Axis stood back behind the rest of the crew, watching quietly as Leah used a mallet to pound a wooden cross into the ground. There was no time or way to bring back Braddock’s body, but Leah insisted that there be some form of memorial for him. So once they had reached the small port of Canlon, she’d disappeared into the small town, along with Fletcher, to buy materials to make the memorial.
It wasn’t much, but Axis knew Braddock, and he wouldn’t want something too fancy, if he wanted anything at all.
Axis sighed and leaned against a tree. They were in the woods well outside of town, where they wouldn’t get in too much trouble for putting up a memorial without permission, but who would tear down something like that? Axis could smell the salty breeze coming off the ocean, and could hear the distant lapping of waves against the shore. The air was eerily silent, even for a makeshift funeral service. Axis never thought that the crew could even manage to be this silent.
Axis let his eyes travel back to the wooden cross, now firmly nailed into the forest floor. Made out of pine, not decorated, not even engraved with Braddock’s name… not that they’d need it to know who’s memorial it was, of course. Braddock had left his family at the age of 15, and the crew had never had any interaction with them, so… there was no way to contact them to tell them that their son was dead.
Axis shook his head. It was still hard to accept, even though he’d seen Braddock’s body. It was still hard to believe, that after eight years of knowing Braddock, he was gone. And he never got to say goodbye.
Axis blinked. He was really… gone. Like that. Axis would never see him again.
Axis swallowed. It hadn’t fully sunk in yet before then. It was just something that had happened, it seemed. Braddock was dead. Braddock…
Axis felt a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. Aniha watched him carefully, her dark hand firmly holding Axis’s shoulder.
He stared back for a moment. Then, sounding as if he’d been holding his breath, he murmured, “I’m never going to see him again, am I?”
This seemed to upset Aniha more than he thought it would. She bit her lip, and let her hand drop from Axis’ shoulder. “No.” She whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
Axis watched her for one more moment, before nodding slowly and raising his hand to brush it across his mouth, as if contemplating something. He tore his gaze away from Aniha and nodded again, this time more curtly, and letting his hand fall. “Okay.”
Aniha brushed her warm fingers against Axis’. Axis didn’t move away, knowing it would be foolish of him not to accept the act of kindness at this moment. He’d known James Braddock since Axis was eight years old, and they’d become good friends. If Axis didn’t need a little quiet comfort at this time, he didn’t know when he would.
“Axis. We’re going back to town now.” Aniha whispered, breaking Axis away from his once again drifting thoughts.
Axis nodded and straightened up. The rest of the crew was silent as they began to trudge back through the dark woods. Leah stood alone at the wooden cross, her hand touching the top of the post, which was slightly cracked from the mallet.
Axis exchanged a quick glance with Aniha, and the girl nodded, before she turned around and headed after the crew.
Axis came up behind Leah and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to face him, her chapped lips tilted down at the corners, her gray-brown eyes red and swollen from crying. Her dirty blonde hair was in tangles, and her slumped posture made her look as though she’d aged ten years within two days.
Axis offered her a small smile. “I’m sure he’s relieved that you came out unscathed.” He muttered.
Leah looked back at the memorial. “But he didn’t…” She choked out.
Axis fell silent. There wasn’t anything he could say to that, could he? So instead, he gently took Leah’s hand and led her away from the grave, back through the woods, towards the path that would take them into town.
. o O o .
The quiet in the room was broken only by the breathing of the men in the room. For once, the crew was sleeping in beds (or on extra mattresses on the floor) , instead of hammocks. The women were in the other room, excluding Marie, who was being taken care of by the inn-keeper, who was an acquaintance of Captain.
Axis turned in his bed, which was a mattress on the floor by the door to the large room. His dagger was beside his bed, in case an intruder attacked in the night… with all that was happening, Axis felt much safer with a weapon by his side.
But in order to wield a weapon with accuracy, he’d need sleep… and sleep just did not want to visit him this night.
Axis opened his eyes and stared into the gloom at the wooden wall. He could hear the waves outside, lapping at the port. How far away was the port again? It shouldn’t have been this loud in his ears.
Axis sighed and sat up as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake the others in the room. His ears must have been sensitive to sound, in this quiet room… or, mostly quiet room, save for Akoni’s loud snoring.
…
Maybe Axis’ ears just desperately wanted to hear something pleasant.
Either way, the sound of the ocean was keeping him awake.
He stood up, picking his dagger up off the floor and tucking it into his belt. He hadn’t bothered taking it off, along with any other articles of clothing, since he didn’t want to be stuck in the awkward situation of fighting someone in nightwear. He had, however, taken off his boots, which he slipped on and laced up as quickly as he could.
He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door, wincing a little at the squeak it made when it opened. He slipped out into the hall and closed the door behind him. He hoped that no one would wake up and re-lock the door, thinking that everyone was in the room.
Axis rolled his eyes after noticing that he could still hear Akoni’s snores, before he began to walk quietly down the hall. He went down the stairs and into the deserted tavern area. The inn keeper was the only one in sight, and even she seemed to be nodding off. When she caught sight of Axis, she blinked and sat up.
“Boy… you’re with Lupe, aren’t you?” She said in a raspy voice. She was a short woman, shorter even than Axis. She had golden hair streaked with silver, and had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and around her mouth. Axis had only met her a few times before, but she seemed like a kind woman.
Axis nodded and sauntered over to the counter, behind which the inn-keeper sat. “Aye. I believe we’ve only met a few times, and I can’t remember your name.” He said apologetically, bowing his head slightly.
The lady smiled. “Evelyn.” She answered.
Axis tipped his head once again. “My name is Axis, for future interactions.” He said with a small grin.
Evelyn tilted her head. “What a unique name. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.”
Axis shrugged. “Believe me, I don’t know what was running through my father’s head when he named me.” He said, leaning on the counter.
Evelyn hummed thoughtfully. “Well, it doesn’t matter.” She said. “You are up a bit late, aren’t you?” She asked, changing the subject abruptly.
Axis nodded. “The lovely sounds of my companion’s snores crashing into my ears did not make for a decent night’s sleep, so I decided to take a walk to make myself more tired.” He explained cheerfully.
Evelyn laughed softly. “Don’t let me stop you then… oh, before you go, your friend…. Marie,” She started. Axis nodded, signalling for her to go on. “She will be fine. Just as long as she stays here for another month or two.”
Axis nodded. “That sounds reasonable. However, I’m sure we can’t stay here with her for two months, we have… business to take care of.” Axis frowned at how that sounded. “Not… not that I don’t care about Marie, I do, a lot, but there is something that we need to-”
“Lupe told me that something was happening. He won’t give me the details, but I’m sure he has his reasons for that.” Evelyn interrupted. Axis watched her, and she smiled. “Marie is welcome to stay here for as long as she needs… I owe Lupe that. She’ll be safe until your return.” Evelyn promised.
Axis smiled. “Thank you, Miss Evelyn.” He dipped his head again. “I’ll be taking my leave.” He said, turning towards the door.
Evelyn waved. “Be safe out there, boy.” She said, before she lay her head back on her arms and closed her eyes.
Axis opened the door to the inn and walked into the cool night air. The salt on the wind bit at his senses, waking him up. Axis scoffed. Maybe he should have stayed inside, instead. This was just going to keep him awake longer. Oh well, he was already out.
He paused for a moment, listening to the quiet. The stars shone brightly over the town, the moon casting silver light down onto the packed dirt streets. There were no lights on in any of the houses, seeing as it was far too late for any towns-person to be awake… unless they were an inn-keeper, as Evelyn was.
Axis took in a deep breath. The air was clean and sharp, with the smell of the ocean riding on the breeze. After his brief moment of just standing, enjoying the stillness, he began to walk down the road, his boots making soft sounds on the dry dirt.
Now that he was alone, and there were no distractions, he was left with only his thoughts… normally, Axis would have been fine with that, but since Taylor had gone missing, when he was alone, and he had the time to think…
Axis sighed and raked his fingers through his golden hair. For all they knew, Taylor could be in serious trouble. Yes, he might have been able to get away, but Axis doubted it. Even if he had been a soldier, that was sixteen years ago, and he had been greatly outnumbered.
Axis felt a flare of anger sear the inside of his lungs. Why couldn’t they have fought, why couldn’t they have helped? They were all accustomed to fighting, they did it for a living, for the most part! And Axis definitely knew his way around a sword! If they had just gotten their bearings and come back to help, they might have been able to rescue Taylor.
Because now, wherever Taylor was, Axis knew he wasn’t safe. Even if he had escaped, from the looks of it, the Cult would be after him… and from what Axis had seen, nothing good would come from Taylor being found by them.
Axis reached up to the necklace, which now hung around his neck. He slipped the leather string from around his neck and studied the small piece of red glass. Axis frowned.
‘He was pretty damn confidant that you were.’
Axis scoffed and clenched his teeth. The conversation he’d had with Marie still bothered him. It all seemed so ridiculous, this ‘descendant mage’ talk, the fact that it seemed that some people actually believed it…
Axis would have to see it for himself to believe it.
Yet, this piece of glass still seemed odd to him, even though it was a perfectly normal piece of glass. Smoothed at the edges, as if it had been weathered by water. Wire wrapped carefully around it, so that it wouldn’t fall from the leather string. And yet-
Axis was jolted from his thoughts as he turned a corner and slammed into… something.
He yelped and leapt backwards, the hand that clutched the necklace opened with his surprise, and the other hand flew to the dagger at his hip.
“Whoa, swords away, boy!” A cheerful voice spoke. Axis stared at the man in front of him.
Good lord he was tall.
Standing well above Axis’ head, the man seemed to be a few years older than him as well. He had dark tan skin, straight black hair, and piercing amber eyes. Those eyes were trained on Axis’ hand, and despite the friendly look, Axis could see something akin to shock in his gaze.
Axis let go of the dagger’s blade, but kept himself ready for an attack. “Forgive me.” Axis said.
The man in front of him waved him off. “It’s dark, it’s only natural to be wary.” He smiled. His eyes flickered down to the ground at Axis’ feet. Without warning, the man knelt down and picked something up. He straightened up and held the necklace out to Axis. “You dropped this in your haste to attack.” He joked with a small grin.
Axis carefully reached out and took the necklace, before jerking his hand back in shock.
His hand was…. hot.
Very hot, as if the man had been holding it over steam for quite some time.
Axis frowned, but caught himself. He tilted his head towards the man and backed away. “Again, sorry. Good evening.” He said, before turning and taking off down the road, back the way he came.
By the time Axis was back at the inn, he had convinced himself that it was late, and that he was imagining things, and that he needed to get to sleep.
As quietly and quickly as he could, he slipped into the building, and, trying not to wake Evelyn, he went back up the stairs.
When Axis finally locked the door to their room behind him, he noticed that his fingers still felt slightly raw.
No matter how much he tried to convince himself, he hadn’t imagined that.
Willowlark 