The Wandering Knave of the Seven Seas: The Voyage of Neptune's Mermaids

Chapter Eight: Broken Faith

When I saw him standing rigidly on the white sandy shores with a twine bag of coins in his left hand and his blue navy jacket wrapped tightly in the other, I felt my stomach sink and my heart clench with pain. George looked misplaced on the beach, and the stormy look in his eyes was enough to set my nerves on edge. Surely he did not know what I was about to do to him, and yet I felt frightened that he did and that he would reject me the way I was about to reject him. George was here, waiting for me, as William had promised only an hour ago.

We approached him in a small dinghy, its fragile state taken by the harshness of the waves as they brushed against the bottom of the boat, tossing us about. William seemed perfectly relaxed on the small boat, although his eyes betrayed how much he missed the bigger ship. I felt the bizarre need to comfort him, but then the sight of George caught any words in my throat and silenced any comfort. I leant forward on my seat, almost falling out of the boat, whilst a mixture of anticipation and regret shoot through me. I was starting to regret what I was about to do…

I did not wait for the boat to hit the shore before I was climbing out. But I had barely placed my foot onto the sand before William had grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. George stepped forward towards me too, and I heard him barely shout out what I thought was my name, but another Pirate had stepped in his way, a knife at his throat. George looked like he was about to argue, but then he looked up and saw me and that was it.  He gave in.

William stepped out onto the sand too, and started towards me until his chest was against my back. He leant down behind me and pulled my hair back behind my shoulder to whisper in my ear. I only barely heard him, but I got what he said anyway, “You’ve got to trust me.”

Quickly, I nodded. William started towards George, pulling me with him. The rope was back around my wrists but I didn’t notice the burn. Not with George so close to me. William stopped a few metres away from George, and pulled me tighter against him; a silent warning.

But I could not help myself, “George…?”

George started forward again, but then the blade was at his neck again. He let his eyes linger on mine and in them I saw exposed the adoration he had leant me when he told me he loved me. But then he turned away and glanced at William and instead that love was taken over with harshness and authority. In that look I recognised the General that he was.

He gestured the coin bag at William, “I must have your word that when I give this to you, you will let her go and leave this place? You will stick by the deal that we struck?”

William motioned with a jerk of his head for the Pirate in front of George to put his hand out for the coin bag. Then William bowed his head to George, “You have my word. Now, if you will…”

George let his eyes wander back to me, and with a resigned sigh, although without any regret if I saw correctly, and he let the bag drop into the Pirates palm. William chuckled, and then I heard the sheer slice of the blade on his belt as he unsheathed it. George yelled out as the Pirate withdrew the blade, and even I felt a little worried that William would turn on me now. But he did not. Instead, he let the blade cut through the rope, and then he released me.

The ropes dropped and I ran. George did too and within moments he had gathered me up in his arms, holding me tight against him. In a blur of emotions he murmured my name over and over and over again, running his fingers through my hair and wrapping his other hand around my waist. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, but not for the comfort he was hoping for. I did so because within moments I would lose him all over again. But it was for the best.