THE LOCKER NOVEMBER 1686
Britannia winced at the sound of her apprentice's cough.
The past few weeks, Flying Dutchman had only gotten weaker as the plague virus tore its way through her body.
She had no way of fighting it. No antibodies in her blood to capture the virus and eliminate it.
Most of her days were spent at Flying Dutchman's berth, doing what she could to ease her pain.
Flying Dutchman lacked the strength to clamp down on her end of the bond so Britannia knew just what her apprentice and soul sister was going through.
She could feel everything that she felt. Know everything she knew. A bond could be both a blessing and a curse this way.
Right now Britannia believed it more of a curse.
Every swelling boil, every rash, every aching bone, Britannia could feel on her own body.
She did what she could to lessen its effect by clamping down on her end of the bond so a majority of the feelings Flying Dutchman sent her way didn't get through.
Looking at her apprentice now, Britannia couldn't stop the worry that bubbled within her.
Flying Dutchman was the only ship she had. The only one she was close to. If she lost her...
Flying Dutchman coughed again, an awful hacking sound which only went to show how her lungs suffered.
"Britannia..." She croaked.
Britannia was at her side in an instant. "I'm here, what is it." She replied, brushing her nose against her side.
"Don't be afraid." Flying Dutchman begged her.
Britannia froze. The bond went both ways. Just as Britannia could feel Flying Dutchman's aches and pains, so Flying Dutchman could feel Britannia's frayed emotions.
"I'm trying not to be." Britannia replied, desperately hoping to somehow reassure her.
"I know you're frightened. I understand why but please, I don't want you to be." Flying Dutchman begged.
"Should the worst happen..." Britannia cut her off there.
"Don't say that." She whispered.
Flying Dutchman glared and she fell silent.
"Should the worst happen," she began again. "I will be in eternal paradise. What is there to be afraid of?"
"Losing you." Britannia replied, blinking back her tears.
Flying Dutchman smiled at her.
"No." She said gently. "Never lose me. I'm always here." She touched her nose gently to Britannia's side.
The tears found their way from Britannia's eyes before she could stop them.
"Please, hold on..." She begged her, her voice breaking.
Flying Dutchman smiled. "Like I would dream of letting go." She replied.
Britannia cradled her against her side, kissing the top of her head.
Humming a lullaby, she rocked her apprentice to sleep.
Flying Dutchman began throwing up a black tarlike substance starting early the next morning.
She'd nudged Britannia harshly first thing.
"Hmm, wha?" Britannia muttered, raising her head off her apprentice.
YOU ARE READING
The Damned: Part 1~ Innocence
Fiksi SejarahIn the late 1600s, a new ship is commissioned into the Dutch Navy and is mysteriously lost on her maiden voyage. Only, she wasn't lost, merely taken and re-purposed to ferry the dead. The story of the Flying Dutchman, as told by the ship herself.
