“When we agreed to arrange something, this was not what I had in mind,” Kail spoke calmly to Foghorn as they moved bedside furniture. “I have already given my room up to Selestia, and now you give yours up to that stuck up,” he paused taking note of Foghorn’s expression. “Prince,” he said finally. He may not have cared much for Keiran, but he did appreciate the arsenal of weapons he was adding to the ship.
The repairs to the mast and deck had been done in the morning. Fredrick was a great carpenter before joining the crew, after his practice was burnt to the ground during the Pleneasian invasion of Arpore. Fixing what needed it was child’s play for him.
The remaining half of the time, before the sun reached its peak, had been spent loading the guns onto the ship, and moving around furniture.
Kail was happy to be done with that part of it. The last day and a half had been the busiest he could remember. Even at the feast the previous night he couldn’t relax. He was too busy trying to convince Keiran to supply him with an army. He got an army of one. But Foghorn seemed to believe in him, though Kail wasn’t ready to give him the benefit of the doubt.
The guns were loaded into the room, 194 in total, each with its own unique function, or so Keiran claimed. They lined the walls of the entire room and took up most of the floor space. I hope Keiran’s not claustrophobic, Kail thought. Then he remembered that the prince was a master of hide and seek. He wouldn’t feel threatened by sleeping in the tight space he had.
“I trust this will suit your needs,” Kail stated, not caring if it did or didn’t. He felt stupid showing off Foghorn’s room like this. It was a lot different of a feeling than when he showed Selestia his room, the room that she would be staying in until… Until when, he thought. Until she requested to be dropped off somewhere? Truth be told, she had nowhere to go. No memory, so no connections to anywhere or anyone. Kail and the crew of the Pelican were as close to family as she could get right now.
“Everything looks splendid,” Keiran said inspecting the room. “A little cramped, I suppose, but I’ve definitely stayed in worse.”
He couldn’t just leave it at a compliment, Kail muttered in his head. He just had to say more.
Foghorn led the men back onto the deck for Keiran to say his goodbyes, which he did. Douly sat on a crate with his head in his hands. Kail knew the signs. He was going to be seasick, and they hadn’t even left the docks yet. This was going to be an unfortunate journey for him.
With nothing to prolong the departure, they set off to sea. Keiran stood, balancing dexterously on the railing of the ship waving to all of his followers. More like adoring fans, Kail thought.
Butterfield made his first appearance on deck since falling asleep the previous day. He was too tired to join the feast the past night, but asked that they could save him some food. Foghorn indulged his request with a few pieces of crispy chicken. It must have given him the strength to finally get out of bed.
Selestia was still sleeping, but no one could blame her. It was the first time she had slept since being rescued in the middle of the night. What a tough woman.
Faber had helped with the repairs, taking direction from Fredrick. He did most of the heavy lifting and decided to take a nap. He didn’t like being on the open-waters much either which made his decision easier.
Kail was happy to see the crew able to relax on their ship for a change. It made his job easier. He still wasn’t sure when he would put his plan in motion, especially with the delay of Faber not being able to remember anything helpful to the cause. But for now, he would let the crew soak in the fact that they were alive and well after coming so close to death on three separate occasions in the last two days.
