As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor

Axtapor - 23 Evening Star, 1245 A.D.

"Be ye certain ye can stay on course?" I asked tiredly as I exchanged places at the wheel with one of the carriage drivers.

"Yes, my lord. Your instruction has been very illuminating." He replied with a short bow at the neck.

"Nay, blow smoke up my arse..." I grumbled.

"Come, hatchling. You must rest." My grandmother said, offering me her hand.

"Aye, I be comin'. Nay, run us aground." I warned the driver, "Be hard to spot reefs in the night. Look for whirls in the water."

"Yes, my lord."

"Hatchling, come." She commanded more firmly this time.

"Aye, I be comin'. Nay whinge." I said with a tight-lipped smile as I walked towards her, taking her hand in mine, "Steady on, ey? Nay need ye twistin' somethin'. Yer beau might rip into me if'n ye be damaged."

"Well, now that we are on the subject of my beau." She teased, "What is your opinion of him?"

I sighed, not really wanting to provide her with my thoughts about him.

I didn't dislike him, but it was still odd for me to see them so close to each other all the time. My grandfather had never been tender with my grandmother the way that Lord Haphrex was. The most I'd ever seen my grandfather do was kiss her hand, and that was only because we'd been at a social event where he was obligated to do so. I supposed Lord Haphrex's intimacy with her was strange because I wasn't yet accustomed to seeing someone be so openly affectionate towards her in a romantic way. There was something sad about that.

"Does he make ye happy?" I asked.

"Of course. I would not spend my time freely with him if he didn't, much less find myself on this interesting little journey." She replied as we went below decks.

"Then my thoughts of him should no matter to ye." I responded with a tired smile.

"How modern of you." She said surprisedly, "I am quite certain the hatchling I know would have much to say."

"It be so. If'n he lights yer heart, then he lights ye." I said with a small shrug.

'You said it yourself she is a plain bird. Lovely but plain.'

Fay had said that about her once. Mariel was ordinary to so many, even to me, the first time I saw her, but it hardly mattered; she captured my heart all the same. That lovely little speckled bird...

"Hatchling, have you perchance found someone?" She asked curiously.

"Nay. Just been doin' too much thinkin', that be all." I responded quietly, then kissed her on the forehead, "Goodnight, grandmother. I will see ye in the morn'."

"Yes, goodnight." She said, kissing my cheek gently.

I gave her a weak smile as she returned to the caring hands of Lord Haphrex, then lay down on my cot, falling asleep almost immediately.

***

"Let's go." She said with an eager smile.

I returned it and squeezed her small hand gently. "Aye."

I helped her into the small schooner I'd purchased just this morning and watched as she took her first excited steps toward freedom upon its decks. It was loaded with supplies, enough to last us several months, as well as camping gear and weapons. I'd also bought her a few notions, something I was sure she would be displeased with, but I doubted she had any of her belongings left after being cooped up with all of those other hens for so long. That should be corrected immediately, as far as I was concerned. There was no reason she should not have everything she might want, even if she was a humble person and insisted otherwise. I hauled up the small anchor and settled in to row us out to open water.

"Do the sails not work?" She asked curiously.

I chuckled. "Aye, they do, but we can no unfurl 'em yet, else we will make a right mess in the harbor. Once we get to open water, we can and, if'n the wind be right, we'll make good on our headin'."

"Can I unfurl them then?" Her tone was shyer now but betrayed her eagerness at the prospect.

"Aye ye can." I replied with a generous smile, "But nay be ye curious 'bout where we be goin'?"

"No. Wasn't it you who said that it's all the same anyway?" Her small mouth curled to form a satisfied smile before she looked down at her hands.

I laughed. "Did I say such a thin'?"

"Y-Yes!" She seemed troubled now.

"Well, I lied. The world looks somethin' fresh with ye by my side."

She blinked nervously, and in the softness of the moonlight, I could see her cheeks color brightly.

I decided not to tease her about it and simply be glad of her nonverbal response.

I didn't know if she would ever grow to love me. Perhaps she was right in saying that she could never conjure such feelings for me and so it would never come to pass, but that did not deride the fact that having her near stilled my aching heart. I, of course, still wished for her to see me through adoring eyes just as I saw her. Perhaps even have her heart quicken when I looked her way as mine did when she looked upon me, but I did not want to burden her with those quiet desires. This coexistence was enough.

We hoisted the sail together and then set off wherever the wind would take us. I'd taunted her earlier about not asking where we were going, but the truth was, I didn't know either. Perhaps it was better this way. We sailed effortlessly through the night, and I shamelessly watched her sitting at the bow of our boat with the frigid sea breeze in her hair, convinced I would never lay eyes on anything more beautiful ever again.