Axis waved a short goodbye to Evelyn, who was standing on the pier, before he turned back to his job. He checked the ropes, tightening them as much as needed, before he gave the clear signal to Captain. The older man nodded and called out to the crew to cast off.
Axis went right back to work, helping undo the ropes that anchored the ship to the shore. He glanced back at the pier, to see if Evelyn was still there, but she had left. Axis shrugged to himself. She had an inn to manage, and on top of that, an injured woman to take care of.
Axis touched his necklace upon remembering Marie. Last he’d seen her, which was that morning, she’d looked a bit pale. He hoped that it was just pain, and not something worse, but Evelyn seemed to think that she would be fine. Not to mention, Marie had seemed happy enough when she said goodbye, despite how worried Axis knew she must have been.
The neutral expression on Axis’ face fell when his thoughts were brought back to his father.
Where was he? Of course, he’d been asking himself that question much too often, but he couldn’t help it. Axis could only hope he’d escaped, somehow, but as much as he wanted to convince himself that he had… Taylor had been vastly outnumbered. Axis could practically see the white cloaks, as they crowded in on his father….
Axis blinked and frowned. The ship was now off, and several yards from the pier, but Axis swore that he actually saw the flash of a white cloak….
Axis focused on what he had glimpsed… and upon further inspection, he saw that he was right.
A man, cloaked in white, stood in the throng of people, un-moving, staring directly at the ship. Even at a distance, Axis caught sight of a sword at his hip as someone accidentally brushed against him.
Axis began to walk backwards, then half-turned towards the top-deck. He kept his gaze locked onto the man for a moment longer, before he turned fully and darted across the deck, weaving out of people’s way as he made towards Captain. His bare feet scuffed the stairs as he went up the dark-skinned man.
“Captain,” he started. Captain glanced at him, and Axis continued. “I saw a white cloaked man standing on the pier just now.” Axis reported.
Captain nodded. “No surprise there.” He said gruffly, and he certainly didn’t look surprised. “I suspect they know where we’re headed as well.” He finished.
Axis’ heart dropped into his stomach. “You mean Mao Lai? Do you think that the village is in danger?”
To Axis’ confusion, Captain smirked. “No… but I think we may have to apologize to a small fishing port on the western shore of Aprolle.” He murmured.
Axis exhaled in relief, and a grin found its way to his face. “Is that what you’ve been telling people?” He asked.
Captain nodded again. “Only the crew knows where we’re really going.” He assured Axis.
Axis looked back towards the shore. The winds were good, so the ship had put a fair amount of distance between it and the docks. He thought he could still see the man in white, but he was sure that it was only his mind playing tricks on him. “Alright.” He said finally. He grinned at Captain. “I guess it’s back to work!” He chuckled, before he turned and ran back the way he came, finding his footing much easier on a rocking ship than he did on land.
Axis forced himself to keep a smile on his face, so he wouldn’t make the others worry.
But no matter how much precaution Captain and the others had taken, he still felt as if they were in danger.
Axis looked back to the docks, then shook his head and went back to work, trying to ignore the growing apprehension in the back of his mind. It was probably nothing to worry about.
.
.
.
But of course, something had to happen to prove him wrong, didn’t it?
They were far out to sea when he heard the familiar voice call out.
“Captain, we seem to have someone tailing us!”
Axis looked towards the voice. Fletcher was standing at the back of the ship, looking a little spooked. Why, Axis didn’t know, it wasn’t the first time they’d been followed.
Captain hurried to where Fletcher stood, and Axis followed along behind quietly. Fletcher pointed out at the waves in front of them. “It’s…. it is a clipper, but it’s going much faster than it should be… and it’s catching up to us.” He said.
He was right. The smaller vessel was skipping over the waves faster than it should have been, as if it were being drawn forward by invisible horses.
“When do you think they will arrive?” Captain asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
Fletcher’s brow furrowed. “Can’t say for sure…”
Their voices seemed to fade into the background noise as Axis watched the smaller ship. Without warning, a number seemed to appear in his head.
“Fifteen.” Axis blurted out. Captain and Fletcher both looked at him, their eyebrows raised. Before they could ask what the hell he’d meant by ‘fifteen’, Axis looked at them and went on. “There are at least fifteen men on board that ship.” He said, suddenly sure of himself, even though he had no way of knowing.
Captain cast his gray eyes back towards the clipper. “And you know this…. how?” He muttered.
Axis opened and closed his mouth as he searched for an answer, but nothing came to mind. He shrugged and looked back at the waves. “I just… know….” he trailed off.
Captain and Fletcher watched him for a moment longer, before they nodded briefly and began to speak again, about what they would do once the ship arrived.
Axis turned his head away, staring out at the sea to the left of the large brig they were sailing on. He frowned, seeing yet another, smaller ship sailing parallel to them.
“Captain, it may just be a ship on a similar course to ours, but we should keep an eye on this one here.” Axis cut into their conversation, pointing towards the smaller ship.
Captain cast his gaze towards the direction Axis was pointing, and frowned. “At this point, we can’t afford to not be suspicious. We’ll keep an eye on both of them.” He turned away. “I’m going to see how the weather is developing, it seems like the wind may be dying down. Fletcher, inform the rest of the crew, Axis…” He glanced over his shoulder at the golden blonde boy, then sighed. “Go and get some rest, boy, you’re tired.” He said shortly, before he whipped his head back around and headed towards the front of the ship.
Axis’ brows shot up, surprised. He wasn’t tired at all, in fact, he was wide awake. He certainly didn’t look tired either! He looked incredulously at Fletcher, who shrugged and offered him a sympathetic smile. “Captain’s orders, Axis. Why don’t you go into the cabin and take a few minutes to yourself?” He said, taking a few steps backwards.
Axis frowned. “You think I’m crazy.” He stated blandly.
Fletcher hesitated, then shook his head. “No, I…. none of us think you are crazy, Axis, we are… worried, about you…” He paused again, then stepped forward again and placed a hand on Axis’ shoulder. “It’s just…. your father was kidnapped-there was no way he got out of that, I am sorry, Axis,-” he added, seeing Axis open his mouth to protest. “And… James was a bitter blow to all of us… and we all know that you are… unpredictable, at times.” He continued. Axis frowned, but Fletcher went on. “So you need to take some time to yourself when you can, because there are not going to be many chances from now on.” He said. After a moment of tense silence, Fletcher huffed and drew away. “And that just went in one ear and out the other, did it not? I swear…” He smiled at Axis. “Go rest.” He finished, before he turned and ran off down the length of the ship.
Axis stood, slightly taken aback. Then, he scoffed and shook his head. “Do they really think that I am that sensitive?” He muttered. He turned and leaned against the back of the ship, letting the sea spray cool his face. “I do not need to rest, I need to move.” He growled to himself.
He ignored Captain’s and Fletcher’s orders to rest, and instead watched the clipper approach the brig, coming ever closer. He could see the figures on board the ship, some dressed in white, others in the plain ship-wear that their own crew donned. As they drew nearer and nearer by the minute, it seemed, the anxiety grew in the pit of Axis’ stomach. They were most definitely the Cult, there was no doubt about that. He’d felt that way since Fletcher pointed out the tailing ship to them.
However…
The other ship was a different story.
It was also pulling in towards the brig, even if it was too slow for anyone to really notice, but there was no malicious intent. How Axis could know that, he still didn’t understand, but he just knew, an instinctive feeling in his chest.
Intuition.
Axis laughed a little and shook his head. “Maybe I am tired… even if I don’t feel it…” He knew enough to know that “intuition” couldn’t tell you how many men were on an approaching ship, or if a crew had bad intent or not.
He glanced up at the sky, and noticed that the white clouds above, which had been skidding past the blue at a good pace, were almost at a standstill. It was true, the wind was dying down. And the clipper could move on much less wind than the large brig could.
Axis sighed and cast once last glance towards the smaller ship, before he began to make his way towards the cabin. Maybe he’d just take a quick break, just in case his skills were needed in the near future.
Because, intuition or not, Axis knew that the Cult wouldn’t sail away without a fight.
Willowlark 