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

Fay - 4 Sun's Dawn, 1246 A.D.

"I hate waiting this way...cowering like some frightened creature!" I spat through my teeth.

"So do I, but if he appears, those boom chains will catch him out. He and his will be stuck there in the bay, treasure and all, ripe for the taking. After that, we can get back to more important matters." Wilkes said, rubbing my shoulder gently.

"Yes...a pity that tiny rabbit died before we could get anything useful out of her." I replied with an exasperated sigh, "Why can't things just go right for once?"

"It can't be helped. She was already cold when I went to retrieve her, but there are plenty of other Allmothers we can use to our advantage." He responded, placing a tiny kiss on the side of my head.

"Yes, but finding another one like her will be difficult. She was close with the Third Prince, and I still can't shake the feeling there was something about her, something special..." I said with a frown.

It bothered me that I'd never discovered why she was kidnapped twice. There had to be a reason for it, but I supposed it didn't matter so much now. Mother Frère was dead, and that's all there was to it.

He cleared his throat and coughed a few times.

"Ugh, don't tell me you're coming down with slugscale too. I told you not to spend so much time around Rapheus. He always gets it fiercely this time of year." I complained with a frown.

"What do you want me to do? He's the chart maker. I must spend time with him." He said with a shrug as he moved away from me, "Let's make a toast."

"To what?" I asked as I continued to look out the window, listening as he poured us a pair of drinks.

"To better things ahead." He replied.

I smacked my lips. "That may be premature."

"Why?"

"It's Anise."

He sighed, returning with drinks in hand. "I hate to say it, but you should have let her find a new Edward."

"Well, what was I supposed to do? She's so useless on her own, and she would have starved before finding a new husband." I rebuked, snatching the drink out of his hand.

He growled at me, but I paid him no mind.

By contrast, Anise waved to me excitedly after having spotted me standing at the window as she came up the path to the house. I dipped my head slightly to acknowledge her and wondered if perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Her idiocy would certainly be a welcome distraction.

"Get the door." I commanded as I knocked back my drink.

He frowned, withdrawing to do as he was bid. "What the hell do you want?"

I scoffed a laugh as I set down the empty glass. Even after all these years he was never good at hiding that she frustrated him.

"Where is Fay?" She asked plainly.

I wondered if she willfully ignored his tone or if she was fully unaware that he was annoyed with her. Either thing was possible, with the latter being more likely.

"Coming to a man's home and asking after his wife is distasteful." He said with a growl.

His response launched many angry complaints from her, and the two of them argued for what was certainly no more than a few moments, but that short time counted like hours in my annoyed state.

"Calm down! The sooner she tells me what she wants, the sooner she'll be gone!" I chastised him in Tlaxlian, perhaps more rudely than I would have liked.