Amity: The Peaceful

Chapter 22

Ade watches his steps as the wooden bridge makes some sound on his every movement, afraid to fall on the water below, he's holding Finn in his arms beside that would be embarrassing. But of course if ever that happens he'll annihilate everyone who will laugh or give him malicious looks after falling.

He sighed after finally stepping on the sand, he roamed his eyes and saw horses tied to some dead trees, with a cart attached to them. But his eyes caught a beautiful black stallion resting below a huge dead tree not too far from them.

"So, you have horses too? Your crew stole them?" he asked when he felt Horatius' presence behind him.

"Purchase and trade, some are purchased and traded with merchants, you must remove that habit of yours, bad mouthing me and my crew."

"What? What do you want me to do then? You guys are pirates, considered criminals in my empire and in any other regions."

Ade crunched his nose after he felt a sweat trailing down on the side of his head, it's too hot. The place looks like a dessert to him, dry land, dead trees as well as dried hills from afar.

He looked down on his feet, good thing he was stepping on some elevated rock, able to avoid the hot land. He looked at the masked man behind him, "Hey... I am a captive here, but you don't expect me to walk, right?" he mumbled. He sure will get a lot of bruises and calluses if the man will let him walk on his feet.

He hugged Finn tightly and adjusted the kid's head resting on his shoulder. His forehead creased when Horatius walked away from them and went to the black stallion he saw earlier, the man rode the horse and controlled it, going to Ade's place.

Ade smirked a little after seeing the stance of Horatius while riding the horse, he got a nice posture and... he's hot, bet he's hotter without that shitty dark mask on.

"What?" he asked when the man leaned a little.

Horace didn't answer and lowered his upper body even more, he gripped the man's waist and lifted them with his full strength before placing Adeodatus to sit sideways in front of him. The latter failed to react out of shock.

"Fuck! You should've told me! I nearly dropped the kid!" Ade shouted with a red face.

He just stopped from cursing the man when Horace placed a cloth on his head, wrapping his body afterwards. A... cover? He thought, the weather sure is hot, a cover for him especially for Finn is a must.

Ade inhaled before resting his back on Horatius' chest, he was placed in between the man's arms, holding the horse's rope.

Most of the time Adeodatus wonders if he's really a captive since he's being treated differently from a normal captive. Remembering how he treated his captives before... it is indeed different. If not for the shackles on his ankles he will assume that he is a captain's mistress, well, he really is... in bed.

The imperial majesty fell on conscious when the people around them fell silent, he moved his eyes and saw the members gazes in their direction, most are shocked and some are... mad?

He turned his head to the right when he heard a galloping horse beside them, there he saw the woman who was testing his patience for some time now, he smirked at Sayyida when he met the woman's gaze directed to him. The woman rolled his eyes before hitting her horse, running past them and the others.

"We'll get moving now." Horatius whispered before maneuvering his horse, The others are following them from behind, watching the carts and the other goods they're bringing.

"So when did you guys discover this place?"

"Years ago, my mother did."

"Hmm. It's pretty nice but too dry. I can die from heat and exhaustion."

"How? You're not even working compared to my crews."

"Because I am a captive, try to remove my shackles and give me work, I'll do it."

"More like, try to remove my shackles and I'll find a way to escape."

"Well... You're not wrong either."

And their conversation was cut short when he saw a lot of dead trees approaching them.

"What the hell?" he mumbled when the crew continued their way towards the trees.

But his worries ended when he saw the dune after they passed the dead trees. So, their camp was hidden, then?

They rode a horse for almost half an hour. He observed their surroundings, trying to memorize the route and places they've passed through, for his escape plan.