Wyvern Tails and Phoenix Feathers

The Deep Dark, Chapter 3 - Eloise

Seawater crashed against the hull. The keel seemed to lurch and fall over every wave. For as beautiful of a ship as it appeared, Captain Wulf's Storm Runner was a bumpier ride than Razengarde's Requiem. Eloise and Bryn battled seasickness for the first days of travel before their stomachs decided whatever was happening was the new normal.

Between bouts of vomiting over the gunwale, Eloise noticed Grael spending most of their time as a collection of sailors, learning the ropes and imitating the actions of the actual crew around them. The crew, in response, was intrigued by Grael and their constant shifting of form. The changeling's presence was a delightful distraction from the repetitive life aboard a ship.

As Bryn recovered, he hung near the navigator, Helin. She was a broad-shouldered woman with a crass sense of humor. She didn't seem to mind Bryn's use of channeling runes to help guide the ship towards the deepest trench in the ocean.

Revelyn, for his part, had become more distant. He was quieter than normal and less intimate as well. Eloise wondered if the novelty of traveling together had worn away. In her weaker moments, she wondered if he had fallen out of love with her.

She found him by the aft on their fifth day of travel, watching the trail of their ship leave ripples in the tide. She leaned beside him and hoped he would begin to speak or rest his hand atop hers as it gripped the railing. But he didn't do either, to Eloise's lament. In the past, he was stoic, but never without a greeting. She studied his profile; his sharp nose and the gentle curve of his lips.

"It's been a nice reprieve," she said.

"What has?" He asked. It was nice to hear his voice at least.

"This part of the journey," Eloise clarified. "Just the open sea. No duels, no golems, no assassins."

If he agreed, Revelyn did nothing to show it. Instead, he glanced down at Eloise's bandaged forearm.

"Are you healing all right?"

Eloise nodded. Bryn, as usual, had greatly aided in her recovery. But Revelyn knew that. Eloise wished he would say what was on his mind. She set her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you homesick?" she pried.

"It is the longest I've been away from Einalia," Revelyn admitted with a sigh. "I worry for my companions on the warfront. I'm afraid that when I return, the faces will be different. The faces I knew may be in the ground. I think I was so excited to see you and help in whatever way you needed me, that I didn't think about the potential cost."

It was a more layered reply than Eloise expected. He had built such a life for himself away from her in Ravenshade. Perhaps she had been selfish to pull him away.

"We'll be back soon," she said. "If it's any consolation, I've enjoyed having you here with me."

"I appreciate that. Though, I can't help but feel like an accessory. You've done this nearly all by yourself."

It was an odd belief for an elite knight of Iron Fen to hold. He was not an accessory from Eloise's point of view. He was the only form of stability she knew. She trusted him implicitly to catch her when she fell and to guard her whenever she faltered.

"I couldn't have done this by myself!" she insisted.

"You've had the help of Bryn and Grael..."

"And you! You gave me the strength I needed to face my father, to beat Tashe, to cross the desert. You fought alongside me. That was you!"

Revelyn looked away from her. The lingering gloom in his eyes told another story.

"There's something else," she said.