Intemperate Seas

7

Thankfully, the rest of the morning on the ship went better than Ilara expected. After the climbed the steps and breathed in the fresh sea air, she felt as if the sun in the cold morning soothed her anxiety. As she expected, all she had to do was stand mutely next to Cedric as he spoke to sailors and the first officer, Miles. He came up with some story about being a sailor in the past but settling down to be a merchant when his father died and getting married. How he travelled to South Garde to collect his arranged marriage and that their transport off had been attacked by pirates. An all too common occurrence. The sailors must have taken this as the reason she was so quiet. They mostly stayed away from her, which could also be common superstition.

Regardless she was thankful for that. It was a colder morning than yesterday, and she still held the blanket she was given around her shoulders, shrinking down from the frigid windy air. The sky was overcast and no sunlight filtered through. It was dim and bleary, like her head felt.

"Catharina," Cedric said near her. "Darling," with a jolt Ilara realized he was talking to her. He must have made up names for them without consulting her. She noted that bold and independent decision. She was supposed to be the one leading the way. Plastering a gentle smile over her taut expression, she turned and walked toward Cedric. He beamed at her, as if they really were newlyweds. He must be good at acting to be able to keep this facade up. What else is he hiding? She stood at his side, smiling as if she was content when she really wanted to roll her eyes at his jaunts and nautical talk with Miles or the other sailors. She stuck close to Cedric for the most part. While she still did not know what crime he had committed to earn the status of being her victim, she was expected to stick to his side in her role as his wife. They would arouse suspicion if she strayed too far. She smiled when spoken to and inclined her head when directly addressed but altogether avoided speaking. She was more than happy to let Cedric take the responsibility of leading the farce. Soon the blurry impression of a land mass grew in the cloudy distance. Ilara's heart beat quickened. How am I going to find him? Cedric is going to bolt the second we get to South Garde. If I have to dress like a man to get this done I will.

As the ship neared the dock closer and closer, Ilara wondered how Cedric would slip away. Would she even make it down the dock before he blended into the crowd and left her to figure out the rest? She prepared herself to seek out the first hidden grotto or lake so she could take a moment alone and gather her thoughts. If she had to fend for herself she needed to come up with a better plan than just wandering into a city she had never been to before, alone, and find what she might. Feeling calmer, Ilara looked toward getting to the docks, knowing she had her next few moves mapped out. I'll have to track Cedric down and kill him after I find my father. She determined. She had been drawn to his location the first time, so she had to have the same sense until she completed the deed. The thought made her feel odd, she was indeed drawn to him by higher powers but also felt emotions of hatred towards him. She wondered when she would see him again. It had to happen according to her fate. Maybe she should rip his throat out here, now, and dive into the waves, emerging later to find her father, destiny fulfilled. Cedric came to stand next to her as the docks came closer within sight, masts sticking out of the fog. He was standing very close, their elbows brushing, but she did not draw away. She wanted to maintain the lie as long as possible regardless of his plans. As the sailors began to line the ship up along the dock and prepare to tie on, the first officer in his navy coat spread with symbols, Miles, came up to Ilara and Cedric.

"Mr. and Mrs. Darth, the captain is otherwise indisposed at the moment, and expressed he would have wanted to relay this information himself, but had to pass the duty onto myself," Miles took a breath. He had a quick, breathy complicated way of speaking. "Because of your tragic circumstances, the captain has decided to send word to his family in the city to host you for the coming days while you organize your family affairs and take care of your personal business after such a loss. The captain hopes he can count on you in the next endorsement cycle in the region." Cedric thanked him profusely and shook his hand gruffly, then put his arm around Ilara and squeezed her shoulders to himself in an side hug. She smiled like she had the other times she had been spoken to, and covered her mouth with one hand to try and mask her feel feelings on the subject. Well this changes things. Cedric thought to himself. Ilara was unsure what to do with herself, how to react at this sudden change, so she did not move at all and continued allowing Cedric to take the lead. "We will be sending one of our cadets to accompany you to the home. He's green and needs some menial work to put him in his place." Miles beckoned at the very young man, trying to be subtle in the too large uniform from before who had brought them items in their cabin last night. Unable to work through the sudden change that she would be further stuck with Cedric, Ilara took the opportunity to inspect the youth accompanying them further. He couldn't have been more than 14, muted orange hair and teeth bigger than his mouth should have. He looked incredibly nervous and eager to please. Cedric clapped a hand on his back and he straightened, even more alert than before, as if having been woken up from sleep. "Thank you for your assistance lad," Cedric proclaimed, seeming to stick out his chest more in an effort to appear older and therefore more authoritative. The freckled face of the lad kept breaking from focused into a goofy grin each time Cedric clapped him on the back with a guffaw at something Miles or another sailor said. He seemed incredibly nervous, shifty even. Ilara kept one eye firmly planted on the youth. Cedric gave her a brief look of warning masked by false exasperation with his silly empty head wife.