be if he was laying on his back. And suddenly she could picture him there, lying back, absentmindedly rubbing his hook against the wood as he struggled to find sleep in the empty room. A scar that spoke of many restless nights and lonely dawns. Despite knowing what he was, her heart clenched at the thought of any person being so alone.

She reached out and hesitantly caressed her fingers across the wound in the wood, before her stomach gave another rumble and she dropped her hand to turn to the food he had left for her. It was a small dish of fruits and cool meats, something she could see served in the ship's galley the few days after a ship left port. And yet, there was a certain opulence to the meal that indicated it was more than just common seamen's fare.

There was half a pomegranate, sliced apples and pears, strawberries, honey, deliciously fluffy biscuits, rhubarb coated in a sweet sauce on one plate. On the other was thinly sliced smoked meat that had a savory dressing along with bitter greens, a soft cheese, and a red soft food she had never seen before. There were two glasses, one with a beautifully fluted stem that was filled to the brim with a sweet drink she had never tasted before, although it reminded her of apples, and the other was a small pewter flagon filled with cool, crisp water, which she was shocked to find had lemon in it when she took a sip.

As she nibbled on the delicious foods before her, she studied the plates and the flatware he had provided, along with the napkin. The black linen was of the finest quality she had ever seen, unmatched by the quality even at court. The plates and utensils were heavy, and she could tell they were solidly made. Around the borders of the plates were beautifully engraved scenes of story she recognized from her childhood- that of the sailor and his stars. An odd choice, for it was more a parable than fairytale.

She remembered her mother telling it to her one night when she had stood sighing on her balcony as a child, wishing the world were closer.

It was about a young boy who grew up on a ship, and every night would forgo sleep to marvel at the stars. As the boy grew, he harbored a wish that he would join them in the night sky. He spent his entire life chasing story after story that told of ways to become one of the stars, until finally on his deathbed, with his dying breath, he wished upon the North Star. The star granted his wish, and as he died, took him up to let him live forever among the stars he so admired.

For a time he was happy to be among them, but every night he would watch humanity love and laugh and mourn and live as best they could, and as the years passed he began to grow envious. His light dimmed. Finally, in his longing for the life he wished he had lived instead, he vanished from the night sky forever.

She had never really grasped the moral of the story and had never bothered telling it to Henry. Her heart ached for him as tried to understand why that tale would be wrapped around each of the dishes he had provided for her, thinking that Henry would probably be able to figure it out.

Likewise, the fluted glass and goblet held scenes from the story, while the flat wear each had a hand reaching for a star designed into the handle. She was so absorbed in her consideration that she didn't realized she had essentially scarfed down the meal he had provided, devouring every morsel with an unseemly speed.

The apple tasting drink appeared to be laced with alcohol, for she felt a satisfied exhaustion creep over her. After wiping her hands and mouth, she laid back to recline on the bed, feeling engulfed by the larger imprint of the man in the mattress. She allowed her mind to wander back to her son, feeling for the first time since her family had been stolen three days prior that she was safe. She realized some of her fear for her family, for Henry, had abated. She somehow knew that the Dark One would truly see them safe.

She brought her finger up to trace the scar in the wood as she considered the man she had sought out. He had been everything and yet nothing like she had expected. There was a blazing darkness in him that she had seen in his eyes and his cruelty. And yet, there was an underlying gentleness to him, a tenderness it seemed, so ingrained that he could not shake it.

She knew that he had not always been the Dark One. She had heard the stories of how the previous Dark One had been captured by her parents and kept in a dungeon deep below the castle. Been told of the mystery of how he had managed to get down there and slay him. The enigma of how a simple man had killed the immortal.

She felt her eyelids flutter as she tried to reconcile the beast who had mercilessly slain her horse for amusement with the man who had carried her across the deck and healed her without prompting. It didn't make any sense. Her last thought before she drifted off, was that perhaps he wasn't completely one or the other, man or monster, but rather a being who had become so weary of life that it just took the easiest route to live it. And that was a sad thought indeed.

She was standing on an empty plain, the wind blowing lightly, carrying with it a wolf's howl. A sound so mournful, she covered her ears to try and escape it. But it echoed on in her head, and so she gave into its call and spread her wings, soaring over the emptiness to find it.

And in the distance, a spot of black caught her eye, and as she approached it slowly coalesced into the form of a massive wolf, howling at the empty air. Before it was the body of deer and the carcass of a leopard. It nosed the deer, as if to encourage it to move, but when nothing happened, it tipped back its head and leveled another accusation at the sky.

So heart wrenching was the sound that she stepped forward to wrap her wings and arms around the forsaken animal, lending it what comfort and warmth she could, trying to soothe it with gentle caresses across its neck. And slowly the beast calmed.

Finally, it leaned forward to give one last gentle lick to the creatures before it, then turned to her. It's summer sky eyes asked if there was truly nothing to be done, and it was with regret that she shook her head. The beast sighed, but she could tell that it was ready to move on, to leave the bodies behind. She leaned forward and cupped the wolf's soft face before pressing a lingering kiss on its brow. The wolf closed it eyes to savor the caress before opening them to press its wet nose to her face in thanks. Then, without a look back, it stood and loped off into the distance.

The only sign it had been there was the pitch black paw prints left in its wake in the ever growing darkness as it ran towards the horizon.

Then a hush fell over the plain before a quiet music surrounded her. She drifted into nothingness and dreamed no more.