And so I've finally completed chapter 17. I think I'm getting back into the groove of turning out chapters regularly now. Hopefully I'll soon be as I was before. I was in the habit of being half way through writing up the next chapter whenever I would upload a new one. Now I tend to upload as soon as I finish a chapter and then take a break before even starting the next. I hate doing that. Procrastination Monster, you vile beast! Aaaanyway, thanks again for your beautiful reviews. They will continue to light a fire under my ass and make me write!
Ben frowned when he only received a groan in response to his knock on the cabin door. At least she had managed to mutter a groggy 'come in' earlier when he brought some food for her. Lyra wasn't exactly glad to see him then, but he decided to throw caution to the wind and turned the latch. He found her lounging on the same small cot with her left arm draped across her eyes. There was some evidence that she had been up since the last time he visited, but she hardly looked capable of any movement. "Hey, hey, you weren't going to share that? And after that lovely supper of potatoes I peeled up earlier?" The man smirked as he eyed the half-empty bottle of rum griped firmly in her right hand.
Lyra made no effort to move and merely grinned. That was enough to let Ben know he wasn't in danger of a tongue lashing for his presence, or worse. "Oh, but I see you didn't bother with your share," he said, inspecting the bowl he had delivered an hour ago. It sat untouched just where he had left it on the captain's desk. The princess' expression soured, apparently sickened by the thought of eating; especially Ben's idea of a nutritious supper. She sat up with a strained moan and quickly consumed more of the alcohol to ease her pain. "I'm suffering from sleep deprivation, sea sickness, and possibly blood poisoning. Not to mention the persistent aches and pains. The last thing I want to do is eat a mess of uncooked tubers," she said, massaging her temples after sitting the bottle on the floor.
Chuckling, Ben claimed the rum for himself and hopped back before Lyra could protest. "Then let's not add a hangover to that list, Princess. You ought to start taking better care of yourself or else Walter's not going to have anyone to argue with. Now wouldn't that be a shame." Again the princess' expression darkened and she turned her gaze elsewhere. Ben dropped himself into the captain's chair and tossed his feet up on the desk as he went about finishing off what was left of the rum. "Maybe it's not my place- -" "It isn't…" "But! You two seem to be at odds lately. Anything I can help with?"
The princess shook her head slowly and gently rubbed her now bandaged shoulder. She had made a mess of the job, but it was better than admitting she needed either of her companions' help in doing it. "So that's how it is, eh? You know, I'd give just about anything to have just one more disagreement with ol' Swiftie," Ben said, smiling as he picked at the label of the empty bottle, "But I'll never get that chance. And I'll never get to tell him just how much I appreciate everything he did for me. I guess I took him for granted and just assumed he'd always be there. Yeah… I thought there'd be plenty of time to tell him."
Lyra's frown deepened, this time out of sympathy. If it wasn't for his relationship with Major Swift, so like her own relationship with Walter, Ben would have been nothing more to her than a lackey to serve her purposes and help her to the throne, but he was more than that. She might even go so far as to call him her first real friend. They hadn't even spent that much time together, but she felt a connection with him that she couldn't deny. She knew he was different when, unlike just about every other man in her life, she didn't try to seduce him just to see if she could the first time they were alone together. "I'm sure… he knew," the princess mumbled, her eyes still lingering on some unimportant little detail of the cot's blanket.
The ex-soldier smiled and nodded at her words, placing the bottle atop the desk as he slid his feet off. "And I bet Walter knows he can't really call you his student anymore. You're surpassing him, but that was inevitable considering your heritage. I imagine it's just difficult for him to let go of that bond and settle into letting you take the lead. But we younger pups have to take the lead eventually, right? Of course, I suppose it makes it all the more difficult, you being a woman and all." Lyra's eyes widened and she glared towards the man, ready to give him an earful about sexism, but found him grinning like a fool. She relaxed and shook her head as he laughed. "Just making sure you were listening."
Lyra found herself smiling and feeling much better. Mentally, anyhow. Her body still felt like she'd tossed herself around in vortex all day. It wasn't often that a good talk made a difference in her mood, but Ben certainly knew all the right things to say and where to insert some humor to keep things from being too serious. Of course, the princess knew the real reason Walter seemed more distant these days, but that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. She couldn't change what she had done and, given the opportunity, she would do it again. What mattered was that Ben had at least taken her mind off the problem for now. She would have thanked him for it too, had she been given time enough to figure out how to do it without taking her clothes off, but Walter's voice interrupted their privacy.
"You two come have a look! I think we're getting close." Ben was on his feet and moving even before the old knight had finished his statement. He stopped at the door and turned to see if Lyra was coming. She was, but not without staggering back and forth a few times in an attempt to keep her balance. "You didn't even have time to get your sea legs," he chuckled, supporting her when she finally made it to his side. The princess accepted his help, but warned, "I'm a little nauseous. You may want to keep your distance." "Wouldn't be the first time a pretty lady tossed on me, trust me."
The pair moved out onto the deck, laughing at Ben's joke, and instantly spotted what the old knight wanted them to see. The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, but the sky had brightened just enough to silhouette a large landmass in the distance. "Are you sure that's it, Walter? Well, not that there'd be much else way out here, I suppose," Lyra said, managing to stand without Ben's aid. Nodding, Walter pointed towards an especially bright cluster of stars. The Fated Son constellation, if she remembered correctly. "The Son always travels in a western direction. I've been using that to keep us headed southeast. Stars are a sailor's best friend," he explained with a wink.
Ben nudged the princess and crossed his arms smugly over his chest. "Impressive, huh? Bet they didn't teach you how to navigate by the stars during any of those fancy lessons you royals get in the castle." Lyra eyed him indignantly and mimicked his stance. "And I bet no one ever taught you how to put out your backside if it happened to catch fire accidentally," she smirked. The blonde held his sides and tossed his head back for a good laugh. Even Walter couldn't contain a giggle at the woman's words. "Well, no," Ben said, wiping his eye, "But I'm sure I'd figure it out right quick!"
Again, Lyra just couldn't stay mad at him. And apparently, Walter couldn't keep up his act of indifference for too long either. He reached out to pat the princess' uninjured shoulder with a warm smile; perhaps so she wouldn't be tempted to find out just how fast a learner Ben was. Lucky for him, her nausea finally got the better of her. She placed both hands on her abdomen and bent forward slightly. "Ugh… Oh, damn. Here it bloody comes," she gulped, running across to the starboard and leaning over the railing. Once the contents of her stomach had been thoroughly evacuated, Lyra sluggishly wiped her mouth and stood up straight. That was when she noticed the first ship in her peripheral vision. Her jaw went slack when, after trying to assess the threat of one vessel, she saw that it wasn't alone. "…Balls…"
Walter and Ben both looked towards the princess curiously when she muttered the knight's favorite swear. When she didn't bother to elaborate, they realized she must have seen something rather extreme and moved portside to look in their wake. "Balls…" they said in unison upon seeing the Albion Royal Armada hot on their trail. "They're coming in fast! They'll overtake us long before we find a safe place to drop anchor and go ashore," Walter said, practically leaping back into position at the helm. "Can't Lyra just conjure up some wind like before? I mean, I know you're not in the best of health, Princess, but we could really use some of that speed about now." Lyra frowned and, turning away from the daunting scene behind them, thought hard on their best plan of action. "I could do that, but… I may have a better idea."
Both men looked to her, eager for any valid plan and at a loss for one of their own. "Well… You know as well as I do that you don't send a whole damned fleet after one little ship if all you're planning to do is capture it. Logan aims to sink us out here and be done with it. So even if we made it ashore, the men on those ships are out for blood and they'll just follow us until we're dead, or at least presumed dead. It wouldn't look good to any allies we might find if we showed up with an army marching on our tails." Walter nodded slowly, listening carefully to her assessment. He knew what she was getting at, but he wondered if they could pull it off. "So what do you propose? We just leap overboard and hope for the best?" Lyra smirked at Ben and, shocking him, nodded.
The princess didn't give her traveling companions time to argue or pick apart her plan. With a pat of her thigh to signal Boy, Lyra bolted and, stepping up onto the railing, jumped clear of the ship. "She's bloody mad! And so's the damned dog," Ben cried, hearing the resulting double splash. His concern, however, was not with her plan as it seemed to be their only option, but instead, he questioned Lyra's ability to swim in her current state. Walter too feared for the woman's life and his hand still lingered in the air having reached out to stop her and missed. He dropped it back to his side and, smiling, shrugged. "She is a Hero, after all." Having said that, Walter followed her lead with Ben reluctantly tagging along.
The old knight nearly panicked after surfacing and not finding Lyra anywhere in sight, but as Ben plunged in after him he caught a glimpse of two figures far out ahead of the ship. Even injured, she was swimming strong and fast. "Good girl," he said quietly as he leaned forward and dug deep to propel himself through the choppy waters. "Do you think they saw us jump overboard? I'm sure they had eyes on the ship." Walter shared Ben's concern, but hoped that their plan was just foolish enough to give the armada reason to think they wouldn't make it ashore; at least not alive. "You said it, didn't you? We jump overboard and hope for the best," chuckled the knight.
Lyra wasn't sure when she lost consciousness, but the last thing she could remember was the sound of cannon fire and someone saying her name in the dark. The voice had not belonged to Walter or Ben, and though it sounded familiar, she could not place it. As she slowly came around, awakened by both her and Ben's name being bellowed by Walter, the memory of the voice faded entirely. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open and then snapped shut again. The sun had since risen and its radiance reflected painfully off the clear blue waters nearby. Lyra turned her head and tried again to take in her surroundings only to find Boy peering down at her. He had apparently stood guard over her since they crawled ashore; whenever that had been.
As Walter came into view, the collie barked to signal him. When the old knight spotted the princess and her faithful canine, he sighed in relief and made his way over as she got to her feet. "Are you alright?" Nodding, Lyra replied as she rubbed her injured shoulder. Despite exerting herself to the point of falling unconscious, her wound was fast healing and was hardly even an issue by this point. "Yes. Ben's not here?" The man frowned and shook his head. He and the rifleman had been separated in the dark and though they had kept in contact by calling to one another, Ben's signals suddenly fell silent not long after their ship was fired upon by the king's fleet. "No. Looks like we didn't all make it. I only hope…"
Walter trailed off when he saw the look on Lyra's face. Though she probably wasn't conscious of the expression, he could see the guilt evident in her eyes. It had been her bright idea to try and swim for shore, after all. "Well," the knight said, smiling reassuringly, "maybe he washed up somewhere else. I'm sure that's it." The princess nodded, though it was obvious that she wasn't convinced. She said nothing as she surveyed their foreign surroundings, but Walter knew that she was worried about Ben. He didn't like to think of the younger man losing his life to their cause any more than she did, but he couldn't help but to feel relieved that Lyra was capable of showing compassion. "Anyway," he said as they set out, "The only way forward seems to be through a rather ominous cave."
D'aw. Heart to heart with Ben! Ain't he a sweetie for trying to repair the broken bond between Walter and Lyra? Considering his mentor/protégé relationship with Major Swift, I thought it might make sense for him to feel obligated to help out his two friends.
I always felt that it was fitting that he and Lyra should be friends despite her cruel nature because no matter what choices you make during the game, he is always by your side there at the end, just like Walter, Jasper, and your dog. Ben's like a brother from another mother… and father… and family entirely. :P But yes, as GreyhawkGal guessed in her review, Lyra will still be Lyra. It wouldn't take much for her to turn against him, but for now, they have a nice little brother/sister thing going on. Not that she would know anything about that sort of thing considering the fact that she and her real brother would like nothing more than to kill each other.