Destiny's Binds

Say Goodbye pt 2

From what Lloyd knew about Jay, he assumed that once he got over the initial shock, he would've wandered the ship trying to learn as much as possible about sailing. That was not the case. Jay locked himself into his cabin. The swaying of the underbelly of the ship made both of them sick. Still, Jay did not wander to the deck. Jay's curiosity did not overcome him; he was bound to his cabin. This meant that Lloyd never left the underbelly of the ship either, something that Lloyd wasn't thrilled about.

The chef dropped off their meals, which were fairly good considering they were meals prepared on a ship.

An entire day passed and Lloyd sat at Jay's doorframe. He could see the Duke, tinkering with something on his bed. Lloyd leaned his head on the doorframe, humming to himself to pass the time.

A bell echoed through the ship suddenly. Jay shot up, looking around the room for the source of the ringing. Lloyd jumped to his feet, understanding the implication. He gripped his rapier, gazing at Jay. He took a moment to ease his heart rate so he could make sound decisions for Jay's safety.

Meanwhile, shouting erupted above deck. Jay's eyes widened as he heard the shouts: "Pirates!"

He didn't appear scared by the prospect of pirates taking their ship. Rather, intrigued and curious. Jay stood up and marched out of the room. Lloyd put a hand on Jay's chest to stop him.

"I want to see," he said, brushing Lloyd aside. Lloyd followed closely behind Jay as they walked above deck. The sound of canons boomed in Lloyd's ears.

The sun was violently bright after being in the dark for such a long time. Jay squinted, shielding his eyes. But he didn't break pace. He pressed forward into a chaotic deck. Men were rushing below to arm the cannons.

Pixal shouted orders at all the men. All the while, the chef stood behind her, nodding along with her bidding.

Jay climbed up to the second level of the ship and gazed out on the water. Directly alongside them was a massive ship. Its black sail haunted the seas as the tides crashed into its hull.

"What ship is that?" Jay said to Lloyd. Although he couldn't make out any name. But the colours did frighten Lloyd. The flag indicated that they were about to face a lone ship from the fleet of the Misfortunates Keep's Captain.

Lloyd mouthed a prayer under his breath, begging for mercy from the First Spinjitzu Master. Jay gazed at the danger in awe. As it encroached, Jay's nerves rose. He began to mumble, pouring every worst-case scenario out of his mouth.

Pirates from the ship began to swing on the deck on the Destiny's Bounty. Lloyd drew his rapier. He glanced back to see that Jay had moved.

"Duke," Lloyd said, running after Jay as he began rummaging through the nearest cargo box on the upper deck.

"Duke," Lloyd hissed, "Now's not the time."

Lloyd looked into the box, noticing a spare sword. He took it and gave it to Jay, who dismissed the gift. He grabbed instead, and a long coil of rope.

"I have to get onto that ship," Jay said, frowning as he thought through his next moves.

"We need to keep you safe," Lloyd said.

"You seem to think I'm royalty-"

"A duke," Lloyd corrected.

"Whatever. You think I'm important," Jay said, standing up straight and staring into Lloyd's eyes. Despite being shorter, the fierceness in Jay's eyes was intimidating. Lloyd instinctively took a half step back.

"This isn't a request. It's an order. I'm getting onto that ship."

Lloyd silently cursed Jay's intuition. He hoped it would be longer for Jay to realise he had authority. It didn't matter that it was a terrible idea; it was Jay's idea. Lloyd was helpless but to follow his command.