CHAPTER 3: THE JOURNEY

Author's note:I am a bad person to leave you guys like this. stuff came up and i also had to prepare for exams. but hey, it's better late than never. i also had to edit the previous chapter, it's no major changes, so the plot stays the same.

Enjoy it while you can, cause i don't know when I'll return.

It would take approximately 10 hrs. to reach the neighbouring Kingdom under harsh weather. Ginny navigated her way through the crowded deck, noticing several people intermingling with the crew. Families with children and small bags, merchants and traders, and couples holding hands all making their way towards the neighbouring kingdom. A merchant attempted to strike up a conversation with a sailor, hoping to discuss possible business opportunities.

She noticed several crates stacked on the deck, filled with supplies and provisions for the journey.

The smell of the sea air, the taste of the salt on her lips, and the salty spray from the surf below added to the sense of adventure. Ginny breathed in the crisp salty air, feeling a mixture of anticipation and excitement. She never set foot outside the kingdom; the excitement finally got to her as she tried to imagine every possible thing that she might witness. She heard many stories about this kingdom.

A mother struggled to keep her two young children preoccupied as they played around on the deck, a chuckle escaped her lips, they reminded so much of her family.

Then a sudden realisation dawned on her. Does she have a right to be happy? After she took so many lives, does she deserve to enjoy the beauty around her? She thought she'd be happy if she just Listened to tom. But that doesn't seem to be working.

Ginny stood on the deck of the ship, staring at the kingdom in the distance. As she looked out at the vast sea, Ginny couldn't shake the feeling that change was coming, though she wasn't sure if it's for the better or worse. Ginny felt a shiver run down her spine, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for whatever lay ahead. Now wasn't the time to be caught off guard - she had to be ready for anything.

Ginny snapped out of her reverie, realising that someone was calling her name. She turned to look towards the guard, who was still standing in the same spot, waiting to show her to her compartment. Ginny couldn't get used to someone accompanying her, she almost forgot about his presence.

Ginny followed the guard, who navigated through the crowded corridor, weaving their way past the other passengers. She reached the compartment that the guard had directed her to and stepped inside. The cabin was small and dim, lit only by a single lantern. A narrow cot was pushed against one wall, serving as the only sleeping accommodation. The air was stale, and the cramped quarters were hardly comfortable.

Ginny waited for a few moments, but the guard stood motionless in his spot. Growing impatient, Ginny spoke up, "Well, what are you waiting for? You've shown me my compartment, you may take your leave."

The guard appeared taken aback momentarily due to Ginny's sharp tone. He fumbled a bit before explaining, "The king has instructed me to give you this," he said, holding out a green gemstone in his extended hand.

Ginny studied the object in the guard's hand, her eyes narrowing in speculation. "What exactly is this?" she inquired; her gaze fixed on the gemstone.

Widening her suspicion, Ginny posed another question, "Why did the king entrust this to you rather than hand it to me personally?" The guard met her gaze, unable to provide a satisfying answer. Ginny couldn't help but wonder if the king had deliberately chosen this method to prevent her from asking any more questions.

The guard fidgeted a bit under her condescending look and replied "I was just following the orders of his highness, I don't know much further"

After the guard left, Ginny settled down in that small compartment. This journey just got weird; she pulled out the gemstone and began to inspect it. There is nothing special about it. Why would she need a gemstone when she is on her way to murder someone. Well, she could throw the gemstone at the sea serpent's face, that would be hilarious.

she suddenly remembered she had yet to see the face of the nemesis of her king. She opened her and took out the parchment. she wondered if the pirate would be all buffed up, covered with scars, with parrot as his companion like from the stories she read as a child. For the first time she wondered if she's enough to take him down. As the king himself is weary of him.

she finally opened the parchment and caught off guard of what she saw. Instead of some buff guy with scars all over his body, he turned out to be a soft boy…. Well not a soft boy but definitely not what Ginny had imagined. He didn't look much older than her.

Ginny couldn't help but notice the similarities between the king and the sea serpent, and it brought back memories of how Tom used to look years ago when he was younger. Back then, Tom had soft features and a soft demeanour, but he had lost that over time. Perhaps it was the pressures of ruling a kingdom that had changed him. It was no wonder that Ginny now found herself intimidated in the king's presence.

She gazed through the cabin window to see the palace now departing- it's the ship that is departing, dummy…

Ginny wondered what happened to the tom that rescued her, that she fell in love.

Ginny was just 5 years old when a stranger escorted her inside the palace. Up until now, she had only thought about the palace in terms of her imaginings, and her youthful mind had visualised a place filled with colourful paintings, beautiful artefacts, and many servants and artists. The palace was, in her mind, a magical place not so different from the magical lands of fantasy.

But as she gazed upon the palace walls, she just felt empty. She couldn't quite put it into words, but it seemed as though every ounce of joy had been drained from this kingdom. She never missed her family more than she did right now. She wanted to get out of this palace and reunite with her family. If her brothers were with her, they would remark how palace looks stupid. They will definitely try to make her laugh.

Ginny had a thousand questions running through her mind, but the most pressing among them was what had happened to her family. She had seen her parents in distress, and there were bad people around them at the time. She wondered if the king was a bad person, but her parents had never spoken ill of the king and the queen before. Instead, she had only heard uplifting stories about them. Ginny wondered if the king and the queen knew what happened to her parents as she considered the possibility of them having information about their condition.

She didn't know when she was taken into a room, the room was huge. She had never seen something like this in her whole life. Maybe her house could fit into this single room. There is no one but a stranger who brought her to the palace.

He bent down to swipe the tear off her face. She didn't realise she's still crying. As she gazed upon the strongly built man with black hair and brown eyes, a sob escaped her lips. He looked nothing like her family, he didn't have ginger hair nor he had freckles. She didn't realise she's screaming for her family to reunite with them.

He gently reached to her to pat her shoulder, "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid," he said in a soothing tone. "Everything is going to be alright now; they won't hurt you." His words were meant to calm her down, but it only served to make her sob even more.

With a tearful voice, Ginny sobbed, "What happened to my family? I saw them hurting. Did you hurt them?" She tried to tug herself away from his grip, a look of fear and accusation in her eyes.

The man looked directly at Ginny, a visible pain crossing his eyes. He said gently, "I promise it wasn't me, Ginny. I'm a close friend of your parents, and if anything happened to them, it was my responsibility to take care of you. You can trust me, Ginny. " His voice trembled slightly, a raw grief seeping through his words. Ginny was reminded of the time she accidentally broke his brother's toy.

Ginny stopped fighting against his grip and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. Through her sobs, she managed to ask, "What happened to my parents? Why do you have to take care of me?" Her anguish was evident in her voice, and she continued to cry even more as she waited for his explanation.

The stranger scooped Ginny up gently and cradled her in the soothing motion of a newborn baby, wrapping her in his arms. He spoke to her softly, "I won't lie to you, Ginny. They were hurt, really badly. They're resting now. You don't want to disturb them, do you?" his voice dripping in concern.

Ginny pulled away from his embrace and asked, "When can I see them again?" She knew her parents needed time to heal, remembering the extent of their injuries. She had never seen anyone get hurt this badly before. A hint of worry and impatience crept into her voice as she waited for an answer.

Ginny's voice grew more urgent as she inquired, "What about my brothers? Can I at least see them? Before I was brought here, my brothers were trying to fight off the strangers who hurt our parents, but they weren't hurt like them." Her mind was filled with worry and eagerness to be reunited with her siblings.

"I'm sorry, ginny. But your brothers are badly hurt too. I know it's a lot to take in, I'm always here for you. I'm here to take care of you." The stranger took her gently in his arms again, tried to placate Ginny with comforting words, holding her small body against his chest and whispering softly to her.

The days passed in a blend of comfort and routine, the stranger's care ensuring that Ginny was never left without support from the maid. Ginny slowly adapted to her new surroundings. Slowly, Ginny found herself getting accustomed to her new environment. However, as nighttime fell, the hours grew long and lonely, and every night, Ginny would find herself giving in to tears, her heart weighed down by a deep yearning for her family.

Ginny longed for the soothing tradition of her mother's stories before bedtime. She missed the comfort of knowing her mother was present to share those moments with her. The stranger who took her in, Ginny later learned his name as Tom, never brought up the subject about her parents again.

that's it for now.

special thanksto: Nobody08, deltarunner66, skyjadeprincess, Ksummerforever, scrappy8, Qwill will 1981