A Tale of Time: The Malice of Men

Chapter 16: relations

Relations are deep. Relations are ugly.

Relations are necessary. Relations are a drag.

Relations are uninvited. Relations are cherished.

Relations are our reason to keep going till we perish.

Why did he have to jump in? There was no reason he had to jump in. Now he was in for it. He made the move to follow Rayenna and now he would have to pay the price.

All he had to do was go home. Rayenna couldn't make it home. He would be proved right and finally, after such hard toil, Rayenna would be punished.

The boat rocked back and forth all day. It was all Robert could do to not vomit. Bile rose in his throat and the fought hard to swallow it. His legs had fallen asleep long ago and despite his small size, the barrel was still very uncomfortable. A stench of rotten things gave him constant company, but all the time, he did not dare to let himself out. Cabbages. He had to be stuck amomgst half-He filled barrels of rotten cabbages. Tonight now though, it seemed to be of little consequences. He had to know where Rayenna was going. Why? He had no idea.

Robert still couldn't understand why he had jumped into the barrel. He was well hidden for now, but at any moment, the lid would be opened and a ten-year old boy would be discovered. And then...

Robert shuddered to think about it.

Outside, dawn must have broken, for the noises were getting louder and more in number. Men were shouting orders now and the sound of the waves seemed more profound. "Bill! Get your lazy behind here and bring out those barrels!" We'll reach Astamar before lunch and I don't want to have a late meal.."

"Yes sir." The worker said. He was subject to the whims of his master. There was no slavery in Ëra, but the social hierarchy was no less harsh.

Still, some masters were kind to those who worked under them. This was one such case. Not very polite, but Robert could tell this man had a soft spot for his men. For one, he.did not carry a whip. That in itself showed the trust he placed in his men. They must have served him for quite a while. It was not a fact that would help Robert, but now he knew there was a small chance he was a kindly man. That always meant he could walk away from this mess relatively unscathed. Robert was used to suffering the wrath of those around him, so this would be an easy ask for him. Still, the conditions were different:

Rayenna was on the run, the people who would pick on Robert would be completer strangers and his parents couldn't draw him away. Now, when he was farther away from them than he had ever been in the small life of his, Robert began to miss them.

He could here the barrels being rolled away. the sound seemed to get louder and nearer with every new barrel. Soon, they would come for him. If the lid fell out, if they noticed that it was overly heavy and decided to look in.....

Bill grunted.

"Urgh. This one is a little heavier. Something important in this."

"None of your business." The boatmaster snapped.

For Robert, it was the most frightening moment of his life. Being stuck all night in a barrel on a boat was bad enough, now he was being rolled in a barrel on a boat. Something had to give way and it did. Robert vomited in an tremendous fashion. He couldn't tell which way was up or down, but by the time he came to rest again, he could see that it didn't matter. The whole surface was neatly coated with last night's dinner.