Emily's Saga

by Travis Bughi

  “I have my launch pulled up over here, men,” Captain Mosley stated. “It’ll take us two trips, but we’ll get everyone aboard in no time. First on the launch get to ride, and the last have to row.”

  He pointed towards a rowboat pulled up along the dock, and a shoving match began instantly as the men pushed towards it. Fights broke out as pirates clambered aboard, and more than a few fists were swung until the losers were either in the water or on the docks.

  Emily and Captain Mosley were the only ones not to join in.

  “Would you like to come now?” the Captain asked her.

  “Um, no thank you,” she replied, looking at the boat overflowing with pirates. “I’ll take the second trip. I’m sure it will be less crowded.”

  “Suit yourself.” Captain Mosley shrugged and then climbed into the rowboat.

  The last pirates to have entered grabbed the oars and began pulling. Wooden oars dipped into water, and the boat moved out, rocking steadily in the tide. Emily watched them go and felt her heart race.

  Despite what her stomach was telling her, she knew she was looking forward to this. When Captain Mosley himself had bought the behemoth meat from her father with a sack of jewels, she’d longed to see where such jewels came from. She’d wanted to go with the pirates then, despite their rude manners and questionable hygiene. She cared not for the style of travel, but only for the journey itself and the destination.

  As these memories flowed through her mind, she felt her apprehension ease, and she breathed a sigh of relief. And just as she did so, she heard her name resonate on the wind.

  “Emily! Emily, wait!”

  The male voice rose over Lucifan’s noisy shores, and she turned, fully expecting to see Abe running down the docks towards her. Instead she saw nothing until she heard the voice again and realized it was coming from above. She followed the sound to see Gavin, mounted on a pegasus, swooping down to her with all haste.

  “Emily!” he yelled again.

  The pegasus and its rider, graceful as always, landed just before her. Four hooves slid onto the ground with only a slight trot needed to arrest the lingering momentum of flight. The pegasus snorted and blew, having abruptly finished a quick sprint, and eagerly brought its feathered wings in towards its body. It was relieved of its burden, too, for Gavin had dismounted before his wondrous steed had come to a complete stop.

  “Emily!” Gavin said once more, turning to her. “I came as fast I could.”

  “Gavin?” she stammered. “What are you doing here?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked. “I came to see you.”

  He took a step toward her in a move that made her heart skip a beat.

  “I went to Madam Sweeney’s first,” he continued. “She told me where you went, and I rushed off to find you.”

  He took another step toward her and captured her with his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Gavin,” Emily replied, finding it more difficult to speak than usual. “I didn’t mean to leave without saying goodbye. It’s just that—”

  “It’s okay,” he said, interrupting her. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  He took another step forward, and her urge to step back disappeared. She met his gaze and felt the entire world begin to fade around her.

  “I had to see you before you leave, Emily,” he said.

  “I’m glad you did,” she replied, finding her voice again.

  He took a final step forward, leaving them only a hand’s width apart. Emily could almost feel his breath, and her body leaned towards him. As he looked into her eyes, she looked back and found something different in this moment. As the sun watched over them, Emily felt young again, like the first time she’d been in Lucifan. She was in a new place, going on a new journey, with strangers, and Gavin was there for her. He smiled at her, a dashing smile that made her smile as well. He reached out towards her, and his fingers slipped around her arms until they touched her back. Her muscles relaxed under his touch.

  “I wanted to say I’m sorry,” he said. “Sorry for what I said back in the tower. I was wrong, and I understand that now.”

  “It is in the past,” she replied.

  Emily looked away to avoid the guilt in his eyes, but he touched a gentle hand to her chin and tilted her head back. She did not fight it.

  “I have something else to tell you,” he said softly. “I came to tell you that you cannot leave.”

  “Why is that?” she whispered.

  “Because,” he replied, tilting his head towards her, “I love you.”

  He bent forward and kissed her, and she lost all sense of the world around her. His soft lips touched hers, and she felt her body flash warm and then hot. Blood rushed to every corner of her being, and her arms lifted until her fingers slipped beneath his tunic to graze upon his skin. His hand, still resting near her cheek, gently urged her forward. She replied in kind and leaned against his muscled chest.

  Then his lips began to part, pulling hers apart as well. The hand against her cheek danced across her face towards her hair, and the hand on her arm traversed her body to pull her in.

  And then she pulled away.

  “Damn it!” she said through exasperated breaths.

  “What?” Gavin replied. “What is it?”

  “Oh but I wish I was someone else right now,” she begged angrily.

  She looked away towards the ground and felt tears in her eyes. Her heart was racing and her breathing hard; she wanted desperately to be kissed again, but at the same time, could not bear the thought.

  She pulled free of his arms. He resisted for a moment, but then relinquished her to the world and stood there, bewildered.

  “I don’t understand,” he said. “Were you anyone other than you, Emily, I would not be here now. I don’t want you to be anyone else.”

  “Gavin, you don’t understand,” she replied, wiping her eyes. “I can’t stay with you.”

  “What do you mean you can’t? Of course you can! Just because I’m a knight doesn’t mean I can’t marry whom I choose.”

  “That’s not it, Gavin.”

  “Then what is it?” he opened his arms in frustration. “Amazon law? I heard they will not be betrothed, but won’t you let that go for the sake of us?”

  “Gavin, please!” she shouted. “None of that, it’s none of that.”

  “Then what, Emily? Then what?”

  She stayed silent for a moment. Gavin’s eyes sought hers, but she would not raise her head to meet the gaze. Her head was swirling in a sickening blend of desire and lust, anger and regret. She thought of Quartus and Chara, of the debt she still owed. She thought of Abe and Adelpha, and the happiness they’d found. She thought of the world she had seen, and of the world she still wanted to see. She thought of Lucifan and of Ephron, still wandering out there somewhere, looking for peace. She imagined that peace, and she closed her eyes, trying to swallow the brutal concoction of emotions that stabbed at her heart, choked her lungs, and drained her strength. In the darkness of her own mind, she searched for a light that would show her the way.

  Then she opened her mouth, and the words came to her.

  “And if I were to stay with you, Gavin,” she said, “what then would happen to us? What would become of me?”

  Unprepared for the question, Gavin paused and then, after he had taken it in, was filled with indecision. He looked at her, his eyes sharpening as if he could anticipate the correct response, before answering with confidence.

  “Well, you would be with me,” he said. “I have a home in the city, and you could stay there. It isn’t much, but I can provide for us. We could be together that way, you see?”

  “And we would stay?” she asked. “In Lucifan?”

  “Well, of course,” he said. “Why would we leave?”

  He closed the distance between them again and reached a hand out to place it on her arm. She neither resisted nor pulled away, but even once their skin was connected, she would not look at him. At his last words to her,
she looked over her shoulder until her eyes fell on the pirate ship in the distance. Its sails flapped in the breeze; the large white sheets seemed to wave at her.

  Then her eyes descended until they fell on the few remaining pirates still waiting to be taken aboard Captain Mosley’s ship. They were staring back at her, grinning widely without an ounce of shame. A few exchanged sharp elbow jabs, and in response to Emily’s saddened expression, they winked at her.

  One made a sweeping motion with his hands, as if to usher her back towards Gavin.

  “Yes,” she said. “Why would I leave?”

  Chapter 28

  As she stepped off the wobbly rowboat to put both feet on the rope ladder, another wave rolled by, jostling both vessels. The rowboat pulled away as The Greedy Barnacle leaned in, and her hands gripped the ladder tightly as she swung away. When she struck the ship again, her wound sent a jolt of pain coursing through her.

  “Easy, love, easy,” one of the pirates beneath her said. “First time on a ship, eh?”

  “First time on one that wasn’t docked. Is it that obvious?” she asked.

  “Aye.” He grinned, smiling to reveal a single gold-capped tooth. “I watched you damn near fall over trying to get into the launch. Looked like an old kraken trying to surface!”

  He laughed, and Emily grimaced.

  “I’m guessing that’s a clumsy sight?” she replied, unable to think of any better response.

  “Aye, it is. Best wishes you don’t get to see it yourself.”

  Emily was about to ask why when the ship lurched again and she bounced against the wood. She clung frantically to the rope and cringed as cold seawater splashed up to slap upon her bare-skinned legs. From above her, she heard a laugh and looked up.

  “Come on now, lads,” Captain Mosley called down to the rowboat. “Don’t be pretending like any of you are gentlemen! Stop waiting for the little lady and get up here!”

  Emily looked down to see the rest of the pirates grinning up at their captain. Then they leapt up onto the ropes hanging down the hull of the ship and scampered up like nothing Emily had ever seen. They flew past Emily like thunderbirds, while she was a lumbering behemoth. Meanwhile, she paused to look back at the shore. Besides not wanting to get in their way, she needed a break to catch her breath. She scanned the shore, finding Gavin and his mount standing in the spot she’d left them. She felt her heart crack once more and looked away.

  It seemed he couldn’t leave just yet, and Emily found it hard to blame him.

  She started climbing again, but by the time she’d made it halfway up, she was all alone. The pirates were up and over, and she was still carefully inserting one foot after another. She’d almost made it to the top when the ship lurched again, and her foot slipped out of its wet hold.

  She cried out and slammed into the ship’s side again. Fortunately, as she did so, two rough hands grabbed ahold of each of her wrists and yank up hard. She had the good sense to release her grip on the rope ladder and was flung up into the air to land on the deck feet first.

  Captain Mosley released Emily’s right hand and clapped her on the shoulder.

  “You’ll get used to it.” He winked.

  Emily turned her head to her left to see who was still holding her other hand and looked right into the face of one very ugly, and very angry, pirate.

  His beard was black and short, but his hair was wavy and long. His nose was fat, his cheeks were scarred, and his eyes were sunken into his skull. And those eyes, at this very moment, were burning fiercely into hers.

  She pulled her hand back quickly, and the ugly pirate looked past her to Captain Mosley.

  “Another one?” he barked.

  “Yep.” Mosley smiled back. “Emily, meet my first mate, Carlito Hacke. Carlito, meet Emily Stout.”

  Emily smiled at Carlito, but he ignored her gaze. He glared a moment at his captain before storming off. Emily turned to look at Mosley, who offered her a shrug in reply.

  “Well, welcome aboard!” he said and gave her a harsh slap to her behind.

  Emily stumbled forward and then tumbled back as the ship swayed out from under her feet. She looked back to scold Captain Mosley, but he had already moved on, shouting at his new crew to get things underway. He hardly needed to do so, though. The pirates were crawling over the ship like kobolds. They grappled ropes, pulled sails, and secured the various pulleys that wrapped around the ship and confused Emily to no end. She turned around to see that the launch was already being hauled up into the ship, something she hadn’t even noticed until now. The entire scene seemed like a vast, complicated maze to her, yet these men made it all look trivial.

  They shouted to each other and acted with coordinated movements that spoke of a life born to rather than learned. She was almost certain not one of these men knew more than two others the night prior, yet they were bonded by a love for a career that Emily had barely known existed. She’d always thought pirates were defined by their clothing and speech, but they made it clear that it was their craft that set them apart. She realized she had misjudged those around her once again.

  And then, as if to impress her more, they began to sing in unison.

  I once knew a dwarf who had no beard,

  but plenty of jewels in a mine.

  He worked all day, and he worked all night,

  until he lost track of time. Haha!

  I saw him once down in his hole,

  working upon a jewel.

  I said, ‘Hey dwarf!’ and he looked at me,

  pausing his digging tool.

  ‘Why do you work all stinking day

  when you could be a pirate like me?’

  He said ‘You’re right!’ and jumped on out.

  ‘What else could I be?’

  ‘A dwarf!’ I cried and laughed aloud as I hit his ugly head.

  I took his jewel and buried his tool

  because I’d rather be rich than dead! Haha!

  Emily smirked at the song and walked along the length of the ship towards the stern. She climbed one of the two sets of stairs that led up onto the deck and was surprised to find Captain Mosley up there, standing behind a large, mounted, upright wheel with pegs in it. She’d never seen anything like it, except for the wheels on a cart, and frowned at him in confusion.

  “Controls the rudder, lass.” Captain Mosley said.

  She blinked. Around her, the pirates began to sing again, this time about an elf with a hilarious aversion to treasure. Mosley hummed to the tune and then turned to address her confused glance.

  “Steers the ship,” he explained further. “Points us in the right direction. Here, have a try.”

  “What?” she jumped. “Oh no, thank you, but uh, that’s okay.”

  “Oh, but I insist!” he said, placing a hand to his chest and taking a step back.

  Emily hesitated again. The responsibility of steering a ship seemed beyond her capacity, but Mosley’s unwavering confidence piqued her interest. She strolled forward and placed a careful hand on one of the pegs.

  “There you go now,” he said. “Now, go ahead and pull that side down. That’ll turn us right toward the bay’s opening.”

  Emily did as she was instructed and was surprised to find resistance to her movements. The wheel did not want to turn as easily as she’d expected, so she gave it a push to get it started. The wind around her continued to blow and fill the sails along the ship. As she turned the wheel, the vessel began to turn.

  “Wow,” was all she could say.

  “Ha! Amazing, isn’t it?” Captain Mosley asked.

  She only nodded as her eyes soaked in the sight of the ship’s bow turning at her command. Captain Mosley stepped completely aside now and gestured for her to use both hands. She did so, and continued to look ahead with mouth wide open.

  “So,” Captain Mosley said after a long silence. “I saw your little exchange back there with the knight.”

  “You did?”

  “Aye, through my spyglass, and so did mos
t of the crew!” he laughed and tapped his side.

  Emily examined the gold-colored, metal tube that hung there, and Captain Mosley smiled and sighed.

  “It’s a telescope, love.” She still looked confused, so he changed the subject back. “Anyway, I have to ask, you know, being the Captain and all, if that’s your man or not? You seemed sweet on him there until you turned away.”

  Emily felt warmth in her cheeks and looked away. The answer wasn’t necessarily embarrassing, but remembering the moment brought back the still fresh feeling.

  “No.” She sighed. “He’s not.”

  “You sure?” he teased. “Don’t know many women who’d share a kiss like that with a man they didn’t call their own.”

  “He’s not,” she replied, firmly this time. “In another life? Maybe. His name is Sir Gavin Shaw, and he’s handsome, and charming, and kind, and courageous . . . and everything I thought I’d want.”

  “Hmm.” Mosley rubbed his chin. “I see. Sounds like a dream, this man. I may want to turn around and pick him up myself, haha!”

  Emily looked back at the Captain with a raised eyebrow.

  “That was a joke, love.” He frowned. “So, why is he still on land, and you’re on this ship?”

  “Because,” Emily started, “it’s not meant to be. He is a knight that belongs in Lucifan. He made an oath, and he’ll stay there all his life, probably. That’s who he is. Duty, loyalty, and devotion. It’s admirable. But me? I’ve got a destiny elsewhere. The world, it calls to me. I can’t seem to be happy unless I’m moving on. I try to stay, I honestly do, but I just can’t come to terms with it. It makes me miserable. I’m going to Juatwa next, and then from there? Well, I don’t know yet really. Whichever way I go, though, it will not be with him. I wish it was. Part of me really wishes he’d come with me, but I know he won’t. He won’t come with me anymore than I’d stay with him.

  “Times like these make me think of my brother, Abe, and my sister, Adelpha. Well, she’s not actually my sister. More like the best, or perhaps only, friend I’ve ever had. They want to be together, and they are, but they’ll be spending a year apart, every year of their lives. I thought about doing that with Gavin. I could go away for a while and then come back to him. Maybe we could even get married like he said. But then what? I’d leave again. I didn’t even mention this option to him. He’d say he could handle it, but I know he can’t. I certainly can’t.”