Fathomless Fortunes [slash]

Chapter 9 - The silver coin

"You surely took your sweet time. Did you get the eavesdropper?" Evangielle asked, arms crossed in front of her chest. She was standing at the end of the path leading from the village to the beach. Despite the broad blue hat, her nose was a bit reddened from the sun. Dozens of little ornaments, woven into her hair, jingled softly. The village children, of course.

Her eyes widened when she saw the state Alastair was in. He had only thrown on his shirt, britches, and boots, and the hair was still wet. "What happened to you?"

"Two jaguars happened. And it was Nico who eavesdropped."

Evangielle eyed him closely. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing."

Together, they walked down the beach toward the long-boat. The fine sand was already getting into their boots, but Alastair ignored it. Evangielle lost her patience, as she always did, and pulled her boots and stockings off. With a relieved sigh, she dug her bare toes into the warm sand and slung her boots over her shoulder. She didn't say anything, but her glances were loud enough.

A lifetime spent together hadn't enabled Alastair to hide anything from his sister, so he gave up and finally told Evangielle about the fight with the jaguars, the conversation with Nico about trust, and what had happened at the lake, albeit not in detail.

Evangielle smiled. "I think he really likes you. And if you say we can trust him, it might be finally a way for you to.."

Alastair interrupted her with a scoff. "This isn't one of those romance novels you like to buy in every harbor. It's a convenient arrangement. I don't need any more problems, as you know."
She reached out and gently stroked his left arm. "I know. But he might help you ease up a bit. Did you tell him about your arm?"

"No. He will find out sooner or later, since the whole crew knows. But they don't know how far it is. This Harrison, however... He knew it. I could feel it. He is one, too. I never thought I'd meet another. But he must have been more careful. He has much more time left." Alastair stopped walking as even the slight touch of Evangielle's hand on his sleeve suddenly felt scalding.
She shuddered and hugged him, letting her boots fall to the ground with a muffled thud. 

Instinctively, he pulled her closer, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair for a moment. The little ornaments felt cool on his skin.

"You don't have to do this," Evangielle murmured. "I always told you that there are other ways. We can win this war without cheating, you know."

Now it was his time to shudder at her words. But he stayed silent. Because she already knew what his answer was. He had made a decision a long time ago, and he would stand by it until the end. As he had said to Nico: every victory had its price. And there were far worse things to lose than his life - or his soul.

***

"I've never given that thing any special attention, but it was always clear that it wasn't any normal currency. I'm eager to see if you're right."

Alastair and Evangielle were standing in front of the main mast, eyeing the silver coin nailed to it. It was much larger than any known currency, with a hole pierced in its center and intricate markings on it. The warm glow of the evening sun reflected on it, making it look even more mysterious.

Alastair pulled his dagger from his boot and carefully pried the nail loose. The coin was rather heavy when he finally held it in his hand. He gave it to Evangielle. "See what you can make of it."

"I will. And you better find a replacement, or the crew will protest. The larger the coin, the more luck we'll have," she reminded him as she turned around to leave for the war room to inspect the coin.