The Nature of the Beast

Chapter 9

Marko sighed, looking out over the horizon, willing the wind to blow. 

"A few more days of this quiet and we may have to change our heading. We'll be low on supplies and can't risk the journey without full provisions. Fancy a trip to where we first met?"

He was standing with Vestal on the quarterdeck, enjoying a few moments alone together.

She squinted her eyes as the blazing sun beat on them. "Could you go back then? Would it be safe for us?"

Marko smiled, "I have no reason to doubt it would be. Besides, Dubrovnik isn't in Serbia and my family would have no notion we arrived. It would be a short stop."

"Do you miss them? We rarely speak of them, of your decision to leave."

"It's been long time, but yes there are things I miss. The food especially," he laughed, "ship food can hardly compare to home cooking."

Vestal held his hand inside her own and stroked it with her other.

"And my mother, I miss her. I always meant to write to her, to let her know of Nikola, that I was happy. She would have worried," he wiped the sweat from his brow. The relentless heat was stifling.

Vestal nodded, she was a mother too. What would she do, how much would she worry if Nikola ran off and never sent word? It would be an unbearable ache. She squeezed his hand. The echo of the men's voices carried over them, around and across the water, like a dance. They were all growing restless, and worried. Two fights had broken out yesterday, and there were more grumblings onboard than Marko had heard in a long while. Not for the first time, he wondered if perhaps it was time to buy a steam ship. There was their son to think about after all.

"And what of Enid?" Vestal asked, changing the subject. She shared the story of Enid's past horrors with Marko. Vestal said she was an innocent child who needed love; Marko wasn't so sure.

He straightened his stance and withdrew his hands from Vestal. He turned his face to the prow and rested his hands on the railing. Watching where the men had set up their games. Some were playing cards, others were engaged in the silliness of trust falls. The men lined up in two lines and were taking it in turns to leap onto the bench. They would turn their back and close their eyes and fall back into the waiting arms of the man next in line. Each man then moved forward and took their turn, trusting the man behind to catch him.

It was a game Vestal taught the men years ago, done out of boredom and too much gin. But Vestal used it as a way to assess who trusted whom. The new recruits were usually the ones who had trouble falling. Nik was there, coaxing Enid to participate. She laughed and pushed him away, eventually allowing him to prop her up on the bench.

"Come on, I'll catch you. I promise." 

She turned her back to him and began her fall, twisting at the last minute to land on her own two feet in front of him.

"You won't," she laughed, punching him in the arm. "You'll let me fall and everyone will laugh at me."

"Never, I'll always catch you. Come on, try again."

Two more times she tried and two more times she twisted and jumped on her own. Nik took her by the hand and led her away. Together they stood at the prow of the ship, Nik holding both her hands, pleading with her.

"What do you think he's saying to her?" Vestal wondered aloud.

"It's time for her to go," Marko pounded his fist on the wood, making his decision.

"No!" Vestal said, shocked.

He turned to Vestal. "It's time. If we make it to Dubrovnik, we can give her some money and she can make a life there. The climate is nice and the people are friendly. I have no doubt she will be fine."