THE LOCKER MAY 1698
Britannia recovered slowly from her ordeal. Her harsh wracking coughs began to subside and her fever dropped.
By the beginning of May, she was still weak and would still cough is she worked too hard but she was on the mend.
At the moment, she was resting relatively soundly and Flying Dutchman set down the cod she had caught.
She did a routine check on Britannia, observing her breathing.
It was even and there was hardly a wheeze at all.
Opening her end of the bond, Flying Dutchman still felt a pang of pain in Britannia's lungs but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before.
Touching her nose to her mentor's side, Flying Dutchman could still feel the heat coming off Britannia's hull.
The old ship was still hot but it wasn't the fire it was previously.
Flying Dutchman smiled. "Back to your old self then eh?" She purred.
Britannia hummed her agreement.
Flying Dutchman dropped down beside her, nuzzling her side as a soft cough escaped her.
"It's alright." She soothed as Britannia struggled.
The older ship relaxed against her, letting herself go into a full blown coughing fit.
While her coughs weren't nearly as deep or as painful sounding as they once were, that didn't mean they had lessoned in number. If anything, they'd only gotten worse.
"Oh, Britannia..." Flying Dutchman whispered as her mentor leaned against her, her coughs wracking her whole body.
Any thoughts of healing left Flying Dutchman the instant she saw this.
She noticed with a pang of fear that Britannia was gasping for air in between coughs, having difficulty finding it.
Swiftly, she gave the old ship a smack on the side.
Britannia lunged forward, coughing harshly before a wad of green phlegm landed on the dock, expelled by her desperate attempts.
Britannia collapsed against Flying Dutchman, her sides heaving, her jaws parted and her eyes half open.
"Thank you." She murmured weakly.
"You're welcome." Flying Dutchman replied.
Britannia closed her eyes again.
Flying Dutchman remained beside her, content to let her sleep.
When Britannia woke again a few hours later she turned her attention to the cod lying on the dock.
Snatching it up, she downed it in a few quick gulps.
Flying Dutchman purred her amusement at this.
"I see you have no trouble finding your appetite Britannia." She said.
Britannia swiped her tongue once around her jaws to remove the last scraps of cod before replying "Cod is the best. Thank you Shadow."
Flying Dutchman nuzzled her, a low purr sounding as she heard her old name.
She always enjoyed hearing it. In some ways she believed Lang Schadow to be even more precious than Flying Dutchman, especially when Britannia translated it into the English, Long Shadow.
It caused her great pleasure and Britannia knew it.
Britannia leaned forward and Flying Dutchman could feel her hot breath tickling her ear as the older ship whispered to her.
"Long Shadow, my dear Long Shadow." She purred.
Flying Dutchman quivered at this, her rigging rattling as pleasure coursed through her.
Britannia chuckled , knowing she held her heart long before the trackless seas of the mortal and locker realms ever did.
Britannia pushed in for a kiss that Flying Dutchman happily and fully submitted to.
She chuckled as her apprentice eagerly nibbled on her lower lip.
"Patience Shadow." She purred.
She pinned Flying Dutchman against the dock, hearing the other ship whimper. Needy, desperate, wanting...
Britannia smiled, determined to grant her wish, eventually.
Her own desires were put on hold though as pain swept through her lungs and she tried hard to expel it in the form of a loud, wracking cough.
She had the decency to turn her head away.
Flying Dutchman watched her with growing concern.
For Britannia, the pain only grew worse the more she coughed and fear filled her when she realized she couldn't take a breath in between.
She began to feel light headed from the lack of air and her vision blurred until a sharp smack on her side dislodged whatever it was that was blocking her lungs.
She gasped in air sharply, her hydrogen starved organs absorbing the precious gas.
She felt Flying Dutchman pressing against her.
"Shadow..." She rasped.
"I'm here." Flying Dutchman's voice sounded strained.
Britannia winced. She hated hearing her apprentice sound so distraught and over her no less!
"I owe you one." Britannia sighed.
"You owe me nothing." Flying Dutchman replied gently.
Britannia curled up at her side.
"I love you." She whispered.
Flying Dutchman smiled, nuzzling her gently.
"I love you too." She replied sweetly.
"I don't think intimacy is a good idea right now." Britannia said with a smile.
Flying Dutchman chuckled.
At least her mentor hadn't lost her sense of humor.
"You're probably right." She agreed.
She kissed her gently.
"You get better and I'll treat you first class."
Britannia purred at this. "I look forward to it." She said.
A yawn escaped her.
Flying Dutchman smiled. "Sleep." She ordered.
Britannia had no trouble obeying that command.
Pressing against her apprentice, she went quietly to sleep.
Flying Dutchman watched her for a few more moments before settling down beside her.
"Goodnight Britannia." She murmured before she drifted off to sleep herself.
YOU ARE READING
The Damned: Part 1~ Innocence
Ficção HistóricaIn 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.
