Kingdom Fall (Ethereal #1)

- Chapter 26 -

The voyage

Naajim

Prince Tyler was not happy. In fact, he was rather moody ever since the four of them departed from the port on board of the Sea Siren. To make things worse, the prince was forced to dress like a vagabond, with a dirty white crumpled shirt, overused leather boots and dusty pants just so that no one would recognize that he was a prince. The only thing that gave him away as a warrior was the large broadsword strapped onto his back. Much to Naajim's surprise, the prince was able to suppress his noble aura and actually act like a commoner.

'You really are good at blending in,' said Sapphire to the prince, 'Unlike someone I know.'

Archie shot a glare at the girl and back towards the sea, watching the land disappear under the horizon as the ship sailed away to the east.

'That bastard just wants to get rid of me,' muttered Prince Tyler.

'Don't care,' Sapphire grinned, 'This is my first time on a ship!'

'And I am stuck here with a bunch of children!' the prince snapped, much to himself.

Naajim on the other hand, was rather excited about going back to his home kingdom. But he was feeling rather nauseous ever since he stepped on board the wooden horror. The feet under him swayed and there was an endless stretch of blue all around him. It made him feel suffocated. Unlike the desert, you can drown in it.

'Are you feeling alright?' asked Archie.

Naajim nodded before retching over the rails of the deck.

'Just perfect,' mumbled the prince before retiring to his cabin room underneath.

'I've heard smelling something sour can help,' said Sapphire. Naajim shook his head. He was pretty sure all of his breakfast was gone. There was nothing else to regurgitate. But it was still uncomfortable. Even his head started to ache. A nearby crewman walked over to them and handed him a pouch.

'Just swallow them sour berries mate. It will make ya feel better.'

Naajim nodded in gratitude before reaching into the pouch. Inside was a dried berry. It was unpleasant to look at, but he stuffed it in his mouth anyway. It was very sour. But after a while his stomach felt better.

'I'd better watch over the prince,' said Archie, turning away, 'Who knows what he might do?'

'Is it a good idea?' said Sapphire. 'For all I know, he could even decapitate you if he gets too mad. He's a soldier. They have very short tempers.'

'He's a general. If he behaved that way, he won't have survived long in the battle field.'

'He's very arrogant!'

'I've heard stories of him,' said Archie. 'He's not a simple character as you think.'

With that, the boy left, leaving Naajim and Sapphire to stare at the view. It was still mid noon. The journey to the port took the whole morning. They even had to scourge the area just to find a desert merchant ship to take them to Ivory Port. Prince Tyler, fortunately, was not as hopeless at the children expected and dealt with the sailors. It was hard to bargain a trip, especially for four people. An adult and three children were conspicuous. The prince has to make up a story saying that he was traveling with his two siblings and a friend.

The story had a lot of holes in it, but it got them a ship to travel on even if they had to pay quite a hefty price for it. The voyage was a three day journey. Naajim wondered whether he might still be alive by the end of it.