Safe Harbor

| 14 |

"Nice and easy does it," Damien says, gritting his teeth in concentration. His eyes are narrowed, every part of him focused entirely on one task: safely maneuvering the HMS Cromie onto dry land. We all stand aside, and unlike just minutes earlier; it's dead silent. Each of us watch Damien with hushed breaths, as the ship inches closer and closer to the beach of the island.

I move closer to Keda slowly, who's distanced herself from Damien as well. I tap her shoulder gently, not wanting to startle her and watch as she turns towards me, questioningly. Leaning closer towards her, I whisper in her ear as quietly as I can.

"Has... Has he ever tried to do this with a ship like this before?"

Keda's eyes twinkle with mischief. "Why, are you frightened?" She whispers back, her voice light and teasing.

"Not frightened--worried," I reply, honestly.

She stifles a laugh, placing her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "Relax. Damien's an expert with ships. And while he's never attempted this with a ship of this size, I have no fear. I trust him," she states simply.

"I don't doubt it," I reply. "You've never questioned his calls, once."

She smiles at that. "Damien is one of the best people I've ever met." She says. "He's the closest thing I have to a best friend. If I can't trust him..." She shakes her head, pursing her lips musingly. "I very well couldn't trust anyone," she confides in me.

Suddenly, the ship lurches, causing all of us to stagger around, dangerously. Keda and I manage to steady ourselves using the wall of the storage closet behind us, but the others aren't as lucky. Jean-Luc grabs the banister at the last moment, holding onto his younger sister firmly, Bianca and Indy doing the same. Eva stumbles back too far and almost falls, but luckily, Nico is there to catch her before she splits her head open. Georges digs his heels into the deck and leans as far forward as he can without falling, effectively stopping himself, as well. Pierre falls backwards too quickly, and his hands fly backwards to shield his fall.

I'm so caught up with the others that I don't notice Marco barreling towards Keda, his feet tripping over each other crazily. He tries to get onto steady footing like Georges did, but fails miserably, tipping over back first.

Immediately, she darts forward and before he slams into the hard deck, hooks her hands under his arms, dragging him quickly into a trust fall position. He looks up at her with a grateful expression, eyes wide and unfocused.

"I think you're falling for me," Keda teases, as he simply lies there, stupefied.

He looks up at her, still lying there in her arms, his expression one of profound gratefulness and bewilderment. It's almost like he's paralyzed. After a couple of moments, his lips turn up into a small half-smile. "Funny."

I help him to his feet and the three of us make our way over to the others who are gathering themselves around the front of the boat again.

"Now that's how you make an entrance," Damien announces, proudly. "Everyone alright?"

I can't help but laugh at that. Damien and Keda go around, making sure the others are alright, but Marco and I linger by the side of the boat, peering down around us.

What seconds ago was shimmering blue water, now was soft golden sand. Damien, true to Keda's words, had managed to get the upper part of the ship onto the beach. And that meant only one thing.

We had finally arrived.

I look around, about to express my wonder to Marco when I notice Pierre standing a little ways away from us, away from the rest of the group, too. He's rubbing his hands together gingerly, and then I remember the nasty spill he took, landing on them. Concernedly, I walk over to him.