Lost Girl

Chapter 53-Happy Thoughts

"Well it all changed after I turned eighteen. My mother was set on having a ball for me to show me the eligible ladies of the Kingdom. All the eligible ladies, not just the ones that came from nobility."

"Did you have trouble talking to girls yourself? That's hard to imagine." You teased.

"It may come as a surprise, but I haven't always been as confident as I am now. I used to be a fairly shy child." You raised your eyebrows at that statement. "It's true. Anyway, my mother and father were not pressuring me to marry right away. This was not a ball to find and marry a wife thankfully, but it was to help me become a more sociable person. That would be an important skill if I was going to be King."

"How did the grand ball go for you?"

He looked down at his hands. "I never got to go."

"Why?"

"My family thought it would be a good idea if we went together to an ally kingdom and aid them to overcome ogres that were infringing on their territory and damaging citizen property. Unfortunately we were never able to make it to the kingdom." He paused, and you felt like asking him what prevented him from traveling to the kingdom, but it was easy to tell he was having trouble telling the story. It seemed like the right thing to do was to stay quit and let him continue at his own pace. A few moments passed as he gathered himself and continued, "Before we left I went to say goodbye to my uncle. He said he couldn't join us because he wasn't feeling well. On my way there, I paused before entering his chambers because he was speaking with the Captain of our ship. I saw my uncle's hand move very close to the Captain's chest. It was almost like his hand had gone into the man's chest. Then he did a motion like he was pulling something out of his chest. I couldn't really see because the Captain's back was directly facing me. He seemed to be in pain as my uncle spoke to him in a voice quiet enough that I couldn't hear what he was telling him. After that I saw the Captain leave and when I next spoke to him, he just didn't seem the same." Peter seemed to be very estranged by the memory and zoned out for a moment before speaking again, "It was as if the life had left him, and he was just a body walking around without any trace of emotion or cheer like he normally had."

Another long pause from him encouraged you to clear your throat, "So what happened next?"

"He lead us right into a terrible storm. There were waves like I had never seen before." He raised his arms to simulate the water. "Everyone spoke up that continuing on his course was dangerous, but since he was so experienced, we ultimately let him lead the crew. Even though by law he'd have to listen to the King, my father didn't command the Captain to turn around because he trusted him. Soon we were caught dead in the middle of the storm. The waves crashed onto the deck and started ripping the ship apart. Masts fell down and killed so many members of the crew. The water was going all different directions, so I was hurled the opposite way of my mother and father. The last time I saw both of them was before a huge wave engulfed them." The redness had returned to his eyes, and tears streamlined down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Peter." You consoled while wrapping your arms around him and letting him rest his head in the crook of your neck. He suddenly pulled away and forcefully wiped away the tears that kept falling.

"Why am I like this?!" He exclaimed. "It's been so long since I've lost them, and yet every time I think about them, I become this blubbering idiot!"

"You don't need to call yourself that. No one would think that about you. I certainly don't. You lost people you cared deeply about, of course you'll cry. It's normal and no one will look down on you for that."

He took a deep breath after pulling away, "My story's not quite done."

"Oh." That was all you could say aloud because mentally you were cursing up a storm.