Rutabella Isles

Three

I kicked as hard as I was able, but Alfie and his boat quickly caught up to me.

"Stop! Stop! I don't mean to hurt ye. I'm not like them." He held an oil lamp that illuminated his features. Thin face. A tangle of curly brown hair. Pale blue eyes. A dusting of freckles on his cheeks and a slight stubble. A scar that ran from his left eye to his left eyebrow. He looked half as old, if not younger, as Captain Eros and twice as hardened by life at sea.

"How am I to believe you, who were on that ship with that ratbag? How do I know that if I climb in this boat with you that you won't turn right back around to bring me back to my fiance?"

Alfie sighed and gave me his hand. "Trust me, I don't sympathize with that captain either. I despise him. Please, just get in the boat."

I didn't bother to ask how he saw me jump off the ship. It seemed pointless; he was here, and he was going to help me escape. That was what I had wanted all along, and an extra hand in the process would be only to my benefit. I slowly took hold of his warm, damp hand and let him pull me into the rowboat. It was a cramped space, but I sat down as far away from him as I could. Aside from the oil lamp, he had brought provisions, a small pouch filled with pounds, and two coats.

"Are ye going to Rutabella Isles?" Alfie asked. "Sparrow Ridge's too far of a swim, even for a good swimmer like yerself."

I smiled at the compliment and nodded reluctantly. "Anywhere's better than there."

"I'm with ye on that. I've been looking for a chance to get away for a good long while," he said, chuckling bitterly. "I grew up there, in Rutabella Isles, and it'd be nice to see my old stomping grounds. Besides, these can be dangerous waters. It's not good to be alone out here." He paused and looked at me hard like he had during the introductions. I felt the intensity of his eyes boring into mine, the intimidation that he exuded from me. "Captain Eros and his crew'll be after ye. And yer lord."

"I know. I'm not confined to his ship unless he marries me, which he hasn't, so I am not obligated to remain on it. He doesn't have any legal commitments to search for me, only personal ones. As for Lord Lunzby, I can only hope he's got a good army to fight them."

Guilty tears poured down my face as I tried to imagine Lord Lunzby "dancing the hempen jig", all because of a selfish choice I made. Why couldn't I just go through with the marriage? Perhaps Captain Eros's henceforth behavior was only a facade. Maybe, if I tore down his walls, I'd find a gentle heart amid the rubble.

No. There was a reason behind Alfie's hatred of him. If I had stayed, I would have been miserable, and with good rationale. 

"Well, I think ye made a good choice. I've seen Sparrow Ridge's troops, and the lads are more equipped and driven than the crew. They'll blow them right out of the water." His eyes darkened as they locked with mine still. "And Captain Eros is the worst man I've ever seen draw breath. It'll do ye good to get away from him."

Alfie nodded and finally looked away, and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. He frightened me, but not in the way that Captain Eros did. I trusted him even though I knew so little about him. Moreover, I was flattered that he didn't want to see me in Captain Eros's hands.

"Thank you for helping me."

In response, Alfie only nodded once again. Tears glistened in his eyes that told tales of sorrow all their own.

I yearned to know his story, why he was crying during the introductions, and yet I yearned to be in the dark about it. His profound loathing of Captain Eros was what made him both trustworthy and a subject of terror in my eyes. But allies, I supposed, shared a common goal. A common abhorrence of a person or persons.

"Did ye notice how he never even asked yer name? That's the first thing I would ask a woman I was going to marry. Any woman, really." Alfie cast a sad glance at me before concentrating once again on the rowing, the swift motion of the oars.

I had noticed the captain's lack of interest in my background. All he seemed to care about were my title and my femininity, my ability to produce children to carry on the family name. A typical pirate; however, when I thought of it, I wanted to matter.

"I'm Clara," I said quickly and stuck my hand out for him to shake, which he did, albeit rather reluctantly.

"Good to meet ye, Clara."

The hand that shook mine snapped back, as if it were a magnet, to the oar it had left. Noting the smooth, graceful manner with which he handled the oars, I smiled. "For a landlubber, you can man a rowboat pretty well."

"I may have lived on land most of my life, but I can handle a rowboat as good as any old salt."

He put on a disgruntled front, but for the first time, I saw Alfie crack a grin.

Hours passed.

We rowed in silence, for the most part, eating the provisions sparingly.

When a wife was away from her husband, or a fiance away from her fiance, she often wondered what he was doing at that exact moment. It gave her relief and at times left her in tears. However, when I thought of my fiance's current activities, my ideas gave me only horror and unease. Captain Eros was likely conscious of my and Alfie's absence and searching for us.

We weren't far from our destination; in fact, we were very close to shore, as I detected shattered bottles of whiskey and rum on the ocean floor. Fish scattered to make passage for us and our rowboat, and I could pinpoint silhouettes of vessels that increased in number the longer Alfie rowed.

I nudged him and pointed to the ships. "We're almost there."

"Fantastic," he replied, not sarcastically.

Not too long afterward, the smells of the salty sea were overshadowed by fresh-baked honey bread. Almost obscured by shadow, buildings of varying heights loomed ominously above us like a group of behemoths. Lively chatter from sailors and fishermen became more and more discernable.

Rutabella Isles.

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What do you think about Alfie? Can he be trusted? And what's going to happen in Rutabella Isles?

Be sure to comment and vote! I appreciate the love.