Savia's Heart [Sequel to Bastian's Song] [HIATUS]

[ 9 ]

[ Eryn ]

"Why do you want to go West?" Vee's quiet voice broke into her trance and Eryn looked over her shoulder to find him darkening her doorway. She lifted a hand to her messy blonde curls and pushed them out of her face.

"If you're going to interrupt me, then at least close the door. You're letting out all the heat." She turned her attention to the scroll that laid across her desk. The paper was yellowed with age and crinkled at the edges. Across the surface, ink flowed in rivers and dots that represented far off lands and distant memories. A shadow fell over the map, and Eryn's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Vee's pale hand came to rest on top of the map, right in the middle, and Eryn sighed. The tall brunet had a nasty habit of asking questions she didn't want to answer and then refusing to leave her alone until she gave him what he wanted. Some days, she regretted pulling him from the ocean's icy grasp.

"Why, Eryn?" Again, his voice was barely loud enough to be heard.

She looked up, into his beautiful gold eyes. "Because, Vee, there is someone I owe a great debt to in the West, and I've finally found the means to repay her."

He stared at her. "Who?"

"What does that matter to you? It's my business and my ship and I'll sail it wherever I want to." She stood up from her chair and glared at him, even though he was a full foot and a half taller than her.

Vee met her gaze with the same indifference he always exuded when they were not in combat. "I owe you my life, Eryn. So I read the stars for you, and tell you what I can of the future, and I sing for you." He spoke calmly and still in that whisper that she had to strain to hear.

Not for the first time, Eryn wondered what he was really thinking behind his impassive features. She'd met courtiers who were more expressive than him. "I know that, Vee. Why do you think I allow you to stay on board? You pull your weight. But I don't have to explain myself to you. You're my subordinate. I'll protect you with my life, but I don't owe you my past."

Vee lifted a hand and rested it over his heart in a strange gesture that she had come to understand meant deference. "Please."

Eryn felt her annoyance melt away. Vee made it hard to stay mad at him.

When she said nothing, he spoke again. "I only want to read the stars for you, Eryn. But I need to know where we are going. Please. Let me help you."

She turned away from him and crossed her cabin in six short strides. On the wall opposite her desk was a chest as wide as a man is tall. The gleaming wood caught candlelight as she lifted the heavy lid and reached into it. Her fingers found their target and she lifted out her most recent treasure. With the compass in hand, she returned to his side and held it up for him to look at. "Do you know what this is, Vee?"

He lifted his hands to cup the air around the compass, and his lips parted with surprise. The silver of the compass reflected in his eyes, and a small huff of air escaped him. It almost sounded like an 'oh'. Vee looked back to Eryn's face, his eyes moving over her features like he was trying to read her mind.

"It's the compass of Aides," he said.

She nodded. "Do you know what it does?"

He bit his lip before he responded. "It finds hearts that are no longer in bodies."

"A friend of mine needs this." Eryn pulled the compass to her chest and cradled it. "She lost her heart years ago, and without it, she has lost a lot. I promised her that I would help her find it. I've been looking for this compass for years now, Vee."

He took a step back, his hands clenching at his sides into fists. "Your friend is a vampyre?"

Eryn nodded. "And the best person I have ever met aside from Sven. I'm going to help her get her heart back."

Silence stretched between them. Eryn tried to read his face, but Vee was as inscrutable as always. She silently cursed whoever had taught him to hide his emotions so damn well. When he spoke, she leaned forward to catch his words.

"I will tell you what the stars say." Vee turned on his heel and left her cabin. On his way out, he passed the burly form of Sven, and the two men nodded to one another.

Sven leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hey Captain. Any updates on our charted path?"

Eryn shook herself and sighed at Sven. "If there were, I'd bring them to you. But you know that, Sven. Why are you really here? Is Braelyn drinking more than her share of ale again? I've already tipped cold water on her and had her scrubbing decks near constantly for a week. You'd think she'd be too tired to drink."

Sven laughed and shook his head. "No, I just saw Vee headed here."

Eryn couldn't help the smile that lit her face. "So you thought you'd follow him, to make sure he didn't do anything untoward?"

He shrugged. "I know he makes you uncomfortable sometimes."

She rolled a shoulder in silent defiance. "There's just so much we don't know about him. Have you ever met anyone who could sing like he can? His voice is full of magic."

"But you keep him on anyway."

"He's useful, and he's friendly enough." Eryn looked to her desk and sat down in her chair once more. "At least, I think he is. But it's hard when we don't even know his name."

"We might, if someone's hearing wasn't terrible."

Eryn glared at him. "You try hanging out beside the cannons for as long as I have and then see how your hearing is."

"Calm down, Captain. I'm not sassing you, just stating a fact." He grinned.

"See if I pick you up any sweets at the next harbor!"

He laughed as he turned to leave. Now that Vee had gone, Eryn knew Sven wouldn't hang around. It was not his habit to be idle when there were tasks to complete.

She looked down at the compass as the memory of Vee's rescue rose to her mind. He'd opened those stunning golden eyes to look at her, and then he'd slept for a day. When he'd finally woken, Eryn had asked him his name.

He had looked confused, like he hadn't understood what she was asking. So she had pointed to herself and spoken her own name. He'd brightened and said something that had sounded like a 'v', or perhaps a 'b', and then he'd trailed off. Whatever events had led him to be floating in the ocean all alone, they'd obviously been traumatic. He couldn't remember anything.

So she had called him 'Vee' and taught him the language over time. Now he was a strange presence on her ship. Vee read the stars at night to predict the future, and sang songs in foreign languages, and he understood more than Eryn wanted him to. But he was unfailingly polite, and diplomatic, and skilled with his fists.

Eryn set aside the enigma that was Vee and placed the compass on the desk. She basked in the silver light that it gave off, and she ran a finger over the smooth metal of it. In the solitude of her cabin, she spoke.

"I finally found it, Savia."

And the threads begin to intertwine! I can't decide if Vee is creepy or just really, really strange? I've met some people that I was 90% sure were just aliens pretending to be people before. Maybe he's just a poorly educated alien. 

Like Castiel when he tried to be a real people. (Misha Collins is the best alien ever.)