Somewhere Between the Sea and the Sky.

Episode 0: Chapter 8

The sun had risen completely, and at last the door of the captain's cabin opened. Hongjoong woke up.
He appreciated the break but it was time to go back to work.

Oh, work.

He remembered someone else had boarded the Aurora, that blacksmith with whom they had so much trust. In a very short time they became five instead of three, which translated into more headaches for the captain.

However the presence of these did not bother him, he had been alone with Seonghwa and Wooyoung for too long.

When he came out on deck he found a situation more pleasant than expected. The ship was anchored, so the blond took advantage of it to start teaching Yeosang how to fight. Jongho and the silver haired were enjoying the scene, sitting on the floor at a prudent distant of the action. They made comments for annoying and really useful contributions, but the important thing was that they seemed to be having fun.

Going back to the other two, Seonghwa seemed quite relaxed in the situation. The prince was not exactly someone disobedient or troublemaker, so the blond was coming to enjoy those classes.

Oh, the prince's weapon.

The captain realized that he had not seen it drawn until then, so he took a moment to admire the sword. It was a precious weapon, Jongho undoubtedly had reasons to call it one of his favorites, although the lieutenant's still stood out more.

Hongjoong didn't even remember where Seonghwa had gotten such a fancy sword, but he did know he hadn't detached from the weapon since. Maybe he was too careful with the sword, but it was definitely worth it.

Without realizing it the captain formed a smile, he was glad to have a calmer atmosphere on his ship. They had a horrible streak of chases and escapes, the stress did not sit well with any of the pirates of the Aurora.

Finally he closed the cabin door with some force for the rest to hear. He approached them at a relaxed pace, aware that he had caught everyone's gaze except for Seonghwa.

"Do you see a future for him?" The captain asked when he was close enough.

"He learns fast." The blond laughed a little, then signaled to the prince that he could rest. "And he knows how to listen, unlike others."

Of course both the lieutenant and Hongjoong looked at someone, specifically Wooyoung. He didn't notice, he was busy... suffering. Jongho had casually put an arm around his shoulders, but more than a show of confidence it felt like a threat to the silver haired. The boatswain was tense, nervously laughing at each of the blacksmith's jokes.

He saw an opportunity when Yeosang went there and turned away from Jongho for the prince to sit among them. The blacksmith just looked at Wooyoung for a moment as if that offended him, but after all he was aware of what he was doing.
When Yeosang sat next to him, Jongho pushed that intimidating air away. He just had fun scaring the boatswain, he wasn't going to do it to the prince too.

"How did we end up with three stupid sons?" Hongjoong said when he saw that, in a joking tone.

"Pity?" The blond man laughed then, holstering his sword at last and glancing at the captain. "Where should we go next It's not safe to stand here that long. "

Hearing that the other three began to pay attention too, interested in what their next destination would be. However the captain did not give any answer, he was thinking.
He knew where he wanted to go, but he wanted to have a quiet stop before diving head first. All the places he believed safe turned out to lead him into the army time after time, where should he go?