Ansel trembled all over as he and the wolf man made their way through the crowd, the press of the wolf man's claws still pressing lightly against his stomach. Everyone was clamoring to get onto the boat and the noise around them was so loud Ansel could barely hear himself think. It was getting harder for them to move around the closer they got to the docking board.
"Settle down! Have your tickets prepared or you will not be allowed to board the boat!" one of the sailors called out as he encouraged people to step back, to make room so people can walk on the slender board safely. "One at a time! I said settle down!" called out the sailor just as Ansel and the wolf man reached one of the boards leading up to the boat. There were three in all with the wolf man leading Ansel to the middle board, handing over their tickets to the sailor but not before the sailor gave the wolf man a suspicious, daresay disgusted, look. "We don't normally let... your kind onto our ships," the sailor said in a dry tone, glancing down at Ansel who smiled awkwardly up at him.
"We're hoping to join my pack in the other kingdom before the baby comes. I promise we won't be any trouble," the wolf man said with a pleading look, playing a part as he glanced nervously down at Ansel like he was a concerned parent. "Please let us board. We need to join my pack before they leave the coast or we'll lose them," the wolf man said desperately, squeezing Ansel's shoulder either encouraging him to speak up to... or to shut up in case he tried to ask for help.
The sailor gave them a once over, giving Ansel a hard look maybe trying to determine if he was stuck in this relationship or something, but the people behind them were getting impatient so he shook himself and took their tickets. "If you cause any kind of trouble, we'll lock you in the freezer. You should be able to make it out alive with all that fur, right?" the sailor asked with a repressive smile on his face, the wolf man dropping his act for a moment narrowing his eyes at the sailor but he just wrapped an arm around Ansel's waist helping the boy walk up the slender board with Ansel's suitcase in his other hand.
Ansel's heart nearly leapt out of his throat as he stepped on the board, his hands pressed against his belly as if to hold it still so he didn't teeter right off the board. It took all his strength not to jerk back wanting to get back on the dock. Ansel let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding when they made it onto the boat, Ansel clinging onto the wolf man's shirt as he took in deep breaths trying to settle his heart. "That was terrifying," Ansel thought to himself, imagining himself falling into the ocean sinking like a stone. "Can we never do that again?" Ansel almost asked out loud, wiping the sweat off his forehead while the wolf man led them right to the doorway leading to the cabins inside the ship. They talked with another sailor about which cabin they should stay in, one near the kitchens and the freezer the first sailor spoke of. It was when the door closed that the wolf man dropped the couple act, depositing Ansel on the bed slipping his suitcase under the bed.
"If you keep quiet, you won't get hurt," the wolf man said in a cold tone, his ear twitching as he listened to people outside to see if anyone was coming after them but people were too busy settling in their rooms or preparing for the voyage to come. "We'll stay in this room the whole trip. I'll bring you food so there will be absolutely no reason for you to leave this room so you can take off that ridiculous disguise," the wolf man said as he removed his cloak, Ansel staring up at the wolf man seeing all of him for the first time. He was tall, strong with muscular arms, and he looked even more intimidating without the cloak on.
Ansel slowly removed his wig, carefully taking out the pins in his hair to keep the wig still. He carefully folded it, placing it on top of his pillow until he had a chance to put it back in his suitcase. He'd do it now but it'd be rather difficult with his stomach, getting the suitcase out from under the bed, but he also didn't want to make any sudden movements around the wolf man who came over to sit down on a chair across from the bed. The room wasn't all that big, their knees were almost toughing even though they were on opposite sides of the room almost pressed against the wall. There was little furniture, all bolted to the ground so they didn't slid around the room as the ship rocked from side to side. A bed, a small desk, and that's about it. There was a bolted in rack on the wall where the wolf man's cloak was hanging now and a single picture frame with a woven picture of a bouquet of flowers. They were purple, almost a blue, color with leafy stems and white cotton balls. It was pretty. It was also better to look at than the wolf man who was absolutely silent, the once fatherly love he was excluding replaced by a cold and aloof attitude that didn't offer any openings for conversation.
YOU ARE READING
Dragon's Mother
FantasyPicture from Google and edited Ansel became an orphan at a young age when invaders from another land came from the sea and started an all out war near the harbor where, regretfully, Ansel and his parents lived. Many people were killed during the gre...
